Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGsMSg03BI4
Author: Elizabeth Mullins
Save the Date
We’re Hiring
GCI is hiring!
Two full-time positions are now open at the Grace Communion International (GCI) Home Office in Charlotte, NC, U.S.
The Media Coordinator position is currently available, and applications are being accepted. See the job description here.
The Assistant Operations Coordinator position is currently available, and applications are being accepted. See the job description here.
If you would like further details on either position or would like a GCI job application, please contact Human Resources at humanresources@gci.org or 980-495-3960.
Please share this announcement with qualified candidates who may be gifted for either position at the Home Office.
Nonviolence Retreat
In October, GC Bellflower in Southern California hosted a three-day weekend retreat centered around the message of the nonviolent gospel as revealed in Jesus. Our guest teachers were Anthony and Linda Bartlett of the Bethany Center community in Syracuse, NY, and our invitation was to come and join others who are open to learning about the nonviolent Bible. It drew more than thirty participants over the course of the weekend (including a few virtual attendees). Half were neighbors from the community, including two followers of Islam.
The interactive teaching sessions took place in the shade of my family’s yard. Sitting in a circle, we were in the company of Jesus to learn from Him the way of nonviolence, His way of being human, which is hope for the world. We rehearsed what has happened before among Christians, the terror of war with its staggering death toll and the continuing threat of wars.
We talked of how violence is an illness between humans, a disease of mutual and mimetic nature, the economics of rivalry, to be cured only by forgiveness and love. We talked of war and the Bible, and how Jesus heals any connection between the two. We shared our stories and prayed for one another. We deconstructed key anthropological elements of the story of Jonah by comparing it to a parallel Japanese account and respected how Jesus can calm our storms of violence and destruction with his word.
On Saturday, our Muslim guests stayed from early morning to late in the night. They represent an eagerness to learn about Jesus and the Bible. We all enjoyed singing and praying; we were, in effect, together with Him, in love and peace like branches on the vine. We were in His house and communion of peace, which is the church.
Read More
Pastor Kairis Chiaji Installed
Congratulations to Elder Kairis Colter-Chiaji who was installed as the paster of GC Sacramento this month. We are sharing in your joy and will hold you in our prayers for this new role.
She shared this with our Update readers: “This experience is both exhilarating and intimidating. This isn’t one of those spaces where you can get it wrong without consequences. Not with being a guide for relationships with Jesus. Not with representing the Body of Christ in the world. Not with the impact of being in full-time ministry on family. I will certainly lean heavily on the Holy Spirit for guidance for how I act, think, feel, and lead.”
Praise from Regional Director Tim Sitterly:
“After working with Kairis as part of a three-person pastoral team, it was my pleasure to install her as the lead pastor of GC Sacramento. The congregation, which has recently gone through a change of day and location, is now in very good hands for whatever lies ahead.”
We are also celebrating the following elder ordinations. Please join us in congratulating and praying for them.
-
-
- José Lopez, Sun Valley, CA, US
- Associate Pastor Manny Ornejas, Masterton, Wellington, New Zealand
- Goeffrey Davis, Melton, Victoria, Australia
-
GCI Testify
Discover the transformative power of Christ’s love in our new series GCI Testify. Join us as members from our global fellowship share testimonies of their experiences with Jesus through GCI congregations and ministries. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness firsthand the impact of the Spirit in and through GCI.
Watch the entire series here.
Healthy Church—Fall Neighborhood Parties
Ladson, SC, US
GC Ladson held our second annual Fall Festival last month. We invited the community to come out for an outdoor movie and a chili cook-off with corn bread. We shared invitations with the local elementary school, who generously offered to email it to all students. We also posted flyers at the housing office and banks of mailboxes in our focus neighborhood.
On Saturday evening, 5-9 pm, neighbors enjoyed our fire pits for warmth and for roasting s’mores. Children also enjoyed arts and crafts and glow-in-the-dark stickers. New this year was a photo booth. We hired a photographer who provided all the fun props and printed the pictures on the spot for guests to take home. It was a big hit!
After working hard on the planning, logistics, and set-up, our Love Avenue team was grateful for the participation of the Hope Avenue team. They attended with the express purpose of connecting with guests. We were thankful to see families return who have attended other events.
By Mary Robinson, Love Avenue Champion
Ladson, SC, US
Grove City, OH, US
Annually GC Grove City hosts a Harvest Party for the congregation and the surrounding neighborhood. They share a variety of games and potluck style meals with their neighbors. This year the weather was beautiful, and they look forward to it again next year!
River Road, OR, US
GC River Road held another Trunk or Treat in October. Many neighbors came out to play, and everyone had a wonderful time.
Pikeville, KY, US
GC Pikeville hosted a church picnic in the park, inviting the neighborhood. With cooler temperatures, fall is a great time to host an outdoor event!
Healthy Church—Renewal
Rayong City, Rayong, Thailand
In late October, the members of the GC Rayong congregation took a group trip. Initially, we planned a fun sightseeing trip as a gift to the servant leaders and church workers, to thank them for their service, especially during the recently held Asian Leaders’ Retreat and Team Building Activity. But Sandy and Irma Jane Alisbo proposed that the trip be a Revival Trip instead. So, the trip was opened to all willing to join. Forty people participated, including school and work friends. The seven-day trip was packed with tourist destinations and famous landmarks during the day — from temples to sheep farms, and even waterfalls — and worship and devotional services at night.
The Revival Trip was given the theme “Burn Within,” which served as a reminder that the Spirit keeps our hearts burning as we serve our triune God, no matter how difficult or tiresome our circumstances are. The services included praise and worship, and topics like faith and obedience, and ministry and commitment. Attendees commented that GC Rayong serves as their second family — a home away from home.
By Jessica Joy Pamor, GC Pili Youth Leader
Bicol, Philippines
Note: Jessica lives in the Philippines. She accompanied her sister and brother-in-law, Pau and Jake Orcena, on the revival. Pau and Jake are on the pastoral team in GC Rayong, Thailand.
Masterton, Greater Wellington, New Zealand
Transforming Our Community: Embracing the Healthy Church Vision
I am a young member of GC Masterton. God is moving within the heart of our close-knit community in remarkable ways. We are a congregation of fewer than forty members — primarily Filipino immigrants and overseas workers in the beekeeping and caregiving industries — and we have witnessed God’s faithfulness in profound and transformative ways over the last few months.
Our recent journey has been filled with blessings that testify to God’s unwavering love and commitment to our church. With every step forward, we feel a renewed sense of purpose as God’s partners, working to make a positive impact on each other and on our wider community.
Read More
Devotional—Reign of Christ
In a few days, we celebrate Christ the King Sunday. It ushers us to the final Sunday of Ordinary Time with an extraordinary proclamation: Christ Reigns! What will Christ’s reign be like? We get a clue from Jesus’ words, “Go learn what it means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” (Matthew 9:13). Our Father is merciful, and the kingdom of Jesus is nonviolent.
Peace is His way of being human, which is the hope for the world. Can we let go of interpretations that tell of divine violence? Can we instead think of God as accompanying violent humanity until they finally give up the sword and the gun? Jesus is the Servant and the Lamb risen from the dead who gives us the faith to follow His way, to not retaliate or scapegoat. He has brought us into His reality of nonviolence.
The authorities at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, Pilate and Caiaphas, capitulated to the pressure of the violent mob demanding the death of Jesus. Jesus willingly died the atoning death for all humanity. The extreme cruelty of the crucifixion, though, was because of fallen humanity’s bent toward violence.
[Jesus] stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. Colossians 2:15 The Message
In true trinitarian extraordinariness, Jesus’ kingdom reign has been and always will be without harm or violence.
Prayer:
Jesus, we are grateful that you reign now, that your kingdom is here. Spirit, help us recognize and repent when we are participating in violent systems and scapegoating. We believe the Cross of Christ broke the power of sin and death, and we long for the fullness of your kingdom and no more violence and no more death. Amen.
By Reuben Rios, Pastor
Bellflower, CA, US
Read here about the retreat on nonviolence that Pastor Reuben hosted.
Christ the King
Dear GCI Family and Friends,
This Sunday we celebrate Christ the King Sunday. It is a feast day that ends the liturgical year and introduces the new cycle taking us into the Advent season. I believe that it is a wonderful tradition to celebrate Christ’s messianic kingship and sovereign rule over all creation. It tells the end of the story even as we prepare ourselves for a new liturgical year, ushering in the incarnate baby Jesus born to His mother, Mary, in Bethlehem.
Jesus was intentional and clear with His disciples about having a “kingdom mindset.” Preaching the good news of the coming eternal kingdom of God was central to the teaching of Jesus from the beginning of His public ministry throughout.
In His final evening with the disciples, He made some key comments. When He instituted the Lord’s Table service, He presented the elements of the bread and wine, symbolizing His broken body and spilled blood. He declared that He would not eat these again with them until they were regathered in the kingdom of heaven.
As He was preparing the disciples to manage with His absence, He gave them strong words of encouragement.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. John 14:1-4 NIV
Even after Jesus was resurrected, and just before He ascended back to the Father, the disciples had their minds fixed on when Jesus, the King, would restore the kingdom to Israel. Unfortunately, it seems they were thinking of the benefits of a physical kingdom with a keen desire to be delivered from Roman rule. They missed the fuller meaning.
Read More
