2010-04-01T18:32:16-07:00 Harambee Admin http://harambeechurch.com/index.php bryan@harambeechurch.com tag:harambeechurch,2010:harambeechurchhomepage Pivot Copyright (c) 2010, Authors of Harambee Church - Home Page 2010-04-01T16:21:00-07:00 2010-04-01T16:21:00-07:00 2010-04-01T16:21:00-07:00 tag:harambeechurch,2010:harambeechurchhomepage.556

(SEATTLE, 3/30/10) - Some 300 members of a Renton area Evangelical church, a Redmond area mosque, and other local mosques and churches participated in a dialogue on the Islamic and Christian perspectives on Jesus on Saturday, March 27th at the Harambee Church in Renton, WA.

Harambee hosts Jesus Dialogue with local Muslims

(SEATTLE, 3/30/10) - Some 300 members of a Renton area Evangelical church, a Redmond area mosque, and other local mosques and churches participated in a dialogue on the Islamic and Christian perspectives on Jesus on Saturday, March 27th at the Harambee Church in Renton, WA.The Council on American-Islamic Relations of WA (CAIR-WA), Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) and Harambee Church, partnered to organize the event "Jesus, Who is He?" The event included a reception, presentations by leaders on the basics of each faith, readings and table discussions of relevant passages from the Bible and Qur'an, and a question and answer session.

Participants read verses from the Qur'an as well as verses from the Bible, comparing each book's accounts of Jesus' birth, descriptions of the Virgin Mary, and attributes of Jesus.

Michael Ly, a Pastor at Harambee and Vice President of Peace Catalyst International, has been a major part of interfaith work with CAIR-WA and local mosques. Ly started bringing together leaders of both faith communities through small gatherings and mosque visits, leading up to large dialogues between entire congregations. "It is truly an honor to be part of an effort to build bridges of understanding between Evangelicals and Muslims," said Ly. "I believe this is the first of many future religious and social interactions between these two faith communities."

Arsalan Bukhari, Executive Director of CAIR-WA participated in the event. "A gathering like this brings forward issues of interest to both Muslims and Christians" he said. "It is our goal to build interfaith communities through dialogue and mutual respect."

Imam Mohamad Joban, Imam (Muslim religious leader) at MAPS commented on the success of the event. "What happened this past Saturday night at Harambee Church was a bounty of our Lord," he said. It was a combination of thoughtful preparation, generous efforts by the organizers, and our trust in Allah."

Gina Mahmoud, Secretary of the Interfaith and Outreach Committee at MAPS viewed the event as a 'tremendous success.' "The event was a tremendous success and exceeded all expectations in attendance, organization and impact," said Mahmoud. "I am also very proud of the many young people of both faiths who attended."

Many future events are planned. Those interested in having their faith community involved in an interfaith endeavor are encouraged to contact CAIR-WA or Pastor Michael Ly.

CAIR-WA is the local chapter of CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Muslim Association of Puget Sound, MAPS, is an Islamic organization founded in 2006 with the intent of serving the Muslims of Puget Sound. Its mission is to provide Islamic educational, social and cultural services to the Muslim community in the region and to promote the teachings of Islam to the inquiring non-Muslim. MAPS strives to build links between Muslim families, businesses and organizations, provides year-round activities and religious services and is committed to helping the needy.

Peace Catalyst International exists to stimulate peacemaking between individuals and between peoples. Our mission is to catalyze peacemaking initiatives for multi-dimensional reconciliation in the way of Jesus. Two of the greatest areas of conflict in the world today are between Christians and Muslims and between the West and the Muslim world. Thus, we give special priority to these relationships.

Pictures

Audio:

Michael Ly's Presentation

Imam Joban's Presentation

Q&A Panel

CONTACT: Michael Ly, Vice President, Peace Catalyst International, 206.455-4433, E-Mail: michael@peace-catalyst.net; Arsalan Bukhari, Executive Director, CAIR-WA, 206.367.4081, E-Mail: abukhari@cair.com; Gina Mahmoud, Interfaith and Outreach Committee, MAPS, 425.463.7348, E-Mail: outreach@mapsredmond.org ]]> HarambeeAdmin 2009-10-20T15:50:00-07:00 2009-10-20T15:50:00-07:00 2009-10-20T15:50:00-07:00 tag:harambeechurch,2010:harambeechurchhomepage.555

For the past two years, the Elders of Harambee have been working through how we can more strategically and effectively fulfill the Great Commission to make disciples of Jesus (who make disciples of Jesus) and plant new churches in our region. Soma is made of Missional Communities--small groups of people being the church in their neighborhoods. Several Missional Communities under the oversight of local elders are called an Expression of Soma. Recently, through the Spirit's leading, the Elders of Harambee Church decided to join with Soma as an Expression of Soma Communities, uniquely expressing what it means to be the church in and around Renton. We are continuing to bring the message and the ministry of reconciliation in the gospel to the cities in the Renton area. The Harambee building will continue to be used as a Center for Community Development, and our Sunday morning Corporate Gathering will now include both the Renton Expression and the Southcenter Expression. Soma also has another Sunday morning Corporate Gathering in Tacoma where several other Expressions come together in one place to celebrate God's grace and be equipped for the mission. To help us better understand all this, for the next several weeks, we'll be going through a teaching series at the Corporate Gathering(s) called Soma Basics, and then discussing in our Missional Communities. You can also learn more about who we are and how live because of the gospel on the Soma website

Harambee Church is now an Expression of Soma Communities Missional Communities--small groups of people being the church in their neighborhoods. Several Missional Communities under the oversight of local elders are called an Expression of Soma. Recently, through the Spirit's leading, the Elders of Harambee Church decided to join with Soma as an Expression of Soma Communities, uniquely expressing what it means to be the church in and around Renton. We are continuing to bring the message and the ministry of reconciliation in the gospel to the cities in the Renton area.

The Harambee building will continue to be used as a Center for Community Development, and our Sunday morning Corporate Gathering will now include both the Renton Expression and the Southcenter Expression. Soma also has another Sunday morning Corporate Gathering in Tacoma where several other Expressions come together in one place to celebrate God's grace and be equipped for the mission.

To help us better understand all this, for the next several weeks, we'll be going through a teaching series at the Corporate Gathering(s) called Soma Basics, and then discussing in our Missional Communities. You can also learn more about who we are and how live because of the gospel on the Soma website ]]> HarambeeAdmin 2009-10-13T14:19:00-07:00 2009-10-13T14:19:00-07:00 2009-10-13T14:19:00-07:00 tag:harambeechurch,2010:harambeechurchhomepage.554

As Harambee is now part of Soma Communities, all Teaching Audio will now be located on the Soma website (including podcasts).

All Teaching Audio now on Soma website MP3 & iTunes ]]> HarambeeAdmin 2009-06-12T17:16:00-07:00 2009-06-12T17:16:00-07:00 2009-06-12T17:16:00-07:00 tag:harambeechurch,2010:harambeechurchhomepage.530

Harambee and Soma Communities now offers a way to help fund the mission securely and electronically straight from your bank. It's called an eCheck. * All you need is some info printed on your paper checks. * You can give once or set up a recurring giving schedule. * For each eCheck, Harambee/Soma is charged less than the price of a stamp. * It's even better than your bank's online bill pay. Since it's all electronic, no one has to receive, process and deposit the paper check your bank mails for you. To give to the Harambee Expression of Soma Communities, be sure to select Harambee in the Expression drop-down box. Give Now via E-Check If you must use a debit card, you also have that option but know that the church is charged much higher fees for these transactions, so less of what you give is available for the mission of making disciples. We don't believe accruing debt in order to give to the church is faithful to biblical principles of giving, so we are not providing the option of giving with a credit card. Give now with a debit card...

Online Contributions Soma Communities now offers a way to help fund the mission securely and electronically straight from your bank. It's called an eCheck.

* All you need is some info printed on your paper checks.
* You can give once or set up a recurring giving schedule.
* For each eCheck, Harambee/Soma is charged less than the price of a stamp.
* It's even better than your bank's online bill pay. Since it's all electronic, no one has to receive, process and deposit the paper check your bank mails for you.

To give to the Harambee Expression of Soma Communities, be sure to select Harambee in the Expression drop-down box.

Give Now via E-Check

If you must use a debit card, you also have that option but know that the church is charged much higher fees for these transactions, so less of what you give is available for the mission of making disciples. We don't believe accruing debt in order to give to the church is faithful to biblical principles of giving, so we are not providing the option of giving with a credit card. Give now with a debit card... ]]> HarambeeAdmin 2009-05-19T16:45:00-07:00 2009-05-19T16:45:00-07:00 2009-05-19T16:45:00-07:00 tag:harambeechurch,2010:harambeechurchhomepage.523

As mentioned in several excellent previous posts on the Pastor Rant site, Harambee has joined with Soma Communities and adopted the Missional model of living out church every day. For many of us, this is a dramatic shift from traditional church structure, where we as consumers go on Sunday to get charged up, and continue to think of church as a place where we gather to worship, study, learn, receive, etc. We (the Elders) keep hitting on this topic because we know that some people are really struggling to make this change.

Missional living – The basics
The leadership of Soma Communities has come up with some very useful tools to try and bridge this gap from traditional thinking to missional thinking. These tools are not some new “5 steps to salvation” or anything like that, they are simply a way of communicating this idea – which by the way is not anything new necessarily, just different from the “western modern” structure we’ve become used to.

The first of these tools is the Identities. If we trust and believe in God, then we are in the process of becoming new through increasing faith and discovery of God and His will, and the circumstances he brings us through in our lives. Reading through and meditating on the Identities and associated scriptures is a great reminder of who we are in Christ. It relieves much of the pressure and fear of change by helping us realize that God is in charge of making ministry happen, not us. We just need to be willing to be used. Whew!

The extension of the Identities is the Rhythms (same page, further down). These are examples and reminders of how our identity in Christ is lived out. We were created to serve God and others, and it comes natural to us. The Rhythms then are ways to express this life for which we were created, and to be examples to others of the new life we have in Jesus.

We don’t need to wait until we’re perfect to live the Christian life. Growth comes from making mistakes, learning from them, and getting stronger from them. It’s time for the body of Christ to begin to live like we believe and love one another, not to depend on the Church to do everything for us because the leadership has more training or seems more gifted than we are. We need to shine His light all the time, not just with our church friends. We need to serve each other as Jesus was a servant. And we need to look to the Lord to teach us about himself and his will every day, not just on Sunday or at a bible study or conference, etc. Once Jesus comes into our lives and begins to heal us, we need to “Get up, take up our beds and walk”.

Having said all of that, please remember that our job as Elders of Harambee is to gently lead you, the body, and each other through this transition. We need to help you bridge the gap, and discover for yourselves what this means to you in your individual life. Please do not hesitate to ask questions or express your frustration (or anything else) with us. It’s all about growing together as a family!

Also, we believe that the Sunday gathering has great value for fellowship and corporate worship, as well as biblical preaching and teaching. What we’re learning is that the Sunday gathering is only a small part of the overall life of a Christian, and both we as God’s people and the world we live in benefit greatly if we take it beyond Sunday into daily life. Please post comments here.

In Christ’s Love,

Doug ]]> HarambeeAdmin 2009-03-18T18:59:00-07:00 2009-03-18T18:59:00-07:00 2009-03-18T18:59:00-07:00 tag:harambeechurch,2010:harambeechurchhomepage.509

Over the past several months, Harambee has been making a transition to the Missional Community model/structure and joining forces with Soma Communities. I will post a section soon that outlines why the Elders believe God is leading us in this direction, but we’ll begin with trying to answer the question of “what is a missional community?” first

What is a Missional Community? Soma Communities. I will post a section soon that outlines why the Elders believe God is leading us in this direction, but we’ll begin with trying to answer the question of “what is a missional community?” firstThe mission of God is to restore all things to himself in and through the work and person of Jesus Christ. His chosen vehicle through which he is accomplishing that mission is the church. The church is the family of God called to together to himself and sent out on his mission. Missional Communities are the primary means through which Harambee/Soma mobilizes people together on mission and connects people to a caring community.

WHAT IS A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY?
A Missional Community consists of a committed core of believers (FAMILY) who live out the mission of God together (MISSIONARIES) in a specific area or to a particular people group by demonstrating the gospel in tangible forms (SERVANTS) and declaring the gospel to others—both those who believe it and those who are being exposed to it (LEARNERS). To clarify, a Missional Community is NOT primarily a small group, Bible study, support group, social activist group, or weekly meeting.

Our hope is that every person who is committed to the Harambee/Soma family and mission will be fully involved in a missional community and eventually the missional communities in a region will multiply and together form a new expression of Soma Communities.

Consider this… The life of the church as recorded in Acts 2:42-47 came as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the lives of a people collectively committed to the mission of God. The description we read about in Acts was not the means of becoming a great church, but the results of God working through a people committed to him and his mission.

We believe God is still more committed to his mission being accomplished then us having our preferred church experience. Missional Communities exist to partner with God to further his mission in every part of our region.

EACH MISSIONAL COMMUNITY WILL:
1. Be led by a team committed to leading, shepherding, equipping and organizing a community on mission
2. Grow together in understanding and application of the Gospel to who we are (Identities) because of God’s work in and through Jesus
3. Live out the weekly Rhythms of a family on mission together (Story-formed, Listen, Celebrate, Eat, Bless and
ReCreate) – BE the church together throughout the week
4. Identify, equip and release new leadership to begin new Missional Communities

PATHWAYS INTO A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY:
1. Check out the list of MC’s on the Harambee website to find one near you or you want to support the mission of
2. Talk to the MC leader about checking it out
3. Consider starting one in your area and start attending MC leader training sessions when available. ]]> HarambeeAdmin