CONNECT – What’s Happening Around MCC? – Metropolitan Community Churches

Thank you to all the churches who are current with their Assessments! We have not seen the dip we thought we might experience due to COVID-19. Thank you for your faithfulness and timeliness.

MONDAY, September 7

It’s Labor Day in the United States and Labour Day in Canada!

More than 80 countries around the world celebrate International Workers Day on May 1st but the USA and Canada observe the first Monday in September. For many of our MCC Staff, this is a national holiday. We will be back in the office tomorrow.

MCC Richmond’s Centering Community (Richmond, Virginia, USA)
Mondays @ 11pm GMT / 6pm EDT (UTC-4)

A time of shared meditation and mindfulness practice open to all. No previous experience necessary … come just as you are!
Zoom Meeting: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7891407100?pwd=Z0p1NGIrNnNHOGtWL1I3V0xMZDBQdz09.
Meeting ID: 789 140 7100 Password: 953527

TUESDAY, September 8

“Give me that olde time religion” 7pm EDT / UTC 11pm (UTC-4)

A weekly Bible Study by MCC Toronto, Ontario, Canada. To join the ZOOM meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84458664477?pwd=MlU1OVdBZmVsS3lTMi8vTGhiRDNMdz09
Meeting ID: 844 5866 4477 Password: 939641

Zoom 201 for Hosts and Presenters

Tuesday, September 8 – 5pm Pacific / 6pm Mountain / 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern / midnight UTC

Sanctuary’s Zoom Room:
www.SanctuaryOnline.live

If you missed Jo Bell’s popular session of Zoom 201 for Hosts and Presenters, now is your chance to catch it this time around! How many of us are now attending or leading events online that we used to do in person? Maybe it’s teaching a class. Maybe it’s hosting a book club or even playing cards or Bingo! Now that we are all “experts” on attending Zoom events, are you ready to learn fun and effective ways to lead your own meetings? In this week’s Zoom 201, we will learn how to host events. If you are already participating in or teaching a class or leading discussions, you won’t want to miss this week!

WEDNESDAY, September 9

MCC Toronto (Ontario, Canada)

invites you to a 15 minute time of reflection on Facebook Live each Wednesday at noon Eastern, UTC 4pm (UTC-04).

Rev. Jeff Rock and Rev. Deana Dudley share inspiring reflections, scriptures and prayers to support us through these difficult times.

MCC Toronto Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MCCToronto/

Spiritual Transformation – Wednesdays, August 12 – Sept. 9 at 7pm EDT (GMT-4)

Via Zoom https://zoom.us/j/812716810#success

by Joy MCC, Orlando, Florida, USA

Pastor Kyle Idleman reminds us that God’s grace is greater. Even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when it doesn’t feel fair. God’s grace covers everything we’ve done. And the best way is to understand it, is to experience it. God’s grace will remind you that no sin is so great, no bitterness so deep that God’s grace cannot transform your heart and rewrite your story.

THURSDAY, September 10

MCC History and Polity: Thursdays, September 10 – October 29

Learn more about the history and operation of Metropolitan Community Churches! Though a required course for LEAD and those in formation to be MCC Clergy, this class is a great course for anyone interested in learning more about the vast, important history of MCC and for anyone looking to know more about local and denominational level governance. Please follow this link for more information https://mcchistoryandpolity.eventbrite.com. If you have additional questions, please contact Rev. Cathy Alexander at [email protected].

Prayer with Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston

Join Moderator, Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston for prayer every Thursday at 9pm GMT, 5pm EDT

Bring your joys, concerns, laments, and celebrations to Rev. Cecilia and one another. Meet us on Cecilia’s Facebook page every Thursday at 9PM GMT (5PM EDT/ BST 10PM) @Cecilia.Eggleston.50

The Unveiling, a study of the Book of Revelation

Thursday evenings at 7:00PM EDT via Zoom starting September 10th. The study will be facilitated by Pastor Dexter Brecht and Terry White from Imago Dei MCC (USA) For more information and the links to join, please email [email protected]

BILINGUAL PRAISE SERVICE
7:00pm EDT (GMT-4)

Join Rev. Stanley from Joy MCC, Orlando, Florida, USA for Alabanza via Zoom
https://zoom.us/j/827025531#success

MCC Richmond’s Bi+ Discussion Group

On Zoom every other Thursday @ 7pm EDT / 11pm GMT
To join Zoom meetings or for more information about upcoming events please email [email protected]

We are a confidential support and discussion group.
We are especially welcoming to those identifying as pansexual, omnisexual, polysexual, bicurious, attracted to more than one gender, or those who just don’t like labels.
We care about providing time for free-talk and personal support, but also enjoy focused topic discussions.

FRIDAY, September 11

FRIDAY NOON YOUR TIME – PRAY for Pastors, Pastoral Leaders, Boards, Lay Leaders and all MCC Chaplains.

SATURDAY, September 12

Spiritual Nourishment

9pm GMT/ 5pm EDT (UTC-4)

MCC Council of Elders Facebook Page

Please join the Council of Elders for the Facebook live broadcast of Spiritual
Nourishment. Elder Nancy Maxwell will explore the spiritual practice of Mindfulness, as well as take prayer requests to the Council. Mindfulness is an age-old practice of being in the present, recognizing that the realm of the Holy is here, now. For those who feel comfortable, you can share your thoughts about, and experiences with mindfulness in the comment section during the broadcast. We will end our time together with prayer requests.

SUNDAY, September 13

Worship Time

There are virtual Worship Services happening in MCC’s all around the world! You can browse Facebook for notices or live streams of many services. You are encouraged to visit an MCC worship service in another part of the world. Choose a time zone that does not conflict with your home church service. Even if it is in a language you don’t understand, we all can understand the essence of prayer, praise, preaching and communion.

This is not a traditional worship service, rather a simple time of prayer.
Here is the link to connect to the zoom room https://tinyurl.com/ShortandSimpleService
This gathering meets at 8pm New Zealand time which is 8am UTC (+12).
Here is a time zone converter to check the time in your area!
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html?iso=20200830T080000&p1=22&p2=1440&p3=tz_ct

Looking Ahead

Holy Laments – A Worship Experience
Monday, 14 September, 2020 – 11pm GMT / 7pm EDT / 6pm CDT
sponsored by the TX-New Mexico Network

The season of pandemic continues. Meanwhile, we rage against the world machine to produce and self-support. in this worship experience we practice lamentation, the Holy wailing that culminates in praise of God, in whom we trust. join in prayer, recitation, singing, and calling upon God’s benevolent grace.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85361165331?pwd=MEdCRnpTMlRCc3FrR0NsMVE4cGlWdz09

Registration required: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xKXKYb9uRPmkWkTpJD0MYg
Sponsored by MCC Detroit, USA

Q2021 – Jan 7-10,2021

The Q Christian Fellowship Conference is an annual gathering where hundreds of LGBTQ+ Christians and Allies: gather for worship, fellowship, workshops, and keynote speakers; make lifelong friendships or reunite with those friends; experience healing, transformation, and hope; witness the thrill of God’s love and affirmation through each other.
Anyone of any age is invited to participate!
Key note speakers include: Dr. Emilie M. Townes, Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, and Fr. Richard Rohr.
For more information, contact https://www.qcfconf.org/

Sanctuary Online

www.sanctuaryonline.live
Sept. 15 – Ken Martin leads an informative session on Gender.
Sept. 29 – Book Club Discussion: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

NOTEWORTHY

Jay Deacon Memorial

If you missed the virtual Memorial Service for former MCC Clergy and activist Jay Deacon, you can watch the videos here:

Memorial Service: https://vimeo.com/454057725

Separate Tribute Video (only): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVPEW45jxQw&feature=youtu.be

BEWARE OF EMAIL SCAMS

Recently a number of MCC staff members and US MCC Clergy have been falsely represented. Email addresses are used that are very similar but are NOT the actual church, Pastor or staff email addresses. The false email address may even show up in your inbox with the name of the Pastor, staff member or church office. They tend to ask you to do a favor and to be discreet in purchasing gift cards for them. They ask you not to phone rather just reply by email because the Pastor/staff member is in an important meeting.
Please do NOT reply to these! Delete and label it as Spam. If you have any questions, take a close look at the email address and make sure it matches the official published email address. Inform your Pastor or Board.

JOB POSTING
Metropolitan Community Church of Omaha

Metropolitan Community Church of Omaha is the only MCC Church in Nebraska and South Dakota. We have been serving the Omaha Metro area, with a population of about 975,000, for 46 years since 1974. Our 96 members plus friends also come to us from Council Bluffs across the Missouri River, from our capital city of Lincoln 50 miles away, as well as from neighboring towns that surround the area. In addition to our worship service on Sunday, we have other opportunities to gather online during the week. We also serve our

immediate neighborhood by providing a pantry that serves about 100 people every week.

Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial unrest, the challenges create a whole new world of opportunities to “Live, proclaim, teach, and celebrate Christ’s all-inclusive love.” MCC-Omaha is seeking a full-time pastor with a spirit-filled imagination to lead us into that new world of possibilities. We offer a competitive

compensation package as well as moving expenses (details to work out by the Board of Directors, if selected). Most of all, we offer a loving and hard-working congregation to support the work of a new pastor.

We know God has already picked our next pastor. Are you the one God is calling to serve us?

If you would like to know more about MCC-Omaha, the surrounding area and what inspires us in a pastor, and you would like to receive an application, please contact Karla Oliver, Chair of the MCC Omaha Pastoral Search Committee at [email protected].

Also see our website, http://mccomaha.org/index.html, Our Facebook page for MetropolitanCommunityChurchOmaha (not mccomaha or you will get the Metropolitan Community College!) You can also check out our weekly newsletter, Angel Wings to see what we are doing each week.

God bless you and MCC-Omaha as we take this journey together.

Karla J. Oliver, Chair, Pastoral Search Committee

[email protected]

RESOURCES

Conducting Congregational Meetings during COVID-19
Video Replay – https://youtu.be/adCcfIl4Dg0

ZOOM Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92215813904

This MCC Webinar shaed guidance on options, planning and conducting Congregational Meetings during this time of COVID-19 when most of our churches are not meeting in-person. Here are two resources for you.

Governance Committee Advisory – Virtual Meetings (Adobe PDF)
(Updated: 25 August 2020)

Congregational Meetings in the Time of COVID_REVISED DRAFT (Adobe PDF)
(Updated: 25 August 2020)

African-American History FREE Online Course
and Discussion Group

Learn more about African American History since the Civil War. Rev. Lori McPherson is creating a group that will watch the course lecture from the Yale platform and then discuss the material. This group will meet Sunday and Thursday nights from 6-7:30pm EDT (UTC-4) / 10-11:30 GMT
Contact Lori McPherson through Facebook for more info: https://www.facebook.com/fuzzlaw
Can’t make the discussion group time or schedule? Listen to the lectures at your own time. It is free from Open Yale Courses.
https://oyc.yale.edu/african-american-studies/afam-162?fbclid=IwAR0HFpUedGG1Cyn9lrbX3XnXTBVnSW1GXZpBHl2MPJVmq4LVHhS86Isp4NQ

Workshop Series on Prophetic Preaching

Join Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis and great activists/scholars/preachers like Karoline M. Lewis, Rebecca Voelkel, and Curtiss Paul DeYoung. Workshops will be held via Zoom from September – May on the fourth Thursday of the month at 3pm EDT (UTC-4)/ 7pm GMT
For more information and to register: https://www.justiceconnectionconsulting.com/

Northeastern Seminary Free Mini-Courses

Consider “Reading Luke in a Polarized World.” How can the church become a witness to truth and an agent of GOd’s transforming power in a polarized world?
https://www.nes.edu/calendar/mini-classes/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93903551&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-82Mf-IIX_Rm0ax3Mf1tAJRKoQT6niMAISizR3Ure8-Ol90HEex4n6CUl47djtRNmFbNQO89X-UXcKgg7iOjPRhlnVqbA&utm_content=93903551&utm_source=hs_email

Yale Divinity School
Video and Small Group Bible Study Resources

https://yalebiblestudy.org/leading-a-yale-bible-study/
Free video resources and study outlines. Register to participate in online discussions.

Church Musicians

Check out: https://www.facebook.com/theresourcefulchurchmusician/

Boston University, School of Theology – Online Learning and Spirituality Groups

These online mini-courses and spiritual reflection groups will help you, the working faith professional, create concrete, effective tools and/or ground your spiritual capacity to anchor you through the winds of change.
http://www.bu.edu/sth/academics/lifelong-learning/?fbclid=IwAR1p3XPg86BOu1Js9S1LPIPsYg88XHeNrOha3bdQxhJmzT0pj6N4aC9u0VE

Your Input Sought

COLLECTING ORIGINAL WORSHIP PIECES BY MCCers

We are looking for prayers, calls to worship, communion liturgies, litanies, etc. that are related to the theme of sharing Christmas Hope in a COVID World. Send your resources and ideas with permission to share them with MCC to [email protected]

GOT GOOD NEWS TO SHARE?

Send the information to [email protected]

DO YOU HAVE AN ONLINE EVENT THAT IS OPEN TO OTHERS?

Please give us at least 2 weeks advance notice of events and include all details on how to register and/or login. Send your event notices to [email protected]

OUR MAILING ADDRESS

Please share with your Treasurer and Clerk of the Board
2775 NW 49th Ave. Ste: 205-327
Ocala, FL 34482
USA