VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 8/17/06)-With a call to build stronger constituent councils, state official positions on matters of importance to society, and to join with the denomination in an initiative on children and poverty, the Ministers Council Senate of American Baptist Churches convened their annual meeting on a unified and upbeat note.
The council was clearly of one voice as the majority of their four-day meeting centered on building stronger constituent councils through improvements in communication, through further developing the national network of councils, and by developing an online manual for existing and new local councils.
The Senators also overwhelmingly approved the establishing of a Rapid Response Team (RRT) that would be responsible for identifying issues for which the Ministers Council will provide an immediate response for ABC ministers, the ABC family, and/or the public in general. The RRT would address public issues that arise from news reports and developments in other ABC groups.
The council responded well to National Ministries (NM) Executive Director Aidsand Wright-Riggins' announcement that NM is taking part in a nationwide initiative to address children and poverty. NM is looking for church leaders to take part in training that will equip leaders to identify resources which will benefit their communities in the area of children and poverty.
A large slate was up for election this year on the executive committee. J. Miriam Chacon-Peralta was elected Vice President for Membership and Constituency; Phineas B. Marr, Vice President for Professional Effectiveness; Jeff Savage, Vice President for Spiritual and Personal Wholeness; Shakespeare Osorio, Senator-at-Large; Dee Dee Turlington, and Thomas Gilmore, Senate Representatives to the Executive Committee.
Also at the closing banquet, the Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle was named the recipient of the 2006 Ralph Garfield Schell Presidential Award for Excellence in Ministry. McMickle has served as the Pastor of the Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1987. Antioch has pioneered an AIDS prevention and treatment program with special focus on the African-American community. Under his leadership, Antioch has created alternate formats of worship that are reaching new generations and communities of people for Christ.
For more information on the Ministers Council, visit the official website at www.ministerscouncil.com.
Andrew C. Jayne American Baptist Churches, USA Mission Resource Development http://www.abc-usa.org/