Brief November Notes...

Transcription

1 In January, members of University Chris an Outreach (UCO) chapters all over North America (see page 8 for loca ons) gathered for their Winter Retreat. Below, Rebecca DePoe shares her experience of the retreat. I am not used to being popular on retreats, but I was at this one. See, I come from a small UCO chapter. But one of the advantages of coming from a smaller UCO chapter, followed by doing a GAP year in a large UCO chapter, is that you have a lot of friends sca ered across North America. This January, many of these friends gathered together for the UCO Winter Retreat where the Lord gave us a vision for the regional, ecumenical life he has for us. Small discussion groups had people from several different chapters so there was an opportunity to meet new people and build rela onships. In small group we discussed the talks, brainstormed ways to be accountable, and prayed for each other. On Saturday night, we applied the retreat s theme of Make Us Yours, Lord by offering our lives to the Lord in four areas: Chris an maturity, career path, rela onships, and mission. Before dinner on Saturday, we gathered in groups of about 40 to celebrate the Lord s Day. This gave us the opportunity to worship together before we sca ered on Sunday morning to a end our respec ve churches. A er church we prayed with people from different church tradi ons for greater unity in our households, UCO chapters, and among our churches. I think the Lord wants to make all of us popular on retreats. He wants to form disciples willing to sca er pieces of their hearts in Vancouver, Montreal, Pi sburgh, Maryland, Grand Rapids, Hillsdale, Lansing, Ann Arbor and beyond.

2 Brief November Notes... In November, 85 senior woman leaders from communi es throughout the North American Region gathered in Detroit for training and fellowship. The theme for the four day event was Enlarge the Place of Your Tent. The City on the Hill Community in los Angeles, CA, held its annual conference in November with the theme "The Place of Covenant Communi es in the Catholic Church." Talks were given by Father Bob Oliver of the Brotherhood of Hope and Outside Coordinator, Dave Touhill. In November, the People of Hope and Family of Faith communi es (both located in New Jersey) joined together for the for a joint women s retreat. The theme of the retreat was A New Pentecost. A snowstorm necessitated the combined retreat, which may set a pa ern for the future. It was a blessed me of sisterhood and building rela onships within the Sword of the Spirit. Photo above: senior woman leaders from the two communi es. Bethany Association International Conference 2011 The Master is here and he is calling for you In response to this call seventeen women in the Sword of the Spirit have fully given their lives to the Lord in a commitment to live single for him. Bethany Associa on was a fruit of that commitment. The fourth interna onal conference took place in Ecuador October under that very mo o taken from John 11:28. In addi on to the lifelong sisters, conference par cipants included six women discerning the call and several married senior women leaders as guests. Among the conference highlights were medita ons on the significance of the name Bethany, teachings about our way of life as expressed in the associa on s charter, and opportuni es for worshipping and seeking the Lord. There was also ample me for deepening our rela onships with one another and engaging entertainment. As hosts for the conference, the community Jesús es el Señor in Quito gave an incredibly warm welcome and offered fantas c sightseeing tours. In the photo above, several Bethany Associa on sisters are gathered at the lake in the crater of Cuicocha, one of Ecuador s many volcanoes. New Kairos Office For several years the office for Kairos North America was in a small apartment in a suburban neighborhood. In this cramped space the Winter Conference, YES Retreat, Gap program, Mission Trips, and other events sponsored by the youth program of the Sword of the Spirit were organized. This changed in October of 2011, when Kairos moved office to an office located above a florist and a popular café on Michigan Avenue in Lansing, Michigan. This move was necessitated by the need for more space as the Kairos staff has grown. The new office includes a 1400 square foot open room with a small kitchene e, bathroom, and roo op pa o. A conference room and private office were built so that mee ngs can be held there. Many gallons of paint add vibrancy to the walls. In December Kairos hosted a party to celebrate the office opening and were very pleased with the turnout from friends and families. Bless the Lord who provided the right office, at the right price, and in the right loca on. 2

3 The Asaph Project For four years now, the Work of Christ Community in Lansing, Michigan has sponsored a twice weekly, a erschool program for children who a end a downtown public elementary school. The program is called the Asaph Project named for an Old Testament musician and writer of many psalms. The program features games and movement, music instruc on, snacks, and basic evangeliza on. It is staffed by volunteers from the Work of Christ and gappers serving in Lansing. Facili es are provided free of charge by a local Congrega onal church. The program has had a powerful impact on the children who par cipate. For several of the children Jesus Christ is an en rely new idea someone they have never even heard of before. News from Eastern Canada On a sunny day in August, two Toronto based communi es, the Servants of God s Love (SOGL) and the Light of Life Community (LOLC), enjoyed the beau ful weather at Darlington Park for a day of fun, food, and fellowship. The two communi es have been enjoying several joint events this past year. This event was special because it was the celebra on of the Servants of God s Love s 16th anniversary. In November, Bob and Bobbie Tedesco and Bill and Donna Durrant braved the Canadian cold to conduct the Our Call Conference in Eastern Canada. The SOGL and LOLC were joined by a third Toronto based community, Jesus the Good Shepherd. A er the conference, Bob and Bobbie Tedesco a ended the gathering of Jesus the Good Shepherd, where Bob presided over community commitments: 6 people made their public commitment (the first public commitments for the community) and 11 made underway commitments. Two coordinators in training and two senior women leadersin training were also installed at this mee ng. A joint Christmas party brought SOGL and LOLC together again. This celebra on also marked the 6th anniversary of the Light of Life. Members from both groups invested their me, talents and treasures to enjoy an evening Mass, a delicious meal, and joyous music. The children presented the Na vity Story to everyone s delight while the youth performed a dance number that got the adults cheering. For some me the leaders of the LOLC and SOGL have been mee ng for prayers and planning, and in January the two groups began sharing their twice monthly community assembly. There is much to celebrate in this unity. We believe the Lord is pleased that His children are crea ng a harmonious ensemble: many voices singing as one the praises of God. Photo above: a joint community assembly of LOLC and SOGL. Photo below: the Our Call conference. 3

4 People of God, Pittsburgh PA This summer a few of our members were blessed with the opportunity to par cipate in one of the Kairos Fellowship Summer Wilderness Trips. (Kairos Fellowship is the North Americah Region s outreach to middle school boys.) Tim McIntyre and his two sons, Mark and David, along with members of the People of Hope Community in New Jersey and from the Triumph of the Cross community in Maryland went on the New England Adventure for 12 days in July. Highlights of the trip included kayaking in Bar Harbor, canoeing in Maine and camping in the mountains. One of the outstanding memories they shared was climbing Mt. Katahdin in Maine and enjoying the awesome scenery and breathtaking views from atop the mountain. The boys and men who accompanied them enjoyed fellowship and comradery during the en re adventure. At the end of the trip everyone joined in a moving commitment ceremony in which they pledged to develop discipleship, servanthood, and brotherhood in their lives. Many thanks to Stan Mathay (the director of Kairos Fellowship) and his team for all the me and effort in organizing and conduc ng the excursion. We are also grateful for the hospitality shown by the People of Hope Community folks who hosted them on the way out and the way back. Connie Male a Brotherhood of Hope Creates a HUB in Boston Can it be done? Can students from ten colleges and one major urban university be unified in prayer, worship, spiritual growth and leadership forma on? Can the Brotherhood of Hope (a Catholic brotherhood of celibate men affiliated with the Sword of the Spirit) launch a new dynamic ini a ve amid 60,000 unevangelized students in the Fenway sec on of Boston? Catholic Student Associa on HUB is an expansion of our work at Northwestern University in Boston, to a constella on of campuses surrounding that hub. Picture a cul de sac lined with houses of various sizes. How do these homes become a unified neighborhood? By sharing life together through ac vi es that are invi ng, informa ve, and inspira onal. Basically this is our plan for HUB. It will feature central events for the whole neighborhood of campuses along with smaller mee ngs and Bible studies at each school. We are encouraged by what Cardinal Seán O Malley wrote about HUB: the Brotherhood s exper se and vision will be of invaluable assistance with this ini a ve. Please pray that God anoints us and our student leaders in this important evangelis c endeavor. Br. Sam Gunn, BH Kairos Womens Mission Director Training Kairos Women Mission Directors and Directors in Training met in early January for a training conference in Lansing, Michigan. Twenty three women (and two babies!) came together to seek the Lord and become be er equipped to lead, care for, and build women's environments in Kairos Outreaches throughout the North America Region. The theme of the weekend was Standing together for God's People, and the sessions focused on upholding unity in Kairos, special needs and mental health issues for women, and raising up leaders. Beside the excellent talks, highlights of the conference included the frui ul discussions, sharings about the Lord's powerful work in our outreaches, and the fellowship: deligh ul, upli ing, and refreshing fellowship. Molly Annala 4

5 Last summer, a 21 person team represen ng 8 different Sword of the Spirit communi es assembled in San Jose, Costa Rica in order to serve in several homes for abused girls and young women. The 15 American girls and 3 adult women staff on the team spent most of one day visi ng and befriending very young mothers and their babies at a home for vic ms of sexual abuse. Our team of girls brought with them cra s and projects specifically for the purpose of building friendship and rapport with the young mothers. The language barrier was quickly overcome by our desire to laugh and have fun together. The directors of this home said that our group was unlike others. Other teams had focused most of their a en on on the babies, and overlooked the social needs of the young mothers. The director expressed gra tude for our spending me with the mothers as well. O en the young mothers were younger than the girls on our team. It was an eye opening experience for our girls, providing a moment of recollec on and thanksgiving for God s many blessings in our own girls lives. In another home, young girls who were vic ms of domes c abuse gladly received our team. Our team cleaned, prepped, and painted several large rooms and spent me with the resident girls. We also celebrated the birthday of one of the girls in the home. These trauma zed girls received a lot of wholesome a en on from our team and it was clear a er several days with them that strong bonds of friendship and trust had been established. Since we were in beau ful Costa Rica, our team also visited a nearby volcano (the inac ve type) and followed that by having lunch at a restaurant with a mountain top view. We finished the trip with a visit to a Pacific Ocean beach. Though the work of our team was mainly social work and rela onship building, many team members commented on just how challenging the experience was. The social aspect of this trip required our girls to go outside of themselves and really interact with the girls we served. This added a new dimension to the usual mission trip experience. We trust that our work helps build God s kingdom in Costa Rica. (Because it is unlawful to photograph minors in Costa Rica and because the minor girls we visited are wards of the State, we are not allowed to publish pictures of them.) Mike Kramer A Gapper Serving in Detroit ( Gappers are men and woman who invest a year serving in a Sword of the Spirit outreach.) Before coming to Detroit, I did not realized just how li le I trusted my ins ncts and abili es. I knew I was afraid of failure, but I had not realized how that led me to assume that everyone knows be er than me. Since the beginning of my service here, God has been teaching me that He did not make a mistake crea ng me. He has equipped me with gi s and abili es. When I'm asked to step out of my comfort zone, He is right beside me taking that step with me. It has been a journey of small steps: planning Bezalel Project lessons, first with an associate and now by myself; teaching at Bezalel; giving a talk at a retreat for the school children; and wri ng and giving a speech. Even cooking a meal and learning to drive a s ck shi have been used by God to teach me confidence. It sounds a bit cheesy to say that my GAP year has been a journey of self discovery. Only it's not so much a journey of self discovery as it is a journey of discovering myself in Christ. Every me I reached out to the Lord because I was afraid of a task, He has been there to give me strength and courage. He is the source of my new confidence. It s not just a realiza on that I have more gi s and be er ins ncts than I thought, but that the God who gave me those gi s and ins ncts is there to help me use them. I know there is a lot of spiritual growth ahead for me. Instead of being afraid of the challenges ahead, I can welcome them with confidence, knowing that I am not alone; Jesus is with me every step of the way. Glenna Schleusener 5

6 This August over 350 youth from around the Sword of the Spirit (including 20 from North America) gathered in Vitoria, Spain for the Kairos Adelante conference. Throughout the 5 days of the conference the Lord spoke to us about His call to move forward in faith and with confidence, trus ng that He will strengthen and sustain us in our mission to make disciples of all na ons. The conference was held in conjunc on with World Youth Day in Madrid, a gathering of over 1.5 million Catholics and other Chris ans from around the world. Kairos was able to host a tent at World Youth day: the Soul Food Café, featuring entertainment, discussions on ecumenism and Chris an unity, and a charisma c prayer mee ng. It was a privilege to be able to give witness in Madrid to the work of Chris an unity and spiritual renewal that the Lord is doing in the Sword of the Spirit throughout the world. (Kyle Kilpatrick) 6

7 Fan Into Flame, Vancouver, BC In November, with a backdrop of beau ful trees, snow capped mountains, a bright, blue sky and crisp air, the two University Chris an Outreach (UCO) chapters in Bri sh Columbia held their first ever Fan Into Flame retreat at Camp Moody in Burnaby. Fan Into Flame takes individuals through the Life in the Spirit seminar in a weekend retreat. It creates an opportunity for students to give their lives fully to Jesus Christ, to be bap zed in the Holy Spirit, and receive the gi s of the Holy Spirit. On Saturday evening, the student leaders and a team of UCO staff and volunteers from Michigan prayed with a endees to be bap zed in the Holy Spirit and for the students to have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit graciously came and the students experienced His presence and His gi s. There was a fervent sense of unity, peace, and joy for all who were present. This retreat was a momentous occasion for the UCO chapters in Bri sh Columbia. God touched the lives of university students through it. House of the Lord, Washington, DC The affilia on of the House of the Lord Community (HOL) with the Sword of the Spirit was formalized on November 19 in Washington DC. The event was presided over by missionary coordinator, Bob Beard, and senior coordinator, Jesse Ces. Witnessing the official signing was Jeff and Jeanne Smith, senior leaders from Triumph of the Cross, Ely Asuncion and Dan Ba o, HOL Coordinators and adult and youth members of the community. 7 Word of Life, Ann Arbor, MI During Advent, we prepare for Christmas by reflec ng on the second coming of Christ. In University Chris an Outreach at the University of Michigan, we respond to this season of reflec on with an Advent Vigil. In place of our usual prayer mee ng, we set aside 3 hours to hear the Lord s word, intercede at various prayer sta ons, and worship together. As we reflect on our own weakness, and the weakness of the world around us, we prepare space in our hearts to allow Jesus to dwell more fully. The Sunday before Christmas, the Word of Life community held their annual Christmas Celebra on. As a community we took me to sing Advent and Christmas carols, the children lead us in a Jesse Tree scriptural reflec on, and we heard some Christmas sharings from our older brothers and sisters. On-Line Formation This fall we began a new venture: leadership forma on on line! The goal is to enable leaders from the Sword of the Spirit communi es in North America to complete one full course from their homes in a semester. Taught and tutored by Dr. Dan Kea ng, the course given this past fall was the Pastoral Teaching Ins tute on Worship. Eleven brothers from across North America (from Miami, Columbus, Vancouver, Dallas, Maryland, and Ann Arbor) have completed the course. Each week a talk and outline are posted online, along with a worksheet to be completed. And each week the worksheets are turned in (and corrected!). Three mes in the term we hold discussion groups online, talking about the material and working through ques ons of content and applica on. Though we have bugs to work out, the course has been a real success. We hope that this will be one of the ways that we can deliver good teaching and training to our leaders in the coming years.

8 UCO Montréal In January, The University Chris an Outreach chapter in Montréal, Canada welcomed Jean Barbara and Marwan Akkary from the People of God Community in Bruit, Lebanon, to present the Life in Christ Course. As a result of this frui ul weekend, twelve students made a commitment to join the forma on program. The chapter will now present Founda ons Course One. This is the first me the Founda ons Course will be offered to members of the university outreach in Montréal and we all look forward to witness what the Lord will be doing in and among us. Michel Dahan SPO, New Jersey A highlight for the Saint Paul s Outreach chapter at Seaton Hall University has been Friday dinners. Every week the chapter sponsors a dinner for the men s and women s households and interested guests. The house was filled with energe c Chris ans growing closer to Jesus Christ. Ed Moccia 8 The Sword of the Spirit is dedicated to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and strengthening Chris an people (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox) through ac ve evangeliza on and by forming Chris an communi es. In our youth outreach and community building work, we encourage men and women to give their lives fully to Jesus Christ, prac ce daily Chris an discipleship, and to zealously proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to others. The Sword of the Spirit is supported by charitable contribu ons. Your support is welcome! Contribu ons to The Sword of the Spirit are tax deduc ble in the United States. Jerry Munk, Newsle er Editor 2012 by The Sword of the Spirit 4828 S. Hagadorn Road East Lansing, Michigan Telephone: (517)