Global Ministries Update-May 8, 2008

Disciples and UCC… together in God’s global mission - Visit us at: http://www.globalministries.org/

Please download the MONTHLY MISSION STORY for your church bulletin/newsletter:
May 2008: pdf or text only or espanol

To download the WEEKLY PRAYER for Sunday worship, click here: Japan

Are you coming to Missionworks/MMI in Cleveland October 2-5, 2008? Missionworks/MMI

Looking for a special project for VBS this summer? Click here: VBS

Myanmar Struck by Tropical Cyclone Nargis
Thousands of people have been killed or are missing in Burma as Tropical Cyclone Nargis pushed ashore over the weekend. The General Secretary of the Myanmar Council of Churches, Global Ministries partner, reports communication abilities throughout Burma have been compromised. Immediate relief operations are underway through Church World Service with a comprehensive assessment on-going. Global Ministries Southern Asia Office and the CWS Asia Regional Office are in direct contact with the Myanmar Council of Churches. An immediate grant of $5,000 from the UCC One Great Hour of Sharing/International Emergency fund is being wired. Week of Compassion has sent an initial grant of $6000 from the Response Fund to support the CWS appeal and will be providing additional funds as soon as the appeal is revised.
To read about what you can do to respond to this tragedy, click here: Respond to Myanmar Tragedy
To learn more about Global Ministries involvement in Myanmar, click here: Myanmar

UCC Leaders Visit GM Partners in Chile and Argentina
John Thomas, General Minister and President of the UCC, and Lydia Veliko, Minister of Ecumenical Relations, accompanied Felix Ortiz, GM Latin America and Caribbean Area Executive to Chile and Argentina. In Chile the group met with leaders from the Pentecostal Church of Chile (IPL) and visited the Shalom Center where GM Missionary, Elena Huegel and Long-term Volunteer, John Wallace serve. They also traveled to Argentina where they had an opportunity to spend time with members of the Evangelical Congregational Church of Argentina and the Evangelical Church of the Disciples of Christ of Argentina. More stories of their visit to come…

Bishop Gomez of the Lutheran Synod of El Salvador to Speak in Indianapolis
Bishop Medardo Gomez-Soto, 63, has fought for peace and justice in El Salvador for more than twenty-five years. As the head of the Lutheran Synod of El Salvador, a GM partner, Bishop Gomez has long believed that service and advocacy on behalf of the poor are fundamental to the Church’s mission. In El Salvador, a country whose twelve-year civil war claimed an estimated 75,000 lives, speaking out in opposition to the government can be a serious crime. Nevertheless, Bishop Gomez has continued to fight for basic human rights in his country despite threats made against his family, the bombing of his church, and his own capture and imprisonment. Bishop Gomez will speak at a Disciples Center luncheon on Thursday May 15 and also at Christian Theological Seminary at 7pm that evening. He will also preach at Central Christian Church in Indianapolis on Sunday May 18 at 10:30am. For more information contact India Farley at ifarley@dom.disciples.org

Disciples in Congo Share the Latest Edition of their Special Information Bulletin
Rev. Eliki Bonanga, the Community President and Legal Representative of the Disciples in the DRC share in his editorial some thoughts on partnership: “The churches, formerly supported by the missions, have Christians who must be responsible for themselves, as were those who financed the missions. However that doesn't mean that the relationships between the churches of Europe and America and those of Africa are broken. A new era opens, the era of partnership, in which each church brings something which can be of help to the other…” To read the entire newsletter, click here: Disciples in DRC

GM Personnel in Turkey Assist Migrants and Refugees
Ken and Betty Frank write: “As we looked around the meeting table, we saw that we were an unusual group. In terms of religious background we were Roman Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian, Orthodox, and Muslim. In terms of nationalities we were American, Turkish, German, Austrian, New Zealander, and Australian. We were all gathered for one purpose: to serve the needs of the poorest and most marginalized people stranded in Istanbul, people striving to get to somewhere where their lives could be better. We coordinate various programs of assistance to refugees and migrants, people in Turkey without documents and living on the edge. We represent the various parishes and groups of Istanbul who unite in this critical service to those in need of food, clothing, and hope…” To read the complete story, click here: Turkey

If someone forwarded this e-mail to you and you would like to receive directly to your inbox these weekly Global Ministries updates, please send your name, e-mail address, physical address, phone number, and home church to: bshebeck@dom.disciples.org

Find a Missionary Visit in your State: (new visit added this week!)

IA: May 1 to June 30, 2008, Linda and Bruce Hanson (The Christian Development Commission (CCD) and The Theological Community of Honduras (CTEH) Contact: Selva Lehman selvarl@mchsi.com