This Week at MCC of CC: MCC Easter Offering - What the Global Justice Institute Does

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2012

PACESETTER

CHURCHES

Churches Participating

in MCC's Easter Offering

for Global Justice

1. Agape MCC (Fort Worth, Texas) - Rev. David Wynn, Sr., Pastor

2. All God's Children MCC (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - Rev. Kevin Downer, Interim Pastor

3. Church of the Trinity MCC (Sarasota, Florida) - Rev. Charles Tigard, Pastor

4. City of Refuge Tijuana Church (Mexico) - Rev. Tony Manriquez, Pastor

5. First MCC (Atlanta, Georgia) - Rev. Paul Graetz, Pastor

6. FirstCoast MCC (St. Augustine, Florida) - Rev. Ruth Jensen-Forbell, Pastor

7. Heartland Community MCC (Springfield, Illinois) - Rev. Dr. Tony Thieman-Somora, Pastor

8. Holy Covenant MCC (Brookfield, Illinois) - Rev. Dr. Danny Spears, Pastor

9. Imago Dei MCC (Pennsylvania) - Rev. Janice Bowker, Interim Pastor

10. Joy MCC (Orlando, Florida) - Rev. Lisa Heilig, Interim Pastor

11. King of Peace MCC (St. Petersburg, Florida) - Rev. Dr. Candace Shultis, Pastor

12. LAI Sanctuary of Praise (New York, New York) - Elder Stacey Latimer, Pastor

13. Living Springs MCC (Bath, England) - Rev. Kieren Bourne, Pastor

14. MCC Brighton (England) - Rev. Catherine Dearlove, Interim Pastor

15. MCC Christ the Liberator (Highland Park, New Jersey) - Rev. Dr. Tom Bohache, Pastor

16. MCC Corpus Christi (Texas) - Open Pulpit

17. MCC Elizabethtown (Kentucky) - Rev. Cathy Porter, Pastor

18. MCC Governing Board, Senior Leadership Team and Staff

19. MCC Knoxville (Tennessee) - Rev. Jill Sizemore, Pastor

20. MCC Los Angeles (California) - Rev. Dr. Neil Thomas, Pastor

21. MCC Lubbock (Texas) - Rev. Renae Phillips, Pastor

22. MCC Newcastle (Newcastle Upon Tyne, England) - Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston, Pastor

23. MCC NOVA (Fairfax, Virginia) - Open Pulpit

24. MCC Ocala (Florida) - Rev. Vicki Miller, Interim Pastor

25. MCC of Greater St. Louis (Missouri) - Rev. Dr. Carol Trissel, Pastor

26. MCC of New York (New York) - Rev. Pat Bumgardner, Pastor

27. MCC of Paducah (Kentucky) - Rev. Lillian Ferguson, Pastor

28. MCC of San Antonio (Texas) - Rev. Mick Hinson, Pastor

29. MCC of the Blue Ridge (Roanoke, Virginia) - Rev. Joe Cobb, Pastor

30. MCC of the Spirit (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) - Rev. Lori Rivera, Pastor

31. MCC of Topeka (Kansas) - Rev. Carol Trissell, Consulting Pastor

32. MCC of Winston-Salem (North Carolina) - Rev. Ron LaRocque, Pastor

33. MCC Rehoboth (Delaware) - Rev. K'Lynne McKinley, Pastor

34. MCC Richmond (Virginia) - Rev. Dr. Robin Gorsline, Pastor

35. MCC Sacred Journey (Hendersonville, North Carolina) - Rev. Jane Nelson, Pastor

36. MCC San Diego (California) - Rev. Dan Koeshall, Pastor

37. New Creation MCC (Columbus, Ohio) - Rev. Margaret Hawk, Pastor

38. New Spirit MCC (Cincinnati, Ohio) - Open Pulpit

39. Open Arms MCC (Rochester, New York) - Rev. Jim Mulcahy, Pastor

40. Open Circle at The Villages MCC (Florida) - Rev. Carol Rawlings-Chambers, Pastor

41. Open Door MCC (Boyds, Maryland) - Rev. Miller Hoffman, Pastor

42. Peninsula MCC (San Mateo, California) - Rev. Terri Echelbarger, Pastor

43. Resurrection Beach MCC (Costa Mesa, California) - Ty Bradley, Interim Pastoral Leader

44. River of Life MCC (Dorchester, England) - Rev Catherine Dearlove, Pastor

45. River of Life MCC (Kennewick, Washington) - Rev. Janet Pierce, Pastor

46. St. John the Apostle MCC (Fort Myers, Florida) - Rev. Steve Filizzi, Pastor

47. St. Jude's MCC (Wilmington, North Carolina) - Rev. John McLaughlin, Pastor

48. SunCoast Cathedral MCC (Venice, Florida) - Rev. Dr. Sherry Kennedy, Pastor

49. Sunshine Cathedral MCC (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) - Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, Pastor

50. Trinity MCC (Arlington, Texas) - Curtis Smith, Pastoral Leader

51. Trinity MCC of Gainesville (Florida) - Rev. Dr. Jim Merritt, Pastor

52. Valley Ministries MCC (Stockton, California) - Rev. Terri Miller, Pastor

53. Wichita Falls MCC (Texas) - Rev. Mel Martinez, Pastor

I hope you'll read all the way to the end of this message, where I share the key to creating Easter miracles...

--NLW

Dear MCC Leader:

I'm writing today to invite your church...

...to help birth MCC's new Global Justice Institute.

Your church can help launch the new social justice arm of our movement by making the decision to receive a special, designated offering on or around Easter Sunday.

____________________________________________

Your church's participation in the

2012 Easter Offering for Global Justice Campaign

will establish the Global Justice Institute

on a strong foundation.

____________________________________________

To see if your church has already signed-up, take a look at the participating churches in the left-hand column.

As I have shared with you about the new Global Justice Institute, perhaps you've wondered, "What, exactly, will this new Institute do?"

<> It will serve as an umbrella organization to efficiently and most effectively carry out the social justice ministries to which MCC has been committed since our earliest days.

<> It will create safe space for spiritual activists who are fighting homophobia and transphobia.

<> It will effect societal change through a three-pronged strategy of theological reconciliation, economic development and positive press coverage for LGBT peoples.

<> As a joint ministry of MCC and The Fellowship, the Global Justice Institute will provide solidarity and support where people are still marginalized and persecuted.

<> It will speak truth to power and will add our voices and resources to those of people who seek justice, freedom and equality.

<> The Global Justice Institute will carry out its work while embodying the core values, mission and principles of MCC.

<> It will create partnerships with indigenous groups and human rights organizations to achieve its objectives.

<> And it will build on what you and I have already accomplished in Pakistan, Uganda, Eastern Europe, Jamaica, Asia and so many other places.

Let me share just one example with you today -- an example that demonstrates why your church's participation in the 2012 Easter Offering for Global Justice Campaign is an investment that will make a powerful difference in the lives of real people.

Let me introduce you to Male (pronounced "mah'-lay") Samuel.

Male Samuel and sugar cane workers in Uganda. The Global Justice Institute is partnering with Male to create spiritual, social and economic change.

Male lives in Uganda -- one of the countries most hostile to LGBT people.

He is 26 years old.

His family abandoned him when he was only 11.

And Male is gay -- in a country that still debates whether the death penalty should be imposed on people solely because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

To support himself, Male began his own sugar cane business. Today, he rents three acres of farm land and employs thirteen people -- some gay, some straight -- who all work together for the common good of their families and villages.

The Global Justice Institute is partnering with Male to expand his business and hire more workers. The Global Justice Institute's investment of $1500 USD will allow Male to rent two more acres of land and hire six new workers, four of whom will be LGBT people of faith. With the new land and new workers, Male will be able to increase his production by 66%.

His partnership with the Global Justice Institute is just one example of how economic development, social change and spiritual faith go hand-in-hand.

And here's the real life-changing and society-changing key to projects such as this one: When the LGBT community becomes stronger economically, connections to their communities and their families of origin grow stronger. And that directly translates into safer space in their communities, safer lives, less societal hostility, and a decreased likelihood of adverse legislative efforts -- in short, a better life for all of God's children.

______________________________

Your church's participation in the 2012 Easter Offering for Global Justice Campaign supports efforts such as this in Uganda -- as well as reconciliation ministry in Jamaica and Romania, our leadership conference in China, training conferences in Russia and South America, marriage equality efforts in the U.S. and around the world, and so much more!

___________________________________

That's why I'm asking -- praying! -- that your church will join hands with our sister churches throughout MCC and The Fellowship by receiving an Easter Offering for Global Justice on or close to Easter Sunday.

Together, we'll birth the Global Justice Institute -- an extension of MCC's social justice ministries that will touch lives and impact our world in the decades ahead.

Here's what I am asking of you today:

Write to me at Easter@MCCchurch.net and let me know that your church will receive a special, designated 2012 Easter offering or receive funds in an alternative way.
When you write to me, be sure to include the following information: church name, city, province or state, country, pastor's name, and the date your church will receive its Easter offering.
Share this news with your congregation - and invite your church members to pray for the Global Justice Institute during worship services leading up to Easter Sunday.
Look for still more news and details -- along with resources, photos, promotional materials, congregational prayers and bulletin inserts -- all coming in the week ahead!

Won't you write to me today at Easter@MCCchurch.net -- for the sake of Male Samuel and so many like him, who are praying, hoping, and waiting for us?

Grace and peace,

+ Nancy

Rev. Dr. Nancy L. Wilson

Moderator

Metropolitan Community Churches

Easter@MCCchurch.net

P.S. Perhaps you've wondered if your church's participation will make a real difference when the needs of our world are so great. I love the story of Teresa, the young and passionate nun who told her superior that she dreamed of starting a ministry to the dying in Calcutta, India.

"And just how much money do you have?" asked her superior.

"Three pennies," answered Teresa.

"What can you do with just three pennies?" scoffed the older nun.

"With three pennies, nothing," answered Teresa.

"But with God and three pennies, anything."

As with Teresa, your church's participation, and your offering of any size, will create the space in which God can -- and will -- perform miracles during this Easter season!

P.P.S. When you write to me at Easter@MCCchurch.net and let me know of your church's participation in MCC's denominational Easter Offering, we'll promptly add you to the list of 2012 Pacesetter Churches that are leading the way in support of MCC's global ministries.