PRAYER CONCERNS
|
- Karen Williams, wife of Rev.
Mark Williams, FCC Camden AR continues to struggle with neurological
problems.
- Mary Early, wife of Rev. Neil
Early of FCC Leesville is out of the hospital.
- Jeannie Moore, wife of Rev.
Vance Moore of Westside CC has rallied a bit and is at home for awhile.
Cards can be sent to PO Box
740423, New Orleans
LA
70174.
- Rev. Joel Sweat, Pastor of FCC,Blytheville, AR,
on the death of his father two weeks ago in Tupelo, MS.
- Dr. Michael Kinnamon,
professor at Eden Seminary, recovering from a heart attack this week.
- Rev. Jim Looney, Covington, LA,
upon death of his brother.
- DisciplesWorld may not make
it through the summer. Click here for details and what you can
do to help.
|
|
EVENTS
|
Pulaski Heights
Christian Church, Little Rock, AR, is hosting an Adult Spelling Bee on June 16. Click here for the
flyer, and if you are in central Arkansas,
send a team!
SUMMER CAMP AND CONFERENCE (click
for details)
Completed
K thru 2 — Discovery Camp
June 16-17 at Camp Couchdale in Hot
Springs, AR
(For Discovery Camp, all churches are required to send adult sponsors
with campers. If a church sends both male & female Discovery
Campers, both male and female adult sponsors are required.)
Completed 3
thru 5 — Junior Youth Fellowship (JYF) Camp
June 17-20 at Camp Couchdale in Hot
Springs, AR
Completed 6
thru 8 — Chi-Rho Camp
June 20-24 at Camp Couchdale
in Hot Springs,
AR
Completed 9th
Grade – F.I.S2H. Camp (Fundamental Intro to Spiritual
& Sexual Health)
F.I.S2H. Camp June 24-30 at Camp
Couchdale in Hot Springs, AR
Completed 10
thru 12 — Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF) Conference
July 1-7 at Camp Couchdale in Hot
Springs, AR
ALL AGES -
Magnolia Conference
June 25-30 at Roosevelt State Park
in Morton, MS
WOMEN’S
RETREATS: The Great River Region is now accepting
registrations for Fall Retreats. The registration
form is available here, as is an application for the Pickering
Scholarship Fund. PLEASE NOTE DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATIONS.
NEW 07
This year's NEW
will be a joint venture of the NEA, The Columbia Partnership and the New
Church Ministry Team of Church Extension. It has some top-notch
speakers and presenters in three tracks...church growth, coaching, and new
church establishment. Dick Hamm is the coordinator for the event as the
President of The Columbia Partnership. The website www.new07.org is the best place for
registration information.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2007
Share the Feast: Dear Friends,
I am writing to invite your congregation to be a part of General Assembly in
a unique way. I hope you have already heard about this - if not – Attached is a letter from the group organizing the
Chapel for General Assembly. They have come up with a great way for
every Disciple congregation to be 'present' at Assembly, even if you can't
physically come. I know you get a
lot of mail about Assembly - and I hope you will take time to read this and
send a chalice. It is another means for us to connect as part of the
Body of Christ and the CC(DoC).
Thanks for your attention - I hope you can come to Assembly and send a
Chalice.
Please share this with any congregation - the more that participate – the
more we have to share. Peace, Dottie Cook
General Assembly Bible Study:
This is the link to the GA Bible Study and I am hearing lots of good
comments about it. www.disciples.org/ga/biblestudy
|
|
NEWS
|
FCC Meridian sent workers to FCC Slidell to continue the clearing and
restoring of their church property post Katrina, which included renting a
stump grinder on site to grind over 60 stumps left from the storm. We appreciate the mission heart of FCC
Meridian and Ed Owen and his work crew for their time and energy in serving
our needs here at Slidell. Thanks so much, Susan Lassalle
FCC Slidell hosted the WOC
advisory committee for dinner on Tuesday, May 15. The committee's attendance was part of the
church's weekly pot luck for mission groups that stay in the church's Mission
Station. Including the members of the
committee, the mission group (a group from a Methodist church in Michigan), and the
members of FCC who attended, more than 60 people shared that meal
together! We shared a feast of food
and fellowship! It was a great
opportunity for the WOC advisory committee to witness some of what is done
through the mission stations in the area.
Also, Josh Barid, ODV mission station coordinator and Rev.
Susan Lassalle, pastor of FCC Slidell participated in a panel discussion with
the WOC committee on Wednesday, May 16 at their semi annual meeting which was
held in New Orleans. The day began with an inspiring devotion
given by Pastor Laura Fitt-Baird, pastor of Grace Disciples of Christ in
Mandeville. The churches in our area
have been greatly helped by the Week of Compassion and have immense gratitude
for this compassionate ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ).
General Youth Council:
Click
here for a flier to promote the need for new members of the General Youth
Council. The applications are due July 1, 2007. The
candidates will be elected at General Assembly in Fort Worth, TX.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Tod Iseminger at tiseming@dhm.disciples.org
|
|
STAFF UPDATES
|
From
Barb: We
did not post an issue of the GRR CURRENTS last week as we were all working on
and then attending Regional Board. If
you would like to see the minutes, and a scanned copy of
my docket, click here. Last Sunday
I preached at First Christian Church, Little
Rock AR. Rick is working with their congregation and
I’m doing behind-the-scenes pastoral support as they move through a rocky
time of staff transitions. Jim Farmer
will fill the pulpit for the traditional services for awhile as Rick and I
work with the congregation on what’s next.
From
Vivian Bryant:
I attended the memorial service for Mary Folk Donovan this past Tuesday at Lakewood Memorial Park
in Clinton, MS. Mary Donovan served as a past
Disciples Women’s Coordinator for the state of Mississippi. I then attended the board meeting for
Southern Christian Services for Children and Youth. It has celebrated the opening of its newest
Transitional Living Facility on Tuesday, May 22. Located at 5260 Manhattan Road in Jackson,
MS, the facility continues to minister to
youth of Jackson, MS. Rev. Sue Cherney is the
Founder/Director of SCSCY and the organization continues to be one of the
outreach/service projects of the Mississippi Disciples Women.
From
Rick Hamilton:
Last week I had the joy of celebrating the covenant of closure for Paul
Elliott and First Christian Church of Berryville. Paul has begun his ministry
with Elm Tree Christian Church in Bentonville. This weekend I was also able
to celebrate the wedding of Sara’s younger brother, David Schomp, and Monique
Paiz Schomp in Fort Worth,
Texas. I have been working with
First Christian Church in Little
Rock, where I will celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Congratulations to Steve and Tonya Willis,
who were married on May 12th in a private ceremony. Steve and
Tonya will close on a house in Shreveport
today (May 25). Steve is Pastor of Broadmoor Christian Church in Shreveport.
Search
Committees I am working with:
- Berryville First
- Jackson First
- Little Rock First
- Ozark First
- West Point First
Please
direct any inquiries to me in confidence.
From
Michael Elmore: Southern District Committee on Ministry will meet Thursday, May 31 at
FCC Slidell. FCC Sulphur has formed
its Search Committee and is working on the church profile. Hubert and Lillian Crook, members of FCC
Baton Rouge will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary on June 3rd.
From Lara Blackwood:
Last week I traveled to Vicksburg,
Mississippi for the Regional
Board meeting. Many thanks to all the Regional Board members who have
helped to recruit more youth registrations for camp. Keep up the good
work!
This week I will be working out of Fayetteville
and preparing for the upcoming orientation of our two summer interns: Aaron Schneider and Jacob Wilson. We're gearing up
and excited about a fantastic summer camping season and I hope that you will
all begin to pray for all of the youth and adults who will be attending camp
this summer.
Also, please lift up the following members of the
Great River Regional Youth Commission who graduate from High School this
month:
James Calvert - First Christian Church, Fort Smith
Chance Campbell - First Christian Church, Rogers
David Fryauf - First Christian Church, Rogers
Amanda Garbacz - Park Hill Christian Church, North Little Rock
Michael Jennings - First Christian Church, Greater New Orleans
Rachel Patton - Park Hill Christian Church, North Little Rock
Gretchen Pearce - First Christian Church, Pine Bluff
Cody Smith - First Christian Church, Bentonville
Erin Taylor - First Christian Church, Lake Charles
Katie Taylor - First Christian Church, Baton Rouge
Leah Vest - First Christian Church, Sherwood
Congratulations to each of these young leaders, their family and their church
families as they celebrate their accomplishments!
Currently we have over 260 registrations turned in for the 2007 Camp and
Conference season!! Please note that although the deadline has passed,
you can still register children/youth for camp. If you have any questions or
a special situation that needs to be addressed, please do not hesitate to
contact me at lara@grrcc.org or the
regional office.
Finally, it is not too early to begin thinking about International Affairs
Seminar 2008. If you have a youth who will be in 11th or 12th grade
next year and you think they would benefit from this amazing experience,
encourage them to begin fundraising now. IAS will occur in March and
will cost roughly $1500 per youth. Exact dates and costs will be
announced at a later date.
|
