In this issue:
DISCIPLES WOMEN CONSTRUCT HABITAT HOME; GMP PARTICIPATES
Fifty Disciples women gathered in Beaumont, Texas, recently to "raise the walls" of a new home for a 37-year old local resident. Their efforts represented the town’s first ever Habitat All-Women Blitz Build – a project of the Office of Disciples Women supported by Disciples Volunteering of Disciples Home Missions, Week of Compassion and Habitat for Humanity.
The women took turns hammering nails and holding 2x4’s in place among other work. General Minister and President Sharon E. Watkins joined the Disciples women, who came from around the U.S. and Canada, for this special mission project. To read her account of her time in Beaumont, go to: www.disciples.org/watkins/lettersmedia/2008/blitzbuild
NEW CHURCH START IN OREGON PROVIDES SHELTER FOR THE HOMELESS
Calvary Christian Church in Portland, Ore., may only be three years old, but its outreach ministry is already making a huge impact in the community. The American Red Cross has selected Calvary as one of three locations to offer overnight shelter to many of the city's nearly 1,500 homeless people.
The homeless who find their way to Calvary welcome their overnight lodging at the church where there is no registration, pets are allowed, families can pull mats side by side and the kitchen is staffed all night. The shelter is housed in a portion of the former Mallory Avenue Christian Church in northeast Portland.
To read a newspaper account of Calvary’s ministry to the homeless, visit
www.disciples.org/dns/newsletter/linkredirect.asp?id=080206a
WEEK OF COMPASSION SPONSORS SPECIAL WEEKEND EVENT
The first ever WeekEnd of Compassion will be held April 11-13 in Nashville, Tenn., at the Scarritt-Bennett Center. The event will be a weekend retreat and revival that will feature Fred Craddock, a well-known Disciples preacher from Cherry Log, Ga., as the opening speaker. Frank Thomas, senior pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn., is the Saturday preacher.
Rebecca Hale, transitional regional minister in the Northwest will lead Bible study. There also will be workshops, a fair trade coffee house and concert, music and ideas for promoting Week of Compassion in your local setting. A pre-event service opportunity with Habitat for Humanity in Nashville, supported by Week of Compassion, will be available for those who are able to come earlier on Friday. To register, visit www.weekofcompassion.org/pages/updates/jan0831.html
To continue to support Week of Compassion in its relief, refugee and development ministry for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), please remember to give generously to its Special Offering on Feb. 17 and 24.
INSURANCE DIRECTORS HEAR ABOUT NEW BUSINESS VOLUME
New business volume has increased dramatically over the last two years according to information received by directors of both the United Church of Christ Insurance Board and United Church Insurance Company at a January meeting. The directors also were informed that the Insurance Board still faces a challenge to add the 300 new church participants budgeted for the current year, but with the increasing new business trend, there is optimism the annual goal will be reached.
Both Boards also participated in a one-day strategic planning retreat preceding the meeting. The Strategic Planning Committee will make final revisions and present their plan at the annual meeting of the corporation in late February.
United Church of Christ Insurance Board, established in 1981, has corporate offices in Cleveland, Ohio. The Insurance Board, a not-for-profit corporation, provides risk management services and educational resources through property and liability insurance programs for church entities of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (the Disciples of Christ). To read more, go to www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2008/08013.pdf
This year’s theme is "The Past, The Promise, the Pledge." The performance will reflect on times when the nation was attempting to become unified. It will demonstrate how civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King persevered and ultimately triumphed in an era of segregation and injustice, ushering in a new era of integration and equality. To learn more, go to: www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2008/08014.pdf or call (901) 729-6222. DISCIPLES MEN WILL PUT THE GOSPEL INTO ACTION THIS SPRING For more information, contact Tod Iseminger at 666-346-2631 or download the retreat brochure at www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2008/08015.pdf ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN CHURCH EDUCATORS DISBANDS "Looking at the many changes in Christian Education within the Disciples structures, the time seems to have come to celebrate all ACCE has been in the past and close it with gratitude for where it has taken us," said Convener Linda Presley. "The closing of ACCE will not mean that Christian Education is not being offered in the church but that new alternative avenues will now be the avenues for nurture of that ministry." To read more, visit: www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2008/08016.html BRITE DIVINITY SCHOOL TO HOST ANNUAL MINISTERS WEEK William L. (Bill) Lee, pastor of Loudon Avenue Christian Church in Roanoke Va. and the immediate past moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is the 2008 Wells Preacher. Other speakers include Marcus Borg, the Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University and Joretta Marshall, professor of pastoral care and counseling at Brite. To read more about Minister’s Week, call 817-257-7580 or go to www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2008/08017.html REGIONAL MINISTER IN CAPITAL AREA ON SABBATICAL; ACTING REGIONAL MINISTER IN PLACE To read more about the Capital Area, go to: www.cccadisciples.org APPLICANTS SOUGHT FOR PENSION FUND POSITION Responsibilities also will include assisting inactive members to reinstate active participation, and leading retirement planning, financial planning and marketing seminars. Resumes should be submitted no later than March 3. For more information, visit: www.disciples.org/dns/newsletter/linkredirect.asp?id=080206b COUNCIL ON CHRISTIAN UNITY LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE Robert Welsh, president of the Council, hopes the new format is not only attractive but will prove to be a more "user friendly resource" for persons who want to stay abreast of developments in the ecumenical movement. To read more, visit: www.disciples.org/ccu/news/2008/0802.CCUWebSite.html BETHANY PROFESSOR GOING BACK TO HIS ROOTS "In many ways teaching in the middle school environment can be a grueling task," Weaver said, "but it can also serve to strengthen my skills as an educator on any level." Most of Weaver’s work has been directed at the actual making and presentation of artwork. His artwork has been exhibited in a number of states. To read more, visit. www.bethanywv.edu/welcome/news/bethany-professor-going-back-to-his-roots SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF IN PARAGUAY CELEBRATES ITS 45th ANNIVERSARY To highlight the anniversary, the school organized a number of activities including a church service. Past professors also were invited. To learn more about the school, read a Global Ministries update at: EUREKA COLLEGE TO HOLD RONALD REAGAN DAY ACTIVITIES The events will celebrate the 97th anniversary of the birth of President Reagan on Feb. 6 and it will mark the 25th anniversary of the leadership program named for him. Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932. Events will benefit the Reagan Museum and the Reagan Leadership Program. To read more about the events, go to www.eureka.edu/news/releases/spring08/reaganday.htm ####
Join Disciples men for a retreat that will rekindle your faith life through mission work. "Men in Mission" will be held April 4-5 at Community Christian Church in Kansas City, Mo. David Emory of Middletown Christian Church in Louisville, Ky. will be the keynote speaker and Mike Graves of Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City will be the Bible study leader. This promises to be a day of putting the Gospel into action by helping others in the Kansas City area. Mission opportunities will take place on Saturday, April 5.
The Association of Christian Church Educators has voted unanimously to disband. The decision was made at the Jan. 25 business meeting in Orange, Calif. and was recommended by the ACCE leadership team because of changes in the Christian education ministries of the Church.
Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, will host its annual Ministers Week Feb. 11-14. The event will feature lectures, sermons, workshops and worship services, most of which will be held at University Christian Church in Fort Worth.
Marshall Dunn, a retired Disciples pastor, is serving as Acting Regional Minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Capital Area while the Regional Minister, Lari Grubbs, is on sabbatical. Dunn served for 31 years as a pastor in the Capital Area, and a year ago as Temporary Associate General Minister and Vice-President at the Disciples Center in Indianapolis. Dunn will continue to serve for two weeks in April, overlapping Grubbs upon his return.
The Pension Fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has announced the position of Director of Member Development position is available. The director will assist in the recruitment of new Pension Plan members and participants in all programs offered by the Pension Fund.
The Council on Christian Unity has launched a "new and revised" website that is intended to be much easier to use as a place to keep up-to-date on major events
happening in the ecumenical life and witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as well as to provide hands-on resources for congregational use.
Herb Weaver, a fine arts professor at Bethany College, is spending the 2007-2008 academic year returning to his first career – as a middle school teacher. Weaver, who is on sabbatical from Bethany, will spend a week in February as an "Artist in Residence" at McLaughlin Middle School in Lake Wales, Fla.
The First Paraguayan School of the Deaf recently celebrated its 45th anniversary of benefiting children, youth and adults with deficiencies in hearing and language. This year more than 100 students received an education at the institution, which also offers hearing, speech and psychological services to the community at a very low cost.
www.globalministries.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2114&Itemid=35
Eureka College will hold its first-ever Ronald Reagan Day on Feb. 25 to celebrate and benefit its Reagan-related programs.