February 2016
ABCUSA NEWS UPDATE
A monthly newsletter to keep you informed about ABCUSA
Case Statements Available for Seven American Baptist Churches Priorities
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.
You are invited! Travel to Taiz� in June
 
You are invited....to experience Taiz�. Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for prayer, renewal and reflection on a pilgrimage to Taiz�, June 2-14, 2016.

The Taiz� 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 Taiz� 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.

If you have questions about the trip or to hear from a past participant, please contact  bridget.lipin@abc-usa.org.
Matthew 25 Grant Applications Due March 1
Applications for the Matthew 25 Grant, sponsored by ABCUSA, are due on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Applications must be sent with all application materials included, and received by the March 1  deadline. A new application was made available in December 2015. 

To view the guidelines and download the application form, click here.

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."

#ABCLent - A Reflective Lenten Journey
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!

 
Taskforce on Race and Race-Based Violence Meets
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.

New: American Baptist Churches Information Systems (ABCIS) 2016 Resources
 New Church Mission Support Forms and Instructions are now available online!

Click here to view the American Baptist Churches Information Systems (ABCIS) 2016 Resources.

Prayer Highlight - Orientation to American Baptist Life
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.
A Reflection from Interim General Secretary Susan Gillies
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.  
More Recent Highlights from the ABCUSA Website
Young Adult Women Find Life Guidance through Biblical Women Mentors

Judson Press Contemporary Bible Study on Women in Scripture Reveals New Possibilities and Perspectives

ABHMS Joins Other ICCR Members in Appealing ExxonMobil's Efforts to Ban Proposal

American Baptist Women's Ministries Presence at National Events for Advocacy
 
ABHMS Urges Tyson Foods Shareholders to Adopt Water Stewardship Policy

IM Missionary Couple to Serve in Togo, West Africa

Amelia OldCrow Dies; Served on ABHMS, ABCUSA Boards

Florida Couple Commissioned as Home Missionaries

Deliris Carri�n-Joseph Begins Ministry in Mexico

Clergywomen Who Suffered Perinatal Loss Help Others Heal By Sharing Stories in Judson Press Book

Muslims Advance Consensus for Citizenship for All through Marrakesh Declaration; Medley Represents ABC

Judson Press Honored with Three Titles in Illumination Book Awards
 
American Baptists Respond to Damage at Bacone College

Jan Ballard Promoted to Assistant Director of ABHS