To my brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Besides the rather miraculous
revitalization of Central City Friends Meeting, there were other
signs of growth. To begin with, the Yearly Meeting is beginning a
process of re-allocating funds towards local outreach. For decades,
the GPYM Home Missions Fund has been used as a source of funding for
distant Quaker organizations. Now, however, there is a movement
within GPYM to begin spending the Home Missions fund on... home
missions! After decades of mostly writing checks to Quaker
organizations on the East Coast, money may soon flow to local
projects that advance the gospel in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Another encouraging sign a proposal
brought by Laura Dungan of University Friends Meeting (Wichita,
Kansas). Laura would like to be financially released to work
half-time for the Yearly Meeting. She would provide leadership
development within the Yearly Meeting, especially encouraging Friends
to see the big picture of God's mission for Friends in the region.
Laura's work would seek to encourage local churches and leaders as
the Yearly Meeting works to develop a vision and a plan for the
future.
With all of these positive developments
emerging in my former Yearly Meeting, I feel sad that I am unable to
be of any direct assistance. With my commitment to ministry in the DC
area, there is not much I can do for Friends in GPYM except pray and
remain available for electronic correspondence. Yet, I dare to
imagine that perhaps my earlier
ministry had some positive impact on the Yearly Meeting. I
planted, and Laura Dungan is watering - but
it is God who gives the growth. To him be all glory, honor and
praise!
Growth and change are not limited to
Great Plains Yearly Meeting. This month has been a time of
professional transition for me. After three years working for Earlham
School of Religion coordinating communications and web strategy,
I am transitioning to a new job with Friends
United Meeting - a worldwide association of Friends congregations
in North America, the Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East and
Africa. Starting in July, I will serve as Interim Communications
and Web Specialist,
overseeing FUM's web and
social media strategy. I am especially looking forward to exploring
ways to make FUM's electronic content more accessible to our brothers
and sisters in East Africa, who represent the majority of Quakers
worldwide.
FUM's central office is located in
Richmond, Indiana, but most of my work will be done remotely from DC.
This is critical, since Faith and I continue to feel God clearly
calling us to long-term residence in the capital. The ministry that
we are engaged in here continues to be blessed, though we are
learning that God's blessing is rarely the same as our own grandiose
visions. The ground is hard, and there is a lot of tilling to do
before we can hope for more obvious growth. Once again, I am reminded
that it is God who gives the growth. I am not in control.
At Capitol
Hill Friends, God has been teaching us what our collective
mission is to be. During worship several weeks ago, we felt an
especially powerful sense of the Holy Spirit's presence, and in the
midst of the Spirit's ministry to us, I received something that felt
like a mission statement for our community. My mind was drawn to
Jesus' parable
of the sower, and I was shown
that our city is full of "weeds" - the cares of the world
and the lure of wealth - that choke out the Seed, which is God's
presence in our lives. The Lord made clear to me that our role as a
radical community of disciples is to clear ground where the
seed of God can grow. Our job is
to prepare and hold a space of resistance and hope where individuals
can sink their roots deep into this good earth and become part of a
sustaining community in Jesus.
In
recent weeks I have had an increasingly urgent sense that the Body of
Christ is much bigger than our traditional ideas of what a
"congregation" looks like. I am realizing that the old
model of church does not necessarily work in our post-modern, urban
context. Regular gatherings for worship are necessary, of course, but
I am seeing that there are many other things that are equally crucial
if we are to strengthen the Body. For example, teaching everyday
spiritual practices that individuals can grow into, whether they "go
to church" or not. Community is a complicated thing in this
city, and the formal, weekly gatherings of the traditional
congregation are not necessarily the best thing to lead with. I am
becoming convinced at a heart level that I must meet others where
they are at. I must let nothing - not even the beautiful traditions
of the church - present a barrier to sharing the good news that we
have found in Jesus.
Please continue to pray for us! I
cannot repeat often enough how much your prayers matter, how much we
feel them as we seek to be faithful to God's call in our city. We
have experienced so many blessings that can only be the result of the
prayerful intercession of God's people. We give thanks for the
faithful presence of Lily Rockwell, of Stillwater Monthly Meeting
(Ohio Yearly Meeting), who has been an elder to us since last fall.
Her internship is ending in late July, at which time she will be
moving to New Mexico to pursue graduate studies. We are sad that she
must leave us, but we give thanks to God for all of the prayer and
love that she has invested in our community.
We also give praise for Sammy and
Ceress Sanders, missions students at Barclay
College who are summer interns at the William
Penn House. They are actively participants in Capitol Hill
Friends, and they have added greatly to our fellowship - not only
through their joyful presence and enthusiasm, but also through their
helpfulness in set-up and clean-up, and their excellent cooking
skills! With all the work that the Lord has given us to do and all
the helpers that he has provided, we are truly blessed.
It is my hope that you, too, are living
in awareness of Christ's presence in your lives. Thank you for your
faithfulness in prayer and encouragement.
Your friend in Jesus,
Micah Bales
2 comments:
This seems to me to be "primitive Christianity revived" or similar to the early Seekers and Publishers of Truth (Quakers) "movement." No established "churches" but much activity in the streets, "public houses," jails, etc. of the day with "Silent Meetings" as Isaac Pennington spoke of them to strengthen and "learn" from Christ.
Dear Micah,
All the best for your new adventures in the spirit of Christ. Your outreach ministry has often spoken to me. I wish you all the best with FUM and your work with Eden Grace and all our Friends in East Africa.
Your calling about "community and congregation" strikes a cord with me also. I pray that one day God willing our paths will cross and we will
Meet in the flesh.
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