We Are Marshall

We are on a trip to Nashville to see our daughter Mechele and her husband Mike.  We have three of our grandkids with us which is always a blessing.  We decided to take the 13 hour drive from York in our mini-van and took the West Virginia/Kentucky route.  This is a route I had not taken before and was surprised to drive through Huntington, West Virginia which is the home of Marshall University.  That brought back memories of our July leadership retreat at the "DeRemer Retreat Center".


Seeing the community that had gone through so much trauma back in the 1970's.  The football program was a key aspect of their community, everyone was focused on the team and it was an important identifier and image for them.  Almost the whole team and the coach, athletic director, major supporters etc, were all killed in a plane crash.  It devastated the community but they rallied together and created a new team to support out of the ashes.  It was a great reminder of a couple of things, 1) how tragedy, even though difficult and challenging, can bring out incredible things in a community or a person, 2)  how we need each other to make it through the hard things in life, and 3) it takes vision and focusing on the greater transcendent cause to make that difference.

Men's Fraternity is very much like that.  Even though we, thankfully have not gone through a tragedy like Marshall University has we are all going through our own challenges.  As brothers we need to work together and to support each other and to live the four pillars of manhood. 1) reject passivity, 2) accept responsibility, 3) lead courageously, and 4) expect God's greater reward. That's what Men's Frat is all about.  Looking forward to a great year.

Registration Starts for Men's Fraternity

This morning at Living Word the 2010-11 registration process began. There are a number of ministries that are available for both small and mid sized groups. We have about 20 men who have already signed up and there is room for a lot more.

Make sure that as you register if there is someone you would like to have in your small group, make sure that you put their name(s). If you have some men you know would benefit from what we offer in Men's Fraternity, make it a point to invite them to join you either Wednesday morning or Thursday evening. It may be one of the best invitations you have ever made.

Here is the link for registration through the church website   http://www.lwccyork.com/events/menu.asp

2010-2011 Core Competencies

The leadership team just finalized our core competency events for this next year.  We also put dates on those events that will be finalized in the weeks to come.  For you planning purposes here they are


1) Men's Fraternity Participants Spouse Orientation - October 14, 2010.  This will be an opportunity for spouses to find out what Men's Frat is about and what their husband is involved in on either Wednesday morning or Thursday night

2) Core Team Spouse Orientation - November 10, 2010.  This will be a chance for both a social gathering to get to know each other better and a chance to share with them what we do as a core team for Men's Frat

3) Winter Retreat - January 7-8, 2011 - This event is designed to update our direction and purpose for the rest of the Men's Frat year.  It also provides the chance to bond together and assess how the first half of the year went

4) Commissioning Ceremony - April 7, 2011.  This is an important part where we recognize the completion of Men's Fraternity.  It is a celebration and acknowledgment of what God is doing in Men's Frat for this year.

5) Core Team Summer Retreat - July 15-17, 2011.  This is a critical event that all members of the leadership team need to participate in.  This is the time that we focus on the next year and what God has for us.  The interaction with each of the leaders is critical and allows us to step up as a group to whatever God has for us this next year.

There are a number of items that are not listed that we have historically done as a ministry. That does not mean that we will not be doing those items it only means that they will not be the emphasis of the core team.  It is hoped that a group of men will step up and make sure that these events continue.  The core team will not be 'expected' to be at these events but certainly encouraged to be there.  We will be doing more work on those items in the weeks and months to come.