october 2015 - Sword of the Spirit NAR

Over 700 people from the Philippines, India, Malaysia, and Singapore a ended the first
ever Asian Region Kairos Youth Conference: Kairos Arise. The conference was held in
Manila, May 27—30 (photo above). For two weeks before the conference, young peo‐
ple from India lived in household in Manilla. John Kea ng (photo at right), the Kairos
director for Asia, issued a s rring call to mission: “Over half of the world’s popula on
lives in Asia; most of them are young people who have never heard the Gospel.”
The Kairos YES! Retreat for high school
students was March 20‐22 this year.
The theme was “The Glorious Image”
and focused on what it means to be a
human being, made in the image and likeness of God.
285 youth and 169 Staff a ended the retreat, repre‐
sen ng communi es and outreaches from all over North
America: from Vancouver to New Jersey, Minnesota and
Toronto to Miami. We even had a number of staff from
interna onal communi es.
Some highlights of the retreat were:
 Excellent plenary sessions
 Great tes monies by high school seniors
 Many made decisions to serve on a GAP year
 An epic talk given on a balance beam
 Guest speakers: North American and interna onal
 A physical bulwark formed by everyone on the re‐
treat, encouraging us to have each other's backs
 Par cipants wrote le ers to themselves that arrived
to their homes about 5 weeks later
The retreat ended with a me of commissioning pray‐
er for those who want to grow in discipleship, live the
Glorious Image in their rela onships at home, and do
mission for the Lord.
The YES Retreat is always in March/April and registra‐
on opens in January. The 2016 YES Retreat is April 1‐3. It
is open to students in 9‐12th grades and 8th graders by
special invita on. Visit www.kairos‐na.org for more infor‐
ma on.
Bethany Association International Conference
The Bethany Associa on of women living single for the
Lord in Sword of the Spirit communi es throughout the
world, held its sixth interna onal conference August 5‐9,
at Gilmary Retreat Center in Coraopolis, PA. Twenty‐three
women (seventeen sisters with lifelong or full commit‐
ments as well as six women discerning state of life) gath‐
ered to seek the Lord together guided by the conference
theme “Hear, O Daughter . . . Listen to Me” (Psalm 45:10)
and to enjoy deepening our sisterhood with one another.
The People of God community generously served as our
hosts and support staff.
“I believe God is doing something great and I feel
blessed to be here,” said one of the women in discern‐
ment who par cipated in the conference. “The Lord has
shown me strong women of character, who despite their
diversity, share in one call from the Lord and voca on. I
thank them for being a living tes mony of for tude,
depth, and joy.”
If you would like more
informa on about Betha‐
ny Associa on, contact
Sherry Snyder, our newly‐
elected Bethany Associa‐
on council president, at
bethanyassocia‐
[email protected].
Photo at right: Sherry Snyder (The Word of Life) and Mae Legaspi (Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon). Brotherhood of Hope: A Profound Pilgrimage
"To walk where Jesus walked, to pray where He prayed, to be with
my brothers following the Messiah where the first disciples
followed Him—it is beyond what words can say." This was Br.
Clinton Reed’s reflec on a er the Brotherhood of Hope made a
pilgrimage recently to the Holy Land. This special gi came through
the amazing generosity of three benefactors during Fr. Philip’s 50th
year of ordina on and the Brotherhood’s 35th anniversary. As Br.
Parker Jordan said: “It was a grace for our whole community to
pray the Scriptures together, to worship together, and to encounter
the Lord in the Holy Land together!”
The brothers doubly rejoiced as Br. Logan Murray and Br. Ray
Morris professed their first vows of consecra on in Nazareth. Br.
Ray shared they were “grateful to profess first vows, but to do so in
the Holy Land, near the very place where the Word became flesh as
Mary offered her full ‘yes’ to God—that is purely a gi from God!”
2
The Brotherhood of Hope
on the Sea of Galilee
Two Communities,
Two Retreats
Gathering Near the Nation’s Capitol
The House of the Lord (Washington, DC) and Triumph of the Cross (Frederick,
MD) communi es get together periodically to build rela onships and jointly
discern what the Lord may plan in the DC/MD/VA area. The last joint gather‐
ing was on March 8, 2015. Leaders from both communi es also have periodic
mee ngs to build brotherhood and sisterhood and coordinate ac vi es.
Work of Christ Day Camp
The Work of Christ Community in Lansing, Michigan, held it 22nd annual sum‐
mer day camp for children in first and second grade. The children gather for
four days in June at a local park and enjoy cra s, nature adventures, and
swimming, along with scripture lessons and prayer. The day camp is staffed
by by adult leaders assisted by junior and senior high community youth.
Morning Star, 40th Anniversary
Morning Star Covenant Community in Jackson, Michigan, celebrated its
40th anniversary this past Spring. On May 9th the community enjoyed
a formal Lord’s Day dinner at Cascades Manor house. Some children
and past members were able to join. On May 16th there was a picnic at
the Cascades pavilion.
3
Beth Melcore, a senior women’s
leader from Ligaya ng Panginoon
community in Manilla, Philippines,
was the guest speaker at two wom‐
en’s retreats: One with God Commu‐
nity (Toronto, ON) on June 13, and
House of the Lord Community
(Washington, DC) on June 27‐28.
Beth Spoke about Having a Mary
Heart in a Martha World. The re‐
treats gave sisters meaningful inter‐
ac on with one another and provid‐
ed vision for life in community.
(Photos below: first is One With God,
second is House of the Lord.
Kairos Fellowship
Kairos Fellowship is the junior‐high
outreach of the Sword of the Spirit.
Over the summer of 2015 Kairos Fel‐
lowship organized two adventure
trips for junior‐high boys.
The first trip was to Isle Royale
Na onal Park for the last week of
June. Twelve boys from New Jersey,
Ann Arbor, and Lansing, along with
six adults made the trek. Isle Royale
is the least‐visited Na onal Park in
the con nental USA; likely because it
is so remote, also because of park
regula ons that try to keep it wild.
The “Appalachian Rendezvous”
was held in late July with boys from
New Jersey, Ann Arbor and Lansing
and a junior counselor each from
Maryland and Lansing. These 18‐year
‐old counselors are great role‐models
for 7th graders and can match their
boundless energy, too!
Summer Mission: Kingdom Builders on the Move
During the past summer, 57 youth and staff represen ng 6 different Sword of
the Spirit communi es and a Wyoming, Michigan, Chris an high school
par cipated in the Kairos Mission Trips program as short‐term volunteers and
ambassadors of God’s love in ac on. We started the summer’s trips in Agua
Prieta, Mexico, along the Arizona border. There, the Po er’s House High
School team consis ng of 19 incoming seniors began the arduous process of
building two homes for families in need. Then, our community‐based teams
took over. First, a boys’ team consis ng of ten young men con nued the
process of building these homes and spending me with local orphans. We
completed our me along the border with a team of nine girls comple ng a
second home and bringing much joy to the same group of orphans in our
annual “Fun in the Sun” events at a local water park. All of our teams in
Mexico learned firsthand what it is like to live among our disadvantaged
brothers and sisters south of the border. We also experienced the beauty and
simplicity of rela onships that mark the reality of deep poverty. Times of
fellowship, birthday par es, observing Independence Day, celebra ng the
Lord’s Days, and hiking through scenic vistas marked our mes together.
We closed out the summer mission trips with a seven‐girl team serving
selflessly in inner‐city Detroit, Michigan. They worked alongside YouthWorks‐
Detroit. There, our team assisted local ministries by providing assistance in
distribu ng food to the homeless in Detroit, a ending AA mee ngs, and
doing service projects for several aging
and recupera ng servants of the poor.
All in all, it was a me to reflect on the
mul ple blessings each of us have
received and to reach outward to
serve the needs of those around us.
God worked through and blessed our
youth in many ways this past summer.
Thank you for your prayers and all
of the ongoing support for these life‐
changing opportuni es.
4
School of the New Evangelization
Saint Paul’s Outreach (SPO) held its na onal School of the
New Evangeliza on (SNE) at the University of St. Thomas
in St. Paul, MN, on August 9‐15, 2015. More than 350
students, campus ministers, and missionaries from SPO
and the Brotherhood of Hope par cipated in the confer‐
ence, which was sold out for the second year in a row.
The theme for SNE15 was “Deep Impact.” Par cipants
were challenged to approach the week with joy and free‐
dom while diving deeper into topics ranging from how to
make me for God and the principles of spiritual growth,
to Igna an spiritual warfare and how to ini ate evange‐
lis c encounters. Featured speakers included recording
ar st Audrey Assad, Fr. Mike Schmitz, and SPO Execu ve
Director Gordy DeMarais.
University Christian Outreach, MD
UCO Maryland has seen the Lord work powerfully in the
past year. At the beginning of the school year, we had
more staff in a endance than students, which was hum‐
bling. As the year progressed more and more students
started coming consistently to events. These students
then began to bring their friends as well!
Two events that had a huge impact on our students
were the Fan into Flame Retreat hosted by UCO Grand
Rapids and Urban Encounter in Detroit. We had such a
large response for both of these trips that we had to rent
12‐passenger vans, which we affec onately named “The
Terravans” in order to accommodate our growing num‐
bers. Several of our students experienced the bap sm in
the Holy Spirit at Fan Into Flame. One students reported
that she experienced more spiritual growth from that
retreat than the past two years par cipa ng in various
other Chris an groups. Another one of our students had a
powerful experience of the Lord this past year. He had
never been bap zed and decided that that was some‐
thing he wanted to pursue. He will be bap zed this fall.
Urban Encounter changed several of our students
a er witnessing the poverty in Detroit. They were
shocked to meet people who had survived horrible, abu‐
sive and dangerous situa ons yet who had so much hope
in God. Our students quickly realized that they were ex‐
tremely blessed and were amazed and called on by the
level of faith these people had. A er that trip, there was
a dis nct a tude change and spiritual growth in our
prayer mee ngs.
Photo above: let the Nerf‐gun war begin. Below: UCO Maryland. 5
Vancouver Youth Go to
the YES Retreat
Nine members of Families for Christ
(Vancouver) Youth Ministry went to
the YES Retreat in March. It was a
record for the community to have
that many a end. They had a won‐
derful Spirit‐filled weekend, and
came back recharged and ready to be
radical for the Lord. Many of them
were excited to share how they ex‐
perienced the Lord, which they did
during the Community Gathering.
The Lovely Commission
In August of 2014, Kairos staffers
Molly Kilpatrick and Mary Rose Giles
launched a website called The Lovely
Commission. The inten on was to
create a space online to inspire and
equip young women to embrace and
promote a culture of Godly feminini‐
ty, a place where women could share
stories of how they are living out
their rich iden ty as daughters of
God and disciples of Christ. The site
has garnered a following of over
6,000 on social media sites and has
established an engaged and growing
base of subscribers. Want to know
more about The Lovely Commission
and read some of the stories we have
published? Visit our website at
www.thelovelycommission.org.
People of Hope Evangelistic Outreaches
This is an exci ng and challenging me we live in and God is calling us more
than ever to share the Good News to the world. Through The People of
Hope’s evangelis c efforts here in New Jersey, we have been striving to
respond to God’s call.
Through our prison ministry, several brothers led a Life in the Spirit
Seminar at a Youth Correc onal Facility. About 16 a ended the weekly
sessions and most of them chose to receive bap sm in the Holy Spirit.
A team of brothers and sisters gave a Life in the Spirit Seminar at local
parish with the help of the prayer group. Around 20 men and women
a ended and received the bap sm of the Holy Spirit.
In the spring, ten couples a ended the Marriage in the Holy Spirit Retreat
and prayed for renewed married life through the commi ng of their
marriages to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Through Marriage in the Holy Spirit,
we have invited couples to community events and have introduced them to
covenant community life.
Through, our outreach, Koinonia Academy, we have been sponsoring
Lord’s Day dinners and invi ng school families to join us for an evening of
prayer, fellowship, and fun.
The Fes val of Praise is an open prayer mee ng held four mes a year,
invi ng all those who a end to serve the Lord through praise and worship,
preaching and witnessing, fellowship and spiritual ministry. Many have been
touched by the leadings of the Holy Spirit during our praise me, through the
talks and witnesses, and through the laying of hands in prayer.
As this is being wri en, the 38th year of Camp Hope is underway, taking
place in the beau ful region of Pennsylvania near Scranton with 96 campers
and 74 volunteer staff members (photos above and below).
6
Motor City Pentecost
Orthodox Pentecost was the occasion to recognize 15
years of Detroit Community Outreach’s (DCO) tes mony
in Detroit. Word of Life Community, so suppor ve over
the years, came into the Motor City en masse to cele‐
brate and hear our stories of outreach and mission.
The focus of our get‐together was on representa ves
from DCO’s ‘New Detroit.’ One was Mary Schaefer, who
grew up in the Work of Christ Community, Lansing, Michi‐
gan. She shared about her four years of challenging but
frui ul service in YouthWorks Detroit. Her life in Motown
makes her want to stay planted here.
Another voice was Detroit’s own Larry Stanley, a resi‐
dent of the neighborhood where DCO got started. He re‐
ceived mentoring through the DCO’s Bezalel kids program
and guidance later in life through various DCO mentors.
Now Stanley is raising his own Detroit family and oper‐
a ng his own business right in the neighborhood where
he grew up. (Photos at le .)
Sword of the Spirit, Seattle
The Lord has con nued to bestow his blessings on our
Sea le community, pouring grace over grace for his peo‐
ple. In the last 6 months the Lord has:  Blessed our LSS and doubled our numbers.
 Brought many visits from Sword of the Spirit members.
 Allowed us to a end several SOS regional conferences.
 Blessed us with brothers from Protestant tradi ons.
 Given us the zeal to take the challenge to work towards
building a UCO chapter with encouraging first steps.
The work con nues and the Lord marches in front of
us. He has indeed been exceeding all of our expecta ons
and guiding us constantly. He is already speaking to us
about the next steps he wants us to work on. We have a
new Life in the Spirit seminar towards the end of August.
He is asking us to solidify our ecumenical calling, to for fy
our outreaches, and to form our members. He keeps
building with us.
As always we encourage you to come and visit us!
SPO/UCO/BH Director Training
In late June, 30 university outreach directors from St.
Paul’s Outreach, University Chris an Outreach, and The
Brotherhood of Hope gathered in DeWi , Michigan for a
me of training, prayer, and fellowship: The Kairos Mis‐
sion Director Days. The men were from all over North
America—represen ng chapters from Vancouver, Bos‐
ton, and Florida… and many loca ons between!
During the mes
of worship, the broth‐
ers had a strong
sense that the Lord
wanted to unite them
as men on mission:
forging of them a
sword He can use in
the days ahead.
7
2015 NAR-PTI
Christian Community
From June 18 through 20, the North
American Region’s Pastoral Teaching
Ins tute (PTI) took place at Eastern
Michigan University in Ypsilan , MI.
This PTI was the last in a series of 8
given each June since 2007. PTI’s pro‐
vide significant teaching for pastoral
leaders working in SOS communi es
and outreaches. This par cular PTI
focused on Chris an Community: the
Biblical call to love one another as
brothers and sisters in Christ and the
par cular expression of that call giv‐
en to the Sword of the Spirit. One
track of this year’s PTI was on men
and women in community. It was
presented by Steve Clark, author of
the defining work, Man and Woman in Christ.
8
The Sword of the Spirit is dedicated to
spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and strengthening Chris an people
(Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox)
through ac ve evangeliza on and by
forming Chris an communi es.
In our youth outreach and community
building work, we encourage men and
women to give their lives fully to Jesus
Christ, prac ce daily Chris an disciple‐
ship, and to zealously proclaim the
Good News of Jesus Christ to others.
The Sword of the Spirit is supported by
charitable contribu ons. Your support
is welcome! Contribu ons to The
Sword of the Spirit are tax deduc ble
in the United States.
Jerry Munk, Newsle er Editor
© 2015 by The Sword of the Spirit
4828 S. Hagadorn Road
East Lansing, Michigan 48823
Telephone: (517) 336‐8530.