General Board Business Item #GB-16-0964 Report to the March 14, 2016 Meeting of the General Board Title: Origin: Report of Christian Church in Ohio Dr. William H. Edwards, Regional Pastor and President The following is provided for information to the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). As part of a movement for wholeness that welcomes all to the Table and shares the Good News of Jesus Christ from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth, this report lifts up the Christian Church in Ohio s accomplishments related to the four strategic mission priorities of the church: New Church Transforming Congregations Leadership Development Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation Introduction The Christian Church in Ohio s vision as a regional church states that we are A covenant network of congregations in mission We are the Body of Christ gifted and called in covenant together as Disciples of Christ to be centers of transformation on the new mission frontier of our own communities. We are organizing our work around three regional priorities that grow out of the vision: Strengthening Relationships and Building Networks (True Community) Leadership Development (Deep Christian Spirituality) Congregational Transformation and Evangelism (Passion for Justice) Regional Pastors facilitate and resource congregations through their relationships and networking with other congregations, providing resources for the development of local leadership, and partnering in the spiritual transformation and faith sharing ministries in local communities. The Regional Pastors are a central contact point for congregations relating to the Regional Church, in partnership with the Regional Elders. Regional Elders are a volunteer
cadre of retired experienced ministers who serve as an extension of Pastoral Staff in assigned Districts of the Region. The Christian Church in Ohio is actively involved in the Northeast Inter-Regional Fellowship (NIRF), which includes the regions of the Capital Area, Canada, Michigan, Northeast, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Christian Church in Ohio has been consulting with Christian Church Foundation in establishing a Development Committee. This ministry team has developed a fund raising and development strategic plan to financially under gird the present and future ministries of our regional church. The Christian Church in Ohio is an active and vital member of Ohio Council of Churches. Our regional church supports the work of the Council financially and through participation of members of our congregations in its programming. New Church The New Church Committee is committed to finding new disciples for Jesus. We realize that building worship space and placing a sign by the road used work to found a new faith community, but it doesn t work today. So we are constantly looking for new possibility to make new disciples for Jesus. We are researching what other denominations are doing that are being successful in starting new faith communities. We are using more leadership training events to equip our New Church Planters. We are using coaches and mentors to help our New Church Planters design and review their ministry plans for reaching new people with the life transforming Grace of Jesus. We have also discovered that in some denominations, churches are starting new churches. And while the New Church is growing, the parent church is also growing by finding new disciples. Many of our churches feel they are too small to support a new church plant on their own, so we are exploring how several churches can cooperate to plant a new church where all are growing and thriving. Currently, New Wineskins is one way our churches can participate in churches starting new churches. It involves celebrating the New Church movement on a Sunday and collecting an offering to help Ohio New Churches. Our Pentecost offering also is another way churches can participate in starting New Churches. But we are also developing new hands on strategies where our churches can be involved in New Church transformation, and all the faith communities grow!
We are excited because we have a message from Jesus to share with the world and there is a world full of people near us who we can reach with the love of Jesus. Congregational Transformation Our Team continues to work together with the regional staff and local churches to provide opportunities for learning about become transforming churches and discuss issues and challenges that surround becoming transformational churches. Over this past year the team has met face to face and by phone conferences several times to work on becoming a learning community ourselves and planning for the future activities and direction of the team. Most recently we were challenged by and discussed ways we as a team can interact with the Hope Partnership to provide services and partner with our churches who are seeking transformation. This will be an ongoing conversation. As a team we have also worked in partnership with the New Church Committee to develop a covenant of Ministry which serves to reignite our local churches to develop new disciples in support of the 20/20 vision as it pushes into its last five years. This will surely be a focus which directs the Transformation Ministry team in years to come. It has been our privilege to provide webinars hosted by tested leaders who have challenged our church leaders and members. We are thankful to facilitators such as Dr. George Bullard, Dr. Richard Hamm, Rick Morse, Dr. William Edwards, Rick Hayes, Margo Connor and other members of the Transformation Ministry Team. Topics have ranges from Redeeming our past, looking at different church types, the ministry of the church treasurer, role of the elders in transformation, and what it means to be a Missional Church. These have not always well attended on the night of the webinar but because they are posted on the Ohio Regional Ministry web site, these resources have been widely used by a number of groups and individuals. Another critical focus has been training and making Christian coaches available to individuals and churches facing the challenges of transformation. This resource has been extremely useful to many individuals and we plan to continue to grow this initiative in future. One of our members was also able to visit a UCC Christian coaching event to see what they may offer to us so we can be effective in this regard. There are many approaches to transformation and some regions and churches use a singular approach or model. Our attempt is to work with the individual character of each church and to match the right approach for their individual setting. Using Georg Bullard s five congregational type descriptions, we see that there are many churches that are on their way to becoming perfecting, and pursuing churches. Unfortunately there are many others who need much
more help. The Transformational Ministry continues to help each church to have resources available to succeed. Leadership Development Children and Youth Ministries One of our fastest growing programs at Camp Christian is Grandparent Camp, a 24-hour experience specifically designed for children in kindergarten and first grade and one grandparent. With the addition of Ribbit Camp this year, we did make exceptions for several second graders who were not ready for the 4 day experience of Ribbit. This year we broke a record with 84 people in attendance: 39 grandchildren, 45 grandparents. The program is designed for a one on one experience, but several grandchildren had more than one grandparent accompany him or her for various reasons. We have used a two (soon to become three) year cycle of material called, The Stories of Jesus. Each camp teaches two stories with games, art projects, and snacks all following along with the story. There is also considerable time built into the event for one on one time together with activities such as fishing, boating, hiking, and playing games. Several elements of camp a hoe down, bonfire, morning watch, and singing - are also built into the program with the idea of introducing the children to camp for future years. Grandparent Camp has been met with much success, and seems to be a favorite among kids and grandparents alike. We were fortunate this past year to have the summer ministry interns in place for our weekend, which was new for us. Their presence made things run so much smoother, and we appreciated their work. We look forward to this program becoming even more successful. I, for one, would like to see Grandparent Camp expanded into an experience for older kids and grandparents as well. What God has in store for it remains to be seen. The Chi Rho Commission has been busy again this year as we planned how to get our Chi Rho kids to the General Assembly over the summer and the summer camp program. We trained our counselors and staff for the past summer through Counselors training. The Jesus curriculum was used for our Chi Rho camps, and was again well-received by all the campers. Our biggest event for this upcoming year, besides camps, was the Chi Rho Rally on November 21, 2015. Our greatest thanks goes to the members of our Chi Rho commission members and our dedicated counselors who devote their time, energy, and talent to our middle-school aged youth. God is transforming us as we help our young friends develop the skills necessary to build a lasting relationship with our Lord and Savior.
2015 was an active year for the Ohio CYF full of many changes. Again this year, the Ohio CYF was led by a hard-working group of adults who make up the CYF Commission. These individuals continue to give selflessly of their time leadership to the youth of Ohio. This was the year for our bi-annual State Youth Convention. For many years, this event was held alternately at Hiram College, and Bethany College however this year a decision was made to hold the event at Camp Christian. The theme was Ministry? Me? No Way? Well Maybe and explored many different types of ministry: ~Prayer Shawl (knitting) ministry ~Prison/Jail Ministry ~Human trafficking and the church ~Camp Christian Free Store Ministry ~Military Ministry ~Green Ministry ~ITRF Ministry A Senior Leadership Retreat was help at Camp Christian in April, 2015. Seventeen young people attended, and these were the seniors that would in turn be the leaders for the three weeks of CYF Conference in the summer. This was the second summer for the Senior Leadership Team, or SLT, who led the camp throughout the week. Again, his was a successful way to provide leadership, and the youth felt empowered by the leadership skills they honed. Many positive comments were received from the SLT, and it was a pattern of leadership that will continue. Attendance at CYF Conference (total of the three weeks) was 252 (youth and adults.) This is down approximately 80 from 2014. The CYF Commission covets your prayers as we continue to lead our youth in ways that empower them to be leaders. This region has amazing young people who need nurtured in the faith. We can all plant the seeds of faith in the hearts of our youth. Advance Ministries Another amazing year has come and gone for Advance Ministry. As in years past, young adults, 19 to 29 years of age, gathered together on three separate occasions at Camp Christian to share in fellowship, learn, and grow with one another in love. The theme for Advance Ministry focused on Salt, Light, and Fruit. Winter Retreat, held in December, discussed Salt and Light, focusing on we are the Salt of the Earth and what that means to us. April was Spring Retreat where we learned about the Light of the World. In August, during the week long Advance Conference, the discussions of Fruits of the Spirit were brought to life with keynotes on Faithfulness, Patience & Self Control, Kindness, Gentleness, & Goodness, Peace, Love, and Joy. Each of these keynotes focused on their particular Fruit of the Spirit and encouraged thought-provoking ideas to all in attendance. The Ohio region, were blessed to be able to host the 2015 General Assembly in Columbus. Throughout the event, July 18-22, 2015, Advance Ministry members were present and actively apart of the sessions and demonstrations that took place.
Adult Conference The Ohio Adult Conference is celebrating its 79th Anniversary this year. Adult Conference is planned, organized and run by the officers elected at the conference each year, along with several at-large members of the Planning Team. We work toward exploring our theme each year in such a way that it is woven throughout the entire conference, and this year is no different. The Planning Team met in September to evaluate the 2015 Conference and made plans for the 2016 Conference. Evaluations turned in by the attendees from the 2015 Conference were used by the Planning Team to choose the 2016 theme, Bible lecturer, vesper speaker, class teachers, and activities. Adult Conference is full of endless possibilities where faith is deepened and broadened, ministry leaders are born and nurtured, and fellowship within the wider Church is strengthened. Adult Conference is an inclusive, welcoming place, where conferees are free to explore issues openly, honestly, and without judgment. Through Adult Conference, conferees may find that God is calling them to explore horizons they had never considered or even dreamed of before. We hope that many will be able to experience the far-reaching impact that Adult Conference has in the lives of individuals. Disciples Fellowship Retreat Disciples Fellowship Retreat was created from campers who had graduated from the Advance Conference program, loved Camp Christian, and wanted to share the experience with their family but nothing was available. It has evolved to include not only families, but everyone: young, old, singles, couples, etc. We have our retreats (or extended family reunions as some people call it!) Twice a year: Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, Friday night to Sunday afternoon. One of our purposes is to give back to the camp by doing various service projects. Some of the projects we have done include clearing out the lower campus, purchasing and mounting mirrors in both the boys and girls cabins, purchasing and mounting bulletin boards in the girls cabins, installing shelves and shower hooks in the girls bathrooms, purchasing hymnals, purchasing and mounting clocks in boys cluster 2, cutting wood, and general camp cleanup---just to name a few! This past labor day, 2015, we helped the free store at Camp Christian transform the Rec. Hall into their store we worked together to bring all the supplies and displays out of storage to be put out for others to buy. It was well received by all the campers and is something we have decided to help with every Labor Day. For Memorial Day 2015, we focused on the General Assembly that was held in Columbus July 2015. We feel that this was a great topic for those who needed to hear more information about the General Assembly and kick off the conference. In the Fall Labor Retreat, we had Chrissy Stonebreaker-Martinez share her work with the Inter Religious Taskforce on Central America. Our attendance has been successfully growing the past few years, and continues to grow. Most of this is due to the fact the children of the families who grew up attending DFR are now getting older and no longer are able to attend the summer camp program but still want to be a
camper! Their love for Camp Christian has shown through their support and being able to still return to enjoy a place that has meant so much to them for many years. Our hope is to be able to continue to have our retreats available for them and their families as they grow. Commission on Ministry The Commission on Ministry of Christian Church in Ohio has reorganized to be more intentional in communicating and supporting all candidates and congregations the New Order of Ministry. In 2015, the Commission on Ministry Ordained 6 ministers in the Ohio Region. Three of which were on the Apprentice Track. The Commission on Ministry relates to approximately 326 Ordained and Commissioned Ministers. There are 8 Candidates on track to be Commissioned Ministers, 3 Candidates on the Apprentice Track, 17 in Seminary seeking to be Ordained Ministers, and 3 Candidates ordained in other traditions seeking standing with Disciples of Christ. The Christian Church in Ohio, Commission on Ministry has reorganized to be more intentional in communicating and supporting all candidates and congregations with the New Order of Ministry. Blessed with strength and commitment to the ministry we have been called to we will continue to use the spiritual gifts that we have been blessed with to uphold, love, care, support, and nurture others who have said yes to God's call to ministry. Each team is currently creating a process and a schedule that will focus on the needs of the candidate and the Regional Church Office. Team 1 Their primary focus is to meet with candidates who are seeking to be ordained. They will be seeing candidates that are in seminary and candidates who would like to be considered for the Apprentice Track. The Apprentice Track is a new track developed as a result of the New Order of Ministry. Team 2 Their primary focus is to meet with candidates who are Commissioned Ministers, (previously Licensed Ministers) and candidates who are seeking to be commissioned ministers. Team 3 Their primary focus is to review standing for the region. They will review standing forms, strengthen relationships and build networks with; Ordained Ministers, UCC Partners and Candidates that are ordained in another tradition but wish to be recognized by Disciples.
Ohio Disciples Men Mission continues to guide our Men s gathering as we work to redefine ourselves. Ohio Men are currently building work teams throughout the Ohio Region to help local church ministry and work with Disciples Volunteering. Ohio Disciples Men continue to lift up the 4 General Ministries supported by Men Cooking for Mission. As a whole Ohio Men meet twice per- year. In the spring this is a work retreat for the mission of supporting our Camp Christian by preparing it for its summer program. This past fall men gathered for fellowship and learning. Ohio has had 3 different instances within recent history where a young Black youth has been shot and killed by a police officer. We invited Rev. Dr. Timothy James to speak to us on the Black Lives Matter movement and how our churches can become further involved. One congregation in Kent, OH also shared ways their community is building bridges among all of its people. Ohio Women s Ministries Ohio Women s Ministries experienced its share of change in 2015. With Rev. Dr. LaTaunya (Toni) Bynum s departure, Dr. Bill Edward s assumed responsibility for OWM. The District 9, central area rally was held at Gender Road Christian Church in May, 2015 and modeled the first rally. Angie and Ray from Angie and Ray s Community and Homeless Outreach ministry was the guest of honor at the second rally. Angie and Ray are building relationships with homeless individuals living in camps, abandoned buildings, under bridges, etc., and supplying them with supplies necessary for survival. A van load of supplies; and a generous offering was donated by the women in District 9. We are looking forward to having more rallies in 2016 to focus on needs in our communities. If your group is interested in sponsoring a rally, please see me or a team member to get on the regional calendar. NIRF The Northeast Inter-Regional Fellowship will host a gathering in the summer/fall of 2016. It will be held in Canada and representatives from the Capital Area, Michigan, Northeast, Ohio, West Virginia, Canada, and Pennsylvania are invited to participate. The group has had two conference calls to plan the upcoming NIRF retreat. The retreat will help the women s
planning team to begin dreaming about ways to encourage and expand ministries by and for women. We hope to send at least two women to the retreat to represent Ohio. OWM provides monetary support for our representatives. Through NERF women in these regions can continue to work together and learn from each other. This leads into a conversation about funding. No one wants to talk about money, but sometimes it can t be avoided. We have not had a finance committee or treasurer in recent years. Through offerings and the silent auction we have been able to offer scholarships, pay travel and food expenses when the OWM planning team meets, keep fall retreat registration costs low, and provide an honorarium for the fall retreat speaker. Other expenses include but are not limited to postage for mailings, printing costs, and expenses for upcoming rallies. This is a brief explanation of how OWM funds are spent. OWM is in need of someone who will carry the overall responsibility of receiving, caring for, and disbursing the funds of OWM. We look forward to filling the position of treasurer this coming year, and providing a budget and financial report to the regional board and the women of Ohio. Spiritual Life Ministries The Spiritual Life Committee meets in person and through conference calls to brainstorm, discuss, and plan events to provide spiritual growth opportunities for Ohio Disciples. Originally, the main event to be planned was the 3-day Clergy Spiritual Life Retreat (which is also open to clergy spouses who wish to attend). This retreat offers a time for clergy to relax together, deepen their spiritual journey, and have time apart from the day-to-day work of the ministry. In 2015, our Retreat Leader was the Rev. Chris Whitehead, who led us through "Finding Faith on Film" with an exploration of spirituality in the movies. For the 2016 Annual Minister's Spiritual Life Retreat at Camp Christian's Herald B. Monroe Lodge on Feb. 2-4, 2016, we are pleased that the Rev. Dr. David Belcastro will be our Retreat Leader with the tentative theme of "Living at the Center of the Cross." The Committee has branched out in recent years beyond just having this main clergy retreat. We also have been offering an unstructured, no-frills 5-day Fall Silent Retreat that is open to both clergy and laity. Retreatants are responsible for their own food and how many days they wish to stay, which allows for flexibility of pricing and more freedom for each person to have the particular schedule that they need. The Fall Silent Retreat will take place from Nov. 2-6, 2015 at Camp Christian's Herald B. Monroe Lodge. A Women's Advent Retreat at Camp Christian will be held on December 12, 2015. The Spiritual Life Committee keeps resource lists of Ohio Retreat Centers, Accredited Spiritual Directors in Ohio, and Accredited Spiritual Direction Programs that are available for ministers, congregation members, and clergy groups. We continue to work on putting together resource lists for those who wish to explore Spiritual Gifts, Spiritual Formation, and Spiritual Practices, with contact information of those who offer these resources. Our public Facebook page is named "Spiritual Life Ministries of the Christian Church in Ohio" where we post information about upcoming Retreats and other news.
We continue to seek new ways to offer spiritual growth opportunities to our clergy colleagues as well as to all Ohio Disciples as we journey in faith together, following the loving Way of Christ. Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation The Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation Commission continues to work to help the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), become an Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation church a church where the gifts of all of God s children are honored and shared. Towards that end the commission has presented several training and teaching sessions beyond the Anti-Racism Training for ministers in Ohio, which is required for standing. The first of these trainings was with the Regional Church Council in October 2015. This was a shortened version of our all day training for ministers. In addition the commission was invited by First Christian Church Wadsworth to do a presentation to their Sunday morning adult study class, followed by a more in depth session with church members that afternoon. Again, the presentations were adapted from our standard format. In September a member of the commission joined the pastor of First Christian Church Ashland in a joint presentation to their church during worship. In 2014, the commission funded two grants for creative congregational initiatives. Those projects were successfully completed in 2015 and a report turned into the Commission. Each of the projects has yielded results that are ongoing and now funded locally. The commission has added several new members this year and is blessed by their presence and enthusiasm. 2016 Plans: - ARC is continuing to look at and adapt our training materials and have added a focus on reconciliation during our 90-minute and 1 Day Training presentations. This focus will hopefully increase interest and participation and promote individual and congregational change and growth as communities become more diverse. - Continue to work toward increasing the Reconciliation offering. - Make the development of an orientation process for new commission members a priority. - Plans are proceeding to develop a three-year Strategic Plan for the commission - Continue to concentrate on capacity building using one on ones.
Closing In all of these ministries we are working to carry out our Regional Priorities of: Building Relationship and Networking Congregations Leadership Development Congregational Transformation and Evangelism We look forward with great anticipation of what God will do through us as ministers of the Gospel and leaders in Christ s church in the days ahead. May God s Blessings be with you, Regional Staff: Rev. Dr. William H. Edwards, Regional Pastor and President (African-American, Male) Rev. Stephen Bentley Regional Associate Pastor (Anglo, Male) Joanne Arnold, Executive Assistant (Anglo, Female) Jennie Stoddart Bernard, Office Administrator (Anglo, Female) Rich Haines, Treasurer (Anglo, Male) Lynne Smith, Financial Clerk (Anglo, Female) Al Channell, Camp Christian Superintendent (Anglo, Male) Doris Woodson, Camp Christian Food Services (Anglo, Female) Number of Congregations: 171 Total Members: 32,791 States included in Region: Ohio Recommended Action On behalf of the General Board, the Administrative Committee receives the report from the Christian Church in Ohio (Disciples of Christ).