Workers

Beloved Community of Christ, do not just speak and sing of Zion. Live, love and share as Zion: those who strive to be visibly one in Christ, among whom there are no poor or oppressed.

(Words of Counsel Presented at the 2013 World Conference)

Yesterday I met with Tim Stanlick, our Canada East Mission President.  We talked about a variety of situations in various cities, towns and areas where Community of Christ has congregations or opportunities: Blenheim, London, Toronto, Barrie, the Maritime provinces, the list goes on and on.  It occurs to me that the common denominator in every case is the need for workers.  As I reflect on that conversation this morning, a variety of scriptures come to mind, among which are the following. 

The call is for WORKERS in the cause of Zion; therefore, neither tarry, nor doubt that I am.  (Doctrine and Covenants 155:8)

The field is white already to harvest, wherefore, thrust in your sickle, and reap with all your might, mind, and strength.

(This call for workers actually occurs eight times in the Doctrine and Covenants: sections 4:1c, 6:2a, 10:2a, 11:2a, 12:2a, 32:1d, 32:2c, 122:71)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?

(Isaiah 6:8a)

With that in mind, and the needs of the church pressing firmly upon us, I would like to place the following ad.

HELP WANTED

Must be a disciple of Jesus and willing to pray, visit, listen, work and invite.  This is an outside position that requires successful applicants to be outside the walls of church and home to meet people where they are.  Must be willing to work in teams for no pay and great rewards.  On the job training provided.  No previous experience required. 

And the Trees Wept!

It was Saturday morning following Good Friday.  I had attended an

Ecumenical Good Friday Service and recalled the tragedies of Holy Week.

Now, I arose, looking forward with anticipation to the joys of Easter Sunday.

As I walked into my kitchen, facing my wall of windows into my back yard,

I  was quite literally knocked speechless by the most astounding, awe

inspiring sight that I had ever seen before, or ever expect to see again.

A bright, clear morning sun had set my yard ablaze; a tall birch tree, a

shapely Japanese maple, and a huge willow tree were arrayed in a mantle of millions of diamonds, setting off radiating sparkles in every direction.  I was

speechless at the beauty before me.  But where, how, why?  My eyes then

traveled downward, and lo and behold streams of sparkling water poured

from every tree.  Again I looked around me;  looked at my neighbors trees

on both sides.  No ice, no frost, no rain!  Nothing!

I stepped out on my deck, holding my arms heavenward to feel the rain....

but no rain fell.  Then as my eyes turned to the glittering trees before me, and

the sparkling waterfall beneath, resembling ropes of moving diamonds more

than water and I thought, “My trees!  My trees are weeping!”

And then almost immediately came a second thought, so clearly;

“God is weeping this morning, weeping over His children!”

....and then these thoughts quickly followed.   Easter is not just remembering

the horrors of Good Friday, or the joys of Sunday’s resurrection, because

God still weeps over His children.  God sent His only begotton Son to suffer

and die for our sins, and He still stands at the door of our hearts and knocks

seeking entrance in.  His resurrection gave us hope for eternal life, but our

hearts have yet to learn to love ALL of God’s children, and so He Weeps!

Can we answer His knock on our heart and forgive one another, love one

another, and share the Good News  that Jesus Lives, Jesus Lives!

Submitted by Dottie Burdette

Co-Pastor, Wiarton, ON

World Conference: Just Imagine!

I can’t wait for World Conference!  I have attended three or four prior World Conferences in my lifetime, but its been quite some time since I was at one...probably not since 1998.  For various reasons, I was not able to attend any since then.

Shortly after my wife and I first became a couple, she attended a World Conference with her mother.  It was one of the few non-congregational church events that she has attended without me, and she told me that even though she really enjoyed the experience, she would never want to attend another World Conference unless we went together.  Its taken about ten years, but we are finally going to World Conference and I’m very excited.

If you have never been to a World Conference, I would like to encourage that you consider going.  There is just something extremely empowering about being in a gathering of member of the church from all over the world, and in such large numbers.

Imagine standing in the Auditorium’s conference chamber (seating capacity: about 5,800) singing along with everyone else to new; and beloved hymns being played on an organ with 6,334 pipes.

Imagine sharing in the Lord’s Supper, as it is served by 105 volunteers.

Imagine being present during the opening ceremonies when the flags of 42 nations in which the church is official established in, are unfurled and draped down from the conference chamber balcony.

Imagine being able to freely discuss and vote on legislative motions; thereby helping to shape the future of the church.  This may not excite people as much as it does myself, but never forget, never take for granted the fact that we have this freedom, and many of our brothers and sisters in other denominations do not.  What a blessing it is to belong to Community of Christ!

Imagine walking down the Worshiper’s Path, and participating in services in the heart of our breathtaking temple.

Imagine being ministered to by vast choirs from Africa and French Polynesia, who lovingly share their talents with all those gathered, and who proudly wear their traditional apparel as a witness of their respective heritage, reminding us all that we truly are a world church.

Imagine spending several days immersed in the love of God.  Imagine the fellowship, the evening celebrations, the displays from around the world, the young adult programs, the heritage sites, the opportunities to visit with other members from our mission center and field. 

Imagine learning what matters most to our brothers and sisters from all over the world, united together, strengthened by our shared passion of serving God as disciple of Jesus Christ.

Just imagine what you will take home with you!

Guest Blogger - David Donoghue

***

Related links:

Check Out the Auditorium
Check Out the Temple

Learn Where Community of Christ is Established

A Three Fold Model of Dynamic Congregations

I often find myself smiling as I experience the Holy Spirit bringing people and ideas together. As one of the co-pastors of Scarborough Congregation, I’ve been trying to help give some focus or direction to our membership. To that end, I’ve spent a great deal of this church school year talking about how we can grow in comfort with the ministry of invitation. Invitation is often overlooked, but I have come to appreciate of late, just how vitally important it is, along with two other concepts.


About once every month or so, I participate in a meeting of all the pastors of the GTA. And I’ve noticed that Alfredo Zelaya, pastor of GTA West, keeps talking about communities. Church communities. Building sacred communities.

I’ve also noticed that Matthew Swain, co-pastor of Barrie, keeps talking about relationships. The importance of, and basic need to form real, meaningful relationships with people.


Now, as I heard both of them talk about these things, which occurred on different occasions, and not at the same time, I heard them, as is so often the case, in isolation.

However, one day, I was thinking about the thing I’ve been talking about in Scarborough: the ministry and blessing of invitation. And then the Holy Spirit brought it all together. I suddenly recalled what Alfredo and Matt had mentioned, often just in passing, so many times at our meetings. And I realized that the three things that we have each been talking about separately form a three fold model. They go together.


Invitation will of course result in relationships being formed. Relationships, as they develop and multiply, will ensure that community building takes place. And as the community grows, the more potential there will be to have things to invite people to.


Which means of course, that there will be opportunities for new relationships to be formed; new connections between people being forged, in common desire to understand God; which then results in the community growing even larger (or new communities forming), as we grow in our shared desire to be united together on our spiritual journeys. Which means more opportunities for invitation… which means….which means… which means.

It is my belief that if we keep this three fold model in mind, and give it some focus in our congregations, we can truly become dynamic in what we offer our members, friends, seekers, and visitors. This I hope will also enable our congregations to be more sustainable.


Posted by guest blogger David Donoghue, co-pastor, Scarborough, Ontario

Want...a Meditation on Psalm 23:1

 (I have not yet read Gladys Nutsack's novel but the cover and title so seemed to fit the post in an antithetical kind of way that I decided to include it here.  If you are a Kobo or Kindle reader, you might want to look it up.)

Psalm 23:1  The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

I am thankful for this day and this quiet time.  It is a lovely privilege to dwell in the word of Psalm 23 and be blessed by the oil of peace, hope, love and perhaps even joy.

I look back through my journal and recognize the ever present tendency to be “self”-ish, to think that I am the centre of something, to make everything personal, and dwell on my own decisions, but the world and the universe are so much greater than that.  

I do look at the world from my little piece of consciousness, but the world is not about me, it is about the world!  The green hills of Honduras are about the green hills of Honduras and the people who live there, and that must also be true for the snow covered fields of Eastern Canada.  It is all best understood when seen from a perspective of God’s love and peace, God’s generous grace.  

 The full meaning of the universe around us is so beyond our understanding.  Holy One, help us remember to see in love and be generous, remembering Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, and believe that.

As a statement, it is difficult enough to really believe and trust, but what if that statement is understood as a promise?  What if it were my promise, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want?  Is it possible to keep such a promise?  Don’t we/I want all the time?  Even in our/my better, less selfish moments, we/I want peace, harmony, love, and security, we/I want...(selfishly), we/I want...God! 

We are so “self”-ish, self-centred...self!

What if I/we were Godly?  What if I were "other"-centred?  What if I truly trusted, not just in this moment but all day long that The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want?  What if that were my promise?  Could I keep it?  For even one day?  Would it change the world?  No, but it might change me and how I look at the world.  It might be a starting place; a beginning.

To not be selfish for even one day, to be a presence of Holiness and Generosity would be a small gift to the world and to others.  It is what Jesus did all the time.

May I/we be grace today.

Posted by Carman

Potty Training

One of my favorite blogs, and one that many of you will be familiar with, Achurchforstarvingartists recently had an intriguing post called The Teachable Church.  In it, author Jan Edmiston points out that sometimes leaders schedule classes that are not of great interest to people.  "Maybe" she muses, "[people] don’t want to learn how to re-write the church by-laws but they’d love to know what to do when a friend is diagnosed with cancer.  Maybe they don’t need a theological lecture on predestination, but they’d like to know how to pray out loud with somebody."

That got me thinking.  For years I have been intrigued by congregations that offer classes/services/ministries to the larger community.  When I served in OYSC (Older Youth Service Corps) in Dallas, TX in 1969, the church there offered a  series of "Family Living" classes.  They recruited teachers from the community, e.g. from the local Community College and Family and Children's services.  They offered classes on a variety of subjects families deal with and sent flyers around to every house in the neighbourhood. Classes were offered one night a week for six or seven weeks and interestingly, people came. 

I recall hearing of one church that offered classes on Potty training.  This may seem odd at first, but it seems they had done a poll of the neighbourhood, learned that there were many toddlers in the area, and parents were struggling with getting these children out of the diaper stage.  They decided that if that's what people need help with, the church could help, so help they did.  It may seem to have little to do with the gospel, but that was a church that was at least trying to reach out to the community in a relevant way.  This may be important as churches in our part of the world seem to be increasingly viewed as having little relevance for people in their daily lives.

So here is my question: What kind of services would be of help to the larger community?  Any ideas?  If not, what subject matter would be of interest to you?

Posted by Carman

Unthinkable

How does one think about the unthinkable?
How does one speak to the unspeakable...to terror...to horror?
How does one help hearts that have been broken, torn out, kicked and stomped upon, yet must still beat on?

Will words help?

Perhaps, but words must not be unthinking platitudes or they will be like trying to paper over a wall with gaping holes caused by earthquakes or missiles.

Will prayers help?  Yes, and sometimes prayers are all we have to give.
Still, prayers alone often do not seem to be enough, do they?
In the words of Jewell's song that changed my life,

There are millions of people who pray for peace
But if praying were enough it would have come to be.

Will acts of loving kindness help?

Yes, but like words, actions can be at risk of becoming condescending charity or pity.  Prayers, words and actions must be from pure, unselfish hearts of grace that are solely for others with nothing asked or expected in return; not gratitude or even acknowledgement.

Are we capable of that kind of generosity?  Am I?


The unthinkable has happened.

The unthinkable has happened again.

The unthinkable demands that we think about what it really means to be


...human

...followers of Jesus

...the hands of Jesus

...the word of Jesus

...to each other

...and to others.


God grant us the miracle of grace to be the Presence to each other and to ALL others.

It is the only way.