Counselors Greatly Needed; 40th Anniversary Celebration of CCC

Counselors Greatly needed: Please consider counseling this summer. See http://www.uppermidwestcc.org/ministries_camp.html


40th Anniversary and Celebration Party at the Christian Conference Center (McCague Memorial Grounds) an overwhelming success

More than 250 people came out to celebrate this historic and exciting moment in the life of the Christian Conference Center on April 25th. On that one day there were no fewer than 8 decades of camping represented. Sitting together in the outdoor chapel, individuals who first dreamed and funded the original establishment of this holy ground to the most recent generation making their way through Jr Camps, shared stories of why we do this ministry together! Thank you for all the ministry we do together!

See:
Pictures (See pictures of the celebration) http://picasaweb.google.com/bsdUMW/ChristianConferenceCenter40thBirthdayPictures

Camp Picture Arcade (See pictures of campers stretching back to 1925) http://www.uppermidwestcc.org/ministries_camp4.html

Wish list ( Many projects have already been adopted in full or in part) http://www.uppermidwestcc.org/ministries_ccc7.html

New Tradition: We established a new tradition for camp at the 40th birthday. We already give counselors who serve 5 years a blue/green jacket and for 10 years a maroon jacket. Now for those who serve for 20 or more years we now give a black jacket. Look for all these jackets throughout the region. Take time to ask them to tell you stories about camp.

Week of Compassion Appeal for Bruma

From Week of Compassion:

Death Toll Swells in Myanmar
Thursday, May 8, A.D. 2008
With the humanitarian tragedy in Myanmar (Burma) worsening by the hour following Saturday’s devastating Cyclone Nargis, some officials, including Shari Villerosa, the top U.S. diplomat in the country, fear the death toll may exceed 100,000. At least one million people have been left homeless. Massive destruction, destroyed transportation and communications infrastructure, and initial intransigence from the ruling regime have hampered initial relief responses. However, yesterday the UN and India were able to dispatch relief supplies by air.
Church aid organizations are urgently putting relief operations in place. Tomorrow Marvin Parvez, Acting Asia/Pacific Regional Coordinator for Church World Service, will arrive in Myanmar to coordinate CWS’ response. CWS and other Action by Churches Together (ACT) members, including Christian Aid of the UK, Norwegian Church Aid, Danchurchaid and others, have active local partner networks in the country. Parvez noted that "in global disaster response work, local partners know best where assistance is needed and always have more effective response networks.”

CWS’ initial appeal of $50,000 was surpassed in one day (including a $6000 grant from Week of Compassion/Disciples), and the appeal will soon be expanded significantly to address the enormous scope of relief aid that is needed for survivors. Parvez said “CWS’ initial response is focused on food and then shelter. Water purification tablets, plastic sheeting, basic medical kits, bed nets and other basic relief items are urgently needed.”

Week of Compassion has now provided two emergency grants – one for $6000 to the initial CWS appeal and one for $5000 to the Southern Asia Office of Global Ministries - to support the response of the Myanmar Council of Churches. WOC is anticipating a very large appeal from CWS/ACT within the next week and will rely greatly upon designated gifts from our congregations, members and friends to help ensure a strong response from Disciples. Online gifts may be made by clicking here or sent to WOC, attn: Elaine Cleveland, P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN. 46206. WOC will continue to provide information on the unfolding situation in Myanmar as well as the developing responses of our church partners on the ground.

From the Disciples Regional Prayer Calendar, May 11, 2008

Please keep the following churches and Regions in your prayers this Sunday:

• First Christian Church, Albia, Iowa
• Bethel Christian Church, Eddyville, Iowa
• Woodward Christian Church, Woodward, Iowa
• Christian Church in Michigan

Download the Regional Prayer Calendar

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

Scholarships for Camp

Camp forms are coming in at a good clip and many have already sent in most
of their campers but I have special request...

When I was a youth growing up at Davis Street Christian Church I remember a
year or two that money was tight at home. Perhaps this was most years but
if individuals from the church would not have made that extra effort to
talk to me or catch me at church or just call and insist that I go to camp I
firmly believe I might not have gone. If I had not gone its possible that
I would never have ended up in the ministry I do now. Please take a close
look at who is going to camp from your church and who is not... Make that
extra call for their sake and for the churches sake...

Everyone deserves a week of Church Camp... We have just received an
additional 1500 for the Disciples Together Scholarship fund to help youth
go to camp! So again please seek out that one or two last
campers. Together lets make sure everyone goes to camp!

Bill Spangler-Dunning
http://www.uppermidwestcc.org/ministries_camp.html

From the DOC Lectionary Blog

Did you know that the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest has a lectionary resource? Associate Regional Minister, Bill Spangler Dunning has created the DOC Lectionary Blog where several bloggers reflect on the lectionary texts for the coming week and readers have a chance to comment and share their reflections. Here is a sample of what Bill wrote concerning Pentecost and Mother's Day based on text from Acts:

"...though I did not set out to link mothers day and Pentecost, it seems if I were going to do this what I would do is talk about my mother and how she and others have been the one who stood up and raised her voice and guided me through those potentially confusing moments of life.

I have writen a story about everyone else in the family but my mother. Im not sure why I have been unable to catch my mothers presence in my life in a paragraph of letters and words. Everytime I sit down to write something about her I seem to fall short with just the right emphasis that tells my soul that 'Yes, this is my mother.' "

Find out what else Bill has to say by going to the blog.

News from Disciples Women Unit

Greetings and Blessings to you all from the Disciples Womens Unit!

We are very excited and have and continue to have great things in store for ALL the Disciples Women in the Upper Midwest!

Have you checked out our web page lately? Just click on the DW Ministries icon and get the latest news from around the region about what's up and coming!

***New to the page is the video for the Fall Retreat which is September 26-28th in Paynesville Minnesota. Please check it out!!! This video segment will give you a taste of what a great experience the retreat is. If you have ever wondered what Disciple Women do in the woods ...this will give you a hint! If you have been sitting on the fence wondering if the retreat experience is for you....YES it is ... and this should answer some questions for you!

Also able to answer questions for you are the Cluster Representatives for the DW Unit. Our names and email addresses are at the bottom of the page under the Roster section. If you don't know what your cluster is or who to contact you can always direct your questions to me and I will answer them and/or route you to your representative!

As always, the Unit wants to help ALL women reach their fullest potential...so please let us know what you would like to see done in the region! We are waiting to hear from you!

Thanks again,
Wende Barrett jwbarrett@q.com
Cluster 7 Representative