“We’re a beacon of light, we shine Christ’s light, and we welcome people and say, ‘It’s safe here.'”
Members of Wesley Memorial UMC in Wilmington share what it means to them for their church to be a Lighthouse Congregation.
Stories
An Encouragement For August
The Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, is pleased to lift up the voices of women in ministry encouraging fellow women in ministry. Please enjoy this month’s Encouragement from Tobi Nguyen, Pastor of Trinity UMC in Durham. Anyone can sign up to receive these monthly emails here.
Romans 8:14-15, NRSV
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption.
I have two siblings, both are brothers. Mark is 16 months younger than me. We are a year apart in school. My baby brother, Drew, is 14 years younger than me. Our family adopted Drew when Mark and I were in middle school. Drew was 11 days old, and my parents flew to Lima, Peru, for the adoption process.
When Drew was three years old, he noticed the differences between the four of us who were blue-eyed and himself. That was the day I first heard my mom talk about adoption to Drew.
Now in my experience, adoption was a complicated process. My family spent years saving money, being interviewed, inquiries, doing paperwork, and research. In my view, adoption was so complicated and, at times, heart-wrenching.
Back to the conversation in the mini-van as we left a preschool playground. Three-year-old Drew asked, “Mama, why is my skin brown, but Tobi’s skin matches yours?”
My mom turned around from the passenger’s seat to lock eyes with her precious kid, her face filled with love. You’ve seen that before, when the gaze is locked-in, but the face softens with all the adoration in the world.
And she said these two sentences to Drew. “Tobi and Mark were born from my tummy. You were born from my heart.”
All of a sudden, nothing was more true about adoption than this. Nothing is more true about who Drew is and how we are family together.
My family has been shaped by adoption. My life is shaped by adoption.
Adoption is complicated but at its simplest, clergy and lay friends—you were born from God’s heart. And nothing is more true.
You are born of God’s heart. That is not a free pass to escape suffering. What it does mean is that we have the Spirit—we are inspired to work in the present for things to get better in the present—to confront systems of power and injustice. We are not satisfied with the present, but live toward a future promised by God. That future in which we hope for, work for, and participate in is life abundant.
How do you experience hope? Who reminds you of this hope?
In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women
Orientation and Covenant Renewal Day
New Faith Communities hosted Orientation and Covenant Renewal Day with current church planters at the NC Conference building on August 2. The planters were able to learn more about the NC Conference offices and ministry programs.
An Encouragement For July
The Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, is pleased to lift up the voices of women in ministry encouraging fellow women in ministry. Please enjoy this month’s Encouragement from Kristen Hanna, Associate Pastor at Christ Church UMC. Anyone can sign up to receive these monthly emails here.
This summer, in our neck of the woods in Chapel Hill, we have been journeying together through the “humble beginnings” of God’s people as recounted in Genesis. A few weeks ago, we came to the story of Jacob’s vision of the ascending ladder filled with angels traveling back and forth into paradise.
Genesis 28:16 (CEB):
When Jacob woke from his sleep, he thought to himself, The Lord is definitely in this place, but I didn’t know it.
Verse sixteen of the pericope struck me. How often have I encountered God and been surprised to find God there? Or, how many times has the Holy Spirit snuck up behind me, completely unawares?
And furthermore, how many situations have I walked through and been surprised to encounter the Divine around the corner, waiting like an unsuspecting friend who was there the entire time?
I have always joked that my best intentions for the summer months are to catch up on everything that I’ve needed to do, but every time summer rolls around, I find myself in a new kind of busy. Sure, it’s not the same fast-paced rhythm that comes with the cooler fall and spring seasons, but it is a different kind of hectic, one marked by schedule changes, VBSs, travel, mission trips, Annual Conference, and the list goes on.
As we straddle the middle of July, savoring these last summer weeks before the coming onslaught of fall scheduling mayhem, I wonder what it would look like to pause, to rest, and to dream as Jacob dreamed. Who knows, God may show up in the places we least expected!
In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women
Lighthouse Congregations: Ann Street UMC
Members at Ann Street UMC discuss being a Lighthouse Congregation and welcoming people in their church and community. Learn more about Lighthouse Congregations.
An Encouragement for June
The Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, is pleased to lift up the voices of women in ministry encouraging fellow women in ministry. Please enjoy this month’s Encouragement from Abby Muehlstein, Duke Divinity student and summer intern at Walnut Grove UMC. Anyone can sign up to receive these monthly emails here.
When I was invited to submit an Encouragement for this newsletter, my first thought was to bring in a lesson from my Duke Divinity summer class on death, dying, and bereavement. That’s encouraging, right?
The professor started out by asking us to re-think what it means to journey through grief. Rather than trying to see grief as a straightforward process predictably mapped out from point A to point B, she encouraged us to envision grief through the lens of wayfinding. Wayfinding is an orienteering practice that relies upon using the sun and stars, knowledge of the natural world, and generational wisdom to go out from one place into a world yet unknown. If you’ve seen the movie Moana, you’ll have some understanding of how this works. Whereas maps carry an unspoken understanding that they’re based on a high level of familiarity with the terrain they represent, wayfinding humbly recognizes that the world is too complex, too unknowable, to represent on a piece of paper. The wayfinding approach applies beyond grief, as well.
Some of the most captivating stories in Scripture are those of people navigating uncertain times. Think of Hagar, who ventured into the wilderness twice with no plan other than to get away (Gen. 16:6-14; 21:14-19). Think of Naomi and Ruth, returning to Bethlehem with no concrete plans for the rest of their lives (Ruth 1:19-22). They may not have known exactly how to move forward into an unknown world, but they were sure of certain supports: a present and provident God, a tradition of familial generosity, assurance of God’s plans for them and those who would follow them. These made it possible to move forward, one step at a time.
It is impossible to know the countless contexts you each find yourselves navigating as you read this today. Who is supporting your journey? What can you learn from the wisdom of those who have come before? What landmarks do you see that point in the direction you’re aiming to go? Better yet, how can you serve others in their own wayfinding process? As you go forward into the unknown, make note of what helps you along your way and the wisdom that you can share with others whose journeys may align with yours. Wayfinding may be unique to each person, but it is by no means a solitary practice.
In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women