Today, in Holston Conference News Briefs for February 8:
exclusive – Coretta Scott King @ holston.org- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TOP STORY: Clergywomen's gathering on March 6
Holston clergywomen are invited to the Clergywomen's Gathering '06, scheduled Monday, March 6, at First White Pine United Methodist Church in Morristown District. This year's theme is "Mother Roots." Cost is $5, including lunch. Registration deadline: March 1. Hours: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information, e-mail Judith Anna.
Download brochure now
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Need a pivotal weekend for your confirmation class?
Holston's own Don Washburn will help lead 11 weekends of activities designed for young United Methodists of confirmation age at "Confirmation 2006" in Lake Junaluska, N.C. Provided by the Southeastern Jurisdiction's Intentional Growth Center, the weekend retreats are designed to supplement, reinforce, and affirm parts of the confirmation lessons. The weekends begin Feb. 10 and are scheduled throughout November. According to the organizers, the retreat mixes teens from various churches and annual conferences, "so that they study and learn with confirmands who come from churches throughout the jurisdiction."
Washburn is director of Camp Lookout in Chattanooga District.
Find out more from the SEJ
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49 resources for Lent and Easter
The General Board of Discipleship offers 49 resource articles for Lent and Easter. Topics include "Traditional Hymns for Blended and Contemporary Worship" and "Water and Ashes Do Not Mix!"
Visit the GBOD site now
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Need scholarship money? Visit Hiwassee on Feb. 25
Hiwassee College's "Scholarship Day" on Feb. 25 offers prospective students the opportunity to receive scholarship money for the upcoming academic year. Scholarships will be awarded for academics, music, drama, writing, ministry, science, English, business, humanities, and social science. All area high school seniors are urged to participate in the event, held on the college's Madisonville, Tenn., campus.
Find out more from the Hiwassee web site
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Two new Volunteers in Mission opportunities
*Want to participate on a Volunteers in Mission effort within Holston boundaries? The Spurgeon Chapel AME Zion Church in Oak Ridge, Tenn., seeks assistance in rehabilitating the sanctuary with electrical work, window replacements, demolition and reconstruction.
*The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas has invited Holston teams to participate in VIM opportunities available over eight islands in two countries.
For more information, e-mail Missions Coordinator Bill Daugherty or call him toll-free at (866) 690-4080.
Visit Holston's missions page
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United Methodist Women introduce online community
The United Methodist Church's Women's Division is launching the first official UMW online community, the organization recently announced.
Through the community, women around the world will be able to participate in online Bible studies and share knowledge, experiences, ideas, reflections, and much more. The online community will become available to all UMW members by May 2006.
Find out more from the UMW site
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Funeral service announced for Bishop Swanson's father
Bishop James Swanson’s father, Carl Edward Swanson, died on Wednesday, Jan. 31, in Oakland, Calif.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Thompson Funeral Home, 9900 International Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94603. The funeral service will be held on Friday, Feb. 10, 11 a.m., at Kaleo Christian Fellowship Center, 7700 Mountain Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94605.
Please be in prayer for the Swanson family.
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The large church appeal: Who said that?
"Today people demand quality, even if it's subconscious. They find quality almost everywhere else in their lives and expect it in all venues — music, visuals, preaching, written communications."
— David Travis of Leadership Network, a church consultant group. Travis was quoted in a recent Christian Science Monitor article explaining why megachurches' way of worship is on the rise.
Read the Christian Science Monitor article
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Your online calendar: Remember these dates
Discovery: March 24-26