Please download the MONTHLY MISSION STORY for your church bulletin or newsletter:    
            October 2009: text only or pdf or español 
            November 2009: text only

To download the WEEKLY PRAYER for Sunday Worship, click here: Honduras

Mark your calendars to participate in Congo Week October 18-24, 2009: Congo Week Resources

Start your Christmas Shopping early with a Global Ministries Alternative Christmas Gift: Gift Ideas

GM along with OGHS and WOC Responds to Pacific Disasters
Three major disasters recently hit the Pacific:

• From September 19-22, Ketsana, a tropical storm which became a typhoon, swept across the northern Philippines, central Vietnam and Cambodia causing major flooding.  Heavy rains continue to fall throughout the region
• On September 23, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Samoa resulting in several devastating tsunamis battering American Samoa, Western Samoa and Tonga
• On September 24 and 25 two strong earthquakes hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra, toppling apartment buildings and at least two hospitals.

The death toll across the region has topped 1,500 and is expected to rise significantly. Global Ministries, along with One Great Hour of Sharing and Week of Compassion, have been in contact with church partners across the region expressing sympathy, compassion and offering support.  Emergency funds are being sent to partners to assist with immediate relief efforts. To read more and to respond, click here: http://globalministries.org/news/eap/response-to-pacific-disasters.html

Disciples New Church Pastors Visit Partners in Mozambique
Six Disciples New Church Planters (Juliann and Maria Ibarra Zapata, Jacqualyn Cadlett McHenry, Melvin and Jean Ann Brown and Michael Yarbrough) are visiting partners in Mozambique. GM Africa Area Executive, Sandra Gourdet, is leading the pilgrimage with Disciples New Church staff, Nadine Burton. The group gathered in Washington D.C. for a time of Orientation and Ministries and Mission Interpreters (MMI) training on September 30th and October 1st. From October 3-8 they will visit the following partners: Christian Council of Mozambique, Mozambique Synod of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), Ricalta United Seminary and the United Church of Christ in Mozambique. To read the entire story and see a group photo, click here: http://globalministries.org/news/africa/disciples-new-church-pastors.html

Churches Encouraged to Participate in a Week of Action on Food: October 11-18, 2009
Over one billion people in the world – almost one-sixth of all humanity - are estimated as chronically hungry in our world today. Join with churches and people of faith around the world in prayer, study and action on Food from October 11-18: http://www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/food/churches-week-of-action-on-food/ Sponsored by the international Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, the week highlights the importance of the right to food for all people. We can take part by addressing our own individual consumption, becoming more aware of food production and distribution issues, and calling on governments and international actors to respect the right to food in negotiations and policies. Find resources and ideas for the Week of Action at http://www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/food/resources-for-churches-week-of-action/. Read the UCC General Synod 27 Resolution on the Global Food Crisis at:  http://www.ucc.org/synod/resolutions/gs27/global-food-crisis.pdf

Global Ministries Introduces the 2009-2010 Council of Theological Students
Each Spring Global Ministries asks Seminaries and Divinity Schools related to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) or the United Church of Christ to nominate a student to serve on the Global Ministries Council of Theological Students. In this capacity, students have the opportunity to network with each other, with Board members of the Common Global Ministries Board, with staff, including mission personnel, and with global partners. Students have the opportunity to contribute scholarship to the work of Global Ministries through the creation of a newsletter four times a year which is distributed to all of Disciples and UCC affiliated seminaries, to staff, to the 12,000 people on the Weekly Global Ministries Up-Date. During this year of service, the members of the Council of Theological Students become a face of Global Ministries on their campus in order to link students and faculty even more closely with on-going global relationships in mission.  To read about the students who make up the 2009-2010 Council, click here: http://globalministries.org/mission/seminarians/Newsletter-Global-Ministries-Council-of-Theological-Students-September-2009.pdf

Religion Should Promote Peace, Not Violence
In a recent mission letter, GM Missionary, Bruce Van Voorhis, writes: "The recent attacks in Pakistan on Christian communities in the village of Korian in the Toba Tek Singh District of the state of Punjab on July 30 and in nearby Gojra on August 1 are of grave concern as they once again reflect the use of religion as a means to divide people and to incite hate and violence against others—the antithesis of both Islam and Christianity…" To read the rest of the letter, click here: http://globalministries.org/eap/missionaries/religion-should-promote.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:

• Cleveland, Ohio: October 9-11, 2009 beginning with dinner on Friday and going through Sunday at noon. Radisson Gateway, Cleveland, OH.  Registration deadline extended until September 18, 2009 To register for the event go to: http://globalministries.org/calendar/mmi-october-2009.html
• Southern California: Saturday, October 31, 2009 sponsored by the Pacific Southwest Region (DOC) and the Southern California-Nevada Conference (UCC) – For more info, contact Larry Hixon larryhixon@yahoo.com or got to: http://globalministries.org/calendar/mmi-training-in-claremont.html
• Enid, Oklahoma: April 22-23, 2009 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 (tentative): Missionworks with an MMI training. More information to come…

Find a Missionary Visit in your State:
IA: September 1 – October 11 and October 17-31, 2009, John Campbell-Nelson (Indonesia/Timor) Contact: Hal and Donna Rusk h.rusk@mchsi.com
CT: September 13 – October 8 and October 12-31, 2009, Lydia Bartholomew (Jerusalem) Contact: Cecile Gilson cecileg@ctucc.org
MD: October 18 & November 1, 2009, Marla Schrader (Palestine) Contact: Robert Maddox robtjr11@comcast.net
Penn Central: November 8, 2009, John Campbell-Nelson (Indonesia/Timor) Contact: Tyson Frey tysonf@apostlesucc.org
AZ: January 11 – March 6, 2010, Mark Behle (Lesotho) Contact: Barbara Decker bdecker@uccswc.com
MA: March 20-21, 2010, Mark Behle (Lesotho) Contact: Marilyn Crosby marilyncrosby@yahoo.com
WI: April 11 – May 16, 2010, Mark Behle (Lesotho) Contact: William Kesting wkesting@excel.net