A New Church Plant Has Been Approved In Region 3
Rev. Miller Hoffman recently completed the feasibility study phase of doing a church plant in the Binghamton area of New York State. With the study approved she will now work at developing a core group and ministries prior to worship beginning. This planting effort is a parish extension of MCC New York with the support of MCC Region 3. The nearest MCC is over two hours away. This area is prime for a successful church plant. Thank you to Open Arms MCC, Imago Dei MCC and Rev. Karla Fleshman and MCC Richmond for your support of this plant. If you would like to help through prayer or financial contribution contact Rev. Miller at revjenmiller@earthlink.net.
Prayer Requests:
Rev. David North, pastor of Holy Redeemer MCC and his partner, David York, have been in Maine because of the terminal illness of David York's dad. He passed away last Wednesday night. You can send an email note to them at yorknorth@comcast.net
Rev. Gail Hicks - continued recovery from ankle surgery. She hopes to return to work soon. You can email her at mawbarker@verizon.net
Amanda Ackerman - daughter of Rev. Elder Arlene Ackerman, continues to be ill after 10 weeks of severe stomach and back pain. So far, medical tests are inconclusive. You can email her at Ajoy1@aol.com
New Life MCC Moves To A New Location - Hampton Roads, VA
FINALLY! After two failed attempts to purchase property in our unbelievable real estate market in Hampton Roads, VA and a conservative drive fight in a UMC church defeating our already signed contract with them to share their building and more prayers from the churches in our region than the heavenly hosts can count - NEW LIFE MCC IS MOVING!
Our last worship service on Ocean View in Norfolk, VA is March 6th and we begin worship in the evening at 6:00 PM on Sundays in Hampton, VA. It is a big deal in the Hampton Roads area for us to move from the Southside to the Peninsula and it is a historic move in the history of NLMCC.
We will be sharing churches with St. Mark's Episcopal Church, again a historic move in the conservative world of Hampton Roads. Our goal is to share with them for a maximum of three years and then build our own building. We are excited and at the same time nervous about this move, but looking forward to the opportunity to witness, to change and to grow. We seek your continued prayers as we move from a very comfortable place to the frontier of change.
Effective March 13th, our address changes will be:
Mailing address: New Life MCC of Hampton Roads
P. O. Box 8002
Norfolk, VA 23503
(757) 362-3046
Meeting Location: 2605 Cunningham Drive
Hampton, VA 23666
6:00 PM on Sundays
(St. Mark's Episcopal Church)
New Life MCC Making The Shift - Pastor Driven Church To Program Driven Church
In addition, in mid-February, we held a Leadership Conference called "Raising the Roof" from the Alban Institute book of the same name. The workshop was led by Rev. Maria Luna-Wolfe and BOD member, Bonnie Arpin. We have 42 people at the workshop who made covenant agreements to begin the serious work of 'letting go' from the Pastor-driven church to move into the arena of a program-driven church. Part of the covenant was giving those who attended the conference permission to call Pastor Marty's attention to any thing that she does that can be done by the congregation; to move our pastor into a place of visioning, preaching, teaching and being the administrative spiritual leader of the church while the laity is empowered to "Raising the Roof" of their church.
Attention clergy candidates!
A reminder that the 2005 Clergy Candidate Intensive for MCC Ministry will take place at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California during June 19-25, 2005.
Learn More About MCC, Subscribe To "Around The Fellowship"
Our denomination has started a new newsletter. Jim Birkitt, our denominations communications director writes "Subscriptions to "Around The Fellowship" are free upon request. Encourage your church members and church leaders to subscribe by writing to info@MCCchurch.org."
Pastors - Please Place The Following In Your Bulletin Or Newsletter
Want to learn more about the ministry and churches of MCC Region 3? This includes churches in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, District of Columbia, Virginia and Puerto Rico currently. Want to share what is happening in your church? Hear about resources for ministry? Send an email to Ajoy1@aol.com and ask to be added to the MCC Region 3 E-Newsletter List. Everyone is welcome to join.
Rev. Troy Perry to Speak at MCC-Christ the Liberator
The Founder of the Metropolitan Community Churches movement, the Reverend Dr. Troy D. Perry, will be MCC of Christ the Liberator's special guest speaker for Palm Sunday (Mar. 20, 2005). MCC CTL is located at 1048 Livingston Ave., North Brunswick, NJ. For more information email: mccliberator@excite.com.
News from MCC New York
MCC NY will add a new worship service to accommodate growth. Beginning March 27, Easter Sunday, we will celebrate at 9 am (traditional service), 11am (our current contemporary 10am), and 7 pm (praise & worship).
Additionally, we would like to announce that the Rev. Elder Troy Perry will be our guest preacher during some of our Holy Week worship services: Stations of the Cross, Good Friday, March 25th at 7 pm; Easter Vigil: Lighting of the New Fire, Holy Saturday, March 26th at 7 pm; and the Liturgy of the Resurrection, Easter Sunday at 9 am, 11 am, and 7 pm.
On Saturday, March 26, MCC NY will host its annual Easter Banquet in honor of The Reverend Elder Troy Perry. Rev. Troy is retiring this year and we wish to salute his numerous accomplishments and contributions to the New York Community. The banquet will be held at Union Theological Seminary, 122nd Street and Broadway, at 3:00pm. Tickets are $50.00. For more information about this event, call the Church at 212-629-7440.
Boards of Directors - Annual Report Reminder
March 31 is fast approaching and your Annual Reports are due in the Region 3 office with a copy being sent to MCC headquarters. If you have any questions or need any help contact the Region 3 office.
March 31, 2005
New Region 3 Directory Now Available
The new directories for Region 3 are being printed and mailed this week. All copies are being sent to the local church. Pastors, please see that copies are distributed to your staff and lay delegates. Feel free to make additional copies as needed.
Lancaster Theological Seminary Names New Associate Director of Continuing Education and Assistant Professor of Theology
Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, PA is pleased to announce the appointment of David M. Mellott as Associate Director of Continuing Education and Assistant Professor of Theology beginning June 1, 2005.
David Mellott is a candidate for the Ph.D. degree from Emory University in Theological Studies and is expected to graduate in May, 2005. His dissertation focuses on the religious practices of a village in northern New Mexico and seeks to explore the relationship between theology and spiritual practices within community life.
He holds a S.T.L. (Licentiate in Sacred Theology, Summa Cum Laude) and M.A. and B.A. (both degrees Cum Laude) in religious studies from The Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and a B.A. in English Literature and Latin American Studies from The Pontifical College Josephinum. In addition, he has studied at Sorbonne University and Goethe Institute.
Prior to his doctoral studies, David was a residential faculty member, student advisor, and coordinator of worship at St. Mary™s Seminary in Baltimore, MD from 1994-1997 and has planned and facilitated numerous worship services, retreats, and small groups for seminarians, adults, and teenagers on topics of self-awareness, vocational discernment, and leadership development.
David brings both exceptional organizational and teaching skills and will join Dr. Bruce Epperly, Director of Continuing Education at Lancaster Theological Seminary, in planning and implementing a range of new programs focusing on lay education and continuing education for clergy.
David has had a life-long interest in ecumenism and is currently a member of New Covenant MCC in Columbia, MD, a congregation affiliated with the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. David™s partner, The Rev. Lance Mullins, is pastor of New Covenant MCC.
David was also a presenter at the Region 3 conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Mailing Address Changed - MCC of the Chesapeake
Please note that we have changed our mailing address to
PO Box 6159,
Annapolis, Maryland 21401.
MCC Region 3 Sponsors Two Stewardship Institutes
The institute will be held in two locations:
May 20/21 at MCC of the Lehigh Valley in Allentown, PA.
and
June 3/4 at MCC Richmond, VA.
The focus of the institutes will be:
1. Examining personal money management from a biblical/faith perspective.
2. Nuts and bolts training for stewardship teams so that they might be better equipped to lead their congregation in effective stewardship.
See Stewardship Registration Form Below!
MCC Winston-Salem Calls New Pastor
Rev. Mark Byrd has been called as the new Pastor at MCC Winston-Salem. Congratulations to both Rev. Byrd and the Congregation of MCC Winston-Salem. Mark is a transfer clergy having completed the transfer process through MCC Washington.
MCC of the Lehigh Valley 2005 National Freedom to Marry Day
Celebrations were once again full of the Spirit! MCCLV organized & coordinated two
events, a social justice action at the local courthouse and a worship service at the church. On Friday, February 11, five same-sex couples went to the Lehigh County Courthouse to apply for licenses while supporters stood outside holding signs and chanting in support of marriage equality. The event was covered by both the print and televised media. Then on Saturday, February 12 MCCLV hosted its annual Freedom to Marry Day worship service. 15 clergy people from a variety of traditions led people through a worship service that included sacred readings, special music, blessing of relationships, blessing of singles and same-sex marriage ceremony. MCCLV is looking forward to 2006!
The Children's Ministry Has Exciting News!! MCC NOVA
As coordinators of the Children's Ministry, Lisa and Sharon Dravvorn have been jokingly telling Rev. Kharma, "Build it (meaning a Sunday School Program) and they will come." Well, the Sunday school room of our dreams has come true. Our Sunday school room is filled with an average of 12 to 18 smiling, active children each Sunday, which range in age from 2 - 13! Thanks be to God! The Sunday School Program is PROUD to announce that we will have a Sunday School 1 (ages 2- 6) AND a Sunday School 2 (ages 7-13) Program! In the best interest of the children and to try to meet more individual needs, the program truly needs to be separated. Our one room schoolhouse has worked well however, now it is time to separate! Sharon and Lisa will continue to coordinate the Sunday School 1 Program. The younger children will continue to meet in the current Sunday school room. We are thrilled to announce that Sarah Fershee will become the coordinator for the Sunday School 2 Program! Way to go, Sarah! The older children will meet in the Library upstairs during service. Our new Sunday School 1 and 2 Program will begin April 3!
CSAP Training
Child sexual abuse reaches into every area of society. Faith communities are especially vulnerable because they are places of trust and often lack safeguards against this type of abuse. Lisa Pawlowski, LSW, is a consultant who has experience in training
congregations on the issue of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (CSAP).
Pawlowski will present guidelines and train MCCLV volunteers on reducing the risk of child sexual abuse happening within a ministry. All are invited to a CSAP Training:
Sunday, April l7 1 - 4 p.m. at MCC of the Lehigh Valley, Allentown, PA
The Training is sponsored by MCCLV's Children's Ministry and the MCCLV Reconciliation Team. To register for the Training, please e-mail info@mcclv.org or phone 610-709-8800.
Financial Health "First Fruits" (taken from the Region 8 E-Newsletter)
Malachi 3:10 - "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house." The prophet Malachi was told by God to remind the people that they should bring their tithes into the storehouse - in other words, to the Temple. In the days after the Babylonian exile was over and the Jews had returned to Jerusalem, they had to be reminded about the rules of giving of their "first fruits." It had been their custom, whenever they reaped a harvest, to bring the best of that harvest to the Temple…Not what was left over. Not what they remembered to stuff in their pockets. Not what they picked out because they didn't want it. No, they brought the best of their harvest. However, Malachi came to point out that they had gotten sloppy and inattentive to their commitment to bring their best. It seems that they are not the only ones who lost touch with what it means to give God our "first fruits." Although tithing seems to be a "dirty" word in many churches, it is important for us to stop avoiding it and begin learning what it really means. When I was a guest at the Region 6 Conference last year, I had the good fortune to sit in on a Financial seminar done by Mark Vincent. He shared some of the best material on church finances that I have ever heard but there was one thing that stuck with me and I think it brings home the message of tithing. Mark pointed out that most of the giving in our churches is merely a transaction:
We give out of fear so as to escape some punishment or doom that may come our way if we don't. The transaction is that we give in exchange for avoiding punishment.
We give for the sake of prosperity so that we might be blessed. The transaction is that we give in exchange for experiencing the pleasures of life.
We give as a matter of philanthropy where we give so that something good is done in the world. The transaction is that we give in exchange for the good we see done with our money. The problem with transactions is that they don't pass the grace test. The grace test suggests that we can no longer give to get but rather we give because we have received. Obviously, this is a message that God has been trying to get to us for centuries. God's people have always struggled with it and we are no different. However, we have a chance to be. The next time you get your paycheck, try giving the best part of that check to God. If you do that, our churches will cease to have financial difficulties! That is a guarantee!
Stewardship Institute Registration Form
(Fill out one registration form per person attending.)
Name:
Mailing Address:
Phone Number:
Email Address:
Church:
I will be attending (check one) May 20/21 ____ Allentown, PA
June 3/4 ____ Richmond, VA
Registration fee: $20. per person, if sent in by April 20. Registration includes the Friday evening reception and the all day Saturday Stewardship Training with Mark Vincent including lunch. Registration received after April 20, or at the door will be limited and will be $25.
Make your check payable to UFMCC Stewardship Institute and send your registration form and check to the address below.
Rev. Elder Ackerman Travel Schedule
April
1 Small Church Pastors Gathering for churches under 50 in attendance.
3 Travel Day
4 - 5 MCC Church Planting Initiative Team Meeting at HQ
6 - 7 Meeting of the Board of Elders and Board of Administration - at MCC LA
8 - 11 Board of Elders Meeting - MCC LA
12 - 13 MCC Strategic Growth Initiative Meeting
14 Travel Day
15 Office
18 - 20 Days off
23 - 25 New Life MCC - Leadership Training
28 - 29 Office
30 - 1 MCC of the Spirit, Harrisburg, PA - Leadership Training
Remember, you remain always in my prayers.