REGION 3 UPDATE
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), North Carolina, South Carolina June 2007 Elder's Reflection - Rev. Elder Arlene Ackerman My 30 year anniversary as MCC clergy will take place at the same time as General Conference. Clearly it doesn't seem like 30 years. How could it possibly be, I am not that old! The time has gone by seemingly overnight. I can still remember the excitement of those first few years of ministry. I naively believed that this new movement called MCC could really change the world. Not only had I found a place to call home and a place to live out my calling, I found a church that radically believed as I did in God's love for all people. And now, 30 years later, I believe that we have changed the world. You and I and MCC all over the world have made and are making a difference. Whether it is our work in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Chile, Eastern Europe or Greenville, NC or the many other places around the world where we are currently working, I know that people are discovering a future and a hope that until we came they knew little or nothing about. Through the years I have been challenged to grow from every side. In the beginning I thought I understood how to be and do church, well MCC helped change all that. I discovered that my images of God were too small. I learned that one approach to being MCC was too limiting to reach all of our people around the world. I had to stretch theologically to understand that there are many ways to invite God into our lives and our churches. Someone taught me many years ago that if something in MCC offends me, just wait and in a few moments, months or a year watch as the pendulum begins to swing back from the edge of what offended me. I also learned that it will continue to swing as we learn and grow and stretch and move in our faith. What I really had to learn was the importance of not walking away because I didn't get my way, or if I got scared. That somehow, God is blessing this journey of faith called MCC. You might think that after 30 years I would be over getting excited about what is happening in and through MCC. You would be wrong! We are coming into a new day of maturity and growth like something we haven't seen in many years. You see, I believe that the exciting years are the ones before us. There are still many more walls to tear down and hope to build up. We made it through the dark days of HIV/AIDS, though it is still not over. We made it through inclusive language debates and still must work to live out our inclusive understanding of being God's church. We have built up good churches in many locations but know that more are needed and yet to come. We do social justice but justice is still illusive to most. I don't know what God has in store for my next 30 years but I do know that it will be quite a journey. A journey I don't want to miss. MCC Region 3 Future Dates - September 7 AND 8 $15 per person, includes lunch The Northern Sub-Regional Gathering will be a great opportunity for those in the central part of our region to get together for training, support, and worship. This is will be a wonderful chance to meet and network with others in the Region. Worship will be celebrated together. We will receive an offering to help with the cost of bringing people outside the continental U.S. to MCC gatherings. Apart from worship, the focus will be three fold: 1) Breaking the Growth Barriers; 2) Conflict Mediation – setting up effective Conflict Resolution Teams within the local church; 3) The Many Faces of Spirituality. Friday, September 7 7:30 pm Opening Event with Music Saturday, September 8 9:30 am Registration 10:00 am Worship 10:45 am Break 11:00 am Sharing Session 12:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm Workshops: Breaking the Barriers The Many Faces of Spirituality Conflict Mediation 3:30 pm Closing Worship 4:30 pm Gathering ends Advance Registration required. October 20- Southern Sub Regional Conference, MCC Charlotte , NC An opportunity for those in the southern part of our region to get together for training, support, and worship. There will be a SPECIAL Guest Presenter. More details coming soon! Mark your calendars now! 2007 Graduates Rev. Ursula Cargill, New Jersey – Master of Divinity, Princeton Theological Seminary. Amanda Ackerman, member of Vision o f Hope MCC, Mountville , PA and daughter of Rev. Elder Arlene and Jacquie Ackerman – graduated from high school, PA Leadership Charter School. If you or someone you know is graduating from high school or an institution of higher education, please email the Region 3 Office so that we can include this information in a future E-Newsletter. Thanks! Clergy Candidates From Region 3 Approved for Ordination Orgena Rose's "kick-off" concert will take place at Imago Dei MCC Living Positively Retreat at Open Door Center for Spirituality Living Positively, a retreat for people living with HIV/AIDS and their partners and caregivers, led by Joshua Love , HIV Program Director for the Metropolitan Community Churches. See our brochure for details and hotel accomodations 2007 MCC Region 3 Children and Youth Summit Follow-up It may seem like a long time ago, however, the 2007 MCC Region 3 Children and Youth Summit in April was a great success! Those that gathered were happy to see everyone and spend the day together in dialogue about what makes Children and Youth Ministry in MCC so unique and wonderful! Thank you to MCC NOVA for being our host church! A special thanks to Lisa and Yvonne for being so hospitable and taking care of us! We would also like to thank once more the Planning Team, Lisa Dravvorn (MCC NOVA, Fairfax, VA), Cheryl Melton (MCC Charlotte, NC), Mary Ann Durborow (Vision of Hope MCC, Lancaster, PA), and Rhonda Russell-Caville (MCC Fredericksburg, VA) who helped plan the 2007 Summit. Since then, Dale Curtis (MCC-DC) has also agreed to join the Team. As we brainstormed, we conversed about many great things. Thanks to Scarlett for taking our newsprints and typing up our notes! We talked about our hopes, the blessings, the challenges and what we need to do as ministers to care for ourselves. In addition, we set some goals:
The MCC Region 3 Children and Youth Ministries Summit Team continues to connect via conference calls and email. Th eir plan is to find ways to communicate and support one another, as well as plan for the 2008 Summit . They would really like to try and work together in ministry during times other than just the actual summit itself. They are also going to try and find a way to accomplish some of the goals that were set at the 2007 Summit . One of which has already been accomplished – there is a Yahoo! Message Board set-up. If you are interested in finding out more about the team and how to connect concerning Children and Youth Ministries within Region 3, please contact Rev. Jennifer Glass, jenniferglass@mccchurch.net . Please consider supporting LGBT Religious Archives Network Over the past five years, LGBT-RAN has amassed an incredible amount of data on LGBT religious history on its web site: www.lgbtran.org . There is no other source that contains as much information on any part of LGBT history. As Dr. Kathryn Lofton, winner of last year's LGBT Religious History Award, remarked: "this web site is an orgasmic experience for historians like myself!" Several MCCers are connected to this Network. Frank Zerilli has been serving on the Advisory Committee since its inception. Please check out the website and notice all the MCC folk that are listed there. LGBT-RAN faces great financial challenges today. Decreasing foundation dollars have forced us to cut back on our work in recent months. Yet we know that so many LGBT religious leaders are aging or dying--therefore, the urgency of our preservation work only grows. Would you consider making a gift this year? Your gift of $500, $250, $100, $50--or whatever you can give--will ensure that LGBT-RAN continues its ground-breaking work. To make a gift you only need to click on this link: www.lgbtran.org/DonateLink.aspx With credit card in hand, it takes 2-3 minutes to make a gift or set up an automatic monthly gift. Or you can mail a check to: LGBT-RAN Your gift at this time can truly make a difference in preserving LGBT religious history! Thank you! An Encouraging Quote emailed from Rev. David Smith, MCC Baltimore The issue of government is not to determine who may sleep together in the bedroom, it's to help those that might not be eating in the kitchen. ~ Rev. Al Sharpton Regional Elder Schedule 23 – 24 Winston-Salem MCC 25 Travel Day 26 Office 27 Travel / Clergy Conference 28 – 30 Clergy Conference July 2 – 6 General Conference 7 Church Planting Institutes 9 – 13 Days off 16 – 19 Office 20 Travel Day 21 – 22 MCC of the Upstate 23 Travel Day 24 – 31 Days off August Rev. Elder Ackerman will be taking off. We pray that you will offer her your support in taking this time. While she is away, Rev. Jen will be available in the Region 3 Office and there will be an Elder on call.
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