December 2008
What using the worksheets to discover her missions did for
Marion Moore-Colgon, Pastor of the Plattsburgh UMC, Plattsburgh, NY:
““They helped me to focus on our missions in daily life and to prioritize
member mission activities for our own church.”
Have you discovered your daily missions?
Use Basic Tools 3-3D
This month
STORIES OF HOLY “FAMILIES”
• A son learns about work
• The nursing “family”
• Jean speaks up to her car pool “family”
• The “family” of public defenders
• A centering prayer “family”
• Could you be God’s wife?
RESOURCES
• Facebook’s Member Mission Network
• The Ranching Way of Life
• Year-end donations!
FOR MEDITATION
• To kibbitz about God . . . .
STORIES
A son learns about work
Teenager Bob was avoiding a healthy work ethic for more play. Bob’s father said, “If you don’t get a job, you’ll work for me for free until you get one.” His father pointed to a pile of rocks – all that was left of a stone wall knocked down to build the entry road to their home. “Sort out those rocks and then rebuild that stone wall.” Bob built the wall and soon had two jobs – with his father picking him up at 10:00 PM after his dishwashing job.
[For reflection: Where do you see God at work in this family?]
Anonymous
The nursing “family”
Ann teaches nurses to see the whole person, not just learn how to do things. “Nursing is part of who you are, not what you do.” For Ann, nursing keeps the human element in the medical system. “God gives me the strength of conviction I need to teach this way. My mother saw that we went to all the religious communities around us so that we would have open minds.”
Anonymous
Jean speaks up to her car pool “family”
Her car pool of teachers was complaining about the likelihood of higher taxes if universal health care was enacted by the new administration. Jean, a single mother of two, decided it was time for the truth. “I’d pay more in taxes. I make a good income and have good health coverage. I can’t imagine what life would be like for a single mother on less income with no health insurance.” After a period of silence, there were no more complaints about taxes.
[For reflection: Would you speak up at such a time?]
Anonymous
The “family” of public defenders
In a major city, Bill combines his regular law practice with being a public defender who takes cases assigned to him by the judge. Such clients have no money to retain their own lawyer so Bill is paid modest fees by the court. He works these cases to the best of his ability. Recently, he tried a case before a judge who had been called in from a nearby major city. He and the judge had only talked by phone before he appeared before her. The judge had made no decision by the end of the day. They both left the parking lot at the same time. Glimpsing Bill, the judge blew her horn and with a graceful wave of her hand acknowledged his able defense.
Bill comments: “My idea of mission is how can I take my gifts into the world to see that everyone has access to justice. I can see that they get the best hearing I can give even though the decision may not go the way I think it should. My church life helps me to see that my practice will always have a mission character like this.”
Anonymous
A centering prayer “family”
[Two early arrivals prepare for centering prayer. The group has met for over 10 years at Trinity Church, Plattsburgh, NY.]
Their procedure: light the candle; visit informally a bit; share readings and prayers; sit comfortably with your hands folded on the lap and feet flat on the floor; relax your whole body; use the trinity of breath (inhale letting the fresh air encapsulate all past worries, frustrations, and stresses – exhale all those encapsulated things to the outside of your being – do it three times); each prays for concerns on the heart and all end with, “Amen;” complete quiet for thirty minutes (if your mind wanders, call it back gently with your mantra); the Lord’s Prayer together aloud; chat a bit and leave.
What are some of the values in centering prayer for you?
Lynn: “Our lives are so busy that the discipline of a meeting time helps me to care for my spirit.”
Bob: “The discipline of the meeting and serenity in the middle of each week puts me in touch with my inner spirit.”
Could you be God’s wife?
On a cold December day in New York City, a little 10-year-old boy stood peering into a shoe store window – barefooted and shivering with the cold. A lady said, “You’re in such deep thought staring into that window!” “I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes.” The lady took him by the hand; went into the store; and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. Then she asked for a basin of water and a towel. He brought them to her quickly. She took the boy to the back of the store; removed her gloves; knelt down; washed his feet; and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk was back with the socks. She put a pair on his feet and bought him a pair of shoes. She tied up the rest of the socks and gave them to him saying, “I guess you’ll be more comfortable now.” As she left, the little boy caught her hand, looked up at her face, and asked, “Are you God’s wife?”
RESOURCES
Facebook’s Member Mission Network will help us talk to each other at www.facebook.com.
Either log in, or sign up if you don’t have an account. Then click on this link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=36876342706. Once there, click on “Join this Group” beneath the photo to the right. Once you have joined the Member Mission group, it will appear on your Facebook homepage. On the right hand side of the page, under Applications, click on Groups. Then click on “My Groups” at the top left and start sharing.
The Ranching Way of Life in the San Luis Valley of Colorado takes viewers through the four seasons of raising cattle. When we sing of the “cattle lowing” at the manger, this DVD will call to mind what it takes to have cattle around to feed us and to clothe our feet. Cowboy Poetry: A Woman Ranching the Rockies tells the story of Peggy Godfrey whose presence and poetry appear often in The Ranching Way. Peggy not only holds her own in the male-dominated ranching world but puts much of it into verse as she recites twelve poems. Sheep play a big role in this DVD and so make it apt viewing for Advent and Christmas. Peggy comments: “My ranching deepens my understanding of God’s shepherding.” She tells of a thirty-year old man with disabilities in both speech and physical motion who sat beside her as she participated in worship. He leaned into her just as a ewe she had nursed earlier that day had leaned into her. She knew she should be present to him in the same way. [Order both from Peggy Godfrey, 19157 Co. Rd. 60, Moffat, CO 81143; 719-256-4989; “The Ranching Way” at $11.00 and “Cowboy Poetry” at $12.50.]
Year-end donations! Share in the publications and leadership training of the Member Mission Network. The workbook is due for publication next Easter and the next Member Mission Leadership Institute is scheduled for October 11-16, 2009 at the La Casa Maria Retreat and Conference Center in Santa Barbara, CA. Help us along with a check for $25, $50, $75, $100, Other ______ made out to Member Mission Network, Inc. and sent to the address on the masthead at the top. If you use PayPal, log on; click on Send Money; use membermissionnet@aol.com as the email address; enter the amount; click on Services/Other; and follow the prompts to complete your donation. Or go to www.membermission.org; click on To Donate; click on the Donate button and follow the instructions. All contributions are tax deductible since MMN, Inc. was granted 501(c)(3) status by the IRS in July 2008.
FOR MEDITATION – To kibbitz about God . . . .
. . . . just ask, “Tell me your stories about God.” It’s also a good way to “evangelize” when you and another are in the midst of a loving, just moment of some kind. [Of course, vary the wording to suit your hearer(s) and your own style.]
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God is most interested in how we live from Monday to Saturday.
Sunday – all of church life – helps us to do it better.
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