September 25, 2008
SOUTHWEST REGION CHURCHES STRUGGLE TO RECOVER FROM IKE
Disciples are responding to the devastation brought on by Hurricane Ike in communities around the country. Week of Compassion has sent grants to several churches in Texas and Louisiana that took the brunt of Ike's fury. Last week, a $3,500 grant was issued to First Christian Church in Orange, Texas, and a $5,000 grant to First Christian Church in Lake Charles, La. More help will be needed.
"The damage from Ike will equal or exceed that of Katrina and Rita" said Dani Loving Cartwright, Regional Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Southwest. "Many members of affected churches lost everything. We need your help."
In addition, Fredrick Nixon, pastor of Community of Faith Church in Houston, Texas, is requesting prayers and thoughtful petitions of courage and strength for the following: his church, the Coastal Plains Area of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Houston Association of the United Church of Christ, the La Amistad Love and Learning Academy and the Houston-Galveston community. To learn how to help, go to: www.weekofcompassion.org
RECONCILIATION MINISTRY OFFERING WILL BE RECEIVED THIS SUNDAY AND ON WORLD COMMUNION SUNDAY
On Sunday, October 5th, Disciples will get their first opportunity to celebrate World Communion Sunday in conjunction with Reconciliation Ministry’s Special Offering Sunday. World Communion Sunday (WCS), with its emphasis on Christian Unity and Reconciliation Ministry whose emphasis is racial justice, have been brought together in this way because “the aims of ecumenism and the aims of racial justice belong together in the ministry of Jesus Christ,” according to a recent General Assembly resolution.
Resolution 0719, adopted at the 2007 Ft. Worth General Assembly, recommended that WCS and the Reconciliation Offering be celebrated together to encourage congregations to express the Church’s commitment to Christian Unity while also seeking God’s justice in addressing the sin of racism.
To support this churchwide effort please remember to give generously to the Reconciliation Special Offering, which will be received in congregations this Sunday, Sept. 28th and on Sunday, Oct. 5.
April Johnson, Minister of Reconciliation, has written a reflection that reminds Disciples of their identity and call to stand in unity and solidarity for the full inclusion of every member of the human family. To read Johnson’s reflection, go to: www.reconciliationmission.org/offerings/johnsonletter
PENSION FUND ANNOUNCES PREMIUM RATE INCREASES FOR 2009
The Pension Fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), trustee for Christian Church Health Care Benefit Trust, has announced premium rate increases for 2009 Churchwide Health Care participants. For those who were enrolled in CWHC prior to Jan. 1, 2006, health care rates generally will be increased by 3 percent. Participants who enrolled after Jan. 1, 2006 will see 5 percent increases. Persons ages 60-64 in either group, however, will have no increase in premium rates.
"These increases are less than half of the national health care inflation rate," said Pension Fund President James P. Hamlett. The Pension Fund also announced that Medicare plan rates will increase by 5 percent beginning in 2009. But premium rates for dental coverage will remain the same for the third straight year. For complete premium rates or to join the program, visit: www.discipleshealth.org
LIGHT A CANDLE FOR CHILDREN PRAYER VIGIL SET TO BEGIN
The Annual Light a Candle for Children 40-Day Prayer Vigil started earlier this month. Information packets are available online or by calling Connie Metts in Disciples Home Missions at 888-346-2631. The Light a Candle Prayer Vigil leads up to the Children's Defense Fund's Children's Sabbaths Observance, Oct. 17-19.
The theme of the national Children's Sabbaths Observance is "When Will We Hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Call to End Poverty in America?" For more information on the Light a Candle for Children Prayer Vigil and Children's Sabbaths, visit: www.discipleshomemissions.org/FamilyandChildren/candle.htm
CHALICE CAMP 2008 PLANNED FOR MINISTERS IN TRAINING
Space is still available to attend Chalice Camp 2008 for anyone who is preparing for licensed or ordained ministry, any minister new to the Disciples of Christ and those learning ministry in a new context. The retreat will be held Oct. 17-19 at Barbee Christian Camp in northern Indiana and will be hosted by seminarians from Christian Theological Center.
Chalice Camp '08 will feature sessions on baptism, the Lord's Table, weddings, funerals, ethics, and values and heritage. Disciples leaders will share information about resources such as Church Extension, Churchwide Healthcare programs, and Search and Call. Camp Barbee facilities, located near Leesburg, Ind., include a retreat house, cabins, dining hall and meeting rooms. For more and online registration, go to: www.indianadisciples.org/chalicecamp.php
STUDENTS ORGANIZE 'CONGO WEEK' OVER CONGOLESE CRISIS
The Division of Overseas Ministries/Global Ministries encourages Disciples to support "Break the Silence" Congo Week, Oct. 19-25, to help raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis occurring in the Congo. Students from 100 countries and 1,000 campuses will hold events, including films, lectures, demonstrations, and more, on their campuses dealing with the Congo crisis in October. Nearly 6 million people have died in the Congo since 1996. More than half of them have been children under age 5. Hundreds of thousands of Congolese women have been raped in the battles over the country's wealth.
College students on several campuses are the key organizers of Congo Week. The students also have organized "Cell Out," an observance that will take place Oct. 22, when everybody is urged to turn off their cell phones from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and refrain from text messaging. Many Congolese people have been killed over Coltan, a precious mineral that is used in cell phones and other electronic devices. To learn more about "Break the Silence" go to: www.congoweek.org/english and "The Cell Out":globalministries.org/news/africa/the-cell-out.html
THIRD FRED B. CRADDOCK SEMINAR TO BE HELD IN DALLAS
The Stalcup School of Theology for the Laity will hold the Third Fred B. Craddock Seminar on the Gospels Sept. 27 in Dallas, Texas. The seminar is entitled "Negotiating the (Roman) Empire in the New Testament" and will be presented by Warren Carter, a nationally known New Testament scholar. Carter is Professor of New Testament at Brite Divinity School. His work focuses on the gospels of Matthew and John and the issue of the ways in which early Christians negotiated the Roman Empire.
Among the topics to be presented during the study is the question of how contemporary followers of Jesus negotiate contemporary forms of empire. The seminar will be held at Northway Christian Church. Registration is $35 and includes a light lunch. To register or for more information, visit the Brite website at www.brite.tcu.edu/stalcup or contact the Office of Lay and Continuing Education by calling 817-257-7580 or s.brandon@tcu.edu.
EUREKA COLLEGE TO HELP TRANSFORM SPECIAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM
Eureka College, in partnership with the Associated Colleges of Illinois' Center for Success in High-Need Schools and four other ACI member colleges, is embarking on a five-year initiative to support Transforming Curriculum in Special Education (T-SPED), a collaborative initiative to enrich special education curricula. The project will be funded with a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
"Faculty all have experience in the public school setting and recognize the importance of developing collaboration skills in all teacher education candidates. Commingling the special education and elementary and secondary education programs will further enhance our students' preparedness for the workplace," said Debra Loomis, special education professor at Eureka College, which is associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). To get more, see: www.eureka.edu/news/releases/fall_0809/specialed.htm
FOUNDER OF CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY CENTER, DAN GENUNG, DIES
Former Disciples minister Dan B. Genung Jr. has died. Genung, 93, passed away Aug. 12 at the Pilgrim Place Health Service Center in Claremont, Calif., where he had been in hospice care. Genung founded the All Peoples Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Los Angeles, Calif., and the All Peoples Community Center.
Genung and his wife, Frances Ulrich Genung, catered their church ministry to all ethnicities, beginning with Japanese-American families when those families returned to Los Angeles from internment camps during World War II. Dan Genung later served congregations in the California cities of Oceanside, La Crescenta and Hollywood. For more, go to: www.disciplesworld.com/newsArticle.html?wsnID=14046
'PRAYER AND ACTION' WILL ACCOMPANY GATHERING OF TENTS IN D.C.
With the "Gathering of the Tents" to take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Nov. 7-9, Disciples congregations and hundreds of communities across the country are being urged to plan local activities as part of a nationwide "Interfaith Weekend of Prayer and Action for Sudan." Over the past year, the Tents of Hope project has grown to include 330 cities in 45 states across America. The goal of the project is to bring an end to the genocide that has devastated Sudan's western province of Darfur, where countless crimes against humanity have occurred.
Since the conflict began in February 2003, ethnic violence has taken the lives of at least 200,000 people, mostly among farmers, who have joined rebel groups fighting the central government in Khartoum. For more, see: www.tentsofhope.org
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Editor: Wanda Bryant WillsE-mail: news@cm.disciples.org
