Circuit Writer

Here’s an excerpt from the Global Ministries mission bulletin insert for April 2010.  You can read the entire article here.

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All things are possible to those who believe. Mark 9: 23

Eva Chipenda challenged and inspired me to go to Angola. Let me tell you a little about her: As Eva closes in on 80 years of age, she has pushed with all her considerable might to open the Canata Preschool Program which currently enrolls nearly 100 children between the ages of 3 and 5. When you walk in the courtyard door, the children run to greet and embrace you – but, not with the same fervor that occurs when they see Dona Eva enter. They cry out her name and last week practically knocked her off her feet in their enthusiasm to hug her!

Read the rest of the story here.

Here’s an excerpt from the Global Ministries mission bulletin insert for April 2010.  You can read the entire article here.

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9

Our historical secondary school in Izmir, Turkey began a new chapter in its long history. Founded by our missionary predecessors in 1878, the Izmir American Collegiate Institute has now opened a renovated building. In addition to the usual classrooms and school facilities, the new building has a girl’s dormitory. Thirty girls now live on the top floor enjoying modern, spacious living quarters with a magnificent view of Izmir and its bay. What’s more, these girls are from more distant parts of Turkey and this means greater diversity in the student body…

Read the rest of this story here.

Here’s an excerpt from an article hosted by the National Council of Churches. It discusses the Ecumenical Advocacy Days gathering last Sunday, March 21 in Washington, D.C.  Disciples’ General Minister and President Sharon Watkins preached at the gathering Sunday morning.  The focus of this year’s event was comprehensive immigration reform.

Washington, March 21, 2010 — As more than 700 delegates to Ecumenical Advocacy Days continued to pursue their hope for just immigration laws, the Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins preached about the oneness of the human family.

Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), delivered the sermon at Sunday morning worship on the third day of the ninth annual Advocacy Days gathering in Washington.

Throughout the ages, Watkins noted, human beings have separated into distinct groups. “The broad sweep of human history is not a feel-good story,” she said. “We make boundaries, and we decide who’s in and who’s out.”

Click to READ MORE.

The following is the contents of an email update from Week of Compassion concerning disaster response in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti.  I wanted to post this and pass it along for anyone who does not subscribe to the Week of Compassion newsletter.

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Since Haiti was struck by a massive 7.0 Earthquake on January 12^th, North American Disciples congregations have responded out of faith, hope, and a radical sense of generosity.

Here’s an excerpt from the Global Ministries mission bulletin insert for March 2010.  You can read the entire article here.

Faith apart form works is dead.  James 2:26

Many groups travel from the US to another part of the world on a mission trip. Some of these groups plan their trip with Global Ministries’ People to People Pilgrimages office in order to maximize their spiritual experience as well. One group from Atlanta, GA recently traveled to India.  One pilgrim wrote:

“One month ago today we were ringing in the New Year sitting half way around the world in the Christian Church of Mungeli, India.  Even though the words spoken were unrecognizable Hindi, there were some comfortably familiar sights as I gazed around the sanctuary:  wooden pews filled with worshippers, Bibles and hymnals in their hands; the open communion table; a temperamental sound system that worked intermittently, and the cadence of the Lord’s Prayer …

Read the rest of this story here.

Please prayerfully consider supporting the Special Offering or learn more about Week of Compassion.

This is my column for The Tahlequah Christian, my congregational newsletter, for the week of February 7-13, 2010.

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This week I’m taking a detour from the regular message to share some very newsworthy information from around the denomination. I want to celebrate Rev. Sharon Watkins’ accomplishments as our spiritual leader and guide and also bring attention to an important piece of our denominational history that I hope to share with you more about in the coming year. And a quick recap for those of you taking up Becky’s Super Bowl Challenge. If you’re a Colts fan, that’s 2 large cans and 1 small can of soup, and for the Saints faithful, it’s 3 large cans and 3 small cans – but I encourage you to be a Jesus fan and bring even more. continue reading…

Here’s a video update from Amy Gopp, the director of Week of Compassion. You can view the full update from Week of Compasion by clicking here or you can make your online donation here.

Here’s my first column of the New Year for The Tahlequah Christian, newsletter of First Christian Church in Tahlequah, OK.

Normally the New Year presents itself as a time for happiness and hope. However, this week I write to you with a profound sense of sadness. Throughout all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday, I failed to notice a news announcement on the Disciples of Christ website that our denominational magazine, DisciplesWorld, is discontinuing its publication. After eight years of award-winning journalism, commentary, and opinion, our last denominational magazine has decided to close its doors due to declining subscriptions and financial support.

While I know this is a financial decision that had to be made, my heart sinks at the loss we’re about to experience as a denomination. Our 200 year history as a movement was driven by journals and magazines. Historian W.E. Garrison commented that, “The Disciples of Christ do not have bishops; they have editors,” and Alexander Campbell was arguably our greatest editor. Writing almost a billion published words in his lifetime while shipping out over 46,000 volumes of books and journals from his own press, Campbell helped shaped the history of our movement and influenced the course of Christianity from his home in Bethany, West Virginia, to the far shores of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

DisciplesWorld Magazine lived as the most recent incarnation of our movement’s history of journals, and in the absence of any clear successor, may sadly be the last in a line that echoes back to the founders of our movement. Although I wonder if its absence will be immediately felt, I am saddened by what I know to be the loss of an excellent source for understanding the pulse of our denomination and its people. We as a church are poorer for its loss.

Yours on the journey,

Clint

P.S. – I want to join with our General Minister and President in encouraging everyone to pray for Verity Jones and the staff of DisciplesWorld as they work through this time of transition from one chapter in their careers to the next. May the grace of God encourage them as they finalize the business of the magazine and move on toward the new horizons of their calling.