April Response

April 1999

"Mission in the 21st Century"

"Bible Study: The Flow of Blood" by Lyda Pierce

Lyda Pierce draws on her experiences as a United Methodist Woman in missionary in Honduras working with women. She asks reflection questions about our own communities. Then recalls the scripture in Mark about the hemorrhaging woman who touched Jesus and was healed. Women today still seek healing. Through Ms. Pierce's stories of Honduran women, readers can see the scripture's meaning for many women today, the search for family, and the need for shalom in our own lives.

"Mission in the 21st Century" by Susan Einarson and Dana E. Jones

Old ideas of mission are being challenged as we come upon the next century. More inclusive mission concepts are taking their place. This article explores the stories behind three new concepts of mission. 1. Mission is from everywhere to everywhere. 2. Mission is with others, not to others. 3. Mission is empowering.

"US-2 Shares Ministry, Vision" by Kelly C. Martini

This sidebar explores the vision for the future of mission of Katie Grover, a US-2 of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. Ms. Grover works with teen and children in an isolated area of Arkansas called Calico Rock. In her story, she has discovered that mission means meeting people where they are--in the community.

"Missionary Sisters" by A. Victoria Hunter

Recently, Oklahoma Indian Missionary and Red Bird Missionary conferences made history by extending mission work to each other. Now, they have set a target date of July 2000 to send 10 people from each conference to do mission with the denomination's third missionary conference--Alaska Missionary Conference. The three missionary conferences in the United States are characterized by isolation and/or poverty and/or which have members who are indigenous peoples. This is their story of mission outreach.

"Zimbabwe Women: The Silent Doers" by Ella Makunike

When the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe turned 100 years old just more than a year ago, the women of the church stood out. That they were the majority present for the celebrations was evident because they wore their blue-red-and-white uniforms, donned so they would not be drowned in a sea of men. Yet, the women had much to celebrate. Though women are often absent from the church's recorded history, this article shows the changes and new pathways the women have created to create a more equitable life for themselves and their children.

"Mission: From U.S. to India to Fiji" by Christopher Dass

When Methodist missionaries from the United States headed for India in the mid-1800s, they likely never imagined that more than 100 years later, Methodist missionaries from India would set out for foreign lands. But that's exactly what Prema and Christopher Dass did in 1985. That year, the India couple landed in Fiji, where they have served as missionaries since. There story is a story of mission from everywhere to everywhere, and it is the story of how God's Word is carried around the world.

"Mission in the Wake of Hurricane Mitch" by Paul Jeffrey

This powerful story looks at the victims of Hurricane Mitch and their stories. It explores the lessons of the hurricane--massive relief operations that degraded the victims, leaving only the foreigners giving their aid to feel good about it. And it looks at the disaster response that works-community organizing and education before disasters to empower people; relationships with the poor, not to the poor; and justice for the peoples of Central America.

"Women Helping Women" by Tequila Minsky

Christine Hermann, a director of the Women's Division in 1989, experienced history in her hometown of Zittau, Germany, a small city of 36,000, which borders on the border of Poland and the Czech Republic. She remembers the twinkling candles of 10,000 residents marching in a peaceful, nighttime demonstration. Then, the wall coming down in November 1989. Anything seemed possible, she thought. But now so much of East Germany is suffering as political and economic systems have broken down. This article looks at Frauen Helfen Frauen's women's center, their work and advocacy with women, and the changes they are trying to bring about to society.

"Deprived of Freedom, But Not Hope" by Yelena Tischenko

This article is about the work of Russian United Methodist Women, who are reaching out to incarcerated women in their country, making it possible for them to keep in touch with their children, and providing moral and spiritual support.

"Treating Alaska's Troubled Kids" by Dana E. Jones

Joe Jones came to Alaska Children's Services as a kid who abused drugs and alcohol and was doing poorly in school. After four months in their residential treatment program, he returned home sober, capable of setting short-term and long-term goals, and committed to making good grades. He did it. This article tells about the history of the institution, today's program, and the incorporation of spirituality into its efforts--making it the only such institution in Alaska.

"Missionary's Legacy to India's Women and Children" by Yvette Moore

When the Women's Division gave $150,000 toward the development of the Ida S. Scudder Centenary Centre for Women and Children, an outpatient facility in Vellore, India, last year, United Methodist Women joined an effort to renew a focus on women and children's health at a mission site historically related to the division. This article looks at Ms. Scudder's ministry, which began in the 1800s, when three Indian women came to the Scudder home to ask for help with the delivery of a child. When they saw the doctor, her father, they refused his help. Later, Ms. Scudder heard all three had died, and she knew that God called her to work in India. This article looks at her life as a doctor in India, the medical college and hospital for which she laid the foundation, and the facility today.

"Mission in Cambodia: Going Home" by Connie Walsh

When the Pol Pot regime came in to power in Cambodia, Simone and Pitou Lao received assylum in the United States. After millions lost their lives in the four-year Cambodian regime, and millions were forced to work in slave-like conditions, the Laos returned home. They discovered that Ms. Lao's parents, sisters and brothers had all died during the regime. And they saw much that needed to be done. In 1998, they returned to Cambodia as United Methodist missionaries and are now helping to rebuild their country and communities, with special attention given to women and children.

"Reconciliation and Peacemaking in Vietnam" by Connie Walsh

It's the ultimate form of reconciliation and peacemaking: "To bring volunteers from the United States to work alongside volunteers in Vietnam, who are the children and grandchildren of those who suffered the tragedy of war, to build schools and clinics in a land where American GIs and the Viet Cong once fought." This article is about establishing relationships with the people of vietname through Peacework, an organization that is helping building schools in cooperation with the Vietnam Youth Service.

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