Greetings Friends,
A few weeks ago I was blessed with the experience of attending the mission center silent retreat. Upon arriving our host informed us that before the invention of electricity we spent more than half of our day in silence. When the sun went down and the world went quiet so did we. All of creation rests in this balance of sound and silence, of activity and rest, of fullness and emptiness. Now the sun goes down and we light up our worlds with television, radio, internet, video games and other noisy distractions. We rush to fill every empty space of our lives as if we are afraid of what we might find hiding there. Will we find loneliness, loss, anger, long forgotten hurts, shattered relationships, a broken heart? Perhaps. But there is so much more waiting for us in the emptiness if we take the chance to step into the silence and just be. Truth be told I was nervous and hesitant to spend a weekend in silence but the risk was worth it when I found God waiting there.
“But this emptiness has nothing at all to do with our value or our worth. All life has emptiness at its core; it is the quiet hollow reed through which the wind of God blows and makes the music that is our life. Without that emptiness, we are clogged and unable to give birth to music, love or kindness. All creation springs from emptiness: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void…” – Sabbath, Wayne Muller
In peace and love,
DeziRae Astle
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
ROCKY MOUNTAIN MISSION CENTER EVENTS: PLEASE SHARE THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS IN YOUR CONGREGATION 🙂
ENCOUNTER: 2014 Rocky Mountain Mission Center Conference, November 7-9, YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado.
Our guest ministry will be Scott Murphy of the First Presidency, Zac McLaughlin, Missionary Coordinator and Daniel Harmon, Congregational Support Minister. Scott will present the adult class, share several testimonies on the theme of encounter and provide the Sunday sermon. Zac and Daniel will be sharing their ministry of music and teaching the 6th-12th grade youth class. We will be exploring and providing opportunity for encountering the divine, each other, and community. Please plan on joining us in Estes Park this November! Look for details online and in your congregations!
GOD WEEPS: 2014 Peace Colloquy, Oct 24-26, Independence, MO. The Colloquy begins with the Community of Christ International Peace Award Ceremony. This years recipient is Bread for the World. Throughout the weekend we will explore many vital issues we need to understand to Abolish Poverty, End Suffering throughout the world. We will learn about root causes of poverty, poverty traps, and how our best intents may hurt rather than heal. Come learn how Community of Christ ministries and strategic partnerships can lead to approaches that work and are sustainable. The Colloquy will include programming for adults, junior and senior high students, and children in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The 2014 Women’s Retreat has been postponed until 2015. DeziRae Astle and Shandra Newcom will be our guest ministers next year and we look forward to sharing together. The new dates are : September 11-13, 2015. See you next year!
WORLD CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS
We need photos of your congregation’s meeting place! Thank you to the many who have already responded. We are building the new find-a-congregation directory that will be part of a redesigned Community of Christ website (coming soon). The directory will include a photo of your location/church building along with the congregation information. Submissions need to be sharp, high-resolution photos, framed as a landscape (horizontal) with sky and ground showing. This will allow for any necessary cropping.
E-mail photos along with your congregation’s name, address, mission center, and pastor name(s).
OTHER ITEMS
10 Minute News: For more information from the World Church please go to
www.cofchrist.org/news/10min. The 10 Minutes News Report can be subscribed to electronically (see the side bar at the website titled E-Subscriptions.)