This gathering is being rescheduled. More details to follow.

The Office of the General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada announced the establishment of the Office of Prophetic Witness in the nation’s capital and the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II as the Inaugural Prophetic Preacher-in-Residence. The office will provide support, resources and encouragement for denominational and faith leaders in their public witness in the public square during these perilous times. 

On April 13^th, Palm Sunday Disciples General Minister and President, the Reverend Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens will offer remarks and lead the processional on Capitol Hill to hear the first Sermon to the Nation by the Prophetic Preacher-in-Residence, Bishop William J. Barber, II. Reverend Owens is extending an invitation to all and especially to faith and denominational leaders to join her on April 13^th. 

The Reverend Stephanie Kendell, Senior Minister of National City Christian Church welcomes this new Office of Prophetic Witness and will also be joining and encouraging others in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Capital Area and beyond to engage in public witness in the public square particularly the We Must Stand Moral Witness Wednesdays and the Justice Focused Weekends including the “One Moral Vision in 1,000 Voices.” 

Additional information and resources may be found on the Repairers of the Breach website. 

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The Office of the General Minister and President is pleased to announce the establishment of the Office of Prophetic Witness in Washington, DC, the nation’s Capital, by Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. Public witness is a historic Disciples commitment. Disciples founder, Alexander Campbell reflected, “we ought to have the largest meeting house in Washington City, and there stand in the presence of king’s and earth’s nobility and proclaim the gospel…” 

The Office of Prophetic Witness will work with other denominational and faith leaders to coordinate and provide support and encouragement for their public witness in the public square, and advance necessary faith actions including Moral Witness Wednesdays and Justice Focused Weekends – One Moral Vision in 1,000 Voices beginning in April.

Envisioning a wider witness, Rev. Terri Hord Owens observed: “National City Christian Church is our national church, and I hope the Office of Prophetic Witness will further root our passion for justice alongside our national church and other manifestations of our denomination further extending our prophetic witness throughout and beyond the church.”

Rev. Dr. William Barber II, former pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, former Moderator of the North Carolina Region of the Christian Church, founding director of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy, Yale Divinity School, and president of Repairers of the Breach, has been appointed to serve as the inaugural Prophetic Preacher In-Residence in the Office of Prophetic Witness. He has agreed to take on this role pro bono.

In this new role, Dr. Barber will preach, teach, and lecture once a month to the nation and the church. He will employ every means including in-person gatherings and social media to remind the nation and church of the high moral stakes of the policy battles raging in Washington, DC.

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We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.  As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.  As part of this multifaith coalition, we seek to affirm that we do indeed welcome all.  If you or anyone in your congregation has a question about this action, please feel free to contact: news@disciples.org.

Moving towards wholeness together,
Rev. Terri Hord Owens
General Minister and President

Below are additional resources to provide further support and clarity. 

Video
A video resource featuring Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), as she reflects on the multifaith action approved by the General Board to protect the freedom to practice our faith and for the church to be the church. The action is about moving towards wholeness together not about partisan politics. Disciples are Christians with a variety of political perspectives including conservative, progressive, republican, democrat, independent, and others. 

Filed Complaint
For more background and further consideration, the filed complaint is shared for reading and discernment.

Petition
To give others a chance to engage in this issue, there is a petition titled “Sensitive Locations, Sacred Spaces,” from the Center for Faith and Justice. 

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September 30, 2024

“He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” – Isaiah 2:4

This past week and a half have been devastating for our siblings in Lebanon, where thousands have been injured and hundreds killed, the result of coordinated Israeli attacks through personal communications devices and airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, Beirut, and elsewhere. These attacks have added to the anxiety, panic, and fear of an already-stressed population, and have resulted in deaths and destruction unknown in scope so far.  We know that a new incursion or large-scale war on Lebanon would be ruinous. And we know the United States continues to be complicit in its support of Israel’s unchecked offensives, which now also include air raids on Yemen.

We pray for the injured and their families. We pray for peace and comfort for those who have been displaced and those who mourn, in a country that continues to grieve and heal from previous losses.

The Lebanese people have suffered. Schools are closed.  Hospitals are overwhelmed. Tens of thousands are displaced, injured, or killed. Their land and communities are shattered by
continued assaults, and their livelihoods destroyed, as the country experiences
an ongoing economic crisis as well.  Residents of northern Israel, too, are impacted by the exchange of missiles, their lives uprooted.  The UN met on Sept. 20 in an emergency session, and a UN spokesperson said that Lebanon and the region are “on the brink of catastrophe.”

Last week’s attacks in Lebanon took place as the UN General Assembly met and voted to demand an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands within a year, following the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion issued this July.

We pray for the people and our partners in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, Yemen, and in Israel who are responding to the crisis and for our mission personnel living in the region. Along with our prayers, we commit to support their efforts in attending to the emerging needs of the people as they care for the injured and bury the dead.

This war, now being fought on many fronts, must end.  As people of faith with commitment to justice and peace, we call on world leaders to attend to the escalation of Israel’s aggression in the region. We join the voices in the global community calling for ceasefire in Gaza, an end to the operation in the West Bank, and for an immediate de-escalation of this intensifying crisis in Lebanon and Yemen. We condemn Israel’s provocative campaign of assassinations.

We support the UN resolution calling for Israel to comply with international law to “withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, and dismantle parts of the separation wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank.” 

Isaiah spoke of God’s judgment, a message that nations and people will be held accountable for our actions.  We are called to do all we can to take actions to strive for the day when we will see a just world for all, the day when God’s peace – a peace with justice – may prevail. 

Join us in prayer: God of mercy and justice, we yearn for the day when prophecy is fulfilled and weapons of war become tools for planting and harvesting goodness, the day when war is set aside and forgotten. We long for the day when your peace prevails, when all your children will enjoy the richness and fullness of life. Today, we lament as that day is not yet here, and it seems a distant hope. We wait in hope. O God, grant us strength and courage in that task.

Join us with your gifts in supporting our partners as they respond to the needs of the people through the ongoing Disciples Week of Compassion and United Church of Christ Middle East Crisis Response appeals.

Join us in continued advocacy, including regular advocacy alerts such as our most recent the 3^rd Thursday Alert.

Rev. Teresa Hord Owens
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

Rev. Dr. LaMarco A. Cable   
President      
Disciples Overseas Ministries  
Co-Executive, Global Ministries 

Rev. Shari Prestemon  
Acting Associate General Minister
United Church of Christ
Co-Executive, Global Ministries

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As members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we recognize the Biblical mandate to welcome the stranger, the foreigner, and the alien. Leviticus 19 tells us not to mistreat the foreigner who resides among us, but instead to “love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Jesus instructs us to care for the marginalized and oppressed among us, for “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). As such, our faith compels us to speak out against the dangerous racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric shared earlier this week.

During the US Presidential Debate on Tuesday September 10, Former President Donald Trump amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating their neighbors’ pets. These false claims echoed similar anti-immigrant comments made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance.

This kind of rhetoric is unacceptable. It is dangerous, dehumanizing, and puts already vulnerable communities even more at risk of threats and violence. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is blessed to count Haitian congregations among our membership, including the Haitian Disciples of Christ in Florida who share:

“The recent false accusation against our Haitian community, alleging that we eat cats and dogs, are not only deeply painful but also damaging to our reputation. These unfounded claims perpetuate harmful stereotypes and foster division and mistrust. Our community
is built on respect, tradition, and shared values, and such misinformation
undermines our dignity. It is crucial for us to address these misconceptions
with honesty and compassion, promoting understanding and unity. By standing
together and correcting these falsehoods, we reaffirm our commitment to truth
and the values we hold dear.”

Haitian asylum-seekers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders are not only pursuing what is their legal right, they are also challenging us all to live in full alignment with our religious and spiritual values, which implore us to welcome all people and not to turn our back on those in need.

The former president’s rhetoric targeting Haitians is not just xenophobic– it is anti-Black. Mass migration from Haiti does not occur simply in response to natural disasters – it is closely tied to harmful, racist U.S. and Western foreign policies toward Haiti going back to 1804 when the country was founded by formerly enslaved people who fought for and won their freedom.

Portraying Black immigrants as dangerous fuels the same racist stereotypes that impact Black Americans and Black people across the diaspora. It is a deliberate tactic to spread hate, promote further polarization in our country, and maintain our broken immigration system.

We urge public figures, pastors, faith leaders and political leaders alike to use their platforms to uplift immigrant communities and foster an environment of care and respect, rather than perpetuating division with false narratives.

As a faith tradition, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada is committed to advocating for the dignity, rights, and humanity of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. We stand in solidarity with the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio and across the United States and Canada. We continue to work and pray for humane and just immigration policies and programs.

Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens
General Minister and President

Rev. Allen Harris
Regional Minister in Ohio

Rev. Sandy Messick
Regional Minister in Florida

Click to download a pdf of the letter.

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Covenant Project Town Halls made space for formative feedback and thoughtful questions that shaped GA-2343 Amendments to the Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and made it more fully reflective of the church. We are excited to host a series of Town Hall meetings for the whole church to receive an update on the work and recommendations of the Implementation Team.

Register today to attend one of the following Town Hall Meetings:
Tuesday, August 6, 2024, 7pm ET | 6pm CT | 4pm PT (Register Now)
Tuesday, September 10, 2024, 10am ET | 9am CT | 7am PT (Register Now)

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Rev. Melissa St. Clair

The Board of Stewards of the Center for Faith and Giving is excited to announce the call of Rev. Melissa St. Clair to be the next Minister for Faith and Giving and Executive Director of the Center. 

“The search process was exhilarating from the beginning because of the quality of all the candidates who applied for the position,” said Rev. Tanya J. Tyler, chair of the Board of Stewards for the CFG. “The search process was challenging because we had some very outstanding candidates who would have served admirably as the Minister for Faith and Giving. Ultimately, the search committee was most impressed with Melissa’s knowledge, enthusiasm, and insight. We look forward to working with Melissa to take the Center for Faith and Giving to the next level. Welcome, Melissa!”

Melissa comes with 16 years of congregational experience in Disciples congregations most recently serving as Senior Pastor of Heart of the Rockies Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Ft. Collins, CO. Melissa has also served on the Board of Stewards of the Center for Faith and Giving and as a leader for Bethany Fellows. 

Melissa has led the congregations she has served in adopting wise stewardship practices, experiencing successful capital campaigns, and entering into innovative partnerships to serve not only the congregation but the community. She has a personal commitment to a life of generosity and is excited to welcome a diversity of voices to the table.

Melissa is excited to serve saying, “Generosity is foundational to our faith. The Center for Faith and Giving’s tools and tenets have imbued that spirit into the congregations I’ve served. I’m eager to build on the strengths of this ministry and shepherd it into a sustainable future.”

Rev. St. Clair will begin serving in this role on August 26. Rev. Bruce Barkhauer will retire August 31.

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The General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada gathered in person on April 13-16, 2024, in Chicago, IL for worshipful work, collaboration, and discernment. At the opening gathering, General Minister and President, Rev. Terri Hord Owens presented the State of the Church. In it she highlighted ongoing initiatives of the church and celebrated the work of the church across the United States and Canada.

Click here to view the 2024 State of the Church.

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The Office of General Minister and President is pleased to announce that more than 50 Disciples preachers have joined several newly created cohort peer groups. These groups are coordinated by the Proclamation Project, an initiative to equip and support Disciples preachers, and offer a variety of opportunities for preachers to connect and learn together.  

Two theme-based groups will meet for the next 18 months, with monthly online meetings and two opportunities for in-person gatherings. One group, led by Rev. Rebecca Anderson, is focused on the art and craft of storytelling as an essential act of preaching. The second group, led by Rev. Orlando Scott, is exploring the intersection of technology and preaching as a way of reflecting on the task of proclamation in a digital age.

Two language-based preaching groups are forming in collaboration with the leadership of North American Pacific Asian Disciples (NAPAD) and Obra Hispana. Rev. Dr. Miseon Choi is leading a group of Korean-speaking Disciples preachers, and Rev. Rogelio Martinez is forming a group of Hispanic preachers. Each of these groups will work together over the next year as they develop preaching resources that can be used by Spanish- and Korean-speaking Disciples.

Four workshop-format groups have also begun meeting. Each of these groups of 6-8 preachers will meet online monthly for 12 months. At each meeting, the group will reflect on the task of preaching and provide intentional feedback on sermons presented by group members. These groups will primarily led by the participants, but each has a convener: Rev. Larry J Morris III, Rev. Michael Karunas, Rev. Melissa St. Clair, and Rev. Lee Hull Moses. 

Though each of these types of groups has a different style and focus, all are designed to create a community of preachers who can support one another and learn from each other as they grow in their preaching. “I’m delighted that we can offer this opportunity to Disciples preachers,” said Rev. Moses, Executive Director of the Proclamation Project initiative. “Preaching is a holy and life-giving calling, but it can also be very isolating. These groups give preachers a chance to connect as they think intentionally about what they’ve been called to do.” Read more about these peer groups here: https://disciples.org/2024-25-preaching-cohort-groups/

In addition to the cohort groups, the Proclamation Project has a number of other initiatives underway. Online events have brought preachers together for learning opportunities. Last fall, Dr. Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder led a session on preaching in Advent. In February, Dr. Leah Schade offered a workshop on fostering dialogue through preaching in a divisive election year. An occasional Preacher Book Club offers preachers a chance to talk about what they are reading and discover their next good read. This fall, Disciples preachers will gather in Phoenix, Arizona for an in-person preaching retreat – three days of time away to hear good preaching and learn together. 

Another focus area for the Proclamation Project is the support of bivocational preachers who may have limited access to the resources of the institutional church because of finances, time, language, or culture. To that end, the Project recently a number of small grants to support bivocational preachers in purchasing books, attending continuing education events, and time away from their non-ministry jobs to make time for sermon preparation. A second round of grants will be available in the fall. 

The Proclamation Project is also developing materials for preachers to use in their own contexts. A series on the Psalms, featuring six weeks of sermon prompts and worship ideas, was recently released. Last fall, a sermon series resource on stewardship was created in collaboration with the Center for Faith and Giving. These and other preaching resources can be found here: https://disciples.org/preaching/preaching-resources/ For the Messengers, a monthly email for preachers, launched last summer and has a steadily growing readership. Each issue includes a first-person story from a Disciples preacher and a brief article from a scholar or expert on some aspect of homiletics, as well as news about Proclamation Project events and opportunities.

“The church has already been enriched by the work of the Proclamation Project,” said General Minister and President Terri Hord Owens. “In sharing the love of Christ, the church has something life-giving to offer the world. I’m grateful that we can support Disciples preachers in proclaiming the good news.”  

The Proclamation Project is an initiative of the Office of the General Minister and President and is funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. Learn more at www.disciples.org/preaching.  

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Dear Disciples, and dear friends of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ! Throughout his earthly life, Jesus walked the lands we currently know as the Middle East, and spent much of his time in major cities throughout the region, like Cana, like Caesarea Philippi, like Jerusalem. His time in Jerusalem had moments of celebration, when crowds shouted: “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”  His time there also had moments of sadness, such as when Jesus “came near and saw the city [of Jerusalem], he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized the things that make for peace!’” Yet still, his time in Jerusalem had moments of crisis, suffering, betrayal, and ultimately death.

In remembering the experiences and teachings of Jesus’s life, and the crisis and suffering of his last days, we are especially cognizant of the fragmentation of the world around us, near and far. In fact, when we think about Jesus’s last days, and our hearts turn toward Jerusalem today, our eyes are flooded with images of a place nearby to its southwest, the Gaza Strip. We are especially pained by reports of the hunger that the Palestinian people of Gaza are experiencing. Gaza has been under heavy assault since early October, an Israeli response to the horrific Hamas attacks. Following the killing of 1,200 Israelis and the taking of hostages on that day – many of whom remain in captivity – Israel launched a brutal campaign on the Palestinians of Gaza which has, so far, killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom are women and children, and injured more than 73,000. The offensive has displaced more than three-quarters of the population and has destroyed homes and communities.

Practically all of the Palestinian people in Gaza are facing levels of food insecurity that are at crisis, emergency, or catastrophic levels. “All her people groan as they search for bread.”  Emergency airdrops of food and water have begun, but those don’t always reach the people. Some such airdrops have fallen into the sea, and another actually killed five people and injured others when its parachute failed to open. Shipments by sea have begun to be launched as well, but these are far from sufficient. People are desperate for aid, and it is appalling that Israel has prevented the miles of trucks laden with food, water, medical supplies, and other necessities from entering Gaza over land for months. Allowing such aid by truck would be a much more efficient and effective way, and the items are ready.

A permanent cease fire is urgently needed in order to end the assault on Gaza, for the Palestinians of Gaza to be protected from further siege, to allow for the necessary and sufficient humanitarian aid to enter, and for people to access medical supplies and facilities. There is no military solution. If the violence continues unabated, and access to food and supplies continues to be restricted, then the ongoing death and suffering risks jeopardizing the existence of a whole segment of the Palestinian people. The intensified closure of Gaza must end, along with the 16-year blockade that Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli hostages must be released, and Palestinian detainees, held without charge, must also be freed. These must happen because they are the right and moral things to do.

The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is grave and must be addressed, but is only a symptom of the denial of rights that Palestinians have experienced for decades. Israel has occupied Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem since 1967. Gaza has been described as an open-air prison for years, due in part to Israel’s blockade, and in 2015, the United Nations asserted that Gaza would become “uninhabitable” by 2020. Already pitiable living conditions in Gaza have now been made exponentially worse.

The infrastructure of occupation has been called the “matrix of control.”  That infrastructure includes the continued construction and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Settlements are illegal under international law, and Secretary of State Blinken affirmed that recently. 2023 was the most violent year experienced by Palestinians yet, and state-led and state-sanctioned violence toward Palestinians, including settler violence, has continued this year. The rights of Palestinian refugees have been ignored for decades as well. This perpetual discrimination against Palestinians living under Israeli control is a denial of their rights and contributes to the General Assembly’s conclusion that “the laws, policies and practices of the State of Israel meet the definition of apartheid as defined in international law.”  This violence and injustice must end.

In December 2009, Palestinian Christians issued a document called “Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth.”  In it, they wrote, “[P]art of this reality is the Israeli disregard of international law and international resolutions…. Human rights are violated and despite the various reports of local and international human rights organizations, the injustice continues.”  For Palestinians, an ongoing history of oppression and injustice is an “ongoing Nakba” (or catastrophe), referring to the displacement and dispossession in 1948.

Yet Palestinian Christians have hope in the Church, the mission of which, they assert, “is prophetic, to speak the Word of God courageously, honestly, and lovingly…. If she does take sides, it is with the oppressed, to stand alongside them, just as Christ our Lord stood beside each poor person and each sinner, calling them to repentance, life, and the restoration of the dignity bestowed on them by God and that no one has the right to strip away” (Kairos Palestine).

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has been engaged in the Middle East for over 170 years. Today, we nurture relationships with a number of Palestinian Christian churches, ecumenical bodies, and Christian agencies. Palestinian Christians, who make up less than one percent of the Palestinian population, are part and parcel of the fabric of Palestinian society, providing important educational, health, and community services. Some, such as the Middle East Council of Churches’ Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees and the Episcopal al-Ahli Hospital, continue to provide critical response in Gaza, despite feeling the devastating impact of the assault themselves.

Our partners also are important voices advocating for an end to occupation and for Palestinian rights to be respected, and they have informed our body of General Assembly policy on Israel/Palestine, which dates back to 1973. In 2023, the Assembly adopted a resolution called, “Compelled to Witness,” following our pastoral letter of 2022 by the same name. In it, the Assembly clearly stated that “the continued oppression of the Palestinian people is a matter of theological urgency and represents a sin in violation of the message of the Biblical prophets and the Gospel.”

As we witness the devastation of the Palestinian people in Gaza, we stand with our Palestinian partners in solidarity and support. We recognize and lament that the US government has enabled the Israeli aggression through diplomatic cover at the UN, and through the provision of military aid and assistance. We deplore this government’s role and urge it to use all of the leverage it has with Israel to press for a permanent cease fire, including ending military aid and assistance, so that the ethnic cleansing we are witnessing does not continue. The US has a treaty obligation to uphold the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

We urge the US to support robust diplomatic efforts consistent with international law to address the root causes, and to end its long support for Israel’s settler colonialism. The rights, dignity, equality, and self-determination of all people in the region must be assured.

We further deplore the incidents of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim bigotry we have witnessed in our countries, knowing that the perpetuation of conflict in the Middle East only exacerbates such hateful attitudes.

The world – and Palestinians in particular – are hungry for bread and for justice. Jesus wept, for the community did not – and still does not – recognize what makes for peace. Save us now, O God, and endow us with the strength, courage, and wisdom to pray and act in appropriate ways to be a voice of love and justice in the world, and to accompany our partners and the most vulnerable with meaningful solidarity. And may we be instruments of God’s peace, a just peace that affirms the dignity of all people.

May the peace of Christ, the hope of whose resurrection sustains us; the love of God; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you in these times and always.

Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens
General Minister and President

Rev. LaMarco A. Cable, President
Disciples Overseas Ministries

Rev. Chris Dorsey, President
Disciples Home Missions

Click to download a pdf of the letter.

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Angelique previously served as the Regional Director of the Communications Ministry in The Christian Church (DOC) in Illinois and Wisconsin (and Michigan). She is a Disciple from Illinois. She authored the book, “The Phygital Church: Using Social Ministry to Make Disciples,” to assist congregations with being intentional about ministry in the digital space.

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This position requires a proven track record of effectively keeping several simultaneous projects moving forward to completion, knowledge of human resources laws and regulations, and the ability to interact proactively and constructively with senior leadership as well as members at all levels of our organization. We are looking for someone who builds bridges across the organization, with an eye not only on the present, but also towards the future, and who effectively gets into the administrative weeds when needed.

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, human resources management, or theology, and 10+ years of experience managing non-profit, religious organizations is required (Master’s degree preferred). To learn more about this exciting opportunity with the OGMP, please read the job description linked below. Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply no later than the March 15^st deadline by submitting a resume and cover letter to Shannon Pope, Executive Assistant to the General Minister and President.

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Rev. Hull Moses will lead a group of Disciples who will serve in an advisory and consultative capacity in support of the work of the Proclamation Project.  As Executive Director, she will remain as a senior leader in the OGMP.  She will provide support to a new Vice President and Chief of Staff, working in the transition through General Assembly 2023.  

Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President shared, “I am particularly grateful for the many gifts of leadership, administration and strategic planning that Lee has brought to the work of the OGMP.  I am excited that her many other gifts will now be shared in service to the church through the Proclamation Project.  Please join me in celebrating Lee’s appointment to this exciting new position.  I know that the whole church will be blessed by this Project through her leadership.”

The Proclamation Project launched in January 2023 with a preaching workshop focused on the the General Assembly theme scriptures, as well as a sermon series resource designed for congregations. As the program develops, additional initiatives will be announced later this year.

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The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has received a grant of $1 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help support and equip Disciples for the task of preaching the good news. 

The program, preliminarily called The Proclamation Project, will kick off in January with a virtual preaching workshop and a sermon series resource for preachers to use in preparation for next summer’s General Assembly. As the program takes shape, it will grow to include a resource library with new and curated preaching materials, support for preachers in bi-vocational settings, cohort groups, and learning opportunities for Disciples preachers.

“I am thrilled that we will be able to offer this level of support to preachers in local congregations,” said Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President. “We know that preachers are hungry for resources they can trust, hungry for connection with other preachers, hungry to hear good preaching themselves. We understand that proclamation is not a discrete task but is intricately tied to the whole of ministry: from the prophetic to the pastoral to the educational. As we continue to imagine new ways of being church, the Proclamation Project will help Disciples offer the authentic, Spirit-filled preaching the world needs.” 

The Office of the General Minister and President will be developing a team to lead this effort, which will provide support and resources for preachers from the diverse communities that make up the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The program was designed by a planning committee that included Rev. Lee Hull Moses, Vice President and Chief of Staff in the OGMP; Rev. Rogelio Martinez, pastor of Casa de Oracion de Fullerton and Iglesia Nueva Vida; Rebecca Anderson, co-pastor of Gilead Church Chicago; and Rev. Bill Lee, former moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The Proclamation Project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is one of 32 organizations receiving funding in an invitational round of grants for the initiative, which is designed to help Christian pastors strengthen their abilities to proclaim the gospel in more engaging and effective ways.

“We are excited about the work that these organizations will do to foster and support preaching that better inspires, encourages and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion.  “Their programs will serve a significant number of aspiring and current preachers who are working to reach and engage increasingly diverse audiences both within and beyond congregations.”

The Compelling Preaching Initiative is part of the Endowment’s longstanding interest in supporting projects that help to nurture the religious lives of individuals and families and foster the growth and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States.

About Lilly Endowment
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. In addition, the Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.

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On this episode of Imagine with Me, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Rev. Terri Hord Owens welcomes Rev. Dr. David Anderson Hooker of Counter Stories Consulting and Rev. Yvonne Gilmore, Interim Administrative Secretary for the National Convocation and Associate General Minister, to talk about the upcoming Church Narrative Project.

“While we are expressing ourselves individually, we’re all creating a world in which everybody can flourish the notion of the table where everybody can flourish, which is that, you know, beautiful symbol that the Disciples hold on to. And, so I think that deep in the foundational commitments, it’s there. And just have to develop some of the habits and identify some of the practices and possibilities that make it fully visible.” – Rev. David Anderson Hooker

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In this week’s message from General Minister and President, Rev. Terri Hord Owens, she speaks about the ways we are called to grow our imagination as people of faith to imagine God’s limitless love.

“So let’s get inside the mind of God. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to help us imagine more so that we can do more and be more. So that we can be that movement for wholeness in a fragmented world, that anti-racist church. So we can be the church we say we are.” -Rev. Terri Hord Owens

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As part of the gathering of the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada, Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens deliver the State of the Church address on Friday, February 11, 2022. Addressing some of the celebrations and challenges across the many ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Rev. Hord Owens also shared a reflection on scripture and urges the church to “get inside God’s imagination” as we imagine how to live out God’s limitless love. “Let’s get inside God’s imagination and ensure that our church is actively bringing about the Kindom of God.” -Rev. Terri Hord Owens

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A message of gratitude and a reflection on the value of rest from General Minister and President Rev. Terri Hord Owens upon her return from sabbatical.

“As the Rev. Trisha Hersey says, I wanted to ‘get lost in the rest.'” -Rev. Terri Hord Owens

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“Even in difficult times and tender moments of loss, we find our spiritual grounding in Advent as we utter prayers of hope, peace, joy and love for a world that is waiting to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.” – Rev. Belva Brown Jordan, Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada.

Rev. Belva Brown Jordan, Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) offers a word of hope and a moment of reflection for the church this Christmas holiday.

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