Jul-Sept 2017 “From the Desk of…” Archives:
July 10: Time to Create Our “Family” Portrait
July 17: It’s All About the Journey
July 24: Hands and Feet
July 31: Is It Too Much To Ask?
August 7: Give Them Something To Eat
August 21: Solar Eclipse or “Soul-ar” Eclipse?
August 28: Will We Ever Learn?
September 4: Take Note
September 11: If a Tree Falls…
September 18: Hard Words to Hear
September 25: Time For a Culture Change
For the week of September 25th, 2017
While watching the news this morning, I picked up part of an interview with Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, in which he was promoting his new book. I haven’t read it, so I won’t put in a plug for it. You’ll have to do that yourself. But here’s what I can share from the interview…
Nadella was asked why empathy plays such a big role in his business cultural model (a model that has proven to be very successful), and he said it had a lot to do with another interview in his life…his first interview for a job at Microsoft. He said that the last question he was asked was, “If you saw a small child fall in the road, what would you do?” Nadella says that after a couple of seconds he responded by saying, “I guess I’d call 911.” To which the interviewer got up and left the room. Nadella says he later found out that the correct answer was “to pick her up and give her a hug.” Not exactly what you’d expect in the “dog eat dog” world of corporate competitive culture. And yet, Nadella said it changed his way of thinking…and helped him see the value of a culture of empathy.
I couldn’t help but relate that to our setting in the church. For hundreds of years (actually thousands of years) the Body of Christ has sought to find its place…to create an identity…to make its mark on the world…to establish its moral authority. In many ways, this search has led to the drawing of lines in the sand where strict righteousness codes have been created and biblical laws have been defined. Those codes and laws, in turn and for all intents and purposes, have become the basis for many “911 calls” in the church.
Here’s what I mean… when someone breaks a church code or law (that’s right, I said church code or law…not even necessarily a God code or law), all good Christians have been taught to CALL 911! Call the authorities…point fingers…pass judgement…offer advice and counsel…demand repentance… chastise…
But what if our first response was simply to “pick them up” and give them a hug? What if we always chose to love instead of judge…offer forgiveness instead of demanding repentance…encourage instead of chastise…use our fingers (and hands) to lift up rather than point out? I can’t help but see in Jesus’ example that very way of being. Then, in the midst of empathetic and authentic relationship, those he encountered found the strength and the will to live in the ways he himself embodied and desired of his followers.
If our understanding of Christian “culture” is lacking in empathy, understanding, grace, and forgiveness…then perhaps it’s time for a culture change.
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of September 18th, 2017
Last night, President Veazey shared a truth with the church that was hard to hear. We heard the hard truth that has come because of continued downward trends in giving coupled with the shrinking numbers in church attendance…the budget being prepared for fiscal year 2019 will have to be $5 million less than that approved for fiscal year 2018. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any tighter, we face another round of staff cuts, service reductions, and consequently…worldwide outreach with the Gospel message.
In the closing prayer of a webcast held for staff earlier in the day, Bishop Cramm referenced Jesus’ words on the cross when he asked, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”…acknowledging that in our darkest moments, we may ask a similar question regarding the church. But even as she said those words, I was assured that just as God had not forsaken Jesus on the cross, God has not forsaken us. If anything, it is the church (the Community of Christ and the Church universal) who I believe risks forsaking God when we take for granted all the blessings that we have experienced…all that we have…and call it ours. Does not all that has been created (including our gifts and talents and abilities with which we obtain the money to acquire many of the blessings we have) ultimately belong to God?
I confess that in years past, I gave to God from my abundance (a.k.a. my leftovers). I shared the belief that I worked hard to have what I have, and I “deserve” to indulge a little. I didn’t want to distinguish between wants and needs. I even participated in the practice of using my money as a “weapon” of sorts…giving financial support to the things that made me feel good, and withholding financial support when things weren’t going my way.
I decided several years ago to change my behavior in hopes that my attitude would soon follow…and it did. I can happily add my voice to those who witness of the increased blessings that come as a result of first fruits giving. When I let my giving become an act of worship rather than an obligation…when I gave because I wanted to rather than because what others might think of me if they saw me let the offering plate pass by…I experienced a new joy and freedom.
Even so, I understand when people say they have grown weary of hearing the pleas for money. It is hard to hear the words, “You need to give more,” or “you need to be more generous.” The truth is sometimes hard to hear.
Perhaps these words will be easier to hear: (I know they were for me!)
“I have not forsaken you…do not forsake me…feed my sheep!”
Note to self…the best way to feed them is with “first fruits.”
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of September 11th, 2017
So much is going on in our world every day that it is easy to miss something significant because something more pressing is capturing the headlines. It’s as if a tree has fallen and no one was around to hear it.
The following is taken from a website called “Ministry Matters,” and was posted on Sept. 12th. It was written by Reverend Kira Schlesinger – an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Tennessee. I share it because it speaks truth to how we ought to prioritize our message:
At the end of August, as Hurricane Harvey was flooding southeast Texas, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood launched a slick, well-designed website containing their newly-released Nashville Statement, a “Christian manifesto” on marriage, same-sex relationships, and transgender individuals. While the views of the conservative evangelical organization are not new or surprising, the Nashville Statement appears to be a line in the sand, something that the writers and signers have compared to the Barmen Declaration (a document adopted by Christians in Nazi Germany who opposed the Deutsche Christen movement) and other Christian statements named after the places where they were written.
Per their Danvers Statement from 1987, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood was formed, in part, in opposition to the feminist movement and affirms the complementary view of gender roles. Likewise, this Nashville Statement claims it is written in response to the increasingly post-Christian nature of the Western world and what they see as a “massive revision of what it means to be a human being.” The signers include such evangelical heavyweights as John Piper, Russell Moore, and James Dobson.
In a series of fourteen Articles, the Nashville Statement defines marriage as between one man and one woman, affirms chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within, affirms the distinct and divinely ordained differences between men and women and links these to reproductive structures, and mandates chastity for people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex. In Article X, the statement explicitly states that those who “approve of homosexual immorality and transgenderism” are in sin and denies that this is a matter on which otherwise faithful Christians can “agree to disagree.”
While the other tenants of the Nashville Statement are neither new nor surprising in the conservative evangelical world, Article X caught my attention, particularly in terms of what this might mean for those of us in Mainline denominations who are trying to have difficult, faithful conversations about sexuality and gender identity. Not only was the Nashville Statement’s release painfully tone-deaf in light of the destruction wrought by Hurricane Harvey, it also seems to be a deliberate shutting-down of conversation with other Christians. If we can no longer “agree to disagree,” then what do we have?
In engaging in online discussions about the Nashville Statement, it became obvious that this was not only about sexuality. When I initially tweeted my criticism about it, the first people in my mentions had profiles with explicit white nationalist sentiments. Others remarked on the diminished moral authority of evangelicals to make statements like this in the age of Trump. As a straight, white woman priest in the Episcopal Church, this statement has no bearing on my own beliefs, but it does affect my ministry, particularly to those who come to my congregation out of conservative evangelical traditions and have been hurt and broken by statements like these.
My reaction to the Nashville Statement is mostly sadness and disappointment in my brothers and sisters in Christ. There is no doubt that the Church in all of her myriad denominations and forms will continue to struggle with and have challenging conversations around sexuality, sexual and gender identity, and the meaning and purpose of Christian marriage. This is not a time for lines in the sand but for faithful wrestling, for hard, generous conversations, for listening to those who have been marginalized by the Church.
The Church also faces diminished relevancy in a world wracked by massive wealth inequality, suffering, and fear, in a world that is desperate for the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is hard to imagine the Nashville Statement changing anyone’s mind towards the position of its writers, particularly those outside the Church. It seems more likely that on-lookers will once again conclude that the Church is more obsessed with the speck in our neighbor’s eye than with the plank in our own.
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of September 4th, 2017
So much has taken place in the last couple of weeks that has my mind moving in a million directions, but ultimately ending up at… “As a disciple of Jesus Christ…what is my responsibility and what is my response-ability?” What demands does discipleship place on my life and what limitations are placed on me by my abilities/inabilities?
Honestly, I think these are questions we should have been asking every day since our baptism if not sooner! As a missional church guided by specific Mission Initiatives and Enduring Principles (such as we are), we simply cannot avoid asking the questions, seeking the answers, and responding accordingly.
No doubt, to be alive in this day and age, is to be confronted daily with crisis, chaos, criticism, and challenge…a full “plate” for a conscientious disciple. Whether it’s flooding in Houston or South Asia, war in Afghanistan or gang killings in Chicago, political battles from Springfield to Washington D.C. to Korea, people living in poverty next door or in remote villages in Africa, the removal of young immigrants from our county or the removal of old monuments from public places…turmoil abounds, and the call for a Christ-like response is massive.
But there is good news! To be alive in sacred community (especially when authentically lived out in accordance with the initiatives and principles upheld by the Community of Christ), is to have at our disposal the resources of love, grace, welcome, inclusion, diversity, hospitality, abundance, blessing, and divine guidance (just to name a few) … all of which can serve to balance the scale!
Here is an example…
Without knowing it or putting a title on it, people in Texas created that type of “sacred” community time and again in response to Harvey. I heard one newscaster say that it didn’t seem to matter to people whether a Democrat, or Republican, or Muslim, or Christian, or African American, or Gang member stood beside them in the efforts to save lives…it only mattered that they stood together! They didn’t stop to ask or to judge or to point fingers. They simply responded as human beings…ordinary people responding in extraordinary ways.
Disciples take note!!
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of August 28th, 2017
Estimates of total rainfall in Texas and Louisiana as a result of Harvey range from 16 trillion gallons to 24.5 trillion gallons. If we take a number somewhere in the middle…say…19 trillion, the equivalent rainfall would raise the level of all five of the Great Lakes by almost 12 inches, or fill 28.8 million olympic size swimming pools. Given those numbers, it may not matter whether you build your house on a rock or on the sand…unless the rock is really big and/or really high up.
People who have been paying close attention to environmental trends don’t seem to be too surprised when catastrophes such as this occur. They say we have perhaps pushed the boundaries of our expansion…insisting to live on water ways, beach fronts, flood plains, etc. No doubt, many of those places provide unbeatable views…a literal paradise most of the time. But bad weather isn’t something that just started happening, nor is it proof of the wrath of God for the sins of the world. It is part of the cycle of life.
Regardless of your opinion or stance on the truth (or lack thereof) of global warming, it’s hard to deny that there are limits to what nature will allow. I wonder if we will ever learn, or if we’ll continue to wonder why God would “allow” such things to happen and, as a consequence, bring about so much loss.
I’m not sure that the cloud that we have come to know as Harvey has a silver lining, and I can’t say with assurance what God will or will not allow. However, I am certain that a silver lining has been created in the midst of (and aftermath of) this and other crisis situations because of what God has done in the hearts of many in this country. A have been a country that has been divided for many months over politics, politicians, and all that has gone with them. And yet, people from all faiths and walks of life have come together once again in amazing ways.
Do we really need 19+ trillion gallons of water to fall on a metropolitan area…killing and/or displacing thousands of people in order to learn the power that we have to do so much more when we work together…when we look beyond race, religion, economic status, political affiliation, etc…when we admit that we are all vulnerable at some time or other and are in need of community?
Will we ever learn?
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of August 21st, 2017
This week, many if not all of us experienced the solar eclipse that crossed the United States from coast to coast. People stood in long lines to get special glasses with which to watch the eclipse. Others traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to be in the right place to get the best view possible. And the whole thing…from the time it was first seen on the West Coast until the last view of it on the East coast…took only a little over 1 ½ hours.
It was kind of like a family gathering for a holiday meal…hours of preparation (invitations, announcements, planning, decorations, “holiday” apparel, food prep, long travel days, etc.) culminating in a grand meal that typically lasts less than an hour. However, like a family gathering, most everyone goes away with a sense of contentment/satisfaction and a lot of good memories.
All of this to see something block the sun. Perhaps the Cleveland and Seattle Chambers of Commerce ought to take note, as both of those cities (and I’m sure others) have the sun “eclipsed” by cloudy skies most days of the year. I know…I know…it’s much more of a phenomenon when the moon does it…I’m just sayin’…
The reality is, I am grateful for the astronomers and scientists who had the wisdom and foresight to see the eclipse coming and to provide people with ample time to make adequate preparations to experience this “once-in-a-lifetime” event. Wouldn’t it be nice if the “eclipse” we sometimes experience as Christ’s disciples (that which happens when something in our lives blocks our view of the Son) happened only once in a lifetime…or, better yet, not at all? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could see it coming and either go to a place where the view is better or prepare ourselves for the dimming that occurs?
Unfortunately, eclipses happen with regards to the sun as well as the Son. The good news is that eclipses are not forever. They do pass, and there is the promise of light on the other side. If/when you experience a “Soul-ar” eclipse…know that you are covered by a grace that is more powerful than any protective glasses, and rest assured that the darkness will soon pass!
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of August 14th, 2017
That’s the whimsical thought that crossed my mind while recently reviewing a personalized insurance policy with an actuarial table that expires in the year 2077.
I am writing this during the last few days of my 61st birthday. So that that notion literally translates into this: I’m at the halfway point of my life!
You may quash the notion of living 122 years, but wait, not so fast! Don’t discount what good nutrition and exercise can do. Also consider the fast-moving front of medical technology and research.
I’ll probably have parts that need to be repaired or replaced– after all, the Newtonian laws of cause and effect still hold sway. But that won’t stop me from enjoying the second half of my life.
I enjoyed every job I ever had during my working life. But I always retained this thought, “I can’t wait to retire to get on with my life!” I recently retired and that thought is now my M.O.
Do I really believe I’m going to live to 122? Well, let me put it this way: I’m certainly going to live each day with that in mind!
The preacher in Ecclesiastes perhaps said it best. ‘God has made everything beautiful in its time and has set eternity into the human heart. I know there is nothing better for people, than to be happy and do good while they live. That each one of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in their toil– this is the gift of God.”
I accept that gift!
– Roger Hintzsche
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For the week of August 7th, 2017
I should be having Pastor Ash write this week’s blog, because it is her inspiring sermon on Matthew 14 that has me thinking this week…
When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds
away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give
them something to eat.”
I have read that passage many times, and have even recently studied it at our Tuesday night Bible Study in Libertyville…and yet, Pastor Ash has opened my heart to a new way to hear this passage. Commentaries suggest that part of the reason Jesus would have discouraged sending the people away to get their own food had to do with the “price” they would have to pay for food in the villages. Many would have had to barter or work for their food, and what Jesus had to offer came at no cost. Makes sense, right?
As you know, I have spent a great deal of time in prayer and conversation regarding how and “to what” the Chicago mission center was being called. I have been troubled by a couple of things. First, I am troubled by the thought that Community of Christ might not be missed (or missed only for a short time) in Chicago if we closed all of our doors. Second, I am troubled by the fact that the communities in which our churches exist are often not the communities in which we live. And finally, I am troubled by the fact that the city whose name we share needs the very things we offer…and yet we most often offer those things only to those who enter our doors. Meanwhile, people are fleeing our towns and suburbs…searching for what they cannot find.
How often do we leave our communities to get something to eat…to buy gas…to get our sugary drinks without paying extra taxes…to buy clothing and other essentials? When we do, we limit the ability of our communities to thrive and to become something better for all who reside there. Businesses close and jobs are lost. Schools lose funding and children suffer.
Of course, we have to decide which communities we are going to “feed” … the ones we in which we live or the ones in which we worship. Perhaps it’s time to ask God. Perhaps it’s time to see where God is calling us to serve, and not just default to a place because of a building. Only then can we determine who the “them” is that we are supposed to “give something to eat.” By our absence in those places, we are in effect sending the “crowds” away to fend for themselves.
Let’s pray together for God to lead us to the “deserted places” where he is waiting to perform miracles with the little bit of “bread and fish” we have to offer up for a blessing. It may cost us a little more up front, but the return on investment in the communities to which God has called us and in which our churches have the opportunity to live out Christ’s mission is priceless.
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of July 31st, 2017
Jesus told the rich man, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Matt 9) Then, a few chapters later, he told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (Matt 16) Is that too much to ask? Sell everything…deny yourself…take up your cross…
A couple of days ago, I received a copy of a letter put out by the National Council of Churches on behalf of Congregate Charlottesville, a group of pastors and faith leaders who are working together to counteract racism and hate in their community. The letter was an invitation to clergy (especially white clergy) from across the United States to come to Charlottesville, VA on August 12 to “stand up” to the white supremacists that will be gathering in their community for a rally to protest the city’s decision to remove Confederate monuments from their public parks. They are hoping to have 1000 clergy join them on that day. Is that too much to ask?
As I read the opening lines of the letter, I couldn’t help but think about Jesus’ calls to action throughout the gospels. I also couldn’t help but think about all of the people who suffer daily from the effects of racism and all of the other “isms” in the world…some of whom are members of, or live right in the middle of, our mission center. And I was ready to pack my bags and go…until I got to the part that said, “[we] have concluded that there is an extremely high potential for physical violence and brutality directed at our community [as a result of this event].” The letter also mentioned that at a recent rally, “non-violent community members standing against racial hatred were met with chemical weapons, military vehicles, and hundreds of militarized police, some carrying grenade launchers and automatic weapons.” And I thought…that’s too much to ask! I have a family to think about. What if something were to happen to me?
It scares me to think that this is the world we live in…but it is. And we don’t have to go all the way to Virginia to see this kind of thing. It’s happening just down the street!! I have to be honest… I don’t have an answer… but I know we have to be willing to ask the question and seriously consider our answer before simply responding with a “yes” or a “no”! My bags are not packed, and I will not be going to the rally in Virginia. But it begs the question… is it too much to ask? This time, for me, it IS too much to ask, but now I have to wonder… where do I draw the line? What isn’t too much to ask?
How about you?
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of July 24th, 2017
“Where is the Ark when you need one?”
I’m sure this was on at least a few people’s mind in the last couple of weeks as the rains continue to come and the rivers continue to rise. Thousands of people along the Fox river have suffered loss due to those rains and those floods…not to mention the wind and hail and other accompanying weather phenomenon.
But in the midst of the storm, a ray of light shone…and it wasn’t coming from the sky… or a city on a hill…or a church. It was shining brightly in the Algonquin, IL Public Works Department garage as hundreds of men, women, and children from all walks of life, a vast diversity of faith communities, and, yes, even some who were probably “un-churched” gave anywhere from an hour to a whole day to participate in the relief effort. Work assignments were not assigned according to gender, or age, or race, or lifestyle, or faith. Some checked in new volunteers…some filled sand bags…some tied off the bags…some loaded the bags onto tractors and trailers…some distributed water bottles and snacks to the workers…some simply provided encouragement to other more able-bodied persons. All worked together to fulfill a need.
It is not unusual for folks to respond in times of crisis…to do what needs to be done. As a matter of fact, it is often in these times that people come together in ways they might not otherwise. I couldn’t help but think of how wonderful it would be if we didn’t have to wait for a flood, or a hurricane, or a terrorist attack to live as if there are no walls…as if there are only hands and feet and eyes and ears caring so deeply about others that the common need for love and community, safety and security, trumps the need to live in our silos.
Let’s face it, crises come in all shapes and sizes… loneliness…broken relationships…job loss…teenage suicide…human trafficking…and the list goes on. There is need all around us. And, where there is need, there is the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus…the body of Christ. Maybe you are unable to lift a shovel to fill a sandbag…or too weak to lift those sandbags into a trailer, but I bet you are able to offer a word of encouragement…share a drink of cold water…or just be present with someone who is experiencing the rise of “flood waters” in their life.
How will you be the hands and feet of Jesus this week…a ray of light to someone experiencing a “storm?” If you can’t think of an answer to that question, pray the mission prayer:
God, where will your Spirit lead today. Help me be fully awake and ready to
respond. Grant me courage to risk something new and become a blessing of
your love and peace. Amen.
The answer will come?
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of July 17, 2017
we meet on the way. Appreciation is a wonderful feeling, don’t overlook it.”
(Source unknown)
At family camp this past weekend, we had an incredible opportunity to enter a journey together using paint and canvases, imagination and creativity, hopes and dreams. When it was time to begin, those who had gathered took their place at one of 18 canvases with 3-4 other persons from around the mission center…some with great anticipation and others with absolute fear and trepidation. The age spectrum of participants was broad (from 5 to 83), as was their artistic abilities. Luckily, the point of our time together was the “journey” of storytelling, rather than the “destination” of Louvre worthy art pieces. Our purpose was to work together to create beautiful art that represents us…God’s children in this place and time…that is more than worthy to hang in God’s house.
Not long after we hung the canvases together on the wall to form a mural or sorts, people began to come and see what we had done together. They pointed out things in the paintings they had helped to create, and pointed to things they saw and interpreted in the creations of others. Conversations started up, and stories hidden in the paint began to be unveiled. What seemed to one person to be a “mess,” became something special as they saw it through the eyes of another.
This is great analogy of what ought to happen as we gather in sacred communities across the mission center, formed by the common story of Christ’s unconditional love and grace. It is in sacred community where the stories behind the “paint” (a.k.a. masks) are unveiled. It is where the beauty and special worth of “messy” people are brought to light. It is the place where we are able to view the world through the eyes of others, and see with new perspective and expanded lenses. It is where the children of God journey together…grow together…share together…pray together…care together…laugh together…cry together…love together…and experience welcome and inclusion together.
The canvases that were painted in community may not be perfect, but neither are we or the people whom we are called to invite into community. The canvases remind us of who we are and the ways in which we can grow and improve. Our story is still being written and the canvases of our lives are still being painted. Let’s make sure not to get so focused on the destination that we forget to take the time to appreciate the journey with all its messiness and imperfections. There is lots of beauty to be found in the process if we will only open our hearts to see it.
Blessings,
Blake
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For the week of July 10, 2017
When I was a kid, we called it “Reunion,” that week every summer where people from all over our district and/or region (now mission centers) would come together at our campgrounds for a multi-generational camp. Friends we hadn’t seen since the last reunion would be there, and we would pick up where we left off…as forever friends and extended family. Don’t hold me to this, but I believe that the reason it was called Reunion for so many years is because it grew out of a tradition that was started in the church to allow people to gather in the years between World Conferences. It would seem that saints of old liked being together…can you imagine?
The gatherings were significant in that they created space for persons of all ages to come together for worship and fellowship and learning. I remember evening services in the tabernacle (an outdoor pavilion with a red clay floor that doubled as a volleyball court when worship was over) at Bluff Springs Campgrounds in McDavid, FL. Being at those evening worships was probably the closest thing to a good old-fashioned “Tent” Revival I’ve ever experienced. They were hot, and buggy, but the preaching was powerful, and the passion of the people was strong. (And, if we were good, there was a chance we’d get to have a night swim in the lake.
Unfortunately, time, circumstances, busy schedules, and shifting family dynamics have changed the face of Reunion. Lots of jurisdictions dropped the word “reunion” and replaced it with “family camp.” While some still gather for a full week, others…like us…gather for shorter periods. What we need to remember is that it is not the length of the gathering or the name of the gathering that matter, but the getting together and sharing in sacred community.
This weekend, folks from all over the Chicago mission center (and a few other outlying areas) will come together at Camp Quarryledge for our Family Camp. While there, we will have the opportunity to share in all of the traditional ways, and one exciting new way…through collaborative art!! We are going to write our story with paint and canvases. Though we create a snapshot of who we are every time we are together in our congregations, the “family portrait” that emerges from our experience will be something special because it will represent the rich diversity and amazing giftedness that we have inherent in our mission center when we join together. It will capture this moment in time as we seek to move forward in our call to be a part of Christ’s Mission. No other family portrait will be able to express the depth of who we are in the same way.
I pray that this will be only the beginning of the “family portrait” we will continue to “paint” as we journey together in Christ.
Blessings,
Blake
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