wfn.org | DNS -- Aug Digest

["Office of Communications"<wshuffit@oc.disciples.org>]

		August 2000

(Note: The number in parentheses after each brief refers to the number of 
the full Disciples News Service release.)

General Board affirms guiding document, endorses resolutions on East Timor 
and Vieques 

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- General Board members of the Christian Church 
(Disciples of Christ), meeting here July 22-25, affirmed a new guiding 
document for the church, did additional planning around six vital issues 
and endorsed resolutions supporting the independence of East Timor and 
ending U.S. naval operations in Vieques, Puerto Rico. 

	The board used "Mission Imperatives 1995-2000 " as a foundation for the 
new document. Significant revisions included designating vision and 
mission statements in the document and developing a statement of covenant. 

	The church's vision, according to the document is: "To be a faithful, 
growing church of true community, deep spirituality and passion for 
justice." The denomination's mission is "to be and to share the Good News 
of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps ‘to the 
ends of the earth.'" 

	The imperative is "to strengthen congregational life for this mission." 
To be faithful to the imperative, the church is committed to: "Become the 
Good News," "Share the Good News" and "Serve from our doorsteps to the 
‘ends of the earth.'" 

	The statement of covenant affirms the Disciples of Christ's need to be an 
anti- racist/pro-reconciliation church; strengthen relationships among all 
expressions of the church; more fully share in the stewardship of God's 
gifts; embrace the church's growing diversity; and to work with ecumenical 
and global partners "to heal the brokenness of the body of Christ and the 
human community." (41)

	*****

New associate general minister called 

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- A Cincinnati pastor and former Homeland Ministries 
executive has been named associate general minister and vice president of 
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The Administrative Committee 
elected the Rev. William H. Edwards here July 22. Edwards is expected to 
begin his ministry in the Office of General Minister and President in 
early October. 

	Edwards, 44, comes to the position from the Disciples Center of 
Cincinnati, a joint ministry of Forest Park Christian Church, a 
predominantly white congregation, and St. John's Christian Church, with 
mostly African American members. Edwards' resume describes his ministry in 
Cincinnati as "developing a model of ministry to overcome one of the 
greatest barriers that separates us as people of God, the barrier of 
race." 

	Prior to his call to Cincinnati, Edwards was executive pastor of 
Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, serving as chief operating officer 
of the 8,500-member Memphis Disciples congregation. 

	From 1982 to 1995, Edwards served as senior associate in Homeland 
Ministries' Center for Congregational Growth and Vitality. 

	"I feel that Bill is really well-equipped to serve as a vice president, 
which means, in part, tracking all the various initiatives of the Office 
of General Minister and President in the life of the church," said General 
Minister and President Richard L. Hamm. "I'm very excited about Bill's 
coming. I think he'll be a great partner in ministry," said Hamm. (40)

	*****

Leadership renewal, development highlight Hispanic Disciples assembly 

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- A call for leadership renewal and development 
highlighted the agenda of the 10th Assembly of the Hispanic and Bilingual 
Fellowship of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). 

	Approximately 200 Latino/Latina lay and clergy leaders from across North 
America met here, July 13-16. The theme for the biennial event was 
"Claiming the Promise." 

	During assembly business the plenary body decided not to recognize the 
leadership of "practicing" gay and lesbian clergy, and called for removal 
of the U.S. Navy from Vieques, near Puerto Rico. 

	The resolution concerning the "practice and participation of homosexual 
persons in the church" passed with little opposition. Considerable 
discussion, however, emerged over how best to acknowledge differing 
opinions. 

	Hispanic National Pastor Pablo Jimenez called it a "moral and ethical 
issue." (42)

	*****

Grammy-winning group to perform during 2001 General Synod/Assembly 

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- A performance by Grammy-winning group, Sweet Honey 
in the Rock, will highlight the joint meeting of the Christian Church 
(Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ. 

	The "common gathering" of the United Church General Synod and Disciples 
General Assembly will convene July 13-17, 2001, in Kansas City, Mo. The 
theme for the synod/assembly is "Gather at the Welcome Table." 

	This will be the second joint meeting of the churches' plenary bodies. 
The first time was in 1993 in St. Louis. Business sessions of the assembly 
and synod were conducted side-by-side in ‘93. In 2001, however, some joint 
meetings are planned of the decision-making bodies. 

	Sweet Honey in the Rock is an African American female a capella ensemble 
that has deep musical roots in the sacred music of the black church 
including spirituals, hymns, gospel, as well as jazz and blues. 

	Opening night, July 13, will feature a jazz service with a sermon by 
Disciples minister, the Rev. Mary Donovan Turner. A highly regarded 
preacher in churches nationwide, Turner is a professor of homiletics at 
Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif. She is coauthor of Saved 
from Silence: Women, Voice, Preaching. (43)

	*****

Disciples volunteers take part in hurricane relief blitz 

	Kinston N.C. (DNS) -- Some 50 members of the Christian Church (Disciples 
of Christ) joined a hundred other volunteers July 17-21 to "blitz-build" 
two homes in eastern North Carolina. 

	Mrs. LeVaughn Stevens of Kinston had been living in a two-room 
government-issue trailer since September, when her home was ruined by 
flooding during 1999's harsh hurricane season. July 21, just five days 
after the start of construction, she was presented with a brand new home, 
decorated and furnished. 

	Disciples volunteers also worked on a Habitat for Humanity home in 
Wilson. The family who will occupy that house was also flooded out during 
the hurricane season. 

	The North Carolina Housing Finance Authority provided the bulk of the 
construction funding for Stevens' home. Week of Compassion and Volunteers 
in Mission, both Disciples agencies, and the Kinston Area Relief Effort 
(KARE) also contributed to the project with cash, volunteer supply and 
coordination services. Hosanna Industries, a Pittsburgh-based construction 
ministry, coordinated and oversaw construction of the two homes. Hosanna 
and Volunteers in Mission have cooperated in three other major building 
projects. (39)

	*****

Missouri Disciple honored for outstanding scholarship 

	ST. LOUIS (DNS) -- Summer L. Talley, a senior at Culver-Stockton College 
in Canton, Mo., has been named recipient of the 2000 Disciples Scholar 
Award presented by the Division of Higher Education of the Christian 
Church (Disciples of Christ). 

	The award is given each year to a Disciples student attending a 
Disciples-related college or university. The recipient must exemplify 
outstanding leadership in both campus and church activities, and show 
commitment to a life of service. 

	A Missouri native, Talley is a psychology major, pre-ministerial student 
and president of the Student Parliament at Culver-Stockton. She has served 
on the cabinet of the Christian Regional Youth Festival in the Mid-America 
region and is one of five Disciples student members of STEP, the general 
church college and university student partnership between the Christian 
Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. 

	Division of Higher Education President Dennis Landon will present the 
Disciples Scholar Award to Talley at a campus ceremony this fall. The 
award brings a scholarship grant of $2,000 to her and an equal amount to 
Culver-Stockton College for use in its campus ministry programs. (38)

	*****

Division of Higher Education honors excellence 

	ST. LOUIS (DNS) -- The Division of Higher Education of the Christian 
Church (Disciples of Christ) has named Michael W. Santos, professor of 
history at Lynchburg College, as recipient of the 2000 T.A. Abbott Award 
for Faculty Excellence. Division of Higher Education President Dennis 
Landon will present the award Aug. 27 on the Lynchburg (Va.) College 
campus.

	In his 15 years at Lynchburg, Professor Santos has displayed a passion 
for teaching, research and social outreach. A winner of the Shirley Rosser 
Award for Excellence in Teaching, he also founded the Lynchburg College 
Symposium Readings Program. He serves as director of the Center for the 
History and Culture of Central Virginia and is editor of The Central 
Virginia Chronicle: A Journal of History and Culture. He helped found the 
Lynchburg College chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and organized St. 
Paul's Episcopal Church's Jubilee Ministry Center, a neighborhood youth 
and literacy center. A member of Heritage United Methodist Church, he also 
helped establish that congregation's Family to Family mentoring program 
which helps local families move toward financial self- sufficiency. 

	The T.A. Abbott Award, presented now for the 17th consecutive year, was 
established through a gift to the Division of Higher Education from the 
descendants of the Rev. T. A. Abbott, an administrator and faculty member 
at Culver-Stockton College who died in 1914. Nominees must be full-time 
teaching faculty at Disciples-related institutions of higher education. 
Criteria for selection include quality of teaching, personal example and 
commitment to the integration of Christian faith and learning. (37)

	*****

Great preaching, good workshops mark Sessions 2000 

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- Great preaching and good workshops. Hot weather and 
warm fellowship. Singing, singing and more singing. 

	All were part of Sessions 2000, the quadrennial gathering of Disciples 
Men, July 6-9 in Des Moines. Some 350 men and a few women met at First 
Christian Church near the Drake University campus for inspiration and good 
ideas, fellowship and renewed vigor for men's ministry. 

	"New Leadership for a New Era" was the theme of the gathering, and each 
worship speaker addressed a different component of the theme. 

	During evening worship July 6, the Rev. Alvin O. Jackson called on the 
men to be persons of integrity. The pastor of National City Christian 
Church, Washington, D.C., warned that integrity is a gift we have to work 
at, a calling, a journey. "Let the last chapter of your life story be, 
‘God, judge me, for I have walked in my integrity.'" 

	The growing walls of hostility and violence in today's world make it 
increasingly difficult to love others as God has loved us, said the Rev. 
Stephen Boyd, professor of history of Christianity and historical 
theology, Wake Forest University, Winston, Salem, N.C., on July 7. Boyd 
challenged the men present to recognize themselves as "householders" or 
"itinerants," and to take the steps for understanding and reconciliation. 
"If we persevere, there is a promise," he said. (36)

	*****

New vice president appointed at CBP 

	ST. LOUIS (DNS) -- An Episcopal priest has been named vice president for 
congregational ministries with Christian Board of Publication. The Rev. 
Kamila Blessing also will serve as director of CBP's new Incubation Center 
for Congregational Resources. 

	The center is a three-year pilot project that "intends to combine the 
genius of congregationally based resource developers, the publishing 
skills and capacities of CBP, and the expertise of invited consultants in 
an array of disciplines," according to Cyrus N. White, president of the 
publishing house. 

	"The resulting resources," he said, "will help congregations to bring the 
unchurched to awareness, seekers to belief, and believers to deeper 
faithfulness and service to God. The center is funded, in part, by a grant 
from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. 

	White praised Blessing's writing and consulting experience, and her 
background in congregational revitalization, multicultural worship and 
community, and spiritual development. He also acknowledged her gifts for 
seeing congregations' strengths and weaknesses and her relational skills 
for engaging and equipping others. 

	Blessing was ordained in 1984 and has been active in parish ministry, 
interdenominational work and evangelism. In her most recent parish in 
Rocky Mount, N.C., Blessing and the priest of a predominantly African 
American congregation merged the resources of both churches into a single, 
multiethnic parish. (35)

	*****

‘One Church for All "Peoples"' theme of BCE board meeting 

	LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The theme of "One Church for All ‘Peoples'" was 
brought to life June 16-19 as Board of Church Extension board of directors 
and staff visited several Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 
congregations in the Los Angeles area. 

	During the governing board meeting, staff and directors experienced ways 
in which many cultures and racial ethnic groups interact and participate 
in the Los Angeles area as members of the Christian Church (Disciples of 
Christ). Staff and directors also saw examples of how BCE's services have 
benefitted Disciples congregations in the area. 

	More than 140 people attended the opening banquet at Wilshire Boulevard 
Christian Church, here. Speakers included the Rev. Donald Shelton, 
regional minister, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Pacific 
Southwest; Royal Morales, a retired sociologist and leader of the Filipino 
Christian Church in Los Angeles; and the Rev. Jaikwan Ahn, who handles new 
church development for Asian American Ministries, Pacific Southwest 
region. Morales and Ahn spoke about cultural changes that have occurred in 
the Los Angeles area over the past 50 years. (34)

	*****