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 August 2007 MCC Region 3 Future Dates September 7 and 8 Northern Sub Regional Gathering MCC of the Lehigh Valley , Allentown , PA. $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. Email today to say that you will be attending: Southern Sub-Regional Gathering October 20 #1 Affirming Our Spiritual/Theological Diversity #2 Spiritual Journeys Go In Different Directions And That's Okay, No Reason To Get All Bent Out Of Shape If Yours Is Different Than Mine And Mine Is Different Than Yours This gathering will address Welcoming Theological Diversity, presented by Rev. Dr. Mona West. Just like each of us has a leaning toward a particular personality type (introvert or extrovert) each of us also has a leaning toward a particular spiritual type. Discovering and understanding your spiritual type and the spiritual type of others is a helpful way to welcome theological diversity. In this workshop you will discover your spiritual type and learn best ways to grow in your spiritual journey. You will also learn what things you have in common with people who are of a different spiritual type. It's a great way to learn how to talk to and appreciate others across theological differences! Rev. Dr. Mona West is the Senior Pastor of Church of the Trinity MCC in Sarasota , Florida . Originally she was ordained in the Southern Baptist denomination in 1987 and transferred her credentials to Metropolitan Community Church in 1992. She holds the M. Div. and Ph. D. (Old Testament/Hebrew Bible) degrees from Southern Seminary in Louisville , KY. After teaching in colleges in the south, she became the Academic Dean for Samaritan Institute, the school that trained MCC clergy for ministry. Dr. West has also served as pastor at Cathedral of Hope and Midway Hills Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), both in Dallas , TX . Mona is passionate about spirituality and queer biblical interpretation. In 2000 she published a book with Pilgrim Press titled, Take Back the Word: A Queer Reading of the Bible. In 2002 she finished a certification program in Spiritual Formation at Columbia Seminary in Atlanta , GA. She is one of four editors for The Queer Bible Commentary published by SCM Press in 2006. She and her partner, Deb Elder, make their home in Sarasota , Florida along with their dog and three cats. Advance Registration required for the October 20 Central Sub-Regional Gathering. Email today to say that you will be attending: Praise Rev. Dr . Rob and Rob Apgar-Taylor of Open Door MCC, Boyds, MD are celebrating the birth of their first granddaughter. Madison Alexis Cotton was born July 23rd weighing 6 lbs 8 oz. and was 18" long. Mom, dad, baby and Grandpas are all doing fine! MCC of the Blue Ridge ( Roanoke , VA ) Pride Weekend Celebration The Roanoke Pride Festival will kick off at MCC of the Blue Ridge on Saturday, Sept 15 with a Free Live Concert featuring Jason and deMarco at 7pm. The Pride Festival begins on Sunday Sept. 16 at 10am with an MCC of the Blue Ridge hillside worship service. The Pride Festival continues with food, vendors and entertainment until 6pm. Jason and deMarco are co-headliners of the Pride Festival along with Doria Roberts. Come to Roanoke and help celebrate our Christian Pride. Special arrangements have been made with a local Holiday Inn for $49 per night rooms for up to 4 per room. Questions, please call MCC of the Blue Ridge , Mon-Fri from 9am-4pm daily at 540-344-4444. MCC Washington 's Dominican Republic Mission trip MCC Washington's Dominican Republic Mission trip started Sunday, July 29 with their first team (construction) which was in El Tamarindo in the Dominican Republic . The next group left Sunday, August 5 and will finish any construction projects and hold a bible school for the children based on the story of Jonah and the great fish. To read more about the trip, check out their blog: http://www.mccdrtrip.blogspot.com/ Soulforce Marriage Equality Stops at MCC of the Hudson Valley During July 14 through 17 young adults arrived in the Albany , NY area to take part in a 2 week van tour of Upstate NY on a grass roots campaign to get people involved and talking about the Right to Marry. The Northern van's first stop was to be hosted by MCCHV of Albany and they spent 2 nights with members of MCC HV. Tuesday night they were found up till 2 or 3 am working on making tee shirts that had a Soulforce Q logo on the back saying Marriage Equality, and the front said Do you believe in Marriage? I do. Then Wednesday they went to the county fair with some members from MCCHV. They spread out across the fair grounds in pairs and were mingling and talking with political candidates and their representatives and religious booths at the fair. This is until they were stopped by the fair security folks who said they could not initiate discussions, and asked them to put their literature into the van. The young adults did this willingly, and continued to mingle the fairgrounds willing and eager to respond to each person who asked about the shirts. Toward the end of the day, a Sherriff approached one of the young adults asking about the shirts. and was told what they were about. He was really interested in it, and took a few of the Soulforce people over to talk to a whole group of sheriff's about it. That evening after cleaning up briefly they headed out to MCCHV to meet with folks and discuss Marriage Equality again and try to get folks involved in contacting their legislators regarding this. One of the big projects they are working on is getting folks to send a pair of their shoes to Senator Bruno asking him to "walk a mile in their shoes" and consider allowing discussion on the vote for marriage equality to come to the senate floor. Cool drinks and cookies were enjoyed by most, as well as some good dialog. After most folks left the gathering and they were cleaning up, 4 young adults came into the space and wanted to have a dialog on how MCCHV and Soulforce reconciles the issue of being gay and being Christian. Once they cleaned up they continued the conversation outside. It became clear that at least 2 of these folks were "ex-gays," one of whom admitted to still struggle with his gay feelings. After the Soulforce folks had time to share their beliefs, and views, as did the visitors, they finally parted ways, with an understanding that the guests were not about to accept their viewpoints and the Soulforce folks were not able to accept that forced celibacy was the way to go for all those who have feelings for the same sex. The next day the Soulforce group embarked on the journey north to Saratoga , and GlensFalls to speak with several other senators and assembly people. A Sabbath – written by Rev. Dr. Edgard Danielsen-Morales of MCC New York During the summer months our people go on vacations, there are family gatherings, BBQs with friends, lots of fun in the parks and beaches. For many, this time of rest and renewal is a Sabbath . At the same, here at MCC New York our program enters into a "low season" as many of our music ministers take a Sabbath , a time to rest, and our religious education program, as well as other church's programs, recess until September. (Notable exceptions are our social outreach ministries that continue to offer food to 5,000 people every month, and shelter to dozens of queer youth every month.) Sabbath , the tradition we have received from our Jewish brothers and sisters, and we, Christians, and other religious traditions, have transformed into something different but still valuable. Sabbath : a time of rest, a time of joy, a time of profound connection with the Divinity within us and around us. Sabbath : a time to nourish our spiritual selves. We live in a society that has lost touch with the world and the whole creation because it has lost touch with the Divinity and God's amazing deeds around us. As religious writer Monique Parsons express: "We are hooked in, signed on, trading, buying, selling, dating, checking e-mail, and answering our cell phones around the clock. Take a nap and somebody just might take over your company, steal your girlfriend, or give your job to somebody else.... ... You snooze, you lose." Unfortunately, I think she is right. Lost in doing, lost in producing, trapped by the "tyranny of the urgent" we walk sightless among miracles. I don't know about you but I need to come back to the place I belong, to be centered in God, the Good Shepherd who nourishes my whole self. I need my Sabbath , my time of joy, of rest, of being still and know that God is. This summer can be Sabbath for you. Enjoy the good times, and remember, days pass and years vanish, and we should always walk mindful of the miracles around us. Whatever you do, wherever you go, the presence of the Divinity will be there with you and around you. Happy summer! Rev. Edgard Francisco General Conference 2007 Attendees – Don't forget about giving us your feeback! If you attended MCC's recent General Conference, we invite you to take just a few minutes to complete a post-conference survey and provide us with your feedback. All feedback is appreciated and will be used to plan future MCC events. Regional Elder Schedule Rev. Elder Ackerman will be taking off the month of August. We pray that you will offer her your support in taking this time for rest, reading, writing and reflection . While she is away, Rev. Jen will be available in the Region 3 Office and there will be an Elder on call. September 4 – 5 Office 6 Church Planting Meeting 7 – 8 Northern Sub-Regional Gathering 9 Travel Day 10 – 15 Board of Elders Meeting in Florida 16 Travel Day 17 – 18 Days Off 19 – 20 Office 21 Travel Day 22 – 24 Christ the Liberator 25 Day Off 26 – 28 Office Rev. Elder Arlene J. Ackerman PO Box 276 Phone: 717 898-3713 E-mail: arleneackerman@mccchurch.net MCC HEADQUARTERS MAILING ADDRESS! Please update your mailing lists and files. Please begin using this new address, effective immediately. Please share this information with your church staff and your church treasurer, in your church's newsletter, and with anyone who may need to contact MCC Headquarters. |