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SEGA NEWS
SEGA CONNECTION
February 2008 Issue
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Strengthening
Ministry & Leadership for Disciples
Our
Vision: We exist to nurture & support Disciples seminary
students at Eden, to enhance covenant relationships
between local
Disciple congregations and Disciple students at Eden, and to foster
leadership development in the
Disciples of Christ.
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You
should let everyone know about
> it. It's www.anysoldier.com
The site gives you specific information from
> actual soldiers as to where you can send letters of support, letters of
> thanks, and care packages to them over there. It is not a scam and a
> person's efforts go straight to the soldiers in the field. I ordered
the
> free mailing packages and forms necessary to send packages to the soldiers
> from the U.S. Postal service. Now all I'll have to do is pack them
with
> goodies (from the $0.99 store) and mail them. Not that I can even
afford
> to, but it is just too moving when I view the site. I wish I could
send
> everyone everything requested like babywipes and chapstick, simple things
> and pleasures here at home we take for granted. It is just a
wonderful
> website. If you don't already know about it, please take some time
and
> check it out so you can feel comfortable telling the church about it.
> Maybe someone there would like to help the soldiers too.
+++++++
EASTER STORY COOKIES
to be made the evening before Easter
You need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible
Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is
important-don't wait until you're half done with the recipe)!
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let
children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.
Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Read John 19:1-3
Let each child smell the vinegar.
Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the
cross, He was given vinegar to drink.
Read John 19:28-30
Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs
represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.
Read John 10:10-11
Sprinkle a little salt into each child's
hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.
Explain
that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the
bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27
So far, the ingredients are not very
appetizing. Add cup sugar.
Explain that the sweetest part of
the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know
and belong to Him.
Read Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16
Beat on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes
until stiff peaks are formed.
Explain that the color white
represents--in God's eyes--the purity of those whose sins have been cleansed
by Jesus.
Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by
teaspoons onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Explain that each
mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was sealed.
Read Matt. 27:57-60
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close
the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal
the oven door.
Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.
Read Matt. 27:65-66
GO TO BED! Explain that they may
feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.
Jesus' followers
were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20 and 22
On Easter morning, open the oven and give
everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. T
he
cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to
find the tomb open and empty.
JANUARY 16 through++++++++
Dear
members and friends of the Southeast Gateway Area,
Many activities are underway as we prepare for the sale of the Orchard
Crest Camp property.
A
celebration of outdoor ministries at Orchard Crest is a very important part of
the difficult process of letting go of the camp, giving thanks to God for the
years of ministry in that place, and marking what God has done in the lives of
children, youth, and adults.
We are fortunate to have a very dedicated group of individuals planning
this event: Brian Kirk, Carole Hughes, Darrell Hughes, Sharon Keith, and Doug
Cripe. We are grateful to them for their efforts as they plan a worship
service and light reception to help us remember, and experience again, the
Spirit at Orchard Crest.
Two possible dates for this event are Saturday, October 16th and
Saturday, October 23rd from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Please reply to let us
know if you have a preference for either of these two dates.
We will keep you informed as the date is chosen and we hope you will be
able to join us in this very special celebration!
Jacque
Foster
SEGA
Board Moderator
+++++++
+++++++
Update on Pakistan Flooding
Last week Pakistan was struck by brutal monsoon-related floods, killing more
than
1,100, with authorities worried about the spread of waterborne diseases. At
least
1.5 million people have been displaced and thousands remain stranded.
Assessments conducted by Week of Compassion partners such as Church World
Service
indicate that survivors face grave challenges, given the loss of housing,
crops
and livestock. Most of the affected villages are still inundated, and people
in
general have little to eat and no means to earn money.
Aside from the human toll, 111 bridges have been destroyed, and more than
3,700
houses have been swept away.
Through Church World Service, Week of Compassion will contribute to a flexible
response
that will adapt as needs in each district emerge. At this point, plans include
providing
emergency assistance to 70,000 people, food assistance to 35,000 people,
emergency
shelter supplies to meet the needs of 17,500 people, and mobile health access
for
17,500 people.
Through our ecumenical network, we will continue to respond and keep you
updated.
Initial reports estimate the response will cost $1.6 million.
+++++++
China: Worst Floods in Decade Displace 8
Million
Heavy rains, floods and landslides across southern and central China have left
701
people dead and 347 missing. A total of 27 out of 31 provinces and
municipalities
in the country, mostly along the Yangtze River, have been lashed by storms.
Official
figures now indicate that up to 110 million people are affected, of which
about
8 million have had to be evacuated from flooded areas. This includes up to
250,000
people in Guang'an in Sichuan Province, an area still recovering from the 2008
earthquake.
New storms and continuing rains over the last couple of weeks have caused the
situation
to further deteriorate. Since July 1, around 645,000 homes have been
destroyed,
leaving millions homeless. More than seventeen million acres of farmland have
been
flooded and crops destroyed. A third typhoon this season, Chantu, landed in
the
southern coastal area of Guangdong Province on July 22 and then moved to
neighboring
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the evening. Over one million people were
affected
and 2915 houses were destroyed, according to officials at the provincial flood
control
headquarters. The situation is being closely monitored as more rain and
flooding
is expected.
Long-time Week of Compassion partner, the Amity Foundation, is in close
contact
with its local partners in the affected areas, who have indicated the urgent
need
for shelter, basic household items and food rations, including cooking oil.
ACT
Alliance members are providing for these urgent needs, including supplementary
nutrition,
daily commodities and shelter items, to minimize the suffering of 3000
vulnerable
families. Amity also plans to contribute to the rehabilitation of the
livelihoods
of 500 households, the houses of 50 families and five irrigation/dam systems,
serving
the poorest and most vulnerable communities in secondary affected and remote
areas.
Amity expects a big gap in unmet needs in more remote areas and in some areas
classified
as secondary flood-affected. Therefore, Amity will first focus on assisting
people
in the areas that are also severely damaged by the floods but which are likely
to
receive less support.
Tropical Storm Season
Even though Tropical Storm Bonnie has fizzled out, we are monitoring the Gulf
Coast
and other vulnerable areas as this hurricane season is predicted to be
particularly
harsh, and there are fears that damage might be compounded by the BP oil
spill.
Thanks to you and your trust, partnership, and faithful gifts to the
Compassion
Response Fund, Week of Compassion will respond as needs arise.
Around the World, Around the Year
Our Compassion Response Fund is a flexible fund that allows us to respond
quickly
and effectively when disasters hit. Within 24 hours of the earthquake in
Haiti,
we were able to respond through that fund to get aid to our partners. As soon
as
we received word from our partners as to how we could most effectively
respond
to Tropical Storm Agatha in Central America, the Response Fund allowed us to
help
meet needs. Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, New Jersey, California--the Response
Fund
has met needs in all of these places as they have arisen.
2010 has been a particularly active year for Week of Compassion
We continue to respond, in partnership with you, as needs emerge. Your
continued
support and investment allows us to respond effectively and efficiently
to disasters,
extreme poverty, and many other life-and-death issues all over the world. In
the
midst of so much disaster and suffering, we are blessed to witness God's
presence.
Your gifts to Week of Compassion make real the love of Christ in this hurting
world.
Fair Trade Futures ConferenceFrom
September 10-12, 2010, 750+ people will be in
Boston for the largest Fair Trade conference in North American history!
Register
by August 1st.
Invitation to StudentsThe World Student Christian Federation North America and
the
Steering Committee of the Student Christian Movement USA invite students to
attend
"Overcoming Violence: Encountering the Past, Engaging the Present,
Empowering the
Future," October 8-11, 2010, at Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA.
Student representatives from seminaries, colleges, universities and from the
current
chapters of the SCM USA across the country will come together to discuss how
they
will collectively put their faith into action toward progressive Christian
concerns.
SCM USA will provide the coordination of ecumenical student activities in the
U.S.
and subsequently connect U.S. students to the rest of the World Student
Christian
Federation.
Need Continues for School and Clean-Up KitsThe CWS inventory of clean-up
buckets
and school kits is still quite low. The need is great: we are in the
midst of tropical
storm and hurricane season, when clean-up buckets often are requested, and CWS
is
getting numerous requests for the school kits as overseas partners prepare for
the
fall school year.
Thank you for whatever efforts you can make to help increase the clean-up
bucket
and school kit supply to help meet potential and existing requests.
]
This Week's Responses
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Oklahoma, flood relief
Kentucky, flood relief
China, flood relief
Development and Long-Term Recovery
India, women's empowerment
Share With a Friend
We now have more than 2,700 friends on Facebook learning about and engaging in
the
work of Week of Compassion. If you're one of them, please share Week of
Compassion
with a friend.
Help us show Courageous Compassion to those in need by sharing the work of
Week
of Compassion with your friends.
Disciples News Service
July 21, 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this issue:
* Church Extension president transitions into new role;
transitional president named
* Hispanic Disciples meet in Orlando for 15th Biennial
Assembly; approve resolution opposing Arizona immigration law
* Faith communities weigh in on FTC's review of children
online privacy
* Candidates sought for next moderator team and General
Nominating Committee
* North Carolina Disciple honored by new stamp for Negro
League Players
* Chalice Press to join with New Evangelical Partnership
for the Common Good
* Former Montana regional minister D. Franklin Kohl dies
* Share 2010 connects student ministries across geographic,
denominational lines
* National Convocation releases new book about Disciples
history
* Disciples will serve as chaplains at Chautauqua
Institution
* Eureka College placed on National Register of Historic
Places
* N.Y. congregation extends 'lifeline' to those with
addictions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHURCH EXTENSION PRESIDENT TRANSITIONS INTO NEW ROLE; TRANSITIONAL PRESIDENT
NAMED
James L. Powell, president of Church Extension of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), will step down from that position on Aug. 1, and assume
a new role as Senior Advisor for Advancement. Lori Adams, currently Church
Extension's vice president for Missional Development and Operations, has been
appointed transitional president until permanent leadership is determined.
Powell has served as president of Church Extension since 1995. Prior to that
he led the denomination's new church initiative and served as vice president
for congregational services. As president, he has made major contributions to
Church Extension's efforts to better serve the ever-changing face of the
Christian Church. Powell will work as senior advisor until his official
retirement on July 31, 2011.
Church Extension is in a discernment process to determine the type of
leadership needed for the emerging organization. When the search begins, an
open Executive Search Process will be used. To learn more visit:
www.disciples.org/Portals/0/PDF/DNS/2010/20100721-CELeadershipTransition.pdf
HISPANIC DISCIPLES MEET IN ORLANDO FOR 15TH BIENNIAL ASSEMBLY; APPROVE
RESOLUTION OPPOSING ARIZONA IMMIGRATION LAW
More than 300 Hispanics from the United States and Canada met in Orlando, Fla.
from July 8-11 for the 15th Hispanic and Bilingual Assembly. The important
role of family was highlighted at the four-day event where worship, youth
activities, and workshops looked at the impact of the family in strengthening
church and community life.
Representatives at the Assembly also approved an emergency resolution
declaring Arizona's new immigration law unjust and asking the entire church to
take a stand on the immigration issue. To read more about the Assembly, go to:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/666/Hispanic-Assembly-focuses-on-the-family.aspx
FAITH COMMUNITIES WEIGH IN ON FTC'S REVIEW OF CHILDREN ONLINE PRIVACY
Several faith communities, including Disciples, have urged the Federal Trade
Commission to update and make the guidelines that regulate children's online
privacy clearer. Family and Children's Ministries of Disciples Home Missions,
the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, and the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops responded to the FTC's request for
public comment on the agency's implementation of the Children's Online Privacy
Protection Rule.
In a June 30 letter to the FTC, the faith communities expressed gratitude that
the commission has begun a comprehensive review of its children's privacy
regulations. However, the faith groups cautioned that new emerging
technologies, such as Internet-connected mobile phones, online games and data
collection Web sites that specifically target children have increased the
risks to children's privacy. To learn more, see:
www.disciples.org/Portals/0/PDF/DNS/2010/20100721-COPPALetterfinal.pdf
CANDIDATES SOUGHT FOR NEXT MODERATOR TEAM AND GENERAL NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Qualified persons are being sought from across the life of the Church to serve
on the moderator team and the General Nominating Committee (GNC) to the
General Board. Brenda Etheridge, chair of the GNC, notes that each biennium,
the GNC seeks nominations for persons to serve in these positions. The
committee also hopes to develop a database of people with specific gifts and
skills, which will be available to general ministries that are searching for
qualified board members.
The moderator team, which is comprised of a moderator, first vice moderator
and second vice moderator, serves a two-year term. GNC members serve four-year
terms, and have the responsibility of ensuring diverse leadership in the life
of the Church. Nominations are being received through Oct. 1. https://secure.disciples.org/gncnominations/
NORTH CAROLINA DISCIPLE HONORED BY NEW STAMP FOR NEGRO LEAGUE PLAYERS
A North Carolina Disciple is among a group of former Negro League baseball
players, who helped celebrate the issuance of a commemorative United States
postal stamp which honors the league. Carl Long, who played with the Black
Barons of Kinston, N.C., was recognized with the dedication of a new stamp on
July 2 in Washington, N.C., along with several other former athletes from the
Negro League. Long is a member of Grove Park Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), in Kinston.
Long is the father of Sotello V. Long, regional pastor of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) in South Carolina. Sotello Long and his wife, Dee,
congregational services consultant for Church Extension, were involved in the
unveiling of the new stamp. In addition, "Carl Long's Day" was
observed in Kinston on July 3 during the Kinston Indians baseball game.
CHALICE PRESS TO JOIN WITH NEW EVANGELICAL PARTNERSHIP FOR THE COMMON GOOD
Chalice Press has entered into a publishing collaboration with The New
Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good (NEP). Through this cooperative
effort, Chalice Press will publish print, digital, and multimedia resources
that provide a "new evangelical" perspective on human rights,
creation care, and other critical issues in order to "connect, inform,
and mobilize people of faith." Chalice Press publishes content for people
who want their Christian faith to matter, and who want to make a positive
difference in the world.
"This cooperative venture with NEP is a powerful extension of both our
missions," said Chalice Press Publisher Cyrus N. White. "By
collaborating with NEP, we look forward to adding the ideas of leading
evangelical activists to the public conversation." NEP principals Richard
Cizik, David P. Gushee, and Steven D. Martin will guide the selection of
authors and projects offered under the New Evangelical Partnership for the
Common Good series. For more, go to: www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/665/Chalice-Press-to-Collaborate-with-The-New.aspx
FORMER MONTANA REGIONAL MINISTER D. FRANKLIN KOHL DIES
D. Franklin Kohl, former regional minister of the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ) in Montana, has died. Kohl passed away in Helena, Montana on July
6, after a short illness. He had been regional minister of Montana from 1967
to 1981, when he retired. Kohl also served congregations in Iowa, Nebraska,
Missouri and Montana. He was pastor of Central Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) in Great Falls, Mont., from 1955 to 1966.
Kohl earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Divinity degrees at Drake
University. He also attended Pacific School of Religion. Christianity, world
peace and reconciliation were constant themes in Kohl's life. He also loved
the outdoors and once toured England on a bicycle. Married for more than 70
years, he and his wife, LaVern, and their family frequently traveled to spots
around the world including time spent exploring the wilderness of Glacier
National Park. To read Kohl's obituary, visit:
www.mtstandard.com/news/local/obituaries/article_ae194f30-8a3e-11df-8c62-001cc4c002e0.html
SHARE 2010 CONNECTS STUDENT MINISTRIES ACROSS GEOGRAPHIC, DENOMINATIONAL LINES
Share 2010, the national student ministry gathering of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, gathered more than 50
representatives of campus and student ministries from across the country on
the campus of Texas Christian University June 28-July 2.
Open to all college students and student ministers, the gathering was
organized by Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM), the Office of
Religious and Spiritual Life at Texas Christian University, Local Church
Ministries of the United Church of Christ, and the Student Ecumenical
Partnership (STEP). Based on the word-of-mouth from participants, the
gathering was a tremendous success. Learn more about Share 2010 at: www.helmdisciples.org/helm/10/Share2010.htm
NATIONAL CONVOCATION RELEASES NEW BOOK ABOUT DISCIPLES HISTORY
On the eve of the 21st Biennial Session of the National Convocation, the
Convocation has released the new book Know Us Our Story Shall Be Continued: A
History of Black Disciples in the Mid-Atlantic Eastern North Carolina and
Virginia by Rev. J.O. Williams Sr. Know Us Our Story Shall Be Continued is a
detailed study of the development and establishment of the Assembly Churches
along the eastern seaboard.
Williams has played a historic role in Disciples' history. He was the first
African-American pastor to a white congregation in North Carolina and is the
father of Second Vice Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Marilyn F. Williams. Each registrant to National Convocation's Biennial
Session, which will take place July 29-Aug. 1 in Oklahoma City, will receive a
copy of the book. To find out more about National Convocation, visit: www.disciples.org/convo
DISCIPLES WILL SERVE AS CHAPLAINS AT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
Two Disciples leaders will serve as weekly institutional chaplains at the
Chautauqua Institution next month. Serene Jones, president of Union
Theological Seminary, will be chaplain during week eight, on Aug. 15. Jones is
a prolific and popular scholar in the fields of theology, religion and gender
studies. Cynthia L. Hale, founder and senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) in Decatur, Ga. will lead Week Nine, Aug. 22-27.
Her church has been honored as one of 300 excellent Protestant congregations
in the United States.
In addition, Nathan Day Wilson, pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) in Shelbyville, Ind., will be chaplain at the Disciples of Christ
House at Chautauqua for week three, where he also will teach three courses and
serve as liturgist for the Department of Religion for one week.
The Chautauqua Institution, located near Jamestown, N.Y., is a not-for-profit
organization dedicated to life-long learning. For nine weeks each summer, the
institution offers a blend of arts, programming and recreational activities.
Its department of religion provides a wide variety of worship services and
programs. To learn more, go to: www.ciweb.org
EUREKA COLLEGE PLACED ON NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Eureka College has been designated as a Campus Historic District in the
National Register of Historic Places. The college was recognized for the
unique architecture of its buildings, some of which date to the mid-1850s.
Eureka College was founded in 1848 as Walnut Grove Academy by abolitionists
who were members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The distinctive architectural buildings on Eureka's campus include Italianate,
Romanesque revival, Colonial revival and collegiate gothic revival. Burrus
Dickinson Hall, the college's oldest remaining building, was constructed in
1858. In addition, the distinction recognizes 156 years of graduating leaders
who have had an impact on American education and history, most notably Ronald
W. Reagan, the 40th United States president, graduated from the college in
1932. To learn more, go to: www.disciples.org/Portals/0/PDF/DNS/2010/20100721-EurekaNationalRegisterHistoricPlaces.pdf
N.Y. CONGREGATION EXTENDS 'LIFELINE' TO THOSE WITH ADDICTIONS
Park Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in New York City operates a
unique ministry for those struggling with addictions of one sort or another.
Meetings take place at the church on Sunday evenings for a program called
"Lifeline: a God-centered Recovery Community." Lifeline is an effort
to meet a significant ministry need in the community, according to Alvin O.
Jackson, senior minister at Park Avenue Christian Church.
"The focus of Lifeline is on spiritual practices that move us to health,
healing and wholeness," said Jackson of the program that the church
started about four months ago to minister to those with addictions.
"About half of the population (of society) are folks struggling with some
kind of addiction," he said. Find out more at www.lifelinenyc.org
+++++++
Planting Fields of Hope
A few months ago, I wrote about my visit to a Foods Resource Bank (FRB)
overseas
program in Guatemala.
Last week, Executive Director Amy Gopp; our colleague from Church World
Service,
Don Tatlock; George and Norma Armstrong from First Christian Church in
Valparaiso,
IN; and I attended FRB's Annual Meeting in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Along with discussing the new FRB strategic plan and engaging a panel on the
roles
of development organizations, USAID, land grant universities, and the private
sector
on food security in Washington, DC, we also made a pilgrimage to a local FRB
Growing
Project: The Grossnickle "Field of Hope" in Myersville, MD
Brandon Gilvin and George Armstrong
The Myersville Project, hosted by Grossnickle Church of the Brethren, and also
sponsored
by several other local Brethren Churches, a United Church of Christ and a
local
Catholic Church, was just an hour or so from Washington, DC, but the rolling
hills
were filled with crops, farmhouses, and all of the things that make rural life
unique.
We were treated to an amazing potluck dinner, complete with a growing
project-themed
cake and a sample of ugali and sukuma wiki, a staple of Kenya, where the Bamba
Ganze
project, sponsored by the Field of Hope, is located. We then loaded up on
wagons
and headed out on an old-fashioned hayride, which took us to a beautiful
clearing
down by a river where the Grossnickle church still holds its baptisms. We
worshipped
together and celebrated the harvest gifts of the year and the opportunity to
contribute
to the world we envision: one where hunger is but a memory, and, as the
prophet
Micah imagined, justice rolls down like water.
It was a great evening and altogether, a great meeting: part food security
strategizing,
part advocacy event, part family reunion, all church.
Growing projects are a unique way of getting local churches involved in
working
for food security all over the world. Essentially, churches pool together
money
to support a growing project, which can look like many things--some extra
acreage
managed by a local farmer, a community garden, a pumpkin patch that brings
together
the labor of a youth group and local retirees. The yield from that growing
project--whether
it is a share of what several head of cattle bring when sold at the
stockyards,
or the money that comes from fresh vegetables sold at a farmer's market--then
goes
to support one of the many food security projects all over the world; these
projects
help people utilize their skills in new ways, creating opportunities for
sustainable
small-scale food production.
Local growing projects take a good bit of work and coordination, but they are
an
amazing way to get churches--particularly rural churches--involved in
making a
big difference in fighting hunger all over the world. They can be joint
ventures
by small Disciples churches, a rural church with access to farmland can
team up
with a suburban or urban church with some financial resources to give,
or it could
emerge out of a local ecumenical effort--churches gathered together in a
single
community who want to do something to reach outside their town.
There are currently 12 growing projects sponsored by Disciples churches, and
they
are supporting tremendous work overseas. Week of Compassion has some special
grant
money set aside to help foster more growing projects, and we'd love to see
more
take off, whether it takes the form of a longstanding family farm's labor of
love
or a local congregation's experiment in urban agriculture or community
gardening.
Gulf Oil Spill Pastoral LetterWeek of
Compassion, General Minister and President
Sharon Watkins, and several Regional and Area Ministers recently sent a
letter
to churches in areas affected by the BP oil spill. To read the letter and see
the
resources WoC has made available for responding to the spill, visit this
webpage.
After The Earthquake, Port-au-Prince, HaitiNo one said responding to the
aftermath
of Haiti's devastating 12 January earthquake would be easy.
They were right.
Urgent Need for School and Clean-Up KitsThis is to alert you to the fact that
the
CWS inventory of clean-up buckets and school kits is extremely low. The need
is
great - we are in the midst of tropical storm and hurricane season, when
clean-up
buckets often are requested, and CWS is getting numerous requests for the
school
kits as overseas partners prepare for the fall school year.
Thank you, in advance, for whatever efforts you can make to help increase CWS'
clean-up
bucket and school kit supply to help meet potential and existing requests.
Quick Hits
This Week's Responses
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Nicaragua, tropical storm relief
Guatemala, tropical storm relief
El Salvador, tropical storm relief
Republic of Congo, train accident
Pakistan/Afghanistan, security crisis
Romania, flood relief
Brazil, flood relief
Montana, tornado/flood relief
Haiti, trauma counseling/peacebuilding
Development and Long-Term Recovery
Zimbabwe, water wells
Kenya (2), water project
Palestine, women's empowerment
Middle East, trauma counseling
2nd Quarter Response Fund Report
The Compassion
Response Fund is an allocation the Week of Compassion Advisory Committee makes
each year to enable WoC to respond quickly to requests for emergencies,
disasters and other urgent and unexpected needs that arise. For 2010 the WoC
Committee has allocated $510,000 for the Response Fund; it is the single
largest item in the WoC program budget. In addition to what is budgeted for
the
Response Fund, WoC receives designated gifts for the Fund and for specific
disasters,
countries and situations that further enhance our capacity to respond to
emergency needs and appeals. To date WoC has made a disaster response on
average of once every other day.
Below is a brief
report of grants from the Compassion Response Fund and other designated
disaster response accounts.
Africa: [39,465]
$1,500 - Angola, emergency
$8,500 - DR Congo, humanitarian crisis
$6,000 - DR Congo, eastern DRC conflict & displacement
$1,665 - Kenya, water wells
$5,000 - Mali, drought relief
$2,500 - South Africa, emergency assistance
$8,000 - Sudan, South Sudan drought relief
$6,000 - Uganda, mudslides
$300 - Zimbabwe, water wells
East Asia and the Pacific: [13,500]
$11,000 - China, earthquake
$2,500 - Fiji, cyclone relief
Latin America and the
Caribbean: [604,500]
$2,500 - Argentina, tornado relief
$69,500 - Chile, earthquake
$5,000 - El Salvador, floods & mudslides
$6,000 - Guatemala, TS Agatha floods
$513,500 - Haiti, earthquake
$2,000 - Mexicali, earthquake
$6,000 - Mexico, earthquake
Middle East and
Europe: [11,000]
$6,000 - Gaza/West
Bank, humanitarian assistance
$5,000 - Iraq, assistance to IDPs & refugees
Southern Asia: {37,000}
$10,000 - India, tropical storm relief
$5,000 - India, food security
$6,000 - Pakistan, post-conflict rehabilitation
$6,000 - Pakistan/Afghanistan, security crisis
$10,000 - Thai/Burma, refugee assistance
General: [12,000]
$12,000 - 2010 Rapid Response Fund
Madagascar, cyclone recovery
Zambia, flood relief
Pakistan, displacement due to
flooding
El Salvador, floods &
mudslides
Domestic: [78,080]
$500 - California, vandalism to church
$2,500 - Florida, long-term disaster recovery
$100 - Illinois, church flood
$750 - Iowa, tornado damage
$3,500 - Kentucky, flood relief
$7,500 - Louisiana, long-term hurricane recovery
$750 - Louisiana, flood recovery
$500 - Michigan, local development
$1,000 - New Jersey, flood relief
$300 - Ohio, resettled refugee assistance
$5,000 - Oklahoma, hail damage
$3,500 - Oklahoma, flood relief
$25,450 - Tennessee, flood relief
$4,000 - Texas, hurricane recovery
$720 - Texas, resettled refugee assistance
$500 - West Virginia, coal mine tragedy
$500 - U.S., 2010 winter storms
$5,250 - U.S., NE states storms appeal
$5,000 - U.S., 2010 spring storms
$4,760 - U.S., refugee assistance
$6,000 - U.S., 2010 summer emergencies
Church World Service Alert: Urgent Need for Kits
This is to alert you to the fact that the CWS inventory of
clean-up buckets and school kits is extremely low. The need is great -- we
are in the midst of tropical storm and hurricane season, when clean-up buckets
often are requested, and CWS is getting numerous requests for the school kits
as overseas partners prepare for the fall school year.
Thank you, in advance, for whatever efforts you can make to help
increase CWS' clean-up bucket and school kit supply to help meet potential
and existing requests.
+++++++
Week of Compassion Establishes the Women's
Empowerment Fund
When we help to educate a girl, we help her whole family.
To improve the life of one woman is to change the life of an entire community.
This has been proven time and time again.
We already know that successful sustainable development depends on women.
Economic
and social development around the world, including in North America, depends
directly
on how we support and empower women.
Yet most women in the world still live on less than $1 a day. Girls are often
expected
to do manual labor and stay home to help take care of their families and are
not
given the chance to go to school. Women are not given the same
opportunities to
be educated and to be in charge of their own lives.
We can change this.
We can make a difference! Together, as Disciples women, we can come together
to
help change the status and lives of girls and women. We can contribute to
their
education, training, and empowerment. We can accompany them in a bold way!
Week of Compassion has established the Women's Empowerment Fund as a way to do
just
that.
This fund will educate, train, and empower women all over the world and here
in
North America. The Women's Empowerment Fund will honor our sisters in need. It
will
serve as a powerful vehicle for us as Disciples women to channel our joint
resources
specifically to improve the lives of women.
Individually, you may feel powerless. But coming together and rallying around
our
sisters, leveraging our resources, starting giving clubs, and committing to
improving
women's lives means that every single one of us can have an impact.
The Women's Empowerment Fund will benefit our partners through Global
Ministries,
including our efforts to support women in the Congo and the Middle East. It
will
also benefit our ecumenical partners like Church World Service and Foods
Resource
Bank, to support girls and women's programs in the Republic of Georgia,
Serbia,
and India. Through all of our Disciples and ecumenical partners worldwide,
Week
of Compassion's Women's Empowerment Fund will change the lives of women.
+++++++
+++++++
Disciples News Service
July 8, 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this issue:
* Disciples Women are renewed and 'awakened' at the 2010
Quadrennial Assembly
* Committee requests church participation in General Minister
and President questionnaire
* Association of Disciple Musicians gear up for conference
* Women take away valuable lessons about Disciples Mission
Fund from Quadrennial pre-event
* Reconciliation Ministry grant proposals due in mid-July
* NAPAD Biennial Convocation set for August in Seattle
* Indianapolis churches hold special events to raise funds
for Haiti
* Midway College to open School of Pharmacy in 2011
* Legendary basketball coach and Disciple John Wooden dies
* Eureka College receives large endowment gift
* Former president of Historical Society, James Seale, dies
* Missouri School of Religion offers parish nurse course
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DISCIPLES WOMEN ARE RENEWED AND 'AWAKENED' AT THE 2010 QUADRENNIAL ASSEMBLY
Disciples women from 44 states joined with their international sisters and other
guests at the 14th Quadrennial Assembly to celebrate God's presence among them
and the unique gifts that women contribute to church life. The June 23-27 event
in Greensboro, N.C. offered opportunities for worship, Bible study, community
projects, and fellowship. The conference theme was "Awake! Awake"
(taken from Judges 5:12a). Over 1800 women attended the assembly which takes
place every four years. Attendees also included 76 men, 40 young people between
the ages of 11 to 17 and 20 international guests.
"I think this has been an awesome way to meet all my sisters in God's
family from around the world," said Adele Station, of First Christian
Church in Reidsville, N.C. To read more about the many activities that took
place at Quadrennial, go to:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/652/Disciples-women-gather-in-North-Carolina.aspx
COMMITTEE REQUESTS CHURCH PARTICIPATION IN GENERAL MINISTER AND PRESIDENT
QUESTIONNAIRE
Disciples are invited to participate in an online questionnaire that evaluates
the ministry of General Minister and President Sharon Watkins, as well as seeks
information about the Church's hopes and goals for the next six years.
Please visit www.disciples.org and click
on Review/Search and Call Committee to take the questionnaire. During the 2010
General Board meeting in April, GMP Watkins outlined her desire to serve another
six-year term, which would run from July 2011 to July 2017. The committee is
looking for candid responses to assist in its recommendation to the
Administrative Committee which will meet in October. Your response will remain
confidential, limited to only a few members of the Review/Search and Call
Committee. No personal data will be shared with GMP Watkins or the
Administrative Committee; it will only be used for statistical and follow-up
purposes.
You are encouraged to complete the online questionnaire, however, you may also
print the questionnaire and mail it to: Review/Search and Call Committee; PO Box
162327; Memphis, TN 38186-2327.
August 2 is the last date to submit your input. Please share this information
with your regional, congregational, Facebook, Twitter and other contacts to
ensure a large response.
ASSOCIATION OF DISCIPLE MUSICIANS GEAR UP FOR CONFERENCE
Worship leaders and musicians from all parts of the church will meet in
Lexington, Ky. later this month for the 49th Annual Conference of the
Association of Disciple Musicians (ADM). The conference will take place July
24-28 at Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lexington, Ky. John
Opsata and Larry Sivis (worship), Andra Moran, (emerging worship), Lynne Gackle
(choral), Robert Hobby (organ), and Tim Waugh (handbells) will be among the
featured guests.
Besides worship, there will be plenty of other activity options at the
gathering, including sessions on "Chapel Choir," "Instruments in
Worship," "Healing and Music," and "Organ Literature:
Playing Favorites." Organizers are inviting anyone interested in the
musical life of their church to consider membership in ADM and attendance at the
annual conference. Find complete registration details on the summer conference
at: www.adm-doc.org
WOMEN TAKE AWAY VALUABLE LESSONS ABOUT DISCIPLES MISSION FUND FROM QUADRENNIAL
PRE-EVENT
A number of Disciples women feel they are prepared to tell others about the many
ways Disciples Mission Fund transforms lives. Forty-one women participated in a
Quadrennial pre-event designed to create a cadre of Disciples Mission Fund
advocates. During the training, the women learned about the history of DMF - the
church's common fund - and how DMF allows Disciples to pool resources to
accomplish world-wide mission.
"We have to do a better job of telling our story of mission and outreach
and our encounters with the holy," said Associate General Minister and
President Todd Adams, who helped coordinate the training. "We also need to
show how DMF connects to the church and why others should support it."
DMF supports the work of more than 70 ministries of the church, including
regions, racial/ethnic ministries, colleges, universities and seminaries, and
general ministries. To read about the DMF advocate training, visit:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/653/Disciples-women-will-share-the-good-news.aspx
RECONCILIATION MINISTRY GRANT PROPOSALS DUE IN MID-JULY
Reconciliation Ministry is receiving grant proposals until July 15, 2010, for
general, regional and recognized ministries of the Church whose projects promote
the denomination's pro-reconciliation/anti-racism mission priority. The
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is bringing to fruition the healing that
brings wholeness in its communities and congregations through projects sponsored
by these grants, said Minister of Reconciliation April G. Johnson. The 2010
grant proposals are for 2011 projects.
Successful programs from the 2010 grant cycle included leadership development
training for new church pastors, ecumenical and interfaith collaborative
anti-racism training, programs for ministerial preparation as well as camping
opportunities for youth and young adults from across the diversity of the
Church's regions. "We are excited to witness the implementation of our
mission to 'foster life-giving community within our Church and with the whole
family of God,'" Johnson said.
Grant applications can be secured at www.reconciliationministry.org
or by contacting Nancy Kirkpatrick, Reconciliation Ministry assistant, at
317-713-2587.
NAPAD BIENNIAL CONVOCATION SET FOR AUGUST IN SEATTLE
Nearly 200 members of the North American Pacific/Asian Disciples (NAPAD)
community are making plans to meet in Seattle, Wash. for the 16th Biennial
Convocation. The theme of the convocation is "Be Hope for the World"
and will take place at Seattle University from Aug. 4-7. The theme is derived
from Rom. 15:13 and Heb. 3:6. Timothy Tseng, Young Lee Hertig, and General
Minister and President Sharon Watkins will be keynote speakers.
Watkins will preach during opening night worship on Aug. 4; Tseng, president and
executive director of the Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity
will speak at the evening plenary session Aug. 5; and Hertig will address the
convocation Aug. 6. A youth pre-event will take place, as well as business and a
variety of workshops. To register or for more information, go to www.napad.net
INDIANAPOLIS CHURCHES HOLD SPECIAL EVENTS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR HAITI
Allisonville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indianapolis will host a
concert by well-known television performers Laura and Rick Hall to help the
church fund a mission trip to Haiti. The concert will take place on July 24 at 7
p.m. A group from the church had initially planned a trip to Haiti in January,
which was postponed after the massive earthquake struck the country on January
12.
Laura Hall is known as the improvisational pianist on the TV show "Whose
Line is it Anyway." She also has performed on other television shows, as
well as at the 2007 and 2009 General assemblies, and at the 2010 Quadrennial
Assembly. Her husband, Rick Hall, has appeared on such shows as, "Curb Your
Enthusiasm," "Saving Grace," "According to Jim,"
"Seinfeld," and "The Middle." To read more about the
church's trip to Haiti and the Halls' upcoming concert, see:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/654/Earthquake-scrubs-Indiana-churchs-trip-to-Haiti.aspx
or call the church at 317-849-3957.
Southport Christian Christ in Indianapolis is hosting Pancakes for Haiti and
Community Fest on Saturday, July 10 from 7 a.m. until noon. This is a virtual
Spiritual Mission trip to Haiti with proceeds to rebuild a school. There will
also be an exclusive interview with Indianapolis Colts receiver, Pierre Garcon,
whose family is from Haiti. The event will be held at the church. For more
information, call 317-784-4431. To read more about Southport Christian, go to: www.southportchurch.org
MIDWAY COLLEGE TO OPEN SCHOOL OF PHARMACY IN 2011
Midway College will begin accepting students for its new school of pharmacy in
January. The new Midway College School of Pharmacy will be located in
Paintsville, Ky., and begin classes in August 2011. The college's school of
pharmacy will offer a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree, and initially enroll up to 80
students per year, with plans to expand to at least 320 students per year.
"As we have made visits and had discussions with local leaders, it was
obvious from day one that this was the right community for this project,"
said Midway College President William B. Drake Jr. "This is a community
that values education and is welcoming. We could not ask for a better
partner." The pharmacy school will temporarily be located on the Mayo
campus of Big Sandy Regional and Technical Center in Paintsville until a
permanent site can be established. Midway College is related by covenant to the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). For more, see: www.disciples.org/Portals/0/PDF/DNS/2010/20100707-Midway.pdf
LEGENDARY BASKETBALL COACH AND DISCIPLE JOHN WOODEN DIES
Disciple and legendary college basketball Coach John Wooden recently died at the
age of 99. Wooden was born into a Dutch-Irish family in 1910 in Hall, Ind. He
attended Disciples churches in Indiana and later in Los Angeles, Calif. He died
June 4 in Los Angeles. From 1964-'75, Wooden's University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA) basketball teams won 10 national championships, including 88
consecutive games over one stretch.
Wooden's family moved to Martinsville, Ind., eight miles away from Hall, Ind.,
after his freshman year in high school when his parents, Joshua and Roxie, lost
the family farm. "He was born and raised in my home state of Indiana and
was a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the church in which
I was born, baptized and ordained, so I've been hearing about 'Coach' all my
life," said Central Ohio story teller and supply preacher Jeff Gill. Read
Wooden's obituary from Newsday at: www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsday/obituary.aspx?n=john-wooden&pid=143327829
EUREKA COLLEGE RECEIVES LARGE ENDOWMENT GIFT
A central Illinois couple with longtime ties to the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ) has left a significant gift to Eureka College. Eureka College has
received an endowment gift of $450,665 from Nelson J. and Janet A. Smith of
Metamora, a nearby rural community. The couple designated that the money go to
the college for scholarships and repairs of campus buildings.
Janet Smith graduated from Eureka College in 1945. She died in September 2007.
Metamora farmer Nelson Smith died in March 2009. They were members of the Eureka
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for more than 50 years. Eureka College is
affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The school is
located along the Ronald Reagan Trail, named after one of Eureka College's most
famous graduates, President Ronald Reagan. To get more, see: www.eureka.edu/news/releases/spring10/smith_gift.htm
FORMER PRESIDENT OF HISTORICAL SOCIETY, JAMES SEALE, DIES
James M. Seale, president emeritus of the Disciples of Christ Historical
Society, has died. Seale, a native of Middleboro, Ky., died June 27 in
Hopkinsville, Ky. He was 79. Seal was ordained at Pond Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) in Madison County, Ky., in 1951. He served on numerous
boards across the life of the church and was the author of two books, A Century
of Faith Caring and Forward from the Past. He also wrote articles for numerous
publications.
Seale attended Lexington Theological Seminary and Transylvania University. Among
the many boards that he served on were the Cane Ridge Preservation Project,
Christian Church Homes of Kentucky and Disciples' United Christian Missionary
Society. He was president of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society from
1983 to 1995, when he retired. He is survived by his wife, Mary Dudley, two
children, two grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. To read Seale's
obituary, visit: www.discipleshistory.org/news/news_archive/seale_obituary.html
MISSOURI SCHOOL OF RELIGION OFFERS PARISH NURSE COURSE
A week-long basic preparation course designed for nurses serving in a
parish/faith community is set for Aug. 9-13 at the Regional Mission Center of
the Disciples of Christ in Jefferson City, Mo. Sponsored by the Missouri School
of Religion, the course itinerary includes prayer and daily devotion, and covers
such topics as "Health, Healing and Wholeness in the Faith Community;"
"Ethics of Parish Nursing;" "Functioning as a Ministerial
Team:" and "Family Violence."
Among the presenters for the course are Alvyne Rethemeyer, a registered nurse
and a retired director of the International Parish Nurse Resource Center in St.
Louis, Lynne Jerichow, a parish nurse for the Mexico United Methodist Church in
Mexico, and Fran Schnarre, director of educational ministry at the Missouri
School of Religion in Jefferson City. The course hours have been approved for
continuing education credit (CEU). To get more information, go to:
missourischoolofreligion.org/coursesevents/parishnursing/2010-parishfaith-community-nursing-basic-preparation-course/
+++++++
Availability of Temporary Immigration Status
for Haitian Ends July 20!Haitians who
were in the United States on a temporary visa or in undocumented status when the
earthquake struck Haiti last January have until July 20th to apply for
Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) which will allow them to remain in the United States
until
at least next summer. Refugee and Immigration Ministries (RIM) has
prepared information
on how to apply for TPS. RIM is a program of Disciples Home Missions supported
by
your Week of Compassion offerings.
+++++++
Wine To Water: Paris, TN
{The following was written by Rev. Megan Huston, pastor of First Christian
Church,
Paris, TN. As a seminary student, she served as an intern with Week of
Compassion.}
In the Gospel of John, Jesus' first miracle is at a wedding. In the middle of a
great celebration, the wine runs out. Spurred on by his mother, Jesus turns
water
into wine. It's a compelling story -- Jesus offers abundance in a moment of
scarcity.
In that same spirit, First Christian Church, Paris, TN, has tried to live into a
ministry that offers life to communities in need, seeing abundance in
times of
scarcity.
Not long ago, I spoke to Brandon Gilvin, WoC's Associate Director, who told me
about
a new initiative Week of Compassion was trying with some churches: "Wine
into Water."
The project teams Week of Compassion, Church World Service's "Water for
All" program,
and local congregations. Like the folks John writes about in the Gospel who
gathered
for a wedding in Cana, churches put together a social event: a wine tasting with
hors d' oeuvres, a sit-down dinner, a concert -- whatever sort of
celebration the
church would like to put together, and the money they raise from admission or
contribution
goes to clean water projects through Week of Compassion and Church World
Service.
When I heard about a fundraiser for Week of Compassion involving wine and
compassion,
I knew that FCC Paris would be interested! I was right. Our entire congregation
immediately got to work. We spread the word around our small community of about
10,000. We convinced the hottest band in town to donate their time. We even
persuaded
a Methodist brother across the street to donate all the wine! It didn't hurt
that
the best caterer in town goes to FCC. Pretty soon, we had pulled together one
exciting
shindig.
We had to organize advertisng and ticket sales, so we got posters made and each
committee member was asked to sell about 20 tickets. Pretty soon, we were
hearing
about our own event from friends and neighbors.
We aren't one of the "big" churches in town. We don't have a gym or
other elaborate
facilities. We're like a lot of Disciples churches in a lot of towns all over
the
country: a congregation of about 100 active members trying our best to love God
and serve our neighbors.
With a little creativity and some collaboration with Week of Compassion, we were
able to put together one of the most exciting fundraisers anyone could
remember
in Paris. We also hit the right notes in term of advocacy; by sharing
photos and
stories of East African communities who would benefit from the project, we
raised
awareness about the "Water for Life" project and one of the regions it
serves.
Our evening of fun raised $3000 to help create clean water systems: new wells,
cisterns
and dams. It will also go to help increase advocacy about water issues all over
the world, and help fund educational initiatives about water, hygiene, and
health
across Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.
Since our party, our congregation feels like we've really contributed something.
We took our gifts and created life for others. We participated in a
miracle.
For more information on how your congregation can sponsor a "Wine into
Water" fundraiser,
email Brandon [mailto:bgilvin@woc.disciples.org].
+++++++
Religious Services for Persons in
Immigration Detention
Church World Service (CWS) has a contract with the U.S. government to hire
employees
to provide religious services for persons in the immigration detention centers
owned
and operated by the U.S. government. CWS is now seeking to expand its
program to
other detention centers that are run by corporations that have a contract with
the
U.S. government. CWS is in the process of working with the Department of
Homeland
Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement to develop a pilot Volunteer
Religious
Services Program in Iowa and is seeking multi-faith clergy and faith leaders in
Iowa to help develop this program. Additionally, CWS is looking for other
possible
sites for the development of similar programs. If you are near an
immigration detention
site and are interested in helping to develop a program to provide multi-faith
services
to detainees, please let us know. CWS also needs translators for the
Detainees
Handbook (a two page document) which is given to each detainee, so he or she
will
understand the religious services available in detention. Presently they
have the
document in English, Spanish, French, Creole, Arabic, Panjabi, and Amharic.
If
you are able to translate into other languages, please let us know. CWS
also needs
soft covered Bibles, Korans, rosaries, Muslim prayer beads, prayer rugs and Holy
Scriptures of other faiths in many languages. If you are able to
provide any of
these materials please let us know. Contact Joan Maruskin at Church World
Service
(jmaruskin@churchworldservice.org
or 202-203-0676) or Jennifer Riggs, Director of
Refugee and Immigration Ministries (RIM), at jriggs@dhm.disciples.org
[mailto:jriggs@dhm.disciples.org]
or 1-888-346-2631. RIM is a program of Disciples Home Missions that is
supported
through your Week of Compassion offerings.
+++++++
Haiti: Homeless, With an Uncertain Future
The devastating Haiti earthquake that led to 1.9 million people losing their
homes
forced most into around 1400 temporary settlements in Port-au-Prince and other
areas.
Now thousands have been evicted from these sites without any viable alternative.
Teaching "Human Rights, Peace, and Harmony" in Pakistan and
Afghanistan
Church World Service works for peace in a volatile region and helps build the
capacity
of young people.
Scholarships for Young People Available for Travel with Foods Resource Bank
FRB invites its young volunteers to come travel overseas. Thanks to a grant from
the John Deere Foundation, FRB is pleased to be able to offer matching
scholarships
to help cover travel costs for young people interested in agriculture and
growing
solutions to world hunger.
Those interested in traveling should contact FRB with their request. If their
application
is accepted, the grantee will receive a scholarship for half the total travel
cost.
Check out the newsletter for upcoming overseas trips.
This is a great opportunity to visit the overseas program your growing project
supports
or to learn about life and agriculture outside the US. If you are interested in
applying for a scholarship, please contact FRB at (888) 276-4372.
WoC Recommended Reading List
Week of Compassion invites you to expand your horizons! Follow this link for a
recommended
list of books, both fiction and non-fiction, that address the kinds of issues to
which Week of Compassion responds in the world. Links to Amazon.com are
provided.
Consider starting a WoC book club!
Click here to learn more [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103512296449&s=5968&e=001eDu_84srwIOH4UWTfVE9yOzXh0Rma26zT0Wvx5yw-taEUtTvaD56eOEFP58zJVIxTcEfpbojwajqEsSgtYegMPpFW8ZPiy2m5NI28fij4MfOyviobdoR6_RY18-XWKxLFxeMpZYWcsCDaMk2u9hB4VCeUjaHqCu4O-t09gHHPAQ=].
This Week's Responses
Disaster Relief & Emergency Assistance
Honduras, Tropical Storm Agatha
Oklahoma (2), flood relief
U.S., 2010 summer emergencies
Development & Long-Term Recovery
El Salvador, food security
Vietnam, clean water project
U.S., poverty initiative
+++++++
Like (or love) Week of Compassion on FacebookDid you know Week of Compassion is
also on Facebook? In our efforts to update you on the work of Week of
Compassion,
we post updates online on our website, on Twitter as well as Facebook.
If you're one of the millions of people using Facebook to stay connected, like
us
here [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103512296449&s=5968&e=001eDu_84srwIMq71ChNIhbELUrcWzk47Pp2vkDG1jdZnS570-T2hS6tv4f-LxNomCaQ_sjtbZ5rRZn9Ag_D3wU6FRyui7od6tSpCGtAxt1lnEbcArOSDvSYUu1W9S6ewLA]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Week of Compassion is sharing resources and changing lives. Thank you for
sharing
your resources and helping to change lives.
Sometimes it's a stove, fridge, and
dishwasher. Sometimes it's a loss that is immeasurably
more difficult.
Over the last few weeks, floods and tornadoes have struck a number of states,
including
Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas
and Wyoming. Some 30 people have died in these recent incidents, and another 20
perished in flooding that affected a campsite in Arkansas, including a family
from
King's Highway Christian Church in Shreveport, LA.
This weekend, tornadoes struck Billings, MT, and fires burned out of control in
Flagstaff, AZ. As is the case with all disasters, we are monitoring these
situations
with our ecumenical partners, such as Church World Service, as well as through
our
regional and local ministries. Through Week of Compassion, the ministry of the
Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) is able to be present at times of severe need.
While we might not be able to precisely predict when a disaster might strike, we
can be prepared to respond. By contributing a gift to our designated
Response Fund,
you can help position us to respond quickly and faithfully when people are at
their
most vulnerable.
To contribute to our designated Response Fund, please visit us online.
Sometimes, a simple gift can make all
the difference. Your gift might just change
someone's life.
Kyrgyzstan: WoC Partners Distribute Food Aid
Through our invaluable partnership in the ecumenical ACT Alliance, WoC is
responding
in conflict-torn Kyrgyzstan.
The ACT Alliance's Central Asia Forum is using its well-established local
network
to provide food to people in need in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad. Local ACT
partners based in the region are buying agricultural products from local farmers
to avoid long and dangerous transport routes. In the first response to the
crisis
since last week, they have been able to facilitate the impartial distribution of
20 metric tons of rice and vegetables in the city of Osh.
Using local capacities to identify urgent needs and to facilitate direct
supplies
from local farmers is working well. At the same time, this approach is
supporting
local producers. ACT will continue developing this mechanism. A first assessment
within the ACT network estimates that local farmers can supply up to at
least 5,000
metric tons of potatoes, rice, flour, vegetables and livestock for slaughter
from
existing stocks. Local partners were able to quickly pre-finance the
mobilization
of food resources.
Besides empowering local partner capacities in southern Kyrgyzstan, ACT is
preparing
7,000 family relief packages in Bishkek which will be sent to Osh in the course
of this week. Each package will include around 15 kgs of dry food rations and
kitchen
utensils for one family. HelpAge is complementing the packages with the
provision
of hygiene items. On June 23rd, ACT will send a team of experts to Jalalabad and
Osh to assess the needs in the field and to identify priorities for
further ACT
operations. The mission is being coordinated with other international NGOs
including
Eurasia Foundation, HelpAge, MSF, Oxfam and others.
Thank you, friends, for your commitment to people recovering from devastating
natural
disaster and those grappling with the harrowing results of violence and human
conflict.
Each time you live into that commitment, you reach out with courageous
compassion.
+++++++
Guatemala Flood
Through our partners at Church World Service and the ACT Alliance, Week
Compassion
is responding to the floods in Guatemala. Our friends at CIEDEG--Conferencia de
Iglesias Evangelicas de Guatemala--are assisting 2,000 families with food
supplies,
hygiene kits and water filters. The assistance is being targeted for families in
41 communities.
National Clergy Teleconference on Immigration
Friends,
Sojourners has invited clergy from across denominations to participate in an
upcoming
conference call on Immigration. Please take a look at the details below
and consider
joining in:
Recent legislation in Arizona and protests around the country have thrust
immigrants
and border security into the spotlight and our national psyche. But the
conversation
is often filled with fear-based misinformation. As faith leaders, we have the
responsibility
to educate our members about this controversial issue - from a theological
foundation.
We know it's not an easy job to be both a pastor and a prophet for biblical
social
justice. Sometimes it can feel like these are conflicting roles! However, there
are numerous biblical and contemporary examples of leaders who are doing both on
the issue of immigration.
Join Sojourners for a national teleconference on June 24 to hear from local
pastors
and faith activists who have experience leading congregations and organizations
on this controversial topic - the call is free and open to all faith leaders.
"Faithful Perspectives: A Conversation on Immigration and Your
Congregation"
National Teleconference for Clergy and Faith Leaders
Thursday, June 24
1 to 2 p.m. EDT
Bread for the World Receives Award
Congratulations to David Beckmann, President of Bread for the World, for winning
a World Food Prize! The award is the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for
food and
agriculture.
WoC Recommended Reading List
Week of Compassion invites you to expand your horizons! Follow this link for a
recommended
list of books, both fiction and non-fiction, that address the kinds of issues to
which Week of Compassion responds in the world. Links to Amazon.com are
provided.
Consider starting a WoC book club!
This Week's Responses
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance:
El Salvador, floods & mudslides
Guatemala, flood relief
Michigan, local development
Louisiana, flood recovery
Kentucky, flood relief
Tennessee, flood relief
Like (or love) Week of Compassion on FacebookDid you know Week of Compassion is
also on Facebook? In our efforts to update you on the work of Week of
Compassion,
we post updates online on our website, on Twitter as well as Facebook.
Week of Compassion is sharing resources and changing lives. Thank you for
sharing
your resources and helping to change lives.
Disciples News Service
June 16, 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this issue:
* Kansas City Pastor Prime Example Of Barnabas For New Church
Ministry
* Week Of Compassion Poised For Response To Gulf Disaster;
Continues Relief Work In Southern Sudan
* Two Global Church Networks In The Reformed Tradition To
Merge
* Michigan Calls Two As Transitional Regional Ministers
* Pre-Eminent Disciples Scholar Don Browning Dies
* Disciples Home Missions Awards Black Leadership Project
Grants
* Conference On Offender Reentry Set For September
* Pacific School Of Religion Taps Washington Professor To Be
Interim President
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KANSAS CITY PASTOR PRIME EXAMPLE OF BARNABAS FOR NEW CHURCH MINISTRY
A Kansas City Disciples pastor is living out the meaning of church evangelism
and partnership. Edith Mendoza was already pastor of Alta Vista Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), when she felt God's call to plant a second Disciples
congregation in nearby Liberty City, Mo. In partnership with New Church Ministry
and the Greater Kansas City Region, Mendoza launched Alfa y Omega Iglesia
Cristiana (Discipulos de Cristo) in 2009. The congregation was nested in Liberty
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
"God put in my heart the need of the Hispanic community in Liberty,
Mo.," said Mendoza. "I had been struggling with it and praying about
it." On Sundays, she divides her time between the two congregations.
Mendoza "has a heart for seizing opportunities to connect to people,"
said Rick Morse, vice president of New Church Ministry and Mission Initiatives.
To find out more, see: www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/643/New-Church-Plans-A-Partnership.aspx
WEEK OF COMPASSION POISED FOR RESPONSE TO GULF DISASTER; CONTINUES RELIEF WORK
IN SOUTHERN SUDAN
Week of Compassion, the relief, refugee and development mission fund for
Disciples is currently determining how best to respond to the Gulf oil spill.
The deep-water spill was caused by an oil rig explosion on April 20, and is seen
as the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. WoC is partnering with
Church World Service, as well as with the Great River Region, which is
identifying and cataloging needs.
"If there are needs our friends and congregations can identify,
specifically, please let us know so we can respond," WoC Executive Director
Amy Gopp said regarding the oil disaster.
As one example of its international relief response, Week of Compassion
continues to contribute to the work of Action by Churches Together (ACT) in
response to the lingering drought in Southern Sudan. WoC also has remained a
supporter of ongoing needs in the Darfur region of the country. The help that
WoC is giving in Southern Sudan will provide food for at least 8,700 and help
5,342 children in 14 schools in the region. To learn more about Week of
Compassion's work, visit:
www.disciples.org/Portals/0/PDF/DNS/2010/20100616-WoCReport.pdf
TWO GLOBAL CHURCH NETWORKS IN THE REFORMED TRADITION TO MERGE
Several Disciples will attend the historic merger of the world's two largest
networks of Protestant churches in the Reformed tradition later this week.
On Friday, June 18, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) will come
together with the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) during council meetings in
Grand Rapids, Michigan to form the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).
The Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council (DECC), comprised of groups from
around the world with roots in the Stone-Campbell movement, has been engaged in
dialogue with WARC since the late 1970s. The new merger extends the partnership
to the newly formed WCRC. Disciples attendees at the meeting will represent DECC.
To read more, visit:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/644/Church-Leaders-Will-Help-Celebrate-Merger.aspx
MICHIGAN CALLS TWO AS TRANSITIONAL REGIONAL MINISTERS
Two long-time Disciples pastors have been called as transitional regional
ministers in Michigan. Eugene W. James, Jr. and Maggie Mills were installed in
the position, which they will share, in May. James currently serves as pastor of
Northwestern Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Detroit, Mich. and has
been active on a number of church-wide committees and boards.
Mills has been a senior volunteer staff person for the region since retiring
from active ministry in 2007. She has assisted the region with search and call
duties and served on the region's administrative committee, as well as provided
a one-day educational event for lay leaders each year. Mills is an ordained
minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The transitional team says they will focus on improving the region's financial
outlook as well as establishing projects that help bring Disciples churches in
the region closer together. To find out their plans for the region, visit:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/645/Coregional-Ministers-in-Michigan.aspx.
To learn more about the Christian Church in Michigan, visit: www.michigandisciples.org
PRE-EMINENT DISCIPLES SCHOLAR DON BROWNING DIES
A distinguished scholar, author and the former dean of the Disciples Divinity
House of the University of Chicago has died. Don Browning, the Alexander
Campbell Professor Emeritus of Ethics and the Social Sciences in the Divinity
School, passed away June 3 at his home in Hyde Park, Ill. He was 76. Browning
was known and respected for his writings and studies on the influence of
religion on American family life, and the intersection of psychology and
religion.
An ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he was a
prolific author and editor, mentor and colleague. He was dean of the University
of Chicago Disciples Divinity House from 1977-1983. He also had served as a
member of the faculty of the Graduate Seminary of Phillips University before
joining the faculty of the Divinity School. Browning died at home with his
family nearby. A funeral service took place on June 10 at Hyde Park Union
Church. To read more, go to:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/646/Disciples-Scholar-Don-Browning-Dies.aspx
DISCIPLES HOME MISSIONS AWARDS BLACK LEADERSHIP PROJECT GRANTS
The Disciples Home Missions Black Leadership Projects Committee has awarded
$27,999 in Black Leadership Project Grants. The eleven grant awards will fund
proposals that will develop, nurture and strengthen church leadership for
African American congregations. Black Leadership Project Grants can be requested
by a congregation, region, or staff of a general ministry.
For more information on grants, contact Billye P. Bridges at 888-346-2631 or bbridges@dhm.disciples.org.
For guidelines and information on 2011 grants, contact Lois Robinson at
888-346-2631 or lrobinson@dhm.disciples.org
CONFERENCE ON OFFENDER REENTRY SET FOR SEPTEMBER
Registration is continuing this summer for a conference that will explore
Christian involvement in helping ex-offenders re-establish their lives. The
conference, entitled "Opening Gates, Opening Hearts: Christian Responses to
Offender Reentry," is sponsored by the Missouri School of Religion. It will
take place on Sept. 11 at Christian Fellowship Church in Columbia, Mo.
Registration costs $30 prior to Aug. 20, and $40 thereafter.
Among the topics to be discussed are "Collaborating with the Missouri
Reentry Process;" "What You Can Do as a Local Church;" and
"Probation and Parole, What Do They Expect?" More than 30,000 people
are in the custody of the Missouri Department of Corrections. About 97 percent
of them will eventually return to their communities. To learn more about the
conference, go to:
missourischoolofreligion.org/coursesevents/continuing-ed/opening-gates-opening-hearts/
PACIFIC SCHOOL OF RELIGION TAPS WASHINGTON PROFESSOR TO BE INTERIM PRESIDENT
Pacific School of Religion's Board of Trustees has appointed Hubert G. Locke to
a three-month term as acting president of the seminary. Locke is a retired
professor and dean emeritus of public affairs at the University of Washington.
PSR's current President, William McKinney, is retiring at the end of June. Locke
will serve from July 1 to Sept. 30. In the meantime, PSR will elect a "term
president" to serve until a full president is appointed.
Locke was acting president during President McKinney's sabbatical in 2003. He is
a member of University Christian Church in Seattle. He also was the first
executive director of the Citizens Committee for Equal Opportunity in Detroit,
Mich., and taught public policy at University of Nebraska. He has authored and
edited several books concerning race, criminal justice and religion. To find out
more, go to:
www.psr.edu/news/hubert-locke-named-acting-president-psr
+++++++
Sympathy for the Smith, Frazier and Webster
Families
It is always tragic when disaster strikes. When it hits close to home, however,
we mourn in a very different way.
Last Thursday night, a family from Kings Highway Christian Church in Shreveport,
LA, lost three of its four members to a flash flood that tore across
their Arkansas
campground. Anthony and Candice Frazier Smith, son Joey and daughter Cateline
were
camping when the flood hit. All but Candice were killed. Several family friends
with whom they were traveling also died.
Candice's sister, Cherie, parents Kim & Paul Frazier and grandparents Betty
& Vernon
Webster sre all active in the Great River Region and have ties to Central
Christian
and Broadmoor Christian, as well as King's Highway.
Week of Compassion grieves with the Smith, Frazier, and Webster families, and
the
entire Great River Region. We give thanks for the lives of this precious family,
and thanks for an extended church family, especially Kings Highway
Christian Church
and Associate Regional pastor Michael Elmore, as they have provided support in a
time of uncertainty and grief.
A fund has been established to help Candice in these difficult circumstances.
Those
wishing to contribute can find out more information by visiting the Kings
Highway
website.
Thanks for and to all who reach out in the many ministries of compassion that
make
up who we are as a movement. We keep you in our prayers daily.
+++++++
International Guests and WoC Partners Visit
the States
Week of Compassion has invited the participation of three international women,
representing
several of our partner organizations, to the Quadrennial Assembly (QA) in North
Carolina from June 23-27. Nana Doliashvili, from the Republic of Georgia, is the
Director of the Tbilisi Youth House Foundation. Josipa Mihaljovic is from
Bosnia
and Herzegovina, representing the Bosansko Grahovo Women's Association and our
Build
a Village integrative development program. In 2008, WoC Director Amy Gopp
facilitated
the Woman-to-Woman Pilgrimage to Bosnia and Croatia, along with the Office of
Disciples
Women, where they met Josipa and other program participants. Jovana "Vanja"
Savic
is from Belgrade, Serbia, where she works in communications for the Church World
Service Balkans Office. All three women hail from an area in eastern and
south
central Europe where war, conflict, and displacement have been commonplace.
Through
WoC's close partnership with Church World Service, we have supported all three
women's
work.
Nana, from post-Soviet Georgia, is now itinerating through the state of Georgia!
Josipa is being hosted by women in the Tennessee and Michigan regions.
Jovana is
now traveling through Idaho and Montana, where she is speaking about human
trafficking.
Jovana has extensive experience in the field of human trafficking, particularly
the trafficking of women, and will bless the Quadrennial Assembly with words of
wisdom for how Disciples women might address this tragic reality. Jovana is the
Rosa Page Welch scholarship recipient to QA, funded by the Council on Christian
Unity.
Week of Compassion welcomes our special guests and partners to the United States
and to Quadrennial Assembly!
Southern Sudan Still in Need
As we continue to support the tremendous needs in the Darfur region of Sudan, we
cannot forget the South. Southern Sudan faces the consequences of more
than two
decades of civil war, which is coupled with an influx of returnees,
environmental
factors and widespread tribal conflicts. The long period of drought and failure
of the long rains in Eastern Equatoria state (since 2009) has had a severe
adverse
affect on the population, whose only harvest this year is expected to be in
September.
The March 2010 South Sudan Annual Needs and Livelihoods Assessment reports that
30% of households in Eastern Equatoria State are severely food insecure, with an
additional 42% of households moderately food insecure.
Week of Compassion continues to contribute to our Action by Churches Together
(ACT)
response to reduce the impact of the drought on human lives and to support
displaced
households in Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei States. Our support will help 8,700
households by providing food and will also help 5,342 children in 14 schools in
the region. This support will be complemented by peace-building activities.
Drought and Famine in Mali
In 2009, three regions of northern Mali experienced low, sporadic rainfall, half
the usual average for these desert areas. Low rainfall has resulted in
depletion
of underground aquifers, excessive levels of salt in the few remaining wells,
and
a complete loss of grass and leaves on desert trees. The traditionally nomadic
population
in these regions usually follows routes defined by access to water and fodder.
These
traditional sources have largely failed, and by the end of April 2010, the
little
financial reserves used by the pastoralists to purchase and transport fodder and
water for their families and livestock had been exhausted. By April 2010
reports
of animal deaths were common, closely followed by malnutrition in children and
now
increasingly in adults. As most families are pastoralists living hundreds of
kilometers
from urban centers, these early figures are anticipated to be much higher as the
situation develops. Families have been forced to move to non-traditional
areas
in search of food and water, causing tension between different ethnic groups,
where
the hosting community has little choice but to try and protect its limited
reserves.
Hundreds of herders have moved to northern Mali from Burkina Faso and Niger, and
on finding limited resources in Mali, are now too weak to return.
At this point, the Malian Government's Early Warning System estimated that
258,000
people in the main towns of Gao and Kidal were suffering from malnutrition in
April.
The Government distributed 6,970 metric tons of food to 3,310 families. Families
who have moved to look for fodder and water for their animals are not able
to access
the distribution centers. These families at the edge of the towns are the most
vulnerable.
Often, women and children are the ones left behind while the men go in search of
water and fodder with the remaining animals. In a rapid assessment, ACT
Alliance
members estimate at least 4,000 nomadic families are now camped on the edge of
the
town with dying animals. The situation is now critical with a need to distribute
food, water and fodder to prevent major human death and a level of animal
depletion
from which it will take many years for families to recover.
Through ACT, we are supporting grassroots community emergency committees that
have
already identified the most vulnerable and are distributing food, water and
fodder.
Thanks to our partnership with ACT, Week of Compassion is contributing to this
rapid
response to avert human and animal death in northern Mali.
Gulf Oil Spill
We have received a number of calls regarding ways that people can help respond
to
the devastating oil spill along the Gulf Coast.
1. The actual clean up effort is dangerous. We do not want to expose untrained
volunteers
to that level of toxicity. Nor do we have the capacity to train a large number
of
people in those skills.
2. Our primary partner in this sort of disaster is Church World Service. They,
like
many other organizations, are still figuring out the appropriate way to provide
help, and are having conversations with fishers, shrimpers, and aid partners on
the coast to see the best way to provide aid.
3. As is our protocol when disasters occur in a region of our church, we have
been
in touch with the Great River Region about this. They are currently identifying
and cataloging needs to which we can respond.
4. We are still monitoring the situation. The nature of the damage done by an
oil
spill is different from other disasters such as earthquakes, and tornados. How
the
spill affects personal property and people's livelihoods may require a different
type of response or assesment. If there are needs our friends and
congregations
can identify--specifically--please let us know so we can respond.
News from WoC Partner IMA World Health
After a decade of fruitful collaboration with IMA, the Protestant Church of
Congo
(ECC) has been selected as one of the principal recipients of a project grant
funded
by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
This Week's Responses
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Tennessee (2), flood relief
Sudan, emergency relief
Mali, drought relief
Haiti (2), solidarity grants
Haiti, medical assistance for Haitian evacuees
Pakistan/Afghanistan, security crisis
+++++++
Tropical Storm Agatha Takes Central
AmericaLooking for a way to involve and inspire
your congregation? Whether you're a minister, Sunday School teacher, Bible Study
leader, or a member who wants to make a difference, you can help to
provide urgently
needed health care in the developing world.
On 29 May 2010, a low pressure system developed into a tropical storm over
Central
America, spanning the area from Guatemala to Nicaragua. Since then, the storm
has
killed at least 145 people - 118 in Guatemala, 17 in Honduras, nine in El
Salvador
and one in Nicaragua. Dozens of people are still missing after landslides and
floods
destroyed entire communities. El Salvador and Honduras have declared red alerts.
In Guatemala, the Government has declared a State of Public Calamity.
On 1 June, the Central America Action by Churches Together (ACT) Forum hosted a
teleconference of national forum coordinators of affected countries. Results of
the preliminary assessment by the forums indicate that each country has been
affected
differently. Worst affected is Guatemala, because of the eruption of the Pacaya
volcanoa week before, and because of the strength of tropical storm Agatha. In
Guatemala,
ACT members and WoC partners have already supported clean-up activities at
community
level, provided shelter and assisted with evacuation of the population.
As an immediate response, the ACT Alliance schedules distribution of food, and
non-food
assistance,such as hygiene kits, kitchen utensils and water filters.
Rehabilitation
activities will includedistribution of seeds, agricultural inputs and tools and
technical assistance for small holders, in particular those with children, women
and elderly.
CWS is supporting efforts by fellow ACT Alliance members. Among those responding
is the Conference of Evangelical Churches of Guatemala (CIEDEG), a
long-time CWS
partner.
Oil Spill in the GulfThe yellow gale continued to sweep regions in Northwest
China
on Sunday after severe sandstorms hit Gansu province and killed three people in
the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region over the weekend.
The damage done by the oil spill in the gulf has been shocking. For those who
live
in the Gulf, there are ways to get help and to contribute in safe, appropriate
ways.
Needs Continue in Haiti
As Amy reflected earlier this week, Haiti continues to face challenges in
rebuilding.
Two of our partners, Chris Herlinger of Church World service and Rick
Santos of
IMA World Health, have recently made the media rounds, raising awareness
of the
need for continued work in Haiti.
Stop Violence Against Women
Support the International Violence Against Women Act of 2010 so you can help
stop
violence against women and girls worldwide. Currently, one in every three women
and girls worldwide is physically, sexually or otherwise abused during her
lifetime.
In some countries it's two in three. If enacted by Congress, the
provisions of
this act would help millions of girls and women around the world escape
violence
and related poverty.
Eureka College -- A Courageous Campus
Week of Compassion Salutes Eureka College for their work in response to the
earthquake
in Haiti. Though not a "congregation" in the strictest sense of
the word, we celebrate
the contributions of the entire campus by recognizing them as a "Courageous
Campus"
in our "Courageous Congregation" Feature [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp
This Week's Responses
DISASTER RELIEF & EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
RESPONSES
Illinois, flood relief
Tennessee, flood relief
Iowa, tornado damage
Pakistan, displacement due to flooding
Mexicali, earthquake
DEVELOPMENT AND LONG-TERM RECOVERY & REHABILITATION
Indiana, food security
Laos, food security
Disciples News Service
June 3, 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this issue:
* Disciples-Related Farm For Adults With Autism Enters Pepsi
Refresh Project
* Disciples Pastor Who Briefly Served In Scotland Dies
* Four Seminarians Will Work With Global Ministries As
Mission Summer Interns
* Oregon Disciples Teen Organizes Community Garden
* Disciples Women's Quadrennial Will Take Place In Late June
* World Week For Peace Calls For Prayer And Learning About
The Middle East
* National Hispanic And Bilingual Assembly To Take Place In
Orlando
* Insurance Board Offers Webinar To Discuss Keeping Churches
Safe
* July Celebration To Mark 175 Years At Missouri Church
* Students At Disciples House Participate In 'Wise Practices'
* Culver-Stockton Students Do Mission At Home And Abroad
* Disciples Pastor Called As Pacific Southwest Region's
Minister Of Stewardship And Giving
* Disciple Chosen To Lead National Discussion On Economy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DISCIPLES-RELATED FARM FOR ADULTS WITH AUTISM ENTERS PEPSI REFRESH PROJECT
Join the Pepsi Refresh Project and help adults with autism. But this Pepsi
challenge doesn't involve drinking sodas. Instead, supporters of the Hiram Farm
Living and Learning Community in Hiram, Ohio are asking people to vote for their
project at a special web site between now and June 30. The project receiving the
most votes will win $50,000.
The Hiram Farm was included on the Pepsi site on June 1. The farm is a
multi-partnered venture that helps adults with autism 'grow, learn, and work.'
The farm was launched by Hiram Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 2009.
If it wins the top prize, the money will be used to construct a building on the
farm, says Roger McKinney, pastor of Hiram Christian.
"We are an independent, church related social service agency," said
McKinney. About 90 percent of our funding comes from the state of Ohio. But it's
the remaining 10 percent that we couldn't make happen without help from
others." You can read a more complete story on the farm that appeared in
Church Extension's 2009 Annual report by going to: www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/630/Partnerships-find-fertile-soil-in-farming-model.aspx
You can help Hiram Farm become the top vote getter in the Pepsi project by
visiting: www.refresheverything.com/hiramfarm
DISCIPLES PASTOR WHO BRIEFLY SERVED IN SCOTLAND DIES
A former Disciples pastor who served churches in Pennsylvania, West Virginia,
Maryland, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois, as well as Scotland has died. John
"Jack" Henry Keppel Jr. died May 1 in Wheeling, W.Va. He was 88. From
1955 to 1958, Keppel and his wife, Mildred, and their two sons went overseas to
answer an urgent call for ministers from the British Churches of Christ in
Falkirk, Scotland.
Keppel received his bachelor's degree in religious studies from Bethany College.
He earned a master's degree from Yale Divinity School. The Keppel family visited
many re-building communities throughout Europe and the Middle East on their way
home from serving in Scotland. A memorial service took place at First Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) in Wheeling on May 16. To read John Keppel's
obituary, see:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/631/Disciples-Pastor-Who-Served-In-Scotland-Dies.aspx
FOUR SEMINARIANS WILL WORK WITH GLOBAL MINISTRIES AS MISSION SUMMER INTERNS
Four Disciples seminarians will start a ten-week internship with the
Indianapolis Global Ministries staff on June 7. Each intern will learn about the
work of the office in which he or she will serve, as well as work on a special
project that contributes to Global Ministries "critical presence"
emphasis. In July the four students will travel to Southern Africa with Julia
Brown Karimu, GM Mission Personnel Executive and Sandra Gourdet, GM Africa Area
Executive, for a two week People-to-People pilgrimage. To find out more about
the four seminarians and additional details of their internship, visit:
globalministries.org/news/news/college-of-mission-interns-to.html
OREGON DISCIPLES TEEN ORGANIZES COMMUNITY GARDEN
Oregon Disciples teen Vanessa Gorski is completing a senior high year that she
won't soon forget. Vanessa organized a community garden as her senior project.
The garden consists of 16 raised beds located on her church's property, First
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Medford, Ore. Some of the produce
grown there will benefit the church's food pantry.
"Coming together to create this garden has been a real turning point for
our congregation as we seek out new opportunities for service," said Alicia
Speidel, pastor of First Christian. Gorski spent the entire school term
organizing the project, called a "Come-Unity Garden." She began by
knocking on doors in surrounding low-income apartment complexes to invite
neighbors to join the project. She recruited several partners, including the
Korean and Latino congregations that nest at First Christian and local
businesses, which donated materials. Oregon Co-Regional Minister Cathy Myers
Wirt participated in the ribbon cutting for the garden.
To read a newspaper article about Vanessa, who will attend Chapman University in
the fall, visit: www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100524/NEWS/5240320
DISCIPLES WOMEN'S QUADRENNIAL WILL TAKE PLACE IN LATE JUNE
Disciples in all parts of the United States and Canada are making plans to
gather in Greensboro, N.C. on June 23 for the start of the Disciples Women's
Quadrennial Assembly. Women - and some men - will be part of the nearly 2,000
people who will join with international colleagues for prayer, worship,
learning, and fellowship through June 27. In addition, attendees will be able to
participate in a Habitat Build, assemble health kits, be part of a blood drive,
and learn more about women's health issues.
Several activities also have been planned for men, including golf, baseball, a
tour of the Richard Petty (Motorsports) Museum, and discussion with church
leaders.
There is still time to register. Go to quadrennial.org for more information.
WORLD WEEK FOR PEACE CALLS FOR PRAYER AND LEARNING ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST
Churches and people world-wide are praying and learning about issues of peace
and justice for those in Israel and Palestine. Global Ministries of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ joins in
prayer with the heads of churches of Jerusalem. Global Ministries has issued a
letter calling attention to the situation in that part of the world. The letter
specifically mentions the May 31 Israeli attack on the flotilla bringing
humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and the need to work for peace in the
region. To read the letter, go to: www.disciples.org/Portals/0/PDF/DNS/2010/20100603-WeekOfPrayer.pdf
NATIONAL HISPANIC AND BILINGUAL ASSEMBLY TO TAKE PLACE IN ORLANDO
Family and youth will be the focus of the 15th National Hispanic and Bilingual
Assembly in Orlando, Fla. from July 8-11. The Assembly's theme is taken from
Joshua 24:15: "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
The presentations and workshops will revolve around issues concerning family.
Special features are: Seminarians in "New Voices of Hispanic
Ministries" and featuring the six conventions (Hispanic geographical areas)
in "From the Heart of Our Conventions." A pre-gathering on Thursday
morning, July 8 will highlight the important roles that pastors, their spouses,
and their children play in effective ministry.
"We will celebrate our mission and the importance of being a family--La
Obra Hispana within the greater Family of God," said Huberto Pimentel,
national pastor for Hispanic Ministries.
Other activities include a youth program, a children's program, an Assembly
Banquet, workshops and a concert. To register for the Assembly, visit: www.obrahispana.org
INSURANCE BOARD OFFERS WEBINAR TO DISCUSS KEEPING CHURCHES SAFE
Setting up financial control for your church will be the topic of a June 23-24
webinar hosted by the Insurance Board. The webinar is the last in a spring
series of "Safe Church Webinar Series" focusing on loss control,
safety and related insurance issues affecting churches and related ministries.
The late June webinar is entitled "Building Trust, Preventing Disaster -
Financial Controls for Your Church." To register go to: https://insuranceboard.ilinc.com/perl/ilinc/lms/event.pl
If there are other subjects that church and lay leaders may want to learn about
in an upcoming fall series, contact Carl Kotheimer at the Insurance Board at
216-736-3244.
JULY CELEBRATION TO MARK 175 YEARS AT MISSOURI CHURCH
The Fourth of July weekend will be a special one for members of First Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) of Independence, Mo. The church will host a weekend
of activities commemorating its founding on July 4, 1835. The summer activities
build on other events that have taken place this year, including Sermons Sundays
with special guest preachers, a coffee shop and talent show, and special worship
music.
Beginning Friday, July 2, reunions will take place in Independence throughout
the weekend in celebration of the congregation's "'Great is Thy
Faithfulness' 175th Anniversary." Other activities will include sermons on
Sunday, July 4, with guest preachers, reflections from past and present members,
and a grand finale celebration including food, games, fellowship, and fireworks.
For more information, see:
www.disciples.org/Portals/0/PDF/DNS/2010/20100603-FCCIndependenceMo.pdf
STUDENTS AT DISCIPLES HOUSE PARTICIPATE IN 'WISE PRACTICES'
The recent flooding in Nashville did not dampen the spirits of those who
attended the Fourth Annual "Wise Practice" event for Disciples
ministry students at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Gatherings took place last
month at the Disciples Divinity House and Vine Street Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) in Nashville, Tenn., preceding graduation activities.
Wise Practice teaches Disciples aspects of pastoral ministry. Students attended
sessions on funerals, church weddings, and baptisms. On May 13-14, seven
Disciple students also graduated in ceremonies at the Divinity School and at the
Disciples House. For more, see: www.discipleshousevandy.org
CULVER-STOCKTON STUDENTS DO MISSION AT HOME AND ABROAD
Culver-Stockton students recently took on mission assignments that made a
difference not only in another country but also in their own area. For three
weeks, C-SC students in the business ethics course did mission work in either
Mexico, Illinois or Missouri. They were able to learn business ethics practices
through a hands-on approach.
The Culver-Stockton students who traveled abroad for the three-week mission
project worked in partnership with the Instituto Biblico Berea in Los Cristales,
Mexico. Other students completed mission work in Quincy, Ill., and Canton, Mo.,
where C-SC is located. Their mission projects included work at the Salvation
Army, a soup kitchen and nursing home, among other locations. To find out more,
go to:
www.culver.edu/publicrelations/article.asp?id=3584
DISCIPLES PASTOR CALLED AS PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION'S MINISTER OF STEWARDSHIP
AND GIVING
The Pacific Southwest Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has
called Dan Oliver to its newly created position of minister of stewardship and
giving. Oliver, an ordained Disciples minister, will work part time in his new
assignment, which became effective in April. His responsibilities include
educating the Pacific Southwest Region's congregations about stewardship and
giving capabilities.
Oliver has been associate pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
in Orange, Calif., and was church relations director at Chapman University for
10 years. He recently served as director of community and faith relations for
Project Impact, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based, national mentoring organization
that works to improve the lives of troubled teens and young adults and a unit of
the region. For more, see:
www.disciples.org/tabid/58/itemid/632/New-PSWR-Minister-of-Stewardship.aspx
DISCIPLE CHOSEN TO LEAD NATIONAL DISCUSSION ON ECONOMY
A Texas Disciples minister has been selected to lead one of several national
town hall meetings that will take place simultaneously across the country this
month. Ralph Curtis Steele of Bedford, Texas, was chosen to facilitate a
national town hall gathering in one of up to 20 cities on June 26. The exact
location of his assignment will be determined later. The town hall meetings are
entitled "AmericaSpeaks: Our Budget, Our Economy."
The town hall meetings will be a national discussion to find common ground on
choices about the federal budget. Steel is an ordained Disciples ministers and a
chaplain. He was formerly a pastor at churches in Hopkinsville and Mayfield, Ky.
For more about the town hall meetings, visit: usabudgetdiscussion.org
####
The next deadline to submit news for consideration
in the Disciples News Service:
Friday, June 11, 2010
Editor: Wanda Bryant Wills
E-mail: news@cm.disciples.org
For more information and news about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),
please visit our web site at www.disciples.org.
If you are interested in submitting news for distribution in the Disciples News
Service, please review our "Guidelines for submitting News and Information
to Disciples News Service": www.disciples.org/Default.aspx?tabid=79
+++++++
Haiti: Where to Begin?
What if we could simply wrap our arms around an entire island, and heal all that
ails her?
There are no words sometimes. An embrace seems easier -- perhaps even more
powerful.
No words. After my first post-earthquake visit to Haiti last week, I am left
searching
for language to describe what I saw, heard, felt.
How to describe a place so desperate, hurting, destroyed--and yet so colorful,
vibrant
and so downright engaging?
Port au Prince: Tent City. City of angels. City of mass chaos and destruction.
City of possibility.
But where do we start? How does one pick up a shovel and begin clearing the
debris?
I saw the tired and worn hands of Haitians struggling to survive, depending on
small
shovels, valiantly striving to conquer heaps of rubble so high they rival two
and
three-story buildings (the ones lucky enough to still stand, thanks to better
construction
methods). The Presidential Palace is now backstage to one of the largest urban
camps
in the world. But who is that man--blessed to have a job!--so meticulously
mowing
its lawn? Green grass against weathered white. The red and blue of the Haitian
flag
somehow ride the breeze and wave, proud yet pathetic.
Young boys--and boys will be boys--long for toys in camps where there are none
to
be found. Plastic bottle tops double as toys, and for some brief moments under a
hot and humid Haitian heat, they amuse. I ask the boys if they go to
school and
they beam. Favorite subject? Multiplication and division.
Go figure.
The latrines, water purification system and tanks, and food we are supplying
through
Church World Service and the ACT Alliance hardly seem enough. And yet basic
needs
are met. Even those not affected by the earthquake come to the camps, assured of
finding clean water and something to eat, not to mention community.
Abject poverty or natural disaster?
A need is a need is a need.
"If we use the earthquake as the basis for long-term sustainable
development in
Haiti, it could be very good," asserts Pastor Guillometre Herode of the
Christian
Center for Integrated Development, one of our partner organizations. Will we
make
the same mistakes of previous years? Can we love and--at the same time--get out
of our own way? How do we hold Haitian hands as they embrace being the agents of
their own development?
Behind the plot of CONASPEH's crumbled concrete--now cleared, thank
goodness--lies
a sanctuary of trees and tents. Children leave their tented classrooms to go
home
to either another tent or to sleep outside on the street for fear of sleeping
inside,
should there be another quake. CONASPEH shelters them not only with education
but
also with compassion. School is in session in this sanctuary of trees and tents;
education leads to development. I meet with the committed CONASPEH
Committee under
the trees, next to the tented classrooms. In a mélange of French, Creole, and
English,
we pray and process.
Across town--way across town, in the shanty-town of Carrefour--a brand new House
of Hope also stands proud and beautiful, almost as if in protest to the
overwhelming
ugliness of some of the worst destruction in the entire city. Needless to say,
homes
in the slums were not built to withstand earthquakes. The House of Hope, our
long-time
partner, is back up and running, thanks to our generous contributions, and seems
to have hardly missed a beat. Hundreds of street children, former gang
members,
and "restavek" kids (children working as domestic servants) meet
to enjoy a hot
meal, learn about children's rights and nonviolent conflict resolution,
and find
creative space to sing and dance in the new building and property. It is a sight
to behold!
Port au Prince: City of Possibility.
What if we could simply wrap our arms around an entire island, and heal all that
ails her?
Funny, as I begrudgingly left the island, it was Haiti that had embraced me.
I am--yet again--left without words.
I trust that you find yourself in that embrace, too, as we continue to work
together
to heal and love.
With immeasurable gratitude for your gifts to our response in Haiti,
Amy
+++++++
What Have You Missed?
Just yesterday, I was speaking to KK Wiseman, a Disciples pastor in Nashville,
TN.
She had just returned from a meeting with colleagues, who expressed surprise
when
she described the flood damage from which Nashville is recovering.
After all, the Tennessee Regional Office was destroyed. Several of our churches
experienced flooding, and the homes of many church members were lost. After a
well-publicized
failure of the national media, coverage of the flood damage made its way into
the
news cycle.
And still, people close to the workings of the church in Tennessee missed
it--the
severity of the flood, and in a couple of cases, the fact that it even happened.
As KK reflected, if we can miss something happening in the middle of the
United
States, what else might we miss around the world?
This past weekend, I attended an excellent symposium on the Congo, sponsored by
our friends and denominational partners at Global Ministries. Though many of the
issues facing the Congo--such as ongoing violent conflict, the role of
mining in
fueling the conflict, the use of systematic sexual violence to destabilize
entire
villages--are well documented, one speaker in particular, Muadi Mukenge
an advocate for women in the region, raised
something else we often miss--an issue
facing women in the Congo and in other regions facing severe poverty: fistula.
A tearing between a woman's birth passage and one or more of her internal
organs,
fistula often happens when women receive substandard obstetric care. Women with
fistulas experience incontinence of urine and/or feces, which produces severe
odor.
Their families and communities often abandon or marginalize them.
What's most amazing is that it only costs about US$450 to repair a fistula, and
yet, it is a medical condition that largely goes untreated, mainly because
people
who can do something about it MISS IT.
At Week of Compassion, we partner with great organizations like IMA World
Health,
Church World Service, and Global Ministries, all of which work to support
community
health issues like fistula across regions facing severe poverty. Through your
partnership,
we continue to make a difference all over the world. However, none of us can
make
a difference in the lives of people in North America or around the world if we
don't
know what people are facing; part of reaching out in Courageous Compassion is
spreading
the word about the issues our sisters and brothers face all over the world. And
doing so starts by asking a simple question:
What have we missed?
--Brandon
+++++++
Weekly Roundup
Volunteering
This spring, Week of Compassion and Disciples Volunteering teamed up to support
the Church World Service Ecumenical Build in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Several
Disciples
Churches joined the volunteer efforts. Josh Baird of Disciples Volunteering
recently
represented us at the Media Day event. Learn about this project by dropping by
the
website:
http://www.neighborhoodcedarrapids.org/
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103425654858&s=5968&e=001ZMCcupJ4A-sEOCJkOheQqLlbpKwIDe2TtQMR2Vb0XVOzrCrJT8j-dTdzmxa8g1OqzJxkBuOkkd2TdEqjurhlZKRe-Kd02vrGr-vMAjqRfI-wNf5lr6FR8yWm_D3Q5iZwU0KfnVeJQk4=]
The Congo
Global Ministries is sponsoring a symposium on human rights issues in the Congo
this weekend. Room is still available, if you can make it to Indianapolis on
Friday
and Saturday. This will be a great opportunity to learn about some of the
important
issues facing this conflict-torn, resource-rich region of Africa:
College Students!
The North American Region of the World Student Christian Federation, the oldest
global ecumenical organization for students, is hosting an eco-justice
conference
in Ottawa, ON in June:
In the News:
An independent scientist says the Gulf oil spill appears to be even larger than
he previously thought. Steve Wereley of Purdue University told a House
subcommittee
that he estimates the well is gushing nearly 100,000 barrels a day; BP's
official
estimate is 5,000 barrels
Nashville Update
The flooding in Nashville has a human cost, and a cultural cost as well:
Responses This Week:
DISASTER RELIEF & EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
Tennessee (13), flood relief
Kentucky (3), flood relief
Oklahoma (3), storm relief
Haiti, earthquake recovery
Haiti, solidarity grants
Chile (3), earthquake recovery
DEVELOPMENT AND LONG-TERM RECOVERY
India, food security
Nicaragua, food security
Sri Lanka, drama therapy with IDP population
Syria, agricultural development
Lebanon, conflict resolution
Egypt, women's empowerment
DR Congo, income generation
Zimbabwe, agricultural development
Guatemala, capacity building
Tanzania, health care
Global South, capacity building
Serbia, women's empowerment
Republic of Georgia, vocational education & employment for youth
Cambodia, rural development & conflict resolution
++++++++
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