Stamford, Connecticut
October 19-22, 1998
During this year's Annual Meeting, the board accomplished the following:
COMMISSIONED PERSONNEL
The board commissioned 13 candidates for full-time service: five to the Office of Deaconess and eight as GBGM Missionaries--two of whom are the first Missioners of Hope, a new mission personnel program authorized in the spring of 1998, which proposes to send 100 new missionaries to serve in Africa, with a specific emphasis on ministries with children.
The board also recognized the commission of one candidate to the Office of Deaconess.
Recognized as Deaconess
Victoria Edralin-Din, California/Nevada
Office of Deaconess
- Mary Lou Edens, South Carolina
- Margaret Wantuck, Western New York
- Kathryn Kuhn, Northern New Jersey
- Christine Williams, Florida
- Janet McCarty, Illinois Great River
GBGM Missionaries
- Fidel Compres, Baltimore/Washington
- Kyung Joong Min, North Central New York
- Marshall Johnson, Nebraska
- Kimberly King Torres, Florida
- Judith Kading, Iowa
- Earnestine Varnado, Mississippi
Missioners of Hope
- Robert Emison, Texas
- Mary Gross Okai, North Georgia
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CONFERENCE MEMBERS
The board welcomed new Director Betsy Singleton Bauer, South Central Jurisdiction (Little Rock Annual Conference); and named Anthony DeSalvatore as an additional member, Northeastern Jurisdiction (Troy Annual Conference).
The board nominated Randolph Nugent to the position of General Secretary for election by the General Council on Ministries, and elected and approved staff as mandated by the bylaws.
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APPROVALS
The board approved total distribution of $13,080,127.48 for mission programs and projects which fulfill the mandate of the four goals of the Board: Witness to the Gospel for Initial Decision to Follow Jesus Christ; Strengthen, Develop, and Renew Christian Congregation and Community; Alleviate Human Suffering; and Seek Justice, Freedom, and Peace.
Distribution of $1,190,000 from the Program Development Fund to support innovative mission programs and projects across the globe.
Implementation plans for three new program initiatives approved in April 1998: Partnership Fund for Latin America/Caribbean Area and in Asia (particularly the Philippines) which will support innovative programs where churches face new challenges and opportunities in reaching constituencies not usually reached by traditional ministries, including those newly vulnerable to being left behind in the emerging global economy ($5 million); Innovative Mission Volunteers which seeks to advance the commitment to mission in the whole church by enabling a larger number of church members/leaders to experience cross-cultural, global, and reciprocal mission ($2.5 million); and Sustainable Agricultural Development Initiative which is designed to improve the general welfare, productivity, and sense of well-being within United Methodist congregations and their broader communities, based on the productive and sustainable use of agricultural and other essential external resources ($2.5 million).
A proposal to develop a global mission on prison ministry and restorative justice in accordance with paragraph 562 of The Book of Discipline, which states in part: ":The purpose of a mission is to provide ministry with a particular group...whose needs cannot be fully met with the existing structures and resources of the annual conferences.":
Mission and Policy Statements on the Non-Governmental Organization Program which states that "the GBGM will engage only in those programs that complement its basic program mandates and strategic directions, and will accept donor funds only when those funds can be used to advance the program goals and policies of the GBGM."
An increase in the Collins Pension Fund rate from $325 to $385 per service year, effective January 1, 1999.
$76,882,681 as the 1999 budget appropriations, with authority for the General Secretary to make adjustments within the total.
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The board learned that the Millennium Fund Committee had approved $390,000 for European projects and $225,000 for a "Holy Boldness Regional Center" for community development in Baltimore.
VOTES
- To advise the General Council on Finance and Administration that the subsidy for the former Evangelical United Brethren Missionary Pension (approximately $40,000 per year) is no longer required and that this item need not be continued in the GCFA quadrennial askings from general church funds. Funding now will come under the responsibility of the Collins Pension Fund.
- That the General Board of Global Ministries, in cooperation with the General Council on Finance and Administration and the General Board of Pensions an Health Benefits, agree to underwrite a six-year program to fund the unfunded past pensions liability of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference.
- That the current position of Executive Secretary/Justice and Advocacy be expanded to include issues related to institutional racism; the position to be renamed Executive Secretary/Justice, Advocacy, Human Rights, and Racism.
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The Board committed to purchasing 354 boxes of pharmaceuticals and basic medical supplies as part of the Health and Relief unit’s Medicine Box Campaign, and in an offering from directors, staff, and guests, RAISED $1,780--enough to purchase five additional boxes.
SPEAKERS, REPORTS and PRESENTATIONS
- President Dan E. Solomon remind directors and staff that telling the story of mission and its impact on the world is essential.
- The General Secretary’s report which highlighted very significant areas of progress made for a global mission, and emphasized the Board’s commitment to establish, maintain, and sustain mission relationships with communities, local churches, and conferences.
- A presentation on Christian Mission: The End or a New Beginning, by Dr. Wesley Ariarajah, Professor of Ecumenical Theology at the Drew University School of Theology, New Jersey.
- A daily Bible study led by Dr. Minka Shura Sprague, Professor of New Testament and Biblical Language, New York Theological Seminary, New York.
- A report on GBGM’s involvement in Youth/Young Adult Ministries and General Conference Initiative "Shared Mission Focus on Youth 2000."
- Witness presentations from the Rev. John Yambasu (Crusade Scholar); Dorella Walters (young adult); and Rachel Cornwall (Mission Intern) on their faith journey.
- Performances and witness by the Youth Mission Chorale, a Board-sponsored singing group that toured Russia and the Baltic countries in the summer of 1998, and a Korean American Praise Group, a young adult musical group from Los Angeles.
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