A prayer for Black History Month

On the first and third Tuesdays of the month, Water the Plants intercessors from across the United States and Canada gather with one another on the phone to pray for new congregations and their leaders, as well as regional and general or racial/ethnic ministries. They are led by a group prayer leader, who also focuses prayers on a theme, whether that’s new beginnings or rejoicing in giving.

At the latest group prayer call, Rev. Anita Cobb, Camp Ministry Committee Chair for the Pacific Southwest Region, led the gathered Disciples in a powerful prayer for emerging churches and their leaders in her region, as well as National Convocation and Black History Month.

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There is a Balm in Chicago

Rebecca Anderson grew up Evangelical, but as a young adult, she didn’t consider herself a religious person.

That didn’t mean she didn’t dip her toes in the waters of different communities of faith.

And then she attended a local church in Boston at the suggestion of a fellow non-religious friend, which changed her life. In fact, she describes the experience as her day of Pentecost.

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Finding faith and community in the margins with Comunidad Limen

“Have you seen the movie Luca?”

Rev. Pedro Ramos Goycolea

Rev. Pedro Ramos Goycolea, the pastor of Comunidad Limen Christian Church, was trying to find the right words that would describe the ministry of his emerging community of faith. As the organizer of the first official Latinx, Spanish-speaking, open and affirming congregation in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he’s often felt compelled to “justify” his theology in the past. And as a father of two young boys, he’s also compelled to watch various animated films. 

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How the church can respond to sexual assault

A condensed version of this post appeared in the April 2022 issue of the New Church Know-It-All.

“Every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted,” according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The Canadian Women’s Foundation reports that sexual assault occurs at a rate of 22 incidents per 1,000 people aged 15 and older.

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