July 2006 - Turn it upside down, and shake!

A message from Frannie, the Founding Director of the Beatitudes Society: I write as the Middle East disintegrates, which is all the more reason to pursue Beatitudes work in this very scary world, always continuing to seek God’s help.

There is much good Beatitudes news to share with you, but the most important and most exciting is to announce that we’ve hired The Reverend Anne Howard to serve as our full time Executive Director! After completing a search process, it became absolutely clear that Anne is called to take on directorship and lead us into the future.

Anne has served as Executive Director of the Interfaith Center to Reverse the Arms Race at All Saints, Pasadena, as Canon to the Ordinary under the Rt. Reverend Fred Borsch, and recently as Associate Rector at a wonderfully progressive and thriving parish called Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara. She is a gifted and passionate preacher. Anne will move into the Executive Director’s position from her role on our Advisory Board, and I will move onto the Advisory Board to focus on fundraising and organizing an annual service trip for our members and friends.

Those of you who read my last newsletter will not be surprised by this turn of events, since my trip to Biloxi to rebuild with parishioners was life changing. Basically, The Beatitudes Society has turned itself upside and shaken – enthusiastically! I am deeply grateful for this first year of birthing The Beatitudes Society. The fact is that The Beatitudes Society has better equipped me for the leadership we envision for others! We need companions on this journey and I have found them this year in the seminarians who have launched chapters, attended conferences, and become fellows; in Stephanie our staff person; and in the advisory board who have dared to launch a small, progressive, Christian boat on the stormy seas of religious conflict and abuse.

In the name of Jesus whom we seek to follow ~ blessings to you Anne. And blessings to you all, Frannie ****************************************

A message from Anne, the new Executive Director of The Beatitudes Society:

Hello! We have a lot planned for our second year at The Beatitudes Society, as we continue to build a strong prophetic Christian witness on seminary campuses across our country. The need is great, as Richard Rohr writes in his book Contemplation in Action: “In this time, when the United States seems to be setting itself up for a perpetual war posture, when the Pentagon can get by with trillions of dollars of unaccountable funds, when a kind of unthinking patriotism seems to be the ideal, it is going to be all the more important that prophetic voices be clear, grounded and very certain trumpets.”

The raising up of Christian voices that are “clear, grounded and very certain trumpets” is our work, and we have much to do! I am grateful for the many hands and hearts that are part of this exciting ministry. I'm delighted to assume my new position as Executive Director, to work with Frannie and the rest of our board, and our growing group of seminarians and faculty committed to the radical vision of Jesus's Beatitudes! As our first group of Beatitudes Fellows return to their campuses to share the good news of their summer grounding in social justice ministries, we are making plans to:

  • Double the number of Fellowships next summer
  • Bring a speaker's tour of Christian authors and thinkers to our seminaries, beginning with Jim Wallis at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley September 11. Look for Barbara Rossing, author of “The Rapture Exposed”, to tour later in the year.
  • Expand the number of seminary chapters
  • Create more educational resources for chapters to use in their meetings
  • Initiate a cooperative approach to college campus organizing with Progressive Christians Uniting of Los Angeles
  • Build our website to include an interactive seminarian community blog. If you’re a blogger, we need your input on this! Email me.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO:

LOOKING TO NEXT SUMMER:

  • We are planning a service trip for members and friends
  • We are considering a faculty institute at Westmont College on teaching a theological social justice curriculum
  • We are considering a one-week community organizing institute for our summer fellows and other members of The Beatitudes Society

I ask your prayers as we take these next steps, trusting that the Spirit will guide us on the way. Join us for the journey! Anne Howard anne@beatitudessociety.org

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