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A monthly newsletter to keep you informed about ABCUSA
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Case Statements Available for Seven American Baptist Churches Priorities
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Case Statements for the seven priority topics for American Baptist Churches (ABC), which surfaced at the 2015 Mission Table, are now available online for review and discussion at www.missionsummitconversations.com.
The seven priorities include:  Read the full news release here.
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You are invited! Travel to Taizé in June
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 You are invited....to experience Taizé. Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for prayer, renewal and reflection on a pilgrimage to Taizé, June 2-14, 2016.
The Taizé Community, in the south of Burgundy, France, is the home of an international, ecumenical community founded in 1940 by Brother Roger. Today, the community is made up of over a hundred brothers of different faiths. The brothers are committed for their whole life to material and spiritual sharing, to celibacy, and to a great simplicity of life. A Day at Taizé includes:Group Bible study with one of the brothers followed by small group interaction with young adults from around the world. Prayer and singing three times a day in the Church of the Reconciliation. Free time to walk, journal, study, pray and enjoy new friends. Click here to learn more or register. View photos from the 2014 trip. |
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Matthew 25 Grant Applications Due March 1
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 In Fall 2015, a total of 69 applicants received funding ranging from $500 to $5,000, with a total of $169,140 awarded. The Matthew 25 Grant, sponsored by ABCUSA and the Board of General Ministries, is funded by a generous donor whose goal is to help meet the needs of "housing, feeding, education and health with regard to the less fortunate."
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#ABCLent - A Reflective Lenten Journey
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American Baptists are taking part in a reflective lenten journey! It's not too late to join us. Take a picture that corresponds to the daily word and post it to your favorite social media platform with the hashtag #LentABC. Try it for just a day, a week, or the remainder of the season!
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Taskforce on Race and Race-Based Violence Meets
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 An American Baptist Churches USA Taskforce on Race and Race-based Violence, first introduced at the Biennial Mission Summit in June 2015, met for an inaugural meeting on December 7 and 8, 2015, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The members of the Taskforce met to wrestle with the issues of race, racism and race-based violence. Throughout the meeting Taskforce members shared their personal experiences with challenges of race and why they felt it was an important issue for ABC.
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New: American Baptist Churches Information Systems (ABCIS) 2016 Resources
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Prayer Highlight - Orientation to American Baptist Life
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 The Orientation to American Baptist Life (OTABL) will be integrated into the American Baptist Churches (ABC) 2017 Biennial Mission Summit, to be held June 30 through July 2, 2017, in Portland, Oregon. Planners for both events made an announcement indicating this change, noting that the schedule will allow seminarians and new ministers to learn about ABC life and meet other American Baptists in the context of the Biennial Mission Summit. The OTABL will begin on Thursday, June 29, 2017, and will conclude following the closing worship of the Biennial Mission Summit on Sunday evening, July 2, 2017. Please keep planners of this event in your prayers as they work to do a new thing, and also be in prayer for seminarians and new ministers who will attend the event to learn more about American Baptist life.
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A Reflection from Interim General Secretary Susan Gillies
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Within the "I Have A Dream" speech of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was this phrase, "hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope."
Long ago, when I served on the Board of AB Women's Ministries, we visited the King Center in Atlanta. I saw these words printed on a card. I purchased the card and placed it on my desk. It was on my desk through the years I served in the American Baptist Home Mission Societies as well my years with ABC of Nebraska serving as Executive Minister.
In every workplace, every home, and certainly in our country and world, we have moments of despair. Was my career filled with despair? No. But were there evil conditions I couldn't set right; injustice I couldn't resolve; social blindness where I couldn't give sight? Yes. How does one cope? How do we even try when the mountain against us seems so large?
In the power of Christ, we hew out a stone of hope. Just take a step. Do one thing. Today.
Susan Gillies
Interim General Secretary
American Baptist Churches USA
Please hold Interim General Secretary Susan Gillies in your prayers as she works to move the denomination forward in a transitional time.
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More Recent Highlights from the ABCUSA Website |
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