July/August 2021 - Herald

VOL. 168 JUL/AUG 2021

www.CofChrist.org

CHRIST’S MISSION, OUR MISSION

We Endure

The Enduring Principles keep us tethered to who we’ve been and who we will be, even in times of uncertainty. As we think about church in 2021 and beyond, how will we harness the possibilities before us?

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: President Steve Veazey Talks Online Ministries | Scripture: Interpreted through Jesus, the Peaceful One | Financial Update

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contents VOLUME 168 NO. 4 JULY-AUGUST 2021

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Diversity + Inclusion: Expanding Our Vision Online workshops and presentations seek to raise awareness and inspire action.

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Ecumenical + Interfaith Ministries: Pathways for Advocacy Partnering with faith-based organizations and networks forges relationships that expand ministerial impact.

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Scripture as Interpreted Through Jesus, the Peaceful One Jesus’ message calls us to reexamine our assumptions and explore new ways of understanding God’s boundless love.

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Mission in 2021 How can we be the most effective expression of Community of Christ in our time?

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Church History: A Journey that Endures Generations of members have generously given and gratefully received support that has sustained them through adversity.

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Spiritual Formation: Return Our desire to gather in person again is an opportunity for renewed intention and connection.

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We Endure The Enduring Principles keep us tethered to who we’ve been and who we will be, even in times of uncertainty.

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Financial Update The church’s generous response is a living testimony to the strength of our community.

departments 4 Announcements 5

Christ’s Mission, Our Mission

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On That Note

9 Bookshelf 36 Official 40

Next Gen

41 Milestones 42 Amen

cover Photos © Revoltan; arthead; Thananit | Adobe Stock Photo; Community of Christ library and archives. Illustration by Jeff Piedimonte.

Announcements REUNION RESOURCES AVAILABLE ONLINE

We proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace.

Resources for 2021 reunion and family camp are now available at www.CofChrist.org/reunion-resources-2021.

The theme, “Let Peace Dwell Here,” focuses on exploring nonviolence through viewpoints and topics. In response to the 2019 World Conference action, these materials continue the conversation in preparation for the 2023 World Conference. Reunion leaders are invited to adapt the lessons and worship experiences as needed.

Editors in Chief The First Presidency Stephen M. Veazey K. Scott Murphy Stassi D. Cramm Jenn Killpack..............Director of Communications Emma Gray Pitt...................................Design, Editorial Elaine Garrison...................................................Editorial Jeff Piedimonte............................Design, Production Amy Rich.........................................Design, Production

WORLDWIDE MISSION TITHES UPDATE Your generosity makes a difference. Thank you for supporting local and worldwide mission tithes.

The 2021 goal range for Worldwide Mission Tithes is $11.7 to $12.7 million. Worldwide Mission Tithes reported through April 30, 2021 were around $3.4 million. This is slightly below the goal range of $3.6 to $3.9 million.

This may be due to reporting lag. Contribution reporting in Shelby appeared to be behind as of April 30, 2021. At this time last year, contributor numbers were approximately 5,200, but current reports show data for only 3,500 contributors.

$3.4 million Editorial: Herald@CofChrist.org Subscription Services: subscriptions@HeraldHouse.org Customer Service: sales@HeraldHouse.org

www.HeraldHouse.org

Goal Range

$3.6 - $3.9 million through April 30, 2021

Goal Range

$11.7 - $12.7 million through December 31, 2021

www.CofChrist.org

International Headquarters (816) 833-1000 (Canadian GST Registration No.: R129888665) Publication Agreement No. 40032830 (ISSN 1541-6143) The HERALD is the denominational magazine of Community of Christ, with headquarters in Independence, Missouri. It is published bimonthly by the church publishing division, Herald Publishing House, 1001 W. Walnut St., Independence, MO 64050, USA. Materials are official only when they report a formal decision by a legislative or administrative council and are so marked. Individual subscription price is $32. International shipping costs will vary. Congregational group rates available. Preferred Periodicals postage paid at Independence and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Herald, 1001 W. Walnut St., Independence, MO 64050. (In Canada: Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, Ont. N9A 6JF.) Electronic subscriptions are $20.

Copyright © 2020 by Herald Publishing House. All rights reserved. Reproduction by permission only.

Printed on 20% post-consumer recycled paper.

INDIA RECEIVES MORE THAN $100,000 USD IN OBLATION AID Oblation Aid from the Worldwide Mission Budget is being used to assist families during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and was sent the first week in June, according to Steve Graffeo, counselor to the presiding bishop.

A total of $102,700 USD was sent to the seven mission centers the church has across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and South India.

These funds will assist 4,232 families with masks, soap, and other supplies as well as rice and other cooking items. The funds also will assist in transportation costs for distribution to the villages.

Please pray for church members and other residents of India during this devastating time.

Christ’s Mission, Our Mission

Church Life and the Pandemic “I

just can’t wait to get back to normal!”

How often have you heard that lately? I understand the yearning.

However, as I think about it, I have some questions. Are there aspects of normal to which we might not want to return? Has the pandemic offered us insight into needed changes?

For example, online ministries were emerging in parts of the church prior to the pandemic. However, stayat-home quarantines greatly accelerated such ministries. This is good! The last thing we want after the pandemic is to return to “normal” church life that did not include a broad array of opportunities for online connection.

I read many articles about the future of Christianity and spirituality. Based on outside perspectives and what I see happening in Community of Christ, I think we need to give serious attention to these projections.

They primarily pertain to areas where technology is broadly accessible: • Churches that develop a healthy balance of in-person and online ministries will flourish more than those that ignore or resist online ministry options.

• Churches that value people who participate online—by choice or because of life circumstances—

•

will do better than those that view online participants as less important than in-person attendees.

Churches that plan ministries with online participants in mind from the start, rather than as an afterthought, will provide a higher quality experience for all participants than those that merely broadcast what they are offering for in-person participants. (Hint: Online sermons tend to be shorter!)

But there is more to the emerging picture. In “Six Predictions for the Post-Pandemic Church,” Peter Marty wrote for the Christian Century, “A church’s ministry will need to be spirited and compelling, of course, especially if it’s to compete with the convenience of worship at home in pajamas.” However, the migration of great numbers to online communications through work, education, entertainment, health care, and commerce will foster a growing hunger for deeper connections. “Thirst will increase for authentic community where…relationships of meaning can prosper,” he added. “Congregations will play a heightened role in providing thick human community.”

The intersection of growing online activity with an increasing hunger for genuine connection affords a great opportunity for the church. Our name, Community of Christ, anticipates a time like this! As people increase time spent online, they will also be searching for authentic relationships that go far beyond typical social, recreational, work, or church connections. Authentic community is where people truly encounter the unbounded, transforming love of God that instills the identity of “my beloved” on each one. Such relationships do not just happen; they must be intentional!

A dual focus on online and inperson community formation will position the church well to pursue its mission now and into the future.

Recently, I saw a new word: “phygital,” combining “physical” and “digital.”

It relates to maximizing online and in-person options offered to people to connect, participate, and form community locally and globally.

That doesn’t sound like “normal” to me!

—Stephen M. Veazey Community of Christ president

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Diversity + Inclusion

EXPANDING OUR VISION Through online workshops and presentations, the Diversity and Inclusion Team seeks to raise awareness and inspire action.

By Cathi Cackler-Veazey and Gwendolyn Hawks-Blue, Diversity and Inclusion Team co-chairs

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ommunity of Christ’s Diversity and Inclusion Team upholds the Worth of All Persons, supports sharing the peace of Jesus Christ, and reinforces the church’s foundation by identifying inclusive beliefs and behaviors.

The team focuses on education, advocacy, and organizational change in support of justice and covenant relationships with one another and God. It is currently composed of eleven members from North America with varied life experiences.

To fulfill the goal of providing enlightening, challenging, and motivating educational experiences, the Diversity and Inclusion Team has developed workshops and presentations that encourage attendees to work for more inclusive communities that seek to establish God’s shalom.

An interactive workshop, “Resisting Unconscious Bias and Building Inclusiveness,” was initially created for Community of Christ’s 2019 World Conference.

Recognition of these unconscious tendencies helped people to then identify intentional actions that reduce behaviors that are contrary to what we are called to be. Through

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large- and small-group discussions, the workshop guided attendees to think and behave more inclusively.

After video of the murder of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, by a white policeman was broadcast in the media, requests to the Diversity and Inclusion Team for resources and information about issues surrounding diversity increased markedly. The team responded by reoffering the “Resisting Unconscious Bias” workshop to provide education, help people reflect, and encourage them to create personal action plans.

Since midsummer of 2020, the team has presented more than twelve times to more than 450 individuals.

Since the workshop has been available online through Zoom, attendees have come from across the USA, Canada, and Europe. More opportunities to attend the virtual workshop will be available in the future.

In addition, Gwendolyn Hawks-Blue, co-chair of the team, developed a presentation entitled “Black People in USA History” for an International Headquarters staff gathering that commemorated Black History Month in February 2021. The online presentation provided a brief look at the historical experience of black people in the USA and in Community of Christ. Subsequently, the team made the presentation more widely available as an opportunity to learn about the experiences and contributions of Black members in our faith community.

Those who attended expressed enlightenment and dismay at not having been previously aware of this history.

The half-hour presentation was provided five times to 81 people and is now available upon request to groups.

Team member Vincent Lewis has also spearheaded mission center workshops focused on diversity awareness and challenges, and team member Jerry Dale Jr. has provided training on inclusive language in the workplace.

The team is planning to develop additional workshops which will be available for Zoom and in-person settings in the future. It is anticipated that the subject of institutional bias will be explored. The Diversity and Inclusion Team will continue to be a resource for the church as it moves to a more inclusive and just future in Christ.

Learn more at www.CofChrist.org/ diversity-and-inclusion-team.

photo by Christin Hume | Unsplash

Ecumenical + Interfaith Ministries

Pathways for Advocacy Partnering with faith-based organizations and networks forges relationships that expand ministerial impact.

By Val Walker, Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministries Team co-chair

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or Zac Harmon-McLaughlin, one phone call to a pastor in his area built a lasting ecumenical relationship that led to advocacy on a large scale. At the time, Zac was responding to an immediate need. “I wanted to make sure no child went hungry in Orange, California—that there were safe places for the community,” said Zac, co-chair of Community of Christ’s Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministries Team.

Building upon this connection, Zac became involved with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) and California Power and Light, a climate-change organization. Engaging with local ecumenical and interfaith networks prompted him to advocate for policy change to a city government panel.

“The reality is, in the United States about 80 percent of food pantries, homeless shelters, and nonprofits are faithbased,” said Zac, now director of the Community of Christ Seminary at Graceland University. “We were able to say to government leaders, ‘Hey, we are the community’s caretakers. We need you to implement policy changes that reflect that. We are doing this together out of a sense of aligned mission, caring for our neighbor, and as our theological mandate. We’re the people that vote in this community.’”

Zac’s network in California continued to grow and led him to relationships with pastors, priests, and clergy from all over the country. Since then, he has participated on government councils, lobbied the US Congress, and been to United Nations gatherings.

“All of this began because of just one little story, ‘Hey, this family can’t eat. What are we going to do about that?’

Powerful religious networking can happen anywhere.

Look at what’s happening in your neighborhood. Expand your relationships and possibilities,” Zac said.

“Participating in ecumenical and interfaith work in the Pacific Northwest has brought new, deeper, mind-expanding meaning to what it means to love my neighbor,” said Kathy Sharp of Bothell, Washington, USA, a member of the Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministries Team. “My neighbors are now Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Baha’i, Unitarian, and from many different Christian denominations. They are also Spanish-speaking immigrants and asylum seekers from Central and South America.”

A few years ago, local immigrant advocacy organizations asked The Church Council of Greater Seattle to help them accompany immigrants facing the often confusing, nerveracking, and expensive immigration and criminal court systems in the USA. The Council amplified the call to their interfaith connections and about 100 people responded.

“We are not social workers or legal advisors. We are helpful neighbors,” Kathy said. As escorts, their role is to focus on their immigrant neighbors’ well-being and logistics related to their cases. They are trained in the steps of the immigration process, which can lead to permanent residency, deportation, or many years of uncertain limbo.

Bilingual companions bridge language barriers and reduce anxiety in documentation appointments. Sometimes the escorts offer transportation to courtrooms.

Simply having a companPOWERFUL RELIGIOUS ion can diffuse some fear.

NETWORKING CAN “We sit in court as HAPPEN ANYWHERE. a supportive presence L O O K AT W H AT ’ S while they appear before HAPPENING IN YOUR the judge and prosecuting attorney, represented NEIGHBORHOOD. by their attorney,” Kathy E X PA N D Y O U R explained. “We are silent R E L AT I O N S H I P S A N D witnesses, observers, and POSSIBILITIES. note-takers. Immigrant —Z AC H A R M O N - M C L AU G H L I N advocates believe clients are treated with greater respect when white citizens are present on their behalf, though we never speak.”

“I am so grateful for the trust and vulnerability of all my new neighbors who let strangers like me become their friends, witnesses, and supportive companions as we walk together ‘in the midst of the difficult questions and struggles of life,’” Kathy said (Doctrine & Covenants 163:2a).

Learn more at www.CofChrist.org/ ecumenical-and-interfaith-ministries-team.

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On That Note

of Theology. While he was a 31-year-old graduate student, one of his friends asked him to write a song for a coming ordination. After two days of concentrated effort, focused on Jeremiah and other prophets’ responses to God’s call, the phrase “Here I Am, Lord” emerged.

There are several scriptural images and stories in the COMMUNITY OF CHRIST SINGS 640 hymn. Among them is Isaiah’s visit into the Temple, where he readily responds to God, “Here am I, send me” (Isaiah 6:1-8). We also hear echoes of the boy Samuel who responds to God’s call by saying, “Here I am” several times over the course of a night (1 Samuel 3).

Michael Hawn of the Perkins School of Theology notes the song is unusually constructed. The stanzas speak in This hymn is beloved by all generations God’s voice, first person singular, but the refrain changes for its missional call-and-response. to the first-person response of the singer, moving from

By Jane M. Gardner, presiding evangelist “I, the Lord” to “Here I am, Lord.” Each stanza also highlights a paradox. God is a powerful creator of “sea and sky,” “snow and rain,” and “wind and flame” and, at the same time, God hears the “people cry,” bears the “people’s n 2008, the exciting, yet daunting task of developing a pain,” and “tend[s] the poor and lame.” new hymnal for the church began. Some of the key data Hawn also highlights a theme of transformation points we wanted to capture through a survey were the that surfaces throughout the text. In stanza one, songs that people would recommend moving on to the next God transforms the darkness into light, in stanza two generation. This was an intentionally different approach God melts “hearts of stone” with love, and in stanza from asking people to tell us their favorite hymns. three God nourishes the “poor and lame” with the “finest The survey listed the songs from Hymns of the Saints, bread,” a reference to the Lord’s Supper (Communion).

Sing for Peace, Sing a New Song, and By Request. As a team In an interview with America: The we tried to predict the top choice. Would This ongoing Herald series will Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture, Schutte it be “The Spirit of God like a Fire Is explore the history and context revealed that the original wording of Burning,” “There’s an Old, Old Path,” of hymns from Community of the refrain began, “Here I am, Lord; or “Redeemer of Israel”?

Christ Sings. Sung in pews or here I stand, Lord.” After considering All our guesses were wrong. “I, the through Zoom connections, these the human tendency to self-doubt, he Lord of Sea and Sky” received the most words and melodies connect us to changed the wording to “Here I am, votes. In retrospect, we shouldn’t have one another and to our identity.

Lord; is it I, Lord?” been surprised. The hymn consistently Is there a hymn you would like Forty years after it was written, we ranks at the top of online surveys of to know more about? Let us know continue to sing “I, the Lord of Sea and favorite Christian songs. at Herald @CofChrist.org.

Sky” with heartfelt commitment and The song premiered in 1979 as “Here gratitude for a God who cares for us, invites us, and sends I Am, Lord” and was published for the first time in 1981. us into the world.

It became widely available to Community of Christ in Sing a New Song, published in 1999. Since then, we have joined Christians around the world who have found this Jane Gardner has served in various roles within church song challenging, comforting, and emotionally satisfying. leadership, most recently as presiding evangelist. Her ministry Many of us can sing it from memory, especially the refrain, includes an emphasis in worship, music, art, Temple ministries, signaling that it has found a place in our hearts. and the sacraments. Jane served as team leader for the Daniel L. Schutte, the song’s author and composer, Hymnal Steering Team from 2008 to 2013, culminating holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School in the production of Community of Christ Sings.

‘I, the Lord of Sea and Sky’ I

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photo by Sarah Le | Unsplash

Bookshelf

INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE Worshipping online has given us a glimpse into one another’s homes, and bookshelves have become the background of choice (or convenience) for many.

Both fiction and nonfiction books can help to shape our thoughts and discipleship. Jaime Lynch shares selections from her personal reading list.

HARRY POTTER SERIES J. K. ROWLING “I have been rediscovering this seven-book series through a podcast called Harry Potter and the Sacred Text (harrypottersacredtext.com).

The inclusive nature of their approach and desire to persevere through challenges inspires my work with youth in church settings and in the classroom. Personal development comes in often surprising and challenging ways. Revisiting these works reminds me of that, and it renews my patience and persistence.” Amazon and other book retailers

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES HANDBOOK: PRACTICES T H AT T R A N S F O R M U S ADELE AHLBERG CALHOUN “This book has provided me with specific practices to help me develop my personal spiritual formation. It has also provided me with tools that I use when I serve as pastor at our local junior high camp.

While you might assume that these practices are reserved for ‘super-spiritual’ individuals, the ones in this book are incredibly approachable, even if you don’t consider yourself a ‘spiritual giant.’” Amazon and other book retailers

THE JOURNEY OF A PEOPLE MARK SCHERER

THE BODY: A GUIDE F O R O C C U PA N T S BILL BRYSON

“These Community of Christ history books have given me a better understanding of where we have been and what we have been through as a church. I appreciate learning that while it might feel as though some things have ‘always been this way,’ that is not the case. As a faith tradition, we have continuously changed throughout our story, and we will continue to do so. Learning about what makes us the same yet different from our past has been fascinating.” In three volumes, from Herald House

“With so much of my focus on spirituality and relationship building, you might assume that The Body is in reference to the body of Christ. It’s not. It’s literally about our physical bodies. Getting a clearer understanding of how our bodies work helps me in my spiritual journey because I am better able to understand and care for the vessel that seeks to become the ‘hands and feet of Jesus’ to those around me.” Amazon and other book retailers

GET TO KNOW

MAKE YOUR BOOK PURCHASES COUNT If you shop through Amazon, don’t forget to choose Community of Christ as the recipient of funds from AmazonSmile. If you haven’t already, go to smile.amazon.com, click “get started,” and search for “Community of Christ Independence MO” to have us show on the first page of results. Once selected as your charitable organization of choice, 0.5% of your eligible purchases through AmazonSmile will be donated to Community of Christ.

Jaime Lynch Pronouns: she/her Location: Kendall Park, New Jersey, USA Congregation: Woodbury, New Jersey, USA Priesthood: Teacher Jobs: High school biology teacher, Mid-Atlantic Mission Center Children and Youth Ministry specialist

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Scripture as Interpreted through Jesus, the Peaceful One To many in his time, Jesus did not meet their expectations of a Messiah. Even today, Jesus’ message calls us to reexamine our assumptions and explore new ways of understanding and responding to God’s boundless love.

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You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times…

But I say to you…

difficulties, and to care for foreigners, orphans, and widows (Leviticus 25:35-38, Deuteronomy 24:17-22).

—Matthew 5:21-22 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

—1 Corinthians 13

H E B R E W S C R I P T U R E S A N D I S R A E L’ S S T O R Y

In his book, The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium, Walter Wink recounts ancient creation stories about gods engaged in gruesome cosmic battles.

Great systems of domination evolved from these tumultuous origins, beginning with the powerful empires of Mesopotamia from around 3000 BC. In this worldview of domination by imposing one’s rule over others, kingdoms rose and fell based on power.

The Hebrew story contrasts with this context of violent domination. Their story told of God creating the universe solely by his word and declaring that it was a good place for humankind (Genesis 1). God made a covenant with Abraham that by being God’s people, Abraham’s descendants would be a blessing to the world (Genesis 12:1-3). It is a story of God upholding that covenant by redeeming God’s people from oppression in Egypt and preserving them. Israel was counterculture in the ancient world because it was defined by a covenant with God. Other kingdoms were defined by their place in the hierarchical web based on the person in power.

Israel wavered between wanting to be a powerdriven kingdom like its neighbors and being covenant people called to be a blessing to the world. The Hebrew scriptures reflect this struggle. Stories of their warrior God protecting them from their enemies through vengeance and violence exist side-by-side with stories of a loving God who sought the welfare of all.

Sometimes Israel chose to embrace the culture of domination. Then the prophets stepped forward to remind them they were God’s covenant people delivered from captivity. As covenant people they were to take care of one another when they faced

photo by Tima Miroshnichenko | Pexels

JESUS AND THE UPSIDE-DOWN KINGDOM

By Jesus’ time, the people of Israel yearned for a promised Messiah who they assumed would liberate them from Roman occupation. Instead, Jesus connected them with the peaceable God of their history. Donald Kraybill, in The Upside-Down Kingdom, explains how Luke used the Jewish symbolism of 40 days in the desert to tell how Jesus rejected the temptation of using economic power (bread), political power (kingdoms of world), or religious power (temple) to achieve God’s purposes (Luke 4:12). Jesus would not use power to inflict violence on others (Kraybill, page 33).

Instead, in Luke 4:16-30 Jesus affirms the prophet Isaiah’s depiction of a God who cared for people. He declared that he was the sought-for Messiah. Different than anticipated, he was sent to bring good news, proclaim release, recover sight, free the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19 and Isaiah 61:1-2a). At first the people cheered, until they realized he left out the part about the expected day of vengeance when God would punish the wicked (Isaiah 61:2b).

Jesus was telling them he would be a different Messiah—not one who organized vengeance and violence, but who showed them how to live with peace and justice for all people.

Mark describes Jesus’ approach another way. After his baptism Jesus says, “… repent and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:14). Instead of repent, many scholars believe the Greek word for it, metanoia, is better understood as reform your thinking. This passage might be rendered as think in a new way and believe this good news. Jesus encouraged his disciples to think in a new way—that in contrast to the power-driven kingdoms around them, relationships and actions in God’s kingdom were based on love. That was the good news.

Paul echoes Jesus’ emphasis in 1 Corinthians 13. He affirms that no matter what we say or know or do—regardless of how eloquent, insightful, or noble we are—without love we are just making meaningless noise. Paul closes with the affirmation that “faith, hope and love abide… but the greatest of these is love.”

At that time people believed that when bad things happened in their lives, it was because someone had sinned (John 9:1-34). But in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), Jesus taught that all parts of life are sacred and blessed— whether painful, sorrowful, joyful, productive, or struggling.

Among the many examples, Jesus affirmed that peacemakers

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were part of God’s family, assuring them that bringing peace into another’s life was a blessed act.

Later in Matthew 5, Jesus explained that he was not trying to replace Jewish traditions or what the prophets said but that he was there to fulfill them—to make them into reality. Over and over, he expanded on those traditions, saying “You have heard that… But I say to you…” Using the lens of love-based relationships, Jesus was again saying, “There is a new way to look at this.”

LOVE AND SHALOM

Jesus focused on bringing about God’s kingdom through love. It would be unfaithful to the witness of the New Testament to reduce the love modeled by Jesus to being only about nonviolence. Jesus sought for a bigger peace than simply the absence of violence.

His teaching and actions were about how we treat one another if we replace the rules of human cultures with interactions grounded in love, as God loves.

He taught how acting in this kind of love would bring shalom—a Hebrew word that captures the ideal of complete well-being in every facet of life, of being in balance with the best of what God wants for each one.

A culture’s rules often indicate that it’s acceptable to care only about people who are like us. In contrast, Jesus offered the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Its lesson is that when confronted with the suffering inflicted on those who are other, loving as God loves calls us to go beyond the indifference encouraged by our culture. Jesus tells us to be like the Samaritan who chose instead to respond to suffering with compassion and action.

Jesus’ embodiment of God’s love for all did not mean that he avoided confrontations. He actively pushed back against the political, religious, and economic injustices of OUR MISSION that day. He did Pursue Peace on Earth not hesitate to We are called to restore Christ’s criticize people covenant of peace, even the Zion in power for of our hopes. The hope of Zion willfully not will become reality when we live living up to the Christ’s peace and generously best of what share his peace with others. they knew was

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taught in their scriptures, traditions, and by God. Through his words and actions, Jesus affirmed God’s love and presence was for everyone, even those who opposed him.

J E S U S A N D A N E W W AY

Jesus especially confronted religious leaders who fixated on obeying every detail of the Jewish law while forgetting that their traditions and rituals were supposed to serve the people.

He chastised those who used legal loopholes that deliberately abused those they were supposed to protect. He challenged the scribes and Pharisees, the bureaucrats of the day, for rules and policies that exploited the poor and widows (Mark 12:38-40).

He reminded them that religious practices, like the Sabbath, were intended to serve people’s needs, not enslave them to a set of rules (Mark 2:27). Jesus also pushed back against cultural rules by recognizing the “unclean” woman who touched his garment (Mark 5:25-34) and challenging the double standards of those who brought the adulterous woman before him to be judged (John 8:1-11).

In his interactions with people, Jesus refused to take easy shortcuts based on his perceived authority or social power over people. Instead, he listened to others and responded in grace.

Mark recounts how a Syrophoenician woman begged Jesus to heal her daughter (Mark 7:24-30). At first Jesus turned her away because his mission was to Israel, saying it was, “… not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” (Dogs being a term used to describe foreigners.) Although the woman absorbed his rebuke, for the sake of her child she claimed only

illustration by David Hayward | used with permission

Invitation to Explore “the children’s crumbs left for the dogs.” Touched by her insight and humility, Jesus blessed her daughter.

Jesus also rejected the assumption that the only choice was between reacting with violence or with complacency. In another “You have heard that it was said…” lesson, Jesus challenged people to resist without responding in kind. In The Powers That Be, Walter Wink explains we should not understand Jesus’ teaching to “turn the other cheek,” “give your cloak also,” and “go the second mile” as a prescription for passivity (Matthew 5:38-41). Instead, Jesus was providing examples of nonviolent active resistance that were fitting for that culture.

The experience between Jesus and the woman at the well models the shalom in God’s upside-down kingdom (John 4:10-15). It was upside-down because their meeting violated all the rules of Israelite culture and identity. It broke political rules because she was a Samaritan, with whom an upstanding Jew would never associate. It broke religious rules because she was a woman, with whom a Jewish man would never converse. It broke cultural rules because she was a social outcast, with whom nobody (Jew or otherwise) wanted to be seen.

Despite these clear cultural signals that she was not worthy of his attention, Jesus saw her as a person, as one beloved and blessed in God’s kingdom.

He offered no condemnation. Instead, he offered her the same “living water” that he offered everyone.

A P P LY I N G S C R I P T U R E T O O U R C O N T E X T

Scripture compels us to ask ourselves what signals in our cultures shout “unworthy!” “unfair!” or “unclean!” Are these signals in our scripture, tradition, culture, or relationships with one another?

When do we need to hear Jesus saying, “But I say to you… think in a new way…”? Instead of simply parroting “turn the other cheek” advice that was specific to that time, Jesus is asking us to do the hard work of finding creative ways to actively resist injustices in our own time and culture.

God continues to work toward the peaceable kingdom and calls us to be part of what is already here and what is yet to come. God invites us to live Christ’s mission by embodying love in our lives and relationships, as did Jesus, the peaceful One.

In April 2019, the World Conference passed World Conference Resolution 1319, which resolves in part that “Community of Christ members and leaders discuss the role nonviolence plays in the pursuit of ‘peace on and for the Earth’ (Doctrine and Covenants 165:1d) and in the life and mission of the church.” (The full text of the resolution is available on page 82 of this document: www.CofChrist.org/common/cms/resources/documents/ WCR-Texts-July2019.pdf) President Stephen M. Veazey began this discussion during his closing message to the 2019 World Conference: “Scripture testifies that all creation waits ‘with eager longing’ (Romans 8:19) for peaceful humanity to appear on the world stage to turn the tide of hate, agony, and destruction. With that in mind, the central question raised by our text looms even larger. Are we moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One? Or are we retreating from Jesus by reverting to our old humanity and its destructive ways of interacting with others and creation?”

This guiding question has led us on a continuing journey to understand Jesus, the Peaceful One and to lay down our preconceived notions of who Jesus should be.

The question helps us realign our attitudes, behaviors, and actions with the identity, mission, message, and beliefs of Community of Christ. The role of nonviolence in the world is complex and is influenced by many cultural, theological, and personal perspectives.

As the First Presidency has faithfully engaged in the assignment given in WCR 1319, it has become clear that adequate time is needed for the church to diligently explore this topic. The Presidency anticipates that the next World Conference (scheduled for April 21-29, 2023) will be a time for further discussion and collaboration toward the creation of a statement on nonviolence.

A future World Conference will have the responsibility of acting on a final statement, but only after sufficient consensus has been developed.

Materials for study and discussion are posted at www.CofChrist.org/guiding-question. Additionally, a place for member-created resources on nonviolence has been created: www.HeraldHouse.org/collections/ member-created-nonviolence.

Your voice is an important part of this process. If you have suggestions for what should be included in a statement on nonviolence, email FP@CofChrist.org. The First Presidency reviews everything received as they discern responses to their task from the 2019 World Conference.

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MISSION IN 2021 The pandemic quickly pushed day-to-day social interactions online, offering challenges and opportunities. As we continue to seek authentic relationships and spiritual connection in person and online, how can we be the most meaningful, effective expression of Community of Christ in our time?

By Emma Gray Pitt, Herald team

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I

n the past year and a half, many of us have spent time on Zoom and social media to connect with family, friends, coworkers, and even strangers. Congregational and mission center leaders have worked tirelessly to bring worship services into our individual homes, and some of us have had opportunities to find online fellowship with people far from our location.

Life in a global pandemic—with its shutdowns, lockdowns, and stay-at-home orders—has expanded our understanding of how technology can be used to build wider, deeper, and more resilient communities. But as the need for physical distancing and isolation slowly dissipates, how will we carry these new insights into a changed world?

In a “Coffee Buzz” interview on Project Zion, Community of Christ President Steve Veazey chatted with retired Apostle Linda Booth about the church as it stands now and his hopes for the future.

Although vaccines are available in many countries and social distancing recommendations are easing, Community of Christ endeavors to act responsibly in the face of the worldwide presence of the virus.

“COVID is universal. Its impact isn’t limited to one nation or place, but has affected all global communities and Community of Christ congregations throughout the world,” Linda said on the podcast. Because of this, the First Presidency elected to postpone World Conference until April 21-29, 2023, when it is hoped delegates from around the globe will be able to safely travel, enter the USA, meet together, and return home without contributing to community spread of COVID-19.

Many considerations went into this decision, but one of the primary reasons was the current lack of equitable access to vaccines for all Community of Christ members and the limitations that would impose for travel to and from the United States.

“We want the conference to be as representative as possible of the global church,” Steve said. “As a principle that relates to our process of common consent, and also because we’ll have some important questions that we’ll be discussing and considering so we want the fullest representation possible.”

Photos by encierro and surachat | Adobe Stock Photo

The First Presidency also considered the potential effect that a large international gathering would have on the host community in Independence, Missouri, USA. “We want World Conference to be a safe, healthy, memorable-for-theright-reasons experience,” he continued.

While there will be no physical gathering in 2022, plans are in the works for a multi-day online event with opportunities to worship and celebrate the worldwide cultures of the church. This will also give church leaders the opportunity to share important updates and discuss issues and opportunities in preparation for World Conference in 2023.

Steve and Linda also briefly discussed the intentional work of discernment that is ongoing in the World Church Leadership Council (including First Presidency, Council of Twelve, Presiding Bishopric, and other quorum leaders).

Steve said that one of the group’s primary lessons is that an attitude of openness is a daily posture that church leaders need to maintain. “True discernment takes time, and it takes refinement,” Steve said. “Sometimes true discernment leads to new questions that are perhaps more insightful than the ones you started with, rather than just quick, definitive answers.”

“The pandemic has accelerated the movement toward online ministries as a means of sharing the gospel, building community, and engaging in mission by decades...”

—Steve Veazey

Over the past year and a half, nearly everyone has experienced some form of withdrawal from their previously busy and somewhat chaotic lives, but moments of clarity also emerged for some. “Our family life rhythms have been disrupted, but our sense of local neighborhoods has increased. And as we’ve huddled in our homes, it feels like we’re alone but together, which is a really strange dichot-

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omy,” Linda said. “I believe God is up to something in the midst of this pandemic.”

Steve agreed and added it seems to him that “spiritual truth and movement is often seen or experienced in paradox or in creative tension.” The human desire for authentic community has been vulnerably exposed in struggles to socially distance.

Some have realized that physical proximity to humanity is something that they had previously taken for granted.

Even as vaccination rates grow and people are able to return to some degree of “normalcy,” the world will continue to move toward online convenience—a trajectory that began long before 2020.

Retail, education, healthcare, and communications are examples of large fields that increasingly include online interactions. But this convenience also comes with a certain level of isolation as people lose personal touchpoints that were previously routine parts of their lives. As so many have observed, people feeling disconnected will long for and search for opportunities to be in community.

“The pandemic has accelerated the movement toward online ministries as a means of sharing the gospel, building community, and engaging in mission by decades, I think,” Steve said. By online ministries, he particularly pointed to gatherings that integrate online participants seamlessly, rather than as an afterthought or of secondary importance.

Rather than merely broadcasting an in-person event live, he suggested that congregations and mission centers should begin with online participants in mind and build activities from there. This could mean that not all online gatherings minister in the same way. “It actually opens up a whole menu of opportunities to reach people who are searching for a spiritual connection and a community that will nurture their discipleship,” Linda said.

“Community of Christ, if we understand its meaning,

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anticipates a time like this,” Steve said. “I think one of the primary implications for our pursuit of Christ’s mission is that we need to continue to reimagine our understanding of church. Church is not so much just the place we go on occasion. It is who we are in relationship to others, and to the larger world.

“It’s a daily lifestyle of how we interact with others in the world. As I’ve said before and would reemphasize, we need to focus on nurturing and multiplying Christcentered, Christ-inspired groups of people in a variety of social, economic, cultural, and physical settings that are focused on developing deep, meaningful relationships that immerse the people involved in the love and Spirit of Christ.”

The stresses of the pandemic have also given way to a kind of spiritual awakening for many people as they discover or rediscover a dormant desire for connection with the Divine. This phenomenon should be understood within the existing trend of people moving away from organized religion in favor of a spirituality that is more personal and unattached to any single institution.

As a result, Steve said, “We must increase our emphasis on spiritual formation that connects with people’s deep yearning for authentic spiritual relationship to God, others, and the creation, which, as we know, really is the same relationship. ...So spiritual companions and guides, resources, supports for families, spiritual formation activities that people can pursue daily in all the settings of their lives— that’s what’s going to be very important in the future.”

However, church members and leaders can’t assume that people will find Community of Christ on their own, rather we need to hear them and meet them in their seeking. “These communities—if they are truly Christ-centered and Christ-inspired—will always be inviting new people.

They will be hospitable and inclusive, or they misrepresent Jesus as I know Jesus is,” Steve said.

Steve and Linda noted there is a particular desire among members to return to church buildings, which, while reasonable and expected, must be balanced with the church’s urgent mission. “We’re looking forward to coming

Photo by surachat | Adobe Stock Photo

Online Worship’s Gifts back together, but is that only for us who have been I would never say the COVID-19 pandemic together for a long time? Or will we be bringing some new people with us?” Steve said. has been a blessing, but it has presented some “Our mission statement and our mission initiainteresting opportunities. tives, they send us outside of our church walls,” My husband and I returned to Stevens Linda said. “However, during the pandemic, we’ve Point, Wisconsin, USA after a few years been yearning to return to our church sanctuaries. out West. We did not have a church within We’ve been scattered, and now we want to gather close proximity. However, a few years ago we in. Our tendency might be to stay in together decided to attend the Milwaukee-Wauwatosa rather than to go out into a hurting world.”

Steve said congregants should expand Congregation on our way home from visiting their thinking of “church” to something friends. We found it to be very welcoming, and that’s happening, rather than a place that we realized we shared some mutual friends they go. Of course, when intentionwith the congregation members. I even found ally utilized, buildings can be valuable a distant relative was a member. resources for disciple formation, misAfter the pandemic hit, pastor Bill Siegfried sion, and worship, but the past year has wrote and invited us to attend worship on further illuminated that the church can develop without dependence on a Zoom. What a blessing that has become! We particular property. visit before the service starts, and we get to see “The pandemic has revealed to everyone’s faces rather than the back of their us that people can live deep and heads in pews. We are able to see a little of rich lives of meaning, disciplepeople’s homes, patios, and dens. We even get ship, community, and service to meet some of the pets. apart from church buildings,” Ministers attend from all over the country, Steve said. “We need to really focus, in my opinion, on and while each service is different depending Continued on next page.

on the technical ability of the presider and speaker, they are always inspiring. I have even been invited to preside and give the sermon, which has given me an opportunity to serve in ways I have not been able to for a considerable length of time.

Is this better than meeting in person?

Maybe not, but for me it has been such a blessing from God. I hope the congregation continues to use Zoom even after the church opens. I have found a church family again.

—Diana Mrozinski

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OUR MISSION

Invite People to Christ We are called to share the peace of Jesus Christ with those who are waiting to hear the redeeming words of the gospel.

seeing the church as empowering individuals and groups for our mission in the world, not as an end in itself.

“The disruption of the pandemic gives us a once in a lifetime, maybe once in a century, opportunity to reimagine or reenvision how we can be the most meaningful, impactful, effective expression of Community of Christ in our time,” Steve urged, “and that means to reimagine church—what it is, what it does. There will certainly be affirmation of some things that are very important to us that will continue with us into the future, but I hope we’ll perceive the church of the future as a missional movement.”

Listen to the full interview with Linda Booth and Steve Veazey at www.projectzionpodcast.org/370-coffee-buzz-mission-now-and-after.

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A Journey that Endures Generations of church members have generously given and gratefully received support that has sustained them through extreme adversity.

By Lachlan Mackay and Barbara Walden, Church History and Sacred Story Team

C

ommunity of Christ history is filled with stories of faithful perseverance. Since 1830, our communities have endured despite sickness, poverty, oppression, and war. We have overcome extraordinary challenges, often because those inside and outside our faith recognized the worth of all persons and blessings of community.

Courtesy of Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs’ 1838 “Extermination Order” (Executive Order 44), we became religious and political refugees as we fled across northern Missouri. The exodus started in earnest in January 1839 and Lucy Mack and Joseph Smith Sr., both in their 60s, were among those driven out. A cold rain fell for days as they traveled, and the only shelters available at night were filthy, unheated barns. A heavily loaded wagon and horses in poor health meant much of the 175-mile journey was on foot. As Joseph Sr.’s health deteriorated and temperatures continued to drop, the travelers began to fear for their lives.

They approached a farmhouse seeking shelter when they could go no farther. Fearful of rejection, they pleaded with the owner for help. He took in the strangers, dried their clothes, fed them, and gave them warm beds. The owner, it turns out, was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives.

Renewed by this aid, they continued the journey as rain turned to snow and the mud sucked the shoes off their feet.

The travelers arrived at the Mississippi River to discover that ice floes were preventing ferries from crossing. Forced to sleep in the open, they awoke under six inches of snow and struggled to fold their now-frozen blankets. When able to cross, the sixteen hundred citizens of Quincy, Illinois and surrounding areas welcomed them warmly and eventually opened their homes and pantries to a persecuted religious minority of approximately 5,000 people.

Over a century later, Rosie Sellers, a child living in Germany, would have her own experiences of human endurance and faith. Rosie’s family struggled to survive throughout World War II and the post-war years. Her father was killed during the war, and the responsibilities of

providing for the family were in her young mother’s hands.

Everywhere Rosie looked she saw homelessness and food scarcity. She remembered food being rationed. Some nights there wasn’t enough bread on the table to feed her family.

As she described their desperation: “Many times some of my family went on an all-day bike trip out to beg for a piece of bread from a farmer or, if really lucky, an egg.”

During this time Rosie relied on the support of the local congregation and those abroad to help her family survive.

She explained: “…In 1947 my mother was thrown off her bicycle when hit by a truck. The doctors thought she would die that night, but I trusted in Jesus and prayed all night. The next day I went to an elder and asked him to go and see Mother in the hospital to administer to her. She remained in the hospital for four months before she came home. It was during these four months that we received several CARE packages from church members in Independence, Missouri. They meant a lot to us, especially the food. They were an answer to prayer.”

These stories remind us that generations of Community of Christ members know what it’s like to endure poverty, war, sickness, and suffering. Throughout our history, we have relied on the generosity and kindness of others to survive. It is our prayer that we, in turn, can be a living example of Christ’s mission in today’s world for those who are suffering and in need.

Lachlan Mackay is a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles assigned to the Northeast USA Mission Field and serves as the Community of Christ Historic Sites director. Barbara Walden is executive director of the Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation. Both are members of the Church History and Sacred Story Team.

OUR MISSION

Abolish Poverty, End Suffering We are called to be Christ’s hands and feet, reaching out through compassionate ministries that serve the poor and hungry and stop conditions that diminish the worth of persons.

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Something within us has changed in the distance between what was and what is now. In the midst of our desire to gather in person again is an opportunity for renewed intention and connection.

By Katie Harmon-McLaughlin, Spiritual Formation Team lead

lovely story is told by Father Thomas Keating regarding a workshop he was giving on centering prayer.

After engaging in the practice—which involves twenty minutes of silence—one participant shared her frustration that she had to return to her prayer intention about ten thousand times because of the natural distractions and busy-ness in her mind.

“How wonderful—ten thousand opportunities to return to God,” Father Keating, a Trappist priest, said.

As I hear the word “return” in reference to reconvening in-person gatherings after over a year of pandemic separation, I am reminded of this wise story and reframing. The action of return is a spiritual practice, a movement of faith.

When I looked up references to the word “return” throughout scripture, there were 532 results! Our biblical ancestors were returning home, returning to ancestral lands, returning goods and favors, and returning to God. Sometimes they were urged and commanded to not ever return to Egypt, to the land of their birth, or to practices that did not bring life.

Then the Lord said to Jacob, “return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

—Genesis 31:3 NRSV Return to the Lord your God…with all your heart and with all your soul.

—Deuteronomy 30:2 NRSV

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The Lord has said to you, “You must never return that way again.”

—Deuteronomy 17:16 NRSV Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.

—Luke 4:1 NRSV

From where do we return and to what are we returning? How are we returning? Is there anything we are urged to never return to again? Are we returning to buildings, or are we returning to one another? Are we returning in body, or also in heart and soul?

Return implies intention. We have been somewhere else, and we are choosing to return…to God in prayer, to a sacred space, to a community.

As our biblical ancestors can attest, whether in exile or the wilderness of discernment, we do not return as we once were. Something has shifted and changed within us in the distance from what was to what is now.

As with Father Keating’s wise response to the frustrated participant, how wonderful is every opportunity to return.

Each return has the possibility

of bringing fresh intention and connection. We are formed and changed in the spiritual movement of return. How sacred it is to choose one another and the Spirit of God again and again. There is renewed appreciation for what we have missed for so long that was once the background of our normal lives. While some nations are still in the critical stages of the pandemic’s varied waves, others are finding the slow beginnings of collective return.

I wonder how it might change our perception of returning to in-person gatherings if we consider ourselves part of this larger movement of return across the globe. We are part of something expansive, yet completely interdependent. How does a new awareness of our global interconnectivity affect how we come back together locally?

I wonder how in-person gatherings might deepen if we consider the ways we have changed since we were last together—what has broken open or apart in us, what has grown or been formed, the suffering and loss we have witnessed, the hope that has endured. I wonder how our gatherings might change shape and focus to reflect these realities, to integrate the new ways we are seeing ourselves and others.

What have we learned about injustice and inequality?

What issues of peace have been pressing on our hearts that we yearn to address with our voices, hands, and feet? What have we discovered about what is most essential? What have we learned actually matters most as everything else was stripped away? How did a sudden change of pace affect our desire for the future pace that we will set? What are the rhythms we want to embrace as we come back together in a new way?

I wonder what it would be like for us to imagine return to one another with the same intention as Father Keating’s invitation of return in centering prayer…a wonderful opportunity, a fresh possibility, a movement not just of the body, but also of the heart.

Perhaps placing ourselves in the larger, longer history of our biblical ancestors might bring more meaning and purpose to this time of collective return. We might find ourselves relating to the vision of the “joyful exiles” in Jeremiah 31:

Photo © by-studio | Adobe Stock Photo

…their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again…

I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow…

There is hope for your future, says the Lord: your children shall come back to their own country…

Set up road markers for yourself, make yourself signposts; consider well the highway, the road by which you went.

Return, O virgin Israel, return to these your cities.

— Jeremiah 31:12, 14, 17, 21 NRSV

This time of return can be a time to come back to God, one another, our intention as a faith community, the deepest desires of our hearts, the integrity of our callings, and renewed hope for our future if we approach it with holy intention. We breathe together into the grace of another day before us. We are more awake to the precious fragility of our days, our communities, everything we love most.

With faith and courage, we imagine coming back together, when it is safe and right, and invite the Holy Spirit to boldly ask within us, how will you return?

Katie Harmon-McLaughlin (she/her) lives in Independence, Missouri, USA. In addition to ministering as a high priest, she works for Community of Christ as Spiritual Formation specialist and is the Spiritual Formation Team lead. She has a Master of Arts in religion from Community of Christ Seminary, is a Doctor of Ministry candidate at San Francisco Theological Seminary, and is a spiritual director.

OUR MISSION

Experience Congregations in Mission We are called to become congregations that are the true and living expressions of Jesus Christ, woven together by the Spirit, and sent into the world as evangelistic witnesses, compassionate ministers, and justice and peacemakers.

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In Community of Christ, the Enduring Principles keep us tethered to who we’ve been and who we will be, even in times of uncertainty.

Church will look different at the end of 2021 than it did in 2019. What will endure and what will be reevaluated in God’s preferred future?

We Endure I

By Emma Gray Pitt, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

think many people would agree that we have endured quite a bit emotionally, physically, and spiritually in the last year and a half. Whether it be the threat of the pandemic, the terrorizing reality of race, gender, and sexuality-based violence, or lack of consensus on important local and global issues, there is so much that feels overwhelming in importance and insurmountable in complexity.

Perhaps there is some comfort in knowing others have had problems of their own, both in biblical times and more modern history. In enduring through our own moment, we join a long line of predecessors who have endured through their own eras—sometimes making admirable progress and other times making painful and even harmful decisions.

Bryan Stevenson, an American lawyer, activist, and author said, “To endure all these hard times, you have to have a knowing mind, a curious mind, an informed mind. But you also have to have a full heart—a heart that appreciates the love that brought you here. And when the ideas in your mind are Blessings of Community fueled by convictions in your heart, you become part of this journey that endures.”

Pursuit of Peace And in James 1:2-4 NRSV we read, “My brothers and Continuing Revelation sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it Responsible Choices nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have Worth of All Persons its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, All Are Called lacking in nothing.”

Grace and Generosity Each generation gains the benefit of more hindsight and broader possibilities. What will we do with ours?

Sacredness of Creation In these pages, Community of Christ members explore Unity in Diversity these opportunities through the lenses of our Enduring Principles.

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Blessings of Community

By Linda Stanbridge, Michigan USA Mission Center Invitational Support Minister

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o longer can we overlook how connected our global community has become. We’re aware that we hold precious lives in our hands, and they are affected by our action and our inaction.

We can no longer deny that we belong to one another just as we belong to God. We’ve also had a lesson in staying the course, being willing to stay put when we need to, taking to the streets when we need to, and never giving up on the better future God wants for us.

Since the pandemic began, we have encountered fear, division, and deceit.

It is easy to sink deeply into it, but God never allows these things to have the final word. And because God endures in difficult times and places, community endures.

The principle of Blessings of Community reflects the gifts we have always found in gatherings that center around God’s love. In the past year we discovered anew that we can create communities of Christ’s peace in places and ways we never knew we could. We learned that God will accompany us into the known and the unknown and that God is calling us into difficult places.

This Enduring Principle also talks

Photo by Chad Godfrey

to us about the darkest parts of ourselves: our self-centeredness, isolation, and desire for conformity over diversity.

These themes have felt relevant in my life this year. As a public health professional, I have seen the best and worst in us first-hand. We struggle with selfishness to the detriment of communities around the globe. It is easy to get lost in this. Doctrine and Covenants 162:3a tells us that we have not been promised an easy path, but it also assures us that the Spirit will accompany us.

If, like me, you have been privileged enough to continue to worship online or in person throughout this pandemic, I hope you also noticed how active God has been. We have witnessed communities coming together to reimagine what is possible and necessary in community. We have discovered depths of love and friendship many did not know could exist outside our church buildings. We have seen that sacred community can be created whenever we are intentional and expect God’s spirit in our midst.

But part of endurance is having the wisdom to listen, to change course, to discern constantly while moving

forward together toward God’s preferred future. Doctrine and Covenants 161:3c reminds us that “creating sacred community is arduous and even painful.” This isn’t meant to be easy work.

Endurance always has been part of our call to create communities of Christ’s hope and peace. We’ve always been called to participate in the messy struggle of community and to honor the blessings that come when we are vulnerable to God and one another.

We have an opportunity to create a new future of wholeness as we shift how we think about community. We can create communities of reckless inclusion. The blessings we have received are the blessings that the world waits desperately to experience. We have an opportunity to freshly discover where God is calling our community in this moment and to discern all the places God is calling us next, together.

Linda Stanbridge (she/her) lives in Lexington, Michigan, USA. She is the Invitational Support Minister for Michigan USA Mission Center and serves as Harmony chaplain.

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Pursuit of Peace

By Ben Smith, Australia Mission Centre President

I

t will not surprise my friends to hear that I was not an endurance athlete.

I preferred shorter, more intense activities like sprinting and fast games. I never quite understood why someone would want to run a marathon or cycle all day long only to be tired and sore at the end.

Sure, the satisfaction of completion and making it to the end would be a real accomplishment, but to suffer through pain for that? Not my cup of tea. But is there more to endurance than simply pain and suffering?

The Doctrine and Covenants has ample references to our call to be a people who journey in faith and endure “to the end,” but one specific passage calls me to reflect upon my preconceptions of the pain of enduring, indeed, it speaks to the joy of slowing down: Know also, dear Saints, at a time when careful study of the faith and doctrine of the church is being called for, strength and courage for this task will be given if you will trust my Spirit to sustain and uphold you. Do nothing in haste, but continue to trust in the enduring promises of the One in whose name you have been given life.

—Doctrine and Covenants 159:7

Through this lens, endurance isn’t something we go through, but it is a conviction that lasts through time and season. It is truth revealed over time, patience, and intentional listening—none of which can be sped up or

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strategized. These “enduring promises” are seen not just in our Enduring Principles, but also in our practices and understandings. They are the outcome of generations of wrestling with God (and each other at times!).

Our identity leaves room for disagreement as we strive to comprehend how God works through us to enact peace in our individual communities.

Our strength (and indeed our courage) is provided through our trust in the Spirit and in the process. On the surface it may seem a confusing thought, but our ability to faithfully disagree and still sit together in proclaiming God’s grace is fundamental to who we are as Community of Christ.

Perhaps simply through our faithful, enduring practices of slowing down, listening, questioning, and even waiting, we can become the builders of Zion.

At the 2016 World Conference, as I sat in the Auditorium listening to moments of discord, I wrote a short poem which gave voice to our journey.

I was particularly moved by a reminder to slow down. At that point it was for our translators, but perhaps it was also for us all as we continue to pursue peace in a rapidly moving world. May this be our reminder as we endure this time of change together.

Ben Smith lives in Tootgarook, Victoria, Australia.

Pilgrims descend, spiraling inwards, a journey triggering confluence of hopeful hearts both full and empty, awaiting, anticipating. Disciples return to learn and discern where the Spirit calls.

Slow down they said, slow down.

Thoughts and perspectives, sometimes selective, perhaps subjective, our thoughts confront the other.

Our brother, our sister, informed by our desire to proclaim.

For, against, our aim to persuade, using words to pervade our mind’s eye to the body.

Sacred noise of voice, our choice to chant our speeches like rain on brass dome, love flows, yet the pain of movement when chained with God to some like nails on chalkboard, and to others the perfect chord.

Democracy, theocracy, comedy, and rationality, together pursuing grace and peace.

Slow down they said, slow down.

But how can we slow down when there are people crying, children dying and governments prying?

Photo by Bob Thomas

Continuing Revelation

By Susan Oxley, Seattle, Washington, USA

This article originally was published to the Daily Bread blog on May 3, 2021.

T How, when with ample fear we shed tear after tear, our hearts sear for hope, for change, and compassion to come near.

Hands go up, hands stay down, we drown in pomp and ceremony, yet find comfort in the familiar. Chair turned bridge builder tasked not to bewilder but to unravel rubric and rule.

Decisions, revisions, voted and disposed, we listen to each other, to God. Blessed, we slow down.

Discernment and prayer, as we prepare to share the peace of Christ to our worlds, we stand together.

Like birds of a feather we soar with the Spirit to new heights of oneness.

When we slow, like third cry of rooster’s crow God lets us know we are one.

Slow down God said, slow down.

Now, spiraling outward, cascading into the heart of humanity, building unity in diversity with a community that deserves God’s grace.

So today we stand. When we slow to understand, we walk hand in hand in a journey to peace.

—Ben Smith

he Jewish day begins at sunset when light is fading and darkness falls. Night is often the symbol for mystery, unknown and unknowing. It’s a time of secrets. It’s a time of spiritual wandering, despair, doubts, and unseeing. Often it’s a restless time of waiting alone.

We grieve, we despair, we leave our beds and wander into dark places of fear and doubt. The loss seems overwhelming: the dear victim of COVID-19, the income dissolving into debt, the security shattered in a world we no longer recognize. Yet the God of both night and day keeps working. Time passes.

Dawn breaks, illuminating all that was once dark. Joy comes in the morning, halfway through the journey of each day. All that was lost or scattered when night fell is held firmly in God’s loving hands! While we slept or tossed restlessly on our beds, God stayed awake, working through the mystery, preparing a new day, creating possibilities.

God weaves light out of darkness, gladness out of sorrow, hope out of despair. During the pandemic, we learned new spiritual practices. We were called to new paths of discernment to envision a future emerging out of a changed world. We renewed rela-

Photo by Jeff PIedimonte

tionships near and far, and we discovered the preciousness of community.

We listened to one another and found that openness and curiosity are values to treasure and practice often.

Neither sorrow nor gladness points clearly toward a perceived future, but both provide tools for moving forward.

Both inform our afternoon journey as we evaluate the day drawing to a close.

Each contributes its own promise and challenge as we face a new sunset, with mystery once more gathering around us.

So it goes. Sunset to sunset, crisis to crisis, vision to vision. Sorrow precedes gladness. Gladness completes sorrow.

And God keeps working through our nights and days to bring renewal, hope, and daily resurrection.

Susan Oxley lives in Seattle, Washington, USA. She earned a Master of Arts in Religion from Graceland University and previously served as a member of the Council of Twelve.

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Responsible Choices

By Ryan Pitt, Mid-Atlantic USA Mission Center president No storm can shake my inmost calm While to that Rock I’m clinging.

Since Love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

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—“My Life Flows On in Endless Song” Community of Christ Sings 263

s the world learned about the transmission methods of COVID19, it became clear that continuing inperson congregational activities would be irresponsible. Potlucks, Communion, post-service fellowship, and chaotic rushes to our favorite post-church restaurants were quickly put on hold.

As a church administrator, the wellbeing of the communities, congregations, and campground customers that I serve is constantly on my mind.

The tension between conscientious community and rugged individualism often is tense. Responsible Choices do not always equate to easy answers. The most responsible choice might be evident, but choosing it and living it can be difficult.

Families still wait to gather for inperson memorial services after the death of loved ones. Opportunities for children and youth camps are limited and sometimes lost. Weddings, holi-

day traditions, and church fundraisers are all paused until conditions are right. Not to mention there has been a devastating financial effect on many campgrounds. Ancient prophets’ questioning never seemed so relevant: How long…? How long can we endure?

Poetically, enduring is synonymous with suffering and sustaining. The pandemic has been full of this duality. Much has been lost, and yet much is gained.

Fortunately, we do not endure alone. Online encounters with friends and members in other countries are no longer surprises but regular occurrences. Local pastors and congregational leaders are informed, inspired, and involved in ministries beyond mission center lines. In this time of responsible distancing, far-flung places are closer than ever with the click of a button.

Despite the opportunities of online ministry, I have personally missed singing together, and I join with others in this lamentation: “How can I keep from singing?” Although most congregations are not singing hymns in person at this point in the pandemic, the Restoration has not been silent.

Congregational and small-group ministries are constantly being reimagined. Innovative ways to worship safely and to stay connected reshape the way we experience community. Sacramental guidance has been responsibly interpreted for the present needs of the worldwide church and further enriches our witness and proclamation of Jesus Christ. Those of us blinded by ignorance, privilege, and racism are awakening to ongoing cries for justice for the poor, marginalized, and disenfranchised. These are all essential steps toward Jesus, the peaceful one.

This momentous time in world history has further revealed humanity’s interconnectedness. Responsible choices during the pandemic go beyond mitigating and managing risk.

It’s a call to learn how to be good world citizens and to take the lead on implementing solutions that promote health and wholeness for all people.

Regrettably, I do not know how long we must endure this particular challenge or how many more difficult decisions need to be made. Nevertheless, I eagerly wait for church sanctuaries, the Auditorium chamber, and campgrounds to reverberate with joyful voices. Until then, responsible choices will safely guide us forward together.

Ryan Pitt (he/him) lives in Bayonne, New Jersey, USA, and ministers as a Seventy.

He is the Mid-Atlantic Mission Center President for Community of Christ and is a Chaplain Candidate Program Officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Ryan graduated from Graceland University in 2012 and graduated with his Master of Divinity from Drew Theological School in 2020.

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Photo © DisobeyArt | Adobe Stock Photo

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enerally, most of us do not hesitate to seek wholeness of body, mind, and spirit for ourselves and loved ones.

We naturally want to want to make things better for our communities and ensure ongoing comfort and success.

The last year and a half, however, provided an opportunity to see how we are really doing and how far we have to go when it comes to caring for, protecting, and restoring one another. We have all witnessed suffering and loss on a global scale during the COVID19 pandemic. There have been various responses to the presence of this virus, ranging from blatant disregard for public heath recommendations to overzealous isolation.

Throughout the pandemic, residents of the USA also have been reminded of unaddressed disparities in health care, education, and wealth.

People across the country have bravely stepped forward to say my race, my gender, my safety, and my vote matter.

The realization that action is required to ensure all of God’s children are treated as having equal worth is long overdue and still in progress.

The Worth of All Persons—a Community of Christ Enduring Principle— is not something that we discard when inconvenient or uncomfortable but a truth that endures. I’ve often found myself referring to it as the Cardinal Kindergarten Rule because it is the grown-up version of “treat others as you want to be treated.” Despite its simplicity, it can be challenging to act upon, but it is essential to building God’s kingdom on Earth.

After contracting and recovering from COVID-19, I feel a sense of urgency to move beyond the mere belief

Photo © antje | Adobe Stock Photo

Worth of All Persons

By Zilphia Martin IV, West Bloomfield, Michigan, USA

in social justice to actual productivity.

I consider myself saved to serve, and I am dedicated to pursuing what matters most—Christ’s mission. The idea that God loves the entirety of creation has endured throughout time and it is not foreign. But our journey as a people is not meant to stop at being satisfied that God loves us while we sit in our pews, especially if the doors leading to those pews are not open and hospitable to all of God’s children.

If I cannot leave my pew and gracefully engage, if I write off the cries of the oppressed as noise, if I fall into exasperation when I should be using

empathy, then I am not as invested as I ought to be. Upholding the Worth of All Persons has never been about preserving individual comfort. It is an invitation to roll up our sleeves and do the sacred work of bringing ourselves, others, and creation together in Christcentered community.

Zilphia Martin IV (she/her) ministers as a Teacher and works as a cyber risk management consultant. She holds a Bachelor of Science in computer information systems and a Master of Science in intelligence analysis from the University of Detroit Mercy.

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All Are Called

By Vincent Lewis, Diversity and Inclusion Team member

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ommunity of Christ’s Enduring Principles state that all are called, but what are we called to do or called to be? As disciples, we are called to follow and emulate Christ and to endure in that discipleship.

The scriptures suggest that to endure means standing strong in the face of conflict, uncertainty, unrest, suffering, and misfortune. For many of us, the ability to endure is an ongoing struggle. If we honestly believe that all are called, we must strive to uphold and restore the worth of all people, both individually and collectively. It can be a struggle to endure in pursuit of this goal, especially when humankind has faltered in the treatment of fellow human beings. Unfortunately, the Golden Rule has been often overlooked in the past few years.

We have been challenged by the repercussions of the pandemic, racial and social unrest, a faltering economy, and a significant slip of our moral scale.

As children of God and as faithful disciples of Christ, we are still called to stand strong and endure. We are also called to: • Uphold the Worth of All Persons.

• Challenge unjust systems that diminish human worth.

• Be resolute in the face of conflict and to be even stronger in tough times.

• Behave as disciples, those who

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not only believe the word of our God but also act on that word.

Our challenge is to conduct our behavior in a manner that uplifts and exemplifies the words and teachings of our Savior.

During these perplexing times we must endure, must be constant, must stand strong, and must not yield to the negative norms of society. We are called to be loyal and to trust in God. “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:34 ESV).

As faithful disciples of Christ and members of the Community of Christ we are called to a divine mission: to lovingly invite others to join us in this purposeful life. Invite all, not just those who walk like us, talk like us, think like us, love like us, and believe like us. Invite not just the wealthy and not just the poor. We are urged to lovingly invite all to come unto our Creator. We can be compassionate people who seek to abolish poverty, end needless suffering, and vigorously pursue peace and justice for this Earth and for all who inhabit it.

These times are challenging. Our perseverance and our faith are being put to the test. However, because all are called to be good and faithful disciples of Christ, we must endure and

allow nothing to separate us from our mission. We are called to vigorously bring forth peace and reconciliation upon the Earth.

Vincent Lewis (he/him) lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, USA. He is a high priest and retired from Des Moines Public Schools. He also recently retired as Lamoni Heartland Mission Center president and financial officer. He works part time for the Iowa Board of Parole. He attended Drake University in Des Moines where he earned four degrees, including Doctor of Education.

Grace and Generosity This article originally was published in the April 2021 issue of the Australia Herald.

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very congregation has probably asked, If we closed our building tomorrow, would we be missed by anyone?

Does what we do in this facility make a positive contribution to the wider community?

In the event of closure, I’m sure members and friends attending regular Sunday worships and other congregational activities would feel a sense of loss because we are a community ourselves, but the question of the effect on our local area still remains.

Submitted photo

By Peter Lonsdale, Co-Pastor, Perth, Western Australia congregation

While the congregation in Perth, Western Australia is aging and shrinking like many in our denomination and other mainstream churches, our food pantry continues to have an enduring effect on our community. Following the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, the Food Pantry closed for seven months. It was missed! During that time we had many inquiries from regular patrons and the local high school asking when the pantry would reopen.

In October we reopened with new hygiene and social distancing requirements, and since February our service has gradually returned to a pre-COVID normal—almost!

The Food Panty meets every Wednesday morning at the Perth congregation, with weekly attendance averaging 45. A part-time coordinator and a team of about six volunteers provide food baskets and morning tea.

Many people come not just for the food, but for fellowship. Over morning tea together, connections are renewed and strengthened. A real sense of community is present. At various times, evangelists from the congregation have offered their ministry of presence. Opportunities to hear life stories and share ministry abound, and sometimes arrive in unexpected ways. Two examples: • A woman shared news of a major surgery for cancer. She

had lived a hard life and lost adult children to disease and tragedy. She accepted an invitation for laying on of hands for the sick (administration) as she prepared for the operation. Her caretakers and a few other close friends met in the chapel for a moment of prayer. She was so thankful for the support of our community and the blessing she received.

• A man walked in off the street one day in response to a prompting he felt. He was agitated and unsettled as he confessed to being recently released from a correctional facility and shared his struggle with mental health. Staff rallied to provide some warm coffee, food, and clothing while he shared in private counsel. By the time he left, he was blessed with a spirit of peace and thanked us for our hospitality.

For those involved in supporting Food Pantry, it is an important social ministry providing so much more than just food. It is a place of welcome, fellowship, and sanctuary. For our congregation, it represents one commitment toward abolishing poverty and ending suffering. We hope that it continues to endure as a blessing and positive beacon in our community.

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Sacredness of Creation

Unity in Diversity

By Chizaso M. G. Chunga, Malawi Mission Center President

This article originally was published to the Daily Bread blog on June 29, 2018.

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ooking at creation, we can see the mighty power of God. Visiting beautiful areas of this world makes you understand God’s magnificence.

I have been wondering recently about the sacredness of God’s creation and its devastation by humankind.

When God was creating the world and everything in it, God declared that “it was good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), and in verse 31, God declared everything God had created “very good.”

Upholding the Sacredness of Creation is important. This value is emphasized in many spheres of life, but few of us take it seriously. The creation of God is sacred. When we read Romans 1:20, we learn that through

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By Kerry Richards, Canada East Mission Centre President

creation God has revealed the invisible things, even God’s eternal power.

Psalm 150:6 tells us that everything that has breath must praise the Lord.

Everything includes all of God’s creation. All the animals that fly, creep, or walk praise the Lord.

As children of God, we have power to create and to destroy. Our responsibility as Christians is to build, but most of the time we have destroyed rather than built. In many parts of the continent of Africa, trees have been cut down and animals have been killed.

We worry that our children will not see some of the species we now have.

Above all, we should understand that God can hold us accountable for not being good stewards. We have left the ground bare, and the rivers are drying up as a result. Too few want to be part of the solution. So many of us are just watching.

Will you remain quiet? Act today.

Look at God’s creation and have the zeal to conserve it. Let’s “join with God as stewards of care and hope for all creation” (Sharing in Community of Christ, 3rd Edition, p. 12).

Chizaso M. G. Chunga lives in Lilongwe, Malawi. He is the Malawi Mission Center president and field financial officer for the West, East, and South Africa Mission Fields.

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question before Community of Christ today: How are we discerning Jesus, the peaceful One, in a multifaith world?

Jesus built restorative bridges across divides, affirmed the worth of all people, and regarded everyone as beloved. As his disciples, we are called to embody these same qualities, and we are not alone. Other religions and faith expressions also advocate for the common good, for unity in diversity, and for peace to bless our world. The Spirit resides among us all.

The Community of Christ Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministries Team upholds interfaith dialogue, collaborative mission, spiritual mutuality, and the importance of community. For the past several years, I and several others in Canada have engaged in interreligious work at leadership and grassroots levels. At their best, interreligious relationships acknowledge the whole person—the entirety of their life experience and heritage. We have learned that we cannot form community by diminishing another’s wholeness.

This work harmonizes with the Worth of All Persons, one of our Enduring Principles, by acknowledging and honoring the divinity within each person. We are all beloved. We become kindred by exploring our commonalities, our differences, and our hopes for

a transformed future. We engage in authentic dialogue, shared sacramental moments, and a willingness to be one in the Spirit while seeking unity in our diversity. That ultimately is our call—to be companions with others in our common journey and to seek sacred community. For sacredness to emerge in our relationships, we must set aside assumptions that our beliefs and traditions are preferable to others.

Part of the joy of this ongoing journey is participating in new expressions of spiritual oneness, which does not mean homogenous sameness.

Oneness enables diversity to accentuate the whole while the Spirit permeates and guides. This is the essence of sacred community.

Through meaningful interfaith relationships, we acknowledge we are not alone in our calling. Many who seek the common good are already bridging divides and birthing peace.

A parable from one of our own sacred texts speaks to this shared work: hired workers are all honored with the same

Photo by Chad Godfrey

pay, despite the difference in their labors (Matthew 20).

We are equals. That is the message.

We engage with each other, contribute to the whole, and experience joy in our common pursuit of peace. As a disciple of Jesus, the peaceful One, I honor other prophets, teachers, mystics, and writings. Who came first, arrived second, or joined this marvelous work last is not important. We are all disciples of a God who transcends our distinct identities and invites us all to engage in a common calling.

Many call our experience of 2020 to 2021 the launch of an awakening, an acceleration of enlightenment that would typically have taken decades to emerge. Here we are! Change is upon us. Metamorphosis is unfolding.

Although many are still physically apart, online resources connect us to spaces that enable cultures, faiths, and traditions to gently collide. Invitations from other like-minded faith communities enable us to share in their equally meaningful online forums.

We can see that faith experiences transcend our individuality and our revered institutions. Empowerment emerges from unity in diversity, and our capacity to experience the divine can be magnified exponentially.

Mission, known by various names, calls us all to resolve human suffering, vulnerability, and social injustice. This holy calling originates in our faith roots and is magnified by trusting the power of diversity over whatever particulars might divide us. Kindred communities and combined resources are facilitating broadened discernment and cascading ingenuity. Out of this, worldwide communities of joy, hope, love, and peace are more free to flourish in new and surprising ways. Community of Christ can be a catalyst of this vision set forth

by Jesus, the peaceful One.

Kerry Richards is the Canada East Mission Centre president and a member of the Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministries Team.

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June 2021

Strength in the Community

The year 2020 was difficult for many reasons, one being that the world church had to reduce staff in June. This reduction was to move to a new budget level that was projected to be sustainable for 2021-2023. This new level was estimated before the global pandemic. This time last year, the Presiding Bishopric was concerned that the economic difficulties created by the pandemic might negatively affect projections.

The good news is that world church leaders are grateful to report that the church has continued to respond generously, and the projections for the three-year plan for 2021 Presiding Bishopric through 2023 are still accurate. As a reminder, the plan is based on a $1,000,000 surplus in the 2021 budget that can be used to support projected budget deficits in 2022 and 2023.

Reporting an amount for Mission Tithes as of a specific date is always an estimate because local jurisdictions report contribution information over a wide span of time. As an example, in 2020 over $100,000 was reported that related to contributions in 2019 and earlier. Based on what has been reported through the first quarter of 2021, Local Mission Tithes were over $16,000,000 in 2020. This was a decrease of about $3,000,000 from the previous two years.

Worldwide Mission Tithes were about $3,400,000 less than Local Mission Tithes at just over $12,600,000 in As of 31 December 2020 2020. This is a decrease of about $300,000 from 2019.

GOAL: $120M (USD) by 1 January 2024 In January 2021, GOAL $120M the Presiding Bishopric $110M $32.0M received notice that the Balance $100M world church’s use of the Remaining USA Payroll Protection $90M Program funds qualified $80M for full loan forgiveness. $70M The amount received for World Church USA $60M $88.0M Received to Date staffing expenses was $50M $88.0M $18.4 M Bridge of Hope Tithes $1,340,000. Local jurisdicReceived $40M $11.8 M Property Sales tions who partner with to Date $20.8 M Budget and Earnings the World Church to $30M $4.2 M Operating Endowment support specific positions $20M $32.8 M Historic Assets received about $200,000. $10M These funds were received $0M in 2020 from the USA

Financial Update

By Stassi Cramm,

BRIDGE OF HOPE RETIREMENT RESPONSIBILITY

All amounts reported in USD

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government to keep people employed during the shutdown caused by the pandemic. These funds helped offset lost income from closure of the Temple Complex and Historic Sites to the public in 2020.

Expenses for 2020 were about $2,000,000 under budget due to: • Staff reductions in June 2020 • Limited travel during the pandemic • Delay in filling open positions • Other non-staff reductions due to limitations caused by the pandemic.

What started out to be a scary year as world church leaders prepared for the worst turned into a living testimony to the strength of our community, working together during difficult times.

2021 Update Contribution reporting of 2021 Mission Tithes by local jurisdictions is lagging so the Presiding Bishopric has hesitated to provide specific estimates on how we are doing with Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes. The goal range for 2021 Worldwide Mission Tithes is $11,700,000 to $12,700,000. Based on reporting completed through the first quarter of 2021, the Presiding Bishopric projects that Worldwide Mission Tithes are trending somewhere within this range or slightly below it.

In some areas, expenses are running under budget due to the continued effects of the pandemic. However, the Temple Complex was impacted by the extreme cold weather in early 2021 and the associated utility shortages that many have read about in Texas, USA. The church’s natural gas broker is in Texas. The February utility bill has been disputed.

As reported to the World Church Finance Board, the Presiding Bishopric has strengthened the Operating Reserve Fund beyond the mandated amount required by World Conference Resolution 1264. This provides extra support if Worldwide Mission Tithes drop faster than anticipated in the three-year projection.

At this time, world church leaders are projecting that International Headquarters staff officed at the Temple Complex will return to working at the Temple on Tuesday, 7 September. Watch for announcements about this.

Some have asked why the Temple Complex and Historic Sites are remaining closed in 2021 given predictions are that the threat of COVID-19 is decreasing in these areas.

World church leaders have taken advantage of the forced closure time to evaluate the most faithful ways to reopen

these sites—ways that effectively and efficiently support the church’s mission. Active planning is occurring about the best way to support mission using these sites in 2022 and beyond. Undoubtedly, the future use of these sites will be in-person gathering opportunities, online experiences, and hybrid events that include both. Stay tuned for more information in 2022.

Progress on Bridge of Hope Funding the church’s retirement responsibility is the first of two priorities for Bridge of Hope. Growing the endowments is the second.

Progress continues to be made by the church in meeting the retirement responsibility goal of $120,000,000 by 1 January 2024. The last update on the church’s website was as of 15 December 2020. In this report, the church had raised $80,000,000 and had $40,000,000 to go in meeting the goal.

This amount was missing a lot of the 2020 progress due to the reporting lag.

As jurisdictions around the church closed their books for 2020, Fiscal Services received updated information.

The chart shows, as of 31 December 2020, the church is within $32,000,000 of reaching the $120,000,000 goal. This is wonderful news! Together, we are making great progress.

Thank you!

Based on the excellent progress made toward the $120,000,000 goal, the Presiding Bishopric in consultation with the Council of Twelve Apostles has significantly decreased the minimum balances held in the investment accounts of the church. Again, world church leaders are grateful for the progress that has been made in funding the retirement responsibility. Thanks to all who have made this happen!

The church also continues to make progress on the second goal of Bridge of Hope—to grow the endowments.

Through designated contributions, bequests, and earnings, church endowments continue to grow. When the retirement responsibility is fully funded, growing the endowments will be one of the top priorities of world church leaders.

The increase due to earnings for the endowments and other world church investments was a combination of market returns and a new appraisal on the investment properties known as Harmony. A new appraisal was done as of 31 December 2020. In the period between appraisals, the church sold several sections of Harmony for $3,521,247, which was 8.34% above book value. Between the sales and

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the new appraised value, there was an increase in book value of $8,852,656. This increase is reflected as earnings on the world church financial statements. As of 31 December 2020, the church still owned 2,958 acres held as Harmony investment properties at a book value of $46,025,000.

Digital Security Through the blessings of shared online experiences and increased social media presence, the world is more connected than it has ever been. This means that digital connection will continue to be part of our life going forward, and we need to practice good digital security. As the world is learning, having a presence online creates situations that make it easy for predators to take advantage of people’s good will and generosity by dishonestly seeking direct contributions. Mission Center Officers and the Presiding Bishopric office have had a growing number of inquiries about the validity of certain people using social media and email to make impassioned pleas for financial support. These people typically represent themselves as associated with Community of Christ and have just enough understanding of who Community of Christ is to sound legitimate.

Please do not send money to anyone who contacts you online unless you personally know them, and you can independently confirm claims made in the request. In general, the best way to provide support to sisters and brothers in Community of Christ around the world is through Worldwide Mission Tithes. Oblation aid, education, and other support expenses are included in the Worldwide Mission Budget, and your generous support of Worldwide Mission Tithes helps fund the priorities of leaders around the world.

2022 Worldwide Mission Income and Expense Assumptions The World Church Finance Board met 27 May 2021 and approved income and expense assumptions to support budget planning for the 2022 Worldwide Mission Budget. The current Worldwide Mission Tithes projections and global financial market indicators suggest that current 2021 levels of ministries and services are financially sustainable for 2022 and 2023. The three-year plan includes $1,000,000 of surplus income from 2021 that will be used to offset any budget deficits in 2022 and 2023 as expenses increase and Worldwide Mission Tithes potentially decrease.

The financial circumstances of the World Church in the

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next few years are hopeful as we support current levels of ministries and services and meet the retirement responsibility portion of the Bridge of Hope goal. However, the longerrange financial situation presents some challenges. This is not new information, but these points are worth repeating: 1. Community of Christ contributors to Mission Tithes are very generous.

2. Regardless, contributions to Mission Tithes have been declining for more than 25 years.

3. The decline is based on the loss of contributors in some fields of the church and the reduction in contributions in other fields of the church.

• From 2010 to 2020, contributors to Worldwide Mission Tithes in Canada and the USA declined from around 13,300 to 7,600.

• From 2019 to 2020, there was a significant decline in contributions to Worldwide Mission Tithes in fields outside of Canada and the USA. This decline likely was the result of the global pandemic, but the data does not show an ongoing increase in nations where membership is growing.

4. For the past five years, over 80 percent of Worldwide Mission Tithes in Canada and the USA were given by those 60 and older and the percentage increases each year.

5. In 2020, contributors in Canada and the USA who were 59 and younger gave 13% or $1,581,000 of the $12,127,000 collected.

The trend is clear that funding worldwide mission through Worldwide Mission Tithes will become a less viable method in the coming years. Based on general research accomplished by Barna, Pew Research Center, and other religious research groups, world church leaders believe there is potential for disciples under the age of 60 to financially support ministries and services of the world church. The research and conversations indicate that there is unrealized capacity in all fields of the church.

However, collectively, we need to find new and innovative methods to financially support the church’s worldwide mission that work in the various fields where the church is present. To support world church leaders in exploring what methods might be most effective, efforts are underway including surveys and focused conversations. More will be shared as progress is made.

Journeying Toward Jesus, the Peaceful One Since the 2019 World Conference, the church has been considering the guiding question of whether we are moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One. Over the past year, the World Church Leadership Council has been engaged in an intentional spiritual discernment process to discover where God is calling the church next as we embody the soul of Community of Christ.

The council is learning to live in a state of continual discernment that does not have an end but is a faithful way of being a community in service to God. This process is guiding both short- and long-term decision-making. As part of all this, the Presiding Bishopric continues to be aware of the importance whole-life stewardship plays in faithful discipleship. How we invest our tithing of time, talents, treasures, and testimonies either moves us toward Jesus, the peaceful One, or further away. Our tithing also indicates whether our heart is embodying the soul of Community of Christ.

Later this year, the church will once again be invited to begin anew the generosity cycle (www.CofChrist.org/ generosity-cycle). The four phases of the Generosity Cycle— Invite, Discover, Respond and Reflect—give us the opportunity to be intentional about our whole-life stewardship and make sure that we are using our true capacity to move toward Jesus, the peaceful One. Watch for resources and suggestions on how you can participate in the Generosity Cycle this year. Don’t miss this important opportunity.

Please email PresidingBishopric@CofChrist.org with any questions. Watch for the next financial update in December 2021.

OUR MISSION

Develop Disciples to Serve We are called to equip adults and children to be true and living expressions of the life, ministry, and continuing presence of Christ in the world.

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Official

First Presidency Report Regarding Implementation of World Conference Resolutions As of January 6, 2021 This provides an overview of key areas the First Presidency has given attention to during this inter-conference period in response to World Conference Resolutions. It also includes actions by world church teams authorized by World Conference action and by First Presidency-appointed teams.

WCR 1316 Priesthood Release for Cause • • •

Adopted April 11, 2019 Updated guidelines were shared with the church and posted online.

The priesthood status categories document has been updated, effective September 1, 2019. It was posted online and shared with field leaders.

WCR 1317 Domestic and Sexual Violence • • •

•

Adopted April 12, 2019 A sub-team of the Health and Wholeness Team is addressing this issue.

The Health Ministries Association addressed domestic violence in its 2020 annual workshop that was streamed online. The theme for this education workshop was “Speaking Through the Silence: Addressing Issues of Domestic Violence.”

The plan is to incorporate education for priesthood into our current Ministry and Priesthood resources.

WCR 1318 Terminating the General Operating Endowment Fund of the Community of Christ • •

•

Adopted April 12, 2019 World Conference funds were transferred from General Operating Endowment to Bridge of Hope in Fiscal Year 2019.

Donor-designated funds will be transferred in January 2024 as needed to meet the Bridge of Hope $120 million (USD) goal.

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WCR 1319 Nonviolence • •

• • •

• •

Adopted April 12, 2019 World church teams developed a statement on nonviolence from their perspective with the Peace and Justice Team coordinating responses. (See included team report.)

2020/2021 Guiding Question: “Are we moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One?” 2020 Reunion material Living Jesus… Living Peace focused on exploring issues related to nonviolence.

2021 Reunion material also will serve as 2023 World Conference preparation material for nonviolence discussions.

2020/2021 Herald series Member created resources on nonviolence are being made available on HeraldHouse.org in the Nonviolence section under Member Created.

Statement of Concern from the High Priest Quorum on the Climate Crisis • • •

•

Submitted to the First Presidency April 9, 2019 The President of the church studied reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Earth Stewardship Team is responding by creating a series of adult and children lessons on the climate change crisis.

A North American Climate Justice Team has been formed by members in Canada and the USA.

Official •

The North American Climate Justice Team, supported by the Greater Pacific Northwest Mission Center, launched a series of webinars on climate crisis and is coordinating a Climate Colloquy at Samish Island Campgrounds October 29-31, 2021.

WCR 1309 Support Indigenous Peoples • • •

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Adopted June 10, 2016 A member of the Council of Twelve has been assigned to First Peoples Ministries.

A sub-team of the Human Rights Team has established key priorities that focus on education and advocacy.

Church members and the President of the church participated in a workshop on this topic at the Parliament of World Religions and shared material with others.

The World Church issued an official statement denouncing the “Doctrine of Discovery” as resolved by the WCR.

WCR 1311 Palestine and Israel • • •

Adopted June 10, 2016 The Peace and Justice Team formed a sub-team on this topic.

The First Presidency with the Peace and Justice Team is exploring various organizations and networks to join that promote peace between Palestine and Israel according to the parameters of WCR 1311.

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WCR 1301 Baptism and Membership • •

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Adopted June 10, 2016 Local endeavors are primarily in the Central Mission Center.

The President of the church and other members participated in a rally and news conference in Kansas City that highlighted and challenged predatory loan practices.

Africa Fields are introducing micro-loan projects to help people avoid predatory lenders.

WCR 1314 Mission and Tithing • • • •

Adopted June 11, 2016 Cards for electronic tithers to put in offering plates are available through HeraldHouse.org.

“Donate” feature is available on Facebook.

PowerPoints for Whole-life Stewardship and Tithing are available through HeraldHouse.org.

Adopted April 15, 2013 This WCR resolved that “…the First Presidency continue exploration of the issue of rebaptism specifically in regard to those baptized by other Christian denominations before the age of 8…”

This topic is on the First Presidency’s ongoing discernment list.

WCR 1302 Supporting Indigenous and Minority Peoples • •

Adopted April 16, 2013 A sub-team of the Human Rights Team has established key priorities that focus on education and advocacy.

WCR 1303 Action Toward Nuclear Weapons Abolition • •

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WCR 1312 Opposition to Predatory Loan Practices • •

Choosing Generosity is available in three languages and an associated study guide and PowerPoint are available in English through HeraldHouse.org.

Use of eTithing is being encouraged in the USA.

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Adopted April 16, 2013 As of March 12, 2020, the First Presidency supported the Back from the Brink initiative. The President of the church, on behalf of Community of Christ, signed on and endorsed the five steps included in the initiative.

The Community of Christ previously signed on as a religious supporter of the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has been promoted by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

The Justice and Peace Action Team of Greater Kansas City (Central USA and Midlands USA Mission Centers) organized and hosted an assembly of worship and dialogue on March 8, 2020 at the Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA. John Dear, a priest, activist, and author, was guest speaker on the theme “The Nonviolent Path as Illuminated by Jesus.”

In the British Isles, Community of Christ is a member of the Network of Christian Peace Organizations. NCPO organized two briefings for clergy across the UK, created posters, and then held a Thanksgiving service January 22, 2021 on Zoom when nuclear weapons became illegal under international law.

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Official WCR 1305 Wholeness and Well-being • •

Adopted April 18, 2013 World Church Health and Wholeness team has been formed. (See team report for additional information.)

World Church Teams Key Foci: Church History and Sacred Story • •

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Consulted with the First Presidency on church history topics and questions.

Team members wrote church history articles and scholarly papers for publications including the Herald.

Assumed primary responsibility for completing oral histories of retired World Church leaders.

Conference Organization and Procedures Team •

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Identified possible remote locations outside the USA for the 2022 World Conference (now to be held in 2023), however, current staff and funding levels limited the ability to develop viable alternatives and the global pandemic further complicated the review.

Reviewed the Electronic Delegate Recognition System performance at the 2019 World Conference and developed recommendations on necessary adjustments.

Reviewed the process for translations and production of the 2019 World Conference materials and developed lessons learned for continuing to improve the process.

Evaluated the flow between legislative sessions and committee of the whole for common consent process during the 2019 World Conference.

Reviewed the Standing Rules of the World Conference and made recommendations to the First Presidency for the 2022 World Conference (now 2023).

Diversity and Inclusion •

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Team met bi-monthly to focus on its tasks of education, advocacy, communication, and representation in the World Church planning committees During 2020, the team has focused on the presentation of an interactive workshop entitled “Resisting Unconscious Bias and Building Inclusiveness.” To date, the Zoom workshop has engaged more than 300 people across several mission centers. The workshops will continue to be presented in 2021.

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Earth Stewardship •

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Exchanged information and resource references among team members to stay updated on environmental stewardship and justice issues Responded to an invitation to provide team perspective on the relationship of nonviolence to Earth stewardship and environmental justice Developing adult and children lessons on climate change and related topics

Ecumenical and Interfaith Ministries • • •

Reviewed and provided feedback to the Peace and Justice Team statement in response to WCR 1319 Developed articles for the Herald addressing ecumenical and interfaith advocacy and bridges of peace Promoted: • World Interfaith Harmony Week (partnership of the United Nations and Parliament of the World’s Religions): February 1-5, 2021 • Ecumenical Advocacy Days: April 18-21, 2021

Health and Wholeness •

Addressed WCR 1317 “Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse” from the perspective of health and wholeness • In 2019 and 2020, partnered with Health Ministries Association and the Temple Ministries and Spiritual Formation Teams to plan and conduct a day-long Zoom workshop August 22, 2020 titled “Speaking through the Silence: Addressing Issues of Domestic Violence” • Promotional article was published in the May/ June 2020 Herald.

• World Church Communications Team and various leaders helped promote priesthood member attendance in response to WCR 1317’s call for education for priesthood.

• Zoom format allowed attendance of health care professionals and priesthood members from across the USA and Canada.

• It was the most successful workshop for HMA in years with about 100 attendees.

• Reviewed and provided feedback to the Peace and Justice Team statement in response to WCR 1319 • Focusing on WCR 1319 in 2021

Official Human Rights •

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Theology Formation

Reviewed and provided feedback to the Peace and Justice Team statement in response to WCR 1319.

In response to the team charter requesting that we “articulate the prophetic (or theological and Christological) relationship between nonviolence, human rights, and how human rights are affected,” the committee has drafted “Theological Foundations of Human Rights,” a ten-page article under review by the committee.

The committee has identified a small subgroup to discuss Indigenous people’s rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Article 12.

Established a public Facebook page for communication

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Provided consultation and support to the World Church Spiritual Formation Specialist Provided oversight of the Spiritual Formation and Companioning Program Responded to invitation to provide a spiritual formation team perspective on nonviolence.

Provided a comprehensive theological paper on nonviolence to the Peace and Justice Team and the First Presidency Continuing discussion with the Peace and Justice Team regarding the church position on nonviolence

Peace and Justice •

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Spiritual Formation •

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• • •

Exploring various organizations and networks to join that promote peace between Palestine and Israel, according to the parameters of WCR 1311, in order to make recommendations to the First Presidency.

In response to WCR 1303, the Community of Christ signed a Joint Interfaith Statement on the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6, 2020.

Reviewing the responses from church teams to the tasks set out in WCR 1319.

Supported the European Virtual Peace Colloquy in March 2020 Reviewing a proposal for a 2021 virtual International Peace Colloquy Supported various writing projects including Daily Bread and 2021 reunion adult study material Continuing to collect and review possible recipients for the Community of Christ International Peace Award

Morden Center REOPENING FALL 2021

Newcom Student Union NOW OPEN

Great things are happening at Graceland 

Floyd McDowell Commons RENOVATING SUMMER 2021

To learn more, visit www.graceland.edu

C o f C h r i s t . o r g | 39

A Place for Growth Campgrounds play an important part in many of our discipleship journeys.

Although some of us will not be able to gather in person at camps and reunions this summer, the sense of belonging lives on in our hearts.

By Selena Wardrop

W

hat does church mean to me? Everything. Everything. Everything. But if I had to pick one fun place to learn about the church, it would be Deer Park. Located in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Deer Park Camp and Retreat Center is where I go to church camp, and it has been a wonderful place in my life. I don’t even remember the first time I went there.

I feel like I have another family at Deer Park, and I am very excited when I get to go see them. They treat me with respect. I have met some of my best friends there, like Avery, Aubrey, and Connor. I was even baptized with my friend Aubrey. We usually get to go to camps together and see each other often. I have really missed getting to see my friends and family at Deer Park.

There are a lot of ways to enjoy nature at Deer Park.

I can take a walk around the campgrounds and see the trees. We have a peace garden with flowers and a peace pole. There are exciting creatures to see, like spiders, frogs, tadpoles, and fireflies. I love to catch fireflies, let them go, and watch where they fly. I even got to plant two trees with Pat Bacon, who is one of my favorite people at camp. I will be able to watch them get taller through the years. Planting trees makes me feel like I helped Deer Park grow bigger.

Deer Park has many fun activities and meals. I love all

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the delicious food there, but I’ve never tried the oatmeal (although everyone tells me that it is really good). I love going to the pool because I can gather with friends and play with them. Sometimes I sit in a chair to get some shade and cool off. I also love to go and get a treat at the canteen. I can sit at the picnic tables and talk to friends.

Deer Park is a very safe place. The people make me feel safe because they always accept new people. I feel so safe, I can share my talents. I know that nobody is going to hurt me, so I can run around without my mom and know that I will be ok. The only unsafe part of Deer Park are the big hills around the camp, but I know not to run down them.

Deer Park is a very wonderful place to go. It is my favorite camp, and I wish I could be there all the time. I hope everyone has a place like Deer Park!

Get to Know Selena Wardrop

Pronouns: she/her Age: 10 Congregation: Woodbury, New Jersey, USA Favorite Canteen Snack: chips and root beer Talent Show Act: Tae Kwon Do patterns and violin (not at the same time) LEFT: The Grand Pavilion at Deer Park Camp and Retreat Center.

MIDDLE: Aubrey Shaffer (from left), Avery Sotsky, Connor Shaffer, and Selena Wardrop at Deer Park. This photo was taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RIGHT: Aubrey Shaffer (left) and Selena Wardrop (right) on their baptism day at Deer Park.

This photo was taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Milestones Anniversaries •

Albert and Donna Barr of the Tavares, Florida, USA congregation celebrated their 70th anniversary April 13.

Birthdays •

Jean Snowden Johnson of the Evergreen, Alabama, USA congregation celebrated her 95th birthday March 29.

Awards Adam Roberson of the Stewartsville, Missouri, USA congregation was presented the American Red Cross Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders by the American Red Cross of Greater Kansas City & Northwest Missouri on March 16. He was nominated by DeAun Young.

Janet Ross of the Far West congregation in Kingston, Missouri, USA and Kelsey Brooner of the Abundant Life Center congregation in St. Joseph, Missouri, USA were both awarded Certificates of Extraordinary Personal Action by the American Red Cross of Greater Kansas City & Northwest Missouri on March 16. They were nominated by DeAun Young.

RESPONDING TO MISSION As in many places, the COVID-19 pandemic has created problems among our congregation members.

For many people, it has become difficult to get food or money. We decided to act, and in the process we sought to uphold the Mission Initiative of Abolish Poverty, End Suffering. We decided to provide small food bags to sixteen member families in Lomé, Togo.

—Baka Blé, Abobo-Avocatier, Ivory Coast The Herald welcomes stories of how you, your congregation, or your mission center carries Mission Initiatives into your community. Please send text and photos (1 megabyte or larger) to Herald@CofChrist.org.

Tapping into Media…

Herald and Electronic Specifications Submission policy: All stories—invited and unsolicited—will be edited for clarity, conciseness, accuracy, and other qualities. Because of deadlines and capacity, contributors typically will not be involved in the editorial process. Publication dates for specific articles may change based on organizational priorities. We prefer that copy be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word.

Photos and visuals are best submitted as jpg attachments. Scanned images need to be 300 dots per inch (dpi) or higher, or one megabyte or larger.

Photos need to be taken by a digital camera with at least 4-megapixel capacity, though larger is better.

Please check your email to make sure the settings are not automatically compressing the photos.

Prints and slides are acceptable. Include the photographer’s name.

News items, features, and testimonies related to individuals, congregations, and groups whose activities express mission are welcome. Submissions may range from 1,000–6,000 characters with spaces. Accompanying photographs usually are essential.

Milestones highlight significant events, people, and groups. In general, sacraments are not published because of the volume performed. Notices of major awards, priesthood emeritus status, anniversaries of 60 or more years, and birthdays of 90 or more years may be submitted, but photos will not run.

Death notices will not be published.

Release: By submitting written, graphic, or photographic materials to the Herald, the submitter consents and authorizes the Herald and Community of Christ to copyright, use, and reproduce the submission (written, photographic, illustrative, electronic, and/or digital image), and circulate and use the same for any and all official resources, uses, or purposes including but not limited to print, film, or electronic media, and reproduction or digital representation of every description on the Internet/ World Wide Web. Consideration hereby is waived in perpetuity, and no further claim of any nature whatsoever may be made by the submitter. The submitter retains the right to reproduce his or her submission.

Please submit news and feature items to Herald@CofChrist.org. Mail to: Herald, 1001 W. Walnut St., Independence, MO 64050; phone (816) 833-1000, ext. 3042.

Amen

One Step at a Time

By Tammy Lindle Lewis, Disciple and Priesthood Formation specialist

I

’m reluctant to admit publicly that I struggle (and sometimes fail) to move toward peacefulness. In the past year, I’ve been fearful, dismayed, and angry. I’ve been at odds with long-time friends. My patience and respect for people who disagree with me has waned. I’ve been saddened by those who sing the same hymns, read the same scriptures, hear the same sermons, embrace our Enduring Principles, but whose interpretation of the gospel is so different from mine.

I continue to wrestle with a question posed by a member of my congregation: “What if our best days are behind us, and this is our future reality?” What if there isn’t anything better coming, and we must live behind masks, physically distanced, separated by disease? What if we continue to be weakened by closed businesses and borders, struggling with food insecurity, corruption, social unrest, racism, strained healthcare and educational systems, devasting climate change, and lack of effective leadership?

It sounds like the ultimate midlife crisis. Is this all that’s left for us?

Where is the shining city on the hill?

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Where are the communities of joy, hope, love, and peace that we talk, sing, and pray about? What is still possible? How will the church address these issues? What is my role? How can I use my voice? Will I proclaim peace, or will I react with fear, dismay, and anger?

Whispering through all of this is the question begging to be wrestled with instead: Am I moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One? Today, I’m beginning to hear echoes of that question more often.

It comes to the surface more quickly, sometimes before I act or speak. I’ve taken steps to distance myself from the spiral of disinformation, manipulation, and hateful interactions that are so prevalent. I don’t know everything, but I know that finding information in reputable places is critical.

I’m slowing down and remembering to listen, read, and pray. I remind myself I’m not always right, and I don’t always need to share my opinion. I’m joining online sessions to listen and learn with people around the world where we discuss climate and racial justice and a variety of topics related to

peace. I’m remembering to breathe and to forgive my missteps. I’m finding ways to be better and healthier in my soul by eating, sleeping, and spending my time and money in more responsible ways.

I am called first to love God and love my neighbor. I’m also called to represent Christ in servant-leadership, to mentor and develop others, to proclaim and promote the peace of Jesus Christ, to minister with people in discovering God’s call, to support sacramental ministry, to foster spiritual growth and wholeness, to encourage healthy relationships, to promote justice and peacemaking by bridging differences, and to serve as a partner in collaborative leadership and ministry.

When I remember these callings, I realize that there is no time to spend in fear, dismay, and anger, and I move one step closer to peace.

Tammy Lindle Lewis (she/her) lives in Renton, Washington, USA. She is a high priest serving on the pastor team for the Crystal Springs congregation. She also serves as Disciple and Priesthood Formation specialist and is a member of the World Conference directors team.

Photo by Mitchell Luo | Unsplash

Planting the Seeds for a Secure Future

Are you looking for better ways to secure and increase your retirement funds and support Christ’s mission into the future?

Consider a charitable gift annuity which provides fixed income for life, a charitable tax deduction and possible tax-free income.

Contact one of our trained mission funding specialists to learn more.

(800) 884-7526 Photo by Wayne Rowe

missionfunding@CofChrist.org

www.CofChrist.org/missionfunding