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Theology from the Margins - This July and August

Theology from the Margins

First Event with Rev. Dr. Ana Ester - on ZOOM

Wednesday, July 12th

5:00pm - Belo Horizonte, 4:00pm EDT, 8:00pm GMT

Zoom Meeting ID: 867 8741 6012 and Passcode: 513907

The MCC Council of Elders soon kicks off its four-part series, "Theology from the Margins." Rev. Dr. Ana Ester will be the first lecturer on Wednesday, 12th of July at 5:00pm Belo Horizonte / 4:00pm EDT / 8:00pm GMT. Check your time zones!

Rev. Dr. Ana Ester Pádua Freire is an ordained clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She is a feminist-lesbian-queer theologian and holds a Ph.D. and Master in Religious Studies from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. She is the current representative for Latin America and the board co-chair for GIN-SSOGIE. Ana Ester is also a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Brazilian Association of Trans-Homoculture Studies (ABETH). Rev. Dr. Freire is a recognized speaker in Brazil on queer theologies, having presented talks within LGBTQIA+ faith communities, including Christians (Evangélicxs pela Diversidade, Rede Nacional de Grupos Católicos LGBT), Buddhists (Rainbow Shanga Brasil), and Jews (Gaavah Brasil).

Other speakers in this series include Professor Revelation Velunta, Rev. Elder Carmenmargarita Sánchez De León and Professor Kakay Pamaran. During the series, learn more about where theology has been a hindrance for people on the margins and where it has liberated.

Join each session 30 minutes prior to the start time for fellowship and connection with the Elders. The Zoom meeting number and passcode will be the same for each session: Zoom Meeting ID: 867 8741 6012 and Passcode: 513907 All are warmly invited to this special event - please share this post to your Facebook page and send out on your email lists.

Prayer Time with the Moderator will NOT meet in July. We are considering other models and approaches for this time of connection and community.

Psalms and Psych - podcast now available. It deals with the intersection between mental illness and faith. The author (psalmist) is Liam Gabriel Losawyer, who recently attended the L.E.A.D. retreat.

INTRODUCING...

MINISTRY HUBS

Our Moderator, Rev. Ceclia, came up with the concept of Ministry Hubs. Hubs can be defined as a center of activity or focal point. In this case the hub is a ministry program or activity that various congregations are connected to like spokes on the hub of a wheel. 

The purpose of a Ministry Hub is two fold:

• to provide an opportunity to showcase the good ministry being done within MCC in this ministry area and;
• to provide an opportunity for other congregations that might be interested in doing this type of ministry to gather information or resources.

The format will include a live virtual presentation followed by discussion. Hub will be recorded and added to the resource bank for later access by those who are not able to participate live.

The ministry area focused on in our first Ministry Hub is Children and Youth Ministry. If you have ideas for other ministries that you would like to be showcased or are seeking resources for contact Rev. Dexter Brecht, Church Support and Development Coordinator. RevDexterBrecht@MCCchurch.net

Details on the first Ministry Hub coming soon!

BIPOC is a term that means “Black, Indigenous, People of Color” and is mainly used in the USA. “People of Color” are African Americans, Asians, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, multiracial Americans, and LatinX. Eventually the term “Indigenous” was added. One definition of “Indigenous” is a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants which have also been considered as People of Color. If you identify as a part of the BIPOC community, please join the gathering Tuesday 18 July (6pm PST, 8pm CST and 9pm EST)

ZOOM link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86356280881?pwd=YUp1YTlOeDhGN0Zrc0M3WTMvOFI5dz09

Meeting ID: 863 5628 0881

Passcode: 330367

API

Friday, July 21 at 6 pm PDT / 9 pm EDT

Saturday, July 22 at 9 am Philippines & Singapore

LOCATION/ZOOM LINK:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85461173187?pwd=RG9oMm1WdGR3K0JpVFlQTjNUYmplZz09

Meeting ID: 854 6117 3187

Passcode: 701186

DESCRIPTION:

A dynamic online conversation with Asian Pacific Islander MCC members from around the world

God-Talk

Saturday, 22 July (meets 4th Saturday each month)

9am PDT / 10am CDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST

Conversations about the Divine and MCC Kinship Group.

Rev. Peter Trabaris and Rev. Brendan Boone invite you to join this Kinship Group. The goal of this ministry is to study and learn from our theology/ies, and what they teach us, as we learn from each other, and continue the work of “Transforming Ourselves, as we Transform the World." If you are interested or have any questions please contact: revpetertrabaris@gmail.com or Rev.Brendan.Boone@gmail.com.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85002388825?pwd=VGk3Z3M3QXd4cEhTMUdEZHpOei9sdz09   

Meeting ID: 850 0238 8825 Passcode: 226946

PAD: People of African Descent

Tuesday, 11 July 7pm EDT / Midnight BST

Saturday, 15 July @ 12pm EDT / 5pm BST

This group is for People of African Descent only.

For more information and the link to attend, please contact RevWandaFloyd@MCCchurch.net

Latinx Kinship Gathering

Time: 27 July 2023 6p PDT / 9p EDT

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9636681482

Meeting ID: 963 668 1482

Tea Time with the Elders!

Tuesday, 18 July

THIRD TUESDAY MONTHLY

5pm EDT / 10pm BST

Join us via Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/248584328?pwd=NmRackdTN1luZ2kreHNISFJMWC9TZz09

Meeting ID: 248 584 328

Password: 469464

Prayers for Peace - not meeting in July

Wednesdays 8pm EEST / 6pm BST / 1pm EDT

Living Water MCC in Helsinki Finland will resume this time of prayer in August. The sessions are bilingual: Finnish and English. The prayer sessions last about 15 min and are over Zoom. The link for them is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88413931856?

pwd=Y1BMWEV0bUtxeWw4OURUMEhJZ3hiQT09.

Churches and Leaders in Transition

Several of our MCC congregations are seeking or have started new beginnings. 

Hope and Unity MCC, Johannesburg, South Africa has reopened! Led by Rev. Nokuthula Dhladhla and Rev. Paul Mokgethi-Heath, they held an opening service of celebration and rededication at the end of May.

Rev Dr. Vennece Fowlkes has announced her resignation from the Pastorate of MCC Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA. 

Rev. Wanda Floyd and Rev. Tom Emmett will be serving as a Pastoral Transition Team for Love MCC, Las Vegas, NV, USA.  

MCC Key West, Key West, FL USA Charleston has called Rev. Lee Johnson as their next Pastor. He will begin his service in September. 

Rev. Ray Simms has been appointed to serve as the Provisional Pastor of MCC of the Palm Beaches, Palm Beach, FL USA. 

Rev. Elder Troy Treash has announced his plans to retire in July 2024.

Resurrection MCC has officially launched theIr Pastoral Search. For more information visit https://resurrectionmcc.org/resurrection-mcc-pastoral-search/

The Board of Directors of MCC San Francisco continues to seek an Interim or Provisional Pastor.

MCC Windsor, Windsor, ON, CAN is still accepting applications for their next Pastor. You can visit the MCC Job Listings in the Resource Bank to view the announcement and/or email MCCWdale2@live.com for more information.

Trinity United Reformed Church, where MCC North London has called "home", is closing at the end of July. We have been there for more than 25 years. The URC congregation has become small and mainly very elderly and the building had deteriorated so much (especially during Covid, when it was closed for 15 months). So it has become unmanageable, with few people to run the church. We have been offered many alternative homes, but the church we will quite soon move to will be Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church.  They wish to share the cold weather shelter and asylum ministries as well as working with us generally.

Prayers for our Siblings from The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM) who meet for their Holy Convocation in Atlanta July 6-9.