Tag Archives: Peace

Devotional

Zechariah’s song: A new day

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Luke 1:67-80

Question for Reflection:
Waiting can be hard. I remember, as a child, waiting impatiently for Christmas morning to arrive so the presents under our tree could finally be opened. Zechariah, too, had been waiting. But what he was waiting for was immeasurably more wonderful than any present under a Christmas tree ever could be. Zechariah was waiting for the promised Messiah, and God did not disappoint. As Advent devotional writer Walt Wiltschek says, “In one angelic message, Zechariah receives everything he could have dreamed of and more.” What are you wishing, dreaming, praying for this Advent season?


Prayer for the day:
God of mercy, giver of Light, like young children on Christmas Eve, we eagerly await the dawning of a new day when the light of your Son will guide us all on the pathway of peace. As we wait, help us become aware of the ways your kingdom is already at hand. Open us to your Presence, send us your Spirit, grant us your Peace. We ask these things in the name of the Light of the World, Christ Jesus. Amen

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Advent Devotional written by Walt Wiltschek, campus pastor of Manchester University. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats) Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Walt’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Devotional

Elizabeth: Buoyed by blessings

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Luke 1:23-25; 39-45

Question for Reflection:
How will you bless the people you meet today with your loving presence?


Prayer for the day:
The unlimited love of your presence blesses me all the days of my life. May your love and peace radiate from me and touch each person whom I meet. Amen.

~ Stan Dueck, Director, Transforming Practices

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Advent Devotional written by Walt Wiltschek, campus pastor of Manchester University. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats) Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Walt’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Youth Peace Travel Team

Camp Blue Diamond through the eyes of the Youth Peace Travel Team

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Camp Blue Diamond: Home of giant swings, wooly-mammoth-snail trail fossils, 24/7 Gaga Ball, and the most awesome 3rd through 5th graders ever! Our week at Blue Diamond could have easily been a real struggle; we had never worked with a group this age, and we weren’t sure how we were going to alter our sessions to be meaningful for a group that was so young.

Even with these concerns, I think that Peace Team achieved having a great week. We talked with each family group about small things that they can do in their own lives to make a big, positive impact on other people and even the world. It was so awesome to see these kids coming up with such great examples of selfless acts that they can do, like donating their time and money to a wide range of causes. It was certainly inspiring and incredible to get to spend so much time with this group of kids and to be able to introduce peace to them at such a young age!

Peace, Katie

Youth Peace Travel Team

YPTT at Camp Pine Lake

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Many of the discussions at Camp Pine Lake focused on how we can use love as a tool for peacemaking. A popular phrase at camp is “breathe in love, breathe out peace.” We repeated this often during times of mediation and allowed it to inspire our actions throughout each activity.

It even permeated the discussion we had about the film, Gracecard, which we watched as a large group. In the move one of the characters tells another that “Jesus works on the streets.” It became apparent that if we breathe in love and breathe out peace, we too may be opening ourselves to see God’s workings everywhere around us, just as Sam did in the movie.

Any week that inspires both love and peace is a good week in my book. Thanks Pine Lake for such an awesome week!

–Molly

Youth Peace Travel Team

Annual Conference 2012 – Youth Peace Travel Team style!

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Annual Conference is something that I always look forward to. Meeting up with friends from around the country, being in fellowship with thousands of my brothers and sisters, and seeing the Spirit move in new and mysterious ways. This year was different for me, however. I was approached several times by people who knew me for my ministry this summer, rather than from them knowing my parents. It was nice to be in a role of leadership within the youth activities that were so important to me as I grew up. I remember the Peace Team coming in, and it was always one of my favorite parts of the week. Being able to go into the youth time and see faces excited to learn what we had to say lightened my heart and reminded me of the reasons I’m here this summer.
Until next time, Kyle

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Arch visits with friends
Luncheons & dinners galore! Yumm!
New friends made throughout the denomination
Business sessions
Annual Conference 2012—Continuing the Work of Jesus: Peacefully, Simply, Together
Learning experience
Congregational vitality was a daily theme
Openness & sharing
Junior high campfire led by Kyle & me
TGIFriday’s with my home congregation
Reconnecting with many old friends
Round tables increased good communication
Excitement
Insight session with Corey Grey
Checking in with mentors Dan & Becky
Met Kyle’s parents for the first time

The previous words and phrases are the ones that come to my mind as I look back on my experience at Annual Conference Last week. –Molly

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Being at Annual Conference was so much fun! It was nice to be in a different setting. I enjoyed it so much! I loved connecting with old friends and making new ones! All the dinners to hear about what is happening in our denomination were awesome! I got the chance to lead a time with the Senior High youth with Katie where we had a guest speaker named Corey Grey. He spoke about his choice to become a conscientious objector while he was in the military. His story was so powerful to me because of the way he was saved. I really like what he had to say.

Blessings till next time, Hunter

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Nervous. That’s the emotion I was feeling as I learned that we would be travelling to Annual Conference this summer. Knowing what had happened at last year’s conference, I was nervous for how interactions would take place. I was nervous for what would take place on the business floor. I was nervous about whether or not everyone’s opinions would be heard. I was nervous for the future of our church.

But as I spent time in business and Insight sessions, as I moved about the exhibit hall, and as I just spent free time in the conference center, my spirit was renewed. People from all walks of life and different faith journeys were sitting down together in open discussions. I saw as both young and older adults felt safe enough to take the floor and share their feelings on a wider range of subjects with their receptive sisters & brothers.

I’m not saying we’ve got it all together yet, and I’m sure that the reconciliation will take time, but I think our denomination is getting there. As I left St. Louis, I had a new feeling toward my Annual Conference experience, and the future of the Church of the Brethren: hope.

Peace, Katie

Youth Peace Travel Team

The Youth Peace Travel Team at Camp Inspiration Hills

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Greetings from Ohio! This week, Peace Team was able to spend time with the Senior High Worship Arts camp at Inspiration Hills. Since we had to lead two Bible Studies each day, we had to think pretty fast on our feet and come up with some new ideas about what we could do.

One way we did this was by creating a whole new session, specific to their camp: Peacebuilding Through the Arts. We talked with the group about how performance can be used to transform conflicts and violence, and we practiced it by creating situations of conflict that the group got to act our and resolve by using “tools” of peacemaking, like understanding, listening, and love.

The session went super well, but the best part didn’t come until the next night at the all-camp campfire session that we led on bullying. Each family group was instructed to intervene in and try to end a scene of bullying that Peace Team acted out. Most groups tried separating Hunter and Molly or having them talk out the conflict. We had predetermined which groups were doomed to fail and which were going to succeed. The Worship Arts kids were supposed to fail, but none of us were prepared for what they were going to do. When they got up, their group had one member act as a German foreign exchange student who felt like getting ice cream would solve the problem. The hilarity of it took all of us aback, and the conflict that had been occurring completely diffused! It was so awesome to see the Worship Arts kids use some of the tools that we had talked about before, and to know that our last minute session truly made an impact!

Peace–Katie

Youth Peace Travel Team

The Youth Peace Travel Team visits Kansas

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What a week it was at Camp Mount Hermon. There are so many things to let ya’ll know about this amazing camp from the fantastic campfires to the wonderful games, and not to mention the awesome teens and counselors. God sure has made His presence known throughout that camp!

Although I want to tell you all the stories from this week of camp, one of my favorites is about pool time. Every day, we drove to the public pool in Tonganoxie, where it was packed. We made a big circle where we talked and hung out, and we came up with a sort of cheer. We would be really loud and yell “WE’RE IN A POOL IN KANSAS!” while we were shaking our arms rapidly in the air! If you haven’t tried this, you should; it’s very freeing!

Camp Mount Hermon was a wonderful start to what I feel is going to be a God-filled and fun-filled summer! Blessings till next time!

–Hunter

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team goes to National Young Adult Conference 2012!

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Molly’s reflections: The past week has been filled with the excitement of meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones at National Young Adult Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee. I knew even before arriving that I would attend worship sessions, workshops, and small group meetings. What I hadn’t expected was being so inspired by other young adults getting involved and making a difference within the denomination. From BVS to Open Table Cooperative and being delegates at Annual Conference, young adults are moving mountains. As we leave conference I am given a new hope for the future of the denomination and how I might be part of it.

Katie’s reflections: Even though we’ve only been to one camp so far, this week was an interesting and enjoyable change of pace as we traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee to be participants at National Young Adult Conference. The daily Bible studies and evening worships were all great, but one worship that has been in my mind since it happened involved feetwashing.

We were told the logistics of the service—you could come up to have your feet washed as you felt comfortable and would the stay at the station to wash the next person’s feet. The group was then left in a moment of silence and contemplation… and I panicked… just a little. The act of footwashing isn’t unfamiliar to me, but I’ve always done it in communities that I was comfortable with, like my church or school, but this was different. I was going to be having my feet washed by a someone I most likely didn’t know, and then I was going to have to wash the feet of still another stranger; that’s a TOTALLY different level of humility, and it made me uncomfortable.

Then, I realized, as I was having my feet washed by my new friend Dylan, that that’s the thing with feetwashing: it should never be “comfortable.” It should be a unique experience each and every time, and we should always strive to take something new from it.

Hunter’s reflections: On the orange and white campus of the University of Tennessee, young adults flocked for a week of rest and fun! I was able to meet so many people and gain so many new friends. I learned so many different things from different worship styles to cool organizations.

NYAC was a great week, but it wouldn’t have if we didn’t have Carol Fike doing all the stuff she did! So a HUGE thanks goes out to her!

Youth Peace Travel Team

Youth Peace Travel Team 2012 orientation

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2012 YPTT

2012 Youth Peace Travel Team

Explorer
Fun
Enthusiastic
Happy

Upon our arrival to Camp Mack for Youth Peace Travel Team orientation, we each chose one of these words as a short self-descriptor and as a way to get to know one another. These words became formative in helping us to better know ourselves, what concepts of peace we stand for, and how we can combine them into how we act and carry out our lives.

As we spent our time in close community over the three days, we have truly become a team who is able to support one another in our growth in these aspects, and we are truly excited to spread peace as our summer journey begins! Peace!

Devotional

Opening Doors

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A Community of Love   2 Chronicles 29: 1-11, 16-19

Prayer for the Day:
To you, O God, we sing your praises and present our prayers. Pour out your Spirit on your people that we may follow a vision you set before us. God, keep our hope centered in Jesus Christ. Grant us peace and strength in our lives so others may partake in the vision of love and joy you offer to all. Amen.

Question for reflection:
In what new ways have others found your congregation to be safe and sacred space?

~ Stan Dueck, Director for Transforming Practices

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent devotional written by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford. (Available from Brethren Press) Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Cheryl’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.