In this issue:
NBA BOARD LAUNCHES SEARCH FOR PRESIDENT AND CEO
The National Benevolent Association (NBA) has begun the search for a president and Chief Executive Officer of the organization. The NBA's Board of Trustees made the announcement on May 29.
Dennis Hagemann has been NBA President and CEO since shortly before the organization emerged from bankruptcy in April of 2005. "Dennis has done an exemplary job of leading NBA through the challenges of bankruptcy and reorganization," said board Chair Pat Parvin. "This is in no way an indictment of his ability to lead and we encourage and expect him to apply for the position."
The National Benevolent Association, the 120-year-old social and health services general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), is headquartered in Maryland Heights, Mo. To learn more about the board's announcement, see: www.disciples.org/dns/releases2007/07082.pdf (PDF)
GMP WATKINS TO QUERY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON CNN
General Minister and President Sharon E. Watkins will be among a group of five religious leaders who will question the three leading Democratic presidential contenders during a live national TV broadcast on Monday, June 4. The "Presidential Forum on Faith, Values, and Poverty," will be broadcast live by CNN at 7 p.m. from the campus of George Washington University in Washington D.C. The hour-long forum will be a first-of-its-kind special edition of the "Situation Room" and be moderated by CNN's Soledad O'Brien.
"I am pleased to participate in a forum which explicitly intends to bring the language and concerns of people of faith into the political process," said Watkins. "I'll be very interested to watch in the fall when Sojourners has the same style forum with Republican presidential candidates."
Watkins will be joined on the panel by Jim Wallis, president and executive director of Sojourners/Call to Renewal and a scheduled speaker during the 2007 General Assembly in Fort Worth, Texas; Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York; Suzan Johnson Cook, senior pastor at Believers' Christian Fellowship in New York City; and Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church in Orlando, Fla. Disciples are encouraged to organize groups to view the broadcast. The forum will take place during Sojourners' annual Pentecost 2007 conference. To get more information about the forum, see: www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=action.P07&item=pentecost07_candidates_forum
HOTEL SPACE STILL AVAILABLE FOR ASSEMBLY IN FORT WORTH
Disciples can still find hotel rooms in Fort Worth for the General Assembly. However, some options are no longer available as lodging space in Assembly-contracted hotels is rapidly filling up in downtown locations. The 2007 Assembly will be held at the Fort Worth Convention Center July 21-25. Disciples who room at Assembly-contracted hotels will be able to use the free shuttle service that will operate between the hotels and the Convention Center each day. To view information on housing, visit: www.disciples.org/ga/housing
ON-LINE VERSION OF COMMUNIQUE PROVIDES OVERVIEW OF GENERAL BOARD
The work of the 2007 General Board can now be read in an on-line version of Communique. A new, smaller General Board met in Indianapolis April 28 through May 1, and dealt with such issues as the future role of benevolent care ministries within the Church and recommendations on Reconciliation Mission. The Board also reviewed and recommended a number of resolutions be forwarded to the General Assembly for action.
Communique is the official newsletter that provides an overview of major action taken at General Board meetings. Copies of Communique should arrive in congregations soon, however, the on-line version can be viewed by going to: www.disciples.org/dns/communique/2007communique.pdf (PDF)
CONGREGATIONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE IN CHALICE EXCHANGE AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Communion is an integral part of Disciples' worship experience and will be an important part of the 2007 General Assembly as well. Disciples' congregations will have an opportunity to participate in an exchange of communion chalices during the Assembly, which will take place in Fort Worth, Texas, July 21-25. The chalice exchange will be a powerful witness to the oneness and unity among the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
To get involved in the exchange, congregations must bring or send a communion chalice from their church to exchange with another congregation's at the Assembly. In addition, as many chalices as possible will be used in an evening communion service. They also will be displayed in the Chapel before the exchange takes place. For more information on the chalice exchange, contact Mary Lou Dillon at 817-571-0231, or umccpastor@sbcglobal.net or you may visit www.disciples.org/ga/additionalhighlights/chaliceexchange
PROGRESS MADE IN PUSH TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE
Many Disciples are applauding an increase in the federal minimum wage rate that will help the nation's lowest paid workers. President Bush signed a bill on May 25 that increased the rate. The new law, which was overwhelmingly approved by Congress a day earlier, increases the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years. This is the first change since the minimum wage, which was established in 1938, went from $4.75 to $5.15 in 1997.
More than 1,000 leaders of faith and community organizations, including Sharon E. Watkins, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), sent a letter to Congress in January urging lawmakers to support raising the minimum wage. Additionally, the 2005 General Assembly in Portland, Ore., adopted a resolution calling for the Church to "support national movements toward the passage of legislation that guarantees workers sufficient wages to support adequate food, clothing, shelter, and health care for themselves and their families..." To see more on the recent minimum wage hike, go to: www.letjusticeroll.org/pressroom/ljrpressrelease-5-25-07.html
DISCIPLES CONGREGATIONS BENEFIT FROM OREON E. SCOTT GRANTS
Disciples Home Missions (DHM) has received several Oreon E. Scott Foundation grants for projects that will benefit congregations. DHM, a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has been awarded $15,000 to support the 2008 International Christian Youth Fellowship event. Another $15,000 grant will contribute to the transformation of congregations by making five cluster or regional events possible in 2008.
Kentucky Appalachian Ministry (KAM) has received $15,000 to continue its work. In addition, $5,000 went to North American Pacific Asian Disciples (NAPAD) to help finance the training of Korean Disciples Ministers on Disciples history and polity and sacraments through a course that will be held in August at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. To get more information about the Oreon E. Scott Foundation grants, visit: www.disciples.org/dns/releases2007/07084.html
CHAPLAIN IN MISSISSIPPI EARNS OUTSTANDING LOCAL LEADERSHIP AWARD
Jeff Murphy, a Disciples chaplain at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., received the Outstanding Local Leadership Award at the Association of Professional Chaplains Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. on April 30. The award was given for his work in organizing the Mississippi Chaplains Association and for his efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
This is the second year that a Disciples chaplain has received the honor. Last year Earl Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Professional Chaplains. To read more about the Association of Professional Chaplains, see: www.professionalchaplains.org
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES CONTINUES ECUMENICAL MISSION
Robert K. Welsh, president of the Council on Christian Unity, is giving leadership to leading a newly formed commission that will discuss and recommend ways to further strengthen the participation of Christian World Communions in the life and work of the World Council of Churches of which the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a member.
The Joint Consultative Commission's first meeting was held on May 10 under the leadership of its moderator, Nareg Alemezian, a bishop from the Armenian Apostolic Church and Welsh, as general secretary of the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council, is current chair of the Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions. More information about the partnership between WCC and other ecumenical organizations can be found at: www.oikoumene.org/en/programmes/the-wcc-and-the-ecumenical-movement-in-the-21st-century/partnership-with-ecumenical-organizations.html
MIDWAY COLLEGE GOES FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS TO A GRADUATION CLASS OF MORE THAN 300
Midway College has come a long way since its establishment in 1847 to prepare financially disadvantaged young women for teaching careers. Originally known as the Kentucky Female Orphan School, Midway has grown into three colleges: a traditional all-day women's college, an evening and weekend School for Career Development that serves working men and women and, since 2004, an online college. This year, the 160-year-old institution with humble beginnings graduated a class of more than 300 on May 12.
Located on a 199-acre farm in Midway, Ky., this year's graduating class was the largest in the school's history. Midway College is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). For more information about this important milestone for Midway College, see: www.midway.edu/php/event_display.php?id=93
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