Exile

Every 500 years or so, civilization goes through a massive shift. Like tectonic plates moving beneath the earth's surface, civilization encounters seismic shifts in our understanding not only of our world, but also of our very selves. For many, the result is a state of exile that is experienced on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level:

• Physical born of a deep sense of displacement from a known way of being;
• Emotional as increasing demands upon time and person result in exhaustion and utter depletion;
• Mental as creativity is lost under the burden of attempting to maintain unsustainable structures; and
• Spiritual as core identity is challenged by the seduction of an easy fix, a quick way out of our present state of displacement.

Exile involves both pain and loss. It calls us to a place of letting go of one way of being that we might live forward into future that is discontinuous with our past. Given this, one can understand the resistance to acknowledging, let alone entering into, exile.

Yet exile can also be a gift. It can provide a liminal space in which to forge new ways of being that become a means of transformation and renewal. The role and call of community in such times is to seek Shalom. In the words of Jewish prophet Jeremiah, in the Babylonian exile of the sixth century BCE: "Seek the Shalom of the city to which you have been sent in exile, for in their Shalom will be your Shalom" (Jeremiah 29:7). Seeking the Shalom of the community is not immediately a responsibility that most leaders understand inherent to their work. Too often, we confuse the inputs and throughputs of our work with the outputs. We get caught up in the heresy of the urgent, failing to live the questions that lead to new forms of engagement. Yet an increasing number of visionary leaders are exploring ways to produce a triple bottom line of people, planet and profit that is indeed resulting in the Shalom of both community and individual.

Shalom in this context can best be described as wholeness of body, mind, emotions, and spirit for not only the individual, but for the community. The Shalom of which the prophet speaks is not merely an ethereal state of peace, but the economic realization of community-wide prosperity. Taken in this context, Shalom is a social, political and economic reality that seeks the welfare of the whole, not just a few. Indeed, our inter-dependence, be it on a local or global level, reflects the reality that individual Shalom is not possible apart from communal Shalom.

Debbie Rundlett, general presbyter
Deborah@MVPJourney.org 

Holy Habit: Naming the Reality of Exile

Before we can seek the Shalom of the communities to which we have been sent in exile, we need to acknowledge the reality of exile. Take some time to ponder both individually and with others your experience of exile. In what ways have you or are you currently experiencing exile, both personally and as a community. Ponder the reality of:

• Physical exile born of a deep sense of displacement from a known way of being;
• Emotional exile as increasing demands upon time and person result in exhaustion and utter depletion;
• Mental exile as creativity is lost under the burden of attempting to maintain unsustainable structures; and
• Spiritual exile as core identity is challenged by the seduction of an easy fix, a quick way out of our present state of displacement.

Spend time with God in prayer, offering any insights you have received and where appropriate making confession for those times and places where you have allowed exile to displace your relationship with God and through God with others.

PRESBYTERIAN YOUTH TRIENNIUM 2013 

• Preliminary Triennium Information for MVP Youth Leaders and Volunteers

• 2013 Youth Triennium Information

• PYT Participant Information Form - please print and return completed form to Presbytery office

• Participant Medical and Event Release Form - please print and return completed form to Presbytery office

• PYT Participant Packing List

NEED MORE INFORMATION?

On Wednesday, March 6th, 2013 the Office of the General Assembly announced a major restructuring with associated staffing changes.  A press release giving background and information about the new structure can be found at the following link:  http://www.pcusa.org/news/2013/3/6/office-general-assembly-announces-reorgani

We have appreciated your prayers and support through this process.

Peace,

Tom

Thomas D Hay

Director of Operations

Associate for Assembly Operations

Office of the General Assembly

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Help with Hurricane Sandy Recovery

First Presbyterian Church in Wooster Ohio is sending a group to New York City to help with Hurricane Sandy recovery.  We will leave on April 28th and return on May 4th.  Individuals are responsible for their own travel.  The cost is $40 per person per night.  Please contact Bruce Ballantine by email (bballantine@fpc-wooster.org) or phone (330-264-9420) for more information or to join the group.  You must be over 18 years old to join us on this trip.