Communities of Shalom October 2014 Issue of Enews for Sunday, 19 October 2014
Communities of Shalom October 2014 Issue of Enews for Sunday, 19 October 2014
Take Shalom Online this Fall
Registration is open for the next two weeks for our 24-hr introductory course in asset-based community development, offered through Drew’s partnership with Northwind Institute for 2 continuing education units at a reduced program fee of $49 during the Fall Semester 2014 Though not a replacement for onsiteShalomZone Training™ for new sites and shalom teams, Shalom Online does introduce individual participants and potential trainers to the six Shalom Threads and presents some of the workshop skills of Shalom Making. Shalom Online: “Stepping Up from Charity to Sustainable Community Development—the Six Threads of S-H-A-L-O-M”–covers the distinctive, faith-based, “shalom zone approach” to economic community development in urban neighborhoods and rural areas.
By identifying hidden assets and mobilizing internal resources, rather than depending on charity and external inputs, vital communities can be empowered and transformed.
We hope you will consider getting trained on how to start a “Shalom Zone”– a tangible demonstration act of God’s Shalom in the place where you live, work or worship!
Michael J. Christensen, International Director, Communities of Shalom, Drew University
Communities of Shalom—an initiative of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church —is currently based at Drew University where the International Shalom Resource Center is located.
Each year, the national conference of Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) draws more than 3,000 people from around the world and equips them in best practices of Christian community development. International Director of Communities of Shalom, Michael Christensen, led our shalom team in two sessions on “ABCD: Stepping Up to SHAlom” and “FLORISH: The Heart of shaLOM.”
Travis Blackwell, Regional Shalom Trainer for Macon, GA—a “City of Shalom”
Rev. Dave Cooper, Certified National Shalom Trainer from Richmond, VA
Jim Bergdoll, Certified Regional Trainer from Oakland, CA.
Sherrill Austin, graduate of Drew University, starting a community development corporation in NJ
Rev. Ellynda Lipsey, Shalom Coordinator from North Georgia Annual Conference of the UMC
Kay Ayers-Garren, Lexington, SC, ESOL Trainer/Consultant in SC
Michael J. Christensen, International Director, Communities of Shalom, Drew University
Dave Cooper, a National Shalom Trainer and leader of Shalom Makers in Richmond, VA, led us in a training session on community organizing and in an awesome workshop on the “U Path” in Theory U about how to do deep listening and presencing in our planning process to witness the future emerging in our midst.
Jim Bergdoll, a Regional Shalom Trainer in Oakland/Berkeley, led our Shalom workshop on “Defining Your Shalom Zone” and co-facilitated a powerful CCDA-sponsored Action Tank with 15 community developers focused on starting a 30 million dollar low or no interest Loan Fund for housing projects.
International Director of Communities of Shalom, Michael Christensen, led our shalom team in two sessions on “ABCD: Stepping Up to SHAlom” and “FLORISH: The Heart of shaLOM.”
Michael, Noel, Gabe and Jeanette
CCDA Conference plenary sessions on Jeremiah 29 were offered by Noel Castellanos (Executive Director of CCDA), Gabriel and Jeanette Vargas Salguero (co-pastors of the Lamb’s Church of the Nazarene in NYC), Bob Lupton (author of Toxic Charity) and many others.
Our accelerated Shalom Training at CCDA was supplemented by content from CCDA Conference plenary sessions, practical workshops, and electronic resources accessed through Shalom Online at Northwind Institute.
Next Year’s CCDA conference will be in Memphis (November 11-14, 2015) where we will have the opportunity to visit our six Memphis Shalom Zones for an active learning experience. We hope you will plan now to attend.
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Rev. Dr. Javier Viera, New Dean of Drew Theological School and New Convener of National Shalom Committee
By Michael J. Christensen The Dean of the Theological School of Drew University, by governance, is also the convener of the NationalShalom Committee and the immediate supervisor of the Director of Communities ofShalom. He was installed on October 17. Since I will be officially retiring at the end of the year, both as a professor and as the director of theShalom Initiative, I wanted to write this month about the structure of Shalom. READ MORE
The historic, grass-roots, community development ministry network known as Communities of Shalom is supported by a complex organizational structure and multiple constituencies. As a ministry mandate and funded initiative of The General Conference of The United Methodist Church in 1992, Communities of Shalom was first housed at the General Board of Global Ministries in New York City and staffed by a National Director, National Trainers and Program Associates.
A National Shalom Committee, chaired by a Bishop and comprised of denominational stakeholders and members from various jurisdictions, agencies and ministry units, represents the original vision and interests of the founding denomination.
After the governance and fiscal responsibility for Shalom was transferred to Drew Theological School in 2008, a Shalom Resource Center was established on campus to support on-going training, site development, student internships, and prophetic leadership development.
Staffed by a National/International Director and support staff, the Shalom Resource Center at Drew continued to provide ShalomZone Training™, relational support and coaching to shalom teams in over 100 community development sites in the USA and abroad. The National Shalom [Advisory] Committee, chaired by the UM Bishop of New Jersey, is convened by the Dean of Drew Theological School.
Dean Maxine Beach convened the National Shalom Committee and supervised the National Director of Communities of Shalom from 2008-2010. Under her leadership, Communities of Shalom was fully funded and co-branded as a ministry of Drew University and The United Methodist Church.
Dean Jeffrey Kuan became the second convener in 2011, and under his leadership the ShalomZone Training™ curriculum was extensively revised, updated, technologically enhanced and trade-marked. He also regionalized the training and funding structure of Communities of Shalom, and supported its international scope.
The newly installed Dean at Drew, Rev. Dr. Javier A. Viera now inherits oversight of Communities of Shalom in behalf of Drew Theological School in a season of fiscal austerity, downsizing, and organizational restructuring.
Seeking to be responsive to changing times and opportunities in the church and general culture, and proactive about emerging social landscapes, Dean Javier Viera, Bishop John Schol of Greater New Jersey, and I are working together for the future of Shalom at Drew, in the UMC, and beyond.
Dr. Javier Viera
A period of discernment is needed, and consultation with various stakeholders called for, as we anticipate the emerging future of Shalom in the next season of its life and mission. In the meantime, we will seek the shalom of the community where we have been sent, and pray to the Lord in its behalf; for in its shalom, we will find our shalom (Jeremiah 29:7).
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DECEMBER 2
Giving Tuesday
By Michael J. Christensen Mark your calendars now for Tuesday, December 2—a day when our contributions to Communities of Shalom will be matched by United Methodist Global Ministries as part of our annual campaign. For one day only, on December 2, 2014 as part of UMC #GivingTuesday, gifts made to Communities of Shalom through UMC Advance #742566 will be matched dollar for dollar
As we approach the season of Advent and the holiday giving season, UMC #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to celebrate the spirit of cheerful giving by making a donation to Communities of Shalom through The Advance. When you make an online donation on December 2 you will unite with others to maximize our global impact! Our united effort demonstrates how communities can flourish when available assets are mobilized and leveraged resources for the common good.
Communities of Shalom, now in its 23rd year, is a transformative ministry of neighborhood renewal through training coalitions (shalom teams) in asset based community development, community organizing, strategic partnerships, and how to seek health and wholeness (shalom) in the place where you live, work or worship. Based at Drew University, more than 100 community ministries (“shalom zones”) in places like Uganda, Malawi, Haiti, Northern Ireland, Memphis, South Carolina, Georgia, Los Angeles and the New Jersey shore, comprise the global network.
As always, when you give to Shalom through The Advance, 100 percent of your gift directly supports our ministry; overhead costs are covered through other channels. Thank you so much for your annual support and for multiplying your impact by planning now to make a generous gift on December 2.
Shalom, Salaam, Peace
Michael J. Christensen, International Director, Communities of Shalom, Drew University
P.S. Remember to vote with your pocketbook on Tuesday, December 2. When you make an online donation through The Advance at www.umcmission.org/give, your gift will multiply. Global Ministries will match gift funds received online between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on December 2, 2014, EST. Individual projects, like Communities of Shalom, may receive a maximum of $25,000 in matching funds..
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READ MORE
As we approach the season of Advent and the holiday giving season, UMC #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to celebrate the spirit of cheerful giving by making a donation to Communities of Shalom through The Advance. When you make an online donation on December 2 you will unite with others to maximize our global impact! Our united effort demonstrates how communities can flourish when available assets are mobilized and leveraged resources for the common good.
strategic partnerships, and how to seek health and wholeness (shalom) in the place where you live, work or worship. Based at Drew University, more than 100 community ministries (“shalom zones”) in places like Uganda, Malawi, Haiti, Northern Ireland, Memphis, South Carolina, Georgia, Los Angeles and the New Jersey shore, comprise the global network.
strategic partnerships, and how to seek health and wholeness (shalom) in the place where you live, work or worship. Based at Drew University, more than 100 community ministries (“shalom zones”) in places like Uganda, Malawi, Haiti, Northern Ireland, Memphis, South Carolina, Georgia, Los Angeles and the New Jersey shore, comprise the global network.
P.S. Remember to vote with your pocketbook on Tuesday, December 2. When you make an online donation through The Advance at www.umcmission.org/give, your gift will multiply. Global Ministries will match gift funds received online between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on December 2, 2014, EST. Individual projects, like Communities of Shalom, may receive a maximum of $25,000 in matching funds..
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