"O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon His Name and make known His deeds among the people!" (Ps 105:1)

May the LORD cause His face to shine upon our City and Valley!

Please be aware of several of the following opportunities for prayer, support, or community involvement, and pass this information along to others who may be interested as well (you may also access this update on the web at http://www.MissionHuntsville.org/updates.htm).

Prayer and Intercession Church Women United - Prayer Breakfast and Day of Repentance Pastors and Ministry Leaders Greater Huntsville Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship (GHIMF) - No meeting Greater Huntsville Pastors Prayer Summit (GHPPS) - Madison County Courthouse (8/9) Huntsville Association for Pastoral Care (HAPC) - Spiritual Care Training (8/25) Free Ministers Marriage Retreat - WinShape Retreat and Conference Center Compassion, Mission, and Outreach Christian Women's Job Corps - Bridges Out of Poverty Workshop (8/17)

"GOD be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause Your face to shine upon us ... that Thy way may be known upon earth, and Thy salvation among all the people!" (Ps 67:1-2)

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Church Women United (CWU) invites you to their Annual Prayer Breakfast. The Prayer Breakfast will be held 8/4/2007 @ 10:00 A.M. at Trinity United Methodist Church, located at 607 Airport Rd. SW.We are asking everyone to bow in prayer at 11:30 A.M. on 8/4/2007, in observance of WORLD DAY OF REPENTANCE and praying for WORLD PEACE. The guest speaker will be Susan Holliday, Director of the Multi-Cultural Center. Honoree (Deaconess Gloria Batts).

RSVP Priscilla Montgomery at 859-6396 or Barbara Kirkpatrick at 881-7467. Seating is limited. Thank you so much for your cooperation.

See also: www.ChurchWomen.org

Pastors Prayer Summit - Strategic Focus:

Please note that the Pastors Prayer Summit for the month of August will meet at a special time (4:30pm) and location (Madison County Courthouse) to enable a time for pastors to meet with Hon. William K. Bell, Presiding Circuit Judge. Judge Bell sees first hand the devastation of broken marriages and families in our county (a staggering 77.1% divorce rate) from his work in our Family and Divorce Court. He will share personally with pastoral leaders, so there may be a time of informed and focused prayer for the marriages and families of our city and community.

If you would like to be part of this strategic time, please meet at the office of Judge William Bell at 4:30pm Thursday August 9th, 2007 (Rm 812, next to his courtroom on the 8th floor of the Madison County Courthouse, downtown Huntsville). Please give yourself extra time to park downtown!

Mini-Summits occur the 2nd Thursday of each month.

August Mini-Summit
Thursday August 9th

The Madison County Courthouse is located in downtown Huntsville. The county consists of three District Judges and six Circuit Judges, serving approximately 290,000 residents. There were 12,846 Circuit Court and 28,939 District Court cases filed and 11,974 Circuit cases and 28,651 District cases disposed of in 2004.

The circuit courts are Alabama's trial courts of "general jurisdiction" - meaning that these courts have the power to decide all cases that can be brought into a court under the Constitution and laws of the State. The circuit courts have exclusive, original jurisdiction of all civil actions in which the amount in controversy exceeds $10,000 and concurrent jurisdiction with the district courts in civil actions in which the amount exceeds $3,000. The circuit courts have exclusive original jurisdiction over domestic relations cases, felony criminal cases, and capital murder cases.

Circuit courts also have the authority to hear cases appealed from any courts of limited jurisdiction (i.e., municipal courts, probate courts, and district courts). A case appealed from a municipal, probate, or district court will be tried de novo in circuit Court - meaning the case will be tried again, usually with a jury, just as if it had not previously been heard in lower court. Circuit courts are "courts of record:" all proceedings are recorded and transcribed by an official court reporter.

LOCATION

Madison County Courthouse
Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit
100 North Side Square
Huntsville, Alabama 35801
(Office of Judge William Bell, Rm 812)
Map and Directions

Alabama Administrative Office of Courts
www.alacourt.gov

Announcing the Huntsville Association for Pastoral Care
School of Applied Ministry Summer 2007 Class

“Anxious People, Anxious Times”

Saturday, August 25
8:00 am – 12:45 pm
(Breakfast and registration are from 8:00 – 8:15)

Hosted by Hospice Family Care (in Huntsville)
3304 Westmill Drive (Just west of Milton Frank Stadium & Senior Center )

Taught by area faculty, including Frank Broyles, M. Div., Cornelia Turnbow, M.S.S.W., and Marcell Johnson, D. Min., this class is designed for lay spiritual caregivers (Stephen Ministers, deacons, ministry team leaders, Sunday School teachers) and helping professionals (Counselors, parish nurses, social workers) but is open to anyone seeking tools for faithfully and compassionately recognizing and addressing anxiety in individuals and groups. Leaders who work with families would particularly benefit.

The class begins with exploring what the Biblical faith says about shepherding care and the claim of healthy trust in the midst of anxiety. It then addresses the causes of and effective responses to the rise of nervousness, worry, and anxiousness in these times. Participants will:

Mark your calendar now, and feel free to forward this "save the date" information to others who might be interested. For more information on Continuing Education Units or cost (total of $35, but reduced significantly with congregational sponsorship), or to register, call 880-2074 or e-mail the Huntsville Association for Pastoral Care (hapchsv@yahoo.com).

Huntsville Association for Pastoral Care (HAPC)
School of Applied Ministry (PDF)

HAPC was founded in 1977 through a joint effort of clergy, medical professionals and local congregations.

Quite often, couples in ministry become so involved in “giving to others” that their personal lives are neglected. They miss out on the first part of the biblical principal found in Matthew 10:8, “Freely you have received, freely give.” A Galatians 6:6 Great Commandment retreat is a time of personal renewal and encouragement for ministry couples…a time to “freely receive.”

Galatians 6:6 retreats are held in various locations in the United States and overseas through strategic partnerships with denominations, other ministries, individuals and Great Commandment network churches. The retreat, accommodations, meals and all materials are a gift from co-sponsoring partners.

More than 10,000 ministry couples around the world have participated in these life-changing, marriage-enriching, ministry-impacting retreats!

Upcoming Galatians 6:6
Great Commandment Retreats

Sponsored by Marriage CoMission, WinShape Retreat Center and the Great Commandment Network

Two Identical Retreats
for Senior Pastor Couples (FREE)
August 27th-29th or September 12th-14th

WinShape Reteat Center
2277 Martha Berry Hwy. Mount Berry, GA 30149

Marriage Retreat Brochure (PDF)

Greetings:

Christian Women’s Job Corps of Madison County, AL is pleased to offer a one-day workshop on August 17, 2007 to professionals who work with those in poverty.

Authentic communication requires people to speak the same language. If your work day involves communicating with people caught in the cycle of generational poverty, do you really know what they are telling you when they answer your questions?  Do they know what you want to know from them?

Genuine change can happen with people when they are able truly to communicate with the people in the places they want to go.

BRIDGES OUT OF POVERTY workshop will teach you new skills to be able to increase your listening, thinking, and speaking skills.  Then you are better equipped as you help teach and understand the people you are helping to reach a higher level of their potential than their circumstances might allow.  

My experience with BRIDGES OUT OF POVERTY instruction opened my eyes to do what I've been doing and has given me greater sensitivity and understanding.  IT WAS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME!

Please forward this invitation to all those you know who would benefit from learning how to more effectively work with those in generational poverty. We look forward to seeing you at the workshop!

Berachah!
Earla Lockhart

"And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day." (2 Chronicles 20:26)

Bridges Out of Poverty Flyer (PDF)

Bridges Out Of Poverty

The Bridges Out Of Poverty seminar gives both the social service provider and the community member key lessons in dealing with individuals from poverty. Topics include increasing awareness of the differences in economic cultures, how those differences affect opportunities for success, developing an action plan to improve services to clients and improving retention rates for new hires from poverty. This seminar is based on the book Bridges Out Of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities, a collaboration between Ruby K. Payne, Philip DeVol, and Terie Dreussi Smith. Phil's experience includes developing school based, substance abuse prevention, intervention and student assistance programs, and Terie is an experienced educator and prevention coordinator. This seminar is designed for employers, community organizations, law enforcement, counselors, health care and social service providers.

More information about Ruby Payne is available at: aha! Process

The seminar is scheduled for August 17, 2007 from 9am-5pm at the First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at 600 Governors Drive in Huntsville.

PRINTABLE REGISTRATION FORM (PDF) - Bridges Out of Poverty Flyer (PDF)

For more information, to purchase tickets or to make a donation, contact: Elaine Dickson at (256) 428-9435.

Christian Women’s Job Corps® (CWJC) of Madison County (www.cwjc.net) is a non-profit, faith-based agency where women in need are equipped for life and employment through job-readiness classes, computer classes, GED training, Bible study, and mentoring.

Women chosen to participate in the Christian Women's Job Corps program attend intensive life and work skills courses that include daily Bible study and computer classes. The classes vary in length and are free of charge. The curriculum is designed to give the CWJC students a firm foundation on which to build a successful life and career.

Each student is assigned a mentor, and each mentor is committed to a one-year one-on-one relationship to help build the student's self-esteem, self-confidence and skills essential to success in life and work.

CWJC Mission

The mission of Christian Women’s Job Corps® of Madison County, Alabama, Inc. is to equip area women with the life and employment skills needed for them to obtain self–sufficiency. With the support of area volunteers, our goal is to break the cycle of poverty, be it financial or poverty of spirit.