New World Outlook begins the New Year with a look at church and community ministries, the effects of welfare reform, and the progress on rebuilding Black churches that were burned in crimes of hate. Read on as we tackle the issues that face many churches within their own neighborhoods today.
Ending Welfare--As We Know It: United Methodists Respond
The now famous statement made by President Clinton, "Ending welfare as we know it," is elaborated on by a number of directors of United Methodist community institutions as they see the results of welfare-reform legislation in the lives of their clients. Special Grants for Ministries With Women, Children, Youth, and Families awarded by the General Board of Global Ministries' Community and Institutional Ministries Unit to United Methodist community institutions are announced.
The Kensington Welfare Rights Union
Last summer, 150 people marched from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to the United Nations in New York to bring to the attention of a world audience the Kensington Welfare Rights Union's belief that the present US welfare reform is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They brought with them stories of people who have gone without the basics needed to sustain life as a result of welfare cuts and current policies. Joan Baptist, Chris Caruso, and Amy Miller of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union write about "The March For Our Lives."
Community Report: Kensington, Philadelphia
Associate editor Christie R. House reports on a visit to the Kensington neighborhood of northern Philadelphia. The Kensington Area Ministry (KAM), a partnership of nine United Methodist churches throughout the neighborhood, serves the community through a number of projects, including the Shalom House, afterschool programs, summer programs, Bible studies, and the KAM Youthcorps. Come along and let David Krueger, director of Shalom House, show you the neighborhood.
Shalom Zone Ministries in the Texas Conference
The Texas Conference Shalom Zone Ministries are growing all the time. Churches in twelve different locations serve Houston and surrounding communities in unique projects that are the products of their grassroots involvement in their neighborhoods. Lin Weiss and Oscar Griffin look at the diverse offerings of love in action in Texas' Shalom Zones.
On March 26, 1996, the Gay's Hill Baptist Church in Millen, Georgia, was burned to the ground in an act of hate. In July of 1997, the new Gay's Hill Baptist Church was dedicated, rebuilt with the help of many partners, including United Methodist work teams from across the country, and grants from the National Council of Churches in the United States, the American Jewish Committee, and the National Association of Black Evangelicals, among other contributors. Read how the National Council of Churches reaches beyond the mortar and bricks and attempts to build new race relationships in the communities that have been victimized by perpetrators of hate crimes.
Note: The complete version of the article described above is online in both graphics and text only formats.
POSTER: Myths and Realities About Welfare
Our center poster offers some of the most common myths about welfare and a look at the actual numbers and facts.
Darlene Slack caught up with the Rev. Carol Windrum and Tim Fickenscher as they wound up their year-long "Justice Journey" across the United States. Windrum and Fickenscher, a Nebraska Peace With Justice missionary couple, took their message of peace with justice to United Methodist churches in 21 annual conferences, giving programs and attending events all along the way. Hear about their experiences and meet some of the people they encountered.
Operation Classroom: An American-African Partnership
Lynne Bevan DeMichele brings us this update from the Indiana conferences, "Operation Classroom." Since the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the task of aiding and developing United Methodist schools in West Africa has become complicated and much more difficult. At the same time, with educational and public-service infrastructures destroyed, the need for the ministries of Operation Classroom is greater than ever. DeMichele provides an overall look at what Operation Classroom is accomplishing today.
Homeless Talk in Central Johannesburg
Photographer Richard Lord interviews Judith Bassingthwaighte in South Africa about her involvement with Paballo Ya Batho, a homeless ministry of the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. Find out what changes have taken place since the end of apartheid and the installation of South Africa's new government.
INDEX: The 1997 Index is in this issue. The full text will be published online soon
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