The
Order of Evangelists
Ministers of Blessing
September 2007
Dear Brother and Sister Evangelists:
Greetings in the name of ‘the Living Christ who heals and reconciles through
redemptive relationships in sacred community.’ I hope this finds each of you
well. The topics for our newsletter this month are “Evangelists in Africa,” “The
Sacrament of Blessing,” and “Updates & Opportunities.”
Doubling our Ranks in Africa!
It was a great celebration on Saturday morning, 1st September 2007, in
Monrovia Liberia at First Congregation, Logantown, when we ordained 4 High
Priest/Evangelists: Charles Nyanneon, Oliver Saydenuh, Idongesit Akpan,
Aguziendu Nwosu. We also ordained 2 High Priests, 1 Seventy and 1 Elder.
The first 3 then assisted in other ordinations. I presented them with their
cassette recorders (courtesy of the Evangelist Ministry Fund) during their
training, and gave them opportunity to practice, so a couple even used their
recorders to tape their own ordination prayers.
Hendricks Chunga was ordained earlier, on 13th May 2007, in Mzimba, Malawi.
Margaret Mwamba Chilolo was also ordained to evangelist by Apostle Chibwe
and fellow evangelist Gershom Chifumbe in Mwense, Zambia on August 24.
Blessings,
June Stephenson
An Open Letter to the Evangelists of Africa
Dear Friends and Colleagues in Ministry:
After more than 15 years away, and despite the innumerable changes in church
and society, Carolyn and I return to the U.S. after 3 weeks in Africa with
the clear recognition that this amazing continent is still ‘home.’ The 10
years of living and working there are in us. Our marriage, our daughter, our
individual humanity, and our Christian faith were all in part ‘made in
Africa.’ We are grateful for the gift once given and now received again.
Most of you had a role in shaping and blessing our lives during those years.
Thank you for that personal gift and thank you for now assuming the role as
ministers of blessing in a Community of Christ that has broadened and
deepened far beyond my limited faith and imagination. And, a special welcome
to the six of you who were recently ordained.
You are the ones who in conversation with church leaders and with the
guidance of the Holy Spirit will determine how the Africa church is blessed
through your calling. You continue to ‘show yourselves approved’ through
study and spiritual discipline. You are aware of the needs of membership and
community and are taking initiative to heal broken lives and to be the peace
of Jesus Christ. You are living and speaking the church closer to the soil
and spirit of a resilient Africa, a wounded Africa, an ancient Africa, an
Africa so new that the most prescient and discerning cannot predict its
future.
Thank you for agreeing to be with the peoples of a continent adorned with
glory, yet gashed by drought and disease. You bless the mother of 5 whose
husband has died. You say “God knows your name and loves you” to the
unemployed father with a 12 and 9 year old living in one small, tin-covered
cement-floored room in the midst of 5 million people—some with wealth
unimaginable; the majority in a poverty that can only be known in the wear
and tear on a shortened life in a burgeoning slum.
Can God bless those people? Yes, God can! And, I’ve seen you as source of
such blessings: A small loan for the ‘posho’ mill; a connection with a
member in the city to house a child from the village who has the capacity
for an education which her parents cannot provide; a congregation planted to
be a gathering place to thank God that we survived the night, that rains
have come, that food is stored for tomorrow, that relationships broken can
be permanently mended.
After reading the evangelist blessings given by one of you and after
learning of the overwhelming number of requests for a life blessing from
another evangelist, I return to Independence convicted of the place for the
sacrament of blessing in Africa. You care deeply enough to listen to the
lives of the people. You pronounce out loud with hands held on bowed heads,
facts of their lives, wounds of tragedy, anxieties of the night for a
child’s future, the loss and grief of unfulfilled dreams.
You also enumerate the joys of life in family and community. You speak
gratitude to God for the power of the gospel in their lives. You are avenue
for Spirit to reveal their uniqueness and their gifts. When all that is
lifted to God, people of financial means and professional power in the
cities of Africa, or the most humble of persons in the village well off the
main road, share a sacramental moment in which one can sense her or his name
being called by a personal God who listens and cares and loves . . . no
matter what has gone before and no matter what lies ahead.
Your calling is not simply to the peoples of Africa, however. As World
Church representatives you are to offer ministry that will help shape the
international body known as Community of Christ. You are called to share
your insights with the Order of Evangelists to enhance our individual and
corporate ministry wherever we serve.
Share the heritage of belief in God that is rooted so deeply in the peoples
of Africa. There are many names for God in the languages of your land: “A
Vast Pull,” “Neither Male nor Female,” “One Who Ties the Generations
Together,” “The One Who Never Ages,” “Creator Who Created Himself,” “Molder
and Shaper.” God is present in Africa. Prayer to God is offered so often and
so naturally. One enters a home after a journey and stands in a circle to
give thanks for safe arrival. Tea or coffee with a biscuit or a banana is
served and we give thanks. The rains come and we give thanks. Drought comes
or death comes and we pray for God’s watch care and blessing. God is. God is
present. God hears our pleas. God accepts our praise and gratitude.
Share the emerging understandings of African Christology. Who is Jesus
Christ for Africa today? Who is the Jesus of Africa that enhances and
enriches other cultural encounters with the Universal Christ? Demonstrate to
us through divine revelation and through realities of Africa that
Christianity can truly find a home in every cultural context. Show us the
Jesus who is Model of Justice and Peace, Defender of Children and Women,
Challenger of Corruption and Oppressive Cultural Practices.
Help us to understand how people in the slums of Mathare Valley, Lagos,
Lusaka and Monrovia have such hope; how Jesus is so real and so relevant and
that even in their circumstance they respond to the gospel with zeal and
dedication. Enrich our testimony of Jesus the companion, Jesus the helper,
Jesus the friend, Jesus the life-giver, mediator, loved one, and leader.
Share the insights of Africa’s family and social networks that will help us
understand at a depth most of us do not know, or have forgotten, our
identity as Community of Christ. We belong to each other in
sacramental covenant. Don’t let Africa lose a way of living together that so
many of us from the West no longer know. Like all continents and cultures,
Africa too must be transformed into the likeness of Christ. But, so many
peoples of Africa can save us from being a lonely planet by reminding us
that to belong is to be! “I belong, therefore I am.”
I greet and thank each of you in the Peace of Jesus Christ,
Presiding Evangelist, David Brock
The Sacrament of Blessing
Wise guidance given from the days of the earliest
Patriarch/Evangelists affirms the sacrament of blessing as a natural outgrowth
of witness, pastoral presence and spiritual companionship. Our ministry is far
more than ‘giving blessings.’ It is one element in the context of ‘total
ministering,’ as Roy Cheville described it.
We shall do well to envision the great scope and
opportunities for specialization. Some [evangelists] concentrate on
ministering to children, some to youth, some to oldsters. Others specialize
on counseling, on visiting, on teaching, on inclusive health education, on
benedictory ministry. [Saints Herald, January 1977, p. 49]
Not all of us are called to give individual life blessings or
continuing life blessings. I note as I listen to our conversations, however,
that we navigate quickly and often to this dimension of our ministry. Many of us
approach these moments with fear and trembling. We claim that preparation for
and praying the sacrament of blessing is the most exacting of tasks . . .
and, yes, also a time of profound encounter with the Divine. To convey the love
of a personal God, not only for humankind in general, but for each individual,
is a daunting responsibility.
Much has been written. You’ll note excerpts from writings of former evangelists
here. No final word, obviously, but a few more insights from members of the
Order to offer guidance and support for a sacrament we want to understand,
encourage, and experience in Community of Christ. In future issues we will give
attention to Family Blessings and Congregational Blessings.
The Transformation of Silence into Sound
By Everett Graffeo
So often we think of the blessing as a well-phrased message from God to the
recipient. If that is the sacrament of blessing, then everything depends on our
flawed knowledge, our muted perceptions, and our frail capacity to articulate
what we know or receive of the Spirit. The deeper we go in the experience of the
sacrament of blessing, the more we realize that, we know not how to pray, or for
what to pray, or what is God’s blessing for this person. We stand on the edge of
a great mystery, where we become so inarticulate and our understanding fails us.
We wonder how we think we can proceed with articulating in words this
sacramental experience.
In the words of the theologian, James W. Wall, “All we have is a ghost of a
language to try to describe the mystery of God.” And in the words of the
poet, Emily Dickinson, “Words give breath to thought and life itself. With
them we shape the world and taste Immortality.”
I find that I am so limited in my ability to express my experience and it is
equally difficult for others to truly hear and understand what it is I am trying
to express. The giving of an evangelist’s blessing is a very scary experience
for both the recipient and the evangelist. The transformation of silence, or
vague unidentified feelings or thoughts, into an intelligible language that
reveals the inner most light of Christ is full of uncertainty, even danger. The
Sacrament of Blessing is the transformation of silence into sound in the form of
language with all of its limitations as well as the transformation of latent or
misdirected energy into action of love and blessing.
Being blessed requires that we enter into personal relationship with what the
words reveal to us. To know of God’s blessing, places on us a responsibility to
follow through with our lives. It is now our obedience to the truth as revealed
in blessing. How will we respond to the truth of the blessing, whatever it may
require of us?
I ask myself, “am I always the giver of blessing or can I humble myself to see
the need that I too need to be a receiver of blessing?”
Evangelists can deepen their experience of sharing in blessing ministry through
the experience of becoming the recipient of blessing. Your mind can be
quickened, your heart touched, your experience broadened, your sensitivity to
those who come to you for blessing enlarged. The evangelist’s blessing for the
evangelist can create a learning space for others. Our willingness to be a
recipient of blessing is to deepen our capacity for empathetic identification
and understanding for those who come to us for blessing.
To be an effective giver of blessing, an evangelist needs to consider receiving
an evangelist’s blessing as a part of their training and preparation for
ordination. Fresh from being a receiver, we become more open and responsive to
others who might come to us, as evangelists, to be blessed.
We Have Much Yet to Discover
By Velma Ruch
It was Everett Graffeo who suggested that the blessing was Jesus' opportunity to
have a conversation with his children and that the evangelist was a co-author
with God in this process. We have a traditional way of giving blessings but in
my last two blessings particularly, I have felt a freedom to approach it in a
different way. I think if all of our evangelists were aware that they could
approach the blessing according to who they were and who the person receiving
the blessing was, they would have much less fear of this process. It is my
belief that we have much yet to discover about this marvelous ministry in our
church. May God free our evangelists from the fear of not being adequate for the
ministry to which they are called. Once we stop being afraid, the people will
sense that and more will seek the communion of blessing on their spiritual
journey.
After the Water: Reflections on the Evangelist’s Blessing
By Phyllis Price
The Sacrament of the Evangelist’s Blessing was a part of my spiritual
consciousness even before I was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith in 1996
at age 46. I knew about it through Community Of Christ friends who spoke of the
impact it had made in their lives. After learning that it was available to me as
a Catholic, I knew before the baptism that I wanted the Blessing to be the next
step as a means of deepening the covenant relationship that was formed with God.
Receiving the Blessing shortly after my baptism helped to identify a direction
in my spiritual life and to affirm my commitment and embolden my desire to serve
the God with whom I had united myself. The Blessing helped me to define where I
was going from there, both practically and mystically.
The greatest gift of my personal Blessing comes not from assurance that I will
spend much time on the mountaintop, but that, in fact, the wilderness will more
likely be my habitat. I am assured that I shall not only be tested but that my
own real and perceived weaknesses may be the very tools with which I serve God
and others best. The words of the Blessing challenge, but they also comfort.
They reveal, but they also embrace the unspeakable Mystery of God. Periodically
I read through my Blessing, much as one would read in the spirit of lectio
divina, or divine reading, in order to see what God is saying to me in the
moment. This practice keeps the Blessing present and timeless, both.
Jesus ministered through touch, healing and blessing and comforting. I received
my Blessing by Velma Ruch in what she calls the upper room of her home in Lamoni,
Iowa. The warmth of her hands on my head as she spoke reminded me vividly of the
tongues of fire in Upper Room at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was ablaze in Velma
during the Blessing. She was Jesus then. The sparks of that fire live in me to
this day. Even the ash that has settled through the years bears eternal promise
of loving and serving God more perfectly. Perhaps this is what it means to be
blessed.
Questions of Process and Procedure
Evangelists ministering in Africa, Asia, Pacific Islands, Latin America and
Eastern Europe are facing the challenge of responding to requests for blessings
by many people. Tens of thousands of members throughout the world have not yet
had the privilege. Knowing that Emile Teihotaata found himself in similar
circumstances in the outer islands and atolls of French Polynesia, I asked him
to share how he approached the challenge when he served in that role. (He is
currently serving as Mission Centre President). I also asked Dustee Heinze how
she guides youth and young adults at Graceland University in the blessing
process. Their comments are shared not as rules to follow, rather as examples
from two evangelists called to share in the sacrament in distinct circumstances.
From Emile
How did I organize myself for the blessing of persons I
visit in the outer islands? What is certain is that the time I spent in
the outer islands was of short duration. Within this limited time period I
might give 2-3 blessings, but at times up to 20 persons were waiting. And
they all wanted to receive their blessing because the next voyage or planned
visit of an evangelist could not be assured or promised.
First, all the candidates came to see me together at a time when I didn’t
have anything else to do—and there are very few such moments in the outer
islands! I explained to them what an evangelist’s blessing is. I gave them
some verses of scripture to read at home to prepare themselves before the
blessing. I asked them to meditate in prayer. I invited them to seek peace
with themselves, with their family, their friends, and the members of the
community. I counseled them to fast at least twelve hours before the prayer
of blessing. I asked them to come very early in the morning. When there were
many candidates, I began at 1:00 a.m.
Just before the blessing we shared a few short scriptures in silence and
then out loud. I offered a prayer of introduction for the sacrament,
followed by final words of counsel before placing my hands on their head for
the moment of the blessing itself.
I was always surprised while giving prayers of blessings to have so many
things to share with the person. I recognized that the time of preparation
of the person to be blessed was perhaps not sufficient for him or her, or
for me as the evangelist. My only conviction is that I was the instrument of
God to share God’s love and God’s blessings, and these persons desired to
receive blessings from God.
From Dustee
The system I am currently using (loosely) is to give the
person the brochure that the church provides called "Blessings" and point
out the list of scriptures that might be helpful in preparation. I then talk
to them about preparing a spiritual autobiography---either writing it, or,
if they prefer, just putting some thought into it. Then I usually try to
meet with them a minimum of three times:
-
To talk about their autobiography---what things have
shaped their spiritual life and understandings.
-
Next meeting we talk about what has been sacramental in
their life: sacred space, sacred times, sacred writings, sacred music,
etc.
-
The last subject I broach is what are their deep
yearnings, their hopes and dreams, and their expectations for the
blessing.
-
Finally (and this can be done with the last subject) is
the logistics of the actual experience: Where? Do they want to involve
anyone else? Do they want music or a devotional experience beforehand? I
let them help craft the actual experience.
I usually write the blessing out beforehand and bring it to
the experience, still maintaining openness to the Spirit. But usually it
feels complete when I bring it. Then I give them that copy after the
blessing, so they don't have to worry about straining to hear and remember
every word. They can just relax and be aware of the whole experience,
because they'll have a written copy to read and 'be with' afterward.
How I do blessings is of course an evolving thing, as it will be for anyone,
but I know that as we trust ourselves and God, the process will unfold in a
way that is unique to each one.
Updates and Opportunities
Peace Colloquy, October 26-28 at the Temple
You are warmly invited! See full details in the
enclosed/attached letter and brochure. Please note the “Prayer Retreat”
scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Evangelists Marvin Rice,
Edith Gallaher and Carolyn Brock are coordinating the retreat. Workshops
(each offered twice) will be as follows:
• Centering Prayer and the Prayer of Examen, Gail
Biller
• Covenant Journey for Spiritual Formation, Dick Young and Scott
Murphy
• Benedictine Spirituality: Praying the Daily Office, Don Compier
• The Poem as Prayer, David Brock
Also note that an office centered workshop “Evangelists:
Vulnerable to a Vulnerable God,” will be facilitated by the Presiding
Evangelist on Saturday.
Evangelists’ World Café launched
Last spring, I indicated we would launch an "Evangelists World Cafe" which could
serve as our conversation place on the Internet. The idea was based on a belief
that there is high value in exchanging information, resource ideas, support and
encouragement within the Order. And, asking the right questions is important. If
we can engage in a world-wide conversation on key questions that help us dig
deep into what we are called to be and do, I believe that will help us be
faithful as ministers of blessing.
In August, we launched the Evangelists Yahoo group. Twenty-five persons have
signed on as of this communication. Please join the conversation if you can.
Our initial discussion topic asks “What phrase or concept in Doctrine and
Covenants 163 particularly draws your attention as an evangelist? How is that
phrase or concept speaking to you today? What is God's invitation to you through
the text?” We’d love to hear your answer, and invite you to join us in
discussion. The instructions are below. We need your voice!
In the future we will explore dimensions of our callings as teacher/learner,
spiritual companion, pastoral presence, apostolic witness, minister of revival
and minister of sanctuary. Other questions that may be considered include the
following:
-
How do you prepare to give a blessing?
-
What advice would you have for a newly ordained evangelist?
-
What blessing(s) have you received from a blessing you have
given?
-
How could you assist a fellow evangelist by posting
information for the "Evangelists World Cafe?"
-
What individual has blessed your life and been an
inspiration to you?
-
What are some challenges you have experienced concerning
blessing preparation, location, presentation or documentation?
-
What ways can evangelists be helpful in their local
congregation?
-
What questions or topics would you like to see the Group
consider?
If you would like to join the “Evangelist Yahoo Online Group”,
follow the instructions below.
-
Go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CofCevangelists
-
Click on the “Join This Group” button”.
-
If you have a Yahoo User ID, type it and your password. If
you do not have a Yahoo User ID, go to the Sign Up link and it will walk you
through the process to set up a Yahoo ID. (If you already have an e-mail
address at which you would prefer receiving notices from the Yahoo Group,
you can enter that address in the alternate email box during the sign up
process.)
-
Once you establish your Yahoo ID, you will be sent to a page
having three steps that are self-explanatory. Under Step 1 there is a box
that asks you to “tell the group owner about yourself”.
It is very important that you specifically identify yourself by name,
indicating that you are an evangelist. (Sometimes it is very difficult
to tell by the Yahoo ID who you are.)
-
Once you have completed these steps, an e-mail will be sent
to us so we may consider your request to join the group. You will be
notified of your acceptance to the Group by e-mail within four days from the
time you submit your request.
If you have any problems or questions, please contact Joseph
Hammer at jphammer@mac.com or (480)
988-9960.
Evangelists’ Ministry Fund
Thank you for your support! To date we have received donations of $2,095.00 to
assist with travel and equipment costs where such resources are needed.
Expenditures for tape recorders have been made in Africa and proposals for
travel assistance are in process. We are happy to receive funds through the
Presiding Bishopric, addressed to Rich Kohlman, Secretary of the Order.
Resource Review and Revisions
Initial steps are now underway to review our tracts, pamphlets, and course
materials. Several evangelists are reviewing the Blessings
pamphlet for revision and redesign. Graceland students are being invited to
review the pamphlet designed for youth and young adults. If you have comments
about any of our current resources, or recommendations for new ones, please
share thoughts, editorial comments, etc., with the Office.
Comings and Goings of the PE:
-
September: Holden, Missouri Evangelists and spouses;
World Church Leadership Council; Field Leaders Gathering at Camp Doniphan,
Missouri; Fanning, Kansas Congregation; The Groves In-Town Reunion,
Independence, Missouri.
-
October: Four Brock Brothers go to Cooperstown, NY!
High Priest, Seventy and Evangelist Conference, Hazlet, New Jersey; Stone
Church Retreat, Camp Doniphan, Missouri; Peace Colloquy at the Temple.
-
November: HP/70/EV Conferences at Dunfield House,
England and in Hulsa, Germany; British Isles and Europe Staff Retreat,
Netherlands; MEADS Course with Church leaders in Eastern Europe, Rotterdam,
Netherlands.
-
December: East Alton Congregation; Village Heights
Congregation, World Church Leadership Council.
Order of Evangelists—MEMBERSHIP CHANGES
Recently Ordained:
Idongesit Akpan Nigeria
Catherine Boyer Greater Pacific Northwest
Margaret M. Chilolo Zambia
Hendricks Chunga Malawi
Lawrence R. Melsen Southeast
Aguziendu Nwosu Nigeria
Charles Nyanneon Liberia
Oliver Saydenuh, Sr. Liberia
Wayne D. Stanton, Jr. Canada West
Superannuated:
Henry LaRue New England
Billie E. Morgan Northern Great Lakes
Deceased:
Glenn W. Fordham 3-6-2006
Ralston Jennings 6-5-2007
John Robert Dawson 6-19-2007
Richard Zmyslony 6-24-2007
Joseph W. Lewis 7-18-2007
Jack W. Garnier 7-18-2007
George T. Lewis 8-1-2007
Jack (Gene) Hubbard 8-16-2007
J.C. Stuart 9-5-2007
Alven Wallace 2007
Benjamin C. Clark 2007
Couples Celebrating 50th Anniversaries
Everett & Judy Graffeo (August 4)
Presiding Evangelist David Brock
dbrock@cofchrist.org
Phone 816 833 1000 ext 3036
Phone 800-825-2806 ext 3036
Secretary, Order of Evangelists: Richard Kohlman
rkohlman@cofchrist.org
Phone 816-833 1000 ext 3060
Phone 800-825-2806 ext 3060
Linda Rounds, Assistant
lrounds@cofchrist.org
Phone 816 833 1000 ext 2257
Phone 800 825 2806 ext 2257
Evangelists website:
http://www.cofchrist.org/evangelist/default.asp
