December 28, 2001
Dear Heart of the City Friends,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! The days of winter have brought a fresh “chill” mixed with a little rain. The weather is beautiful at this time of the year. As we look up at our hill, it’s as if the Creator repainted it with a fresh coat of green. The days are short here on the West Coast, but each morning the sunrise over the Bay reminds us of God’s continued presence amongst us. As I step into the rush of the city each morning, my heart aches for the men drunk on the sidewalk, the addicted looking for their next high, those on public transportation who seem enslaved by their routine. My prayer for this city is that this season be like rain on dry land. May they discover life, life abundant in Christ Jesus.
As the holidays approach, we are realizing how different the urban experience truly is - an experience that we love. The dominant culture and the similarities are few and far between. The corporate section of our city is quite festive, but of course its motivation is that we would come spend our festive dollars. Not quite the meaning of the season. The city however is amazing. All around us we are discovering what and how the world celebrates. As we celebrate Christmas, many of our neighbors celebrate Chanukah, Ramadan, and many ancient pagan rituals. On our hill in particular, the Pagans will celebrate Winter Solstice on the night of December 21, 2001. We are told that this is the longest night of the year.
So by now you may wonder, what’s so great about that? Well, that’s why we are here. God is not threatened by the ways of this world. The Good News rises above all cultures inviting us to new life, hope and a new way. The greatest challenge for us is to rediscover the treasure of the Good News without the hang-ups of our own culture.
On December 2, 2001 we experienced a taste of what that might be! We gathered for our first Festival of Faith Communities. Over the past six months we have seen three Faith Communities birthed and we have partnered with two existing Communities of Faith. Each community is located in a different neighborhood of the city, and is made up of 20 or so individuals from different cultures and backgrounds.
As we gathered for our first citywide gathering we experienced so many new things. The evening was hosted by the Free Methodist Church building in our neighborhood. We arrived at 5PM for a dinner. As we set up for the dinner, the tables were empty. We wondered if we would have food at all. No advertising, and no phone calls had been made. We simply believed that our Faith Communities would be the vessel. Within a few short minutes the room began to crowd, the volume of conversation filled the air and quickly the smells of some of the great Chinese, Indian, Latin and American food filled our senses. As we looked around the room, we caught a glimpse of what Jesus meant when he compared the Kingdom to a Mustard Seed. Even small things can be like the Kingdom of God. All around us were over 120 people connected to one of the five Faith Communities represented at the festival.
After the meal we moved into a beautiful ornate sanctuary that was built nearly 100 years ago. We quickly filled the room and some had to stand along the back wall. Our friends from IBB Miami were visiting and served us by creating a special space for the 27 children present that night. The rest of us continued with a night of worship, stories and prayers. Our purpose that night was to simply celebrate life in the Kingdom and get a glimpse of what we are a part of as followers of Jesus together in San Francisco. Much like a vapor, the night came and went. So what’s next? We will continue to seek out the Way of Jesus in the context of Faith Communities (the Church). We seek to be simple, yet solid, missional, and servants to our neighbors. We want to be generative communities, creating new music, new art, new stories.
Will we gather again? Of course, but the large gathering is not our vessel. It is simply a glimpse of the church spreading throughout our city and going where buildings and programs cannot go. It is simply the church being the church by way of disciples of Jesus making other disciples of Jesus. Our hope is to grow and to reproduce, but above all we realize that each of us is graded first by our life and how we are becoming more like Jesus.
Fall 2001 was a wonderful season of ministry. We birthed our Bernal Faith Community, our Kayla had a wonderful experience at Glen Ridge, our ministry with the Free Methodist Church grew, Kellie took part in several Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center events and causes, our family hosted six different groups that came through the city, and our soccer team came in second place!
By the time you receive this letter, Kellie and I will have hosted an open house for our neighborhood friends on Sunday the 23rd. As we began writing out the invitations we discovered that we had over 40 personal friends to invite, all within walking distance of our home. These are our neighbors, those we live amongst here in Bernal Heights. Not our church or brothers and sisters in Christ, but those we believe God has called us to love. We are rediscovering the fresh wind that blows when we keep His commands. Please pray for these people. Pray that they would discover Jesus and His love.
On January 9th, 2002 we will celebrate the completion of our first year here in San Francisco. God has provided and poured out His grace on us in so many ways. You have been a part of that and we want to THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR GIVING. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING. THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING. The greatest lessons we have learned here in San Francisco have been to rediscover learning, a willingness to change, and a faith that allows us to go where Jesus goes.
A year ago, we stated our three objectives. To discover/learn the city, to establish a presence in the city and to begin to love the city in the Way of Jesus. God has provided for all three. We have learned and continue to learn. We are not alone; God has allowed us to partner with people of similar passions and mission. Unless God had connected us to our Faith Community and Reimagine partners, we could not have learned, established a presence and begun to love our City.
There is so much uncertainty that we wrestle with, but we believe that faith is not only what pleases God but that which He uses to grow us. Will you continue to pray with us as we seek God’s direction with our family and finances, the Faith Communities, and our partnership with REimagine? These are three core areas of trust for us. We look forward to celebrating God’s hand evident in these three areas in 2002.
Our family continues to grow and adapt to the city. Kayla’s first school review was an A+! Her teachers expressed profound interest and love for Kayla. It is evident that her little life has impacted the lives of so many. Chase continues to grow and develop. He is beginning to use words. Watch out San Francisco! Kellie as always is our hero! She continues to thrive here, while carrying a new child! She is two months pregnant. We are so excited to be blessed with this new addition, with a “launch date” of July 2002 J.
May God bless you, your family and your church. Please know that we pray for you and with you as we know that God has called you to the same life right were you live. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
posted by Ken McCord @ 4:52 PM
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