March 2009
This month
STORIES OF OPTIONS
• Maria – her home and family
• A leader’s vision for ministry in daily life
• Finding his missions
• The Gathering at Old Donation Church, Virginia Beach, VA
RESOURCES
• Member Mission Leadership Institute
• YouTube and member missions
FOR MEDITATION
• Your bread – Tolstoy
STORIES
Maria – her home and family
Her sister-n-law writes:
“There is much to be inspired about in life, especially in the lives of others. I am continually inspired by my sister-in-law, Maria, who has chosen to put others first in her life. First, is her choice to be a stay-at-home Mom, and to use this time to devote to her family. She spends both quality time and a significant quantity of time with family and friends, and is especially devoted to those in special need. I have seen her spend countless hours with her brother-in-law, who died young. Then, with her mother throughout her final years and battle with cancer. And now with her father-in-law, who is in a nursing home. This is a completely natural thing for her to do, even though logistically I imagine it must be very difficult. God is love for Maria, and though she claims no single formal religion, she is open to all – as long as love is primary (and there are good snacks at coffee hour). Our last days on this earth prepare us for an important transition. It is remarkable to see the care and laughter and joy Maria pours into the process, whether the individual is young, battling a relentless disease, or gradually slipping into one’s final days. ‘Not everyone sees God the way I do,’ Maria will say. ‘For me, He is simply love.’”
Anonymous
A leader’s vision for ministry in daily life
The incoming president of a Lutheran church in suburban Chicago used the following PowerPoint slide on the Sunday he took office.
Our Goal and Plan for 2009
Goal: serve Jesus in every corner of our daily lives
Plan: empower this congregation to enhance our daily lives in Christ by:
– Calling a pastor who is committed to manifesting our ministry in daily life
– Beginning reconstruction on and raising money for:
The sanctuary where we celebrate and draw in God’s power for the week ahead; and
Offices that facilitate our ability to make the Vision our reality
– Getting our mission teams and committees working together so that each equips this congregation to support the daily missions of each member
– Celebrating our 1st 50 years as we move forward in our spiritual journey
To this he added: “We have been told ‘yes, we can,’ and ‘we must pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off.’ To those words, I add, ‘we believe’ and ‘I believe.’ Over the course of the next year, you will hear three more words from me, ‘We lift up.’ We will lift up to God thanksgiving for all the blessings of this life. We will lift up to Him our needs and our concerns. And we will lift up one another and this congregation as we pursue our missions in daily life.”
For more: membermission@aol.com
Finding his missions
John Elledge, rector of St. John”s Church, Havre de Grace, MD comments on the Member Mission Leadership Institute of 10/08: “We filled out a worksheet which led us to reflect on what we are doing right now to make the world a better place. There were seven arenas of life to reflect upon: home, work, local community, wider world, leisure, our spiritual health, and our part in church life. It took some real work, but I found things in each area to list.” [See http://membermission.org/basictools2.htm; and, for more on what your entries mean, see http://www.membermission.org/basictools3.htm.]
The Gathering at Old Donation Church, Virginia Beach, VA
Meeting in the Parish Hall, the Holy Eucharist has the same structure as the 1979 Book of Common Prayer but with contemporary wording and music that combines both songs and the Hymnal and is led by a band. At sermon time, children sit on the rug for their own talk. Worship using the familiar 1979 text begins fifteen minutes later in the nave of the church. Both congregations are about the same size with the rector and the associate alternating between them Sunday by Sunday.
RESOURCES
Member Mission Leadership Institute
Help all of your members to be on mission in every area of daily life 24/7/365; and
reshape your church’s life around
calling, forming, sending, and supporting them in their daily living as missionaries.
Teams of a pastor and two lay leaders are encouraged.
Agree to 3 years of follow up with mentoring provided.
Dinner, Sunday, Oct. 11 – Breakfast, Friday, Oct. 16, 2008
La Casa de Maria Retreat and Conference Center, Santa Barbara, CA
Cost: $350; $300 each for teams of two or more; up to 50% travel reimbursement
For more information: www.membermission.org and click on Training
Space limited: apply by 9/15/09
YouTube and member missions: go to www.youtube/membermission; in the search box on the top right of your screen, type membermission.org presents; the first four videos will be membermission’s. Please bear with the static. The problem has been corrected and will not repeat.
Burt: God helps a pilot
Michelle: helping families of Navy Seals
Peggy: a second language mission
Rebecca: on mission with flowers
FOR MEDITATION: Your bread
“My piece of bread only belongs to me when I know that everyone else has a share, and that no one starves while I eat.”
– Leo Tolstoy
* * *
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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