PHASE 2 WEBSITE TAKING WING 

We have great news!

Hard work, perseverance, and Divine grace are bearing fruit. Releasing Ministry Alliance will soon test its phase 2 website, which is interactive allowing:

• ministers to post their own text, videos, and images to describe their ministries;
• people interested in ministry to browse by location and ministry topic and to message ministers; and
• people who wish to support ministries to contribute through PayPal links (set up by ministers) or to send messages to ministers offering other supports, such  prayer, housing, transportation, etc.

Development of the new website parallels conditions faced by many Quakers in ministry. Both Vonn New (Bullshead/ Oswego, NYYM) and Viv Hawkins (Central Philadelphia, PhYM) have been co-founding Releasing Ministry Alliance while carrying their own ministries and engaging paid employment; we “know experimentally” the needs of Friends in non-institutional ministry. With your help, these needs of countless ministers can be better met via Releasing Ministry Alliance’s human network and website, thus, allowing greater faithfulness in the world at-large and releasing more ministry.
Releasing Ministry Alliance welcomes receiving:

• Contact information for ministers who wish to list their ministries with Releasing Ministry Alliance (sign up here);
• Contact information and brief bios of people interested to serve Releasing Ministry Alliance as advisors and liaisons (email releasingministry@gmail.com);
• Contributions to pay expenses of operations and application upgrades to provide additional functionality and grow the network of people interested to offer, call on, and support ministry.
  • Contribute on-line here through The Shalom Center, one of our fiscal sponsors).
  • Checks can be made payable to CPMM at 1515 Cherry St, Philadelphia, PA 19102 with "LifeCalls: Releasing Ministry Alliance" in the memo line.

Throughout Releasing Ministry Alliance’s history, we’ve used the metamorphoses of a caterpillar to a butterfly to represent ministry taking wing, as possible when needed resources and conditions are available. Today, the image that comes to me is of a butterfly bush or a body of water alive with an abundance of butterflies.

WCTS Ministry and Eldering Colloquium

Proceedings of the What Canst Thou Say (WCTS) Colloquium for Ministers and Elders are available for purchase on Lulu.com or portions are available for free download from the WCTS website.    
     
The publication documents a gathering sponsored by WCTS at the Cenacle Retreat Center in Chicago from October 6 – 9, 2017. Twenty-nine experienced ministers and elders from a number of branches of Quakerism enriching the spiritual diversity of the gathering. Prior to the Colloquium, participants were encouraged to read the book, Inner Tenderings by Louise Wilson.

Paul Buckley spoke about “Restoring the Art of Eldering,” at its core: “See the Light, turn toward the Light, follow the Light.” Jennifer Elam tapped into our creativity as we played with clay and then wrote our impressions. Lucy Davenport spoke on “Laying Claim to our Calling” and Dan Davenport offered reflections on “Obstacles to Ministry.” Fernando Freire facilitated a Spirit-led discussion of “Covenanting,” Small groups pondered passages from Jeremiah 31:3134, Hebrews 8:6-13, and the Journal of George Fox on covenants to reflect on their own experience and form covenants from this Colloquium.

Participants marveled at the miracles and mischief of the Holy Spirit manifested among us. Messages expressed: concern about the diminishment of the Christian base of the Religious Society of Friends, signs of renewal among Friends that gave hope, deep trouble because members of the Society of Friends are not surrendering to the Holy Spirit, and a sense of planting seeds and leaving the harvest to God.


Friendly Fire on May 1, 2018

The Friendly Fire Collective is a network of anti-fascist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist Christians. Drawing from Marxist and anarchist political traditions,and grounded in the biblical vision of God’s kin-dom, we believe we are called to create a new world in the ashes of the old. Most of the members have either been involved or are currently involved in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), hence the name “Friendly Fire.” We value Quakerism’s prophetic tradition and mysticism and see this informing how we organize.
 
In the Spirit of International Workers' Day, the collective will be hosting a retreat this May 1-3 in the Philadelphia area. We are gathering over 30 Friends, Christians, and mystics of all faith traditions, in order to strengthen and connect the forming Christian/Religious Left. We will be participating in Philadelphia's May Day demonstrations as well as spending time in the Pine Barrens, worshipping and teaching one another kin-dom praxis.
 
We have more participants than anticipated, and so our funding is a bit low. So far the planning committee has been paying for everything out of pocket, including the scholarships given out. Any and every contribution helps - please consider donating to our GoFundMe!  To learn more about Friendly Fire, visit our website.