Elizabeth Mullins – Page 26

Devotional—Sacred Dependence

One night in January, my pregnant sister was rushed to the hospital when her water broke. After hours of labor, she was eventually given a Caesarian section, for it was taking too long to deliver the baby. Finally, we were invited to view the baby for the first time. He had pinkish skin and weighed 7.5 pounds.

Watching him, I had an epiphany. Every person on earth was once like this tiny, helpless baby—the strongest boxers, fastest athletes, and smartest scientists! We were all small, vulnerable, and dependent on the caress of our caregiver. Even Jesus—who sacrificed his life to save humanity—was once a baby.

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. Luke 2:40

No matter who we grow up to be, we do so with the guidance of the people who raised us. These people are living examples of God’s love and grace. We were created to live in interdependence with others. No matter how small we were as babies, we grow stronger with the strength and wisdom the Lord blesses us with each day.

Prayer:
Our creator and heavenly Father, we humble ourselves before you as we remember that we came into this world as vulnerable babies who couldn’t have grown strong without your loving presence. We acknowledge the path you set for us, and we continue to seek your guidance as we desire to follow your will. This we pray in the mighty name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

By Jessica Joy Pamor, GC Pili Youth Leader
Bicol, Philippines

Going Out in Love

Dear GCI Family and Friends,

The December 20 issue of Update was a recap of the year. It featured a word cloud showing the most frequently used words in my 2023 letters. By a wide margin, “Jesus” was the most used word. He is the radiance of the Father, and if you have seen him, you have seen the Father. In GCI, we stand on the truth of the triune God revealed in the person of Jesus.

The 2023 word cloud did not show me using the words trinity or triune frequently. Please understand, this does not infer that we are moving away from our bedrock Incarnational Trinitarian Theology. In fact, our direction in GCI is to see what we do in ministry fully dependent on how we relate to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God is three personal realities; these three do not exist in isolation. Rather, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always interweaving and interpenetrating each other, are pure oneness in thought, purpose, and action, and are perfection and beauty—one God in three persons eternally in relationship. (This might be a good spot to pause and worship.)

The story of creation and subsequent salvation of fallen humanity tells us that God goes out from God’s self in love. The triune God is intentionally sharing a communion of life and love with his created children.

In the Christmas season, we set our minds on the miracle of the Incarnation. The Father sends his only begotten Son to take on flesh and blood and to be a child of a humble Jewish couple from Nazareth. The word “sends” does not mean condemned as some like to interpret, or that God sent an unwilling Son.

A modern vernacular might be parents sending their children to college. In the 1940s, the term was often used in the U.S. as parents “sent” their children to fight for the country they loved. There is an implied agreement in the sending. The point is, the second member of the eternal Godhead set aside his divine prerogative to become the second Adam, who was both human and divine, for the primary purposes of revealing the Father, going to the cross as the Savior of the world, and sending the Spirit in his stead. The Incarnation is God going out from himself in love.

During this Easter season, I am smitten by the powerful statement of Jesus, “When I am lifted up, I will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32 NIV). Taking his place as the true prince of the world, Jesus emphatically says “I” will attract, invite, and draw all people to myself. Everybody. God is going out from himself in love.

As we plumb the depths of the triune God revealed in Jesus, our image of God is shaped. We come to see a God who always acts out of love; a God who is for us, not against us; a God who saves and not condemns. The realization of God’s nature, and the truth that he goes out from himself in love, impacts us deeply. It impacts how we commune with God in our personal lives and devotion. As a body of believers who experience and know the triune God, it impacts how ministry flows from this collective body called the church.

Just as God is faithful to go out from himself in love, may the church, in its communion and reliance on the triune God, go out from itself in love as well. May we join and participate with Jesus in attracting, inviting, and drawing all people to him.

In the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Greg Williams

LiLY Women’s Conference

We would love to invite you to celebrate our 20^th year reunion.

2024 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!

20th Annual LiLY Women’s Conference
April 26-28, 2024
Embassy Suites in Independence, Ohio (in person)

“REUNION”

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:20 (NIV)

Registration Fee:
$75 / $85 – Take advantage of our early bird pricing of $75 and register by Friday, April 5, 2024. The registration fee covers the meeting facilities, speakers, conference bag filled with goodies, plus lunch and dinner on Saturday.

Registration for ages 13-17 is at a discounted rate of $50.

Online registration ends on April 14, 2024.

Hotel Reservation/Cost:

Embassy Suites, 5800 Rockside Woods Blvd. Independence, Ohio

Overnight hotel rate is $129 per night, per suite, 4-person room (total with tax is $303.15 for both nights – breakfast & manager’s reception included).

Click here to make your reservation online.

Group Name: LiLY Women’s Conference

Group Code: LWC

Central Reservations Number: 1-866-344-7548

Deadline for hotel reservations at the special rate is Friday, April 5, 2024.

Register today online at gccle.church/lily

If not registering online: Mail your registration fee and make checks payable to:

Grace Communion Cleveland, 4499 Canterbury Road, North Olmsted, Ohio 44070

(Please include your name, address, phone number, emergency contact name & address, and if you are staying for Saturday night dinner)

If you have any questions, please email us at: LiLYwomensministry@gmail.com

Rosa Hulse
Women’s Ministry Leader
Grace Communion Cleveland

Like/Follow us on Facebook at LiLYWomensConference.

Meet Octavia Walenciak

“Watching [the people I serve with] be guided into their callings by God is my favorite part…It’s exciting seeing people who were once strangers actively serving and participating together in the church and feeling like they found their people, their home away from home.”

Check out this month’s GCI Profile to get to know Octavia Walenciak, Love Avenue team member in Surrey Hills, Oklahoma. To read her full profile, click here or the image below.

Regional Gatherings in 2024

Registration is now open!

Please join us for a weekend of training, appreciation, and worship. Everyone is invited.

Visit our website here to register and for more information, including details about lodging.

Registration will close on May 19, 2024.

Share Your Black History Celebrations

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”(Revelation 7:9-10)

“This image of heaven gives us a clue that ethnicity and culture have some sort of eternal value. Our ethnic and cultural differences reflect God’s beauty and creativity. At the same time, those saints from different backgrounds are united in their worship of God. Diversity in unity is part of God’s design for humanity. Our cultural differences should be celebrated, and our unity in Christ should be celebrated even more.” From Embracing Diversity by Dishon Mills. Read the full Equipper article here.

In the U.S., February is Black History Month. Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. It is a time devoted to paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.

Black History Celebration, GC Fayetteville, NC, 2023

Does your congregation commemorate this diversity awareness month in a special way with your members and neighbors? If so, tell us about it!

We’d love to share your stories of Black History Month celebrations in Update! Send your story to info@gci.org.

Death of Ruth Matthews

Ruth was a true Minnesotan girl. Born Ruth Marie Bauer in St. Paul on August 5, 1951, she grew up on a small farm southwest of Minneapolis and recounted stories of walking – and riding a horse – to school in the winter snows and helping her father on their small property by forking the hay on the hay cart in summer. She was the eldest of five, with four younger brothers. That meant helping her mother look after them – and as a result the brothers nicknamed her “management.”

Her parents, Fred and Ruby, were foundation members of the Minneapolis congregation of our fellowship and ultimately were ordained deacon and deaconess. In those days, regardless of how arduous the travel was, and how short the funds were, the annual festival was not to be missed, and in the early years, their nearest site was in Big Sandy, Texas, nearly 1000 miles away.

Ruth also attended the very first year of the Summer Educational Program (SEP) of the church in Orr, northern Minnesota – a pioneering experience to test your mettle. In 1969, she was accepted to Ambassador College in Pasadena, CA, and at the age of 18 saw the sea for the first time.

In the summer of 1972, she was accepted to the team of Ambassador students sent from Pasadena to work on an archeological excavation in Jerusalem at the temple mount site, in conjunction with student groups from the Texas and UK campuses of the college. This is where she met her future husband, Rod Matthews, from Australia, who was part of the contingent from the Bricket Wood campus in the UK.

After those 10 weeks together, they returned to their respective campuses, and the relationship sparked in Israel continued by letter through their final year. They were reunited in the U.S. as Rod returned home to be employed by the church in Australia. It took Ruth three months to get a visa, but they were finally married in Blackheath, Australia in October 1973.

Their two sons were born in Australia, before future assignments for the church took them to Pasadena (Rod working in the international office of the church), then to the Philippines for more than five years and finally back to Australia.

Ruth’s role of support to Rod as regional director in the Philippines, Australia, and then Asia and Oceania, brought her into contact with hundreds of people from many cultures. She related well to them all and gained many friends and much respect with her ability to listen, understand, identify, and empathize with them.

While being the anchor at home during Rod’s absences travelling for the church, Ruth used social media adeptly to strengthen and expand her international connections. She was invited to speak at local women’s retreats, and this expanded to invitations from further afield. Ruth was guest speaker at women’s conferences in New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, as well as in Australia.

She was asked to give messages to her local Gold Coast congregation, and as an integral part of the pastoral team there, was ordained as an elder on December 13, 2020, the second woman to be ordained in our fellowship in Australia.

Behind these scenes Ruth also wrote monthly articles that were posted on the GCI Australasian Women’s Ministry website. They were widely read and appreciated because they were clear, down-to-earth, and practical yet creative and with great depth. Her articles nurtured people through words; they were another reflection of her nature and her responsiveness to the motivation of the Spirit.

Ruth was diagnosed with cancer in early 2022 and underwent intermittent sessions of treatment in the two years that followed. She passed away on November 12, 2023. She is survived by three of her four brothers, sons, Tim and his wife, Erica, Ben and his wife Sarah, and eight grandchildren spread over two continents.

Her positive impact on the lives of people all over the world was reflected by the hundreds of Facebook entries posted after her death and the number of condolence cards received. As one close friend wrote, “Ruth had a real gift of making anyone who came into her orbit feel like they were her best friend.” Another summed it up with, “She was so genuine, loving, joyful, and faithful.” Her kindness, generosity, humour, and love were simply reflections of her walk with Jesus; and the depth of Spirit in her messages will be greatly missed. As a close relative so succinctly put it, she was a beacon of love and light.

Rod and Ruth’s entire family thank you for your love, support and encouragement.

CoP in Asia

Left to right: Susan & Greg Williams, Heber Ticas, Dan & Mary Zachariah, Aron Tolentino, Audie Santibanez

Last month, in Manila, the Asia Community of Practice (CoP) was privileged to meet with President Greg, Susan, and Heber Ticas, Superintendent of Latin America. Presentations and discussions centred around our participation in Christ’s ministry, leadership development, and healthy church.

Greg reminded us that the harmonious flow of the triune God in the ministry of the church continually compels us to combine “great commandment living with the great commission.” Our being and doing must always go together; they complement each other, enabling the church to bring hope to the world. As always, our participation in Jesus’ ministry is never done alone. Christ has assured us, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Heber reiterated that our goal as Healthy Church is to multiply congregations and develop healthy leaders. We are a “sent” people, as Jesus proclaimed to his disciples, “…as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” He recommended a three-pronged approach to experience renewal as local congregations, then to be relaunched in the community, to eventually become ‘’mothering” churches, nurturing daughter churches. A healthy church thus becomes a missional church.

Left to right: Heber Ticas, Audie Santibanez, Susan Williams, Greg Williams, Rachel Santibanez, Mary Zachariah, Joyce Tolentino, Dan Zachariah, Aron Tolentino

Helpful discussions followed while answering a list of questions that were specific to the region. The icing on the cake was the bonding activity to bake cakes in teams! The cakes were relished by the participants and shared with the Philippine National Office. The meeting concluded with sharing in the Lord’s table, which renewed our quest to inspire our congregations to be the best expression of the church of Jesus Christ in our region.

By Dan Zachariah, Superintendent of Asia

ACCM

From Equipper—Silence and Solitude Practice

Join us! During the weeks of Easter Preparation, we invite you to follow this spiritual practice from Equipper.

Enjoy and subscribe today!

Silence and solitude help us fully appreciate that God is always seeking us and inviting us to participate with him.

Some of us arrive at Easter Sunday without any preparation for such an extraordinary celebration – the fact that Jesus conquered death! I am guilty! Sometimes the message feels all too familiar, the songs too repetitive. I have arrived, but I am lacking heart.

How can the season of Easter Prep prepare us to worship? What if we were to use this season as a special time of preparation? Could this season open our hearts to become more enthralled, more captivated by the goodness and greatness of God?

Lent (we refer to the season as Easter Prep in GCI) is an ancient tradition adopted by Christians who wanted more than anything to follow this magnificent Jesus and participate in what he was doing in their world. That meant following him into the solitude of the desert to pray and fast as he did. Almsgiving was added in imitation of his self-giving love. Today, similar to those Christians, we also answer the call to follow Jesus.

His life had a particular rhythm of being alone with the Father to then go out and do everything the Father said. He often withdrew to solitary places (Luke 5:16). He encouraged his disciples to do the same.

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:6 NIV)

Jesus’ practice of listening to the Father in solitude through prayer and fasting strengthened and deepened his commitment to do only what the Father wanted done. Imagine the Father seeing what you do in secret and rewarding you with a heart so fascinated with him that your admiration goes off the charts. Imagine being so assured you belong to God that you long to be taken into what he is doing throughout the world, so that what he is doing becomes your life.[1]

In our modern world, following Jesus into “solitary places” is difficult. It requires slowing down, taking control of our calendar to make him a priority. This is why prayer and fasting are called spiritual disciplines. You intentionally position yourself to encounter God personally and receive the grace to let him be involved in your life.

These practices have no power of themselves. Rich Villodas, in his book The Deeply Formed Life, describes what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

The deeply formed life is not possible without an intentional reordering of our lives. The practices don’t save us or make God love us more. We are saved by God’s free and faithful love in Christ. They are meant to help us receive and express God’s love in deeply formed ways. Each practice is strengthened by the presence of others (people) on the journey. They are meant to complement and enliven such core spiritual practices as Sunday worship, receiving the sacraments, hearing the gospel preached and gathering with others for prayer and friendship.[2]

When we follow Jesus’ instructions to “go into your room, close the door and pray,” we create the conditions to actually listen to what he is saying, to feel his presence, his seeking of relationship, and thus relate to him in a more conversational way. Solitude means the door is closed to anything else that might distract you. Silence means you turn off all music, put aside the scriptures, and become still enough to be absorbed with God.

Solitude and silence are some of the hardest practices I have ever done. Even after years of practice, there are times I can barely be still with God. I am distracted, sometimes anxious to get moving to accomplish what is on my list. It feels like I’m wasting time. Once the outer noise is silenced the inner noise poses its own challenges.

The “committee members” in my head all have something to say. One reminds me of things I need to get done. Another is critical of me for a mistake I made. Another reminds me of a future event, sometimes inciting anxiety. Yet another does its usual judging of this person or that. As hard as these disciplines are, the benefits are enormous because solitude and silence make space for a different response than judging, explaining, and trying to fix.

I have come to value these disciplines because after periods of wandering away, when I get into the room and close the door, I often notice how empty and exhausted I feel. When I get the sense that God is saying welcome home, I have been waiting for you, tears might flow. There I lean in for love and renewal.

Solitude and silence have done two important things to grow my love for Jesus. One is to train me to sit under God’s loving gaze and open my heart to receive change and direction. It’s a practice in surrender to God’s agenda allowing him to do what he thinks is essential in me. He might speak or not, just being there is an expression of trust that being with him is enough to form me into a true human.

The second thing solitude and silence has done is awaken me to how desperately I need God’s power to love as he has loved me. It’s his powerful love that changes me for the sake of others when faced with his invitations to forgive myself and my enemies.

As you go through the season of Easter Prep, find a solitary place, and listen attentively to your Father for guidance. Ask him what new spiritual practice will best position you to receive the grace to become more fascinated and enthralled with Jesus. The Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Calhoun is a good resource.[3] It teaches you how to practice solitude and silence and many other disciplines. It will guide you in choosing the best disciplines for this season in your faith journey. I encourage you to make a plan. Write it down. Then ask God to meet you in it. May you celebrate the magnificence of Jesus this Easter with a heart set on fire by his love.

By Carmen Fleming, GCI-US Home Church Member

[1] Dallas, Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God, p. 292

[2] Rich Villodas, The Deeply Formed Life, p. xxvi-xxvii

[3] Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Practices That Transform Us

Author: Elizabeth Mullins