November Update

Friends,

I have so much to share with you about The CityWell’s November… crazy, wonderful month. First, on a personal note, I am so thankful for God giving me a deep sense of peace with regards to the anxiety I wrestled with for several months. Thank you for praying for me in this! I hope you will continue to do so.

November marked our official transition out of the May house for our Sunday gatherings because we simply do not have enough room for everyone who is joining us. We are very grateful to our friends at Reality Ministries who allow us to use some of their space for these times together. We meet in the game room, a large space filled with couches, game tables and a huge fireplace that serves as the focal point of our worship time. It’s a wonderful, relaxed, inviting space and we are thankful!

I wish all of you could be with us for even a single week. I am constantly amazed when we gather at how God is bringing to fruition the vision of The CityWell being a diverse community. I often find myself just looking around the room in grateful amazement as people of several ethnicities, nationalities, and varying economic situations engage one another in growing friendships, share food and laughter, sing together (sometimes in different languages), and pray for one another. We are becoming who we truly are as Jesus’ church, one new humanity in Christ. It is awesome, and it is nothing other than the work of God!

We continue to share life together in homes on a regular basis, both formally and informally, and we are moving toward what I hope will become our regular rhythm of gathering midweek in our “Wells” (our extended family-sized groups that focus on becoming family and sharing common mission), and then corporately as The CityWell on Sundays. Please pray for us as we discern the way forward in this. Specifically, I would appreciate prayers for wisdom as to when to shift from being a single Well (which we presently are) to giving birth to multiple Wells. Along with this, please pray for God to give the future leaders of these Wells the vision for this calling. 

Another thrilling aspect of November was the initiation of The CityWell Formation Team. This group of people has been meeting faithfully on Monday nights in our home to pray, read scripture, dream and work together toward a common articulation of our vision and values, as well as to work through the increasingly pressing and rapidly growing list of logistical issues attending all the momentum we are experiencing. These meetings are long and we are doing hard work, but Amy and I reflected last night on what a gift it is to move forward in this adventure with such awesome people. We definitely need your prayers for wisdom, creativity and unity as we proceed in this critical work together.

Finally, I want to tell you about the central role mission plays in the formation of our identity as a church. Every month we commit as a whole community to a particular way to “give our lives away,” as I like to say. In November we collected winter supplies (clothing, coats, hand warmers, blankets, etc…) for a community of homeless people who live in the woods here in Durham. We partnered with Open Table Ministries in this endeavor, and look forward to another partnership effort with this ministry in December. I believe mission, the sending of God’s people into the world for the sake of the world (and for the sake of God’s people!) to be at the heart of God and therefore at the heart of what it means for us to be a church. To that end, please pray that mission will become an even more central element of our life together.

I am so grateful for the privilege of this assignment in life, and I am grateful for your partnership with us. I hope you will consider supporting us financially as you look at your year-end giving. If you would like to make a contribution you can send checks to The CityWell 1426 N. Roxboro St. Durham, NC 27701. All gifts are, of course, tax deductible. If you would like to set up an automated schedule for giving, please let me know and we will make that happen.

Thank you friends, and may December be for you a month of remembering and celebrating that the Christ who came, comes to us still; and Christ will come again!

Cleve