The 2021 Mission u theme is, There’s Far More Here. “So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without [God’s] unfolding grace. […] There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
The Message (MSG)
We have known and felt what it is like when “things are falling apart on us.” We have experienced a great unraveling that has shifted, quite literally, everything.
Could there be, as 2 Corinthians put it, “far more here than meets the eye?” Indeed: There’s far more here than meets the eye.
The adult study topics for 2021 Mission u are:
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (Issue Mission Study), the instructor is Patricia Stoneroad-Waysepappy a member of the Southern Arapaho Tribe, excited to be teaching this class and looks forward to sharing with you. Study description: Despite increased attention to the mass and over-incarceration of black men, the plight of criminalized black women and girls is overlooked, underreported and under analyzed. Monique W. Morris’ Pushout shows how even with obstacles, stigmas, stereotypes and despair, black girls still find ways to breathe remarkable dignity into their lives in classrooms, juvenile facilities and beyond, and challenges the rest of us to do the same.
Bearing Witness in the Kin-dom: Living into the Church’s Moral Witness through Radical Discipleship (Spiritual Growth Mission Study), the instructor is Sandra Blackbear-Ramirez. She has been a member of the Dallas Indian Mission UMC since 1995 and a certified Mission u Study Leader since 1997. The purpose of this study is to help the church and its members discern our call and bear witness to the will of God for a more just world. Written by Darryl W. Stephens.
8.5 CEU credits will be awarded to those who request it, complete and return the homework by the deadline date.
Here are the assignments for clergy and lay missioners requesting 8.5 CEU credits for attending both Mission u Study Topics. Please answer the following questions, send your responses to Mission U registrar, Rowena Beach, via email: rowena.beach@yahoo.com, by Friday, August 13, 2021.
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (Issue Mission Study)
Presented: June 29 and July 1, 2021
1. What is your vision of justice?
2. What does a fair and equitable world look like to you?
3. How do we create healing educational systems?
4. What is your definition of justice and mercy as it affects girls and young women of Pushout?
5. What does it mean to lead with love?
Bearing Witness in the Kin-dom: Living into the Church’s Moral Witness through Radical Discipleship (Spiritual Growth Mission Study)
Presented: July 13, 20, 27, 2021
1. Three things that contribute to our witness or concept of right or wrong, in the church or community are:
1)__________________________________________________________
2)__________________________________________________________
3)__________________________________________________________
2. What is empathy? List 2 things the church can do to support empathy?
- Why is it important to have “historical clarity?”
- Faith includes a social dimension. List 2 social dimensions of faith.
