Download the MONTHLY MISSION STORY for your church bulletin or newsletter:    
            December 2009: text only or pdf or español 
            January 2010: text only

Download the WEEKLY PRAYER for Sunday Worship, click here: Mexico
                (Please check the homepage of www.globalministries.org for the weekly prayer during the holidays)

Order you 2010 Global Ministries Wall Calendar today: GM Calendar

Last Minute Christmas Shopping made easy! GM Alternative Christmas Gifts

Share with us what you are doing in global mission: Global Ministries Forums

This update will be the last one for this year. We wish each of you a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year. Thank you for your generous support throughout 2009 and we look forward to all that God will do in 2010!

Send Prayers and Wishes to Bethlehem for Christmas 2009
For the 10th consecutive year, Christmas celebrations will take place in a difficult climate for people in the Holy Land. As we celebrate Advent and Christmas in the security of our homes and communities, let us not forget to pray for justice, peace and security for Palestine and Israel. Sending a wish or a prayer by email is an important way of communicating with many people who long to hear a word of hope. Our partners in Bethlehem greatly appreciate receiving wishes and prayers from people outside the region, both as personal and spiritual gestures of comfort and hope on the occasion of Christmas. To learn how to send your e-mail, click here:  http://globalministries.org/news/mee/send-prayers-and-wishes-to.html

Missionaries LIVE Webinars to Focus on Africa in January
Mark your calendars and plan to participate in the following Missionaries LIVE Webinars during the month of January:

• Mark Behle -  Lesotho: Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 7pm Eastern
• Carla Giger -  South Africa: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 7pm Eastern
• Donna Dudley - Angola: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 7pm Eastern
• Emily Christmas - South Africa: to be announced

No Water for Neighbors in the West Bank
"Rows of neat suburban houses stand on the parched, barren hillside. A water tower looms over them, irrigating lush greenery in the gardens. But outside this West Bank settlement's perimeter fence sits the tiny Bedouin community of Umm Al Kher, whose residents are desperate for water…" To read the entire story, click here: http://globalministries.org/news/mee/no-water-for-the-neighbours.html

Palestinian Christian Kairos
"This document is the Christian Palestinians' word to the world about what is happening in Palestine. It is written at this time when we wanted to see the Glory of the grace of God in this land and in the sufferings of its people. In this spirit the document requests the international community to stand by the Palestinian people who have faced oppression, displacement, suffering and clear apartheid for more than six decades…" To read the document, click here: http://globalministries.org/news/mee/palestinian-christian-kairos.html

Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change
World leaders are in Copenhagen, Denmark, seeking a new global agreement to address the causes and consequences of climate change.  A new treaty is urgently needed to reduce global warming and to help the poor around the world least responsible for carbon pollution to adapt to its effects. You can urge U.S. Senators to join in the spirit of Copenhagen by supporting the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, (S.1733). See daily video updates from the Copenhagen Conference at http://globalministries.org/get-involved/justice-and-advocacy/climate-change/

Summer and Year Long Service Opportunities in the US for UCC Young Adults
Serve in a hands-on justice advocacy/direct service organization 32 hours a week.  Develop leadership skills in cooperation with a local church for 6 hours a week. Reflect on the meaning of your hands-on experience with other volunteers in the community. Locations throughout the United States. Food stipend, housing and health insurance provided. Volunteers in the year-long Companion Communities program may qualify for an AmeriCorps Education grant. For inquiries and application, contact: Mary Schaller Blaufuss, Executive for Volunteer Ministries, UCC blaufusm@ucc.og or 866-822-8224 ext. 3214 or 216-736-3214. For more info, click here:  http://www.ucc.org/volunteer/companion-communities-2.html

All Africa Council of Churches Statement on Sudan
The GM Africa office received an urgent message from the All Africa Conference of Churches on the need for full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) for peace in the Sudan. To read the statement click here: http://globalministries.org/news/africa/aacc-sudan-statement.html

Update on Critical Presence for Critical Times
Critical Presence in Critical Times is a special appeal that will provide resources for Global ministries in year 2010 to offset the decline in earnings from endowment funds.  To date 109 individuals have committed $92,055 toward the goal in new revenue for Global Ministries in 2010.  For more information and to learn how others may participate, please refer to http://globalministries.org/give/critical-presence-in-critical.html

If you would like to receive directly to your inbox these weekly Global Ministries updates, please send your name, e-mail address, physical address, phone number, and home church to: bshebeck@dom.disciples.org

Upcoming Ministries and Mission Interpreters (MMI) Training Events:

• Lebanon, Illinois: January 23 from 9am to 4:30pm at St Paul UCC. For more info, contact Jan Aerie aeriej@ucc.org 
• Enid, Oklahoma: April 22-23, 2010 in conjunction with the Oklahoma Regional Assembly. More information coming…
• Greensboro, North Carolina: Monday June 21, 2010 @ 6:30pm to Wednesday June 23, 2010 @ 1:30pm, before the Disciples Women's Quadrennial Assembly. To see more details and download the registration form, click here: http://globalministries.org/calendar/quadrennial-2010-mmi-training.html 
• Cleveland, Ohio: October 7-10, 2010 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Cleveland, OH: Missionworks with an MMI training. More information to come…

Find a Missionary Visit in your State:
KY: January 10 – February 28, 2010, Emily Christmas (South Africa) Contact: Ed Ball eball40601@gmail.com
AZ: January 11 - March 6, 2010, Mark Behle (Lesotho) Contact: Barbara Decker bdecker@uccswc.com
FL: March 1 – April 30, 2010, Coralyn and Laslo Medyesy (Hungary) Contact: Candy Younglove cyounglove@uccfla.org
MA: March 14, 2010, Mark Behle (Lesotho) Contact: Cheryl Hempen cahempen@comcast.net
MA: March 15-19, 2010 Mark Behle (Lesotho) Contact: Andrew Gustafson gustafsona@MACUCC.org
MA: March 20-21, 2010, Mark Behle (Lesotho) Contact: Marilyn Crosby marilyncrosby@yahoo.com
Northern CA: April 1 – June 30, 2010, Sandra Lee-Takei (Japan) Contact: Gen Heywood pastorgen@earthlink.net
WI: April 11 – May 16, 2010, Mark Behle (Lesotho) Contact: William Kesting wkesting@excel.net