RMMC Weekly Update
August 21, 2014
From Tim Ashburn
Greetings Rocky Mountain Mission Center!
I, we, folks involved in the pilot, “Leading Congregations in Mission” are currently reading a book titled “An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith,” by Barbara Brown Taylor. I find this book very enriching! There are many passages that move me, that challenge me, that cause me to pause and reflect. There are even passages that cause my heart to leap with affirmation and alignment with what is being shared in the book. I encourage everyone to read it!
Essentially “An Altar in the World” is a book about going deeper with the Spirit and ourselves, as we recognize what we have dismissed as spiritual. Here, I would like to share one practice with you from the book that particular strikes me. It is the “Practice of Getting Lost.” I want to talk with you about paths or trails. The author uses the same metaphor in the book , but in a different setting.
On my first month long backpacking trip, some 20 years ago, I was with a college group in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming, beautiful! The purpose of the trip was to become certified as an Outdoor Leader through the Wilderness Education Association. Part of the curriculum was navigation and travel; at times, we would use well traveled trails to move from one destination to the other. These trails were often multi-use, so hikers as well as horse packers traveled them. They were worn down, sometimes muddy, sometimes rocky. If we were above tree line, we could often look at the terrain in front of us and see the trail meandering far off in the distance. All we had to do was to stay on the trail, pay attention to trail junction signs, if there were any, and we would reach our destination with little trouble. These trails were like “highways” in the wilderness. They allowed people to travel in unseen places with relative ease. If one stayed on the trail, there was less chance of getting lost, of stepping on uneven terrain making travel faster.
Then one day there were no marked hiking trails! We were in “bushwacking” mode. The topographical maps came out as did the compasses. We found ourselves traveling in new territory in a new way. We sited in landmarks and matched them up with the map. Heading in the general direction of our destination, the designated “scout” used animal trails to make the travel as smooth as possible, but there were unexpected obstacles in our path. Bolder fields, river crossings, and downed trees often challenged our route. At times we “discussed” our location and which way was the “right” way to go. More than once there was a sense of lostness with us, as there was no emerging definitive decision as to which direction was the best. This feeling of being lost was not pleasant, we were out of our comfort zone, at times we felt alone, and very frustrated. Of course we eventually figured out the correct direction to make it to our campsite.
Being lost caused me to feel vulnerable, it allowed me to get in touch with my humanness, to sense how small I was in comparison to the world. It also helped me to see my surroundings in a new way and to trust others not just myself. Now, I must admit that whether we were on a trail or not, the area we were in was all new to me. However, the way I experienced the wilderness was vastly different, when I was on a trail versus not. Being lost, taking a new route to work, driving through a new neighborhood or through a different part of town allows us to view the world in a different way. It makes us conscious of what we may not have seen before. It presents us with a new perspective, new feelings, new awareness, it wakes us up to possibilities of experience that we have not witnessed before. Familiar paths, trails, roads, streets aisles in church, present us with the possibility of stale sameness. Now is the time for new perspective, fresh ideas, new approaches, new insights, being lost might be a way to practice the cultivation of what has yet to be discovered by each of us as we journey on the path of God’s mission. I challenge you to take a moment and get “lost”!!
Blessings,
Tim
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!!!)
Aurora Community of Christ invites you: August 24th Sunday,12 Noon Taco/Salad Bar and 1 pm Crossroads Gospel Band. (No service in Aurora that day). Please come and join us for food, fellowship and great gospel music! God Bless, The Aurora Ministries Team! (For questions, contact Connie Savage: 303-690-2879)
Discover Your True Capacity, Move Mission Forward: Contributors around the world gave an estimated $860,000 in mission tithes in May for worldwide ministries. Thank you for your generous giving, which put tithing at $11,097,793 toward the revised goal of $12,000,000 for the 2014 fiscal year (July 2013–June 2014). Thanks to special individual and congregational contributions made in June, on top of sustained giving, we remain hopeful about meeting the revised $12,000,000 goal. The 2015 fiscal year (July 2014–June 2015) again has a tithing goal of $12,000,000. That will not be enough to cover ministry expenses approved by the World Church Finance Board at its June meeting. This places a challenge before us as a church: Each of us must consider our true capacity for giving to worldwide ministries to ensure Christ’s mission moves forward. For more information go to www.cofchrist.org/give/update Camp Paradise
Women’s Retreat, September 5-7th, 2014. Ladies come join in on this wonderful weekend experience! The event begins on Friday evening with registration at 7:00pm, and runs through Sunday at noon. The cost to attend is $50.00 with no registration deadline. Guest ministry will be announced at a later date. Please contact director Sandy Burkey at sandytwo@prairieweb.com or (308) 641-1275 with questions or to register. We hope to see you there!
DON’T FORGET!!!Silent Retreat, September 12-14, 2014, Sacred Heart Retreat Center, Sedalia, Colorado, Silence is sometimes a difficult thing for us to do in this busy world of ours and it can be a little scary. The reward can be a quiet and reflective time between you and God. You can use the silence to listen for that still small voice or to rest in the Lord. The guest ministers for this retreat will be Dave and Carolyn Brock. The retreat director is Evangelist Marlene Krueger and the cost to attend is $140 per person. More information about this event as well as registration can be found online at www.cofchristrm.org.
Camp Paradise Men’s Retreat, September 12-14, 2014. The retreat will begin on Friday evening with a worship at 9 pm after arriving and settling in. There will be time for classes, relaxation, and sharing. The full retreat schedule can be seen at www.cofchristrm.org. Please contact Jim Smith at smiths.villa@hotmail.com for registration information.
The Applewood congregation is celebrating its 50th year anniversary! Please come join the celebration on Sunday, September 21, 2014 for service at 11:00 a.m. followed by a pot-luck. The Applewood congregation has extended an invitation to anyone in the mission center who is interested in helping celebrate this special occasion. The church is located at 3780 Ward Road, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. Please contact pastor Tim Hakes for more details: applewood@cofchristrm.org.
The fall SITE (Seminars in Theological Education) class held September 26-28, 2014, will be: Christian Theology taught by Steven Hatch. If you are interested in SITE, please contact Shandra Newcom at: snewcom@cofchrist.org!
Prepare for the October 5 President’s Address when President Stephen M. Veazey will talk with the worldwide church through an interactive, webcast-only event. For this address, President Veazey said, “We will focus on the joy of generosity as a spiritual practice that draws one closer to God and others. I will also provide an official interpretation of the church’s teaching and practice of tithing to support Christ’s mission throughout the world.” Following the address, President Veazey will answer your e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook questions live.
In preparation:
• Please prayerfully reflect on paragraphs 7–9 of the words of counsel at www.CofChrist.org/presidency/041413wordsofcounsel.
• Send your questions early or during the live event. E-mail: AskSteveVeazey@CofChrist.org; social media: #AskSteveVeazey.
• Mark your calendar for the rest of the series of addresses on the words of counsel: April 12 and October 4, 2015; and April 3, 2016. All addresses will be webcast live in English, French, and Spanish. Details about how to receive a webcast are at www.CofChrist.org/broadcast/webcast_help.asp.
Oct 24-26- Peace Colloquy and Jr./Sr. High Peace Colloquy Retreat.” The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. (CDT) Friday with the Community of Christ International Peace Award ceremony at the Temple in Independence, Missouri. 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. Learn more at www.CofChrist.org/peacecolloquy
Rocky Mountain Mission Center Congregational Grants, The purpose of Congregational Grants in the Rocky Mountain Mission Center is to provide supplemental funding to congregations to achieve congregational mission goals of the Community of Christ. The deadline for Fall applications is August 31, 2014. This deadline can be extended if the mission center receives notice that an application is in process, but may not be able to meet the August 31 deadline. There is funding available! Please consider your congregation’s mission apply if these funds would support your initiative. Go to www.cofchristrm.org click on Information then on Mission Center Polices and Forms.
Rocky Mountain Mission Center Conference, November 7-9, 2014, YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park, Colorado. Our guest ministry will be Becky Savage of the First Presidency, Zach McLaughlin, Congregational Support Minister and Daniel Harmon, Congregational Support Minister. Zach and Daniel will be sharing their ministry of music with us. Our theme is “Encounter.” 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!
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 to webteam@CofChrist.net along with your congregation’s name, address, mission center, and pastor name(s). Photos of priesthood in action are needed.
The Ministry and Priesthood Team is preparing new classes for priesthood and are in need of photographs that illustrate priesthood serving to fulfill Christ’s mission. This includes sharing in worship, sacraments, priesthood meetings, talking with members, community action, and more. We want to show a wide variety of locations, situations, and cultures. For more information go to www.cofchrist.org/new/10min/
The World Hunger-Tangible Love Team recently approved $372,665 on behalf of 21 projects in nine nations. This included funding for Bread for the World, a Christian citizen’s organization that seeks to alleviate extreme poverty throughout the world, and projects by Outreach International that fit the criteria for hunger proposals. Thank you for making these ministries possible by your continuing support for the Mission Initiative of Abolish Poverty, End Suffering.
World Hunger grants are available to mission centers and congregations for projects focused on hunger-related issues. By September 1, send your application to your field apostle or their assistant, and to your mission center president and financial officer. It will then need to go to the administrator for World Hunger programs by October 1. Learn more at www.CofChrist.org/hunger. Tangible Love grants are available to mission centers and congregations that are willing to work with other agencies or groups in their communities on behalf of compassionate ministries that address justice and peace issues. By September 1, send your application to your field apostle or their assistant, and to your mission center president and financial officer. It will then need to go to the administrator for Tangible Love programs by October 1. Learn more at www.CofChrist.org/tlove.
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.)