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February 7, 2012
Preparing the way for future faith leaders is part of what the newly established Lee and Jacquelin Brummel ISEDET Education Fund hopes to accomplish. The Brummels served in Argentina for more than 15 years with Global Ministries at the Superior Evangelical Institute of Theological Studies (ISEDET) in Buenos Aires and the Disciples of Christ Church of Argentina. An ecumenical institution with involvement from many Protestant churches, ISEDET provides training in theology to prepare students as pastors, teachers and researchers. Drawing upon the diverse traditions, values and beliefs in Latin America, ISEDET is better able to respond to the needs of a community rich in faith. All donations to the Brummel ISEDET Education Fund will be sent annually and used for the most pressing needs, with priority given to scholarship programs at the seminary.
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February 6, 2012
When the earthquake in Haiti hit, a five-year-old girl from First United Protestant Church UCC in Hilo, Hawaii, asked her congregation to save its change and help buy shoes for the children in Haiti. The Sunday School children collected the money and were amazed at how much they received. When an earthquake hit Chile the little girl did the same thing again and showed her congregation that one person can start something.
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February 5, 2012
This winter, food pantries and homeless shelters in many parts of
the country are serving increased numbers of people.
Homelessness and hunger are crises any time of year, but in winter
the situation is acute—especially for families.
UCC churches across the country are mobilizing and focusing on
what they can do in these uncertain financial times. Certainly
many churches are cutting back expenses, but they are also looking
deeper at what they are able and equipped to do for others—and
it’s a lot. Congregations are offering all kinds of assistance, to
community members and church members alike.
At St. Mathews UCC in Wheaton, IL, the youth group volunteers
at the People’s Resource Center, a local food pantry. The youth
work hard to get their jobs done, but it isn’t until they see the
people coming in that they realize just how important food pantries
are. That’s when they realize that not everyone gets to wake up
from a warm bed and eat a hot breakfast before leaving the house
to spend a short time in the cold. Some people may be in the cold
all the time, and without the sustenance of three meals a day. It’s
humbling to see the many people in need, but also good to know
that the food pantry has a good stockpile of food at the moment.
Projects like this provide defining moments in fellowship and
service for church members. This winter, UCC congregations are
stepping up to the plate and seeking opportunities to serve the
vulnerable among us.
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February 4, 2012
When the local food bank was asked to relocate, it had no place to go and was going to have to close its door if a new location could not be found. First Congregational Church UCC in Madison, Conn., realized that with a little rearranging it could give the food bank space to continue helping others. In just two years the food bank has tripled the number of families it serves and is now in need of a bigger space. The church has also helped a refugee family from Iraq, providing the empty parsonage as their home for a year. The youth of the church also have been helping others. On a mission trip to the Dominican Republic they experienced first hand what the homeless go through - sleeping where they sleep, eating common food, and loving the families they served. The church is continuing to help others in their community and all over the world.
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February 2, 2012
First Congregational Church of Buxton, Maine, had two options: Deep Change or Slow Death. It chose the former and made drastic changes to the small congregation. After rearranging committee members, reducing the number of council meetings, moving Sunday School to the church and adding activities for the youth group, First Congregational Church found it is discovering new life, not heading for a slow death.
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February 1, 2012
There is room enough for all at God’s table. Members of the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ, along with leaders of the Disciples and Congregational Churches of Mexico, gathered in San Diego in February 2011 to participate in a conference called, “Turning Walls into Tables”. If we turn walls on their sides that’s just what they become – tables at which to gather instead of barriers to keep us apart. Part of the group’s commitment is “identifying the walls that exist in our communities—from language, education, residency and economic disparity, to other political, religious and social boundaries. These walls impede the creation of God’s Realm on earth.” The commitment further states, “We commit ourselves to respond to the Gospel call to welcome the stranger, for we have become even more aware that we are “no longer strangers and aliens, but citizens with the saints, and also members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).”
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January 31, 2012
Within a few months of the pastor of Zion UCC in Lenoir, N.C., starting, she walked to the neighboring elementary school and asked if the church could help them in any way. The principal said they needed tutors and “A Homework Ministry” was born. Once a week children walk next door to Zion after school for an hour tutoring session with active and retired schoolteachers and administrators. Children have the opportunity to get help with homework and a safe space to gather, talk, laugh and pray.
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January 30, 2012
The Super Bowl is just a few weeks away and, like every year, there will be variables – the teams, the players, the play book, the venue. Unfortunately, one thing will remain constant – the shame of child trafficking. Change.org, an online organization that raises awareness about important social causes, says that children as young as 11 are trafficked in hosting Super Bowl cities every year. If you’ve never heard of this travesty, you’re not alone. Child trafficking at the Super Bowl is not something host cities want to advertise. At the 2011 Super Bowl in Texas, a local organization called Traffick911 created the "I'm Not Buying It" campaign in Dallas. According to change.org’s website, Traffick911 “offered The Host Committee free PSAs, posters, banners and informational cards to educate the public and protect children from being abused and raped.” The Host Committee refused to display the information. Get involved in protecting children this year at the Super Bowl.
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January 29, 2012
Even when every door is closed to us, God will make a way for us
to become who we are meant to be. And so, when Teresinha, a
young girl from Brazil, heard that a rural school would be opening
near her small town, her heart sang with joy. At last she would be
able to learn to read and write—a privilege her mother never had.
But her father refused to give his permission, insisting that there
was no reason for his daughter to learn such things. Schools were
rare in rural Brazil many years ago, and girls were not allowed to
attend. The only place that Teresinha and her sisters were allowed
to go outside the home was to church.
Teresinha made her decision on one of the three-mile walks to
church. After Mass, Teresinha told the priest she wanted to
become a nun. The priest secured her father’s permission to take
Teresinha to the convent in the city, where she learned to read and
write. While still a novice, she became an assistant teacher in a
local grammar school and after four years, met her future husband,
married, and had a family. Today, Teresinha has but one paper
diploma, from the Course for the Training of Community Health
Educators, a program sponsored by Global Ministries of the United
Church of Christ.
Teresinha’s self-esteem as a woman, able to be an active member
of the community besides being a wife, mother and now
grandmother, is a victory example for women. We can be proud of
the role Our Church’s Wider Mission played in Teresinha’s story.
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