Ministry Resources

By Admin (Admin) on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - 10:30 PM:

Palms for Pastors, www.palmsforpastors.com, has released Newcomers 1.0 and Correctional Facilities Ministry (CFM) 1.0, as new additions to its inventory of Palm-based applications for ministry. The Newcomers application helps pastors to quickly record information as it is received about new people who have moved into a community and may be looking for a church family. The pastor is able to record a family name, possible address, the source of the information, and to set a tentative date for a welcome call. Newcomers also provides pastors a way to record information about houses for sale in the community as a way to monitor the arrival of new people who might also be looking for a church family and then to follow up with a welcome call.

Correctional Facilities Ministry was created at the request of a chaplain who ministers to inmates at several different facilities and needed a way to track names and record notes from visitations at several different facilities. The chaplain is able to plan a day by scheduling visits by name and the application automatically enters facility, floor, and cell information of the inmate.

Trial versions of each application are available from the Palms for Pastors website at www.palmsforpastors.com and registered versions are only $10 each.

For more information about Palms for Pastors send email to info@palmsforpastors.com.

By Admin (Admin) on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 10:30 PM:

Dear All in Christ!

From: Ann Dahlen, Large-Print Ministry, Rock Island, Ill., anndahlen3@aol.com or largeprinthelp@aol.com

The Large-Print Ministry's CDs reach out to help the blind and visually-impaired.

"Prayers & Psalms for Today" is a large-print CD that can help people in all kinds of life situations and challenges. It includes selections from Prayers and Thanksgivings, Prayers for the Sick, Prayers for Use by a Sick Person, along with The Psalter (the Psalms of David), from The Book of Common Prayer 1979 of The Episcopal Church, USA.

The CD, is in APhont™, a special font designed for people with severe vision challenges. The font was developed by American Printing House for the Blind.

The main body of type is in 20 point. The material is laid out for 8.5 x 11 inch pages.

While the material is from an Episcopal book, it is helpful to everyone regardless of faith.

If you have no need for this material yourself, please pass the information along to someone who might.

The material on the "Prayers & Psalms for Today" can be printed out distributed to the blind and visually-challenged, including to shut-ins, and those in nursing homes, prisons, and hospitals. The prayers can be made into a booklet as can The Psalter.

Blind individuals with electronic notetakers and special software, and visually-impaired people with access to computers can use the CD as part of their devotions.

In addition, optical character readers that can read documents formatted in Microsoft Word should also be able to read materials on either the Prayers & Psalms for Today CD or The LARGE-PRINT Book of Common Prayer CD that's described below.

The LARGE-PRINT Book of Common Prayer CD, includes the entire Book of Common Prayer 1979 of The Episcopal Church, USA. It is formatted in Microsoft Word 97. The main text is in 18 point. It is laid out for 8.5 x 11 inch pages.

The CD can be used to help prepare large-print worship materials for those who cannot read the print in pew edition of the BCP.

It’s been suggested that the material can also be adapted and used to help children who are learning to read. Books for beginning readers are usually in larger-sized print. Grownups can use the materials to help them learn to follow along and take part in worship.

The CDs have been distributed to bishops, clergy, deacons, vergers, dioceses, churches, seminaries, colleges, bookstores, resource centers, prison ministries, hospitals, military and veterans' hospitals, mental-health ministries, and individuals throughout the U.S. and elsewhere.

Among the hospitals that ordered CDs are Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill.; New-York Presbyterian Hospital, New York City; St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas; and, St. Luke's Hospital, Kansas City, Mo.; Redlands Community Hospital, Redlands, Calif.; Hospital for Special Care, New Britain, Conn.; Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, Ill.; Mayview State Hospital, Bridgeville, Pa.; and, Eastern State Hospital, Williamsburg, Va.

To order, please send a self-addressed, stamped 6x9 envelope with three 39 cent stamps attached (four if it's a padded envelope) to me at: Ann Dahlen, 1900 6th Avenue, Apt. 513, Rock Island, IL 61201. PLEASE INDICATE WHICH CD YOU ARE ORDERING (These ordering instructions are for ordering one CD.)

A DONATION OF ANY AMOUNT TO HELP WITH EXPENSES WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED AS THE LARGE-PRINT MINISTRY IS NOT A PROGRAM OF ANY DIOCESE, CHURCH OR ORGANIZATION.

For more information, please email me at anndahlen3@aol.com or largeprinthelp@aol.com. Please let me know if you don't want to receive more ministry emails.

ANN

By Admin (Admin) on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - 10:30 PM:

Library of Hope is getting a great report from prison staff! Its our goal to offer a helping hand to you who labor tirelessly in Americas institutions, day after day. If we can help you, wont you please contact us?

As God supplies the resources through the generosity of our supporters, we will pass those blessings on to you in the form of a Library of Hope. Each Library contains about 100 items Christian books, CDs, DVD's, videos, and more and our goal is to send each prison four libraries per year (more, if possible, for larger prisons). You, the chaplain, will be the librarianof these resources, but we encourage you to give them away, so that prisoners can keep them as long as they like, share them with others, and even send them home to their families. Moreover, we hope and pray that these materials will open doors for discussion and discipleship and counseling with your inmates. Let these gifts enrich your ministry to them, impacting lives for eternity!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Library of Hope

http://www.libraryofhope.org/chaplain.html

AFTER CARE