January 2009
Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009 – for each us
a time to pray and
to reaffirm our call to mission in the wider world
This month
“SEASONAL” STORIES
• Flash! A grant of $9,400!
• Empower members for ministry in daily life – Member Mission Leadership Institute
• Help for the uninsured
• A deacon and her teammate work MM into their church’s life
• Doing your work through a partly animated DVD
• The kitchen: a center of Keith’s mission at home
RESOURCES
• Reading for Epiphany season
“The Pattern of this World” – the church and Rwanda’s genocide
A House of Prayer for All Peoples: Congregations Building Multi-racial Community
“A Scientist’s Journey in Faith” – a homily
• “Buy, Buy Baby” – caution for Gen-X parents, especially
FOR MEDITATION
• When to speak up
TO ALL WHO SHARE . . .
STORIES
Flash! A grant of $9,400!
A Member Mission Weekend for the students at The School of Theology, University of the South, Sewanee, TN for the Fall 2009 has been awarded a grant of $9,400 by the Office of Lay Leadership and Ministry Development of the Episcopal Church.
Empower members for ministry in daily life – Member Mission Leadership Institute
Clergy and lay leaders help members to discern their ministries in each area of daily life and orient their vestries on how to train, send, and support them. Commended by the Presiding Bishop, proven methods get to every member for what to do in each area of daily life to be part of what God is already doing there. Members find the spirituality and the meaning for life they have been seeking. New members come in to stay because they find the help for daily life they want. Church life begins to glow with excitement and community. Dinner, Sunday, October 11 through breakfast, Friday, October 16, 2009. La Casa de Maria Retreat and Conference Center, 800 El Bosque Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.
Registration: $350; up to 50% travel reimbursement provided. Deadline: September 15, 2009
For more information: membermission@aol.com; 518-561-1184; www.membermission.org
Help for the uninsured
When Luke's family lost their health insurance, it was serious. Luke has epilepsy, and one prescription alone can cost over $400 a month. After his initial despair, Luke began learning about area doctors, clinics and programs that offer some relief to those who are uninsured. Luke then got the great idea of sharing this information with others. He is scheduling a meeting at his church for those who are without health insurance to come and to share their knowledge with each other about ways to cope. Things are still tough, but Luke's upbeat spirit and good thinking will help many.
Contact: Anonymous
A deacon and her teammate work MM into their church’s life
Michelle Mooney, deacon, and Janet Martin have helped St. Mark’s, Milwaukee, WI find its way into member mission for almost five years now. They began with the basics – a Lenten study group of 20-25 and a vestry retreat completing the “worksheets” ( www.membermission.org > Making the vision work > Basic Tools > Basic Tools 2, 3, 3A, and 3B). Modifying the language to suit St. Mark’s, they went on to: an affinity group for teachers; contact with EFM; annual “outreach fairs” to sign up participants; and ongoing breakfast support group; Sunday adult formation activities; sermons that focus on what we do during the week; pages in the diocesan magazine; and parish outreach such as Habitat for Humanity and sponsoring a Burmese family.
Contact: The Rev. Michelle Mooney; michellemooney@sbcglobal.net.
Doing your work through a partly animated DVD
Jim Litke is the Environmental and Safety Manager for Aberdeen in Harford County, MD. Teaching people about clean water and storm drains is one of his specific responsibilities. He gets this teaching across in a DVD called Storm Drains & Turtle Games that is a presentation suitable for all ages. The action starts with interviewer, Ebb Floodwater, on the street asking people “Where does the rain water go when it enters the storm drain??” To which an assortment of interesting (but incorrect) answers are offered. Enter Shelly, the adventurous and determined animated turtle, to the scene to provide her perspective while she travels and encounters talking toilets, chattering storm drains and the dastardly Cigarette Butt Monster. Throw in some excitable frogs (fans of Shelly) and a stray golf ball and you have an unexpected episode of action and environmental education. The project started small and grew with the help of a local TV channel which aired it for six months one summer throughout the county. Jim enlisted some of his own family as volunteers. He continues to display it at environmental meetings and it has been placed in local & school libraries. Jim comments, “It is for God’s green earth that I do stuff like this.”
Contact: Jim Litke; jlitke@aberdeen-md.org; 410-459-0963
The kitchen: a center of Keith’s mission at home
The kitchen is Keith’s favorite spot. He started cooking in high school so that the family could start dinner when his mother came home from work. Since money was often tight, he became adept at casseroles, stews, and soups that “cleared the frig.” His college roommate put on 14 pounds. When married, he still did most of the cooking. Here he slices scallions for a French recipe.
What do you see as God’s place in cooking?
“It’s all God’s bounty. Whatever we use – meats. vegetables – all comes from God.
RESOURCES
Reading for Epiphany season
• “The Pattern of this World” in Sojourners for January 2009. A Ugandan Catholic priest, the child of Rwandan parents – one Hutu and the Tutsi – explains how missionary Christianity helped create the divisions that led to genocide; and points to how race continues to shape our understanding of who people are. For this call to an inclusive mission, go to http://sojo.org/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0901&article=the-pattern-of-this-world
• A House of Prayer for All Peoples: Congregations Building Multi-racial Community by Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, Alban Institute (2003) – stories of inclusive churches.
• “A Scientist’s Journey in Faith”: Peter Schultz, the co-inventor of fiber optics, tells his story. Go to www.membermission.org > Making the vision work > Sermons.
“Buy, Buy Baby” by Susan Gregory Thomas is highlighted in Sojourners for January 2009. Thomas alerts Gen-X parents (born 1965-1980) to avoid the “middle class ethos of obtaining ‘what’s best for our kids.’” Since Gen-X was the first generation to grow up under uncensored, unprotected marketing, its parents have a “marketer within” that makes it hard to escape the internal patterns shaped by advertising. For more thoughts from several commentators, go to http://sojo.org/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0901&article=buy-buy-baby.
FOR MEDITATION – When to speak up . . .
William Sloane Coffin – was he too radical or just more clued in than most of us? Here he talked about how unwilling we are to witness to the unpopular but real truth. Recalling a clergy gathering where he was questioned about his progressive position, Coffin told this story: “I asked, ‘How many of you have read two books on homosexuality and the church?’ About four hands went up. ‘How many of you have read two books on the arms race?’ This time there were about 20 hands – but that was out of several hundred. [Then I commented], ‘Most of you would bite your tongues purple rather than speak out on a controversial issue; you wouldn’t know what to say. And to make matters worse, to the degree that your ignorance stems from your complacency, it is an ethical and not an intellectual default.’”
Talking, at another time, of the self-righteousness of nations, Coffin quoted St. Augustine:
“Never fight evil as of it were something that arose totally outside of yourself.”
Paraphrased from Sojourners, 1/09, pp. 43-44.
TO ALL WHO SHARE . . .
. . . in our work with your gifts of treasure and talent, our many thanksgivings! To join in the sharing in our work, publications, and leadership training, send a check for $25, $50, $75, $100, Other ______ made out to Member Mission Network, Inc. at 10 Jubert Lane, Plattsburgh, NY 12901-6442. Via 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.
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Sunday – all of church life – helps us to do it better.
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