REFLECTIONS AND MUSINGS FROM PASTOR JIM: MINISTRY IN HAITI … Our Missions Committee has been prayerfully considering our church’s next mission thrust. Through discussions with Steve Page of Ebenezer Outreach, we have heard the call to establish a sister church connection with the brothers and sisters of the church in Anse a Foleur (pronounced AHNS-AH-FUH-LOOR), a town in northern Haiti. We expect to send a small team of members there a year from now (January 2013) to establish the relationship and explore ways we can assist in the work of the Lord. Over the next year there will be fund-raising work and educational work to be done in preparation for this ministry. This is a major work, and we hope to be about this partnership for the next several years. We will need all hands on deck as a church to fulfill the purpose of this calling. Please be considering what part you have to play in this great venture. Here are some aspects of this ministry to pray over: - prayer for Anse a Foleur and for the work we will do there; - go to Haiti; - donate; - help with fund-raising projects; - personal support for the people who go; - administrative tasks coordinating the work - donations of materials for travelers or for work in Haiti as we learn more of specific needs there. As this ministry unfolds other and more specific opportunities will arise. Please join together in supporting the work of the Lord in building the Kingdom of God in and with the church of Anse a Foleur, Haiti. … AND MINISTRY IN ETHIOPIA from Pastor Jim In June of this year, I will return to Ethiopia to teach at Evangelical Theological College (ETC) in that nation’s capital, Addis Ababa. I taught there in the summer of 2006 and found it to be a powerful experience for the students and for me. For three weeks I will be teaching a course called "Servant Leadership" for students who will be pastors, missionaries and Christian educators. The students of ETC come with a passion for the Lord and a dedication to doing His work that is absolutely inspiring. While I hope to impart something that will be useful to them in their ministries, it is inevitable that I will receive a much greater blessing than they. I am very grateful for the encouragement of the Staff-Pastoral Relations Committee for this mission. When I arrived here in Corinth in 2010, I had expressed interest in participating in this teaching mission again. When it appeared that the time was right to go forward, the SPRC members and others in the church affirmed the church’s support and are preparing to enlist those who will lead worship and ministry here in Corinth for the four weeks I am away (approximate dates are June 6 to July 4). A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT FUNDING: ABOUT EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE: ETC is an independent, Ethiopian-run school serving the Protestant churches of Ethiopia. ETC students are all high school graduates, and all have been involved in some type of ministry (pastoral, Christian education, missions) for at least four years. In addition to their regular Fall and Spring semesters taught by their full-time faculty, they offer a number of brief, intensive, full-credit courses each summer, which is their rainy season. Rainy Season instructors come from all over the world and teach a wide variety of courses. They are not paid by ETC nor are their travel or living expenses covered. Because summer teaching at ETC is done on a volunteer basis, I will be seeking financial assistance to cover room and board and travel costs. However, this mission is a not a project of the church as a whole. While people of Corinth UMC have been very encouraging, the church "as a church" is not and will not be asked to help fund the work. If there are any individuals who wish to be part of assisting with the mission financially, please speak with me about that directly.