wfn.org | Disciples News Brief

["Wilma Shuffitt" <wshuffitt@cm.disciples.org>]

Date: August 20, 2004
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact:  Wanda Bryant Wills, Editor
Phone: 317-713-2492
E-mail: news@cm.disciples.org 
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

WOC RESPONDS TO DISCIPLES CONGREGATIONS HIT BY HURRICANE CHARLEY
Week of Compassion (WOC) has sent solidarity grants to six Disciples
churches in Florida that were damaged by Hurricane Charley. The churches
are in Ft. Myers, Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Kissimmee and Orlando. A
few congregations also are reporting individual members whose homes have
suffered significant property loss. Thus far, WOC has responded to seven
congregations with members who suffered significant property loss.

WOC also wired a $6,000 grant to the Church World Service (CWS). CWS
staff have been busy assessing the needs of the state's most
vulnerable residents and determining damage to churches, mosques,
synagogues and community food pantries. The death toll from Hurricane
Charley has now reached 23. More than 15,000 homes and apartments have
been damaged or destroyed and about 360,000 people remain without
power.

WOC will continue to post information about volunteer needs and contact
names of those coordinating response efforts. For more information on
Week of Compassion efforts go to: http://www.weekofcompassion.org.

NBA CHILDREN'S CENTER TO REMAIN OPEN
The NBA Tennyson Center for Children will remain open as an agency of a
Denver-area nonprofit, Friends of Children. The National Benevolent
Association (NBA) Board of Trustees announced the agreement earlier this
week that, pending bankruptcy court approval, will allow the center to
continue operations. The announcement follow lengthy negotiations
between three parties:	NBA, the center's parent organization; Friends
of Children, a nonprofit group comprised mostly of individuals who once
served as members of the board of the program; and representatives of
the Unsecured Creditors Committee, a key party in the NBA bankruptcy
case.  

St. Louis-based NBA is the social and health services division of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and operates more than 90
facilities in 20 states. For more details on the agreement, go to:
http://www.nbacares.org.

GLOBAL MINISTRIES HONORS PARTNERS, MISSIONARIES AND LEADERSHIP
Global Ministries, a common witness of the Division of Overseas
Ministries (DOM), Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Wider
Church Ministries, United Church of Christ, held an open house earlier
this week themed, "Come! Let us Celebrate with Gratitude."  

Three areas were lifted up for recognition. One was the courageous
witness of global mission partners, such as the Rawdat El-Zhur School, a
Palestinian Christian primary school for Christian and Muslim children
in East Jerusalem. Another area honored those who have been involved in
missionary work, including David Blackburn and Wayne Steinert, who died
while serving in Brazil and South Africa. Also acknowledged were DOM
leaders, including Rev. Dr. William J. Nottingham, president emeritus of
DOM, as well as others who have presided over DOM's Global Ministries
and the United Christian Missionary Society. 

The open house also celebrated the rededication of the Disciples Center
10th floor conference room and lobby, which is now available for small
meetings and conferences.

WELL-KNOWN PUERTO RICAN PASTOR DIES
Rev. Florentino Santana, who served as pastor of several Disciples
congregations in Puerto Rico for more than 50 years, died this week.
Santana spent the bulk of his ministry at the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) in Calle Comerio, Bayamon, Puerto Rico. During his
tenure, that congregation established what is now the third largest
private school on the island. The congregation also helped establish
over ten new congregations in the San Juan metro area. Memorial services
were held earlier this week.

YOUTH DISCUSS GLOBALIZATION ISSUES
Young people from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) joined
youth from several other denominations at a Youth Adult Ecumenical Forum
on Globalization and Economic Justice recently. Approximately 35 people
gathered at the Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn., from
July 21-25 to discuss the impact of global polices and economic justice.
 The forum grew out of a vision from the 2003 World Council of Churches
Stewards Program, which called for an open dialogue among young people
to focus on the Church's call in the midst of a rapidly changing
world. Discussions ranged from globalization's effects on language and
the environment, to the fair-trade movement and the polarization of
wealth. Participants have now returned to their communities to continue
the discussions and begin new dialogue about globalization.

*The Disciples News Brief is distributed weekly or as needed by
Communication Ministries. For changes, additions or deletions to our
distribution list, please contact news@cm.disciples.org 

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Wilma K Shuffitt, Office Manager
Communication Ministries
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
130 E Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46204-3645
PO Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1986
317-713-2492, FAX 317-713-2489
wshuffitt@cm.disciples.org