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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)
December 3, 2004
Greetings from MCC Region 3,
I pray that you each had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thank full for. At times it seems that we are so busy that we all to easily forget to see the things we are thank ful for. One of things I am thank full for is you. If you receive this newsletter it is because you care about the ministry of Christ through MCC being relevant in this world today. You are the ones doing the front line ministry, offering your prayers and time and gifts to make this work possible. Most of you are working to make your church a viable witness to your community and others are planting new churches, while others serve denominationally. Thank you and bless you!
This past month I have had the privilege to participate in some very exciting events within MCC. The first anniversary of public worship for MCC Fredericksburg. The church was filled and excited about their future and ministry. Second, was the ordination service of Elder Cecilia Eggleston in Bath, England. We have been colleagues for a number of years and this was an important event not only in her life but this was an important step in her ministry as well. Plus, my partner and I got to spend a few days on vacation while we celebrated an early 25th anniversary together. Third, was the first worship service of New Covenant MCC (formerly MCC Howard County) as their own congregation and no longer a parish extension of MCC Baltimore. More on this later.
I have just one brief trip left for this year. So, my travels are about done and I do hope to get caught up on correspondence, emails and to find my desk as I begin to prepare for the new year.
Prayer Requests
Rev. Gail Hicks - father recently passed away. You can email Rev. Hicks at mawbarker@verizon.net
Judy Kiser - partner of Rev. Delores Berry, is having a heart valve replaced this Friday, emails can be sent to RevDBerry@aol.com.
Jacquie Ackerman, partner of Rev. Elder Arlene Ackerman, is undergoing gastric bypass surgery this Friday.
Update from around the region
MCC of the Lehigh Valley Website receives Gay Days Award! Send a note of thanks and
congratulations to MCCLV Webmaster Deb at mcclvweb@msn.com. "We at GAY-DAYS Awards have reviewed your site and are pleased to offer you our GAY-DAYS award for excellence in webpage design and content! Congratulations, and we look forward to visiting your page often!"
Christ the Liberator MCC
Just a note to let you know how our spiritual renewal weekend went. Friday night we had our 2nd annual Formal Dinner/Dance. 140 people were in attendance (almost twice last year's number!). Also, after expenses, we made about $1400 from the event.
Joy Night Update
Saturday night we (Christ the Liberator MCC) hosted Joy Night (the annual gospel choir celebration that MCC-Philly, MCC-Batlimore, and CTL share) at Trinity Cathedral in Trenton. There were about 150 people in attendance, about 1/3 of whom were CTL folks. MCC-DC also joined us this year (and they were wonderful!). The concert was followed by a catered meal.
Finally, our homecoming celebration on Sunday morning was wonderful. The choir was excellent as always. We had 64 people in attendance (not a record, but better than average). The weekend was energizing and a great success. I was so proud of CTL. Looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.
CTL MCC also has receive the following web page awards: Gay Days Award,
Power in Pride Award, Cowgomoo Award, Proud Out Loud Website of the Week. You can visit their website at www.mccctl.com
MCC Fredericksburg - New Worship Location
Beginning Sunday, November 28th will be our final worship service For the time being, we will continue to have some of our weekday meetings and activities at the dRCNew Time - New Place! Beginning, Sunday, December 5th MCC Fredericksburg worship will move to 1115 Caroline Street 6 p.m.the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg
New Covenant MCC
On November 21, New Covenant MCC celebrated it's first worship service as their own congregation. Founded as a second worship location of MCC Baltimore it was decided a couple of years ago to begin taking the steps towards becoming a full church, they opted to be a parish extension of MCC Baltimore and hired Rev. Lance Mullins as their pastor. Over this past year and as part of their strategic plan New Covenant worked at putting in place everything needed to be a fully functioning MCC. This celebration service was attended and facilitated by Rev. David Smith, founding pastor and members of MCC Baltimore, Rev. Elder Arlene Ackerman preached and affirmed their new status. The church received their first members and introduced their first board of directors. What an exciting and landmark day!
The Third Annual MCC Women in Ministry Conference
The conference is scheduled for February 3-6 at Church of the Trinity MCC in Sarasota, Florida. This conference was originally conceived for women pastors and staff, but grown to include ALL women who serve in ministry in their local churches. This year, our keynote speaker is Iyanla Vanzant, a great spiritual leader and teacher and author of numerous best selling books including "In the Meantime," "Value in the Valley," and "Faith in the Value" which have sold over 1 million copies. In addition to her books, Vanzant has established the Inner Visions Spiritual Life Maintenance Center where she regularly conducts personal growth classes and weekend workshops. She has appeared many times on the Oprah show. We expect great interest in her appearance, and registration will have to be limited to the first 200 registrants. In addition, we will have a short segment in our program "Listening to Voices of Latin America" facilitated by Rev. Araceli Ezzatti of ICM Uruguay; and we will conclude with a spiritual centering and labyrinth experience facilitated by Rev. Dr. Mona West. We ask that you publicize this event in your local church. Complete information and registration can take place online at www.mcccruise.com/women
EXCEL Weekend Planned in 2005 in Region 3
An Excel weekend is being planned for the weekend of June 3-5, 2005. The weekend will be held in Jefferson, Maryland at the Mar-Lu Ridge Conference Center. The weekend retreat begins on Friday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon. Excel is a laity led movement within the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. Our goal is to reveal God's love for all and to equip individuals to serve the Body of Christ in local congregations. Excel is self-governed, self-administered and self-supporting.
The participants we serve are gay and non-gay, Christian and non-Christian. We serve those who are seeking some Spirituality in their lives. More details will be forthcoming as the weekend draws closer but we hope individuals from churches in the region will register to attend the weekend. A representative from Excel will attempt to visit many Region III churches before the weekend. If you have questions about the weekend or have attended a weekend and would like to serve on the team, please call Kathy Loveland from Open Door MCC at 301-473-5111.
Rev. Elder Ackerman Schedule
December 1 & 2 office
3 Time off - partner having surgery
4/5 Christ The Liberator MCC, North Brunswick, NJ
6/7 days off
8 - 10 office
13 - 17 office
20 - 21 office
22 - 31 vacation
January 1 - 2 vacation
Holiday Blessings
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