September 2019
A monthly publication of
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Immigration Crisis
By Michael Traylor
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For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing.
So you too must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Dt 10:17-19 NLT
Immigration is often an overlooked tool of God for Kingdom expansion.
- Abraham immigrated from the land of Ur. Through his obedience, all of the world would be blessed.
- The people of Israel fled bondage, violence, and oppression in Egypt and immigrated to Canaan. They were to serve as a people chosen by God to reveal to the world who God is.
- Generations later, the people of Israel would be forcefully removed from their land and exiled in ancient Babylon. The prophet Jeremiah would reveal that God had a redemptive purpose in the hardship and exile as they were to be a blessing to Babylon.
- The infant church was experiencing massive growth in Jerusalem, when it experienced violence and was “scattered”. Yet, history reveals that everywhere they scattered they shared the gospel and growth became exponential through immigration.
The most famous immigrant of all is our Lord Jesus. Every Christmas we tell the story of his family fleeing violence in first century Palestine and escaping to Egypt. Yet, the bigger story is that Jesus himself, who was with God and was God (John 1), left heaven willingly and “moved into the neighborhood” (The Message) to fulfill the will of God. The recurrent story of immigration is a theme of scripture.
Fast forward two millennium, and we are extensions of the ministry of Jesus and that includes ministry to “the least of these”. We live in a nation made of immigrant peoples. Very few of those first immigrants came and negotiated a legal purchase of land from its indigenous inhabitants, but many possessed the land through force or violence. Others were forcefully brought to the United States as slaves or in servitude. Regardless of how groups came to the United States, we understand that most of us reading this are prodigy of immigrants.
The command given to the people of God is to “show love to foreigners”. Throughout scripture, God’s revelation has shown a special place in his heart for immigrants, also described as aliens, sojourners, and foreigners, depending on your translation. Jesus, was the exact representation of God’s being, according to Hebrews 1, and his ministry revealed the heart of God. Likewise, Christ’s ministry through us should also reflect the heart of God.
Recognizing that much of the immigration crisis has polarizing and politicized, very little conversation about immigrants can occur before the focus turns away from the immigrants themselves. Yet, the heart of God is asking his people, as he has done for nearly four thousand years, to love the foreigner, the alien, the sojourner and the immigrant. In fact, the people of God were taken to task for their lack of hospitality to strangers and aliens, particularly in the early church.
On our Texas / Mexico border, there are thousands of people seeking entry into the US, often fleeing horrific conditions. Recently Amelia ministered to a pregnant woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo who fleeing violence there, was smuggled for a large sum of money to Brazil where she walked, along with her husband and child, the 5,000 miles, experiencing violence along the way. She applied for asylum, which is an international right and joined the over 800,000 applications waiting to be considered. She, like many others, may wait years for their application to even be considered. Meanwhile, she cannot work legally, she cannot return to Mexico as the cities along the border are among some of the most violent areas. So, she, having recently delivered, and her family left to beg and borrow to get to N Carolina where there is a relative who may be able to help her.
Her story is not unique but an example of the humanitarian crisis that is buried beneath the politicization of our discussions. Karen Gonzales, author of “A God Who Sees” wrote that “A biblical response to immigrants demands that we first recognize their humanity”. This is already being done in the River Conference.
Pastor Jose Garcia leads our Laredo Vientos de Dios church. Their building is located about 100 yards from the Rio Grande River. The Church is frequently found by people who have crossed the dangerous river trying to escape violence. Vientos de Dios has been working hard to meet the needs of those who have nothing, while respecting the law of the land. Currently, Pastor Garcia is developing a plan to organize relief efforts, focused in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, directly across the river from Laredo, where the need is significantly higher, and we have more flexibility in assisting those in need. It is estimated that there are 5,000 people in Nuevo Laredo for every water source (i.e. a single spicket).
Pastor Butch Guasa leads our McAllen Texas, Praise Christian Fellowship which is also on the Texas-Mexico border. McAllen houses several large detention centers for undocumented people who are awaiting asylum. Pastor Guasa was able to tour several shelters and is developing a way for his church and our conference to assist the Catholic charities who run many of the facilities.
The River Conference mission statement is to make disciples, mobilize leaders, multiple church and to
MEET HUMAN NEEDS
. We are working to develop a response that your churches can participate in in both Laredo and McAllen. I write to encourage you to share God’s heart regarding immigration through scripture. Allow God’s Word to cultivate your congregations desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this ongoing crisis.
May God bless you.
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Michael Hockett
Services were held for our dear friend, Michael Hockett, at Timberview Church in Mead, WA on August 31, 2019. After a long battle with cancer, Michael met Jesus fact to face on August 21st. We will cherish the time we were able to spend with him on earth.
Michael Cary Hockett was born June 17, 1967, in Sitka, Alaska. He graduated from Bellevue West High School, Bellevue, NE, 1985. On a 4-year US Air Force ROTC scholarship, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, in 1989. During his summer vacations, between spring and fall terms, Michael was the children's Christian leader and teacher at the Officer's Christian Fellowship (OCF) facility in Buena Vista, CO.
Upon their college graduations, he married his college sweetheart, Leslie Collins. That fall Michael earned his Washington State teacher credentials, and in December was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force. He was a teacher in the Tacoma Public School system until he was called to Air Force active duty in October 1990. In active duty, Michael was an instructor in the Air Force Academic Instructor Course (AIC) in San Antonio, TX, during which he earned a Master of Arts degree in Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Michael separated from the Air Force in 1995, and he and Leslie moved to Spokane, WA, where he briefly taught classes in District 81. Michael then earned a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Eastern Washington University concurrently serving as ·a Teaching Assistant. Upon graduating, the University hired Michael as an instructor in the English Department.
In 2001, Michael joined the staff of Life Center as an Associate Pastor of Marriage and Family then later as Director of Adult Ministries. In 2012, Michael earned a Master of Arts degree in Theology from Whitworth University. The next year he was hired as the Lead Pastor of Timberview Church and ordained. Michael led Timberview Church for 5 1/2 years and delivered his last sermon from the pulpit on July 28, 2019.
Michael's life was characterized by achievement, accomplishment, and enriching others. Michael succumbed to cancer on August 21, 2019. Michael is survived by Leslie and their three children, Sara, Ethan, and Rachael. Michael is also survived by his parents, Michael and Elizabeth Hockett of Colorado Springs, CO, and by his sister, Katrina van Wees of Amstelveen, The Netherlands (Holland). Michael was an extraordinarily wonderful husband, father, son, brother and pastor and will be greatly missed by all.
Well done good and faithful servant.
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TRC Chaplains
Did you know that The River Conference has 15 Elders serving as Chaplains? Three of whom serve our Armed Forces. These individuals are on the front lines of our communities offering spiritual guidance in some of the most trying times of people's lives. Please keep them in your prayers.
Below
is a message from Rex Carpenter CH Lt Col USAF (Ret), D. Min., FMC's Chaplain Endorsing Agent
Free Methodist Chaplains
and friends of Christ-Followers,
This two page “Staying Connected” newsletter features lots of pictures taken by Chaplain
Dan Hummer
at our gatherings as Chaplains at General Conference in Orlando July 16-19. The last picture is a partial witness to the numbers of chaplains and family members in attendance. There was lots of love, prayers, and fellowship going on among us!
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TRC signed up to take advantage of Amazon.com's "give back" campaign. Amazon Smile is a program where you can designate a charity to receive a percentage of any purchase made on Amazon.com.
I
f you buy things off Amazon, please consider designating TRC as your charity.
How to get started:
www.smile.amazon.com
- find The River Conference of the Free Methodist Church, Lakewood, CO on the charity list, select it. Now every time you order something from Amazon, you must enter through the smile.amazon.com website, you'll see what charity you're supporting in red letters. Then start shopping. Amazon will automatically deposit donations into our checking account.
If you buy things off Amazon, please consider designating TRC as your charity.
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Historic General Conference 2019
Click the GC2019 picture to the left to download and read LIGHT
+
LIFE'S exclusive coverage of the historic General Conference 2019 in an online-only special edition of the magazine.
This e-edition is the only place you'll find in-depth summaries of the voting, messages and movement of God at GC19.
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TRC's Annual Treasurer's Call
The webinar is tomorrow at 7PM (Mountain Time). If you or your treasurer is interested in participating in this webinar, please register at:
When: Sep 24, 2019 07:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Topic: 2019 TRC Treasurer Call
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
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Send us your Fall Kick Off happenings and we will include them in upcoming Newsletters.
This is one way TRC can join together and pray for one another.
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IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
ANNUAL TREASURER'S CONFERENCE CALL
Tuesday, October 1
MAC Monthly Video Conference
Thursday, October 3
MEG Monthly Video Conference
Thursday, October 8
Finance Team Video Conference
Thursday, October 10
Property Team Video Conference
Thursday, October 17
Board of Directors Monthly Video Conference
Friday, October 18
District Leaders TOT Meeting
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Join us September 29th, 2019 to be part of a movement of hope
On Freedom Sunday, churches all around the world come together as a united, hope-filled, justice-driven community seeking to end modern slavery. We start with prayer, lament, learning, dialogue, and worship to inform and catalyze our response to this global tragedy.
Freedom Sunday is more than a day. It’s more than a worship service. Freedom Sunday is a movement of hope.
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E2020 CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
Join us March 12-15, 2020 in Ridgecrest, North Carolina for E2020, a conference for women exploring and living out their call to ministry.
As women called to ministry, “seeing and being seen” is not a vain pursuit but a spiritual pilgrimage that begins by recognizing our Shepherd’s voice, who created us Imago Dei – in the image of God – and invites us into redemptive relationship.
Nestled into the side of a mountain in North Carolina, we will experience:
- Powerful keynotes from from gifted preachers.
- Practical workshops from experts in their field.
- Spirit-filled worship that represents God’s global heart.
- Spanish translation and workshops.
- Formative experiences like prayer walks, peer-groups and coaching appointments.
- Networking opportunities for best-practices and life-long friendships.
Come see and be seen in a setting where your soul will be set on fire, your calling will be affirmed, your imagination will expand, and your ministry will be set ablaze by the Spirit of El Roi – the God Who Sees.
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The New Room Conference gathers people
who are honest about what we need most:
TO MEET WITH GOD AND BE REFRESHED
FOR HIS WORK IN THE WORLD.
SEPTEMBER 25–27, 2019
Nashville, TN
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Other Newsletters of Interest
Simply click on the desired newsletter to view.
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