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"LEAD LIKE ANDREW"
Membership Newsletter Brotherhood of St. Andrew
Welcome to Our Bi-weekly Newsletter
Volume 122, "LEAD LIKE ANDREW"
Here's our latest edition with important meetings and other news you can use! Take a look ...
Please share news, tidbits, or notices of upcoming events in your area so we may include them. We also value your feedback on this newsletter and how we may better serve you. Don't hesitate to contact:
Rev. Jay Wittmeyer is the executive director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, since Jan. 2020. He has had an extensive career in peacebuilding and community development, including serving three years in Bangladesh with the Mennonite Central Committee and ten years in Nepal with various agencies. He has served on the boards of Heifer International, Foods Resource Bank, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Elgin Academy. He is ordained through the Church of the Brethren. He holds graduate degrees from Eastern Mennonite University in Conflict Transformation and the University of Illinois in English as a Second Language. He has studied family systems through the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family.
In his current role, Wittmeyer divides his time between organizational consultancy, which includes designing and facilitating restorative processes, and teaching educational events. He specializes in the circle process for empowerment and reconciliation, equipping church leaders to address conflict through peaceful practices. Rev. Wittmeyer is married and has four adult children. He resides in the Chicagoland Area. His hobbies include birding, golf, and automotive repair.
Graduation Season is Approaching
A Personal Invitation to You!
Directly Speaking by Executive Director Tom Welch
As you may have read, over the past three academic years I have been a full-time residential seminary student at Virginia Theological Seminary. On the 7th I will graduate with an MDiv. All this time I have continued half-time as your Executive Director while many of the students here work full-time and maintain a full academic load of at least 12 hours per semester.
For your prayers these past three years, I am so grateful. It has been a joy to be with many of you in the field, host multiple workshops on the VTS campus with you, and be a "goodwill ambassador" for our mutual ministry efforts in the global Anglican Communion as we have guests from across the country and around the world on campus nearly every week. It is routine for me to hear from clergy around the country and world wanting to know more. Classmates of mine are taking our story to their churches as they grow in their careers. Mustard seeds take time to bloom ... and bloom they will in Kairos time.
Please accept this invitation to join a livestream broadcast of the 203rd commencement activities at 10 a.m. (Eastern) on Thursday, May 7, 2026. The web address to the seminary is vts.eduand the link for the livestream will post next week in the top right corner of the homepage.
Year of the Veteran Grant Winners
The Stewardship and Generosity Commission has announced three Year of the Veteran $500 grants to:
Advent Episcopal, Sun City West, AZ (Province VIII);
St. Matthews, Austin, TX (Province VII); and
Christ Church, Elizabeth City, NC (Province IV).
Congregations from all three parishes added matching dollars to further the cause for veteran military friendly congregations' individuals and families.
Christ Church, Clinton, MD (Province III) was selected as the Grand Prize Winner of $2,500 grant. "Partners in Care" is the name given to their project submission according to Chapter Director Quentin Banks. This statewide program has been around the Maryland Army and Air National Guard since 2007. More than 80 Faith-Based Congregations collaborate in assisting deployed soldiers and airmen who experience unexpected difficulties during their absences. Brother Banks pointed out the $2,500 BStA Grant had $2,000 congregation matching dollars and another $500 from in-kind donated service.
(YOUR) Help Wanted!!
WE NEED YOUR HELP! And we know that you're out there just waiting to be asked. So, we need to say, join us as a volunteer and help us.
We have a number of volunteer position vacancies that we need your help. Please consider that we need volunteers to fill key positions at the Province, Diocesan, and national ministry levels. It is critical to have local leaders to assist us in these support positions.
The following positions at the Province Level are vacant:
Province I; Province IV: (Western IV and Eastern IV); and Province V. All Provinces need Diocesan Coordinators who work with Province Presidents.
We need leaders for several ministry positions.
If you are curious, interested, or know of someone who is "ideal" for a position, call Jeff Butcher or Roy Benavides. Let's filler-up!! (ugh).
“In the Episcopal Church, we are guided by the vision of Becoming Beloved Community, our church’s long-term commitment to racial justice, healing, and reconciliation. We’re all on a lifelong journey toward God’s dream, taking intentional and faithful steps as if moving through a labyrinth.”
“Becoming Beloved Community” is driving our initial thoughts and efforts of the Brotherhood ministry in this area. As we talked, we focused on the ongoing need to promote the Sacred Ground program and to support our brothers in this essential Christian formation. Sacred Ground Dialogue Circles are a key element in our effort toBecome a Beloved Community.
“Truth-telling: Telling the Truth about Our Churches and Race
Baptismal Promise: Persevere in resisting evil, and whenever we fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord. Core Questions: What racial/cultural/ethnic groups are in our church? Who have we excluded or included?
Proclamation: Proclaiming the Dream of Beloved Community
Baptismal Promise: Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ. Core Questions: How has our city/town/area participated in racial injustice or healing over time? What's happening today? What is our dream for Beloved Community? What behaviors and practices foster it?
Baptismal Promise: Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves. Core Questions: How will we grow as reconcilers, healers, and justice-bearers? What activities, practices, learning and experiences would (trans)form us? How will we share stories and grow relationship?
Justice:Repairing the Breach in Society and Institutions”
Baptismal Promise: Strive for justice and peace among all people & respect the dignity of every human being. Core Questions: What institutions and systems bear the signs of racial injustice? How will we participate in the repair, restoration and healing of people, institutions and systems?
As a men’s ministry in the Angelica communion, it is most appropriate that we use these elements as our basis for moving forward, keeping our Baptismal vows.
How will we encourage this?
By being a Community animated by a non-clinging, self-emptying, persistent love that drives the members to pursue wholeness and kindness. In it, the individual and the collective strive and sacrifice for the sake of the greater whole and for the end of all forms of domination and oppression that diminish the children of God.
Howard Thurman in his Book Jesus and The Disinherited wrote "'The first step toward love is a common sharing of a sense of mutual worth and value. This cannot be discovered in a vacuum or in a series of artificial or hypothetical relationships. It has to be in a real situation, natural, free."
JOIN US!
WEEKLY SCHEDULED ACTIVITY
Brothers, in addition to our weekly Mid-Day Mid-Week Prayers, we are scheduling a weekly end-of-day Order for Compline each Sunday at 9 PM Eastern Time.
Additionally, the National Service Center has begun assembling a complete list of chapters' Zoom and Hybrid meetings specifically targeted for a MAL's benefit. Listed below are chapter meetings available to engage in fellowship.
THE BROTHERHOOD OF ST. ANDREW HAS BEEN PART OF THE MEN’S STUDY SERIES KNOWN AS PROJECT 12 FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
Please consider the series as a potential opportunity for your chapter or group of men to study and interact on one of the topics in the Lifeline Series.
“It started on a patio. Two men sat there talking about what God was doing in their lives and ministries. Diverse in more than just age and geography, these two men discussed how building men was not a cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all approach There was a desire expressed to gather a group of effective men’s leaders from all over the country to share what God was doing. This was the beginning of the A-Team.
Fast forward to 2014, and over 25 men gathered in the Midwest at a retreat center to learn from each other and celebrate how God was working in their lives to change their communities. One of the outcomes of these conversations was to gather a list of great faithful resources to point men towards to help, teach, and grow.
The Project Twelve concept emerged. Twelve guys following Jesus. Twelve months in a year. Perhaps this group could help men follow Jesus year-round like the original twelve guys did. Welcome to Project Twelve.”
The programs can be found at www.projecttwelve.net. They are called Lifelines. They were just recently released. They are faith-based roadmaps for every generation. According to the outline, each of the six segments has six blocks. If you did one per week, it would last at least 36 weeks. Each is based on the Serendipity Bible.
We are part of the original group that established Project Twelve five years ago. There are seven different denominations/ministries, and 13 individuals who contributed to the writings. There is no charge for tapping into the various programs.
JOIN US IN PRAYER EACH WEEK
Mid-Week, Mid-Day, "12:00 Central Time"
What better way to level set during the middle of the week? We will hold a weekly Wednesday noon (Central) prayer time over ZOOM that is open to all brothers and guests. Let's pray for the Brotherhood, for our Brothers, and even share some stories of how Prayer has impacted you or someone you know!
We can all spare 20 minutes in prayer. It's like stopping at the faith service station to fill your prayer tank!
Please join us every week when you can to recharge your prayer batteries!
The Brotherhood of St. Andrew, The Brooklyn and Queens Assemblies, and The Diocese of Chicago wish to remind you to join the weekly Bible Study on Thursdays, 8 p.m. EDT/ 7 p.m. CDT/ 6 p.m. MDT/ 5 p.m. PDT. Joining this group will allow you to continue to gain deeper knowledge, awareness, and understanding of the Bible.
Kathy Copas, our editor, would like to include more news of chapter events and ministry meetings or events. If you have something to share, please send it to
LOCATION: 620 South Third Street, Suite 203, Louisville, KY 40202
MAILING: P.O. Box 1382, Louisville, KY 40201
502-450-5640 www.BrothersAndrew.net 502-930-0658
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