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December 2022
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Moving into 2023, the ministry will continue to create and experiment. As always, Leadership Academy, coaching, and Water the Plants will continue to be our hallmarks. However, within these programs there will be some changes of the curriculum to match the momentum and direction of our general church. 2023 is sure to bring in new and exciting work. We look forward to aligning ourselves to support and build upon the Covenant Project and the Church Narrative Project that our denomination initiated this past year.
As New Church Ministry, we will be promoting our own initiative called DisciplesNEXT. This framework will help us move forward in helping to start new communities of care and compassion that are pandemic informed and oriented to spiritual resiliency. What this means is that we have to help new congregations navigate the “next normal.” Just remember that the church is not dying, it is transforming. Although we are not starting new congregations that look like the old ones, we are building faith communities that are resilient and reflect the DNA of the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) in this pandemic informed world. But we cannot do this work alone. You, as members of the church and partners in this ministry, are an important part of our work because New Church Ministry is the ministry of the whole church. With that said, we thank you for your continual support and we look forward to what God has in store for our Church.
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Advent calendars come in many shapes and sizes. From modest ones at the grocery store with a chocolate for every day of the month, to more extravagant ones that come with toys or makeup samples, each of them is a fun way to mark the days of Advent leading up to Christmas. But what if you had an Advent calendar that prompted you to meaningfully engage in this holy time by pausing and reflecting every day? This year, we’re encouraging everyone to join in our first online challenge! On our calendar, we’ve assigned a word to each day in the season of Advent based on the lectionary, and we want you to share on social media what creative work this can inspire within you – whether it’s a poem, painting, video, or photo. Just make sure that you add #newchurchadvent2022 to your post so that we can like and share your post. Jose will be doing so each Sunday, so you won’t be alone. We so look forward to seeing how the Spirit moves you!
Webinar on creation care closes out the year
On November 30, New Church Hacks welcomed David Bell, the Minister for Indigenous Justice at the Center for Indigenous Ministries, Dan Paul, a consultant in oversight of Blue Theology with Creation Justice Ministries and staffer at the Blue Theology Outpost in Texas City, TX, and Brooks Berndt, the United Church of Christ’s Minister for Environmental Justice. Over the course of an hour, our guests shared how congregations, young and old, could incorporate their hacks into their ministries. An overarching theme among the three was that while practices like recycling and using less plastic were helpful, congregations could go further in addressing environmental injustice, as the scale of the issue is so large. To see how you can address the root of climate change and have a broader impact, view our recording on Facebook.
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On November 30, New Church Hacks welcomed David Bell, the Minister for Indigenous Justice at the Center for Indigenous Ministries, Dan Paul, a consultant in oversight of Blue Theology with Creation Justice Ministries and staffer at the Blue Theology Outpost in Texas City, TX, and Brooks Berndt, the United Church of Christ’s Minister for Environmental Justice. Over the course of an hour, our guests shared how congregations, young and old, could incorporate their hacks into their ministries. An overarching theme among the three was that while practices like recycling and using less plastic were helpful, congregations could go further in addressing environmental injustice, as the scale of the issue is so large. To see how you can address the root of climate change and have a broader impact, view our recording on Facebook.
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Don't miss out on technology funding for your church!
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Is your worship service constantly getting interrupted by faulty technology? Does your wiring pose an electrical hazard? If so, then a loan from Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF) can help. The ministry is providing up to US $50,000 to help qualified congregations pivot to a stronger online presence – whether that means supporting tangible equipment purchases or upgrades to your church’s streaming ability. But hurry! These loans, which are at .25% below DCEF’s current rate for loans with comparable terms, are only available until April 30, 2023. Learn more on our website and apply by contacting your regional Building and Capital Services Advisor.
11/30 | Creating Best Practices for Creation Care (webinar)
Where We're Going
12/23 – 12/26 | Office closed for Christmas holiday
1/2 | Office closed for New Year’s Day holiday
What We're Thinking About
Becominging Antiracist
