The annual Youth Equipped to Stand (YES!) high school retreat was March 28 30, at a camp in Hillsdale, Michigan. About 440 teens and staff a ended, making it our largest retreat yet. The teens came from as far away as Miami, Vancouver, and Los Angeles to a end. YouthWorks Detroit sent 14 teens from our youth group there. Anna Bode, on staff in Detroit, shares some perspec ves with us. The theme this year was Rise! The point of these retreats is to equip youth to stand; but there was a par cular emphasis on RISING this year. As Chris ans, we are called to RISE, stand up for the Lord, train, fight, and WIN back hearts that have wandered from God s truth and love. We want to bring the freedom of Christ to real, hur ng people who are caught in sin, destruc on, and darkness. They desperately need the healing and light of Christ and we can share this with them. A er a weekend of talks, amazing worship, breakout sessions on issues with which young people struggle, fun games, good food, and the Saturday night prayer ministry me in our small groups, I asked a few of our youth how the YES! Retreat impacted them. Za Keya said, It feels great! She has new freedom to be open about her Chris an faith in school. She has been able to acknowledge that she s a Chris an to more of her classmates. She is excited to be able to share the good news of Jesus with them. This was Lauren s first me on the retreat. We went for a walk the day a er and it was evident that she has a heart for God s people. She hurts for her atheist friends and has started to share with them God s truth and love. She prayed for more confidence in sharing the Gospel and has felt freedom to ques on some of her friends poor logic and bad arguments for doub ng God s existence. During the Saturday night prayer me, she encountered the living God. She said, I was overwhelmed and started to cry because I felt God s presence in such a real way. Grace, another girl who came on the retreat for the first me, said, I have been able to talk to many people of other faith backgrounds, even Muslims. I have been able to back up my faith more and express my belief in Jesus Christ and share with them the love of Christ that I have.
Work of Christ 40th Anniversary The Work of Christ Community in Lansing, Michigan, celebrated its 40th anniversary as a community this past spring. The celebra on included a teaching series on the history of the community, a formal Lord s Day dinner at the community center, an original musical chronicling the history of the community (photos, below) and a picnic dinner to which alumni of the community were invited. It was a joy to remember together the abundant blessings of life in the Work of Christ Community. Movements and Communities Meeting On August 9, 2014, more than 800 people par cipated in the first Na onal Mee ng of Catholic Ecclesial Movements and New Communi es, held in Onley, Maryland. The mee ng brought together leaders of Catholic renewal movements and communi es throughout the USA. The Sword of the Spirit was represented at the mee ng by (from le to right above) Tom and Pa y Mangan from People of God Community in Pennsylvania, Theresa and Brian Murray from People of Hope Community in New Jersey, and Lynne May from Triumph of the Cross Community in Maryland. The Sword of the Spirit s informa on table was located at the center of the hall and several hundred booklets explaining our community of communi es were distributed to par cipants. City on the Hill Summer Camp City on the Hill Community in Los Angeles held its seventh annual Youth Camp in July. The camp s theme was Isaiah 60:1 Arise, Shine Out. It was a fun and inspira onal retreat for the youth of City on the Hill Community, their parents, and the youth workers. There was an outpouring of God s grace upon our youth as they stood up, proclaimed God s word, and worshipped Him. In one of the prayer mee ngs, as each camper was prayed over, we could feel how they were being empowered by the Holy Spirit to be a light to their family, friends and classmates. It is our joy to see our youth growing up and taking steps to becoming radical disciples of Christ. 2
Mags Tierney Living Single for the Lord Mags Tierney, a member of Charis Community, Belfast, and of Bethany Associa on, was delighted to be asked by the North American Region to spend some of her me and energies helping young community women discern the call to live single for the Lord. So far she has visited communi es in New Jersey, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Detroit, and Minnesota. At these events, Mags told her own story of God s call and shared about signs of the ac on of God across the Sword of the Spirit. She also launched the latest Discernment Guide for Pastoral Leaders. The booklet is designed for use by a pastoral leader over a 6 or 12 month period of discernment and includes reflec on & discussion ques ons, Bible medita ons for the me of discernment and a reading list. Please contact Bethany President Jeanne Kun (jeanne.kun@sbcglobal.net) for more informa on. Mags next visits to North America will be November 2014 and the Spring of 2015. A priority for these visits is to train more pastoral leaders in helping young women to address the area of discerning the voca on ques on in their lives. Contact Mags if you would like to invite her to visit your community. Plans are also in the works for a North American retreat for young women interested in discernment, perhaps in early 2015. If you are interested in a ending contact mags erney08@gmail.com). Photo: Mags with sisters from Christ the Redeemer Community in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Family of Faith, Union, NJ The Family of Faith coordinators and senior women s leaders held their mid year retreat and evalua on in July. They were joined by Bob Tedesco (the community s regional missionary coordinator) and his wife Bobbie. It was a me blessed with spiritual nourishment, prayers, and fellowship among the leaders of the community. Bob gave talks on serving and growing in holiness as leaders in community. He talked about humility and pa ence as the two essen al virtues of a leader. These were followed by a light and lively Q&A with Bob on ma ers rela ng to community life. The evalua on discussions centered on what went well so far and what needs improvement in the community. The retreat ended with a Lord's Day Celebra on and a fellowship dinner. The following day, Bob gave a talk at the Community Gathering on loving one another as disciples of Christ, which was in line with the FOF's theme for the year "Love one another, as I have loved you." (John 15:12) Cornerstone, Columbus, OH In 2009, the name "Community Group" was generically given to the group of post university young adults in Columbus, Ohio. The name stuck and we fondly referred to our fledgling SOS Affiliate Community as the "CG." In May of 2013, we held our first Public Commitment Ceremony during which 18 of us made the commitment to share life with one another in covenant community! And subsequently in January, we discerned a new name for our community. Echoing Paul's words in the second chapter of Ephesians, we are proclaiming Christ as our enduring Founda on and Purpose in all things, with the new name, "Cornerstone." The tent pegs of our community con nue to widen as we welcomed another couple into public commitment this past spring. Also counted among us are nearing 25 children and 45 affiliate members. We are excited to see how the Lord is shaping and forming us, especially as we con nue to work together with the People of God s Love Community to establish a unified effort for building the Sword of the Spirit in Columbus, Ohio. 3
UCO Summer Academy In August, 95 students and staff gathered at Miracle Camp in Lawton, Michigan, for the 2014 UCO Summer Academy. Representa ves a ended from the UCO chapters in Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Pi sburgh, Maryland, and Jacksonville, as well as some enthusias c college aged men from the communi es in Toronto and Miami. This year s academy studied the topic of ecumenism. Brian Laba kicked off this series with a talk about John 17 and UCO s call to ecumenism, while Dr. Dan Kea ng offered four talks covering the historical background of the main Chris an church tradi ons, and Dr. Tom Bergler examined the scriptural basis for how to relate well with Chris ans from different backgrounds. In addi on, Mike Shaughnessy gave a talk about the founda onal prophecies we have received in the Sword of the Spirit and there was a three part series by the UCO staff about being holy men and women. Boundary Waters Adventure On the Boundary Waters Canoe Adventure (BWCA), July 12 20, in Minnesota, junior high girls and staff from across the region were challenged physically, mentally and spiritually. The girls made many deep friendships and had lots of fun as they canoed, portaged through islands and peninsulas, and camped in tents on islands. We drove over 1,000 miles oneway from Michigan to Minnesota, then 1,000 miles for the return trip home. The 30 mile canoe trip covered 4 nights of outdoor camping and 5 days of canoeing and portaging. We were a total of 16 individuals 6 staff (4 of which were BWCA alumnae) and 10 middle school aged young ladies. We enjoyed a fabulous island with fresh berries, beau ful views, and trees. The girls read, journaled, sketched, did each other s hair and explored the island. One night, some of the girls even serenaded the other girls by moonlight. Throughout the trip, these junior high ladies commi ed themselves to one another and to the Lord. They discovered more about themselves as God s beloved daughters, all while having great fun! (Diane Leone, Hun ngton, IL) 4
Junior High Girls Camp What do you get when you take eleven middleschool aged girls from across the North American Region, two college aged staff, a team of volunteers, one fi een passenger van, bustling Washington, DC, and some rolling green hills? You get Junior High Girls Camp! For one week, from July 20 26, junior high ladies from communi es across the region live life side by side together: sharing breakfast; morning prayer; daily adventure trips; dinner; evening ac vity; and night prayer. The camp is run out of a Triumph of the Cross Community family s home. The ladies cook their own meals, pray together, serve one another, and have lots of fun day trips to places such as parks in the area with waterfalls and beaches, the White House, and various museums. Some of the evening ac vi es this year were: pain ng; capture the flag; a bonfire with s mores; and a movie night. The ladies make significant friendships across different communi es, learn to serve one another, and pray with one another. This summer s Junior High Girls Camp was another hit! (by Lynne May) Interested in Junior High Girls Camp next year? Contact Jeanne Smith: jmsmith160@comcast.net Summer Mission Trips Kairos hosted four Summer Mission Trips this year (2 from The Po er's House High School and 2 Sword of the Spirit based teams). In Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, we built two complete homes, spent me with local orphans at a local water park, served in a migrant shelter where we prepared a meal and spent me with at risk men and women. Many lives were changed through the experience. Kairos also organized two teams in Detroit working alongside YouthWorks Detroit. Our teams served in a summer school reading program for atrisk children, completed several home renova on projects, distributed food with Sr. Judy, and helped run a neighborhood day camp for local children. Our teams also painted two beau ful murals depic ng life lived in Christ. On Ranch Challenge, our team worked on a ranch in Nebraska cu ng nearly 6,300 trees that were taking over pastures. We had a total of 48 youth represen ng 8 North American Sword of the Spirit communi es, one La n American SOS community, and students from the Junior class at Po er's House High School in Grand Rapids. 5
Strong Fish Club, Saint Paul, MN Strong Fish Club, the junior high girls program in Community of Christ the Redeemer, is almost 10 years old. The name Strong Fish Club comes from the idea that our young ladies need to swim against the current of the world! Right now, we have thirty girls. The main goals of the program: to help the girls to grow in their walk with the Lord, to nurture community ideals, and to have fun! We also focus on topics such as sisterhood, prayer, worship, modesty, media, rela ng with brothers, and evangelism. Our mee ngs consist of praise and worship, intercession, talks, small groups, and fellowship. We meet three evenings a month and twice a month during our Sunday Gatherings. We meet year round and kick off with a fall retreat. We provide opportuni es for ladies to work on evangelism, too. The girls have organized their own evangelis c events, given tes monies and talks, and lead worship. We also do service projects. Last year, we delved into the topic of modesty. The capstone was a modesty fashion show, which was a great hit! This year, we are focusing on prayer, posi ve and nega ve communica on, and the impact of the media. (By Ling Becker ) One With God: Toronto, Canada The One With God Community in Toronto, Canada, recently elected and installed a new senior coordinator. Mike Lim will now serve in the role, taking over from Ernie del Rosario who has served as the senior coordinator for many years. At the installa on ceremony Ernie said: I have done my duty as co pilot, the Lord is our captain. I will now remain as a third crew in our plane. Ernie expressed his gratefulness for the opportunity to serve the Lord, for God s uncondi onal and unfailing love, and for the support and coopera on of the community during his term. Joint Meeting The Triumph of the Cross in Frederick, Maryland, and House of the Lord in Washington, D.C., held a joint celebra on of Pentecost in June. Periodically, the two Sword of the Spirit Communi es collaborate on special events to build stronger rela onships among members. One With God Community 6
The Sword of the Spirit International Assembly From May 2 7, the Interna onal Assembly of the Sword of the Spirit met in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Interna onal Assembly is the primary governing body of the Sword of the Spirit. It is composed of the senior coordinators of full member communi es, regional coordinators, and regional missionary coordinators. The Interna onal Assembly is the means by which the member communi es of the Sword of the Spirit guide and direct the government, policies, procedures, ministry, and life of the Sword of the Spirit. The Assembly began with an address by Jean Barbara, the president of the Sword of the Spirit. Jean laid out an overview of the work ahead for the Assembly. Renewing and clarifying our Common Nucleus. Strengthening our ecumenical iden ty. Having a more impact within our church bodies. Strengthening our way of life. Maintaining interna onal unity. One job of the Interna onal Assembly is to review, direct, and approve the work of the Interna onal Execu ve Commi ee. The Execu ve Commi ee directs the work of the Sword of the Spirit Interna onally, serving under the authority of the Assembly, which is to say the member communi es of the Sword of the Spirit. The Assembly elected a new Interna onal Execu ve Commi ee that will serve for four years, beginning in 2016: President Jean Barbara, Vice President John Kea ng, Dave Hughes, Bruce Yocum, Ken Noecker, Jose Luis Carretero, Desmond Dick, and Andy Juan. Mike Shaughnessy, director of Kairos in North America, presented a paper Our Work with Young People, which lays out four focuses of our youth work: 7 Establishing and maintaining a "youth bridge" in each of our communi es. Running regional programs that serve community young people directly. Fostering outreaches to young people. Star ng new communi es from outreach alumni. The Assembly endorsed this paper to guide youth work in communi es and regions. The Assembly also approved a number of changes to the Cons tu on of the Sword of the Spirit. None of these changes were considered substan al: they amounted to clarifying and reorganizing some elements of the cons tu on and making some editorial changes. Even minor changes to the cons tu on need to be approved by the Assembly another means of member communi es guiding the direc on and government of the Sword of the Spirit. The en re Assembly was bathed in prayer: lengthy mes of worship each morning; intercession for the Sword of the Spirit and its regions; mes of seeking and hearing the Lord s word to us; and presen ng the Sword of the Spirit, its mission, and its members before the Lord for his guidance, blessing, and protec on.
YouthWorks-Detorit Gabe Colston For many of the past 16 summers, Youth Ini a ves (YI) has been sending young people from Belfast to come and serve in the city of Detroit as part of our Detroit Summer Outreach internship program. These youth have encountered the living Christ in powerful and life changing ways while serving in the city, and they have made a powerful impact in the lives of Detroit youth. One of the first, Tony Silcock, is a Program Director with YI, and many others have returned to serve and lead and become planted in our outreaches in Northern Ireland. This summer, an amazing first has occurred YouthWorks Detroit has sent our first young person to Belfast to serve in their Summer Schemes program. Gabe Colston came to us as an intellectual 8th grade student just beginning to find his way as a young man. Four years later, a er serving as a member of our StreetTeam Leadership Program and our youth group, Gabe has grown tremendously, graduated high school, and is preparing to enter college at GVSU in the fall. However, he has also grown tremendously in his rela onship with Jesus, and he has heard a call and invita on to service. When the opportunity to give his summer to service arose, he jumped at the chance to follow Jesus in the adventure awai ng him with YI. He dove in, spending his me in Belfast living household life with the Servants of the Word, in a common life of prayer and service, and reaching out to youth who o en have never embraced much posi ve in their lives or been encouraged that their lives could amount to anything. We are grateful that Gabe is choosing a life of service and sacrificial love, and excited to see where the Lord will lead him next. Please con nue to pray for Gabe and all our Detroit youth as God con nues his work of renewal and revival in the city of Detroit one life at a me. (Photo at top: Gabe, in flowered shirt, visits the North Coast of Ireland with friends from Youth Ini a ves. Bo om: Gabe in middle.) 8 Detroit Summer Outreach The past two months were the best of my en re life. I cannot in words do jus ce to this summer, this city, and the Lord s work. I have never experienced anything as amazing as Detroit Summer Outreach. The blessings I have experienced this summer I cannot count. Detroit, the people in Detroit, YouthWorks Detroit, and everybody I met this summer will always have a very special place in my heart. I have so much love and admira on for the city of Detroit. Maybe someday I will figure out how to express how amazing this summer was. " (Chelsea Duff in yellow served DSO this summer. She is a member of University Chris an Outreach in Maryland.) 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 2014 by The Sword of the Spirit 4828 S. Hagadorn Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823 Telephone: (517) 336 8530.