Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands and the U.S. States of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia (Washington, DC)

June 22, 2004

Region 3 Conference Update July 8 - 11   San Juan, Puerto Rico
It's not to late to register for conference!

What do you get as a registered part of conference? Meet Rev. Troy Perry, the founder of MCC. The opportunity to meet MCC people from all over Region 3, hear incredible speakers, attend a variety of worship experiences, breakfast and lunch is included on Friday and Saturday. Learn about Puerto Rico and the cultures of the people. Hear about the future of MCC and be a part of the strategic planning.  Sing in the choir. Grow spiritually in workshops and worship. Discover that you are part of a world wide movement. To register go to ufmcc.org, click on Regional Conferences, click on Region 3, click on Registration.

Day Trips
The continuing good news is that we already have 28 people signed up for the boat trip (which will hold 45, with extensions possible with vans that hold 8 each).  The rainforest bus holds 25 and we have 17 registered, but a van can be added there as well if needed. Both trips are wonderful. To register go to ufmcc.org, click on Regional Conferences, click on Region 3, click on Tours.

Rev. Troy Perry - Booksigning
Copies of Rev. Perry's new book will be available at conference for purchase and signing.

MCC Hudson Valley - Pride Celebration
Pride in the Capital Region ended Sunday with our Pride Parade and Party in the park. MCC had a float resplendent with the MCC flag, rainbow fish wind socks and lots of MCCers.  We did our first MCC service at the Pride event. There were 48 in attendance with many people looking on trying to figure out what we were up to!  We were opposite the bandstand with ongoing singers and dancers. I am proud to say we held our own and incorporated the music into the flow of the service.

How To Get People Involved In Ministry
I wanted to write and let you know about a wonderfully successful event we recently had at MCC NOVA.  As you know, one of our strategic objectives is to increase the number of people actively engaged in the life of the church.  One of the ways in which our strategic team decided to do this was to host a Ministry Fair.  The objectives of which were (a) to showcase existing ministries being performed at MCC NOVA (b) allow new folks to talk with existing leaders about these and ask questions (c) provide a place for new people to sign up to participate in active ministries (d) celebrate the ministry being done and (e) - last but certainly not least - solicit ideas for future ministries and passions from those not yet involved.

Our Ministry Leader Team did a lot of wonderful planning for this event.  There were some elements that really made the day successful.

1.  Each Ministry (a total of 16) submitted a small "prize" for a big grand prize basket.  Some of the ministries used items that related to their ministries (e.g., the Social Ministry put in Tickemasters Tickets; the Facility Maintenance Team put in a small tool kit; the Children's Ministry donated Play-Doh).  The contribution of the Music Ministry was a donated Longenberger Basket -- how fancy is that?! -- and all items were placed into that and packaged with shrink wrap.

2.  Each Ministry created a "booth" with a particular "theme" relevant to their ministry.  Each booth had the following items:

1. A particular food item (we had a progressive potluck - coordinated by one of our leaders - where persons would get a different type of food from each booth to make a complete and fabulous lunch).
2. A unique identifying sticker that could be used to stamp passports (more about these in a minute).  These were related to the ministry (e.g., Music had music notes; Board had money stickers; Welcome Team had smiley faces, etc.).
3. Opportunities for people to sign up to participate in short term projects, one time events, or ongoing ministries.  These were varied based on the type of ministry, of course.
4. A way of celebrating each time someone signed-up.  This was anything from a song, to a unique noise maker, etc.

3.  We created passports for the Ministry Fair (i.e., small keep-sake booklets with an introduction, contact information for all ministry leaders, and pages for each ministry [4 per page] where the appropriate stickers could be placed indicating that someone had visited the booth), and a prize-entry form.  Anyone who got stickers from every booth was eligible to win the big grand prize mentioned above.  There was someone to authenticate the passport, then the final page was ripped out and placed into the entry box.  At a prearranged time - about 1 1/2 hours after it began, we had the drawing for this.  We also had a drawing for children's prizes -- every child won a prize.

4.  We had a Mystery Booth, where people could put up their ideas for ministries and activities we do not yet have.  They put their ideas on the top of sheets that also had lines for others to sign up that they, too, were interested.  This was a way of moving beyond just plugging people into the existing opportunities to drawing out their unique passions and interests.

We came to church early on Sunday and put out tables in our parking lot, much like our own Gay Pride Festival, people parked elsewhere.  We also met to pray away the rain that threatened to make us move indoors (it worked! if you need instructions, just ask :)).  immediately following service (during which we showed the prize basket, explained what was going to be happening, invited people to stay), the ministry leaders went out and put their booths up.  Many went WAY above & beyond the call of duty in creative booths, freebies, and materials for take-home.  We had one tent complete with a rainbow parachute top.  People also came up with gimmicks and fun things to do in their booths to make additional games/prizes (e.g., guess how many kisses in the jar, etc.).  The food was well distributed, people stayed and had a WONDERFUL time, the prize give-away was a HUGE hit, and there were so many new people who signed up to be involved in ministry that weren't before.  This event is something we are going to be repeating at least once, if not twice a year ... it was a phenomenal success and I encourage other churches to take it and run with it in such a way that fits their own contexts.  The Spirit was definitely with us and having a great time ... not to mention a meaningful one!

Please feel free to share this as a resource.  I'd be happy to answer questions or provide samples of any of the materials we used.  Blessings, Kharma Amos
kharmaamos@aol.com

June 29, 2003

Region 3 Conference Update - PRAYER REQUEST
It looks like approximately 165 or more people will be attending the Region 3 conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico July 8 - 12. If you are not attending we invite you to keep the conference and all participants in your prayers. Conference provides an important opportunity for renewal, vision casting, input to the future of MCC denominationally as well as provide opportunities for personal and spiritual growth, networking and equipping people lay and clergy for effective ministry. Your prayers play and important part of having successful conference.

Elder's Schedule
Elder Ackerman will be out of the office from July 2 - 15 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In case of emergency she can be reached through her cell phone. Mary, our Region 3 office assistance will be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 - 2 checking messages and email.

Ordination Applicants Approved
Three people from Region 3 were approved for MCC ordination recently following their interviews in Boston. Rev. Rob Taylor, transfer clergy and pastoral leader of Open Door MCC, Boyds, MD; Rev. Jim Mulcahy, transfer clergy and pastoral leader of Open Arms MCC, Rochester, NY; and Emma Chattin, ordination candidate from MCC Washington. Congratulations!

Rev. Perry Asks For Your Help - In the USA
Call the offices of your two U.S. Senators and ask them to oppose placing discrimination in the U.S. Constitution. Ask them to vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment. Let them know this amendment would hurt you and deny rights to you. You can phone your two Senators by calling the Senate operator at 202-224-3121.
Send an e-mail to both of your U.S. Senators. Put your concerns in writing. Every Senate office is carefully tabulating constituent feedback -- your message can make a very real difference. To locate the e-mail address for your U.S. Senator, simply go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and click on "Choose A State."
To learn how the Federal Marriage Amendment would harm LGBT people and how you can get more involved in this issue, visit www.DontAmend.com. Check out their resources... sign the petition... and register for their e-mail newsletter.
One final thought: It is important for all people of faith to clearly identify this to your elected officials. We must let them know that there are many, many people of faith who do not support the FMA nor discrimination against LGBT people. If you are active in your faith community, or a lay leader, or a clergyperson -- please identify this clearly when you call and write your Senators.

MCC Headquarters Wants Your Press Clippings
DID YOU KNOW......that MCC Headquarters maintains archive files of press clippings on MCC churches? If your church or church leaders have appeared in the news, why not send copies of those press articles to the MCC archives to be made part of our permanent history?
Press clippings can be mailed to:
Jim Birkitt, MCC Communications Department
Metropolitan Community Churches
8704 Santa Monica Boulevard, 2nd Floor
West Hollywood, CA  90069

If hard copy clippings are not available, the MCC Communications Department invites you to send article text or links to on-line articles to MCC HQ by e-mail to info@MCCchurch.org.

The MCC Communications Department also collects -- and welcomes! -- news stories, article reprints, and op ed articles focusing on the MCC denomination or by denominational leaders.  This is a great way to help us track media coverage throughout the Fellowship, and for your church to be included in our denomination's history archives.

A Ministry Idea From Imago Dei MCC
The Gift of Mary is a hospice for 12 women living with HIV/AIDS on 9th Street in Chester, PA administered by the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Theresa of Calcutta. The women reside as long as needed to regain health, control addiction, take courses, reconcile with family or obtain housing. Imago Dei has been visiting "our women" monthly for 20 months. Each month we have a meal or junk food, games or music but we always have laughter and prayer. We've watched residents move to new lives out in the community and said good-bye to others who now rest with God. PLEASE join our outreach to Gift of Mary with a contribution of goods or your attendance.

Resource
Did you know... ...that the number of infants and children in local MCC congregations is growing dramatically? Now And Baby magazine is offering a free resource to local MCC churches to provide assistance, advice and encouragement to our LGBT families. And Baby is committed to delivering timely, informative difficult to find -- and helpful! -- information on issues facing LGBT families today.
Sign up for your church's complimentary subscription to And Baby magazine today!  One free subscription per church, please. You may wish to make your monthly issue available through your church library... information table... or church nursery. To receive your church's free subscription, email info@MCCchurch.org -- ask for a copy of the subscription form be faxed or mailed to you.

Metropolitan Community Churches: A Family of Families
Top 20 Per Capita For April 2004
Local Church Giving Per Worshipper Per Service
4.    MCC Rehoboth Beach, Rehoboth, Delaware            $36
5.    Open Door MCC, Boyds, Maryland                     $35
10.   New Life MCC of Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia     $33.25
17.   Imago Dei MCC, Media, Pennsylvania                $30.15

TOP TWENTY CHURCHES FOR APRIL 2004  In Tithes Sent To MCC Headquarters
1.    MCC Washington, Washington, DC              $7340
4.    MCC New York, New York, New York                  $4547
8.    New Life MCC of Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Virginia $2803
17.   MCC Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland                 $1891
19.   Open Door MCC, Boyds, Maryland              $1824
US Territory - Puerto Rico (reporting in US dollars - USD)
       ICM Cristo Sanador, Rio Piedras 102 USD

The 2004 MCC Sermon Contest  Open To All MCC Clergy & Laity
Sponsored By MCC Office Of Clergy Development
Submission Deadline: August 1, 2004
Send us your best sermon on LGBT Pride or Sexuality & Spirituality!

We are looking for new and original thinking about LGBT pride and on sexuality and spirituality -- so MCC is sponsoring a contest looking for our best sermons to post on MCC's website. 
It's time we show the world more of what we have learned, think, preach and practice about sexuality and LGBT pride. 

We will be awarding prizes of $100, $75 and $50 (US) gift certificates from Amazon.com to the three top sermons and we'll post the ten strongest sermons on the MCC website.
The contest is open to all MCC clergy and MCC members. Sermons must have been preached in the presence of a congregation before July 31, 2004, (we want real sermons, not just theoretical ones). You may edit your text after delivery for the sake of clarity. 
To participate, simply submit your sermon in written form (transcribed if necessary), either in the body of an e-mail or as an attached Word document, by August 1, 2004, to clergy@MCCchurch.org. For more details go to UFMCC.com and click on Sermon Contest. This contest is sponsored by the MCC Office of Leadership Development.

STONEWALL!
On June 27, 1969, New York had just experienced one of the last great public funerals of an entertainer, Judy Garland. At 1:40 am that night, an unannounced police raid of the Stonewall bar in Greenwich Village was about to take place. Atypically, a small crowd of gays gathered to observe rather than scatter; and an unusual, riveting mood pervaded the scene:  "strangely quiet … with a kind of tensed expectancy".  The police bullied the bar patrons, demanding I.D.s, and began to arrest people.  As they emerged to take their prisoners to a waiting van, the small crowd of GBLT folk angrily booed and pressed against the van. A combination of anger and electricity, almost tangible in its intensity, rushed through the crowd. Various actions suddenly took place at once. Poked by a cop with his club, one of the drag queens started to hit back. Then a simultaneous flash of mass anger and a rush of action erupted. A dyke, who also had been struck, began to rock the police van. People started throwing coins and other objects at the police. Another drag queen pushed her way out of the van, while others helped more arrestees escape. The intensity mounting, the crowd screamed insults at the police and shouted "Gay Power!" Gays literally fought back. One drag queen knocked a policeman down, took the handcuff keys, freed herself, and then freed others. The crowd grew into a mob, throwing any object possible at police. Awhile later, facing a riot control team, the crowd continued to jeer and to toss objects. Then, a new and different kind of gay consciousness arose. With contemptuous wit and Rockette kicks, a group of drag queens sang to the riot squad: " We are the Stonewall girls, We wear our hair in curls … We wear our dungarees, Above our nelly knees".  Over the next two nights, the crowds grew; and street confrontations with police continued. Signs all around Stonewall quickly appeared proclaiming, "Legalize gay bars … Support Gay Power".  Amid shouts of "Gay Power", hand-holding and kissing in public among GBLT couples suddenly was rampant. Later, a police inspector would say, " things were completely changed … suddenly they (gays) were not submissive anymore".
Martin Duberman. (1993). Stonewall. NY: A Dutton Book, Penquin Books USA, Inc.]
Taken from the MCC Richmond E-Newsletter