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A recent article concerning Female Genital
Mutilation (FGM) in the Christian Science
Monitor is worthy of our attention. Back in
1997, thirteen Senegalese villages publicly
declared that they would no longer permit female
circumcision. In the eight years since, the
number has grown to 1,527, representing 30% of
Senegalese communities where FGM has been
practiced. Dozens more villages are preparing to
make similar declarations in the coming months.
Date posted:Jul 31, 2005
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From its humble beginnings when a small group of women
gathered in Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 1800s, women
organized for mission have given themselves to the work of
health and education.
Date posted:Jul 29, 2005
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“One of the founding principles of the Woman’s Foreign
Missionary Society in 1869 was that women and girls around the
world should be educated to be leaders within their countries to
change the lives of women, their families, and their societies.
Education was an acceptable form of evangelism for young
women missionaries, so the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society
sent out hundreds of single, well-educated women who founded
primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher
learning.
Date posted:Jul 29, 2005
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An organization of Filipino-American United
Methodists has joined with groups condemning the
recent killings of a Protestant pastor and
others working with the poor in the Philippines.
Date posted:Jul 29, 2005
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As Conference Schools of Christian Mission get under way, the
Green Team members take to the road to the schools to
promote the work of the Team’s environmental advocacy.
Displays and handouts are set up in the respective conference
schools and the information on water conservation, water
pollution and water safety as well as toxins in the environment
are shared.
Date posted:Jul 28, 2005
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It was a historic moment in the midst of the year-long
celebration of the 135th anniversary of United Methodist Women
and its predecessor organizations. The occasion was the
commemoration of the Supreme Court decision of Brown v.
Board of Education, a landmark piece of civil rights legislation.
The place was the fall 2004 meeting of the Women’s Division in
Stamford, Connecticut.
Date posted:Jul 27, 2005
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The treatment given to American Indians as the
United States pushed its boundaries westward has
resulted in an ongoing emotional condition that
a Native American social worker-researcher
calls "historical trauma."
Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, research
associate professor in the Graduate School of
Social Work at the University of Denver,
described her work at the 2005 Native American
Family Camp, held July 19-23 at the University
of Redlands. The annual event is sponsored by
the United Methodist Church's Native American
International Caucus.
Date posted:Jul 27, 2005
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UMCOR Hotline, July 26, 2005
In this Hotline:
--Niger: UMCOR Appeals for
Famine Relief
--Zimbabwe: Transit Camps "Unfit for Human
Habitation"
--Resources: Share This New Bulletin Insert
Next Sunday
--US and Mexico: Hurricanes Prompt Spiritual
Care and Kits
Date posted:Jul 26, 2005
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The biannual meeting of the National Filipino American United
Methodists (NAFAUM) took place at University United Methodist
Church in Las Vegas, Nev., July 11-14, 2005. Approximately 300
women, men and youth, both lay and clergy, heard Bishop
Minerva Carcano (Desert Southwest Conference) deliver the
opening worship message.
Date posted:Jul 26, 2005
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On July 11, Kyung Za Yim, Women’s Division president,
addressed the National Association of Filipino-American United
Methodists as the keynote speaker at the Leadership Institute in
Las Vegas, Nev. Her speech to the gathering looks at the
connectional system of our church, the needs of the world, and
the work to be done.
Date posted:Jul 25, 2005
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On an overseas phone interview from Maputo,
Mozambique, Lucille Bonaventure, a young
missionary, talked about her work with the
peacemaking department of the United Methodist
Church in Mozambique. These are her words.
Date posted:Jul 25, 2005
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On July 8 at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sacramento, Cal.,
United Methodist Women gathered for morning porridge, then
began their meeting. The women were new to the organization,
but filled with a vision. They were Hmong women, celebrating
their fifth year as women organized for mission.
Date posted:Jul 25, 2005
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On July 21, United Methodist deaconesses will gather with other
deaconess sisters from around the globe and ecumenically at a
DIAKONIA World Federation meeting in England.
Date posted:Jul 22, 2005
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Since I volunteer one day a week at a university
campus in the Galilee (Mar Elias Branch Campus
of the University of Indianapolis, a United
Methodist institution) ... Although there are
much shorter and faster ways to get from
Jerusalem to the campus in Ibillin, I prefer
this route with its desert beauty and quiet
desolation to the speeding traffic of Tel Aviv
and the coast road. This desert road that
plummets from the peaks of Jerusalem to the
lowest point on Earth is not without its
dangers, however.
Date posted:Jul 21, 2005
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Every day, more than 26 million children in over 99,000 public
schools across the country eat lunches subsidized by the
National School Lunch Program. Good nutrition promotes
education because children learned better when they ate better.
However, much of the food available to American children in
school fails to meet their nutritional needs.
Date posted:Jul 20, 2005
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19 July 2005, Kitwe, Zambia—United Methodist
leaders from throughout Africa ended ten days of
sharing, training and planning at the Mindolo
Ecumenical Center in Kitwe, Zambia with the
exuberant sound of African drums and song. In a
moving sending forth service ... retired Bishop
Felton Edwin May urged congregants to set aside
their own “addictions to power games, prestige
and separation by conference…and reach out to
others, love them and treat them as God treats
them and bring wholeness and healing to their
lives.”
Date posted:Jul 19, 2005
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UMCOR Hotline, July 19, 2005
Zimbabwe: Caring for Zimbabwe's Homeless
UMCOR is joining other faith-based humanitarian
agencies to provide basic necessities to
hundreds of thousands of people who were were
driven from their homes in an urban clean-up
campaign. This comes during the country's
coldest season in June and July. Tents, cooking
utensils, soap, and emergency food are among the
emergency aid. Warm blankets will also be
available to help people keep warm during the
coldest months of the year.
Date posted:Jul 19, 2005
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![Twenty-three year old, Victoria Phiri finished the five-month course in June and says that she now earns money by sewing at home. [SPSARV-sponsored conference, Shaping the Future with Hope, Healing and Deliverance , in Kitwe, Zambia.]](http://gbgm-umc.org/images/photobank/e1065.jpg)
Kitwe, Zambia, July 18, 2005—The statistics on
the plight of orphans and vulnerable children in
Zambia paint a daunting picture. The country has
the second-highest proportion of children
orphaned by AIDS in Africa. (Uganda has the
highest proportion). The United Nations
Children’s Fund, UNICEF, estimates that Zambia
has in excess of 630,000 AIDS orphans, many of
them living on the streets.
Date posted:Jul 18, 2005
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As seasoned members of United Methodist Women plan a trip to
Anaheim next May for the quadrennial United Methodist
Women’s Assembly, young women also are saving their money
and packing their bags.
Date posted:Jul 18, 2005
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![Missionary Beatrice Gbanga demonstrates Medicine Boxes and health kits at Africa conference on durg and alcohol abuse. [SPSARV-sponsored conference, Shaping the Future with Hope, Healing and Deliverance, in Kitwe, Zambia.]](http://gbgm-umc.org/images/photobank/e1069.jpg)
Kitwe, Zambia, July 18, 2005—The usefulness of
the familiar Medicine Boxes that many United
Methodist congregations and individuals assemble
was demonstrated to a conference of 60 African
church leaders meeting in Kitwe, Zambia to
become better equipped to respond to drug and
alcohol abuse.
Date posted:Jul 18, 2005
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Viktorija Jablonskiene was so shocked by the
sight of a woman pastor that she ran out of the
first United Methodist church she visited.
Nearly a decade later, she is making history as
one of five Lithuanians leading churches in
their own land.
Date posted:Jul 18, 2005
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Concentrating on food security, the United
Methodist Committee on Relief is assisting both
displaced people and local communities in the
Sudan.
Date posted:Jul 18, 2005
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Kitwe, Zambia, July 16, 2005—United Methodist
efforts to combat drug and
alcohol abuse and related violence in Africa are
providing important models and lessons learned
for local congregations and annual conferences.
Date posted:Jul 16, 2005
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On July 29, United Methodists involved in public education will
arrive in Nashville, Tenn., to set the direction of 1-million
member United Methodist Women as they advocate for quality
public education in the United States.
Date posted:Jul 15, 2005
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Through the Primetimers program, United
Methodists over the age of 50 come together for
a time of education, mission service, and faith-
filled reflection. From May 22 – 27, twenty-
three older adults from across the United States
gathered to participate in the Primetimers
event “Exploring Your Faith with Lewis and
Clark.” Mike Jarvis of Woodbridge, Virginia was
one of the participants of this event at the
Alton Collins Retreat Center in Eagle Creek,
Oregon. He shared this reflection on his
experience:
Date posted:Jul 15, 2005
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It is Annual Conference time in the United
Methodist Church and Bill and I have had the
privilege to attend the Oklahoma and Central
Texas Annual Conference and have a table,
display and the opportunity to meet many new
friends and see old ones. We even met some
missionaries and what a joyful time we had with
them. We were impressed and delighted with
both Conferences and their emphasis on Mission.
Date posted:Jul 14, 2005
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As world leaders have returned home from the G-8
Summit, committed to lifting the poorest of poor
countries in the continent of Africa out of
poverty, there is another group of potential
world leaders who have returned home who share
these leaders' noble ambitions.
They are the displaced children of Liberia and
their biggest dream is to attend school.
Date posted:Jul 14, 2005
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This week as residents of the Florida Panhandle
and Alabama clean up after Hurricane Dennis’
high winds and rains, others inland sweep water
out of flooded homes, hoping to dry out before
the next storm arrives.
Tensions are high as communities, already
battered by last summer’s fierce hurricanes,
endured Dennis and now brace for Hurricane
Emily, a category 2 storm that recently passed
through the Windward Islands.
Date posted:Jul 14, 2005
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Joanne Reich has been named interim child
protection and community assistance officer of
the mission agency of The United Methodist
Church.
Date posted:Jul 14, 2005
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On July 14-17, more than 20 young women from around the
country will gather in San Francisco, California to help set the
direction of the one-million-member United Methodist Women
(UMW).
Date posted:Jul 13, 2005
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A Native American United Methodist and former
state senator has been elected Principal Chief
of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.
Enoch Kelly Haney, won an historic election on
July 9 by defeating four other candidates for
the office of the 14,000-member tribe, gaining
over 60 percent of the total votes. The race was
historic because no candidate has ever received
a majority vote without having a run-off,
according to Haney.
Date posted:Jul 13, 2005
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Kitwe, Zambia, July 12, 2005—There’s no
mistaking the sense of urgency or the
desire to act on the part of African church
leaders who are gathering in Kitwe, Zambia this
week. They’ve come from across the African
continent looking for the training and resources
that will help them to extend and strengthen
their ministries to persons and communities
affected by substance abuse and related
violence.
Date posted:Jul 12, 2005
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The devastation wrought by Hurricane Dennis
added insult to injury for many Gulf Coast
residents still recovering from Hurricane Ivan
last September. Dennis followed much the same
path as Ivan, striking homes left roofless 10
months ago. Representatives of the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) are
working in affected areas to assess damage and
meet immediate needs.
Date posted:Jul 12, 2005
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UMCOR Hotline: July 12, 2005
Caribbean: UMCOR Assists in Hurricane Dennis
Recovery -
Last week Hurricane Dennis took 38 lives in Cuba
and Haiti. The storm left a swath of destruction
destroying homes, crops, and livestock. Reports
on specific damage in both countries are taking
time due to power outages and downed phone lines.
Date posted:Jul 12, 2005
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Kitwe, Zambia, July 12, 2005—A poignant and high-
energy drama performed by young people from the
Mutende Cultural Ensemble of Zambia set the tone
as United Methodists from Africa got down to
work on ways to respond to the drug crisis.
Date posted:Jul 12, 2005
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Kitwe, Zambia, July 12, 2005—The Rev. R. Randy
Day, chief executive of the
international mission agency of The United
Methodist Church, delivered a major address on
the mission challenges of the alcohol and drug
crisis at a conference in Zambia on July 11.
Date posted:Jul 12, 2005
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Sixty years after the end of World War II, some
Christians in Japan are concerned about the
increasing militarization in their country.
Besides promoting nationalism and passing more
stringent laws on wiretapping and military
emergencies, Japanese politicians have targeted
Article 9 of the constitution for change,
according to the Rev. Toshimasha Yamamoto, chief
executive of the National Christian Council in
Japan. The government also has sent its Self-
Defense Force to Iraq.
Date posted:Jul 12, 2005
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United Methodists in Alabama-West Florida are
doing initial damage assessments following the
arrival of Hurricane Dennis, and the church is
making online giving possible for donations.
Particular attention is being given to the areas
of Navarre Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Shalimar,
Milton, and Pace, in Florida; and Atmore and
Monroeville in Alabama. The Category Three storm
hit those areas hard July 10.
Date posted:Jul 12, 2005
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Two United Methodist annual conferences grew by
more than 7,000 members during 2004. In
addition, average attendance at morning worship
grew by a small margin while membership in the
denomination in the United States declined by
more than 71,000 from the previous year.
The Wyoming and North Georgia annual conferences
led the way in reported membership growth for
2004. The two conferences collectively reported
an increase of 7,576 members in local
congregations.
Date posted:Jul 12, 2005
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The worshippers gather in the shade of trees,
sing hymns under homes built on stilts, or read
Bibles in newly completed churches. These are
the new Christians of Cambodia — a growing
movement, often led by teenagers and children,
many of whom are newly literate.
Date posted:Jul 11, 2005
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A compilation from several statements from a
variety of religious sources.
Date posted:Jul 11, 2005
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United Methodist Women are known for the diversity of mission
programs and projects that we support through our own work
and through partnerships with others. The difficulty with this is
that it can be hard to comprehend the amount of work we do
locally and around the world.
Date posted:Jul 11, 2005
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Following the Group of Eight leaders' meeting in
Scotland, one fact is clear: The world is in a
position to end extreme poverty in this
generation. The technology, resources and
cooperative networks are in place to get it done.
Date posted:Jul 11, 2005
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Hurricanes 2005: UMCOR Responds
UMCOR is responding to Hurricane Dennis and other
storms of the 2005 season. UMCOR needs flood
buckets filled with cleaning supplies that people
use to clean their homes after floods and
hurricanes. Please give generously to UMCOR's
Hurricanes 2005 Global, Advance #982523
Date posted:Jul 10, 2005
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In a message to “neighbors” in London, the
Methodist bishop of Argentina has strongly
rejected the use of all violence in attempts to
achieve political ends.
Bishop Nelly Ritchie said, speaking of
the
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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Refuge was a concept familiar to the Israelites
of the Old Testament. After 40 years of
wandering in the desert, Moses was told by God
to “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them:
When you cross the Jordan into the land of
Canaan, then you shall select cities to be
cities of refuge for you, so that a slayer who
kills a person without intent may flee there.
The cities shall be for you a refuge from the
avenger, so that the slayer may not die until
there is a trial before the congregation.”
(Numbers 35:10–12).
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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The Baltimore-Washington Conference’s new
bishop, John R. Schol, has challenged conference
members to change the culture of our ministries
to reflect our values and vision as disciples of
Christ. In our increasingly complex world, it is
important to view our lives and relationships
through the lens of faith. Discovering the story
of God’s presence in our lives and in the world,
as the bishop would have us do, can yield
surprising insights that can help us make a
difference in disheartening circumstances.
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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The alien who resides with you shall be to you
as the citizen among you; you shall love the
alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the
land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
(Leviticus 19:34)
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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Since World War II, United Methodist
congregations have provided caring communities
ready to welcome refugee families to their new
homes. Refugees have suffered grievous losses of
homeland, family, friends, and community. Many
find their adjustment to a new way of life
smoothed by the friendship, care, and guidance
provided by church sponsors or congregations
ready to reach out to them in other ways.
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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Sokiri Swana Wani Kose, age 44, and his wife,
Puru Legge Sule, 31, left Sudan nearly five
years ago, trading battlefields, famine, and
economic uncertainty for the hope of a peaceful
future.
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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Ever since humankind was able to wield power and
weapons there have been conflicts over
territory, which creates refugees. The wars we
see today have their origins steeped in the past—
no one group of people is innocent—virtually all
those reading this article will have ancestors
who have been refugees, have caused others to
become refugees, or both.
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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Recently, the United Methodist Committee on
Relief’s Nongovern- mental Organization (UMCOR-
NGO) established a Sudan National Office in
Khartoum and a Field Office in Al Daein, South
Darfur.
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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United Methodists, gathering for their yearly
U.S. meetings, welcomed new bishops, focused on
issues such as health care and diversity, and
raised millions for tsunami relief and missions.
Date posted:Jul 08, 2005
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Ground rules to resolve three years of conflict
in Darfur, Sudan’s troubled western region, have
drawn “cautious optimism” from United Methodist
mission executives. The rules were announced on
July 6 in Abuja, Nigeria.
Date posted:Jul 07, 2005
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In February, Diane Miller, former Women’s Division staff and
United Methodist Women member from Mount Lebanon United
Methodist Church in Western Pennsylvania conference, traveled
with a group from the General Board of Global Ministries and
with church members from around the United States to India and
Pakistan.
Date posted:Jul 07, 2005
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'May terrorism soon vanish from this earth,'
the Rev. R. Randy Day said in a statement in
response to the July 7 early morning bombing of
underground rail cars and buses in London.
He likened terrorists to cowards because
they attack innocent people going about their
business.
Date posted:Jul 07, 2005
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Christian students were practicing globalization
long before that term became a corporate concept.
"It's not a globalization of greed and of
selfishness but a globalization of solidarity,"
said Michael Wallace, an Anglican from New
Zealand and chief executive of the World Student
Christian Federation.
Date posted:Jul 07, 2005
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Geneva, 7 July (ENI)--World church leaders have
expressed horror
and condemnation at a series of bomb blasts in
London on Thursday
that killed more than 33 people and that badly
wounded hundreds
of others. They pleaded for a strengthening of
the values
terrorists sought to destroy and said extremists
must not be
allowed to create divisions between
communities.
Date posted:Jul 07, 2005
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Methodist leaders in the United States and
Africa expressed sympathy and support July 7 for
the people of London following a series of
explosions that authorities believe were set by
terrorists.
Date posted:Jul 07, 2005
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In the early moments after bomb blasts rocked
the city, Methodist churches in the city center
did whatever they could to help people caught up
in the explosions
Date posted:Jul 07, 2005
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The UMCOR Hotline: July 5, 2005
Caring for Zimbabwe's homeless; A desperate
journey to the US; Increasing famine threat in
Africa; Rebuilding lives and seeking water in
Afghanistan.
Date posted:Jul 05, 2005
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As the nation observes the Fourth of July, Jan Love, chief executive
for the United Methodist Women’s Division, in conjunction with
church leaders around the U.S., signed “A Call to Speak Out on
Iraq,” released today by the National Council of Churches USA.
Date posted:Jul 04, 2005
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In the first six months of 2005, about the same
number - more than 400 - church people visited
the national United Methodist mission offices in
New York City as in all twelve months of 2004.
Date posted:Jul 01, 2005
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The United Methodist Church is launching a new
effort to stem drug trafficking and substance
abuse in Africa.
A conference in Kitwe, Zambia, on July 8-19 will
be the first Africa-wide initiative of the
church’s Special Program on Substance Abuse and
Related Violence (SPSARV). One outcome of the
event will be a task force that will concentrate
on the vast continent where drug use and abuse
is rapidly escalating.
Date posted:Jul 01, 2005
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It is with great pride that I share a Native
American perspective of the celebration of the
Fourth of July in the United States.
It must seem ironic to many people, both
native and non-native, that despite the
government’s attempt to decimate and assimilate
Native Americans, Native Americans are among the
most patriotic in this country. In fact, per
capita, Native Americans have served in more
wars than any other group in this country.
Date posted:Jul 01, 2005
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This weekend, study leaders for Pacific and Upper Atlantic
Regional Schools of Christian Mission gathered at Northwest
Nazarene University in Idaho and Marywood University in
Pennsylvania.
Date posted:Jul 01, 2005
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The top mission leader of The United Methodist
Church has called on the heads of the world’s
eight richest nations to expand their efforts to
assist the poorest countries.
The Rev. R. Randy Day made the appeal on
the eve of the 2005 meeting of the G-8 (richest)
nations in Gleneagles, Scotland on July 6-8.
Date posted:Jul 01, 2005
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On July 4, the National Council of Churches will release a
statement opposing the war in Iraq, calling it dishonorable and
urging a change in U.S. policy.
Date posted:Jul 01, 2005
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Torture is wrong. In 1982 the late John Paul II said, “The memory of
Jesus stripped naked, beaten, derided, nailed to the cross” should
make all Christians “reject, spontaneously and absolutely, any
recourse to such means which nothing on earth can justify and
which destroy the dignity of both the tortured and the torturer.”
Date posted:Jul 01, 2005
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