wfn.org | Funds to Honor Former Disciples UCMS and DOM Presidents

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

Date:  July 9, 2001
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Curt Miller
E-mail: Cmiller@oc.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

01a-38

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- The Board of Directors of the Division of
Overseas Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) has voted to establish five permanent funds honoring
past leaders of the United Christian Missionary Society and the
Division of Overseas Ministries.

	The board resolution "lifts up the special leadership of ...
former presidents, both of the Division of Overseas Ministries
and of its predecessor, the United Christian Missionary Society.
These individuals each made outstanding contributions to the
work and life of the Division of Overseas Ministries, to the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and to the Church
Universal and we thank God for the living legacy that each
bequested to our work and mission today."

	The DOM board marked the 50th anniversary of Dr. A. Dale Fiers
becoming the president of the United Christian Missionary
Society by establishing the funds in the amount of $20,000 each.
The funds honor Dr. Fiers and his successors in the presidency
of UCMS and the Division of Overseas Ministries who have retired
from their positions or who are no longer living. The funds are:

The Dr. A. Dale Fiers Global Ministries Fund
	Dr. Fiers served as president of the United Christian
Missionary Society from 1951 until 1964.  He came to the
position after having served on the UCMS Board of Trustees
beginning in 1947. After becoming president, Dr. Fiers led the
UCMS to participate in the movement toward restructure of the
denomination.  This was a turbulent time.  Ministries that were
once part of UCMS became new general units of the church.  Dr.
Fiers embodied a vision of a restructured Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), a church that would take up the task of
mission in all of its ministry.  He left UCMS to become the
Executive Secretary of the International Convention of the
Christian Churches and eventually the first General Minister and
President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The Dr. Virgil A. Sly Global Ministries Fund
	Dr. Sly came to a four-year term as president of UCMS
(1964-1968) after serving over 30 years in various positions
within the UCMS.   He was committed to developing a theology of
mission grounded in the ecumenical movement of the time, as well
as a strategy to implement that theology.  Dr. Sly was an
instrumental presence of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) in the work of the newly-formed World Council of
Churches.  He worked with national churches in Congo and
elsewhere toward church autonomy.  He began, with Alford
Carleton of the United Church of Christ, the process of
partnership that would lead to the establishment of the Common
Global Ministries Board.

The Dr. Thomas J. Liggett Global Ministries Fund
	Dr. Liggett served as president of UCMS in the period from
October 1968 - 1973.  He was the first former missionary to
serve as the president of UCMS, and as such embodied a clear and
overriding commitment to global mission.  His talents in
organization and identification of colleagues to serve on the
staff of UCMS, who later would go on to form part of the staff
of the Division of Overseas Ministries, were vital
contributions.  He guided UCMS toward the culmination of its
extensive reorganization, toward the formation of DOM and the
Division of Homeland Ministries.   He led UCMS to appointing
missionaries to terms of service.  Dr. Liggett guided UCMS and
Disciples in general in opposition to the war in Vietnam and the
U.S. military incursion into the Dominican Republic.

The Dr. Robert A. Thomas Global Ministries Fund
	In his ministry as DOM president 1973 - 1983, Dr. Thomas lived
out his  conviction that the church is one and that the Division
of Overseas Ministries is a ministry of the whole church.  He
provided a high caliber of theological reflection to DOM and as
a member of the Cabinet of the General Minister and President.
He guided the legacy of UCMS through many changes, emphasizing
its stewardship and new organizational structure.  He led DOM to
the endorsement of its Principles and Policies by the General
Assembly in 1981 and advanced the establishment of joint offices
with the United Church of Christ, beginning with the Middle East
Office in 1980.  Under his leadership, the Joint Office for
Human Rights was established with the Division of Homeland
Ministries, the fraternal worker program formerly of DHM was
brought into DOM, and he instituted the practice of inviting
international guests as participants at the General Assembly.

The Dr. William J. Nottingham Global Ministries Fund
	Dr. Nottingham challenged the Division of Overseas staff, board
and constituency to be fully informed on  processes and events
around the world through continual reading and analysis, a
practice that he himself followed.  He came to the presidency of
the Division of Overseas Ministries for the period January 1984
- December 1993 from service as the Area Executive first for
Latin America/Caribbean and later for East Asia and the Pacific,
where his strong commitment to the defense of international
human rights was clear.  He led the DOM and the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) in discussion and decision regarding
relationships in North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, China, the former
Soviet Union and South Africa.  He was instrumental in
establishing a long range planning process, which culminated,
after his tenure, in the formal establishment of the Common
Global Ministries Board.

	Those interested in contributing to one or more of these
permanent funds are invited to send their contributions to:
Division of Overseas Ministries, Resource Development Office,
P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206, or direct their inquiries
to (317) 713-2555, or to gifts@dom.disciples.org.

	-- end --