Micah's Ministry Newsletter #20 - YAF Gathering 2010; Service Days; Great Plains Yearly Meeting; and Illinois Yearly Meeting

Dear Friends,

More than usual has happened this past month. The YAF gathering came off without any major hitches, followed by volunteer service in the city of Wichita; I attended Great Plains Yearly Meeting; and, not long after that, I was able to join Friends in Illinois Yearly Meeting for their annual sessions. In the meantime, I have also stayed engaged with Friends in the DC area and in Virginia. This has been a full and fruitful time for Christ's work in my life, and I hope that you will forgive me if I run a little long in my report.

To begin with, the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering was held, with divine assistance, over Memorial Day weekend in Wichita, Kansas. Young adults from across the United States and Canada - as well as a few Latin American Friends - came together,  representing twenty three Yearly Meetings. All branches of Quakerism were represented, and Liberal-Unprogrammed, orthodox and Evangelical Friends were present in roughly equal numbers, along with a few Conservative and independent Friends.

Our time together was richly blessed with the sustained and gentle presence of the Holy Spirit who kept us grounded in unity and peace, despite the difficulties we faced as we came together from our different backgrounds, cultures and perspectives. We  sought God's face together in periods of extended unprogrammed worship; we also celebrated God's presence among us with hymns and praise music; and we received teaching from from Dave Williams of Barclay College in two of our evening sessions.

Our different beliefs and practices stretched all of us to seek that which is truly central in our life together as Friends. Some of us were exposed to far more unprogrammed worship than we were used to, while others of us were astonished to see some Friends raise their hands in adoration as we sang songs of praise to the Lord. It is safe to say that each one of us was uncomfortable some of the time, and I know for a fact that some Friends came away from the event feeling that it was a "mostly Liberal" gathering, while others came away feeling that it was an "Evangelical-oriented" conference. I think this speaks to the prophetic power of Christ's work among us. None of us came away unchallenged.

This gathering was a wake-up call for many of us as to the reality  of the divisions within the Religious Society of Friends. The splits, while they may have begun as disputes over seemingly minor points, have grown to a breadth and depth that we are forced to acknowledge that we are incapable of mending the wounds ourselves. It is in this surrender, this recognition of our own inability to save ourselves, that I pray that we will become receptive to the reconciling power of Christ in our hearts and in our midst as a people gathered in His Name.

The weekend gathering was followed by a few days of service. Between a half dozen and a dozen of us who had stayed on after the gathering worked with Mennonite Housing in Wichita. We did landscaping at two different sites, and we were surprised at how happy folks were to see us at Mennonite Housing and in the communities where we were working. We did not expect any gratitude for our brief time of community service, and we were humbled by the appreciation we received.

We were surprised at how simple it was to set up a work-camp for YAFs. Tyler Hampton, the main organizer for the service days, said that setting up the service project was, "the easiest thing [he] had done in [his] life." We would like to encourage young adults to organize their own work camps through established organizations like Mennonite Housing. It can be done - and quite easily.

We concluded our service by helping Friends at Heartland Meeting to prepare their meetinghouse to host the annual sessions of Great Plains Yearly Meeting. About half a dozen of the YAFs from the Memorial Day gathering stuck around for GPYM, and it was a blessing to have their prayerful presence with us as we conducted our business as a Yearly Meeting.

This year's sessions of Great Plains were probably the best that I had ever experienced. We enjoyed new leadership from Laura Dungan, who has taken over as presiding clerk.  Her energy and vision has been indispensable in the past year in mobilizing Friends to  take on the ministry of intervisitation in the Great  Plains region, and it was a joy to see her presiding over her first Yearly Meeting business sessions. I appreciated the discipline I saw her bring to our proceedings, and I felt blessed by both her warmth and her seriousness in the role.

We were grateful to have many guests - YAFs from the recent gathering; visitors from other Yearly Meetings, FGC and FUM; and visitors from neighboring Meetings in the Great Plains region. It was gratifying to see Great Plains Yearly Meeting serving as a bridge across the branches, both nationally and regionally.

We also faced great sadness together as a Yearly Meeting. We were shocked and deeply grieved to learn that our friend John Damon, an active member of Great Plains Yearly Meeting, was dying of a post-op infection following an otherwise-successful liver transplant. We were not prepared for this news, and many tears were shed over our dear friend. John was a valued member of our fellowship, and his loss is a great blow to us.

This year's sessions were a time of letting go for me, personally. As I am now living at a considerable distance from the Great Plains and have no plans to return, it felt right to lay down my leadership roles in the Yearly Meeting. I had served as co-clerk of Ministry and Counsel, as well as serving on Continuing Committee; I stepped down from both of these positions. I feel  much gratitude to Friends in GPYM who have upheld my ministry and have allowed me to serve among them. While I am saddened that I am no longer in a position to take an active role in Yearly Meeting leadership, I am confident in the work that Christ is doing in the Yearly Meeting. The spiritual gifts that Friends need to do the work they are called to are present in the body; I pray for Friends in Great Plains Yearly Meeting the wisdom to be used in God's service.

After a brief trip back to DC, I was once again on the road, this time out to Illinois Yearly Meeting. ILYM has its sessions near McNabb, Illinois, at the beautiful Clear Creek Meeting House. Near the meetinghouse, there is space for camping, six cabins with room to sleep almost fifty, as well as another building (used by the teenagers) that can house many more. In addition to these facilities, Friends were excited last year to acquire neighboring land, including a farmhouse that they have been busily renovating since then. All in all, these Friends have a wonderful facility to host their Yearly Meeting, as well as other events as they see fit.

Having spent such a long time in cities, it was a relief to be in the countryside and out of doors for long periods of time. For me, the site was almost magical; I was mesmerized by the sound of frogs, insects and the wind rushing through the trees, accompanied by the blinking lights of the fireflies that hung in the air throughout the camp site and across the cornfields.

This was a good environment for the ministry that I was called to do. Friends in ILYM asked me to speak to them during their first evening sessions; they asked me to share about my spiritual journey. No further instructions. I spent a lot of time in prayer about what I was to say, and as I arrived early at the Yearly Meeting site, I was beginning to feel around the edges of it. On the morning of the day I was to speak, I felt clear that I had been given a word from the Lord to deliver to Friends.

And so it was. That evening, I shared with Friends about my trials and stumblings as a youth; my existential despair and confusion; my eventual convincement as a Friend; and my long journey, which continues, to grow closer in my walk with Christ. My message ended up being centered around listening, and I asked Friends in ILYM to consider how they taught their young people  to listen for the voice of God in their hearts. Based on the worship that followed and the comments that I received afterwards, I believe that I was faithful.

Except for a workshop which I presented the following day about the North American Young Adult Friends movement, I was mostly free to spend the rest of the sessions in prayer and conversation with Friends. I spent much of my time with the Young Adult Friends (in ILYM called "Adult Young Friends"), and I was grateful to be available to them as they did some discernment around what they are called to as a community within ILYM. I was pleased to hear a vision emerge among them: That their  community was to be a place of transition, aiding young Quakers in the transition to full adult membership and participation in the Yearly Meeting.

It was truly a gift to be with Friends at ILYM's sessions. I felt very warmly welcomed among them, and I look forward to how I might be of service in the future. I have seen that the Lord has blessed them with competent and Spirit-led leadership, and I am confident that God is working out God's purposes in their midst.

The next couple of months are going to be just as intense as the last month has been. I am leaving today for Barnesville, Ohio, to attend the Wider Gathering of Conservative Friends. Following that, I will continue on in Barnesville for QuakerSpring - a unique, completely "unprogrammed" time to gather together in Christ. Finally, after a few days back in DC, I will make my way out to the Pacific Northwest for the Quaker Youth Pilgrimage, where I will serve as one of four adult leaders, serving with almost thirty high-school-aged Young Friends as we discover together our rich heritage as Quakers. I will not be back home until mid-August.

I appreciate your prayers for me as I continue to travel and minister as God leads. I hope that you will continue to hold me in the Light, and that you will let me know if you have prayer concerns that you would like me to take into my prayer life.

Your brother in the family that is Christ's Reign,

Micah Bales

Micah’s Ministry Newsletter #19 - After Months of Prayer and Preparation, YAF Gathering 2010 is this Weekend

Dear Friends of Truth,

This past month has been one of intense, final preparations for the Young Adult Friends Gathering that will take place this weekend in Wichita, Kansas. We on the planning committee have juggled the logistics of food preparation and where to purchase necessary supplies; the ins and outs of insurance regulations; putting  together information packets and nametags; and making plans for housing conference participants. On top of this, we have made a concerted effort to get the word out, so that all YAFs could learn about the conference and consider whether they were being led to attend.

As I write to you today, we still have many details ahead of us: rides to and from the airport, bus station and train station; housing assignments; food preparation; and more. However, despite the details that remain, I feel confident in saying that we are on course. This gathering is happening. The rest is up to God.

It has always been up to God, of course. It was God who brought us together as a planning committee; who gave each of us a heart for this ministry of reconciliation among Friends. It was God who guided us and showed us what our theme was to be - drawing on 1 John 1:1-3 - Bearing Witness to the Word Among Us: Witness,  Testimony and Transformation. It is God who has raised up Dave Williams of Barclay College to be our main speaker; God spoke to his heart, and led him to share of himself and his experience of Christ with Young Adult Friends. It is God who is drawing approximately seventy-five Friends from across North America to come together this weekend in Wichita, to see what love can do - so that we may be witnesses to God's mercy and power, to the ways in which God is working among Friends across the continent.

This is the faith that we on the planning committee had to have in order to stay sane during this planning process: That God is in control, guiding and caring for us as we seek to be instruments for God's purposes. We have sensed God's providence in the way the Spirit has spoken to each of our hearts - not only those of us on the planning committee, but also our speaker, works hop leaders, Bible study leaders, pastoral care team members; indeed, to all of us who will be in attendance this weekend. We have been called together for a purpose, and I am waiting with baited breath to see what God will do with us as we are gathered in God's name.

Please pray for all of us - planners, leaders, participants, young adults and older adults. Pray that we may know Christ's presence in our midst as a community, and that we may be brought into true unity in the Spirit. May God's Word be revealed to us  - let us hear it and see it and touch it, so that we may be witnesses to the whole world of what we have experienced of the Truth.

Your friend in the life and power of the Spirit,

Micah

El plazo de la registracion se acerca para la reunion de Jovenes Amigos 2010

Queridos Amigos,

El plazo de la registración para la reunión de Jovenes Amigos en Wichita se acerca rápidamente. Mientras el evento se acerca me gustaría compartir con ustedes un sentido de nuestro estado espiritual en cuanto a la reunion, y también lo que ésta conferencia significa para el resto de la sociedad religiosa de los Amigos.

Creemos que ésta reunión podría ser el más diverso evento cruz-rama para Jovenes Amigos desde por lo menos los años sesenta. Hasta el día de hoy tenemos, al menos dos registraciones de casi  todas las juntas anuales en norteamérica. Estamos pronosticando que los Amigos de la Iglesia Evangélica Amigos; reuniones pastorales en la Junta Unida de los Amigos; y la Conferencia General de los Amigos van a participar aproxidamente en igual numero. Ésta es una oportunidad increible para todos Jovenes Amigos a reunirse y participar con lo que el Espíritu nos esta llamando a hacer ahora. Me siento bendecido de participar en este proceso.

Nuestra esperanza es que la reunión sea un espacio donde los Amigos de gran variedad de fondos, auto-conocimientos, creencias, e identidades puedan encontrar unidad en aquello que es eterno: El Espíritu de Dios. Es nuestra oración que todos puedan traer a su ser completo, y ser amados y respetados en nuestra comunidad así comos Dios nos ama - sin condiciones.

La conferencia del último fin de semana de mayo ha sido el enfoque de nuestras oraciones para muchos de nosotros por los ultimos seis meses, y nosotros como planificadores estamos agradecidos por el apoyo espiritual que se nos ha brindado así como hemos buscado proveer un espacio seguro y formentador para todos los Amigos. Gracias por sus oraciones, y por favor continúa sosteniendonos en la Luz del Amor de Dios.

Por increible que parezca para aquellos de nosotros en el comité de planificación, la conferencia casi ha llegado. La reunión se llevará acabo en menos de tres semanas – 28-31 de mayo; y éste Sabado - 15 de Mayo - es la fecha plazo para registrarse para el evento. Para aquellos de ustedes entre las edades de 18-35,  esperamos que se unan a nosotros en ésta oportunidad histórica de reunirnos con jovenes cuáqueros de todo norteamérica para descubrir juntos qué puede hacer el amor entre nosotros. Para aquellos de ustedes que estan muy jovenes o muy mayores para asistir – por favor mantengannos en sus oraciones mientras buscamos abrir nuestro ser al gozo, paz, humildad, y a la ternura del Amor de Dios.

Registration Deadline Nears for Young Adult Friends Gathering 2010

Dear Friends,

The final registration deadline for the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita is fast approaching. As the event nears, I would like to share with you where we are at in terms of our sense of the spiritual state of the gathering, as well as what this conference means for the wider Religious Society of Friends.

This gathering may prove to be the most diverse cross-branch event for Young Adult Friends since at least the 1960s. To date, we have at least two registrations in from nearly every Yearly Meeting in North America. We are forecasting that Friends from Evangelical Friends Church; pastoral Meetings in Friends United Meeting; and Friends General Conference will participate in roughly equal numbers. This is an incredible opportunity for Friends from across the spectrum to come together and engage with what the Spirit is calling us to today. I feel very blessed to be a part of this process.

Our hope is that this gathering will be a space where Friends from a wide variety of backgrounds, self-understandings, beliefs and identities can find unity in that which is eternal: the Spirit of God. It is our prayer that everyone who attends the gathering feel able to bring their whole selves, and to be loved and respected by Friends, just as God loves each of us without condition.

The conference this Memorial Day weekend has been the focus of prayer for so many for the last six months, and we as planners are grateful for the spiritual support that we have been given as we have sought to provide a safe and nurturing space for all Friends. Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to hold us in the light of God’s love.

As incredible as it seems to those of us on the planning  committee, the conference is almost upon us. The gathering takes place less than three weeks from today, May 28-31; and this Saturday - 15 May - is the last day to register for the event. For those of you between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, we hope that you will join us for this historic opportunity to come together with other young adult Quakers from across North America to see what love can do in our midst. For those who are too young or too old to attend – please hold us in your prayers as we seek to open ourselves to the joy, peace, humility and tenderness of God’s love.

Micah's Ministry Newsletter #18 - Entering the Home Stretch towards YAF Gathering 2010

Dear Friends of Truth,

I've been on the move a lot this last month. After a time of relative settledness and rest on Capitol Hill, I emerged again this April as I began the final push in the planning of and outreach work for the Young Adult Friends Gathering 2010, to occur this Memorial Day weekend in Wichita. I am currently on the road, visiting Friends in Wichita, having first spent a week in Chicago.

This month's letter was to have begun with a report on the gathering of New York Yearly Meeting's Young Adult Friends. Faith and I had intended to attend their event near Ithaca, New York, in late March. Unfortunately, both Faith and I were struck by sudden illness just before we were to depart. Though we were very sad to miss the gathering, we trust that God has a plan in everything and that the Spirit was present with our beloved brothers and sisters in New York Yearly Meeting during their time together.

The gathering in New York was only one of several regional Young Adult Friends gatherings that have taken place this spring. There were also gatherings held in Philadelphia, DC, and Wichita.  At these events, Friends had the opportunity to engage with the advance materials for the May gathering, prepare themselves for  the event over Memorial Day weekend, and to get to know better other Friends from their area. Turnout for these gatherings was generally small, but we know that many who were not able to attend will be able to engage with the conference materials individually.

Shortly following the DC regional YAF gathering, I boarded a train to attend the Religion Communication Congress (RCC), held in downtown Chicago, April 7-10. It was a really eye-opening  experience to gather with hundreds of other religious communicators, learn about the state of communications among religious organizations across the country, and dig deeper into the emerging technologies and communications strategies that are shaping our intellectual and social landscape. Particularly important for me was learning more about the importance of video as an outreach tool. (To see some fruits of my exploration thus far, click here.)

Following the RCC, I spent several days with Garnet and Eileen Fay. I was very grateful for the warm hospitality they showed me. It was a blessing to accompany Garnet to worship at Chicago  Friends Meeting. My parents were co-pastors at this Meeting back in the late 1970s, and it was good to see the meeting house where they served together just after getting married. It is a very different Meeting now, having become non-pastoral in the mid-1990s. I was glad to get to know these Friends and to share worship with them.

Faith met up with me in Chicago and we took the train together to Wichita, where we spent a weekend with the planning committee for the YAF Gathering 2010. There were seven of us, from across  the United States, who met together to conduct the last major items of business that we had before us as we geared up for the final weeks of conference registration. During the weekend, I spent a lot of my time shooting and editing videos to share our meetings with everyone who couldn't be there in person. You can see the videos on YouTube by searching with the keyword "YAF2010" - or, just click here.

Faith headed home following the committee meetings, but I am staying on in Wichita for another week, specifically in order to be present this weekend at Earlham School of Religion's 50th anniversary celebration at Heartland Meeting House. Yesterday,

I travelled with Charity Sandstrom out to Barclay College. We spoke with the students there about the upcoming YAF gathering, and invited them to participate. The Friends at Barclay were very welcoming and sweet. I felt honored to be among them. Our main speaker for the gathering, Dave Williams, is professor of pastoral ministries and chaplain at Barclay; so we hope to get a good turnout from Friends there.

In the midst of my travels, I managed to launch QuakerMaps.com, a joint project with Jon Watts. QuakerMaps is a site where Friends and seekers from around the world can  discover Quakerism and explore the location of local Meetings and Yearly Meetings through embedded Google maps. We still have a lot of work left to do, but it is coming along nicely. I would encourage Friends Meetings to check out our Active Outreach Program, which we hope will serve local Quaker Meetings in their internet outreach efforts. Also, if you or your Meeting have a website, please consider linking to QuakerMaps.com.

In the month ahead, I will be engaged in the final preparations for the 2010 YAF Gathering. Please pray for me, and for the planning committee, as we seek to be faithful to God's guidance. We believe that God wants to open a welcoming space for Friends from across North America - and across the branches of Quakerism - to come together and know one another in the Spirit of Christ. I am convinced that God is active in guiding and preparing this conference. God is in control, in a very real sense, and I can only look on in awe as the Holy Spirit prepares us for what we are to see, experience and learn this Memorial Day weekend.

Your friend in Love,

Micah Bales

Micah's Ministry Newsletter #15 – Young Adult Friends in Baltimore and New York; Christmas in Kansas

Dear Friends,

Greetings to you in the love and peace of Christ Jesus. In the month since my last newsletter, Faith and I have visited Young Adult Friends in Baltimore Yearly Meeting, traveled to Kansas for Christmas and New Year's celebrations, and attended New York Yearly Meeting's Circle of Young Friends, in western New York state. In our travels, we have felt blessed by an abiding sense of God's love in our lives, and we have sensed that God is at work through us.

Just before Christmas, Faith and I were able to attend the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Young Adult Friends retreat. The weekend event was held at Stony Run's meetinghouse, in the city of Baltimore. We camped out in sleeping bags throughout the building, cooked in Stony Run's large kitchen, and watched as a blizzard covered the Mid-Atlantic in a thick blanket of snow. It was good to connect with Friends from BYM that we had known before, and to make new connections. We spoke to the group about the upcoming YAF gathering in May, and we hope that many of them will decide to make the journey to Wichita.

Just a couple of days later, we were on a plane out to Wichita, to spend Christmas and New Years' with my family. Being back home for the holidays was a real change of pace. I don't think that I had relaxed so much in at least two years. My first instinct is to say, "I did nothing," for a week and a half. But, the truth is that I did quite a bit; but none of it was work. My brother gave me a guitar, and I began to teach myself how to play; I read several books and watched several movies; and I got to have some important time with my parents, who I don't see very often anymore. It was blessed time.

Returning to Washington, though, I had a tough time getting back into my normal routine of ongoing, purposeful work. I felt very behind, having set everything aside for almost two weeks. I felt somewhat adrift after such a long stretch of fallow time. Fortunately, I would soon be given the opportunity to re-engage.

This past weekend, Faith and I drove up to the Beloved Community House, near Ithaca, New York, to attend the New York Yearly Meeting Circle of Young Friends retreat. The Beloved Community House is the site of NYYM's new Young Friends in Residence program, which consists of three (eventually, four) Young Adult Friends who are released by their Quarterly Meeting to live together in intentional spiritual community. The biggest piece of their service to area Friends will be developing and sustaining a Quaker youth program, focusing on middle school and high school aged youth. This program will be modeled to a great degree on the programs of Powell House, but will also develop its own distinctive characteristics as Friends discover the particular needs and gifts of Friends in their region.

We spent the weekend in the house with around thirty other young adult Quakers, guided by Christopher Sammond in a program of listening deeply and intentionally opening ourselves to the Divine. Some of the young people present were not comfortable with the word "God," let alone a Christian understanding of God; however, over the course of the weekend, many hearts were touched by God's Spirit, and great advances were made by the Truth.

The joy of God's presence was palpable among us, and though not all of us acknowledged God in Christian – or even theistic – terms, it was clear to me that we were indeed sharing in communion with Christ through His Holy Spirit. The outpouring of Christ's Spirit that came over us created a space for me to share about the Gospel with a number of individuals, and I was grateful to have a number of those attending approach me and thank me for my presence and contribution during the weekend. One young Friend expressed his thankfulness that I was there to express our experience in Christian terms, “which we in New York Yearly Meeting often shy away from.”

When we talked to Friends in New York about the YAF gathering in May, we received a very energetic and enthusiastic response. One Friend's first reaction was to say, “I can fit seven people in my Suburban – let's go!” By the time the retreat was over, there was some talk of whether it might be a good idea to rent a bus. Faith and I were amazed and grateful for the energy and tenderness of spirit that we experienced with these Young Adult Friends. We look forward to seeing many of them in Wichita, in May.

Finally, this Wednesday, Capitol Hill Friends had its first meeting for worship in 2010. We had a good turnout, with nine people showing up for dinner, Scripture reading, singing, and waiting worship. I feel very heartened at the way that the group is developing, and I believe that a core is starting to emerge. I encourage any of you who are able to make it to our worship to attend, and we would be very grateful to host traveling ministers who feel a burden for building up the Church. Come, and share the Gospel with us! Whether or not you are able to visit us, please pray that God will build us up numerically and spiritually as we dedicate ourselves to the work that the Lord has for us in the city of Washington.

I pray that God bless each of you with an abiding sense of Christ's presence within you, leading you to boldness and freedom in the Truth.

Your friend in our brother Jesus,

Micah Bales

Micah's Ministry Newsletter #14 - Sowing Seeds at Home and Further Afield

Dear Children of Light,

The past weeks have been quite eventful, and we have had a sense that God's work is being advanced. Both here in DC and further afield, God has been very generous in placing us in a position to share the message of the Lord's indescribable love and peace, available to each of us as we open ourselves to it. Faith and I were grateful to have the opportunity to visit Friends at Takoma Park Meeting (Preparative), a short metro ride away - right on the northeastern border between DC and Maryland. Takoma Park is a sweet little Meeting, with perhaps fifteen in attendence when we visited. We felt very honored to be asked to stay after Meeting and share with a group of Friends about our experiences traveling among Friends. It was a joy to share some of our observations with them, as well to hear their perspectives on a variety of issues. We pray that God continue to bless Takoma Park Meeting, calling it into ever-greater spiritual depth as the work of the Holy Spirit brings Friends there into maturity, bestowing all of the gifts of the Spirit upon them.

We have spent a lot of time away from home in the last weeks, and we have felt blessed by those whom we have encountered in our travels. Faith and I spent most of the week of Thanksgiving in Ohio, visiting her family. On our way back to DC, we were able to attend Sunday morning worship at Stillwater Friends Meeting, in Barnesville, Ohio. After worship, Fran Taber and Richard Simon invited us to have lunch with them; we greatly enjoyed their hospitality and warm company, before hitting the road again.

On December 4-6, we flew to Wichita, Kansas, to take part in a planning meeting for a Young Adult Friends gathering. This gathering, which will take place over Memorial Day weekend, 2010, seeks to bring Friends together from across the United States, Canada, and possibly Mexico. This was the full planning committee's first in-person meeting, and I was very pleased with how well we worked together. Almost a dozen of us spent the weekend worshiping, getting to know one another, and seeking God's guidance to make the initial decisions that would guide the rest of our planning process. We were led to adopt the theme: "Bearing Witness to the Word Among Us - Witness, Testimony and Transformation." The accompanying scriptural passage that we felt directed to was 1 John 1:1-3.

I was very excited to see the kind of broad participation that we are getting from YAFs in the Evangelical Friends world early on in the process. Of the twelve members of the planning committee, four are from Evangelical Friends Church; with two from Eastern Region, one from Mid-America Yearly Meeting, and one from Northwest Yearly Meeting. One of our number is from the Conservative Friends tradition (Ohio Yearly Meeting), another is from the Beanite/Independent branch of the Liberal-Unprogrammed tradition (Pacific Yearly Meeting), and another is a member of an FGC Yearly Meeting (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting). Three of us are from the FUM branch of the Orthodox tradition - Great Plains Yearly Meeting, North Carolina Yearly Meeting, and Wilmington Yearly Meeting; and two of us are members of University Friends Meeting, which is dually affiliated with Great Plains Yearly Meeting (FUM) and Mid-America Yearly Meeting (Evangelical Friends Church).

With this kind of diversity on our planning committee, I feel very hopeful that the gathering we are planning can be an inviting space for Friends of all backgrounds - particuarly for pastoral and Evangelical Friends. In the coming months, the planning committee will be doing extensive outreach to Friends across the continent, in a wide variety of Yearly Meetings, seeking maximum participation by Friends from all backgrounds. We would be very grateful for your prayers as we work on the event planning and outreach work that will be necessary to bring together Young Adult Friends from across our geographical, cultural and historical landscape. I am confident that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. I have already seen what a great group of people the Lord has brought together to work on this project, and I am convinced that if we are obedient we will serve God's purposes in the months to come.

Here at home, Faith and I have been doing a bit of local organizing. This past Wednesday, December 9th, we had the second meeting of the Christian worship group that we have been hosting on Capitol Hill. We had a good turnout, with nine individuals in attendence; and our time together was blessed with a sense of joy. Dinner was provided, following which we sang hymns together and read the first two chapters of Luke aloud. Following this time of preparation, we entered into open worship. After about an hour, and several vocal messages, an advice was read aloud. After another short period of silence, the meeting for worship ended with the shaking of hands. I felt very encouraged by the spirit that was present among us as we worshiped together and shared fellowship after worship. Of the nine of us, seven of us were in our mid- to late- twenties, while the other two participants were Baby Boomers. It is my hope that this worship group will serve as a place of spiritual refreshment and encouragement to seekers of all ages and life stages. I also hope that it can be a group in which all attenders are loved and accepted for who they are, even as Christ calls us to go deeper and be transformed in His purifying light.

After our positive experiences hosting this time of worship and fellowship, Faith and I feel clear to begin holding this worship group on a regular basis starting in the new year. Beginning on Wednesday, January 13th, the worship group will meet every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. It is our hope that a solid group might develop over a period of sustained and regular meetings for worship. Please pray for the worship group as it takes its first halting steps. Pray that the group grow, gain in strength and maturity, and be raised up as a body that can be of service to God and our neighbors in the District of Columbia. Please also pray that God spiritually ground and actively teach every person who attends our meetings for worship, that we may all be brought into maturity and empowered to instruct others in the Way of the Gospel.

God bless each of you who read this letter, and may the Lord bless the ministry that God has called you to.

Your co-worker in Christ's labor of love,

Micah Bales

Young Adult Friends Gathering, 2010: Save the date!

To all Friends everywhere,

We are excited to announce that University Friends Meeting is inviting Young Adult Friends (aged 18-35) from across North America to come together Friday, May 28 - Monday, May 31, 2010, in Wichita, Kansas. It is our prayer that this will be a time for Young Adult Friends from a wide variety of Yearly Meetings to gather to worship God, share in fellowship, and grow together in our faith as Friends.

Following the gathering, there will be an opportunity for a shared service project, Tuesday, June 1 - Thursday, June 3. YAFs will work together to let our faith shine, demonstrating our love for the people of Wichita. Finally, Thursday, June 3 - Sunday, June 6, Great Plains Yearly Meeting invites Friends to join them for their annual sessions, also held in Wichita.

We hope that you will join us as we worship God, share in fellowship, and are challenged to serve others as Christ calls us to. Please save these dates, and let other young adults know about this opportunity to deepen our faith together as we are gathered and led by the Holy Spirit.

In God's love,

Karla Moran (Indiana Yearly Meeting)
karlamoran154 hotmail com
Tyler Hampton (Lake Erie Yearly Meeting)
hampton.tyler gmail com
Katie Terrell (Wilmington Yearly Meeting)
katiet fum org
Eileen Kinch (Ohio Yearly Meeting)
ekinch12 hotmail com
Faith Kelley (Evangelical Friends Church - Eastern Region)
ottergirlkelley gmail com
Kate Newlin (Pacific Yearly Meeting)
katenewlin gmail com
Micah Bales (Great Plains Yearly Meeting)
micahbales gmail com
Ruth Lowe (North Carolina Yearly Meeting [FUM])
lowerl guilford edu
Abbie McCracken (Northwest Yearly Meeting)
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Micah's Ministry Newsletter #2

Greetings to you in the Spirit of Christ,

I write to you once again to report on the state of my ministry in Great Plains Yearly Meeting and the wider region of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. I arrived in Wichita in late January, and since that time I have been hard at work meeting with Friends, seeking how I might be of service to them, and encouraging us to listen to the still, small voice of Christ that desires to lead us into all truth, love and justice. Over the past few weeks I have learned a great deal about Friends, about myself, and about the call that I have been given. I have been humbled at many times, but in God’s mercy I have been lifted up again and placed on the path I am to walk. I have seen how limited my own wisdom is and how much I must lean on my Rock and my Foundation in all that I do. I have been reminded time and again that I am nothing, Christ is all – to him be the glory!

My work begins at Heartland Friends

A great blessing came Sunday before last at Heartland’s monthly meeting for business when I learned that an anonymous donor had given a generous contribution to my ministry fund. Thanks to this caring individual, I have just this week been able to take out a health insurance policy, and I plan to get my teeth examined for the first time in quite a while. I am very grateful for the generosity of this Friend, and for all those who support me in this ministry with their encouragement, counsel, financial support, prayers and assistance.

I have been particularly grateful to members of Heartland Meeting who have been willing to serve on a care and support committee for me. Three members of Heartland are coming together with me on a monthly basis to help ensure that I have the emotional, spiritual, financial and social resources that I need to be true to the work that God has called me to. The clerk of this committee, Aaron Fowler, has been especially diligent helping me deepen my understanding of my call and to facilitate prayerful listening and discernment among members of Heartland Meeting. We at Heartland are learning that we must come to unity among ourselves before we can hope to have any corporate witness to offer the wider community. It is my prayer that we will continue to deepen our attentiveness to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our midst and thus be drawn closer together in the love of Christ.

Friends United Meeting General Board

Just a few weeks after my return to Wichita, I was called away to duties far from home. During the second weekend in February, Cliff Loesch of University Friends and I traveled to Richmond, Indiana for Friends United Meeting (FUM) General Board meetings. We gathered together with representatives from yearly meetings and associations from across the United States and Canada to do the business of FUM and to share in fellowship and deep listening to the voice of our Teacher, Jesus Christ. FUM is facing many difficulties right now – financially, theologically, culturally, and spiritually – but I am confident that God’s Spirit is at work in FUM and that God has a plan for us, if we will humble ourselves and be receptive to Christ’s leading.

(For a more in-depth report on my experience at the General Board Meeting, please see my blog post on The Lamb’s War.)

Back in Wichita

While the North American and global connections represented by Friends United Meeting are deeply important to me, I was glad to return to Wichita following the board meetings. There is so much to do here in Wichita, and in the wider region; I feel that I must focus my energy here.

In particular, I have been excited by my meetings with other young adults here in Wichita. Faith and I recently met with a group of young United Methodists who have felt called by God to come together in a neighborhood near mine in Wichita. Based in a house that they have renovated, they are beginning to volunteer in the community and to seek ways to be of service as Christ leads them. It was inspiring to see how God is working in their lives and to think about how many other young people in this country must be also hearing and heeding God’s call. I was also blessed to meet with Paul Fowler, a young man who I grew up with in the Friends of Jesus community. I am impressed at his obvious leadership ability and his heart for seeking truth. I look forward to seeing how he and I can collaborate in deepening the spiritual lives of young people in Wichita and finding ways to reach out to our community in love. Finally, Faith and I recently got the opportunity to spend some time with Adam Monaghan, the youth ministries staff-person for Mid-America Yearly Meeting. Adam is a very sharp young leader and I’m enthusiastic about seeking ways that we can work together in furthering God’s kingdom here in Wichita. The human and spiritual resources in Wichita are immense, and I know that God has great plans for this city. God is already at work here and I only pray that my life can be a small addition to the ongoing action of the Creator.

The Region

Of course, God is at work in places besides Wichita, as well. This Wednesday, Faith and I traveled to Great Bend, Kansas, to visit Jim and Jeanne Pitts in their home. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and sharing about how God is working in our lives. I was happy to hear about how much God has been using Jim and Jeanne in Great Bend, though I was sad to hear their feelings of isolation, being so far from like-minded Friends. We talked about ways they might come to feel more connected to other Friends in the region, including the idea of holding a regular quarterly meeting in Wichita for Friends from the wider region to come together for fellowship, worship, and mutual support. On our way out of town, Faith and I stopped by the Golden Belt bicycle shop to see Doug Chambers, another local Friend. It was good to touch base with him, and we hope to meet together with the Pitts and the Chambers again in the near future. I am praying that God will open the way for me and other Friends to provide support to Friends in Great Bend in whatever way might be most beneficial in building them up and supporting them in their ministry.

Faith and I are looking forward to traveling to Hominy Friends Meeting, in Osage country in Northern Oklahoma on March 20th-22nd. Friends there have invited us to come and help them with their Wild Onion Dinner that Saturday, and they have asked me to lead worship on Sunday. I feel very privileged to be invited to serve Friends in Hominy. I pray that I be open to how God wants to use me, and to how I am to be taught by Friends in Hominy. I am still looking for a traveling companion for this trip; if you feel a leading to accompany me in this ministry, please let me know.

I also have intentions to visit Friends in Manhattan, Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City, as well as in Lubbock, Texas, in the near future. I feel such love for Friends in these meetings, and I cannot wait to be with them. Dates are not yet nailed down for these visits, but it is likely that I will be traveling during the weekend of the 27-29 of March, and the weekend of the 3-5 of April. I am seeking traveling companions for these weekends, as well.

I had intended to visit Friends in Central City, Nebraska this past Sunday. However, Eric Jones, my contact person for that meeting, informed me that the meeting had recently come to clearness that the meeting would indeed be laid down in the near future. Given the present uncertainty in central Nebraska, it was suggested that now would not be a particularly good time for me to visit. I am standing by for more details from Friends in Nebraska to determine how I should proceed and how I could be of most service to Friends there. Please pray for Friends in Central City, Grand Island, and Kearney, Nebraska: that God may show them how they are to walk and empower them to move forward in the grace and power of the Spirit.

Right now

This Sunday, Faith and I will be visiting University Friends. We’ll be going out for breakfast with a number of Friends, and then leading a Sunday school class before worship. I am excited to worship with University Friends again and to listening with them to how God is leading us as a church.

Listening: That’s really at the core of my concern, my ministry. I have been doing a lot of reflecting in the past month, and it is clear to me that in the past I have attempted to give too many details about my ministry. People have wanted specifics, for me to flesh out what I intended to do in the coming months. But the more I sit with it, and the more I open myself to the Truth, the more I realize that I don’t know much of anything. I don’t have a plan.

Here’s what I do know:

*I feel great love for Friends in the Great Plains region of the United States, love that is not mine, but God’s.
*I feel that God has called me to be in this region and wants to use me here for the time being.
*I feel a deep concern for listening: That we be attentive to God’s Word in our hearts and discern together how God is teaching us and leading us as the Church. I believe that God wants me to keep listening, and that God wants to use me to encourage those around me to listen, too.

That’s my ministry. The details are flexible, and God is letting me in on the plan one step at a time – I’ve not been given a big picture, or any sense of what the ultimate result of this ministry might be. If I’m honest, I must say that I know virtually nothing, except these three points that I’ve listed.

This past month, Faith and I have been working part-time doing house-cleaning and renovation work. However, that job will soon be finished. I am presently looking for part-time employment that will be flexible enough that it will not interfere with the ministry I am called to. I have already applied at a coffee shop and at a homeless shelter, and I am investigating other possibilities. Please pray that God will guide me to an employer who understands my need for “tent-making” that will not interfere with the ministry that God has laid on my heart.

I pray that God will continue to humble me so that it may be clear that this ministry is of Jesus Christ, not my own. To him be all glory, honor and praise! Amen.

In love,

Micah Bales