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February 29^th, 2008	51^st   Weekly Edition                                                      2008 GRR CURRENTS
JOYS and PRAYER CONCERNS	Rev. Russell H. Meyers, Pastor of United Christian Church in Jackson, MS is mourning the passing of his father Russell B. Myers. Linda Looney, wife of Rev. Jim Looney in Covington, LA has been having some health problems.
NEWS	Waterway Christian Church (a satellite ministry of First Christian Church Bentonville, AR) is worshipping in a permanent facility. Tours and interest groups for this innovative model for new church starts and ministry settings will be available during Regional Assembly. 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.
EVENTS	Basics of Ministry. Michael Elmore and Frank Johnson will lead a workshop for licensed ministers on Ministry 101 at FCC Baton Rouge, LA on February 29-March 1. If interested contact Michael at michael@grrcc.org. The Great River Region Disciples Women Cabinet will sponsor their annual planning retreat at C.A. Vines Retreat Center in Little Rock, AR on this weekend, February 29-March 2, 2008.  Our guests will be the International Disciples Women Fellowship. 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 have been mailed.  Deadline for Counselor/Steward/Youth Commissioner/Intern applications is April 14th.  Deadline for camper registrations is May 21^st. 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. You are invited to attend the 38^th Annual Assembly of the Louisiana Interchurch Conference.  The Annual Assembly will be held March 3^rd – 4^th, 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. Kings Highway Christian Church will sponsor their Annual Women's Retreat on March 7-8, 2008 at Tall Timbers Retreat Center in Woodworth, LA.  The event keynoter will be Rev. Ann Pickett-Parker, Vice-President of International Disciples Women Fellowship. 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. The 34th Annual Black Minister's Retreat will be held at Middletown Christian Church in Louisville, KY on March 3-6, 2008. 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. 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) 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. 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. Bill Tenny-Brittian, the Senior Editor of NetResults, will present a free workshop in Little Rock on "Church Transformation and Growth."  The workshop will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at the Pulaski Heights Christian Church, 4724 Hillcrest Ave., Little Rock, AR www.phcc-lr.org. Pastors and lay persons from the Great River Region are invited to participate.  Please register by contacting the church: (501) 663-8149 or phcc-lr@sbcglobal.net no later than April 11. Shari Coote, Pastor. 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. 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.
STAFF UPDATES	From Barbara Jones: Will be on Study Leave January – March 2008. Rick Hamilton: Sunday I will be at Mundo de Fe in Little Rock, AR followed by meetings with the congregation and steering team from Parkview CC on Monday. 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: This week I will attend the GRRCC Disciples Women Joint Cabinet Retreat, The Black Minister's Retreat in Louisville, KY and Kings Highway Annual Women's Retreat in Woodworth, LA. From Michael Elmore: Our Mission Stations (Grace DOC, FCC Gulfport, FCC Slidell, FCC Greater New Orleans, FCC Lake Charles) and our Mission Center at Westside CC continue to host volunteers from across our denomination as they come to help with our recovery from Katrina and Rita. Thanks to all the volunteers and to our churches who host them. I will be worshiping with FCC Baton Rouge, LA this Sunday and Commissioning Andrew Packman as Licensed Minister. From Lara Blackwood Pickrel: 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!