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138th Weekly Edition 2010 GRR CURRENTS |
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JOYS and PRAYER CONCERNS |
Please keep Rev. Dr. Jim Rainwater in your prayers following the passing of his wife Sarah Marie. Cards can be sent to #3 Chenal Heights Drive, #111, Little Rock, AR, 72223. Congratulations to Kris and Brooke Shuman, on the birth of Austin Joseph Shuman on 3/15/2010. Kris is a former member of Park Hill Christian Church, AR CYF Cabinet member, 2002 TCU grad, and is the son of Regional Minister Barbara Jones. Austin was 7# 11 oz, 19.5 inches long and is home breaking his parents in to a new life. Congratulations to Gwen (Mrs. Vance) Moore who became a grandma on Thursday! Landon was 7# 4 oz, and all are doing well.
Prayers for safety and success as FCC Slidell, LA is building a Community Center on their site throughout March 2010. The facility will be used as a mission outreach to the community. Disciples Volunteering is sponsoring the Blitz Build. If your church is interested in participating in the build, you can call Brenda Tyler at 317-713-2642 or go to www.disciplehomemissions.org/Volunteer/SpecialProjects/SpringBreak.htm FCC is asking for materials donations form churches, individuals, or companies. Click here to see the list of materials needed. Contact Josh Baird at 985-778-6915 or atjoshbaird@hotmail.com if you can donate. Also, for more information, you can call Rev. Susan Lassalle at 985-643-8623. |
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NEWS and EVENTS |
Want to check your congregation’s giving? Disciples Mission Fund has a new look online! The link below will take you to Disciples Mission Fund's website to view Comparative reports of offerings. www.disciplesmissionfund.org. Foundation Course for Ministry. The Foundations for Ministry Course which covers 24 topics over a 14 week period is scheduling a new session to begin in May. If you would like to participate or to receive more information please contact: Rev. Stephen Wallace at (501) 217-9129 or swallacegs@aol.com.
Quadrennial Assembly Pre-Event Opportunities. Wish someone would explain what the Disciples Mission Fund is and how it works? Want to become a Ministry and Mission Interpreter (MMI) for the church? Love to get your hands involved in mission and see tangible results? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you won’t want to miss the Quadrennial Assembly pre-events. Special note: Because these events are expected to fill up quickly, you MUST be signed up for these trainings by April 15, whether you have already registered for QA by then or not. Read on for more information and instructions on how to be sure you’re not left out.
Available Now from Chalice Press: A Travel Guide to Christian Faith (by Dawn Weaks) has three components. The Before You Go booklet gives first-time seekers an easy-to-understand synopsis of the Christian faith. If they wish to learn more, the Traveler's Edition serves as a student workbook, while the Tour Leader is for the instructor. ·one (1) copy of the Tour Leader ·ten (10) copies of the Traveler's Edition ·ten (10) copies of the Before You Go To order, call 1-800-366-3383 or click here: A Travel Guide to Christian Faith Group Package.
Disciples' Bicentennial History Book and Workshops. There are less than two months left during the Disciples’ Bicentennial Anniversary! We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the publication of The Disciples: A Struggle for Reformation, our bicentennial history (2009) authored by D. Duane Cummins. It is the successor to Journey in Faith, written by McAllister & Tucker in 1972. The reviews for Cummins' new volume are highly favorable, strong and solid. cumminsdd@gmail.com, 255 Sears Lane, Swanton, Maryland 21561, 301-387-8088. FREE DEMOGRAPHIC UPDATES ARE READY! We know it's possible, with everything going on at the beginning of a new year, you may have forgotten Percept's Annual Data Update! But, for us, it's a big production. We regenerate tens of thousands of custom studies and demographic reports, then store them on our servers so that when you want the latest data for your ministry area, all you have to do is click. You can sign on to Link2Lead and, within a minute, get the latest FirstView or 10 Facts report instantly, for your county, ZIP Code, or a radius around your church. Go to www.link2lead.com and provide some simple sign in information. In minutes you will know more about the community you are called to serve than you did before. Link2lead data will tell you about the age, income, spiritual priorities, church going habits, and more in YOUR ZIP code. Or, the region can help you generate a custom report. The fees are prepaid through a partnership with the region and Church Extension. Dear Friends of Council on Christian Unity. I want to share a quick note with you regarding some recent postings on the CCU website. Here’s what’s new: · There are two new resource materials related to our 100th Anniversary “Worship Resources throughout the Year”: February 14 (Transfiguration Sunday in connection with African American History Month); and, March 14 (Fourth Sunday in Lent). · In that link, you will also note that we have listed all of the dates that will be included in this year-long program. I hope in having the dates in advance that you might anticipate making use of these resources in your congregations. We hope to post the materials at least four weeks ahead of the Sunday identified. (Go to “ Planning for the Future: Sundays when resources will be offered” on that same webpage) · Detailed information is now available for the April 27, 2010 dinner to celebrate CCU’s past and to honor the 25-year ministry of Dr. Paul A. Crow, Jr., as we name him “President Emeritus of the CCU.” (Go tohttp://www.disciples.org/ccu/100thAnniversaryResources.html) · Christian Churches Together (CCT) has posted its latest Newsletter reporting on its meeting in Seattle on January 13-15, 2010. This was a very interesting and exciting meeting. (Go to “Latest Newsletter from Christian Churches Together” under the “What’s New From the Council” on CCU home-page: http://www.disciples.org/ccu/ ) Study Leave Program. The Christian Church Michigan Region is continuing its search campaign for its next regional minister. You can send a quick e-mail to our search committee chair at the following e-mail address: Miregionsearch@hotmail.com. Anyone who has interest in the Michigan region can download pertinent regional documents from the Michigan region website: michigandisciples.org. We are looking for a candidate with pastoral, relational, and administrative abilities who has done on-going training in leadership and conflict mediation, someone who has experience with regional work and/or General Board and denominational issues, someone who leadership style is transparent, collaborative, and clear, who holds people accountable, who works within existing structures and who can move the region forward, without dwelling on the past. We are looking for someone who can do necessary repair work, and who sets good boundaries. Thank you for your help and for your ministry. May God bless you in all that you for the Church. Rev. Richard H. Boyd, Chair, Regional Minister Search Committee, Michigan Region. Pastor, FCC Lansing, Michigan. ATTENTION GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS: Click here for an exciting Leadership Fellows program exclusively for Disciples of Christ students! Deadline to apply is April 30, 2010 |
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STAFF UPDATES |
From Barbara Jones: I will be in the office through Holy Week and then I’ll be on the road again right after Easter. From Rick Hamilton: I will be at home in Rogers for Holy Week, and will lead the Maundy Thursday services at First Christian Church, Fayetteville, AR on Thursday, April 1. Hosanna to the Son of David! Search Committees I am currently supporting are: Bentonville First (Associate)
From Michael Elmore: I will be worshiping with FCC Moss Point this Sunday. Search Committees I am currently supporting: FCC Lake Charles, LA FCC Gulfport, MS
From Vance Moore: I’ve recently had the opportunity to meet with the folks from Week of Compassion. Brandon Gilvin spent the day with me in New Orleans looking at on going work there. Brandon takes care of “in country” Week of Compassion. So much of our conversations looked at “critical presence” on a local basis; how “mission” starts on the street where each of our churches is located. I shared with him our idea of Local Mission, National Mission and International Mission. Christ speaks of “loving ones neighbor”. Outreach is the way to begin that process. Let us know if we can help your church look, plan, resource! FCC Newport, AR Community CC, Hardy, AR Westside Mission: 30 volunteers from Downey Ave. Christian Church in Indianapolis, IN and 27 volunteers from FCC, Harrison, AR spent the week working on three major projects: Mrs. Rose Gueringer—Carnot St.—this is the new build we’re doing. Foundation is in, wall up, decking on, windows and doors in and we’re ready for roofing! Downey Ave. raised over $30,000.00 to help with the project. Our hats are off to this tremendous effort. There’ll be another group from Downey next week to help with the next phase. I’m also proud of the volunteers from FCC Harrison that pitched in and worked on this project. Mrs. Margaret Banks—Bruxelles St.—this two story house is another major renovation. Fantastic crew of folks from FCC Harrison and some from Downey Ave worked on replacing the exterior siding. This is a major undertaking and “WOW” did they work. Great week! Mrs. Gloria Vincent—N. Galvez—this is another new build we’re doing. We’ve been working on this one for over two years. We get a certain amount done then run short of funds and have to “wait”. We received some funding to begin the sheetrock installation. Volunteers from both Downey and Harrison worked hard and made major steps in insulating and sheetrocking Gloria’s house. In the Harrison group were folks from K-Life in the Harrison area. Thanks for coming with FCC. WHERE DID YOU SEE GOD TODAY? From Sara Rozzell: Registration and counselor forms can be viewed and printed on the youth page at www.grrcc.org . 2010 Summer Camp Dates: June 4-6 Family Camp at Camp Roosevelt (contact bjones@grrcc.org) July 4-10 FISSH (finished 9th grade only) |