Mile Marker #92: Thanks for Good Work

by Revs. Don and Susan Dewey, Co-Regional Ministers

“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” - Philippians 1:3-6 (MSG)

Summer has been heating up! Not only have we already experienced record temperatures across the southland but activities in the life of the PSWR have also been rising, and it will continue through the summer!

We kicked off the summer with an awesome Young Adult event, “Young Adult Disciples in Action” (YADA) on May 27th with Halima Hudson, Rev. Daphne Gascot Arias, and Rev. Spencer Burke as speakers. There were over 40 Young Adults attending!

Thanks to Associate Regional Minister B.J. Barlow and a fantastic crew of adult sponsors, our summer youth programs are simply amazing! Early in June, a fun day in the sun was planned as over 30 youth and adults spent the day deep-sea fishing off the coast of Catalina Island! And yes, they caught fish!

A few days later, a team of twelve youth and four adults traveled to Hawaii for a weeklong mission trip in paradise with our three congregations on the island of Oahu. They were divided up into three smaller teams, and each team was hosted by one of the congregations, where they spent the week learning about the Hawaiian culture, building relationships with members of the local church, and working on various service projects. The projects ranged from leading a VBS program at one church, to cleaning up beaches, working in a food pantry, planting taro, and more!

Susan and I, along with our Associate Regional Ministers Young Jun Yang and Young Lan Kim, focused on our new Chuukese fellowship that is nesting at First Christian Church Honolulu. We gave an overview of our Disciple history and polity as well as Boundary Training and other helpful and informative information.

Thanks to our Camp and Conference committee, a wonderful summer of fun, learning, laughter and spiritual formation will be going on at all six of our camps through the end of July. We offer these experiences, starting with our Wee Camp for 3 year olds to our high school 12th graders and graduating seniors. Directors and counselors who have a commitment to young people, to the church and to God, lead each camp. Please pray for all those who will be a part of this life-changing time at our summer camps.

We are very excited to again be sending five youth and six Young Adults to attend the upcoming General Assembly. This has proved in the past to be a life-changing experience for developing our young people into significant leaders into the future. There they will catch a glimpse of the broad work of our Disciples church, as they interact with persons from across the US and Canada as well as those serving in mission around the world.

As a part of our commitment to Global Missions and deepening the experiences of our youth and young adults, a group will be traveling to South Korea in mid-July for a mission/learning adventure. This is a continuation of a partnership begun in 2015 when Susan and I, along with Associate Regional Ministers Rev. Young Jun Yang and Rev. Young Lan Kim traveled there to explore a possible partnership with the PROK (Presbyterians of the Republic of Korea) in Gwangju.

Then in the summer of 2016, a dozen youth from South Korea spent three weeks with us here in the PSWR, learning about our Region, the Disciples, and building relationships. This summer, we are sending our youth delegation as a part of the partnership exchange of learning and relationship building.

In addition to our youth attending General Assembly, both Susan and I and many representatives of PSWR congregations and pastors with also be attending. This General Assembly will be a very important one as we say goodbye to the Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins, who has served as our General Minister and President for the past twelve years! We will also be electing a new GMP, the Rev. Terri Hord Owens, who is the proposed candidate. We have been privileged here in the PSWR to have had an opportunity to meet her and hear her vision for guiding our Disciples into a new future.  We are very excited about Rev. Owens!

Following General Assembly, Susan and I will be taking part of our sabbatical leave. As a part of our call as Regional Ministers, there is to be a three-month Sabbatical every five years. In September, we will have served ten years of our two 6-year terms as your Regional Ministers. In consultation with Personnel and Regional Board, we will be splitting up our three months into two 6-week times. We will take six weeks this year (2017) and 6 weeks next year (2018). Susan and I will also be overlapping our 6 weeks so that we are both gone together for only four weeks.

Beginning August 1, Susan will be on Sabbatical until September 15, 2017. I will be on Sabbatical beginning August 14 until September 30. We have asked Associate Regional Minister Rev. Dr. JoAnn Bynum, to serve as Interim during the four weeks that both Susan and I will be on Sabbatical together. In addition we have prepared all our staff to be ready to address any needs or concerns that may arise in our absence. We are more than confident of their ability to manage the Region while we are away.

On August 4-5, the pastors and congregations of our Hispanic Disciples here will gather for their Assembly, which will be held at Chapman University. Then near the end of September, our Hispanic pastors will meet for a two-day retreat of fellowship, worship, study and visioning. Please keep these events in your prayers.

As this busy summer ends and fall begins, we will be preparing for our Regional Gathering to be held at First Christian Church, Pomona on Saturday, October 21. Our theme for this gathering is: “Faithful in the Tension”, with our scripture focus from James 1:2-4. We are very pleased to have the Rev. April Lewton, Vice President of Development and Marketing for the National Benevolent Association of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as our speaker. There will also be wonderful worship experiences as well as learning workshops and opportunities for fun and fellowship.

Whew! These are just some of the things that will be going on here in the PSWR this summer. We are truly grateful for all the support, prayers, and leadership that make all of this ministry possible. Susan and I are very proud and honored to be serving as your Regional Ministers and want to thank you all for all you do to give witness to the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and expand the realm of God here.

We pray that you will find rest, renewal, and renewed energy this summer for the mission and ministry entrusted to each of us. You remain in our hearts and prayers.

Together on the journey,

Don and Susan,
Your Co-Regional Ministers

Hatchery LA Features "The Great Spiritual Migration"

by Spencer Burke, Executive Director, Hatchery LA

I recently met up with Brian McLaren, long-time friend of the Pacific Southwest Region, to learn about his new book, The Great Spiritual Migration. While some people are lamenting the decline in church attendance and membership, Brian has a different view. He believes people are not “leaving the church” but rather are migrating from one expression of the Good News to another. He highlights how movements of God are connecting with institutions and it’s this combination that is a very hopeful aspect of the migration. Another hopeful and beautiful element of the great spiritual migration is they way it is opening up opportunities for millennials to join and to lead for the next generation. 

Listen in on our conversation to hear more about how Brian thinks the Disciples of Christ – and especially our region with the Hatchery LA initiatives – is uniquely positioned to help our world migrate to a place of spiritual belonging.

Video link: https://www.facebook.com/hatcheryla/videos/1868960393344486/

Mile Marker #91: Dreaming God's Dream

By Don and Susan Dewey, Co-Regional Ministers

“Do you believe every person on earth was born with a dream for his or her life?” This is the question that Bruce Wilkerson poses in the preface of his book, The Dream Giver. Wilkerson then goes on to answer his own question; he says, “I have yet to find a person who didn’t have a dream. They may not be able to describe it. They may have forgotten it. They may no longer believe in it. But it’s there.” He says, “I call this universal and powerful longing a Big Dream. Like the genetic code that describes your unique passions and abilities, your Big Dream has been woven into your being from birth. You’re the only person with a dream quite like yours. And you have it for a reason: to draw you toward the kind of life you were born to love!”

Dreams can inspire and challenge us. They can lift us up to a higher calling or disturb us from a business as usual attitude.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, I have a dream speech, delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. August 28th 1963 amidst the civil rights movement is one such dream.

He said, “I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

Dreams and visions are essential to human existence. Without it there can be no growth in either our personal or group life, including the church. In fact our scriptures remind us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Prov. 29:18)

To envision or to dream is the act of imagining something not yet in existence. I believe we all have dreams. It expresses itself in our ambition, our motivation, even our faith.

It should not surprise us that dreaming should come so naturally, since we are made in the image of the One whom we also understand to be a dreamer. A study of the scriptures reveals that God has a vision of how the world shall be, but is not yet.

In his book “We Make the Road by Walking,” Brian McLaren writes:

“To be alive is to desire, to hope, and to dream, and the Bible is a book about desires, hopes and dreams. The story begins with God’s desire for a good and beautiful world, of which we are a part. Soon, some of us desire the power to kill, enslave, or oppress others. Enslaved and oppressed people hope for liberation. Wilderness wanderers desire a promised land where they can settle. Settled people dream of a promised time when they won’t be torn apart by internal factions, ruled by corrupt elites, or dominated by stronger nations nearby.

Desires, hopes, and dreams inspire action, and that’s what makes them so different from a wish.”

Throughout the biblical record, God is portrayed as One who has a dream of how the intended order of creation, broken by the sin of humankind, can be restored. But God is not content to merely image how the world shall be. God has been at work throughout history seeking to bring this dream into reality.

In the beginning, God used Abraham & Sarah, then Moses & Miriam, then the prophets, and finally God spoke through Jesus of Nazareth to communicate this mission. And the mission continued, through Jesus to his disciples and followers, and now through us.

What is the nature of this vision God has? According to the prophet Isaiah, God envisions all creation as one, with every person living in harmony with the purposes of the Creator and in community with one another, seeking the joy and well being of every other.

Today there seems to be so much brokenness in our world. Our communities are polarized, our political system seems bent on oppressing the most vulnerable in our society, fear has reached and all time high towards “the other” and so many just wish we could just wake up from this bad dream.

In 1971 John Lennon, former Beatle, wrote a song entitled “Imagine” where he shared his dream for the world. He wrote:

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can.
No need for greed or hunger,
a brotherhood of man.
Imagine all the people
sharing all the world.
You may say I am a dreamer. 
But, I am not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us
and the world will live as one.                   

God’s dream for the world is one of wholeness (salvation) for all creation. Through the events of our daily lives God is at work actualizing this dream. But what astounds me most is that God has called us (you and me) to claim this dream as our own and to become partners with God in this divine task. Paul says in Philippians, “I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the day of Christ Jesus.” We are to be God’s dream-bearers. We are called to actively engage in bringing God’s dream into being.

When asked what he would do if he knew the world was going to end tomorrow, Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, said, “I’d go out and plant a tree.” Wishing is a substitute for action. In contrast, our desires, hopes and dreams for the future guide our actions.

Pope Frances challenges us by saying, “Our duty is to continue to insist, in the present international context, that the human person and human dignity are not simply catchwords, but pillars for creating shared rules and structures capable of passing beyond purely pragmatic or technical approaches in order to eliminate divisions and to bridge existing differences. In this regard, there is a need to oppose the shortsighted economic interests and the mentality of power of a relative few who exclude the majority of the world’s peoples, generating poverty and marginalization and causing a breakdown in society. There is likewise a need to combat the corruption which creates privileges for some and injustices for many others.”

Our call to action is to resist evil, stand up for the vulnerable, speak out for the voiceless and cast out all fear with genuine love. In addition we are called to care for all creation because our hope is in a God who redeems. We believe in a mighty Creator with profound love for all of creation.

Echoing the words of Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry, “My prayer is that we in the Episcopal Church will, in this and all things, follow the way, the teachings, and the Spirit of Jesus by cultivating a loving, liberating, and life-giving relationship with God, all others in the human family, and with all of God’s good creation.”

To be alive in the way of Jesus is to have a desire, a dream, a hope for the future. Let us continue to live into God’s desire, dream and hope for our world.

Together on the journey,

Don and Susan
Co-Regional Ministers, PSWR

유산에 대한 존경과 미래 건설

여러분은, 태평양 서남 지방 제자회의 활동적인 멤버로서 오랫동안 지켜지고 있는 너그러움에 대한 전통을 이어가고 있습니다.  그 너그러움은 여러분의 지방회가 다른 어떤 방법으로 대치될 수 없는 훌륭한 프로그램들, 봉사들, 사역들, 그리고 자원들을 제공하는데 선봉에 설 수 있도록 해 왔습니다.

태평양 서남지방회는, 사람들의 삶에 좋은 영향을 주기 위해 더 나은 변화를 향해 나아 가는 지역 교회 사역들을 향상시키면서 지역사회의 중요한 역할을 수행하고 있습니다.  태평양 서남 지방회의 지속적인 지도력과 너그러움은, 믿음의 공동체의 지속적인 발전에 기여해 오고  있으며, 모든 사람들에게 영향을 미치고 있습니다. 

우리 중 많은 사람들이 지방회가 우리들의 삶에 직접적인 영향을 주는 것을 목격하기도 했고, 또는  우리 지방회의 노력들과 결실을 바로 확인할 수 있는 매우 실질적인 지방회 사역에 함께 하기도 합니다.  반면, 여러분 중 많은 사람들은 단지 지역 교회와 신앙 공동체를 통해 우리 지방회를 경험했을 것입니다. 

여러분은 여러 행사들과 활동들을 통해 지방회 사무실의 최신 소식들을 접하거나, 지방회 사무실이 지도력 향상을 위한 지역 교회 발전 또는 프로그램을 지원하는 도구가 되어지는 것을 보았을 것입니다. 

그러나 태평양 서남 지방의 모든 개인들의 삶들에 지방회 교회들이 어떻게 영향을 주고 있는지, 또는 여러분의 기부가 매우 개인적인 차원은 물론 넓은 범위에서 어떤 변화를 주고 있는지에 대해 분명하게 이해하지 못할 수도 있습니다. 

우리는 이에, 지방회 사무실에 보내진 기금으로 인해 직접적인 영향을 받는 사람들에게 여러분을 소개함으로 유산에 대한 경의 (Honor The Legacy) 캠페인을 착수 합니다. 

여러분은 그들을 만나고, 그들의 이야기를 듣는 기회를 가질 것이며, 태평양 서남 지방회가 우리 지역 사회에 얼마나 특별하고 중요한 역할을 감당하고 있는 지 알게 될 것입니다.  우리는 지방회 전체의 진실한 변화를 이루어가며, 개인과 그룹들을 도움으로써 함께 우리의 미래를 이루어 나갑니다. 

여러분과 같은 개인과 교회들이 지방회로 보낸 너그러운 선물과 기부금은, 다양함과 온전함을 추구하는데 사용될 뿐만 아니라, 새로운 프로그램을 지원하고, 시설을 개선하고 교회의 리더십을 키우는데 기여하게 됩니다.   더 나아가, 당신은 지방회 스텝들이 당신의 선물의 영향을 최대화하기 위해 어떻게 분투하는지, 그리고 지방회 사무실에 기부되어지는 모든 기금들이 어떻게 책임있게 다뤄지는지를 알게 될 것입니다. 

저는 오늘, 특별 헌금을 제외한, 태평양 서남 지방회가 모금한 모든 기금들이 곧바로 프로그램과 태평양 서남 지방회의 지도자들의 미래를 세우는 데 쓰여지고 있다고 자부심을 가지고 말합니다.

그래서 여러분이 여러분의 선물에 영향을 받은 사람들의 이야기를 들을 수 있는 매달 발행되는 eNews와 DisciplesPSWR.org/Give 에 가입하시길 원합니다.  

여러분의 헌금은 지방회 전역에 걸쳐, 젊은이들, 사회 문제 원인자들, 목회자들, 교회 지도자들, 여성과 제자회등 다양한 그룹의 삶을 변화시키고 있습니다. 

감사합니다.

Sarah Bartczak
PSWR Giving
sarahb@disciplespswr.org

Honrar El Legado, Construyendo El Futuro

Como miembro activo de la Región Suroeste del Pacifico de los Discípulos, usted forma parte de una larga y generosa tradición. Esto le permite a su Región estar a la vanguardia de proveer una programación única, servicios, ministerios y recursos que no podrían ser realizados de ninguna otra manera. El PSWR tiene un papel crítico en la comunidad, mejorando el trabajo que están haciendo las iglesias locales y van más allá para impulsar un mayor cambio, para impactar las vidas de las personas que viven en el Suroeste del Pacífico. El continuo liderazgo y generosidad de nuestros contribuyentes del PSWR han ayudado al éxito de nuestra comunidad de fe y a todos los que son impactados por ella.

Muchos de nosotros hemos visto nuestras vidas impactadas directamente por la Región, o estamos involucrados en un ministerio donde podemos ver nuestros esfuerzos regionales, y dólares, en el trabajo de una manera muy tangible. Sin embargo, muchos de ustedes experimentan nuestra región sólo a través de su iglesia local o comunidad de fe. Usted puede ver actualizaciones de la oficina regional sobre eventos y actividades, o puede ver que la Oficina Regional es una herramienta para que las iglesias locales desarrollen liderazgo o programas de apoyo. Pero puede que no esté claro cómo su Iglesia Regional está impactando vidas en todo el suroeste del Pacífico, o cómo su regalo o aportación puede marcar una diferencia con un amplio alcance, así como a un nivel extremadamente personal.

Estamos emprendiendo una campaña para Honrar El Legado que nuestra Región ha construido a través de la presentación de aquellos que directamente han sido impactados por los fondos dados a la Oficina Regional. Tendrá la oportunidad de ver sus rostros y escuchar sus historias, y ver de primera mano cómo la Región PSWR tiene un papel único y crítico en nuestra comunidad. Juntos estamos Construyendo El Futuro a través apoyo a individuos y grupos, mientras que afectan el cambio real en toda la región. Los generosos regalos a la región provienen de iglesias, donaciones e individuos como usted, que apoyan nuevos programas, mejoran las instalaciones y contribuyen al liderazgo de la iglesia, así como becas para fomentar la diversidad y la integridad.

Además, aprenderá sobre ejemplos de cómo su personal regional se está esforzando para maximizar el impacto de su donación y ser responsable de todos los dólares que llegan a la oficina regional. Estoy orgullosa de decir que hoy, fuera de las ofrendas especiales, cada dólar recaudado por el PSWR va directamente al programa y la construcción del futuro de los líderes del PSWR.

Así que únase a nosotros cada mes en su eNews y en DisciplesPSWR.org/Give para escuchar historias de las vidas que están siendo tocadas por sus donaciones. Sus dólares están marcando una diferencia en la vida de un grupo diverso de jóvenes, causas sociales, ministros, líderes de iglesias, mujeres y discípulos en toda la región.

Muchas Gracias,

Sarah Bartczak
PSWR Giving
sarahb@disciplespswr.org