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Tuesday morning the sun was bright and the air
crisp in Bethlehem. The Church had planned a
special trip for the children; every year the
church council presents small gifts to the
children but this year we decided to take them
on a trip to the north of the country instead
because many of the children had never been
there.
Date posted:Dec 29, 2005
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The ministry of First Street United Methodist
Church in New Orleans is literally and
figuratively outside of the box. Boxes of relief
supplies fill the social hall. In a
neighborhood strongly affected by Hurricane
Katrina, the church continues to practice
community ministry and become part of the lives
and struggles of the people.
Date posted:Dec 29, 2005
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Before Hurricane Katrina:
First Street Community of Shalom helped the
people face economic challenges and worked with
the community to provide after school tutoring,
community forums, and a health fair. Poverty and
crime were major problems.
Since Hurricane Katrina:
The neighborhoods seek "shalom" – peace and
justice – as never before. Poverty is
intensified by the added physical and
psychological devastation of the storms.
Date posted:Dec 29, 2005
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Mr. Green is part of a two-person gang-intervention team that
keeps gang problems in check in Wilmington. Reflecting the
ethnic composition of local gangs, Mr. Green is African
American; his partner, Russell Martinez, is Hispanic. They are
two of seven gang-intervention workers who are part of a
program sponsored by Toberman Settlement House in San
Pedro, a mission institution that receives support from United
Methodist Women’s undesignated giving.
Date posted:Dec 28, 2005
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The Holy Day of Christmas with its message of peace stands in
stark contrast to the mood in Washington. Members of the
House of Representatives have left to wrap presents and place
them under the tree. The Senate, now in session, is eager to do
the same. Both houses will likely be back before the end of the
year to undo the “gifts” House and Senate negotiators are
offering the American people: $42 billion in budget cuts and a
$453 billion defense spending package; drilling in the Artic,
reductions in student loans and more cuts in welfare benefits.
Date posted:Dec 28, 2005
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The Rev. Priscilla Legay Jaiah is a missionary
with the General Board of Global Ministries of
the United Methodist Church assigned to Ghana,
West Africa, where she serves with the Refugee
Ministry at the Buduburam, Liberia Refugee Camp.
Date posted:Dec 27, 2005
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The UMCOR Hotline, December 27, 2005
Niger: Food for the Future
Pakistan/Kashmir: A Place to Call Home
Sierra Leone: Rebuilding Kissy Center
UMCOR Calendar: Get Yours Today!
Date posted:Dec 27, 2005
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In September the National Shalom Committee of
the United Methodist Church gathered to plan the
future growth of Communities of Shalom and
specifically discussed community redevelopment
concerns that have been raised in the wake of
hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Date posted:Dec 27, 2005
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There has been a lot of talk around violent video games this year
– from Congressional hearings to the news. When Christians
celebrate the “Prince of Peace,” religious leaders are worried
that talk is cheap and parents and communities should be taking
action against violence in regard to popular video games.
Date posted:Dec 23, 2005
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In the last week of the Christmas shopping
season – with
messages of commercialization everywhere –
United Methodist
Women’s Green Teams have been sharing with
others ways to
protect and honor God’s creation.
Date posted:Dec 23, 2005
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After working in the slums of Bangladesh for 13
years,I was offered the opportunity to work as a
missionaryin Japan. Reluctant to leave my
projects, I refused fortwo years.
Date posted:Dec 22, 2005
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Most church Christmas pageants stop short of
telling the full story of the shepherds of
Bethlehem in the Nativity account in Luke's
Gospel. Our plays include the angelic
announcement of the birth of the Christ child.
They depict the trip to the manager to see the
child, but then leave out the third and fourth
scenes. ... Then, the shepherds returned to
their work, "glorifying and praising God for all
they had seen and heard."
Date posted:Dec 22, 2005
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This is the time when we look back at the year
that is drawing to a close and look ahead to the
new year of new plans, new possibilities, and new
beginnings.
Date posted:Dec 22, 2005
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Recently I received an email from Rev. Judy Dye,
who serves Wauneta and Palisade UMC in Nebraska.
She wrote, "The picture of being home for
Christmas touches a soul-level longing within
just about every one of us in every generation.
The Christmas season may intensify it, but the
feeling is timeless."
Date posted:Dec 22, 2005
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Have you ever wondered what you would have heard
that night in Bethlehem? Would you have heard the
choirs of angels singing or simply the sounds of
barnyard animals shifting around? Would you have
seen the star that shone brightly in the sky or
would you have just seen two poor and very
frightened people? Would you have understood the
silence in the air of the divine presence or
would you just felt the chill of the night air?
How would you have understood the message of
Emmanuel, God with us, or would that evening just
have passed you by?
Date posted:Dec 21, 2005
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Spanning hundreds of years of Eskimo culture and
tradition, the Inupiaq language is one of the
most challenging in the world to learn. Few
Native Alaskans know this ancestral tongue
anymore. "They don't speak it. And here they
were having a hard time trying to say words,"
Bourdon says.
Date posted:Dec 21, 2005
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The UMCOR Hotline, December 20, 2005
In Today's Hotline:
Katrina Aid Today: UMCOR Announces Partners
Indonesia: Tsunami Recovery One Year Later
Pakistan: Relief Efforts Continue in the Snow
Christmas with UMCOR
Date posted:Dec 20, 2005
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Early in her life, Taylor Walters was seized by a
passion to understand poverty.
Now, at age 26, she is seeing and experiencing it
firsthand in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
as assistant to United Methodist Bishop Ntambo
Nkulu, who leads The United Methodist Church's
North Katanga Annual (regional) Conference.
Date posted:Dec 20, 2005
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December is a joyful month when Christians
celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thousands of tourists have come to New York City,
where I live, to look at the beautiful store
windows on Fifth Avenue and enjoy the yuletide
spirit. One the other hand, some of us New
Yorkers take to the road. I, myself, look forward
to visiting my sister and her two-year old son,
Jeremiah, whom I love him very much. He is a
happy little fellow; I learn much about the
lessons of love through patience in understanding
how he as a toddler learns what is possible.
Date posted:Dec 19, 2005
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My specialty is auto-diesel mechanics—not the
first thing people might consider a mission
field! But apparently God sees it that way
because I have an opportunity to share what I
love with Cambodian youth.
Date posted:Dec 19, 2005
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“Prepare the way of the Lord...”
Matthew 3:3b
With these words, John began a short career proclaiming the
long-awaited Messiah was coming. His message was not new --
just delivered in a new way. People of his day recognized it as
the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
Date posted:Dec 19, 2005
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It began with an undersea earthquake near the
island of Sumatra in Indonesia.
As news began filtering out Dec. 26, 2004, of the
impossibly huge wave that swept shore after shore
in that section of the ocean, as video pictures
emerged and surviving residents and tourists
shakily told their stories, as international news
crews rushed to document incredible scenes of
devastation, many hearts were touched.
Date posted:Dec 19, 2005
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Although security concerns have increased since
the November presidential election in Sri Lanka,
the United Methodist Committee on Relief is
continuing its tsunami work there.
The agency also has addressed tsunami-related
needs in India, Thailand and Somalia.
Date posted:Dec 19, 2005
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A year after the tsunami wiped out whole parts of
the Aceh Province of Indonesia, the United
Methodist Committee on Relief is helping people
rebuild their homes, their communities and their
livelihoods.
But the relief and recovery work has been
complicated, according to the Rev. Paul Dirdak,
UMCOR's chief executive.
Date posted:Dec 19, 2005
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A year ago, the Rev. Anil Silva of the Methodist
Church in Matara in the south of Sri Lanka could
not have imagined what lay ahead for him and his
congregation.
Nearly a year after the tsunami hit his country,
he has been faced with long queues of people
outside the church. And still people line up.
Every day.
Date posted:Dec 19, 2005
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It is difficult for an outsider visiting Banda
Aceh not to be drawn to the ocean.
Not to swim. Nor to fish. But merely to look and
marvel at the ocean's destructive power.
Date posted:Dec 19, 2005
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The Christian community in Bethlehem is
celebrating Christ’s
birth this year with a determined sense of hope
and enthusiasm.
The streets around the Church of the Nativity,
which have been
damaged and have witnessed pain in the last few
years, have
been repaired, renovated and decorated with
ornaments shining
against the darkness of harsh political realities.
Date posted:Dec 16, 2005
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The General Board of Global Ministries, in
cooperation with the China Christian Council,
sponsors five theological students from the
People’s Republic of China for graduate and
doctoral study at four theological seminaries in
the United States.
Date posted:Dec 16, 2005
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The United Methodists in Russia love to
celebrate. This year the partying begins on the
Catholic Christmas on December 25, continues
through the New Year on January 1, 2006, and
includes the Russian Orthodox Christmas on
January 7, 2006.
Date posted:Dec 16, 2005
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United Methodist Community-Based Malaria Control Program Launches in Sierra Leone
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2005— United Methodists are
working to stamp out malaria, one community at a
time through the United Methodist Community-
Based Malaria Control Program which launched
this week. The initiative focuses on the health
of entire communities by addressing the factors
which allow this mosquito-borne illness to
spread.
Date posted:Dec 15, 2005
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Brightly wrapped packages are just part of the
Christmas scene. United Methodist youth made sure
some survivors of Hurricane Katrina don't miss
out on at least that part of Christmas this year.
Date posted:Dec 15, 2005
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Several months ago, the children at St. Paul and
St. Andrew United Methodist Church in New York
City wondered: What would happen if they sent
Christmas cards to Palestinian Christian children
in Bethlehem?
Date posted:Dec 15, 2005
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Issues of justice and equity must be addressed as
the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast is rebuilt,
according to leaders of the United Methodist
Church's ethnic caucuses. They agreed they must
be vigilant about who is getting what and why.
Date posted:Dec 15, 2005
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The UMCOR Hotline, December 13, 2005
In Today's Hotline:
Sierra Leone: Community Based-Health Care
Zimbabwe: Feeding the Hungry
Liberia: Fields Ripe with Hope
Christmas with UMCOR
Date posted:Dec 13, 2005
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Leaders of the United Methodist Church's Hispanic
caucus want to strengthen relationships between
Methodists in the United States and Latin America.
Those relationships were weakened during the
years when Methodist churches in Latin American
countries were becoming autonomous from the
United Methodist Church.
Date posted:Dec 13, 2005
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When I was a toddler, my father was killed in
crossfire between the Israeli and Jordanian
armies. One good thing to come from the tragedy
was my mother’s revived commitment to the Christ
she experienced as a student in a Christian
school. As a result, I was practically raised in
the church.
Date posted:Dec 12, 2005
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When the prophet Isaiah proclaimed the advent of
Emanuel coming in human flesh, he portrayed it as
a "great light" from God coming to people who
were groping in "the land of the shadow of death"
or what some may call the center of a dark
tunnel. In that darkness there was no peace, but
rather, the fear of death and destruction. Isaiah
described this light that permeated the middle of
the tunnel with these words: ...
Date posted:Dec 12, 2005
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As most of you know, our job is to increase
awareness and the needs to support UMC
missionaries and mission projects. But in our
travels over the past month, we have been
encountering something called "giver's fatigue."
We have had some cancellations and are
experiencing churches saying, "No, please don't
come" because of "giver's fatigue." Pastors are
concerned about asking any more of their
congregations. With the Tsunami and hurricanes
and all, they say, it's just been too much.
Date posted:Dec 12, 2005
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Werkpewolo, 14, and Karhan, 15, and more than
15,000 teenagers like them, lost their childhoods
when they were forced to become soldiers in
Liberia's 14-year-long civil war. In their young
lives, they have only known a world without war
for little more than a year.
Date posted:Dec 12, 2005
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The Rev. Humphrey C. Kumeh has been reading the
Bible every day from sunrise to sunset for the
past 21 years. Two more chapters and he will be
done.
Date posted:Dec 12, 2005
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The year 2005 has witnessed many disasters throughout the
world. Those affected most by the tragedies are those with the
least.
For 136 years, because of undesignated gifts to mission, United
Methodist Women have gone to these areas of the world,
spreading the love and peace of Christ and empowering women
and children for the future.
Date posted:Dec 09, 2005
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Contributions to the staggering disasters of
2005 have been remarkable. Gifts have poured in
from around the world in response to the horror
and
untold devastation of December’s tsunami and the
hurricanes of August, September and October.
Through the United Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR), United Methodists have given bold
witness to one of Christ’s great
commandments that we ‘love our neighbors as
ourselves’.
Date posted:Dec 08, 2005
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New York, NY, December 8, 2005—More than 300
people gathered in late November in Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia to celebrate the first anniversary of
the first United Methodist congregation in that
ancient Asian land immediately north of China.
Date posted:Dec 08, 2005
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As Disney releases The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe this week, and expects record box office
profits, The United Methodist Women’s Division wants its one-
million members to view the movie. But it also wants members
to question the overt commercialization and contradiction to the
story’s theme.
Date posted:Dec 07, 2005
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Hello everyone! For those of you who have never
read an edition of YAP Stuff (or if it is has
just been a really long time), let me introduce
you. YAP Stuff was created by the first MIRYAPs
as a way to provide information and resources to
young adult missionaries...
Date posted:Dec 06, 2005
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New York, NY, December 5, 2005—A new autonomous
Methodist Church in Cambodia has resulted from a
successful experiment in Methodist mission
collaboration in the Southeast Asian country.
Date posted:Dec 06, 2005
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The UMCOR Hotline, December 6, 2005
In Today's Hotline:
Pakistan and Kashmir: Earthquake Recovery
UMCOR Sager Brown: Current Needs
Iraq: Rebuild and Renew
US: Hurricane Relief - Where the Money Goes
Christmas with UMCOR
Date posted:Dec 06, 2005
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The World Summit on the Information Society, convened Nov.
16-18 in Tunis by the United Nations, became a magnifying
glass for the concerns of human rights, access to information,
Internet governance and the gap between the haves and have-
nots in global technology.
Date posted:Dec 06, 2005
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Well, it's official. I have become an
overprotective mother hen. Three of my favorite
boys here are HIV positive, and I find myself
following them around all the time saying things
like, "It's cold outside. Where are your patter-
patters (flip-flops)? You need to be wearing a
hat. Why are you coughing?"
Date posted:Dec 05, 2005
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Can you manufacture joy? Is it possible to force
someone to be joyful?
If not, nobody told the Psalmist! He outright
commands people to be joyful throughout much of
his book of songs and psalms. Psalm 100, for
example, reads, “Shout for joy to the Lord!”
Date posted:Dec 05, 2005
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As the new chaplain of the Crandon Institute in
Uruguay, I began planning with many ideas in my
head. I was discovering new ways of doing my
ministry among the students, especially among the
teenagers. I knew this would not be easy.
Date posted:Dec 05, 2005
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What a year 2005 has been!
Long-standing signs of our inhumanity reared their ugly heads
in new, bold ways. The war in Iraq stalled into a quagmire of
horrifying consequences. Prosecuted badly from the start by our
political leaders, this confrontation was always a matter of
choice, not a last resort as required by the classical just-war
doctrine.
Date posted:Dec 05, 2005
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As Christians prepare for the birth of the Messiah, Kyung Za
Yim, president of the Women’s Division, offers this reflection on
leadership roles of women in the name of Jesus Christ. Are you
willing to take a role in mission with women and children on
behalf of our Savior? In preparation for the birth of Christ,
reflect on what it means to be a midwife for children in the
midst of harsh realities.
Date posted:Dec 02, 2005
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GBGM Advent Theme Page
Please visit GBGM's Advent theme page for
articles and resources for this holy season.
More entries will be posted throughout Advent and
Christmas.
Date posted:Dec 02, 2005
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I live and work in the capital city Freetown. The
United Methodist presence in Sierra Leone is well
established through churches, schools and medical
clinics. In Freetown, Kissy Eye Hospital and
Kissy Maternity and Health Center, including a
new surgical wing, provide exceptional care to
the people of this city.
Date posted:Dec 01, 2005
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The stories continue to spill out regarding
individuals and communities impacted by this
fall's season of earthquakes and hurricanes. One
that stays with me particularly is about the
destruction of Gulfside, a United Methodist
retreat center in Waveland, Mississippi. It is a
place of particular importance to our African-
American brothers and sisters.
Date posted:Dec 01, 2005
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