Category: Announcements

GCI elder Roger Lippross and his wife Anthea are celebrating the birth of their granddaughter, Maxine Silvia Lippross. According to Roger, “Maxine is made of peaches and cream!” Congratulations to all.

The producers of the movie The Shack recently released the official trailer embedded below. Based on the book of the same name by Paul Young, the movie is set to be released in theaters in early March.

On YouTube at https://youtu.be/CL0yUbSS5Eg

New Covenant Fellowship, GCI’s congregation in Glendora, California, recently honored Neil and Susan Earle on the occasion of Neil’s retirement as an employed GCI pastor.

Neil commented in his final church report:

So this is Neil and Susan Earle signing off after 44 years’ service to WCG/GCI and 20 years here in the wonderful Glendora church…. It is now a great privilege to look back and be part of the tradition in this congregation that includes Pastors Ken Swisher, Carn Catherwood, and Dennis Wheatcroft. Upwards and Onwards!

We send our thanks and congratulations to the Earles!

Church Administration and Development has announced that Bermie Dizon will replace Neil as the lead pastor of the Glendora congregation.

It has been a busy time for Neil and Susan. Not only have they been involved in the handoff of the congregation to the Dizons, they recently participated in the 125th anniversary of St. Luke’s Episcopal church in Monrovia, California, where (as pictured below) they manned a display on behalf of the Southern California chapter of the C.S. Lewis Society where Neil is serving as interim director. St. Luke’s regard for C.S. Lewis is demonstrated by the stained glass window in their building that features Lewis (see the picture at bottom).

This announcement is from Richard Roberts, pastor of GCI’s congregation in the heart of San Francisco.

San Francisco Community Fellowship invites you to attend our 18th year anniversary of serving our community with physical and spiritual food. Please join us on December 4, 2016, at 11:30 AM for a day of worship and fellowship as we celebrate this joyful occasion. Our address is 1195 Geneva Ave, San Francisco, CA 94112. Visit our website at www.sfcf.org. For additional information, contact Pastor Richard Roberts (raroberts@sfcf.org) — (415) 990-0352 or Pastor Tracy Lee (Trace.Lee@sfcf.org — (650) 391-5742.

This announcement is from Anthony Mullins, National Coordinator of GCI Generations Ministries.

GCI has been blessed with 50 years of excellence in camp ministry. As we embark on the next 50 years, I believe it’s time to reimagine the possibilities of what our camp ministry can be—especially as it relates to how our camps can more tightly integrate in partnership with our GCI congregations. After spending a few days in meetings in the North Carolina mountains with the group pictured below (which includes the GenMin Advisory Council), I’m more convinced than ever that we are embarking on the most exciting time in GCI camp ministry!

We’ll be sharing our ideas about a new approach to camp ministry at the 2017 Converge conference, which will be held in April 2017 in Nashville, TN. Our conference theme will be Reimagine Camp. For the past few years, Converge has focused on leader development, but in 2017 this need will be addressed by our GC Next event in North Carolina, and our GCI Denominational Conference in Florida, which will have age-specific tracks for children, teens and young adults.

Given these plans, we’ll be returning Converge to its original focus: providing the best camp ministries possible. All our plenary sessions at Converge along with workshops and small group discussions will focus on camp ministry with an eye toward providing better support for our GCI-USA congregations.

Converge will continue to be a time of inspiration and hope. Some of our interns will lead worship; Jeff Broadnax, Jeff McSwain and I will be the main speakers; and Gary and Cathy Deddo will share insights concerning the 2017 GenMin camp curriculum they are currenly working on with Pastor Lance and Georgia McKinnon.

Converge 2017 will be held at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville (www.scarrittbennett.org). Because this facility is in the heart of Nashville, we will provide plenty of time to explore the surrounding eateries and sights, including the famous Music City Row, just a block or two away. We’ll be sharing information soon about Converge 2017 costs, lodging, transportation and registration. Be on the lookout here in GCI Weekly Update and on the GenMin Facebook page for that information. Let’s reimagine camp together!

We are pleased to make available to our congregations and members four Advent-themed videos recently produced by GCI Media. These videos will make good sermon illustrations and small group discussion-starters. You’ll find them on GCI’s website at https://www.gci.org/letter/advent2016, and they will be featured, one at a time, in a “Speaking of Life” series during Advent.

GCI-Netherlands elder Hans De Moei and his wife Denise are happy to announce the wedding on November 5 of their daughter Yvonne to Matthias den Hartog. According to Hans and Denise, “It was a beautiful wedding, and we all feel very blessed.” Here is a picture of the newlyweds:

On November 6, New Hope Christian Fellowship, GCI’s congregation in Eagle Rock, California, bid fond farewell to their lead pastor, Glen Weber and his wife Connie. Glen is retiring from employment as a GCI pastor and the couple has moved to the Denver, Colorado area.

Reflecting on his last day as a lead pastor, Glen wrote this on his Facebook page:

After 43 years and 5 months, today is my final sermon/service as a full-time pastor. We will ride off into the sunset to Denver (Aurora) and see what new opportunities await us in my retirement (Connie will continue to work for another couple years.) Thank you to all of you out there that have shared and impacted our lives!!

Here is a video produced by his congregation giving tribute to Pastor Glen and his wife Connie:

On YouTube at http://youtu.be/N_5xK2yt5YE.

A movie currently in production will bring to the screen Paul Young’s best-selling book, The Shack. The movie (with the same title as the book) will be released in select U.S. theaters on March 3, 2017. To learn more about the movie, click here.

Regional Pastor Randy Bloom and his wife Debbie are delighted to announce the recent wedding of their son Ryan to Ashley Taylor. The wedding, held in Austin, Texas, was officiated by Randy. Congratulations to Ryan and Ashley and to both families! Here are some pictures: