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In this issue:
- General Minister And President Brings Advent Greeting
- Christmas Special Offering Helps Support Work Of Regions
- Disciples Welcome Invitation From Muslim Religious Leaders For Dialogue On Peace And Understanding
- CTS Education Projects To Benefit From Lilly Endowment Grant
- New Church Start In Boston Area Celebrates Its Fifth Anniversary
- Week Of Compassion Reaches Out To Help Cyclone Victims
- Warning: Applications Available For Helm Leadership Fellows Program
- CCF Names Sue Hansen Assistant Vice President
- January Conference Will Help People Of All Ages Deepen Their Lives Of Faith
- Two Texas Churches Combine To Provide New Mission Of Service
- Culver Stockton Students Will Visit China To Learn More About The Country's Culture
- Disciples Women Recognized By NCC For Their Ecumenical Work
- Students Are Uniting With Religious Communities To Help End The Darfur Genocide
 GENERAL MINISTER AND PRESIDENT BRINGS ADVENT GREETING
In this Advent season, General Minister and President Sharon E. Watkins reminds Disciples that God is faithful and that thousands of years ago God surprised us with a savior - a baby - who was a sign of peace in a land of struggle. Even more importantly, she encourages us to be signs of God's surprising grace today.
To view her complete greeting via video streaming or to download it directly to you computer, go to: www.disciples.org/watkins/lettersmedia/2007/anadventmeditation/
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL OFFERING HELPS SUPPORT WORK OF REGIONS
As Christmas approaches, congregations are asked to support the work of regional ministries by giving to the Christmas Special Offering. With the gifts they receive, regions provide a number of vital services to congregations, that include: congregation support through visioning, pastoral care and conflict management, outreach through establishing new congregations, eradicating racism, ecumenical partnerships and empowering leaders through workshops, resources and networking. The offering will be received in congregations on Dec. 16 and Dec. 23.
For additional information on the offering, contact your regional office.
DISCIPLES WELCOME INVITATION FROM MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LEADERS FOR DIALOGUE ON PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING
Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Robert Welsh, President, Council on Christian Unity, and Peter Makari, Disciples of Christ representative to the NCCC Interfaith Relations Commission, have issued a statement in response to the "open letter" from 138 Muslim leaders to the global Christian community on "A Common Word Between Us and You" (see www.acommonword.com) that expresses their hope for a global dialogue between Muslim and Christian leaders to advance the cause of peace in our world.
Welcoming the invitation to wider discussion and mutual understanding, the statement affirms, "In a time when the powers and principalities of our societies and our world drive persons, nations and religions apart, we believe we have an opportunity with religious leaders nationally and globally to witness in new ways to God's love as the basis for building true communities of justice, peace, and a lasting security for all."
To read the full text of the Disciples response, visit: www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2007/07194.html
CTS EDUCATION PROJECTS TO BENEFIT FROM LILLY ENDOWMENT GRANT
 Christian Theological Seminary has received a $1.7 million grant from the Lilly Endowment that will support three education projects for clergy and laity. The funds will be used for the Indiana Clergy Peer Group Study Program, Lifelong Theological Education and the Faith, Wealth and Community Leadership Project. Each was started as a pilot program to meet needs in American religious life.
Seminary President Edward L. Wheeler believes the funds will strengthen the programs and align them more closely with the school's master of divinity program. The grant is expected to increase the effectiveness of the projects by centralizing supervision under one person.
Christian Theological Seminary is an ecumenical seminary of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) located in Indianapolis. To read more, visit: www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2007/07195.pdf (PDF)
NEW CHURCH START IN BOSTON AREA CELEBRATES ITS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
Hope Church in Roslindale, Mass., has a great deal to celebrate as it observes its fifth anniversary on Sunday, Dec. 9.
The church was started in the fall of 2002 by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ with 11 people. The first worship services were held in the Boston School of Modern Languages. When the congregation outgrew those facilities, it moved to a temporary location in Jamaica Plain, before returning to Roslindale this past summer. The church now has over 150 people in worship each Sunday.
"It's great to be back in Roslindale for this important anniversary celebration," said Elizabeth Myer Boulton, Hope's founding pastor. "We can't wait to see what the next five years holds for the church and for the neighborhood."
Hope Church is reaching out to its neighbors in Boston and beyond with vibrant worship and spirited music, among other things. Myer Boulton said the closing hymn at the 5:30 p.m. worship service will be, "We've Come This Far by Faith," which, she says, summarizes in song "much of what has happened to us over the past several years." To read more about the church anniversary, go to: www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2007/07196.html or visit the church website at: www.hopeboston.org
WEEK OF COMPASSION REACHES OUT TO HELP CYCLONE VICTIMS
 Week of Compassion has sent an emergency grant to a long-time partner in Bangladesh that will assist survivors of Cyclone Sidr which ripped through the southern part of the country three weeks ago. The grant went to the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB), to support their relief operations. Week of Compassion also is anticipating a larger appeal from Action by Churches Together for ongoing relief and long-term recovery work. About 2.6 million people in Bangladesh are in need of emergency assistance and nearly 3,270 have died. To read more, go to: www.weekofcompassion.org/pages/updates/dec0706.html
WARNING: APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR HELM LEADERSHIP FELLOWS PROGRAM
 If you're heading to college in the fall and plan to be a leader in your church - as a pastor or as a layperson - you should consider applying for the HELM Leadership Fellows Program. But you'd better be careful: This program can change your life. To learn more, or to download an application, visit: www.helmdisciples.org/helm/07/HELM-LFapplications.htm
You can also read HELM's quarterly newsletter which is now available online by going to: www.helmdisciples.org/helm/07/TLT-November07.pdf (PDF)
CCF NAMES SUE HANSEN ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT
The Christian Church Foundation is pleased to announce the promotion of Sue E. Hansen to the position of assistant vice president of gift administration, effective Jan. 1. Hansen joined the Foundation staff in 2004 as manager of gift administration and accounts payable. She is a certified public accountant and served as director of Legacy Administration Services and as a staff accountant and financial analyst before joining the Foundation.
"Sue's responsibility for overseeing life-income gifts made through the Foundation has continued to grow," said Foundation President Gary Kidwell. "She plays a key role in making sure the Foundation handles these vital gifts in a prudent and trustworthy manner, as well as overseeing our accounts payable process." She and her husband, Pat, have two grown children. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is chair of the Finance Committee at Amity United Methodist Church in Greenfield.
The Foundation is a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It is a donor-directed Foundation serving the local, regional and general ministries of the Christian Church through planned gifts and investments of permanent funds. The Foundation manages in excess of $410 million on behalf of the Christian Church.
For more information about the Christian Church Foundation, visit: www.disciples.org/ccf
JANUARY CONFERENCE WILL HELP PEOPLE OF ALL AGES DEEPEN THEIR LIVES OF FAITH
 "Exploring Life through the Spirit" is the theme of a Jan. 24-27 conference at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., that will provide numerous opportunities for participants to focus on spiritual development. Sponsored by the Association of Christian Church Educators and Children Welcome!, the conference will be filled with innovative worship, practical learning, networking, Bible study, theological discussion and more.
Mark Yaconelli, co-founder and director of the Youth and Spirituality Project, and a widely published author and sought-after speaker on youth ministry, will be the keynote speaker. Christian educators, youth, children's workers and parents are expected to attend. Register and get your hotel accommodations as soon as possible. To register, visit: www.childrenwelcome.org/PDF2008/ChildrenWelcomeRegForm.pdf (PDF)
TWO TEXAS CHURCHES COMBINE TO PROVIDE NEW MISSION OF SERVICE
Western Heights Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Garland, Texas and First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Richardson are now worshipping as a single congregation. Both churches agreed to combine "services, programs, budgets and people" at a meeting in early October. Members of the former congregations are quickly getting acquainted and anticipating a new mission of service to the community.
The Western Heights facility has become the offices of the North Texas Area of the Christian Church. The former First Christian is home for the new congregation, which is presently known as "A Uniting Christian Church" until a new name is selected. To read more about the union, go to: www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2007/07197.html
CULVER STOCKTON STUDENTS WILL VISIT CHINA TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COUNTRY'S CULTURE
 About 20 Culver-Stockton College students and faculty members will spend New Year's in China as part of a 10-day trip that will give them new insights into business and education in that country.
The students will leave the United States on Dec. 27 and return home on Jan. 8. Organizers say one of the trip's major benefits will be exposing Culver-Stockton students to a different culture and lifestyle. The students will visit several cities to see factories, technology centers, cultural sites and schools. Culver-Stockton, located in Canton, Mo., is related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). To read more, go to: www.culver.edu/publicrelations/article.asp?id=3139
DISCIPLES WOMEN RECOGNIZED BY NCC FOR THEIR ECUMENICAL WORK
Carol Q. Cosby, who formerly worked in Social Action Ministries for Disciples Home Missions, was among 24 women honored last month at the Claire Randall Women's Caucus lunch during the 2007 National Council of Churches/Church World Service General Assembly. Jane Lawrence, a former executive vice-president in Disciples Home Missions, also was recognized. Each woman was selected for her leadership in the National Council of Churches' Justice for Women Working Group and for setting an example for a new generation of ecumenists.
Claire Randall, who was the first women to serve as General Secretary of the NCC/CWS, also was honored. Randall, a Presbyterian elder who served the church and ecumenical movement for more than 30 years in top positions. died Sept. 9 in Sun City, Ariz., at the age of 91.
To read more about the luncheon, visit: www.ncccusa.org/news/071203randallluncheon.html
STUDENTS ARE UNITING WITH RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES TO HELP END THE DARFUR GENOCIDE
 Refugee tents are being placed in sanctuaries and on college campuses across the United States and Canada as a symbolic expression of the need to end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
The Tents of Hope campaign encourages a community-based response to the genocide in Darfur through education, advocacy and fundraising for humanitarian aid. Communities are invited to paint simulated "refugee tents" with a variety of images and scenes designed and painted by people from all walks of life. Tents of Hope is a one-year campaign that will culminate in communities across North America bringing their tents to Washington, D.C. next October. STAND, a student anti-genocide coalition, is urging its 700 chapters to participate in the campaign
General Minister and President Sharon E. Watkins applauded the campaign, as well as her appreciation for student support.
"Students have been at the forefront of leadership in this unprecedented grassroots movement to end the genocide in Darfur," said Watkins. "They have given the world a shining example of social conscience."
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is one of the Tents of Hope partners. To read more about the goals of the campaign, as well as STAND's involvement, visit: www.disciples.org/dns/Releases2007/07198.html
| Please note: Disciples News Briefs will resume the week of January 7, 2008. |
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Editor: Wanda Bryant Wills
E-mail: news@cm.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":
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