Rev. Shultis and Barbara Web In Canada
Barbara and I went to Toronto on August 16th and were married! The Rev.
Deana Dudley was the officiant and we had a lovely outdoor ceremony!
Open Door MCC Burns The Mortgage
Mortgage Payoff Celebration: On June 17, 2003, the mortgage was officially
paid off! We will be celebrating this major event during and after service
on September 7, 2003. There will be a pot luck immediately following
the service.
Benefit Dinner and Concert
A Benefit Dinner and Concert will be held at Vision of Hope MCC in Mountville,
PA on Saturday, September 6. Please mark your calendar and invite your
friends. This benefit is for the church's building fund, "Pointing
Towards the Future to Rock the World." The Spaghetti Dinner (cooked
by Pastor Debbie Coggin) starts at 5:30 PM and will cost $5. A silent
auction, which includes a variety of items and services, will also take
place. The Concert of local Christian music, consisting of MCC choirs,
individuals and others, begins at 7 PM. A "love offering"
will be collected at the Concert. For more information, please contact
the church office at 717-285-9070 or visionofhopemcc@aol.com.
Second MCC Women in Ministry Conference
Scheduled for February 5-7, 2004 at Church of the Trinity in Sarasota,
Florida. The program for this conference will include a one-day retreat
with Rev. Judy Dahl entitled "Contemplative Chaos - Staying Centered
While Creating Change" and a full day with Rev. Irene Monroe, theologian,
activist and teacher from Harvard Divinity School whom many of you will
remember from the Leadership Cruise in 2002.
Women's Conference Scholarship Funds Needed
We are eager to provide the opportunity for women to attend from Africa,
Central and South America and, perhaps, some other regions of the world
where access to this kind of support is not available. We realize that
scholarship funds will be needed in most cases for transportation, lodging
and registration (which is $70). Would you be willing to use your contacts
within your own region to find a church or individuals who would be
willing to sponsor a participant from one of these areas? Perhaps there
are women in your region who are unable to attend the conference, but
would consider sponsoring someone from another country to attend.
We will also need to know if assistance with language will be needed
for any of the nominated participants. Although we cannot afford simultaneous
professional interpreters, we expect to have several Spanish/English
bilingual attendees who can assist persons speaking only Spanish. We
also have in-house Staff with Dutch, French and German. Rev. Elder Nancy
Wilson
Late News
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Hurricane Fabian is approaching the Islands in the Atlantic. If it continues
its trajectory, it will hit Puerto Rico by next Wednesday. Here at ICM
Cristo Sanador, we ask for your prayers as we prepare for this eventual
emergency in our Island. May God´s caring hands keep us all well
in the Lesser and Greater Antilles.
¡Paz!
Rev.Edgard
Co Pastor Interino
ICM Cristo Sanador
San Juan, Puerto Rico
September 16, 2003
ICM Cristo Sanador Begins SGI (Strategic Growth Initiative)
A couple of weeks ago I spent eleven days working with our wonderful
church in Puerto Rico. As part of our time together they drafted their
core values, vision and mission statements. Here is a copy of their
brand new vision statement:
Our Vision:
Together we grow in Christ; with open arms we touch the world.
Also, during our time together the leadership participated in a church
growth workshop to better understand the dynamics of why and how churches
grow. I also had the privilege to work with and train their new pastoral
search committee and do Board of Directors Training.
This is a dynamic church, with wonderful co-interim pastors, Rev. Edgard
Danielsen-Morales and Rev. Manual Guzmán-Arizmendi. We have much
to learn from this congregation. And, they are excited about meeting
their sisters and brothers from the mainland at our next Region 3 Conference
in San Juan in 2004.
Region 3 Conference - Preparation
Did you know that our next Region 3 conference will be in San Juan,
Puerto Rico July 8 - 11, 2004. In preparation at least two of our churches
have begun and two others are planning to offer Spanish classes. Last
week, at MCC Richmond, I learned that 15 or more people are planning
on attending both the Spanish class and Regional conference. Begin planning
now!
MCCLV's Annual Anniversary Banquet Awards
It is in grateful celebration that MCCLV hosts an Anniversary Banquet
on October 25, 2003, to observe our 19th anniversary of ministry and
lift up our talented and giving congregation! Please see Fellowship
Team Leader Kevin Motroni for tickets, or e-mail him at kevhug@comcast.net
MCC of the Chesapeake Celebrates 5th Birthday
Congratulations on your 5th anniversary. This is a BI-locational church,
in other words, they meet for worship at two different locations each
Sunday. 10 AM -, 20 Appeal Lane, Lusby, Maryland 20657 and 6 PM - Annapolis
Friends Meeting, 351 Dubois Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
A Note From Rev. Troy Perry
I am asking all local MC churches to observe the week of October 12-19
as "Marriage Equality Week." And I am asking every MCC pastor
to call attention to the marriage issue during worship services on Sunday,
October 19.
Our observance of "Marriage Equality Week" at the same time
we are being attacked by the Religious Right will provide many opportunities
in your community for media and press coverage of your church and your
ministry. Your participation will once again position you and your church
as leaders in the struggle for justice and equality.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Rev. Elder Gill Storey is now home from the hospital. She still has
pneumonia in one lung and is very weak. Gill will be recuperating at
home for the coming month.
Thinking about building/buying a new facility or upgrading?
Then you may need to embark on a capital campaign! Many MCC churches
over the years have sold church bonds as a way to raise money for these
purposes. If your church needs support or information concerning church
bonds, please contact Jerry D. Terrell at jterrell@csaorl.com or 407-894-0287.
Jerry has helped more than 40 MCC churches through this process, so
he is a great resource and helper in this area. Rev. Elder Lillie Brock
Board of Directors Notice
Is your board accruing money according to your pastors contract? If
the contract gives, for instance, one months salary for every year worked
are you accruing those funds each year in a special fund. If not, when
your pastor leaves or retires your church could be faced with a major
debt. Look into it today. In the past, we have had some churches unable
to pay an interim because they owed six months of salary or more to
the outgoing pastor. How would that affect your church?
September 30, 2003
Isabel - Region 3 Update
Whether it was a hurricane or a tropical storm Region 3 was inundated
with wind and rain. Fortunately the damage to our churches and members,
as far as we know, was minimal. The worst hit was New Life MCC in Norfolk,
VA. They had some damage to their roof and some water did come into
the building at each of the doors. Fortunately New Life MCC took good
precautions and boarded up the windows and sandbagged the doors or the
damage would have been much worse. Many of our churches and member lost
power and some only recently had power restored.
Is help needed? Many of you have asked. The answer is yes. The food
banks at New Life MCC and in the area have been hit hard and they are
running out. If you or your church could send a contribution it would
truly be appreciated. Send donations to: New Life MCC, 4035 East Ocean
View Ave, Norfolk, VA 23518.
MCC Fredericksburg, VA Moves To Public Worship
Sunday, September 28th - First, regular, public worship service. Theme
- God Gives to Us, 11:00 a.m. @ the disAbility Resource Center. A Congregational
Forum discussing our goals and priorities for the following year immediately
following worship. MCC Fredericksburg is a new church plant and has
just recently been approved to begin public worship. This means that
they have built a core group of at least 35 core, committed people and
have worked hard at putting in place quality leadership and ministry
in preparation for this exciting next step in their journey. Rev. Stephanie
Burns is their pastor. MCC Fredericksburg is a parish extension of MCC
Richmond.
A Look At Local Church Leadership Training
New Life MCC, Norfolk, VA, held a Leadership Conference recently with
54 people in attendance. The Conference was led by five lay leaders
and Rev. Maria. The theme was "The Change Cycle" modeled after
materials provided by the materials taught in Dallas at General Conference
by Rev. Elder Lillie Brock and Wendy Foxworth. This is the third of
four special events planned and held in 2003 by the Lay Chaplain lay
leadership group. The idea behind this effort is to take four special
times this year for our lay leadership to "reach, teach, and empower
through Jesus Christ" -- which is our vision. New Life has 37 active
people who are teachers and leaders in the work of the church to move
us deeper into community and wholeness.
Pastoral leadership at New Life gives credit to the four year long
Disciple program in the church. 65% of the church have all taken the
same program to focus us as a unit in living out our vision statement.
The key word around the church is infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure.
MCC Baltimore Starts Coming Out Day Celebration Early
Coming out and finding normalcy in our lives is more important now than
ever. With the recent Supreme Court decision banning sodomy laws and
the Canadian laws legalizing same sex marriages the religious and political
right are attacking the GLBT community with a nervous energy that has
not been seen in a long time. This makes National Coming Out Day a very
important observance this year. In preparation for this event MCC Baltimore
is sponsoring a production of the play "Looking For Normal"
by Jane Anderson. The play is a bittersweet transgender domestic comedy-drama
about a multi-generational family and its reaction to the transition
of its main character from Roy to Ruth and her search for normalcy in
her life. The play wrestles with the meaning of marriage, family, love
and commitment. Coming out is a normal and correct thing for us to do.
Finding normalcy in our lives in the face of homophobia and bigotry
is probably the hardest journey many of us will have to face. The words
and emotions in Jane Anderson's play resonate deep with in each of us
in our own coming out experiences. The HBO movie Normal starring Jessica
Lange and Tom Wilkinson was based on this play. The movie has received
Emmy nominations this year for writing, directing, and acting. You are
invited to this very special production on Friday and Saturday October
3-4, 2003 at Metropolitan Community Church Baltimore, 401 W. Monument
Street. Tickets are $10.00 in advance and will be $15.00 the evening
of the performance. The box office will open at 7:30 p.m. the evening
of the performance with the curtain rising at 8:00 p.m. For advance
tickets and reservations contact Larry Sampson at 410-744-4869 or by
e-mail to Littlesam1@aol.com. This play contains adult language and
situations.
Board Members: Does You Church Need New Bylaws?
If your churches bylaws have not been approved by your Regional Elder
this year then the answer is YES! On January 1, 2003 the UFMCC structure
went through some important changes. One of the changes makes it really
important for your church to have up to dated bylaws and have them approved
by the Regional Elder. To make this job easier the Board of Elders have
put together Models of Governance. All your board of directors needs
to do is download them from the UFMCC Intranet, choose the model that
is most appropriate for your church size, read through and make a number
of selections and come to an agreement. Once the board has voted on
the bylaws, send a copy to your Regional Elder for preapproval and then
they go to the congregation for a vote. Most local church bylaws are
currently not up to date.
Two Pastors Admitted To The Hinton Rural Life Center's First Parish
Project
Rev. Lance Mullins, Pastor of MCC Howard County, and Rev. Kharma Amos,
Pastor of MCC NOVA, have been accepted to participate in the inaugural
"class" of the Hinton Rural Life Center's First Parish Project,
a Lily Endowment-funded program for young pastors of small churches.
Lance and Kharma were among the first ecumenical group of twenty-five
pastors selected from applicants across the United States. In addition
to addressing the specific dynamics related to smaller churches, the
program will further develop pastoral leadership skills for church growth,
development, and visioning and planning processes. The group will meet
three times each year for the next two years at the Hinton Rural Life
Center's retreat facilities in North Carolina.
MCC Lay Ministry Council Applications Now Being Accepted
Applications are now being accepted for positions on the new Lay Ministry
Council (LMC). The LMC was created with the passage of a new By-Law
at the MCC General Conference in Dallas. Elder Mel Johnson and Joanne
Rodriguez from MCCDC were elected at General Conference to the positions
of Chair and Vice-Chair respectively. Four additional positions are
to be appointed by the Board of Elders. For a copy of the application,
visit the Fellowship website at www.MCCchurch.org.
Deadline for applications is November 1, 2003. Please direct questions
about the application and/or procedure to Elder Cecilia Eggleston at
CeciliaEggleston@mccchurch.org. Please direct questions about the Lay
Ministry Council to Elder Mel Johnson at ChairLMC@aol.com.
A New Documentary
OUT in the Cold is a new documentary which was created in cooperation
with the Matthew Shepard Foundation. It is estimated that nearly 40%
of all homeless teens are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. This
riveting film gives a voice to the nameless and faceless teenagers forgotten
on the streets of America and presents a realistic look at the path
these youth travel from home to homelessness. Youth from Colorado, California
and Indiana tell their own stories of truth and betrayal; how their
churches, schools and ultimately their own parents rejected them. We
share the mission of Metropolitan Community Churches to educate the
public about issues that effect our gay youth. There is a great need
for understanding about this issue of gay and lesbian homeless youth
in both small and big towns everywhere, and we believe that Metropolitan
Community Churches have a great opportunity to educate their neighbors
about the truth of what happens to children who are rejected because
of their orientation. The CIRE (Community Issues Requiring Education)
has developed an Educational Action Packet that incorporates the documentary
plus a comprehensive guide to assist your chapter with viewing activities
and discussion questions that will encourage dialogue among the viewers.
Currently the OUT in the Cold Educational Action Packet is available
for $170.00, but is being exclusively offered to Metropolitan Community
Churches for $49.95 + Shipping and Handling. For ordering information
go to: http://www.ciredocumentary.org and click on the "Special
Offer" page or call 303.748.7508 (Region 3 has not seen or reviewed
this information)
Thought of the Week - by Rev. Marty Luna-Wolf
Have you noticed that the 'human condition' is still with us a week
after Hurricane Isabel; My observations:
" Drivers in Hampton Roads don't even know what a four way stop
in lieu of traffic lights is.
" People are doing incredibly thoughtful things for and to each
other; like the woman who gave us a partial bag of ice last night.
" People get grumpy after about three days without power.
" Cold water showers are not anything that they are cracked up
to be.
" The excitement of hearing or seeing that your power is back on
is right up there with getting married or having a baby.
" People are yearning to share their stories of survival and miracles.
" Grouchy people and rude people are really in the minority this
week; they are just louder than most of us.
" My church knows how to praise God and how to work together to
live through the storms of life.
" The general 'down mood' when it starting raining today.
" The best human condition of all - is that people who live in
the midst of their faith rather than just wearing it for decoration
are doing better this Wednesday, one week after the storm of the new
(and maybe old) century.