Dear Reconciler Family,

In January I traveled to Washington, D.C. to take part in a Reconciliation and Police Legitimacy Summit at Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), an office of the U.S. Department of Justice.  My son, Brad, of the Pasadena Police Department was also invited to attend.  We were asked to go by Bernard Melekian (former Pasadena Police Chief) who now serves as Director of COPS.

On January 10, I conducted a two-hour session with a predominately African American audience which included some top COPS office leaders on “The Dream,” referring to Jesus’ dream of Luke 4:16-18 “to preach good news to the poor, and relieve the oppressed, give sight to the blind, and liberate the captives.”  Some feel overlooked for promotions and discriminated against.

On January 11, I participated in an 8-hour Summit on Reconciliation and Police Legitimacy which included a number of police chiefs, COPS leaders, pastors, community development leaders and others.  I spoke and fielded questions for an hour and served as a panelist the rest of the time.

In an interview, Garry McCarthy, Superintendent of Police in Chicago, said: “I understand the historical divide between police and communities of color – it’s rooted in the history of this country. The most visible arm of government is a police force, and the institutionalized governmental programs that promoted racist policies that were enforced by police departments are part of the African American history in this country. And we have to recognize it because recognition is the first step towards finding a cure for what is ailing us.”

David Kennedy, Professor of Criminal Justice at John Jay College in New York, said that “affected communities view present law enforcement actions through the lens of history creating a narrative…” The narrative says they believe the laws set up by the government are slanted against communities of color.  Whether true or not this belief is acted upon and helps perpetuate our present conditions.

The bottom line is our prayers and examples are much needed in a dangerous and spiritually starved world. Thank you for standing in the gap with us at ORM.  And many thanks for your faithful financial support which helps enable us to do our part.

Curtis May

Dear Reconciler Family,

This month begins our 16^th year of Reconciliation Ministry, so I wanted to remind us of some of the great blessings the Lord has given us.  He has led this ministry so powerfully, and His miracles have been so amazingly evident that I wanted to share them.

With a small, part-time staff, here are a few examples:

• The ORM newsletter, Reconcile, has been able to reach many people worldwide for the last 13 years.  We have gotten excellent feedback over the years and have sent bulk copies for community outreach events.  God has blessed us to be able to maintain the quality of the newsletter over the years.  And I want to thank Neil and Susan Earle, Mike Riley, and Roger Lippross for their incredible work!
• The website at www.ATimeToReconcile.org.  If you haven’t viewed it lately, please do.  We have some timely and educational material on it.  Here’s a comment from David Kennedy, Professor of Criminal Justice at John Jay College:  “I’ve been looking at Curtis May’s work in anticipation of our upcoming COPS [Community Oriented Policing Services] session and have been hugely impressed.  It’s good to recognize a kindred spirit.  So…could you please introduce us.”  We talked for an hour on the phone, along with ORM Chapter Leaders Ron Washington and Willard High.

David Kennedy, Bernard Melekian and I, along with others, will help conduct a summit on Racial Reconciliation and Police Legitimacy on January 11.  We will meet with the Department of Justice Community Policing Department on January 10^th.  Your prayers would be much appreciated!

• While surfing the site you may want to take note of the many awards and commendations we have received.  Not the least of which is the Key to the City of Memphis and the Human Relations Award.

You all share in these miracles and accomplishments. And I thank God regularly for you all.

Your prayers and financial support are priceless as we move into another year and anticipate what doors God will open to us.

Love and appreciation,

Curtis May

Dear Reconciler Family,

It’s hard to believe we’re in the month of December and another year is approaching.  This new year begins 16 years of successful ministry!  Thank you for your loyal support in helping make it happen.

During the month of November Jannice and I had the opportunity to share in the Annual Outreach Event of the Montgomery, Alabama congregation.  It was a lively and worshipful celebration!  The congregation put on an inspiring program of songs, music, mimes, skits, etc., and the community attendees seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

I gave the sermon on the topic of “Reconciliation.”  It was followed by a delicious meal!  The congregation has had several baptisms of guests who have attended the event.  Go Montgomery and Pastors James Lewis and Arthur Carlisle!

We also had the opportunity to visit the Southern Poverty Law Center which tracks and identifies hate groups throughout the country.  Jannice and I also had the opportunity to visit Freedom Church in Georgia.  I gave the sermon on the topic of “Change,” as they have just had a change in pastors.  The new pastor is Lance McKinnon.  The sermon was well received, and many asked us to come back and me to speak again.  Several members are ORM supporters.

I would like to wish you all a wonderful time of Advent celebrations and a Merry and meaningful Christmas!  What a magnificent gift God gave us – His Son!

Thank you again for your prayers and support as we enter a new year.  We are looking forward to some exciting opportunities that are currently in the making!  We are seeking God’s guidance as we proceed.

Love and blessings,

Curtis May

PS: I just received a message from Director of Community Oriented Policing (COPS) Bernard Melekian of the U. S. Justice Department inviting me to participate in a conference on “Racial Reconciliation and Police Legitimacy” on January 11, 2012. It involves police and community relations.  Please pray that God would guide this event and my participation in it. Thank you!

Dear Reconciler Family,

Thank you for your kind support of the Reconciliation Chapter Leaders’ Training Conference in Columbus, Ohio on October 7-9.

It was blessed and inspiring.  We could feel God’s presence throughout the conference.  CEO and ORM Advisory Council member John Connors said this:  “Tremendous weekend retreat!  I think you’ve set the tone for ORM for the next several years.  Congrats!”  We could sense that something special was going on.

I had the opportunity to interview Chapter Leader from Ireland, Evelyne O’Callaghan Burkhard, for a broadcast on KCLE “Big Country” radio in Cleburne, Texas.  You may watch our broadcasts online at www.atimetoreconcile.net.

We also were blessed with a new chapter leader, Larry Hinkle, who is District Pastoral Leader and Pastor in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  He was commissioned at the conference.  He will be a fine asset in an area where we don’t have a chapter.

A member of the U.S. Justice Department sat in as an observer at the conference.  Please pray that this will lead to the opening of new doors for the ministry.

On another topic, we at ORM would like to wish all veterans among us a meaningful Veterans’ Day.  And we would also like to wish you all a very happy and uplifting Thanksgiving Day celebration!  We have so much to be thankful for!

I thank God for all of you and for your being such a blessing to the Ministry of Reconciliation.  Your support is having a major impact on others.

Love and blessings in His service,

Curtis May

Dear Reconciler Family,

A couple of weeks ago my wife Jannice and I had the opportunity to experience a foretaste of Jesus’ dream.  His dream is that we all become one, unified and fully accepting of each other.  I have often spoken on the topic over the years.

The experience was attending a multi-national and multicultural worship service in San Fernando, California at Communion de Gracia congregation, pastored by Heber Ticas. Seven Latin American countries were represented, along with some Latino Americans – a total of eight countries.  They were Argentina, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, Columbia, and of course, the United States.

Pastor Ticas translated as I spoke about how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  We celebrated together through praise and worship accompanied by a keyboard, a guitar, and drums!  Along with adults, teens and preteens sang and praised God!

Services were also bathed in prayer as babies were blessed and had hands laid on them and requests were made for their needs.  The colorful dress, outstanding food and beautiful people made for a very special day!

In the sermon I emphasized the need to embrace diversity rather than allowing it to be a point of divisiveness, as it often is in the world, and even the church.  Emphasizing God’s love for us all, I encouraged them to be sure to teach their children to love themselves and each other in obedience to God.

On the night before His death Jesus asked the Father “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us, so the world may believe that you have sent me” John 17:21.

Thank you all who pray for and support this ministry of reconciliation.  You are helping events like this happen – advancing Jesus’ dream.  He is the one leading the charge!

Love to all,

Curtis May

Dear Reconciler Family,

What if all Christian churches were to come together in unity?  What would be the result?  How would it impact non-Christians?  I believe the impact would be phenomenal!  I believe the Church would grow dramatically.  It would render dead the argument many non-Christians use on what keeps them away – our divisiveness.

Acts 10 tells the story of two men who were dramatically different.  They were from two very different cultures that had kept their ethnic groups apart.  Were it not for God’s intervention, it would have continued.

Cornelius was a gentile centurion of the Roman army.  They considered the Jews weird and even barbaric because of their practices such as circumcision and their animal sacrifices and eating habits.

Peter, being a Jew, had never invited a gentile into his house to eat because they considered them to be “common and unclean” because of their eating habits.  They didn’t eat kosher.

But God changed that through two miracles that brought them together in very dramatic fashion!  The results were: The Holy Spirit coming into Cornelius’ household and their consequent baptism into the Body of Christ – the Church.

Peter not only went into the home of a gentile, but baptized his household and even ate with them.  This was earthshaking!  And the Church grew.

Since both of these men were praying when God spoke to them, perhaps that’s the cue that we as the Church need to have a special prayer focus on “reaching the unchurched for Christ” and fellowshipping in the marketplace – sharing the love of God with “spiritual gentiles.”

Thank you for your help in the effort to follow the example in Acts 10.  You may want to review it.  It truly is advancing the gospel message. Your loyal support is doing much good.

Love in Jesus,

Curtis May

Dear Reconciler Family,

The story is told about a five-year-old boy who was asked by his mom to get her a can of soup from the pantry.  He replied, “Mom, it’s dark in there!”  She said, “Jesus is in there.”  He said, “Jesus, hand me a can of soup.”

I gave a sermon recently titled, “Fear, Faith, and Reconciliation.”  In it I talked about our need to face our fears which can paralyze and stunt our growth and advancement in kingdom work.

I had the opportunity to face one of my fears a few weeks ago – the fear of heights.  I went out on the Sky Walk at the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.  It’s a horseshoe-shaped structure that’s built into the side of the canyon.

Statistics on the Sky Walk:

• Suspended 4,000 feet above the Colorado River
• Can withstand the weight of 71 fully-loaded Boeing 747 airplanes
• Immune to winds in excess of 100 miles per hour
• Can survive an 8.0 earthquake within 50 miles

These statistics helped reduce my fear and increased my courage to step out onto the Walk.

It can also be quite scary doing the work of reconciliation (or the gospel work) because we often deal with relationships.  Some people have post-traumatic stress syndrome or PTSD. Some have stuffed bad experiences and have never dealt with them.  I’ve learned quite a bit on this topic from Dr. Archibald Hart, former chairman of the Psychology Department at Fuller Theological Seminary. He wisely teaches us to face and confront the past and not live in denial.

What gives me and our team courage is Jesus in us and personal experience with Him:

His word also gives us great comfort. Also His “statistics:”

• The words “fear not” appear 365 times in the KJV – one for each day of the year!
• The word ‘faith” appears 247 times.

Acts 17:28 – “In Him we live and move and have our being.”

Colossians 1:17 – “In Him all things consist” – hold together.

Hebrews 12:2 – “He is the author and finisher of our faith.”

So we can boldly tackle any challenge that may threaten our growth, whether bad experiences of the past, present or future – anything that may threaten to cause failure, traumatize or debilitate us.  We can face it through Jesus.  The main reason is Jesus lives in us through the Holy Spirit, our Teacher.

In closing I would like to announce that we are scheduled to conduct a Reconciliation Chapter Leaders’ Training Conference on October 7-9 this year in Columbus, Ohio.  We haven’t had one in three years, and we have several candidates who want the training.  We all need the refresher and focus on the future of the ministry and to seek God’s lead in that focus.

There is such a need for this ministry in our broken and divided world!  Thank you for any contribution you may be able to make toward the conference expenses.  And thank you for what you’ve already done in support of the daily operations of the ministry.

God bless you,

Curtis May

Dear Reconciler Family,

Here’s a brief update on some of our recent activities in the Ministry of Reconciliation.

On Thursday, May 26, I was asked to lecture at two classes at Marshall High School in Pasadena, California.  The topic was “Proper Conduct When Interacting with the Police.” I was accompanied by two police officers, Veronica Burros and Rodney Sanders, along with Human Relations Commission’s Event Producer Nat Nehdar.  The teachers of these advanced 6^th graders were both elected “Teacher of the Year.”  They are Mrs. Nancy Green and Ms. Marysia Narvaez.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, May 31–June 2, I was guest speaker at an inter-denominational, multi-ethnic conference on the topic of “Church Growth in a Changing World.”  It was hosted by the Baptist Church Missions Association.  On Tuesday evening in a Bible study format I spoke on Jesus’ example of crossing barriers in John 4 and then held a Q & A session.

On Wednesday I spoke to pastors on “Church Growth in a Changing World” where I emphasized the need for three things: prayer, love and willingness to fellowship with people of all walks of life.  Then we held a round-table discussion including a Q and A session.  Ephesians 2 was my text.

On Thursday Baptist Mission Director Scott Whitson led a round table discussion where pastors were asked to share their issues relating to church growth and diversity.  It led to some lively discussion as some churches are homogenous and seeking answers.  Then Scott asked me to answer their questions and angsts.  Pulpit exchanges was one suggestion.  With God’s grace and prayer it went well.

We ended with a round table discussion at a Hispanic congregation with a group of white, black and Hispanic pastors.  I closed the session with my final message on Acts 10 where a Roman Centurion and a Jewish Apostle were brought together by Jesus Christ.  A great example of cultures, ethnicities and beliefs coming together under one roof – Jesus and His teachings.  Overall we had the opportunity to share with about 80 to 100 pastors.  What a privilege!

Most of the preparatory work was done by GCI Pastor/ORM Chapter Leader Tom Pickett, assisted by Baptist Pastor Charles Dorsett.  Pastor/ORM Chapter Leader Arnold Clauson also attended a session, as well as Tom’s wife Adrianne and other family members. We ended with Tom and Charles interviewing me at Big Country Radio Station KCLE in Cleburne, Texas.

Thank you for your heartfelt prayers and kind financial support!

God bless you,

Curtis May

Dear Reconciler Family,

I would like to thank you for the wonderful responses to my last letter where I included “Confessions of a police officer.”  I would like to share a few:

“Thank you for sharing this with me.  I have been asked to deliver the keynote address at the Chairman’s Dinner during Police Week.  I intend to quote from this letter and to reference both you and ORM directly.”

Director Bernard Melekian

U.S. Justice Department

“Thank you so much for sharing the police officer’s ‘confession’ in the May letter: precious food for thought.  Reconciliation Ministry rocks!”

– MHB

“We received your recent letter from Reconciliation Ministries.  It meant a lot to us, because you may have heard, we just lost a policeman a few weeks ago, the first in 100 years in Kalamazoo.  I may have heard about your son, but can’t be sure.  You can be sure, however, we will now add him to our prayers.  A very tough job, yet it is done with much style and grace.  Praise the Lord.”

We at ORM are very grateful for your prayers for law enforcement officers.  We have shared the stage with many and appreciate their hard work and day-to-day sacrifices.

Your prayers remind me of the passage in the book of Jeremiah (8:22):  “Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?  Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?”

Jesus is the Healing Balm that we all need.  And as we continue to be used by Him we share in that healing process.  Thank you for your involvement in Reconciliation Ministry so others may be blessed.  Your prayers and financial support help make it possible.

Love to all,

Curtis May

Dear Reconcile Family,

I thought I would share with you the fact that twenty-one police officers were killed in the U.S. in the line of duty in the month of March.  The Police Unity Tour Organization website shows that April and May are months that tours are taken to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Below is the confession of a police officer from policelink.com.  It gives us all some insight into what they have to face daily. As many of you know, my son Bradley is a police officer.

“I am a cop. That means that the pains and joys of my personal life are often muted by my work. I resent the intrusion, but I confuse myself with my job almost as often as you do. The label “police officer” creates a false image of who I really am.

Sometimes I feel like I’m floating between two worlds. My work is not just protecting and serving. It’s preserving that buffer that exists in the space between what you think the world is, and what the world really is.

My job isn’t like television. The action is less frequent, and more graphic. It is not exhilarating to point a gun at someone. Pooled blood has a disgusting metallic smell and steams a little when the temperature drops. CPR isn’t an instant miracle, and it’s no fun listening to an elderly grandmother’s ribs break while I keep her heart beating. I’m not flattered by your curiosity about my work.

I don’t keep a record of which incident was the most frightening, or the strangest, or the bloodiest, or even the funniest. I don’t tell you about my day, because I don’t want to share the images that haunt me.

Sometimes my stereo is too loud. Andrea Bocelli’s voice makes it easier to forget the wasted body of the young man who died alone in a rented room, because his family feared the stigma of AIDS. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony erases the sight of the nurses who sobbed as they scrubbed layers of dirt and slime from a neglected two-year-old’s skin.

The Rolling Stones’ angry beat assures me that it was ignorance that drove a young mother to draw blood when she bit her toddler on the cheek in an attempt to teach him not to bite.

Sometimes I set a bad example. I exceeded the speed limit on my way home from work, because I had trouble shedding the adrenalin that kicked in when I discovered that the man I handcuffed during a drug raid was sitting on a loaded 9mm pistol.

Sometimes I seem rude. I was distracted and forgot to smile when you greeted me in the store because I was remembering the anguished, whispered confession of a teenager who pushed away his drowning brother to save his own life.

Sometimes I’m not as sympathetic as you’d like. I’m not concerned that your 15-year-old daughter is dating an 18-year-old because I just comforted the parents of a young man who slashed his own throat while they slept in the next bedroom. I was terse on the phone, because I resented the burden of having to weigh the value of two lives when I was pointing my gun at an armed man who kept begging me to kill him.

I laugh when you cringe away from the mess in your teen’s room, because I know the revulsion of feeling a heroin addict’s blood trickling toward an open cut on my arm. If I was silent when you whined about your overbearing mother, it’s because I really wanted to tell you that I spoke to one of our high school friends today. I found her mother slumped behind the wheel of her car in a tightly closed garage. She had dressed in her best outfit before rolling down the windows and starting the engine.

On the other hand, if I seem totally oblivious to the blood on my uniform, or the names people call me, or the hateful editorials, it’s because I am remembering the lessons my job has taught me.

I learned not to sweat the small stuff. Grape juice on the beige sofa and puppy pee on the oriental carpet don’t faze me, because I know what arterial bleeding and decaying bodies can do to one’s decor.

I learned when to shut out the world and take a mental health day. I skipped your daughter’s fourth birthday party, because I was thinking about the six children under the age of ten whose mother left them unattended to go out with a friend. When the three-year-old offered the dog the milk from her cereal bowl, the dog attacked her, tearing open her head and staining the sandbox with blood. The little girl’s siblings had to pry her head out of the dog’s jaws – twice.

I learned that everyone has a lesson to teach me. Two mothers engaged in custody battles taught me not to judge a book by its cover. The teenage mother on welfare mustered the strength to refrain from crying in front of her worried child, while the well-dressed, upper-class mother literally played tug of war with her toddler before running into traffic with the shrieking child in her arms.

I learned that nothing given from the heart is truly gone. A hug, a smile, a reassuring word, or an attentive ear can bring an injured or distraught person back to the surface, and help me refocus.

And I learned not to give up, ever! That split second of terror when I think I have finally engaged the one who is young enough and strong enough to take me down taught me that I have only one restriction: my own mortality.

One week in May has been set aside as Police Memorial Week, a time to remember those officers who didn’t make it home after their shift. But why wait? Take a moment to tell an officer that you appreciate her work. Smile and say “Hi” when he’s getting coffee. Bite your tongue when you start to tell a “bad cop” story. Better yet, find the time to tell a “good cop” story. The family at the next table may be a cop’s family.

Nothing given from the heart is truly gone. It is kept in the hearts of the recipients. Give from the heart. Give something back to the officers who risk everything they have.”

Romans 13 tells us that police officers are “ministers of God.”  They stand between us and chaos. Thank you for making an impact on a crazy world through your prayers and kind financial support.  You are also “standing in the gap” (Ezekiel 22:30).

Love and blessings to you; my apology for the length this time, but thought it important.

Curtis May