Weekly Reflection: Cornelius Corps at 20- Gratitude for the Past as the Call Continues

July 1 is the 20th anniversary of Cornelius Corps. I want to express my deep gratitude to God and to everyone who has made this ministry possible for the last 20 years. It began in July 2001 after I served for eleven years as the pastor of Christ Crossman UMC in Falls Church, VA a close in suburb of Washington, DC . During my time as the church’s pastor, I was blessed to develop relationships with a variety of people and ministries in the inner city of DC related to The Church of the Saviour. These ministries included a medical facility for unhoused men called Christ House, The Servant Leadership School where I took classes and met wonderful people of different races and economic conditions, and New Community Church in the Shaw neighborhood that introduced me to the rich history and culture of the Black community in DC. In all these settings, I met Christians who were committed to a holistic form of discipleship that combined practicing spiritual disciplines (journey inward), discerning and following God’s call to mission (journey outward), and depth community in covenanted small groups called mission groups (journey together). Through the gift of these relationships and this model of holistic discipleship, I experienced a renewed sense of God’s call for my life focused on the the intersection of spiritual formation and racial justice/reconciliation. In making the transition from pastoral ministry to founding and directing Cornelius Corps, I received amazing support from my family and mentors from The Church of the Saviour. Foremost among these mentors was The Rev. Gordon Cosby (one of the founders of The Church of the Saviour) and The Rev. Jim Dickerson (founder and pastor of New Community Church). The pictures posted below feature locations of these foundation Church of the Saviour related ministries:

Over the last 20 years, the ministry of Cornelius Corps has taken a variety of forms. New Community Church served as the base for Cornelius Corps for our first 19 years. During that time, the ministry brought people together across the urban-suburban divide to experience the mutual gifts of God in each other through experiences such as walking tours of the Shaw neighborhood, tennis camp, Vacation Bible School, and tutoring in a DC public school. We also developed classes and workshops focused on various aspects of racial justice as discipleship including an emphasis on the faith based nonviolence of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Although Cornelius Corps was based in DC, doors opened for us to build relationships with people and churches beyond the DC area including Charlotte, NC and even Seoul, South Korea. The pictures posted below represent a few of these Cornelius Corps experiences over the years:

In the summer of 2020, the ministry of Cornelius Corps entered a new phase as we relocated to Richmond, VA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, God opened doors for the ministry to expand through online offerings. Using Zoom, we provided workshops and classes with participants in places ranging from metro DC to Williamsburg, VA to New Jersey to Wyoming just to name a few. We are also partnering in several projects with an innovative ministry called Neighborhood Seminary that will help to reach more people committed to holistic discipleship of the journey inward, outward, and together.

Over this 20th anniversary year, in addition to the Weekly Reflection, we will send out monthly video testimonies of people whose lives have been impacted by Cornelius Corps. As I give thanks for all the amazing experiences of the past 20 years, I am also grateful that Cornelius Corps continues to follow God’s call to equip people for a shared journey of spiritual formation and racial justice/reconciliation.