See with New Eyes

This past weekend four covenant members of Circle of Hope joined about thirty others at an anti-racism analysis training called "See With New Eyes" (formerly Damascus Road). The weekend was full of conversation, conflict, and healing—proof that the road to racial reconciliation still spans long into the distance before us. There is still much work to do, and trainings such as this one are an invaluable venue for people of all races to attend and engage in dialogue.  It is part of our mission together in Jesus.



Reported by: Sara Semborski.

The Justice Conference Gathers Thousands

Joshua Grace reporting.

I'm not sure of the final count, but a few thousand people convened at the Convention Center last weekend for The Justice Conference.  The organizers describe it as "a movement of students, teachers, business people, parents, artists, social entrepreneurs, pastors, advocates and academics all of whom are discovering the paradox that true life is found when we give our lives away on behalf of others."  Ken Wytsma began organizing in 2010 and this year the conference went beyond Portland, OR to Philadelphia.

I attended with a heavy heart.  My friend Richard Twiss, who convinced me to attend, was set to speak and hang out but suddenly and tragically died from complications after a massive heart attack a few weeks ago.  There was a brief but meaningful acknowledgement of him on Friday night but more importantly his family and legacy were on the hearts of all of us who knew him and those who were learning about him for the first time.

Howard, Molly, and I were naming some of the people from our church who were there on our Facebook Page.  We got to thirty people pretty fast.  There were probably more that we haven't named yet.

I've enjoyed the Facebook and Twitter chatter yesterday and today about highlights.  I would add three of my own.

1.  Brenda Salter McNeil on Friday night.  I got to meet her briefly after her talk at CCDA a few years ago.  She gave us a great gift about how to identify and be moved by our compassion.  She put her neck out there advocating for gun control, particularly that which would reduce the number of gun violence in urban areas.







2.  It was pretty fun to see my boy Shane Claiborne get the rowdiest welcome.  He was brilliant as usual and showcased the creativity of RAWtools, Mennonite blacksmiths from Colorado Springs, CO who intend to "partner with communities in an effort to repurpose weapons for productive lifelong purpose."  They did a demonstration of taking a donated AK-47 and turning it into useful and beautifully made garden tools.



3.  PhillyBloco got a few thousand people dancing on Saturday night.  Martha, Jay, and about 20 of my other friends blew the place up with "Brazilian Music to shake your body and soul!"  Dozens (hundreds?) crammed the front to learn the moves, the isles were filled, and people jammed from their seat.  I told one of the security guards, a nice lady named Sharon that it was my wife's band.  She told me afterwards that she wants to go to the next show.

The Imaginarium | Fun Solving

Twenty-two people got together on Monday night to explore and discuss ways of being creative and introducing fun experiences as a way of engaging and including the people around us. The Imaginarium hopes to help fulfill Goal #2 in our 2013 Map of letting people see Jesus where they live and being good story tellers by generating opportunities for our worship to be more public.

Following several group exercises, Joshua showed a video of an improv group that did a flash mob in NYC wherein hundreds of people froze in a public place for several minutes. With that spark of inspiration, the group held a discussion analyzing what fun consists of and a variety of ideas that would involve a large group action around Philadelphia.

Interested in joining? All our welcome and we need your ideas to make it happen.

The Imaginarium meets every third Monday of the month for 60 minutes (yes, it's timed), 7-8pm. You can join the Facebook page here as a way of continuing the dialogue when we're not in session.

New Staff Person | Luke Bartolomeo

We have just added a new person to our Circle of Hope staff!

Luke Bartolomeo has just joined us as our Network Communications Assistant. He will be assisting the pastors in various office roles, as well as managing a lot of what you see here on our website and in our social networking (Facebook/Twitter/etc). He will also be assisting the Church Planting Core in administration, reporting, and secretarial duties.

Luke is excited for the tasks ahead and is looking forward to adding fresh ideas in how we convey our mission and reach out to more of those around us.

Black History Oratorical Celebration at Childs

Circle of Hope was an "honored guest" at The Childs Elementary Black History Oratorical Celebration. Rachel Sensenig, our Administrative Pastor represented us. Megan Rosenbach was there, too, also representing Circle of Hope and our compassion team "For the Love of Childs" as well as the neighborhood group NICE (Neighbors Invested in Childs Elementary).   Rachel said, "I'm inspired by the kids and the staff.  It was also wonderful to bask in the great works of Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Walker, and others."

Lent begins

On Wednesday, we began the journey of Lent by wearing ashes on our foreheads (made from last year's Palm Sunday palm fronds). Network-wide nearly 300 of us gathered to being this season of solitude and silence, with fasting, prayer, and almsgiving on our hearts. Journey with us at our public meetings, cells, and even on our Daily Prayer blog.

Making a difference in Camden

Randy and Kathryn Ribay were featured in an Inquirer article on Camden on Sunday. They love Camden, Camden loves them, and so do we! [link]

Moving Toward Our Goals for 2013: Highlights from Rod's Blog

Jesus calls us to help bring the kingdom of God into the present, and that’s why we discern goals together for each new year.  We see how much our world needs it!  Rod White, pastor at Broad & Washington,  has been blogging about our goals---some of the specific ways we'd like to bring hope to the needs in and around us this year.  We're already moving, and here’s a chance to get deeper into the action:

1.  We want to connect with people in our region and learn from them.  Goal: Use our series of six Saturday seminars to feature facilitators from outside of our network who can open our minds and hearts and enrich our diversity.  Blog post:  Fomenting Diversity in the Age of Big Data

2.  People need to see Jesus where they live. We don’t want to hold back from telling the story.  Goal: Generate opportunities for our worship to be more public.  Blog post: Getting Out There in the Face of Fear

3.   We have a burgeoning group of children, tens, and expecting parents in a region full of people who need love, family, and community.  Goal: Develop the capacity and vision for our Network Children’s Team.  Blog post: Children Nurture Us, Too

4.   We want to be people who are known for bringing the hope and justice of Jesus to the streets.  Goal: Charge our Coordinating Groups to connect with people and partnerships who already bless our neighborhoods.  Blog post: Let the Lord Make Your Radical Steps Solid

5.   We have a wealth of resources (gifted people) who direct us to go deep with God.  We want to nurture them and develop more capacity to receive what we need.  Goal: Provide a roadmap for spiritual direction that helps people understand and exercise their options.  Blog post: Spiritual Midwives

100 Stories of Transformation!

Mission accomplished! As of today we have posted our 100th! story of transformation on the website!

(we were pretty excited in the office when we posted our 100th story. Matt Abraham, Rachel Sensenig and Howard Pinder)

As you probably know, one of our goals in our 2012 map was to collect 100 stories of transformation. Here is the goal from the Map:

NEED Our fractured region needs the power of the resurrection in a restored relationship with God. We want to offer the hope Jesus offers. We want to make known and celebrate the adventure of living out a manifest demonstration of life in Christ. 

GOAL Collect 100 stories of transformation to publish on the “Stories” section of website and re-verb the stories throughout our various publications.

Thanks to all the people who put themselves out there and shared their story. It is not easy to share our full selves in a culture that practices irony and sarcasm more than truth telling. Sharing our personal story of how God has transformed us might be the best way to show our faith and love in this era. I have a feeling there are more stories out there waiting to be collected. If you have one you can send it to rachel@circleofhope.net.

New Team of Cell Leader Coordinators

An expanded team of cell leader coordinators has been called out this year to pastor and serve our cells and their leaders.   They are serious about Jesus's call to "love one another as I have loved you"  and they are charged to extend this love through the basic building blocks of our body---safe places to know God and be known.  Pray for them today!  They are, from top left:  Ben White, Martha Grace, Jonathan Ziegler, Nichole Jackson, Rachel Sensenig, CJ Reynolds, Melissa Lattanzio, Howard Pinder (Lead Cell Coordinator), Ben Rosenbach, Jeremy Avellino, and Sarah Mueller.