Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman
Calvary Christian Church is among several organizations in Winchester, Ky., that have created a pilot program to help people in need of transportation, especially those individuals in recovery programs.
“There were all these churches around town that have vans, and there’s all these people who need transportation,” Calvary pastor Mike McCormick told the Winchester Sun. “Could those vans be repurposed beyond Sunday morning . . . to be used for the benefit of the community? . . . At Calvary, we’re very intentional about wanting to serve the community and break down whatever barriers there are for the community.”
UnitedHealthcare in Kentucky provided $10,000 for transportation logistics expertise. The money supports a part-time “mobility manager” and a bus driver, along with insurance, fuel, and maintenance, the paper said.
People can use the transportation program to attend recovery meetings, medicated-assisted treatment programs, or behavioral or mental health appointments.
“What we’re doing here is trendsetting for the nation right now on health care,” McCormick said. “To say that hey, none of us can provide the single solution all on our own. But if we can work together . . . we’re better together.”
And the program is more than simply transportation.
“We don’t just pick them up on a bus and take them somewhere,” McCormick said. “There’s a conversation that’s happening with that person.”
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News Briefs
Bethany Christian Church, Washington, Ind., spent $15,000 to forgive $4 million in medical debts to 3,227 families across six area counties, according to MyWabashValley.com.
Senior pastor Matt Merold said each family whose debt was paid off received a note that said, “As an act of kindness in the name of Jesus Christ your debt has been forgiven.” The church worked with RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit which purchases—that is, retires—medical debt for pennies on the dollar.
“This was a great opportunity to be generous and make a difference in the lives of families in our community,” Merold told the website.
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A worship leader at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., has been cast as the understudy for the role of Simba in the touring company of the Broadway musical The Lion King.
Darian Sanders, 34, is an associate worship leader at Southeast’s Blankenbaker campus. He told WDRB.com of his “utter joy and excitement” upon learning he would be part of the ensemble for the tour as well as understudy for Simba following his New York audition.
“Just the chance to be on stage with such great performers that I’ve already seen in action—but then also just the aspect of potentially being Simba on stage as well—is just exciting,” he said.
Sanders has little theater experience but said singing in church has prepared him for the role.
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Author and preacher Thomas G. Long will speak at Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan in October as part of the Ross-Smith Lectures in Pastoral Care.
Long is the Bandy Professor of Preaching Emeritus at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. He has written multiple textbooks on preaching and worship, as well as several New Testament commentaries.
At Emmanuel Oct. 17 and 18, Long will give three presentations about Christian ministry in a time of grief. His lectures are entitled “Living in Hope, Dying Well,” “The Good Funeral, the Bad Funeral,” and “Preaching at Funerals.”
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Kentucky Christian University is expanding its “Preaching Roundtable” from a one-day event by forming a cohort of pastors who will meet eight times during the next two years. The quarterly gathering will be led by Stephen Pattison and Randy Kirk.
“The purpose of the cohort is to help you in your ministry by coming together for encouragement, teaching, and support,” KCU’s website said. “You will read books together, share ideas and information, and have a place to share your needs and concerns that you are facing in ministry.”
The first meeting is Oct. 24. The theme is “Not Alone.”
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William Jessup University, Rocklin, Calif., is planning “The Jessup Gala” for Sunday, Oct. 13, “to celebrate all that God has done” during the institution’s first 80 years, “and dream about [what] has yet to be realized.”
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Pine Village (Ind.) Christian Church will host its 125th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Pine Village Park. The gathering will begin at 4:30 p.m., with dinner at 5:30 p.m. The celebration will continue at 9:30 the next morning during Sunday services at the church.
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The Christian Church of Los Alamos (N.M.) invited the community for Aloha Sunday this past weekend. The Instruments of Praise Hula Ministry led worship.
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Spring Road Christian Church, Lanett, Ala., will screen a new documentary about the effects of pornography on the human brain and the rest of society at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Brain Heart World was made by Fight the New Drug, a nonreligious, nonprofit group that seeks to educate the public about the harmfulness of pornography.
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