Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We held our third district conference of this year in Chicago over the weekend. Like the Southwest and Northwest conferences, this one also had a higher attendance than last time. Thirty-two attended from Toledo, Ohio, and blessed us with their worship band. We had two Advanced Diploma graduates from Grace Communion Seminary: Willard High and Linda Rex. Here are a few photos of the conference:
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Photos by Douglas Johannsen
“It Looks Like This”
New on the GCI “It Looks Like This” website (at http://gci-usa.blogspot.com/):
• A video of an infant baptism service held recently in a GCI congregation in the U.S.
• A video of a gathering at the recent GenMin leadership summit. Being discussed is God’s calling of young leaders into ministry with Jesus.
• A picture of a recent “friendship feast” held by Dishon and Afrika Mills, who are starting a new GCI church in the Boston area (click on the “seeking” tab).
Ghana
The Buduburam, Ghana, congregation celebrated its first anniversary on Sunday, April 3, with songs, dance and praises to the Lord. In attendance were 173 adults and 150 children. Some members from the New Ashongman (Accra), Kutunse and Kumasi congregations were present to share the joy of the Buduburam church.
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The children gave musical performances that drew long applause from the crowd.
The Chairman of the Ecclesiastical Council of GCI Ghana, Pastor Emmanuel Okai, gave the sermon for the occasion.
In addition to the children, the Miracle Choir (the church’s choir), the “Dialect Choir” with songs from Grand Gedeh County of Liberia, and some teen groups gave musical presentations to the delight of the congregation. New musical instruments donated by the Australian churches enhanced the performances. Meals were served to all who attended and pastors and their spouses cut the anniversary cake.
Photos by Theophilus Nii Okai & Emmanuel Okai
Galway, Ireland Festival 2011
We are pleased to announce the Irish Harvest Festival, which will take place from Sunday, September 11 to Saturday, September 17. This year’s festival will be at Salthill resort in the City of Galway in the beautiful West of Ireland. The festival venue is the Salthill Hotel, which is situated on the Galway Bay seafront. Some of the finest scenery in the world is just on the doorstep: beautiful Connemara, the Aran Islands, the north Clare coast and the Burren, to name just a few places of outstanding beauty.
The hotel has a large car park and extensive leisure facilities, including two swimming pools, a sauna, etc. which are available for complimentary use by residents of the hotel. Meals are available in the restaurant and in the bar. There is a large variety of restaurants in the local area and also in the city to suit all tastes and pockets.
For those who wish to stay in other accommodation, there is an abundance of hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, and holiday cottages in the area. There is also a caravan park only minutes from the festival venue with mobile homes that can be rented by the day. It is advisable to stay on the west/Salthill side of Galway since driving through the city can be slow. Galway is readily accessible by motorway from Dublin and Northern Ireland, and for those outside Ireland, we have airports at Galway, Knock (Ireland West) and Shannon, all within easy reach. There are frequent buses from the hotel to the city.
For further information, email Gerard or Marian Folan, marianfolan@eircom.net.
Other useful contacts are:
The festival venue: www.salthillhotel.com
The Salthill Caravan Park, www.salthillcaravanpark.com
Discover Ireland tourist site, www.discoverireland.ie
Remember that prayer is the battleground where we fight the good fight of faith. Let’s encourage everyone to join together in prayer, for we belong to Christ, and by the Spirit it is in Christ that we pray. Prayer and other spiritual activities help keep our hearts in tune with God and remind us of who we are in Christ. He is our all in all, and in him we are eternally beloved of the Father and blessed to share his good news with others.
Love from my family to yours,
Joseph Tkach
