Britain celebrates Charles Wesley's life, legacy

Charles Wesley's life and legacy was honored at a 300th birthday celebration at St. Marylebone Parish Church in London. Wesley penned more than 7,000 hymns in his lifetime. Artwork by Frank Salisbury.

By Kathleen LaCamera*

LONDON (UMNS) -- Three-hundred years to the day since prolific hymn writer, poet and priest Charles Wesley was born, worshippers gathered at St. Marylebone Parish Church to celebrate the life of a man whose 7,000-plus hymn legacy has shaped Christian worship ever since.

Like his older brother John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, Charles was ordained in the Church of England and remained an Anglican all of his life. When he died in 1788, he was buried in the St. Marylebone's churchyard.

At the Dec. 18 evening service at the church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt. Rev. Rowan Williams, and the president of the British Methodist Church, the Rev. Martyn Atkins, were among those who acknowledged Wesley's substantial contributions.

"We thank God for the life and ministry of Charles Wesley, for his winsome, passionate, integrated and authentic faith, for his infectious love of Christ," Atkins said during a sermon.

Atkins called Wesley a model Christian who shared his faith through songs that "touch eternity and the deepest place in our spirits."

The service was jointly organized by both St. Marylebone and the Hinde Street Methodist Church. The two congregations recently signed a covenant agreeing to work together more closely.

Year-long remembrance
The worship service closed a year of events honoring the tercentenary anniversary of Wesley's birth, ranging from an ecumenical Evensong in Westminster Abbey to academic conferences to BBC radio and television programs about Wesley.

A series of Advent programs currently airing on the BBC's prestigious Radio 4 network has taken its theme and title from the great Wesley hymn "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus."

In October, the BBC television's flagship religious program "Songs of Praise" aired two hour-long programs about Charles Wesley and his influence. Producer David Taviner noted that for a television series with a 46-year history of celebrating hymn-singing, Wesley is a central figure.

"On Songs of Praise, hymns are our bread and butter," he said, "so Charles Wesley is right up there for us."

Taviner, who also is a Methodist local preacher, said he wanted to make a program that helped a broad range of television viewers get to know the man who gave the world "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "Oh, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" and other beloved hymns.

"Three-hundred years later, Charles Wesley's impact is still felt worldwide," Taviner told United Methodist News Service. "Brought up in rural Lincolnshire at the back end of nowhere, it's amazing what (Charles and his brother, John) did during with their lives and all those they have affected."

Christian troubadour
One person interviewed for "Songs of Praise" was S T Kimbrough, an American scholar, musician and performer. With his one-man show "Sweet Singer," Kimbrough has brought Charles Wesley to life for audiences around the world. Wesley, he explained, was "a man who sought above all else to live in the presence of God every day of his life."

S T Kimbrough has brought Charles Wesley to life for audiences with his one-man show "Sweet Singer." A UMNS Web-only photo courtesy of S T Kimbrough.

Daily Bible study and prayer, meditation, fasting and taking part in the Eucharist were all part of the spiritual discipline that gave birth to Wesley's prolific hymn-writing, according to Kimbrough. Wesley understood that hymns establish bridges among people; that they could not only "convict but also bring people to Christ."

What many do not know is that Wesley did not confine his poetic skills to religious hymns and poems. Among his manuscripts is a poem written for his children about horseback riding and another about a cat called Grimalkin. Kimbrough said it is in these bits of verse that "you can just see Charles Wesley the man, with a twinkle in his eye, entertaining his children."

Regarding his relationship with his brother, Kimbrough added that although Charles and John were very different men, they complemented each other.

"Charles was the troubadour, and John is the guy carrying the bag of songs, editing them, collecting the tunes, doing all the organizational stuff. Charles is curves and ellipses, while John is all straight lines and angles," he said.

A lyrical faith
Like Kimbrough, Donald Saliers, the William Cannon Professor of Theology and Worship, Emeritus at Emory University, believes that the two brothers really were "yin and yang" to each other; very contrasting in terms of their sensibilities.

"Charles' hymns and poems are full of both great doctrinal integrity and biblical imagination, but also great affection, emotional fervor and deep piety," observed Saliers.

He believes Wesley's greatest contribution is in his hymn texts which "awaken that lyrical side of faith and doctrine and make it accessible."

Saliers cites the phrase "lost in wonder love and praise" from the last line of Wesley's hymn "Love Divine All Loves Excelling" as an excellent example of his lyrical theological sensibilities at work. They are also words that Saliers takes as a motto for his own personal vocation.

"Charles Wesley gave us a lyrical faith and doctrine and, above all else, a hidden imaginative force that is still carried in the body of the Methodist and Wesleyan family," he said.

"If we can recover it and practice it, it will make all the difference in a time of literalism, dullness and cultural silliness."

*LaCamera is a UMNS correspondent based in England.

Church hymn-singing has evolved over centuries

"Hymns were commentaries on faith," says Wesley scholar S T Kimbrough. A UMNS file photo by Ronny Perry.

By Kathleen LaCamera*

LONDON (UMNS) - When Charles Wesley began penning his more than 7,000 hymns back in the 18th century, hymn-singing was not part of the worship life of Anglican congregations. In fact, until 1821, hymn-singing was illegal in the Church of England.

Wesley, remembered Dec. 18 on what would have been his 300th birthday, was creating something for the Anglican Church for which it had no use, according to church music scholar S T Kimbrough.

"Hymn-singing was considered something that dissenters did," he said.

In the early days of the Methodist movement, it was in small group meetings, called bands and classes, where Wesley's hymns were sung.

"Hymns were commentaries on faith," Kimbrough explained. "People learned Scripture through hymns. People carried hymnals around with them."

But in a multimedia, multicultural age, where does hymn-singing fit in? Is it a quaint-relic of another age or does it still have value in the 21st century?

According to Donald Saliers, William Cannon Professor of Theology and Worship, Emeritus, at Emory University, hymn-singing continues to help Christians learn and rehearse the essential truths of their faith.

"Hymns are poetry that lives to deepen Christian faith," Saliers told United Methodist News Service. "Hymns encode memory and make it accessible to generations."

That may explain why those who no longer go to church or even claim a faith still want to sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and other traditional carols at Christmas time.

"There is something about the way in which hymns and carols accumulate memory and experience," observed Saliers.

A living legacy
During a study of hymn-singing practices some years ago, Saliers asked a group of older people what made their favorite hymn so special. One woman told him that when that she heard her favorite hymn, it brought back the smell of church suppers. Another said that when listening to "How Great Thou Art" she could hear "my grandmother's voice."

"These women were offering their own spiritual history mediated through their senses," he explained.

Both Saliers and Kimbrough believe that keeping alive the legacy of Charles Wesley and other great hymn writers can necessitate finding new tunes that help bring old classic texts to life.

"As you move culture to culture, 19th-century Victorian tunes don't necessarily speak to anyone," said Kimbrough.

Both also point to contemporary hymn writers such as Fred Pratt, Brian Wren, Bernadette Farrell, Shirley Erena Murray, Ruth Duck and others who, influenced by the Wesleyan hymn-writing tradition, have continued to create new hymns to feed and nurture the 21st-century spiritual imagination.

"Eye-opening and ear-opening" developments regarding hymns also are occurring in the global church, observed Kimbrough.

*LaCamera is a UMNS correspondent based in England.

Ghanaians find home through London fellowship

Members of the Ghanaian Methodist Fellowship worship at Methodist Central Hall in London. UMNS photos by Kathleen LaCamera.

By Kathleen LaCamera*

LONDON (UMNS) - Through worship events and a social network stretching across London and beyond, the Ghanaian Methodist Fellowship is a lifeline for both the newly arrived in England and established immigrants.

Equally crucial, the fellowship helps Ghanaians find new church homes among London's 247 local Methodist churches, assisting them to integrate more fully into British life.

Ama Brehene-Ankah is the staff services manager for one of London's most exclusive hotels. She also is the senior steward for the Ghanaian Methodist Fellowship. When she came here from her West African nation more than 20 years ago, going to church on Sunday was "difficult," she recalls.

"I had some unwelcoming experiences, nothing serious, but people did not even smile at you," she told United Methodist News Service. "They would give you a look as if to say, 'What are you doing here?' ... Not even the stewards would approach me."

She persisted, however, and found her way into a Methodist mission congregation in London's Deptford area.

"I made my mind up to go. I went in and met the minister, and his wife welcomed me. The church members were quite elderly and there were only a few young people. I met a Ghanaian gentleman and a couple of West Indians. I thought, 'I'm home,'" she remembers.

Brehene-Ankah believes England has become much more of a mixed, multicultural society in the years since then. But she and other members of the fellowship know that part of finding "home" in a new country is finding a local church where you are welcomed and encouraged to get involved.

Strengthening links
Six years ago, the Methodist Church in Ghana sent the Rev. Emmanuel Aggrey-Ogoe to London to work half his time as chaplain to London's Ghanaian Methodist community and the other half time as minister to the Streatham Methodist church. The momentum for this appointment grew out of a pioneering agreement between British and Ghanaian Methodist churches keen to meet the pastoral needs of Britain's growing Ghanaian community.

An estimated 10 percent of all Methodists in the London area are from the Ghanaian community. "I came specifically to do the job of helping Ghanaian Methodists integrate into life in Britain," Aggrey-Ogoe explained.

Creating a post in which the Ghanaian chaplain also worked halftime as pastor to an ordinary church was a challenging but deliberate choice. It helped ensure that the person in this job would be knowledgeable and involved with mainstream British Methodism as well as the Ghanaian community.

Two London fellowship groups meet once a month for afternoon worship service - one at Methodist Central Hall near the Houses of Parliament and the other at St. Mark's Methodist Church in North London. Fellowship groups also have formed in Birmingham and Nottingham.

During a recent service that fell on Britain's national day for remembering military veterans, worship opened with the congregation singing both the British and Ghanaian national anthems followed by prayers offered in both Ghanaian and English.

Overcoming suspicion
According to Aggrey-Ogoe, the fellowship is important in helping Ghanaians navigate and adapt to the sometimes perplexing cultural landscape of modern British life.

"We live in a culture of suspicion. People look at you with suspicion and you must work your way to acceptance. You want to be accepted and try as much as possible to adapt to situations and the lifestyle," he said. "The fellowship is a place where people can let down their guard; there's no tension."

A typical two-hour service includes traditional Ghanaian hymns, preaching, teaching and a Sunday school for young people. Newcomers are asked to introduce themselves. Inevitably, someone in the fellowship will be from the same area of Ghana as the newcomer.

Esther Addo, a health care assessor, has lived in the United Kingdom for 20 years. A member of the Edmonton Methodist church in east London, she has been involved in the fellowship for three years. The first time she came to a service she thought, "Oh wow! This is Ghana," she said. "I really enjoy singing hymns in our own dialect. It soothes your soul."

Fifteen-year-old Yaw Adom travelled with the fellowship's choir to the European Methodist Festival in the Slovak Republic last summer. He likes the people and the relaxed family atmosphere of the fellowship but especially enjoys the fellowship Sunday school led by Vida Asamoah-Mainoo, a banker.

Her involvement with the fellowship's young people continues even after they leave her class. She recently helped one teenager find a part-time Saturday job. "Growing up in Britain, I can be the middle ground between children and young people and their parents," she explained. "I understand the U.K. and Ghana and can step in and help children and their parents understand each other."

Both the pastor and fellowship members are quick to point out that the fellowship is not a church but primarily a social network of support for an immigrant community with complex needs. Every member must commit to membership in a local Methodist church to be involved with the fellowship.

Giving a sense of belonging
Surprisingly, some of those who benefit most from the fellowship include people who have been away from Ghana for many years.

"Those who have been away from Ghana for a long, long time can seem a bit lost. They have cut themselves off from people at home but also are not integrating well here either," said Brehene-Ankah. "With the fellowship, they have a sense of belonging. We understand. We've been there. We can help."

The Rev. Stuart Jordan, one of the two chairs of the London District, is enthusiastic about what he calls the "double-pastoral system" created through the London Ghanaian Fellowship chaplaincy.

"It supports Ghanaians in local churches, helping them to be involved as fully as they can be. Alongside that, it offers particular pastoral support where a culturally specific model is appropriate."

Initially, he said, a number of local Methodist ministers were "slightly sceptical" about a local chaplain to the Ghanaian community.

"They thought the Ghanaians would be drained away from their churches. What has happened is entirely the opposite," he observed. "It's a very creative model that others might want to consider."

Brehene-Ankah confirms his observation. "Our chaplaincy is helping the British Methodist Church," she said. "When new people join us, we always find out what local church they are close to and link them up. Local churches are growing, because when Ghanaians get involved they don't just sit down. They do things."

*LaCamera is a UMNS correspondent based in England.

Center offers hope for young mothers in need

By Tim Tanton*

RIGA, Latvia (UMNS)-The love of her mother helped Rigonda Verdenfelde endure a rough childhood. Today she is modeling that love for teen mothers with troubled backgrounds.

Verdenfelde, 29, is the house mother of The United Methodist Church's Hope Center, an outreach ministry in the remote countryside northeast of Latvia's capital city, Riga. Not much older than the girls who come to the center, she understands the dysfunctional family experiences that they share. She also knows most of the girls have not experienced a mother's love.

"I very much want to give them a sense of what true love is about and a need to love their babies," she says in Latvian.

Rigonda Verdenfelde, 29, is the house mother at Hope Center

As she stands near the Hope Center's kitchen, the sound of babies crying punctuates the air. Verdenfelde's translator, the Rev. Gita Mednis, steps away to escort a toddler out of a cupboard under the sink. At a table nearby, some of the young mothers are crafting Christmas cards for people who have helped them.

"Some of these girls would not be alive today" were it not for the Hope Center, says Mednis, district superintendent of Latvia's 13 United Methodist congregations and pastor of First United Methodist Church in Riga. A few of the girls were living on the street, going up to strangers and asking to go home with them, she says.

Signe came to the center after police found her living with her baby in a tent in Riga. At the time, she was pregnant with her second child. Today, her toddler, Lienite, ambles around the room, smiling widely at a group of visitors and approaching one and then another with outstretched arms. Baby sister Estere slumbers nearby.

For Signe, the center is a second home.

"I've learned a lot," she says through a translator. "I know how to take care of my child. I know how to cook."

Building self-esteem
Nestled off a dirt road near Straupe, about an hour and a half from Riga, the center provides a quiet setting where the young women can focus on caring for their babies. The church bought the unassuming brick structure, originally conceived as a cheese factory, finished it, and turned it into a group home with six private rooms plus communal areas. Mednis wants to limit the number of mothers to six or seven in order to maintain a family atmosphere.

Since February 2006, Hope Center has provided 13 girls with a temporary home and equipped them with basic child care and life skills.

"That's our whole goal, to equip the girls to live on the outside," Verdenfelde says. She often has her own children and husband on hand to help.

Equally important, the center tries to build the young mothers' self-esteem.

"Most of these girls suffer from terrible self-esteem because they have been told they are the lowest of the low," Mednis says.

In most cases, the children's fathers are no longer part of their lives, though Lienite is an exception. Her father and paternal grandfather visit her and provide support not only for her but also for her half-sister, Estere.

Leaving the center
The young women leave Hope Center when they turn 18, the cutoff age for assistance from Riga's social services agency. The agency provides the center with 7 lats per girl per day-the equivalent of almost U.S.$15. Kristine was the first at the center to reach 18. She left in late November with her daughter, Karina. She will be followed by Katja, who will leave with daughter Emilija in December.

Kristine attends school nearby three times a week and spends the rest of her time with her daughter. Katja travels to Riga once a week for classes in a special program. Otherwise she focuses on caring for her daughter and seeking an apartment. Their future plans consist of living with their boyfriends, finishing school and getting jobs.

Asked about careers, the girls shrug. Kristine says she thought about becoming a chef or cook, but now is not sure. Katja says that she, too, once wanted to be a cook.

A third mother, Julija, says she had considered police work. At 22, Julija is the oldest of the women served by the Hope Center. She is now living with two other young women in a second Hope Center home that the church opened in the town of Liepa. That home serves young mothers over age 18.

"Before I got to the Hope Center, I was on the street with a child in my hands," Julija says through a translator. "…I am not on the street any more."

Trusting in God
For Mednis, the Hope Center ministry has been a journey of faith. The journey began while she was pursuing the renovation of an old wooden building next to First United Methodist Church in Riga's old town area, with plans to turn the structure into a center for young, pregnant women in need who want to keep their babies.

Amid those plans, she says, the church heard God calling it to tackle another problem: providing sanctuary and help for young mothers who already had delivered their babies and had nowhere to go.

"We were not ready," Mednis says with a smile, "but when God says, 'This is what you need to do,' we started doing it."

They joined efforts with Verdenfelde, who was already helping two young mothers in trouble and wanted to do more. "It's been my dream for the last six years," she says.

Money remains a challenge. More staff is needed, and financial support is critical for renovating the building next to First Church Riga for additional Hope Center work. A Methodist orphanage in the early 20th century, the old building has been empty for many years. Mednis is concerned that if improvements aren't made soon, the government will take it over, restore it and make the church cover the cost. The estimated price tag for total renovation: about U.S.$1 million.

The Hope Center has had angels. A few years ago, the Methodist Church in Great Britain provided a five-year grant of £36,000 (equal to a little more than U.S.$74,000 today), which has helped cover some staffing costs. Support is also coming through a nonprofit program called Samaritan Hands, operated by Fairview United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tenn. Hope Center is interested in becoming an Advance Special of The United Methodist Church, which would enable it to be promoted through the denomination's second-mile giving program.

At times, Mednis has wondered how the ministry was going to come together, but God has always provided, and she believes God will find a way. "We've been running after God," she says.

On this particular day, that running has entailed bringing a group of visitors to the center. Standing near two cribs, Mednis holds a baby boy in her arms. He is the "miracle baby," she says, explaining that he was born with his intestines growing outside his body. Surgery corrected the problem.

"He was not supposed to live," Mednis says, "but God made sure that he is not only living but is a healthy, beautiful baby."

Miracles are part of the journey.

*Tanton is director of United Methodist Communications' Media Group, which includes United Methodist News Service.

United Methodists' global relationships enter 'new phase'

Bishop Ann Sherer, president of the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, prepares to address commissioners and the congregation of St. James United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Ala. UMNS photos by David Dapcevich.

By Linda Bloom*

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UMNS) - How United Methodists relate to other religious bodies - both Methodist and ecumenical - is changing as society becomes more globalized.

Dealing with those changing relations is a challenge both for the United Methodist Council of Bishops and the denomination's Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.

Bishop William Oden, the council's ecumenical officer, spoke about that challenge during the commission's Dec. 4-6 meeting in Birmingham.

"We are entering a new phase that the church has not encountered before because of globalization," he told United Methodist News Service. "Old borders and old agreements, both denominational and ecumenical, no longer hold."

In England, for example, enough United Methodists from Zimbabwe have arrived as political exiles that United Methodist Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa of Zimbabwe has appointed a district superintendent and some pastors to work with the congregations they have established.

But British Methodists are a separate denomination and relate to the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, which is also separate from the United Methodists there. So, in July, Oden met with British Methodists and bishops from both Zimbabwe churches "to try to figure out how they minister and how they can connect."

In the United States, Methodists from Korea have started about 250 congregations, enough for districts on the East and West Coasts, and are preparing to elect a bishop. Starting a congregation is one way for a Korean Methodist pastor to be ordained, Oden noted.

The Council of Bishops has decided to start a dialogue with the Korean Methodist Church about the situation. "We can't just pretend that it isn't happening," Oden told commission members.

Another situation has arisen in Canada, where a congregation of Filipino United Methodists has become part of the U.S. Pacific Northwest Conference, with the permission of the United Church of Canada. United Methodists have long had an agreement with the United Church not to plant churches in Canada.

A financial burden
Among the ecumenical concerns are the health of National Council of Churches, the status of Churches Uniting in Christ and membership in Christian Churches Together.

The National Council of Churches is undergoing a staff reduction and restructuring because of budget deficits, although it does have several million dollars in reserve funds.

Oden acknowledged the economic burden placed on United Methodists as some of the other denominational members have decreased financial support to the council because of their own budget constraints. But he called for a recommitment to the organization. "The United Methodist Church is really at the core of the work of the National Council of Churches," he said.

Involvement with a newer organization, Christian Churches Together, will be considered over the next four years, according to the bishop, with a possible recommendation to go to the 2012 United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body.

Currently, The United Methodist Church is a provisionary member of Christian Churches Together, but two of its partners in the Pan-Methodist Commission - the African Methodist Episcopal Church and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church - have decided not to join. The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is an observer.

In 2005, the Commission on Christian Unity passed a resolution recommending the Pan-Methodist members "act together in respect to membership in the Christian Churches Together and that The United Methodist Church take no further steps toward full membership in the CCT in the absence of substantial concurrence by the other denominations in the Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union."

AME Bishop E. Earl McCloud of Atlanta, a member of the Commission on Christian Unity and chairperson of the Pan-Methodist Commission, reminded the group of his denomination's decision and the concern that Christian Churches Together could weaken the National Council of Churches.

"You can't dance with everybody, and sometimes you have to pick your partners," he said.

Concerns about focus
The AME and AME Zion churches also have pulled out of Churches Uniting in Christ, the successor of the longtime Consultation on Church Union. When the Consultation on Church Union was reformed in 2002 as Churches Uniting in Christ, the nine member denominations identified "eliminating racism" as their top moral agenda item.

Lula Howard, a commission member representing the AME Zion Church, said her denomination was concerned that participants of Churches Uniting in Christ have "changed their major focus" from eradicating racism to finding agreement on the issue of the historic episcopate.

The historic episcopate refers to an unbroken line of bishops back to the earliest days of the Christian Church. It is shared by the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, as well as the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches and some Lutheran bodies outside the United States. Although the Wesleyan movement grew from the Anglican tradition in the 18th century, The United Methodist Church does not claim its bishops are in the historic episcopate.

The Rev. Joy Moore, a commission member, said that while she recognizes the importance of the historic episcopate issue, the issue of racism "is no longer on the forefront" for Churches Uniting in Christ. She wondered whether United Methodists should consider leaving the organization as well.

While he pointed out that only General Conference could take such action, Oden acknowledged the concerns about the focus shifting from racism to the episcopate. For the denominations in Churches Uniting in Christ, the historic episcopate "has been such a dividing factor," he explained. "It was just the elephant in the room."

Search committee forms
In other business, Bishop Ann Sherer, the commission's president, announced the formation of a search committee to seek a new chief executive. That person would replace the Rev. Larry Pickens, who was not re-elected for 2008 (see UMNS #603, "United Methodist interfaith commission dismisses leader," 12/6/07). Bishop Albert Frederick "Fritz" Mutti has been appointed as the commission's interim leader.

Search committee members are the Rev. Ben Boone, Bishop Minerva Carcaño, the Rev. James Fields Jr., Alissa Johnson, Tracy Merrick, the Rev. Marianne Niesen, Sam Royappa, Blenda Smith, the Rev. Jonathan Ulanday, the Rev. Cynthia Watson, Jerry Ruth Williams and Edna Williams.

The commission took advantage of its meeting location to tour the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum and visit the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where four girls were killed in a racially motivated bombing in 1963. Members also were honored for their work over the past four years at a dinner hosted by St. James United Methodist Church, where the Rev. James Fields, a commission member, is pastor.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York

United Methodist interfaith commission dismisses leader

By Linda Bloom*

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UMNS) - The Rev. Larry Pickens has been dismissed as the chief executive of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.

The Rev. Larry Pickens

The action by commission members came Dec. 5, upon recommendation of the personnel committee, after several hours of discussion in executive session during the body's Dec. 4-6 meeting.

Retired Bishop Albert F. "Fritz" Mutti, who served as the commission's president from 2000-2004, was elected as its interim leader.

Pickens, 49, who was a commission member from 1988 to 1992, became its chief executive on July 1, 2004. He succeeded the Rev. Bruce Robbins, who left at the end of 2003 after 17 years of service, including 13 years as its top executive.

"The United Methodist General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, meeting in Birmingham, Ala., expressed its deep gratitude for the service Dr. Larry Pickens has given to the commission, The United Methodist Church and the ecumenical and interfaith community," commission members said in a written statement.

Beyond its statement, the commission declined to elaborate on the reasons behind the decision not to re-elect Pickens, who was the first African-American in that position.

"The board of directors of the commission spent three and a half hours in intensive conversation regarding the future leadership needs of the commission," the statement said. "Conversation was frank, passionate and included significant differences of viewpoint."

Bishop Ann Sherer, the commission's current president, said directors "talked at length about what we needed in order to lead the commission" and "finally determined we needed to thank Dr. Pickens and seek new leadership."

A search committee for a permanent chief executive was named the next day, and Mutti was expected to arrive in Birmingham to meet with staff. The commission is based in New York.

Listening for God's call
Pickens told United Methodist News Service that while he was disappointed not to be re-elected, he was grateful for the experience. The commission's action "does not in any way end my ministry," he said, but does open up new opportunities "to envision what God is calling me to do at this particular stage."

Pickens said he understood the commission's vote was very close. "One would hope for consensus in this type of matter," he said.

A clergy member of the denomination's Northern Illinois Conference, he has a bachelor's degree from North Park University in Chicago; two master's degrees from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill.; and a doctorate of ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary. Pickens also earned a law degree from DePaul University in Chicago in 1997 and is a past member of the Judicial Council, the denomination's Supreme Court.

Pickens said he's proud of what he accomplished during his tenure. "I have attempted to create an atmosphere at the commission that is open to collaboration with other agencies, that is responsive to the realities in which The United Methodist Church finds itself ecumenically," he explained.

He is pleased that the strategic planning process now established will allow the commission "to go forward into the next quadrennium with a strong direction." Priorities include continuing discussion on the future structure of worldwide United Methodism; building relationships with annual conferences and local churches; organizing long-term interreligious dialogues; and fostering unity within The United Methodist Church. The commission sponsored a consultation on the global nature of the church last May in Atlanta.

"Unity is not a condition of sameness but a willingness to embrace others in their differences," he added. "I think that's part of the struggle that we have to work through in the life of the church."

Staying connected
Pickens led a nine-member commission delegation to Cuba in October 2006 to meet with Cuban Methodists and provide a witness to the importance of relationships - both Methodist and ecumenical - in the life of the Cuban church and its people.

He also has been active in the commission's participation in a study committee established by the 2004 United Methodist General Conference to consider the denomination's historic, current and future relations with Methodist churches in Latin America and the Caribbean. That group conducted a consultation in Panama in March and is bringing legislation to the 2008 General Conference.

He remains supportive of the commission's work and expects to continue as an elected member of the Central Committee and Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches. "I see that as an opportunity for me to remain connected to the work of the ecumenical movement," he said.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

Asian-American federation celebrates history, elects leaders

By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Members of the National Federation of Asian-American United Methodists elect officers. UMNS photos by Kathy L. Gilbert.

LOS ANGELES (UMNS)-The vision for an Asian-American identity that goes beyond national ancestry gave birth to a United Methodist organization that continues challenging the church to hear diverse ethnic voices today.

Bishop Roy I. Sano, speaking to the National Federation of Asian American United Methodists in November, recalled the climate that led to the creation of the group more than three decades ago.

"The national federation reflected the ethnic struggles that were on the university campuses in the late 1960s," he said. "The original drive and vision of the movement expressed the hopes and hurts in our community and The United Methodist Church at home and abroad."

Today, helping The United Methodist Church better meet the needs of diverse ethnic groups remains a goal for the federation. Incoming chairperson Donald Hayashi emphasized that role during the group's Nov. 28-29 general assembly.

"The national federation will help our church address the many challenges of growth and opportunity for the 10 ethnic groups that comprise the federation," Hayashi said. The 10 groups are Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Formosan, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Lao, South Asian and Vietnamese.

Hayashi said the federation will also "work with the denomination to expand ministries to reach new immigrants and those who are unchurched."

Members of the federation reflected on their history, planned for the future and elected officers during their general assembly, held at Centenary United Methodist Church.

Hayashi, the director of development and finance for the Wesley Community Center in Dayton, Ohio, will begin serving a four-year term as chairperson after the 2008 United Methodist General Conference meets in Fort Worth, Texas, April 23-May 2. He will succeed the Rev. Mark M. Nakagawa, pastor of Centenary.

The federation advocates for full inclusion of Asian Americans in the leadership, programs and administration of The United Methodist Church, Nakagawa said.

"In Asian-American communities, we seek to continue the important role of The United Methodist Church in the historical development of those communities, with some communities having shared histories with the church of over 115 years," he said.

Origins and visions

Bishop Roy I Sano talks about the history of the National Federation of Asian American United Methodists.

Sano, executive secretary of the Council of Bishops and former episcopal leader for the California-Pacific Annual (regional) Conference, traced the origins of the federation and shared a photo slide show of some of the pioneers of the Asian-American movement.

The United Methodist Japanese Americans formed in 1968, the Western Jurisdiction Asian Americans formed in 1972, and the National Federation of Asian American United Methodists formed in 1975, he said.

United Methodist Asian Americans rejected integration strategies and the "melting pot" theory of that time as duplicitous and designed to make Asian Americans "disappear," he said. Proponents of those policies said, "'Come on in and give us your contributions' but what they really meant was 'Come in and blend in and disappear,'" he said.

"There were impressive responses from our United Methodist Church" to prevent that from happening, he said.

The United Methodist Board of Discipleship and Board of Higher Education and Ministry supported the evolving Asian-American movement with resources and events. The Board of Archives and History and United Methodist Publishing House helped "recover our buried history" with biographies of Asian-American United Methodists and other books, he said.

Asian Americans were able to share their passions and gifts at denominational gatherings and in publications produced by the former United Methodist Council on Ministries, United Methodist Communications, the Women's Division of the Board of Global Ministries and others, Sano said.

The denomination also helped educate future Asian-American leaders through HANA (Hispanic, Asian and Native American) scholarships offered by the Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

New partners in the church as well as the community were helped by the Board of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.

New identity
Organizations such as the federation promoted an Asian-American identity beyond national ancestry identities, Sano said.

As a Japanese American, Sano said he understood how difficult it was for Chinese, Koreans and Filipinos to work with Japanese.

"Rev. Arturo Capuli pulled me aside once during a federation meeting and said, 'Roy, every Filipino in there has lost an immediate family member to the Japanese colonial army.' And yet here we were meeting together. That moment was ecstatic."

The original vision of an Asian-American identity makes sense today because "our children and youth are interacting and inter-marrying beyond national ancestries with other Asian Americans and beyond those groups," he said.

New leadership
Hayashi, who also serves as a consultant to the Asian American Language Ministry sponsored by the Board of Global Ministries, told the gathering that the number of Asian American delegates to the denomination's top lawmaking body is down from the 2000 and 2004 General Conferences. That may be the result of fewer U.S. delegates because of membership losses in the United States.

Only 23 Asian Americans were elected delegates to the 2008 General Conference; in 2000 there were 30 delegates, and in 2004 there were 35.

Other officers elected to the federation were the Rev. SungJa Lee Moon, vice chairperson for membership; the Rev. Jacob S. Dharmaraj, vice chairperson for advocacy and program; the Rev. Pong Javier, secretary; and the Rev. Bau Dang, treasurer.

"We will advocate for Asian Americans to be in leadership and influence in our church so that decisions can reflect the aspirations and concerns of our communities," said Hayashi after the meeting. "We will work with our congregations to better serve the needs of multiple generations and be relevant to coming generations. We will continue to speak to issues such as immigration and poverty that affect our communities directly, and for full human rights both domestically and worldwide."

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

United Methodists looked outward, inward, in ’07

Youth from Faith United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas, dance to the music of the Katinas during opening worship at Youth 2007 in Greensboro, N.C. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

United Methodists called for justice, advocated for peace and assisted victims of both natural and economic disasters during 2007.

At the same time, the denomination looked inward, setting a focus for its mission and ministry and developing strategies to increase and strengthen its membership.

A crucial concern for justice has arisen in the Philippines. United Methodists continue to speak out about the estimated 800 extrajudicial killings and abductions that have occurred there since President Gloria Arroyo took office in 2001.

Photographs of clergy victims of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines are paraded at a commemoration service at Pinole (Calif.) United Methodist Church. United Methodists are calling for an end to the killings that have occurred there since 2001. A UMNS photo by Jeneane Jones.

One of the most powerful United Methodist voices in 2007 was that of Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who held a summit in Manila on the extrajudicial killings, putting a spotlight on the nation's human rights crisis. The summit included representatives from the judicial, executive and legislative branches of government, as well as scholars, members of the legal profession, the militant left, religious leaders and media.

On Sept. 25, the Supreme Court in Manila approved a Puno-supported court rule on the writ of amparo, under which the military or police cannot simply deny involvement in abductions or extrajudicial killings. Rather, they also must prove they are not involved and, under court order, open their detention facilities for inspection.

Withdrawal from Iraq
In November, the bishops of The United Methodist Church declared war "incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ" and called on leaders of all nations to begin an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The bishops also urged against deploying additional troops to Iraq and against establishing permanent military bases in the Middle Eastern country.

In addition to calling for the immediate safe and full withdrawal of troops, the bishops called on the United States and other coalition force nations to initiate and support a plan for the reconstruction of Iraq, giving strong priority to the humanitarian and social needs of the Iraqi people. They urged increased support for veterans of the Iraq war and all wars.

The resolution is the council's latest action questioning the Iraq war. In 2005, the bishops urged U.S. President George W. Bush, who is United Methodist, to create a timeline to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

Among the United Methodists joining an Oct. 8 interfaith fast for peace and an end to the war in Iraq was Jim Winkler, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, who noted earlier that his agency "has been the most resolute and consistent voice of opposition to the war" within the denomination.

Virginia Tech, Jena Six
The Wesley Foundation of Virginia Tech University became a safe haven for students immediately after a deadly shooting spree there on April 16 - which left 33 dead and 15 wounded - and a spiritual hub for grief and prayer as the campus community began to come to grips with the tragedy.

In response to the shooting, the Board of Church and Society also renewed the denomination's call for governments around the world to ban ownership by the general public of handguns, assault weapons, automatic weapon conversion kits and weapons that cannot be detected by traditional metal-detection devices.

Both Church and Society and the Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries called for justice in the case of the "Jena Six," a group of six black students facing criminal prosecution in the beating of a white student in Jena, La.

When tens of thousands of protesters showed up in Jena on Sept. 20, most businesses closed, but the predominantly white Nolley Memorial United Methodist Church remained open and provided hospitality to some of the primarily African-American marchers.

Immigration concerns
In a June 19 letter to the U.S. Senate, seven United Methodist agencies and organizations opposed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 and called for "genuine reform" that would allow immigrant families to "achieve their American dreams."

The groups said Senate Bill 1348 "fails to achieve" any of the goals advocated by the church and other proponents of genuine comprehensive immigration reform. These goals include reunification of families, a fair earned pathway to citizenship and humanitarian border policies that maintain the civil liberties of all people. The bill failed to pass.

Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant and member of Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, was arrested in California and deported to Mexico on Aug. 19 - four days after she left the Chicago church where she had received sanctuary for a year with her 8-year-old son, Saul, a U.S. citizen.

Arellano announced during an Aug. 15 news conference and immigration rally at Adalberto that, after several weeks of fasting and praying, she had decided to leave the church and speak out for immigration reform. Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, episcopal leader of the United Methodist Northern Illinois Annual (regional) Conference, said the conference has supported Arellano and the church for the past year.

Providing disaster relief
Throughout 2007, the United Methodist Committee on Relief continued to fund long-term recovery projects related to 2005's Hurricane Katrina and the South Asian tsunami which occurred at the end of 2004.

At a special Katrina summit in September, United Methodist volunteers from across the United States were welcomed, thanked and challenged to keep coming to the Gulf Coast. More than 63,000 United Methodist volunteers from 42 states, two foreign countries and 60 annual (regional) conferences have come to the aid of the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina stormed ashore on Aug. 29, 2005. United Methodist bishops also distributed $2 million in February to assist Gulf Coast churches and pastors affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

An additional $4.7 million in aid to economically vulnerable Sri Lankans still finding their footing after the tsunami was approved in April by UMCOR directors. Major tsunami recovery work also continued in Indonesia.

The agency was called to assist in new, smaller emergencies throughout the year, working in tandem with annual conferences.

They responded to tornados that struck central Florida and rural Arkansas in February; Alabama in March and Kansas in May. After a powerful tornado roared through Enterprise, Ala., on March 1, killing nine people, including eight high school students, Enterprise First United Methodist Church welcomed hundreds of youth for a special worship service to remember their dead and injured classmates and begin the emotional process of healing.

Another church near the high school offered hot meals to storm victims, relief workers and school employees.

Churches also responded to flooding that plagued parts of the United States from mid-June through August.

United Methodist response to the October wildfires in southern California is occurring primarily in the San Diego area, with a focus on secondary victims of the fires.

International relief efforts extended beyond the tsunami-related programs. As part of a continuing collaboration, UMCOR and Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio, began a four-year relief project to reestablish water supplies and improve sanitation in refugee camps in Darfur, Sudan. Since 2005, Ginghamsburg Church has raised more than $1.8 million for its work with UMCOR in Sudan.

UMCOR's partnership agreement with Muslim Aid, the London-based global relief and development agency, allows the two agencies to work together on peace building and poverty reducing programs around the world. The partnership was signed June 26 at the House of Commons.

U.S. membership down, giving up
In an attempt to focus the mission and ministry of the church at the dawn of the 21st century, the denomination has selected four areas of focus - leadership development, congregational growth, global health and ministry with the poor. The areas of focus have been affirmed by church leadership at all levels, including the Council of Bishops, the Connectional Table, agency boards and many annual (regional) conferences.

"This is Our Story," a 2007 report from the denomination's Council on Finance and Administration, showed the church's membership is growing throughout the world but shrinking in the United States. And a shrinking U.S. church base means a smaller impact on society, according to a denominational task force on funding patterns within the church.

Statistics for 2005, the latest available, show worldwide professing and baptized membership at 13.75 million in more than 50 countries, compared with 11.35 million in 1995. U.S. professing membership is 7,995,429, compared with 8,075,010 the previous year, a decline of nearly 1 percent. Membership has decreased by more than 1.9 members, or 19 percent, since 1974.

Despite the decrease, giving is up. The church gave almost $5.9 billion during 2005 - representing an increase in giving for the 15th straight year when adjusted for inflation - and data indicates the average income of a United Methodist is growing faster than in the general population.

To stimulate membership growth, the United Methodist Board of Discipleship has organized a strategy team on new congregational development. The goal of "Path One" is to start 650 new congregations by 2012. Other goals include doubling the number of young people serving as pastors and church leaders, and expanding ministries with the poor, according to denominational leaders during an April 17 "town hall" teleconference.

Reflecting church's diversity
Three March gatherings reflected on the diversity found within The United Methodist Church. In the first meeting of its kind, leaders of the Korean American United Methodist community gathered in Englewood, N.J., to share celebrations and challenges and develop a vision to embolden their ministry in the United States. There are approximately about Korean-American United Methodists, with 310 churches in 40 states.

A conference on women in Methodism, "Struggle, Faith and Vision: Celebrating Women in the United Methodist Tradition," was held at Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tenn., where a new research library was dedicated to the study of organized lay women in mission in the Methodist tradition.

United Methodism's African-American caucus, Black Methodists for Church Renewal, celebrated four decades of advocacy for racial justice and inclusion by challenging itself to develop ministries that make a difference in people's lives. More than 500 people attending the event heard speakers recount the genesis and growth of the nearly 5,000-member caucus and list its challenges and possibilities for the future.

Issues of sexuality
A gay man who had been denied membership in 2005 at South Hill (Va.) United Methodist Church was accepted in March by the new pastor, the Rev. Barry Burkholder, through transfer of membership from a Baptist church.

The denial of membership by the previous pastor prompted controversy across the denomination on the issues of homosexuality and pastoral authority and led to a series of rulings on the case by the denomination's highest court.

In Seattle, the Rev. Kathleen Weber disclosed her homosexuality during a Sept. 30 worship service at Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church, where she serves as associate pastor. A commissioned candidate for ministry, she is on track to be ordained next year.

The United Methodist Church, while affirming that both homosexuals and heterosexuals are people of "sacred worth," does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers the practice "incompatible with Christian teaching," according to the Book of Discipline, the denomination's book of law. Church law specifically prohibits the appointment of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" as clergy.

In October, the United Methodist Judicial Council upheld a bishop's decision that a pastor who changed gender from female to male remains eligible to serve the church.

The council stated that it was not ruling on whether changing gender is a chargeable offense or violates minimum standards set by the church's legislative body, the General Conference. Rather, the court said "a clergyperson's standing cannot be terminated without administrative or juridical action having occurred and all fair process being accorded."

Because the Rev. Drew Phoenix, pastor of St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore, is a clergy member in good standing, the ruling means Phoenix will continue to serve his church. But the subject of whether transgender clergy are eligible for appointment is likely to be among issues debated when General Conference convenes next April in Fort Worth, Texas.

Africa rising

Graduates of Africa University raise their mortar boards in celebration at the commencement June 9 in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe. A UMNS photo by Andra Stevens.

In September, a three-day African Bishops Roundtable brought together 12 active and retired United Methodist bishops to the campus of Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The bishops, representing congregations from west, east, central and southern Africa, developed strategies against poverty and committed to make the university a partner in their efforts.

Africa University itself celebrated its 13th graduating class in June by awarding 282 degrees to students from 15 African countries and seeing its first recipients from two new master's degree programs. The university plans to open its first satellite campus in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2008. The project is a collaborative effort with the Methodist University of São Paulo, Brazil, and the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Other proposed sites are in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone.

A new 300-watt community radio station, located at the denomination's Liberia Annual Conference headquarters, was dedicated during a March 3 service attended by United Methodist bishops of the West Africa annual conferences.

The Rev. Kefas Kane Mavula was elected and appointed bishop of The United Methodist Church in Nigeria on March 3, his 40th birthday. Bishop Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda, 59, who leads the North Katanga Area in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was elected to his country's senate in January. He is also the chancellor of Africa University.

Malaria campaign
The Nothing But Nets campaign started the year with a $3 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced Jan. 4, for the purchase and distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria in Africa. The campaign's global launch also occurred that day at the NBA store in New York.

The grant will match contributions raised by the campaign's partners: The people of The United Methodist Church, the United Nations Foundation, NBA Cares, Sports Illustrated and others.

The United Nations Foundation also has said it wants to work with United Methodists on an initiative focusing on the diseases of poverty: malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

At least 200,000 families in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, will receive malaria-preventing mosquito nets from the people of The United Methodist Church. The $1.5 million project was announced by Bishop Janice Riggle Huie of Houston during the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York in September. The church's Texas Annual (regional) Conference, where Huie is resident bishop, plans to raise $1 million by December 2008.

Other highlights
Other significant events in 2007:

• Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr., 68, the United Methodist nominee for U.S. surgeon general, testified July 12 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Questioned about his views on homosexuality, he said his 1991 paper on the topic was written for a denominational committee and does not reflect his position today. The Senate had not voted on his nomination as of the beginning of December.


• United Methodists in Maryland joined religious leaders across the state in opposing the governor's proposal for state-owned slot machines. In September, Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, proposed legalizing slots as one measure to close the state's $1.7 billion shortfall.


• Some 6,200 youth and youth leaders from four continents attended the July 11-15 Youth 2007 event in Greensboro, N.C., designed to build disciples by encouraging young people to live out their faith in ways they might not have thought possible.


• A protest against locating the George W. Bush presidential library at Southern Methodist University took the form of an online petition started by the Rev. Andrew Weaver, which had gathered more than 11,000 signatures by November. But 10 of the 11 active bishops of the denomination's South Central Jurisdiction affirmed the SMU board's process to bring the Bush library to the campus.


• After two years of research, a United Methodist task force in the New England Annual (regional) Conference urged its members, churches and investment managers to divest from 20 companies identified as supporting Israel's occupation of Palestinian land.


• A March 1-4 consultation in Panama City, Panama, focused on the relationship between The United Methodist Church and independent Methodist churches in Latin America and the Caribbean.


• Directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, through action of the personnel committee, abruptly dismissed the Rev. R. Randy Day, the mission agency's chief executive, Oct. 9. Retired Bishop Felton May became the interim chief executive.


• The Rev. Sam Dixon was elected to lead the United Methodist Committee on Relief; Harriett Olson is the new top executive of the Women's Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, and Erin Hawkins became the head of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.
  
  Passings
  Prominent United Methodists who died in 2007 included:
  
• Three bishops who were instrumental in the success of Africa University in Zimbabwe. Bishop Benjamin Ray Oliphint, 83, who led United Methodists in the Houston, Kansas and Louisiana areas, died July 7 in Houston. Bishop David Jerald Lawson, 77, who served for 12 years as bishop in Wisconsin and Illinois, died May 31 in Franklin, Ind. Bishop Christopher Jokomo, 64, who led the Zimbabwe Area from 1992-2004, died April 7 in Harare.


• Bishop John Wesley Shungu, the first indigenous United Methodist episcopal leader in what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo, died May 9 in Kinshasa. He became a bishop in 1964 and served eight years as leader of the Central and Southern Annual Conferences.


• Bishop Carl J. Sanders, 94, who served the Birmingham (Ala.) Area from 1972-80, died March 7 in Birmingham.


• The Rev. J. Harry Haines, 89, who shaped the denomination's vision of relief work as director of the United Methodist Committee on Relief from 1966 to 1983, died March 29 in Eugene, Ore.
  
  *Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.