General Assembly News - Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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“When I Retire, I Want to…”What do you want to do in retirement? During the 2013General Assembly, Pension Fund of the Christian Churchchallenged its members and Assembly participants of all agesto answer this very question, displaying the results via aninteractive answer board in the Pension Fund event booth.Top answers included volunteer work, travel and spendingtime with family.Assembly attendees were also able to participatein various Pension Fund retirement planningworkshops. In the “Sustaining Clergy in LocalChurch Ministry” workshop, attendees learnedthe results of a Disciples of Christ clergy surveyand the implications for local congregations. Inthe “Best Employment Practices for Churches”seminar, clergy and lay leaders learned employmentbest practices for compensation and benefits.Pension Fund hosted the “President’s Breakfast for Retired Ministers” aswell as “Minister and Mates Breakfast” with speaker Rev. Dr. Katie Hays.Hays’ speech on the topic “Go and Learn What This Means: Jesus’ Syllabusfor the Religiously Learned” was enjoyed by over 500 breakfast attendees.Visit Pension Fund’s website, www.pensionfund.org, for an audio recordingof Hays’ talk.Pension Fund led the “13th Check” special offering at Saturday night’sworship gathering, raising funds to support Pension Fund’s 13th Check fundfor retired ministers. “My colleagues and I were delighted to share so manypoints of contact with pastors and church leaders during the GeneralAssembly,” said Pension Fund President James P. Hamlett. “We wereblessed by the measure of support for our ministry we received in Orlando.”Week of Compassiontheme was collaborationWeek of Compassion celebrated itspartnerships and the many ways collaborationand generosity bring the Gospel to lifethrough disaster response, sustainabledevelopment, and refugee resettlement at aworship service hosted by Pershing AvenueChristian Church.Following was a coffee hour featuring EqualExchange Disciples Coffee Project productsas well as information from Green Chalice.Preachers included Lorenzo Mota King, FoodsResource Bank, Dominican Republic;Samantha Nicodemus, South Joplin ChristianChurch, Missouri; Vy Nguyen, Church WorldService, California; Abdel Direny, IMA WorldHealth, Haiti, and Moo Kho Paw, ProsperityCandle, Burma. Special music was offered bySteve Gretz, Leslie Lee, and Seth Connelly.Executive Director Amy Gopp and AssociateDirector Brandon Gilvin, joined ResourceDevelopment Associate Johnny Wray,Disciples Volunteering Director Josh Baird,Rev. Bonnie Osei-Frimpong, and Rev. JillMichel on a panel discussing the upcomingrelease of Help and Hope: DisasterPreparedness and Response Tools forCongregations.Actress and playwright Young Lan Kim brought “The Suitcase” to life in thestory of a Japanese woman forced into an interment camp during WorldWar II and allowed to bring only one suitcase.JoAnne Kagiwada shared her experience in the JapaneseAmerican community as they sought recognition of themistreatment that population suffered during the WorldWar II interments. The community adopted “for the sake ofthe children” as their motto.14CHRISTIAN CHURCH DISCIPLES OF CHRIST | JULY 13-17, 2013
‘That is our child’During the General Assembly, the verdict was announced in thecriminal trial of George Zimmerman who had been accused ofmurdering Trayvon Martin. The following is a meditation fromGeneral Minister and President Sharon Watkins that was sharedprior to Sunday evening’s worship service.Something happened in the Zimmerman verdict that affects us all.In this gathering tonight we may not have the same opinions onwhat probably happened that night, but we are a pro-reconciling/anti-racist church. Anti-racism says we have to suspect that racismand profiling was involved and is involved.There’s something about guns here, too; something about a cultureof violence and death that believes what’s mine is worth more thanyour life. That culture of violence affects us all.Pro-reconciliation says we have to reach for a better place. Ourpreacher last night told us not to act out of fear. Our preacher thismorning told us that we, like the original disciples, can come acrossdemons that can only come out through prayer. Not easy prayerlikewords, but deep communion with God to where God breathesthrough us and acts through us.An 8-year-old boy in the midst of all of this, the son of a Disciplespastor, an African American child, asked his mother, will thishappen to me? That child is our child –This affects us all.Will you pray with me?Reconciling God, reconcile us that we may be ministers ofreconciliation for this broken, hurting world. Work your miraclein us that our words, our hands, our actions may bear yourhealing power. Work your miracle through us that the world willknow your justice and peace. Teach us to pray the kind of prayerthat casts out the stubborn demons, the ones that dwell deepwithin and refuse to set us free. Teach us to pray the kind ofprayer that defeats hatred by the power of love, that overwhelmssuspicion with compassion and confidence in your loving care,the kind of prayer that brings life from death and hope fromdespair. Teach us to pray the kind of prayer that brings us intoyour heart of justice and the joy of your abundance and love.Make us ministers of your reconciliation, bearers of justice andlove.General Ministry ReportsThe following reports are available onthe General Assembly page – www.disciples.org/ga - under “business”1301 - General Assembly of the ChristianChurch, including the Office of theGeneral Minister and President1302 - Central Pastoral Office forHispanic Ministries1303 - CBP/Chalice Press1304 - Christian Church Foundation1305 - Church Extension Financial &Missional Resources1306 - Council of Colleges and Universities1307 - Council on Christian Unity1308 - Council on Theological Education1309 - Disciples of Christ HistoricalSociety1310 - Disciples Home Missions1311 - Disciples Women1312 - Division of Overseas Ministries /Global Ministries1313 - Higher Education andLeadership Ministries1314 - National Benevolent Association1315 - National Convocation ofthe Christian Church1316 - North American Pacific/AsianDisciples1317 - Pension FundIn the name of Jesus, who reconciles the world to you. Amen.CHRISTIAN CHURCH DISCIPLES OF CHRIST | JULY 13-17, 2013 15
Page 2 and 3: CONTENTSMessage from Sharon Watkins
Page 4 and 5: Congo Initiative LaunchedGlobal Min
Page 6 and 7: Chalice PresstranslationsChalice Pr
Page 8 and 9: Collaborative ministries celebrate
Page 10 and 11: Disciples “Get Dirty for Jesus”
Page 12 and 13: General Assembly ResolutionsFull te

General Assembly News - Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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