TOGETHER:
The
AICEMEA Newsletter
Association
of International Churches in Europe,
the Middle East,
and Africa
Winter
2003
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As AICEMEA members and friends prepare to gather in Nairobi for our annual conference, we share this
association newsletter with you. As
always, we welcome contributions to the newsletter from pastors, spouses, and
friends of the association. Please
forward any news items, announcements, transitions, or other information to us
at mpc@rol.ru.
Thank you.
- John and Noel Calhoun, Moscow
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Wrap-Up of the
AICEMEA 2002 Youth Conference in London
Chris Wighaman, youth director of the International Community Church, Surrey, reflects on the AICEMEA Youth Conference held in London November 21-23.
We give our thanks to Chris for
his leadership and for organizing such an inspired conference for our youth. Chris
invites feedback from pastors whose youth attended. Please feel free to contact Chris by
e-mail at thewildkingdomuk@aol.com.
Chris writes:
“On November 21,
150 students and leaders, represented from 15 different churches
and Christian organizations, gathered together for the annual AICEMEA Youth
Conference in London, England. The weekend’s theme was ‘The Wild Kingdom’
and students were challenged to understand Matthew 18:3, ‘I tell you the truth,
unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.’ Through such means
as praise and worship, small groups and solo time, students were able to grasp and
experience our Father’s love and grace.
As one student from Frankfurt said, ‘The music
really touched me and the speaker spoke to my heart,’ we are convinced that the
Holy Spirit was present and moving. The
music was lead by International Community
Church youth intern Cheryl
Glenn (cherylglenn.com), who put together a
band of members from ICC, and did a fantastic job. The last minute fill in speaker was Chris
Wighaman, who is a youth minister at
ICC.
“The conference also had a good balance of what kids like
most, Fun! From a photo scavenger hunt
throughout London, eating at the
Rainforest Cafe, late night coffee houses, and the Improv group, Isaac,
students had many chances to laugh, hangout and be their goofy selves. The weekend was such an amazing experience
for students. God worked in incredible
ways through our time together and will continue to work in ways we cannot
see. There is no better way to sum it up
than this student’s comment: ‘What more
can I say. Praise the Lord! He is good!’”
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AICEMEA Web Site Is Back in
Business with a New Address
Robert Hunt
of Vienna, our web site editor,
reports that after having trouble with our old site, “the www.aicemea.net
web site is up and running now. The Peace
Church congregation in Munich
is paying the bills as a contribution to our organization. We'll be managing the re-direct from the old
site address, and I'll be getting us registered with the search engines. We owe thanks to Jim
Dwyer, who helped get us back on line so
quickly.”
Indeed, thanks to both Jim
and Robert for maintaining our association web
site.
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$$ From the Financial Front $$
Good News!!
The personal cheques, wire transfers, bank drafts, etc from all over Europe,
the Middle East, and Africa have
arrived. Everyone is all 'paid up' for
our Kenya Conference! Thank you very
much for your assistance in helping with all the financial details.
More Good News!! To date, fourteen of our Association Churches
have paid their 2002/2003 dues. This is
roughly 50% of our churches. A good
beginning! Thank you very much for those
who have promptly paid.
Even More Good News!! I know that many more of our Association
Churches will be paying their dues in the upcoming weeks. Below is the mailing address for the annual
dues, or you could even hand me a cheque in Kenya. Thank you in advance for your leadership in
this area.
The annual amount of our dues is US $250 or whatever your
church is able to contribute. The annual
dues help cover the cost of Association projects including: start-up grants for
our annual Pastor and Spouse's conference, publishing and distributing our
Association newsletter and directory, support of the Network for International
Congregations which matches potential pastors to international churches, and
scholarships for both our youth and adult conferences. Your leadership in educating your Church
about the ministry of AICEMEA is greatly appreciated.
Please make your check payable to AICEMEA and mail to:
Troy Bowers
Veltwijcklaan 297
2180 Ekeren
Belgium
If a wire transfer is more convenient for you, simply email
me at aipchurch@pandora.be and I will
send the needed information.
God’s blessings upon your
ministry,
Troy Bowers, AICEMEA Treasurer
Antwerp
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AICEMEA Community
Transitions
Our newsletter
provides the opportunity for AICEMEA members and friends to share news of their
personal and professional transitions.
As we expect to learn of more transitions during our gathering in Nairobi, we share these submissions with you.
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From Scott Campbell
January 10, 2003
Dear Friends,
I have been away from my computer this week and will likely be away a good part
of next week as well. Our beloved 23
year old daughter, Suzanna, died suddenly and
unexpectedly on Tuesday of this week. We
are still uncertain of the cause. She
left us with two beautiful children to care for, Jesse
(5) and Caylum (18 mos). We are still in
the midst of preparations for a Saturday service celebrating her life. I send this brief note to apologize for not
being able to keep up with responses to letters during this time. I know that some of you have pressing concerns
related to your futures and I will do my best to take care of your needs. In the meanwhile, please hold my wife, Lin,
and I in your prayers.
Grace and Peace,
Scott Campbell,
Network for International Congregations
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Stephen and Rebecca Larson to Leave Geneva
Stephen Larson
reports that “Rebecca and I will be leaving Geneva
in the near future — in fact Rebecca has already
left. We’ll be moving to Chicago
where Rebecca has been elected to serve as the
new Executive Director of the Division for Church in Society of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church
in America.”
We are thankful that Stephen
will join us at our conference in Nairobi.
Below please find excepts from the press release announcing Rebecca’s
new appointment. Congratulations!
July 26, 2002
REBECCA LARSON NAMED DIRECTOR FOR ELCA CHURCH IN SOCIETY
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Dr. Rebecca S. Larson, a pastor of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Canada, was elected July 23 to a four-year appointment as
executive director of the Division for Church in Society (DCS) of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA),effective Oct. 14.
Since 1994 she has served the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) as secretary for research and development, Department for World Service, Geneva, Switzerland.
With the LWF Larson has responsibilities
in the area of development education, public policy advocacy and disaster
response policy development. She has led the federation's education efforts on
such topics as poverty, international debt, humanitarian intervention in
complex emergencies and HIV/AIDS. Larson
coordinated the LWF's involvement in the International Campaign to Ban
Landmines (ICBL), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.
She chaired the ICBL steering committee.
"It is a profound and humbling experience for me to be
called to work with so many committed and creative people in living out the
baptismal calling of our faith through the responsibility given by the church
to the Division for Church in Society. I ask for your prayers for the division
and myself in the days ahead as we together undergo a time of transition and
new beginning," said Larson.
Larson is married to the Rev. Stephen M. Larson, an ELCA pastor who serves the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva. They are parents of
two adult daughters.
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AICEMEA Member Church Change of Address
At our association business
meeting in Nairobi, we will receive
all changes to member church worship locations, phone numbers, e-mail
addresses, and any other pertinent information.
If your church will not
be represented at the conference and your church information has changed since
last spring, please e-mail that information to mpc@rol.ru.
In the meantime, we
share this announcement with you...
The office of the International Evangelical Church in Finland has moved ---finally!
The address and phone details are:
International Evangelical Church in Finland
Ruoholahdenkatu 16
FIN-00180 HELSINKI, Finland
tel.: +358-9-5869770
The email and web page address remain as before. Pastor Timo's mobile phone is the same.
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Together: The AICEMEA Newsletter
Together is a
quarterly publication of the
Association of
International Churches in
Europe,
the Middle East, and Africa
AICEMEA
2002-03 Executive Committee Members
President: Jodi
Fondell, Stockholm jodi.fondell@immanuel.se
Vice President: Robert
Hunt, Vienna robert.hunt@chello.at
Secretary/Treasurer: Troy Bowers, Antwerp aipchurch@pandora.be
Newsletter Editor: Noel Calhoun, Moscow mpc@rol.ru
AICEMEA
Website: www.aicemea.net
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