Boldly

 BOLDLY

    Community of Christ, a divine vision is set before you. Presented over the years through various inspired phrases and symbols, it is expressed now through initiatives in harmony with Jesus Christ’s mission.

    As a spiritual venture, boldly follow the initiatives into the heart of God’s vision for the church and creation. Then, in response to growing insight about God’s nature and will, continue to shape communities that live Christ’s love and mission.

- Words of Counsel presented at the 2013 World Conference

I am thinking about the adverb, boldly.  It is familiar to us, of course, and has a nice ring to it, especially for Star Trek fans, many of whom may have grown up hearing the introduction to the TV show day after day.

    Space: The final frontier
    These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise
    Its 5 year mission
    To explore strange new worlds
    To seek out new life and new civilizations
    To boldly go where no man has gone before

According to dictionary.com, the following are the possible definitions of the root word, “bold.”

bold
1. not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring: a bold hero.  
2. not hesitating to break the rules of propriety; forward; impudent: He apologized for being so bold as to speak to the emperor.
3. necessitating courage and daring; challenging: a bold adventure.
4. beyond the usual limits of conventional thought or action; imaginative: Einstein was a bold mathematician. a difficult problem needing a bold answer.
5. striking or conspicuous to the eye; flashy; showy: a bold pattern.

All of these definitions may be helpful, but what does it mean for the church to boldly follow the initiatives into the heart of God’s vision for the church and creation?  How do we do that?  What is suggested by the imperative, boldly follow?

While I don’t have the answers to all these questions, I do have a couple of observations.  First let me suggest that this a call to group action and not an individual or solo venture.  If we are to boldly follow, we need to do it together, whether in families, congregations, households or groups of people.  Second, following suggests that the divine Presence is already moving, and it is our job to identify that initiative, get up off our duffs and ask how we can help.  Without hesitation, perhaps being forward, with courage and daring, we are called to move beyond the usual limits of conventional thought or action.

Okay, I think I'm starting to get the message.  It  feels a little scary and intimidating, but that is why we need to boldly follow, and do so together.

Boldly, let's have a conversation, shall we?  What does this word suggest to you in this context?

Posted by Carman

Follow-up

On Monday of this week, What's the Good Word featured a report from Dorothy Burdette, co-pastor of Wiarton Community of Christ, concerning the response to their Easter Breakfast. Every good idea deserves and needs follow-up and this one is on exception. The following comments are from my email reply to Dorothy. They are offered here in hopes that they may contain something helpful to offer to your congregation as well.

Dottie:

Congratulations to Wiarton congregation on a successful Easter breakfast. My friend Jimmy Munson, a Seventy from Chattanooga TN always says, “Our Victory is in the Invitation.” I noted that President Veazey also used this same expression in his video series on Mission Initiatives.

Invitation is the critically important first step, and nothing is more important. Having said that, there are several more steps that are necessary. Here is my suggested short-list for follow up.

1. Even before the service happens, plan the next event or activity so visitors can hear it announced at the initial service. This information, along with guidance about when and where to register or appear, should be in the bulletin as well as on the announcement screen.

2. Communicate a “Thanks for coming” message to each guest who came to the activity or service. This should be done as soon as possible after the event, and preferably within 72 hours.

3. Build a communication list, whether by mail, email, twitter, newsletter subscription, or phone, so you can invite visitors to come for each subsequent event.

4. And finally, always thank and praise your volunteers (greeters, cooks, servers, ushers, decorators, tech-persons, participants, dishwashers and so on), letting them know how their contribution made a difference.

Once again, thank you for all you do. Your story is a powerful example of invitation at work. We will look forward to hearing more reports of future ventures in Wiarton.

Posted by Carman

Amnesia

Today's post was inspired by Linda Booth's thought provoking article in the March 2012 Herald entitled Signal Communities...Reflect Christ's Peace. (You can read the entire article by clicking here.)

Apostle Booth draws to our attention Jesus' efforts to create a signal community with his disciples and followers. Acts 2 then tells how the first-century church attempted to follow Jesus' example and teaching by living that community model. Apostle Booth points out that throughout our history, Community of Christ has steadfastly believed that it is also called to create signal communities. Before the church was even established the following guidance was given.

"Seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion." (Doctrine and Covenants 6:3a, given April, 1829)

Apostle Booth then makes the following statement.

Over the years, some Community of Christ congregations have developed a form of Christian amnesia, forgetting what congregations are to signal. They have focused on themselves rather than Christ’s mission of evangelism or invitation, compassionate ministries, and justice and peacemaking for all. Discipleship often has focused on events and programs in the church building, rather than extending Christ’s mission in our neighborhoods, families, and communities.

I am not sure I would have characterized our congregations this way, but do you think this is true? It is at least an idea that is worth exploring. Seen in light of Sister Linda's observation, recent revelations to the church take on fresh meaning and call us to renew our understanding of both the global and local church's purpose. Perhaps Doctrine and Covenants 163:3a should be read, not as new counsel to the church but as an urgent reminder of what has always been our call.

You are called to create pathways in the world for peace in Christ to be relationally and culturally incarnate. The hope of Zion is realized when the vision of Christ is embodied in communities of generosity, justice, and peacefulness.

"Thankfully," says Sister Booth, "God continues to be patient with us, reminding us that we are to be signal communities that reflect Christ’s peace and live Christ’s mission." She does not let us off the hook with that statement however, reminding us that God's Spirit is already at work in our communities and there are people who are searching for our community's signal of hope.

My Spirit is reaching out to numerous souls even now and there are many who will respond if you, my people, will bear affirmative testimony of my love and my desires for all to come unto me. —Doctrine and Covenants 153:9

There is a certain urgency here. That same urgency can be seen in the closing passages of Doctrine and Covenants 164.

If you truly would be Community of Christ, then embody and live the concerns and passion of Christ. The challenges and opportunities are momentous. Will you remain hesitant in the shadows of your fears, insecurities, and competing loyalties? Or will you move forward in the light of your divinely instilled call and vision? The mission of Jesus Christ is what matters most for the journey ahead. (Doctrine and Covenants 164: 9d-f)

If we have developed "a form of Christian amnesia" it is clear we need to recover.

Posted by Carman

Proton

(Editor’s note: Friends, Proton congregation is a small, country church that is big in spirit. Their size and location out on a quiet country road does not stop them from making a major contribution to their community as you will see below. As you read, add up the financial value of their donations to the many causes they support. That is only the financial part and does not include the ministry and fellowship they offer! Special thanks to Pastors Jack and Shirley Richardson for this post. The Richardsons are also our mission advocates for their group of congregations.)


Proton is a small congregation. We feel fortunate if we have 20 people out on a Sunday. In spite of our small numbers we are very good at serving beef suppers. We have been doing it for years. We have our own church supper the first Saturday after Thanksgiving.

We have a very active little theatre in the village of Dundalk. Some of us have joined the little theatre board, and some of us also take part in their productions. The theatre decided to pair their Saturday night productions with a hot meal and because of that we've been asked several time to serve our wonderful beef suppers, complete with homemade pie.

We have always had a great relationship with the United Church in Dundalk, so we asked if we could rent their church kitchen and dining room. We hold our Christmas breakfast there as well, as we are out in the country. This activity has raised a considerable amount of money and because of this we were able to donate money to different organizations this past year. We donated $2,500 to the local food bank, also $1,500 to the Christmas Cheer fund (connected to the local food bank) as well as $1,500 to World Accord, & Ziontario $3,000. We also were able to offer monetary support to a family struggling to make ends meet. We sponsor a $500 Peace Scholarship each yr, as well as $250.00 to a local school breakfast club.

These actions have certainly helped with our second mission initiative, Abolish Poverty and End Suffering, as well as touching on some others: Develop Disciples to Serve, Experience Congregations in Mission, and Pursue Peace on Earth. It is quite evident from our small numbers and aging congregation that we certainly need to work on Inviting People to Christ, as well as continuing to work on the others.

Thank you for the opportunity to share,

Jack & Shirley.

Toolbox

This posting is from John Nichols. John wears many hats, one of them being that of a reliable source of book information. John's on the lookout for resources you can use. He'll offer his rating and whatever initial thoughts he has about how to get the most out of the books he's suggesting.

"Toolbox for Mission"

Hi folks! I have been seeking out books with lots of interesting ideas to help all of us gear up for Mission! Looking specifically for some “how to” guides for helping us “Develop Disciples to Serve.”

I’ve just completed four different books that could help with that Mission Initiative.

I do have to say, prior to starting the reviews, that buying books is great! Reading books is wonderful! Applying what you learn from the books is essential! And, without further ado, here are some of the books that I am currently recommending!

#1/ Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry; Creative Plans and Programs that Really Work!
Author, Diana Davis. ISBN978-0-8054-4723-1

My wife pointed me to this book as a potential good resource, likely also very saleable on a Reunion Book Table. Cringing a little, I plunged into it anyway. My verdict: This resource would be valuable for men AND women alike.

Written for other “mainline” churches, its ideas are easily adaptable to a Community of Christ context. Ms Davis takes you on a step by step process for developing a Women’s Ministry and would be an excellent resource for congregations, camps, retreats.

AND, guys, with a few adaptations and different ideas it could easily be used for “Men’s Retreats” or a Men’s Group, as well. If you are looking at developing ministries of these kinds, I would heartily suggest you pick up this book!

#2/How To Mobilize Church Volunteers
Author: Marlene Wilson. ISBN 978-0-8066-2012-1

This book was, again, written more for the “mainline protestant group” but with a few slight adaptations it is really good for the Community of Christ! Ms Wilson takes you on a step by step journey from assessing the needs, recruiting the volunteers, building the congregational team, training the volunteers, all the way to nurturing and managing the volunteers. Do you need to build a team for specific things in your congregation? How about for your Reunion, camp or retreat? This step by step guide is really useful!

This resource could be easily adapted into a workshop and for helping to prevent “burn out.”
My rating: 4.75 out of 5.

More tomorrow.

Posted by John Nichols

Spirit of Giving

Windsor Congregation: our numbers are large on the books, but small in the pews, yet this group is mighty when called upon to give.

Each year during the four Sundays of Advent we have chosen a charity to support financially - World Accord, Sleeping Children, Hospice, World Vision.

This year, keeping in mind the Mission Initiative, "Abolish Poverty and End Suffering" we chose Hiatus House, a refuge for battered women and their children.

At Christmas the 42-bed house was full and many were on a waiting list.

In a spirit of over-whelming generosity, our members donated $1022.18, a substantial increase over past Christmas giving.

Even the couple who clean our church building asked if they could give to our Mission this year.That request reminded me that we are always witnessing whether intentionally or not.

As Windsor continues to explore the implications of the five Mission Initiatives, I hope we will discover many ways to witness and be a presence in our Community as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Twyla Glassford

Pastor, Windsor Congregation,

Mission Advocate

Colloquy

This weekend I followed the activities going on in Independence at our (Community of Christ's) Peace Colloquy.

Friday night there was a webcast of the opening service that included an address by Terry Tempest Williams who received our award for 2011. You can still watch it on-line if you go to the web site. And you can explore her biography and all the reasons she was selected for this year's award. She's in wonderful company as the church has been handing out these awards since 2005 and the recipients represent an awesome group of folks who've done much to bring peace and justice into what sometimes appears to be an irredeemably broken world.

My experience this year was somewhat different as my Independence family was in full attendance and my very "plugged in" son was posting pictures and commentary throughout the experience. In fact, if you happen to be a facebook friend of Art Smith, you could have had a similar experience.

A colloquy is a somewhat high-fallutin' word for an informal conference, an expanded conversation really, about some topic. As a church dedicated to peace, reconciliation and healing the spirit, with a recently expressed mission to promote peace on earth, it does make sense that we'd choose the topic of peace to have such a conversation about. We're great at conversations! We're even great at honouring folks who've done something to promote peace. Why, right here in Canada East, we've got several congregations who've given peace awards to students in their community who appear to understand what making peace is all about.

I had a note from a friend the other day who shared with me how she works with the Victim/Witness Assistance Program in her town. She was responding to my identity post. I am truly grateful for her encouragement to seek out such a purpose in my own future.

I hope to be someone who does more than just carry out conversations about peace and justice. Noble and important as those are, the real purpose is to encourage us to find ways to be the peacemakers on the ground, in the place where we live, given the gifts that we possess. Really, every single recipient of the Community of Christ Peace Award has done exactly that. They were just ordinary folk who decided to go ahead and do something concrete to pursue peace on earth.

Pursue! that 's a pretty active word, don't you think?

Posted by Marion

Schedule

One of the first principles of time management is this: What gets scheduled gets done.

Most of us have a pretty good grasp on many of these rules. Even if you only read the covers on the magazines while you wait in line at the grocery store; especially if you read any of the self-help books. There aren’t that many new rules for having a good life. And you already know all the old ones:

Never skip breakfast.
Exercise for thirty minutes at least three times a week.
It’s essential to be consistent if you want to train your puppy well.
Make sure your plate holds more vegetables than meat.
Don’t leave your big assignment ‘til the day before it’s due.

You can list a million of them. Right?

But that scheduling one is worth gold. We can have good intentions from here to eternity. We can sincerely believe that we ought to invite a friend, to share about our most valued relationship with Jesus. We all have a deep desire to end the suffering in the world around us. Imagine how wonderful it would be if we really could abolish poverty. Every single one of us would dearly love to live in a country, a world that is more peaceful—where justice rules.

At least one of those things is probably something we might say “matters most” to us. If so, then here’s the best advice of all those self-help gurus. If you want something to happen, decide what steps you can take to start moving in that direction and put it in the schedule.

This is the season when most of our congregations are drafting our church calendars. We’re creating our schedules. If we’re truly honest when we look at those schedules, we should be able to see what matters most to us. If those mission initiatives truly resonate in our hearts, then we’ll be making every effort to create events, activities, space that will make something happen. Something that will make a difference in the community where our congregation is planted, where our people live and work and have their being.

How’s your calendar shaping up? Is it looking pretty much exactly as it always does? Have you considered how your fall dinner or your Christmas concert or you spring rummage sale are moving the world toward the abolition of poverty or the advancement of the cause of peace and justice? Because if we want those things to happen, we need to schedule them!

I know several of you have booked working sessions to spend some time working on What Matters Most and creating a strategy for your congregation. Good for you! Make sure your strategy includes some scheduling. Because what gets scheduled gets done.

Posted by Marion

Bubble

A conversation I had this morning brought to mind this “other” meaning for the word bubble. This is not the lovely, airy bit of nothing that I recommend you blow from time to time just because you need to feel good. No. I’m thinking about how easy it is for us to live in a bubble these days—and how important it is to get ourselves out of there, should it happen.

Despite a world that gets smaller and smaller and every community becoming more and more diverse, some of us react by retreating into a bubble. By this I mean that we surround ourselves with people just like us who think exactly as we do and we put up a wall that keeps out anything that might disturb our personal peace.

I do understand why many people really prefer to “live in a bubble.” My morning newscast is full of tragedy, both local and global. Some days I am one of those people who choose just not to listen. But I do get troubled when more and more of the folks around me have no idea what’s going on in the world and whose response to every conversation is “I never listen to the news.”

This becomes even easier as we choose which of our friends to pay attention to on facebook, or narrow our news sources to only those we’re sure to agree with.

My concern today is that one of the critical Mission Initiatives we’ve signed up for is “Pursue peace on earth.” Seems to me that if I’m to pursue Christ’s mission of justice and peace, I need to engage in some effort to know what the issues are. How will I contribute to causes of justice if I never allow myself to hear the stories of need, or to understand how this or that solution might help?

During the next several months we’re going to be invited into a conversation that will culminate in a national conference. Between now and June 2012 there will be opportunities to be a part of a process to engage as many of us as possible in discerning the direction for the years to come. It’s going to be a conversation about compassion and justice; and it’s not going to be easy.

I’m sorry to report that I’ve heard far too many folks who’ve elected (so far) to remain in the bubble on this topic. They think they’ve said and heard all they’re willing to say and hear and they intend to just remain on the sidelines until it’s all over. Please don’t be one of those bubble folk.

There are many exciting things that can and will come from this national conference experience. Not least of them will be a kind of “test run” to engage Canadians in more of these nation-wide conversations about issues and questions of special concern to us in this country. Can we, as Canadian members of Community of Christ contribute a perspective for the global church? We’ll never know if we allow ourselves to remain in our bubbles.

Posted by Marion

Quiet

Things have been on the quiet side around here lately. It is summer after all, and several of us have been off to reunions and camps. Some have even had some vacation time! The phone rings less frequently and when it does there is often some surprise on the other end of the line as callers expect to be greeted by the message system. While they are usually (but not always) pleased to have a “real” person, one gets the impression that they really wouldn’t mind if they have to wait a bit to get the response they’re after. It is summer after all.

I’ve noticed a couple of the messages I did receive ended with the disclaimer: “we’re leaving for two weeks, so I don’t need that information until we get back” and “there’s no hurry on this one; whenever you get a chance. I’ll be on holiday until…”

Of course there are many things that are not so quiet. There are riots in England; there are economic crises everywhere. Births and deaths and personal catastrophes go on as usual. Even the summer season brings concern as droughts and famines and floods and earthquakes don’t take holidays.

But I noted with interest, one of the “experts” called by the radio news person to give comment about the London riots explained that “she’d been on vacation and not following events too closely” and was thus not entirely prepared to give an opinion on that specific event.

There does seem to be a seasonal rhythm that just happens. Is it a built-in need that human beings and human systems need? It really appears to be impossible to operate on full-speed all the time. Sometimes we just need to slow down, take some quiet time, observe a sabbath. It’s one of the principles we try to recognize here on our team. We’ve had it brought urgently to our attention that if you keep running too fast, too far and too long, your own body will shut your down whether you like it or not. It’s a lesson we work hard at helping each other to remember.

So here’s my point; or at least one possible point. It’s likely much better to plan for these quiet times than to have them thrust upon you. And the planning may incorporate a way to ensure that someone is at least “on call” for those times when urgent life also happens. Otherwise we find ourselves all lost and at sea when the call just can’t wait.

Congregations that regularly shut down for the summer may find it very difficult to get back into an “all systems GO” stage come autumn. By all means take your vacations, but make sure you’ve got your bases covered and are ready to move back into (what Carman has called) making your Mission Real status when the time is right.

Now please excuse me; I want to go put my feet up.

Posted by Marion

Real

There is a heading in the Mission Initiatives brochure that has stayed with me. That heading is Mission Made Real. The phrase resonates with me because it so clearly and succinctly states what we as a church are called to do. To make mission real means to transform an idea into practical expression. It is to take it out of the realm of the merely theoretical, a good idea we reflect on from time to time, and make it an actual, physical, living expression of that idea.

Making the theoretical real is not a new idea. It is sometimes referred to as incarnation or transformation. In its grand, theological sense, it is what Jesus has done in demonstrating the nature of God. It is why we say he is the “Word made flesh.”

Making Mission Real is the task the Christian community is always called to. This call may take different forms in different ages, but it always remains before us. How can we take the words or ideas and make them a real, physical, living expression of God’s love and will for creation? It is the task that is before us now.

To merely hear or read the words and not deeply reflect on their meaning, to do nothing, is to ignore the gentle but urgent call of the Divine. In some extreme cases, we may want to run away to avoid that call, rather like Jonah seeking to avoid his mission to Nineveh. But the call of God is persistent, and the task is always before us. Every Christian and especially every congregation is faced with the challenge. The questions become, how shall we Invite People to Christ? How can our congregation Abolish Poverty and End Suffering? How shall we Promote Peace on Earth? And, as always, the questions continue.

The need to make mission real is what lies behind the five goals of the CEM 2020 Vision. It is the call of the five mission initiatives articulated by President Veazey in his April 10th sermon. It is the task that lies before every congregation. How shall we respond?

Posted by Carman

Conversations

I had a conversation the other day with one of our Mission Advocates. Our conversation was about conversations. He shared with me that when he first accepted the MA job, he really didn’t understand what he was supposed to do.

Oh he got the message about how important is it for us all to be engaged in “doing mission” and that “what matters most” is indeed a call to be about Christ’s business in the communities where we live and work. He very much got that we need to be about responding to God’s call to be working in the world, inviting people into community, working at compassionate ministry. He loves the notion of making the world a place that is more about peace and justice.

But he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do—as a Mission Advocate!

We talked some more about the things he has been trying. He’s had any number of conversations with pastors and other folks who’ve sought him out, because of course, now he has a title and a job and must be able to help them. And they’ve talked about their hopes and concerns for their congregations or their families or the world we live in.

He shared with me how he’d attended some gatherings. One was with a group of folks who’d come to listen to what the Apostle had to tell them. He was glad to have heard her preach, but the best part of that gathering, he reported to me, was the afternoon before that was just an extended conversation with the people who’d come to listen to her. Then he told me that he’d even had a chance to talk with other people who’d been there and that those conversations were even better. Thinking about what they’d heard and then talking some more had deepened the experience for them.

“We weren’t worrying about who had been there and who hadn’t,” he reflected. “We just enjoyed our conversation.”

It was somewhere about here that our conversation took an unexpected turn.

“You know,” said this rookie Mission Advocate, “I’m beginning to think the answer to my own question about what I’m supposed to do is right here. I’m supposed to get people to talk to each other. Not come to listen to someone—either me, or the Mission President, or even the Apostle. My job is to get us all into meaningful conversations with each other. As I look back over the past few months, the richest and deepest and most important times have been the conversations I’ve had with people.”

It might be a bit counter-cultural. People always seem to want to just come and hear what some expert has to say. We try to think of activities that others will find worth attending, things that will entertain or enlighten. But when we look back don’t we always say “wasn’t it great just to get together and talk?”

If we truly care about mission, then our conversations will move us in that direction. At least that’s what we thought, that afternoon, as we were talking.

Posted by Marion

Staycation

It really is a genuine word. In the dictionary and everything. Even though it’s not been around very long. According to our good friends at Wikipedia the word was first coined on that great Canadian tv show “Corner Gas” in 2005 and was taken officially into the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in 2009! Once again, Canadian comics impact the universe.

Staycations grew out of major economic problems, low monetary rates, high gas prices. It just got too expensive to travel for holidays and families en masse were deciding to just stay home and take advantage of the attractions in their own backyards.

So what’s the difference, some may ask, between this staycation and just hanging around home being bored because you can’t afford to take a real vacation? And the answer, of course, is attitude, That and intention. If you just sit on the couch and feel deprived, it isn’t a real staycation at all. You must make a plan, whether it’s to put your picnic lunch in a basket and take it to the park on the corner, or you decide to spend the whole day blowing bubbles in the wading pool in your own backyard, your holiday attitude makes all the difference. Put on your sun hats and your sun screen, pack sandwiches and juice boxes in your back pack and hike to the municipal museum. It’s only twelve blocks and you’ve never been there!

See what I mean?

It’s quite similar to our conversation the other day about “Ordinary time.”

You could feel sorry that you couldn’t get the time off to go to reunion this summer (because that’s where all the really spiritual stuff happens) or you could strike up a conversation with that person who always seems to be sitting alone in the coffee shop. Maybe they need a friend. Could be they’re new in the neighbourhood and hoping to meet somebody too. Look around and really see who needs a friendly connection.

What might you do to be intentional about your discipleship during this ordinary, stay at home time? What’s going on right there in your own neighbourhood that needs some attention? Can you see anyone already working to abolish poverty and end suffering? What peace and justice projects are happening right there in your community that need you to pitch in? Human need doesn’t take a vacation.

Too often, I think, we wish someone else would come along. We long for more active young adults to turn up on our congregation or community. We think we should invite the apostle or the seventy to visit us and “turn things around” in our struggling congregation. Heaven forbid we’re waiting for fall when congregational life cranks back into action.

I’m suggesting we put on a good positive “staycation outlook” and start making things happen ourselves. After all, we already live here. Let’s exercise our initiative and get things growing. It’s the green season!

Posted by Marion

The Merrie Bande

Somewhere along the line, our fine group of Bishops in CEM got dubbed the Merrie Bande, or more properly, the Merrie Bande of Bishops. The title is appropriate. From time to time, they have also laughingly been referred to as “the pointy hat people”. Further, since two of their members began their spiritual journey in the Catholic church before migrating to Community of Christ, they are sometimes referred to as the “former Catholic Bishops.” As you can see, this group knows how to have fun when they are together.

Some people have a stereotypical image of Bishops as this group of staid, boring, bean counters, but when our group comes together, you see a very different picture. What you see is a group of ministers with a heart for helping people. Each has their own specialty, or in other words, each has different gifts. One has specialized in oblation assistance. Another is an expert at financial records. One or more has a passion for Good $ense ministry, and so on. They are a wonderful asset to our mission centre, and a great resource to our people.

Today (Wednesday) the Merrie Bande comes together to discuss another aspect of their role in our collective mission. Together we will discuss the Mission Initiatives President Veazey recently opened to the church, and how the Bishops can help the church be about the task. We will discuss how to use some new tools the church has provided, and ways of sharing those with you, the church.

I am looking forward to this day, not because the Merrie Bande will laugh together although they will. I am excited because this wonderful group of people with a heart for ministry and a specialized calling will get new tools with which to minister. What a wonderful thing to anticipate. Its going to be a beautiful day.

Posted by Carman

Mothers

It is very nice to receive the calls, the cards, the carnations—maybe even the breakfast in bed and a “by” on the dishes. “No Mom, you sit down, it’s Mother’s Day.”

Whatever the family traditions I’m OK with them. I have some concerns about some of the traditions that have found their way into our worship practices. Some folks much smarter and more sensitive than I have explored a few of the traps we may fall into there. Here’s one of the best I’ve read.

In my researching I did discover some interesting and challenging facts about the historic origins of this day. Daughter Anna Jarvis wanted to memorialize her mother’s lifetime of efforts on behalf of disadvantaged children and mothers in mid-nineteenth century West Virginia mills and factories. She was shocked by the horrific conditions people, particularly women and children, were enduring. Crowded housing and working conditions, disease, malnutrition, children forced to work at the expense of their education and any hope for a decent future.

Jarvis undertook to organize what she called “Mother’s Day Clubs” bringing other women to work in relief actions and to pressure factory owners and government to reduce the suffering and pass laws to make significant changes to work as well as food safety and disease control practices.

During the American Civil War the model of the Mothers’ Day Club was used to mobilize volunteers to go into field hospitals, onto battle fields, tending to the sons of North or South who were being wounded and maimed by this most cruel conflict.

It was out of this latter experience Julia Ward Howe stepped up to advocate for a national day to promote the objectives of these two movements. She believed that mothers could best understand the desperate need to end such conflicts, to fight for peace in word and in deed. And in the shadow of WWI, President Wilson agreed and instituted this national day in recognition of the Mothers whose chief goals were peace and justice, ending the conditions that took untold lives by war or in tragic exploitation by cruel industrialists.

Unfortunately, the end of the First World War also saw the rise of commercialism and of advertising. Mothers’ Day was one of the “victims” of this development. Within fifteen years of its institution, Anna Jarvis’ daughter lamented that she had ever allowed her mother’s efforts to be associated with the day that had been co-opted by those commercial influences.

She despaired that the day she hoped would mobilize the voices of caring women had lost its focus and become another spectacle of shopping and feasting. I think Anna Jarvis would be pleased if we truly take up the Mission Initiatives to “abolish poverty, end suffering and pursue peace on earth.”

Oh yes, I love to hear from my kids and grandkids on Mother’s Day, but I am so very proud that all of them are doing things with their lives to end suffering and pursue peace. That is the best gift!

Posted by Marion

Puzzle

A couple of weeks ago, we had a discussion on What’s the Good Word around a post entitled Voice. That blog attempted to address some of the reasons why our collective voice has grown somewhat quiet (if not silent) in recent years. The piece ended with the statement, “It is time we found our voice.”

Of course the critical thing is not just having a voice, but how we use it. The essential question is, what should our voice say? Since our understanding has grown to the point where we are clearly no longer comfortable in making outdated claims about being the “one true church” (and probably never should have been), what should we now proclaim? Recent inspired counsel to the church has called us to invite, but exactly what are we inviting people to?

All of this reminds me of a family doing a jigsaw puzzle. It is at that point when we are nearly finished, and searching the floor for that one piece that has gone missing. Where did it go? It must be here somewhere. Is it possible that President Veazey’s address to the church last Sunday night has pointed us towards the missing piece? In fact, it seems to me he has pointed it out rather clearly.

In truth, the piece has been in front of us all along. It was lying right there in our mission statement; “We Proclaim Jesus Christ and Promote Communities of Joy, Hope, Love and Peace.” But what did that mean, exactly? What do we mean by communities of joy hope love and peace? If that is what our congregations are supposed to be, how do we do that?

The fact is that we were not seeing that piece of the puzzle very clearly. The piece was there, but perhaps it matched the carpet so closely we couldn’t see it without bringing in a little more light. Now that much needed light has been provided by the Mission Initiatives, and lo and behold, here is the missing piece lying right there before us.

We invite people to Christ, and to be part of a community that is trying to abolish poverty, end suffering, and pursue peace on earth.

What a wonderful picture this is!

Posted by Carman