Blessings on you as we observe the transition from one year to another.
It has been a good and challenging year, one in which I have been blessed to grow closer to the Lord and to my brothers and sisters in Christ. This has been a year of deep growth for me personally; God has done a lot of work on my own heart, humbling me and showing me how I need to change in order to grow more like Jesus. It has also been an important year in the development of a new movement of Quaker Christians that can meet the challenges of our rapidly secularizing, post-Christendom context.
This year, God has called me to pay more attention to the work that Christ is doing in the city and region where I live. As I have yielded to God's nudges to be attentive to the life of the Church in Washington, DC, much of my energy and focus has been directed towards nurturing a new worship group on Capitol Hill.
I have stayed engaged in the national Quaker scene, undertaking visits to Yearly Meetings, Friends gatherings, organizing the 2010 YAF Gathering, and serving as a leader for the 2010 Quaker Youth Pilgrimage. However, especially in the last half of 2010, I have been traveling less than in recent years. In order to be faithful to the work that God has given me where I am, it feels inevitable that I must reduce the amount of time I spend away from home.
A lot has happened this year, and I have kept you in the loop through my ministry newsletter. Rather than recounting in detail the events of the year, I would lift up some of the things that have been highlights in my service among Friends in 2010:
- The formation of Capitol Hill Friends
- The launch of QuakerMaps
- Various travels on behalf of Earlham School of Religion during our 50th anniversary celebration
- Planning and hosting the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas
- Attending the TransFORM East Coast Gathering
- Serving on the Listening Committee for QuakerSpring
- Speaking at Illinois Yearly Meeting
- Serving as a leader for the 2010 Quaker Youth Pilgrimage
- Making visits to Detroit to support New City Friends
- Participating in the Friends United Meeting Emerging Leaders Conference
- Becoming a member of Rockingham Monthly Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting
wants to use me in a new city, job and marriage. While I am still seeking God's guidance day by day, I do feel that I have been placed where I belong. I pray that each of you may find the peace and inward assurance that comes with living into God's call for your life in this new year.Yours in the light of the Day Star,
Micah Bales
Congradulations on an amazing year! God bless you in the coming year.
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