Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities - On Sunday, March 22, 2015 the Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities ("MCC QC") will celebrate its 35th Anniversary, as well as its current pastor's 10th Anniversary of being called to the congregation. The public is invited to attend the 11:00 am worship service and to join in a potluck dinner following the service.

35 Years of Ministry in the Community began In the fall of 1979, eleven years after the founding of what was then known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a group of individuals from both Iowa and Illinois began discussions about forming a local congregation of MCC in the Quad Cities.  Under the guidance of Rev. Reid Christensen, pastor of MCC Illiamo in Quincy, Illinois, the group came together to form an advisory board and later began worshipping in the living rooms of members' homes.  The first facility rented as a Church building was a small, single room building at 1618 W. 3rd Street in Davenport.  Founding members Jim Moore and Peter Pond spent many hours crafting and renovating items for use in our first and subsequent buildings.

The Church organized the first Gay and Lesbian Pride Picnic for the Quad Cities, held at Scott County Park in June of 1982 and has worked tirelessly for equal rights and marriage equality on both sides of the Mississippi River.  MCC QC is a member church of Churches United of the Quad City Area, and helps feed the hungry by supporting our local food pantries, by serving a meal at the Salvation Army feeding site once a month, and by participating in the annual Quad Cities CROP Hunger Walk campaign. The Church owned a building in Rock Island until an electrical fire required a move to a facility at 31st and Harrison Streets in Davenport. In 2013 the congregation sold that building and in 2014 purchased the current facility at 2930 W. Locust St. in Davenport, formerly a Blockbuster Video store.

Rev. Rich Hendricks grew up only a few blocks away from that current Church location.  "The property was a part of 'Gruber's Gladiolas' farm and I used to walk to Wilson Elementary School by cutting through the pasture.  My very first job was planting gladiola bulbs in those fields.  I remember I wore shorts and my knees were raw and bloody from the dirt clods at the end of the first day.  With some help from my Grandma Vada's Watkins' Salve, band-aids and determination, I went back the next day and kept working that summer."

Hendricks graduated from Drake University and has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.  "After three years of practicing corporate law, and starting to raise a family, I knew that pastoral ministry was my true calling," says Hendricks, who received his Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta.  After coming out as a gay man in 1999, Hendricks moved to Chicago and practiced nonprofit law until becoming credentialed in the Metropolitan Community Church.

In October of 1994, Hendricks answered a call to come help MCC QC perform public "I Do" ceremonies - Civil Unions blessed by the Church in a public way to call attention to the need for marriage equality.  "It turns out MCC QC needed a pastor, and I accepted their call in January, 1995.  Never in a million years would I have thought my journey would lead me back to Davenport, Iowa - and then back to the very neighborhood where I grew up!"

Time Capsule  Time is a wonderful, funny, fickle thing it seems.  "Since we have come such a long way in our 35 years of existence, we thought we should commemorate our journey with time capsule," says Hendricks.  The time capsule is to be dedicated Sunday the 22nd and is not to be opened for 40 years.  It will be sealed in a "mouse hole" opening in one of the new building's metal beams in the social hall.  The contents will include items indicative of MCC QC's history - and a thumb drive filled with pictures and memorabilia from current life here.

Rev. Dr. Nancy Wilson  Presenting the message of "Seeing Jesus" at the 11:00 am service is the leader of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, Rev. Dr. Nancy Wilson.  Dr. Wilson was elected to the position of Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) in 2005, following the retirement of the Founder of MCC, Rev. Elder Troy Perry, and in July 2010, she was re-elected for a term of six years.  She is only the second person, and the first woman, to serve in that role since the founding of Metropolitan Community Churches in 1968.

Dr. Wilson has been the official delegate of MCC to the World Council of Churches General Assemblies in Canberra, Australia (1991); Harare, Zimbabwe (1998); and Porto Alegre, Brazil (2006).  In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Rev. Wilson to the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Following President Obama's re-election in 2013, Rev. Wilson gave a Scripture reading at the Inaugural Prayer Service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and was the first openly gay clergy member to participate.

Dr. Wilson's published works include : Outing the Bible: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Christian Scriptures (LifeJourney Press); Outing the Church: 40 Years in the Queer Christian Movement (LifeJourney Press); Nossa Tribo: Gays, Deus, Jesus e a Bíblia (Metanoia); Our Tribe:  Queer Folks, God, Jesus and the Bible (Alamo Press); with Fr. Malcolm Boyd, Amazing Grace. Rev. Wilson's prayers and poems are included in Race and Prayer, edited by Malcolm Boyd and Chester Talton (Morehouse Press).

LINCOLN, Neb. (March 11, 2015) – Tavender Jones of Story City, Iowa, is looking forward to teeing it up in the state where his passion for golf started. Jones will be one of an estimated 20,000 athletes from across the country competing in more than 60 sports in the 2015 State Games of America (SGA) July 28^th - Aug. 2^nd in Lincoln, Nebraska.

At the age of 19, Jones is already a highly decorated golfer. While golfing for Roland-Story High School, he won 10 meets during his junior and senior seasons. At the 2014 Iowa Games, he placed among the top five in Adult Individual Stroke Play, earning the opportunity to compete at the 2015 SGA.

Jones' love for golf began while growing up in McCook, Nebraska. "I played at the Heritage Hills Golf Course every day and would spend countless hours there. I played in youth tournaments as much as I could," said Jones.

Since moving to Iowa, he has golfed in the Iowa Games every summer. Jones is excited to take his game to the national level this summer at the 2015 SGA.

More than 600 athletes from 35 different states have registered for the SGA thus far. Registration remains open through May 15. Medalists in the Iowa games from the 2013 summer games through the 2015 winter games are eligible. Entry into a developing sport event is open to all competitors with no qualifying required. Those interested can find a list of developing sports, eligibility, and registration information at www.sga2015.com.

The State Games of America is sanctioned by the National Congress of State Games. The Nebraska Sports Council (NSC) will organize and oversee the event. The NSC's Cornhusker State Games recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and is one of the largest State Games events in the nation.

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DES MOINES, IA (03/11/2015)(readMedia)-- The Davenport Education Association (DEA) applauds the courageous stand taken by the Davenport Community School District's (DCSD) Board of Education and the DCSD Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Arthur Tate to bypass Iowa state law which limits the school district's spending per pupil annually up to $175 per student.

"We know what it means to be given less per pupil spending than other districts in the state," said Rebecca Menard, President of the DEA. "In simple terms it hurts kids, our teachers and members of our community and our way of life. It is unjust that the state has unequal spending for our school district up to $175 per pupil annually. That adds up to nearly $3.2 million for the entire DCSD in FY 16 and over $17 million in the last five years. Dr. Tate's act of civil disobedience in not following that limited spending authority and instead, raising spending to prevent larger class sizes and employee layoffs without increasing taxes is courageous and clearly the right thing to do. We thank him and the school board for standing so strong for our kids," said Menard.

In a speech on Monday, March 9, to the DCSD Board of Education, Tate said that he will violate state law which limits how much the DCSD can spend on public education. Instead, he said he will use $3.2 million in cash reserves (out of $29 million in reserve) to prevent increases in class sizes, fight the achievement gap and address the ill effects of poverty on a student's education. Tate is particularly dismayed that the legislature has not passed SSA for FY 2016 and FY 2017, as required within 30 days after the Governor presents his budget. Tate says that because the legislature is breaking school finance law and is proposing to underfund public schools he is prompted to recommend the DCSD break the school finance law as well.

"We are also asking the legislature and Governor to support 4 percent SSA for all Iowa's public schools. Iowa spends $1,612 dollars less per student than the other 49 states combined and we are seventh out of the eight Midwestern states. That's wrong. Iowa used to be a national leader in public education but we are falling behind. We can't grow a 21st century economy on the cheap. That's why we also need to increase SSA to all Iowa's public schools as well as focus on Dr. Tate's plan of increasing the DCSD's spending authority. They are both critical to the future of our kids," added Menard.

"Dr. Tate's approach does not raise taxes but allows the DCSD to spend money the district already has out of its reserves. If the legislature would do its job, the school district can do theirs. Davenport kids are not worth less than other kids in this state. Dr. Tate's actions are justified and deserve of our support," said Menard.

The Davenport Education Association (DEA) is the exclusive bargaining representative of the professional-level employees in the Davenport Community School District. With 1,000 members, the DEA is affiliated with the +34,000 member Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) and the +3 million member National Education Association.

For further information contact: DEA UniServ Director, Toby W. Paone at 563-355-3731 (office); 563-370-3270 (cell); tpaone@isea.org