DISCIPLES NEWS DIGEST
August 2000
{Note: The number in parentheses after each brief refers to the number of the full Disciples News Service release.}
General Board affirms guiding document,
endorses resolutions on East Timor and ViequesINDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- General Board members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), meeting here July 22-25, affirmed a new guiding document for the church, did additional planning around six vital issues and endorsed resolutions supporting the independence of East Timor and ending U.S. naval operations in Vieques, Puerto Rico.
The board used "Mission Imperatives 1995-2000" as a foundation for the new document. Significant revisions included designating vision and mission statements in the document and developing a statement of covenant.
The church's vision, according to the document is: "To be a faithful, growing church of true community, deep spirituality and passion for justice." The denomination's mission is "to be and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps ‘to the ends of the earth.'"
The imperative is "to strengthen congregational life for this mission." To be faithful to the imperative, the church is committed to: "Become the Good News," "Share the Good News" and "Serve from our doorsteps to the ‘ends of the earth.'"
The statement of covenant affirms the Disciples of Christ's need to be an anti- racist/pro-reconciliation church; strengthen relationships among all expressions of the church; more fully share in the stewardship of God's gifts; embrace the church's growing diversity; and to work with ecumenical and global partners "to heal the brokenness of the body of Christ and the human community." (41)
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New associate general minister called
INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- A Cincinnati pastor and former Homeland Ministries executive has been named associate general minister and vice president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The Administrative Committee elected the Rev. William H. Edwards here July 22. Edwards is expected to begin his ministry in the Office of General Minister and President in early October.
Edwards, 44, comes to the position from the Disciples Center of Cincinnati, a joint ministry of Forest Park Christian Church, a predominantly white congregation, and St. John's Christian Church, with mostly African American members. Edwards' resume describes his ministry in Cincinnati as "developing a model of ministry to overcome one of the greatest barriers that separates us as people of God, the barrier of race."
Prior to his call to Cincinnati, Edwards was executive pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, serving as chief operating officer of the 8,500-member Memphis Disciples congregation.
From 1982 to 1995, Edwards served as senior associate in Homeland Ministries' Center for Congregational Growth and Vitality.
"I feel that Bill is really well-equipped to serve as a vice president, which means, in part, tracking all the various initiatives of the Office of General Minister and President in the life of the church," said General Minister and President Richard L. Hamm. "I'm very excited about Bill's coming. I think he'll be a great partner in ministry," said Hamm. (40)
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Leadership renewal, development highlight Hispanic Disciples assembly
INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- A call for leadership renewal and development highlighted the agenda of the 10th Assembly of the Hispanic and Bilingual Fellowship of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Approximately 200 Latino/Latina lay and clergy leaders from across North America met here, July 13-16. The theme for the biennial event was "Claiming the Promise."
During assembly business the plenary body decided not to recognize the leadership of "practicing" gay and lesbian clergy, and called for removal of the U.S. Navy from Vieques, near Puerto Rico.
The resolution concerning the "practice and participation of homosexual persons in the church" passed with little opposition. Considerable discussion, however, emerged over how best to acknowledge differing opinions.
Hispanic National Pastor Pablo Jimenez called it a "moral and ethical issue." (42)
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Grammy-winning group to perform during 2001 General Synod/Assembly
INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- A performance by Grammy-winning group, Sweet Honey in the Rock, will highlight the joint meeting of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ.
The "common gathering" of the United Church General Synod and Disciples General Assembly will convene July 13-17, 2001, in Kansas City, Mo. The theme for the synod/assembly is "Gather at the Welcome Table."
This will be the second joint meeting of the churches' plenary bodies. The first time was in 1993 in St. Louis. Business sessions of the assembly and synod were conducted side-by-side in ‘93. In 2001, however, some joint meetings are planned of the decision-making bodies.
Sweet Honey in the Rock is an African American female a capella ensemble that has deep musical roots in the sacred music of the black church including spirituals, hymns, gospel, as well as jazz and blues.
Opening night, July 13, will feature a jazz service with a sermon by Disciples minister, the Rev. Mary Donovan Turner. A highly regarded preacher in churches nationwide, Turner is a professor of homiletics at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif. She is coauthor of Saved from Silence: Women, Voice, Preaching. (43)
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Disciples volunteers take part in hurricane relief blitz
Kinston N.C. (DNS) -- Some 50 members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) joined a hundred other volunteers July 17-21 to "blitz-build" two homes in eastern North Carolina.
Mrs. LeVaughn Stevens of Kinston had been living in a two-room government-issue trailer since September, when her home was ruined by flooding during 1999's harsh hurricane season. July 21, just five days after the start of construction, she was presented with a brand new home, decorated and furnished.
Disciples volunteers also worked on a Habitat for Humanity home in Wilson. The family who will occupy that house was also flooded out during the hurricane season.
The North Carolina Housing Finance Authority provided the bulk of the construction funding for Stevens' home. Week of Compassion and Volunteers in Mission, both Disciples agencies, and the Kinston Area Relief Effort (KARE) also contributed to the project with cash, volunteer supply and coordination services. Hosanna Industries, a Pittsburgh-based construction ministry, coordinated and oversaw construction of the two homes. Hosanna and Volunteers in Mission have cooperated in three other major building projects. (39)
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Missouri Disciple honored for outstanding scholarship
ST. LOUIS (DNS) -- Summer L. Talley, a senior at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., has been named recipient of the 2000 Disciples Scholar Award presented by the Division of Higher Education of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
The award is given each year to a Disciples student attending a Disciples-related college or university. The recipient must exemplify outstanding leadership in both campus and church activities, and show commitment to a life of service.
A Missouri native, Talley is a psychology major, pre-ministerial student and president of the Student Parliament at Culver-Stockton. She has served on the cabinet of the Christian Regional Youth Festival in the Mid-America region and is one of five Disciples student members of STEP, the general church college and university student partnership between the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ.
Division of Higher Education President Dennis Landon will present the Disciples Scholar Award to Talley at a campus ceremony this fall. The award brings a scholarship grant of $2,000 to her and an equal amount to Culver-Stockton College for use in its campus ministry programs. (38)
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Division of Higher Education honors excellence
ST. LOUIS (DNS) -- The Division of Higher Education of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has named Michael W. Santos, professor of history at Lynchburg College, as recipient of the 2000 T.A. Abbott Award for Faculty Excellence. Division of Higher Education President Dennis Landon will present the award Aug. 27 on the Lynchburg (Va.) College campus.
In his 15 years at Lynchburg, Professor Santos has displayed a passion for teaching, research and social outreach. A winner of the Shirley Rosser Award for Excellence in Teaching, he also founded the Lynchburg College Symposium Readings Program. He serves as director of the Center for the History and Culture of Central Virginia and is editor of The Central Virginia Chronicle: A Journal of History and Culture. He helped found the Lynchburg College chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and organized St. Paul's Episcopal Church's Jubilee Ministry Center, a neighborhood youth and literacy center. A member of Heritage United Methodist Church, he also helped establish that congregation's Family to Family mentoring program which helps local families move toward financial self- sufficiency.
The T.A. Abbott Award, presented now for the 17th consecutive year, was established through a gift to the Division of Higher Education from the descendants of the Rev. T. A. Abbott, an administrator and faculty member at Culver-Stockton College who died in 1914. Nominees must be full-time teaching faculty at Disciples-related institutions of higher education. Criteria for selection include quality of teaching, personal example and commitment to the integration of Christian faith and learning. (37)
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Great preaching, good workshops mark Sessions 2000
INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- Great preaching and good workshops. Hot weather and warm fellowship. Singing, singing and more singing.
All were part of Sessions 2000, the quadrennial gathering of Disciples Men, July 6-9 in Des Moines. Some 350 men and a few women met at First Christian Church near the Drake University campus for inspiration and good ideas, fellowship and renewed vigor for men's ministry.
"New Leadership for a New Era" was the theme of the gathering, and each worship speaker addressed a different component of the theme.
During evening worship July 6, the Rev. Alvin O. Jackson called on the men to be persons of integrity. The pastor of National City Christian Church, Washington, D.C., warned that integrity is a gift we have to work at, a calling, a journey. "Let the last chapter of your life story be, ‘God, judge me, for I have walked in my integrity.'"
The growing walls of hostility and violence in today's world make it increasingly difficult to love others as God has loved us, said the Rev. Stephen Boyd, professor of history of Christianity and historical theology, Wake Forest University, Winston, Salem, N.C., on July 7. Boyd challenged the men present to recognize themselves as "householders" or "itinerants," and to take the steps for understanding and reconciliation. "If we persevere, there is a promise," he said. (36)
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New vice president appointed at CBP
ST. LOUIS (DNS) -- An Episcopal priest has been named vice president for congregational ministries with Christian Board of Publication. The Rev. Kamila Blessing also will serve as director of CBP's new Incubation Center for Congregational Resources.
The center is a three-year pilot project that "intends to combine the genius of congregationally based resource developers, the publishing skills and capacities of CBP, and the expertise of invited consultants in an array of disciplines," according to Cyrus N. White, president of the publishing house.
"The resulting resources," he said, "will help congregations to bring the unchurched to awareness, seekers to belief, and believers to deeper faithfulness and service to God. The center is funded, in part, by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
White praised Blessing's writing and consulting experience, and her background in congregational revitalization, multicultural worship and community, and spiritual development. He also acknowledged her gifts for seeing congregations' strengths and weaknesses and her relational skills for engaging and equipping others.
Blessing was ordained in 1984 and has been active in parish ministry, interdenominational work and evangelism. In her most recent parish in Rocky Mount, N.C., Blessing and the priest of a predominantly African American congregation merged the resources of both churches into a single, multiethnic parish. (35)
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‘One Church for All "Peoples"' theme of BCE board meeting
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The theme of "One Church for All ‘Peoples'" was brought to life June 16-19 as Board of Church Extension board of directors and staff visited several Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations in the Los Angeles area.
During the governing board meeting, staff and directors experienced ways in which many cultures and racial ethnic groups interact and participate in the Los Angeles area as members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Staff and directors also saw examples of how BCE's services have benefitted Disciples congregations in the area.
More than 140 people attended the opening banquet at Wilshire Boulevard Christian Church, here. Speakers included the Rev. Donald Shelton, regional minister, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Pacific Southwest; Royal Morales, a retired sociologist and leader of the Filipino Christian Church in Los Angeles; and the Rev. Jaikwan Ahn, who handles new church development for Asian American Ministries, Pacific Southwest region. Morales and Ahn spoke about cultural changes that have occurred in the Los Angeles area over the past 50 years. (34)
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