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Dear Centenary Family,
I'm excited about this fall. We have a lot of opportunities for spiritual growth, fellowship, and service before us.
This Sunday, September 4, we move to our new worship time at 10:30 a.m. I do hope you will join us as we celebrate communion together. This Sunday, we will invite those who'd like to come forward for communion by intinction or by the communion kits we've been using. We invite those who want to pray at the altar to do so after receiving communion. Stay to watch The Chosen with us after worship.
Next Sunday, September 11, following our 10:30 a.m. worship service, we will gather outside on Grace Street for a church picnic. Bring a side, and a friend and join us! We resume nursery care during worship next Sunday also!
Join us as a volunteer at Pridefest on September 24 as we extend hospitality and a listening ear to our friends in the LGBTQ community.
I hope you will join us as we continue moving forward, Changing the World Through Love together.
I also want to invite you to consider learning more about Asset Based Community Development this fall. We are working on putting together a cohort to do a short-term study of ABCD that will incorporate the draft of a new book by Wendy McCaig of Embrace Communities who has led our pioneer group as well as some excellent videos which will make these ideas come to life.
Iinvite you to join a virtual gathering with other cohorts from Richmond and beyond on Wednesday, September 14, 6-8 p.m. This is a kick off session for 4-session studies these groups will be launching. This would be a great way to check out ABCD and see if you'd be willing to join a short-term study this fall. Please contact me at srpastor@centumc.org if you'd be willing to talk more about this opportunity.
In future newsletter articles, we will offer more ideas for you to begin to understand this approach more fully.
ABCD sounds like jargon, but its an approach that I think comes naturally to Centenary folks who have been in mission in the city for many years, reaching out to our neighbors with dignity, respect, and compassion.
ABCD focuses on gifts, assets, and strengths. Instead of asking what is wrong in a community or what people in a community lack, it inquires and the gifts and strengths of both communities and people.
The main method utilized in ABCD involves listening carefully. We've been doing this on Fridays with our Walk-In guests. It has changed the way we see our friends who come for lunch each week. And it changes the way they see us. Word has gotten out that we're interested in listening to people's stories! We are no longer just service providers, but companions on a common journey.
I have been drawn to this approach so strongly because I believe it is much more empowering to look at the gifts God has given us and then to work from our strengths, than to bemoan what we feel we lack. I'd like for this way of thinking and seeing things to become second nature in our congregation. Try this little exercise and you'll be well on the way. Take a few minutes and focus not on what you wish might be different about Centenary, but what our strengths are. Do the same with yourself. Make a list of your strengths and gifts. Ask yourself whether you're using those gifts or "hiding them under a bushel."
If you'd like to see a little more detail about what ABCD training looks like, please follow this link.
ABCD Training Information
Here's a link to a short video that's really worth watching. It's an inspirational story of how this change in perspective can be so powerful. (More videos of transformations in Richmond).
Angela Blanchard TED Talk
The best news of all is that you are loved by God! Let's celebrate and share that good news this fall.
I'm grateful to be on this journey with you.
Matt
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