KACHIN BAPTIST CHURCHES IN THE USA RECEIVE WELCOME
On June 18, the Board of General Ministries of ABCUSA recognized the Kachin Baptist Churches USA as an Associated Ministry Organization of ABCUSA when representatives of these churches now settled in the USA entered into this covenant ministry. “Kachin congregations are making a wonderful contribution to ABC life,” according to Dr. Susan Gillies, the new Interim General Secretary, ABCUSA. Representatives of Kachin churches at this meeting affirmed this decision through this partnership affirmation.
It is time again for the One Great Hour of Sharing special offering. By the grace of God, we are given the opportunity to share our gifts and resources with our brothers and sisters in need around the world. All of us have the power to give back to God from that which God has given us, and in doing so, create a more just world for all of God’s children. Through our gifts, we participate in the many ministries that serve the hungry, the poor, the distressed, the refugee.
The Hebrew Bible models this offering in the story of Ruth and Naomi, portrayed in the Book of Ruth. When faced with forced relocation, due to famine and political strife, Ruth said to Naomi, “Where you go I will go.” Solidarity stands at the heart of their story. Solidarity stands at the heart of the ministries of One Great Hour of Sharing. Solidarity stands at the heart of this offering. Continue reading July Mission Offering: One Great Hour of Sharing
Our theme for the 2015 One Great Hour of Sharing is “Give and Change the World.”
In a second letter, Paul writes to the Corinthians, who were excited about ministry opportunities.
For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has – not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, ‘The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.’ – 2 Corinthians 8: 12-15
This is our annual opportunity to help others, both in the world and at home, who are in desperate need due to natural or political disasters. We can have an impact to “change to life of someone in distress in {our} own congregation or community, and at other times… in the lives of those we may never meet but who are in desperate need of our compassion and generosity. For almost seven decades we have been making a difference together – and glorifying God – through this offering which funds relief, development, and refugee ministry all over the world and in the U.S.
This spring we gave $630 to OGHS in response to the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Those funds have already been sent so that they can be put to use right away. Our goal for the year is $800. During
worship in July you will have to opportunity to learn about just a few of the many ways that our giving helps those in need. As expressed in the materials from American Baptist Churches, USA, “together, we will achieve a fair balance, bringing about a world the way God intended it to be. Give and change the world.”
The Special Mission Offering January is Chickens for Impoverished Families in Burundi. Selected by our youth, this offering will support a campaign to promote free‐range chicken farming among the poor in the African nation of Burundi.
The ABC‐USA’s International Ministries is partnering with the Evangelical Free Baptist Church of Burundi to help the impoverished people of Gatara. Each family of 5 will be given 2 hens and a rooster.
The excess eggs can be sold along with additional hens that people raise. The proceeds will help them buy food, medicine, seeds for farming and school supplies. A gift of $100 will provide 6 hens. $250 will provide 16 hens or 13 roosters. $500 will provide hens, roosters and medicine to keep the flock healthy.
This project will be managed by Sinzotuma Japhet, project coordinator of the Evangelical Free Baptist Church of Burundi (EFBC). It is anticipated that this $10,000 project will assist nearly 320 impoverished people by helping them to generate some income to help educate their children and purchase needed medical supplies.
Our youth will be promoting this offering throughout the month of January. Please give generously.
To date we have received $45 toward our goal of $500.
The Special Offering for July is our annual offering for One Great Hour of Sharing. This year’s theme is “We Are One.”“With our extensive network of international and domestic partners, American Baptists are able to make a difference wherever and whenever disaster strikes.” This special offering is directed to those areas and people around the world that are in need from either natural disasters or man-made disasters. Our gifts to One Great Hour Sharing make a difference in the world.
To date we’ve received $920 toward our goal of $1,000.
The Special Offering for July is our annual offering for One Great Hour of Sharing. This year’s theme is “We Are One.”“With our extensive network of international and domestic partners, American Baptists are able to make a difference wherever and whenever disaster strikes.” This special offering is directed to those areas and people around the world that are in need from either natural disasters or man-made disasters. Our gifts to One Great Hour Sharing make a difference in the world.
To date we’ve received $190 toward our goal of $1,000.
The Special Offering for July is our annual offering for One Great Hour of Sharing. This year’s theme is “We Are One.”“With our extensive network of international and domestic partners, American Baptists are able to make a difference wherever and whenever disaster strikes.” This special offering is directed to those areas and people around the world that are in need from either natural disasters or man-made disasters. Our gifts to One Great Hour Sharing make a difference in the world.
To date we’ve received $50 toward our goal of $1,000.
Our Special Offering for the month of July will be directed to our annual One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. The theme for
this year’s offering is We Are One.
“The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22-23).
“With our extensive network of international and domestic partners, American Baptists are able to make a difference wherever and whenever disaster strikes.” This special offering is directed to those areas and people around the world that are in need from either natural disasters or man-made disasters.
In 2013, our dollars were directed to the town of Moore, Oklahoma that was ravaged by tornados. OGHS sent aid to the Philippines after the strongest typhoon ever, Typhoon Haiyan, struck landfall. Drought across the United States has affected thousands of farmers and the “drought and famine conditions in East Africa continued to be so severe it was the worse experienced by millions in decades.”
2013 saw extraordinary natural disasters as well as man-made disasters. OGHS brought relief to those affected by the “Arab Spring” up-risings which forced thousands of Syrians to flee their homes. “Fighting in South Sudan uprooted hundreds of thousands who were already living precariously close to poverty.”
Our gifts to One Great Hour Sharing make a difference. Please help us reach our goal of $1,000.
Carolyn Shepard (from One Great Hour of Sharing Publication)
Thanks to Pastor Tripp and everyone else who helped cover for me while I was gone last week. I had a good trip to Maine. The annual gathering of the Alliance of Baptists was excellent. The focus was on racial and economic justice. We had outstanding leadership from Bill Kondrath, Marie Onwubuariri, Curtiss Paul DeYoung and Osagyefo Sekou as well as outstanding music, workshops and community time. The rest of the week was taken up by a board meeting of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. It was a challenging meeting but we got a lot of good work done. At the end of the week, we had a important conversation with the leadership of the ABC-USA, which holds some promise for a different future for lgbtq people in the life of our denomination. On Thursday I had a free day, which I spent in the charming seaside village of Ogunquit, ME.
Thanks to Doug for doing such a fine job with the service and his sermon. We have been blessed to have him as our intern this year. This Sunday we will continue to look at the two little letters attributed to Peter, found at the back of the New Testament. As I said a couple of weeks ago, in contrast to Paul’s sometimes chiding epistles, Peter’s seem to be an exercise in appreciative inquiry. He is out to encourage and build up small churches that are struggling to survive in the face of increasing persecution. Sunday’s focus will be on what is probably the most familiar passage from these letters, the one in which he lifts them up as a chosen people, a royal priesthood moving from the shadows into God’s redeeming light.
I hope you will all be here at 10 AM on Sunday for worship and then stay for Adult Spiritual Formation as Pastor Tripp continues the series, Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit, based on the book by Philip Kenneson. This week’s focus will be “Cultivating Joy in the Midst of Manufactured Desire.”
And remember if you have questions or concerns about the revised Renewal Proposal, we want to hear from you so that we can be in conversation before the special business meeting on June 1 to vote on the Proposal. You may contact me, Carolyn, or any member of the Task Team or Council.
God grant us more light, more love, more life as we journey together.
Carlos and Mayra are working with the Baptist Theological Seminary in Nicaragua, accompanying them in the program of informal theological education in the churches of the Baptist Convention of Nicaragua and as writers of curriculum material for the Seminary. They seek each day to show others God’s love and mercy, as a reality.
Please pray for:
• Wisdom and discernment as we sit to write the curriculum materials for the Seminary.
• Continued health as we continue our ministry in Nicaragua.
• Our itinerary this second semester, combination of Seminary and visits to the churches for workshops and sharing the Word.
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