Ambassadors for a Better World in Seattle

Participants at ROM 2017 from
South Africa, Afghanistan and Moldova

Dear Friends in Seattle,

We would be honored if you could join us in the Room 345, University Presbyterian Church (UPC), Seattle, Tuesday, October 17th, 2017, at 7.00pm for a special "Ambassadors for a Better World" evening of sharing and music.

Mark you calendars now and make sure to come and hear some new reconciliation, transformation and empathy stories shared by Tihomir Kukolja, (ROM) Renewing Our Minds Director and Martha S. Weiss, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation Chairperson.

Special musical treat and more stories will be provided by Liviu and Camilla Bocaniala from Romania and Norway. Liviu Bocaniala has been serving as the ROM Music Director since 2012. Both, Liviu and Camilla (newly wed) are talented musicians and authors of many songs.

Only a few weeks ago all of us were a part of the 2017 ROM - Renewing Our Minds Gathering of leaders in Fuzine, Croatia - 70 all together, from fifteen countries. Among us were social activists, political and community leaders, founders and directors of various non-governmental organizations, professors, journalists, artists, faith leaders, students eager to make a positive contribution to their societies, and a group of refugees from distant and conflict ridden countries seeking a new home. We will also share about the work of EDI - Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum held also in Fuzine, Croatia this summer.

Spread the word, come and bring your friends! 

This is a kind of evening you would not want to miss!

Looking very much forward to seeing you Tuesday evening, October 17.

Tihomir Kukolja

Renewing Our Minds (ROM) Director

Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation Executive Director

Ambassadors for a Better World in Houston

Dear Friends in Houston,

We would be honored if you could join us in the Parlor, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church (MDPC), Wednesday, October 25th, 2017, at 6.30pm for a special "Ambassadors for a Better World" evening of sharing and music.

Mark you calendars now and make sure to come and hear some new reconciliation, transformation and empathy stories shared by Tihomir Kukolja, (ROM) Renewing Our Minds Director, TAP Partner and MDPC Missionary.

You will also hear four MDPC members - Matt Rejmaniak, Rick Owen, William May and Linda Thompson - who visited the ROM (Renewing Our Minds) leadership and reconciliation gathering in Croatia this summer. There they met refugees from Iran and Afghanistan, and 60 other young leaders from 15 countries eager to make a difference in their countries in the name of Jesus. 

Special musical treat and more stories will be provided by Liviu and Camilla Bocaniala from Romania and Norway. Liviu Bocaniala has been serving as the ROM Music Director since 2012. Both, Liviu and Camilla (newly wed) are talented musicians and authors of many songs.

Only a few weeks ago all of us were a part of the 2017 ROM - Renewing Our Minds gathering of leaders, 70 all together, from fifteen countries. Among us were social activists, political and community leaders, founders and directors of various non-governmental organizations, professors, journalists, artists, faith leaders, students eager to make a positive contribution to their societies, and a group of refugees from distant and conflict ridden countries seeking a new home.

Spread the word, come and bring your friends! 

This is a kind of evening you would not want to miss!

Looking very much forward to seeing you Wednesday evening,  Oct 25. 

Love you all. Many blessings.

Tihomir Kukolja

Renewing Our Minds (ROM) Director

Coming Event: Ambassadors for a Better World, Houston 2016

Welcome to a special evening of learning, inspiration and sharing “Ambassadors for a Better World Houston 2016”, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church (MDPC) Parlor, Houston, on Tuesday, November 15, 2016, starting 6.30pm.

Tihomir Kukolja, ROM (Renewing Our Minds) Director; Hope Manley, TAP (The Antioch Partners) Communications Coordinator; and Liviu Bocaniala, a well-known Romanian Christian musician will share the latest stories of grace and transformation in the lives of young leaders in Southeast Europe (Balkans) who have encountered Jesus through the ministry of Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, and its leading projects ROM – Renewing Our Minds and EDI – Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum. 

The special highlight of the evening will be the transformational stories of refugees who took part in ROM and EDI gatherings in the summer of 2016. Having a group of refuges integrated in our 2016 summer projects was a blessing to the refugees and everyone attending our leadership gatherings.

A special treat of the evening will be the music interpreted by Liviu Bocaniala from Romania. Liviu will share some of his music and music of his close friends involved in the ministry of ROM over the past years.

We are looking forward to seeing you at MDPC Parlor, Tuesday,, November 15, at 6.30pm. Invite you friends. Your RSVP will help us plan the evening program even better.

Coming Event: Ambassadors for a Better World Seattle 2016

Photo: 

Forum presentation one year ago at UPC, Seattle

Ambassadors for a Better World Seattle 2016, a special program of learning, inspiration and sharing will take place at the University Presbyterian Church (UPC), Geneva B Room, Sunday, November 6, 2016, starting 11.45am.

Martha S. Weiss, Forum President; Tihomir Kukolja, ROM (Renewing Our Minds) Director; Justin Kagin, EDI (Economic Diplomacy and Integrity) Director; Allen Belton, Senior Partner, Reconciliation Ministries; Ken Kierstead, UPC Outreach Director; and Liviu Bocaniala, a well-known Romanian Christian musician will share the latest stories of grace and transformation in the lives of young leaders in Southeast Europe (Balkans) who have encountered Jesus through the ministry of Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, and its leading projects ROM – Renewing Our Minds and EDI – Economic Diplomacy and Integrity Forum. 

The special highlight of the program will be the sharing of transformational stories of refugees who took part in ROM and EDI gatherings in the summer of 2016. Having a group of refuges integrated in our 2016 summer projects was a mutual blessing to the refugees and everyone attending our leadership gatherings.

A special treat of the program will be the music interpreted by Liviu Bocaniala from Romania. Liviu will share some of his music and music of his close friends involved in the ministry of ROM and EDI over the past years.

We are looking forward to seeing you at UPC, Geneva B Room, Sunday, November 6, 2016, at 11.45am. Invite you friends. Your RSVP will help us to plan the evening even better.

What Are You Going to Do with Jesus?

What are you going to do with Jesus? Tihomir Kukolja, Renewing Our Minds (ROM) Director, delivers his closing message to the community of international participants attending the 2016 ROM leadership gathering in Fuzine, Croatia, August 2016.  His message was an elaboration of Jesus’ healing of a man born blind in John 9. Tihomir asks: “What happens when we manipulate with the witness of Jesus in our lives?” He concludes his message with the message that “we only see clearly when we see Jesus”, and invites the listeners to take Jesus seriously. Tihomir’s message is followed by a song “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”, interpreted by Liviu Bocaniala and written by Alex Dezen. Time: 22.25 

Lizzie Francis: Design, Rights and Redefinitions

“God created everything with purpose, in orderly fashion, in tune with God’s laws and relationally. But today our relationships are harmed, and values designed by God twisted”, said Lizzie Francis in her presentation “Design, Rights and Redefinitions”, which she delivered at the 2016 Regathering in Cluj-Napoca, Romania on September 30, 2016. Lizzie Francis is a young UK politician, with faith firmly grounded in the person of Jesus.

Meeting Jesus on the Refugee Trail in Houston

Dear Friends,

The refugee crisis in Europe remains to be the most difficult challenge Europe has faced since WWII. Many in Europe are responding to the refugee crisis with fear, judgmental attitudes, even hatred. Others, on the other hand, are not sparing to walk many extra miles to be among those who desire to help “the homeless of the world” on their trail from Syria, Iraq and other countries to the Central Europe. 

What do the lives of the refugees who travel with their families for weeks and months look like? Why are so many leavening Syria, Iraq and other countries in the vicinity? Should we as Christians be helping the refugees on their trail through Europe? Why did the Renewing Our Minds ministry (ROM), a leadership and reconciliation initiative, decide to become involved in the refugee charitable work? These and other related questions will be included in the interactive presentation “Meeting Jesus on the Refugee Trail” on Wednesday, Jan 27, 2016.

Tihomir Kukolja, Renewing Our Minds (ROM) Director, recently returned from the second ROM refugee mission in the Balkans. He will share stories from his time on the Serbia-Croatia border, and more recently, from his service in the biggest Refugee Camp in Croatia. He will be joined by Liviu Bocaniala, a well know Romanian music artist and a member of the ROM Response Team in sharing their stories of labor under the foggy, wet and cold winter conditions. Only a few weeks ago their team of 15 built two shelters for refugees - nursing mothers. Their action was motivated by the summons of Jesus: “Whatever you did for the list of those you did for me!”

It is a must presentation which you would not like to miss.
Come and Invite your friends! MDPC - Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, Parlor, Wednesday January 27th, 2016, at 6:30pm

In Houston February 25

Welcome to the Presentation "Ambassadors for a Better World"

Parlor, Wednesday, February 25, 2015. Starting 6:30 pm.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church (MDPC), 11612 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77024

Stories of peacemaking, forgiveness and reconciliation from the Balkans, via Ukraine to Middle East. 

Photo:

One hundred participants from eleven countries attended the 2014 Forum Regathering in October 2014, Fruska Gora, Serbia.

Dear Friends,

Renewing Our Minds (ROM), a ministry of Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation (Forum), celebrated recently sixteen years of its service. Over the years it helped shape the lives of the hundreds of young leaders from the Balkans to Ukraine and beyond, many of whom are now serving in prominent and senior leadership positions in their countries.

In the year 2014 our ministry had its leadership and reconciliation programs in Croatia, Serbia and Romania. In 2015 we are planning to add a new project in Albania, have our second take in the Middle East, and provide a special place for a group of participants from Ukraine, Russia and Moldova. This will take place at our next Renewing Our Minds Leadership and Reconciliation Gathering in August, in Croatia. Guided by the leadership of Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation and your partnership we have been blessed with an amazing growth of our ministry over the past several years.

Come and listen to the accounts of transformation and success that only God can bring into the lives of young leaders from many countries that are involved in our programs. Hear also about the plans to reach our next landmark - twenty years of the transformational service of the Renewing Our Minds reconciliation and leadership development ministry that continues to focus faithfully on peace building, reconciliation, leadership development and following Jesus. Our vision and mission continues to grow strong: “Developing leaders transformed by the person of Jesus in a divided world.”

Our theme for the evening will be "Ambassadors for a Better World". Presenters will be: Tihomir Kukolja, Renewing Our Minds Director, and Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation, Executive Director, and MDPC missionary; Jeremiah Collins, MDPC High School Outreach Director; Matt Rejmaniak, MDPC Elder and serving on the Global Outreach Committee; and Matt Hammon, a professional musician and artist from Houston. Jeremiah, Matt and Matt have over the past few years served in the ROM facilitation teams too. 

This is an exciting time for the ministry of ROM as we try to reach young leaders of the world with the love of Jesus across various ethnic, racial and religious dividing lines. We believe you should know about it. It will be an honor to see you on Wed Feb 25, at 6:30 pm, Parlor, Memorial Presbyterian Church. Bring a friend too.

Tihomir Kukolja, Executive Director, Forum for Leadership and Reconciliation

Photos taken at the "Ambassadors for a Better World" evening, February 25, 2015 at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, Houston