Good day everyone!
As Lay Leader, I wanted to send a message of greeting and encouragement to our community. Your Core Board met last Monday (virtually that is!) and we wanted to share a brief overview of our discussions. We missed seeing everyone over the weekend of April 17th at what would have been the Men’s Weekend, and will miss all of you on the weekend of May 15th which would have been the Women’s weekend. As many of you would already have been praying through the prayer wheel sign-up, I encourage you to take an hour that weekend and spend it in prayer for the teams and candidates that would have been on these weekends, and who will prayerfully make our fall weekend dates.
The board is continuing to plan for the remainder of our schedule this year, praying that we are able to host these various events and weekends. Upcoming dates for our Koinonia Community include:
August 7th: Summer Ultreya. Note. This is a FRIDAY evening. The Ultreya Chairs have looked at a new format and location to the typical event. We are very excited for this event!! Look for more information as the date approaches.
September 18,19,20 and October 16,17,18: These dates have been reserved for the K-137 and K-138 weekends respectively. Our Rectors, Rick Ringenbach and Beth Johnson, along with their teams, are excited, and planning their team meetings for those weekends.
November 6th: The Fourth Day Update following the weekends is scheduled for this date.
December 5th: Finally, our Christmas Ultreya is planned for this date.
During this difficult time, the Core Board has begun two very special programs. The first is a prayer and needs program that serves as an opportunity for members of our community to share any specific prayer requests or needs in a confidential manner. Members of the community may contact Deanna McNutt (deanna.s.mcnutt@gmail.com) or myself (denbob86@yahoo.com) .
The second is a weekly community prayer time via the Zoom platform that will be led by one of our Spiritual Directors. You may join this event by following the link below or calling in by phone at 301-715-8592 and entering the meeting ID number 835 6367 5921.
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83563675921?pwd=aXlYVTFwT3R3OENEa3BuSCtDQXowZz09&fbclid=IwAR0lfv0zjQEFXs1xrxvvPaQdh7aP1SsEhW0IQHAnvQ6l_s0Vji2PrRTj_ME)
We encourage you to get involved in a small group if you are not already. There are some of the groups that are meeting via Zoom and other video meeting formats. It’s really pretty simple, and a lot of fun. If you are not in a group, please call our Group Reunion Chair, Sara Lewis, or myself, and we will get you connected.
I want to close with a quick thought that I had from a devotional I found in my office. The devotional talked about the process of tuning a guitar, or stretching the strings, and how we are stretched in our lives.
I’m sure many of you have seen the troubadours tuning together before a gathering. Beyond the “stretching”, or tensioning of the strings, I think the start of the process is equally important. The process usually starts with the lower “E” string, obtaining that note by using a tuner, internet, piano, etc. It’s the truth we start with, and then tune the remaining strings from that “truth”. Once all the strings are stretched to just the right tension, the music that can be created is beautiful. If there is more than one troubadour, we share that “E”, and that way all of the guitars are as one.
Any ideas how this can translate to a lesson for all of us? Start with the “truth”, God’s word. Make that your anchor as the strings are stretched or tensioned just right in our lives, and the result will be a beautiful sound to those around us, and to our God, during such troubling times as we seem to be facing right now! “We have this hope as an anchor…”. (Heb 6:19). What, or Who is your anchor?
DeColores
Dennis Anderson