Great River Region Newsletter March 28, 2014 Rev. Barbara E. Jones, Regional Minister

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1 Great River Region Newsletter March 28, 2014 Rev. Barbara E. Jones, Regional Minister PO Box , Little Rock, AR, 72219, Phone: (501) Website: JOYS The congregation of Parkview Christian Church of Little Rock is now located at Kanis Road, Little Rock, AR Mailing address is PO Box , Beginning Sunday, March 30, worship will be held at the Roller Funeral Homes Office building on Chenal Parkway. Worship will be held at Rollers until the building that will be our new worship is renovated. Fellowship House is the name of the building housing the Pastor's office, fellowship space and classrooms. Our new address is Rev. Stan McDougal, Pastor. CONCERNS Bobby Hawley, our contact with Christian Church Foundation and a dear friend to the region, lost his father. The memorial service for John Thomas Hawley was on Saturday, March 15. Remember Bobby and his family in your prayers. Our hearts go out to them. I am sure Bobby and Diane would appreciate cards or notes from their friends across the Region at this time. Cards can be sent to them at: P.O. Box , Ft. Worth, Texas 76185, Roger & Debra Sledd. Roger is a former Minister of FCC Jonesboro, AR. He is under Hospice care in Nashville due to prostate cancer that has metastasized in the bone. Sara Rudolph-Pollard, Associate Minister at Mt. Sinai Christian Church in N Little Rock, would appreciate prayers for her four year old grandson, Anderson Pollard, who broke his leg and was treated at Arkansas Children's Hospital. Rev. Holly Patton, Co-minister of First Christian in Maumelle, AR along with her brother, John Patton, and family. John is dealing with Pancreatic Cancer and lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Rev. Steve Willis, Pastor of First Christian Church Hot Springs, AR, lost his grandmother, Evelyn Willis, last Friday in Shreveport, LA with services held in Bossier City. I know you join with me in offering prayers of comfort and strength to Steve and family.

2 DISCIPLES WOMEN DATES DW Southern LA Workshop - March 29th DW Northern LA Workshop - April 4th DW MS Workshop - April 26th DW AR Workshop - May 3rd (Registration fee for each workshop is $5) this will help cover the cost of your meal!! DW AR Retreat - August 8th-10th (4H Center, Ferndale) DW MS Retreat - September 19th - 21st (Eagle Ridge Conf Center, Raymond) DW LA Retreat - October 10th - 12th ( Wesley Center, Pineville) The Easter Offering supports the General Ministries of the church. General Ministries serve across the U.S. and Canada and around the world. General Ministries are partners in ministry serving through far-reaching and unique organizations. This offering will be received by most congregations on April 13 & 20. To Give online go to EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CCDOC Executive Director of Week of Compassion President of Higher Education and Leader Development Regional Pastor (Minister) Christian Church in Oklahoma Regions with Interims Northern California / Nevada (Mary Jacobs Transitional RM) Southwest (Coretha Loughtheridge Acting RM) Greater Kanasas City (Donna Rose-Heim Interim RM) Capital Area (not named yet) Congregations in Pastoral Search and Call: FCC Blytheville, AR FCC Slidell, LA

3 Yellow Pine CC, Sibley LA From Regional Minister Barbara Jones: I am so pleased that the Regional Elders are moving into a new phase of organization with the guidance of Rev. Miles Cook as Coordinator. Many thanks to Pinnacle Outreach Ministry for allowing him to give this much of his time to the Region. Many thanks to our 13 Elders who serve alongside me in care to our clergy. Our Disciples Women will begin meeting for their workshops beginning this coming Saturday and I look forward to being at each of them. Our special Youth events led by npartnership consultants are coming up and I hope that everyone with a passion for ministry for youth and children s ministry will come to any of the events. I want to know what you need for ministry in your setting and in the region. I will not attend the events so that you can talk freely with our consultants. Melanie will attend so she can hear the needs for the future. We do not want to talk about the past. How do we best impact the faith of our children and youth in ways that allow them to be who God is calling them to be? Information about the events is listed below. I am leaving in the morning to meet with clergy from SE Louisiana and South Central Mississippi for dinner in Baton Rouge tomorrow night, and then will be at the DW Workshop at FCC Saturday. Sunday I will be preaching at FCC Greater New Orleans in Metairie in the morning, and then at 3pm I will give the sermon in worship with St. Charles Avenue Christian Church. A Convocation at Dillard University was on the schedule at 5pm, but it has been cancelled due to illness with the coordinator of that program. Monday I drive to Lake Charles for the Louisiana Interchurch Conference General Assembly where I will be hosting Dr. Robert Welsh, our Executive for Christian Unity. Tuesday morning I ll step out of the Assembly for our Regional Elder s phone call and Tuesday evening I ll meet with SW Louisiana clergy and Wednesday morning I ll drive to Jackson to join the central Mississippi ministers for lunch. Thursday I ll drive to Monroe, (sleep in ) check on calls I can make, and on to Shreveport Friday for the Disciples Women workshop that evening at Central Christian Church. Saturday morning I ll be with Yellow Pine Christian Church as the Masons lay a cornerstone for their new building, and Sunday I will preach there. Sunday afternoon their pulpit committee will meet for the first time. Monday morning I will either meet with pastors in NW Louisiana or drive home for lunch with the central Arkansas pastors. I ll be updating my progress on Facebook if you follow me: Barbara Jones. On the Road Again. From Melanie Willis, Youth Coordinator: youth@grrdisciples.org: GRR Youth Commission applications are now available on the website. Current sophomores and juniors are eligible to apply for next year s commission. Applications are due in the regional office on April 1 st and available on the website or contact youth@grrdisciples.org. Youth Workers Events. During the month of April, we will be holding Workshops for Youth Workers in each state of the region. Arkansas will be April 26 th at FCC, Fort Smith. Louisiana will be April 5 th at FCC, Pineville. Mississippi will be at Covenant CC, May 3 rd. 10am-3pm. These workshops are part of our work with npartnership. youth@grrdisciples.org if you re interested in attending! Lunch provided. Camp Booklets are on the website! According to a recent survey done by Chalice Press, 75% of the pastors they surveyed said that camp had a big impact on their call to ministry.

4 Another 20% said that without camp, they would probably be working in a different field. Something magical happens at camp! Download your camp booklet today to get information on all things camp: dates, directors, sample schedules, Counselor In Training application, GRR Summer Intern application, Counselor registration and Camper registration forms! Thanks to all who ordered chalice T-shirts through Booster! The final amount isn t in yet, but by our rough estimation, we raised $430 for the GRR Youth and Young Adults! It s not too late to get a t-shirt! We have several in stock in the regional office and they will be on sale throughout the year at other events! ATTENTION DISCIPLES YOUNG ADULTS: There are several opportunities right now for young adults! Great River Region Summer Internship This is a four-week internship centered around the camping program. We have three positions available and you have to be at least one year out of high school (graduated 2013). The internship runs from June 9 July 4 with a $1000 salary for the four weeks. Visit the website or youth@grrdisciples.org for an application. Applications are due in the regional office by April 1 st. NBA XPLOR Residency XPLOR is a faith-based, 10-month, congregationally-hosted residency program designed for 21 to 30 year olds looking to explore lives of care and service giving them the opportunity to unleash their own potential, while positively impacting their community. See website for more info: UCC Residency - The Justice Leadership Program, affiliated with the National United Church of Christ Young Adult Service Communities Program, is currently centered in the Pacific Northwest. The program engages young adults (ages 21-35) in a multi-faceted internship year that combines faithful service and social action. UCC Social Justice Interns have the opportunity to grow professionally through working with a local non-profit advocating for social justice; to grow personally through living in community; and to grow spiritually through serving at a UCC congregation. Interns do not need to belong to the United Church of Christ, but must be willing to participate in the life and worship of a UCC faith community. Believing that "God is still speaking," the UCC has a tradition of extravagant welcome and prophetic action for peace, justice, and inclusion. See website for more info: Adult International Affairs Seminar (IAS) - Registration for Adult IAS is OPEN! Trip to Washington D.C. and New York City (June 28-July 5). This week long study trip is designed for adults ages It is led by Rev. Jenny Wynn and Rev. Ronny Nowell (GRR Region). Registration is January 3-April 1. The cost is $1600 per person. Visit the Oklahoma Children, Youth, and Young Adult webpage for download the itinerary and register. Scroll down the news section to find the Info.

5 Pinnacle Outreach Ministry. This new venture in ministry is an extension of Pinnacle Structures, Inc. of Cabot, Arkansas, and the Great River Region. Our theme for outreach is "Helping Equip the Faithful for the Work of Christ." Pinnacle Outreach Ministry is providing a copy of An Introduction to the New Testament to each congregation through their senior pastor. The author of this great book is world renowned New Testament scholar and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister, the Rev. Dr. M. Eugene Boring. In addition to the book, Dr. Boring will be coming to our Regional Assembly in November to lead a one day (9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.) pre- assembly event for all ministers in our region. Dr. Boring will also lead two workshops for lay persons and clergy. I hope you join me in grateful anticipation of Dr. Boring's visit, and that you will be able to join us at our Regional Assembly, November 7-9, at Park Hill CC in North Little Rock, Arkansas. In Christ's service, Miles Cook, Director. milescook@outlook.com, Great River Region. National Disciples of Christ. Missouri School of Religion courses. Global Ministries. Week of Compassion. Week of Compassion is the relief, refugee and development mission fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. We seek to equip and empower disciples to alleviate the suffering of others through disaster response, humanitarian aid, sustainable development and the promotion of mission opportunities. Disciples Home Missions. The Family and Children s Ministry staff at DHM is initiating a new bi-monthly Family and Children s Ministries e-newsletter. We are seeking to update and expand our mailing list so that we can reach as many appropriate recipients as possible. If you would like to be included on our list, please send your address, name, position/interest, and congregation to our administrative assistant jkramer@dhm.disciples.org, subject line group . Family and Children s Ministry has been in transition over the past year. The Family and Children staff want to make sure we are communicating efficiently all the events, resources, and changes in lifelong holistic faith formation. Our bi-monthly newsletter will expand upon other important communication tools that are being used by the Disciples of Christ denomination, our partner the United Church of Christ, and other interfaith and ecumenical information.