Thanks so much for reading this month‘s news from The Initiative, a community committed to “walking in deeper friendship with Jesus and his followers, so that the love of Christ might exceed all divisions.” We do this primarily through prayer, sharing of our lives, and proactive work for greater unity.

This month, I’m intentionally sending out this update on Holy Saturday (sometimes referred to as the Great Sabbath) because I feel like we’re in an experience of tension which mirrors the holy day: on the one hand, death, despair, fear dominate the landscape; on the other hand – hidden behind the stone – life, victory, love are about to erupt. I’ve got a few more thoughts about that in the video below. Please take a couple minutes to listen!

Called to Hope

     In the video, I talked about the deeply encouraging impact of being in Rome with hundreds of Jesus followers from around the world who were living out Jesus’ Upper Room prayer in John 17.
I’ve posted a few pictures below. And I would commend to your readingTom Masters’ outstanding write up on our experiences on the Focolare Media website, as well as the report and resources posted on the Focolare international page.

Called to Discernment

    I also talked in the video about my sense that this summer’s gathering in Chicago is about discerning together what creative ways for living in and working for the unity and oneness Jesus is inviting The Initiative into. So please prayerfully consider joining us! We’d love to have as many of us as possible to be together to experience encounter across difference, to examine the core “way” and practices of The Initiative, and to discern this invitation to you personally and to us together.
Click here or below to access the registration page. And we don’t want money to be a barrier to your being there, so there are scholarships available to help with housing or transportation. If you have any questions or want more information, reply to this email or reach out to info(at)the initiative(dot)org.

Resource of the Month

    This is a wonderful bi-weekly podcast hosted by Dr. Juan Medina, who is a member of the Initiative from Arizona (and whose story we featured in this newsletter back in November).
I have to confess I had no idea he had a podcast until I was invited to be a guest on it. This is no mere logrolling on my part, though. It’s an excellent series of alternating reflections on Scripture passages and conversations with intriguing guests from a wide range of Christian traditions. You should give it a listen!

As the Great Sabbath of Holy Saturday breaks into the Easter feast of victory, may each of us be empowered to walk more closely in the self-giving way of Jesus, who “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself” (Phil. 2:6) for our lives and for the life of the world.

Happy Easter!!

Yours in Christ’s Love,
Scott Brill
Executive Director