CURRENTS

January 19, 2007

3nd  Weekly Edition                                                                2007 GRR CURRENTS

 

 

PRAYER CONCERNS

 

 
  • Rev. Tim Colvin (our Global Mission Partner) has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and will have surgery in Bloemfontein, South Africa.  She will be out of the pulpit for a couple months.  I was concerned about her having surgery there, so did some internet research.  The following is a write up about the city where she’ll be.  The cancer is serious, but they don’t know how much it has spead.  Her family, congregation, Global Ministries and the United Church of South Africa are supportive.  She has asked specifically for our prayers as well.  Thanks, Barb

As South Africa's judicial capital, Bloemfontein has become known through the years as "the central city", "the Hospitable city", "the congress city", "the total city", and "the city of roses".

All these designations indicate that it is a city in which not only residents but also visitors and tourists can feel truly at home and welcome. With it's more than 260 000 inhabitants, Bloemfontein offers adequate recreational and entertainment facilities which include public parks, swimming pools, sports fields, a game reserve and a zoo.

Bloemfontein has created a true blend in which somehow the past, the present and the future have been encapsulated. What keeps the past so alive is the unobtrusive and almost natural inclusion of an impressive architectural an historical heritage into the very life of a modern developing city.

Graceful charm is to be seen all along the historical, tree-lined President Brand Street, declared a national monument. Stately museum buildings stand proudly visible at the ends of bustling main streets in the business district, while small monuments and memorials, almost unnoticeable, are preserved in built-up suburbs.

 

  • Bob Parks (pastor, NationalPark CC,Hot Springs) shares:  “Just a note to say I had quadruple by-pass surgery and all went very well.  I was dismissed from the hospital yesterday evening and will be home now for several weeks.  Thanks to all for your prayers.”
  • Rev. Don White, Minister Emeritus of FCC Bentonville AR - receiving Hospice Care at home.
  • Rev. Jerry Young, Pastor of Elm Tree CC Bentonville AR -  full disability as a result of a shattered ankle
  • Rev. Dana Hoover, FCC Sulphur is having back problems.
  • Rev. Mona Lisa Garrett is having health problems.
  • Jeanie Moore, wife of Rev. Vance Moore, Westside CC.
  • FCC Crowley as they make decisions concerning closing and sale of their church.
  • Women’s Ministry within the CCDOC

(Contact information can be found at http://www.grrcc.org/Congregations.html - give the grid time to load!)

 

 

JOYS

National Park CC and Spring Valley CC in Hot Springs AR have merged!  They have now become Lakeshore Drive Christian Church.

 

 

NEWS AND ACTIVITIES

From Lara Blackwood:  Mission trips offer all kinds of life lessons.  We learn to fall in love with service, to love our neighbor (and expand our definition of "neighbor"), to travel and live in community...heck, sometimes we even learn how to weld a hammer or install drywall.  But during this weekend's Mid-Winter Mission in Lake Charles, I received something a little bit different:  Grace in a heaping bowl of gumbo.  One of the Cameron Parish couples we helped had breakfast waiting when we arrived, and then stopped the cleanup work so that we could all come inside their home and share the gumbo that had been cooking all morning.  As I stared down into that savory shrimp stew, the sounds of laughter, history and French lessons in my ear, I saw that just as we were instruments of God's grace in this couple's life together, so too were they instruments of grace in my life and the lives of the youth sitting on their living room floor. Our ministry is always "ministry WITH" rather than "ministry TO".   Life is messy, God is good, and we are all in this together! 

 

The next opportunity for the youth of our congregations to be a part of our larger community is at the CYF Midwinter event at Camp Couchdale (Hot Springs, AR).  This event for 9th -12th graders will take place February 23rd -25th and will feature Joe Garkovich (Pastor at FCC Pine Bluff) as keynoter.  Forms are available online and will arrive at your congregations soon.  The deadline for registration is Friday, February 9th.

 

From Barb:  I’ve been in the southern part of the region this week, with visits to Lake Charles with the youth Mission Weekend; visit to the mission teams working at FCC Gulfport; visits with pastors in Slidell, Covington, Algiers, and Metairie LA.  I stayed in the MISSION CENTER on the new bunks!!  If you have not seen the progress at Westside CC in Algiers (across the bridge from downtown New Orleans), you need to go see it!  Still a long way to go, but we’re staying in the mission center now, using indoor bathroom facilities and showers!  This week Kentucky congregations were at three locations.  This weekend I’ll be in Denver to work on wedding plans for my daughter, Kim.  The wedding is July 7!  She will be 30 in March, teaches math/physics/science at Cherry Creek High School.  Dave, my soon-to-be son-in-law, is opening an art gallery in central Denver in a couple weeks. 

 

From Rick Hamilton:  FCC Mansfield, LA has created a permanent fund for Ministerial Education with the Christian Church Foundation called the ‘FCC Mansfield Louisiana Legacy Fund’.   FCC in Russellville, AR will celebrate its 125th Anniversary on January 28th.

Congregations in I’m working with in Search and Call:

  • Bentonville AR:  Elm Tree  - Pastor
  • Jackson MS:      First – Pastor
  • Shreveport LA:   Kings Highway – Youth Minister
  • Weiner AR:        First – Interim Pastor
  • Westpoint MS:   First – Pastor

(Direct any inquiries to me in confidence.)

 

From Michael Elmore:  I worshiped with FCC Leesville, Pastor Rev. Neil Early, last Sunday.  They are still very active in helping evacuees from Rita/Katrina who are still living in the area.  They have also purchased and paid for property next to their church and are in the process of making a decision about use of the property.  I will be attending the Juliette Fowler Board Meeting January 25th -27th.  Louisiana Inter Church Conference will hold its third Interfaith Long Term Disaster Summit on February 8th and 9th.

 

From Vivian Bryant:  The 2007 Disciples Development Conference will be held in Tuscon, AZ on January 19-21 and I will be representing the region at the conference.

-- We are considering applications for Regional Reconciliation grants.  Notification of decisions will be forthcoming.

-- Women attending the upcoming ICWF meeting on next week are Judy Parker, Bettie Duhon and Vivian Bryant.  This meeting will set the stage for the year for activities in the GRR.  The meeting will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina (Home of Quadrennial Assembly 2010).

 

From Deitra Blackwell:  The Disciples Institute along with Michael Elmore will be presenting a workshop at Central Christian Church in Hattiesburg, MS on Saturday, February 3rd titled ‘Who Are Disciples Today’.

  

From Louisiana Interfaith:  “LA Speaks”  As part of the Hurricane Recovery Program, residents of Louisiana are encouraged to learn about the different scenarios being considered as future directions for the state through TV presentations, newspapers, online and at your local library.  Click here to find out about your opportunity to SPEAK UP AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO JOIN YOU!

 

From Sharon Coote:  Central Arkansas area Disciples are invited to the Pulaski Heights Christian Church (4724 Hillcrest Ave., Little Rock, AR 72205, 501-258-2091 , www.phcc-lr.org) for their study sessions on Wednesday evenings at 7:15 p.m.  The group is studying "A Handbook for Today's Disciples" by Dr. Duane Cummins, and each chapter is being presented by a different area pastor.  The schedule is as follows:

January 24    "Disciples and the Sacraments The Rev. Dan Thornhill

January 31    "Disciples at Worship" The Rev. Miles Cook

February 7    "Disciples and Mission The Rev. Rebecca Frankford

February 14   "Disciples and Moral-Ethical Issues The Rev. Vivian Bryant
February 21   Ash Wednesday Service. No study session.

February 28   "Disciples as Church Members" The Rev. Holly Patton

March 7         "Disciples and Church Structure" The Rev. Bill Hale

You are welcome to come with or without the book.

 

 

 

Resources and Links

 Lenten Devotional: Fellowship of Prayer