Mile Marker #85: A Deeper Hope

By Don and Susan Dewey, Co-Regional Ministers

The Invitation at Christmas is to Believe Again. God’s word invites us to believe in a Deeper Hope that moves beyond the “wrappings” of Christmas around us. We proclaim a Hope that brings Good News, Joy and Compassion for all of God’s people. This Deeper Hope is made real in all of our Regions as we:

•  Assist congregations and leaders in claiming their unique mission and ministry, and provide resources and support.

•  Call, commission and ordain new pastors, and support and equip all pastors for their ministries.

•  Revitalize existing congregations and plan for new congregations.

•  Connect Regional Disciples to give witness to ministries of justice, hope and compassion.

•  Provide camps, conferences and retreats where children and youth find hope and Christ’s love and a community of faith that embraces “everyone.”

•  Make visible the care for all of God’s family through ministries of reconciliation and anti-racism.

•  Call and equip passionate leaders for today’s church.

•  Provide pastoral care for clergy and congregations.

So how are these being lived out here in the PSWR? Every year there are at least 8 -10 congregations engaged in the Search and Call process for selecting a new called pastor. Your gifts support your Regional staff to walk with these congregations through this important process, providing resources, guidance and information as decisions are made for future ministry.

The Regions Committee on Ministry works with over 50 potential candidates seeking ordination or commissioning to serve our Disciple congregations. This work includes providing resources guiding them through completion of 16 areas of ministry competency, Boundary Training, Anti-Racism training, Psychological Assessment and Disciple History and Polity. Your gifts support the ongoing development of pastors for congregations and a growing ministry.

In the past 10 years, the PSWR has been one of the leading Regions for new church growth. Currently the Regions New Church Development Committee works with over 25 congregations in the Under Care process. These are congregations that are either a new start or one that is seeking affiliation with us as Disciples. The NCD guides and directs these congregations as they grow to become Full Standing Disciple congregations.

The New Church Development Committee has a proposal to plant at least 4 new congregations by the year 2020 in keeping with our General Churches vision for starting 1000 new churches by that year. This means supporting a new church planter, providing resources for program and a place to meet. In addition, through our Regions Hatchery ministry, we are training and developing new leaders for innovative ministries to reach the next generation. Your gifts make possible the future of the church.

The PSWR’s youth ministry is on the rise! This past summer we had over 250 young people attending camps at Loch Leven. In addition we have added two new camps, one called Wee Camp for pre-school – kindergarten and a youth leadership camp for our growing Hispanic ministries.

This past summer our youth traveled to Puerto Rico and Mexico for mission and multi-cultural experiences. We also hosted a dozen youth from South Korea who were a part of a cultural exchange with our Region. Plans are underway for a group of our youth to travel to South Korea next summer, as well as other youth attending our General Assembly in July 2017 and providing leadership for VBS programs in two of our Hawaii congregations.

We now have a full time Associate Regional Minister for Youth and Young Adult Ministry whose leadership continues to grow and expand these important ministries. In addition to summer camps we also provide winter camps for both our Jr. High and Sr. High youth and a Spring retreat for our Young Adults. These ministries to our young people would not be possible without your prayers and support.

Your Region provides ongoing Anti-Racism training, supports the Green Chalice movement, provides resources for re-entry programs of persons released from incarceration, supports ministries that offer emergency shelter for the homeless, ministries that provide tutoring and other programs for at-risk youth, hot-meal ministries, and much, much more! All these are possible through your generosity of gifts in support of your Region’s ministry.

Your gifts also support opportunities for leadership training and continuing education events for both lay and clergy to strengthen our ministries. In partnership with our Units, who provide vital ministry on our behalf, your support helps these ministries thrive.

In this Region we look, in these days of Advent, to God’s people who believe and hope that through the Holy Spirit we too can see Salvation and become a light of hope to all people. As members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), we can believe again that God is actively promising us a deeper hope for our congregations and region working together to be in covenant with each other.

We celebrate our many churches and diverse communities, all in one region believing again; hoping again together that the God who ushered in a Savior as a baby in a complex world can once again save God’s people.

Therefore, as the PSWR, let us covenant together, as a region to work together to be the kind of change that needs to happen for Jesus to again become known as the Savior of the world through the works and ministries of our Regional Church.

The Christmas Special Day Offering supports all of these and many other ministries of our Region. Your generous gifts make the difference in our covenantal, shared ministries in the Region. 100% of your gifts return to the PSWR. Received in most congregations on December 11 and 18.

Together on the journey,

Don and Susan
Co-Regional Ministers, PSWR

Week of Compassion Delegation to China 2016

by Susan Gonzales Dewey, Co-Regional Minister

As many of you may know, I am a member of the Week of Compassion Committee and this year’s fall meeting was held in China (due to a gift from an anonymous donor this trip cost the Week of Compassion no more than a regular fall meeting). I am thankful to the Executive Director of Week of Compassion Rev. Vy Nguyen and our Global Ministries Area Executive for East Asia Rev. Xiaoling Zhu for arranging this pilgrimage and opening our eyes to the wonder of China and the Christian movement in this part of the world. 

We went to meet with our partners and to see first hand what is happening with Week of Compassion’s Sustainability Grants given in the recent years. It is very difficult to give you a full flavor of two weeks, 6 cities and 39 meals, planes, trains subways and busses, and more partners than I can count, but I want to share some of this trip with you in print, and would love to come and share more in person if you would like to invite Don or me to visit your congregation or group.  

Week of Compassion was started in 1939 as a movement to bring relief to China after the 1939 Earthquake and the 1941 Famine. Over the last several years the Week of Compassion fund, through its Sustainability Grant program, has supported in China a well for an orphanage, programs for children with disabilities, goats for families with Aids, and tree farms to raise funds for poor villages heavily impacted by aids. (These villagers were encouraged to sell their blood and were infected through unclean needles). 

While we were there, we met with the National China Council of Churches and Provincial Councils of Churches, seminaries and social service programs sponsored by the congregations in China. 

On Sunday morning in China, we headed to worship along with 40 million other Chinese Christians. When I first heard that 2-4% of the population of China were Christians I didn’t realize that it would translate to 40 million people.

In the United States, we sometimes hear that the church is dying, because many older Anglo congregations are declining but the church universal is growing and growing rapidly. And that is especially true in China.

We worshiped with the seminarians in the School in Shaangxi Province. Of the 25 seminaries in China, this is the poorest seminary as it serves the 10, mostly rural provinces of the north. There are 140 students and 12 professors at this seminary and there is a waiting list for the people who qualify and want to come to seminary. However, the seminary does not have enough room for all the people who want to attend and the churches that need trained leaders.

This seminary needs more classroom space, more library space and books, more professors and a larger chapel to meet the needs of the growing churches in the surrounding provinces. (This was the story we heard from all of the Seminary leaders we met with, the need for more space, more books, more teachers, and more scholarships)

At the Shaangxi Province Seminary they have a dream for a new seminary to serve 350 students and to house a new congregation on the campus. They hope to raise 90 million Yuen from local people, the government and partners overseas. That translates to roughly 13 million dollars. It is a Spirit filled dream.

The Shaangxi seminary (like all seminaries) is owned by the Provincial Council of churches.  China is living in a post denominational world and all Protestant congregations are united in the Council.

There is a long history of Christian presence in the Province but the China Christian Council in Shaanxi Province dates back to 1887 when the Protestant missionaries came to the Province. Yes there is a lot of difficult history for Christians in China but after the "Open Up" policy the church has grown rapidly.  In the last 30 years the northwest provinces have grown to 560 congregations and 1300 meeting points (unregistered house churches with no building). There are 500,000 Christians, 89 ordained pastors, 107 associate pastors, 278 church workers who are preaching, and 3000 volunteers who are preaching every Sunday as well. (Again these are the kinds of ratios we heard about all through our visit)

“To love our neighbors” is the slogan of the Shaangxi Provincial Christian Council and they have Ministries that provide volunteer training 3-4 times a year for local pastors in communications, finance and social services training (what we might call outreach Ministries) and they have websites and publish a quarterly magazine.  

The China Christian Council works with Amity Foundation to fund much of the work. This is an organization that can receive funds for good works from outside of the country, and it supports a printing business that can produce up to 14 million Bibles per year. They help the churches to rebuild schools and help poor families as well as provide training to churches on how to operate social service projects. 

The Disciples of Christ have a long history in China as well, and in particular in the province of Nanjing. My friend Mark Briley wrote of our visit there:

"When we visited Nanjing it was a good weather day in Nanjing. It rained all day. It was a disappointment of the weather at first. After all, it had rained our entire visit in Nanjing thus far. After visiting The Nanjing Massacre Museum, however, the rain somehow seemed appropriate. In late 1937, the Japanese forces moved in on the capital city of Nanjing after toppling Shanghai earlier that year. Air raids began raining bombs on the city; "Disaster falling from the sky" read the headlines. A rainy day, however, was a respite from the terror as planes were grounded; a good weather day. The men, women, and children of Nanjing, however, could not have imagined the utter devastation that would soon befall their community.

The next six weeks would dehumanize a people in unfathomable ways. Murder for sport was the game - young, old, military, civilian, man, woman, child - no one was free of the atrocities of the Japanese invasion. The Rape of Nanjing included such massive devastation that part of the massacre was loosely termed “occasional" to describe the more informal slaying of the innocents against the more formal killings deemed "intentional." Some 300,000 Chinese people were removed from existence in forty-two days. Rape. Intimidation. Rape. Mockery. Rape. Mutilation. Rape. War is a brutal machine that increases brutality and strangles humanity. Step by step through the museum, name after name, victim upon victim, image upon image - humanity raining disaster on the innocent without second thought.

In such unspeakable times, we heed the words of Mr. Rogers who said, "Look for the helpers." And they were there; people of all races and creeds stepping alongside the citizens of Nanjing; some of them our own. Minnie Vautrin, the "Goddess of Mercy," chief among them. For twenty-eight years, she served as a Disciples of Christ missionary to the community of Nanjing. When many evacuated as the invasion was imminent, she stayed, a constant advocate, willing her own very being in front of thousands of women and children whose fate were in grave jeopardy.

Just moments before visiting the Museum, we paid homage to Minnie's efforts at Ginling College, where she served as Dean and acting President during the Massacre. There, our trip leader, Rev. Dr. Xiaoling Zhu, laid flowers at the feet of a statue of Minnie who smiled even as the rain poured down over her bronzed image. Without any certainty that we would have had the courage to stand with the people of Nanjing as she did, we stood next to her graven image, humbled by her spiritual capacity to care and emboldened with the Disciples of Christ heritage she left for us to carry on ourselves. There were other missionaries, surgeons, leaders who served courageously during the massacre, but Minnie, somehow, made it personal to the extent that I felt like I could call her Minnie.

Seeing these atrocities up close; unearthed layers of remains of fellow human beings and knowing such is still happening in the world, we were left to ponder the question: What is ours to do? Our response must have something to do with compassion. After all, the launch of the very entity that brought us to China is rooted in the compassionate response of Disciples to the people of Nanjing. The work of Week of Compassion is the presence of many who care; longing for the peaceable Realm of God to be known on earth as it is in heaven.

Toward the end of our journey in the museum, there was a powerful display entitled simply, "12 seconds." The sound of a drop of water resonates through the space every twelve seconds. If counted by the time, every twelve seconds for six weeks, a brother or sister of Nanjing was slaughtered. Drip. Drip. Drip. Life is simply that fragile. There is constant work for us to do and compassion for us to bestow. Today was a reminder that we stand on the shoulders of our own, like Minnie, to do the compassionate work Christ calls us to do in our day; in our time. Our committee is resolved, like never before, to ensure good weather days for all of humanity - where compassion rains over the pains of this earth and where God’s love reigns supreme.” Thank you Mark! 

Since our Visas said we were in China as “tourists” we did get to visit the Terra Cotta Soldiers. It was amazing to see this collections of artistry built for one mans burial and afterlife. So many people were tasked to create the Terra Cotta soldiers and horses and then paint them and place them in the underground tomb. The extent of the ruins is amazing, and so is the tourist crowd to see this bit of history. We saw the Forbidden City; it is the largest of the ancient buildings. It was the political center of the empire for the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). I loved the main hall names, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Complete Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony were the spaces for the Emperor to conduct the business of the Empire. The Summer Palace was a place for the Emperors family to relax and spend time around the lake. It is amazing that in the very busy and crowded city of Beijing this extensive property is kept as a museum to the past. I think in the United States, it would have been turned into a resort. 

But of all the tourist sights we visited the Great Wall was my favorite. We only walked a very small portion of this 21,196 km (31,170 miles) wall (the more popular Ming Dynasty section is about 5500 miles) This is a wall that was once built to keep foreigners out is now a place where people from all corners of the world gather, we heard Russians and Ethiopians and South Americans and Germans and French walk the wall with us. 

From the Soaring Cities of Shanghai and Beijing to the small rural villages outside of Zhoukou City we met with Christian partners, Pastors, Volunteer Church workers, seminary students, seminary Presidents, Christian Council Leaders and even the Government leader of the State Administration for Religious Affairs and heard about the work of the Christian community that is working along side the government, and the other religious communities to make a difference in their world, to bring hope to the poor, to the lonely and abandoned, and to make the Good News of Jesus real for the 1.3 billion people in China. 

Mile Marker #84: State of the Region Address

by Revs. Don and Susan Dewey, Co-Regional Ministers
October 14-15, 2016

“All of you are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it.” ~ 1 Corinthians 12:27

We want to begin by saying: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Thank you for being here, thank you for the work you do as clergy and laity, thank you for the witness you are in the communities you serve with the love of God we know in Jesus Christ!

Last year at this time our grandson Congo was just a couple weeks old and in the NICU at Choc hospital struggling to survive after a very serious surgery.

We are so very happy to let you know that we celebrated his first birthday a few weeks ago and he his strong and healthy and the joy of our lives – thanks be to God!

We want to thank you for all your prayers, support and love over this past year and are deeply grateful to be a part of this wonderful community of faith here in the PSWR.

We are also deeply blessed and privileged to serve as your Regional Ministers. When we reflect back on these past nine years we give thanks to God for all the things we have accomplished here in this Region together with you. As we look forward, we know there is yet much work to do to reach our goals and live into the vision we have for this great Region.

We especially thank partners like our Moderator Pam Moore and our Regional Board of Directors who serve on your behalf to guide and direct this Regions ministry.

We are also blessed with amazing partners in our Regional Ministry Team of Francisco Ramos who works with our Hispanic ministries, Jo Ann Bynum working with our African American ministries and Young Jun Yang and Young Lan Kim who work with our NAPAD ministries.

We are grateful for partners like Spencer Burke, Director of our Regions Hatchery ministry and New Church consultant and B.J. Barlow working with our Youth and Young Adult ministries. Tanya Lopez who works with our Disciple Women

We give thanks for our amazing office staff, which keeps us, as well as this incredible Region moving forward: Bruce Indermill, Branden Hendricks, Michel Johnson, Janelle Vannoy, Alisa Mittelstaedt, Sarah Bartczak and Keith Clark.

In addition we are blessed with wonderful Loch Leven camp staff, under the direction of camp manager Sloan Hamilton.

We celebrate our Regional Unit partners Jon Berquist at DSF, Nancy Brink at Chapman University, Matt & Mary Harris at Project Impact, Teresa Palacios at Eastmont, and Sandra Bryant at All Peoples.

And of course we could not do this ministry without the work and support of each of you, pastors and congregations of the PSWR! Thank you!!

This is why we say; we can do so much more together than we can alone; because we have so many incredible partners on this journey with us. Together we are the PSWR, one church – many members!

Speaking of partners, we want to especially thank our host congregations First Christian Church Fullerton and Casa de Oracion Fullerton for their gracious hospitality and welcome! Thank you so much!

“This is a busy Region!” and we hear this from pastors and congregations, we hear it from colleagues and we hear it from our General church partners!

Yes, there are a lot of wonderful and exciting things going on here in the PSWR!

So today we want to share with you some of the ways this region has grown and expanded in the last two years working together with each of you.

We came into this position with a deep commitment to our young people and a love for our Loch Leven camp where so many lives are shaped and transformed with the love of God.

So living into the vision of expanding the ministry of this Region we initiated a process for evaluating our beloved Loch Leven – its staffing needs, its facility needs, and its sustainability into the future.

Following that evaluation and report, it was decided that continuing to invest in this part of our ministry was still important and needed. That meant directing resources to improving our camp for its ministry that included:

·      Remodeling of Campbell Lodge

Thanks to a generous gift from the Wilshire Foundation, on May 2014 we celebrated the grand remodeling of Campbell Lodge at our Loch Leven camp.  This improvement provided additional space for a growing outdoor ministry and increasing the usage of our Loch Leven camp. This expansion has significantly increased revenue for our camping ministry.

·      Loch Leven master plan

In January 2015 Cathy Perring presented a master plan for future development of our whole Loch Leven camp to the Regional Board for approval. As our outdoor ministry continues to grow we now have a plan for future development that will guide us forward. We hope to build additional meeting and sleeping spaces as well as places for tent and RV camping sites and this is just the beginning.

·      Loch Leven Development

As a part of our development plans, Rock the Loch events have provided a wonderful time of music, food and fellowship, while raising monies and awareness. The next Rock the Loch will event will be May 6, 2017.

In addition Loch Leven continues to expand its ministry through grants, in-kind services, volunteers, camp staff interns and more.

Most recently we have begun a focused development plan, directed by Sarah Bartczak, to generate additional streams of revenue to support this growing ministry.

·      PSWR’s HatcheryLA church planting ministry

Seeking to address the decline of our congregations and even the closing of others; in January 2014 the Regional Board made a bold decision to unanimously approve the support and launching of the new church-planting ministry

The Hatchery, still in its infancy, we are celebrating the second year of this new ministry that offers opportunities for new and innovative ministry development in our Region.

The Hatchery is becoming a place of teaching and learning for students and for pastors seeking to gain new insights and ideas for strengthening and growing congregations for the 21st century.

·      Expanding PSWR’s Global Mission Partnerships

Building on our commitment as a Global Mission Region, in 2014 we commissioned Paul Turner as missionary to the Congo and established a Global Ministry funding source to support this important work. We will be receiving an offering that will continue this support for Paul and the good work being done on our behalf in the Congo.

In addition, in April of 2015 we, along with our NAPAD Regional Staff Young Jun Yang and Young Lan Kim, traveled to South Korea to begin a partnership with the PROK in Kwangju with the encouragement and support of the General Church’s Global Ministries.

As a result of this new partnership, in August of 2016 we hosted a youth delegation from the PROK and established a plan for future exchanges in 2017 where youth from our Region will travel to South Korea.

The purpose of these exchanges is to be bridge builders in our wider global community and to give opportunity for our young people to deepen their multi-cultural awareness.

Our Regional Global Ministry committee in partnership with the United Church of Christ continues expanding relationships in Nicaragua, Cuba, Israel/Palestine, Mexico and Japan.

Most recently our daughter Leah Dewey started a 6-10 month Internship teaching English in a primary school in Thailand through our General Churches Global Ministries.

·      Relocating the Regional Church office center

Recognizing the changing demographics of our congregations and desiring to further model partnership, plans are underway for relocating our Regional Church offices here on the Fullerton campus. Completion date is scheduled for November 2017.

This new location will make the Regional Conference center more accessible for a wide variety of Regional Ministry needs and we are very excited to be sharing space with our two local congregation partners and hosts Casa de Oracion and FCC! Architectural plans are on display in room #107 we hope you will stop in a take a look.

·      Developing a Disaster Recovery program

We are pleased to announce that just this August the Regional Board approved the establishment of a Regional Disaster Recovery program under the direction of Rev. Norm Williams and a team of support volunteers. A first launch and training event will be held at DSF on Saturday November 12th 2016

Strengthening our pastors and congregations for effective ministry

We know that a major component for our growing and expanding ministry is in strengthening pastors and congregations for effective ministry.

·      Pastors

Currently we are working with 50 ministerial candidates and pastors going through the Committee on Ministry seeking Ordination/Standing or Commissioning.

·      Leadership Academy

Since 2014 your Regional Church through our New Church Development Committee has supported 19 pastors & leaders attending Hope Partnerships Leadership Academy adding to the total of 65 since 2007. This program is designed to develop courageous leaders interested in launching a new church or transforming an existing one.

·      Pastors Gatherings

In addition, each year we host a Pastors Gathering and we have held several pastors’ retreats as opportunities for fellowship, education, and networking, recognizing the importance and value of working together. Our next Pastor’s retreat is scheduled for February 24-25, 2017. So pastors, please put this on your calendar. There is a flyer in your packet.

·      Anti-Racism training

In keeping with our Regions commitment to be a Pro-Reconciling/Anti-Racist Church we held Anti-Racism training events in 2014 and 2015 and will co-host another one with DSF in October 2016.

These opportunities are vitally important today in the wake of so much racial unrest.

In 2014 our Regions Committee on Ministry also adopted the requirement for all newly ordained or commissioned pastors to take Anti-Racism training.

·      Bethany West

To further expand ways to strengthen pastors serving our congregations the Bethany West program was developed in 2013 to support and mentor new pastors in their first call.

The Regional Church currently supports 18 pastors who are participating in the Bethany West program.

·      Ordinations and Installations

In the last 24 months we have Ordained 11 new Pastors and participated in 13 Installations of Pastors. A list of these can be found on page # in your program booklet.

·      We have also been committed to strengthening congregations for continued ministry.

Currently we are working with 8 congregations who are in pastoral search.

Our NCD is working with 24 congregations under care guiding them toward full standing.

·      New Beginnings program

To date 22 of our congregations, with support from the Regional Church, have participated in Hope Partnerships New Beginnings program – an assessment tool for congregations addressing future directions.

·      The Journey program

We also have had 3 congregations, with support from the Regional Church, participate in Hope Partnerships The Journey program – designed to train and equip leaders for “out of the box” transformation and leadership development.

·      Appreciative Inquiry

Through our Regions Transformation Committee 5 congregations have participated in the Regions Appreciative Inquiry training. We now have 3 certified trainers who also serve on our Transformation Committee.

·      Stewardship

In 2013 and 2015 we conducted two successful Phone-A-Thon fund raising events for our ministries of Loch Leven and Leadership Development.

In the last two years the Regional Church has hosted several Stewardship Education seminars for both pastors and laity to enhance stewardship and generosity in our local congregations.

In November 2015 the Regional Church held a Grant Writing seminar for our African-American Convocation pastors and leaders.

And in 2014 a successful seminar on Caring for Creation was held to help congregations begin to address environmental concerns and care for the earth.

We are excited to be launching a Green Chalice movement to encourage congregations to consider how to care for and conserve our precious resources.

There is a resolution at this Assembly on this new direction as a Region.

We are grateful to the congregations of Urban Mission, FCC Orange and Pacific Beach CC for leading the way!

We currently have 6 properties we are managing where the Region holds title. Several are for new congregations in regionally owned sites where the historic congregation closed, and two congregations where the regional office staff is walking with the congregation to sell the property and relocate.

We have sold two facilities in the last 2 years where the region held title and the historic congregation closed and those funds went through a distribution template process to support regional ministries.

Creating opportunities for our youth to thrive and grow

As a further commitment to strengthening congregations we have also been creating more opportunities for our young people to thrive and grow.

·      Expanding our camping program

In addition to our regular camp offerings: Mini’s, Jr.’s, Chi Rho, CYF 1 & 2 and our two winter camps for Jr. & Sr. High, we’ve added one for children ages pre K through first grade and their parents and/or grandparents called Wee Camp; we’ve also added a camp for youth leaders in our Hispanic communities and a winter camp for our NAPAD youth and young adults.

·      Empowering our Youth Leadership Team

This exciting program is for Sr. High youth who help plan youth events for our Region. The YLT is a community of leaders who spend time together in prayer, worship and leadership development learning how to best serve God, peers and faith communities, regionally and locally.

·      Creating the Youth Immersion Ministry

In 2015 we started a new ministry for our young people called the Youth Immersion Ministry, directed by Regional Youth Pastor B.J. Barlow, with the focus on developing Christian advocates passionate about ending racism and equipping them for reconciliation ministry and empowered leadership.

In addition we have supported: 16 Youth attending General Assembly; 16 youth on a mission trip to Puerto Rico; 20 youth and young adults on a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico. As well as 15 youth who traveled to San Jose to participate in the NAPAD Convocation. Plus hosting a dozen youth from South Korea as a part of our mission partnership with the PROK.

·      Re-started our Young Adult Ministry

Recognizing the need for continued support and leadership development for our young adults ages 18-30 we have re-established annual retreats created to encourage and provide fellowship and spiritual growth opportunities for the young adults in our Region.

Our Young Adult ministry hosted our First Annual Don Shelton Memorial Mini Golf Tournament – which had 84 youth attending.

We celebrate congregations like Abundant Life, East Whittier and Sallims CC and others who have active growing Young Adult ministries. The next Young Adult retreat is scheduled for next weekend, October 21-23 at Loch Leven.

Ensure financial sustainability and strong stewardship

Since taking office we have seen overall Disciples Mission Fund giving continue to decline all across the denomination including here in the PSWR.

We knew this would be a critical area of support for the Regions ongoing ministry and needed to be taken seriously if we were going to be able to support a growing ministry.

We first re-established our Permanent Funds committee to help assess and get a clear picture of our investments for supporting the current ministry.

We then explored ways to expand and grow those investments for the future.

·      Expanding investment income and permanent funds

Working closely with the Christian Church Foundation and our Regions Permanent Funds Committee regular reviews of our investments are done to insure the best returns and use of our resources to meet the ever growing needs of our Regions ministry.

·      Creating a long term development plan

We also began creating a long term development plan for ensuring financial sustainability and strong stewardship across the life of the Region.

In anticipation of future legacy gifts, the Regional Board adopted a template model for guiding their decisions regarding fund distributions from sales of Regionally owned properties.

Each template takes into consideration current needs and ongoing support for our Regional Church ministries.

Since 2014 we have awarded well over $1 million in third party grants to our Units, ministry partners, new church projects and seniors in need of financial assistance.

In addition, since 2014 the Regional Church has awarded almost $75,000 in Vision Fund grants to support innovative Region-focused ministry opportunities like:

Training of church leaders as Fair Election Observers in the Congo; Senior Programs for health and fellowship for siloed seniors; Open Table, a food and community ministry; Beyond Bars, a re-entry program for those formerly incarcerated; Older Adult Ministry Retreat; Youth Immersion Ministry to Puerto Rico; Youth Leadership Team to the National Youth event in Florida; Young Adult Retreat; Immigration Resource center; Homeless support program; Grant Writing Workshop; NAPAD youth and Young Adult Winter Camp; The Regions NBA XPLOR Program and so much more.

In the last two years we have also distributed over $22,000 in Camile Grants for: 3 food ministries; 2 Family Promise ministries; 3 ministries addressing poverty and homelessness and others for training leaders to address these issues.

In the last two years we have distributed over $13,000 in Reconciliation Grants as well as awarded numerous Leadership Grants.

We continue to support our Annual Don Shelton Memorial Golf Tournament where $ raised go to support our 5 Ministry Units.

Beginning this year we are launching a new broad based and consolidated development plan for strengthening and growing our overall stewardship in the Region. This plan is called “Honoring the Legacy – Building the Future.” Sarah Bartczak our Resource Development staff will be directing this important part of our ministry. You will be hearing a lot more about this exciting new plan as we move into the future.

Living into our four Regional Church goals

Early in our regional ministry we gathered a core of leaders representing the diversity of the Region to help identify goals that would direct our Regions ministry. We selected four that seemed to capture the imaginations and passions of that team of leaders.

·      To be One Church

This vision has influenced all the ways in which we have sought to do ministry throughout the PSWR.

It has impacted how we select leaders to serve on our Regional Board, on our committees, on how our camps are structured and developed and so much more.

We also made a commitment to expand our staffing particularly in our work with our constituency groups.

The Regional Church supports our three constituency groups: Convención, Convocation and NAPAD and celebrates these important ministries.

·      NAPAD

Rev. Sung Do Ee serves as president of the Korean Convocation. In the last two years our NAPAD staff have written curriculum for Anti Racism and Boundary Training as well as Disciple History and Polity in Korean that is culturally based.

Many Pastors have taken these courses to meet their Standing requirements. The Korean Convocation meets regularly for fellowship and hosts both educational activities and fellowship celebrations for the Pastors and lay members; as well as retreats for pastors.

The broader NAPAD community including our Chinese, Filipino, Samoan, Chuukese, and Chinese congregations met this past summer in San Jose for a great gathering and elected a new Interim Executive Pastor Rev. Chung Seong Kim who is here with us at this Assembly

·      African American Convocation

Bishop Larry Taylor leads our African American Convocation and they have held several exciting events in these past two years, including a Prayer breakfast with Rev. Cynthia Hale and a retreat with Rev. Dr. Frank Thomas.

In addition they supported the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Project Impact and the Black Lives Matter movement at McCarty Memorial CC.

·      Hispanic Convención

Newly elected president Delmy Amaya works with our Hispanic Convención to provide oversight with quarterly meetings for this growing ministry.

They have a committee on ministry team that works closely with the Regions Committee on Ministry to help guide pastors seeking ordination and/or commissioning.

They have held pastors retreats and hosted our National Hispanic gatherings. In addition they support youth events and camps that often have well over 100 youth attending.

Staffing growth in the last two years

Rev. Francisco Ramos as Director for Hispanic Ministry – now a half time position; Rev’s. Young Jun Yang & Young Lan Kim now share a full time position; Rev. B.J. Barlow has joined our staff as full time Director for Youth and Young Adults; Tanya Lopez has now come staff as Director of Disciple Women’s Ministry; Alisa Mittelstaedt has been brought on as Communications Coordinator and Sarah Bartczak now heads stewardship emphasis as Resource Developer. 

We would like to introduce you to our 4 new ASSOCIATE REGIONAL MINISTERS

Recognizing the expanding role and responsibilities of several our regional ministry team pastors, the Personnel committee and Regional Board have supported our recommendation to name: Rev. Dr. JoAnn Bynum, Director of African-American Ministry; Rev. Young Jun Yang and Rev. Young Lan Kim Directors of NAPAD Ministry; Rev. Francisco Ramos, Director of Hispanic Ministry and Rev. B.J. Barlow, Director of Youth and Young adult Ministry as Associate Regional Ministers of the Pacific Southwest Region!

·      Missional Church

We were pleased to be a pilot Region hosting a NBA Xplore House, which was launched in 2014.

Now in its third year, and we want to thank the folks at FCC North Hollywood who have hosted this program and given significant leadership in its development in the Region.

This last summer we held 6 Mission First Gatherings:

FCC Pomona; Casa de Oracion; FCC Fullerton; FCC N Hollywood; McCarty Memorial; FCC Santa Barbara and at the Regional Assembly.

You can see the words on the left from the WORDLE created from all the reports that went into the General church after these events.

There are a lot of words on this page that represent the conversations we had around the region.

The largest words reflect the conversations that were lifted up the most in the Mission First Gatherings.

We heard conversations about teaching and caring, reaching out and loving, disaster relief, justice, social media, compassion, youth and family services.

The most significant words noted are Church, Community, Food, Hunger, and Homeless.

The conversations we heard every where were about finding ways to reach beyond our church doors and partnering with the community and finding ways to address these issues in our communities.

So we will invite the region to move forward in two areas.

·      Learn about “Housing First” models of meeting the need of homeless in our cities.

·      Helping one another so that every congregation large or small is doing something to address the issues of hunger and food insecurity in our region.

So many congregations are already doing something, food banks, weekly hot meals, community gardens, summer lunch programs, but this was such an overwhelming focus from our conversation that we would like to make this a region wide commitment with congregations asking one another “how we can help you do this too” or “how we can do more together”.

These are projects that Vision Funds can and have supported when two or more congregation work together, because two congregations together are the Region. 

And we would like to gather people together to take the next steps to work on the systemic issues of hunger and do more than treat the symptoms, but change the systems. 

·      Growing, healthy, vital churches

We are excited to share that the NCD committee has prepared a proposal to intentionally plant and support new churches over the next 4 years living into our General Churches 2020 vision.

Most of our new church growth has been through congregations affiliating. This proposal will take into consideration the diversity needs of our Region as well fresh approaches in ministry.

We are pleased to be recognizing Sallims CC as a new church in full standing at this Regional Assembly.

We continue to provide support for transformation programs for existing congregations seeking to reimagine their ministry for the future.

In 2016 we will be offering Transformation grants up to $1000 to congregations seeking support for new ministry proposals.

·      Well organized and administered Region

When we first took office all our financial accountings were handle by the Regional bookkeeper.

In the last 9 years our financial position has drastically changed and we have been moving through a series of transitions to keep pace with our growing needs.

In 2015 we acquired new financial software and data management software to address the expanding complexity of the Regions financial portfolio and to provide more efficient and clearer financials for our Regional Board of Directors.

In 2015 we also hired Keith Clark as Financial Officer to direct the transition from our previous financial accounting to the new system and serve as financial consultant.

We are nearing the completion of this transition and will be excited to share the changes beginning in 2017.

As a part of our growth and continual transparency we have adopted new protocols for annual audits that are presented to the Regional Board of Directors by our auditors. In anticipation of our move to Fullerton and for better safekeeping we are now beginning to move our record keeping to a digital format.

These are just some of the ways together with all of you we have been growing and expanding the ministry of our Region.

As most of you know our term will end in September 2019, just three short years away. Soon (Early in 2018) plans will start for the process of selecting new Regional Ministers to continue the work we’ve done together.

What do we hope to accomplish by 2019?

We hope that together we can find more ways as a Christian community to let our voices be heard as we speak into the concerns and conflicts facing our culture, giving bold witness to the Good News we know in Jesus Christ.

We hope to continue to train and educate ourselves as the body of Christ to be bridge builders so that we can move past the cultural and racial barriers that attempt to divide us as one human family.

This Region continues to be a wonderful model for our whole church and yet we know we still have a long way to go to be all God dreams for us to be.

We will continue to give guidance as we move the Regional Church Office to the Fullerton campus to be a Regional Ministry center.

Working with our Camp & Conference Committee, our Regional Youth Staff and others we hope to develop a comprehensive program for recruitment of campers, counselors and directors for our camping ministry.

In addition we hope to expand our endowment for Camp Scholarships so that any young person from one of our congregations can afford to attend.  

As a Region we want to continue being on the cutting edge in exploring creative and innovative models for developing new ministries. And there is that challenge to do at least one thing in addressing the concerns for food insecurity and homelessness in our communities.

We also want to continue to focus Regional resources on educating, training, and preparing our lay and clergy leaders for ministry in the 21st century.

There is a great deal of ministry yet to do, but we have a strong foundation for the work of the next 3 years.

We are well situated financially as a Region and we have great staff and excellent leaders for the work ahead.

None of this would be possible without the prayers, support and dedication of all of you who make up this great Region that we are privileged to serve.

So let us close by again saying THANK YOU for being amazing partners on this journey. Together WE ARE THE PSWR!   

Together on the journey,

Don and Susan

Co-Regional Ministers, PSWR

The Ripple Effect

By Spencer Burke, Executive Director at Hatchery

            Derek Sivers has a TED Talk called How to Start a Movement. It begins with some shaky video footage of a man dancing alone in a public space, surrounded by other people. He is then joined by another man who enthusiastically not only becomes part of the dance, but invites his friends to participate as well. It doesn't take long before it reaches a tipping point. One of the best lines is, “The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.” In a lighthearted and beautiful way, this statement captures a key insight in my experience with Hatchery LA.

            Not so long ago, Hatchery LA was just a dream and some plans on paper. I received amazing support for this dream here in the PSWR. The main focus was, and is, to plant Common Cause Communities in the South Bay. I get a little emotional when I think about the students who decided to pack up and move to the region to be part of this new adventure. Each has unique perspectives and ways that they want to have an impact on the world. Nathanael Welch wants to raise awareness of the experiences of persons with disabilities and to focus on welcoming their presence, especially in faith communities. Jessika Perez wants to focus on how the table can be a space to share food and stories and can be instrumental in shaping our identities. Kevin Kang is our newest innovator. He wants to focus on developing a ministry for second generation Korean Americans. It's been wonderful to see the students grow personally and find their theological footing. Small moments have carried great significance. Moments like a student giving a first sermon, wrestling with what it means to be a pastor, and feeling warmth and acceptance as newcomers to the Disciples. If the innovators and Common Cause Communities being planted are conceptualized as a pebble, what we've come to realize is that there are meaningful ripples being created.

Innovation
At our core is a three-year learning program for individuals who want to become social transformation entrepreneurs and invest in local communities by launching sustainable Common Cause Communities.

Education
We noticed the first potential for a “ripple effect” as we were developing our students' seminary curriculum. We wondered if it would be possible to provide a meaningful service to local and regional ministers. We were so honored recently to have 50 regional ministers participate with us during our events and receive continuing education units. We're looking forward to continuing to be a valuable educational resource for ministers in the PSWR.

Collaboration
As I've travelled to share about what we're doing at Hatchery LA, I've received a great level of enthusiasm. We've been part of a study group in reimagining theological education. Princeton and Harvard wrote papers about the work we're doing to integrate ministry and social entrepreneurship. I've talked with numerous people and watched their eyes light up. These are people on the ground working in their communities, but who want to benefit from the underpinnings of the program: Theology and Social Entrepreneurship. We recently launched our first certification program with the goal to equip people around the country in the work of transformation.

            There's an old saying that we overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in ten years. Sometimes I have to remind our team and innovators that we didn't even have a logo eighteen months ago. That's the sort of conversation that take place with people who want to be part of imagining and working toward new possibilities for the church. I'm incredibly thankful and see great hope as Hatchery LA looks ahead. 

PSWR Co-Regional Ministers Travel to China with Week of Compassion

In the beginning – October 23, 1939 – the board members of the United Christian Missionary Society came together and sought to call attention to “the appalling distress resulting from the hostilities in China and urge generous support”.  They recommended that the Committee for China Relief serve as the agency for churches in the United States to administer aid.

One of the sources reporting the appalling distress was likely a Disciples of Christ missionary from Illinois, Minnie Vautrin.  Minnie was born in 1886 and received her teacher training at Illinois Normal University and University of Illinois. She attended the University Church and was part of the Bethany Circle – a woman’s church group on campus.  The pastor brought Minnie to the attention of the Foreign Christian Missionary Society (Disciples of Christ) who asked her to consider a teaching position in China.  Minnie arrived in China in 1912, studied the language for a year and began teaching at a small Christian school for girls.  In 1918 she returned to the states to obtain her Master’s degree from Columbia University, and when she returned to China in 1919 she went to Nanjing to help establish the first women’s college- Ginling College. 

There was considerable turbulence within China in the 20’s, but much more serious troubles with Japan began in 1931.  Initially, the violence remained in the north.  But by 1937, China and Japan were officially at war.  As the fighting increased in the south – around Shanghai – refugees moved west towards Nanjing.  Minnie’s diaries, which are kept in the Disciples Historical Society, located at Bethany College, contain her daily reports and observations during this terrible time.  Under Minnie’s guidance, the staff did their best to prepare a “safety zone” for the refugees.  They put a large American flag on the courtyard and anticipated they could house about 2,750 women and children at the college.  At the height of the violence, there were over 10,000 women and children staying on the campus.  There is no doubt that this Safety Zone – and Minnie’s interventions – spared many women and children from brutal attacks by the Japanese.  But she could not save and protect them all.  By May of 1938 it had become “safer” for the refugees to leave the campus, but they had little to return to because homes and crops had been destroyed. Minnie’s spirit had been destroyed as well.  She returned to the states in 1940 to receive treatment for a nervous breakdown.  In 1941 she wrote a letter to her friends saying she preferred death to insanity, and took her own life. 

This tragedy is part of the foundation of Week of Compassion.  The Committee for China Relief has grown into an organization that is able to respond to disasters all over the world of both natural and manmade origins, provide personal and financial resources that support sustainable development, and be an agent of connectivity between those in need, and those who care.  We cannot heal every wound, save every life, or repair every village, but we have no doubts that our outreach ministry is truly the work of Disciples of Christ.   That is who we are.  Thank God.

The 12 members of the Week of Compassion Board will be traveling to China to visit the Nanjing Massacre Museum as well as some of the programs Week of Compassion has supported. Susan, who serves on the WoC Board and myself are privileged to travel on this mission trip to China with Week of Compassion. We will travel from October 16-30.

Every 4-5 years the committee has been able to travel out of the US to actually visit some of the overseas programs.  In 1998 a few members of the committee went to El Salvador – right on the heels of hurricane Mitch.  They were a response team – as they pooled all their money, purchased supplies, hired a truck, and drove over washed out roads, avoiding bandits, to deliver supplies to a remote village.  We hope that our experience will not be as harrowing! 

During this election season – with the focus on the need for transparency – we want you to know that ALL of the expenses in China for WoC Board members are being covered by an anonymous donor.  The flight tickets were purchased by WoC at the remarkable price of $533 – round trip.  That cost is not much more than the cost for people to travel to Indianapolis for a 3-day meeting. 

The group arrives in Shanghai on Oct. 17 and hopes to follow a very full itinerary guided by Dr. Rev. Xiaoling Zhu, the Executive Director of Global Ministries in East Asia.  He has scheduled visits to many Christian organizations, Week of Compassion programs, as well as traditional tourist sites.  In China, we are traveling as tourists, not a religious group. In Shanghai we will visit the China Christian Council, before going to Nanjing where we will see the Nanjing Massacre Museum and then the Terracotta Soldier Museum in Xi’an.  On Sunday 23rd about 13 hours before you gather, we will worship with the Shaanxi Chinese Christian Church, and have lunch with seminary students.  Our next stop is Zhoukou where will have the chance to see the goat project and tree farm supported by WoC.   AIDS has had a devastating impact on small villages in this region because those who had limited income sold their blood – that was gathered with contaminated needles.  The personal impact as well as the stigma has severely limited their ability to support families. 

On the 26th we will travel to Xuchang to visit an orphanage where WoC has provided funds to dig a well deep enough to obtain clean water.  We take a train that afternoon to Beijing where we will meet with the Religious Affairs of the State Administration of China, and the Beijing Christian Council.  We’re scheduled to have lunch at the Yanjing seminary the next day, and in between squeeze in visits to the Great Wall, Summer Palace, and Forbidden City.  

According to this very tight itinerary – we can go shopping on Saturday afternoon!  We return home on Sunday, Oct. 30th –arriving by the clock – 20 minutes before we left!

This is an opportunity to build relationships with our partners in China, and build a foundation of friendship and understanding with the people of China. We will be able to see the work that has been done with the support of Week of Compassion and allow the people in China to put names and faces to some of the Disciples of Christ who care.   We would ask you to offer up some prayers for the safety and health of the travelers on the WoC team.  Lift us up that our hearts and minds remain open and strong.  Send us some courage, stamina, and good humor!  And be prepared to hear our stories.

Together on the journey,
Don and Susan
Co-Regional Ministers, PSWR