Church of the Brethren Young Adult Bridge newsletter - Fall 2017

FALL

BRIDGE2017

Teach

life

with your

—1 Timothy 4:11-16

Young Adult Conference

1

2018

Young Adult Conference 2018

By Jessie Houff It’s that time of year again: students are back in school, everything is pumpkin flavored, and the Young Adult Steering Committee has been busy planning for next year’s YAC! What’s the theme, you might ask? Great question. The theme for YAC 2018 is: Teach with Your Life.

for peace. We work for justice. We volunteer. We love our neighbor. As young adults, we are passionate about fellowship and are driven to be a bigger part of the church.

We are resilient. These qualities make us leaders and teachers.

Our scripture focus this year comes from 1 Timothy chapter 4. While the entire chapter embodies the essence of our theme, versus 11-16 shine through: “Get the word out. Teach all these things and don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching and that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid their hands on you and prayed – keep that dusted off and in use. Cultivate these things. Immerse yourself in them. The people will all see you mature right before their eyes! Keep a firm grasp on both your character and your teaching. Don’t be diverted. Just keep at it. Both you and those who hear you will experience salvation.” (The Message) Teach with your life.

We all have a story. We all have gifts. We all have powerful experiences to share. Our paths might not always be clear or steadfast, but this scripture teaches us to persevere. In times of uncertainty, fear, and hatred, we must continue to be empowered and inspire others to spread the word, give love, have faith, and be good. What can you teach the world?

Teach

life

with your

—1 Timothy 4:11-16

Young Adult Conference

2018

As a part of the millennial generation, we are sometimes looked down on as “lazy” or that we drown our days updating social media and gazing into screens. We are so much more than that! We are a loving generation. We strive

Young Adult Conference 2018 1 Timothy 4:11-16

May 25 – 27, 2017 Camp Brethren Woods, Keezletown, VA Cost: $150

(Deposit of $65 due within a week of registering.

Late fee of $25 after April 30.)

Speakers: Logan Schrag, Dawna Welch, Christopher Michael, and more!

Music coordinated by Jacob Crouse.

Worship coordinated by Sarah Neher.

Register online at: www.brethren.org/yac on February 1, 2018

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T y

Getting to know the newest members of the Young Adult Steering Committee 1. What is your home congregation and district?

2. What are you doing with your life now?

3. What is the most meaningful part of being a young adult in the Church of the Brethren?

4. What is your favorite ice cream flavor and why?

Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred 1.Hollidaysburg Church of the Brethren in Middle Pennsylvania 2.I just moved to Washington, D.C., where I am a Young Fellow with the Friends Committee on National Legislation. I also just got married in August!

3.The most meaningful part of being a young adult in the Church of the Brethren is being part of an amazing and storied tradition and theology that has never been more relevant than right now. In a world in which our news screens are loaded with images of violence abroad, our own nation struggles with forces like racism, poverty, and gun violence, and our government invests so heavily in military spending, the Brethren value of peace offers a glimpse of how love for God and neighbor can heal such brokenness. In an era crowded with wasteful material things, endless flashing lights and clamoring sounds, and the constant bombardment of advertising, the Brethren value of simplicity offers a radical vision of another way to live closer to God and one another. In a church and political environment rife with division, while our technology sometimes isolates us from each other and creates echo chambers in which only our perspectives can survive, the Brethren value of togetherness offers an important reminder of what it means to live in a beloved community.

4.Ben & Jerry’s Pistachio. It is the perfect blend of creamy and crunchy, it is an extremely pleasant flavor, but also very subtle and gentle so it does not overwhelm, and it is a nice color that simply invites satisfaction.

Krystal Bellis 1.Ankeny Church of the Brethren in Northern Plains 2.I am currently in nursing school, with hopes of becoming a missionary nurse.

3.Just knowing that you are a part of the future of the church is so meaningful! You as a young adult have the ability to influence people of all ages!

4.Mint ice cream! (No chocolate)

Emmy Goering 1.McPherson Church of the Brethren in Western Plains 2.I just finished up a year of Brethren Volunteer Service at the Church of the Brethren, Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. I'm now attending McPherson College, studying communication with a minor in Peace Studies.

3.The Church of the Brethren does a great job of giving young adults the opportunity to explore their calling. I’ve felt like my ideas have been incredibly welcomed in the Church of the Brethren.

4.I love chocolate chip cookie dough. (I've always been one to eat cookie dough raw.)

Emmett, Emmy, and Krystal joined current members (L to R) Rudy Amaya, Jessie Houff, and Renee Neher.

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Young adults in action in the church

Seeing others

By Rudy Amaya

everyone would see it that way. I told him that what defines him isn’t what others say, but what defines him is his soul and what he relates to this world. He understood because I was speaking his language. This young boy was all too familiar with discrimination and desire to believe in his beauty.

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.

If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

—Nelson Mandela Over the summer, I was blessed to learn from children at a youth center near the University of La Verne, where I am attending my third year as a critical civic and community engagement major. These children taught me so much, and I am glad to have been able to serve this community.

One day, I saw a twelve-year old boy crying. Due to the color of his skin, another child told him he could not be a part of their pretend family. What was I to say? I felt uncomfortable because I was unsure what the right thing to say would be, but it felt like a call. A call to get out of my comfort zone and realize our children and communities need to know that they are a part of a family, regardless of any differences.

I pulled aside the crying child and asked him what the consequence for this other child should be. His response was heartwarming. Because it was the other kid’s birthday, he didn’t want him to get suspended, and instead suggested that we should just talk with him. I was proud to see how he forgave the other kid, regardless of the pain he felt.

I sat down with both children and told the other child the comment he made “jokingly” was not a joke at all. I made a comment that I felt was necessary for both boys to hear.

I asked myself what action could I take to impact the lives of children like him? I reflected on what had helped me overcome the socially constructed ideas of who I could be.

Mentoring came to mind because not only had I been positively influenced, but I had been researching mentoring in my previous semester. Now I am in the process of starting Tree of Life Youth Mentoring, a program that partners youth in communities around the university with undergraduate students to establish and strengthen the idea that higher education is a possibility for them too. Many times, the idea of attending an institution of higher learning is not seen as a possibility because of strong socially constructed ideas of who our kids of color can be. But now we will start to break down that foundation and rebuild!

is probably not the first time he “This feels left out because of the color of his skin, and it probably won’t be the last time. As people of a lighter complexion, we need to understand that we won’t understand the struggle and pain of others.

”

After letting the other kid go back, I wanted to make sure the upset boy understood what I was trying to say. I explained to him that his skin color is beautiful, but that not

Rudy and Erin (next page) are teaching others about God’s love with their lives. We wanted you to hear their stories! Do you have a good story to share or know of someone who does?

Email bullomnaugle@brethren.org.

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Young adults in action in the church

Be a young adult IN the church

By Erin West

you feel is your kid is hard. Mental health issues and PTSD play a big role in our family dynamics.

We would not have been able to take on this adventure of foster parenting without the support of our church family.

Within a few hours of getting the call about having the kids join our family, we had clothes, pack and plays, cribs, car seats, and meals showing up. I feel honored to call Bridgewater Church of the Brethren my home congregation.

Every day, when getting Liam dressed, for a while he would ask, “Are we going to church today?” In which I would reply, “No buddy, not today,” and he would get really sad. We truly are blessed to have a community of faith that can support us and that we feel a part of. There isn’t a stranger to our kids on a Sunday morning. Both Marianne and I are from Pennsylvania, so we really lean into our church family in hard times.

When asked to write about what it means to be a young adult in the Church of the Brethren, I had a hard time coming up with anything prophetic. I don’t do anything big and bold. But we aren’t all called to go out into the world and prophesy. Some of us are called to be a mom to four kids who didn’t have a safe home anymore. Sometimes all you have to do is say “yes” to a phone call, and you can change the world of a small child. In turn, they will change your world too. Being a young adult in the Church of the Brethren doesn’t mean that you have to be the next person in leadership or attend Bethany to become a pastor. What it means is this: BE a young adult IN the Church of the BRETHREN COMMUNITY. Find a Brethren community and get involved! This doesn’t have to mean that every Sunday you walk into a building. Maybe your community is on social media. Maybe it’s through a web stream. Maybe it’s at the local bar or coffee shop with some friends. It doesn’t matter whether you go every week, once a month, or just on the holidays when you are home with your parents.

Being Brethren for me is as much part of my identity as being female, having blonde hair, or being gay. It’s part of my innate being that has shaped my morals and values.

When you find a community, get involved. Learn what’s going on and to let your voice be known. Don’t feel like you have to do everything, just pick one thing. People care about what the “youngins’” think, and to be honest, one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had is sitting around a table eating and sharing time and stories with the older adults of the church community.

Why should I write this article? Because what I do matters to others. I am not a good writer, nor speaker, and that’s ok because as flawed as I am, I still have a story to share. What matters is that I have a voice and what I say could mean the world to someone else!

When first asked to write a piece for the Bridge, my first response was why me? I am not a good writer or speaker.

What would I have to say that would have any type of impact on those around me? Then I was asked again about this article. Apparently even if I didn’t feel like I had anything to say, others saw that I did. I think that’s part of what being in community is about: encouraging others to share their stories and talents with the whole.

My wife Marianne and I live in Bridgewater, VA, with our four kids ages 9, 32 months, 30 months, and 18 months. I am a Breeder Flock Supervisor for Cargill Protein (Turkey farms). A year after we got married, Marianne and I started the process of becoming foster parents. A year after that, we were placed with our first son, Liam, on a Tuesday night around 10pm - and that Friday we were flying to Tampa for Annual Conference! Welcome to the family and the Church of the Brethren, little guy! About 6 months later, we got a call to take a brother and sister, 7 years old and 9 months at the time. We prayerfully considered (you only have a few minutes to decide) and said yes. This made us a family of 5. Six months after that, we got another phone call that Liam had a little sister that was entering the system. Would we be willing to take her too? This was tough for us. We instantly wanted to say yes, but this would now make us a family of 6. We said yes anyway. We sold our Prius and bought a mini-van. This past May, we got the joy to adopt Liam and his sister Tobin. We are currently in the process of finalizing our adoption for Alysse, and are hoping that we will be able to start the process of adopting her older brother soon. Then our “insta-family” of 6 will be permanent!

I love being a mom! My kids bring me pure joy and I love seeing them smile and hearing them laugh. However, being a foster parent is hard. Emotions run high, the whiplash of, “they are going back…oh wait no, they aren’t” is very straining. Navigating biological family relationships and not having full control of decision making for someone who

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Ministry Summer Service challenges Church of the Brethren college students and congregations/ ministry sites to consider God’s call on their lives.

Attend a one week orientation in Illinois before serving for 9 weeks somewhere in the United States; receive a $2,500 scholarship, as well as food, housing, a small monthly stipend, and transportation for the summer.

Remember that the Youth Peace Travel Team is a part of MSS. Apply to serve on the YPPT this summer!

Apply online between now and January 5, 2018!

www.brethren.org/mss

Ministry Summer Service Reflections Cassie Imhoff I grew up in Ohio and went to Inspiration Hills Camp, where I had some of the best role models of my life.

I am now starting my senior year as a management major at Manchester University, in hopes of someday working as a camp director. I have loved working at camp for many summers now, so when I found out I was able to apply for Ministry Summer Service (MSS) and work at camp I was very excited. I eventually applied for MSS and was placed at Camp Mardela for the summer of 2017.

Through MSS and being placed at Camp Mardela, I may have had the best summer ever! My summer was packed full of meeting new people, learning new things, and expanding my love and knowledge about camp. Like my counselors in

the past, I got to be a counselor/role model for so many more kids this summer. I learned the most though, when I directed two short camps. I learned a lot of helpful information about camp and about myself. I highly recommend MSS to anyone who has an idea about what they want to do after graduation, but wants more experience. This program helped me know what I can be “when I grow up.”

Kerrick van Asselt Ministry Summer Service (MSS) was truly an amazing experience. The opportunity to explore my call with the

incredible support, guidance, and encouragement MSS provides was one of the most transformative experiences of my life.

I was placed in the Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and found some absolutely incredible people who helped me grow so much - not only in my faith, but also as a person. The chance to be placed into a different church community than the one I grew up in was such an opportunity for growth and development, and really helped open my eyes to new perspectives. Being able to work in a church and alongside a mentor is a wonderful way to explore a call into ministry and but is a great way to serve alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ. I would highly recommend MSS for anyone and everyone, regardless of whether or not you feel called into ministry. Doing MSS opens doors, connects you to another part of God’s family, gives you the chance to branch out into the world, and lets you grow and explore deeper into what it means to truly live as a disciple of Jesus.

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Young Adult (Ages 18-35)

Burundi May 31 - June 10* $675** Come join us in the Central Highlands of Burundi! Our Mission will partner with THARS, an interdenominational, charitable organization in Burundi. THARS serves thousands of victims of genocide in Burundi, Rwanda, and the DRC. Our work will reflect the needs of the site, but will mainly consist of construction work remodeling a library at THARS. In addition to the work, there will be time to explore the surrounding area and interact with members of the local community. *Please take into account that travel time will add to these dates. **Please also budget for the cost of a visa (about $90).

We Are Able Assistants* - Elgin, IL June 11-14 $380 Join the We Are Able workcamp, a workcamp for intellectually disabled youth and young adults. Participants serve for the week to assist the We Are Able workcampers as they work at food banks and distribution centers in the Fox River Valley of Northern Illinois. Have fun spending time with those with disabilities, helping to care for their needs, and serving side by side with them. Help to make it a great week for the We Are Able campers who are coming. *Some experience with intellectually disabled people is preferred.

Intergenerational (Completed 6th grade and up)

BRF - Lewiston, Maine August 4-11 $325 This workcamp is for those who identify with the views of the Brethren Revival Fellowship (BRF). Conservative, evangelical ideals will be emphasized during the week under BRF leadership. Experience a taste of day-to-day life on Horton Street in Lewiston, Maine, by interacting with the community. Work with Root Cellar, an inner-city ministry that connects local churches with social, economic, and spiritual needs in the impoverished downtown neighborhood of Lewiston. Spend time working at the Good Shepherd Food Bank, which provides approximately 36,000 meals per week throughout the entire state. Additionally, help local church families and play with children who live in the neighborhood. Join this workcamp for a week of working, playing, and spreading the love and teachings of Jesus with the community of Lewiston.

Reflections from the 2017 young adult workcamp to Nepal

By Ashley Patel My time in Nepal with my fellow workcampers was undeniably memorable. I made instant friendships with whom I shared the same faith.

Working alongside locals was very humbling.

Our feet ached. Our bodies were exhausted and sweating - from both heat and the hard labor of the day. It was easy to complain, easy to forget our mission, and easy to dismiss the beauty around us. Gathering together for devotions each night helped us refocus our thoughts. Collectively, we agreed that even though we were in a new culture and living in unfamiliar conditions, God had a plan for us. From then on, our hardships and difficulties were welcomed with open arms. We grew together and learned how to lift each other up.

The locals were curious about us and eager to help, regardless if we shared their same faith. Strangers passing by would stop to greet us with respect - something we take for granted at home with our empty “hellos” in passing! While language may have been a barrier, we made deep connections by working together, sharing laughter, and singing. By the end of our experience, each of us had formed an unspoken bond with the children and individuals at the worksites.

Lessons of overcoming hardships, building community, and recognizing God in unique places are things I’ve uniquely learned because of my work camp experience in Nepal. For this, I’m truly grateful.

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Dear potential NYC Youthworker,

Thank you for your interest in assisting with National Youth Conference 2018! Youthworkers are an essential part of the NYC staff, helping to carry out the programs and plans of the National Youth Cabinet as well as making sure that no details are missed. By filling out the enclosed application, you will allow us to see how you might fit into the NYC leadership team.

Serving as a youthworker is a serious task. It is not a job for those who want to “experience” NYC. Youthworkers often miss sessions, meals, and sleep in order to get the job done. We expect you to commit for the entire week of NYC to whatever jobs we require, often meaning ten to twelve hour days or longer. Also, we do not allow families of Youthworkers to attend NYC (unless that relative is a youth, an advisor, or on staff). Though this may sound somewhat difficult, past experience has proven it makes for a much more successful conference. These responsibilities are not meant to scare you out of applying, but rather to emphasize the importance and responsibility of being a youthworker. We need committed, focused, and enthusiastic people to make NYC run smoothly.

As a youthworker, we expect you to arrive on Friday, July 20 (the day before NYC begins) in the early afternoon and to help us through Thursday afternoon, July 26. No preparations will be required prior to the week of NYC. As compensation for your time and efforts, your registration fee will be waived (which includes lodging and meals) and we will cover your travel expenses (provided we book your airline tickets).

Keeping the above issues in mind, please consider your other obligations and time commitments and how NYC fits with them. Your completed application must be postmarked by November 1, 2017, and final decisions will be made in early 2018.

Again, thank you for your interest in making National Youth Conference 2018 a wonderful experience!

Blessings,

National Youth Conference Coordinator

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Memories of Young Adult Conference 2017 These quotes were gathered through YAC 2017 evaluations.

“I loved singing hymns with young adults—the sound reverberated throughout the room and was beautiful!”

“I genuinely enjoyed the small groups each doing creative skits, songs, projects for the talent show—they were excellent!”

“The footwashing— it really cemented the whole weekend into our roots and how to use that to be a better neighbor.”

“Being able to reconnect with old friends as well as make new ones.

It was really meaningful to be in action with our faith as a group.”

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Memories of Young Adult Conference 2017

“Overall I just enjoyed having a chance to fellowship with other young adults. I think this is an imperative ministry that helps keep the young adults of the church connected and brings them together for something special.”

“I come from a church where I am the only young adult. So for me it is very nice to be able to connect with other young adults in the denomination. Getting to talk to people who are in really similar spots in life is very helpful in my faith life. I tend to use email and other social media to stay connected through out the year. To me it is very much a support group when I am going through something that might be a little harder.”

YAC 2017 photos by Kelsey Murray

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Simple Living

By Tim and Katie Heishman

church potlucks (instead of using paper or Styrofoam products). For Christmas and birthday presents, we ask for experiences rather than stuff. In general, we try not to spend money, but rather save it or give it away.

Living simply is a fun challenge that results in more space in our lives for God, for relationships, and greater care of the earth. It’s hard to know where to start, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed because we live in a materialistic, competitive, and busy culture. The key is to take one area of your life at a time and work on it. When you master that area, move on to the next area. One area we are struggling with right now is technology. We would like to keep a “screen-free sabbath” once a week. As millennials and seminary students, it is hard to disconnect but we hope to grow in this area. We will always have areas to grow in and it’s not about “one” way of living simply. But once you start trying to simplify, you will develop a critical eye that will call you to accountability.

Along the journey be sure to soak in the joys of a simple life: more time for God, more time for relationships, and a lighter footprint on our earth.

We live simply because Jesus tells us to. “Do not worry about your life” (Matthew 6:25). “Sell your possessions, and give alms. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:33-34). These are just a few of the verses that inspire us to live simply. Living simply means we have more time for God, more time for each other, we take better care of God’s earth, and more of our money goes to people who need it more than we do. Living simply requires teamwork and intentionality. Here are a few ways we live out Jesus’ teachings.

Katie and Tim Heishman, students at Bethany Theological Seminary, also serve as the Co-Program directors at Camp Brethren Woods in the Shenandoah District. Katie and Tim live radically simply, and they are committed to sharing with others about making life simpler in order to make more room to love God and others.

Maybe part of your journey will be attending Simplify: A Simple Living Weekend, a conference we are hosting at Brethren Woods Camp & Retreat Center in Keezletown, Virginia this November 10-11. Keynotes will explore what nonconformity looks like in a globalized economy and a Biblical theology of simple living. Hands on workshops will teach us: how to hypermile our cars to get 10-50% more miles to the gallon, how technology affects our spiritual life and what to do about it, how to make your home more sustainable, and so much more! Join speakers Sam Funkhouser, Nancy Heisey, Jennifer Hosler, Tom Benevento, Yakubu and Diana Bakfwash, and us as we explore these themes together. And, by the way, we “simplified” the price for you. It’s $35 for the whole weekend: housing, all meals, and all programming included!

It’s only $10 if you’re a student! You can find more information and register at www.brethrenwoods.org/simplify.

For starters, we share a salary. We try to resist the cultural pressure to make more money so we can buy more stuff. We also give a full 10% tithe to our local church. As a camp colleague told Tim a few years ago, “If you don’t give when it’s hard, you won’t give when it’s easy.” We try not to make money a top priority but we do make giving 10% of it away a top priority. We share a car and to try to combine several trips into one to save gas. This means we often ride together, which results in more quality time together as a couple. We also try not to buy clothes - especially not new clothes. Katie is an expert at thrift shopping, and Tim specializes in wearing clothes for a decade or more before giving them away! Tim has had the same laptop since 2008, and is hoping it still runs for its 10-year anniversary. We eat vegetarian or vegan, which is cheaper, but also better for the earth. Factory farmed meat is one of the highest polluting industries, even rivaling the transportation sector by some estimates. We make our own deodorant, toothpaste, hair gel, face scrub, and lotion. We have given up single use plastics such as straws, take out containers, and plastic cutlery. We are the oddballs who bring our own dishes from home to

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Glenn Riegel

Becoming a Living Parable

By Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred Samuel Sarpiya is a pastor and church planter in Rockford, IL. He’s also the founder of the Center for Nonviolence and Conflict Transformation, an organization that incubates social change in Rockford through economic empowerment programs and nonviolence trainings for community members and the police department. Samuel currently serves as the Annual Conference Moderator. Recently, I interviewed Samuel for the Dunker Punks Podcast. We spoke how the Church of the Brethren can work to create justice, how young adults fit into the church, and about Samuel’s hopes for the church as Moderator. Part of that conversation is excerpted below. The rest is available at arlingtoncob.org/dpp.

We in the Church of the Brethren are called to be out there too. I’ve seen the impact of our work globally, but domestically we need to look where we can be and make a greater impact as well.

Emmett Witkovsky-Eldred: As young adults, many of us are very interested in how the Church can be a blessing to our communities through witness and through service. As a church planter whose ministry does both, can you talk about how churches can identify the needs of their communities and how churches can go beyond where they are located to impact broader issues of justice?

EWE: Many Congregations in the COB are aware of our tradition as a peace fellowship, but we don’t always find ways to bear our values forward. As young adults, we’re also trying to figure how old our tradition connects with our new generation. What are ways that members of the COB can carry Brethren traditions further and make them relevant today?

Samuel Sarpiya: A lot of people don’t realize that Rockford Community Church is located in the middle of a cornfield. At the same time, about 80% of our ministry happens in the inner city. I don’t think any church can say that “we’re in a rural town, and there is no need.”

Needs that exist across every community and across racial lines. Every Church of the Brethren can seek to identify the need in their community and address the need.

SS: Avoid being politicized and avoid politicizing your message. Jesus was so radical that the four political parties of his day—the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, and the Sanhedrin—wanted Jesus’ attention and wanted to hijack his message, but Jesus was able to speak to all of those parties from our a very prophetic point of view. When we cease identifying with a political party, we’ll be able to become the prophetic voice to speak to them all. There are elements of truth and falsehood in all parties. By being prophetic, we’ll be able to elevate the message of the cross: peacefully, simply, together.

Churches that are located next to cities with more ethnic diversity should look around and ask: “What other community groups are working to bring about racial and socioeconomic justice that we can partner with, bringing our own faith tradition into the mix?”

EWE: But we live in a very politicized environment, so this is something we all struggle with. How do we be civically engaged and speak prophetically to the political moment without falling into the trap of aligning ourselves to a political message rather than the Gospel of Jesus?

There is a longing out there for the Brethren way of life: the simplicity, the focus on peace, the wanting to be together. But we undermine the impact of the Gospel message by remaining in our own cluster. I will say this to every Brethren congregation: the need is out there, and we are called to be out there.

SS: Take a look at the movement seeking to address injustice between law enforcement and communities of color. I see the church being prophetic in this way. Yes, the militarized nature of law enforcement is wrong. Period.

But the way to bring reconciliation is by not throwing gasoline on the fire.

You know, Jesus had some crazy bad habits, like going out of his way to hang out at the well with the woman in Samaria and dining with Zacchaeus. Jesus was constantly looking outward, not just surrounded in his safe cluster of twelve disciples. He was always ‘out there.’

(continued)

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Living Parable (continued from previous page)

EWE: That gets to some of the work you have cut out for you as our moderator. Can you talk a little about what it’s like to be the Moderator and your hope for the Church?

There’s something that I learned in King’s “six steps to reconciliation.” Create change both from the top down and from the bottom up. Change in both areas work in tandem to produce active social change. At the top, there are people caught in the system who are really for change. You have to look there for allies. At the bottom, there are people that are oppressed because they’re caught up in an oppressive system. You have to look there for ways to elevate their voices. You find the people on both sides looking to make change. When you’re politicized, you can only look for people on one side. When the church is radical and speaks prophetically to both side, you look at both groups and bring them together.

SS: I’ve learned that being the Moderator is the most altruistic service to which God can ever call you to. You have the biggest mic, with not a single bit of “power” attached to that mic. That is pure service. You do it, longing to move the church in the direction that God is leading in the 21st century. I look at the state of the church, and I long for us to dial in more individually and collaboratively as a community. What does it really mean to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the 21st century? How can we become a living parable for the church in this generation? Can people look at the Church of the Brethren and say “those are truly followers of Jesus. There is something unique about them.”

We can collaboratively address issues of injustice in our community! Every community is different, but little by little, and before we realize it, we can be a force to be reckoned with. Imagine if every Church of the Brethren began to look at ways to partner with policy makers in their community to address issues of social change as well as spiritual decay in our society. Can you imagine the great impact? We can become the conduit through which the revival we’ve all been longing for will come.

As a church that seeks to be a movement, we continue the work of Jesus by teaching in the villages and peaching the Good News of the kingdom. We minister healing through our service, and offer spiritual healing as well. When we look at each other through the eyes of Jesus, in a compassionate and loving way, I think that will take us in the direction that God is longing for the Church of the Brethren.

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April 6-8, 2018 Frederick Church of the Brethren Frederick, MD

MISSION

2018 A Gathering of God’s people… a Global Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren missions conference featuring: · Worship · Keynote speakers · Workshops · Fellowship with Brethren from near and far

Save the date today!

Register starting October 21st. www.brethren.org/missionalive2018

Church of the Brethren