In this issue:
ASSOCIATE GENERAL MINISTER AND VICE PRESIDENT POSITION IS NOW POSTED
Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply for the Associate General Minister and Vice-President position, which will work closely with the denomination’s General Minister and President. Applicants should have experience in the areas of budget preparation and management, administration, strategic leadership and planning, human resources, pastoral leadership, and experience related to the anti-racism, pro-reconciliation priority of the church.
Those considered for the position must have a Masters’ degree in Divinity, 10 years of leadership experience in the management and administration of large, complex organizations, and five or more years within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in a variety of roles. All applicants also will be required to answer several essay questions. The Associate General Minister and Vice President will work from the Church’s General Office in Indianapolis. Completed resumes and essays are due Feb. 28. For a full position description, go to www.disciples.org/ogmp/agmvp
DISCIPLES PASTOR IN INDIANAPOLIS PUSHES FOR SOLUTIONS TO CRIME
T. Garrott Benjamin, senior pastor of Light of the World Christian Church (DOC) in Indianapolis, is now a leading member of a group of clergy lobbying city officials to partner with them to help slow the growth of violent crime in the city. Benjamin believes an alliance among government and faith-based organizations is the best way to reduce violence in Indianapolis, where 153 murders occurred last year.
In October, Benjamin, and a coalition of about 50 ministers met with the city’s Mayor and asked him to join them in raising $25 million for educational and recreational programs to help fight crime. “What good is it to have a billion-dollar stadium if the fans come and go in fear?” wrote Benjamin in the Indianapolis Star newspaper. He told the Indianapolis Recorder, “The mayor has a faith-based office so they obviously believe that the government and the church can work together.” To read Benjamin’s editorial, see:
www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070109/OPINION01/701090326/1031
GMP JOINS COALITION OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALLING FOR RENEWED ISRAEL/PALESTINE PEACE INITIATIVE
General Minister and President Sharon E. Watkins is among nearly 40 Christian leaders who have sent a letter to President George Bush asking that he make Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking an “urgent priority” for his administration.
The signers of the letter represent a wide range of Christian traditions – Orthodox, Catholic, mainstream and evangelical Protestants. Each said they “stand close together in our hopes and prayers for peace in the land we all call Holy and for the reconciliation of the Children of Abraham – Jews, Christians and Muslims.” The letter was initiated by Churches for Middle East Peace, an advocacy group of nearly two dozen denominations seeking a non-violent solution in Israel and Palestine. To read the letter sent to the President, go to: www.cmep.org/Alerts/2007Jan24.htm
LYNCHBURG COLLEGE TO HOST PERFORMANCE ABOUT PEACE
Lynchburg College is set to host a play that advocates creating a U.S. Department of Peace. The production of “The Gift of Peace” will be performed at Lynchburg College on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Hopwood Auditorium.
The play, which is touring the country, is designed to draw attention to a proposed bill that would establish a Department of Peace and Nonviolence. The legislation already has 75 co-sponsors in Congress who back the idea of a federal department to promote nonviolent solutions to domestic and international conflict. “Regardless of one’s politics, religion or race, we have all experienced a moment when a deeper calling for a more peaceful world arose within us, even if only for a moment,” said Stacey Martino, the play’s author. For more, go to:
www.lynchburg.edu/news/news.htm?id=553
GENERAL ASSEMBLY PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS SENT TO CONGREGATIONS
If you haven’t yet made your reservations for the July 21-25 General Assembly in Fort Worth, Texas, now is the time. The 2007 Congregational Booklet, produced by Communication Ministries, contains most of the information you need to plan for the Assembly. The booklet gives information on this year’s theme, “Share the Feast,” based on Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 in the book of Matthew. It also has an outline of speakers, outreach opportunities, youth events, hotel options, promotional ideas and much more.
Congregational booklets were mailed out this week. Additional copies can be secured from Communication Ministries by calling 317-713-2492 or e-mailing news@cm.disciples.org
A special promotional “Share the Feast” Sunday will be held this weekend in Fort Worth. Planners ask for your prayers as they help spread the word about the upcoming Assembly in the Southwest area. To register for the Assembly as well as learn more details that will help in your planning, go to www.disciples.org/ga
PRE-EVENT ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES PLANNED AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Global Ministries and Disciples Peace Fellowship will sponsor a General Assembly pre-event in Fort Worth on July 20-21 that looks at immigration issues. Entitled, “Turning Walls into Tables: Sharing the Feast,” the event will help participants consider how walls on the southern border of our country might be turned into welcoming tables of hospitality and communion. The session will examine other “walls” or barriers that have been erected around the globe based on race, economics, politics and religion and what we, as Disciples, can do to transform these walls into tables where all are welcome.
Daisy Machado, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean at Lexington Theological Seminary, will be the theologian for the event. Several other speakers also will look at various issues connected with immigration during the breakout sessions. The cost for the event is $60 and includes materials and an evening meal. The space is limited to 150 participants. Contact Onea Winkle today at owinkle@dom.disciples.org or 317-713-2567 to pre-register.
DISCIPLES PEACE FELLOWSHIP SEEKS SUMMER INTERNS
What are you doing this summer? Want to help change the world? Disciples Peace Fellowship (DPF) is looking for its 2007 Peace and Justice Interns. Interns spend the summer traveling from camp to camp (plus the General Assembly) talking with youth about peace and justice issues, with an emphasis this year on alternatives to war. Selected interns spend a week in Indianapolis for orientation and training before heading off across the country, a different event each week. Interns travel to Indianapolis on Memorial Day and are generally finished by the first week in August.
Intern travel and almost all expenses are paid, including General Assembly. Interns, who must be 21 by June 1, receive a stipend of $2,000 for the summer. The application form can be downloaded from www.dpfweb.org or for a copy. Any questions can be directed to Sarah Riester by e-mailing her at sarahriester@yahoo.com or calling her at 317-466-0980. Applications are due Feb. 5. If this opportunity isn’t a fit for you but works for someone you know, please pass this along. To learn more about DPF go to www.dpfweb.org
CAMPAIGN TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE HEADS TO SENATE
The Disciples Center for Public Witness (DCPW) is among several faith organizations urging Disciples to call their U.S. senators in support of an increase in the minimum wage. The U.S. House recently passed an increase in the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour by a 315-116 margin. The bill was sent to the Senate, where it awaits action.
“Thirty-seven million people live in poverty in the United States, in part because the minimum wage is so low,” said Jennifer Kottler, a Disciples minister and deputy director of Protestants for the Common Good in Chicago, Ill. Kottler is the senior advisor to DCPW on anti-poverty policies, projects, ministries, and campaigns.
Sharon Watkins, General minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Disciples Justice Action Network and other members of the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign support the increase. For more information, call 1-800-459-1887, or see: home.comcast.net/~disciplescenter/alerts/22jan07.html
BRITE DIVINITY SCHOOL NAMES DIRECTOR OF HISPANIC PROGRAM
Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University has hired Luis Bernard as director of its Borderlands Center for Latina/o Church Studies, effective Feb. 1. Bernard comes to Brite, which is located in Fort Worth, Texas, from Sarasota, Fla., where he was the pastor of Beneva Christian Church (DOC).
Texas-born, Bernard is a graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas, and received a master’s degree from the University of Central Texas in Killeen. He received his masters’ in divinity degree from the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico in San Juan and is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The work of the Borderlands Center is focused on how the growing Latina/o population challenges the traditional Christian approach to blending religion and culture. For more information about Brite Divinity School, visit: www.brite.tcu.edu
REGISTER FOR THE DISCIPLES SEMINARIAN CONFERENCE
The Disciples Seminarians Conference, scheduled for April 12-15, in Nashville, Tenn. gathers all masters’ of divinity students who have completed at least one year of study for a time of fellowship, networking, worship, and learning about the wider ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It’s a great chance to meet other new leaders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and learn how the church can help you and the congregation or organization you lead to minister faithfully and effectively. Tell every seminarian you know to visit www.helmdisciples.org/theological/conference.htm for more information on the conference.
TWO CHILDREN WORSHIP & WONDER EVENTS SCHEDULED
Two events related to family and children will be held in early February. A Children Worship & Wonder “Mini” Story Teller Event is being offered for seminary students at the Children’s Worship Center at Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Ky., Feb. 2-3. The cost is $25 and scholarships are available. Online registration can be completed at
www.discipleshomemissions.org/FamilyandChildren/CWWTraining.htm
Those who attend the Children Worship & Wonder Story Teller Event Feb. 2-4 at Countryside Christian Church in Shawnee Mission, Kan., will also have the opportunity to meet Olivia Stewart, granddaughter of the late Sonja Stewart, who co-authored the book, “Young Children and Worship.” Olivia Stewart is interested in continuing her grandmother’s ministry with children and is exploring ways that she might partner with Disciples Home Missions’ Children Worship & Wonder Program. For additional information on either event, contact Kaye Edwards at: kedwards@dhm.disciples.org, or 434-932-1119.
INTERNATIONAL DISCIPLES WOMEN GATHER IN NORTH CAROLINA
The International Disciples Women’s Ministries regional staff and presidents gathered in Greensboro, N.C. earlier this week, and are being joined by constituency women leaders and guests.
During the meeting, which runs from Jan 24- 29, the women leaders are receiving new information for their region, participating in working groups on leadership, study materials, environment, public relations and making plans for the General Assembly. Greensboro, N.C., will also be the site for the 2010 Quadrennial Assembly.
MORE THAN 200 GROUPS SIGN UP FOR MISSION WORK IN THE GULF COAST AREA
At least 210 groups have been or are scheduled to travel to the this country’s Gulf Coast states to work in hurricane recovery efforts. There still are some openings, however, for late summer and fall.
The members of one church, First Christian Church (DOC) of Port Arthur, Texas, have been helped in their rebuilding efforts by some of the mission groups. First Christian now intends to take a group of its members to McComb, Miss., to give something back to the people in that area. Contact Tod Iseminger at Disciples Home Missions (DHM) for more information about ways your congregation can help. Iseminger can be reached at 317-713-2649 or tiseming@dhm.disciples.org
To learn more about hurricane recovery efforts you may also visit: www.discipleshomemissions.org/DisasterResponse.htm.
ARKANSAS CHURCH HOSTS 125TH ANNIVERSARY THIS SUNDAY
First Christian Church (DOC) of Russellville, Ark., will celebrate 125 years of ministry this weekend. The church, where N. Stanley McDougal is the current pastor, was formed on Jan. 29, 1882, after having shared services for two years with a local Baptist congregation. Historical records show there was a Disciples presence in the community as early as 1852. This weekend’s celebrations include a fellowship gathering on Saturday night, and a luncheon on Sunday, following worship. To learn more about First Christian Church of Russellville, visit: www.geocities.com/fcchurch_rsvl/
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