Friends,
August was blur, and there are so many things to share with you. First, the home front: Our son, John Coleman May III, was born on the 10th, a whopping 8lbs 13 oz with double dimples and reddish hair! Enjoy the attached picture. We are delighted... and tired! Thank you for your prayers for him and Amy. Amy is recovering well and doing a remarkable job balancing 3 kids, making a new house our home, and hosting regular and increasingly large CityWell gatherings; she is superwoman. Our girls have really taken to having a baby brother. McKenna is working diligently toward her junior momma-bear merit badge and Ellison is enjoying playing with little man when he's happy and ignoring him when he's not. Many of you have heard that John has an enlarged right kidney. After some rather uncomfortable tests, we still do not know why, but we are encouraged as some of the more severe possibilities have been eliminated, and John seems to be doing just fine. We would appreciate your prayers for a quick and healthy resolution to this. Amy and I would appreciate your prayers that we will communicate well and grow in our sensitivity toward one another as we navigate so many new variables in our lives.
Things with The CityWell are certainly on the move. The circle of friends who are involved is growing daily. We continue to meet regularly in a variety of places and for a variety of purposes. In August we had seven official gatherings. Some of these were bible study and prayer focused, some vision casting focused, some worship services, and some social/relationship-building times. The last two Sundays we have gathered in our home. On the 21st we enjoyed a time of worship together. We were delighted to see our living area crammed with 21 adults and five children. On the 28th we gathered at the May house again, but this time for a potluck feast and a time of prayer. Along with the abundance of delicious food, we were amazed to see nearly 40 people in our home!
Momentum is certainly building, which presents great opportunity and a number of significant challenges. Namely, we are running out room to grow if we are to continue meeting in homes, which I believe to be important at this point. The vision God has given us for The CityWell is to be a network of missional communities that can reach broadly and deeply into our city. Missional communities are necessarily smaller groupings (extended family size, 20-40 people) that are committed to doing life together in intentional ways and in our natural environments (i.e. homes, neighborhoods, work places, etc...), such that we might encourage one another in the habits of discipleship and in missional engagement with our communities. The theory is simple: we grow most as Jesus' followers through close friendships that aim at discipleship, and in taking God up on His calling for each of us to partner in the work of the Kingdom. All of that to say, please pray for us as we negotiate how to harness the momentum we are experiencing and direct it toward the vision, rather than letting that momentum carry us away from the vision.
Thank you again for joining us in this ministry through your prayers. What a gift! If you are interested in supporting us financially you can send contributions to: The CityWell 1426 N. Roxboro St. Durham, NC 27701. All gifts are tax deductible. If you would like to set up an automated schedule for giving, please let me know and we will make that happen.
I look forward to sharing more of the unfolding story with you soon.
Grace and peace,
Cleve
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