|
In the beginning, the Korean American United
Methodist churches were refuges from Japanese
colonialism. They also provided spiritual
support for Christians and non-Christians. They
were all things to all Koreans; a “welcome
wagon,” one-stop service center for apartments,
jobs, schools, transportations, social services,
and immigration and legal aids, a “campus”
ministry, a place for social, civic and
political activities, a Korean food court, and
an educational/cultural center.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2005
|
|
|
No doubt most of you have seen more TV coverage
of the conditions on the island of Nias than we
have. News from the people we know there
continues to be spotty and heartbreaking. Seven
members of the Wesley Church Jakarta family
originate from 6 different villages in different
parts of the island. Other acquaintances are
from still different villages.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2005
|
|
|
New hope is springing forth on a busy
intersection in South Los Angeles.
Faith Community United Methodist Church recently
celebrated the grand opening of Faith Housing
New Hope Courtyard Apartments. The church's
housing corporation, along with another Los
Angeles non-profit agency, dedicated 25 new
homes to serve low-income individuals and
families living with special needs in South Los
Angeles.
Date posted:Apr 28, 2005
|
|
|
Disability Awareness Sunday is both a
celebration and a challenge. We celebrate the
lives and witness of those with disabilities who
contribute so much to our faith community. We
also open ourselves, our churches, and the
Church to the call to full inclusion and full
accessibility for those with any disability –
physical or mental. This is an opportunity to
raise awareness and to find solutions to the
physical, architectural, communication and
attitude barriers to those with disabilities.
Date posted:Apr 27, 2005
|
|
|
One person's thoughts for Disability Awareness
Sunday:
Date posted:Apr 26, 2005
|
|
|
United Methodist Women are light in the world at
102
National Mission Institutions serving over two
million
women, children and youth each year in the
United
States. United Methodist Women are a light in
the world
at the Wesley-Rankin Center in Dallas which
serves a
predominantly Hispanic community.
Date posted:Apr 26, 2005
|
|
|
UMCOR Hotline, April 26, 2005
Health kits and school kits top UMCOR's wish list
right now, and some generous donors are
responding. In Liberia, UMCOR is partnering with
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to
train displaced persons. With the UN grant,
women and children in a camp managed by UMCOR
will learn how to read and write. In addition to
literacy classes, the grant will also support
agriculture training. Monday, June 20, 2005 is
World Refugee Day, an international day of
remembrance and recognition.
Date posted:Apr 26, 2005
|
|
|
I have shared with you on several occasions what
I
witnessed during my trip to the tsunami-stricken
Indonesia in January of this year. But today, I
want to
share the brighter and hopeful side of my
experience of
the trip - and that is the global network of
humanity.
Date posted:Apr 26, 2005
|
|
|
The Rev. Karuna Bhujel, a United Methodist
missionary and native of India, was killed in a
motorbike accident in Kathmandu, Nepal, on April
23 as she was on her way to church.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2005
|
|
|
My trip to Thailand and Laos was a very exciting
trip
although I didn't think it would take a total of
17 hrs to
get to Bangkok, Thailand. Boy, that was one very
long
plane ride, but I did have a great time.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2005
|
|
|
My trip to Laos and Thailand was an amazing
experience. The purpose for Jessica and I to go
with
the Bible Women group was to work with the
children.
We wanted to learn about them and wanted to
share
with them about our lives.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2005
|
|
|
As the widow of a Liberian pastor, Minerva Kekeh
is barely eking out a living. She is one of
hundreds of clergy spouses in her country who
are surviving on pensions that are less than
paltry.
"Right now, a bag of rice is about $35-United
States dollars," she said. "And with what we are
getting, you cannot afford a bag of rice."
Date posted:Apr 25, 2005
|
|
|
Currently the United States Senate is deciding on the
FY2006 Foreign Operations bill which will also include
funding for microenterprise programs. Microenterprise
programs are “programs extending small loans, and
other financial services such as savings to very poor
people for self-employment projects that generate
income…” Please urge your Senators to protect
funding for mircoenterprise programs.
Date posted:Apr 21, 2005
|
|
|
Call, write or e-mail your Senators and tell them to Save
The Filibuster.
Date posted:Apr 21, 2005
|
|
|
Anne Marshall's anger toward God transformed her
belief and restored "hope" in her life.
Marshall's anger started 10 years ago when her
husband, Raymond Johnson, was killed with 167
others in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City. She shared
her feelings on the 10th anniversary of the
bombing during a memorial service at Norman
First American United Methodist Church. The
service was one of many held across the metro
Oklahoma City area on Tuesday, April 19, the
anniversary date of the bombing.
Date posted:Apr 20, 2005
|
|
|
Children are running and playing in a soccer
field that a few days earlier was a minefield.
Women are washing clothes in a clear channel of
water that until recently was too dangerous to
approach.
Date posted:Apr 20, 2005
|
|
|
The fourth in a series to demonstrate the work of
The United Methodist Development Fund. Murrieta
United Methodist Church is just one example of
the
benefits of investing in UMDF.
Date posted:Apr 19, 2005
|
|
|
The Women's Division announced with sorrow the
resignation of treasurer, Connie Takamine, due to
personal reasons on Friday. Ms. Takamine has been
with the Division since 1991.
Date posted:Apr 19, 2005
|
|
|
The United Methodist Church's Shalom Zone
ministries would have impressed Methodism's 18th
century founder, according to church leaders.
"I think John Wesley would have liked Shalom,"
said the Rev. John Culp, referring to the
Communities of Shalom initiative, as the
National Shalom Committee reviewed the ministry
March 30-31.
Date posted:Apr 19, 2005
|
|
|
A retired United Methodist bishop and two
professors in the field of medical care make up
an independent panel that will receive and
assess reports on alleged child abuse at a
denominational mission facility in Africa a
generation ago.
The General Board of Global Ministries, the
international mission agency of the
denomination, is also drafting specific
guidelines on child and sexual abuse for all of
its employees and mission personnel, based upon
a policy adopted in mid-April by the board’s
directors, meeting in Stamford, CT.
Date posted:Apr 19, 2005
|
|
|
UMCOR Hotline, April 19, 2005
UMCOR is putting out an emergency call for health
kits! UMCOR field offices have requested nearly
193,000 health kits for distribution in 2005 -
more than UMCOR has ever shipped before. Water
levels along the Delaware River were the highest
in decades as recent floods displaced more than
7,000 people. UMCOR's executive for US disaster
response, Tom Hazelwood, will visit affected
areas this week.
Date posted:Apr 19, 2005
|
|
|
The Rev. Dr. Patrick Streiff was consecrated to
the episcopacy of The United Methodist Church in
a service at Bern Cathedral on April 17, 2005.
He will preside over the denomination's Central
Conference of Southern and Central Europe, which
includes northern Africa. Outside the US, a
Central conference is equivalent to a
jurisdiction.
Date posted:Apr 18, 2005
|
|
|
Health is an expanding area of ministry for
congregations and regional organizations of The
United Methodist Church in the USA.
Date posted:Apr 18, 2005
|
|
|
Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are-lazy!
That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and
sacrifice to the Lord.’ (Exodus 5:17)
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
Esther K Gitobu, United Methodist Missionary
assigned to Cambobodia shares her joyful news
about the ministries and blessings in Cambodia.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
UMCOR Directors Approve $1.5 Million for Start-up Work in Haiti
UMCOR directors have approved $1.5 million for
start-up and program implementation costs on the
Caribbean island. Although United Methodists have
worked in Haiti for years - particularly through
the Methodist Church in Haiti - this is the first
time UMCOR has undertaken the legal process of
registering as a nongovernmental organization
there, according to Marc Maxi, UMCOR's regional
director for Africa and the Caribbean.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
Earth Day is April 22! The Green Team is callling on
United Methodist Women to celebrate God's creation
and provides Eco-tips to work towards restoring the
earth the way God created it.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
For a few days during the first week of April 2005, a
diverse group of women encompassing all ages and
ethnic backgrounds, met in Stamford, Conn. to discuss
the environment. What was different about this group is
they represent a new initiative by the Women's Division
of the United Methodist Church called The Green
Team.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
The United Methodist Women's Green Team has
adopted two major national campaigns: Chlorine-free
paper and household cleaning products and the U.N.'s
WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All)
Campaign.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
The concept of Green Team's work on environmental
advocacy has the goal of realizing "environmental
justice." Environmental justice is the fair treatment and
meaningful involvement of all people -- regardless of
race, ethnicity, income or education level -- in
environmental decision-making. United Methodist
Women engage in this work with theological and policy
bases undersgirding the work of environmental
advocacy.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
Advocacy means "speaking on behalf of someone." It
means "to bring about change" in attitudes and political
will, policy and decision-making, policy implementation
and education of the policies. There are steps of how
to do advocacy and the levels in which communities
participate in advocacy.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
If United Methodists can help clear Mozambique
of landmines, they should be able to do the same
with mosquitoes. That's one of the challenges
that the Rev. R. Randy Day presented to
directors of the United Methodist General Board
of Global Ministries during the April 11-14
spring meeting. Day is the board's chief
executive.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
Three months have passed since Bishop Joel
Martinez made an emergency pastoral visit to
Indonesia, but he has not forgotten the faces of
the children in the camps for those left
homeless by the Dec. 26 tsunami.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
The board of directors of United Methodist-
related Africa University has made school
history by appointing women as two of its four
new academic deans.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2005
|
|
|
A new task force will evaluate and make
recommendations to strengthen the ways in which
theological education prepares pastors for
mission leadership in The United Methodist
Church.
Date posted:Apr 14, 2005
|
|
|
Fourteen new deaconesses and six Church and
Community Workers were commissioned on April 12
for mission service through The United Methodist
Church.
Date posted:Apr 14, 2005
|
|
|
United Methodist Tsunami Response Exceeds $32 Million: Long-term Aid Slated for Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Somalia
United Methodists contributed $32.4 million to
their Church's emergency fund that is providing
relief and rehabilitation in the wake of
devastating South Asia tsunamis late last year.
UMCOR detailed a $19.2 million long-term
development package for Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
Projects are also underway in India and Somalia.
Date posted:Apr 13, 2005
|
|
|
For Jan Love-the daughter of a United Methodist
pastor
and a leader both in the denomination and the
ecumenical world-a sense of mission has been a
guiding principle of life.
Date posted:Apr 13, 2005
|
|
|
UMCOR Slates Long Term Hurricane Recovery Operations in Haiti, Grenada
A $2 million United Methodist relief investment
will assist residents of Haiti and Grenada to
rebuild and repair homes and revive economies
after hurricanes devastated both islands in
September 2004. The board of the United
Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR) meeting here,
approved the project proposals. The new
operations will augment $288,000 in emergency
aid
already dispatched to the island nations
following Tropical Storm Jeanne and Hurricane
Ivan.
Date posted:Apr 13, 2005
|
|
|
UMCOR Board Affirms Work in Sudan And Releases Funding Information
Funds from multiple sources are underwriting the
operations of United Methodist Committee on
Relief in the Darfur area of Sudan, the agency
announced today.
The UMCOR board of directors, meeting here,
approved projects in agriculture extension,
emergency supply distribution, and small-scale
livelihoods totaling just over $1 million. A
UMCOR field team is on the ground in the area
troubled for months by armed clashes.
Date posted:Apr 13, 2005
|
|
|
The chief mission executive of The United
Methodist Church called on April 13 for greater
emphases in the denomination on leadership
development for Christian mission and on health
care ministries for the poor around the world.
Date posted:Apr 13, 2005
|
|
|
UMCOR Hotline, April 12, 2005
In New Jersey, volunteers are cleaning up with
400 UMCOR flood buckets sent from Mission Central
in Pennsylvania. UMCOR is part of an ecumenical
coalition that rushed emergency aid to the island
of Nias in the Indian Ocean. UMCOR is putting out
an urgent call for health kits. UMCOR is at work
in Haiti, where nearly 30,000 have remained
homeless since Hurricane Jeanne's thrashing, and
Grenada, where Hurricane Ivan's winds destroyed
90 percent of buildings and virtually all its
agriculture.
Date posted:Apr 12, 2005
|
|
|
Patient Highlights: Nyadire United Methodist Hospital
Inspiring stories of people who have been helped
by Nyadire United Methodist Hospital in Zimbabwe/
Date posted:Apr 12, 2005
|
|
|
The Laos women crossed the Mekong river in small
numbers - much like refugees --leaving their
homeland.
On the other side, they were met by Hmong women
from the United States, who had once been
refugees
themselves. The difference between them -- the
women
from Laos would return to their country after a
few days,
putting themselves at risk to make the lives of
other
women and children better.
Date posted:Apr 12, 2005
|
|
|
United Methodist Women and other church
officials are
being called to action regarding the use of
torture in war and
terrorism-related situations.
Date posted:Apr 12, 2005
|
|
|
Bonnie Holiday was driving down Bell Street in
Surprise, Arizona, when she happened to see the
United Methodist Cross and Flame symbol
displayed on the front of a brand new
building. She had recently retired in
Surprise, and was looking for a faith community
that could help her “get connected”. She pulled
into the church parking lot to find out more.
Date posted:Apr 11, 2005
|
|
|
The United Methodist Church has a new unified
course of study for French-speaking pastors in
Africa. It responds to the fact that some twenty-
per cent of the Church’s constituency today
speaks French.
A task force is exploring the possibility of a
French language hymnal.
Date posted:Apr 11, 2005
|
|
|
Report of Women's Division Deputy General Secretary
at April, 2006 Board Meeting.
Date posted:Apr 11, 2005
|
|
|
In three personal stories about her experience
with the
Ku Klux Klan, violence against women, and her
daughterís illness, the deputy general secretary
of the
United Methodist Womenís Division gave a
testimony
Sunday, April 10 that brought many to tears.
Date posted:Apr 11, 2005
|
|
|
A new program activating local United Methodist
Women members to work on environmental issues in
their communities was launched at the spring
board
meeting of the Women's Division of the United
Methodist General Board of Global Ministries in
Stamford, Conn., April 7-11. The Women's
Division is
the national administrative body of the one-
million
member United Methodist Women organization.
Date posted:Apr 11, 2005
|
|
|
I recall telling our District Superintendent,
Bill Lovelace, that we were planning a Ski Trip
to the Carpathians for a winter retreat. His
reaction was, “Wow, you guys really are a
student ministry, huh!?” That’s right! Every
student ministry should have a winter retreat
involving skis. With Lviv being about 3 hours
north of the nearest Ukrainian Carpathian ski
village, we booked a three day-two night
adventure.
Date posted:Apr 08, 2005
|
|
|
How can I worship Jesus Christ as a Native
person? Is there a place for me as a Native
person in the United Methodist Church? Can I
bring my Native way into the Church? Is burning
sage or cedar in the church appropriate? What
is a Give Away? Are there hymns written in
Indian languages? These are examples of question
asked of me regarding Native Ministries.
Date posted:Apr 08, 2005
|
|
|
Smiling, excited children, ranging from toddlers to
teens, stand on the front porch of the Teles Orphanage,
singing jubilantly as visitors arrive.
Date posted:Apr 08, 2005
|
|
|
The Rev. Dr. ST Kimbrough, a mission evangelism
leader of The United Methodist Church, is
singing at the Vatican on April 8 in an opera
performance dedicated to Pope John Paul II,
whose funeral was held earlier in the day.
The opera is “I Am the Way,” written by
the late Metropolitan Opera singer Jerome Hines.
Kimbrough will reprise the role of Peter, which
he sang when the opera was recorded some years
ago by the Radio Luxembourg Symphony Orchestra.
The performance is the first of the opera at the
Vatican.
Date posted:Apr 08, 2005
|
|
|
Cashar Evans, a layman from Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, is the new chair of the committee that
will oversee the “second mile” mission giving
program of The United Methodist Church for the
next four years.
The program, the Advance for Christ and His
Church, was launched in 1948 and raises millions
of dollars each year for missionary support,
mission projects, and humanitarian relief. “The
Advance” is a well-known entity within and
beyond the denomination. The committee issues
lists of approved recipients that are promoted
within United Methodist circles.
Date posted:Apr 07, 2005
|
|
|
The Dakotas Conference has been very active in
educating itís members on the issues surrounding
tobacco prevention and control. There have been
informational displays and presentations at District,
Conference, Focus meetings, Shepherdess visits and
at the School of Christian Mission for the last three
years.
Date posted:Apr 07, 2005
|
|
|
"Witch daughters," orphans, unemployed women and
uneducated children all have places to go and
resources to seek a better life thanks to the United
Methodist Women's Society in Mozambique.
Date posted:Apr 07, 2005
|
|
|
After Joaneta Tomo Come's husband died in 1991, her
four children chased her out of her home because they
thought she killed him using witchcraft.
Date posted:Apr 07, 2005
|
|
|
“We’re at the starting gate of a race where many
ministries have to get out at the same time,”
said the Rev. Rusty Allanson about The Promise
United Methodist Church in the South Indiana
Conference. Celebrating its third anniversary,
The Promise Church in the rapidly growing town
of Fishers has seen the number of worshipers
rise from 14 in 2002 to 242 on a recent Sunday,
and foresees an attendance of 1,000 in six to
eight years.
Date posted:Apr 06, 2005
|
|
|
UMCOR Hotline, April 5, 2005
UMCOR last week joined an ecumenical coalition
rushing emergency aid to the island of Nias, hard
hit by a powerful earthquake. Tornadoes tore
through several south Georgia towns in late
March. UMCOR field offices have requested nearly
193,000 health kits for distribution in 2005 -
more than UMCOR has ever shipped before. Gornji
Vakuf-Uskoplje teens who grew up in a divided
community are enjoying drama courses, an Internet
club, library, art workshops, and other
activities that encourage tolerance and peace
building.
Date posted:Apr 05, 2005
|
|
|
Church Bulletin Insert: Medicine Box: Literally Lifesaving
This bulletin insert, "Medicine Box: Literally
Lifesaving," describes how the Medicine Box
program saves lives around the world and ways
congregations can get involved.
Date posted:Apr 05, 2005
|
|
|
The Rev. R. Randy Day paid tribute to Pope John
Paul II, as “a powerful champion of peace
between and within nations” and a steadfast
opponent of the death penalty.
The 84-year-old pontiff, Day said, “was
consistent throughout his long papacy in the
promotion of non-violent solutions to disputes
large and small, and he was unswerving in his
opposition to the menace of nuclear weapons.”
Date posted:Apr 02, 2005
|
|
|
Traveling the 80 kilometers between Managua and
San Francisco Libre is a bumpy, dusty two hour
drive when the road is good. In the rainy season
it often becomes like quicksand and the
municipality turns into an island.
Date posted:Apr 01, 2005
|
|
|
Spring is a time of transformation and rebirth.
In the church we celebrate the seasons of Lent
and Easter in the midst of the transition from
winter to spring. Outside, the ground begins to
thaw, grass starts to grow and flowers burgeon
in the park.
Date posted:Apr 01, 2005
|
