By Larry Duggins

Every year around this time, we devote an issue of Wisdom for the Way to a request that you consider including the Missional Wisdom Foundation in your charitable giving. We rely on gifts from individuals to help us span the gap between the revenues we can generate through our community experiments, the funds we can raise from institutional donors, and the costs of doing our work. Whether through year end gifts or through membership in our Dispersed Community, the gifts we receive from individuals are critically important to our ability to keep moving forward.

I have noticed over the past couple weeks that the “tug-at-your-heartstrings” ads are out in force. Sad little puppies look back at me over my screens in a bid to capture my heart and my dollar. I am pretty sure I could have written one of those for 2021, describing the pains of post-Covid community, the hurt of changing staffing, and the struggles with various institutions in our world. If we choose to, we can see the world as horribly broken and hopeless.

I prefer the ads that show me happy puppies playing because someone reached out to help them. Even in these crazy and difficult times, I can see the Holy Spirit moving all around us, bringing new gifts and people and gatherings into our spaces. I see people working together, sharing stories, even peacefully disagreeing with each other as they share space. The way churches gather is changing, and the Spirit is in the middle of it.

In Asheville, Haw Creek Commons has a new vitality. People are coming back to gather and to worship. Our kitchen is growing, Bethesda UMC and Nueva Vita church are thriving, and our shared spaces are full of caregivers bringing health and hope to our neighbors. We have an incredible team of four young women leading our efforts at HCC, and they are bringing their diverse skill sets and experiences to the Haw Creek neighbors in a new and wonderful way. It is a joy to see how the work of the past built the foundations for the work of the future.

In Dallas, we have been working with our host church to allow them to assume active management of our art spaces and classrooms. This win-win situation will enable the church to be more active in a larger space and will allow the MWF team to concentrate on the Mix Kitchen and its community of entrepreneurial chefs. The kitchen is busier than ever, and the stories of financial success and spiritual growth are flowing freely.

Our educational focus has also been nudged by the Spirit into fields of mentorship. Rhonda Sweet at the Mix Kitchen is seeking out budding culinary entrepreneurs, primarily women of color, to shape and empower through coaching and experience sharing. Churches from all over the country are seeking out the leaders of the MWF to learn about our experiences and our know-how in the formation of alternative Christian communities. We share our stories as broadly as we can, knowing that our experience can be part of God’s providence to churches seeking new ways to connect.

So our world is full, not damaged. We are blessed by God’s invitation to co-create and are confident in the belief that God is with us as we try new things. We have our problems and challenges, but we also have a wonderful team, a growing community and a God who is willing to lead. Please join us in our work by making a year-end donation or by making monthly contributions through our Dispersed Community. You can learn more and give online at www.missionalwisdom.com.