Registration is Still Open for The Women's Missionary Council Executive Board 2021 Virtual Meeting

Dear Missionaries, CME Members and Friends,

The Women's Missionary Council’s Executive Board 2021 Meeting will be held February 24-25, 2021. This will be a virtual meeting facilitated by Zoom and hosted by Bishop Paul A.G. Stewart, Sr. and Mrs. M. Earline Stewart, and the members of the Ninth Episcopal District.

Join the Women's Missionary Council as we celebrate 102 years of ministry in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church! We are excited about our first virtual meeting and we look forward to missionaries providing stewardship reports about the great work underway in our Connectional church. Indeed we are staying connected during this COVID-19 period and our work continues!

Register online at the Women's Missionary Council Web site. You may download a registration form at the Web site. The Zoom meeting link will be sent soon.

The Program is online here. On Thursday evening, the Service of Holy Communion (Bishop Paul A.G. Stewart, Sr., preacher) will be streamed online to the CME Facebook page. On Friday afternoon, the meditation speaker will be Congresswoman Jahana Flemming Hayes, U.S. Representative for the Fifth Congressional District of Connecticut, and a faithful CME!. Additional information about the Executive Board 2021 Meeting is online at the Women's Missionary Council Web site <https://cmewmc.org>.

We look forward to the meeting and fellowship with our missionaries, College of Bishops, General Officers and other connectional leaders and friends. We are truly grateful for your support.

Please pray for the success of the Executive Board 2021 Meeting and the Women’s Missionary Council as we continue to serve Jesus Christ and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in this present age.

In the Service of the Lord,

Dr. Jacqueline I. Scott, International President

Patron Bishop James B. Walker

Women's Missionary Council

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

The Message

Have you ever thought about the power of a voice? Well, over the last few months we have listened to a lot of different voices, not just the audible voices but the voices of silence as well. The byproduct of the voice is speaking, the ability to express thoughts and feelings by articulating sound. In certain situations, society needs to hear that certain speech which speaks to the moment. Therefore, the church must find its prophetic voice or speech if you will. The church operates in many places but for this article, we will only look at three.

The Life of God’s People The church operates in the lives of God's people where the process of discipleship and formation help us to hear and understand the voice of Jesus. For the church to fully operate in the life of the believer we must hear the voice of God then use a prophetic voice that could help others to hear God. We are the voice of God. We should not remain silent when speech like racism, hatred, violence, and lies are present in society. These have become more common in society today than in the former days. The church has a voice and as the church, please use it. The Community in Which We Serve Within many communities you will find a church. Sometimes we may notice a church on every corner. The voice of a particular church may resonate inside the walls of the building only for many until March of 2020 when the coronavirus became the center of attention in society. The role of the church did not change. However, the church as we know it has been dispatched into the community. The prophetic voice of the church can reach beyond the walls and meet people where they are. The church must use its voice in the communities we serve.

The World as We Know It The world's voice has always been confusing. Some would say the world does not have a voice. I suggest it does. However, the collective speech was both accepted and denied as norms for humanity through culture and tradition in times of the collective voices from the North, South, East, and West. Confusion seems to be the loudest voice. But God! The message of liberation has become silent possibly due to the absent prophetic voice of the church. Over the last year, we have heard the argument against science as the coronavirus has become today's speech and talking points. Some have argued for science and the all too common “let the data speak.” The voice of the church in the world cannot continue to remain silent. Let the Word of God speak. We are The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church recognizing the importance of Christ in our daily lives. Leon C. Moore, Jr. General Secretary of Evangelism and Missions Pleasant Hill CME Conyers, GA

Clergy Burnout | A Virtual Event

In these trying times, many things cause Clergy Burnout and may cause your faith to falter. Join the Pastoral Institute and other clergy as we talk through concerns in a safe space.

Galatians 6:2 & 5 reminds us to carry each other’s burdens and in this way, you fulfill the law of Christ. Our intent with this gathering is to create an environment of education and support. Many find that we work best in community and when we are open with like-minded persons about areas where we are struggling.

What do burnout symptoms look like? · Exhaustion/fatigue; · Irritability, negativity, inadequacy; · Reduced empathy; · Reduced sense of gratification, reward or pleasure; · Reduced productivity; · Sense of overwhelm/despair; · Feeling isolated; · Insomnia; · Relationship conflict, withdrawal, reduced intimacy; · Headaches, stomach upset or blood pressure; · Mental health problems: anxiety, depression.

Register today: https://pastoralinstitute.org/CLERGY/

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ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

Rev. Dn. Stephen Muse, Ph.D., LMFT, LPC, BCC · Director of Clergy-in-Kairos Program · Senior Pastoral Psychotherapist · CPE Supervisor · Clinical Chaplain

Rev. Dn. Stephen Muse, PhD, LMFT, LPC, BCETS, ACS is senior pastoral psychotherapist and Director of Clergy-in-Kairos, a nationally recognized week-long intensive stress and wellness program for clergy and their spouses at the Pastoral Institute, Inc. in Columbus, Georgia.

Prior to his entry into the Greek Orthodox Church in 1993, he pastored a Presbyterian congregation for 11 years and helped begin an outpatient psychiatric clinic.

Fr. Stephen trained and supervised U.S. Army and Air Force Chaplains in pastoral psychological integration for 21 years and has worked extensively with combat veterans, persons experiencing spiritual pain and trauma and with clergy, physicians and therapists suffering professional stress and burnout.

He has published ten books, contributed chapters in ten others, and is author of 60 articles and book reviews for various professional and trade magazines including national award-winning research in the area of religious integration of therapists and their capacity for clinical empathy. His work has been translated into Russian, Greek, Swedish, Serbian and Romanian. He served as Managing Editor of The Pastoral Forum from 1993 to 2002.

Fr. Stephen is the founding church planter and first parish council President of Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Columbus, GA where he currently serves as a Deacon. He and his wife Diakonissa Claudia have four children, a granddaughter and three grandsons. They live in Columbus, Georgia.

Rev. Dr. Curtis L. West, Jr., M.Div, D.Min

Rev. Dr. Curtis L. West, Jr. is an Ordained Elder in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church with more than 25 years of pastoral experience. He currently serves as pastor of Holsey Chapel CME Church in Columbus, GA, and as Presiding Elder of the North Columbus-LaGrange District.

He has served five consecutive terms as a delegate to the General Conference of the CME Church and as a member of the General Connectional Board. He proudly served as Dean of Mississippi Leadership Training School enjoyed employment at a hospice chaplain in Central Georgia. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Dr. West is a graduate of Grambling State University (Grambling, Louisiana) with a B.A. degree in Psychology, Interdenominational Theological Center - Phillips School of Theology (Atlanta, Georgia) with a Master of Divinity Degree with a concentration in Christian Education, Southern Methodist University - Perkins School of Theology (Dallas, Texas) with a Doctor of Ministry degree with the focus on creating an Intergenerational Ministry Model in the Local Church.

Dr. West is happily married to Rev. Amarylis Didley West of Augusta, Georgia and is the father of two lovely daughters and one son.