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A group of 37 Christian leaders at an
international meeting in Geneva, Switzerland,
are calling on the U.S. government to use
restraint in dealing with Iraq.
Date posted:Aug 30, 2002
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While U.S. officials draw fire for their half-
hearted participation in the U.N. World Summit
on Sustainable Development, a United Methodist
delegation is at work urging environment-
friendly ways to reduce poverty.
Date posted:Aug 30, 2002
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Larry and Jane Kies are missionaries assigned by
the General Board of Global Ministries to Africa
University in Zimbabwe, where young people are
struggling to get an education during extremely
difficult economic times in the country. They
express appreciation for the support given them
and request continued prayer for their work and
the people of Zimbabwe.
Date posted:Aug 29, 2002
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Top leaders of the United Methodist Church will
gather Sept. 4-6 in Dakar, Senegal, to develop a
strategy for addressing major problems facing
the continent of Africa.
The group, under the leadership of Bishop Felton
Edwin May of Washington, will work on a holistic
approach to Africa’s societal needs and to
supporting United Methodist congregations across
the continent. It will report its findings to
the church’s Council of Bishops.
Date posted:Aug 29, 2002
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In August, the most recent class of Global
Justice Volunteers (GJV’s) returned from their
places of assignment and shared news of their
experiences with staff of the General Board of
Global Ministries (GBGM), mission agency of the
United Methodist Church. A program initiated by
the Women Division’s International Committee on
Ministries with Women, Children, and Youth,
Global Justice Volunteers is a chance for young
people to link their faith with justice as they
live and work alongside GBGM partner churches
and organizations throughout the world.
Date posted:Aug 27, 2002
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Thomas and Susan Shaw are assigned by the
General Board of Global Ministries of The United
Methodist Church to Hamburg, Germany. An
excerpt of their recent newsletter gives
testimony of how prayer changes things.
Date posted:Aug 26, 2002
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The Mission Context and Relationships Program
Unit (MCR) of the General Board of Global
Ministries is here to assist the Church in
weaving together the world in which we seek to
engage in God’s mission. In our ongoing effort
to facilitate our connectional church in its
missional call, our new web page is a rich
tapestry of all the many contexts of mission.
This web page will seek to weave the many and
varied threads of our common work that together
make up the environment and setting of mission.
Date posted:Aug 22, 2002
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Breaking Through the Barriers to Interreligious Dialogue (UMCOR Inasmuch Update)
In the wake of September 11, many Christians
in the United States have wanted to learn more
about the beliefs and traditions of our Muslim
neighbors– at home and in other countries. We are
realizing that it is important to talk with
people of other faiths, and learn about their
beliefs.
Date posted:Aug 21, 2002
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On July 29, 2002 at the Central United Methodist
Church in Atlanta, Georgia, the General Board of
Global Ministries (GBGM), mission agency of The
United Methodist Church commissioned eight young
adults to serve as US-2 Missionaries in the
denomination.
Date posted:Aug 21, 2002
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James Malick is a missionary of the General
Board of Global Ministries assigned as a Church
and community worker to Journey Ecumenical Youth
in Ministries West Virginia. His current
newsletter tells of significant ministries in
which he is engaged including witness and
testimony of youth through music, drug-free
dances for teens, and summer volunteer work
teams. Jim offers words of reflection of God’s
goodness and unconditional love to all who
inhabit the earth:
Date posted:Aug 19, 2002
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Walter and Patricia Ebert, missionaries of the
General Board of Global Ministries assigned to
Sierra Leone share a story of hope about how a
young orphan is receiving medical help from a
team of volunteer doctors.
Date posted:Aug 15, 2002
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Coming from Missouri to Say "We Care" (UMCOR Inasmuch Update)
Margie Briggs is a United Methodist volunteer
from Missouri who served at the listening post
which was set up at Metropolitan-Duane United
Methodist Church in the weeks following September
11. When UMCOR staff asked Margie to share some
of the encounters she had with people while she
was here, she told us the following two stories...
Date posted:Aug 15, 2002
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Photo Library #1: Zambia Food Crisis 2002 (Richard Lord)
The following pictures were taken July 2002 in
some of areas suffering from drought and famine
in Zambia. Images can be used with credit at no
cost by ACT members and ACT-related church
organizations. UMCOR is a member of ACT (Action
by Churches Together). Please credit Richard
Lord / UMCOR copyright 2002. At the right of
the pictures are links to larger versions in both
low resolution for the web (72 dpi, 50-70K) or
high resolution for publications (300 dpi, 650-
820K).
Date posted:Aug 15, 2002
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Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I
give you; Do not let your hearts be troubled or
afraid" (John 14/27). . . So, we have arranged a
period of daily PRAYER FOR PEACE at 6pm from
Thursday, August 15th to Wednesday, August 28th
in the churches across the City.
Date posted:Aug 15, 2002
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UMCOR's Ministry with Immigrants and Refugees in the Aftermath of September 11 (UMCOR Inasmuch Update Summer 2002)
One of the victims of the attack on the World
Trade Center was a man from Peru who worked on
the 92nd floor of Tower One. He was a permanent
resident of the United States, and at the time of
his death, he was in the midst of helping his
wife become an official resident of the US.
Date posted:Aug 14, 2002
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Noel's New York (Teen Art): The World Trade Center in Divine Hands
In art class at Victory Christian School, the
young people were asked to draw something
regarding the terrorist actions in New York. This
was part of their own healing. This was what my
son Noel drew... He is 15 years old and has a
very proud father.
Date posted:Aug 14, 2002
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Photo Library #1: Malawi Food Crisis 2002 (Richard Lord)
The following pictures were taken July 2002 in
some of areas suffering from drought and famine
in Malawi. Images can be used with credit at no
cost by ACT members and ACT-related church
organizations. Please credit Richard Lord (Action
by Churches Together) copyright © 2002. At the
right of the pictures are links to larger
versions in both low resolution for the web (72
dpi, 50-70K) or high resolution for publications
(300 dpi, 650-820K).
Date posted:Aug 13, 2002
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William and Helen Lovelace are assigned by the
General Board of Global Ministries to Ukraine
where they have involvement with children’s
street ministry.
Date posted:Aug 12, 2002
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God Who Weeps When We Are Weeping: A Hymn for September 11
'God who weeps when we are weeping, maker,
lover, friend of all, we commit into your keeping
those who suffer, struggle, fall.'
Churches may use this hymn in worship with credit
to Marnie Barrell. The text can not be altered
without her express permission.
Date posted:Aug 12, 2002
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The World Changed Today: A Poem for September 11
This poem may be reprinted for individual and
congregational use with the appropriate copyright
information and credit. Andy Smith is the pastor
of Dripping Springs United Methodist Church in
Dripping Springs, TX
Date posted:Aug 12, 2002
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The name, Venezuela comes from the
Spanish "Pequñea Venecia", or Little Venice,
because the European colonizers in 1521 found
many hut houses of the indigenous people to be
on stilts. It is an image for the unstable and
precarious situation of Venezuelan politics in
recent times. This is a nation living on
stilts, supported by several competing political
and economic groups during the last 100 years.
Date posted:Aug 12, 2002
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UMCOR's Commitment to Long-Term Disaster Recovery (UMCOR Inasmuch Update)
There is a unique role for faith-based
disaster recovery agencies such as UMCOR within
the United States' disaster response network.
Because the church is in the community before the
disaster, and will still be there long after the
disaster, the faith-based recovery is oriented to
long-term, people-centered disaster response.
Date posted:Aug 12, 2002
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Members of the United Methodist General Council
on Ministries’ executive team have a better
understanding of the church’s global work after
visiting three African countries this summer.
Date posted:Aug 09, 2002
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O God, Our Words Cannot Express: A Hymn for September 11
O God, our words cannot express
The pain we feel this day.
Enraged, uncertain, we confess
Our need to bow and pray.
Date posted:Aug 09, 2002
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Fred and Stacy Vanderwerf are Christian workers
assigned by the General Board of Global
Ministries to Lviv, Ukraine. An excerpt of
their newsletter addresses their role in caring
for Christians new in the faith.
Date posted:Aug 08, 2002
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Giving Away $20 Million Responsibly-- and Faithfully (UMCOR Inasmuch Update Summer 2002)
We at UMCOR have heard, and experienced for
ourselves, the frustration of those who feel that
the response to the disaster of September 11 has
been too slow. Along with every other disaster
response organization, we continue to make every
effort to respond faithfully and responsibly to
an unprecedented disaster.
Date posted:Aug 08, 2002
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New York City Churches Continue September 11 Response
Nine months after the Sept. 11 attacks, Cheryl
Holt-Andrews asked the children at the after-
school program at Tremont United Methodist Church
to write – or, if they were under 5, draw – about
their feelings of the events of that day. She was
horrified that, months later, the children still
drew pictures of the World Trade Center's twin
towers under attack by airplanes and engulfed in
flames.
Date posted:Aug 08, 2002
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Two United Methodist bishops and the president
of Mozambique were on hand for the dedication
this summer of a church building in Maputo.
Two years ago, a team of Volunteers in Mission
from Troy Annual Conference helped to pour the
concrete floor and raise the foundation for a
new church in Maputo, Mozambique. This summer,
some of the same volunteers were present for the
consecration of the completed building.
Date posted:Aug 08, 2002
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Christians in North Korea are eager to
strengthen ties with their U.S. counterparts,
according to United Methodists visiting there
recently.
A seven-member delegation from the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, led by
Bishop Joel Martinez of San Antonio, paid a July
22-30 visit to the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea.
Date posted:Aug 08, 2002
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Worship services at Bong-Soo Church and Nang-
Rang House Church in Pyong-Yang, North Korea
were just like any other services that one might
encounter at most Korean-speaking congregations,
whether it is in South Korea or in the United
States. Members of the General Board of Global
Ministries delegation, worshiping as visitors at
Nang-Rang House Church, felt moved when two
elderly women got up and sang for the delegation
a special hymn, “I was a wandering sheep.”
Date posted:Aug 07, 2002
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Worship Resources for Living in a Troubled Time: Remembering 9/11 (UMCOR Inasmuch Update Summer 2002)
In September 2002, the world will have lived
through a year of anger, grief, loss, and
vulnerability following the 9/11 attacks. These
resources may be used worship services observing
this anniversary.
Date posted:Aug 06, 2002
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Worship Resources: Churchwide Appeal for Southern Africa Famine
United Methodist Churches are asked to take
three special offerings during worship on Sunday
for famine relief. The request for three
offerings symbolizes the fact that drought
conditions that create famine generally take
three years to develop. The following worship
resources were written by the Rev. Steve Williams
of the Missouri Annual Conference. A plain text
(printable) copy of these materials is also
available.
Date posted:Aug 06, 2002
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The committee responsible for the search for a
new general secretary for the General Board of
Global Ministries narrowed the field of
candidates in its meeting in Atlanta, Georgia,
July 18-20. During that time, an initial round
of interviews was completed with several
candidates, and the committee identified those
who will be invited for a second interview in
late August in Minneapolis.
Date posted:Aug 06, 2002
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Janet Sims, is a missionary assigned by the
General Board of Global Ministries to Hillsboro
United Methodist Church in Hillsboro, Oregon,
where she serves as Director of the Trinity
Elder Care. Janet shares how the program is
coming to the aid of the elderly and their
families.
Date posted:Aug 05, 2002
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Love in the Midst of Tragedy: Five Year Recovery Plan (UMCOR Inasmuch Update Summer 2002)
The events that rocked the United States on
September 11, 2001 had significant and long-term
effects across the globe. Time and patience,
consultation and experience has allowed UMCOR,
annual conferences and other church partners to
design a response that will take us into the year
2006. This plan has three main components with a
number of implementers.
Date posted:Aug 05, 2002
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Sept. 11, 2001. Everyone knows the date. Nine
eleven. Nine one one. A day that left an
indelible mark on America’s psyche. A day of
horror, fear, anger, sorrow.
As the anniversary of the terrorist attacks
approaches, United Methodists across the country
and around the world are planning to commemorate
the day in a variety of ways.
Date posted:Aug 05, 2002
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The Middle East Council of Churches views with
disappointment and increasing alarm intensified
efforts in the United States to gather support
for major military action against Iraq. Apart
from its humanitarian concerns for the Iraqi
people who, for over a decade, have been ground
down by sanctions and daily air raids, the
Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) is
committed to Iraq not least of all because of
the cries of its member churches there for peace
and sanity.
Date posted:Aug 05, 2002
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Assaults on Israeli citizens during the current
Israeli-Palestinian conflict are documented
almost daily in news reports, while less is
generally known about the extent of hardships
imposed on the Palestinian people at large.
Date posted:Aug 02, 2002
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Virginia’s history includes being an entry point
for European migration and the spreading of the
Gospel, as well as a site for the massacre of
Native Americans.
That made it a good place to hold the 15th
annual National Native American Family Camp,
said the Rev. Alvin Deer, executive director of
the Native American International Caucus. "We
have to start reconciliation somewhere."
Date posted:Aug 02, 2002
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Jeanie Leeper is a missionary assigned by the
General Board of Global Ministries as a Church
and Community Worker with the Matthew 25
Ministries project in Versailles, Missouri. “It
seems like every month we look back on what the
ministry has done, we are able to see the hand
of God at work,” she writes. Jeanie offers
thoughts for meditation on reminder of our
Christian obligation to share words of faith and
encouragement with others..
Date posted:Aug 01, 2002
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In 1998, at the United Methodist Women's
Assembly in Orlando, almost 10,000 women wrote
personal letters to Congressional leaders asking
them to ratify an international bill of rights
for women.
Date posted:Aug 01, 2002
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As Christian women, we join women of other
faiths as we remember 9/11, as we heal as a
nation, and as we work toward world peace.
Shortly after the events of 9/11, I met with
women of diverse faith groups as part of an
ongoing dialogue. Our emphasis centered on
terrorism, revenge, hatred, faithful responses,
etc. Such dialogue needs to continue. Thus, let
me encourage you to read the statement below and
pray without ceasing for peace and
reconciliation, not hatred and revenge.
Date posted:Aug 01, 2002
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