Mail me comments, suggestions, warnings, flames, whatever
At 01:15 PM 2/9/96 -0800, you wrote:
>Hello Friend,
>And I do believe you are a friend! I've spent most of the day trying to track
>down a way to contact the Church of the Savior. They don't seem to be listed
>in the telephone directory under that name, and I couldn't find them anywhere
>else. Then I hopped on the Web and found your page, with not only info about
>COS, but also your own personal conviction that somehow "church" ought to look
>a little different.
Bruce,
Yes, it seems we are friends. COS has been a model community
for me, the stories that copme from there have been a constant
source of challenge, hope, and also, great unrest. I would
not do without it.
> And, alas, most of our
>churches are pretty mainline and traditional in format. So there is a growing
>frustration.
I deeply identify with this. I have hope that in the mingling
of online community and some resulting efforts to find some of
these people in our own communities, maybe some new discoveries
can be made about people right on our doorstep.
>Thankfully, our churches and leadership have always been supportive of youth
>and young adults, and so are now open to considering how we might begin some
>new churches or fellowships that will give our young adults the spiritual
>opportunities they need. So we are trying to get a grasp on what a "new kind"
>of church might look like, what a culturally relevant worship fellowship might
>be. (Way beyond just the "contemporary music" debate!)
This sounds very exciting. It is too bad you are geographically
so far away from Ohio. But I am thankful that we are able to
"meet" out here in this marvelous new land where many
barriers (like geography) can be overcome and we can simply
share our stories, and perhaps find ways together to find new
expressions of community and make it work wherte we are.
>Do you know who would be a good contact person for me to find out about the
>actual structure and supervisory roles in the COS?
Did you check the descriptions of the various mission groups of
COS I have put online? There is one such mission group called
Wellspring, whose mission is to do various kinds of orientation
sessions and retreats about the structures in the life of COS.
I will go check that
Yes, it is on my page at http://www.iac.net/~dlature/itseminary/wischris/dayspng.html
The text follows:
Wellpring (1973)
- seeks to nurture, challenge and offer hope to the church. We
offer 3 to 6 day events for those who long for transfor"ng
life in Christian community which leads to spiritual growth and
empowered ministry. We share a vision of church and provide opportunity
for folks to experience and share with each other the nieaning
of silence and spiritual disciplines, the centrality of call and
mission, the need for faithful structures, and the joys and difficulties
of community life. (With New Community and Eighth Day)
Contact Carol Fitch - 301/428-3373 (w), 301/530-0394 (h)
A conference center is available on the Dayspring land near Gerniantown, MD for groups of 10 to 50. 11411 Neelsville
Church Rd., Germntown, MD 20874 301/428-3373.
Worship
Sunday mornings in the Farmhouse -
during summer months in the Pavilion.
9:45 a.m. silence, 10:00 a.m. worship.
The School of Christian Living
Provides an introduction to the life of the church coninunity preceded by dinner Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. at the
Farmhouse. CaR the church office to join us for dinner any Thursday
during the School session.
Elders:
Andrea Burgard 301/428-0567 (w), 301/353-0720 (h)
Gloria McClanen 301/972-9683 (h)
Betty Price 301/972-4041 (h)
Marilyn Saunders 301/469-6782 (h)
Stewards
Betsy Ashburn 301/540-4105 (h)
Frank Cresswell 202/363-0129 (h)
Alice Fenn 301/972-3768 (h)
Dorothy Nelligan 301/253-3730 (h)
Bill Price 301/972-4041 (h)
Gale Quist 301/540-0998 (h)
Council Moderator: Jean Mathews 301/916-2378 (h)
How do they create new
>ministry groups? Do they ever come together for worship as
a full body?
They have , at any time, a "sounding of a call".
It is described in "Servant Leaders, Servant Structures"
They do hold what they call an "ecumenical" service
at 11:00 Sunday mornings. The mission groups meet at many other
times during the week.
What
>are their requirements for membership? What frustrations have they had with
>annual renewals? Have they ever tried to "plant" another similar
>congregation?
See above, check out Servant Leaders, Servant Structures, where
their story is told.
>It is exciting for me to be in a position of seeing our denomination willing
>to try new things and follow the leadership of their youth and young adults.
>"Deeper spiritual intimacy" is our cry!
Amen to that!! Thanks for writing, and I hope to hear from you more.
Back to New Media Communications Home Page
Back to Internet Theological Seminary Table of Contents
Back to my "What is a Christian" page