wfn.org | September 1997 Digest

[DISCNEWS.parti@ecunet.org]

September 1997

New developer to convert Missions Building into senior housing

     INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- A new agreement with an Indianapolis-based
developer could mean that the former Missions Building will be converted to senior
housing after all. 

     This is good news for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), which owns
the building. A similar proposal initiated two years ago by the Retirement Housing
Foundation, Long Beach, Calif., failed to move forward.  

     Mansur Real Estate Services, Inc., is slated to take on the redevelopment
project on Indianapolis' east side. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) vacated
the 121,000-square-foot facility in 1995 to move downtown.  

     Under the proposal, the building would be adapted into approximately 80
apartments for adults 55 and over. Architects Browning, Day, Mullins & Dierdorf of
Indianapolis will design the new facility. 

     The church will retain ownership of the property through completion of the
construction project, said the Rev. Ryan D. Hazen, general manager of Christian
Church Services. This arrangement will allow Mansur Inc. to pursue tax credits for
the venture. 

                      *****

Disciples challenge Cuba embargo, call for welfare reform monitoring
                      
     DENVER (DNS) -- Nearly 8,500 members of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) descended upon the Colorado Convention Center here July
25-29 as its General Assembly debated a number of international and domestic issues,
including the Cuba trade embargo and welfare reform.

     The 8,411 registrations represented the highest number of Disciples present
for the biennial gathering since the contentious 1991 assembly in Tulsa. There, the
anticipated election of a controversial nominee for general minister and president, in
part, attracted nearly 9,000 persons.

     A near-record number of youth -- 1,160 -- also took part in the Denver
assembly. While here they helped build houses for Habitat for Humanity, painted and
repaired park benches, and tackled other volunteer service projects.  

     The youth focus included a July 27 speech by children's advocate Marian
Wright Edelman. She challenged the denomination to take a stand for healthy children
by supporting legislation aimed at providing insurance for children of poor families.
Health care is a solvable problem, said the Children's Defense Fund executive. No
parent should have to face the "two-front battle of dealing with their child's disease
and health care poverty in our wealthy nation."

                      *****

      CBP bestseller during General Assembly
       supports Week of Compassion ministry

     ST. LOUIS -- One thousand copies of a little blue book called You Might Be
a Disciple If . . .  was a Christian Board of Publication bestseller during General
Assembly in Denver.  

     The lighthearted look at the denomination's foibles and peculiarities was
compiled and edited by the Rev. David P. Polk, editor of Chalice Press, CBP's book-publishing arm. It was inspired by tongue-in-cheek remarks by the Rev. Robert K.
Welsh, president of the Church Finance Council, during the April General Board
meeting. The volume also includes contributions from other church members across
the country.

     On July 29, CBP President Cyrus N. White presented a royalty check from
sales of the volume to the Rev. Johnny Wray for Week of Compassion. Ongoing sales
of the book, which have earned $250, also will go to WOC.
 
                      *****

General Synod begins with sound of water, renewal of baptism
 
     COLUMBUS, Ohio (DNS) -- It started with the sound of water, the
shimmering liquid poured from a pail. Several pitchers later, the sound had amplified
tenfold to fill the cavernous Greater Columbus Convention Center where delegates
from 39 regional bodies of the United Church of Christ met July 3-8 for the 21st
General Synod. 

     The theme of this General Synod was "For the Healing of the Nations," and
water played a key role as a symbol for that healing. The healing motif began from the
pouring of the life-giving fluid by liturgical dancers at the opening to a symbolic
re-baptism of the congregation as ushers moved down the rows dipping pine branches
into water and cleaving the air with the wet boughs. 

     The Synod's opening preacher, the Rev. Cynthia L. Hale of Decatur, Ga., 
also evoked images of water in a spellbinding sermon. "My soul is thirsty for God,"
she thundered, her voice raising and falling like waves in a sea. "God will not leave
God's people thirsty." 

     The healing theme surfaced again July 6 during the 40th anniversary
celebration of the United Church of Christ. One of the dreams was reconciliation with
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In a symbolic gesture to heal disunity of
the body of Christ, ministers of the two churches embraced, acknowledging a
common communion cup and shared ministry while exchanging the symbols of the
ordained ministry: the stole, chalice and the Bible. Disciples participants included
General Minister and President Richard L. Hamm and the Rev. Paul A. Crow Jr.,
president of the Council on Christian Unity.

                      *****

Gift from Disciples retiree boosts communication ministry

     INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- Elizabeth Frazier retired April 30 after 10 years
of keeping finances for the Disciples Office of Communication and serving as office
manager. She had worked here for 13 years, beginning in 1984 as a secretary for
Robert Friedly, former vice president for communication and now editor of The
Disciple magazine.

     Now  the church's communication ministry will receive a financial boost
thanks to Frazier's generosity and gifts for money management. Executive Director
Curt Miller recently received a $555 check as the first annual distribution from a
permanent fund she established for the Office of Communication.  

     "This was an absolute surprise," said Miller. "I'm humbled by Elizabeth's
generosity and sense of Christian stewardship. This will really help the
communications ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)."

     The Elizabeth Ann Frazier Fund was begun about 10 years ago by the April
1997 retiree.  The fund pays out at 5 percent of its market value every year, she said.
And there are no strings attached to the annual distribution. "I did it to help promote
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)." 

                      *****

    Disciples delegation to visit the Vatican
 
     INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- An interfaith dialogue between the Disciples of
Christ and the Roman Catholic Church is about to take another step. 

     In September, a delegation of Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) lay and
clergy leaders will make a church-to-church visit at the Vatican, according to the Rev.
Paul A. Crow Jr., president of the Disciples Council on Christian Unity. This is the
first trip of its kind and a very historic occasion for the denomination, he said.  

     Groundwork for the fall visit was laid during Crow's recent journey to Rome
after the 20th meeting of the Disciples of Christ/Roman Catholic dialogue in Venice.
He and Indianapolis Catholic Archbishop Daniel Buechlein co-chair the bilateral
dialogue group.

     Disciples slated to take part include General Minister and President Richard
L. Hamm; CCU board members Harold Horn, Fullerton, Calif., the Revs. Suzanne J.
Webb, Carbondale, Ill., and Roy L. Griggs, Tulsa, and other key leaders. Crow will
lead the delegation.

                      *****

 Transylvania senior named  97 Disciples Scholar

     ST. LOUIS -- Rachel Leigh Nance, a Transylvania University senior, has
been named the 1997 Disciples Scholar by the denomination's Division of Higher
Education.

     Nance is an active member of First Christian Church, Madisonville, Ky., and
is involved in a number of campus activities at TU in Lexington. She was president of
Disciples on Campus for two years and represents the university on the region's
higher education committee. She also has participated in other regional and general
church events and served as a summer camp counselor.
  
     The Disciples Scholar Award provides $2,000 to the recipient and the
Disciples-related institution for use in its campus ministry program. 

                      *****

Young adults  Come to the Feast' for leadership training

     NEW YORK (DNS) -- The National Council of Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A. Young Adult Ministry Team is inviting participation in "Come to the Feast,"
an ecumenical young adult ministry leadership training event.  

     Young adult leaders, lay persons or clergy of any age who work with young
adults, and anyone concerned with young adult ministry are invited to the 1998
Memorial Day weekend event. It is to be held May 22-25, 1998, at the Atlanta (Ga.)
Marriott Marquis Hotel.  
     
     "Come to the Feast" offers the opportunity to interact with young adult
leaders from across the U.S. and Canada -- to share ideas for ministry, to define
ecumenical partnerships for future projects, and to have fun and meet new friends. 

     Young adult ministry issue forums and workshops will concentrate on the
concerns of today's young adults and practical methods for ministry.  A wide
collection of current resources will be shared by the participating denominations.
Former Atlanta mayor, the Rev. Andrew Young, is scheduled to be a featured
speaker.  

     For more information on "Come to the Feast," contact the Rev. Grant Azdell,
Homeland Ministries, Young Adult Ministries, P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN
46202, at (317) 635-3113 ext. 295.

                      *****

      Couple receives Faithful Servant Award
 
     DENVER -- The Disciples of Christ Historical Society honored Sybel and
Harvey Thomas, Chicago, with its Faithful Servant Award during the General
Assembly in Denver. It was the first time the award was given to a couple. 

     The Rev. Nathan "Pete" Smith, who is the regional minister for the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) in Illinois and Wisconsin and who serves on committees
with both Thomases, said, "I marvel at the spirit of Jesus Christ brought to these
meetings by Harvey and Sybel Thomas."

     Comparing them to the stained-glass saints depicted in cathedral windows,
Smith said "the light of Christ shines through Saint Sybel and Saint Harvey Thomas --
the patron saints of the Disciples of Christ."

     The Rev. Peter Morgan, the president of the Historical Society, presented the
pair with lifetime memberships in the society and a plaque declaring them "quiet
history makers whose lives are enriching the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)."

                      *****

  Disciple named to lead Oklahoma church council

     OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Rev. Rita Cowan recently was named executive
director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches.

     The ordained Disciples minister served as interim director of the conference
since 1995. She previously taught for several years at Phillips Theological Seminary in
Tulsa. 

     The Oklahoma Conference of Churches is a statewide ecumenical
organization whose membership comprises 16 mainline and historic African American
denominations, including the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ.)

                      *****

DISCNEWS - inbox for Disciples News Service, Office of Communication, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), PO Box 1986 Indianapolis, IN 46206, tele. (317) 635-3100, (DISCNEWS@ecunet.org) Wilma Shuffitt, News and Information Assistant; (CWILLIS@oc.disciples.org) Cliff Willis, Director of News and Information; (CMILLER@oc.disciples.org) Executive Director