My cooperating kids from Hong Kong days... The Brumleys and the Greens got to spend great time yesterday with Brian and Sara Felushko, who lead the Vancouver church in our family of "Northwest Churches." Even though Vancouver did not "sign" the "Unity Proposal," (well, um, there really wasn't anything to literally sign anyway!), the fact of the matter is that the Vancouver church practices healthy cooperation: 1) they subscribe to the same basic convictions that needed temporary underlining & emphasis in the Plan for United Cooperation (you can find the doc on Disciples Today); 2) they believe in and practice regional synergy, fellowship, and mature accountability--they are dedicated partners in building up the NW leadership group and the NW membership's maturity convictions; 3) while they do not believe that trans-congregational affairs (missions, leadership conferences, etc.) must require that we send regional representatives internationally, I believe they are not opposed to others doing this by any means.
I'm saying all this just because I'm inspired by Brian and Sara's maturity and humility. They came down last weekend to build better partnership between V and Seattle. They have much to offer but have a strong commitment to learning as well. Awesome!
It's hard to imagine congregations staying strong without cooperation--and that's all the old "unity proposal" is: a call to minimum but effective cooperation. We have so much to offer one another! I am reminded of a Sesame Street skit that my kids used to sing, "Co-op-er-ation, makes it hap-pen..."
4 comments:
Hi Scott,
I'm glad to hear of the partnership between Seattle and Vancouver!
Among congregations in the southeast, we have been working together in a wide variety of ways for years (missions, summer camp, evangelism conferences, singles conferences, teen programs, regional leadership meetings, bringing in outside preachers and teachers...). That did not stop four years ago and is going stronger than ever at this point. We continue to be involved in each other's lives, at home and between congregations. All that has continued despite the fact that none of these churches "signed" the unity proposal. It has continued because of our relationships and our common need for each other.
We will be at the ILC in a couple of months. See you there!
Alan Rouse
Central Gwinnett Ministry, Atlanta Church of Christ
Let me try that link for the Central Gwinnett Ministry one more time...
Hi Scott,
Glad to hear that things are going well with Vancouver. Not sure what the UP has to do with it, but it's good to work together. (The Q&A of the UP talks about 'signing up', maybe that's where the idea for signing came from.)
We've also had some success working with other churches. Recently singles from all over the Heartland came here for a weekend of fellowship and fun:
Ministering to the Singles Not Single’s Ministry
We've especially enjoyed working with a Church of Christ in our city, especially with a VBS and preschool.
Vacation Bible School
Hope things continue to go well.
Hi Scott,
Glad to see a blog from you and Seattle. Always good to see how other congregations are doing and what they're thinking.
I'm happy to hear about Seattle and Vancouver. It always seemed to me the UP was put in place because perhaps leaders weren't feeling secure about who/how to partner and fellowship post HKL. Glad to see that everyone's feeling more trustful of each other and that the UP is 'old' and perhaps not really so important anymore and everyone can move on.
I'm hearing from friends in many parts of the country that are partnering not only w/in the ICOC but among RM congregations in their area. It's very encouraging.
toni
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