Releasing Ministry Alliance Campaign #8

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Releasing
Ministry
Alliance

Supporting Spirit-led service among
the Religious Society of Friends
and beyond

Three Faces of Ministry

An Interconnected Web

Many people understand that Releasing Ministry Alliance serves people who carry a ministry. But that is not the whole story.

Three groups are served - people who:

offer ministry,
receive ministry, or
support a ministry (spiritually and/ or materially).

Together, these three groups, with Divine assistance, form a stable ecosystem. If any of the three are absent, ministry can falter or fail.

A well-functioning faith community connects these groups in an on-going relationship so all may share their blessings.

Releasing Ministry Alliance connects them on a wider scale - across faith communities and the branches of the Religious Society of Friends.

Imagine being able to see a directory of ministries on one website and to invite a ministry to your meeting/ church.
Imagine fulfilling the needs of ministries you wish to support through prayer, funding, home hospitality, etc.
Imagine a minister not being constrained by their own resources but, instead, drawing on an interdependent network.

We imagine this and more. And, except for the website, so did earlier Friends imagine and live out these things as explained in Marty Grundy's article, Ministry and Money from Friends Journal. And so did early Christians as described in the Book of Acts.

Thanks to generous Friends, Releasing Ministry Alliance has raised $8,485 with pledges of another $2,000 toward our $16,000 goal. Other Friends have been offering spiritual accountability, prayer, outreach, and in-kind services.

This support has allowed Viv Hawkins, Vonn New, and friends to publish an informational website, send 8 of these mailings to more than 300 people, present to various Friends' congregations and institutions, produce a publicity video (coming soon), apply for incorporation, and build the fields and structure of the database for ministries.

How are you involved in any of these three faces of ministry? Let us know at our contact page or contribute at the link below.

Donate to Releasing Ministry Alliance

Forward

Check-out an on-line presentation about Releasing Ministry Alliance.

Thanks, Friends Journal, for including in the May 2015 issue a news release about Releasing Ministry Alliance's campaign (available to Friends Journal subscribers)!

All can view Friends Journal's February 2014 article explaining Releasing Ministry .

Featured Ministry

Niyonu Spann and Lisa Graustein have co-facilitated Beyond Diversity 101 (BD101) before, addressing various areas of human diversity. But for the July 19-23, 2015 offering BD101-RACE: Dispelling the Myth of Black Inferiority and White Superiority, they are completely changing the design this training has taken up until this point.

While the values and needs will remain the same - working from the heart and including Spirit - the July offering will invite individuals who identify as black and individuals who identify as white deep into issues of race, racism, and privilege related to race. Time together will be a practicum focusing on patterns learned in the slave trade which persist today in U.S. culture. Body work assists participants to release what no longer serves.

BD101’s purpose is to seek greater wholeness for the individuals involved and the communities and systems of which they are a part. Participants will work in affinity groups (white people in one and and Black people in another) as well as within the full group coming at this transformative work from a place of love, beyond guilt, shame, and blame. More about BD101-RACE or BD101 generally are available at these links.

Niyonu told Viv, "In order to activate the visions that we hold of a truly equitable society we must heal on many levels. This BD101-RACE offers a space for some of that healing so that we may be more effective activists - dismantling white supremacy and ushering in beloved community."

“This is work that we, as Friends, need to be doing,” Lisa said. Because the objective is wholeness, Niyonu and Lisa want the workshop to be accessible to all. The more people are in the circle, the richer it becomes.

We can express commitment to racial justice in many ways: putting our bodies, minds, and souls to work for it; praying; and sharing money as a tool.

Scholarships assist with expenses for the majority of people who attend. Contributions for scholarships can be made through Four Circles Beyond by clicking here and on the Donate button at the bottom of the Beyond Diversity page. You can help give someone the opportunity to say yes and make sure the workshop happens in its fullness. Interested to attend? Applications are due soon.

A Friends Journal author chat about Releasing Ministry with Martin Kelly, Viv Hawkins, and Vonn New.

LifeCalls

440 W Sedgwick St Suite A106

Philadelphia, PA 19119

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