Please download the MONTHLY MISSION STORY for your church bulletin or newsletter: 

July 2008:       pdf or text only or espanol
August 2008:  pdf or text only or espanol

 To download the WEEKLY PRAYER for Sunday, click here: Israel-Palestine

Recently changed your address?  Please contact Marcia Harris at 317-713-2575 or mharris@dom.disciples.org to update your contact information. Don't forget to tell us if the church has gone to a post office box.

Come to ¡Missionworks! / MMI in Cleveland October 2-5, 2008.  Celebrate God's mission and be encouraged and strengthened for ministry! Click here for more information and registration material: http://globalministries.org/calendar/missionworks.html

Global Mission Youth Group Resource Now Available
Your youth group can help change the world and be inspired through global mission!  Global Ministries would like to accompany you on the journey of being a Global Mission Youth Group.  A Global Mission Youth Group PRAYS regularly for partners, missionaries, and the world; EDUCATES members about global issues; SEEKS JUSTICE for the "least of these" in the international community; RECEIVES the gifts of the global church; GIVES to the work of global mission; SENDS its members into the world to share the Good News of Jesus; and GROWS in sharing the story of God's mission with others.  To download the Be A Global Mission Youth Group guide that will help your youth group create an action plan for the coming year, visit:  http://globalministries.org/global-mission-youth/

NCC's Antonios Kireopoulos joins Christian-Muslim dialogue at Yale
More than 150 Christian and Muslim leaders, including the National Council of Churches are gathering at Yale University July 28-31, 2008 to promote understanding between Christians and Muslims.  The conference is the first of several worldwide interfaith events planned over the next two years to respond to the call for dialogue in a statement issued by major Islamic leaders, "A Common Word Between Us and You".  The conference was organized by Dr. Miroslav Volf, director of Yale Divinity School's Center for Faith and Culture, and Joseph Cumming, director of the center's Reconciliation Program.  The interfaith gathering was endorsed by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will be teaching a course on faith and globalization this fall at Yale with Volf.  In addition to Kireopoulos, leaders expected at the conference include Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan; former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi of Sudan; top Evangelical leaders Leith Anderson and Geoff Tunnicliffe; prominent Ayatollahs from Iran; Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi of Palestine, Grand Muftis of several Middle Eastern countries; and John Esposito of Georgetown University. Senator John Kerry as well as other senior U.S. government officials also are expected.  To read more about the conference and the National Council of Churches' Interfaith Relations Commission, visit: http://globalministries.org/news/mee/nccs-kireopoulos.html

Christians and Muslims Work for Reconciliation in Indonesia
Much of this decade has been marked by violence between Christians and Muslims in Indonesia.  Following a January 2007 police initiative to reduce violence which has led to relative peace in the area, Christian and Muslim leaders, through the Communication Forum for Religious Harmony, have sought to pick up the pieces from the rubble of the conflict by renewing ties, establishing dialogues, and rebuilding what they said was a long tradition of cooperation between members of the two faith communities.  Currently a "Living Letters" group from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting the region to learn about the situation and how the Christian and Muslim communities have worked toward peace.  The Living Letters teams travel to locations around the world where Christians strive to overcome violence and encourage the church and local leaders to promote peaceful means of resolving differences.  Rev. Ishak Pule, first chairman of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi Synod told the Living Letters team, "the conflict has challenged us to teach young Christians to learn and understand more about Islam in order to avoid Islamophobia."  "It is this lack of understanding that separates us from one another."  To read more about the reconciliation efforts in Indonesia, visit: http://globalministries.org/news/sasia/christian-muslim-indonesia.html

Itoko Maeda, former missionary in Okinawa & Latin America Passes
It is with sadness that we report the passing of Itoko Maeda on July 24, 2008.  Itoko was a former missionary in Okinawa, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil and also served as Director of Interpretation with the Division of Overseas Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  Born in Tokyo, Itoko was the first Japanese national sent as a missionary by the United Christian Missionary Society in 1956.  While in Okinawa, she started a training school for Christian leaders, the Okinawa Christian Institute Junior College.  In Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil, she not only worked with Japanese citizens who had moved to the area, but she also worked with problems pertaining to the role of women.  She led Bible study groups and filled the pulpit on many occasions in Sao Paulo and Bolivia; she directed the Methodist School and ministered to the Metodista LaGloria Church.  For more about Itoko's service, visit:  http://globalministries.org/news/losses/death-of-itoko-maeda.html

Missing sisters and missing credibility in Philippines
The daughters of slain Filipino peasant activist Eddie Gumanoy—Rose Anne and Fatima—believed they were being followed on the morning of July 3. They sent a text message to their mother Maria to meet them at a mall in Muntinlupa, but the two sisters never arrived. They later sent a second text message saying they had been intercepted by soldiers.  The family and members of the human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights) began their search for the two young women.  The missing sisters were later found and were fortunately found alive.  The account of the military for the missing daughters is that Rose Anne and Fatima ran away from a Karapatan safe house.  The incident raises many questions.  Would someone who was charged with rebellion, accused of being a member of the NPA and whose father was allegedly extra judicially killed by the military seek friendships with soldiers?  Perhaps the military's account of the missing Gumanoy sisters is the correct version of events; but, until corruption is eradicated, the Arroyo administration will continue to be questioned.  To read the full story of Rose Anne and Fatima's disappearance, visit: http://globalministries.org/eap/missionaries/missing-sisters-and-missing.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

Connect with Global Ministries Staff at Disciples and UCC Events:
World Convention, Nashville, TN: July 30 – August 3, 2008 – David Owen dowen@dom.disciples.org, Bob Shebeck bshebeck@dom.disciples.org, and David Vargas dvargas@dom.disciples.org
Disciples NAPAD, Stony Point, NY: August 6 – 9, 2008 – Xiaoling Zhu Zhux@ucc.org
Upper Midwest Region's School for Congregational Learning, Des Moines, IA:  August 23, 2008 - Bob Shebeck bshebeck@dom.disciples.org
Kentucky Regional Assembly, Owensboro, KY: September 4 – 6, 2008 – Sarah Riester sriester@dom.disciples.org
Northeast Regional Assembly, Poestenkill, New York: September 13, 2008 – LaMarco Cable lcable@dom.disciples.org

Find a Missionary Visit in your State:
IN: July 28 – August 10, 2008, Alex Morse (Caminantes in the Dominican Republic) Contact: Cheryl Cloar: cheryl@ccindiana.org
Penn Central: August 24 to October 10, 2008, Steve and Lisa Smith (EKU in Germany) Contact: mcoons-torn@pccucc.org
CT: September 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009, Tim Rose (Reformed Church of France) Contact: Cecile Gilson cecileg@ctucc.org
NC: May 1 to June 30, 2009, Tim Rose (Reformed Church of France) Contact: Janelle Bunn janellebunn@soc-ucc.org