SOUTHERN OREGON EMERGENT NEWS

Come and join us at RoxyAnn Winery in Medford for a new emergent launch in Southern Oregon. Join us for some open, caring, inclusive, compassionate, purposeful, hopeful and daring conversation, cogitation, and fermentation. The gathering event is called “New Wineskins: An Emergent Evening Conversation.” All comers welcome.

RoxyAnn Winery
Tasting Room
3285 Hillcrest Road
(1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month)
5:00-6:00 PM

Come and join the New Wineskins Conversation on the first and third Tuesday of each month as we go to work on understanding what our new wineskins might look like. It's a new day...in a new way.

We are now gathering our thoughts and conversation around Brian McLaren's provocative, compassionate, and beautifully hopeful book, "A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions that are Transforming the Faith." Brian is once again eloquently articulating the deep longings of countless souls who long for a more compassionate, more inclusive, more embracing and graceful Christianity. Rob Bell invites us to "keep painting." Brian is doing just that--painting with lines of clarity like our best prophets balanced by the gentle yearning brushstrokes of our best poets. Like all great teachers, Brian does not lead us blindly to simplistic answers but takes the arduous and rewarding path of complex and probing questions. Thank you Brian for articulating what so many of us have been feeling.

Come enjoy some fine wine, great conversation, and good company. All are invited.

July 20: Chapter 7, How Should the Bible be Understood?

Here are a few reflections on Brian's new book:

In every way, a dispatch from the front. It is also a love letter of sorts--
 a love letter from an affectionate, but seasoned pastor to those who would
dare to believe, worship, and serve not only now, but also beyond now,
into the rolling, churning decades ahead.
--Phyllis Tickle, author of The Great Emergence

Now and then gifted people emerge who see the situation from a higher
and more helpful level. Brian McLaren is one of those seers.
--Richard Rohr, author of The Naked Now

AMAHORO CHILDREN'S HOME NEWS 

Great news! The first major construction phase of the Amahoro Children's Home is now complete. I was privileged to dedicate the new home on May 1, 2010. What a day of celebration it was! Prayers were offered, tears of joy were shed, blessings were given and received, and laughter was heard far and wide. The children now have a new home that no one can take away. Caleb and Rhita now have a new base of operations to continue their nurturing ministry of care and compassion. And last but not least, the seemingly impossible dream is literally materializing before us. I love the words of St. Francis:

Start by doing what is necessary; 
Then do what is possible; 
Suddenly you are doing the impossible.

I would also like the add that the well has been drilled and I was overjoyed to celebrate the new well by having a "Pumping Party" on May 11 (I will post photos of the celebration soon). It was a joy to behold each child pumping water, while the other children cheered them on. It still gives me chills thinking about it. I want to thank the countless people who made this well possible for these very special children. Waterborne illness is one of the most dangerous killers in Africa. The children at the Amahoro Home now have cold, clean, life-giving water on their property. They are also sharing the clean water with their neighbors. Caleb and Rhita are creating a model for the whole region.

We are now looking to add a Catchment System to the main building and to the restroom building. This will allow them to retain rain water for later use in showers, cleaning, and gardening. This is a very important creation care piece. We would like the Amahoro Children's Home to be an earth-friendly model in the area. If you would like to help us with the Catchment System or with Solar Ovens, please contact me via email or mail a gift to Water's Edge Community Church at P.O. Box 968, Medford, Oregon 97501. All gifts are tax deductible.  

We can and we are making a difference. Come join the joy of making dreams come true. Remember, these are all OUR children.

Note: AMAHORO is the East African word for "PEACE." What a beautiful word for a home for children, who have suffered from abandonment, aids, war, and unspeakable violence. But we must speak. So we will speak words of peace...Amahoro.