From Myra

Wellspring Mission Group Reflections and Communiqués

Fall 2009 - We have a Dream

Winter 2009 - Hospitality: Gift of the Holy Spirit

Fall 2008 - And the wall came tumbling down!

Summer 2008 - Being and Becoming

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

· May 2008 - Greening Wellspring

· Fall 2007 - Gratitude as Gift

· May 2007 - Radical Love

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A Blessing for A New Year - 2010

Visit, O Holy One, all places where you reside with the gladness of your presence ~
Bless all who live there with the gift of your love;
And grant that each one may reveal and enflesh your love and justice to the other
and to all whose lives they touch.
May all people grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you;
Guide, comfort, and strengthen us, Creator of light and life and love.
Watch over us and fill us with your peace…..each day, every day, wherever we are.

Amen.

Inspired by the Book of Occasional Services 1994

We have a Dream......

The notes from Wellspring's September visioning time began: "WE GIVE THANKS!" Guided by the capable and creative facilitation of Marjory Bankson, fourteen people gathered to glance over our shoulders at what has been, to examine what is now - and to dream about what might rest beyond this moment - in our future. It was a time of remembering and dreaming, appreciating and calling forth new possibilities.

All of those gathered were family: folks who were somehow connected to a church or mission in the tradition of The Church of the Saviour. Almost everyone who was present noted that they had come to The Church of the Saviour through a Wellspring Event. Folks spoke of how important Wellspring has been as a place for multigenerational work, play and faith sharing.

Almost two months later, we remember with gratitude the joy of sharing with so many of you over the past 36 years - whether you are part of the Church of the Saviour family or another expression of faithful living. As our vision continues to unfold and we dream our dreams, one thing has become crystal clear to us: we are not alone. We have discovered that we need only to reach out, to speak to the need for companionship on the journey and you are there. So what is our dream? In part, it is the continuation of what we
have been doing in 2009 ~ partnering with others to do our part in the work of mending the universe through our events. And then there is the physical plant: buildings that have held our pain and joy, our questions and revelations, our tears and our laughter, our silence and our songs. We yearn to "green" our faithful structures as we continue to repair and renew them.
We know that this place called Wellspring is indeed one of the "thin places" in this world where the veil between humanity and the mystery of creator meet.

Our dreaming and our work keep us rooted in gratitude for this gift entrusted to us. And you are so much a part of that gratitude, for without you, we would have no reason to carry on our dream. As you consider how to spend the sacred gift of your time in 2010, it is our hope that you will join us for one or more of our events.

For Wellspring, for God's grace to serve in and through this "thin place", for our yearnings and our dreams for the future, and for all of you WE GIVE THANKS!

Hospitality: Gift of the Holy Spirit

Each weekend I welcome pilgrims to Wellspring. Though mine is the privilege to speak the words of welcome I know that role of host is not mine alone. In truth, I am just one small part of the extravagant hospitality offered here.

The great host is the One God, who welcomes each guest unconditionally. It is She who provides this place of land, water and air--God's big book of Scripture (as the Celtic Christians taught). God has given life to ten thousand generations of chipmunk and deer, titmouse, vole and hawk, worm, tick, mosquito, oak, moss and lichen who have been preparing a welcome in this very place eons before our time.

There is little we, the human stewards, can do to add to the welcome of this place so gifted by the Holy Spirit. Yet, we seek to touch the heart and all the senses of each pilgrim.

Wellspring founders created simple buildings, with expansive views of nature and steeped in love. We, the mission group have prayed for these pilgrims. We, the staff have done our part to create a welcoming space.

A table with fresh flowers greets them. The kitchens are shining, and the smell of homemade bread awakens feelings of home. The fire is glowing in the hearth. A simple bed, desk and chair are offered each guest.

And so, the welcome table is prepared. Coming through the gate and down the gravel road, pilgrims enter into the gift (some remark that they can feel the calm, the grace of place). The ones who come early see the beauty of the grounds in daylight; the ones who come late enter the mystery of night in the woods. (top of column two)
We invite our readers to join us in offering hospitality through this prayer for the pilgrims that come to Wellspring.

We pray, O God,
grant these pilgrims
rest from their labors.
Grant these pilgrims
release from the concerns that bow them down.
Grant these pilgrims respite
from the demands of culture.
Grant these pilgrims recognition of you
in the Earth Scripture around them.
Grant these pilgrims renewal of spirit
in the community they share.
Grant these pilgrims rebirth
into inspired followers of your way.
Grant that Wellspring may be home and hearth
for a little while.
Grant that Wellspring may be a welcome table
where they meet you.
May each pilgrim know your presence
in whatever language they speak. Amen

~ SQ

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 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+

Being and Becoming

Our group joined in song as we came out of 15 hours in the Great Silence. Slowly, one person after another got up for tea and scones. As the last person rose, a spirit of joy was released. Jokes and good humor and easy laughs were exchanged. We gathered in a tight bunch with our hot mugs, closer together now than at any other time in the event. I did not want that time to end. Was it being alone with the Divine in silence that drove us closer to one another?

For many being silent and waiting for God is a chance to reconnect, to remember who God is. It can be an experience of BEING with the Source of all Being. And, God's grace abounds in the encounter. As I seek to know God, God has guided me to deeper knowledge about who I am. BEING with God leads me to a deeper BECOMING my true self.

This is just one example of the many unpredictable and liberating leadings of the Spirit that seem to grace our Becoming the Gospel events. I want to share these experiences with more and more people. We give ourselves to each other in the four days of the event. We journey together through the inward, outward and community experiences. And the outcome in God's hands is unfailingly surprising and deep.

I have begun asking those I meet, "When is the last time that you took time apart with God? What helped you to sustain your focus on being present in the Presence?" How would you
answer? If it has been a while, why not join us for our up-coming event this fall, or in 2009. Make a date with God. Put it on your calendar, and join us in BEING with God and BECOMING the ones God creates us to be. - Susan Q

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. (continued on column 2)