North Georgia Emmaus & Chrysalis Community

The North Georgia Chrysalis community needs your help!

We need sponsors for youth. Youth must be 15 (by September 2011) to 24 years old and have finished their freshman year in high school.

We also need servants to serve on the boy’s flight. If you have been on Chrysalis or Emmaus, you are eligible to serve. Please email the lay directors (see below) or team selection: Kelly Meador (keketwin (a)yahoo.com) or Rob Simon (robsimon111(a)gmail.com).

June 02-05, 2011

Thursday-Sunday
Chrysalis #69/YAC #46 (all female)
Lay Director: Denise Hotze
watapaching(a) gmail.com

June 09-12, 2011
Thursday-Sunday
Chrysalis #70/YAC #47 (all male)
Lay Director: Michael Creighton
mzrtsinbad (a)gmail.com

Blessings ,
Board Rep for North Georgia Chrysalis

Justice, Mercy and Ministry

Found this while surfing the web tonight, I had actually almost forgotten about it!

General Board of Discipleship Publishes Prison Ministry Tool Box

GBOD’s Discipleship Resources imprint has published a new prison ministry tool box to help congregations address the alarming increase in the U. S. prison population.

The “Congregational Tool Box for Prison Ministry” was created in response to a 2004 General Conference action related to providing restorative justice materials for United Methodist churches.

“The tool box encourages people to look at the whole criminal justice system, while providing practical, hands-on suggestions for ministry in the reality of our current prison system,” says Betsey Heavner, the publication’s author and compiler.

The “Congregational Tool Box for Prison Ministry” ($8.00) is available for download at http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=456465.

“By engaging in and expanding our work in prison ministry, we are reclaiming that part of our Methodist heritage inspired by John Wesley’s passion for those in prison,” says GBOD top executive Karen Greenwaldt.

Churches that are serious about beginning restorative justice ministries or in re-tooling prison ministries will find helpful ways to care for those incarcerated and their families,
provide for children, visit in prisons and bring justice and reconciliation in their communities.

The publication, which updates the “Prison Ministry Guide” published in 1996, targets Christian communities and individuals who recognize God’s call to be involved in ministries of justice and mercy.

“The ‘1996 Prison Ministry Guide’ was out of date. Yet we were getting requests for the guide on a weekly basis,” says Heavner.

The “Congregational Toolbox for Prison Ministry” overviews criminal justice issues and presents some possible ways for churches to engage in prison ministry.

Justice Department statistics indicate that one in every 136 U. S. residents was behind bars in the summer of 2005.

Though more prisons are being built, they cannot keep up with the dramatic increase in the number of persons being incarcerated.

“Congregational Tool Box for Prison Ministry” content was compiled by Betsey Heavner and edited by George Donigian. Content reviewers and contributors included prison chaplains and restorative justice practitioners Pat Dunbar, Harmon Wray, Tom Porter, Cynthia Peters, Rich Stoglin, Mark Hicks, Ann Edgefield and Holly Hickson.

The 26-page resource includes the following chapters:

.Introduction to the Problem of a Growing Prison Population
.Raising Congregational Awareness for Ministering with Those in Prison
.Getting Started with Prison Ministry
.Seven Ways to Engage in Criminal Justice Work and Prison Ministry.

The General Board of Discipleship’s mission is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, The General Board of Discipleship (www.gbod.org) is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, TN. For more information, call the Media Relations Office toll free at (877) 899-2780, Ext. 7017.

It seems strange to see an article such as this with my name mentioned and credit given to me for something that was just a part of what I do in life. I remember the effort but didn't think anything of it because it seemed to be such a small thing. This effort was done on my part during the time of Matthew's illness and then his death and just over ten years after Mark's death. I was in the midst of grief and wasn't even aware of what the results would be, but I remember thinking that maybe if I opened myself up just a little, God would be glorified in some small way. That God use the circumstances for His glory was the prayer on my heart in the moment I first heard the news of Mark's murder.

Isn't that the prayer that should always be on our hearts? That God be glorified in all that we say and do? And then sometimes, in spite of our own human frailty something bigger than we could have thought possible happens. Bad things happen to each of us in life. Cars break down, jobs are lost, loved ones die, and the everyday worries remain on our minds. But when we just do what it is we are designed to do without thought of ourselves, bigger things happen. Maybe that's what God means for us to do when we are told to "pray continually" and "give thanks in all circumstances".

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Here Wii go again!

I am approaching another milestone in my life in the next few days - another birthday is almost here! If you have read one of my past entries in this blog you will know that I have wanted a particular gift for several years but I don't expect to get it this year - again. I am coming to realize that may not be all bad. You see, I have been hearing and reading about the many varied forms of injuries that occur from my desired special gift. In fact, check out this article:

"A case of 'Nintendinitis'? Exploring Wii-related injuries"
"Experiencing tennis elbow from overindulging your love of the Nintendo Wii? You may want to put down the remote.

The New York Times has a fascinating story of the number of aches and pains some Wii owners associate with playing games too often. As the article describes it, more people are suffering "Nintendinitis," according to doctors they spoke with.

A sports medicine physician in Manhattan says he's dealt with two types of Wii-related ailments: repetitive stress from playing games such as Wii Sports too long, and more serious injuries caused by playing in tight spaces.

The physician also warns users about not completing full motions on certain activities such as tennis or bowling. Here's how the Times explains it:

A common problem is the realization by players that a full swing is not required; a flick of the wrist is often enough to return a serve or bowl a strike. As several doctors pointed out, that is the exact motion — concentrating the force of a swing in the muscles of the forearm — that can cause tennis elbow.

Injuries and other calamities related to aggressive Wii play have been documented regularly on the Web at sites such as Wii Have A Problem. In fact, problems maintaining a grip on the remote forced Nintendo to replace the wrist straps with a sturdier version."

Now, when I did a google search on the internet for "Wii injuries" I had over 380,000 sites show up! Amazing! There was everything from broken fingers to black eyes, pictures, videos and news articles such as this one from Consumer Affairs: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/06/wii_injuries.html
It all made me wonder how something that is supposed to help you can cause so much damage?

Church is a little like that also don't you think? We often have the same people doing so many things that we wear them out, maybe even to the point of giving them "servantitis". Oftentimes when someone just can't say no, the only thing left for them to do is to leave the church. We have extinguished the light in that individual and now are only seeking to turn over those responsibilities to someone else. But, if we are the body of Christ, the church, wouldn't we serve Him better if we all did what we were designed to do?


"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." 1 Corinthians 12:12-20