Things have been moving along at a steady pace since I returned from my travels in the UK and East Africa. Each of my weekends have been very full - hosting our Quarterly Meeting, visiting Friends in North Carolina and Philadelphia, and receiving visitors from Rockingham Meeting and Wichita, Kansas. While things promise to slow down a bit this fall, the summer has been unrelenting in its demands. While this has been physically and emotionally tiring work, it has also been spiritually refreshing. I have felt well-used and blessed by the Lord in the work that he has laid before me this summer. What more can I ask?
I had a few days to recover from the return voyage from East Africa before Faith and I drove down to Harrisonburg, Virginia to help Rockingham Meeting host the gathering of Stillwater Quarterly Meeting. Stillwater Quarter is one of two Quarterly Meetings in Ohio Yearly Meeting. Our sister QM, Salem Quarterly Meeting, is the smaller body by far, comprising three small Monthly Meetings in eastern Ohio. Stillwater Quarter represents the rest of the Yearly Meeting - seven Monthly Meetings, including Stillwater Meeting, the largest of OYM's congregations.Stillwater Quarter covers an immense amount of geographical territory. OYM has been growing recently, and all of this growth has taken place in Stillwater QM. Three new Monthly Meetings have been added in recent years in Michigan, eastern Pennyslvania, and western Virginia, as well as a maturing worship group near Atlanta, Georgia. Despite the distances involved, we had representation from every Monthly Meeting, as well Chattahoochee Worship Group in Georgia. It was a joy to see dear friends from across the Quarter, and it was especially good to be able to host them at Rockingham's meeting place.
Just a few days after getting back to Washington from Quarterly Meeting, I was on the road again; this time, to Wilmington, North Carolina, where North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative) was holding its annual sessions. I traveled under a minute from Rockingham Meeting and Stillwater Quarterly Meeting. My concern to travel was one of gospel love. I felt drawn by the Holy Spirit to be with Friends in our sister Yearly meeting in North Carolina, and to be available for the Lord's service among them, as led. I made this visit without any agenda beyond a desire to be faithful to the moment-by-moment leadings of the Holy Spirit.
North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative), along with Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) are the two remaining historical relatives of Ohio Yearly Meeting. Historically, Conservative Friends have conserved both the traditional outward practices of Friends (waiting on the Lord in silent expectation, giving corporate answers to the queries, etc.) as well as the Christian faith of Friends centered in the living presence of Jesus Christ as present Teacher, Lord and Savior.
In recent years, intervisitation between our Yearly Meetings has broken down to a great degree. While at one time there were many ministers regularly going back and forth between the Conservative Yearly Meetings, there is far less interconnectedness today. I was pleased to see one other member of my Yearly Meeting at NCYMc, as well as a member of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative). It felt good to to have the whole family together, even if in small measure.
I learned a lot on my visit among Friends in North Carolina. I saw that while our Yearly Meetings share a common history, as well as many beliefs and practices in common, we have also grown apart over the years. In particular, I noticed that while Friends in Ohio Yearly Meeting speak very frequently of Jesus Christ and his role in our community, North Carolina Yearly Meeting Friends spoke primarily in terms of "God" or "the Spirit." This is a difference in language, certainly, but it seemed that our distinctive ways of speaking about our faith point to a different understanding of who Jesus is and what his role is in our life as a people. I am grateful that I yielded to the Lord's prompting to visit Friends in North Carolina this year. I learned a lot about our brothers and sisters, with whom we share so much history and a great deal of commonality today. It is my prayer that we might find ways to strengthen the bonds between us, that we might be mutually enriched by our fellowship in the Lord. I feel certain that the Christ has a purpose for us, not just as individual Yearly Meetings, but as a wider body of Conservative Friends. I seek to remain open to how the Lord might use me in building up that body.
The following weekend, I had another opportunity to participate in the work that Christ is doing to build up his Church, traveling to Philadelphia to nurture Christ-centered Friends there. The Lord is doing amazing things in Philadelphia, and I feel privileged to have some small part in nurturing the new life that is developing there. Please pray for the seed of Christ in Philadelphia. May it blossom into a beautiful, fruit-bearing tree that is for the healing of the nations.Finally, this past weekend we had the opportunity to welcome visitors to Capitol Hill. Over the weekend, we had guests from Rockingham Meeting who met with the core members of Capitol Hill Friends. It was good to strengthen the bonds between our two groups, and to explore how the Lord might be leading us together. We were also blessed to welcome Laura Dungan and Aaron Fowler of Wichita, Kansas. Laura and Aaron are clerks of Great Plains Yearly Meeting and Heartland Meeting, respectively. They are also amazing musicians, and we were grateful for their willingness to lead us in song at Capitol Hill Friends' meeting for worship on Sunday night.
Capitol Hill Friends is a very young group, and we are still in development as a Quaker church. For this reason, it is especially helpful to have seasoned visitors come and spend time with us. We grow as a fellowship by receiving the support of grounded individuals, and we gain a better understanding of who we are as a Meeting through our interactions with other Meetings. All this is to say: If you feel that the Lord might be directing you or your Meeting to visit or reach out to Capitol Hill Friends in some way, we encourage you to get in touch with us.This coming week, Ohio Yearly Meeting will be having our annual gathering in Barnesville, Ohio. Please pray for us as we come together to discern the will of God for us as a people. And, of course, please continue to pray for the growth and strengthening of Capitol Hill Friends and of the ministry that Christ is calling us to as a community.
May the Lord bless you as you seek to live in Christ's reign, embodying his love and power in this world.
In the joy of Christ's easy yoke,
Micah Bales
4 comments:
I look forward to meeting you at OYM, Micah, as we gather in the Spirit. I will be visiting from North Columbus Friends Meeting, two hours away (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting).
Yours in the Everlasting Light and Love, Paula
What a wonderful and informative web site, Micah. You clearly are doing the Lord's work.
Blessings to you and Faith, and your mother and brother,
Judy
Thank thee Micah for following a leading to NCYMC. We were enriched by the indwell Christ that led thee. Greetings to thy entire family.
In Christ Love
Charlie Ansell, West Grove Monthly Mtg
Micah stated above: "I learned a lot on my visit among Friends in North Carolina. I saw that while our Yearly Meetings share a common history, as well as many beliefs and practices in common, we have also grown apart over the years. In particular, I noticed that while Friends in Ohio Yearly Meeting speak very frequently of Jesus Christ and his role in our community, North Carolina Yearly Meeting Friends spoke primarily in terms of "God" or "the Spirit." This is a difference in language, certainly, but it seemed that our distinctive ways of speaking about our faith point to a different understanding of who Jesus is and what his role is in our life as a people."
Micah, I really, really appreciated thy discernment in this matter. I think thee could not have phrased it better. We here have been very much closer to that difference thee discerned than most others, having had to decide if geography or the Spirit would guide with which YM we would be at unity. It does all boil down to the historical Jesus of Nazareth and His Lordship and our belief unashamedly of a deeply personal and absolutely necessary relationship with Him alone to allow one to even understand what being a Quaker means...When people avoid His name (not that we need to cram Him down their throat), but when they truly avoid Him or bypass the Source our Teacher, the One (as revealed to Fox and to each of us as Christ Jesus)...they do not share that relationship we see as so very essential and primary. Funny how throughout history the primary question seems to have always been what one does with the claims of Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah, the Christ. How does that change one's life and empower one with His Holy Spirit (not just any 'ole "spirit") ...OYM has so far been the only YM to affirm this as far as I can see.
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