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God's Extravagant Welcome
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2592 West 14th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113 |
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Ripples - New Year 2009National Day of ServiceThis new year begins in a context of challenges, as we look at economic and political situations all over the world. The season of Epiphany is a time that we recognize God's presence in the world, just as the magi indicated that Jesus was significant to people from far beyond Bethlehem. This year, the Presidential Inaugural Committee invites all Americans to For general ideas about projects, and to see what other people are doing, go to http://www.mlkday.gov/resources/overview/index.asp. To register your project, please visit http://www.pic2009.org/page/s/DS2. More specifically, Rebecca Voelkel of the Institute for Welcoming Resources is looking for information on ONA churches that may be planning a National Day of Service observance. Please be in touch with her at rvoelkel@thetaskforce.org. Ruth Garwood Ecumenical Welcoming Sunday—January 25, 2009Plan for Ecumenical Welcoming Sunday, January 25, 2009. This observance, always the fourth Sunday in January, is a time to celebrate being Open and Affirming. What is your church doing to celebrate? If you have prayers, hymns, or other worship material to share, please send them to us so that we can include them on our website. ONA Sunday 2009: www.ucccoalition.org/programs/ona/onasunday/ What resources have you found useful?The UCC Coalition offers a variety of resource packets, books, videos, and more that may be useful in your ONA study and dialogue process. Visit http://www.ucccoalition.org/resources/publications/ to learn more. Many of our allies in other denominations also offer useful materials. For instance, More Light Presbyterians has just release a new 39-page packet of articles and materials to resource their congregations in the dialogue processes that are happening in that denomination. You can download the packet online at www.mlp.org/filemgmt/index.php. We are eager to know what books and resources have been most useful to you in your dialogue processes—whether from the Coalition or from other sources. Please let us know! You can write to communications@ucccoalition.org. New Year's Resolution: Attend National Gathering 2009Please make it a New Year's resolution to attend the Coalition's National Gathering in June, 2009. We have been able to adjust the dates for our Gathering this year (June 22–25, 2009), so that it will be just prior to General Synod (June 26–30, 2009). Registration for National Gathering will open later this month. Meanwhile, you can register for General Synod on the UCC website at www.ucc.org/synod/. When you register for Synod, don't forget to register for the UCC Coalition luncheon on Friday, June 26, 2009. It will be held at the Convention Center. Look out, Grand Rapids, MI, here we come! Creating Change: It's Not Too LateIt's not too late to make plans to be in Denver, CO, January 28–February 1, 2009, with us for Creating Change For more details, please visit www.creatingchange.org. You can attend day-long institutes on working in faith communities or with queer youth, advocating for LGBTQ families or an inclusive ENDA, enhancing your anti-racism skills and awareness, among others. There are many more themes in workshops and other institutes. It's a power-packed gathering. New ONA SettingsWelcome and congratulations to all recently declared ONA congregations! The up-to-date list can be found here: http://www.ucccoalition.org/programs/ona/who/list/ Total active ONA congregations: 769 Note: We need your help to update our list of ONA churches to include website links. If your web link is missing, please contact communications@ucccoalition.org with updated information. Thank you! Congratulations, Dawn!
On November 16, 2008, Dawn E. Jones was ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament by the Prairie Association of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ, and installed as Chaplain of United Campus Ministries at Northern Illinois University. UCM is in ministry partnership with Lutheran (ELCA) Campus Ministry at Northern Illinois University. Lutheran Campus Ministry is a Reconciling in Christ community and the ordination worship service was hosted at the LCM building, located in the heart of NIU. Dawn's home and sponsoring church, Mayfield Congregational UCC, is also ONA. Dawn's parents are members of Erwin UCC, the only ONA congregation in South Dakota. Moving, moving, moving...Our thoughts are with the Rev. Dr. Eleanor S. Morrison as she moves to a new living situation at Burcham Hills Retirement Community in East Lansing. Eleanor served three UCC congregations and was awarded the Antoinette Brown Award for outstanding service in ministry by the United Church of Christ. She has led innumerable workshops, retreats, and seminars in the areas of racial justice, human sexuality, parent effectiveness, feminist theology, and spiritual development. In addition, she co-founded the Leaven Center, with her daughter the Rev. Dr. Melanie Morrison. Eleanor would enjoy hearing from friends and colleagues. You may drop her a card at Burcham Hills Retirement Community, 2700 Burcham Drive, Apt. 352, East Lansing, MI 48823. LGBT Scholarships AvailableThe Point Foundation, a scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students of merit, has announced the opening of its 2009 application season. Students who will be enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs for the 2009-10 school year are eligible to apply for the multiyear scholarships. To learn more, please visit www.pointfoundation.org/apply.html. The United Church of Christ also offers a scholarship for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender United Church of Christ seminarians in honor of William R. Johnson, the first openly gay man ordained in the United Church of Christ. The scholarship was established as a concrete way of affirming the long-standing conviction of the United Church of Christ that sexual orientation should not be a barrier to ordination. To qualify for this scholarship, students must be open about their sexual orientation, enrolled in an ATS accredited seminary, and have proof both of local membership in a United Church of Christ church and of In Care status. To learn more, please visit www.ucc.org/ministers/ucc-scholarships-for.html. New Release: As I AmCheck out Gregory Morisse's new CD: As I Am. This collection of songs represents eight years of prayer and struggle. Each song came through an experience of family, friendship, or community. Greg expresses his thanks to his family for their love and encouragement, to his friends for their laughter and support, and to the many communities who have accepted him, "just as I am." A donation of $10 is suggested, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the United Church of Christ Coalition for LGBT Concerns. News, Events and Job AnnouncementsPlease refer to our website for current listings of Newsbits, events and job announcements. |
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