From Myra

Wellspring Mission Group Reflections and Communiqués

Fall 2008 - And the wall came tumbling down!

· Spring 2008 -To Heal a Broken World……
Doing Our Inner Work

· May 2008 - Greening Wellspring

· Summer 2007 - From Myra

· Fall 2007 - Gratitude as Gift

· May 2007 - Radical Love

Fall 2008 ~ And the wall came tumbling down!

A few months ago, Wellspring had the privilege of sharing what we do best with a group of delightful people through one of our Becoming the Gospel events. Not long after the event we received an email from one of the participants telling us that one of the main walls in their church had collapsed! Thankfully no one was buried under the stones.
Though tragic on some level, it would seem that the tumbling wall would raise important questions: "What constitutes church? How much of it has to do with physical structures? How are we to respond when what we believe houses our lives of faith comes tumbling down?" This type of event would certainly provide an opportunity to raise anxiety, for many churches put a great deal of time, talent and treasure into the maintenance of their place of worship. Especially given the state of our economy, a costly capital expenditure to fix one's buildings is not what we hope for. And yet, each time that we are presented with a challenge of great magnitude, we are also provided with the opportunity to plumb the depths of ourselves and our community a bit more intentionally. A church leader preached these words to the congregation about a month after the wall fell:

"This is an important turning point for you as a congregation. Instead of calling it a Passover, you may call it "The Fall" or "The Great Crumbling". Probably for at least the next hundred years, people in [this parish] will look back on the decisions you will make in response to the crumbling of your walls. This is a strategic fork-in-the-road time for the life and mission of [this parish], both exciting and a bit scary."
A bit scary? Hmmmm. As I pondered this part of his message I was reminded of another sermon I'd heard recently, this one at Seeker's Church in August of this year. The preacher that day spoke of how scary the changes that accompany call can be and then she shared a delightful insight: the words scared and sacred differ only through the reversal of two letters!
Scared. Sacred. How do we move from one to the other? I suppose the first question is: "Do we want to move away from our fears?" If we can respond in the affirmative to that question then, perhaps, we need to ask, "When have I been afraid and what has helped me need through that time?"

It has been my experience that when I'm scared I need God more than ever but sometimes rather than living into that I fall into the temptation to control my environment instead.
When the very air that we breathe seems infected with anxiety over war, poverty, the state of the economy and its effect on millions of people, an upcoming election, and so much more, it's no wonder that many people find themselves scared.
It is during days like these that we discover how a place of beauty and respite such as Wellspring is no longer a luxury but rather more of a necessity.
On a good day we may turn to scripture, a meditative walk or a talk with a spiritual director or therapist or trusted friend. At other times we need to actually remove ourselves from the source of our fear, out of this culture of violence and underlying panic to a place where we are invited to drink of tranquility in the source of all life.
In this place that we call Wellspring, we invite you to name your pain and to claim the source of your deepest joy. We invite you to drink deeply from our well of hospitality, to rest from your labors. We invite you to form bonds of community that assist you in doing whatever work of the Spirit you and God have in mind for you. We provide you with a place that creates portals in the reality of our lives for the entrance of the Holy Spirit who longs to do her work of transformation.
Though each one of us is responsible for our own actions, single-handedly, you and I cannot make changes in this world that will give birth to God's justice which is our path to peace. But, corporately, we can hear the call to serve more clearly, we can form bonds of connectivity that will breed justice, life and peace.
And so we invite you to make as many retreats from the craziness of your life as you need to transform the parts of your life that whisper, "I'm scared" to become "I'm sacred." We are here to offer you hospitality and gentle guidance according to your need.
So if the walls of your church or your life feel as though they might come tumbling down, perhaps you can find a way to take some time to rest in God. Relax, renew your spirit. The people in your life are counting upon you to make wise decisions that will serve you and them well into the future.
We are here to support you in your efforts to grow more and more fully into the person that God calls you to be. We are here to help the church to be the church - even when her lovely stone walls come tumbling down.
Scared. Sacred. If you need a place to experience holy rest that will transform the former into the latter, do call us! alhm+

Spring 2008 ~ To Heal a Broken World…Doing Our Inner Work

"A Weekend to Start Fixing the World" This recent headline from the Washington Post referred to a meeting of economic ministers from the world's richest countries. They will try but they will not be able to fix the world and they know it. At best, they will put a Band-Aid on it and temporarily stop the bleeding. Now that millions are starving and food riots are breaking out in many parts of the world, they are getting worried and realize that their management of the world's financial markets is breaking down.

But economic ministers and the administrations that they represent can't heal the broken world because they are breaking the Biblical economic law: "Nobody shall have too little and nobody shall have too much." God prescribed this law of manna through Moses for God's people. It is basic and universal and applies today, especially to the power brokers who run today's economy. Their system will continue to hold for a while, but when too many have too little and too many have too much, which is the case today, it will break down. God's plan of economic justice will prevail in the long run.

We're in this fix today because our leaders are projecting their shadow side on the world. They are not leading from within. God's plan of economic justice is being thwarted because of greed and lust for power. Leaders around the world are foisting their plan of economic and military control, even in the name of democracy, on a world weary of war and poverty and injustice. God's plan has gone awry.

In his book, Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken relates that literally millions of nonprofits, NGOs and missions have sprung up around the world, started and maintained by people following their inner light, their deepest instincts, their true selves. These are people who have done deep inner work and know instinctively the laws of manna. They yearn to heal a broken world by giving of themselves, recognizing deep within that this yearning is a call to share in the building of God's Kindom here on earth, a world that works for everyone.

Most of us in first world countries are so far removed from the suffering in other lands. We are so comfortable and secure that it is difficult for us to see clearly the world's brokenness and how we can be part of the healing that is so desperately called for. More than usual inner work will be required of us. More time will have to be spent on the journey inward, more serious reflection on the deeper truths of God's basic laws, more wrenching confession of the fears, anxieties, and resistance we will encounter on that journey down and into our deepest selves. This is not an easy journey for us who have meekly and blindly bought into the stories of our leaders: stories that portray us as the good guys and those others as the evil ones. We have become steeped in the belief that we are innocent, are not complicit in the world's shortcomings. But as we look inward we realize that we have been misguided by our façade of innocence. As our shadow side becomes visible to us we despair. We are part of a church that is largely silent in the face of war and poverty and injustice. Like the disciples after the death of Jesus, we are scattered and divided and fearful. We don't speak with one voice. We suffer from a failure of courage. We realize that we are, in fact, complicit.

As we struggle with the ramifications of our shadow side, God yearns for us to break free from our despair, to come together and follow the laws of manna and justice and mercy and dreams of a people grounded in God's laws. And so it is, that when we accept the invitation of the Holy One to persist in a life of holy listening to the voice of love, to go down and in through our lives of prayer and reflection, a light begins to shine and new hope dawns.

Skies open
Panoramas emerge.
The universe appears
Enveloped in incandescent hope
With fresh energy
We transcend the inertia of the day
And rediscover love
Pulsating from within the cosmos' hidden heart.
John Conlon

Thus, my friends, the healing begins. - John H. Mohr


	Wellspring Mission Group Reflections and Communiqués Fall 2008 - And the wall came tumbling down! · Spring 2008 -To Heal a Broken World…… Doing Our Inner Work · May 2008 - Greening Wellspring · Summer 2007 - From Myra · Fall 2007 - Gratitude as Gift · May 2007 - Radical Love Fall 2008 ~ And the wall came tumbling down! A few months ago, Wellspring had the privilege of sharing what we do best with a group of delightful people through one of our Becoming the Gospel events. Not long after the event we received an email from one of the participants telling us that one of the main walls in their church had collapsed! Thankfully no one was buried under the stones. Though tragic on some level, it would seem that the tumbling wall would raise important questions: "What constitutes church? How much of it has to do with physical structures? How are we to respond when what we believe houses our lives of faith comes tumbling down?" This type of event would certainly provide an opportunity to raise anxiety, for many churches put a great deal of time, talent and treasure into the maintenance of their place of worship. Especially given the state of our economy, a costly capital expenditure to fix one's buildings is not what we hope for. And yet, each time that we are presented with a challenge of great magnitude, we are also provided with the opportunity to plumb the depths of ourselves and our community a bit more intentionally. A church leader preached these words to the congregation about a month after the wall fell: "This is an important turning point for you as a congregation. Instead of calling it a Passover, you may call it "The Fall" or "The Great Crumbling". Probably for at least the next hundred years, people in [this parish] will look back on the decisions you will make in response to the crumbling of your walls. This is a strategic fork-in-the-road time for the life and mission of [this parish], both exciting and a bit scary." A bit scary? Hmmmm. As I pondered this part of his message I was reminded of another sermon I'd heard recently, this one at Seeker's Church in August of this year. The preacher that day spoke of how scary the changes that accompany call can be and then she shared a delightful insight: the words scared and sacred differ only through the reversal of two letters! Scared. Sacred. How do we move from one to the other? I suppose the first question is: "Do we want to move away from our fears?" If we can respond in the affirmative to that question then, perhaps, we need to ask, "When have I been afraid and what has helped me need through that time?" It has been my experience that when I'm scared I need God more than ever but sometimes rather than living into that I fall into the temptation to control my environment instead. When the very air that we breathe seems infected with anxiety over war, poverty, the state of the economy and its effect on millions of people, an upcoming election, and so much more, it's no wonder that many people find themselves scared. It is during days like these that we discover how a place of beauty and respite such as Wellspring is no longer a luxury but rather more of a necessity. On a good day we may turn to scripture, a meditative walk or a talk with a spiritual director or therapist or trusted friend. At other times we need to actually remove ourselves from the source of our fear, out of this culture of violence and underlying panic to a place where we are invited to drink of tranquility in the source of all life. In this place that we call Wellspring, we invite you to name your pain and to claim the source of your deepest joy. We invite you to drink deeply from our well of hospitality, to rest from your labors. We invite you to form bonds of community that assist you in doing whatever work of the Spirit you and God have in mind for you. We provide you with a place that creates portals in the reality of our lives for the entrance of the Holy Spirit who longs to do her work of transformation. Though each one of us is responsible for our own actions, single-handedly, you and I cannot make changes in this world that will give birth to God's justice which is our path to peace. But, corporately, we can hear the call to serve more clearly, we can form bonds of connectivity that will breed justice, life and peace. And so we invite you to make as many retreats from the craziness of your life as you need to transform the parts of your life that whisper, "I'm scared" to become "I'm sacred." We are here to offer you hospitality and gentle guidance according to your need. So if the walls of your church or your life feel as though they might come tumbling down, perhaps you can find a way to take some time to rest in God. Relax, renew your spirit. The people in your life are counting upon you to make wise decisions that will serve you and them well into the future. We are here to support you in your efforts to grow more and more fully into the person that God calls you to be. We are here to help the church to be the church - even when her lovely stone walls come tumbling down. Scared. Sacred. If you need a place to experience holy rest that will transform the former into the latter, do call us! alhm+ Spring 2008 ~ To Heal a Broken World…Doing Our Inner Work "A Weekend to Start Fixing the World" This recent headline from the Washington Post referred to a meeting of economic ministers from the world's richest countries. They will try but they will not be able to fix the world and they know it. At best, they will put a Band-Aid on it and temporarily stop the bleeding. Now that millions are starving and food riots are breaking out in many parts of the world, they are getting worried and realize that their management of the world's financial markets is breaking down. But economic ministers and the administrations that they represent can't heal the broken world because they are breaking the Biblical economic law: "Nobody shall have too little and nobody shall have too much." God prescribed this law of manna through Moses for God's people. It is basic and universal and applies today, especially to the power brokers who run today's economy. Their system will continue to hold for a while, but when too many have too little and too many have too much, which is the case today, it will break down. God's plan of economic justice will prevail in the long run. We're in this fix today because our leaders are projecting their shadow side on the world. They are not leading from within. God's plan of economic justice is being thwarted because of greed and lust for power. Leaders around the world are foisting their plan of economic and military control, even in the name of democracy, on a world weary of war and poverty and injustice. God's plan has gone awry. In his book, Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken relates that literally millions of nonprofits, NGOs and missions have sprung up around the world, started and maintained by people following their inner light, their deepest instincts, their true selves. These are people who have done deep inner work and know instinctively the laws of manna. They yearn to heal a broken world by giving of themselves, recognizing deep within that this yearning is a call to share in the building of God's Kindom here on earth, a world that works for everyone. Most of us in first world countries are so far removed from the suffering in other lands. We are so comfortable and secure that it is difficult for us to see clearly the world's brokenness and how we can be part of the healing that is so desperately called for. More than usual inner work will be required of us. More time will have to be spent on the journey inward, more serious reflection on the deeper truths of God's basic laws, more wrenching confession of the fears, anxieties, and resistance we will encounter on that journey down and into our deepest selves. This is not an easy journey for us who have meekly and blindly bought into the stories of our leaders: stories that portray us as the good guys and those others as the evil ones. We have become steeped in the belief that we are innocent, are not complicit in the world's shortcomings. But as we look inward we realize that we have been misguided by our façade of innocence. As our shadow side becomes visible to us we despair. We are part of a church that is largely silent in the face of war and poverty and injustice. Like the disciples after the death of Jesus, we are scattered and divided and fearful. We don't speak with one voice. We suffer from a failure of courage. We realize that we are, in fact, complicit. As we struggle with the ramifications of our shadow side, God yearns for us to break free from our despair, to come together and follow the laws of manna and justice and mercy and dreams of a people grounded in God's laws. And so it is, that when we accept the invitation of the Holy One to persist in a life of holy listening to the voice of love, to go down and in through our lives of prayer and reflection, a light begins to shine and new hope dawns. Skies open Panoramas emerge. The universe appears Enveloped in incandescent hope With fresh energy We transcend the inertia of the day And rediscover love Pulsating from within the cosmos' hidden heart. John Conlon Thus, my friends, the healing begins. - John H. Mohr	May 2008 ~ Greening Wellspring As of 2008 Wellspring has a new source of electrical power - the WIND. Through a program of Montgomery County, we have subscribed to 100% renewable wind energy as our power source. The Wellspring Mission Group jumped on this opportunity to put our faith into action and help reduce the devastating effects of global warming. This change is part of ongoing efforts to make Wellspring more energy efficient and to do our part to reduce our carbon footprint. The contributions of our donors continue to help Wellspring increase its energy efficiency and to reduce its carbon emissions footprint. Last year we insulated the ceiling of the main Center, realizing an energy savings in both summer and winter. Every time a light bulb burns out, we replace an old incandescent bulb with a new energy efficient compact fluorescent bulb. As we raise funds beyond our operating budget, we will implement others plans. The next effort on our list is to insulate the cabins. To join us in a national inter-religious response to global warming, promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation contact: The Regeneration Project / Interfaith Power and Light 220 Montgomery Street, Suite 450 San Francisco, CA 94104 Email: info@theregenerationproject.org Telephone: (415) 561-4891 Fax: (415) 561-4892 Web: www.theregenerationproject.org We rely on the Wind of the Spirit as our eternal source of life and power. We rely on renewable wind energy to power our facilities. - Susan Quass Summer 2007 ~ From Myra... I am excited about the new energy in Wellspring Mission Group! I believe the need for nurture and encouragement in the body of Christ is greater than ever before. As I move, I am confident that the winds of the Spirit are blowing in new ways. I pray that readers will continue to return for Wellspring events, invite a Wellspring Team to come to you, send new people for the Becoming the Gospel Event, and follow God's nudges to deepen the inward/outward journey in community where you are. If you would like to be in contact, my email is : mflood7@att.net And my mailing address is: 1030 W Crestview Lane Republic MO 65738 Fall 2007 ~ Gratitude as Gift "Thank you for being you!" The first time that I was the recipient of these words I was suspicious. "What does this guy want from me?" My guard was up. As I listened to what followed, I was disarmed. He really meant what he said. He wasn't trying to get anything from me. He didn't try to change me. His were some of the most healing, affirming, and empowering words that had ever filled my listening ears and heart. My friend and mentor Pete knows how to love others in a way that is life-giving. His words of affirmation were like a magnet for the light within so many whose lives he's touched, assisting us in living a life of integrity and wholeness by being more fully the person God created us to be. His is a rare trait. "Thank you for being you!" These words reflected for me that without changing a thing about myself, I was accepted and valued not for what I did, but because I was a beloved daughter of God. That was different. Everywhere I turned, some ad was telling me how to become more acceptable through using their product. In Pete's world there was no subtext that demanded anything of me. There were no subtle messages that did violence to me through enticement to conform. Instead, I received an invitation to see myself as one who is lovable and capable - just as I am. I could relax in his words of gratitude and blessing. Pete's gratitude offered peace. "Thank you for being you!" There is something astoundingly powerful about nonsentimental and unconditional love. It urges one to seriously consider one's identity. It makes us willing to suffer through the changes that we need to make in order to become more fully the person we were created to be. Pete's way of loving unconditionally, which he learned from associating with Jesus through prayer and people, reminded me of the old adage, "You can't give away what you don't have." Though human and broken just like everyone else, Pete also knew himself as a beloved child of God and was able to share that with others. He created a safe place in which to "become". The results were astounding. Person after person accepted her/his call to serve with confidence in God's faithfulness to lead them through the challenging waters common to living. In the midst of deception and darkness, acceptance kindled the flame we call the light of Christ. In a world of increasing violence, affirmation revealed the Prince of Peace. In a time when relationships touch upon only the superficial, "thank you for being you" made incarnate here and now the intimate, empowering love of Jesus in service to others. At Wellspring we extend to you the same grateful words of blessing. Over the years we have spent a great deal of time supporting one another in the work of becoming the people we were created to be, and it has been an amazing journey together! Without your prayers, presence, and gifts of glorious variety, we would be the poorer. In October we celebrated 35 years of journeying at our Generosity Banquet. It was an amazing time of remembering why we are here and to what we continue to be called. It is both privileged and challenging work and we are grateful to be called to it. Over $20,000 has been pledged/received to date! Our gratitude overflows for all of you who have been a part of this recent ingathering! If you had intended to send a gift of any kind and have not yet done so, please know that we are just beginning this time of celebration and will gratefully receive your gift when the time is right. Generosity, like God, is far reaching and is always on time! Monetary support is a very tangible way in which many of you have echoed the message of Marsha Martie, our speaker at the Generosity Banquet: "Now more than ever, it is critical that Wellspring continue to share its message with the church, the world." Because we have always run our budget on a shoestring, financial support is critical to our ability to move forward. The mission group is energetically renewing our events so that the Spirit's work among us moves freely and with great power in fresh new ways. So it is in anticipation of the joy of listening and discovering, drinking deeply from living water with you that we invite you to our events and encourage you to invite others to join us. Some of the most life-giving ministries in the world began through that spirit of hospitality: one person inviting another to join them on a Wellspring event. As the season of the gift of God incarnate is soon upon us, we wish you light, peace, love, and our heartfelt gratitude for all that you are ~ "Thank you for being you!" ALHM+ May 07 ~ Radical Love "Charity made things worse for the poor." So shared David Hilfiker during our Radical Love event in early May. Acts of charity often supplant the hard work of the gospel imperative, namely, justice. Led by David Hilfiker and Fred Taylor, we were challenged as we reflected upon the power behind our economic system which touches so many within our culture and the world. The connection between violence and profitability was once again "in our faces." Though this kind of hard work can be overwhelming, we didn't stop there, because we claim to be Easter people. And so, we examined together a vision of apocalyptic hope (which by its very nature is only a partial vision!) and where God is calling us to be agents of that hope in our world --- in concrete, practical and loving ways. Given the failure of our present system to adequately address the needs of the poor, what alternative structures might we be called to form and live with in order to be part of the dream of God's reconciling love here and now. We call that "Radical love." This "radical love" is the power of the resurrection lived in the world. And it can be very hard to do. Person after person who tried to do it in isolation reaffirmed our belief that we are always called into interdependent ways of being, making the hard work of being part of community a necessity. And because this is not about my ego or self-interest or yours, but about God's dream for God's people, lived out by you and me and so many others, we need the daily trip to the source of all being in prayer. It was a powerful time that is continuing to reveal new questions, insights and most of all, love. We all know that love begets love. What is God's dream for you and who might be called to share the actualization of that dream with you? Intrigued by any of this? David and Fred are both authors whose work is available through the Potter's House Bookservice, and both have written powerful sermons available through Wellspring. ALHM+


Wellspring Conference Center, 11411 Neelsville Church Road, Germantown, MD 20876 phone: (301) 428-3373, fax: (301) 428-3374 email: missionwel@aol.com