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United Methodist congregations in the United
States could have a new United Methodist Hymnal
within five years.
Date posted:Apr 30, 2008
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Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf praised
the work of Global Ministries and The United
Methodist Church in helping revitalize her
nation and the African continent after years of
wars. It was a rousing and historic address to
General Conference delivered April 29 by
Africa's first woman president.
Date posted:Apr 30, 2008
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In a world where many people wander without
roots, Christ is "our home," a Lutheran bishop
told the legislating assembly of The United
Methodist Church.
Date posted:Apr 30, 2008
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Bishop Violet Fisher of Western New York issued
a
call for "radical hospitality" toward
immigrants,
people of color, and all people during a morning
worship at General Conference. She helped set
the
tone for a day focused on diversity and racial
justice.
Date posted:Apr 30, 2008
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The "Resisting Hate, Fear, and Scapegoating, and
Transforming the Context of Hate in the United
States" resolution reaffirms the denomination's
historical opposition to acts of hate, hate
speech, and violence in both church and society
and urges the church to redouble efforts to
speak out against hate crimes.
Date posted:Apr 30, 2008
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Africa University is a uniting, connectional
dream come true. That's the message delegates to
the denomination's legislative assembly received
during a report from its nearly 16-year-old Pan-
African institution.
Date posted:Apr 30, 2008
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Within the legislative rhetoric necessary to
create one Methodist Church in 1939 from the
three denominations that had splintered before
the nation's Civil War, that direct statement
was never made, but skin color was the only
basis for setting aside all the congregations of
color that made up the Central Jurisdiction.
Everyone at the 1939 uniting conference knew
that.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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A 140-member team of interpreters and
technicians is making it possible for the nearly
300 international delegates to the 2008 United
Methodist General Conference to fully
participate in plenary worship, committee
discussions, and floor debates of the
quadrennial event convened April 23 to May 2 in
Fort Worth, Texas.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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A choir of bright smiling children from Uganda
brought United Methodist leaders to their feet
Monday afternoon, April 27. Dancing up a storm,
the children, aged 4 to 12, enlivened delegates
to the denomination's top legislative body
during
a pause in the deliberations.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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It is midnight and people need bread! The hungry
knock and the church must answer the door! So
declared Bishop Ernest Lyght of West Virginia
during morning worship at The United Methodist
Church's General Conference on April 27. The
conference meets every four years to conduct the
church's business.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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General Conference paused on Monday morning to
recognize the tragedy and celebrate the resulting
witness that grew out of Hurricane Katrina's
devastation in August 2005.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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What we do in worship matters. That's a guiding
principle shaping the sights, sounds, feel, and
movement experienced in the physically engaging
worship services of the 2008 General Conference
designed by Marcia McFee, co-director of music
at this year's quadrennial event.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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Nine General Conferences of The United Methodist
Church have convened since Joyce Hill and a few
other Global Ministries missionaries formed an
ad hoc translation team in 1976 that has grown
into today's efficient professional
interpretation operation--and she's still here.
To Ms. Hill, it's a kind of reimbursement.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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Dr. Maxie Dunnam serves on Global Ministries'
board of directors. Dr. Charlene Black is
director of Global Ministries' Women's Division.
Dr. David L. Beckley is president of Rust
College, Holley Springs, Mississippi, a national
mission institution related to the mission
board. Dr. Maxine Clarke Beach is dean of Drew
Theological School, Madison, New Jersey, which
is a partner with Global Ministries in
Communities of Shalom, a church-based ministry
of community development and reconciliation.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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Preventing and controlling the diseases of
poverty must include efforts to increase
nutritional standards and literacy, according to
a United Methodist bishop who has worked for
years to improve health standards in his native
Mozambique.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told a
worldwide gathering of United Methodists that her
country and her church share a common commitment
to eradicate poverty.
Sirleaf, a member of the Monrovia (Liberia)
United Methodist Church, greeted delegates to the
denomination's top lawmaking body as "fellow
Christians and fellow Methodists" many times
during her April 29 address to the 2008 General
Conference.
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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The Umcor Hotline for April 29, 2008
SIERRE LEONE: Restoring Health
UMCOR: Join UMCOR’s 100-Ton Challenge
DRC: A First of Special Deliveries
RESOURCES: World Fair Trade Day—New Church
Bulletin
SAGER BROWN: Order Depot of Hope DVD
Date posted:Apr 29, 2008
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"It opens up Malawi for church agencies to
empower the local people," said Bishop Eben
Nhiwatiwa, leader of the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area
and the new missionary conference in Malawi.
With 18,329 members and 17 pastors, there is
a "tremendous level of ministry," he said.
Date posted:Apr 28, 2008
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The action came at the 2008 General Conference,
which meets every four years to conduct the
business of the church. In the future, United
Methodists in the West African country will have
their fair share of delegates to the General
Conference. Its bishop will henceforth be
covered by the United Methodist Episcopal Fund.
Date posted:Apr 28, 2008
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"In the Aymaran culture," Mamani explained, "the
custom is for boys to go to school, but for
girls to be raised as servants. I didn't have
the opportunity to go to school. But now we
realize that both boys and girls need to go to
school."
Date posted:Apr 28, 2008
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For the past 60 years, The Advance for Christ
and His Church has received more than $1.2
billion and has responded to human need in more
than 100 countries. One hundred percent of each
gift to The Advance reaches its intended mission
or ministry.
Date posted:Apr 28, 2008
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Bishops, delegates and visitors to this year's
General Conference don't need a passport to see
United Methodist mission work around the world.
They can journey to a home in Bolivia, a
community center in the United States, and a
hospital ward in Sierra Leone by visiting a
display on The Advance for Christ and His Church
in the exhibition hall of the convention center
where the conference is being held.
Date posted:Apr 28, 2008
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"At the time of civil war, the hospital was
seeing three patients a day," said Janet Bio,
head midwife at Kissy United Methodist Hospital
in Freetown, Sierra Leone. "But I started
bringing pregnant women to the hospital--just a
few at a time." Twelve years later, 400 women
come each week to see "Sister Bio" for prenatal
treatment.
Date posted:Apr 28, 2008
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The 2008 General Conference on April 28 elected
five new members to the top court of The United
Methodist Church.
Date posted:Apr 28, 2008
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The United Methodist Church is changing the way
in which it addresses the affairs of church units
outside the United States.
Date posted:Apr 28, 2008
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The clear acapella sounds of children singing
“Amazing Grace” spread through the Fort Worth
Convention Center as the children’s choir of the
Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference opened
Sunday worship at the United Methodist General
Conference on April 27.
Date posted:Apr 27, 2008
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That hope comes only through faith in Jesus
Christ, said Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the
church's Phoenix Area during the April 27
worship service at General Conference. The
United Methodist Church has declared ministry
with the poor as one of its four areas of focus
for the immediate future.
Date posted:Apr 27, 2008
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"The church owes me nothing. I owe the church and
the Lord of the church everything," said Iowa
Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, as he was installed
April 26 as the new president of the United
Methodist Council of Bishops.
Date posted:Apr 27, 2008
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The transformational power of the initiative that
empowers African-American churches with a renewed
sense of ministry was approved by the delegates
to the 2008 General Conference.
Date posted:Apr 27, 2008
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27 Avril 2008 | FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS):
L’Eglise Méthodiste Unie en Côte d’ Ivoire, la
plus grande conférence du monde avec environ
700.000 membres, a reçu ses plein droits et
responsabilités de faire part de cette
dénomination.
Date posted:Apr 27, 2008
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On the first annual World Malaria Day, United
Methodists at General Conference gathered to
celebrate The United Methodist Church's
contributions to the eradication of this
preventable but deadly disease. General
Conference is The United Methodist Church's top
legislative meeting that occurs every four
years.
Date posted:Apr 26, 2008
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Address to General Conference during morning
plenary on April 26, 2008.
Date posted:Apr 26, 2008
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Tracing a "shared journey of faith," a United
Methodist committee is calling upon the
denomination to more fully embrace their
counterparts in Latin American and the Caribbean.
Date posted:Apr 26, 2008
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The United Methodist Communities of Shalom
initiative returned to General Conference, where
it was born in 1992 as a ministry of community
reconciliation and development.
Date posted:Apr 26, 2008
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"We are the heirs of exuberant, extravagant
sowing of gospel seeds by countless small rural
congregations around the world," said a bishop
who grew up in a small east Tennessee town.
Date posted:Apr 26, 2008
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A call for justice and human treatment of
migrants was issued on the first full days of
the 2008 legislating General Conference of The
United Methodist Church, meeting in Fort Worth,
Texas.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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Sending out 53 new missionaries for global
health to Africa, Asia, and Latin America,
training one advocate for the poor in every
annual conference, providing short-term mission
experiences for 100 young people to explore and
reflect on professional Christian service--
these are just a few of the plans proposed out
of a movement to focus the resources of The
United Methodist Church around four specific
areas of ministry.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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In her address, she spoke of the struggles The
United Methodist Church and Protestant churches
in general face in a country dominated by the
Russian Orthodox Church. She told about young
people who hide their faith from their
families. "It takes courage to admit you are a
Protestant Christian in the Orthodox society
where rituals and traditions can seem more
important than personal relationships with God,"
Ms.Volkova said.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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Lyn Powell is a member of Snellville United
Methodist Church and lay leader of the North
Georgia Annual Conference. She gave the laity
address to the delegates of General Conference
in Fort Worth, Texas, April 24, 2008.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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United Methodist Women participants in the
April 24 lunch-break rally for immigration
rights during General Conference see the impact
of the unjust immigration policies each day in
their local communities. While the women's
opinions on the solution to immigration-related
problems differed, they were united on the need
to protect the human rights and dignity of new
immigrant communities in the United States.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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As an all-church meeting continues in Fort
Worth, Texas, one bishop took time on April 24
to attend another important gathering: snack
time in the after-school program at United
Community Centers, Inc., a local United
Methodist mission institution.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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Bishop João Somane Machado of The United
Methodist Church in Mozambique asked this
question of the delegates of General Conference
2008 meeting April 23-May 2 in Forth Worth,
Texas as he led the morning worship service. He
referred to Paul's letter to the church at
Galatians as a charge to the church to get
moving again. Paul had planted the church on an
earlier mission to the region, but upon
returning, discovered that things weren't going
so well.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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Bringing attention to hunger in the United
States and around the world, United Methodists
gathered for a "potato drop" at their
quadrennial legislative meeting.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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Fort Worth, Texas, April 23, 2008--In 1948, the
same year in which The Advance for Christ and
His Church was set up as the Methodist
designated mission giving channel, two nurses
sent by the then Woman's Society of Christian
Service (WSCS) established a health clinic in
Cookson, Oklahoma.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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United Methodists should tell the US president
to "tear down this wall" with Mexico, said
Bishop Felton May, bringing his audience to
their feet. Bishop May, interim general
secretary for the General Board of Global
Ministries, spoke to an open press conference
regarding immigration and the church's response.
The press conference was sponsored by the
Interagency Taskforce on Immigration. Global
Ministries is one of the agencies participating
in the taskforce.
Date posted:Apr 25, 2008
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The United Methodist Church turned a sports
arena into a sanctuary and opened its 2008
legislating General Conference with joyful noise
and a rousing mission sermon by the outgoing
leader of its bishops' council.
Date posted:Apr 24, 2008
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Youth urged the church to risk being a community
that hears and responds to God, each other, and
the needs of a hurting world in the first Young
People's Address to General Conference of The
United Methodist Church this morning in Fort
Worth, Texas.
Date posted:Apr 24, 2008
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In "a prayer for The United Methodist Church and
the world" the Council of Bishops presented a call
for the church to offer "offer hope to the world"
through its covenant with God. Bishop Sharon Brown
Christopher of the Illinois Episcopal Area,
delivered the Episcopal Address. It is considered
the collective mind of the council.
Date posted:Apr 24, 2008
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On the eve of the 2008 United Methodist General
Conference, the denomination's Global AIDS Fund
celebrated its first four years of work toward an
AIDS-free world.
Date posted:Apr 23, 2008
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The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist
Church accepted the resignation of Edward W. Paup
as a bishop in the denomination.
Paup, 62, leader of the Seattle Area, is leaving
the episcopacy to become the top executive of the
United Methodist General Board of Global
Ministries. In his letter of resignation, which
was read publicly, he indicated that his
resignation would be effective at the close of
the workday on Aug. 31. His new job begins Sept.
1.
Date posted:Apr 23, 2008
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The "hows" and "whys" of the United Methodist
General Conference were the focus of several
special orientations on April 23 before the
opening evening worship of the legislative body.
Orientations were offered for delegates from
countries outside the United States as well as
for women delegates, racial and ethnic minority
delegates and delegates under the age of 30.
Date posted:Apr 23, 2008
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Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, 59, was unanimously
elected April 19 to lead the council in two
years. His tenure will begin in 2010 at the
conclusion of the presidency of Iowa Bishop
Gregory Palmer, who will assume the presidency
from Bishop Janice Riggle Huie during the 2008
General Conference this spring. Palmer was
elected last November to a two-year term.
Date posted:Apr 22, 2008
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The Umcor Hotline for April 22, 2008
SOUTH SUDAN: Helping Teachers Do Their Job
SAGER BROWN: Depot of Hope; UMCOR’S 100-TON
CHALLENGE Begins May 10
WORLDWIDE: Resources for World Malaria Day—April
25
UMCOR: One Great Hour of Sharing Goes Online
Date posted:Apr 22, 2008
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Six decades ago this year, Methodists in the
United States, responding to the devastation of
World War II, set up a "world-wide Advance"
through which to "share in a ministry of relief
and in carrying the Gospel of Christ to the
people of the world."
Date posted:Apr 21, 2008
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The hymn "How Great Thou Art" sung in ten
languages, led by a bishop singing in the
original Swedish, was the faith-filled
affirmation of the first ever United Methodist
Mission Initiatives Summit, held in Plano on
April 17-18.
Date posted:Apr 21, 2008
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A New Podcast:Dieudonne Karihano
Dieudonne Karihano is a missionary of the General
Board of Global Ministries of The United
Methodist
Church serving in Mozambique. Interview by
Rachael
Barnett, Global Ministries staff of The Advance.
Date posted:Apr 19, 2008
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Each day I am challenged to live out my faith.
I arrived in Waspam, Nicaragua in October 2007,
about a month after Hurricane Felix hit. This
community of 6,000 people is on the Coco River,
which forms the border of southern Honduras and
northern Nicaragua. Most residents are Miskito,
an indigenous people who have populated the
region for centuries.
Date posted:Apr 18, 2008
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United Methodists love to sing and to celebrate
that we are a global church. The amazing new
music resource features over twenty songs from
sixteen countries that will touch the hearts and
minds of people around the world.
Date posted:Apr 18, 2008
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Nothing But Sweat event takes supporters on 238-
mile bike ride through Texas Montgomery, TX.
Supporters of the grassroots campaign to prevent
malaria in Africa will attempt to raise $100,000
for anti-malarial bed nets in a 4-day bike ride
through Texas.
Date posted:Apr 18, 2008
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An immigration rally taking place in the Water
Garden adjoining the Fort Worth Convention
Center will be held from 12:45 to 2:00 p.m. on
April 24 for "Immigrant, Civil and Human Rights"
will affirm official UMC policy on immigration
and the contributions of United Methodists who
are immigrants. It places immigrant rights in
the context of the ongoing struggle for civil
rights and human rights for all God's children
and will also address the plight of migrants on
a global scale.
Date posted:Apr 18, 2008
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The UMCOR Hotline for April 15, 2008
SIERRE LEONE: Spreading the Word About Malaria
JFON: Reuniting Families
WORLD MALARIA DAY: Take Action on April 25
US: Nevada Flood Recovery
US: Register for Lighten the Burden II
Date posted:Apr 17, 2008
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United Methodist health institutions in parts of
Africa will play enlarged roles in the fight
against malaria as they gain capacity through a
unique anti-malaria alliance that includes The
United Methodist Church and the popular Nothing
But Nets campaign.
Date posted:Apr 15, 2008
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To "discern" means to recognize or identify.
United Methodist laity—women and men—seeking to
discern God's will for their lives will have
that
opportunity in late October, 2008.
A Young Adult Discernment Event, open to United
Methodist persons of all ages living in the
United States, will take place in New York City,
October 31-November 2, 2008.
Date posted:Apr 11, 2008
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Today, as I watch Barack Obama and Hillary
Clinton on television competing for the
Democratic nomination, I cannot help but think
about the many men and women, including my
father
Tracey K. Jones Jr., who helped create the world
in which this new reality is possible.
Date posted:Apr 11, 2008
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A New Podcast: Eduardo and Claudia Maia
Dr. Eduardo and Claudia Maia are missionaries of
the General Board
of Global Ministries of The United Methodist
Church serving
through the Global Health program in Mozambique.
Interview by
Rachael Barnett, Global Ministries staff of The
Advance.
Date posted:Apr 11, 2008
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At 80, the Rev. Peeter Piirisild continues to
preach. As he has for 34 years, each Sunday
morning Piirisild enters the pulpit of the United
Methodist church in Narva, a city near the top of
the Estonia-Russia border, and offers the morning
sermon.
Date posted:Apr 10, 2008
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The China News Summary is compiled monthly by the
United Methodist
China Program, Room 1335, General Board of Global
Ministries, The United
Methodist Church, 475 Riverside Drive, New York,
NY 10115
Date posted:Apr 09, 2008
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The UMCOR Hotline for April 8, 2008
In Today's Hotline-
US: Arkansas Tornado Response;
DRC: Crops Yield Good Results;
US: Illinois Flood Recovery;
Resources: Africa Malaria Day—New Church Bulletin
Date posted:Apr 09, 2008
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United Methodists should officially reconnect
with their Methodist brothers and sisters in
Latin America and the Caribbean.
That's the conclusion of a report for the United
Methodist General Conference, which meets April
23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Date posted:Apr 09, 2008
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A New Podcast: Meredith Whitaker
Meridith Kay Whitaker is a missionary of the
General Board of Global Ministries of The United
Methodist Church serving as a Church and Community
Worker at the Cookson Hills Center in Oklahoma.
Interview by Chris Tricomi, Global Ministries
consultant.
Date posted:Apr 09, 2008
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So proud of their handsome new costumes, the
Sunday school children excitedly took their
positions for the Easter pageant at the United
Methodist church in Strumica, Republic of
Macedonia.
Date posted:Apr 04, 2008
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My name is Anita Phillips and I want to share
how
Native American Ministries Sunday and the
special
offering received on this Sunday has helped on
so
many levels within my own life and within the
Native American community. Creator God has moved
within my life in many ways. One has been a
special stirring of my spirit by the Holy Spirit
when I need to venture beyond my home community
and step into formal seminary education.
Date posted:Apr 04, 2008
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Selling little yellow balls of "Cockroach Kill"
used to help the Rev. Kenneth Shamu put food on
the table.
Now even income from that small business is gone
because the soaring inflation rate in Zimbabwe
has made it impossible to buy the ingredients -
sugar, eggs and Borax.
Date posted:Apr 04, 2008
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The UMCOR Hotline for April 1, 2008
US: Flood Buckets for the Midwest;
JFON: Help in Time of Need;
US: Lighten the Burden II Event;
Event: Africa Malaria Day—April 25
Date posted:Apr 01, 2008
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