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"I've always had a very strong love for the
local church," asserts Bishop Joel N. Martinez,
San Antonio Area and President, GBGM Board of
Directors. "I feel a deep sense of
gratitude toward the church in helping me grow
as a Christian. I want to help local churches to
grow in spirit and in mission and to be that
kind of nurturing community."
Date posted:Sep 30, 2004
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My name is Svay Youtheroath and I was born in
Phnom Penh in 1971. At that time, Phnom Penh was
undergoing a lot of changes and there was no
peace in the country. On April 17, 1975, the
Khmer Rouge soldiers under Pol Pot found the
Cambodian soldiers led by Lon Noul, and the
Khmer Rouge won the battle. They then forced
everyone out of Phnom Penh, and my parents and
family were forced to go to the south to Takeo
Province.
Date posted:Sep 30, 2004
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I grew in the Methodist Church of Danlí, working
with the victims of Hurricane Mitch. I worked in
medical brigades and helped people in the
emotional-recovery program. It was there that I
could see the Lord helping my country through
this terrible crisis.
Date posted:Sep 30, 2004
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I am Alica Pronoza and I am nineteen years old.
I became a member of The United Methodist Church
rather recently. I came to the church one and a
half years ago to sing in the choir. I was
invited to the choir because I had studied at
music school and I enjoy singing. I liked the
friendly atmosphere in the church and warm
relationships between the parishioners, almost
as in the family. Thus, I stayed and after a
time I became a church member.
Date posted:Sep 30, 2004
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I am Fatu Lô, twenty-nine years old from Dakar,
the capital of Senegal. I came to a life with
Jesus through Christian music in my language,
Wolof.
Date posted:Sep 30, 2004
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Letter from UMCOR: On the Job
"A disaster area so large it's difficult to get
outside of it to get what you need." That is the
assessment of UMCOR disaster workers after four
hurricanes in six weeks pummeled parts of Florida,
Alabama, and Louisiana, and created havoc in many
other communities up to 1,000 miles away.
Date posted:Sep 30, 2004
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United Methodist Church Helps Gulf Coast Recover from Serial Hurricanes
The storm-battered South is fighting back, with
help from the United Methodist Committee on
Relief, conference leaders, volunteers and donors.
United Methodists and others aligning themselves
with UMCOR's efforts aren't deterred by the
mounting damage estimates.
Date posted:Sep 30, 2004
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Speaking during the United Methodist Commission
on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns'
Sept. 22-24 organizing meeting, the Rev. Larry
Pickens noted with alarm the portrayal by some
of all Muslims as enemies. The commission, he
said, "must work to develop and support
communities and churches that are committed to
establishing open channels of communication
between Christians and Muslims in order to
foster learning, community building and
cooperation."
Date posted:Sep 29, 2004
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Haiti is situated in what is known as
the ‘cyclonic basin’ of the Caribbean, which
means that the tiny nation regularly finds
itself in the trajectory of devastating
storms. ... These storms have generated
widespread catastrophe; reports estimate almost
1,711 deaths in the city if Gonaives alone. In
several other cities and villages, most
residents have lost practically all of their
possessions, including houses, cattle, and
plantations.
Date posted:Sep 28, 2004
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Comme vous le savez, Haïti est située sur la
ceinture cyclonique du bassin des Caraïbes et se
trouve régulièrement sur la trajectoire
d'ouragans se révélant souvent assez
dévastateurs.
Date posted:Sep 28, 2004
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UMCOR Hotline, September 28, 2004
Hurricane Jeanne has delayed long-term case
management initiatives in mid-Florida while UMCOR
volunteers and workers clean up after the fourth
major storm in six weeks. UMCOR has provided
grants to other annual conferences where
hurricanes spawned tornadoes and drenched
saturated soils. UMCOR international disaster
staff members anticipate conducting assessments in
Haiti. UMCOR will also assess the scope of
disaster in Grenada.
Date posted:Sep 28, 2004
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Reverend Meridith Whitaker is a missionary with
the General Board of Global Ministries serving
as a Church and Community Worker. She is the
Director of Cookson Hills Center United
Methodist Mission, a mission project to the
Cherokee Indians in Cookson Hills, Oklahoma.
Date posted:Sep 27, 2004
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United Methodist Women support more than 100
national mission institutions that meet the needs
of women, children and youth. And their mission
isn't new, but it has had to change to meet the
needs of the community.
Date posted:Sep 27, 2004
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When Ken Guest attended the recent assembly of
the World Student Christian Federation in
Thailand, he was struck by the diversity of the
participants.
Many of the students, representing 70 to 80
nations, had never traveled out of their home
country before, he told United Methodist News
Service. "These are not the elite, these are not
the children of well-placed government officials
or wealthy families," he explained.
Date posted:Sep 27, 2004
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On the morning of September 14, a co-worker sent
me an animated online greeting card that read,
" Clouds form, winds blow, rains fall, but the
sun returns. Have faith this storm, too, will
pass."
Date posted:Sep 25, 2004
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While some United Methodist Women in this country
struggle with varying ideologies and theologies
within the organization, other United Methodist
Women half way around the world struggle with
life and death situations. Yet mission on behalf
of women and children continues.
Date posted:Sep 24, 2004
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United Methodist Women in the United States are
proud of being a part of a racially and
culturally diverse movement and church. The
Charter for Racial Justice Policies reminds us
that our strength lies in this diversity and
that
we must work toward a world in which each person
ís value is respected and nurtured. For many
years, particularly since the civil rights
movement of the 1960 ís, the faith community has
made voter registration activities a priority.
Date posted:Sep 23, 2004
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UMCOR Hotline Special Hurricanes Update, September 23, 2004
UMCOR is responding to the floods and mudlides
emergency that has killed over 1000 people in
Haiti. In addition UMCOR has issued an urgent
call for advocacy of temporary protected status
for Haitian immigrants. In the Alabama-West
Florida Annual Conference, workers have begun the
long cleanup. Farmworkers, the elderly, and
immigrants from Haiti have received aid.
Date posted:Sep 23, 2004
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Since the late 1700's, immigrants have been
coming to this country in pursuit of a better
life. In 1790 the United States conducted its
first census. Of the 3.9 million people
countedduring that census, 64% were British, 7%
German, 18% enslaved African-Americans, and 2
percent free African Americans.
Date posted:Sep 23, 2004
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New York, NY--United States presidential
candidates
continued debate about the justice of the war on
Iraq, leaders from across religious traditions
came together yesterday at the Church Center for
the United Nation's observance of International
Day of Prayers for Peace.
Date posted:Sep 23, 2004
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On September 21, 2004 at 4:00 p.m., the Tillman
Chapel at the Church Center for the United
Nations observed the International Day of Peace
with the theme "We the Peoples Cry Out for Peace:
A Sacred Call". Jan Love, the new chief executive
for the United Methodist Women's Division, was
the keynote speaker for the interfaith observance
because of her long commitment to interreligious
concerns.
Date posted:Sep 22, 2004
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In Haiti UMCOR Responds to Jeanne's Lethal Aftermath
More than 700 people have died in Haiti from
flooding and mudslides, the lethal aftermath of
Tropical Storm Jeanne. Thousands more sought high
ground on the roofs of their houses as nine-foot
floodwaters swept through impoverished urban
centers. Rescue workers expect to uncover more
dead as waters recede.
Date posted:Sep 22, 2004
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The opening of the National Museum of the American
Indian represents a final recognition by the United
States of Native Americans' existence, according to
United Methodists at the ceremony.
Date posted:Sep 22, 2004
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Randy J. Hildebrant is a Church and Community
Worker for the General Board of Global
Ministries of the United Methodist Church
serving as Director of Youth Ministries for the
Jubilee Project in Sneedville, TN.
Date posted:Sep 22, 2004
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About 95 percent of the people in the nation of
Senegal
are Muslim. Bill and Roberta A. Smith, the first
United
Methodist missionaries sent to Senegal by the
General
Board of Global Ministries, arrived in Dakar in
May
1995. It took one year to get authorization to
start work,
which began in 1996.
Date posted:Sep 21, 2004
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The General Board of Global Ministries began
ministries in Vietnam in 1998 when a team
traveled to
visit Vietnamese Christians and learn about
their lives
and ministry.
Date posted:Sep 21, 2004
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The National Museum of the American Indian cuts a
dramatic figure on the National Mall.
Nestled amid gray and pink marble Smithsonian
buildings and the U.S. Capitol, the curvilinear, earth-
tone, limestone structure rises out of the ground as if it
were a rock that had existed on that location long
before the pilgrims landed on the shores of present-day
Massachusetts.
Date posted:Sep 21, 2004
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When Richard West Jr. was traveling to Washington
14 years ago for the announcement of his appointment
as the founding director of the National Museum of the
American Indian, its role in the Smithsonian Institution
became apparent to him.
Date posted:Sep 21, 2004
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Vamos pues in Spanish literally means “Let’s go,
then.”
It is a common Honduran expression used in other
Central American countries as a motivational
phrase.
Vamos pues, extend the grace of God, has become
the
theme of the three-year Mission Plan for the
Honduras
United Methodist Mission.
Date posted:Sep 21, 2004
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UMCOR Hotline, September 21, 2004
UMCOR is responding to hurricanes, storms, and
floods in the USA and the Caribbean. More than
700 people have died in Haiti from flooding and
mudslides. UMCOR emergency field staff plan to
assess damage in Grenada and Jamaica. Hurricane
Ivan lashed densely populated beach areas of
Pensacola, Florida.
Date posted:Sep 21, 2004
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Since 1972 the Women's Division has honored its
presidents by setting aside money to be used in
programs of special interest to them.
Date posted:Sep 21, 2004
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United Methodist Women have been addressing
social justice issues as part of Christian
mission for over a century - welfare reform,
reproductive rights, child advocacy, migrant
workers issues, economic and welfare reform. One
area they've consistently addressed is racial
justice.
Date posted:Sep 20, 2004
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Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway? Ideas for a Christ-Centered Christmas 2004
The season of love and joy often sounds like
the "ka-ching" of a cash register. Alternatives
for Simple Living-- a partner of UMCOR-- has
created a holiday catalog that has helped many
families celebrate the real Christmas. UMCOR's
Christmas Wish List puts some of our ongoing
programs into "gift" sizes.
Date posted:Sep 20, 2004
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Church Bulletin Insert: UMCOR's Sustainable Agriculture Program in Africa
A harvest of honey. . . the humble soybean. . . a
fast-growing tree: these are elements of UMCOR's
sustainable agriculture program in impoverished
areas of Africa. This document has two 8 1/2" x
11" "landscape style" pages. Also available is a
large type bulletin that has six 8 1/2" x
11" "portrait style" pages.
Date posted:Sep 20, 2004
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Though United Methodist Women are one-million
members strong, the organization needs networks
to be in mission. Two ways that the organization
works in networks are through our mission
institutions and our higher education
institutions.
Date posted:Sep 20, 2004
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United Methodist Women have been giving the
fruits of their abundance since 1887 when A Call
to Prayer and Self Denial began as a way "to
consecrate a portion from abounding riches or
scant poverty to send forth the good tiding of
great joy unto all the earth". (Dorothy M.
Woodruff, "The Story of the Week of Prayer and
Self Denial 1887-1961")
Date posted:Sep 20, 2004
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God's mission with women, children and youth
began 135 years ago and continues. There are
several ways in which you can continue to make a
difference.
Date posted:Sep 20, 2004
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MISENHEIMER, NC, September 20, 2004 Pfeiffer
University, a United Methodist institution located here,
has inaugurated a new undergraduate degree program
in Christian missions. It is one of very few programs of
its kind among denomination-related schools.
Date posted:Sep 20, 2004
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Jeanie Leeper is a Church and Community Worker
assigned by the General Board of Global
Ministries of the United Methodist Church to the
Matthew 25 Ministries, a program of the Missouri
West Conference in Versailles, MO. Jeanie
directs ministries such as health and respite
care, transportation, minor home repairs, and
grief or loss support for people who are not
eligible for similar programs.
Date posted:Sep 20, 2004
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Listos para responder a los huracanes (UMCOR)
En momentos en que cientos de miles de personas
en el Caribe y en ambas costas del estado de la
Florida continúan limpiando los escombros
causados por los recientrecientes huracanes y
tormentas tropicales, nuevos huracanes amenazan
desatar toda su fuerza sobre esas mismas áreas.
El Comité Metodista Unido de Auxilio está listo
para responder al desafío.
Date posted:Sep 19, 2004
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The boycott of Mt. Olive Pickle Co. by the Farm
Labor Organizing Committee-an action supported
by the United Methodist Church-has ended with
the signing of two agreements Sept. 16.
The United Methodist Church joined the boycott
last spring following action by its top
lawmaking body, the 2004 General Conference. The
boycott called for collective bargaining to
improve working conditions for farm workers in
North Carolina.
Date posted:Sep 17, 2004
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As a steady stream of heavy traffic moved west and
north along Louisiana's interstate highways and major
arteries, United Methodist churches and institutions
throughout Louisiana offered shelter to evacuees from
Hurricane Ivan.
Date posted:Sep 16, 2004
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UMCOR Hotline Special Hurricanes Update, September 16, 2004
Hurricane Ivan pummeled a heavily developed,
hastily abandoned coastline from Mississippi to
Florida. UMCOR officials are heading today for
the Mobile area to begin initial assessments and
provide spiritual support to volunteers in the
Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference. Also
UMCOR is weighing options for response in Puerto
Rico, just lashed by Tropical Storm Jeanne.
Date posted:Sep 16, 2004
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“Why are you so friendly?” I asked one member,
and the answer came at once: “Because by showing
hospitality, we may be entertaining angels.” How
true! Every visitor is treated as an “angel,”
and you can see them everywhere throughout these
churches.
Date posted:Sep 15, 2004
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UMCOR Powers Hurricane Response With Grants, Volunteers
Recovery from the multiple hurricanes of this
season moves forward. Already UMCOR and the
Florida Annual Conference have assisted more than
80,000 Floridians. Powering the response are
equipment, volunteers, and monetary grants.
Date posted:Sep 15, 2004
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All Russian children and families celebrate the Day of
Knowledge. This day is the beginning of the new
school year for kids. It is the time when schoolmates
meet after a three-month-long summer break. Usually, it
is a joyful day that children really love. All girls and
boys wear a celebrative type of school uniform and
present flowers to their favorite teachers on this day.
Smiles are on every child's face; joyful greetings, music
and the spirit of celebration are all around.
Date posted:Sep 15, 2004
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United Methodists are being urged to observe September 21 as
International Day of Prayer for Peace.
The call was issued here by the Rev. R. Randy Day, the
chief executive of the General Board of Global Ministries, the
international mission agency of The United Methodist Church.
He invited prayers for peace with justice from the staff members
and missionaries of the agency and United Methodists and their
friends worldwide.
Date posted:Sep 15, 2004
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UMCOR Hotline, September 14, 2004
Medicine Boxes are urgently needed for the
Caucasus. UMCOR is responding to Hurricanes
Ivan, Frances, and Charley. UMCOR needs school
and health kits for Liberia and Beslan, Russia.
UMCOR is responding to recent devastating floods
in Liberia.
Date posted:Sep 14, 2004
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United Methodists involved in hunger issues are
featured in a television documentary to air on
ABC affiliates in late October.
Date posted:Sep 14, 2004
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The International Orthodox Christian Charities, a US-
based aid agency of Orthodox Christians, remains in
Iraq, responding to needs of the beleaguered minority
Christian community, as well as majority Muslims
through incessant turmoil.
Date posted:Sep 14, 2004
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Carrie Sahmaunt has been a faithful Methodist
since the day she was born - more than 36,500
days ago and counting.
"I pray a lot for everything, and I have lived a
good Christian life and tried to be a good
person," she says. "Only God knows when the last
days will come, and I don't know why he gave me
so many."
Date posted:Sep 13, 2004
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September 11th is a “date of infamy” that
reminds the world of the horrors and pains of
violence, according to the chief executive of
The United Methodist Church’s international
mission agency.
The Rev. R. Randy Day, general secretary
of the General Board of Global Ministries,
invited Church members to observe the day with
sober reflections on the meaning of life and
with prayers for peace.
Date posted:Sep 10, 2004
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Letter from UMCOR: Ready to Respond to Triple Hurricanes
As people in the Caribbean and on Florida's
Atlantic and Gulf coasts clear away debris from
the one-two punch of hurricanes Frances and
Charley, a third large storm, Ivan, is bearing
down on those very areas. The United Methodist
Committee on Relief will be ready to respond.
Date posted:Sep 10, 2004
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Working in a small Bosnian village, a group of
United Methodist volunteers got a firsthand
glimpse this summer of the long-term effects of
war.
Despite the village's ruined buildings, lack of
electricity and running water, and dire economic
situation, the nine-member team from East Avenue
United Methodist Church in Norwalk, Conn., was
able to look beyond the devastation.
Date posted:Sep 09, 2004
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UMCOR Hotline Special Update: Hurricanes Ivan, Frances, and Charley
UMCOR damage assessments continue today. Tom
Hazelwood, head of the Emergency Service Office,
and Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker are touring parts
of Florida's east coast, badly flooded by
Hurricane Frances. Assessments are also arriving
from Cuba and the Bahamas.
Date posted:Sep 09, 2004
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UMCOR Responds to One-Two Punch of Dual Storms
Frances' arrival in Florida marks the first time
in 100 years that two major hurricanes have hit
the state within a three-week span. Charley and
Frances were a devastating one-two punch. Now
Ivan, the fifth hurricane of the season, is on a
direct path toward Cuba, Jamaica, and Florida.
Yesterday the very dangerous storm struck several
Caribbean islands.
Date posted:Sep 08, 2004
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For hundreds of thousands of women, United
Methodist Womenís story is not only persuasive,
but deeply connected to their faith stories and
journeys. Together, the Division and United
Methodist Women need to creatively and
assertively tell our story, and if that ís not
persuasive, we have to figure out why.
Date posted:Sep 08, 2004
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When I was elected as a director of the Women's
Division in 1988, we were given buttons that said
"Undesignated Giving Makes Mission Possible."
This is still true today even though we do not
have the button.
Date posted:Sep 08, 2004
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Bishop Ruediger Minor responds to message of
Bishop Martinez and General Secretary Randy Day.
Date posted:Sep 08, 2004
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When our foremothers went into the world as
missionaries, many began schools to educate women
and children. One hundred thirty-five years
later, these schools still exist. But the trials
they have been through and the adjustments
they've had to make are stories themselves.
Date posted:Sep 08, 2004
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Sermon for Opening Worship for Committees on
National and International Ministries with Women,
Children and Youth.
Date posted:Sep 07, 2004
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UMCOR Hotline, September 7, 2004
UMCOR is responding to Hurricanes Charley and
Frances. Please prayer for the families in
Beslan, Russia, where a school was under siege
last week. Orphan trusts in Zimbabwe are
grassroots responses to the AIDS pandemic.
Children of Iran who suffered losses of parents
or family members in last year's deadly
earthquake are receiving compassionate post-
trauma care.
Date posted:Sep 07, 2004
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The top mission leaders of The United Methodist
Church today sent a message of concern and
prayer to Russian United Methodists and their
neighbors in the wake of the slaughter of some
338 person, half of them children, by terrorists
in Beslan, a town in North Ossetia Province.
Date posted:Sep 07, 2004
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United Methodist missions leaders say they
are "sick to our souls" for the people of
Russia, following terrorist attacks that killed
more than 450 people.
Date posted:Sep 07, 2004
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This year we give special attention to the
plight of women workers throughout the world
facing the violence and intimidation of sexual
harassment. From sweatshops to farm fields to
domestic work, it is often poor young women who
are most vulnerable to the double burden of
economic exploitation and sexual harassment.
Date posted:Sep 02, 2004
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Think of the Children When the Storm Wind Blows: Reflections of an UMCOR Worker
want to give an extra moment here to lift up
children and youth. This applies not only to
those who are preparing for the probability of
Hurricane Frances, but for any family who is
preparing for any storm. If a child is anxious
about the storm, experts in both pastoral care
and mental-health say, parents should answer his
or her questions honestly and reassuringly.
Date posted:Sep 02, 2004
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Mission is no longer something that happens “out
there” in far away places. Today, mission
happens from within our local congregations. The
success of the renewal of the United Methodist
Church in Russia is due in large part to the US
congregations that stepped directly into mission
outreach alongside the missionaries sent by the
General Board of Global Ministries
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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The General Board of Global Ministries’ (GBGM)
Cambodia Initiative, in joint partnership with
the Swiss-French United Methodist Annual
Conference, is just one of four Methodist
mission agencies working in Cambodia to provide
the mission program and missionaries. In 2003,
we formally joined our efforts in a “One
Mission” agreement with the other three
agencies: the Methodist Church in Korea, the
Methodist Church in Singapore, and the World
Federation of Chinese Methodist Churches.
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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Ganbaatar was a Mongolian man in his mid-40s
with a terminal illness. He was a truck driver
supporting his wife and three young children.
Once he became ill, he had to quit his job and
was supported solely by his wife, who worked in
a neighborhood market selling buttons for
clothing. Ganbaatar’s family lived in a “Gher
District,” the poorest neighborhood around the
city limits of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of
Mongolia.
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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“Do you have a passport?” Bishop Dan Solomon of
the Oklahoma Conference asked Jarrell, my
husband, who was then Assistant Director of the
Conference Council on Ministries. Jarrell
specialized in church growth and revitalization.
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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As the United Methodist Men of Geneva United
Methodist Church began chopping green peppers,
jalapeños, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, their
conversations turned to their friends in
Taurage, Lithuania. They hoped the Super Bowl
sub sale the next day would not only satisfy
hungers in Geneva, Illinois, but also raise
money for the soup kitchen of their partner
congregation in Lithuania.
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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My family and I used to attend a very small
Evangelical church. This independent church was
the work of a courageous and talented young
pastor. It was in this church that my wife and I
and our children were baptized.
I live in Bonaberi, in the 4th Division in the
city of Douala, Cameroon. Douala is the economic
heart of the country, and its port is the main
port of entry for goods entering and leaving
Cameroon. It is also used by neighboring
countries, such as the Republic of Chad and the
Central African Republic.
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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UMCOR Hotline Special Update: Hurricane Frances
UMCOR workers this week redeployed satellite
telephones and generators from southwest to
central Florida as Hurricane Frances powers up in
Atlantic waters. The growing menace of Frances,
barreling toward the Bahamas, has put millions on
Florida's heavily populated east coast on alert.
UMCOR has issued another urgent call for flood
buckets, the supplies volunteers use in post-
hurricane cleanups.
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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African Americans from around the United States
are being asked to contribute personal items to
a heritage center that will preserve the history
of blacks in Methodism.
The items will be placed in an African American
Methodist Heritage Center, to be built in
Atlanta.
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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Census figures showing more Americans living in
poverty and going without health insurance
should push United Methodists to rededicate
themselves to addressing two critical issues in
this election year, according to denomination
leaders.
Date posted:Sep 01, 2004
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