Delegation decries human rights violations in Philippines

A delegation from the California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference attends a service at the Cavite prison in the Philippines during a trip to learn about human rights violations in the country. UMNS photos by Laddie Perez-Galang.

A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*

Killings and abductions in the Philippines "continue without let-up," according to a United Methodist delegation from the U.S. that recently visited the country.

The visit was the second time a delegation from The United Methodist Church's California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference has traveled to the Philippines to hear about human rights violations, which have been ongoing since 2001. The conference's first visit in February 2007 led to a meeting with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in which the group advocated for a U.S. inquiry into the issue.

Eighteen delegates, including seven young adults, traveled to three regions of the country June 24-July 7. The California-Nevada Conference has sent more than $12,000 to the Philippines to support families of victims of human rights violations.

Karapatan, a human rights group in the Philippines that tracks the violations, reports that from Jan. 21, 2001, to March 31, 2008, 903 people have been victims of extrajudicial killings. The government of President Gloria Arroyo has been criticized for its inaction and for possible ties to groups carrying out the extrajudicial killings. In that same time period, 193 people have "disappeared."

"We heard from victims and survivors, human rights advocates, and a variety of persons from these militarized communities," said the Rev. Michael Yoshii, co-chairperson of the delegation and pastor of Buena Vista (Calif.) United Methodist Church. "The testimonies of the people, and what we witnessed helped us in drawing this conclusion: The impunity of human rights violations under the present administration continues without let-up."

Delegates visit Judge Ruben Reyes, a member of the denomination's Judicial Council.

The National Council on Churches in the Philippines hosted the group and took the delegation to Guihulnga, Negros Oriental; Pananuman, Abra; and Nueva Ecija. The group also met with victims and survivors at the NCCP office in Manila.

'I am them too!'
Laddie Perez-Galang, a member of South Hayward (Calif.) United Methodist Church, led the group that went to Nueva Ecija.

The group met with two brothers in Pantabanga whose parents, United Methodist lay leaders, were tortured and forced to commit suicide.

"They were given two choices: their lives or the lives of their children," she said. "They already lost one of their older sons in a massacre that happened earlier. We were informed that there were other forced suicides in that area."

Perez-Galang lived in the Philippines until 1974 and was 13 when she left with her parents. She was also part of the first delegation that visited in 2007.

"I thought I was prepared and ready to actually see with my own eyes what I was reading and hearing about what is going on in the Philippines," she said. "When we talked with the survivors and families of the victims, I felt their pain, their sorrows, their anger. I am them too!"

Victims speak out
Edith Burgos told the group her son, Jonas, was abducted and has been missing for more than a year. Jonas was an organizer among the poor farmers and fishers. The Rev. Melchor Abesamis, a student at Union Theological Seminary, was abducted, tortured and imprisoned for a litany of offenses. He was released and shared his story with the delegation for the first time in public.

Some of the delegation members visited a village recently occupied by AFP forces.

"At the village we were shown the empty bomb casings left behind after a monthlong intensive bombing raid," Yoshii said. "While there were no physical casualties as a result of the military activities, the daily bombing left the villagers in trauma, shock and disbelief that their homes could be taken over by their own military forces."

The group also visited a United Church of Christ pastor, the Rev. Berlin Guerrero, in the Cavite prison where he has been under arrest on charges of murder since May 27, 2007. He was abducted in front of his wife and three children and has been subjected to torture. Guerrero has maintained his innocence and said he has been a target of the state.

Guerrero has begun a prison ministry providing worship services and Bible studies, and he has organized a choir, Yoshii said. Mylene Guerrero, his wife, has been trying to get a visa to go to the United States for a speaking tour with Bishop Eliezar Pascua, but so far she has been unsuccessful.

"We told her that in spite of not making the trip to the U.S., her husband's case was becoming well known just through her attempt to visit," Yoshii said.

Perez-Galang said the group was told many fact-finding teams had come to the country but nothing had changed.

"They asked, 'What's the difference between them and us?'" she said. "We told them we made a commitment and a promise to the survivors, families of victims, human rights advocates and workers that we will tell their stories to our church members, our congressional leaders and representatives and everybody."

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

Judicial Council sets docket for fall meeting

The 2008-2012 Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church, including five new members, will meet Oct. 22-25 in Minneapolis to consider a 13-item docket.A UMNS file photo by Neill Caldwell.

A UMNS Report
By Neill Caldwell*

The United Methodist Church's Judicial Council will include five new faces when it convenes Oct. 22-25 in Minneapolis.

The meeting will be the first of the new quadrennium for the denomination's "supreme court." Issues covered on the 13-item docket include the ban on United Methodist clergy from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies, questions relating to who is eligible for membership in the local church, and the creation of a U.S. regional conference, which was part of the debate at the recent General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

New members are the Revs. Belton Joyner of the North Carolina Conference, Kathi Austin-Mahle of Minnesota, and Bill Lawrence of North Texas, along with lay members Angela Brown of California-Nevada and Ruben Reyes of the Philippines.

The four returning members of the council are the Rev. Susan Henry Crowe, the first woman president of the Judicial Council, the Rev. Dennis Blackwell, and laypersons Jon Gray and Beth Capen. The council has nine members, lay and clergy, who are elected every four years by General Conference, the church's legislative body.

The same-sex marriage item follows a string of actions over the course of the summer. After the state of California approved same-sex ceremonies, a group of retired clergy in the United Methodist California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference offered to perform such unions in spite of the denomination's disciplinary prohibition on leading same-sex weddings or similar ceremonies celebrating homosexual relationships.

In June, the California-Nevada Conference approved a resolution commending those retired clergy, but following a request for a decision of law, Bishop Beverly J. Shamana issued a ruling declaring the statement "void and of no effect." All bishops' decisions of law are automatically reviewed by the Judicial Council.

The United Methodist Church, while affirming all people as persons "of sacred worth," considers the practice of homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching." Its Book of Discipline prohibits pastors from conducting such union ceremonies, and those denominational standards were again affirmed by the 2008 General Conference.

Questions on inclusiveness
The Alaska Missionary Conference is asking whether Paragraphs 214 and 225 in the Book of Discipline are constitutional under Paragraph 4, Article IV, of the church's Constitution. Paragraph 4 states the inclusiveness of the church includes all persons; Paragraph 214 deals with the eligibility of members, saying that "all people may attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments and become members of any local church in the connection." Paragraph 225 deals with transferring into The United Methodist Church from another denomination.

In Decision 1032, issued in 2005, the Judicial Council ruled that "Paragraphs 214 and 225 are permissive and do not mandate receipt into membership of all persons regardless of their willingness to affirm membership vows." The pastor-in-charge of a local church has the power to determine "a person's readiness to receive the vows of membership," the council said in Decision 1032.

Another item with far-reaching implications comes directly from the floor of the 2008 General Conference and is related to the creation of a "regional conference" for the church in the United States.

During General Conference, delegates passed nearly two dozen amendments to the Constitution of the church that would allow for creation of such a U.S. regional conference. The amendments were proposed to make the denomination's structure more international and would combine the church's five U.S. jurisdictions into a regional body, similar to the church's non-U.S. central conferences. This action would separate business that relates only to the United States away from General Conference.

The item before the Judicial Council deals with a specific petition that would change language in Paragraph 10, Article III, of the church's Constitution from "central" conferences to "regional" conferences.

One other item sent to the council at the end of General Conference referred to the meaning of Paragraph 602 of the 2004 Book of Discipline as it relates to the new Paragraph 320.6, which outlines the status of retired local pastors.

Paragraph 602 relates to clergy membership within an annual conference, while the newly passed Paragraph 320.6 would let local pastors who have completed the Course of Study choose whether to be listed as local pastor or laity upon their retirement.

Another item related to General Conference is a request from the Kansas East Annual Conference on Paragraph 507.2 of the Book of Discipline, with regard to the scope of petitions presented to General Conference. Paragraph 507.2 states that each petition must address only one issue or one paragraph of the Discipline unless two paragraphs are so closely related that a change in one affects the other.

Other docket items
Other items on the docket include:
.A review of a decision of law by Bishop Marcus Matthews of the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference regarding the mandatory appointment of a clergy member after a trial court decision declaring the clergy member not guilty of the alleged offenses.
.A request from the California-Pacific Conference related to previous Judicial Council Decision 799 on the authority of the board of ordained ministry or its executive committee to overturn a ruling on a question of law by the chairperson of the board. Ruling 799 does mention separation of powers, but primarily states that questions of law presented to a bishop must pertain to the business being conducted by the annual conference.
.A request from California-Pacific Annual Conference for a ruling on Paragraph 327.6 of the Book of Discipline, which deals with requests of discontinuance from probationary membership.
.A request from the West Ohio Conference for a decision regarding Paragraph 405.2c, adopted by the 2008 General Conference, concerning the relationship between the Interjurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy and General Conference. The paragraph deals with the formula for determining the number of bishops in a jurisdiction.
.A review of decisions by Bishop Edward Paup of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference regarding the consultation process in the appointment of pastors.
.A request from the Western North Carolina Annual Conference to rule on whether or not Paragraph 1117.9 of the Book of Discipline as amended by the 2008 General Conference contravenes Restrictive Rule 1 of The United Methodist Church regarding Article XVIII of the Articles of Religion. Paragraph 1117.9 deals with training laity to take communion elements to sick and homebound with a language change from "following a service of Word and Table" to "as approved by the pastor."
.A review of a decision of law by Bishop John Schol of the Baltimore-Washington Conference on the right of the annual conference to amend the nominations to the board of ordained ministry.
.A review of determination by Bishop John Hopkins of the East Ohio Conference that a motion to refer a matter to the Judicial Council was not a request for a decision of law.

The deadline for submitting briefs to the Judicial Council is Aug. 22. Thirteen copies of each brief should be submitted, signed by the person submitting the brief. Rev. Joyner is the secretary of the Judicial Council. For information, e-mail judicialcouncil@umc.org.

*Caldwell is editor of the Virginia United Methodist Advocate and covers the Judicial Council for United Methodist News Service.

Candler embraces new faculty, old roots

Candler School of Theology at Emory University is a United Methodist-related seminary in Atlanta. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.

A UMNS Report
By Jennifer Lind*

Candler School of Theology is strengthening its ties with The United Methodist Church by welcoming seven new faculty members, six of whom are United Methodist.

Jan Love

The hiring is part of strategic plans adopted by both Candler and Emory University in Atlanta "to ensure that the university draws on its United Methodist heritage," according to Jan Love, dean of the theology school.

"Emory University is owned by the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church," Love told United Methodist News Service. "… The university has always been close to The United Methodist Church."

The six new United Methodist faculty members have diverse backgrounds in scholarship and ministry.

Ruediger Minor

Retired Bishop Ruediger Minor of Dresden, Germany, will serve for two years as the Daniel and Lillian Hankey Chair of World Evangelism. This position complements the Arthur J. Moore Chair in Evangelism at the school.

Minor will teach courses in evangelism, lead a contextual education group, and work closely with the World Methodist Evangelism Institute, a cooperative ministry of Candler and the World Methodist Council that trains evangelism leaders.

"The nomination for the Hankey Chair of World Evangelism came to me as a complete surprise and a great honor and challenge," said Minor, who helped re-establish the denomination's presence in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

"From my background and experience as bishop in Germany and Russia, I see world evangelism as a challenge to the ecumenical community. Therefore, I will pursue dialogue with concepts of evangelization in other confessional families, especially Catholicism and Orthodoxy. While methodology is certainly of importance, I see the major task in a joint effort to formulate the Good News - the 'evangel' - as a healing word for a hurting world."

Love views Minor's commitment to ecumenism as a vital part of Candler's celebration of the Wesleyan tradition. "You can't be a follower of John Wesley without being ecumenical," she said, referring to Methodism's founder. "It's just part of our DNA."

Minor led United Methodists in former East Germany during the Cold War. He graduated with a doctorate in theology from Karl Marx University (now the University of Leipzig) and has taught at the United Methodist Theological Seminary in Bad Klosterlausnitz. Minor has also taught at the United Methodist Theological Seminary in Moscow. He was elected bishop and assigned to lead the East German Central Conference in 1986 and retired from the Eurasia Area in 2005.

Theological perspective
Ellen Ott Marshall joins the faculty as associate professor of Christian ethics and conflict transformation. She will teach Christian ethics and advanced electives and participate in Candler's contextual education program.

Love said Marshall "brings a powerful theological perspective to issues of conflict and peace building and right relations between people, and all those things that we imagine in the biblical vision of shalom."

She pointed out that Candler needs "…greater training on how to navigate the conflicts that every church encounters and how to treat each other more like sisters and brothers in Christ. … Many churches and many denominations feel like a war zone sometimes."

Marshall, who has a doctorate in religion, ethics and society from Vanderbilt University, has served as associate professor of religion at United Methodist-related Claremont (Calif.) School of Theology since 2002. She also has worked with the refugee resettlement programs of the Church World Service and has been involved in the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

She has authored Christians in the Public Square: Faith that Transforms Politics (Abington Press 2008), Choosing Peace through Daily Practices (Pilgrim Press 2005) and Though the Fig Tree Does Not Blossom: Toward a Responsible Theology of Christian Hope (Abingdon Press 2006).

The Rev. Anne Burkholder has been named associate dean of Methodist studies, a new position designed to coordinate curricular and non-curricular programming for students interested in being ordained in The United Methodist Church and other Wesleyan denominations.
Burkholder, who holds a doctorate in ethics and society from Emory University, will also supervise the United Methodist Course of Study and manage relations between Candler and the denomination's annual (regional) conferences.

She most recently served as the director of connectional ministries and as a district superintendent in the United Methodist Florida Conference, and she has helped redevelop congregations in Florida and North Carolina. She previously was executive director of Miami Urban Ministries, overseeing the development of faith-based social service ministries, including Head Start, a program for Haitian children, and has taught at Duke Divinity School.

Additional faculty members
The Rev. Don Harp will serve one year as pastor-theologian in residence, a new position created to provide guidance to seminary students. He has served the denomination's North Georgia Conference for more than 40 years and helped increase the congregation at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church to some 6,900 members. Harp earned a master of divinity degree from Candler and a doctorate of divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary at the University of Chicago.

The Rev. L. Edward Phillips has been named associate professor of worship and liturgical theology. Most recently an associate professor of practice of Christian worship at Duke Divinity School, he taught at Union College and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He earned a doctorate in the history of liturgy from the University of Notre Dame.

The Rev. Robert "Bob" Winstead joins the faculty as director of lifelong learning, a position created to support the college's initiative to broaden and deepen programs of lifelong learning. Formerly the senior pastor at Haygood Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta, he also is an author and church educator. He holds a master of divinity degree from Candler and a doctorate in ministry from McCormick.

*Lind is an intern at the United Methodist News Service. She is a senior religious studies major at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

United Methodists in Africa elect first female bishop

The Rev. Joaquina Nhanala of Mozambique is the first woman elected as a United Methodist bishop in Africa. A UMNS file photograph by Bill Kreamer.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

The Rev. Joaquina Filipe Nhanala was elected July 23 as the first female United Methodist bishop in Africa.

Nhanala, 51, the pastor of Matola United Methodist Church in Mozambique, was elected during the July 22-24 meeting of the denomination's Africa Central Conference at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Effective Sept. 1, she will succeed Bishop João Somane Machado, who is retiring as the leader of the Mozambique area.

In another election during the conference, Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa was re-elected to lead the denomination's Zimbabwe area. The Africa Central Conference includes the denomination's Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola episcopal areas, the South Africa Provisional Conference, the Malawi Missionary Conference, and the East Africa Episcopal Area of Uganda, Southern Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi.

Nhiwatiwa was first elected to the episcopacy in 2004 and has served as general secretary of the Africa Central Conference since 2000. He previously was a faculty member of the theology school at Africa University. His re-election means that he is now a bishop for life.

Besides serving a large church in Matola, a suburb of Maputo, Nhanala has coordinated women's projects for the Mozambique church and led a World Relief HIV/AIDS program designed to mobilize churches for education and advocacy in Mozambique's three southern provinces. Nhanala and the program were featured in the 2004 Bread for the World video, "Keep the Promise on Hunger and Health."

Among those celebrating her election were members of the denomination's Missouri Annual (regional) Conference and its Mozambique Initiative ministry, which connects churches, groups and individuals in Missouri with partner United Methodist congregations and districts in Mozambique to strengthen the church there.

"We in the Missouri Conference have had a long relationship with Rev. Joaquina Nhanala, providing assistance for her to attend the clergywomen's event in California several years ago, working together in workshops around women's issues in Mozambique, and as a pastor of a covenant partner church, Matola UMC in Mozambique," said Carol Kreamer, coordinator for the Mozambique Initiative.

Nhanala is the only female United Methodist pastor in Mozambique holding a master's degree in theology, she noted.

The new bishop also facilitated the Mozambique Initiative's consultation with 200 participants in Maputo in 2003. "Bishop Nhanala is capable, bright and dedicated and we look forward to collaborating in mission and ministry together," Kreamer added.

Catholic and Methodist roots
Nhanala is married to another United Methodist pastor, the Rev. Eugenio Tomas, and they have four adult children.

Although she was baptized and confirmed as a Catholic - her father's religion - Nhanala also attended her mother's Methodist church. Drawn to the youth programs, she became active in the Methodist church as a teen-ager. She and her husband, who married in 1976, were both accepted for theological studies at the 1985 Mozambique Annual Conference and received sponsorship from the Women's Fellowship.

They attended Gbarnga School of Theology in Liberia and Nhanala was ordained a deacon in 1989. When the civil war in Liberia disrupted the couple's studies, they moved to Ghana, where she completed her diploma in theology at Trinity College. The family then moved to Kenya, where she attended Limuru University and received a bachelor of divinity degree in 1995.

In 1998, she graduated from Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology with a master's degree in Bible studies and theology and also served as a teacher and dean of students there. She speaks five native languages, as well as Portuguese and English.

A growing area
According to the Mozambique Initiative, The United Methodist Church has tripled in size in Mozambique in the last 13 years, with some 150,000 members in more than 170 congregations of the 23 districts. As bishop, Nhanala also will oversee 29 schools, a theological school, agricultural programs, Chicuque Rural Hospital, two clinics, a seminary and four Bible schools.

The denomination's three central conferences in Africa are comparable to the five U.S.
jurisdictional conferences, which met during the week of July 14 to elect eight new U.S. bishops. The Congo Central Conference will meet in August and the West Africa Central Conference will meet in December.

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

Assignment of Bishops across the five Jurisdictions of the United Methodist Church

South Central Jurisdiction

Newly elected bishops in the South Central Jurisdiction are:

Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe, who succeeds Bishop Alfred L. Norris in the North Texas Annual Conference. Norris, who retired in 2004, re-entered active service following the 2006 death of Bishop Rhymes Moncure Jr. A new bishop, Bledsoe was superintendent of the Bryan/West District in the Texas Conference.

Bishop James E. “Jim” Dorff, San Antonio Area (Rio Grande and Southwest Texas conferences). A new bishop, he was area provost of the North Texas Conference. He succeeds Bishop Joel Martinez, who is retiring.

Bishop John Michael Lowry, who succeeds retiring Bishop Ben R. Chamness in the Fort Worth Area (Central Texas Conference). Lowry was executive director of new church development and transformation of the Southwest Texas Conference.

Bishops returning to their geographical assignments are:
Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr., Oklahoma Area (Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary conferences).
Bishop Charles N. Crutchfield, Arkansas Area (Arkansas Conference).
Bishop Scott Jones, Kansas Area (Kansas East and Kansas West conferences).
Bishop William W. Hutchinson, Louisiana Area (Louisiana Conference).
Bishop Robert C. Schnase, Missouri Area (Missouri Conference).
Bishop Ann B. Sherer, Nebraska Area (Nebraska Conference).
Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, Houston Area (Texas Conference).
Bishop D. Max Whitfield, Northwest Texas-New Mexico Area (Northwest Texas and New Mexico conferences).

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Bishop Paul L. Leeland, the new Southeastern bishop, was assigned to the Alabama-West Florida Area (Alabama-West Florida Conference) for the next four years. He has been serving as assistant to the bishop in the Raleigh (N.C.) Area. Leeland succeeds Bishop Larry M. Goodpaster, who is moving to the Charlotte Area (Western North Carolina) from Alabama-West Florida.

Three other active Southeastern bishops who have served in their current locations for at least four years have received new assignments. They are:
Bishop Lindsey Davis, Louisville Area (Kentucky and Red Bird Missionary conferences). He is moving from North Georgia.
Bishop James R. King Jr., South Georgia Area (South Georgia Conference); moving from the Louisville Area.
Bishop B. Michael Watson, North Georgia Area (North Georgia Conference); moving from South Georgia.

Eight bishops will return to their areas:
Bishop Alfred Wesley Gwinn Jr., Raleigh Area (North Carolina Conference).
Bishop Charlene Payne Kammerer, Richmond Area (Virginia Conference).
Bishop James E. Swanson Sr., Holston Area (Holston Conference).
Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor, Columbia Area (South Carolina Conference).
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, Mississippi Area (Mississippi Conference).
Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker, Florida Area (Florida Conference).
Bishop William Willimon, Birmingham Area (North Alabama).
Bishop Richard Wills Jr., Nashville Area (Memphis and Tennessee conferences).

North Central Jurisdiction

United Methodists in the North Central Jurisdiction, meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich., elected Julius Calvin Trimble as a new bishop.

Bishop Trimble was assigned to the denomination’s Iowa Area for the next four years. Trimble was elected to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher.

Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, president of the Council of Bishops, will move to the Illinois Area, where Christopher was leading the church’s Illinois Great Rivers Conference. Palmer has been serving the Iowa Area (Iowa Conference).

The North Central College of Bishops requested that Bishop Bruce R. Ough remain in the Ohio West Area (West Ohio Conference), where he has already served two terms.

The seven other active North Central bishops are being reassigned for second terms in their areas:
Bishop Michael J. Coyner, Indiana Area (North and South Indiana conferences).
Bishop Sally Dyck, Minnesota Area (Minnesota Conference).
Bishop John L. Hopkins, Ohio East Area (East Ohio Conference).
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, Chicago Area (Northern Illinois Conference).
Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton, Michigan Area (Detroit and West Michigan conferences).
Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey, Dakota Area (Dakotas Conference).
Bishop Linda Lee, Wisconsin Area (Wisconsin Conference).

Northeastern Jurisdiction

Meeting in Harrisburg, Pa., United Methodists in the Northeastern Jurisdiction elected Peggy Johnson bishop. Johnson has been serving as pastor of Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf in Baltimore. She was assigned to the Philadelphia Area, comprising the Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula-Delaware conferences

Because of an earlier vote to redraw conference boundaries, two episcopal areas – New York West and Albany (N.Y.) – will be changed in 2010, becoming part of a new Upper New York Area.

Bishop Marcus Matthews, who has led the Philadelphia Area, has been assigned to the New York West Area, covering the North Central New York and Western New York conferences. The jurisdiction’s college of bishops is requesting the United Methodist Council of Bishops appoint retired Bishop Susan Hassinger to the Albany Area, according to Bishop John Schol. She has served there since the early retirement of Bishop Susan Morrison in 2006.

Seven other Northeastern bishops were assigned for second terms to their areas:
Bishop Peter Weaver, Boston Area (New England Conference).
Bishop Jane Allen Middleton, Harrisburg Area (Central Pennsylvania Conference).
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, New Jersey Area (Greater New Jersey Conference).
Bishop Jeremiah J. Park, New York Area (New York Conference).
Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton, Pittsburgh Area (Western Pennsylvania Conference).
Bishop John Schol, Washington Area (Baltimore-Washington Conference).
Bishop Ernest Lyght, West Virginia Area (West Virginia Conference).

Western Jurisdiction

In Portland, Ore., delegates to the Western Jurisdictional Conference elected Grant Hagiya and Elaine J.W. Stanovsky as bishops.

Hagiya was appointed to lead the Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Conference and the Alaska Missionary Conference. A former district superintendent in Los Angeles, he is most recently executive director of Leadership Development and the Center of Leadership Excellence, a joint project of the church’s California-Pacific Annual Conference and the Claremont School of Theology.

Stanovsky is being sent from Seattle, where she has been a district superintendent, to the Denver Area, where she will oversee the Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone conferences.

Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr., who has served the Denver Area for eight years, is returning to the San Francisco Area (California-Nevada Conference), where he served for 20 years as a pastor, district superintendent and conference council director.

Bishops returning to their current areas for second terms are:
Bishop Minerva Carcaño, Phoenix Area (Desert Southwest Conference).
Bishop Robert Hoshibata, Portland Area (Oregon-Idaho Conference).
Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, Los Angeles Area (California-Pacific Conference).

New bishop brings language of the deaf to United Methodists

The Rev. Peggy Johnson, elected July 17 elected a bishop of The United Methodist Church, has spent most of her 30 years of ministry working with the deaf community. A UMNS photo by Norine Rowe.

By Linda Bloom*

HARRISBURG, Pa. (UMNS)-When the Rev. Peggy Johnson of Baltimore was brought to the stage after being elected a United Methodist bishop, she made sure she spoke in two languages.

"I would like to sign this," she told delegates in both English and American Sign Language at the denomination's Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, "because there are two young people here who are deaf, and I would like them to think that a bishop can talk to them in their language."

Johnson - who was elected July 17 and takes office Sept. 1 - has dedicated much of her nearly 30 years of ministry to work with the deaf.

As he introduced her, Bishop John Schol of Washington, who leads the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference, alluded to the impact that passion could have. "In the coming years, we, as United Methodists, will learn a whole new vocabulary," he said.

Working with the deaf
Johnson, 54, said later in a press conference that she "always had an affinity with the disabled community" because she was born with one eye and has an artificial eye.

She had planned for a career in music education, but suffered a personal crisis after losing her singing voice. She was so impressed when she saw a deaf choir perform for the first time that she signed up for the first of many sign-language classes, even though she is not deaf.

After graduating in 1980 from Asbury Theological Seminary - where she met her husband, the Rev. Michael Johnson - she returned to Baltimore. When an opening at Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf came up eight years later, she took the opportunity.

Besides leading the day-to-day operations at Christ Church, with a staff of four, Johnson has coordinated the Baltimore-Washington Conference's deaf ministry for the past 20 years and has supported a deaf ministry program in Zimbabwe since 2000. She also worked for four years as a deaf ministry consultant for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Johnson founded and directed deaf children's camps, a deaf-blind camp and young adult deaf camps, led the Global United Methodist Conference of the Deaf in 2005 and taught about deaf culture at Wesley Theological Seminary for 11 years.

Her personal theology of inclusion and empowerment of the disabled also has led to hands-on ministry at state institutions, including the prison, deaf school, mental health facility and developmentally disabled group homes. She directs a traveling sign language choir that has performed more than 400 times around the United Methodist connection during the past 20 years.

Advocating on HIV/AIDS
When the HIV/AIDS epidemic hit the deaf population in the late 1980s, Johnson began advocating for that issue as well, eventually convincing the state of Maryland to set up HIV/AIDS education programs for the deaf. "Our church went out on the road, in tandem with the state of Maryland, to teach deaf people about HIV/AIDS," she said.

For her efforts, she received the "HIV/AIDS Activist Award" from the Family Service Foundation of Baltimore in 2004 and the "Helping Hand Award" from the Maryland Association of the Deaf in 1991 and 2005. She currently serves on the mental health task force of the Governor's Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Johnson, the mother of two grown sons, has family roots in the church as deep as her roots in Baltimore. She represents the Evangelical United Brethren side of the merger with the Methodist Church that created The United Methodist Church 40 years ago. Johnson said her maternal great-grandfather helped built Third Church EUB in Baltimore, and each of his 10 children helped establish new churches in other parts of what was then Baltimore County.

On her father's side, her grandfather, born in 1875 in England, was part of the original Salvation Army, working with founder William Booth, a former Methodist minister.

Johnson herself was baptized, confirmed and married in Lansdowne United Methodist Church, a suburban Baltimore congregation. She and her husband were co-pastors at Lansdowne from 1985 to 1993 and he again is its pastor, just starting his eighth year there.

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

Distance learning makes education more available worldwide

A UMNS Report
By Vicki Brown*

Online classes for local pastors in the United States, theology classes in Europe, and a master's in business program in Mozambique are under way or will be by September.

Partnerships formed by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry with other agencies, annual conferences, seminaries and Methodist educational institutions around the world are now bearing fruit, said the Rev. Mary Ann Moman, staff executive in the board's Division of Ordained Ministry in Nashville.

"All these efforts mean more educational opportunities in Europe, Africa and even in the United States," Moman said. "We are using technology to fulfill the mission of The United Methodist Church to prepare a new generation of Christian leaders for the church and the world, not just the church in the United States."

Students registered July 12 for the first distance-learning classes offered by Africa University's first satellite campus in Maputo, Mozambique. Classes for candidates to become licensed local pastors in the United States go online Aug. 1, a joint project of the board and United Methodist Communications. And 15 students are enrolled for the first semester of the Methodist e-Academy in Europe, which starts in September.

"Distance education is one piece of our efforts to increase access to Christian education around the world. We are taking classrooms to the places where people are desperately in need of education," said the Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, top staff executive of the board. "All of these new programs-online Course of Study, the Methodist e-Academy, and the distance learning projects in Africa, Europe and the U.S.-required partnerships that reflect a new commitment of United Methodists to work together.

"The project in Mozambique, for instance, highlights how the Methodist Global Education Fund for Leadership Development can pull together resources from many places to educate a new generation of Christian leaders," Del Pino said.

"This developing capacity will provide educational opportunities across the global connection of The United Methodist Church in a way never before possible," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, top staff executive of United Methodist Communications in Nashville. "What was only a dream a few years ago is taking concrete form. This is an exciting beginning, and more is yet to come."

Classes in Europe
David N. Field, coordinator of the Methodist e-Academy, said as of early July, 15 students were enrolled from Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, France and Hungary.

"We are expecting more enrollments in the next month. The courses will be offered in English and German," he said. The course material is being developed by a team from various European countries, plus one American.

Classes are being offered in Methodist history, doctrine, ethics, and ecclesiology. Theological education is available in Europe, but much of that is at state-run colleges and universities, so it does not include classes related to Methodist history, doctrine and polity, Moman said.
Field said the classes in Europe will make use of video lectures being produced by Wesley Theological Seminary. The U.S. seminary worked with representatives of the United Methodist Theological Schools in Europe to videotape lectures for the classes.

Field said there are no plans right now to develop videos in Europe, although the possibility of some form of video conferencing is being explored. Online discussions by means of a discussion board are an integral part of the program.

Field said the two major challenges have proved to be fundraising and publicity.

"At this stage we have raised substantial funds, but we still require more as most of our students come from Eastern European countries and do not have the resources to pay even relatively modest fees," Field said. "We are presently looking at creative new ways to address this problem."

Beaming from Africa University
In Africa, the Mozambique Distance Learning Project is housed in the offices of the Mozambique Annual Conference. The classroom has 20 new computers, with plans for future expansion. Classes from Africa University will be beamed to the Maputo site via VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal), a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna.

The project is a collaborative effort with the Methodist University of São Paulo, Brazil, and the Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Funding comes from the Methodist Global Education Fund for Leadership Development.

The first degree program being offered is an executive MBA in the faculty of management and administration. Seven applicants have been accepted to the program for the first classes. The program coordinator is Gabrielle Clemente, who was in Maputo on July 12 with a team from Africa University for student registration and orientation. Once the program is under way with this first class, Clemente will begin intensive student recruitment.

Stronger Course of Study
The classes are a huge undertaking that "moves beyond the classical theological education done in a school," said the Rev. Robert Kohler, a staff executive at the board. "Classes will be far more widely available, and anybody anywhere in the world can sign up and take a class if they know the language."

Kohler said the online Course of Study offerings are eventually expected to replace the correspondence course that local pastors take now, and a distance-education component can be added to every class offered at a Course of Study school.

"Online courses and other distance-education opportunities will strengthen the entire Course of Study program by providing an educational environment that will significantly change the learning process," he said.

With the correspondence course, the students complete all the work and mail it in, while the online classes will allow professors to give feedback as course work is completed, said Cheryl A. Hemmerle, a technical training specialist for United Methodist Communications. She said registration will still be handled by the Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Hemmerle said there are also future plans for online discussions groups among Course of Study students.

In 2007, 121 people applied for the five-year Basic Course of Study correspondence program. The classes can also be taken on campus at regional Course of Study schools at eight United Methodist seminaries or at 15 extension Course of Study schools.

For more information about the Course of Study, contact Lynn Daye at ldaye@gbhem.org or (615) 340-7416, or visit www.gbhem.org. To view the Course of Study online pages, visit moodle.courseofstudy.org.

*Brown is associate editor and writer, Office of Interpretation, with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Young Adult 'Discernment Event' Planned to Assist Laity in Finding God’s Will for Their Lives, Oct. 31 – Nov. 2, 2008

To “discern” means to recognize or identify. United Methodist laity—women and men—seeking to discern God’s will for their lives will have that opportunity in late October, 2008.

A Young Adult Discernment Event, open to United Methodist persons aged 20-30 living in the United States, will take place in New York City, October 31-November 2, 2008.

The purpose of this Discernment Event is to provide a space for young adults (ages 20-30) to explore options for service beyond the local congregation, discover the connection between justice and faith, and to provide a space to discern where it is that God is calling them in their lives.

Space is limited for the event and the deadline for application is September 15, 2008. All reasonable costs, including travel within the US, lodging, and meals, will be covered by the event sponsors -- the Office of Deaconess and Home Missioner and the Youth and Young Adult Program Office of the General Board of Global Ministries, the mission agency of The United Methodist Church.

The discernment event will include Bible study, worship, conversation, reflection, and information on the deaconess and home missioner relationship, US-2 and Mission Intern Programs.

Applicants will be notified if they are accepted by October 1, 2008.

Deaconesses, who are laywomen, and Home Missioners, who are laymen, are called by God to a full-time vocation in service with those who are marginalized and in need in the world today. This community of laity has responded to the call of God in their lives and has been commissioned by The United Methodist Church to full-time ministries of love, justice, and service.

The Office of Deaconess was established in 1888 by the Methodist Episcopal Church and provides laywomen the opportunity to serve in a life-time lay relationship in servant ministry. The Office of Home Missioner was established at the 2004 United Methodist General Conference providing laymen with an opportunity to serve in a life-time relationship to the Church. This is the first opportunity for laymen to be in an official life-time relationship in ministry since the termination of Diaconal Minister by the 1996 General Conference.

The Youth and Young Adult Program Office offers three opportunities where young adults are able to develop leadership skills by engaging in mission service and social justice work. The US-2 program, a two year program, and the Summer Intern program, a ten week program, offer service opportunities within the United States. The Mission Intern program is a three year program where half the time is spent serving abroad and the other half is spent serving within the United States. Young Adults have served as community developers, educators, advocates, and direct service coordinators at churches, college campuses, non-profit agencies and advocacy organizations.

For more information on the October event, future events, or to express interest in deaconess home missioner relationship contact Becky Louter at blouter@gbgm-umc.org or 212-870-3850 or the US-2, Mission Intern or Summer Intern programs contact Alycia Capone at youngadults@gbgm-umc.org.

The General Board of Discipleship
United Methodist Church

Paul Leeland elected a bishop of The United Methodist Church

By Neill Caldwell

Paul Leeland

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (UMNS)-The Rev. Paul Leeland of the North Carolina Annual (regional) Conference has been elected a bishop by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church.

He becomes the first bishop elected in the 2008 jurisdictional conferences, which are being held this week in five regions of the United States.

Leeland, 59, who serves as assistant to the bishop of the Raleigh (N.C.) Episcopal Area and director of ministerial relations in the North Carolina Conference, was elected on a ballot taken at 9:20 p.m. on July 16. The result was read at the start of the opening session July 17. He will fill the vacancy created in the denomination's jurisdictional college of bishops by the retirement of Bishop J. Lawrence McCleskey in the Western North Carolina Conference of the Southeastern Jurisdiction. That is the only opening in the Southeastern Jurisdiction this year.

Leeland will become one of 13 active bishops serving the episcopal areas of the 15 annual conferences that make up the Southeastern Jurisdiction.

A consecration service for the new bishop will be held at 10:30 a.m. July 19 in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska.

An episcopal assignment committee is considering where Leeland and other active bishops will serve for the next four years. Their assignments will be effective Sept. 1.

Endorsed by the North Carolina Conference, Leeland was elected on the sixth ballot, receiving 298 of 498 votes cast. He is a former district superintendent and has a doctorate in education from North Carolina State University and master's degrees in theology and divinity from Duke Divinity School.

While the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference is occurring, four other United Methodist jurisdictional conferences are meeting to elect five other bishops.

A United Methodist bishop in the United States is elected for life and, although eight years is the standard term for a bishop to serve in an episcopal area, it is not unusual for a bishop to be assigned to one area for 12 years for "missional reasons."

Bishops are charged by the church's Book of Discipline to "lead and oversee the spiritual and temporal affairs" of the church and to "guard, transmit, teach and proclaim, corporately and individually, the apostolic faith as it is expressed in Scripture and tradition, and, as they are led and endowed by the Spirit, to interpret that faith evangelically and prophetically."

A jurisdictional conference has the following power and duties: "

.To promote the evangelistic, educational, missionary and benevolent interests of the church and to provide for interests and institutions within their boundaries.
."To elect bishops. "
.To establish and constitute jurisdictional conference boards as auxiliaries to the general boards of the church.
."To determine the boundaries of annual conferences. "

.To make rules and regulations for the administration of the church's work within the jurisdiction. "

.To appoint a committee on appeals.

The United Methodist Church was created in 1968 by a merger of the Evangelical United Brethren and Methodist churches. Methodists elected their bishops at one national gathering until 1940, when the jurisdictional system was instituted. Bishops in the EUB church were elected at one national gathering until 1968.

* Caldwell is editor of the Virginia Advocate, the newspaper of the United Methodist Church's Virginia Annual (regional) Conference. He is directing the Daily Christian Advocate for the 2008 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference.

Magdalena House offers new start for abused women

Anide Joseph studies for a college course while living at Magdalena House, a transitional home for abused women in San Antonio. UMNS photos by Stephanie Kovac.

By Stephanie Kovac*

SAN ANTONIO (UMNS) Denise Barker knows firsthand that dreams do come true.

Her dream, seven years in the making, was realized in March 2007, and now she is trying to help other abused women realize their own dreams.

"I know what it means to not feel good about yourself, and to not feel worthy, and to not feel that you have anything to offer," Barker says. "I didn’t think that any woman should ever feel that way."

Barker, who herself was raped in high school, has long felt compelled to help women who have had similar experiences. For four years, she worked at the Visitation House, a shelter for battered women, offering spiritual transformation. But she longed to do more.

"I really felt like you had to be involved in a woman’s life every day in order to make a transformation, to be able to change that person’s life," she says.

Last year, Barker opened the Magdalena House, a transitional home for women intent on changing their lives. Christened in part after Mary Magdalene, the name Magdalena also reflects the city’s Hispanic culture.

"Mary Magdalene seems like a character or a woman (for whom) Jesus truly transformed her life," Barker says. "I think it’s a perfect image for a woman wanting to be transformed by the power of God’s love and grace."

Learning self-sufficiency
An associate pastor at University United Methodist Church, Barker found more than 300 volunteers to help her construct the four-bedroom home on a sprawling, five-acre wooded lot. The land was leased to the church for $1 a year. All the furniture was donated.

The Rev. Denise Barker, herself a victim of abuse, opened the home last year with the help of 300 volunteers.

What sets the home apart from a traditional shelter is its emphasis on education. A woman cannot live at the Magdalena House unless she attends classes five days a week at a local community college or area high school. The objective: to leave the house self-sufficient."We know that through education, a person can become empowered," Barker says.

"We know that the true power comes from God, but we believe that through education, a woman’s opportunities open up to her."

A case in point is Anide Joseph, 28. She and her two sons, ages 8 and 2, were the first residents.

"When I came here, my self-esteem was really low, my kids' self-esteem was really low," Joseph recalls. "We weren't as happy as we are now, just moving here, being able to get a sense of peace, and not (being) in the same situation anymore."

A victim of domestic violence, she fled a life of extreme poverty and a culture of male dominance in the Caribbean. But once in the United States, she was exposed to more of the same. Before arriving at the Magdalena House, Joseph never even dreamed of college. Now in her second semester, she aspires to be a dental hygienist or radiologist.

"One day I could just be able to provide for my kids, and have a better job, better career. That way I wouldn’t have to worry or depend on no man like I used to depend on my husband."

Transformational place
For Barker, the transformation in this young woman has been amazing.

"We've seen a woman who was physically detached, emotionally detached from her boys, now sings to her boys, reads them stories at night, hugs them, loves on them, plays chess with them on the weekends, takes them to karate, is engaged, fully engaged, we think, emotionally, with her children. And that may be the greatest victory."

The Magdalena House offers three families safe refuge for two to three years, and is staffed by volunteers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition to housing, residents have access to many other services, including counseling, tutoring, parenting and finance classes, and spiritual transformation.

Barker has long-range plans to build four more houses on the same property in the hopes of one day housing 15 families. For now, she sees Magdalena as a gift from God, a house of hope and healing.

"I think it's a success when you can see the lives of an individual family change because you've not only helped that mother, you've helped those children, and those children's children, and those children's grandchildren, and so on and so on," Barker says with a proud smile. "You have broken generations of violence."

*Kovac is a freelance producer in McKinney, Texas.

Moore will set a first as seminary dean

A UMNS Report
By Jennifer Lind*

Mary Elizabeth Moore

The Rev. Mary Elizabeth Moore will become the first deacon to lead a United Methodist seminary when she joins the Boston University School of Theology, effective Jan. 1.

Deacons have always been eligible for the office of dean in the church’s seminaries. However, Moore is the first to be named to that position, according to the Rev. Anita Wood, director of professional ministry and development at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tenn. Two laywomen are currently deans of United Methodist seminaries, but most deans are ordained elders.

Moore is professor of religion and education at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and she directs its Women and Theology in Ministry program. Boston University Provost David Campbell announced her appointment July 8.

“Having Mary Elizabeth Moore as a dean will be a visible witness to the Order of Deacon,” Wood told United Methodist News Service.

“She has always been a role model for those deacons called to the teaching ministry, but her visibility and presence in this position will mean that the perspectives of deacons will be represented in ways and places they have not been before,” said Wood.

Her personal credo is the Hebrew expression tikkun olam, meaning, “repairing the world,” connoting religious or social responsibility. The phrase “embraces the ideals of justice, compassion, peace and ecological integrity,” she said in a press release from Boston University.

The Rev. Jessica J. Commeret, a Candler graduate, recalled how Moore exemplified that philosophy.

“That was just sort of her thing, you know, being in solidarity with and alongside rather than being ahead or over others or creation,” said Commeret, a pastor in Columbus, Ohio. “She was very inviting to students not only to learn but … to make a mark in the world.”

“Both (the church and the Boston University School of Theology) will benefit enormously from Mary Elizabeth’s … deep dedication to, and bridge-building between, the church and the academy,” said Jan Love, dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

Moore will succeed Ray L. Hart, who has served as dean ad interim of Boston University’s founding college and the oldest United Methodist seminary since 2003, when Robert C. Neville resigned.

Her areas of research are eco-feminism theology and spirituality, reconciliation theory and practice, cultural contexts and theological perspectives of youth, sacramental teaching and Wesleyan theology.

Moore has earned a doctorate from the Claremont (Calif.) School of Theology, master’s degrees from both Claremont and Southern Methodist University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SMU.

She has authored several books, including Ministering to the Earth, Teaching as a Sacramental Act, Called to Serve: The Diaconate in the United Methodist Church, Resources for Sacred Teaching, Hermeneutics and Empirical Research in Practical Theology, In the Beginning – and in the Middle, Covenant and Call, Teaching from the Heart: Theology and Educational Method and Religious Education. She is the English co-editor of the International Journal of Practical Theology.

*Lind is an intern for United Methodist News Service. She is a senior religious studies major at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

UMCOR trains farmers to expand food supply

A UMNS Report

By Linda Bloom*

June Kim of UMCOR visits children in Jeduako, Ghana, where villagers have been trained in crop and pest management. UMNS photos courtesy of June Kim.

When June Kim recently visited Ghana as an executive with the United Methodist Committee on Relief, she asked people there if they were aware of a worldwide food crisis.

They were not, but acknowledged to Kim that the price of a cup of rice had doubled in the past year. Prices for fuel, materials and labor also had risen.

UMCOR is addressing the food crisis in Ghana and other parts of Africa through its Sustainable Agriculture and Development Program. When Kim visited Ghana and Liberia in late May and June, what she saw "reinforced the fact that we're using the right approach."

The key to success, according to Kim, is focusing directly on farmers and the community as a whole rather than relying on institutions. The UMCOR program uses an asset-based approach to community development and trains participants to think about combining available resources.

"UMCOR's strategy is investing in people's knowledge," she said. "Part of our training program is to build local capacity of leadership among the farmers."

In 2006, for example, UMCOR brought farmers from five countries to Ghana for training in order to build technical teams that could serve as resources in their own communities and countries.

Besides Liberia and Ghana, the program operates in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Sierra Leone.

Subsistence farmers
In Liberia, the program started in 2001 but was interrupted until 2004 by the continuing civil war. Many participants are subsistence farmers whose families have been farming for generations. "They are harder to convince about trying different things, but once they catch on, it's like wildfire," Kim said.

Most training is conducted at a farmer's field or a field the farmer has chosen. "We've given them training in appropriate technology that minimizes dependence on high-cost, petroleum-based fertilizers," Kim said.

The farmers in the program learn to make natural fertilizers, using the leaves of the Keem tree.

"It takes a bit more manual labor, but the cost benefit is advantageous to the farmer," she added. The trainer stays with the farmers for an entire season as they try various fertilizing methods and evaluate which method produces the best yield.

The Sustainable Agriculture and Development Program in Ghana, which dates from about 2005, includes a focus on the Moringa tree, which "provides the basic nutrients an individual would need at a very low cost," she added.

Moringa seedlings grow at a community farm in Barnesville, Liberia.

The edible leaves and pods of the Moringa have twice the calcium of milk and four times the Vitamin A of carrots. In addition to being a nutritional supplement, parts of the tree can be used for a variety of products, including animal feed, medicine, and fertilizer.

"The Methodist Church of Ghana has gotten behind the Moringa," Kim said. "With the church leadership behind it, Moringa is sold and seen everywhere."

She gives credit to Mozart Adevu, a missionary with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries who serves as UMCOR's Africa regional coordinator for the agriculture and development program. He is chairman of the Moringa Association of Ghana, formed in early 2007, which focuses both on education about the benefits of the plant and practical issues, such as certification by Ghana's Food and Drugs Board.

Adevu also has been instrumental in the program's overall training of farmers, which relies on the strategy that those who are trained will return to their communities and train others. "The results of our efforts in mission towards reduction of poverty in Africa could be likened to the biblical parable of five loaves and two fishes used to feed the thousands--a true reflection of God's presence in restoring hope to the hungry," Adevu wrote in a November 2006 newsletter.

Beekeeping provides income
Beekeeping is another aspect of sustainable agriculture used by UMCOR, both in Ghana and Liberia. In addition to serving as a source for food, honey can be used as a salve and for cough and asthma relief. Beeswax can be used for batik textiles, which are then sold at market, and propolis, the glue that bees collect from particular tree buds, can be used for furniture construction.

The beekeeping project at Ganta mission station in Liberia has resulted in the sale of honey at $15 a gallon. "That additional $15 U.S. is a huge boost to their household income," Kim said.
The average hive yields two to three gallons. Since the project started, about 1,200 gallons of honey have been harvested, raising more than $40,000.

Since the Sustainable Agriculture and Development Program is open to everyone, the building of community has extended far beyond the denomination, according to Kim. "In Sierra Leone, our training brought Muslims and Christians together for the first time," she said. "They were able to build trust in each other."

Kim would like to expand the program to more countries in Africa, as well as to Latin America and Asia. "We've always been under the radar," she said, but added that as a response to the food crisis, "there's something we can do immediately."

Donations to support UMCOR's Sustainable Agriculture and Development Program can be made to UMCOR Advance No. 982188. Checks can be dropped in church offering plates or mailed directly to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Write the Advance number and name on the memo line of the check. Credit card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583 or online at http://www.givetomission.org/.

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

North Texas donates $500,000 to Africa University

James Salley (right) accepts a $500,000 check from Bishop Alfred L. Norris Jr. and the United Methodist North Texas Annual (regional) Conference to establish a new student health center at Africa University. A UMNS photo by Milse Furtado.

By Joan LaBarr*

DALLAS (UMNS)--The United Methodist North Texas Annual (regional) Conference has donated $500,000 to build a new student health center at Africa University, with plans to contribute another $500,000 to the Zimbabwe school.

During the conference's 2008 annual session, Bishop Alfred L. Norris led the "Africa Night" celebration at Hamilton Park United Methodist Church. The June 9 event celebrated ties with Africa University in Old Mutare.

"You have made history," said James Salley, accepting the check as vice president and director of institutional advancement for the United Methodist school. "This is the first time that an annual conference has done a major campaign and raised such a large amount in less than a year."

Of the $1 million campaign goal, the conference reported some $800,000 in gifts and pledges. A $5,000 offering was collected during the celebration. The additional funds are being collected to fund health science scholarships as part of the conference's 2007-08 Bishop's Initiative for Africa University.

"It's a significant gift for the North Texas Conference to make at one of the most challenging times politically in Zimbabwe. It says to us that the church is not backing away during a time of need. It's good to know that we stand on the shoulders of The United Methodist Church and they can hold us up," Salley said.

Despite political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe, Salley said there has been no interference with Africa University, which is still conducting classes, paying staff and graduating students.

"In the midst of chaos and confusion, when other people are saying 'no,' the church says 'yes,'" Salley said.

Salley said the new health center will resolve an immediate problem for Africa University, which has long outgrown its old student health clinic.

Blooming in the desert
Preaching on "blooming in the desert," Norris emphasized the need for spiritual irrigation and nourishment. He spoke about the 2008 Lenten study on Africa University, created by North Texas supporters of the campaign and calling it an experience of "bringing hope to our brothers and sisters in Africa."

The Lenten study included devotionals written by people who had traveled to Africa University in the summer of 2007, as well as other interested clergy and laity. As a part of the study, participants were asked to make sacrificial gifts to the Bishop's Initiative. These gifts, representing churches of all sizes, were included in the check presented to Salley.

In his sermon based on Isaiah 35:1-2, Norris noted Africa University's philosophy that deserts can bloom. He said those who take part in ministries such as the initiative provide such blossoming opportunities, both in Africa and in one's personal life. "Your life might be dry tonight, but God can stir up good gifts in you. You can bloom!" Norris declared.

Salley said the resources created by the conference--including the Lenten Study, the campaign process and the celebration--can serve as a model for other places.

Africa University was founded by The United Methodist Church in 1992 as the first private university in Zimbabwe. On June 7 at its 14th graduation ceremony, the school awarded 354 degrees to students from 16 different African countries.

*LaBarr is director of communications for the North Texas Annual Conference and editor of the conference's edition of the United Methodist Reporter.

Northeast United Methodists look at boundaries

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

United Methodists in the denomination’s Northeastern Jurisdiction will vote on proposed changes in episcopal area boundaries during their July 13-18 conference in Harrisburg, Pa.

The recommendations from the jurisdiction’s boundaries committee, which would take effect in 2010, also relate to the number of bishops to be elected during the gathering, according to Ruth Daugherty, secretary for the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference.

Under its current configuration, the Northeastern Jurisdiction covers 10 episcopal areas (13 annual conferences) in the region from Maine to West Virginia.

The new boundaries would reduce the number of episcopal areas from 10 to nine. If the changes are approved, the episcopacy committee is expected to recommend the election of one new bishop and the appointment of a retired bishop in the tenth area until it is phased out.

The resolution from the boundaries committee notes the "extensive work and discernment by United Methodists in the four Annual Conferences of the Albany and New York West Areas, and between the Wyoming and Central Pennsylvania Conferences, and between the Troy and New England Conferences, with the understanding that dialogue and discernment will continue."

During their meetings this year, all six annual conferences "strongly affirmed resolutions requesting the 2008 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference change their boundaries."

As a result:
.A new annual conference in New York state would be formed by the current North Central and Western New York conferences and parts of the Wyoming and Troy conference churches located in the state;
.Troy Conference churches located in Vermont would become part of the New England Conference; and
.A new annual conference would be created from the Pennsylvania churches of the current Wyoming Conference and all the churches of the present Central Pennsylvania Conference.

Preliminary meetings for the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference––with the theme "Extreme Church: Extreme Expectations"––begin on July 13 at the Hilton Harrisburg Hotel and the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts. Delegates arrive the next day.

Episcopal elections
Small groups, formed across annual conference lines, will interview episcopal candidates on July 15. The conference’s opening session will occur the morning of July 16, with the boundaries committee report, episcopacy committee report and first episcopal ballot scheduled for the afternoon. Bishop Jane Middleton, leader of the host Central Pennsylvania Annual Conference, will deliver the "State of the Jurisdiction" episcopal address.

Middleton, 67, was facing retirement, but General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative body, voted last spring to extend the mandatory retirement age by two years. Now, bishops must retire on Aug. 31 following the regular session of the jurisdictional conference if the bishop's 68th birthday is reached on or before July 1 of the year in which the jurisdictional conference is held.

After the General Conference vote, Middleton, who was elected a bishop in 2004, said she was "very grateful to have another four years to serve in this way."

Bishop Violet L. Fisher of Rochester, N.Y., one of three African-American women elected bishop in 2000, will retire on Aug. 31. She has served the New York West Area the past eight years.

Both Fisher and Bishop Susan Morrison––who took early retirement and was replaced by retired Bishop Susan Hassinger in the Albany Area––will be honored at a reception at 8 p.m. on July 16 during the conference.

A new bishop is expected to be elected at some point on July 17. The conference will conclude the morning of July 18 with the assignment of conferences and bishops to episcopal areas and a service of consecration for bishops.

Information about episcopal elections in all five U.S. jurisdictions of The United Methodist Church can be found at www.umc.org/elections2008.

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

Pennsylvania. treasurer to oversee United Methodist finances

By Marta W. Aldrich*

The agency overseeing the finances of The United Methodist Church has elected a church treasurer from Eastern Pennsylvania as its new chief executive.

Moses Kumar, 54, of Jeffersonville, Pa., was elected as the sixth general secretary of the General Council on Finance and Administration on July 8 during a special session of its board. He officially begins his tenure on Sept. 1.

Moses Kumar

He will be responsible for overseeing the Nashville-based agency that coordinates and administers finances for the 11.5 million-member worldwide denomination, as well as safeguarding its legal interests and rights.

Kumar replaces Sandra Lackore, who retired at the close of 2007 after heading the council for 12 years.

With more than 32 years of ministry experience, Kumar has served the past eight years as treasurer and executive director of administrative ministries for the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual Conference. He previously worked at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., where he was vice president for finance and operations.

"I firmly believe that God has called me and provided me with a path to this time and place of global ministry," Kumar said in a prepared statement. "As general secretary of GCFA, I will fully engage my leadership talents to guide the council in fulfilling its ministry of administration."

A native of Chennai (Madras), India, Kumar joins the council at a time when the denomination is placing new emphasis on its global connections and is considering significant changes to its worldwide structure. The United Methodist Church is growing in Africa and the Philippines, while its U.S. membership has shrunk to 7.9 million.

"Moses brings a global perspective and an annual conference understanding of the work of GCFA," said Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, president of the council. "… Moses' collegial style, faith perspective and commitment to The United Methodist Church make him a great leadership fit for the future of our denomination."

Bishop Marcus Matthews, who presides over the church's Philadelphia Area, said he has admired Kumar's work as conference treasurer and his "persistence in finding ways to help churches facilitate their ministries." He credited Kumar's commitment to stewardship for helping the conference pay 100 percent of its apportionments in 2007, for the first time in 20 years. Apportionments are contributions requested of U.S. annual conferences to support denominational ministries and administration.

"He is also very committed to mission and has a clear understanding of the directions coming out of the general church for making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world," Matthews said.

Out of 19 applicants, Kumar was recommended to the council by a search committee working with the Center for Non-Profit Management in Nashville.

"The depth and breadth of experience within the applicant pool was impressive and supported a robust and thorough discernment process," Swenson said.

Kumar holds a bachelor of commerce degree from Madras Christian College in India and a master of business administration from Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa.

He and his wife, Felicia, have two grown daughters, Poornima and Penny.

*Aldrich is news editor of United Methodist News Service. This story was based, in part, on a news release by the General Council on Finance and Administration.

Candler dean Jan Love to preach on ‘Day1’

Dr. Jan Love, dean and professor of Christianity and World Politics at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Ga., is the featured preacher August 10 and 17 on “Day 1,” a nationally broadcast radio program also accessible by podcast at Day1.org. Each program includes a sermon by Love along with interviews conducted by the program’s host and executive producer, Peter Wallace.

Before coming to Candler in January 2007, Love headed the Women’s Division of the United Methodist Church for nearly three years, and for 22 years before that was on the faculty of the University of South Carolina. For many years she has been involved in the global ecumenical movement through the World Council of Churches.

Love’s first sermon, “Encountering Christ,” focuses on the story of the disciples encountering Jesus walking on a stormy sea (Matthew 14). “Have you felt the powerful presence of grace lately?” Love asks. “Have you run into any miracles of love or wonderful abundance of mercy when you least expect it? Have you found reassurance in the midst of stormy experiences, or calm and comfort when, like Peter, you fear that you’re in over your head? If so, perhaps you’ve felt the miraculous company of Christ.”

Her second sermon, entitled “Listening in love,” focuses on the importance of unity especially in the face of conflict. “Listening deeply to those who have tough, unpleasant things—or even new and different or old and hackneyed things—to say to us can be a strange, awkward, but good exercise and a giant leap of faith for those willing to try it. Genuine, careful, heartfelt listening often is.”

“Day 1” (formerly called “The Protestant Hour”) has been broadcast every week for 63 years, winning numerous awards in the process, including the Peabody Award and the Communicators’ Award of Excellence in inspirational radio. It is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media in association with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.

For more information, call toll free 888-411-Day-1 or check the program’s Web site, www.Day1.org.

Commentary by the Rev. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.: Reflecting on Southern Baptism trends

The Rev. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.

Recently, The Associated Press reported that Southern Baptist churches suffered a loss of members in 2007.

United Methodists will find this hard to believe in the South, where there is an expression about places where "there are more Baptists than people." It's an expression that reflects the historic focus of Southern Baptists on evangelism and conversions, but also their tendency to inflate church rolls. Pastoral success is often viewed in terms of "additions" and membership growth.

The practices of keeping a "non-resident" category of members and often leaving inactive members on the rolls have led some senior Baptist leaders to caution against taking membership figures at face value.

So, what are some of the reasons a system designed to avoid reporting losses can begin to decline numerically? And what might United Methodists discover if we are attentive to factors related to that decline?

Membership tends to be a lagging indicator. Membership changes, in either a congregation or a denomination, are the result of many factors that have been present for some time. For Southern Baptists, declining baptism rates over many decades may have signaled an impending downturn in membership. United Methodists trace membership losses to the mid-1960s, but we know that the growth rate and share of population for Methodists had declined well before then with little, if any, notice.

Defensiveness and denial. When membership declines, the natural tendency is to explain it away. In 1998, when Southern Baptists showed their first membership decline in 70 years, some blamed the loss on a new computer system, while others said it was a temporary downturn as churches "clean" their rolls.

Methodists have used the "cleaning the rolls" mantra to explain slow growth or no growth for over a century in the United States. In the 1900 Episcopal Address of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the bishops reported that since 1800, the nation's population had grown 14 times while Methodist membership had grown by 97 times. But in the last four years of that period, the increase was only 4 percent, a much smaller rate of growth.

"How to account for this smaller gain is not easily seen," said the bishops. They went on to say that such decline should not be the "occasion for despondency and evil forebodings." In the future, as in the past, they projected "small gains may soon be followed by larger."

Even allowing for the imprecise nature of church rolls, membership decline should be seen for what it is: a lagging indicator that some other important things need attention.

Conflict. Some level of tension is always present in healthy and growing churches. However, severe conflict in congregations and denominations tends to take a toll on participation and membership. The Rev. Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, placed part of the blame for membership loss on a perception that some of the denomination's followers are "mean-spirited, hurtful and angry." He contends that Baptists have been known too much in recent years for "what we're against" rather than "what we're for."

Time takes its toll. As time goes by and churches become successful, it often becomes harder and harder to maintain success. With maturity comes a level of organizational complexity that can be a barrier to growth. And as churches and their members prosper, there is a temptation to become removed from the practices that led to growth in the first place. It could be that Southern Baptists had some of their greatest growth when they were not the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, but rather when they often were seen on the sidelines of religious life that was dominated by more established traditions. United Methodists should remember that our greatest growth came in such a time.

Change is hard but not impossible. Some demographic indicators suggest that Southern Baptists may be joining that cohort of mainline denominations that has been losing members since the 1960s, a sign perhaps that well-established denominations, regardless of their theology, are increasingly unable to reach new Christians. Unfortunately, Southern Baptists will not learn much from the experience of mainline churches in addressing their decline--except, perhaps, what not to do.

Southern Baptists join these other denominations in the need to break the mold and change enough to turn their fortunes around. They are already recognizing the implications of the fact that their constituency has been primarily white and middle class, and this part of the population is not growing. Southern Baptists are turning their attention to people of color (to remedy a historic weakness of theirs) by starting new churches (a historic strength).

The United Methodist Church did very well "growing up" with America through the 19th century and into the early decades of the 20th century. Then, as the last century unfolded, the nation changed and the church did not. Earlier generations had followed Americans from east to west, from urban to frontier, and from lower to middle and upper-middle classes. But success led to staying with practices even as they became increasingly less effective.

Today, The United Methodist Church in the United States is not only dramatically smaller, but it is older and less diverse than the population. Southern Baptists and United Methodists will have faithful and fruitful futures to the extent that they can find ways to reach more people, younger people and more diverse people.

*Weems is distinguished professor of church leadership and director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. This commentary is adapted from the center's online newsletter, Leading Ideas, available free at http://www.churchleadership.com/.