The Intentional Grown Center Receives Bequest

Lake Junaluska, NC: The Intentional Growth Center (IGC) at Lake Junaluska has received a major bequest from the estate of Martha and Elizabeth Morgan. Martha and Elizabeth were personal friends of Mark and Phyllis Rouch and established the trust in 1987 while Mark was the first Executive Director of IGC. The sisters lived in a home within a block of the Atkins House where the IGC offices are located at Lake Junaluska. They were frequent volunteers to assist the work of IGC.

IGC is to receive on an annual basis 60% of the income from their estate valued at approximately $2.5 million. The purpose of the Trust to The Intentional Growth Center is for “teaching and/or perpetuating classical languages, English literature, music, Christian discipleship, or church leader development.”

Daughters of the late Francis Burt and Ethel Robinson Morgan, the sisters, Martha Frances Morgan and Ethel Elizabeth Morgan resided in Greenville, SC and were members of Buncombe Street United Methodist Church. They also owned a home at Lake Junaluska, NC.

Martha Frances Morgan died Sunday, Sept. 11, 2005, followed by her sister on Friday, June 22, 2007. Martha was a graduate of Furman University and Scarritt College and received her master's at Emory University. She was a member of Zetosophia Academic Honor Society at Furman University. She was an educator in the Greenville County Schools and taught English and Latin at both Hughes and Greenville High School.

Ethel Elizabeth Morgan was a graduate of Greenville High School and Furman University and studied at the Teachers’ College at Columbia University in New York. She was an educator in the Greenville County School System and taught at both Stone School and Augusta Circle, where the library was named in her honor.

This bequest will allow IGC to strengthen and expand its programming fulfilling its mission of “transforming leaders for shared, Christ-centered ministry.” IGC has a staff of nine persons and continues to draw on many friends who serve as volunteers helping to carry out its extensive programming including about 60 events per year involving about 3,700 participants. Larry Ousley is the Executive Director. IGC is located at 959 North Lakeshore Drive, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745 and can be contacted at 828-454-6720 and by email at info@intentionalgrowthcenter.org.

Church finance agency dismisses two executives

By Marta W. Aldrich*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)-Three weeks into his new job, the leader of the United Methodist agency overseeing denominational finances has dismissed two top executives.

Moses Kumar

Moses Kumar announced to staff on Sept. 23 that Marsha Base and the Rev. Terry Bradfield are no longer with the General Council on Finance and Administration.

Bradfield had been deputy executive for operations, and Base was associate executive over organizational development. Both had been part of a three-person interim leadership team that oversaw the council's daily operations for almost a year after Sandra Lackore announced her early retirement in 2007.

"We wish Marsha and Terry well in their endeavors as they pursue their personal ministries," Kumar said in a brief news release from the Nashville-based agency.

The news release said the roles filled by Bradfield and Base, "while pivotal and which brought a tone of transparency and cooperation to the agency during their terms, will be assumed by General Secretary Moses Kumar for the current timeframe."

Contacted by United Methodist News Service, both Bradfield and Base declined to comment.
Both joined the council in 2005 and were informed of their dismissals on Sept. 22. They had served on the interim leadership team with John Goolsbey, deputy executive for administration. Goolsbey remains in his position.

Bishop Lindsey Davis, the council's new president, referred all questions about the personnel changes to Kumar. Staff members said Kumar was unavailable for an interview on Sept. 23.

Kumar was elected in July to replace Lackore after a five-month search. With more than 32 years of ministry experience, he was most recently treasurer and executive director of administrative ministries for the church's Eastern Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference.

As the council's chief executive and treasurer, Kumar leads the agency in developing and implementing the finances of the 11.5 million-member worldwide denomination, as well as safeguarding the legal rights and interests of The United Methodist Church.

*Aldrich is news editor of United Methodist News Service.

Bishop James M. Ault was prominent church leader

By Elliott Wright*

BRUNSWICK, Maine (UMNS)-Retired Bishop James M. Ault, a prominent educator, ecumenical advocate and episcopal leader in The United Methodist Church, has died at the age of 90.
Ault died Sept. 21 at the Midcoast Senior Health Center in Brunswick.

Bishop James M. Ault

An active bishop from 1972 until his retirement in 1988, he served as president of the Council of Bishops 1986-87 and president of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries 1985-89.

Prior to his election as bishop, he taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York and served as professor and dean at the School of Theology of Drew University, Madison, N.J.

The bishop was a leader in ecumenical affairs, representing The United Methodist Church in both the National and World Council of Churches. A member of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, he was active in promoting economic sanctions to oppose apartheid in South Africa.

"He leaves a legacy of diligently working for a better world," said the Rev. Edward W. Paup, chief executive of the Global Ministries agency, who knew the bishop through their links to the Western Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference. "Thanks be to God for (Bishop Ault's) commitment to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ."

Humble roots
James M. Ault was born on Aug. 24, 1918, in Sayre, Penn., the third of five sons of Tracey Everett Ault, a railroad worker, and Bessie Mase Ault, a schoolteacher. He attended public schools in his hometown and after graduation became an apprentice in a local tool-and-die plant.

He met his wife, the former Dorothy Mae Barnhart, who survives him, through the Methodist Youth Fellowship at the Sayre Methodist Church. The couple married in 1943 while he was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, handling supplies for the Pacific front in San Francisco. The Aults would have four children, three of whom survive their father.

Following military service in World War II, the future bishop attended Colgate University, Syracuse, N.Y., and served the Preston Charge in the Wyoming Annual Conference. He graduated from Colgate in 1949 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He then enrolled in Union Theological Seminary, where he graduated at the head of his class. He subsequently joined the Northern New Jersey Conference.

After serving appointments in both the Northern New Jersey and Troy conferences, Ault in 1961 took a position at Union Seminary, his alma mater, where he taught practical theology and served as dean of students. While at Union, he earned the Master of Sacred Theology degree and did advanced study at St. Andrews' University in Scotland.

Ault was dean and professor of pastoral theology for four years at Drew Theological School, where he worked to increase the outreach of the institution to Korean and Hispanic/Latino theologians and pastors.

Episcopacy leadership
In 1972, he was elected a bishop by the Northeastern Jurisdiction. He served for eight years in the church's Philadelphia Area, followed by eight years in the Pittsburgh Area.

His selection as secretary of the Council of Bishops thrust him into the ecumenical arena. He was a member of the Governing Board of the National Council of Churches in USA, 1981-1984; the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, 1981-1991; and Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council, 1981-1988. He was president of the Council of Bishops in 1986 and 1987.

Ault was a director and then president of the Board of Global Ministries when an important new statement on mission theology, "Partnership in God's Mission," was developed and introduced. Discussing the document in his monthly column for New World Outlook, the United Methodist mission magazine, he explained that one purpose of the project was to hear the voices of United Methodists from around the world and become more truly global in mission. "Partnership in God's Mission" continues as a benchmark statement in the history of United Methodist mission.

The bishop played a significant role in helping Puerto Rican Methodists become a self-governing part of the Methodist family of denominations.

Upon Ault's retirement, a newspaper in Pittsburgh reported that at a time of division between liberals and conservatives in The United Methodist Church, the bishop managed to speak effectively to both sides.

He was the author of the book Responsible Adults for Tomorrow's World, published in 1962 by the Women's Division of Christian Service, now the Women's Division of the Board of Global Ministries.

In addition to his wife, Ault leaves a brother, Alfred Ault of Potomac, Md.; a son, James Ault Jr., Northampton, Mass.; two daughters, Kathryn Ault, Brunswick, and Beth Ault Brinker, West Salem, Wis.; four grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service is scheduled for Nov. 1 at Brunswick United Methodist Church. Memorial contributions to the James Mase Ault Scholarship Fund at Africa University may be sent to the fund, c/o James Salley, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 1001 Nineteenth Ave. South, Nashville, TN 37203.

*Wright is the information officer of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Sidorak combines ecumenical expertise, justice concerns

The Rev. Stephen Sidorak Jr. is the new top staff executive of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.UMNS photos by John C. Goodwin.

By Linda Bloom*

DAYTON, Ohio (UMNS)-The Rev. Stephen J. Sidorak Jr. knows ecumenism from the pew up.
The 58-year-old United Methodist clergyman has organized Christians to pray and protest, developed guidelines to help them discuss issues and beliefs, and brought them together to worship and advocate for justice.

He has co-founded organizations opposing legalized gambling and nuclear weapons, as well as groups supporting HIV/AIDS ministries and interreligious understanding.

Now Sidorak, a member of the denomination's Rocky Mountain Annual (regional) Conference, is the new chief executive of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, the church's ecumenical agency.

After serving for more than 20 years as executive director of the Christian Conference of Connecticut, he was elected to his new post during the commission's Sept. 17-21 meeting in suburban Dayton.

"I've come home," Sidorak told United Methodist News Service. "I've been welcomed very warmly back to my own communion."

Sidorak's years of state council experience have resulted in "a deep appreciation for the challenges of ecumenism at the grassroots level," according to the Rev. Jack Johnson, a fellow United Methodist in the Greater New Jersey Conference.

Johnson-whose own longtime engagement in interfaith and public policy activities led to his taking the top position with the Massachusetts Council of Churches this past year-said that Sidorak's relationships with ecumenical council directors across the United States will be "a real plus" for The United Methodist Church.

Calling begins in Colorado
Sidorak's calling as an ecumenist emerged when Bishop Melvin Wheatley Jr., who ordained him in 1978, suggested he apply to lead the Colorado Council of Churches.

He served there 1982-85 before becoming director of the peace center of the Christian Conference of Connecticut. "I realized that this (ecumenism) was for me," he said about that first state council experience. "It's been that way ever since."

The move to Connecticut also changed his geographic focus to what he laughingly refers to as "serving in exile on the East Coast." But it was not his first journey to the Northeast. Sidorak's study at Yale Divinity School earned him a Master of Divinity degree in 1975 and a Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1976 and began a lifelong connection to Yale.

Among his Yale friends is David Lamarre-Vincent, a Roman Catholic layperson and director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches for 18 years. Lamarre-Vincent calls state councils "an essential link in the interreligious and ecumenical work of the church both in the United States and internationally." At the state level, ecumenical executives often "serve as catalysts," not just on matters of Christian unity but on issues of justice, peace and reconciliation.

Lamarre-Vincent said Sidorak's tenure as a senior ecumenical steward makes him a good leader for the commission. "As an outside observer, The United Methodist Church has been one of the strongest members of the state ecumenical councils," he said. "I think Rev. Sidorak's preparation uniquely qualifies him to be a leader of The United Methodist Church worldwide."

Working toward peace
From the beginning, issues of peace and justice have been integrated into Sidorak's ministry.
As pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church in Salt Lake City from 1978-80, he "became a scholar of nuclear weapons and policy" and successfully worked to prevent the MX missile system from being deployed in Utah.

During that period, he asked the Rev. William Sloane Coffin, another Yale friend, to come and help convince the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the missiles should not be there. "We got acquainted on a working relationship around a nuclear crisis," Sidorak recalled.

They became close friends and together established a new national interreligious organization on nuclear weapons. After Coffin's death at age 81, Sidorak wrote a reflection for the May/June 2006 edition of Zion's Herald magazine (now The Progressive Christian) "celebrating the wit and wisdom of a peerless prophet."

While lamenting the loss of the outspoken advocate for peace and justice, he reminded readers that Coffin "taught us very well how to bear public witness. So, in the name of God, let's get going and demonstrate ecumenically and interreligiously our own commitment to what Bill called 'a politically engaged spirituality.'"

Sidorak continued his own public witness after assuming the leadership of the Connecticut conference in 1987. The organization sponsored an annual ecumenical forum and other public events; organized an annual peace and justice convocation; published a "Pastoral Statement on School Desegregation"; and established ecumenical guidelines for dialogue on "church-dividing issues" and on participation in interreligious worship.

In Defense of Creation
United Methodist Bishop C. Dale White asked Sidorak to become a consultant on the "In Defense of Creation: The Nuclear Crisis and a Just Peace" document issued by the denomination's Council of Bishops in 1986. Sidorak said he was thrilled "because I was so happy for the leadership he and others were providing at that time." In Sidorak's opinion, interreligious efforts on the nuclear issue "restored some sanity to the world."

White affirms Sidorak's passionate commitment to peace issues, as well as his global perspective and range of experience. He points to the need to look at theology and the early Scriptures to gain wisdom for living on this earth.

"From my perspective, Steve comes from that broader base of understanding and extensive missional outreach," White said. "That's certainly going to be a foundation on which he's going to base everything else."

In 1982, the Colorado Council of Churches was a co-sponsor of "An Evening for Peace: A Colorado Call for Nuclear Disarmament" on the State Capitol steps in Denver. Sidorak and singer John Denver were co-organizers and hosts of the demonstration, which drew more than 30,000 people and featured Jimmy Buffet, Judy Collins and The Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band.

Three days after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Connecticut conference sponsored a service at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, drawing 3,000 people to the largest interreligious gathering in the state's history. Sidorak said he was able to organize the service quickly because the connections already existed through the seven-year-old Connecticut Council for Interreligous Understanding.

The continuing reverberations of 9/11 have contributed to the demand to bring an interreligious component to the ecumenical table. "The key thing is not that United Methodists and Muslims work together, but that Christians in all their branches and Muslims in all their branches meet together," he said.

Horizontal integration of ecumenism
The Rev. Russell Meyer, executive director of the Florida Council of Churches, refers to the "silo" effect of the ecumenical movement-with its vertical components but no horizontal integration. Often, the handling of doctrinal differences and official relations among denominations are separated from the practical aspects of ecumenism at the congregational level.

What Sidorak brings to his new role "is an integration of the various forms of ecumenism that are out there being practiced," said Meyer, a clergy member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Meyer said Sidorak's fellow council directors are pleased that his credentials and passion for justice "have been so publicly recognized by his church."

The Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, a clergy member of the United Church of Christ and executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, said Sidorak has "an awareness of what sells and what doesn't sell" at the local church level.

"I think his experience with the Christian Conference of Connecticut has given him a kind of bird's eye view of church life across all denominations," she said.

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

United Methodists organize for new ecumenical efforts

Bishop Mary Ann Swenson blesses the Rev. Stephen Sidorak Jr. as he is installed as the new staff ecumenical officer for The United Methodist Church.UMNS photos by Dave Dapcevich.

By Linda Bloom*

DAYTON, Ohio (UMNS)-The United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns is not quite re-inventing itself.

But with new leadership at its helm, 26 new members on its 43-person board and an expanded agenda of both a global and interfaith nature, the church's ecumenical agency is moving forward in a new way.

"We realize it is a season of fresh beginnings," said Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of the Los Angeles area, the new commission president.

During its Sept. 17-21 organizational meeting at United Theological Seminary in suburban Dayton, the commission officially elected its new chief executive, the Rev. Stephen Sidorak Jr., and heard from the new ecumenical officer of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, Bishop Sharon Rader.

Swenson noted that the meeting's theme-"Making All Things New" from John 1:5-is fitting for the new leadership, new members and the new quadrennium. She said she hopes the commission can focus on teambuilding and promoting unity with wholeness, both within the denomination and on the outside, with Methodist, ecumenical and interfaith partners.

Sidorak, the long-time executive director of the Christian Conference of Connecticut, is a veteran teambuilder of ecumenical partnerships, particularly at the state level. He unofficially started his new position on July 1.

His Sept. 21 installation service at Concord United Methodist Church drew two nearby state leaders, the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, a United Church of Christ clergywoman and head of the Kentucky Council of Churches, and the Rev. Rebecca Tollefson, a Presbyterian who is executive director of the Ohio Council of Churches.

One of the new commission members is the Rev. Gary Harke of the Moravian Church, who leads the Pennsylvania Council of Churches. "It's rare that a commission invites people from outside its membership into its internal structure," he told United Methodist News Service.

A challenge at the state ecumenical level "is keeping the whole of the vision and not collapsing it into things that are more readily achievable," said Harke, who also has experience with the National Council of Churches.

Kinnamon addresses group
The Rev. Michael Kinnamon, a Disciples of Christ minister who leads the National Council of Churches and is a longtime friend of Sidorak's, delivered the sermon for his installation.

Kinnamon-himself a member of the Commission on Christian Unity from 1988-92-also addressed the group about ecumenical relationships. He noted that major gifts of the Methodist heritage to the ecumenical movement include a relationship between personal and social holiness and a sense of the church as a connected community.

The Golden Rule of ecumenism is to "try to understand others even as you would be understood by them," says the Rev. Michael Kinnamon.

One of the complaints about The United Methodist Church, however, he added, is that its size sometimes makes the denomination too "self-sufficient." He pointed out that "others have gifts to give that you need to receive."

While the modern ecumenical movement "begins with the conviction that we are one," unity does not mean agreement, he cautioned. Rather, church bodies seek agreement as a consequence of being one.

Kinnamon said the Golden Rule of ecumenism is to "try to understand others even as you would be understood by them."

A passion for justice must "go hand-in-hand" with reconciliation and witness for Christ. "This is not an easy way to be Christian," he said. "It is a faithful way to be Christian."

The significance of councils of churches-from local to international levels-comes through the relationships among the members, not from the structure itself. At the worst, he pointed out, a council of churches can "institutionalize our differences" instead of promoting deeper unity.

Through solidarity
Bishop Gaspar Joao Domingos of Angola in Africa also spoke to his fellow commission members about reconciling differences. "To reach peace, the path is through solidarity … that does not exclude anyone," he said.

The danger is acting more like a social club or advocacy group. "Simply having organized unity is not a guarantee of having authentic spiritual unity," Domingos said. Unity is not built by members of the church but by the Lord "who reigns over all of us, working through us and in all of us."

Returning commission members acknowledged the pain and turbulence of the commission's December 2007 meeting, when a close vote by members resulted in the dismissal of the Rev. Larry Pickens, the group's previous chief executive and first African-American leader.

Responding to concerns about racism, the commission has worked to repair relations with its partners from the historically black Methodist churches on the Pan-Methodist Commission. Three representatives from those churches are part of the new commission. The United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race also prepared a confidential report for the commission, and the Rev. Barbara Issacs, a Religion and Race executive, provided training during the meeting.

Sidorak said he believes momentum is growing for the renewal of the commission. "I'm exceedingly grateful for the spirit and energy of all the people on this board," he said.

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

Great Event challenges African-American churches

An ensemble from Luke "Community" United Methodist Church in Dallas dances during worship at the "Great Event," a program of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century. UMNS photos by Larry Hygh Jr.

By Larry R. Hygh Jr.*

DALLAS (UMNS)-As African-American congregations in The United Methodist Church face the future, do they look like the face in the mirror or does the mirror show something else?

The question was posed by the Rev. Zan Holmes as he challenged 560 black Methodists to find their voice and power during a church growth and revitalization event.

"It's important for us to find our own voice, our own God-given purpose," Holmes told participants at the Sept. 11-13 Great Event, a program of the United Methodist initiative called Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century.

Created by the church's 1996 General Conference and operated under its Board of Discipleship, the initiative assists United Methodist congregations that are predominantly black to be more effective in mission and ministry. It focuses on spiritual vitality and growth by linking effective congregations with partner congregations searching for new ideas and revitalization. There are 2,400 African-American United Methodist congregations in the United States.

"The essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision," said Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton, chairperson of Strengthening the Black Church. "We don't need any more money; we need more visionary leadership."

Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton leads a plenary session during the Sept. 11-13 gathering in Dallas.

Holmes, who is pastor emeritus of Saint Luke "Community" United Methodist Church in Dallas, said churches can be strengthened if members begin using the biblical model found in Acts 1 and 2, where many voices speak the same language to talk about what God has done. "The Pentecostal power did not come until they faced the Pentecostal task," he said, noting that God united unique people that day for a God-given purpose. "They had come to the end of their own strength."

Using the mirror analogy, Holmes said "we come to our churches to get fixed up to resemble who Christians ought to be."

Mentoring for growth and discipleship
Holmes' challenge and the event's theme of "God Delivers Us Through Hope, Healing, and Wholeness" was evident in remarks made by the Rev. Joseph Daniels, pastor of Emory United Methodist Church, Washington D.C.

"God needs prophets with a powerful proclamation, not an empty pontification," said Daniels, declaring that self-centeredness must give way to self-sacrifice. "Proclamation needs to be transformational. We need to preach the Gospel not as a popularity contest."

Daniels' church is one of the program's 20 mentor congregations, which range in size from 150 to 9,000 members and hold training sessions in their areas of ministry expertise. During the Great Event, 14 of the initiative's congregational resource center teams mentored 95 partner church teams.

"Each of the congregation resource centers has various gifts they can share with conference churches," said Cheryl Stevenson, national coordinator for the initiative. "Through training, I hope partner churches receive hope, inspiration, encouragement and determination to go forward with the vision the Lord has given the church."

Churches qualify to be partner congregations if they demonstrate a willingness to change and be open and are eager to devote time and resources to making the training process a success. "God has equipped each church with the resources to do ministry," Stevenson said.

Helping others
During the Great Event, participants contributed more than $7,300 for recovery and relief efforts in Haiti, which has been hit by four catastrophic storms in less than a month.

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is assisting in relief efforts in Haiti. United Methodists can help in the rebuilding by mailing checks to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087, and writing "UMCOR Advance 418325, Haiti Emergency" on the memo line. Online gifts can be made at http://www.givetomission.org/.

*Hygh is director of communications for the California-Pacific Annual Conference and chairperson of the communications committee for Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century.

Journals reveal more to Charles Wesley than hymns

By Kathleen LaCamera*

Charles Wesley, the younger brother of Methodism founder John, is best known for writing hymns, but scholars are gaining new insights by transcribing sections of his journals written in 18th-century shorthand. Artwork by Frank Salisbury, courtesy of the World Methodist Museum.

MANCHESTER, England (UMNS)-Journals written by Charles Wesley almost 300 years ago are revealing new insights into a man best known for his prolific hymn-writing and for being the younger brother of Methodism founder John Wesley.

For instance, he was occasionally critical of his older brother, frequently discouraged and sometimes worried about what awaits him on "the other side of the grave."

Sections of the journals, written in an obscure 18th-century shorthand and deemed "sensitive in nature," had been omitted from previously published editions.

These omissions include criticism of John such as one shorthand entry dated Jan. 13, 1751, in which Charles wrote: "Heard my brother exhort the society. I thought he misspent his strength in trifles."

Other "questionable material," although not written in shorthand, also was omitted from previous editions because past editors "cleaned up Charles' act," said the Rev. ST Kimbrough Jr., a research fellow at the Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School.

"He wrote in terse, shotgun kinds of sentences, without the flowery oratory that John uses," explained Kimbrough, a United Methodist and expert on Charles Wesley. "(Past editors) cleaned it up and made it all seem beautiful."

News that the shorthand sections have been decoded and published has been reported in many of Britain's national newspapers and resulted in an Aug. 29 report on the BBC's major morning radio news program.

The work, which is more akin to transcription than decoding, has been carried out by a group of scholars on both sides of the Atlantic under the auspices of the Charles Wesley Society. Wesley is not the only one of his contemporaries to use this shorthand, created by poet John Byrom in the mid-1700s. However, Wesley invented his own adaptations and shortcuts, making the painstaking task of transcription even more challenging.

Involved with the transcription project since its inception, Kimbrough noted that unlike the previous editions of the journals, "what we have is really what Charles Wesley wrote."

A real 'page turner'
The original journals are held at the Methodist Archives and Research Centre in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, some 200 miles north of London. The library holds the world's largest collection of manuscripts related to John and Charles Wesley as well as other members and close associates of the Wesley family.

Charles' journals proved a real "page turner" at times, said British scholar Kenneth Newport, who played a major part in transcribing them.

During nine years of working on the journals, Newport was most surprised by the extent to which Charles is frequently "down in the dumps about things." At times, Charles even writes that he wishes he were dead, then admits he is worried about what awaits him on "the other side of the grave."

"He is doubting his own eternity, but then, of course, he writes things that take him to the other end of the spiritual spectrum," said Newport, professor of Christian Thought at Liverpool Hope University.

Newport became skilled in Byrom shorthand when transcribing Charles Wesley's sermons for publication in 2001. About half of those sermons were written in the shorthand.

Charles also uses shorthand in journal entries when reflecting on the disappointment of his failed ministry in Georgia and his strained relationship with John over the issue of marriage. Charles records that he is "thunderstruck" to hear of John's plans to marry in 1771. On a different occasion, he is deeply annoyed when John deems a $200 annual stipend to help Charles support his new wife, Sarah Gwen, as unaffordable for Methodism.

His journals make clear that Charles was against the move in Methodism to separate from the Church of England. According to Newport, he had a "dog-eared refusal to contemplate" such a move for sacramental reasons as well as those of church authority. These are deep convictions that Newport says still have implications today in Britain, where Anglicans and Methodists are engaged in "unity talks" about closer cooperation between the two denominations.

"To see Charles Wesley, as you can following through the pages of his journal, gives us a picture that is more whole," Newport said. "I much prefer this character to the more other-worldly figure he is painted to be. He is somebody facing the reality of life, rooted in the challenges of his time. He has his physical and spiritual struggles, illnesses, doubts, fears, bereavements and so on. … His is the same spiritual journey as the rest of us."

'Lived in John's shadow'
Robert Williams, head of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History, said Charles Wesley has "lived in John's shadow all these years"-recognized for his hymns and then "shunted off to the side."

Called the poet of the Methodist movement, Charles wrote literally thousands of hymns, many of which are still a vital part of Christian worship around the world. The list includes "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" and "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling."

"These journals give us a greater appreciation of Charles Wesley as more than just a hymn writer," Williams said.

Praising the new Abingdon Press edition of Charles' journals as modern, reliable, complete and accessible, Williams believes this new material adds texture and nuance to what already is known about Charles, John and the Methodist movement.

Williams believes the journals give a "richness" to the more complicated figure of Charles and his relation to John that might easily be missed in mythologized official versions of the Wesley brothers.

"These are real people with a real record of accomplishment in the 18th century, but (through the journals) we can see them more realistically," Williams said.

In addition to the journals, Abingdon Press Kingswood Imprint is publishing collections of Charles Wesley's journal letters and his personal letters. Williams and those working on these projects are keen to acknowledge Abingdon as "extremely faithful" in the decision to make available these key Charles Wesley primary resources.

For more information about the journals and other Charles Wesley-related resources, visit http://www.abingdonpress.com/.

*LaCamera is a UMNS correspondent based in England.

African bishops issue renewed call against poverty

United Methodist bishops in Africa, joined here by Bishop Felton May (far right) representing the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, have issued a Sept. 11 letter outlining new actions to combat poverty on the continent. A UMNS photo by Andra Stevens.

A UMNS Report
By Linda Green*
Sept. 15, 2008

Describing poverty as a "scourge to human dignity" that "robs people of hope," United Methodist bishops in Africa have issued a church-wide call for renewed ministry to bring hope and greater prosperity to poor people on their continent.

Meeting for their second time, the 13 bishops that make up the church's African College of Bishops outlined new actions to combat poverty in a Sept. 11 letter sent from the campus of United Methodist-related Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

The bishops expressed "righteous indignation at the current plight of our continent" and resolved to work with professional, community and nongovernmental organizations to alleviate poverty in Africa. They view Africa University as a vital resource toward that goal.

"Poverty robs people of hope, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a call to hope, salvation and abundant life," they wrote. "In Africa, we see poverty manifesting itself in environmental degradation, disease, hunger and malnutrition, inequitable access to education and even the exposure of some of the most vulnerable among us-the girl child, for example-to sexual and economic exploitation."

While appreciative of the Holy Spirit for bringing peace and stability to areas of conflict in Africa, they expressed concern for those displaced and still suffering as a result of the violence. They called upon churches in Africa and across the world to "continue to advocate for tolerance and understanding of differing views, cultures, ethnic and religious affiliations as well as for the equitable sharing and use of God's gifts for the common good."

The bishops' call was consistent with an emphasis by The United Methodist Church to eliminate poverty and diseases of poverty in the world.

Last April in Fort Worth, Texas, the 2008 General Conference approved four focus areas of ministry for the denomination for the foreseeable future. Two of those are to engage in ministries with the poor and to stamp out diseases of poverty by improving global health.

Since they began meeting as a college of bishops two years ago, the African bishops have collectively focused on poverty and its manifestations. During their most recent meeting Sept. 8-12, they shared individual progress and action plans being implemented in their respective conferences.

"It is our belief that Africa has all that it needs to build a future with peace, greater prosperity and hope," they wrote in their letter.

The African bishops' letter also addressed climate change, youth migration and corruption, resolving to:

.Engage the membership of The United Methodist Church in Africa and the wider community, including youth, in practical efforts to renew God's creation and in dialogue on the use and protection of non-renewal resources;
.Work to instill a love for one's country and continent among African youth and young people and continue to educate, encourage and provide them opportunities to become more involved in community-building, leadership and development while ensuring an environment in which their gifts and energies can be fully used;
.Begin a process of self-examination, engaging clergy and laity to look at church structures and practices, establish definitions of what constitutes corruption and work to eliminate corrupt practices at all levels.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn. Andra Stevens, director of Africa University's Office of Public Information, contributed to this report.

Women's commission provides better online access

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

A redesigned Web site for the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women offers a wider variety of online resources in a user-friendly format.

The old site "was basically a notebook for text" that "had the skeleton of the organization" but no flesh, said Lindsey Graham, the commission's Web editor.

The new site, launched in early September and designed by X9 Technologies based in High Point, N.C., allows the commission to provide more online resources.

That was a key goal, according to M. Garlinda Burton, the commission's chief executive. "We realized there is a whole community of folk who already look to our Web site for resources and want us to offer more things," she said.

The end product means faster communication and more information. "It also allows us to work more immediately with sisters and brothers outside the United States," Burton said.

Burton's welcoming message on the home page (www.gcsrw.org) spells out the commission's duties-confronting institutional sexism, advocating for women facing discrimination, nurturing the gifts of women to the church and training church leadership to recognize and address sexism and sexual misconduct.

The Web site's format allows for greater exploration into those issues in a more visually pleasing way. "We've gone from this block of text … to a much more personalized 'here's who we are, we want to be able to help you' (site)," said Graham, a candidate for ordination in the West Virginia Conference and now completing her master's thesis at Garrett-Evangelical Seminary in Evanston, Ill.

Graham noted that many calls to the commission's office relate the "if this happens to you" page on its Web site. That page gives examples of sexism, sexual harassment and sexual abuse and offers a link to the separate sexual ethics Web site.

Other major resources include an educational curriculum, statistics and studies, tips on advocacy for all levels of the church, a reference guide to church law, worship resources, book reviews and information on women bishops in The United Methodist Church.

Blogs and discussion groups will be developed later. Burton intends to start a blog on her personal observations about the involvement of women in the church. She wants to point out "where doors are open" in the denomination and "where the church still needs to do work" in terms of sexism.

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

Missionary shares story of his Palestinian mother

The Rev. Alex Awad and his wife, Brenda, serve as missionaries in Bethlehem and Jerusalem through the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. A UMNS photo by John C. Goodwin.

By Linda Bloom*

NEW YORK (UMNS)-The Rev. Alex Awad can trace the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through its impact on his mother's 90 years of life.

The 62-year-old United Methodist missionary also can trace the influence the Christian church has had on his mother and her family. His new book, Palestinian Memories: The Story of a Palestinian Mother and Her People, is a story of his mother's Christian faith and of the Palestinian people.

Alex and his wife, Brenda, have been missionaries for 29 years with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, serving in Bethlehem and East Jerusalem since 1994. Although his mother, Huda, eventually moved to the United States-settling near three of her children in Overland Park, Kan., and becoming a U.S. citizen in 1978-she never forgot her homeland and visited her family there as long as her health allowed it.

"She was the bond that kept the family together in spite of the distances between us and all the troubles we encountered," Alex writes in his book.

During a Sept. 9 visit to the headquarters of the Board of Global Ministries in New York, Alex said his family had hoped the story of their mother's life would be written down before her death. That didn't happen, but the idea reemerged at her funeral in 2006 as Alex's brothers and sisters traded stories about their mother-some of which he had never before heard.

At the time, he was writing about the political side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and realized that his mother's experience-similar to that of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians-would be a good way to introduce the general history.

"The story of Huda is not only a story of tragedy … but really, it's a story of victory, success, triumph over tragedy," he told United Methodist News Service.

Long Christian tradition
Palestinian Christianity has a long tradition in the Holy Land. Alex's mother's family had belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church for generations and, on his father's side, his great-great grandfather Alexander Awad, once the mayor of Jaffa, donated money to build the Maronite church there.

Awad’s book tells the story of his mother’s Christian faith and of the Palestinian people. A UMNS photo courtesy of the Board of Global Ministries.

Huda's story begins with her birth in Jerusalem on Jan. 14, 1916, to Nazirah and Musa Kuttab. Alex weaves the political history of the time-the British takeover of Palestine, the fight for Israeli independence in 1948, the 1967 Arab-Israeli war-with the hardships faced by her family, the influence of American missionaries and the steadfastness of her Christian faith.

That faith was crucial after Alex's father, Elias, was shot and killed when the family was caught in the fighting between Jewish and Jordanian forces in Jerusalem in 1948. Huda was left to raise their seven children-Nicola, the oldest at 11 years, followed by Bishara, Elizabeth, Ellen, Mubarak, Alex and six-month-old Diana, the youngest.

"My mother refused to take us to a refugee camp," Alex said. Instead, she enrolled in college to earn a nursing degree and spread her children out to orphanages and boarding schools.

"Though Mother was forced to quickly learn how to juggle many roles, certainly not least on her heart was her spiritual search," he writes in the book. "It was a very significant part of her life that helped her mature in her relationship with God and face the challenging life before her."

Alex felt called to the ministry so he could help the Palestinian people in the same way that other missionaries had helped his mother. But the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, which occurred while he was attending a Bible college in Switzerland, would have a profound effect on the Awad family.

Alex could not return to pastor a church in Bethlehem as planned because new laws prevented thousands of Palestinian students and workers who were abroad from returning home. "It was then, for the first time, that I realized I had suddenly become a person without a country," he writes.

Start of an exodus
Fortunately, he received a scholarship to attend Lee College (now Lee University) in Cleveland, Tenn., where he met Brenda. It was just the start of the exodus of his uncles, mother and brothers and sisters from Palestine. And Alex wasn't sure he would ever get back. "For awhile, I thought this dream of ministry to my people was far away," he recalled. "For awhile, I was trying to settle for the big American dream."

After his brother Bishara started Bethlehem Bible College, he called Alex home to Bethlehem to help. He, Brenda and their growing family were there from 1979 to 1987, when they were ordered to leave by the Israeli government. Despite being commissioned by the Board of Global Ministries in 1989 and assigned to return, the Awads were denied a visa by Israel until 1994.

Alex credits the continued pressure on the Israeli government by the mission agency, United Methodist Women, the Methodist Federation for Social Action and other denominations, including Rabbis for Human Rights, with eventually getting him back to the Middle East. The Awads, who live in East Jerusalem, now have clergy visas that are renewed annually. They have three adult children, Christy, Basem and Randy, who live in Thailand and the United States.

Today, Alex is dean of students at Bethlehem Bible College and pastor of East Jerusalem Baptist Church, an international and interdenominational congregation located next to the orphanage where he stayed as a boy after his father's death. He also is interim director of the college's Shepherd Society, "which takes care of the poorest of the poor in the Bethlehem area," he explained.

Brenda works in the college's English administration office and serves as the development liaison, "keeping up a connection between Bethlehem Bible College and our sponsors around the world."

The second half of the book relates to what Alex calls his "other job"-interpreting the Israel-Palestine conflict to Christians in the West and other groups. "My hope is that by viewing the conflict from the perspective of a Palestinian Christian in the Holy Land, the reader will gain a more complete and nuanced understanding of the situation, from its historical origins right down to present-day realities," he writes in the introduction.

A limited number of copies of Palestinian Memories: The Story of a Palestinian Mother and Her People can be ordered through the Board of Global Ministries, Literature Center, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1518, New York, NY 10115. The phone number is (212) 870-3761. The price is $25.00 per copy, book rate postage included.

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

Messer Elected Chairperson of Global AIDS Fund Committee

Dr. Donald E. Messer, executive director of the Center for the Church and Global AIDS, Centennial, Colorado, has been elected by the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee to serve as chairperson.

Messer succeeds Bishop Fritz Mutti and wife Etta Mae Mutti, who have served as co-chairs of the committee since its inception in 2005. Under their leadership, more than $1.8 million has been raised to help fight the global HIV and AIDS pandemic internationally. The Global AIDS Fund has provided grants to nearly 70 HIV/AIDS projects in more than 20 countries around the world.

The Global AIDS Fund Committee is charged with overseeing the promotion, use, supervision and distribution of the fund.

Messer wrote the original legislation adopted by the 2004 General Conference that established the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund to be used to support programs offering HIV and AIDS education, prevention, treatment and care services in the U.S. and around the world. The goal is to raise at least $8 million for HIV/AIDS.

“Those who are infected with HIV/AIDS experience not only the effects of this devastating disease, but also extreme stigmatization and discrimination. As disciples of Jesus Christ, United Methodists are called to continue his healing ministry to the most marginalized in the world,” said Messer.

According to the UNAIDS 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, there were 2.7 million new HIV infections and 2 million HIV-related deaths last year. Two-thirds of the estimated 33 million people living with HIV are in Sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 370,000 children under age 15 became infected with HIV in 2007.

To support the Global AIDS Fund, you can donate online, contribute through any local United Methodist Church, or send gifts to: UMCOR Advance #982345 Global AIDS Fund, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. You may also call 1-800-554-8583 to make a credit card donation. For more information, visit the Global AIDS Fund website or UMCOR United Methodist Global AIDS Fund.

Africa University stays resilient, despite economy, committee hears

Interim vice chancellor Fanuel Tagwira reports on Africa University's status during the school’s advisory development committee meeting Sept. 6 in Nashville, Tenn. UMNS photos by Josh Tinley.

By Josh Tinley*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)-A few days after issuing an urgent plea for funds, Africa University's advisory development committee celebrated the school's resilience amid economic hardship.

Committee members learned Sept. 6 that, despite staggering inflation rates and political unrest in the school's home country of Zimbabwe, the United Methodist-related institution continues to pay its faculty and increase enrollment.

In a Sept. 3 letter to United Methodist leaders across the globe, Fanuel Tagwira, the university's interim vice chancellor, implored congregations to pay 100 percent of their apportionments for the school so that Africa University can survive in Zimbabwe's dismal economic climate.

According to the Zimbabwean government, inflation rose to 11 million percent in June. A bottle of Coca Cola costs Z$3 trillion, and Zimbabwe recently cut 10 zeros from its currency, Tagwira told United Methodist News Service.

Supporters and administrators of the pan-African school near Mutare, Zimbabwe, remain optimistic. During the committee meeting, Tagwira announced that Africa University had welcomed the largest class of first-year international students in its history and that the school continues to provide three meals per day for each student.

University officials were happy that the enrollment of international students increased in spite of the political climate in the country. About 120 of the 450 new students in this year's freshman class are from outside Zimbabwe. Tagwira also reported that the university is still making payroll, but some faculty members have asked to leave, and attracting new professors has been difficult.

Apportionments are crucial
Elsie Cunningham, on staff with United Methodist Communications, told the committee that 30 annual conferences remitted 100 percent of their apportionments for Africa University in 2007, up from 20 in 2006. She attributed this in part to the agency's "Give faithfully, give hope" campaign. The church as a whole remitted just over 90 percent of its apportionments, she said.
Giving in 2008 is about 1 percent ahead of where it was last year, according to James Salley of the Africa University Development Office.

Apportionments are responsible for half of the university's operating budget. He noted that annual conferences often wait until the end of the year to pay their apportionments, but the university needs to receive apportionment money throughout the year to survive Zimbabwe's erratic economic climate. At one time, the school had $1.7 million in reserves, but that money had to be tapped, he said.

"People need to understand," he said, "that as soon as apportionments come in, they go right back out."

Tagwira also encouraged congregations and annual conferences to send in their apportionments early.

Positive signs
The North Texas Annual Conference is well on its way to meeting the $1 million pledge it made to the university last year, according to committee members Lisa Tichenor and the Rev. Tyrone Gordon, both from North Texas. The conference has already given $500,000 toward the construction of a student health clinic on the Africa University campus that should be complete in three to four months. The second $500,000 will go toward scholarships.

The Rev. Tyrone Gordon (right) and Lisa Tichenor report on the status of the North Texas Annual (regional) Conference’s $1 million pledge to the university.

The committee, whose primary task is to help the university's development office raise "gifts of love" for the school, also learned that a partnership with the Silver Springs, Md.,-based company United Converting Corp. will generate additional revenue.

The company produces lightweight insect shield blankets that are anti-viral, antibacterial and water-resistant, and they repel insects. The blankets are effective in preventing malaria and other diseases carried by insects, according to the company. Africa University is helping distribute blankets branded with the school's logo to parts of Africa where malaria and other illnesses are most prevalent. The university receives a royalty for each blanket sold.

Other positives from the development committee meeting included $361,616 given this year for direct scholarships, well above the amount given at this time last year, and the recent opening of a satellite campus in Maputo, Mozambique. The committee also discussed saturation events in which committee members and other university supporters visit congregations within an episcopal area, making a plea for contributions. A saturation event in the Nashville area was held in conjunction with the Sept. 6 meeting.

God's will
Despite the good signs, Africa University's supporters know times are tough for the school. Inflation in Zimbabwe has forced the university to charge tuition monthly, according to Irene Chibanda, university bursar. "There's no way we can charge fees for the entire semester," she told UMNS. "Instead of planning for six months, we plan month to month."

The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, said the committee needed to replenish the tenacity of those responsible for opening the university in 1992. "We don't plan to make our mark then just disappear," he said. "There is no place to talk about diminishment of resources to this university."

Del Pino assured the committee that an investment in Africa University was a safe one.

Committee chair Bishop Ernest Lyght put the university's current financial crisis in perspective. "The university has been dealing with economic crisis for several years. They have learned how to deal with it, and they are dealing with it.

"Africa University, I believe, is God's will. And God's will never fails."

*Tinley is a freelance writer in Nashville, Tenn., and staff member at the United Methodist Publishing House.

Zimbabwe’s Economic Woes Create Urgent Funding Need

Africa University Shines Through Adversity

Old Mutare, Zimbabwe: Operating in a nation beset by economic and political crises, Africa University has issued an urgent plea for United Methodist congregations to fulfill their 2008 financial obligations to the Zimbabwe-based school.

Fanuel Tagwira, interim vice chancellor of the United Methodist-related university, made the plea today in a letter addressed to United Methodist leaders around the globe.

“As I write you, our 1,300 students are on the campus of Africa University for the 2008/2009 academic year. . . . While Africa University has not missed a day of classes during this difficult time, we are now facing a crisis,” Tagwira wrote.

The core of the university’s worsening financial situation is Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation, tagged by the government at an astounding 11 million percent in June. The country’s currency loses value by the hour on many days.

One key source of financial support comes from a special United Methodist churchwide fund that levies an apportionment to congregations. In 2008, that fund’s target is $2.5 million.

Tagwira is urging congregations to pay their entire Africa University apportionment early to help the university get through the crisis.

“As our reserve accounts dwindle as a result of the nation’s dire economic situation, we need your immediate financial support through the apportionments that come from the Africa University fund,” Tagwira wrote.

Since opening in 1992, Africa University has become a beacon of hope for Zimbabwe and for Africa. Its graduates have become key leaders in civil society, government, and the church all across Africa. Students this year come from 22 African countries.

As Zimbabwe has been mired in economic and political crises, there have been times when Africa University was the nation’s only institution of higher education open for classes. And it is a partner in an off-campus daily feeding program, providing meals for 5,000 vulnerable children including many AIDS orphans.

Tagwira said the university has altered its billing practices because of the out of control inflation, requiring students to make monthly payments for tuition and room and board instead of paying once a semester.

“We know this creates a hardship for our Zimbabwean students and their parents, but in the current environment, we believe this is the best way to move forward,” he wrote.

“We are conserving financial resources in every possible way. We have continued to meet our payroll, pay our bills and serve our community and continent. Nonetheless, we have been forced to deplete our reserve funds to meet day-to-day obligations,” Tagwira explained.

The interim vice chancellor said Africa University is prepared to assist once the nation’s elected leaders reach an equitable, peaceful resolution to Zimbabwe’s political difficulties.

“The university’s Institute of Peace Leadership and Governance is an important resource. The Institute is positioned to be part of the long-term solution of Zimbabwe’s problems. It is highly respected throughout Zimbabwe and across Africa.

Tagwira said Africa University is “doing exceedingly well” during this tumultuous period. “During this extraordinary time in Zimbabwe, we are committed to do everything we can to meet our mission to provide a quality education within a Pan-African context. Our campus is safe. Our faculty is well qualified and respected around the world. Our students are dedicated to learning and excited to be in school,” he wrote.

“Along with your financial support, we ask for your prayers, for our university, and for our nation as it struggles to find its way during this season of unease,” he concluded.

Persons wishing to make individual online contributions to Africa University should go to the Africa University Development Office Web site. The office is located in Nashville, TN. The telephone number is (615) 340-7348.

Note: The full letter from Fanuel Tagwira can be found on the Tennessee Annual Conference Global Methodism blogsite -- Tagwira letter to American church leaders.

Important Request from Africa University

Dearest Friends,

As I write you, our 1,300 students are on the campus of Africa University for the 2008/2009 academic year. As Zimbabwe deals with serious economic and political challenges, they are attending classes taught by our outstanding faculty and supported by our dedicated staff.

While Africa University has not missed a day of classes during this difficult time, we are now facing a crisis caused by escalating prices.

We need your help more than ever before: First, we seek your prayers for our university and our country. And, second, as our reserve accounts dwindle as a result of the nation’s dire economic situation, we need your immediate financial support through the apportionments that come from the Africa University fund.

Since we opened to students in 1992, Africa University has been a jewel for Zimbabwe and for Africa. Our success is a result of United Methodists’ unrelenting prayers and their commitment to support a world-class university.

Our graduates are key leaders in civil society, government, and the church all across Africa.
As about 400 new students and more than 800 returning students are taking their place on our campus, we owe our existence to the financial assistance from United Methodists around the world. That is why I am writing today, to report on what is happening here and tell you of our need for congregations to meet their apportionment obligations in full, and early.

The dedication of our students, faculty and staff is truly inspiring. During some recent periods, Africa University was the only institution of higher education that remained open across Zimbabwe.

Our students’ families, faculty, and staff live in a country plagued by runaway inflation. Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation, running officially at more than 11 million percent, has forced us to charge tuition and room and boarding fees monthly.

We know this creates a hardship for our Zimbabwean students and their parents, but in the current environment, we believe this is the best way to move forward.

We are conserving financial resources in every possible way. We have continued to meet our payroll, pay our bills and serve our community and continent. Nonetheless, we have been forced to deplete our reserve funds to meet day-to-day obligations.

As the 2008/2009 academic year gets underway, one of the ways we continue to serve is through our new Master’s Degree program in Intellectual Property. More than 20 students from 12 countries have started their studies in an area that is important to the continent’s economic development. Our partners in this area are the World Intellectual Property Organisation, based in Geneva, Switzerland, and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, located in Harare.

As our elected leaders struggle to find an equitable, peaceful resolution to Zimbabwe’s political difficulties, Africa University stands ready to assist in seeking reconciliation and helping in the effort to rebuild our nation’s economy.

The university’s Institute of Peace Leadership and Governance is an important resource. The Institute is positioned to be part of the long-term solution of Zimbabwe’s problems. It is highly respected throughout Zimbabwe and across Africa.

In July, the Institute trained and certified persons representing the 12 universities located in Zimbabwe to start teaching classes in peace and leadership on their campuses.

As part of a broad community, we have an obligation to help those who are less fortunate. Our Orphans and Vulnerable Children Program, administered by the Faculty of Health Sciences, provides life-sustaining nourishment, clothing and life skills to an estimated 5,000 children. Many of them have lost both parents as a result of the AIDS pandemic. This partnership between the Zimbabwe Annual Conference, UMCOR and Africa University has been studied as a model that can be duplicated in other African countries.

Africa University continues to play an important role in the life of our church.

Just a few weeks ago, the Africa Central Conference met at Africa University to elect episcopal leaders for Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Seventy delegates, monitors and observers along with eight bishops from ten African countries met on our campus July 22-23.

In this conference, The Rev. Joaquina Filipe Nhanala was elected July 23 as the first female United Methodist bishop in Africa. She will serve as leader of the Mozambique Area. Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa was re-elected to lead the denomination’s Zimbabwe area.

During this extraordinary time in Zimbabwe, we are committed to do everything we can to meet our mission to provide a quality education within a Pan-African context. We strive to help persons acquire knowledge and skills, grow in spiritual maturity; develop sound moral values, ethics and leadership qualities.

In the context of Zimbabwe, Africa University is doing exceedingly well. Our campus is safe. Our faculty is well qualified and respected around the world. Our students are dedicated to learning and excited to be in school.

That is why your continued support is so important. The financial situation in Zimbabwe has necessitated this communication.

If at all possible, we humbly ask you to meet your Africa University apportionment obligations early and in full. This will enable us to continue operating at current levels without having to eliminate important academic programs.

Along with your financial support, we ask for your prayers, for our university, and for our nation as it struggles to find its way during this season of unease.

Grace and peace,
Fanuel Tagwira
Interim Vice Chancellor, African University
Mutare, Zimbabwe
http://www.africau.edu/

Religious leaders call for cease-fire in Philippines

United Methodist Bishops Solito K. Toquero (left) and Leo A. Soriano sign a covenant at the conclusion of a Muslim-Christian peace-building dialogue in July 2007 in Davao City, Philippines. A UMNS file photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.

A UMNS Report By Kathy L. Gilbert*

United Methodist Bishop Leo A. Soriano has joined other religious leaders in calling for a cease-fire in the southern Philippines between the government and Muslim rebels known as the Moro Islamic Liberation Force.

The violence erupted in early August on the island of Mindanao after the Philippine Supreme Court blocked a deal that would expand an existing Muslim autonomous zone, according to news reports. The deal had been opposed by Christian communities.

The clashes have displaced more than 300,000 people, mostly from Muslim areas, according to relief workers in Mindanao, the second-largest island in the Philippines.

"Moro issues in Mindanao are legitimate issues of justice and peace that require honest scrutiny historically, politically, economically and culturally," said Soriano, who leads the church's Davoa Area in the Philippines.

"The Philippine government should take this seriously, and negotiations towards this goal should be done in utmost transparency. While there is an exigency for resolution, let us be careful in crafting our options. Military action is not the correct option," he wrote in an Aug. 20 pastoral letter.

Soriano emphasized that differences in religious beliefs are not to blame for the fighting. The conflict, he said, is due to "economic, political and cultural injustices."

At a United Methodist-sponsored peace-building gathering last summer for Muslims and Christians in the Philippines, Soriano said conflict in Mindanao is not due to religious issues, though "religion can be an important instrument.

"It is our hope our churches will be one of the pieces that leads to peace," the bishop said at the July 2007 dialogue in Davao City.

Dialogue participants created and signed a covenant pledging to act together to bring a peaceful end to human rights violations; continue to hold peace dialogues; educate members of local churches and masjids, especially children, about each other's faith; and understand and respect each other's religious practices.

Recently, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines issued a call for peace following reports that violence had escalated in Mindanao and that its victims include civilians and children.

"We counsel all UCCP members to exercise Christ's message of love for our Muslim brothers and sisters," wrote the Revs. Juliet Solia-Aguilar and Raymundo P. Gelloagan, national program coordinators of the UCCP. "… We must resist any temptation to foster prejudice and ill will on the basis of faith."

InPeace Mindanao, a grassroots movement linking Muslims, indigenous peoples and Christians, called for the "roots of the armed conflict" to be addressed.

"We believe that peace in Moroland can only be achieved when the roots of armed conflict-economic inequality, political marginalization, national oppression, and imperialist globalization-are addressed.

"We are saddened, however, that the political machinations of the Arroyo regime lead to the further minoritization of the Moro people instead of upholding their right to self-determination."

In a recent speech, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, declared that "there is no all-out war. What we are doing," she said, "we are doing to have all-out peace in Mindanao."

The New York Times reported Arroyo is exerting pressure on the 11,000-strong rebel front that has been fighting for Muslim self-rule since the 1970s.

Soriano cited the United Methodist law book which states "war is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ."

"As a church, we denounce this war because its consequences are deplorable," he said. "It is lamentable to see innocent civilians, both Moro and other inhabitants, to flee from their homes with tremendous fear and anxiety. It is also disheartening to note that when they return to their homes, their houses and properties are turned into ashes and are gone."

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

Black Methodist caucus establishes fund, giving program

By United Methodist News Service*


Black Methodists for Church Renewal has established two financial endeavors to encourage, connect and train African-American youth and young adults in The United Methodist Church and to support the work of the church's black caucus.

A permanent endowment honoring Bishop James S. Thomas and his wife, Ruth, will provide support for leadership of African-American youth and young adults.

A second financial endeavor is a planned giving program to support BMCR mission initiatives and the caucus' work as an advocacy, ministry and leadership development organization in behalf of more than 2,400 primarily black United Methodist congregations across the United States.

The caucus board of directors established the financial initiatives during its Aug. 15-16 meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

"If we are concerned about the future of BMCR, we need to find a way to empower and involve the young people of our constituency," said retired Bishop Forrest C. Stith, a consultant to the board.

He suggested initiating efforts toward creative programming, increasing attendance at various United Methodist conferences and organizing special events that would attract young people.
"This is an opportunity for BMCR to develop unearned income," said the Rev. Joseph L. Crawford Sr., treasurer of the board. "Our time under God is now to develop and direct these funds."

BMCR, along with the United Methodist Church Foundation, launched the endowment with $50,000 and a desire to raise at least $250,000 to begin awarding grants to annual (regional) conferences and jurisdictions to sponsor youth leadership events.

The fund connects with the goals of the Thomas Shockley Youth Theological Academy, a two-week program that identifies and nurtures children with the potential to be strong United Methodist leaders. The academy is named in honor of Bishop Thomas and the late Rev. Grant Shockley, a noted Christian educator, who began conversations on how to work with young people in the church.

The separate giving program was established with an initial $10,000 contribution by BMCR Chairperson Cheryl L. Walker.

For more information, visit www.bmcrumc.org or e-mail bmcr@umpublishing.org.

*This story is based on a news release by Pamela Crosby, executive director of Black Methodists

Bishop Yemba re-elected in the Congo

United Methodist Bishop David Kekumba Yemba is now a bishop for life following his Aug. 26 re-election to oversee the church's Central Congo Area. A UMNS photo by Ronny Perry.

By United Methodist News Service

United Methodist Bishop David Kekumba Yemba has been re-elected to oversee the church's Central Congo Area after four years of service.

With his re-election, he is now a bishop for life.

Yemba won Aug. 26 on the third ballot by the Congo Central Conference, meeting in Kananga in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The election had begun with three candidates, but one was dropped with too few votes. The final ballot gave 119 votes to Yemba and 35 to the Rev. Richard Okoko, a pastor in the church's East Congo Annual Conference.

"It was a great expression of joy to know the people have confidence in what we have been doing and want to continue as far as the Lord is helping," he said.

Yemba said the 2008 United Methodist General Conference held in Fort Worth, Texas, last April set clear priorities for The United Methodist Church to focus on leadership, strengthening congregations, global health and fighting poverty.

"The people are expecting leadership from the church in terms of how The United Methodist Church and our connectional system can help us exchange experiences, ideas and to share resources."

Yemba is the third United Methodist bishop elected or re-elected in Africa this year. In July, Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa was re-elected to lead the denomination's Zimbabwe Area, and the Rev. Joaquina Filipe Nhanala was elected to oversee the Mozambique Area. On Sept. 1, Nhanala will become the first female United Methodist bishop in Africa.

One more United Methodist bishop is expected to be elected in Africa this year. In December, balloting is scheduled to replace retiring Bishop Joseph Humper of Sierra Leone.

The Central Congo Area, where Yemba leads the church, is one of the church's largest episcopal areas, with four annual conferences and two provisional annual conferences. Together, they cover 10 out of 11 provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Yemba said it is a challenge to serve such a large area.

"The Congo has just gotten out of repeated wars and we need people trained to deliver what is needed," he said. "We need district superintendents, lay people … all pledging to work together with the bishop."

When he was first elected in 2005, Yemba was a professor and founding dean of the faculty of theology at United Methodist-related Africa University in Zimbabwe. He replaced Bishop Fama Onema, who had served the area for more than 30 years.

Since his election, Yemba has been an outspoken proponent of changing the denomination's structure in an effort to make The United Methodist Church less U.S.-centric and more global.

In an interview last fall with United Methodist Communications, he said the change should come
"in terms of services, in terms of meetings, in terms of use of human resources, personnel from different corners of the globe. I think this is a kind of a church we are dreaming of."

Yemba was on the staff of Africa University from 1990 until his election. Prior to that, he was a senior lecturer and associate professor at Zaire Protestant Seminary.

He has a bachelor of divinity degree from the Protestant School of Theology of the Congo Free University at Kisangani and a doctorate in systematic theology from the University of Strasbourg, France. He was ordained an elder in the church's Central Congo Annual Conference in 1970.

Yemba and his wife, Henriette, have five children.

Bishop Ernest Newman dead at age 80

By United Methodist News Service

Aug. 29, 2008

Bishop Ernest W. Newman

United Methodist Bishop Ernest W. Newman, the church's first African American elected bishop in the southeastern United States, has died at age 80.

Newman died Aug. 28 in Atlanta, where he lived.

He served as bishop over the church's Nashville (Tenn.) Area from 1984 until his retirement in 1992.

"Bishop Ernest W. Newman was our bishop—the first African-American elected from Southeast Jurisdiction," said Pamela Crosby, executive director of Black Methodists for Church Renewal.

"He was educated in the historically black colleges and upheld the history and initiatives of the black church."

"He was a very dedicated worker and dedicated to the church. He was a fair person," said the Rev. Louis Johnson, who served as a district superintendent on Newman's cabinet in the late 1980s.

Crosby noted that Newman was a strong supporter of the black church and the Black College Fund, and that his brother, Omega Newman, was one of the founders of Black Methodists for Church Renewal.

"Our caucus lifts up the great work of this man who served with distinction in the episcopacy and whose family remains at the heart of Methodism," she said.

In 1984, Newman was elected to the episcopacy from the church's Florida Annual (regional) Conference, where he was a district superintendent. There, he also had been the conference's first black pastor of a large all-white congregation.

Born in Kingstree, S.C., Newman received his bachelor of arts degree from Claflin College in Orangeburg, S.C., and his master of divinity from Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta.
He was ordained deacon in 1946 and, after transferring to the Florida Conference in 1953, was ordained an elder in the Methodist Church.

Newman served Florida churches in Ocala, Jacksonville and Plantation. He was superintendent of the Melbourne District from 1972 to 1977 and the Deland District from 1983 until his episcopal election in 1984. Between those appointments, he was pastor of the 2,000-member Plantation United Methodist Church.

He was on the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race from 1976 to 1984 and served eight years as secretary of the Southeastern Jurisdiction Court of Appeals. He served on the boards of trustees of many United Methodist-related schools of higher education.

He leaves his wife, Thelma; two children, Kathy Newman McCoy and Ernest Newman Jr.; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sept. 2 at Warren United Methodist Church in Atlanta. Burial will follow at Westview Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in Newman's name to Claflin University.