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NEWS
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SOUTHERN TORNADOES LEAVE DEADLY
WAKE. More than 50 people were killed
and hundreds more were injured last Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in
the worst tornado outbreak in nearly 25 years. Read full story at http://www.disasternews.net/news/article.php?articleid=3607
Help
Disaster News Network connect survivors with disaster response resources.
Your tax deductible donation can be made online at this address: https://www.disasternews.net/donations/dnn.php#paypal/
*** If your church is serving in
Tornado relief, Week of Compassion wants to know! Please notify the Regional
Office or your Regional Pastor. We will report to Week of Compassion and
facilitate the grant process to help offset the expense of responding.
Kentucky Ham Meal pictures!! THANK YOU! Disciples are ALIVE!
Here are many pics of this year's
Kentucky Ham Meal for Missions held at FCC Meridian, MS. 45th Annual
event raising thousands of dollars for ten mission agencies!
Click
here: Get up and go on the Road In Between. Acts 8.26- powered by SmugMug
Love, Tom Sikes
Shirt Sale.
We have a very limited number of Great River Region Logo shirts left
and ON SALE!
Yellow,
Green, and Light Blue Polo style shirts in Men’s XL and Women’s XL and XXL
sizes are available in limited quantities at the bargain price of $20 each!
Please call the office for color availability as quantities ARE
limited. (501) 562-6053
Disciples
Institute Web Site. Check out the new Disciples
Institute web site! We have information about Disciples Institute and
some of the course offerings and up-coming events. Also check out the
Bi-Vocational Ministers blog. You will find
news and wisdom for the special needs of bi-vocational ministers. Check
back also for the Disciples Institute Survey. We want to know how to
offer the most valuable classes and workshops! Link: www.disciplesinstitute.org Deitra Blackwell, Executive Director.
Disciples
identify Internal Revenue Service Resources for Churches
Do you
have questions about your parsonage or housing allowances? Are you concerned
about the correct way income taxes should be withheld for ministers? Have you
ever wondered whether churches or charities can become involved in the
campaigns of political candidates? These questions and many more are answered
in a series of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) publications aimed specifically
at religious institutions. Please
click below to access the articles:
- Tax Guide for Churches and
Religious Organizations
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf
- Charities, Churches and
Politics
www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=161131,00.html
- IRS Reminds Charities and
Churches of Political Activity Ban
www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=175818,00.html
- Tax Guide For Churches And
Religious Organizations
projectfairplay.org/irs-guidelines
Rev. Dr.
Todd A. Adams, Assoc. General Minister and Interim President of Church
Finance Council
The Schmidt Center Opens a New Counseling
Office in El Dorado, Arkansas ... Beginning
in March, pastors, church professionals and their families can receive
services from the Laurence Schmidt Center at their new
location at First Presbyterian Church in El Dorado, Arkansas.
Appointments can be made by calling the Little Rock office
(501-664-7777) or e-mailing Rebecca at rebeccaspooner@veralloyd.org
Rebecca will be providing counseling services and spiritual direction on the
2nd and 4th Friday of every month. In March, individuals can be seen on
March 14th and March 28th. To see the complete issue Click
Here.
The Laurence Schmidt Center primarily exists
for church professionals and their families, but others will be seen as long
as counseling time is available. However, the majority of slots are
reserved for church professionals and their families.
2008 Week of Compassion offering – the dates are February
17-24. Click Here for the regional news
release. Thank you so much for your support of Week of Compassion! Elaine Cleveland.
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EVENTS
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GRRCC DW Joint Planning Cabinet
Meeting will be
held February 29-March 2, 2009 at C.A. Vines Retreat Center in Little Rock, AR. This is the planning
meeting for all three Disciple Women Cabinets. Our very special guests
will be the IDWF Executive Committee. Please mark your calendar to
attend this monumental occasion. Watch the mail for your informational
packet and attendance reply card to be returned no later than February 15, 2008.
Bridging Faithful Spirits and
Healthy Minds
conference co-sponsored by the University of AR for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Feb.
28 in the Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, AR.
This second annual event, which includes presentations from 8:00
a.m. to 3:30
p.m., is
free and open to faith leaders, mental health professionals and educators,
with a limited number of seats available for the general public. To register,
contact Shelia Moore at 660-7550, or register online at http://www.uams.edu/psych/faith_conference.asp. To see full press release, click here.
You are invited to attend the 38th Annual Assembly of
the Louisiana Interchurch Conference.
The Annual Assembly will be held March 3rd
– 4th, 2008 at First United Methodist Church, 2727 Jackson Street,
in Alexandria, LA, with worship at St.
Francis Xavier Cathedral (626 4th Street, Alexandria).
Registration fee is $75.00 per person (includes
lunch and dinner on Monday)
Lodging expenses are separate. For more information Click
Here. If you have any questions
feel free to contact LIC at LAInterchurch@aol.com.
LIDRN and LIC are hosting an Interfaith Public Policy Summit on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at:
Catholic
Life Center (in the Bishop Tracy Center) 1800 S.
Acadian Thruway, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 from 9am to 4pm (check in begins at 8am). Registration Fee: $15.00 (includes lunch)
This
gathering is to discuss recovery public policy issues in preparation for an
advocacy “Legislative Day” in Baton Rouge, LA.
Registration form is attached (Excel
file). Registration form and PayPal
options are also available at: http://www.lainterchurch.org/LIDRNHomePage.htm.
Louisiana Storytelling Association, Reverend Neil W. Early, President, 337.238.1959
mnearly@wnonline.net,
www.louisianastorytellers.org
Annual
Liars Contest! Just when you think
you have heard it all!
A Liars
Contest is more than standing up, telling a whopper, and sitting down.
One must tell a wild, tall tale and make the audience suspend their disbelief
and accept it as truly happening to the teller. This story is to be
sustained for 8-10 minutes in the telling. The panel of judges will be
listening for story quality as well as the talents and skills of the
tellers. This is an intentionally family event which will take place
this year in Leesville, Louisiana. The “Annual
Louisiana Liars Contest” will be on Saturday, 8 March,
2008,
beginning at 2:00pm in the Historic Old Courthouse on Third Street in Downtown Leesville. The
tickets are a suggested donation of $5.00 a person.
Economics
and Justice in Disasters Conference March 29-April 1, at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, TN featuring speakers from academia,
government agencies, and faith-based disaster-response groups. Participants
are expected to include leaders from national faith groups and denominations
with programs and ministries dedicated to the increasing and specialized
work of disaster ministry, as well as representatives from FEMA, the American
Red Cross, and VOAD groups (Voluntary Organizations Active In Disasters).
Conference presentation and audience participation topics include:
- Green rebuilding
- Global warming and disaster
vulnerability
- The impact of changing
immigration laws on disaster response
- Hidden rules of class and race
- Curbing predatory lending practices
following disasters
- Engaging special populations for
more effective recovery
- Partnering with community-based
development corporations
- What's right and wrong with
federal assistance
- Disaster as an opportunity to
improve housing stock
- Professionalizing and
privatizing disaster recovery-the impact on local capacity
- Worker justice in disasters-and
the status of unpaid volunteers
Church World Service, www.churchworldservice.org,
is supported by public donations, grants, and by 35 Protestant, Orthodox and
Anglican churches and communions in the United States. A Domestic Disaster Ministry Forum
registration form and information may be downloaded from www.cwserp.org/reports. (Follow the links for 2008 Forum Brochure
and Registration Form)
The very first WeekEnd of
Compassion will take place April 11-13 in Nashville, TN at the historic Scarritt-Bennett Center. WeekEnd is designed for Disciples to have time and space
away, for one weekend, to exchange ideas about outreach, compassion and justice.
Everyone is welcome. Through worship, preaching, music, meals, workshops,
panel discussions, and Bible study, we will explore and
celebrate the various ways WOC has responded to suffering and how it has
helped so many implement their own ideas to confront needs in
their respective communities and around the world. There will also be a
pre-event service build with Habitat for Humanity on Friday afternoon. Rev. Amy Gopp,
Week of
Compassion Associate www.weekofcompassion.org
(317)
590-3147 phone, (317) 713-2588 fax.
SESSIONS 2008 in Oklahoma City is going to be a huge event for
all Disciples Men from around the country. The event is going to be
held July 17-20, 2008 at First Christian Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. Do you ever feel like your
life is like a giant puzzle? Putting together the pieces of life's
puzzle can be a daunting task. But by surrounding yourself with fellow
Disciples all trying to figure it out together, you will find the picture
coming into focus. To find out more about this important gathering of
Disciples Men and how your life can come into focus go to: http://sessions2008.org/
or contact Rev Tod Iseminger,
Minister of Leader Development at 800-346-2631.
Partners
in Ministry ’08 Workshop. A workshop for ministers, church
musicians, dramatists and visual artists will be held on Saturday,
April 5, 2008 at FCC El Dorado, AR. For more information contact Deitra
Blackwell, Exec Director Disciples Institute, 501-517-2474 or disciplesinstitute@grrcc.org.
Columbia Theological Seminary Spring Events at Lifelong Learning at CTS. Click
here to see the Spring
schedule. The Lifelong Learning website has been updated –take a look! Online
registration available for
most courses. For many events, a housing registration option is provided. For more information contact Pat Roper, Lifelong Learning
Registrar at 404.687.4587 or roperp@ctsnet.edu.
Plans are
being made for the GRR Regional
Assembly that will be held on November 7-9,
2008 at
FCC Bentonville, AR. Mark your calendars and plan to attend.
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STAFF UPDATES
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From
Barbara Jones: Will be on Study Leave January – March
2008.
Rick
Hamilton: I will be preaching at FCC
Fayetteville, AR then off to Mountain Home, AR to meet with search committees.
Rev.
Albert Lee Nirschl has announced his retirement
from First Christian Church in Mountain Home, Arkansas, effective March 31.
Search
Committees I am currently working with:
Lakeshore Drive CC, Hot Springs, AR
FCC Jackson, MS
FCC Mountain Home, AR (Assoc)
FCC Rogers, AR
FCC Stuttgart, AR
FCC West Memphis, AR
From
Vivian Bryant: The Great River Region
Disciple Women Cabinet Retreat will meet at C.A. Vines Retreat Center in Little Rock, AR on February 29-March 2, 2008. Our guests will include the IDWF Executive
Cabinet. All cabinet members are encouraged to attend.
From
Michael Elmore: Southern District Ministry Committee will
meet on Feb.18 at FCC Baton Rouge. LA. Michael Elmore and Frank Johnson are
offering a workshop for licensed ministers on Feb.19-March 1 at FCC Baton
Rouge on Basics of Ministry. If interested contact Michael@grrcc.org.
From
Lara Blackwood Pickrel: CYF SNOASIS (Feb 22-24):
This event for 9-12th graders will focus on the theme: Transformers!
(Romans 12:2-4) and will feature keynotes by Randy Kuss.
We look forward to seeing all of you there!
F.E.A.S.T.: This event, designed exclusively for youth
ministers/youth workers, will take place at the Lutheran Camp on Petit Jean Mountain over the weekend of May
2-4. Be on the lookout for more information coming soon!
Camp & Conference 2008 brochures are in the mail! Deadline
for Counselor/Steward/Youth Commissioner/Intern applications is April
14th. Deadline for camper
registrations is May 21st.
Check out the youth page on the regional website (www.grrcc.org).
We have added the new youth event calendar, information on a great retreat
for adult youth workers and links to many youth ministry resources!
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