Posted 78 days ago
MSA June Update - Prayer Requests & News
There has never been more demand for the type of resources and networking that MSA provides but as many of you already know Eliacin is currently looking for another job because our cash flow in MSA is insufficient to support this full time position into the future. As we move into an uncertain and volatile future, people everywhere are looking for ways to simplify their lifestyles and live more sustainably. Followers of Christ are grappling with how to integrate these changes with their spiritual practices and establish communities that make it possible for them to be more available for witness and service in God's kingdom.
It is exciting to be able to encourage followers of Chris in these ways. In fact we would like to expand our MSA team to include our current volunteers Cindy Todd and Andy Wade. If you are able to join our support team and help provide for their ongoing financial needs at this time that would be much appreciated. We realize that in these tough economic times we are not alone in our struggles. Many of you involved in small not for profits like ours face the same challenges. We are all grappling with the question: How do we sustain the many small mustard seed ministries that are the very life blood of Christian faith?
Many of us are being challenged in these tough economic times to reinvent our lives in ways that more authentically reflect our faith and model God's kingdom ways. At the same time we are aware that compared to much of the world's population we live with great abundance. How do we plan for the future with our eyes wide open to the realities of the pain and suffering in which so many live? We feel we need new models of how to do ministry and live life that are sustainable for today's world. Out of this discussion came the desire to host a synchroblog on the Mustard Seed blog over the summer to help us find answers together for these important issues. You can read more and sign up to participate here
We continue to move forward slowly with plans for Camano Island. In a couple of weeks we will hold crucial meetings with another organization that provides education programs on sustainability and environmental issues from a Christian perspective. We are excited about this program and our potential partnership which will provide new opportunities to both model and teach the sustainable faith and sustainable living practices that are currently in such demand. Please pray for Cindy Todd who is working hard to develop a business plan for this project.
Our upcoming annual Celtic retreat to be held on the island August 13 - 15th will also be a milestone event that marks a small beginning to the construction of this important site. Our theme for the year is Building Community, and it is our expectation that as well as enjoying times of renewal and refreshment that unite us as a living community we will be construct our first permanent structure on the land.
These last two months have been a busy time of networking, speaking and consulting. Tom and I have worked with a number of groups including Mennonite Educators in Pittsburgh, Communitas in Abbotsford BC, First United Methodist Church in Denton Tx and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship sketching future challenges and encouraging them to plan for the future in ways that creatively respond to these challenges.
Eliacín participated in the Emerging Christianity conference in Albuquerque and the TransFORM East Coast Gathering in Washington DC where he and Mark Van Steenwyk facilitated a workshop -Cultivating Liberated Spaces. In May he had the privilege to preach at the 2010 Regional Assembly of the Northwest Regional Christian Church in Spokane, WA. He was the first non-Disciples of Christ speaker at any of their bi-annual regional gathering. Eliacin challenged participants to move into a new understanding of mission by adopting an attitude of inviting others into their lives.
Ricci recently completed a new MSA resource Justice at the Table - a collection of personal reflections and practical ideas to help us redeem "food" in all its dimensions from its mundane place as an annoying chore to a spiritual practice essential to a life of faith. This resource is designed for busy people and includes a mini-booklet for jotting notes on the go. Take a look and see how you can continue to redeem your relationship with food for the kingdom of God.
June 26th Eliacin and Ricci will host our next gathering at the Mustard Seed House The Art of Being in Community.
Andy Wade continues to work on the Seed Sampler. The last two months on Intentional Community and Social Entrepreneurship have been particularly inspiring and have stimulated a lot of discussion on the website, blogs and facebook. This upcoming edition will be on a Christian response to disasters like the Gulf Oil Spill. Andy is also posting regularly on the MSA blog to expand our understanding of these issues.
I recently started a new series on my blog Godspace entitled The Kingdom is Here - Where Do You See It? "God is at work, God is moving in our world transforming renewing and restoring and we want everyone to know how and where we see that happening..... people today don't just want to hear about the good news of God they want to see the ways in which it is being lived out authentically in our world today." Check out the posts or sign up to participate here.
I am also in the last stages of producing Light for the Journey: Morning and Evening Prayers for Living into God's World. This collection of morning and evening prayers is based on those used regularly by the Mustard Seed House and at the Celtic retreat. According to Phyllis Tickle: Like the light which its title references, this booklet, in its succinctness, travels broadly and illumines perfectly.
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