Friends,
Welcome to the December 2021 edition of Together, the e-newsletter of the Fellowship Community. This month we are highlighting the date and location of our National Gathering for 2022! After two years of pandemic postponement, we are ready to regather at The National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, May 17-19, 2022 for "Reclaim, Proclaim: Evangelism 2022."
I spent some time in a video conversation with Dan Baumgartner about our theme, speakers, and the importance of regathering to support leaders in the good work of being the church in this new, emerging reality.
What better time to announce good news than this week--right in the middle of Advent as we await and prepare for the celebration of Jesus' birth. It was into the world--the messy, broken, uncertain, confused, reality--that Jesus came to be Immanuel, God with us. As a pastor, I'm learning again about our calling to lead the church into the world to be faithful witnesses to the greatness and goodness of God, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the gifting and presence of the Holy Spirit. I'm recognizing the gift of Jesus being with us and empowering us to be what we could never be otherwise.
As 2021 comes to a close and we look forward to 2022, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the commitment and generosity of a great TFC board and part-time staff, partner churches and members. Thank you all for your enthusiasm and willingness to reclaim and proclaim the good news together.
Merry Christmas from all of us at TFC, |
Mike McClenahan (Board President)
Dan Baumgartner, Jim Witherow, Jerry Andrews, Jodi Craiglow, James Cubie, Tracey Davenport, Ray Garcia, John Joseph, Donna Marsh, Hu-Nam Nam, Mark Perry, and David Won (Board members) Andrea Hall (Administrative Coordinator) Jourdan Turner Cornell (National Gathering Coordinator) |
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In this month's episode of Life in Fellowship, TFC Board President Mike McClenahan talks with fellow Board member Rev. Dan Baumgartner, who heads up TFC's Program Team, about their excitement for the upcoming National Gathering. |
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May 2022 In-Person National Gathering |
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Save the date: May 17-19 for a fabulous time in Washington, DC together!
National Presbyterian Church is hosting, we are super excited about being together again, and there is a lot to talk about with Evangelism 2022...both inside and outside our churches! Registration opens January 13th.
We'll be gradually announcing our full line-up of speakers, men and women from around the country, but here's a teaser: |
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Tod Bolsinger - author of Canoeing the Mountains and Tempered Resilience, Fuller Seminary faculty and cutting-edge thinker on adaptive change and churches. |
| Mike Cosper - Podcaster, author, pastor and the Director of Podcasts for Christianity Today. Mike recently produced and hosted the acclaimed The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill series, stimulating a national conversation on church leadership. |
| Worship led by E. Daniels & Band. Ernest Daniels, Jr. leads worship, writes music, performs in concert and on albums and serves in full-time ministry in Philadelphia, PA. His engaging and lively style will facilitate some rich worship times. |
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"Last week I was in New York City. It’s pretty much an annual trip in early December for Anne and me. Since two of our three adult kids reside there, it gives us a great excuse to go. We get to see the kids, run a race in Central Park together, soak in a little Christmas in the city, feel the winter weather, eat good food, go to museums and do some shopping. We love New York. And after cancelling our trip in 2020 thanks to Covid, last week seemed especially fun."
Dan Baumgartner reflects on the church as both cultural institution and sacred space. |
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TFC is committed to helping churches find compatible leaders - and vice versa! To that end, we invite you to check out the "Find a Call" page on our website, where you can see a variety of open positions throughout the country. We have received quite a few new postings recently, so be sure to stay connected!
We are also looking for ways to improve this feature, so please think about how we might serve best in this area and send us any ideas or feedback. |
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Father, we praise the awesome power of your love and grace poured out to us in the gift of your Son.
You sent the Lord Jesus to share the weakness of our worldly existence and yet bring the saving power of your Kingdom to bear on our sufferings, troubles, and misguided lives.
Every year in this season we are confronted with the temptation to seek happiness in material gifts and holiday busyness even as we encounter people and images every day that tell us of the great needs all around us.
May we pause to consider the miracle you have brought to bear on the desperate needs of your people and creation and be humbled by accepting our plight if you had not entered our troubled world and lives in this incredible way.
Through our Lord Jesus your Word has become flesh, a light shining in the darkness. May this Eternal Word dwell in us richly and His light shine into our darkened lives and then through us into a world living in that same darkness.
May His Light guide the world to your glory bringing new hope where there is despair and expectations so limited by life experiences and disappointments.
You have given us a Savior in Jesus Christ so that we may be set free to follow the paths of His leading as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
And, now with the angels let us praise His name, telling His story so that all may believe, rejoice with us, and share in His love and grace.
As we prepare to celebrate His birth, may we open the mangers of our hearts to receive the life only Jesus can give. May our Lord Jesus reign in ours and every human heart and bring peace, love, and great joy so that all may live in the unity of the Holy Spirt with You and our Lord Jesus, One God, now and forever. Amen.
Contributed by Jim Witherow |
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Do you have an idea for a future story? Are you involved in a ministry others need to know about? Let us know, and we'll include it in a future month's Together!
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