REGIONAL MINISTER SEARCH: WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

The search process for the new Regional Minister of the Pacific Southwest Region (PSWR) is in full swing. Our next Regional Minister will take the helm in the fall of 2019. This article will explain the process and the timeline that we, as the Regional Minister Search Committee, are following and will let you know how and when you can help us discern the person God is calling to this place for a time such as this.

We are at an important point in our process, and that is gathering information from the members of the PSWR that will be used to develop a Regional Profile and Regional Minister position description. These documents will be sent to all people interested in applying for the position. We are currently meeting with various committees and ministry groups of the Region. AND NOW WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

There are two ways you can provide input. First we are holding listening sessions in select congregations throughout the region which are open to all. See the list below for locations and dates of these listening sessions. Second, we have posted an online survey for individuals to complete https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PSWR_Search.

We sincerely hope you will attend one of listening sessions and/or complete the online survey.  This is your opportunity to express your views about the current and future direction of the PSWR, what you would like to see in our next Regional Minister, and how your own church is doing at this time.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Church of the Valley
6565 Vesper Ave, Van Nuys, California 91411
(English and Spanish)

Wednesday, July 18, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
First Christian Church, Riverside / Iglesia Nueva Vida
4055 Jurupa Ave, Riverside, CA 92506
(English and Spanish)

Thursday, July 19, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
First Christian Church, Santa Barbara
1915 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101
(English)

Sunday: July 22, 2018, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
First Christian Church, Fullerton / Casa de Oración
109 E Wilshire Ave, Fullerton, CA 92832
(English and Spanish)

Saturday: July 28, 2018, 10 AM – Noon
Abundant Life Christian Church
3500 Normandie Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90007
(English)

 Sunday: July 29, 2018, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Wilshire Korean Christian Church
3435 Wilshire Blvd., Suite #101, Los Angeles, CA 90010
(English and Korean)

Sunday: August 5, 2018, 1:00 - 2:30 pm
University Christian Church
3900 Cleveland Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
(English and Spanish)

For those of you who like to see all the details, our search process is following the “Manual for Regional Search Committees Seeking a Regional Minister In the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)” that was written by the College of Regional Ministers and approved by the National Church in 2017. Here is a brief timeline of our process:

To close, in recognition of the central role God plays in our process, our Committee has committed to be in prayer with each other every Thursday at 7:00pm. Regardless of where we are physically located, this prayer time spiritually bonds us. We invite you to join us in this prayer life.  

In gratitude and prayerful thanksgiving to our Living God…
The PSWR Regional Minister Search Committee

2018-2019 Regional Minister Search Committee (Top photo L-R): Tom Perring, Larry Morris, Carol Warsaw, Lydia Yang, Joi Robinson, Louise Sloan-Goben, Cathy Perring, Ben Bohren, Rogelio Martinez, Ed Ramolete. (Bottom row, L-R): Janette Jara, Judy Hong, Rip Rippetoe, Shobie Lopez 

MILE MARKER #103: COURAGE

By Revs. Don Dewey and Susan Gonzales-Dewey, Co-Regional Ministers

In 1964, Grammy Hall of Fame songwriter Bob Dylan released the hit song: “The Times They Are A Changin'" in response to the unrest sweeping the country at that time. In this present turbulent time, where there seems to be an ever increasing polarization and a growing absence of basic civility, Dylan’s song appears to be relevant again for a new era of challenge and change.

As we prepare for our upcoming Regional Assembly, there is always so much excitement leading up to our time together as a Regional family. Every year we have the opportunity to come together for a time of worship, learning, fellowship and inspiration to strengthen our individual as well collective ministry as Disciples of Christ.

This year is no different. However, because of this growing divisiveness in our nation that seems to be undermining our basic values and creating fear and discord in every sector of our communities, our call as Disciples to be a community of wholeness in a fragmented world is needed more than ever. 

Therefore, our Regional Assembly planning team has chosen as our theme: COURAGE, based on two important scriptures: Micah 6:8 and Mathew 5:13-16. We believe as followers of Jesus Christ that we are called to be courageous in giving witness through our lives and our words of what it means to live as a beloved human family. We need to be courageous in lifting up the values of love, compassion, justice and peace so that we can be active participants in God’s redemptive mission in the world.

To guide us in this important conversation the team has broken down our theme into four key areas which will be the focus of our worship and keynotes: Courage to Listen, Courage to Change, Courage to Speak and Courage to Act.

We are thrilled to announce that two of our keynote speakers this year will the Rev. Dr. William Barbour, Disciples of Christ leader for the new Poor Peoples Campaign and the Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)! These two powerful voices will be addressing our Assembly on what it means to be courageous as we seek to follow in the way of Jesus. Read more about our keynote speakers.

This Regional Assembly will be our last assembly as your Regional Ministers and so we look forward to this opportunity to gather with you one more time and celebrate both the challenges and the changes in the ministry we have done together. We pray that this will be a time in which we can all be inspired to face the future with courage and hope as we answer our call to be salt and light in the world, living humbly, seeking righteousness, and doing justice.

Yes, the times, they are a changin’!

Together on the journey,
Don and Susan
Your Regional Ministers

Reflections on Albergue Las Memorias

There’s an HIV shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, that brings me close to Jesus. Our Global Missions partner, Albergue Las Memorias, is an amazing place of men, women, and children who live in community caring for one another. When people first arrive, they are often quite ill, given a bed, and nursed back to health by other residents. Once they are restored to health they do the same for the next incoming folks.

Church groups can see biblical stories come with every visit. Prodigal drug users are welcomed back “home,” given blankets, food, love, and encouragement. Physical bodies are resurrected with their first steps down the hallway and out of the infirmary. Modern “lepers” whom family members and society have abandoned are held and touched. And Jesus can be seen in about 100 faces hanging out, eating meals, and providing healing and acceptance.

There are many emotions that come about in a typical visit. This past week, some of us from the Irvine and Tehachapi UCC arrived and offered our usual “spa” day. We washed feet, rubbed on lotion, and provided massages to residents, beginning with those most ill. People in the tuberculosis unit nearly always die and sadly, there is about one death per week. The residents and those of us who visit, try to provide some amount of comfort to the bedridden. Then we offer up the same acts of service, including facials, to the ambulatory residents and we paint little girls fingernails bright and sparkly. It is an afternoon of healing touch and joy.

Sometimes we play games or do crafts and get to know their stories. Beautiful and bright eight year-old, Maria, (not her real name, all other names have been changed as well) enjoyed arts and crafts and shared some hugs. This little girl’s dad held two university degrees, but he died from a heroin overdose. Look out world, Maria, is going to take you by storm, thanks to the love and care she gets living at the shelter with her little half-sister, “Mary.”

During our visit, we were happy to hear that 20-something, “Isabel,” found a husband and no longer lives at the shelter. She was discovered positive for HIV as a young girl, but nobody knows why. Her parents were afraid of HIV and they dropped her off, never to see her again. The residents cared for her and made sure her beau was worthy of her hand.

There are as many unique stories as there are people at this mission partner of ours. Beautiful trans-female, “Joanna,” was shunned by her father and previously affected by self-hatred. Now, Joanna is no longer willing to be a street worker. She has dignity and self-worth and feels the love of God.

Several of the residents have suffered strokes related to their addictions, HIV and health status, and they are mostly paralyzed on one side of their body. They didn’t think they could manage making paper flowers, with only one good hand, but wanted to throw a great fiesta for their retiring DOC missionary, Jerri Handy. So, some of the guys paired up and together used pairs of two good hands to make flowers. One of the men, “Juan,” who has lost a leg, speaks six languages, only he can’t speak any of them since his stroke. Instead, he writes in multiple languages on his wipe-off board. He wrote about his deep appreciation for all that Jerri has meant to Las Memorias.

During Jerri’s nearly four year tenure, churches have visited and some, especially those at the Irvine UCC, have provided funds and assistance to build a whole new dormitory for residents. It was blessed during the going away fiesta. Jerri also leaves behind an furnished apartment for visiting missionaries and pastors plus an active 12-step healing program she began for residents. She has touched many lives and any church would benefit by inviting her to come and tell them about this incredible place.

Certainly, Jesus was there with us, amongst the outcasts, the sick, the poor, the living and the dying. If you wish to see Jesus, it seems easy at this place, where children enjoy a piñata on one side of the dining hall and someone else is slipping into death in the adjacent infirmary. We who visited, got to share our blessings, touch and be touched, and intensely experience being disciples of Christ.

Contact Irvine UCC or Rev. Nancy Bacon in Tehachapi if your church would like to learn more, then go! Find Jesus!

The Key to Unlocking Youth Ministry That Matters

by Rev. BJ Barlow, Associate Regional Minister, Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Of course, we want young people involved. Seeing them at the lectern, sharing their stories about camp, singing a song, reading the scripture lesson – it assures us that there is a future for the Church. We want young people to know they have a special place in our communities. After all, there is nothing more heartwarming on Sunday than seeing a chancel full of children during Children’s Moment. We know all that means so much to us will continue because young people are engaged and continuing meaningful work in the church. They truly are the key to the Church’s future.

Undeniably we are facing a situation for the future of the Church that needs to be “unlocked.” Many of the churches in the PSWR are facing serious decline in attendance, energy, and vision. If only we could somehow convince young people to continue the things that have been so meaningful for us, then they will learn to appreciate it, too.

What if I told you that holding such a distinct role isn’t always very encouraging for young people in the Church? After all, being a key that unlocks what is truly cherished probably is not very affirming for anyone. Once the key has done its job, it is put back in the drawer until it is needed again. So it is for young people in many faith communities. Why would anyone want to stay in a position like that?

In an interview with NBC News last August, Rev. Terri Hord Owens pointed out that young people have become cynical about organizations that are disinterested in what is important to them. She stressed the importance of empowering young people’s connection with their own expressions of faith. “[Young people] connect in different ways as human beings. I am more concerned with how the church is going to be responsive to their change of connection… If we need to alter the way they connect, to let them know that the things they care about… are the things we care about within the church, then so be it.”

Perhaps we’ve convince ourselves that doing special youth events or highlighting pop culture in worship is sufficient in connecting young people to their faith. However, according to Rev. Dr. Andrew Root (Luther Seminary), creating privileged roles for young people has contributed to their disconnecting from the Church. In an article published by Faith & Leadership, Dr. Root argues that highlighting youth as an ornamental accessory to Christian faith sets a shallow connection in their own lives. In other words, the Church has mistakenly taught young people that the value they bring to the Church is superficial and peripheral – not a central asset in its mission.

Imagine how many times children are called to the front of the church to hear Jesus say to his disciples, “Let the little children come to me, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” to then only be dismissed to a separate space for Children’s Church immediately following. Of course, there are certainly a lot of pressing reasons why we do this, but one wonders how we’ve come to settle within this contradiction between teaching and practice.

Rev. Root challenges the Church to reimagine our approach to youth ministry. He asserts that effective youth ministry isn’t a strategy “to produce ‘Christian youth’ that hold on to the fashion and stay loyal to the brand. Instead, it seeks to invite young people into the cruciform space [of place sharing] that is concretely lived out by the community of the church.”

The future of the Church doesn’t rely on vibrant Youth Sunday programs or an increase in VBS enrollment. The future of the Church doesn’t even necessarily include specialized youth programming at all. Instead, when a community empowers young people to use their gifts, passions, cares, and worries as an expression of THE Church, then we’ll all begin to experience growth in unimaginable ways.

I am proud to be a part of a region of churches that is trying new things and exploring ways to empower young people to serve at the center of its mission. You’ll see this manifest at Regional Assembly this fall as our young people have been given the opportunity to design, plan, and lead worship on Saturday morning. You’ll also see it in the workshops, service projects, and mission trips we sponsor together. Giving young people a special space may seem like a helpful thing, but offering to share space and serve beside one another is what it means to be community.

To read the full NBC News Article with GMP Rev. Terri Hord Ownes, visit: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/teresa-hord-owens-first-black-woman-lead-disciples-christchurch-n782981

For more information on Rev. Dr. Andrew Root’s work on youth ministry, visit: https://www.faithandleadership.com/andrew-root-take-it-bonhoeffer-there-no-christian-youth

Young Adult Israel-Palestine Trip: Holy Land Day 8

by Lydia Yang

We started the day off leaving Jerusalem and driving to Nablus to visit Jacob’s Well. Jacob’s Well is significant in Christianity for the story of the woman at the well where Jesus asks a Samaritan woman for water. The Greek Orthodox church built around Jacob’s Well was a beautiful place surrounded by trees and flowers with cats sleeping in the shade. Although the church was a Holy place to allow for people to mediate and pray, it was also a place full of tension. While the church was Greek Orthodox, there have been several Jewish activists protesting the church and wanting to turn it into a Jewish holy site. As we have traveled around to different Holy sites, we have often found ourselves learning of the many conflicts that occur in churches, synagogues, and mosques between different religious groups. In a place of worship and prayer there are too many stories of violence and death. A significant part of this trip has been realizing that there is still much to be done in the church. A church cannot be a church if it is built upon the backs of those oppressed, discriminated and denied entrance. As Disciples, we are called to push pass the obstacles to let those who are on the outside in. We must push past our differences to create unity and foster peace.

As we walked into the church the first thing we noticed was the colorful chandeliers and the grand image of Jesus and angels across the ceiling. Walking down a flight of stairs, we found ourselves in a cave-like room with the Well located in the front. I was amazed to learn that the Well was 140 feet deep and we were able to watch our tour guide drop a bucket to draw up fresh water. As we all huddled around the well, a cup full of water from the Well was passed around and we all were able to take turns taking a sip. During the debrief at the end of the day, one of our group members, Yvette, talked about how in that moment she truly felt the bond and community as we passed around a cup for us to share. I completely agree with her. In that instance, our differences and backgrounds did not matter, we were all able to take a minute to stop, reflect, and build a stronger community.

Leaving Jacob’s Well, we traveled to the outskirts of Nablus to the Askar Refugee Camp. Established in 1950, not only does Askar provide refuge to Palestinians who were forced to flee from the violence of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, but it is also a center for the support and development of children. Askar’s Social Development Center helps children live in the area by organizing activities and workshops such as dance, sports, photography, and drama as well as educational support through language classes in order to provide the children with hope. While the occupation kills hopes and dreams, Askar “gives the children a right to dream and hope”. It is a place that gives hope. It is a place where women are also able to participate and help, a place that works as one community – regardless of gender or age. I thought Askar was truly an inspiring place. In a place where houses are rundown and bullet holes fill the walls, hope can still be found. The children were full of smiles and laughter and it broke my heart to know that these bright children are forced to live in such a dangerous environment. Visiting Askar and meeting all the adults and children living there taught me that even in a time where violence and war plagues the world, hope can still be found.

We finished our day off by visiting a Palestinian Soap Factory located in the heart of Nablus. Before our trip here, we had heard from the group that came two years ago about how amazing the olive oil soap was and we were all very excited to visit and stock up on bars of olive oil soap. The two soap factories we visited were over 800 years old and family-run. I really enjoyed learning about the different traditional methods used to create the organic bars of soap and how the olive oil from one of the factories used only Palestinian olive oil. Although visiting and learning about the soap factories were incredible, it wouldn’t have been a proper trip to a soap factory if we didn’t buy bars and bars of soap!

As we are going into our last couple of days, I have learned and experienced so much. This trip has truly been a blessing and I am excited to go back home to share all that I have learned!