Category: Announcements

GCI in Italy invites you to Festival 2015, coming up in August. To learn more, go to http://www.ccdg.it/joomla/images/stories/pdf/Flyermontegrotto2015.pdf.

Bob Miller and his wife Ruth are pleased to announce the birth of another grandchild, Lily Renee Miller. According to Bob, who pastors GCI churches in Birmingham and Good Hope, Alabama, “Our son Brian and his wife Kristin report that the delivery went well and Lily is a healthy little girl—born on April 20, weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces; 21 inches long. Brian and Kristin are exhausted and the grandparents are doing great!”

 

GCI Pastor Kernani Cheny and his wife Juliette of Martinique are ecstatic in welcoming to the world their first child, Keynan Josue. He was born on April 15, weighing eight pounds and 20 inches long. Though the pregnancy and cesarean-section delivery were difficult, baby Keynan is well and lively. New mommy Juliette is very tired but happy to welcome this wonderful gift.

At its semiannual meeting on March 5, the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) Board of Directors expressed collective grief and profound concern for the suffering of Christians around the world. “Our brothers and sisters in Christ are being persecuted, uprooted from their ancestral homes, and even martyred because of their faith,” the motion states. Click here to read more.

We are pleased to announce that students can now obtain a theology degree from Grace Communion Seminary (GCS). The Master of Theological Studies degree requires 42 units (14 courses), just as the Master of Pastoral Studies degree already does. “We noticed that many of our students wanted to write their thesis on a theological topic,” GCS President Russell Duke said. “We can now give students a degree that acknowledges a theological focus.”

Students now have a choice between the Pastoral Studies degree and the Theological Studies degree. Both require the same number of courses; the primary difference is that the Pastoral Studies degree requires more courses in Christian Ministry, whereas the Theological Studies degree requires more courses in theology. Further details are in the Academic Catalog & Student Handbook, posted at www.gcs.edu (see the left-hand column).

Students who are currently enrolled in the Pastoral Studies program but want to switch to the Theological Studies program should contact the Dean of Faculty (dean@gcs.edu) to discuss the details.

All GCS students start as “continuing education” students. After they have taken seven courses, they may then choose to focus on the theology degree, or on the pastoral studies degree. They have up to eight years to complete either degree. “GCS is designed to serve part-time students,” said Michael Morrison, Dean of Faculty. “All our courses are offered on the internet so we do not take students away from where they are already serving.”

Students are not required to have a bachelor’s degree in order to take GCS classes. However, they must be able to do graduate-level work, since all GCS classes are offered at the master’s degree level. Students who have some previous college courses, or an equivalent in occupational training programs, may qualify.

GCS is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. For further information about the Seminary and for applications, see www.gcs.edu or phone 1-800-851-2611.

Carl Fredrik Aas, GCI’s regional pastor in Scandinavia, recently announced that there will be a worship festival in Denmark this fall with the theme “Christian Journey.”

Information about the festival is found online at http://en.gvks.org/home.

Employees in GCI’s Home Office recently gathered for a luncheon to honor Janet Shay for her 37 years of faithful service as an employee of Grace Communion International. Janet retired in January.

Janet, who was originally from Oregon, started working for GCI while attending Ambassador College in Pasadena, California. Like most AC students, she held a variety of jobs during her college years, working in the custodial departments and then as a keypunch operator and terminal operator in mail processing. During her college years, Janet traveled to Israel to serve on the student archaeological project in Jerusalem. She then transferred to AC in Big Sandy, Texas, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree before returning to Pasadena to work there in the AC registrar’s and admission’s office. Janet married her husband Gary in 1971.

After taking time off from full-time work to be with her family, Janet returned to work in GCI’s personnel department, first as a secretary and then as a benefits specialist, risk/benefits manager and finally human resources manager where she served until her retirement. As human resources manager, Janet was responsible for both risk/benefits administration and the human resources functions with the able assistance of Maureen Warkentin. During her tenure with GCI, Janet held several professional designations including Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

During the luncheon, Dr. Joseph Tkach, President, and Mat Morgan, Treasurer (pictured with Janet at right), recounted with appreciation Janet’s work history with GCI, to the applause of the other Home Office employees. They presented Janet with a large card signed by the employees and a gift card.

Please join us in expressing appreciation for Janet’s faithful service to the Church, and wish her a wonderful retirement with much reading, gardening and time with her grandchildren. Notes of appreciation can be posted in the “comments” section below, or emailed to janet.shay@live.com.

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Please note: Maureen Warkentin now serves as GCI’s Human Resources Manager and Cheryl Corson serves as the Risk/Benefits Manager. Both can be emailed at humanresources@gci.org. Maureen can be phoned at 626-650-2372, and Cheryl at 626-650-2352. We thank these women for accepting these additional responsibilities.

GCI-USA pastor Tom Ecker and his wife Alberta are pleased to announce the birth of their third great-grandchild, Olivia Kaoiokalani Morris. She was born on March 20, weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces, and 20.5 inches long. Olivia has two older brothers.

Janet Morrison and Ashley Ticas (pictured at right), recently visited GCI’s congregation in Barranquilla, Colombia (pastored by Sonia Orozco) to make plans for a short-term mission trip there in June 2015. The trip is being sponsored by Generations Ministries’ Great Commission Trips organization, which is directed by Janet. Ashley is the daughter of Heber Ticas, GCI Church Multiplication Ministries (CMM) national coordinator.

The focus of the mission trip in June will be to assist GCI’s Barranquilla congregation in conducting a Vacation Bible School (VBS) that will reach out with God’s love to churched and unchurched children (ages 5-11) along with their families.

Registration to participate in this trip (leaving from the U.S.) is now open. For information, click here.

Gavin and Sinead Henderson, along with their one-year old daughter, Nova, are delighted to announce the birth of their son, Digby Obadiah, on February 28. Young grandparents, James and Shirley Henderson, are over the moon with excitement! (James is GCI’s national director in the United Kingdom.)