We are extremely grateful to God for his mercy in the last year 🙏 Certainly most of his grace and mercy was unnoticed or unseen, not to be known until eternity. But here is some of the goodness of God that we did see this year. As you read, give all glory and honor to God!
A Published Book!
Available in paperback, eBook / Kindle, and … soon … audiobook!
In late May, Unity Through Repentance: The Journey to Wittenberg 2017 was published by William Carey Publishing, a leading missions publisher. And German translation is fully funded and should be published early in 2023.
Here are a few wonderful comments from readers:
“This book is part historical account, part personal testimony, part doctrinal treatise (on the topics of repentance and reconciliation), and glory to God throughout. Yet somehow, it naturally flows from one thought to the other; and not only does it flow, but I found it legitimately hard to put down.”
“Unity Through Repentance is fascinating and essential reading for all who are concerned about the spiritual unity and harmony of the Body of Christ.”
“We love your book, Thomas and Amy! It so readable, honest … Truth is its foundation and its chief end or purpose!”
“I just received and read Unity through Repentance whilst here in Nairobi. I stayed up to 2am to finish it and couldn’t sleep it stirred up my heart so much!”
“Reads like an adventure--a God-led adventure from beginning to end.”
“Far more than a personal tale, it leaves the reader with questions that beg to be answered in our response. What part do I play in the larger work of unity within my family, my church and the larger body of Christ?”
Growth in Community
Our community house is full! With the Walls, Micah, Amy’s mom and the Cogdells living under one roof, we are a household of eight people praying, cooking, cleaning, receiving visitors, and sharing both the joys and challenges of life together.
A recent dinner with Evan and Melody Ott from Hope Chapel
Another important step was taken by Jim and Ginny MacDonald, who just closed on a house near CTR. They will be moving from the Buda / Kyle area, and their presence nearby will be a wonderful boost to community life and activity at Christ the Reconciler.
This beginning of community feels like a happy promise of things to come.
All Four Streams Visit CTR
Guests returned in 2022! Here is just one page from the book that our visitors sign, showing that people have traveled from around the USA and indeed the far corners of the world to come to Christ the Reconciler this year.
Even more exciting given our mission was that for the first time ever, we had visitors from all four major streams of the body of Christ!
Roman Catholic
Protestant
Messianic Jews
Eastern Orthodox
The last was represented by the first ever Eastern Orthodox priest to visit CTR: Fr. Ignatius “Iggy” Lozano of St. Andrew the First-Called Eastern Orthodox Church in Lockhart, Texas. The men of their church build custom caskets and coffins for natural burial, and we ordered a “community casket” from them (having learned from the death of Ann Cogdell in 2017, the importance of having a casket on hand for home burials).
Fr. Iggy (left) delivering the casket built by the men of St. Andrew’s
Journeys of Reconciliation
The year ended with connection to a local Eastern Orthodox priest (see above) … it began with a connection to an Orthodox priest overseas. Thomas began the year in Istanbul, Turkey, with a multi-day visit to Fr. Drtad, an Armenian Orthodox priest.
This was a significant encounter. Where will the Lord take it? We will be excited to learn more in the next year.
In February, Amy and Caroline Owens attended a charismatic Catholic conference in Augusta, Georgia - hosted by the Alleluia Community.
In May/June, Amy visited family in Turkey, then went from there to Israel where she spent time with Marianna Gol.
And in September / October, Thomas visited Europe for a month - serving as logistical coordinator for Hanna Miley’s documentary film team, but also re-establishing friendships first formed in the Wittenberg 2017 initiative and promoting Unity Through Repentance in Vienna, Prague, Lüdenscheid, Trieb, and London.
Finish One Series, Start the Next
In 2022 we finished our 10-part teaching series Foundations of Community. The teachings given in 2023 were on Hospitality (by John Michael & Diane Wall) and Work (by Phillip Owens), the last two of the activities we will be committing to in our forthcoming Community Commitment:
Snippet from the Community Commitment - each of these 5 activities had a dedicated teaching in the Foundations of Community series
After finishing that series, in the fall we began a new series called “Boundaries of Reconciliation.” The first teaching was on True and False Unity, and it was the first time we have addressed the culture wars that have so divided our nation and the church.
Our retreat in November was one of our largest on record with several new faces representing new communities and traditions. We are so thankful. In this teaching, Amy spoke on the challenging topic of Apostolic Authority, Submission, and Love - take a listen!
Thomas’ Athens Group Job Ends
Thomas and Mike Haney, the CEO of Athens Group, celebrating a good 24-year run.
Thomas was freed by God to devote more time to ministry this year! Though the loss of his consulting job came as a surprise, it also has opened new doors of possibility. He is looking forward to spending more time in prayer, investing more energy in Cielo, and attending more fully to the work and relationships of Christ the Reconciler.
Amy & Thomas are working on developing four distinct streams of income. So far, they have really seen the grace of the Lord amidst the generosity of several supporters. They have started a personal newsletter to keep friends, family, and ministry partners apprised of their doings, prayer needs, and financial situation. If you would like to receive their newsletter, and have not yet signed up, just click this link.
Air Conditioning!
We have air conditioning now in the Great Room! After eight years of enduring the Texas summer heat with window units, swamp coolers, fans & wet towels, and heat-reflecting camping blankets over the windows … we now have this:
There is one split unit on either side of the divider wall … hallelujah!
Praise the Lord! And many thanks to so many generous donors, who made it possible.
(And, they also heat! Well … as long as there’s electricity flowing to them 😬 so let’s not have another Icepocalypse 🙏 )
Financial Report
Our Father provided for us so well in 2022. We met all of our obligations. We funded all of the activities of prayer, reconciliation, formation, hospitality, and work covered in this newsletter - and more besides. We continued to be able to pay the mortgage to keep the land and house. We were able to purchase air conditioning units (see article above). Our bank account grew slightly, rather than falling. And we saw the first donations come in for employing Amy & Thomas part-time, starting next year!
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Father, help us in 2023 to keep our treasures in heaven, not on earth. Holy Spirit, direct the eyes of our hearts to heaven, where our lives are hidden, and away from the things of this earth. Jesus, be glorified as we cast our crowns down at your feet.