Maybe Not a Break, but Definitely a Mission!post from the blog, Building Bridges, Building Hope, by Susie Tierney
Mark 6:30-30 Those who had been sent out rejoined Yeshua and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 There were so many people coming and going that they couldn’t even take time to eat, so he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a place where we can be alone, and you can get some rest.” 32 They went off by themselves to an isolated spot; 33 but many people, seeing them leave and recognizing them, ran ahead on foot from all the towns and got there first. 34 When Yeshua came ashore, he saw a huge crowd. Filled with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, he began teaching them many things., 53 After they had made the crossing, they landed at Ginosar and anchored. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized him 55 and began running around throughout that whole region and bringing sick people on their stretchers to any place where they heard he was. 56 Wherever he went, in towns, cities or country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the tzitzit on his robe, and all who touched it were healed. (Complete Jewish Bible).
In this weekend’s Gospel reading, the Apostles have been busy witnessing and teaching, so Jesus invites them to take a break; to rest for little while. They all load into a boat to make their way to a deserted place where they can be alone, but people proceed to follow them on foot and actually arrive before them.
I’m feeling a little bit like Jesus and the Apostles right now! While summer is ordinarily a time when I “climb in my boat” and look for ways to rejuvenate my body and soul, this summer God has had other plans for me.
In April, I accepted the position of Executive Director of JustFaith Ministries. For the last 16 years, I’ve been facilitating and coordinating JustFaith and other JustFaith Ministries programs in the Des Moines, Iowa area. The last seven years of this time has been spent as the Executive Director of the Center for Social Ministry; an organization founded by JustFaith graduates.
From the Center for Social Ministry’s blog, Building Bridges, Building Hope – Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
In this weekend’s Gospel reading, the Apostles have been busy witnessing and teaching, so Jesus invites them to take a break; to rest for little while. They all load into a boat to make their way to a deserted place where they can be alone, but people proceed to follow them on foot and actually arrive before them.
I’m feeling a little bit like Jesus and the Apostles right now! While summer is ordinarily a time when I “climb in my boat” and look for ways to rejuvenate my body and soul, this summer God has had other plans for me.
In April, I accepted the position of Executive Director of JustFaith Ministries. For the last 16 years, I’ve been facilitating and coordinating JustFaith and other JustFaith Ministries programs in the Des Moines, Iowa area. The last seven years of this time has been spent as the Executive Director of the Center for Social Ministry; an organization founded by JustFaith graduates.
The mission of JustFaith Ministries is to build a network of individuals compelled by the Gospel to create a more just and peaceful world. It’s been an honor and a privilege to work alongside some amazing individuals in the Des Moines area who have been doing just that! But, now it’s time to climb in my boat and sail on to JustFaith Ministries where I will be joined by an amazing staff and more than 50,000 individuals who have participated in our programs and have also been changing their communities – changing our world – for the better.
As the incoming Executive Director of JustFaith Ministries, I have three primary goals… The first is to continue the great work Jane Walsh has done over these past five years. Jane has been a wonderful leader and we will greatly miss her on staff! The second is to continue building the network of individuals who are impacting their communities and our world, by continuing to use our programs to educate and form small groups in our Gospel call to live a radical sense of compassion. And, the third is to be a beacon of hope in a time when it is easy to be defeated by the needs of the world; easy to be defeated by the divisiveness in our world. Our programs are designed to cultivate dialogue and are written with the belief that positive change can happen through relationship-building.
In a time when it is very tempting to get in our boats and sail away to a deserted place where nothing will bother us, there is too much in this world in need of healing. Join me as we continue to transform people… who will transform the world.
Susie
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. (From the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV))
Read the rest of the blog post here.
We remember him with affection and thank God for the gift that he was to so many of God's people.
“Justice is what love looks like in public.” (Cornel West)
Living Justly – Caring for Each Other is the second phase of JFM’s brand new JustFaith 24-week program. Available on August 1, this phase can also be experienced as a stand-alone 8-week module. Addressing issues such as racial justice, mass incarceration, homelessness, and social inequities, Living Justly provides tools for an in-depth dialogue around social justice in today’s context. As Christians, how do we understand the interaction, day-to-day, between love and justice? Gather a group and together find the answer!
For more information, visit our page.
Who is the JustFaith Community?
“I am concerned about the poor in the international community. My prayer life has a larger focus for many issues including peace in our world, ecological issues and slavery issues. JustFaith is a terrific outreach – thank you.” Grace from Washington
“I took the very first JF session offered in our community in 2002 and it was 36 weeks. As soon as I was finished with the course, I started volunteering at our local soup kitchen . . . I love the work and the people I serve.” Ruth from Michigan
“My heart is open to the needs of the world and the injustices of the world. JustFaith started a journey of compassion for me and I continue to be committed to this journey.” Chris from Illinois
Join the community today!
Together we can make a better world.
Double the impact of your gift – members of the JFM community have joined together to match every dollar in new donations up to $45,000!
Please donate online or mail your gift to the address below.
JustFaith Ministries is seeking a new Development Manager and a new Marketing Manager. Please see the job announcements and descriptions for more information.
Help the Maryknoll Sisters Provide Education to Girls in Tanzaniashared by our partners at Maryknoll
In many communities in the East African nation of Tanzania, education for girls is neglected, and often actively discouraged, beyond that needed for the role of wife and mother.
Sister Jareen Aquino, M.M., has spent the last five years as a mentor to girls at the Emusoi Centre in Arusha, Tanzania. The Centre provides a basic education, which then makes it possible for the girls to enroll in high school and get on the road to learning, which will provide them with opportunities for better lives.
To learn more about Sister Jareen’s mission work and how you can help click here https://www.maryknollsisters.org/featured-stories/july-appeal/
shared by our partners at Bread for the World
Join us for our monthly Prayer Circle
To support our ongoing fast, “For Such a Time as This” and create community, we invite you to join Min. David Street, Bread’s Grassroots Organizing Deputy Director, for our monthly Prayer Circle call on July 20 at 12:00 p.m. (EDT). This will be a short time of biblical reflection and prayer lifting up Bread’s activists as they advocate back home with their members of Congress about legislation that can end hunger. Those fasting and those not fasting are invited to participate in the prayer circle call.
Register today to receive the instructions for joining the call!
Upcoming JFM Graduate Immersions with Maryknoll
EL SALVADOR, November 30 – December 9, 2018
Deadline for signups: July 30, 2018
See flyer for more details.
For more JustFaith Ministries stories, visit our blogs:
JustFaith Ministries is a nonprofit organization that forms, informs, and transforms people of faith by offering programs and resources that sustain them in their compassionate commitment to build a more just and peaceful world.
From Jack Jezreel-
Last month, JustFaith Ministries lost a dear friend. Gary Becker, who participated in the very first JustFaith group ever offered, championed JustFaith as a national program, and served on the board as co-chairperson, died peacefully at his home in Santa Barbara on June 21. Gary was profoundly impacted by JustFaith and, prompted by the experience, became deeply involved with local homelessness and global poverty. He and his wife, Mary, were very involved with micro-lending efforts in Haiti and have been generous sustainers and agents of peace and justice initiatives of many, many kinds.
I have often described Gary as the Godfather of JustFaith; without his energy (and, man, did he have energy!), persistence, dedication and generosity, I do not know if JustFaith would have ever launched as a national program.We remember him with affection and thank God for the gift that he was to so many of God's people.
Living Justly – Caring for Each Other is the second phase of JFM’s brand new JustFaith 24-week program. Available on August 1, this phase can also be experienced as a stand-alone 8-week module. Addressing issues such as racial justice, mass incarceration, homelessness, and social inequities, Living Justly provides tools for an in-depth dialogue around social justice in today’s context. As Christians, how do we understand the interaction, day-to-day, between love and justice? Gather a group and together find the answer!
For more information, visit our page.
Who is the JustFaith Community?
“I am concerned about the poor in the international community. My prayer life has a larger focus for many issues including peace in our world, ecological issues and slavery issues. JustFaith is a terrific outreach – thank you.” Grace from Washington
“I took the very first JF session offered in our community in 2002 and it was 36 weeks. As soon as I was finished with the course, I started volunteering at our local soup kitchen . . . I love the work and the people I serve.” Ruth from Michigan
“My heart is open to the needs of the world and the injustices of the world. JustFaith started a journey of compassion for me and I continue to be committed to this journey.” Chris from Illinois
Join the community today!
Together we can make a better world.
Double the impact of your gift – members of the JFM community have joined together to match every dollar in new donations up to $45,000!
Please donate online or mail your gift to the address below.
In many communities in the East African nation of Tanzania, education for girls is neglected, and often actively discouraged, beyond that needed for the role of wife and mother.
Sister Jareen Aquino, M.M., has spent the last five years as a mentor to girls at the Emusoi Centre in Arusha, Tanzania. The Centre provides a basic education, which then makes it possible for the girls to enroll in high school and get on the road to learning, which will provide them with opportunities for better lives.
To learn more about Sister Jareen’s mission work and how you can help click here https://www.maryknollsisters.org/featured-stories/july-appeal/
shared by our partners at Bread for the WorldJoin us for our monthly Prayer Circle
To support our ongoing fast, “For Such a Time as This” and create community, we invite you to join Min. David Street, Bread’s Grassroots Organizing Deputy Director, for our monthly Prayer Circle call on July 20 at 12:00 p.m. (EDT). This will be a short time of biblical reflection and prayer lifting up Bread’s activists as they advocate back home with their members of Congress about legislation that can end hunger. Those fasting and those not fasting are invited to participate in the prayer circle call.
Register today to receive the instructions for joining the call!
EL SALVADOR, November 30 – December 9, 2018
Deadline for signups: July 30, 2018
See flyer for more details.
For more JustFaith Ministries stories, visit our blogs:
- Catching Light: a blog by Muriel Schmid, Director of Programs
- Mosaic: a blog by Cory Lockhart
- Still in the Storm: a blog by Joe Grant
- In the Storm Still: a companion blog by Joe Grant
Share this email:
Connect with us:
JustFaith Ministries
PO Box 221348
Louisville, Kentucky 40252,,·United States
***
No comments:
Post a Comment