Providing Christian resources from the YMCA past and present to nourish inclusive, equitable work in our diverse and global neighborhoods that build up healthy spirit, mind and body for all.
I Am The YMCA: a series of statements from the Y movement in 1979 about the mission and Christian spirit that shaped and fueled it. #IAmTheYMCA #ymca
This anonymous statement dates back to 1979; it was handed to me by YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne CEO Chris Angellatta for my files. If you know who the author of this document is, please let me know.
I AM THE YMCA:
To some, I am a gymnasium…a swimming pool…a dormitory…a game room…a camp…a home away from home…a classroom…a Christian fellowship.
I am all of these things…and more.
I am people…people who believe in the Christian Way of Life…people who comfort our Armed Forces…people in 89 nations.
I am lonesome people…youth who have run away from home…who come to me yearning for friendship, counsel and understanding.
I am a dedicated cause…striving against juvenille waywardness…encouraging companionship between fathers and sons and daughters…winning tough guys to better citizenship…through worthwhile activities in a wholesome environmen.
I am a bond of friendship of which I am proud…and humble.
My members belong for one…or both…of two reasons. Some join to learn and to lean. Later they, with others, learn to teach and support. I deal in skills and knowledges directed at a balance of spirit, mind and body…toward a more complete life.
Those who join my ranks expect to find adequate shelter and equipment to house my varied programs…where social life, athletics, and intellectual exchange can compete for attention against some outside attractions which are not entirely beneficial.
I am a positive force for good in a world beset by cynicism, apathy, and disillusionment.
As an Association, I impose obligations…of respect for the rights of others…of dignity of the individual…of helpfulness toward others in their time of need…of fair play…reverence toward the Almighty.
In return I offer an opportunity to grow…to win new friends…new understanding…new peace of spirit.
I am a vehicle for the development of men and women. The youth of today will be the adults of tomorrow…defending our shores…considering our legislation…teaching our grandchildren…running our businesses.
Fellowship within my Association guides the pent-up energies of the adolscent…shepherds their transition toward self-sufficiency…enlightens lesire hours of busy maturity…and softens the loneliness of waning generations.
Membership is voluntary…many take part without formal membership…and they are welcome insofar as I have capacity to serve them.
I am a movement…assuming responsibility for today’s task with an ever-changing crop of youth…nor am I forgetting that a proper association with others is a part of the plan.
I am 135 years of experience in the ways of youth.
I know strength is needed…there is much work to do…we can do it together…with faith in God.
What would you do if you came face to face with God? What would you do if fire destroyed what you loved? How do you prevail in the midst of complicated struggles? The story and fate of Peniel is a metaphor to me of the YMCA, America, and our faith.
Fire! It’s a cry of alarm when the flames stretch forth, unwanted, under protest, against what you treasure.
Fire! It’s a shout for joy when the sparks take hold of the dry tinder, the night is brisk, the stars are out, and your friends are ready to gather around to warm up and tell their stories.
Fire! It’s a sign of judgment, a cause for destruction, a threat of scorching pain. It’s also a means to survival, purification, and transformation.
Haaretz.com photo credit/firefighter at Peniel
Fire unexpectedly scorched beautiful Peniel, a YMCA haven of rest in the Holy Land, a little piece of heaven on earth.
A shock to the soul in 2016!
Why would God let this happen here? What does it mean? How do we interpret the flaming disaster?
And what now in 2020?
YouTube.com/Guy Shacar, three weeks after the fire
Four years after fire swept through the Tiberius coast, Peniel is a burnt hull.
When Archibald C. Harte retired from his remarkable career with the YMCA in the 1930’s he purchased a plot on the Sea of Galilee and transformed it into Peniel, a beautiful retreat for weary YMCA workers and travelers from around the world.
Beautiful Peniel in Tiberius, along the Sea of Galilee
Peniel means “face of God” and comes from the Hebrew Scriptures, a story where a traveler named Jacob wrestled with God, lost, was renamed Israel, and limped away transformed.
Jacob named the place Peniel for he had struggled with God (hence the name “Israel”) face to face and lived.
Over the years Peniel became a thin-space for YMCA workers, where it did seem that heaven met earth there, and folks could experience a face to face encounter with the Lord in their soul.
Spectacular vista from Peniel patio of the Sea, Golan Heights, and the sunset
Lush walkways throughout Peniel, shaded picnic areas, a sunny beach
Harte Memorial Chapel, the heart of Peniel, a sacred YMCA thin-space
The overgrown, desecrated chapel; broken windows, vandalized; yet holy.
So when fire ravaged the “face of God”, many who had strong roots and formative memories at Peniel grieved the loss deeply.
How to make sense of it, and what to do now?
The legal and cultural situations quickly became complicated.
Meanwhile entropy emerged on the property through vandalism, desecration, squatting, and the weather.
Through wise, collaborative, and patient leadership, plans for restoration of Peniel are being formed.
A renewed purpose is being prayerfully considered.
YMCA workers around the world are seeking the face of God for inspiration, direction, and open doors for the rebuilding of this sacred space in the Holy Land.
It brings together Christian YMCA leaders from across the United States to grow in their capacity to strengthen the Christian mission of the YMCA in the 21st century.
This training in agile learning and adaptive leadership skills is mediated through an online curriculum supported by venerable Springfield College, an immersive sojourn with YMCA’s in the Holy Land through the guidance of Friends of the Jerusalem YMCA, and an intensive series of seminars with the Global Leadership Summit.
The cohort of 12 learners and 12 mentors is an innovative, rich and transformative YMCA program that brings together our dual emphasis of Christian principles and diversity, inclusion, global.
Archibald C. Harte of the YMCA and Peniel
Archibald C. Harte was a visionary leader, making possible the construction of the Jerusalem International YMCA.
His love for the Lord, the YMCA, and the Holy Land, combined with his commitment to peace, solidarity, and friendship, inspired our OnPrinciple cohort still shapes the purpose of the JIY today. Read more here.
Peniel, a safe place for all to rest and enjoy good company
Peniel patiently awaiting restoration and renewed YMCA hospitality
The YMCA has long been a Christian organization which authentically strives to be welcoming for all.
Especially in the Holy Land, Jews, Christians and Muslims all work together in friendship and solidarity at the YMCA.
The Jerusalem International YMCA, which oversees Peniel, is renown for their diversity and inclusion of Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, all sorts of faith backgrounds but one thing in common: love for the YMCA mission and legacy.
Dedication stone at Jerusalem International YMCA, set by Archibald Hart.
So in a world still full consumed by violence and bigotry, hatred and war, poverty and oppression, how can Peniel be a crucial thin-space again for all, for transformation through the sacred struggle together?
Christians believe that in Christ Jesus we see the face of God; we also believe that we are sent into the world as “little Christ’s” meant to embody his grace and truth in love.
We believe that when we love, care and serve in the world like God in Christ does, through the gifts and guidance of the Holy Spirit, people can still experience the transformative face of God.
Christian hospitality becomes a way to co-create thin spaces in the world where spiritual transformation, sacred struggles, new names, holy purposes can be given and received.
Fire in the face of God is consuming yet purifying, burning but illuminating, painful yet transformative.
May Peniel become a renewed site on the Sea of Galilee where YMCA workers can experience a purifying fire in the face of God, amidst their struggles feel again the call to go and be the light, to be the good news of God in our burning yet beloved world.
Thanks to Mike Bussey for most of the beautiful pre-2016 Peniel pics, and some post-fire ones.
Since 1878 the YMCA has worked in Jerusalem to work for holy and loving peace among Jews, Christians, and Muslims as well as between international political and ethnic powers seeking to control the land.
There is still much more peace-making work to do in this place that sits at the center of the universe.
The Y is in the middle of it, striving to nurture loving, caring and serving with flourishing for all.
Let’s find a way to join in it.
The Holy Land is revered by millions of Jews around the world, along with billions of Christians and Muslims.
Jerusalem is a sacred city, the epicenter of the story of these three Abrahamic faiths that make up the majority of the world population.
The Psalms call us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem – one that we would all love to see answered in our lifetime.
For the religious among us, it’s almost as if Jerusalem is the center of the world, the point where heaven and earth have met, still meet, and one day will reconvene.
To be a peace-maker in the Holy Land is to embody the deepest hopes and calling of those who identify as children of Abraham.
And yet war, terror, fury, revenge, and hate corrode the foundations of what is most beautiful about the Holy Land.
So what is the YMCA doing in this land?
As an organization with Christian origins and heritage, with a commitment to living out the kingdom of God in the world harmoniously and for the common good, it ends up having a unique role in many communities across the world.
Especially in the Holy Land.
What does it mean for this kind of organization with this kind of Christian legacy to advocate for inclusivity amongst its membership and leadership?
At one level it creates space for Jews, Christians, and Muslims who do want to work, pray and play together to do so.
The synergy and love that develops around their efforts together not only becomes compelling attractive but healing as well as inspiring.
For those that feel like their only options are withdrawing from violence into safe enclaves of like-mindedness or wading into the conflict to show how right they are, there are other ways of being a peace-maker without being identical.
There are plenty of similarities and differences between the Jews, Christians, and Muslims who serve with the YMCA in the Holy Land.
But it’s the inclusive nature of the mission that both allows them to draw on the best of their faith traditions without requiring strict adherence to their religious doctrines or spiritual practices.
Mutual respect, compassionate caring, genuine honesty, and mature responsibility go a long way in allowing talented people of different faiths to do YMCA mission-work together.
Within Christian traditions, there can be the belief that God will only bless his people when they are holy and loving.
Thus there is always a striving to be more holy and more loving.
The problem is that these two desires can sometimes (often) cause conflict with each other.
Sometimes to be more holy I might feel the need to withdraw from those who are different or less pure than myself.
But to be more loving is to be more compassionate and healing to those least like me.
We can see this tension being played out in the stories of God’s people throughout recorded history. Including in the YMCA.
Since 1878 the YMCA has worked in Jerusalem to work for holy and loving peace among Jews, Christians, and Muslims as well as between international political and ethnic powers seeking to control the land.
There is still much more peace-making work to do in this place that sits at the center of the universe.
The Y is in the middle of it, striving to nurture loving, caring and serving with flourishing for all.
Let’s find a way to join in it.
(featured image is the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the foreground, the Dome of the Rock mosque in the middle, and a Jewish cemetery in the far background)
