1
VISION ANABAINO
Total Christ Christianity through Gospel Centered Empowerment By Rev. Preston D. Graham, Jr.
Mission Anabaino (“I am ascending”) is mission “greater things” relative to the incredible expectations that Christ promised for his ascension ministry today through church planting (John 14:12). Such expectations inspired Augustine in the 5th century to talk about Total Christ Christianity. One important ramification of a Total Christ Christianity is the way we seek to avoid the either-or dichotomies that are so prevalent in modernist-facing Christendom in order to experience the “fullness of him who fills all in all in/with/through the gospel-centered church (Eph 1:22-23). Modernist-facing Christianity tended to be fundamentalist such as to reduce Christianity to nothing but this or that emphasis, often in political reaction to another emphasis. We envision greater things! For instance: A Total Christ effort will avoid the EITHER “old school” church focused Christianity OR “new school” gospelcentered and missional focused Christianity (what for me during my early Christian years translated to an either institutional-church OR a spirit-filled para-church dichotomy). However, we seek Total Christ in being a both a gospel-centered and church movement—or the church that by her very nature, when built upon the carefully designed foundation of the apostles, IS THE very missional, gospel- centered presence of Christ as “fleshed out” in every cultural context. This is what Christ envisioned as the “greater things” when he explained that it was better for him to ascend into heaven and to send the Holy Spirit wherein his temple presence could be mediated in every Christ-centered and apostolic founded temple-church now in many places at the same time around the globe!
And again, a Total Christ effort will want to avoid a Christianity that is EITHER didactic/declarative (prophetic) OR contemplative/sacramental (priestly) OR life-on-life-/communal (kingly). Rather, we seek Total Christ wherein we participate in Christ as our Prophet, Priest AND King, ALL, by participating in the life of Christ vis-à-vis the Spirit-filled church. Rather than a reactive philosophy of ministry we seek a balanced and Total Christ experience of Christ’s presence in our lives. And, to our focus in this volume of Vision Anabaino, a Total Christ effort will avoid an either-or relation between “spiritual/evangelistic” and inward focused ministry in relation to gospel-centered transformation OR a “social/ material” outward focused ministry in relation to economic, vocational and medical empowerment. That is to say, we want to avoid any idea of humanity that is not concerned for the whole person, both inward and outward as related to a more holistic conception of persons who are being fully restored in the image of God. Such is the picture we get in the early church when in Acts 2, after describing a holistic participation in Christ’s mediated ministry of apostolic word, sacrament and spiritual shepherding and government, we read: And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. (Acts 2:44-45). And here again, we encounter the “greater things” envisioned by Christ, the result being exactly as Jesus anticipated it would be wherein day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:46-47). Concerning then a holistic transformational AND empowerment focused mission and ministry, did you know that it is our commitment in Mission Anabaino that in every church we plant, we include a church-based and gospel-centered empowerment initiative? And to be clear, the “outer person” that is being targeted can be economic poverty, but it can also be mental and psychological poverty in relation to mental health, it can be a poverty of leadership confidence as related to taking responsibility for church leadership, and on and on it goes—it’s any area of a persons life wherein they feel powerless to become self-sustaining and God-reliant.
2
Total Christ Christianity cont. Now as it concerns empowerment ministry, we need to begin with a good dose of honestly. Whereas the "compassion industry" is almost universally accepted as a virtuous and constructive enterprise, its outcomes are often questionable, especially in so far as distinguishing empowerment vs. entitlement which then leads to enablement and powerlessness. This powerlessness is a very dangerous thing in that it puts people into a dependent relation with many of the potential “idols of our own destruction” that prevent a sustained dependence upon God. And so the question all this raises is: what exactly does gospel-centered empowerment entail? Very briefly, it consists of at least three very important concepts: Concept #1: Gospel-centered empowerment
• Never doing for the needy what they can be empowered to do for themselves • Limiting one-way help to emergencies and seeking for mutual two-way one-anothering instead • With respect to financial empowerment, seeking to empower the needy through employment, microlending, micro-enterprise development, and training, using grants sparingly to reinforce achievements • Focusing on leadership development with an intentional strategy for training and steps of transfer as needed • Targeting long term and sustainable solutions over quick fixes
Concept #2: Gospel-centered empowerment is churchbased empowerment. As per our “Total Christ” understanding of Christ’s ascension ministry today, we believe the church IS an essential element of the gospel. It takes spiritual- cognitive/social/moral transformation for a person to truly flourish even as being worked out holistically in both the inward and outward person. As an empowerment concept, a church-based strategy is a glass-half-full strategy that focuses on a church community's strengths more than its needs. It’s to play with a full deck, as it were, in human restoration and empowerment. It takes seriously the gifts and talents that exist within a given communal context so as to provide a system of social reinforcement and accountability as distinguishes crisis- from chronic-related mercy and seeks to carefully designed in the apostolic church. It results in a target the later for the sake of true empowerment. That community-oriented empowerment with one another is, true empowerment is not merely to rescue someone approach rather than for one another approach, thus from a crisis, but to set a person free from the spiritual, protecting people's dignity leading to sustainable selfmental and physical bondage to crisis. It is to target reliance. Strategically, this means: human self-reliance in relation to the fear and oppression • The “target group” of gospel-centered concerning the things of this world, albeit in dependence empowerment are members in good standing of upon God. This, of course, involves a whole range of a local, gospel believing and practicing church transformative activity as related to spirit, mind, and body. In a simple way Paul states the goal of • The power of gospel-centered empowerment empowerment, however much it can be applied to all should require participation in all the means of sorts of vocations and callings, as being enabled to “work God’s grace in Word, worship, and communal with [our] own hands so that [we] may be dependent on one-anothering and shepherding. no one” (1 Thess. 4:11-12). Paul’s vision is not against charity, just charity that would put another person into a • Each participant is helped not only to be served dependent relation with respect to his/her being but to serve, recognizing that while each of us empowered to be all that they are called to be in Christ. have gifts that differ, they are all important assets The key then to empowerment is to proactively target in a holistic ministry of Christ through the local whatever spiritual, mental, social, and physical issues that church. inhibit self-sustaining and systemic changes. Our commitment then is to an asset-based community Concept #3: Gospel-centered empowerment recognizes development (ABCD). Strategically that means: the close inter-dependent relation of the gospel as applied
3
VISION ANABAINO
Total Christ Christianity cont. to both the inward and outward person. For instance, “spiritual depression” as spiritually treated (inward) is often linked to “psychological depression” as medically treated (outward). Therefore, in addition to gospelcentered Christian counseling with communal reinforcement (inward) one may need medical treatment
holistic restoration in the world, though not of the world, but for the world. In all of this, I’m reminded of a book titled The Politics of Jesus (1972) by John Howard Yoder that re-examined the slogan of the 1948 Amsterdam Assembly “let the church be the church.” Yoder was arguing for the “centrality of the church” as a “social strategy.” According to Yoder, to the degree that the church becomes a “restored society,” it does so for the sake of an authentic witness in the greater society. He notes: The church must be a sample of the kind of humanity which, for example, economic and racial differences are surmounted. Only then will it have anything to say to the society that surrounds it about how those difference must be dealt with. 1
(outward). Economic poverty is often related to issues in identity making it such as to require both microenterprise (outward) and instruction in Christ-centered identity reformation which is related to our adoption and justification in Christ, as again lived out within a communal context of reinforcement (inward). As these two examples illustrate, the outward aspects of a holistic empowerment-based ministry might involve a range of micro-enterprises such as to include all sorts of cooperatives like housing and mortgage cooperatives, general store cooperatives, medical cooperatives, job training, church leadership development and training, etc. Such initiatives, in so far as they don’t come under the spiritual jurisdiction and instruction of the church directly, might require the establishment of church-based subsidiary organizations that are specifically designed to serve the interest of holistic church-based ministry, but that involve non-church kinds of activities that are not directly related to word, sacrament and spiritual shepherding, both as to protect the church acting as church and the para-church acting as mortgage lenders, vocational school, medical clinics, etc. and all the related secular and civil interactions that this will require.
I hope you will enjoy reading in this current edition of Vision Anabaino about the empowerment initiatives that are going on through Mission Anabaino already. They involve such micro-enterprise ventures as chicken farming in Haiti, a general store and housing cooperative in the Hill community of New Haven, and the communal oneanothering targeted home restorations and youth camps during Loving New Haven Impact Week. _____________________________________________ Yoder, John Howard, The Politics of Jesus, 2nd Edition (Eerdmans: Grand Rabids, Michigan, (1972), p. 150-152. 1
In short, a gospel empowerment vision for Total Christ Christianity is a vision wherein the church, just being the church, is a transformational presence of
4
Leadership Training as the Key to Life-Giving Empowerment in Ministry By Rev. Kevin Nelson
How a church empowers its leaders is something that can either invigorate or drain those called to leadership positions. What does it look like to have an empowered leader in church? An empowered leader is one who values the purpose and goals of that ministry and is less concerned about meeting expectations or maintaining a program. An empowered leader is ministering in freedom and confidence while working in orchestration with the larger body. Because of this, an empowered leader is one who brings passion and energy to ministry. Are you there? Do you feel freedom and energy when you lead? Do you have that confidence to be creative within the overall vision? What are the obstacles standing in the way? One of the biggest obstacles to empowerment is a lack of training. Training not only gives you the skills and theological content to make you a competent leader, it also helps you catch the DNA and vision of the church. In attending a training event like the Intro to Spiritual Leadership Conference, you begin to see the broader ministry of the church; you see what the whole body has valued and how it relates to the individual ministries. When leaders are not trained they tend to feel like outsiders, even in ministries they lead. The temptation here is to feel like you are entering into someone else’s ministry. This will stifle creativity and cause you to constantly defer to those on staff. Quickly you can become resentful and feel like an unpaid intern. Nothing is more draining than the feeling like you are trying to manage someone else’s program. If you feel this temptation, watch out. This is a real spiritual battle that can blind us to the work of ministry. It robs us of a sense of ownership and responsibility that comes with being called. We are less likely to bring the type of concern for detail and care for souls that you would bring if you were working independently. We need to remember that when Christ calls us to be leaders he is the one to whom we owe our service. He is calling us to shepherd His flock, His sheep, and not someone else’s. Yet, he is not calling us to lead independent of his body, but to work within the entire mission of the local congregation. Leadership development at CPC is comprised of two training events and an assessment by the session. The class on confessional theology is a robust study of our theology using the Westminster Confession of Faith. Taking Theology I will not only help you to see the whole system of
5
theology that we are operating under, but it constantly brings up relevant topics that have very practical ministry applications. Participating in the Introduction to Spiritual Leadership Conference exposes members to important leadership categories like lay counseling and small group leadership. It also provides resources in interpreting the Bible, ministering through mercy, and discipleship. Those taking this class will better understand why our church does what it does. In this way, CPC prides itself on being a training church. When one goes through these two classes and the assessment of our elders, he or she can feel well equipped to serve as a biblical leader with confidence. This, of course, is not just a ministry for CPC. Trained leaders have left our congregation feeling equipped to serve as teachers and elders many other places. It is our prayer that God continues to use our congregation to train and develop empowered leaders wherever He may lead them.
The Mercy Fund and Mission Anabaino By Shi Jen Cheng
The Mercy Fund Committee has been privileged to witness firsthand the freedom that can come to our brothers and sisters in Christ when they are released from even some of their economic burdens. Praise God! Though the essence of our role is simply to provide financial support for a single emergency, we have often seen this relief lead to further opportunities for the recipient to become more selfsustaining. For example, the Fund was able to pay both the back taxes owed and repairs needed for an individual’s car. This has allowed the individual to drive to work and that flexibility has now made them more employable, which allows them to provide for the car’s future payments. Mission Anabaino then takes the Mercy Fund emergency aid aspect and greatly expands and transforms it. Instead of feeling merely like the receiver of financial help, Mission Anabaino with its noble (and Nobel) ideas, will be able to help the individual develop skills and fiscal responsibilities to be more self-sustaining. Beyond that, the hope will be that the individual will feel a sense of self-worth and a two way connection to the body of Christ in the form of being empowered in new life and able now to reach out to others in need. The Mercy Fund Committee will continue to provide for those who do need a short term financial burden relief. We hope that there will be Mercy Fund coordinators for each site to review applications and provide budgeted funds from both their own site’s givings and also from other sites, perhaps as a combined fund from all sites. Through Mission Anabaino, that “fullness of him who fills all in all in/with/ through the gospel-centered church” will persevere.
6
The Church is often spoken of as a body with many parts -parts that need each other and should not despise being so (I Cor 12, Rom 12). Loving New Haven Impact Week is about coming together to experience that sense of wholeness as we use our gifts. This is why we have many different projects; they are many different ways of expressing our love. We have a soccer camp for those who are athletic, art camp for those who are artistic. We have Wild Ride and Theology Camp for those in different stages of life. We have opportunities to teach, to use technical skills, and to learn new skills. And there is room for more -- if you see a need we can meet or a gift we can use, speak up about it. We can’t execute every idea, but they will be considered because this is your week. Loving New Haven Impact Week provides a venue for the use of your skills among the church body and the greater New Haven community. You have things to share and you have things to learn and when we are together we can do so. To be clear, this week is for you like the sabbath is for you -- it is for your good, but it is not about you. You will be blessed as you serve others, you will be blessed as you are served, and you will grow in your love for one another in your service to one another. But here’s the kicker, they [the world] will know us [God’s representatives on earth] by our love for one another (Jn 13:34-35). God’s love is seen when we love and that’s what this is all about. This love is expressed in meeting a physical need - a place to sleep, a meal, a weeded garden, a painted house, time your kids are taken care of -- or an educational need -knowledge of financial planning, of our city, of nutrition, of soccer, of art, of theology, of scripture -- or a spiritual need -- of prayer and encouragement. We need each other to express this and we want to do it in front of our whole city. We can each have a part knowing that we are working for Christ’s kingdom. While some of us are called to plant the seed of the gospel and others to water, He produces the growth (1 Cor 3:6-8). None of us are called to do it all, to be it all, no one is a hand, eye, and foot in the body of Christ! We are but stewards of the resources given to us and empowered to use them for God’s glory. This week isn’t so different from the rest of the year, it is just concentrated -- a time for us to join together to accomplish what we can’t do alone and to encourage one another in faith and love. Being empowered doesn’t mean standing alone, it means standing -- and we do that best together. There are pictures scattered throughout this publication of the good work that God was doing among and through us that week in early July. All three congregations were working together on quite a few projects. We were joined by teams from two other churches as well, who have taken the vision of a small church doing mighty things back home with them. In addition to the VBS soccer camp, mercy projects, and Theology Camp for high school students, there were several new projects this year. Simultaneous with Theology Camp, we had a camp for junior high students called Wild Ride which focused on finding identity in Christ. In order to reach more kids, we added an art side to the VBS so that kids had the option of soccer or art. We also added in community workshops, which are evening classes taught by church members. And we ended every day together with dinner brought by a community group and devotions. The new projects brought fresh energy to the week, more occasions for leadership, and a better spread of opportunities to use our gifts. It was a week of hard work and great joy, of new friendships made and old ones renewed, of service and, most of all, a week of shared love.
7
VISION ANABAINO
Mission Anabaino Fall Review By Charlie Olcott
As described by Senior Pastor, Preston Graham, in the beginning of this issue, CPC defines empowerment as the creation of customized, income generating activities that are visibly and operationally linked to each church plant. These micro businesses and service providers are established for the benefit of church members to encourage individual economic independence and self reliance. By persistently and intentionally fostering a church planting and empowerment culture, Mission Anabaino (MA) cultivates and allocates financial and other resources derived from its to-be established non-profit status to research and acquire prospective church plant sites and identify empowerment micro-enterprise and micro-finance opportunities. Empowerment Examples Haiti In June of 2012 CPC entered into an agreement with two other entities for MA to help fund a 5,800 sq. ft. church, New Hope Presbyterian (NHP), and create a micro-loan to establish a church owned and operated chicken farm empowerment project near the town of Mirebalais, 40 miles northeast of Haiti’s capital city, Port Au Prince. By creating jobs, income and a valuable source of much needed protein, this new Haitian poultry venture visibly links NHP to the tangible encouragement
of individual economic independence and self-reliance of church members. One of the many gratifying elements in church planting and empowerment activities for those of us involved is the privilege to witness first hand the positive responsiveness and renewal of hope in the eyes of the recipients as they begin to believe there is no limit to what can happen through God’s grace when we work together. We will be eager to share other Haitian church empowerment projects currently under consideration as they take shape as well as give you progress reports on the chicken farm project as it evolves. The Hill Under Pastor Tolivar Wills’ enthusiastic guidance and encouragement, MA has been introduced to an exciting opportunity to help establish self-reliance and sustainable income for members of CPC in the Hill in New Haven. The concept calls for a micro empowerment seed loan from MA to a group of selected Hill church members to create and operate a selfsustaining merchandise co-op servicing residents of the Hill community. Not only would the co-op provide jobs for church members and affordable products and services for Hill residents but the particular Hill site under evaluation would carry the additional benefit of providing two low income residences on the floor above the co-op. The preliminary project discussions with church members have already begun to kindle an energized spirit of volunteerism and the desire to participate within the congregation which can become remarkably alluring for those seekers watching from the sidelines. Just two examples of CPC’s holistic approach to church planting; not just establishing new centers of worship but through CPC’s empowerment vision, helping to provide economic stability and self-reliance within the church family in particular, and the surrounding community in general.
8
Empowerment in the Hill
What began as a simple Bible study, has turned into an ever-growing community of believers, who are learning to embrace their self-worth in Jesus and to participate in every facet of its ministry.
By Rev. Tolivar Wills
In several of His epistles, Paul uses various metaphors or images to describe the empowering and interdependent nature of Christ’s Church. Whether in I Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 4, or in Romans 12, one cannot miss the recurring theme of encouraging each member of the Church of Jesus Christ to use their gifts to maintain the unity, health, and mediated glory of Jesus through the Church. In summary, Paul’s description of the empowerment of the members of the body of Christ is not only inherent to the Christian life, but crucial to the manifestation of Jesus in the world and to the further setting up of His kingdom in the lives of His people. Therefore, the Mission Anabaino movement seeks to provide the training and opportunities for the members of Christ’s church to be equipped to serve it.
9
that reflect the ‘flesh’ of the specific communities; that they sound, look, feel, and taste like the communities that they worship in. The reason for such an approach is to remove as many potential intimidations to empowering participation.
For failing to take into consideration the various ‘fleshes’ of communities runs the risk of communicating, both unintentionally and indirectly, that not everyone’s gifts are needed; or worse yet, that a person’s gifts or input are not good enough or wanted. I am reminded of the experience of one of the Hill Despite this seemingly simple parishioners, who originally was a prescriptive picture, there are various member at CPC Whitney, before obstacles to empowering everyone in helping with the launch in the Hill. the church. The more obvious Upon serving and participating in the hindrance is individual selfishness; life of the Hill church, he stated to simply not being willing to offer one’s me, ‘you know Tolivar, I never could gifts for the good of others. But more have done any of this over at often than not, the obstacles are more Whitney. With all the highly subtle and debilitating, though still educated, wealthy, and strong governed by self. For instance, there personalities, they didn’t need me and are various forms of power, such as what I had to offer.” Now, of course, levels of education, wealth and no one at Whitney had ever affluence, place of vocational communicated or did anything that employment, and certain personality would convey such a sad types, which can serve as road blocks interpretation of his place at CPC to empowerment for many believers. Whitney; sadly, it was not so much In fact, it is this reality that has about what the Whitney folks did, but shaped Mission Anabaino’s more about his own poor self-image commitment to planting churches of himself in comparison to some of
the folks at Whitney; a self-image that was informed not by his identity in Christ, but by the norms of our fallen culture. It is these types of misinterpretations that create disempowering experiences for folks all across this country, which the Mission Anabaino movement seeks to eliminate via the gospel and the leadership development of all of God’s people. CPC in the Hill has been privileged to begin to implement this empowering philosophy of ministry beyond CPC Whitney over these past years. What began as a simple Bible study, has turned into an evergrowing community of believers, who are learning to embrace their selfworth in Jesus and to participate in every facet of its ministry. This sanctifying process has created leaders in every dimension of the ministry: teachers, small group leaders, outreach coordinators, transportation facilitators, deacon and elder candidates, mercy facilitators, prayer leaders, and various other roles related to our CoOp store in the Hill. As a result of this sanctifying work of the gospel, less time is spent comparing ourselves to others, and more time focused on how we can glorify Christ by blessing our brothers and sisters.
10
One man had been encountering serious family issues, and having grown up in a nominal Catholic setting, always had a certain interest in "religion", but was forced a few months ago to really pursue something more than what the world can provide. As he started to come to Goatville and meet with me, he discovered new passions and interests that God was creating in his heart. Yes, the intellectual message of the gospel - especially the unique insights into our motivations that come from justification - made him thirst for more of true faith that he had never heard explained well; but God was also giving him an internal sense that he has a mission on this earth, and it's bigger than just getting a good job, becoming "somebody" in the world, or even pursuing happiness. One great example was a Sunday that he missed Goatville to join a friend at the US Open in NYC. This friend's girlfriend was actually playing in the finals, so he got a unique look into one example of the world's success or idols. However, he was left with a feeling of emptiness "why did I go to this event, when I knew I really wanted to be at church? it felt very superficial even though it was very admirable or sexy in the world's eyes." Now, of course, we love tennis and believe in glorifying God in all parts of the world, but this example showed me just how much God was reaching him and transforming his desires for the gospel and the community of fellowship that can only come when it is centered on Jesus Christ. Although still relatively new to the gospel, God was clearly opening his heart to see the implications of grace throughout his life. He is clearly jumping into the new life, wherein Christ empowers us to live free from the oppression of sin. The second example I want to share is of a man who had a solid faith background, had primarily attended Presbyterian churches, and had recently moved to New Haven for work. He is the type of quiet, humble servant that every church needs and every successful church has
in spades, working hard behind the scenes. He has been consistent ever since he showed up, has often shared with me how he loves the solid preaching and is glad that he was able to find a community where he could worship in a biblical way that is also his flesh. He is often the one setting up and cleaning for worship, and although he may not have a flashy personality, he makes me praise God for using Goatville because it is one encouraging fruit of the gospel that He blesses the meek and humble and patient. It is always a temptation for pastors and churches to follow trends, pursue "hip" and charismatic people, but the gospel is for all people and this man's solid walk with God gives me encouragement that we are building our community on the solid rock of Christ. As far as stories from our actual service, two come to mind. One, I have heard repeatedly how many congregants appreciate that we take the sermon text seriously, unpack it in a mature way, and draw out its implications. The importance of letting God speak through His Word has historically been the benchmark by which the Church stands or falls, so I am always encouraged to hear feedback that listeners see that happening and are engaged by it. Moreover, as an essential part of our worship service is a time of open confession of sin and absolution. One college student who has bounced around different churches her first two years at Yale, was struck upon visiting Goatville that we do this - "when he was sharing his sin of self-righteousness and wanting more of God, I knew something real was going on." This is an amazing testament to God's Spirit working in our hearts, to be able to share our sins with one another because we know that only mercy, forgiveness and new life await us in Christ! As a pastor, I am always amazed to witness the visible relief and joy on people's faces that accompany the pronouncement of absolution every week, and this is a great glimpse into that weekly privilege. Empowered to be vulnerable and open about our sin - this is such a countercultural and paradoxical way to show people the true gospel! Thank you for taking the time to read about our new second service - Goatville - and the ways God is working among us. It is a privilege to embark on a new adventure in Christ. Please pray that more and more examples of God's grace like these would develop, and that we could spread the good news of the gospel among people who so desperately need it. Yours in Christ, Craig Rev. Craig Luekens
11
CPC Welcomes Charlie Olcott To The Position of Executive Director of Mission Anabaino Mission Anabaino (MA) is a central ministry of Christ Presbyterian Church New Haven (CPC), a multi-site church and global church planting movement. MA functions as CPC’s primary body for defining and executing church planting strategy; encouraging, coaching and supporting planters; recruiting, assessing and developing interns; fostering a church planting culture; and cultivating and allocating financial and other resources toward church planting, including the various not for profit subsidiary organizations deemed necessary in fulfilling the kind of empowerment and micro-enterprise initiatives that serve the church committed to holistic ministry. The Executive Director of Mission Anabaino is accountable to the Sr. Pastor and CPC Session in providing leadership and management of the day-to-day operations, working closely with CPC Church Planters and affiliate networks to define the vision and accomplish the mission of the MA to plan ten local and ten global churches in ten years. The position will involve operational and administrative team-building, coaching, deal creation and negotiation, tactical & strategic planning, operational and human resource assessments, fund raising and financial management Charlie Olcott and his wife, Suzanne now live in Guilford, Connecticut, were married in 1970 and have three grown sons, Chad, who lives with his wife, Susan and twin 20-month old daughters in Brunswick, ME; Tommy who is single and lives and works out of Milton, MA and Mike and his wife, Becca who live in Newburyport, MA. Charlie grew up in Michigan and Massachusetts; Suzanne in Massachusetts and Florida. Charlie started his career with Aetna Life and Casualty then moved on to The Pillsbury Company and Burger King Corporation before becoming a small business planning and fundraising consultant over the past twenty-five years. Suzanne enjoys painting, drawing, cooking, Bible studies and book clubs. Both love the salt water and long distance swimming.
CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 135 Whitney Avenue New Haven, CT 06510
12