Posts by Communications

District News & Announcements – June 2016

District News & Announcements

June 2016

Did You Know: The Story of the Heifer Project

As told by W. E. Ickes, father of Ruth Brewer of the Dallas Center COB

The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was set up in 1943 by forty-four nations to relieve suffering caused by World War II.  The organization began to operate on a large scale in 1944.  UNRRA did it greatest work in the two years after WW II.  Food was distributed to save millions of persons from starvation.  

    The Heifer Project International which was organized by Dan West of the Church of the Brethren had already been started and had shipped a few cattle with the UNRRA program.  These went to Greece.  UNRRA was officially ended on June 30, 1947.  

    Ex Mayor La Guardia of New York was the head of the program.  I was able to hear LaGuardia speak at a meeting of the U.N.  He was very much interested in Heifer Project and said there was great need for more help in Europe.  He turned over what money was left from his program to H.P. to help pay for shipments which cost $165 per head by boat.  This was about the average price of a heifer here.  The H.P. committee had asked the U.S. Government to help pay for the transportation and it took some six months to decide if this was material aid or not.  They finally took it over and after the U. S. Government quit we had to ask the country who received the cattle to pay the transportation.  

    I was the representative for Iowa and adjoining states from 1945 to 1960.  The cattle were brought to our farm and when we had enough for a truckload, we had the cattle tested and then sent to New Windsor, Md.  Later we trucked them to a farm close to N.Y. in Pennsylvania.  I shipped one car load by rail from Iowa City to New Windsor.  Because the Amish people didn’t have quite a full load I took some from here.

   We received cattle from Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Dakota.  Heifer Project during that period shipped around thirteen thousand head with three thousand coming from the Midwest.  

    I accompanied 3 shipments to Europe.  The first trip I took 165 head and we had 16 calves born on the 18th day of the voyage to Naples, Italy.  The next two trips were to Germany in 1950 and 1953.   

    There still is an organization known the Heifer Project International and they have purchased a ranch near Little Rock, Arkansas, which contains 1200 acres.  There is also an agency at Goshen, IN, for the Northern States.  There was a shipment by air in 1975 of fifty head of Holstein heifers from Harrisburg, PA, for Amman, Jordan.  This shipment was sponsored by the Mennonite Central Committee.  The Goshen H.P.I. was responsible for putting it together.     

    I am thankful I am a member of the Church of the Brethren because they have proven the need to help others at home as well as abroad.  I spent a lot of hours in H.P. work and nothing I did gave me greater satisfaction.  I tried to show my appreciation by sharing my vision I had of Europe in schools, churches, and organizations of all kinds with colored slides and a message.  This was always very much appreciated.  

    I wonder why government officials never seems to get a vision  after they return from seeing Europe that there is a need here at home for cleaning up and for keeping up our railroads and rivers.  We have plenty of work here to do but people seem to take relief instead.  

    How would we act if we really loved our neighbors as ourselves?  Without faith, we have no driving force.  Love is the greatest undergirding of our peace program.

District Conference Announcements: June 2016

This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song: Looking Ahead to District Conference

Rhonda Pittman Gingrich, Moderator

Without our congregations and the members of our congregations, there would be no Northern Plains District.  It has been a privilege and blessing to travel around the district, worshipping with our congregations and engaging in conversation with our members. At the time of writing, I have been in twelve of our congregations and will visit at least four more before we gather for District Conference.  As we celebrate 150 years of ministry in the upper Midwest during District Conference, it will also be important to share the stories of our congregations. To that end, we are inviting congregations to participate in a number of projects.

Celtic/Story Crosses

When traveling in Ireland, one comes across large stone crosses in cemeteries, town squares, and parks. Carved into the face of these crosses are images that symbolize the life of the community. Some of the images depict biblical stories. Some of the images depict happenings in the particular community. All speak to the identity of the community. As I visit congregations, I am taking time to listen to their stories and together we are creating story crosses modeled after these  Celtic crosses. I encourage them to include stories from their life together, biblical passages that are foundational to their identity, and songs/hymns that give expression to their faith. As they share, either I record these stories with words inside an outline of a cross on a large piece of newsprint, or if there happens to be an artist in the congregation, they record these stories in images inside the outline of a cross. (See photos of examples.) These story crosses will be displayed at District Conference. If I am not scheduled to visit your congregation, I hope you will take some time to create a story cross and bring it with you to District Conference to be displayed with the others. It is truly amazing to hear about the particularities of each congregation and to see the emergence of common threads that bind us together.

Symbols of Congregational Ministry

The District Conference Planning Committee also invites each congregation to bring something that represents your congregational story to District Conference. These items will be used as part of the worship center created during worship on Friday evening. A member of your congregation will be asked to bring it forward at a particular point in the service and possibly share one sentence about what the item represents. The possibilities are endless. The item you choose to bring might be an historical artifact, it might be a piece of art, it might be a symbol of a long-time and continuous ministry in which you are engaged, it might be a symbol of new vitality.  Hopefully the selection of the item won’t be a unilateral decision made by the pastor or a small committee, but a decision made by the congregation as you reflect together about your story and the ways your story intersects with God’s story. Along with your item, please bring a printed paragraph that can be placed with your item describing in more detail why you chose this particular item and its significance within your congregational life.

150 Random Acts of Kindness

The District Conference Planning Committee also wants to remind congregations of the challenge to collectively engage in 150 random acts of kindness—or to put it another way, 150 acts of ministry—within your surrounding communities in the months leading up to District Conference. We are celebrating a significant milestone in our life together, but we don’t want to focus solely on the past. As God’s people we are part of a continuing story. What better way to celebrate that than to actually embody our identity as a “sent people” and to reach out in service to those in need. As you engage in your random acts of kindness, take pictures of your efforts.  Send your pictures and stories to Hannah Button-Harrison communications@nplains.org for publication in the district newsletter and possibly on the website AND bring a copy of your pictures to District Conference for inclusion in a collage that will celebrate the ways we are still engaged in vital ministry in the upper Midwest.

Leadership Development Musings: June 2016

Barbara Wise Lewczak, Minister of Leadership Development

I attend the denominations New Church Planting Conference this past weekend at Bethany with the theme “Hope Imagination Mission” with I Corinthians 3: 6, “I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God agave the growth” as the theme passage and focused on leadership in Church Planting in particular and the wider church in general.

The leadership was provided by Efrem Smith, President and CEO of World Impact, Mandy Smith, lead pastor University Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and several talented and gifted folks from our denomination

Over the next few months I will share some of what I learned during this conference.  This was by far one of my most meaningful, thought provoking, moving conferences I have attended.  I was deeply touched and moved by the experience.

Regarding “Healing Our Hope” Mandy Smith shared the following:

In ministry we have our wounds and hope is about healing our wounds by bringing our stories before God and see them as God sees them.  How we experience suffering and deep pain in our heart, like a breaking heart, a pain of the soul, a deep sadness, and hurt for the state of the community.

Mandy quoted Barbara Taylor Bradford as I paraphrase here-I have pain in my heart for the America Church for Christiandome.  I wondered if we as a church are longing for God or our intuitions.  If we just say we need God in one moment a healing can come and we realize that it was not a death pain but a birthing pain.  There are times when God can heal our story if we are obedient to the call from God. We can run towards the pain if there is a Spirit within us that helps us follow that call from God and then trust that that Spirit is availed to help us through.

I pray that we as the Northern Plains District can find a way to be there for each other to heal our pain and take all of our hurt, pain, doubts, fears, to God with that Spirit that is available to us all.  That we can be open to thinking of our pain as birthing pain and are open to what God has imagined for us in our ministries, in our congregations, in our communities, in the wider church. Open to keeping “hope” alive!  

Brothers and Sisters may we be there for each other in the weeks and months ahead praying for each other, loving each other, ministering to each other.  

Please contact Laura and/or Barbara with your thoughts and ideas about Leadership Development

Prayers to you all!

Holiness in our Midst: Session 45

SESSION XLV: ON TREES

A tree with meaning to me is a white oak growing near the shelter house and overlooking the lake at McFarland Park in Ames, IA. It honors the memory of fellow Nevada (IA) native Bill Horine, nature writer/photographer and outdoorsman. He passed away in 2014 at the age of 99.

I met Bill in 1994 at a master’s graduation party for his daughter Ruth Book. I asked him:” Do you think you can tell me how to respect the land?”  He said, “Well, I don’t think I can tell you, but I think I can show you.” He showed up in my driveway a week later, asking if I wanted to visit an ailing friend of his, an ash tree. For the next seven years, until I moved out of town, he imparted his wisdom as we drove around the area hunting for the geographical center of Iowa or visiting local parks.  He loved to point out eagles. He felt that I “needed” to see a half million birds at the same time and arranged for me to travel with his family to Desoto National Refuge near Missouri Valley. At 5 a.m., we crouched silently along the water’s edge and gazed in awe of the geese landing at sunrise. “We are only guests here on earth,” he was fond of saying.

Once I asked how I could thank him for all that he “showed” me. He said, “That’s easy. Plant a tree and think of me.” Remembering these words, his family and I planted the tree last year just in time to mark the first anniversary of his death (which, coincidentally, was on Thanksgiving Day!) A living legacy to a person who was mentor to many! This spring a rock will be placed next to the tree commemorating his life and work as an “Outdoor Photographer, Writer, Storyteller, and Conservationist…Inspiring generations to enjoy, value and care for the outdoors.”

STORY CIRCLE PROMPT: Share about a tree that has meaning for you.

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection.

2.   Write about a tree that has meaning for you. Where is it? When and why was it planted? How are you connected to it? Do you visit it?

FOR GROUP STUDY:

1.   Read aloud Session XLV.   
2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

[View Past Sessions Here]

Note: Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com.

Message from the Moderator – Our Story, Our Song: Cross

Our Story, Our Song: Cross

Rhonda Pittman Gingrich, Moderator

Throughout the Biblical Story, God repeatedly reminds the people to remember the Story. As God’s people, it is important for us to remember and tell God’s Story and to sing the songs of our faith—in good times and in bad times—so we don’t forget who we are and whose we are. When we forget who we are and whose we are, when we fail to remember and tell God’s Story and to sing the songs of our faith, we run the risk of allowing our identity and lives to be shaped by the prevailing stories of society. God’s Story must not simply be remembered (recited and heard), it must be re-membered (pieced together and retold ways that connect intimately with our lives), understood, and embodied.

So as we continue to move through this year, I invite you to join me in an ongoing exploration of the overarching Story of God and God’s people—a story that continues to unfold through us today. To provide structure for this journey of remembrance and reflection, I am drawing on The Story of God, The Story of Us: Getting Lost and Found in the Bible by Sean Gladding.

So grab your hymnal and your Bible and join me in exploring the Story that reminds us who we are, whose we are, and who we are called to be and become.

Sing: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Hymnal: A Worship Book, 259)

Read: Matthew 21-28; Mark 11-16; Luke 19-24; and John 12-21

This month we reach what many would argue is the climax of the story—the events which we now mark as Holy Week: Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his continuing challenge of the religious authorities, the celebration of Passover with his disciples, his arrest and subsequent trials, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. While there is no doubt that for us, as Christians, these events mark an intense, exciting, and significant turning point in the story of God and God’s people, the word climax also carries with it a connotation of ending. However, the story of God and God’s people does not end with these events. The story continues to unfold in the lives of God’s people. The story lives on in us, the Body of Christ, the incarnational presence of God in this time and this place.  But we’ll come back to that.

With the Passover approaching, as a practicing Jew, Jesus made plans to go to Jerusalem to celebrate as was the custom. Knowing how he had ruffled the feathers of the religious authorities and sensing the rising opposition and antagonism, some of Jesus’ followers urged him not to go. But Jesus was intent on going. He knew what was to come and tried to explain to his disciples why he must go, but they still didn’t fully understand who he was and couldn’t grasp what he was telling them (Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-34).  Or maybe it wasn’t a matter of ability, but a matter of will. Maybe they didn’t want to accept what he was telling them because it didn’t fit their image of the conquering Messiah.

Hmmm. I wonder if we are more like the original disciples than we want to admit? I wonder how we cling to some particular stories, words, images of Jesus and discard or ignore others because they make us uncomfortable, because they demand too much of us, or because the “complete” Jesus is just too messy, too complex to fully grasp?

But back to the story. In spite of opposition from the religious authorities, the people were eager to embrace the Messiah—or at least their image of the Messiah. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a humble donkey—in stark contrast to the pomp and power displayed by a Roman official or military leader on a majestic horse—Jesus was welcomed by cheering crowds, proclaiming him the “King of Israel!” (John 12:13). This reception sparked further concern among the religious authorities, concern that was inflamed when Jesus went to the Temple and threw out the money changers in a rare display of righteous anger. As a result of what they perceived as a rising threat to their power and authority, the religious leaders began to form a plan to put an end to Jesus’ challenging ministry.

However, Jesus remained undeterred. While the religious authorities were plotting and scheming, Jesus continued to teach in the Temple, challenging the status quo with the vision of an upside-down kingdom.  Still, some of those closest to him, couldn’t—or wouldn’t—see him for who he really was, even as people who had been marginalized by society recognized and bore witness to his true identity. One evening while eating supper at the home of Simon the leper, a woman approached and anointed him with an entire jar of costly ointment. Some of his disciples questioned her actions, proclaiming them a waste of valuable resources, but Jesus rebuked them, proclaiming that she had prepared him for burial (Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9). Later, in a pivotal moment, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ disciples, made the decision to betray Jesus.

Later in the week, on the first night of the festival of Unleavened Bread, Jesus gathered with his disciples to celebrate the Passover. As they reclined around the table, sharing the simple and richly symbolic meal, Jesus challenged the disciples by stating that one of them would betray him, causing the disciples to look within and at one another, questioning their commitment. Perhaps it was this moment that gave rise to Paul’s admonition to examine ourselves and make ourselves worthy before approaching the table (1 Corinthians 11:27-28) and our subsequent practice of engaging in a period of examination in preparation for Love Feast.  Betrayal is a strong word. When we engage in that time of self-examination are we truly willing to name our shortcomings for what they are—a betrayal of God’s hope for the world made manifest in Christ?

But this was not the only striking moment of the evening. It was also in the context of this Passover celebration that Jesus knelt and washed the feet of his disciples in an act of cleansing, humility, and service. When once again questioned by one of his disciples about actions that defied social convention, he commanded them to go and do likewise as servant leaders (John 13:12-17). It was at that meal that Jesus also reinterpreted the meaning of the bread and cup traditionally consumed as part of the Passover celebration in light of his life and death, defining a new covenant between God and God’s people marked not by the body and blood of a bull, but by the body and blood of Jesus himself. In addition, before departing the upper room where they had celebrated the Passover, Jesus cared for the future needs of his disciples—those who were in the room with him and those who would follow throughout history—promising them the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide them and offering a prayer of blessing on their behalf.

Then Jesus went out to pray in the garden of Gethsemane by himself, leaving his disciples to watch and wait. It was here that Judas brought the chief priests to arrest Jesus. Peter drew his sword and made an attempt to intervene, but Jesus stopped him. He had come not “to deliver his people at the point of a sword. He had come to bring an end to violence” (Gladding, 189). He was, after all, the Prince of Peace.

What followed over the course of a very long night was a series of beatings interspersed with “four separate trials, each one a farce” (Gladding, 189). First, he was brought before the Sanhedrin, the ruling elders of Israel, where he was asked if he was the Messiah, the Son of God.”  He responded “You say that I am.” And they accused him of blasphemy. The chief priests then took him to the Roman governor, Pilate. Why? Pilate probably had no interest in becoming embroiled in the internal conflict of the Jewish people.  However, only Rome had the power to authorize the death penalty and the religious authorities wanted Jesus dead. In their mind, only death would end the perceived threat to their power. How ironic, since his death made possible the resurrection which expanded Jesus’ sphere of influence far and wide. But let’s not jump ahead. While the Romans could authorize the death penalty, blasphemy was not punishable by death, so the religious authorities made up crimes to make it seem as if Jesus was a threat to the Roman empire. In spite of their accusations, Pilate saw no threat so passed the buck, sending Jesus to Herod. Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but ultimately sent him back to Pilate who was then forced to make a decision. Initially, he told the Jewish authorities that he would have Jesus flogged and released, but they demanded he be crucified.  Pilate again tried to avoid that judgment, offering to release either Barabbas who had been convicted of insurrection and murder or Jesus who he felt was innocent of all charges. The religious authorities incited the crowds to support their cause, so when Pilate offered this choice, the crowd called for Barabbas’ release. To avoid a potential riot, Pilate could do nothing else but release Barabbas and sentence Jesus to death, although he physically and symbolically washed his hands of the matter. In the space of a few short days, the cries of the crowd turned from “Hosanna!” to “Crucify!” I wonder how many of us would have been swayed by the mood of the crowd? It is easy to think we would never have turned against Jesus, but even Peter, who Jesus had named “The Rock”, denied him three times during that long night.

The next morning, Jesus was crucified, an exceptionally brutal form of execution. Pilate had an inscription put on the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” When the chief priests saw this they argued that the inscription should be changed to read: “This man said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’” But Pilate stood by the original inscription (John 19:19-22). Further, at the moment of Jesus’ death, a centurion standing guard proclaimed: “Truly this man was God’s Son!” (Mark 15:39). As was so often the case during his life and ministry, in his death Jesus was recognized for who he was by outsiders even as he was being rejected by his own people.

Following his death, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the High Council, asked Pilate for permission to bury Jesus body.  This was not a simple request. The bodies of criminals were not buried, but left to rot as an example. “Although Pilate had washed his hands of the whole affair, perhaps in this moment he saw the opportunity to spite the Temple elite, who had pushed him too far. Or perhaps he simply believed that Jesus deserved better treatment in death than he gave him in life. Whatever the case, he granted Joseph’s request, and Joseph laid Jesus in a stone tomb” (Gladding, 194).

Following Jesus’ death, the disciples went into hiding, but on the third day after Jesus’ death, the first day of the week, some of the faithful women went to the tomb to anoint his body with spices. When they arrived, they found the stone at the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away and the body was gone. In its place sat two angels. Angels, or cherubim, had previously been tasked with guarding the presence of God in the Holy of Holies in the Temple.  But with the veil ripped in two (which happened mysteriously at the moment Jesus took his last breath), the empty tomb became the Holy of Holies, open to all by the selfless sacrifice of Jesus. The angels reminded the women what Jesus had said about being handed over to the authorities, being killed on a cross, and rising three days later.

As they stepped out into the light, puzzled by what the angels had told them, Mary Magdalene saw someone in the garden. He asked, “Why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” At first, she thought he was the gardener, but when he called her by name, she recognized him and cried out, “Teacher.” He told her to go tell the disciples he was alive. The details of the resurrection accounts vary from Gospel to Gospel; in fact, in the original version of Mark we are told the women “said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8). However, I prefer the stories recorded in Matthew, Luke, and John, in which Mary went and proclaimed the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.

Today, we are still called to proclaim the good news: “Jesus is alive! He is risen! Death indeed is defeated! Jesus of Nazareth has been vindicated—he is indeed the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, the hope of Israel, and of the world! By his death, our sins have been forgiven. And by his resurrection, we have new life, eternal life, life abundant!” (Gladding, 195).

Although this is not the end of the story, it continues in us, with Christ’s resurrection, the story comes full circle: In a garden, on the first day of the week, a new creation took shape. As followers of Christ, are we ready to fully embrace our role as partners with God in giving shape to that new creation?
Sing: Proclaim the Tidings Near and Far (Hymnal: A Worship Book, 282)

District News & Announcements – May 2016

District News & Announcements

May 2016

District Conference Announcements: May 2016

This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song: Looking Ahead to District Conference

Rhonda Pittman Gingrich, Moderator

Guest Leadership
Rev. Dr. Jeff Carter, President of Bethany Theological Seminary, will be preaching during the Sunday morning worship service at District Conference.  A graduate of Bridgewater College, Bethany Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary, he is a passionate servant of Christ and the Church. Prior to being called to Bethany, Jeff served the Manassas Church of the Brethren in Manassas, Virginia for almost 18 years, first as associate pastor and then as pastor.  While in Manassas, he also served as lead chaplain for the Department of Fire and Rescue of Prince William County, Virginia.  In addition to engaging in local ministry, through the years Jeff has served the denomination in a variety of capacities: while in BVS, he served as a legislative aide in the Washington Office of the Church of the Brethren; he served as Church of the Brethren representative to the World Council of Churches for eight years; he served as a member of Standing Committee representing the Mid-Atlantic District; and he served as chair of both the Annual Conference Study Committee on Denomination Name and the Forms Reception Committee as part of the Special Response Process. Jeff has also been a featured speaker at Annual Conference, National Youth Conference, National Junior High Conference, and many other events. Jeff and his wife, Kim, have three school-age daughters: Anna, Grace, and Julie. In addition to preaching on Sunday morning, Jeff will also be providing leadership for a workshop and spending time with our youth and young adults during District Conference.

Carol Hipps Elmore, Minister of Nurture and Music at the Oak Grove Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Virginia, will provide music leadership at District Conference, leading both congregational singing and directing the conference choir. Carol is a graduate of Bridgewater College. Twice she has been called by the denomination to serve as music coordinator for Annual Conference, most recently in 2015. Carol is not only a gifted musician, she is a vibrant and joyful disciple of Christ. She and her husband, Mike, have two children, Landon (a current Bridgewater student) and Kate (a soon-to-be Bridgewater student). Describing herself, Carol says: “I love life! …and chips and dip! My favorite job is being mom to two fantastic people and wife to one. I love youth, old and young. Life is good. Oh!…and music! I am thankful to be created in the image of God. May I reflect that.”  In addition to leading music in worship, Carol will also be providing leadership for a workshop and spending time with our youth during District Conference.

When In Our Music God is Glorified: Musical Opportunities at District Conference
All singers are invited to be part of the District Conference Choir. The choir will sing in worship on Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning. Rehearsals will be held after worship Friday evening, during the lunch hour on Saturday, and again Sunday morning before worship. The choir will be directed by Carol Elmore, one of our guest leaders.

Instrumentalists are also invited to share their gifts at District Conference. Those who play guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass, and percussion may be tapped to help provide accompaniment for congregational singing. In addition, Merlin Grady is coordinating a wind ensemble to play at some point during District Conference.  It would be helpful to know who might be interested in being part of the wind ensemble in advance of conference for planning purposes.  If you play a woodwind or brass instrument and are willing to share your talents to glorify our God, please contact Rhonda Pittman Gingrich at rpgingrich@yahoo.com or Merlin Grady at merlin@merlingrady.com. Finally, a small string ensemble may also play at District Conference. If you play violin, viola, cello, or bass, please contact Rhonda Pittman Gingrich at rpgingrich@yahoo.com.

Holiness in our Midst: Session 44

SESSION XLIV: ON THE LORD’S PRAYER

What line in the Lord’s Prayer speaks most clearly to you? Mine is, “Give us, this day, our daily bread.” Whenever I hear or am invited to join in the prayer, I remember a story.

In the 1970s and 1980s, I was a member of Fourth Presbyterian Church, situated right across from the Hancock Building in downtown Chicago. The pastor was the gracious and eloquent Dr. Elam Davis, who was written up in Time magazine in 1979 as one of the most influential preachers in the U.S. It was a privilege to hear his timely Gospel messages each Sunday, spoken from his heart without notes in a Welsh brogue. In a sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer, he shared about a little girl praying: “Give us this day, our daily breath.” Since that day, even aloud, I substitute the word “breath” for “bread,” because it reminds me that God is involved as prime mover and sustainer in the totality of my life.

STORY CIRCLE PROMPT: What line in the Lord’s Prayer sustains you? How? Why?

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection.

2.   Consider writing in your journal on the following topic: Examine the Lord’s Prayer, line by line, and its sustaining value in your life.

FOR GROUP STUDY:

1.   Read aloud Session XLIV.   

2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

[View Past Sessions Here]

Note: Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com.

Leadership Development Musings: May 2016

Laura Leighton-Harris, Minister of Leadership Development

17 of us gathered together at beautiful Camp Pine Lake for a couple days for our annual Pastors Professional Growth Event and for a time of conversation, sharing, little rest and relaxation, good old fashioned a cappella singing with a few on guitar, mandolin, and banjo. David Radcliff with New Community Project was our guest speaker inviting us into conversation on Telling the Stories of Jesus: 1) Give Me Something I Can Feel, 2) The Bible Bridge, 3) Full Gospel Preaching, 4) Banish Bashful Brethren, 5) If We Build It.

A few nuggets to share with you from this topic: As to give me something to feel-David asked these 2 questions, how do we connect with those things that lift us in worship? How do we expose those things in worship? Heart> Head> Hands> Health/Evoke deeper thoughts in others. As to the Bible Bridge-David shared “We need to have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other”, other comments of keep it real-keep it grounded/question of What does the Bible mean to us? Responses of it is practical, lived out, a guidebook, it’s relevant/question to ponder: How do we release the possibilities that are noted in the Bible? In our sharing about full gospel preaching…speaking on controversial issues-it was noted this is more along the lines of experiential learning and we shared having commonality-integrity-don’t be in a hurry-attitudes (check our)- framing (how we frame what we say or ask)-safety-knowing our stuff and being caring. In our sharing on, to me, the most intriguing topic of banish bashful Brethren-question of why is that we are seen as bashful? Possibly because folks don’t know who we are, we aren’t who we used to be, letting our actions speak {these might be signs that we may not want to grow} so then the question arose as to what are ways we can flourish and so we shared the following in this regard: get down and dirty {being prepared for the messiness of life}, being healthy, spirited, willing to grow, willing to be vulnerable, be encouraged and empowered, have fervor. As we finished up our time we conversed about if we build it–being present and being community and if we do so by incorporating all of these areas, hopefully people will come and will want to hear us Tell the Stories of Jesus and be sent out to share the good news with others. David left us to think about 7 ways we are going to be in ministry this month (April) so I would invite all of us to do so as well, each month.

I also invite you to think about joining us next year for this event, which is open to pastors and lay leaders.