It’s no secret that everything that’s living is either growing or it’s dying. Our spiritual lives are no exception.

The invitation to follow the way of Jesus is an invitation to growth.

Join us for a weekend away from the routines and stresses of daily life. God will be with us to plant seeds, nourish and nurture them, and provide a little fertilizer, too. A bountiful harvest awaits!

The weekend will include good food, engaging conversation, uplifting music, meaningful worship, fun games, plenty of laughter, quiet space for reflection, and free time to relax and enjoy one another in the beauty of God’s Creation.

The details...

Fri-Sun, October 10-12, 2008
- begins with dinner on Friday (6 pm)
- ends following lunch on Sunday

Rockcraft Retreat Center - Sebago Lake

Meredith Manning Brown, retreat leader
Shelley & Mike Tworoger, music leaders

$100 per person suggested contribution
- includes two nights’ accommodations and six meals
- Do not let financial concerns be a factor in whether to attend — assistance is available
- Reduced rates for children. Childcare provided.

Wanna come? Contact us.

Central American Lord's Prayer

Our Lord,
who is in us here on earth,
holy is your name
in the hungry
who share their bread and their song.
Your Kingdom come,
which is a generous land
that flows with milk and honey.
Let us do your will,
standing up when all are sitting down,
and raising our voice when all are silent.
You are giving us our daily bread
in the song of the bird and the miracle of the corn.
Forgive us
for keeping silent in the face of injustice,
and for burying our dreams,
for not sharing bread and wine,
love and the land,
among us, now.
Don’t let us fall into the temptation
of shutting the door through fear;
of resigning ourselves to hunger and injustice;
of taking up the same arms as the enemy.
But deliver us from evil.

Give us the perseverance and the solidarity
to look for love,
even if the path has not yet been trodden,
even if we fall;
so we shall have known your kingdom
which is being built for ever and ever.
Amen.

— Central American Lord’s Prayer

An apple for the teacher

Big Congratulations to Carlie, who's part of our Monday night LIFE Group. She's student teaching, and she got her first apple from a student this week! It's looking a little green from this angle, and maybe not perfectly symmetrical, but it's pretty clear that in Carlie's eyes, this is a precious gift.

We love you as much as your students, Carlie! No -- more! And we're all praying for you and cheering you on as you tackle this big, intense, stressful project...

Apple Picking Photos

We had TONS of fun yesterday picking apples.

You can see the photos bigger here.

Praying for Peace

Today is the International Day of Prayer for Peace, coordinated annually on September 21 by the World Council of Churches, in conjunction with the United Nations International Day of Peace. The objective of the International Day of Prayer for Peace:

"to encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, 21 September, in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women, and children who seek peace in the world."

During our New Light Community Gathering tonight, we spent some time praying for peace in God's world. As we lifted up prayers for specific places of conflict and suffering, we placed stickers depicting doves on a globe. It was distressing, to say the least, to see a globe covered in stickers by the time we finished -- tangible reminders of the great suffering, much of it caused by sisters and brothers inflicting violence on each other, all over this earth God created. I can only imagine how God grieves to see God's children at war with one another.

And so, we pray for peace, and we pray that God will use us as instruments of peace.

Here's a prayer that we shared during our time of worship tonight:

Their plowshares are beat into swords

And now their plowshares are beat into swords – as are ours.
Now their pruning hooks are beat into spears – as are ours.
Not only swords and spears,
but bullets, and bombs, and missiles,
of steel on flesh,
of power against bodies….

And you, in your indignation sound your mantra,
“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
We dare to believe they are the aggressor,
and we are the peacemaker.
Yet in sober night dream, we glance otherwise
and think we may be aggressor,
as we vision rubbled homes,
murdered civilians,
and charred babies.

And you, in our sadness, sound your mantra,
“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
We do not love war,
we yearn for peace,
but we have lost much will for peace
even while we dream of order.

And you, in your hope, sound your mantra,
“Blessed are the peacemakers."
Deliver us from excessive certitude about ourselves.
Hold us in the deep ambiguity where we find ourselves,
Show us yet again the gaping space
between your will and our feeble imagination.
Sound your mantra with more authority,
with more indignation,
through sadness,
in hope… “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

Only peacemakers are blessed.
We find ourselves well short of blessed.
Give us freedom for your deep otherwise,
finally to be blessed,
in the name of the Peacemaker
who gave and did not take. Amen.

— Walter Brueggemann, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003)

Words to live by

"The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us. All our words will be useless unless they come from within. Words which do not give the Light of Christ increase the darkness."

~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Source: Mark Yaconelli: Contemplative Youth Ministry:
Practicing the Presnce of Jesus (Youth Specialties, 2006)

LIFE Groups

This week in our LIFE Groups we're spending some time thinking about what LIFE Groups are all about. Hey, if you're going to be in one, you might as well know what you're getting yourself into, right?

So here's the acronym and a little description for each. (Quick disclaimer: We didn't make up the acronym originally, but we've been using it for a while and we can't remember now where we stole it from. If it was from you, well, we hope you don't mind, and let us know so we can give you props.)

Okay, so here it is:

Live in Community
Living in community means that we share life together, celebrating with one another in times of joy, supporting one another in the challenges of life, and sharing resources – all while considering the needs of the larger community.

Invest in Growth
Investing in growth means that we are faithful to spiritual practices like prayer, meditation, worship, and spiritual reading, both individually and with others, in an intentional effort to grow deeper in our walk with Christ.

Find your Purpose
Finding our purpose means that we recognize that God has blessed each of us with unique gifts, and that as we discover and claim those gifts, and then discern where those gifts can best be utilized, we find our unique purpose in life.

Embrace God’s Mission
Embracing God’s mission means that we strive to be part of what God is doing in the world, aligning our efforts with God’s mission to offer hope where there is despair and light where there is darkness, for the transformation of the world.

LIFE Groups are the hub of New Light. They are the heartbeat, the center, the main thing, the focus of our community life. They build relationships, help people grow deeper in faith, and send people out to serve. As we continue to develop ministry, it will happen primarily through LIFE Groups. Even when we begin a weekly worship gathering, we expect LIFE Groups will be a primary entry point, and if someone comes first to a worship gathering, that's great, but we'll do whatever we can to get them hooked up with a LIFE Group as soon as possible.

So, what do you think? Want to be part of one now? We've got two LIFE Groups going (currently Monday & Thursday, but the Monday one may be switching to Tuesdays), and we expect to be multiplying to three sometime this fall. Feel free to get in touch if you want to learn more...

Light, Jesus, and My Life

As I was reading today's daily scripture reading I came upon this passage about light. I always take a second look when the image of light is used in the Bible...we are called New Light after all.

In the book the Gospel of John, Jesus is talking about his coming death and his time with the disciples before his death. He is the light.

So here are two versions of the passage about light:

John 12 - TNIV

35 Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Those who walk in the dark do not know where they are going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light."

John 12 - The Message

35 Jesus said, "For a brief time still, the light is among you. Walk by the light you have so darkness doesn't destroy you. If you walk in darkness, you don't know where you're going. 36 As you have the light, believe in the light. Then the light will be within you, and shining through your lives. You'll be children of light."

I am fascinated by this idea of walking in darkness. Who does that?! We have electric switches in every room so that we never have to walk in darkness, unless we are obsessively energy conserving. I'm not really sure what exactly Jesus means by darkness, somehow it is opposite of Jesus. What darkness looks like might be different for you than for me. I'm still figuring that one out. Any ideas?

But light I think I have a grasp on. Jesus is light. If we believe, or better said trust, in the light (in Jesus) then we have light in us. I have a lot of respect for the Quaker tradition. One of the ways that they speak of praying for someone is "holding in the light." I really like the idea of God's light living in me and shining out to others. When I allow Jesus to have a place in my life, in the center of my life, then the light that brings to me shines on others...at least in my best moments.

What are your ideas about light or darkness and how we as New Light can truly live as light?

Practical Ideas for Ordinary Radicals

I recently stumbled across a list of things we can do to address social justice issues every day. It reminded me of our random acts of kindness day we had recently. This list was created by the Simple Way community of faith, who focus their lives around loving all people, and living in solidarity with the poor. You can view the whole list and learn more about their community here. The website encourages people to "brew up some holy mischief." I like that idea.

• Go out to eat with someone who is homeless, or invite them to your home or cafeteria to eat with you.
• Learn to sew and begin making your own clothes.
• Write one CEO a month -- affirm or critique the ethics of their company (you may need to do a little research).
• Give your winter coat away to someone who is colder than you are.
• Write only paper letters for a month (go computer free)
• Try sitting in silence for 15 minutes a day.
• Kill your TV -- or go TV free for a year.
• Go down a line of parked cars and pay for the meters that are about to expire... Leave a little anonymous note of niceness.
• Write to one social justice organizer or leader each month, just to encourage them in their work.
• Experiment with a post-oil era by going fuel free for a week -- ride a bike everywhere, carpool, walk or hitchhike.
• Gut your TV and turn it into a pot for a plant.
• Try reading only female writers for a year (since many of our problems seem to be stemming from men).
• Go to a retirement home and ask to visit a few old folks who don't get any visitors.
• Buy only used (thrift) clothes for a year.
• Cover up all brand names, or at least the ones that do not reflect the upside down economics of God's Kingdom.

What do you think? Are there ideas here that you might be willing to try? Which ones seem more radical than others? What impact do you think it would have if we all tried a few of these?

Little Sparks -- Our Kids

We have two amazing and wonderful two year olds that have been a part of our community since the beginning. Rachel and Charlotte keep us on our toes and keep us laughing every time we gather, whether it is for blowing bubbles on Congress Street or quietly meditating as we create art. Usually they just go along with whatever the rest of us are up to, or we adjust a bit to make the situation work for them.

A few months ago Alison and I started a class just for the girls, with the hope that others would join us as well. We call it Little Sparks. They are sure on fire! We aim to share the stories of light and love, the ways of caring for others, and a way of loving God with the little ones -- always trying to speak and act in ways that they can understand on their level.

We gather in borrowed church space in the Immanuel Baptist Church nursery. We have been focusing on the theme of Creation over the past few months, starting with day and night, then animals, and now people. The basic underlying lesson -- that God made them all. (No teaching against evolution to the two year olds or anyone else.) :)

Everyone is having a great time! We had a new friend join us a few weeks ago along with her mom. And now the three of them enjoy the dancing, singing, painting, listening to stories together. Sometimes we spend five minutes on one thing, but typically it is more like two minutes. We just go with the flow.

We hope others will join us as well. What could be more fun?!

Monthly Community Gathering

Last month we had a great Community Gathering at Pine Point Beach. This coming Sunday, September 21, we will have another one. First we're going apple picking, meeting up around 2:00. Then we'll return to Allen & Sara's house to make apple crisp, followed by bring-your-favorite-topping pizza making, and concluding with a time of worship, celebration and meditation.

Doesn't it look fun?!?

Join us Sunday at 2:00 leaving from 31 Sheffield Street. Bring a pizza pan if you have one, as well as your favorite pizza topping! Bring a friend, too!

Quarters from Heaven

Allen shares some thoughts about Saturday's Random Acts of Kindness service day, here. Check it out.

Being a Hyphenated Emergent

I hope you'll check out a really excellent post by Phyllis Tickle, called "Hyphenated Emergents."

We who are part of the New Light community don't get all caught up in labels, but we are striving to live into a completely new conceptualization of what church is, and doing it within the United Methodist context and with a great love and appreciation for the richness of Methodist tradition and witness.

Check out this post and let us know what you think. And while you're at it, visit emergent village to explore more about this whole emergent conversation.

Oh, and one more thing: The Church of the Apostles in Seattle, which Phyllis Tickle references in this post, is near the top of our list of must-visit churches!

We welcome Paul Nixon

Gathering this Thursday, September 11
6:00 pm
Allen & Sara's house: 31 Sheffield Street, Portland

We are so glad to welcome Paul Nixon to Portland and to our New Light community! Paul is the coach with whom we are working as we develop this new community of faith. After his July visit was postponed due to severe thunderstorms in the D.C. area that interfered with air travel, at long last he's with us this week, Wednesday evening through Friday afternoon.

Paul is the pastor of Epicenter Church, a new United Methodist community of faith focused on serving the people who live in the urban expanse of greater Washington DC. Formerly the Director of Congregational Development for the Alabama-West Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church, Paul is the author of several books: Fling Open the Doors: Giving the Church Away to the Community (2002); Healing Spiritual Amnesia (2004); I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church (2007); and a fourth focusing on urban ministry, now in the works.

Prior to his move to D.C., Paul and his son lived for several years on the coast of northwest Florida, where Paul served first on the leadership team of the 4000-member Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church, and then as the founding pastor of Gulf Breeze Church’s east campus, the Community Life Center.

Here's what Paul says about his current ministry with Epicenter, an exciting new church start in the D.C. area: "We are a multi-site church with locations in Arlington, Washington and Silver Spring. We will be launching weekly worship services in Arlington and in Downtown DC beginning in the fall of 2008. We anticipate eventually joining the people from our various sites together monthly for a high-energy Epicenter Celebration, with an eclectic blend of music, other art forms, and faith sharing -- a spiritual Earthquake event, where God shakes us up and sends us out to live out God's dreams for the city."

Be sure to join us for a gathering of the New Light community this Thursday, September 11, at 6:00 pm, at Allen & Sara's house (31 Sheffield Street) where Paul will help us work through some questions and challenges as we continue to develop the ministry of New Light here in Portland. We'll have take-out food, great fellowship, good conversation, and plenty of laughter.

You are Blessed

I don't know about all of you, but there are certain scriptures that I have read so many times that they almost lose their meaning for me, unless they are engaged in a new way. On Sunday I was doing my daily devotions reading "The Beatitudes" and found myself thinking "I've heard all of this before," but didn't feel like it had any significant relevance to me. After all, I don't often consider myself to be meek, or persecuted because of righteousness. So, I turned to The Message, and was really moved by what I read. I'll share it with you here:

Matthew 5- You're Blessed

1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

3"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

6"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

7"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

8"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

9"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

10"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.

11-12"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

I found each line speaking to me, and to the people around me. Often we feel at the end of our ropes, and like we've lost everything important to us, but Jesus says it is at those times when each one of us are blessed. These are the times when, if we allow it, there is more of God and less of us, when we are embraced, and cared for, and when become the proud owners of everything that cannot be bought.

Monthly Worship and Apple Picking

Our next monthly worship gathering will be Sunday, September 21st. We will meet at Allen and Sara's house to 2pm to go apple picking as a group. Following apple picking we will return to their house to make homemade pizzas and apple dessert. (Allen supposedly has a world famous apple crisp recipe!) Bring your favorite pizza topping to share, the basics (crust, sauce and cheese) will be provided.

Can't make it until later? Dinner and worship will begin at 5pm, feel free to join us when you can make it! As usual all are welcome!

First Saturday Service: Random Acts of Kindness

Saturday, September 6
on the streets of Portland!

After taking a little break during July and August, we're ready to start up again with First Saturday Service! Our first event to kick off the fall is going to be a blast!

We'll meet up about 10 am at Coffee By Design (620 Congress Street, Portland) and then head out in groups to commit Random Acts of Kindness -- things like handing out coupons for free cups of coffee, stuffing parking meters, opening doors, picking up trash, maybe giving out quarters for loads of laundry at the laundromat, dropping quarters on the sidewalk, offering free hugs, stuff like that...

We'll plan to end with lunch, and of course, we'll invite find some people who look like they could use a free lunch or a friendly conversation to join us.

Get in on the action and help us spread a little joy on the streets of Portland this Saturday as we commit Random Acts of Kindness!