Annual Men's Retreat will be September 17-19, 2010

The 2010 Annual Men's Retreat will be held at the Lake Brownwood Christian Retreat Center.

With a Theme of "Go and Tell", two of our CCSW region's preachers will be keynote speakers. Rev. Dr. Bryan Feille. Bryan is the Harold Glen Brown Lecturer in Pastoral Ministry, Director of the Doctor of Divinity Program and Dean of Students at Brite Divinity School at TCU. Rev. Kyle Dennis. Kyle has been in ministry with both youth and adults since 1999. He became the Senior Minister at First Christian Church in Huntsville in 2001. There will be a pre-retreat Golf Tournament beginning at noon on Friday before the retreat begins.

Click here for details.

Dani's Blog

"As I participated in the National Convocation meeting this last weekend on your behalf, one of the parts of the gathering that I attended was their business meeting.

Now, I usually don't choose to go to business meetings that I do not have to attend - but I was drawn to find out more about the work of this historic part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and how I could be a better partner in ministry with our African-American and Africana congregations ..."

Click here for the full blog.

Regional Assembly

The 2010 Regional Assembly will be held in Midland/Odessa on October 21-24.   Hotel reservations can be made at the Hilton Midland Plaza by calling 1-800-722-6131 and asking for reservations for these dates with the “Christian Church in the Southwest.”  A nightly cost of $109 has been arranged, which includes breakfast for hotel guests.

Speakers for the weekend include:  Suzanne Stabile – a lay counselor and ministers’ spouse (who was a excellent stand-in speaker for TCU Ministers Week), Paul Nixon, and a surprise preacher on Thursday evening.   Ken Medema, a blind composer and musician, will serve as liturgist with music for the event from Friday – Sunday morning.    Highlights include workshops on the topics of Basics for Congregational Life, Who are We as Disciples, Spiritual Formation and Crossing Boundaries;  an event for Youth Ministers;  mission work in the Midland and Odessa communities;  worship together on Sunday morning with Paul Nixon, preaching, author of I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church and Finding Jesus on the Metro. 

The Assembly begins with worship Thursday evening at First Christian Church, Odessa and concludes with worship on Sunday morning at the Midland Convention Center across the street from the Hilton hotel.

Click here for the Regional Assembly speakers list.
Click here for the Regional Assembly schedule.
Click here for the Regional Assembly registration form.
Click here for the Regional Assembly poster.
Click here for the Regional Assembly logo as a JPG file.
Click here for the Regional Assembly logo as a PDF file.

Video Trailer for Regional Assembly

Boundary Seminars for Clergy

The next Tres Rios Area Boundaries Workshop, for Sexual Misconduct Prevention, required for new licensed ministers - will be held in El Paso, Saturday August 28, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. Site to be announced at a later date. $15 registration fee payable at event. Lunch provided. Please e-mail Charlotte Hoppe if you plan to attend.

Dr. Beth Dobyns - Coastal Plains Area Interim Area Minister 

Dr. Beth Dobyns has joined the Coastal Plains Area as their interim Area minister. Dr. Dobyns comes to us from a Transitional Regional Ministry position in Illinois/Wisconsin. Beth is a graduate of both Texas Christian University and Brite Divinity School and did her D.Min at St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, MO. Beth was ordained by the Christian Church in the Southwest in 1979 at First Christian Church, Mineral Wells, TX. 

Beth’s ministry career has afforded her the opportunities to serve congregations, Regions and non-profits. She has served First Christian Church, Perry, Iowa, as well as the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest and the Christian Church in Illinois-Wisconsin. She has also served as the Executive Program director for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois in Peoria, Il. She has many gifts in the areas of visioning/planning, congregational transformation, and conflict management. One of her references says of Dr. Dobyns:  “She is extremely competent as a minister of the Gospel, who has the whole Church at heart. She is an excellent leader and resource person and understands what it is to be a minister to ministers.”

Beth also has experience with grant writing, mediation, and fund-raising. We look forward to working with Beth in this interim time.

Beth’s spouse, Bruce, is the senior minister at FCC, Peoria, IL. They have two grown daughters. We welcome Beth to the CCSW and to the CPA, as she sets up a temporary home here!    

Helping Nashville

On the Ground

People from across the Nashville metro area and Middle Tennessee have been greatly impacted by the devastating floods a few weeks ago. Disciples congregations were not spared, as you know. The Christian Church in Tennessee office was ruined, several Disciples churches experienced severe flooding, and every single one of our churches has had members affected.  

This video shows a sample of the great havoc caused by the torrential downpours and flooding that ensued. Rev. Jay Hartley, pastor of Eastwood Christian Church, accompanied me through the most affected neighborhoods of East Nashville

But while everywhere we turned there was incredible damage, there was also amazing work being done by our Disciples congregations. Disciples-led grassroots feeding programs are ensuring that people who lost their homes can count on a decent meal. Alameda Christian Church, New Covenant Christian Church, Woodmont Christian Church, and Iglesia Cristiana Discipulos de Cristo have reached out to meet the needs of their communities. Eastwood Christian Church kept the doors of its daycare center open longer, and employed additional caregivers, so that parents could join in the immediate relief efforts.

Vine Street Christian Church and the Disciples Divinity House of Vanderbilt University have also been hard at work-- gutting flood-damaged homes and cleaning out the ravaged regional office.

In this video filmed at the regional office, Disciples Volunteering Director Carl Zerweck speaks with Rev. Thomas Kleinert of Vine Street Christian Church and Eli Rolon, a seminarian at Vanderbilt and a resident at DDH

The Middle Tennessee churches are mounting a response, reaching out to their communities, and are eager to welcome volunteers to help rebuild homes of people who lost everything in the floods. Every church is ready to offer its skills, resources, and connections. Bellevue Christian Church and Eastwood Christian Church have each graciously offered their facilities to become mission stations for flood recovery efforts. We will rebuild Nashville, one neighborhood at a time. What better way to reach out with Courageous Compassion than to contribute to the rebuilding?

We give thanks for you all -- daily. Thanks for your hope, commitment, and continued work. Let's see what we can do to make a difference in Middle Tennessee and around the world.

Brandon Gilvin

Click here for details.
Click here to make an on-line donation for flood relief.

Chile Update From Elena Huegel, our Global Mission Partner

The have a letter and photos from Elena Huegel our Global Mission Partner in Chile.

Click here for details.

Join In Community With Us:
The Connected Community

Connected Community is a new communication tool under development exclusively for ministers, members and guests of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Southwest. Connected Community allows members to communicate with one another over a private computer network, using the latest tools the Internet offers. Connected Community is easy to learn and simple to use—literally taking only a few minutes' time to master.

The Connected Community is available to any member (clergy or laity) of a church in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Southwest.

Click here for details, to joinand to send announments to others.

“Community ON Purpose, Community WITH Purpose”

by Rev. Dani Loving Cartwright, Regional Minister and President, Christian Church in the Southwest.

Continuing the emphasis on the release of the Southwest Regional Guiding Vision for ongoing transformation, Southwest Regional Minister and President Rev. Dani Loving Cartwright delivered a heartfelt message to several hundred Disciples at the North Texas Area Assembly, Sunday May 3, 2009 at Northway Christian Church in Dallas.

A smaller version of the video and an audio-only version are available at the North Texas Area website at www.ntaccsw.org.

Her message beckoned for building communities centered in the sustaining and abiding power of the true vine, Jesus Christ.  She gave several personal community building experiences requiring faith, sacrifice, new relationships and courage from her early pastoral ministry in East Texas. Referring to John 15:1-8 and the new Regional Vision, Dani passionately encouraged our pastors, leaders and churches, to prioritize and practice deep prayer, Bible study and Biblical literacy in the church. She maintained the church needs to be compelled in its motivation by inviting conversation around the scriptures.

Through the courtesy of the North Texas Area, this video is freely available for your use in your church's website in two video resoltions. Click here to go to the North Texas Area website for the instructions for embedding this video in your website.  

New Book: I Was a Stranger: Hope for a Hidden World

Rev. Feliberto Pereira and Chris Kelley have written a book titled I Was a Stranger: Hope for a Hidden World. It recounts how Feliberto’s own experience as a refugee from Cuba blossomed into Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries.

Click here to go to the official website for the book.

Click here to go to the Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries home page.

Click here to go to the media page to hear the recordings of the June 1st combined worship service of Central Christian Church and Northway Christian Church when the book was launched.

Global Ministries News

Regional News & Announcements

08/09/2010 - Pastoral Counseling and Education Center (PCEC) Coordinates Clergy Consultation Groups

07/07/2010 - Life Together Retreat

07/06/2010 - Quadrennial Assembly 2010: Reflections from a First Timer

05/19/2010 - Southwest Regional Womens' Get Together at Quadrennial Assembly

05/07/2010 - Who is John Tracy?

05/01/2010 - BBA/LRGVD Disciples Women's Ministries Fall Retreat

04/20/2010 - Fourth Friday Drum Circle

04/20/2010 - Suicide: Healing the Grief

04/19/2010 - Suicide: An "Elephant in the Room" for Congregations

04/11/2010 - Quilt Donations to Benefit Inman Christian Center

04/09/2010 - "Sacred Conversations" Circle of Trust

03/29/2010 - Counseling for Veterans