Holston, East Africa conferences sign covenant

Bishop Felton E. May signs a covenant between the Holston Annual (regional) Conference and the East Africa Conference during a missions celebration in Kingsport, Tenn. UMNS photos by Annette Spence..

By Annette Spence*

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (UMNS)--In the summer of 2005, United Methodist Bishop James Swanson and his staff talked about possible mission projects they could pursue.

One staff member mentioned a book she had read over the weekend about the "lost boys" of Sudan. Swanson told of a photo e-mailed to him that morning showing a starving Sudanese child being watched by a nearby vulture. The bishop was haunted by the image and challenged staff in the Holston Annual (regional) Conference to act.

On Feb. 23, less than three years after that routine Tuesday morning meeting, Swanson signed a covenant with Bishop Daniel Wandabula of the East Africa Conference that includes Sudan. The covenant also was signed by Bishop Felton E. May, interim chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

The covenant formally establishes Holston as the first United Methodist conference or church to be in mission in south Sudan. The partnership will provide a school, clinic and other facilities in Yei, as well as educational assistance, church leadership development, volunteer labor and supplies.

Some fundraising already has provided land for the new facilities, pastors' salaries, a physician and nurse, school equipment and two wells in south Sudan. In addition, Holston Conference commits to raising $250,000 over the next two years.

Missions celebration
The covenant signing was the centerpiece of a missions celebration held Feb. 22-24 at First Broad Street United Methodist Church in Kingsport, with the participation of Swanson, Wandabula and representatives from local and international agencies. The event also included workshops, worship services and planning meetings for First Broad Street members, conference leaders and others.

Swanson said he had come to recognize that "the salvation of south Sudan is my salvation."

"What's killing the church is that people don't see God in the church," the bishop said at a luncheon prior to the covenant signing. "When people see the world changed in Jesus Christ, they believe in something beyond their own power. They say, 'That's a church I want to be part of.' … We're not just in this to save the people of south Sudan, but we're in this to save our own souls."

Wandabula led workshops on the state of Sudan following 50 years of civil war, and the challenges of fostering discipleship in a country with more than 500 languages, ravaging disease, and the spread of Islamic and cultic influences. Also leading workshops were East Africa Conference staff members Muwaya Kubona David and Suuti Samuel. They used a triangle to demonstrate the "vicious cycle of ignorance, poverty and disease" that they hope the partnership will address.

"We know through the power of the Holy Spirit that God will continue to empower us, to give us the vision to be faithful to this partnership," Wandabula said. "I am grateful that the Holston Annual Conference was the first conference to accept God's call to come and work with south Sudan."

Do something
The famous vulture photo that troubled Swanson was taken in 1993 by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Kevin Carter, who later committed suicide.

For many others in Holston Conference, the inspiration to "do something" about the plight of Sudan came from reading They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky, telling the true story of the hunger and displacement suffered by three "lost boys" after their homes were set on fire in Sudan. At ages 5 and 6, they crawled across desert land, begged for water and spent nights with soil as their beds. The children were among thousands who fled Sudan's civil war in the late 1980s, some settling in the United States.

Holston's former children's ministry coordinator, Anita Henderlight, was the first to read the book and encouraged others to read it and join in the work of a newly created Sudan action team. The team's goal was reflected in the campaign name "Hope for the Children of Sudan."

Within months, a fund-raising effort had begun, and people from all over the conference asked to help. Coincidentally, Swanson's office received an unscheduled visit by the district superintendent of Sudan and Uganda. The superintendent's name was Daniel Wandabula, and a conversation between him and Swanson commenced. A few months later in May 2006, Wandabula was elected bishop of the East Africa Conference, which also includes Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya.

By that time, Holston already had dispatched a three-person fact-finding team to Sudan.
Caroline Njuki, representing the Board of Global Ministries' Africa office, accompanied Holston's first team to Yei in March 2006.

"They were incredulous when Holston's team arrived, because all the time, throughout the war, they felt abandoned by the church," Njuki said, referring to the small United Methodist community in Yei, begun by a refugee from Uganda. "They had never had a visit from any outside. When the war was over, Darfur got all the publicity because the movie stars and politicians and media decided to get involved. 'Where was the church?' we heard again from the people in south Sudan. It took two days to bring about a reconciliation and connection with them, after the first Holston team came."

When Holston contacted the Board of Global Ministries with a thirst to serve Sudan, the southern area was selected because Darfur is already supported by a large Ohio congregation, Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City. Non-United Methodist groups also are working in Darfur, Njuki said.

Today, the Yei District of Sudan includes 21 United Methodist churches, each with about 80 to 100 people. "With Holston Conference's support, these churches could double in six months to a year," said Wandabula. The bishop said the Sudanese are "hungry for the Word," but also will be drawn to the church by medical attention and other services. "The church is the only hope for them," he said.

"They have suffered so long, but they know the church and they love the church," Njuki said. "They are growing because they don't have anything else to show, except that they are committed to the community. With a little push, they'll be on their way."

Flipping the switch
Since 1994, the Kingsport church's missions celebration has provided opportunities for adults, youth and children to participate in First Broad Street's home repair, firewood, food and furniture ministries, as well as conference and denominational ministries. First Broad Street, with about 2,600 members and an average worship attendance of 840, is the fourth largest congregation in the Holston Conference.

This year, the celebration included workshops led by the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, head of the United Methodist Committee on Relief; John Hill, director of the economic and environmental justice, United Methodist Board of Church and Society; and Vicki Stephenson, mission management manager of the Red Bird Missionary Conference's Henderson Settlement.

"Our church is on a journey," said Danny Howe, church missions director and chairman of the conference's missions ministry team. "We try to offer missions opportunities for our members year after year, including the children, because that becomes part of their DNA."

Bishop May preached at a covenant service that included prayers for the 11-member team departing for Sudan on March 10. The team--which includes teachers, a pharmacist and physician--also spent the weekend sorting medications and packing medical supplies for the Yei community. Additional teams will go to Sudan in fall 2008 and February 2009. The latter team will include Bishop Swanson.

"I pray that God will bless you and keep you," May said to the upcoming Sudan team. "You can do it. You have the resources, you have the wisdom, and you have Jesus."

At other times during the missions event, leaders from the two partnering conferences sat on hard Sunday school chairs for long hours, discussing ways to provide homes for wandering orphans and teach self-sustaining skills to families without income.

"Very early on, as the Lord began to talk to our hearts, we were intimidated by the challenge. We were almost afraid to get started because there was so much to be done," said Swanson, who oversees 910 churches in East Tennessee, southwest Virginia and northern Georgia.

"Even now, the more we get into it, the bigger it gets," he said. The planning group decided to hold a Sudan Summit in summer 2008, inviting other United Methodist conferences or churches with interests in southern Sudan missions to participate. (E-mail connectionalministries@holston.org for more information.)

Howe spoke of challenges of the past two years and the years ahead. "For us in America, in western culture, we're used to flipping that switch and the light comes on. It's so difficult for us to get into the mindset of not having a switch to flip for the light to come on.

"But folks, I'm here to tell you, if they didn't need our help, we wouldn't be there. We're getting behind the leadership of the East Africa Conference, because they have a big picture and historical tradition. We have a small picture and a glimpse of what needs to happen."

*Spence is the editor of The Call, the newspaper of the Holston Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Bishop promotes clusters to reconnect the connection

By Erik Alsgaard*

Bishop Timothy Whitaker preaches at a "plantation cluster" worship service in Pompano Beach, Fla., as Aurilus Desmornes translates the sermon into Creole. UMNS photos by Erik Alsgaard.

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (UMNS)-For anyone unsure what the United Methodist "connection" means, consider the "cluster."

The "connection" is a concept that began with Methodism founder John Wesley to refer to the entire church organization. Local churches are not independent entities but rather are connected and in relationship with one another, as well as with annual conferences.

However, many clergy today view the connection as "a kind of institutional mechanism," according to Florida Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker.

The leader of the church's Florida Annual (regional) Conference shared that assessment while speaking Jan. 27 to clergy and lay leaders from eight Florida churches that are informally known as a "plantation cluster."

Whitaker said the early Methodist Church viewed the connection as necessary. "All of the societies, later congregations, were parts of circuits," he said. "Whenever you had quarterly conferences, they all came together for a time of worship and to be held accountable for their ministry. The experience that Methodists had in (early) America was one where all the different congregations came together."

The bishop launched Florida's cluster plan in 2005 after the conference went from 14 to nine districts. Designed to complement the connection, Florida's clusters are sprouting new ministries and bearing fruit but also are sometimes not working at all. The bishop's visit to the regular plantation cluster meeting at Pompano Beach United Methodist Church was designed to show his support for what he considers a vital link in the denomination.

"Asking congregations to be in clusters was a way to try and experience again what the connection once was-a living relationship with one another," Whitaker said.

Corporate culture
The bishop offered his own theory of why United Methodist churches gradually have become more autonomous.

"Our church tended to follow the culture in American society," he said. "In the middle of the 20th century, American culture was dominated by certain kinds of corporations and bureaucracies. Our church started patterning our life after them, and that's when each individual congregation started seeing itself as standing alone and each pastor saw him or herself as having a relationship only to the church to which she or he was assigned."

By trying to mimic corporate life, Whitaker said, United Methodism lost some of its customs. "As we all know, that culture has pretty much disappeared, but it survives in our church."

The plantation cluster is one group that is beginning to experience more connections among its churches.

At the cluster-led worship service during Whitaker's visit, more than 300 people prayed for each other and their churches, listened to the Sanctified New Jerusalem Mission choir sing in Creole and celebrated communion.

For the Rev. Debbie McLeod, superintendent of the Florida Conference's South East District, it was a wonderful evening.

"This was a great experience of vibrancy in worship tonight," she said following worship. "This is a lot what The United Methodist Church looks like in Southeast Florida. … We're no longer all white. It's a wonderful thing for people to come together and experience Christ."

McLeod sees a strong benefit in churches coming together, like those in the plantation cluster, to do ministry or just be together.

"In South Florida, the communities are very fragmented," she said. "The churches can become like silos, and it's hard for people, even though at work and school they know people from other cultures. It's hard for the church to really be the Kingdom. Having a chance to come together with other United Methodists who may worship in a different language or come from a different culture or country is a wonderful way of being together in Christ."

Modeling the Kingdom
The Rev. Mary Beth Packard, pastor at Norland United Methodist Church in Miami, said being in the cluster has been helpful. She said the church recently went through a painful process of losing its previous pastor, and cluster members literally showed up and prayed with and for that congregation.

"The cluster has also helped me to learn about the diversity of culture, both within and outside the congregation," she said. "They've helped me deal with my own prejudices and assumptions."
Jonas Milice leads the Sanctified New Jerusalem Christian Mission, which served as host congregation for the worship service. His church is growing as it reaches out to the Haitian community in Pompano Beach.

"The church is having a big explosion," he said. "When we became United Methodist church, God gave us a bigger place, a nice sanctuary to worship in."

Milice and his wife started the church three years ago in a storefront and recently began worshiping in the sanctuary at Pompano Beach United Methodist Church. Today, they have more than 300 people in worship, a youth group of more than 25 and a choir of 30.

Milice and his church are new members of the plantation cluster, a connection he welcomes with open arms. "God has blessed us; God makes us a good explosion," Milice said. "We're from Haiti. A lot of people have immigration problems, but God keeps moving with us. We feel the Holy Spirit with us when we worship. I want people to pray for us, pray for me."

Whitaker said the conference gives clusters freedom to determine how to organize. Some have organized around geography, some around ethnicity and some on doing ministry together. "We have a cluster in Port Orange that is starting a new congregation this year," he said. "They came together and decided they were being led to start a new congregation."

Whitaker mentioned another cluster in which a mega church is working with churches in the poorest communities of its region. This move frees the mega church from being isolated from the poorest members of its community and offers support to the smaller churches in the cluster.

One cluster in rural North Florida has started a creative outreach program. After learning about a high concentration of single mothers in their community, cluster leaders began asking how they could reach out to that group. One church's spare room was Laundromat, and church members offered to babysit for mothers doing their laundry.

Breaking down barriers
Whitaker dreams that clustering with help the church break down the walls of segregation.

"I heard about your cluster, not as one that was focused on doing something, but as a cluster of churches that represented people of different ethnic communities who came together for worship, in order to build a spirit of unity among different communities," Whitaker said.

"We have very diverse congregations, ethnically, in our conference," he said. "So often, though being in the same locale, there's no real interaction. Clusters encourage people to come together."

Whitaker estimates one-third of the conference's clusters are doing exceedingly well. Another third are in a somewhat "awkward" place and seeking to figure out where the Holy Spirit is guiding them. For the final third, the cluster concept is not working well.

"It does take time if a cluster is going to be a means of grace," he said. "It takes patience to build relationships. You can't live the Christian life all by yourself."

*Alsgaard is director of communications for the Florida Annual Conference. This article first appeared in e-Review, the online news service of the Florida Annual Conference.

European Methodists establish Methodist E-Academy

By Sergei Nikolaev and David Field*

Members of the United Methodist Theological Schools in Europe meet in Moscow, where church leaders announced the launch of the Methodist E-Academy. A UMNS photo courtesy of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

MOSCOW, Russia (UMNS)--A new institution that aims to provide theological education via the Internet was named the Methodist E-Academy during a meeting of the United Methodist Theological Schools in Europe.

An ongoing project since 2006, the academy's development has been shepherded by an advisory board chaired by Bishop Patrick Streiff of Central and Southern Europe. Instructors who will conduct the online courses were trained at a gathering just prior to the Feb. 8-9 meeting of the European school leaders.

The courses will address the growing need to provide theological education for prospective pastors for United Methodist churches, especially in Eastern Europe. The United Methodist Church is growing in Eastern Europe, but its numbers are not yet large enough to warrant establishing and supporting new local United Methodist seminaries.

Founded in 1999, UMTSE was created to better coordinate United Methodist training in Europe.
The E-Academy was conceived during the association's meeting in February 2006, when the group proposed that prospective elders should receive their theological education at non-United Methodist institutions in their own countries, supplemented by online courses in United Methodist studies. The United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry provided $60,000 to pay the salary and travel costs for an instructional technologist, computer software and technical support, and to hire tutors who will train faculty on e-learning and course design.

"The new distance learning program is a cooperative effort between the theological education programs and seminaries in Europe," said the Rev. Mary Ann Moman, associate chief executive of the Division of Ordained Ministry of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

"Technical assistance has come from theological educators in the United States and Great Britain. The Methodist E-Academy will make theological education available for persons in Europe unable to access education in more traditional ways."

Although this plan started with United Methodist churches in Europe, it now works in cooperation with the British United Methodist Church and the autonomous Methodist churches in Portugal and Italy.

The Methodist E-Academy will offer its first courses in United Methodist studies this fall, with plans to expand the offerings to include courses for the training of local pastors and lay preachers. Faculty members have been drawn from the existing church-related seminaries in Europe and retired professors, as well as from British Methodist institutions.

In other action:
.Seminary reports were received from the United Methodist seminaries and training programs in Warsaw, Poland; Tallinn, Estonia; Gothenburg, Sweden; Graz, Austria; Oslo, Norway; Reutlingen, Germany; Banska Bystritsa, Slovakia; Madrid, Spain; and Moscow and from the French Study Program.
.Holger Eschmann, a professor at Reutlingen Seminary in Germany, together with Lewis Parks, director of the doctor of ministry program at Wesley Seminary in Washington D.C., will coordinate the 2009 class for the doctor of ministry program "Leadership for a Global Church in the Wesleyan Spirit."
.The European Historical Society will hold "The Last Phase of Twentieth-Century European Methodism" conference in Budapest, Hungary, in August of 2010 under the leadership of Ulrike Schuler, professor of church history at the United Methodist Seminary in Reutlingen.
.Joerg Barthel, director of Reutlingen Seminary, was elected president of UMTSE, and Sergei Nikolaev, president of the Russia United Methodist Seminary in Moscow, was elected secretary through 2012.
.Moman updated participants on developments with the Division of Ordained Ministry and the Board of Higher Education and informed participants about upcoming issues to come before the 2008 United Methodist General Conference this spring.
.Maxine Beach, vice president and dean of the Theological School at Drew University in Madison, N.J., reported on trends in some U.S. United Methodist seminaries.

The next meeting of UMTSE deans is scheduled for February 2010 in Oslo.

*Nikolaev is the president of the Russia United Methodist Seminary in Moscow, and Field is the coordinator of the European E-Learning Program. This article was provided by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Petition submitted to General Conference asking the UMC to partner with Society of St. Andrew in ministry to end domestic hunger

Big Island, VA – A petition has been filed for consideration by the 2008 General Conference to designate the Society of St. Andrew as the principal agency of the Church to alleviate hunger in the United States. The Society of St. Andrew is an Advance Special (#801600) of the United Methodist Church. The petition, No. 81308, is currently assigned to the Global Ministries (GBGM) committee.

If the petition, which carries no financial or budget impact on the UMC, is adopted the Society of St. Andrew and the United Methodist Church would work together as official partners in the mission to end domestic hunger. The petition was drafted and submitted by the Society of St. Andrew’s (SoSA) Board of Directors, under the chairmanship of Rev. Jim Tongue, Farmville (VA) UMC District Superintendent.

“Ending hunger in the U.S. is the first step to ending global hunger,” said Ken Horne, Executive Director and co-founder of the Society of St. Andrew. “If we can’t end it here we can’t end it anywhere! SoSA wants to put in front of every United Methodist Church across the nation the opportunity to participate in hands-on food rescue ministry to feed their hungry neighbors. We want to make ending hunger in the U.S. a priority of the Church. Only when we forge a ‘critical mass’ of people demanding an end to hunger will it become a national priority.”

“In the Bible,” Horne explains, “Jesus tells us many things we must do in order to go to Heaven. On the other hand, he also tells us that we will NOT get into Heaven if we DO NOT feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned. Matthew 25:41-46 issues a clear-cut command if I ever heard one.”

Horne reports that there are 36 million Americans who don’t get enough to eat while there is more than enough food available to feed them. “Jesus commands us to feed the hungry and SoSA’s biblical practice of gleaning what will go to waste has proved to be an efficient and effective way to fulfill that command,” he continued

The rationale for presenting this petition states: The Society of St. Andrew puts faith into action nationwide through the proven biblical practice of gleaning with over 30,000 volunteers annually while distributing over 1.5 billion servings of nutritious food. Recognizing SoSA as the principal U. S. hunger-fighting organization of the church will help eliminate hunger in America.

The Society of St. Andrew was founded in Virginia in 1979 and has grown into the nation’s premier hunger-relief organization saving and delivery fresh produce for the hungry. SoSA salvages excess fresh vegetables and fruits that are perfectly good and nutritious but not commercially marketable. Instead of letting this food go to waste, the Society engages volunteers from churches, civic groups and individuals to glean what’s left in farm fields after the harvest and what’s graded out in packing houses. The volunteers then package the food for delivery and donation to local feeding agencies in the region where it was gathered.

Today SoSA has six regional offices and 38 other gleaning operations in 21 states, including Virginia, where it maintains its national headquarters. To date, SoSA has saved 543.8 million pounds of food, which provided 1.63 billion servings to the hungry in all 48 contiguous states. More than 364,000 volunteers have worked with SoSA and its vast network of growers and service agencies to help feed Americans who are regularly at risk of hunger, and all at a cost of only about 2 cents per serving.

To fully inform conference delegations on this issue, SoSA has created a presentation that can be webcast directly to them. The presentation was made to the Virginia delegates to the General Conference on January 19 and will be presented to the North Alabama delegates on March 1. Any conference delegation can request a webcast from the Society of St. Andrew by contacting Mike Waldmann at 800-333-4597 or sosausa@endhunger.org.

The petition, which can also be found at www.endhunger.org/petition.htm, reads in full:

Pg 1 of 1 Designate Society of St. Andrew as Principal Agency of the Church to Alleviate Hunger in the United States
Discipline ¶ 1326 Financial Implications: No*

Add: New Paragraph 1326.2.a.(3) Renumber current paragraphs (3) through (6) as (4) through (7)
Add: (3) To work cooperatively with the United Methodist related Society of St. Andrew (SOSA), a national Christian hunger-relief ministry, as the principal nationwide organization within the United Methodist Church to alleviate hunger in the United States.
Amend: ¶1326.2.b) as follows:
Financial Support—Sources of funds shall include voluntary gifts, One Great Hour of Sharing offering, Advance Special Gifts, supplementary gifts of United Methodist Women and United Methodist Men, churchwide appeals made by authority of the Council of Bishops and the General Council on Finance and Administration, and designated benevolence funds. Sources of funds for administrative functions of the General Board of Global Ministries shall be other than designated funds to the United Methodist Committee on Relief and/or the Society of St. Andrew.
*Originally submitted as Yes due to a misunderstanding, however there is no financial or budget impact to the UMC

More information about the Society of St. Andrew and its hunger-relief ministry is available online at www.endhunger.org, by phone at 800-333-4597, or email at sosausa@endhunger.org.

Global AIDS Fund Committee Hosts April Briefing in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas: The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee will sponsor the “Lighten the Burden II” HIV/AIDS briefing at First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth on April 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on April 22.

The event aims to heighten awareness of United Methodists about AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis by sharing stories about realities on the ground and how the denomination is responding. Projects funded by the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund will be featured.

The one-day briefing precedes the United Methodist General Conference, a meeting of the denomination’s top policy-making body, which convenes April 23-May 2 at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Keynote speakers include:

.Kay Warren, a two-time cancer survivor, launched the HIV/AIDS Caring Community, an online community that offers resources and inspiration for churches involved in HIV/AIDS ministry. She and her husband, Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose-Driven Life,” were instrumental in presenting Saddleback Church’s first HIV/AIDS conference, “Global Summit on AIDS and the Church,” which is now an annual event.
.Bishop João Somane Machado, Episcopal leader in Mozambique, serves in a country that has declared HIV/AIDS a national emergency. The epidemic has reduced life expectancy from 41 years in 1999 to 38.1 years in 2004. On average, 500 new infections occur every day, 90 of them among young children through mother-to-child transmission. Bishop Machado is an international leader in the fight against AIDS and malaria.
.Shane Stanford, who is HIV-positive, is the featured preacher on The United Methodist Hour and serves as teaching pastor at Main Street United Methodist Church in Hattiesburg, Miss. Shane also serves on the UMC Global AIDS Fund Committee.

Other speakers will be Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of the Mississippi Episcopal Area; Dr. Cherian Thomas of the General Board of Global Ministries, the Rev. Kent Millard, pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, and Dr. Pauline Muchina, UNAIDS (invited). (See agenda)

There is no cost for registration. A light breakfast and lunch will be served. To make reservations to attend, register online or contact Donna Brandyberry at dbrandyberry@umc-gbcs.org or 202-488-5641. The registration deadline is April 11.

A UMNS Commentary by the Rev. Meg Lassiat: Finding new ways to attract new clergy leaders

Clergy give prayers of support as young people offer commitment cards indicating their interest in ordained ministry during EXPLORATION 2006 in Jacksonville, Fla. A UMNS file photo by Vicki Brown.

A UMNS Commentary

By the Rev. Meg Lassiat*

It's a phrase heard a lot these days: Leadership development.

Bookstore shelves overflow with "how to" guides for employees, managers and CEOs. Service organizations, high schools, colleges and universities profess leadership development as a core value as they work to attract students. Young children are even part of the leadership emphasis. Every morning on my way to work, I pass Tomorrow's Leaders Pre-School!

Equipping the right people with the right tools, and training them with the necessary skills to do a good job today and in the future, has always been important. Samuel grew up in the temple, where he received training and guidance from Eli. When God called Samuel to serve, Eli taught him how to respond. Mordecai gave Esther the guidance, motivation and instruction to confront the king at the right time and save the Jews from destruction. As a young man, Paul trained Timothy so that as he matured he would learn how to lead his faith community.

The church needs well-trained, well-equipped, effective leaders. That hasn't changed; but the world has. And the church is therefore challenged to respond to today's culture in meaningful, relevant and appropriate ways. Indeed, in The United Methodist Church, leadership development is the first of the four churchwide areas of focus for program development and funding for the next four years.

In 2005, the Rev. Lovett H. Weems Jr. reported that 850 of the 18,141 probationary or ordained elders in the United States were 35 years of age or younger. Only 4.69 percent of elders were in this age group--down from 15.05 percent of elders in 1985. This alarming percentage has helped to crystallize the church's need to critically reassess and retool its efforts to invite, train and retain young adult clergy.

Today's young adults approach the world differently than young adults did 50, 25 or even 10 years ago. Programs and structures that may have worked in 1985 will not engage today's young adults in the life of a local church, annual conference or even the general church.

At all levels--local church, annual conference and globally--The United Methodist Church must ask itself: Are we prepared to respond to young adults in ways that invite them into meaningful service and allow them to learn new skills and hone their gifts and talents? Furthermore, are we prepared to change outdated or ineffective practices to respond to the way that young adults are leading in the church today?

Missing the picture
As part of my work, I am regularly involved in conversations about the critical need for young adult leaders. The conversation often turns to the reasons we need them. More often than not, people say these new young leaders must be prepared to lead the church 20 years from now. They insist that we need people who we can train to "take over the reins" when today's leaders retire.

While this may be a legitimate goal, they are missing the big picture. Young adults are not only leaders for tomorrow's church. They are leaders in the church today.

If the church is to fully integrate young people in ordained leadership positions, all levels of the church must find new ways to invite them to consider ordained ministry and then respond to the gifts and skills that young people already bring.

The first goal of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry's strategic plan is to "reach young people to assist and support them in identifying and forming their vocations as Christians for leadership in the global church and the world."

I work with both the Division of Higher Education and the Division of Ordained Ministry to address systemically how the church can invite, train and retain youth and young adults as church leaders. In addition to several ongoing programs (EXPLORATION, Student Forum, the United Methodist Student Movement and the Young Adult Seminarians' Network), three new emphases are under development: http://www.explorecalling.org/, The National Leadership Development Advisory Team and The Campus Ministry Internship Program.

New resources for new leaders
ExploreCalling.org is a Web site for youth, young adults and those who work with them that provides tools for discerning God's call to vocation. The site has links to United Methodist colleges, universities and theological schools; a resource page of books and articles about vocation; information on loans and scholarships available to United Methodist students; details about upcoming leadership development events; and links to other relevant sites. New downloadable resources are added about every two weeks, and news stories are updated weekly.

Additionally, visitors can e-mail questions about ministry and sign up to receive e-mail updates. It's the one place in The United Methodist Church where information about vocational discernment and answering God's call to ministry is centralized.

The National Leadership Development Advisory Team creates tools to train those involved in all stages of the invitation and candidacy process for young adults. The team writes articles and resources that can be used to ensure that young adults receive the information they need as they work through the candidacy and probationary processes. These resources will be used by pastor/staff parish relations committees, district committees on ordained ministry, annual conference boards of ordained ministry, district superintendents and bishops as they work with young adults.

The team also sponsored a meeting in October 2007 for representatives of annual conferences that are already effective at inviting and retaining young adult clergy. This group began developing "best practice" resources to be shared among annual conference leaders involved in young adult clergy development.

The Campus Ministry Internship Program, based on a program created by the Northwest Missouri State Wesley Foundation, will replicate throughout the United States an effective tool for engaging college students in vocational discernment and ministry development. Students will work with a team of other students and their campus minister or chaplain to serve a local congregation where they will lead worship and preach regularly.

Changing world
Just as the world has changed, the church must change to meet the needs of the Millennial Generation--those born between 1982 and 2000. Most of us would agree: We need young adult leaders!

But how does the church accomplish this? We must use the tools that work. We must build relationships, equip and train young adults for leadership, find ways to assist them in the discernment and candidacy process as they explore ordained ministry, and work with annual conferences to find ways to retain young adult clergy.

You can make a difference as an individual. Find ways you can encourage young people and develop relationships with them as they discern how God is calling them to serve. Look to make changes that enable our church to invite, train and retain its newest leaders.

Young people are ready to answer God's call. Are you ready to help them?

*Lassiat is Director of Student Ministries, Vocation, and Enlistment at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Members are the essence of NCC, says new leader

By Linda Bloom*

The Rev. Michael Kinnamon, newly named chief executive of the National Council of Churches, says he will focus on strengthening relationships among its member denominations. UMNS photos by John C. Goodwin.

NEW YORK (UMNS)-Members of the National Council of Churches need to invest in each other as much as they invest in good works.

That's the philosophy of the NCC's new chief executive, the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, and why he plans to focus on the essentials. "The essence of a council of churches is not just what we do, but what we are," he said during a mid-February interview with United Methodist News Service.

The 58-year-old Kinnamon--who started in January but has had a long history with the council--noted that too many people and churches categorize the NCC as a program agency. "If you think of the council that way, it's possible to duck the accountability that goes with membership," he said.

As a way of strengthening relationships, Kinnamon, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) minister, plans a series of official visitations to member communions. This year, he hopes that a five- or six-person delegation representing various denominations can visit six members. "We've already sent out a letter inviting ourselves," he said.

The council's new president, Archbishop Vicken Azkazian of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), Washington diocese, has an even more ambitious goal. "He's going to visit all 35 of the members during his two-year presidency," Kinnamon said.

United Methodist connections
Although his family roots are Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ, Kinnamon "fell under the spell of the local Methodist minister," the Rev. Paul Dietterich, from the third to seventh grade while living in the small town of Wellman, Iowa. Dietterich, who is now executive director emeritus of the ecumenical Center for Parish Development in Chicago, "was such a profound influence on me," he recalled.

Years later, when he served as a member of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns from 1988-92, Kinnamon said he "remembered that sense of identity in the United Methodist tradition. I love the preoccupation with grace and the response to it, which feels comfortable to a Disciple."

During his 25 years as a seminary professor--most recently at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis--Kinnamon estimated he often traveled 35 to 40 weeks a year to speak in ecumenical settings. On the local level, he and his wife, the Rev. Katherine Kinnamon, become deeply involved in her congregations.

"The hallmark of my ecumenical work over the years has been the insistence that we are already one," he said, adding that the need to act as the body of Christ--bound to the communal table no matter how great the division--"makes all the difference."

A drafter for the NCC's strategic plan while serving on its governing board, Kinnamon will emphasize the goals set by that plan. In addition to strengthening relations among the member communions through official visits, he hopes the council can "serve as an animator of the ecumenical movement across the country."

That means working with other types of groups, such as state and local councils of churches, which are not formally a part of the NCC, and emphasizing the NCC's historical role in Christian unity.

More integrated work
Another goal is reshaping the program work the council does do to achieve "a more integrated sense of our work together," Kinnamon said. A January meeting that drew together representatives of the NCC's five program commissions for the first time was a step toward that goal, he added. Those commissions cover communications, education and leadership ministries, faith and order, interfaith relations and justice and advocacy.

Kinnamon, who has a doctorate in religion and literature from the University of Chicago Divinity School, believes the council can play a prophetic role in society. Instead of reacting to the world's political and social agenda, the NCC could "help the churches and society envision an alternate form of human community."

For example, the council could build upon its successful minimum wage campaign to demand a "living wage where no one lives in poverty."

The reorganization of NCC staff at the end of last year has brought annual expenses in line with guaranteed revenue, according to Kinnamon, and left the council with a healthy $6 million reserve fund. Maintaining that financial stability is another goal. "I think the money is being used very wisely," he added. "There's a good sense of stewardship here."

While he considers the council's overall health to be good, Kinnamon lamented "the personal toll" caused by the reorganization and said he hopes eventually to recover the NCC's strong emphasis on issues such as racial justice and ecumenical advocacy on Capitol Hill.

Kinnamon also hopes to see progress with Churches Uniting in Christ, another ecumenical movement. He was serving as the chief executive of the Consultation on Church Union when it was transformed into Churches Uniting in Christ in 2002. "I thought we had a lot of momentum," he said, but added that the movement now seems on hold. He was referring to the group's January gathering in St. Louis, where two historically black partner denominations chose not to attend.

In Kinnamon's opinion, what has slowed the development of Churches Uniting in Christ is that the alliance represents a new way of being the church together. "It demands that the churches relate to one another and not rely on an office to do it," he said.

Kinnamon spoke at the group's January plenary. He believes that if the African Methodist Episcopal and African Methodist Episcopal Zion churches are "willing to re-engage" with the other member communions, the movement will be worth continuing, if only as a way of addressing the racial divide in both church and society.

He pointed out that Churches Uniting in Christ is not a membership organization but a covenant that members made to each other before God.

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

Global Health Initiative Names Project Coordinator

Nashville: United Methodist Communications announces the appointment of the Rev. Dr. Hilda R. Davis-Carroll as Project Coordinator for the Office of Global Health Initiative, effective February 18.

The 11-million member United Methodist Church is engaged in a new global health initiative aimed at combating diseases of poverty such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. As a founding partner in the Nothing But Nets malaria prevention initiative, the people of The United Methodist Church have helped raise more than $18 million for the purchase and distribution of mosquito nets to children and families in Africa since 2006.

As project coordinator of the Global Health Initiative, Davis-Carroll will oversee administrative and project management functions, assist with implementation and development of agency projects, conduct research, and act as a strategic consultant to assist in directing the vision for the future activities of the initiative. Key components of the initiative are creating awareness, health education, policy advocacy, fundraising and partnership building.

Davis-Carroll previously served as Director of the Faith-Based Health Initiative for the Tennessee Department of Health from 2004 to 2007, where she was responsible for the development and implementation of health programs in congregations across the state and worked through community organizations to increase faith and health collaborations.

Ordained as a United Methodist deacon in 1998, Davis-Carroll has also written and taught curriculum for women on spirituality and health for the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville, served as chaplain and researcher for Vanderbilt Medical Center Cancer Clinic, and worked for United Methodist Publishing House as an editor and writer. She has lead workshops and spoken to congregations across the country about issues of health and spirituality. She is a contributing author to 365 Devotions for Mothers by Mothers and 365 Devotions for Women by Women, and has written a weekly health column for Nashville Pride newspaper.

Davis-Carroll earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern Michigan University, and a master’s degree in theological studies and a Ph.D. in religion and psychology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She is married to Dr. Kevin Carroll, a professor at Payne College, and has a daughter, Erin Grimes, a graduate of Dillard University.

United Methodists discuss how to have hard conversations

By Linda Green*

Douglas Stone (standing) leads the Rev. Anita Wood and Tom Laney through an exercise on what people in conflict are really thinking about each other. The exercise was part of a Feb. 6 network gathering of JustPeace in Nashville, Tenn. UMNS photos by Linda Green..

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - United Methodists need to learn how to talk about divisive issues in constructive ways that bring people together, says the director of the church's JustPeace ministry.

For the last few years, United Methodists have been seeking ways to have debates on difficult issues without stopping dialogue on them. As the denomination's top lawmaking assembly prepares to meet in Fort Worth, Texas, in April, bishops and other church leaders have called for a civil gathering that places more emphasis on common ministry rather than on issues such as homosexuality, which have divided previous General Conferences.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could experience holy conferencing in Fort Worth, if we could name the real issues in our church and talk about them, learn from each other and come to a better place together?" asked the Rev. Tom Porter, executive director of JustPeace.

The Washington D.C.-based ministry seeks to help United Methodists "engage conflict constructively." Members of JustPeace came together Feb. 6 to learn about best practices in having difficult conversations, as identified in the book Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most.

"If you want to understand a difficult conversation, you must understand what people are thinking and feeling," said Douglas Stone, one of three co-authors of the book.

Stone, who is also a senior negotiator and instructor in conflict resolution for the Triad Consulting Group, Cambridge, Mass., defined a difficult conversation as one in which a person finds a topic or issue challenging or hard to talk about.

Conflicts arise over scarce resources and how to divide them and also involve matters of perception that lead to people not getting along with one another, he said. "The question is about trying to understand in a deeper way how we see things."

Ted Crass, a JustPeace member from the Florida Annual Conference and senior consultant with CMPartners, Cambridge, Mass., called conflict "a natural part of life and a natural part of who we are as individuals." He has been involved in programming and conflict initiatives in the Florida Conference.

Sexuality, abortion, immigration and other issues "are difficult to talk about in the church because they get to the heart of peoples' personal experience, their identity and perspective on faith," he said. Often, a person has reactions to what someone is saying that make it difficult to understand the perspective of the other person. "All of those issues strike people at the core of their identity or faith," he said.

Porter said people need to engage one another with a sense of wonder and awe, have "appreciative inquiry" and draw on people's strengths and assets, and "realize that there are a lot of sharp edges in this life."

Living together, working together and talking together are issues of deep concern in the church, he said.

"We know that we (the church) like to wait to have difficult conversations, and sometimes we wait until it all explodes, and it is not pretty what happens when we don't deal with the issues, we don't name them, don't engage them and don't go on to the table to talk about them," Porter said.

Creating listening space
Stone advised that delegates to General Conference, the denomination's top lawmaking assembly, deal with hot-button issues by creating space for listening and inquiry, to take the role of understanding how others view issues instead of being purely an advocate.

Inquiry, he said, "is helping me understand not just what you see but why you see it that way. What goes into your point of view? What values and experiences, what assumptions, what fears, your predictions about the future, what do you care about?"

People fear or avoid difficult conversations because they fear the consequences, but all difficult conversations have a common structure, Stone said. Each difficult conversation is really three conversations - involving facts, feelings, and identity - that can make it difficult to talk with one another, he said.

"Difficult conversations involve strong emotions or issues about how I see myself in the world," Stone said. Strong emotions may come from the values a person has and also may be the result of how "people feel treated in the relationship," he added. "How we talk to each other may influence emotion."

Porter and others at the JustPeace gathering lamented that Robert's Rules of Order, the recognized guide that organizations use to run meetings, can sometimes impede conversation, listening and learning.

According to Stone, the valuable conversations that people need may occur as side conversations or be on a parallel track from the primary plenary sessions. "It also may be that it is time to take a look at Robert's Rules in terms of whether that is the best way to use all of the time or if time can be designated for other conversations."

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most is about more than civil discourse, he said. It is about how to communicate well, clearly and openly.

"It is not just about how to be nice to each other or how to be civil to each other. It is about how to really talk and understand each other."

Understanding one another is a first step toward conflict resolution, he said. But, even if one does not overcome the conflict, "it is an independent and good thing to understand one another."

A necessary topic
The Rev. Stephanie Hixon, the director of resources and administration for JustPeace, said the gathering's topic was necessary because the denomination is grappling with difficult conversations about critical, yet divisive issues.

While the gathering was not programmed to impact General Conference, Hixon said the hope is that the participants, in their various contexts, would interact with delegates and others affiliated with General Conference to share the tools and skills learned from the difficult conversations book and other conflict resolution resources.

"What we are trying to do and help people to do and invite people to do is engage conflict well and constructively," she said. "We believe that goes even deeper than civil discourse."

General Conference, which meets every four years, is a time in the life of the denomination when the mission and ministry of the church are outlined but the difficult issues tend to get the attention. The 2008 gathering will be April 23-May 2.

"Our hope is that folks will prepare themselves for engagement, that they will be open to others, and that they will draw on a source that not only includes best practices and skills (for conflict resolution) but the prompting of the Holy Spirit to help them to know when to use these kinds of skills," Hixon said.

She acknowledged that it is human nature to want to avoid those conversations that are not comfortable. But, she said, "Christians and United Methodists are called to bear witness not only in the resolution of our decision or the decision that we make but also in the manner in which we carry out that decision making."

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

Research: 'Open hearts' campaign helps perceptions

By United Methodist News Service*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)-The "open hearts, open minds, open doors" media campaign of The United Methodist Church is effectively communicating key characteristics of the denomination to the public, according to new research.

Telephone interviews conducted last fall indicate that those exposed to the church's nearly 8-year-old campaign were much more likely to hold favorable views of The United Methodist Church than those who did not recall the advertising.

"One of the challenges that denominations typically face is that people don't really know that much about them," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications.

"The survey data gives us a snapshot of how others see us, and the indication is that the campaign has helped to reframe people's indistinct perceptions about the church into something more positive."

The church spent $5.5 million in 2007 on the campaign, which primarily paid for television ads but also included billboard ads and radio and cinema spots. Last August, the church began adding online ads to the mix. In 2006, the church spent more than $6 million on the "open hearts" campaign.

The study assessed 10 different statements about The United Methodist Church that reflect the intended communications within the advertising messages developed for the campaign. More than 1,200 respondents from six test markets were interviewed during September and October by the Barna Research Group in order to better understand how the denomination is positioned among adults ages 21-60 who do not attend a United Methodist church and are searching spiritually.

Among the findings:
.Fifty-eight percent of respondents agreed that United Methodists care for and support each other, compared to 43 percent surveyed in 2002;
.Fifty-seven percent believed United Methodists accept you for who you are, up from 45 percent in 2002;
.Forty-one percent said United Methodists help you find deeper meaning and purpose in life, compared to only 26 percent in 2002; and
.Fifty-one percent said United Methodists help people facing personal difficulty, up from 38 percent in 2002.

The church launched the campaign in 2001 with a threefold purpose: to increase awareness and recognition of basic United Methodist beliefs, promote willingness to visit a United Methodist church, and renew a sense of commitment among United Methodists.

Independent research is conducted annually to determine if the campaign is reaching those goals.

Other highlights of the 2007 research:
.Forty-two percent of respondents surveyed said their impression of The United Methodist Church was very or somewhat favorable, up from 37 percent in 2006;
.Fifty-four percent of those surveyed expressed a willingness to visit a United Methodist church, up from 47 percent in 2006; and
.Fifty-nine percent recalled the tagline "Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors."

*This story is based on a news release from the office of public information at United Methodist Communications.

United Methodist team fulfills commitment in Kenya

A UMNS Report

By Linda Bloom*

A United Nations map highlights areas of Kenya that have erupted in violence following the country's disputed presidential election on December 27. A UMNS illustration courtesy of the U.N. Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

A United Methodist Volunteers-in-Mission team arrived in Nakuru, Kenya, just as violence broke out in that Rift Valley city.

C.M. "Kip" Robinson Jr., associate VIM director for the denomination's Southeastern Jurisdiction, said the team was never directly threatened during its Jan. 26-Feb. 7 work trip and was happy to bring "a message of hope" to Kenyans there.

Although four people dropped out when violence erupted in Kenya after the Dec. 27 presidential election, eight team members from across the Southeastern Jurisdiction arrived to start construction on a school. One team member returned home early, he said.

Robinson, who was making his fourth trip to Kenya and 14th visit to Africa, said he had relied upon advice from his host, the Rev. Josam Kariuki, pastor of the United Methodist congregation in Nakuru, about whether to proceed. "He said they had not experienced any trouble in Nakuru and that the road between Nairobi and Nakuru was safe," Robinson said.

A family issue arose soon after the team's arrival in Kenya. On the morning of Jan. 27, after spending the night in Nairobi, Robinson's wife received word that her father had died.

The Rev. Nancy Robinson is pastor at the North Decatur (Ga.) United Methodist Church. Her father, Hunter Griffin, had served many years in Zimbabwe as a missionary through the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. With the encouragement of her mother and three sisters, she decided to continue with the mission trip as a way to live out and honor her father's legacy.

The team arrived at the hotel in Nakuru that night--the same night, they learned from the next day's newspaper, that 47 people had been killed "in fresh Nakuru violence," Robinson said. The next day, another 32 people were reported killed.

"We didn't know what to do with this information, except that we knew that we were safe," he said.

Trip planned last June
Robinson, who has a background in civil engineering, had begun organizing the work trip last June when Kariuki invited him to participate in the beginning of his church's major construction project. The plan involves a boarding school, with both primary and secondary grades, that eventually will include a number of buildings.

"The objective of the boarding school was to have a place where children affected by AIDS … would have a safe place to go and a way to get an education," Robinson explained.

Working around the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew imposed on the city, the team was able to assist at the construction site. Although they could not visit with church members as they had planned, the team was able to attend a couple of worship services. "We were never threatened and we were never inconvenienced, although we could see all around us that things were happening," he said.

It was obvious, he added, that many people and property were on the move, coming mostly from the west. Members of the Kikuyu ethnic group from Elderot, for example, came to Nakuru because of its large Kikuyu population.

According to its Web site, the Nakuru United Methodist Church is sending mobile health units to the Rift Valley areas affected by violence, focusing on the needs of women and children. The church also is helping to provide health care to the more than 4,000 displaced persons at Nakuru's showground.

Food shortages in other parts of Kenya were not evident in Nakuru. Robinson pointed out that the boarding school project is providing employment for local people, "even some of the displaced persons."

The diverse workforce at the construction site was about one-third Christian, one-third Muslim and one-third with no particular religion, according to Robinson. "Every morning, we had devotions with the workers at the work site. Our message was: 'We are a connectional church, and we do this in the name of a risen Christ.'"

At least three more Southeastern Jurisdiction teams plan to assist at the project between now and July, as long as Kariuki confirms that it is safe. "They, too will bring the same message of hope," Robinson said.

For more information on Volunteer-in-Mission projects, visit http://www.umvim.org/home.htm.

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

Lake Junaluska and Alban Form New Partnership

Lake Junaluska, N.C.: Two pioneers in Christian leadership have formed a new partnership to advance the holistic ministry of United Methodist leaders. The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center and the Alban Institute partnership brings 130 years of experience in church leadership training. Clergy and laity in The United Methodist Church will benefit from this union through three learning experiences in 2008.

Wayne Floyd, Education Program Manager at The Alban Institute, said the partnership unites Alban’s 35 years of experience in consulting, continuing education and research with the long tradition of clergy education at Lake Junaluska.

“We would hope that people would go away with a deeper and richer sense of the way of their own ministries contribute to the health and vitality of the congregations they serve and the ways in which congregational leaders among clergy and laity continue to have much to teach one another,” he said.

Roger Dowdy, Director of Ministry at Lake Junaluska, said the events will enrich the life of churches all over the Jurisdiction.

“Through this partnership, both clergy and laity in the Southeastern Jurisdiction will have access to three cutting-edge learning experiences in 2008 amidst the beautiful setting of Lake Junaluska,” Dowdy said.

Two seminars for congregations and a ministry summit are part of the first year of this partnership:o
.April 13 – 16 Healthy Congregations seminar: “Leading your congregation to health, holiness, and hospitality.” Ed White, Alban Senior Consultant, facilitator.
.July 6 – 10 2008 Ministry Summit (formerly known as SEJ Ministers’ Conference): “Narrative Forms of Leadership and Congregation Formation.” A team of Alban consultants, facilitators.
.September 26 – 28 “Moving Churches from Maintenance to Mission - Building Disciple-making Communities.” Ed White, Alban Senior Consultant, facilitator.

For more information please contact:

Roger Dowdy, Director of Ministry
rdowdy@sejumc.org
www.lakejunaluska.com

Pam Moser
pmoser@sejumc.org
Phone: 828-452-2881
www.lakejunaluska.com

Pam Naplen
pnaplen@sejumc.org
Phone: 828-452-2881
www.lakejunaluska.com

Methodist Church of Southern Africa to build seminary

By Linda Green*

The Rev. Peter Storey, former bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, talks about the challenges facing his country and the scheduled opening of a new seminary in 2009. A UMNS photo by Linda Green.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)--The Methodist Church of Southern Africa is working to open a Methodist seminary that will develop leaders to transform the church and the nation of South Africa.

"Leadership is the gift and skill of moving other people into transformative action in the world," said the Rev. Peter Storey, former bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.

During a Feb. 4 presentation sponsored by the Upper Room, a ministry of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, Storey talked about the challenges faced by his country--poverty, pandemic diseases, crime, corruption, racism, education crises and environmental degradation.

He also spoke about how the Methodist Church--from 18th century England through the missionary movement of the 19th century and then the anti-apartheid work of the 20th century--has instilled Christian character in individuals and transformed societies by working for justice.

"I think that most people have almost given up on whether this world can be changed or whether things can be different," he said. "The politicians promise us that every election, and somehow it never comes up to expectation.

"My own feeling is that we as Wesleyans have a clue because (change) happened through the movement that was born out of John Wesley's and Charles Wesley's lives. The clue is you move into people's lives and you invite them out into society and have a William Wilberforce as a result."

Wilberforce, a religious member of British Parliament, was a social reformer who helped to abolish the British slave trade and whose work helped pass the Slave Trade Act in 1807.

"That is … the kind of spiritual leader that I hope that we can shape and who we need so desperately, which Africa needs in particular," said Storey. "In fact, we all need that kind of leadership."

Birthing a new seminary
Storey is chairman of the project to open the new seminary, which is scheduled to enroll its first 35 students next January. The seminary will provide candidates for the ministry with three years of residential, spiritual and academic training and internships--instead of the current six years of on-the-job training.

The seminary will be named in honor of the late Rev. Seth Mokitimi, who "models the kind of minister the seminary seeks to produce," said Storey.

In 1964, Mokitimi became the first black person elected to lead a major denomination in South Africa. He was one of the church's most renowned preachers and educators, and Storey said he had a powerful influence on the life of South African leader Nelson Mandela. "He was called the brown bomber like Joe Louis because when he arrived to preach, things happened," Storey said. "People were knocked out by the Gospel."

The new seminary is to be located within the Pietermaritzburg Cluster, a center of ecumenical theological institutions including the School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, near Durban.

The Methodist Church of Southern Africa was started in 1836 by British Methodists and became autonomous in 1883. It is made up of six countries in Southern Africa, and 2.5 million people claim a religious affiliation with the denomination.

Clergy leadership needed
Although South Africa has a proud heritage of seminary education, the seminaries of numerous churches have struggled because of decisions made 20 years ago that emphasized on-the-job training over a residential seminary experience. Many students bypassed a seminary education and collected their degrees by correspondence. As a result, the church is working to fill a void in its clergy leadership.

"We are deeply troubled that we do not seem to have the same caliber of clergy that we used to have," Storey said.

Bishop Ivan Abrahams, the presiding bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, and other officials explored the issue and proposed a new seminary for South Africa.

The new seminary "is not about bricks and mortar" but about developing life-changing spiritual leaders to transform the church and the nation of South Africa, Storey said.

Transformational pastors, he said, have qualities that include a spiritual life nourished by Christ; personal conduct that is above reproach; accountability to colleagues and the church; ability to interpret Scripture faithfully and preach spiritual liberation effectively; and a passion to work for justice, reconciliation and unity of all people.

Storey said about R$14.5 million has been raised toward the R$99 million needed for the seminary structure and infrastructure. The seminary is seeking gifts and matching funds from international friends of the church to endow faculty and staff positions.

For more information, contact Storey by e-mail at pstorey@telkomsa.net.

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

Nikolaev heads United Methodist seminary in Moscow

By United Methodist News Service

The Rev. Sergei V. Nikolaev has been elected president of the Russia United Methodist Theological Seminary in Moscow.

The Rev. Sergei V. Nikolaev

The election by the seminary's board of trustees was effective Jan. 1. Nikolaev will continue to teach as the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism as part of the seminary's Ruediger and Gerlinde Minor Chair.

Calling the election "a great honor," Nikolaev said he hopes the seminary will lead development of the denomination in Eurasia, "strengthening the Methodist theological and spiritual identity."

He succeeds the Rev. Tobias Dietze, a missionary from Germany, who had led the seminary since its opening in 1995. More than 100 pastors have studied there through residency and correspondence programs, coming from as far away as Siberia and the Far East, Central Asia, Ukraine and Belarus. More than 30 students are enrolled during the current academic year.

Nikolaev recently received his doctorate in the History of Christian Tradition from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where his dissertation explored the issue of Orthodox church relations to non-Orthodox churches. As part of his education at Southern Methodist, he received the Dempster Fellowship from the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry and a fellowship from the Foundation for Evangelism.

United Methodist Bishop Scott Jones, a seminary trustee and one of his former professors at Southern Methodist, called Nikolaev's selection "a bold and strategic step for the Russia Initiative." Jones cited Nikolaev's intelligence and knowledge of both Christian history and Russian culture.

An ordained elder in the Russia United Methodist Church, Nikolaev previously served as pastor of Perovo United Methodist Church and director of the Moscow Evening Bible School for Laity.
He has been a member of ongoing Orthodox-Wesleyan consultations since 2000. During his doctoral studies, Nikolaev served as a visiting professor to the Russian seminary, where he was appointed the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism in 2005.

With the support of the Moscow episcopal office and the Foundation for Evangelism, he initiated the Competition for the Best Project of Evangelism, encouraging responsible evangelism in Russia and the former Soviet Republics.

Nikolaev will be a delegate to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference and recently was elected co-chairperson of the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies.

'Twick' Morrison, racial justice advocate, dies

A UMNS Report

By Linda Green*

Martha Cooper "Twick" Morrison, 76, a champion of racial justice and reconciliation in Mississippi and across The United Methodist Church, died Feb. 7 at home in Vicksburg with her family, following a 20-month battle with lung cancer.

"My wife was a remarkable woman who was loved dearly by her family," said Robert Morrison, husband of 55 years.

She was born in Turner's Station, Ky., and graduated from Blue Mountain College with a bachelor of arts degree. She later was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities degree. She also received a master of arts degree in English from the University of Mississippi.

Morrison was president of the Foundation for United Methodist Communications from 2004 to 2006, and served on its board of directors for 10 years. The Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of United Methodist Communications, described Morrison as a "tireless advocate for justice and a determined voice for ending poverty."

As the president of Foundation for United Methodist Communications, Morrison brought "enthusiasm and generosity" to the foundation’s work, Hollon said. She "energized others and inspired us all to work harder for our mission to communicate effectively about poverty and to provide the means for those without voice to have the tools, training and capacity to tell their own stories," he said. Under her leadership, the foundation more than doubled its charitable income.

"She will be greatly missed, but her commitment to doing the right thing for all people will live on through her hundreds of friends," Hollon said. "Standing for justice, embracing all and living out compassion is her legacy."

‘Sent for a purpose’
Morrison served in numerous leadership and teaching capacities on local, regional and national levels for more than 50 years across the denomination, including as vice president of the Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. She taught in the Schools of Christian Mission, an annual education program from the Women's Division, and was a leader of the Mississippi Annual (regional) Conference, coordinating the work of the laity across the state.

"She was a very special person who touched a lot of lives."– Jackie Pennington

She was one of five United Methodist lay representatives in the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches and participated in mission trips in Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe, Central America, South America and the Caribbean Basin. She was also founding member of the Good Shepherd Community Center in Vicksburg, Miss. and was recently named a recipient of the Livesay Service Award by United Methodist-related Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. She was a member of Crawford Street United Methodist Church in Vicksburg.

"It is hard to sum up Twick in a few words," said Jackie Pennington, a friend and president of the Mississippi Conference of United Methodist Women. "She was a very special person who touched a lot of lives."

Mississippi Bishop Hope Morgan Ward agreed. "The arms of Twick's faith were always up and out. You saw God in her, with her, through her and around her. She was sent among us for a purpose."

‘A powerful presence’
According to Lois Dauway, an executive with the Women's Division, Morrison "was small in height, but had a powerful presence in very profound ways."

Dauway noted Morrison’s passion for racial justice. "I found it inspiring to meet a woman with such passion from Mississippi. She was a very savvy person who understood and loved the church enough to challenge its structure and policies."

Before her death, Morrison designed her "celebration of life service," including the prayers, liturgy, hymns, said Ward, adding that Morrison wanted the Lord's Prayer recited at her funeral. She placed an emphasis on "Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven."

In addition to her husband, survivors include two sons and their wives, Paul Cooper and Frances Rone Morrison of Jackson, Miss., and Robert R. III and Corin Coleman Morrison of Vicksburg, as well as seven grandchildren.

The funeral service was scheduled for Feb. 9 at Crawford Street United Methodist Church. Burial was to follow in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Crawford Street United Methodist Church, 1408 Cherry St., Vicksburg, MS 39180, or Good Shepherd Community Center, 629 Cherry St., Vicksburg, MS 39180.

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

Africa Upper Room director guides growing ministry

By Kami L. Rice*

Street people in Cape Town, South Africa, hold copies of ‘Prayers for Encouragement,’ a devotional for people with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses. The booklets are provided through Africa Upper Room Ministries. UMNS photos by Kami L. Rice.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (UMNS) - If Roland Rink were to draw a caricature of himself, he would sketch a mangy lion protecting those around him.

Except for the mangy part, he's identified himself aptly, though the lion would have to be a gentle one.

Rink is the managing director for Africa Upper Room Ministries, an arm of Upper Room Ministries headquartered in Eikenhof, South Africa, just outside Johannesburg. The vision for Africa Upper Room is no less than helping every African spend time with God daily.

"The dream has not got smaller. The dream is just expanding," Rink said. "We've got the whole of Africa as our constituency."

Established in January 2002, Africa Upper Room coordinates printing and distribution for African editions of The Upper Room daily devotional and other Upper Room resources.

Africa Upper Room represents a new model for international ministry in several key ways, according to Dale Waymack, the ministry's Nashville, Tenn.,-based Africa region coordinator. Those include "coordinating editorial, production, fulfillment and distribution components of an African publishing system on the continent and … providing a means for drawing people together throughout the continent-creating synergy-for those with similar passions."

"This project will outlast all of us," Rink said. "That's why it's really critical that the foundations we lay now will last the test of time. That means one thing: discerning the will of God."

Growing up poor
Born in 1951 in Johannesburg, Rink grew up poor. He hated being poverty, but it gave him "a sense of appreciation for whatever we had. It also taught me to be innovative. We can take whatever we've got and make something new with it just by listening to God."

Roland Rink says Africa Upper Room aims to help every African spend time with God daily.

Rink graduated from college as a telecommunications engineer but found his niche in sales. Sales is about listening to people's problems and solving them with the products you're selling, he explained.

Eventually, his work in telecommunications caused his "cup to run over," he said. He became financially independent, with all debt paid off. This independence came at a price, though, and in late 1998 Rink's doctor diagnosed him with mild depression. By 1999, the doctor told Rink to leave his job.

During the 1990s, Rink was living on two parallel roads: the workaholic, frenetic life of a salesperson and a track of growing spirituality. The second road introduced him to the Upper Room during his second Walk to Emmaus, a spiritual retreat experience. Through his lay leadership role with Walk to Emmaus, he was invited to be the African representative for the Walk to Emmaus International Steering Committee.

The committee met in Nashville, where Upper Room and its parent agency, the Board of Discipleship, are based. During his first visit in 1994, Rink discovered an "Aladdin's cave of resources" at the Upper Room that could help clergy in his country.

By the time he received his doctor's ultimatum, Rink had noticed a growing number of shelves committed to Christian literature in local stores. Knowing the resources available in Nashville, he wrote a business plan that included the contextualization and translation of those resources for the 550 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa.

His business plan sparked the interest of Upper Room staff, and discussions began in mid-2000. The Rev. Stephen Bryant, world editor and publisher of Upper Room Ministries, Waymack and others at the Upper Room had been focusing increasingly on the need to serve Africa. By 2002, Africa Upper Room was born.

Building an audience
In its first year, Africa Upper Room printed 6,000 copies of The Upper Room devotional and established translation teams in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2007, Africa Upper Room printed 146,000 copies of the devotional in Portuguese, English and Arabic. A Kiswahili radio edition will soon join French and Zulu broadcasts. The number of Upper Room books sold by Africa Upper Room in 2007 was double the previous year's sales. Additionally, 1 million copies of Prayers for Encouragement, a devotional for people suffering from HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses, have been printed and distributed through Africa Upper Room networks.

"What (these numbers) really depict is the hunger of Africans for good resources," Rink said. "It's an easy sell because it's high quality."

Africa Upper Room is also challenging the paradigm of "here come the Americans with buckets of money," he added. "We're proving that Africans can and will pay for things."

"For far too long," Waymack said, "we have operated off the assumption that people in developing countries cannot pay for magazines and books that support the spiritual life. We've been challenged by church leaders who say, 'If a person can afford a Coca-Cola, which only quenches a momentary thirst, they can afford The Upper Room, which lasts much longer.' Even if a person can only offer a fraction of what a magazine or book costs, by making a financial contribution they recognize value and worth not only for The Upper Room magazine but self-worth for themselves."

'What God planned'
Africa Upper Room has developed partnerships with ministry organizations such as Salty Print in Cape Town and Come Back Ministries in Soweto. "By generating more and more copies to print, we've actually created jobs, which is what it's all about," Rink said. Those jobs are being created with Salty Print and the team that helps market and distribute Africa Upper Room resources.

Come Back Ministries meets wide-ranging needs in the Soweto community and looks to Africa Upper Room for spiritual resources. In further partnership, Come Back Ministries is building a skills development center on the grounds of Anathoth, Africa Upper Room's base of operations.
Rink has no regrets over leaving his former lucrative career.

"I wake up every morning with a sense of prevenient grace. This is what God planned for my life before I was a twinkle in my mother's eye," he said. "I'm merely a tool in the hands of the Lord. That's how I see it."

*Rice is a freelance writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Ethnic ministries seek funds for community development

By Linda Green*

FORT WORTH, Texas. (UMNS)--The six ethnic ministries of The United Methodist Church are requesting a $12.3 million slice of the denomination's $642 million pie for the next four years.
Representatives of the plans and initiatives highlighted accomplishments and outlined plans to expand their ministries during a Jan. 26 breakfast during the church's Pre-General Conference News Briefing.

Six ethnic ministries of The United Methodist Church were discussed during a special breakfast meeting at the Pre-Conference News Briefing -- and plans were outlined to expand those ministries.

The $642 million denominational budget proposed to the 2008 General Conference, the church's top legislative body, represents a 1.2 percent annual increase, for a total increase of 4.8 percent over four years.

The $12.3 million requested by the Asian American Language Plan, the Korean American National Plan, the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century, the Native American Comprehensive Plan and the Pacific Islander Ministries would assist in developing new congregations and leadership, partnering with the poor and creating health initiatives.

"A synonym for the Great Commission may be the great initiatives," said Michigan Bishop Jonathan Keaton. Jesus' departing commandment to the disciples as outlined in Matthew 28:19-20 is the same message for The United Methodist Church today, he said.

Keaton said ethnic constituencies have had to lead the charge in making their witnesses known to the church's majority communities.

"Do we not know that strengthening and growing our ethnic constituencies can be a powerful antidote for the evangelistic recidivism that has dogged our heels for the past 40 years?" asked Keaton, chairman of the Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century Coordinating Committee.

The ethnic plans are viable, faith-filled expressions of the Great Commission, he said, and also raise cultural awareness and assist in the reduction of stereotypes and prejudices.

Reaching out
The nearly 12-year-old Asian American Language Ministry Plan reaches out to 10 different Asian American ethnic groups with 15 different languages. The plan seeks $1.6 million to develop new congregations and revitalize existing ones, recruit pastoral and lay leadership for existing realities and develop community ministries and language resources and materials, according to Judy Chung, executive secretary of Asian American and Pacific Islander Ministries for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

In the United States, some 850,000 Pacific Islanders live in 47 states, not including Hawaii. In the church's Western jurisdiction alone, there are 63 Pacific Island ministries, congregations and fellowships. According to the 2005 racial/ethnic clergy membership summary of the General Council on Finance and Administration, there are 11,378 lay members of the Pacific Island community and 113 clergy members.

Monalisa Tuitahi, executive director of the church's Pacific Islander National Caucus, said $400,000 is needed to conduct a ministry study of the needs of Pacific Island communities and to develop recommendations and priorities to meet those needs.

Immigration ministry and advocacy are among the 2009-2012 goals for the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry. The plan is requesting $3.8 million for training and equipping lay and clergy leaders, chartering 75 new churches, forming 500 new faith communities, and helping annual conferences and local churches develop strategies for Hispanic ministries. The nearly 16-year-old plan also wants to develop and implement an alternative model to education for ordained ministry for Hispanic/Latino pastors.

A video presentation highlighted the work of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century. The 12-year-old initiative is asking for $2 million to help revitalize and strengthen African-American churches by enabling strong congregations to partner with other churches seeking growth, vitality and transformation.

Strengthening the Black Church also wants to enhance the relationships of African-American churches with the denomination's central conferences--which lie outside of the United States--and congregations of African decent in Latin America, the Caribbean and North America, as well as enhance youth and young adult ministries and enter partnerships to develop new faith communities.

To help The United Methodist Church view Native Americans as partners in ministry rather than as a mission of the church, the 16-year-old Native American Comprehensive Plan seeks $1.2 million from General Conference.

The plan's goals for the next four years include assisting annual conferences in establishing Native American churches, conducting a study on evangelism in Native America, developing resources and curriculum, and providing a bureau of speakers and teachers.

The 2000 General Conference created the Korean American National Plan to strengthen Korean ministries within and outside the church. Focuses on new church starts, leadership formation and ministries for the next generation are reasons behind a request for $3.3 million.

"To honor and to know that making disciples and transforming the world includes red, yellow, black and white … moves even the most cynical among us to face the future with hope," Keaton said.

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