World Malaria Day: United Methodists To Help Blanket Sierra Leone With Nets

WASHINGTON, DC: On the eve of World Malaria Day, the people of The United Methodist Church announced they will participate in a nationwide nets distribution program in Sierra Leone in partnership with the United Nations Foundation and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Bishop Gregory Palmer, President of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, made the announcement today while attending the One World Against Malaria Summit in Washington, DC.

The event brought together global and U.S. faith leaders, high-profile political officials, global health leaders, and senior representatives from the United Nations and international institutions to focus on working in partnership to end deaths from malaria by 2015. The summit was presented by the Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty and the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Malaria.

The objective of the One World Against Malaria Summit is to launch a first-ever, Sub-Saharan Africa-wide campaign to engage faith-based institutions, working in partnership with governments and the private and non-profit sectors, in increasing the distribution and use of mosquito nets and anti-malarial treatments. Attendees presented new commitments to action.

"As part of our commitment to raise $75 million to combat malaria through the United Nations Malaria Partnership, the people of The United Methodist Church will seek to help cover the entire vulnerable population of Sierra Leone with bed nets,” said Bishop Palmer.

Palmer said that the involvement of churches and other faith-based organizations is critically important in helping to end malaria. “You will find The United Methodist Church in places in Africa where no one else is—sometimes at the end of and beyond the road. Because of our long history of mission and outreach, we have built up trust with those who live there and we are able to mobilize large numbers of volunteers,” said Bishop Palmer.

The people of The United Methodist Church are founding partners in Nothing But Nets, a global grassroots campaign to prevent malaria through the distribution of long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets. To date, Nothing But Nets has raised more than $26 million. Within the UN Foundation Malaria Partnership, The United Methodist Church is also working with Lutheran World Relief to coordinate on the ground malaria intervention, treatment and awareness.

Leading up to World Malaria Day, the church asked members to consider giving up eating a lunch out and donate the money saved to buy a bed net—to skip a lunch, send a net, save a life. A donation of only $10 covers the cost of purchasing and distributing a net to a family in Africa. To donate, visit umcnothingbutnets.org.


About the United Methodist Global Health Initiative
Global health is a major focus for The United Methodist Church, which has more than 11.5 million members internationally and is in mission in more than 125 countries. A new Global Health Initiative (GHI) aims to combat diseases of poverty such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, as well as to create conditions for better health for people worldwide through partnerships, awareness, giving, health-education infrastructure and advocacy. The denomination has long been a key player in the fight against malaria, operating hospitals, clinics and mission centers across Africa for more than 160 years. Nothing But Nets is one component of the GHI.

Prayer book helps ‘join hands’ around malaria and other diseases

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 24, 2009, /GBOD/ -- Siyabonga, which means "thanksgiving," is a 24 hours care centre run by Sister Chrisna du Plessis. The facility is situated in a rural district on South Africa's West Coast.

The patients, many completely bedridden, are AIDS sufferers, paraplegics and stroke victims. At Siyabonga they not only receive the physical care needed but also the love of Christ through the tireless work of Chrisna and her fellow care-workers who make each one feel special.

For most of them Siyabonga is their permanent home. Their poverty stricken families are unable to care for them and distance and cost prevent regular visiting.

In 2006, Dr. Donald Messer, after discovering 10-year old copies of The Upper Room daily devotional guide still being used in the waiting room of Maua Methodist Hospital (MMH) in Kenya, contacted Upper Room Ministries about publishing a special collection of prayers for persons suffering with HIV/AIDS and other diseases, including malaria.

Messer's initiative led to the publication of "Prayers for Encouragement: Hope for Persons Living with HIV & AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis, and Other Serious Diseases."

"Prayers for Encouragement”--especially the issues that are now available in Xhosa and Afrikaans-- have been used for many months at Siyabonga, contributing so much to bringing comfort to these destitute people.

Although many of them have been totally rejected and abandoned by their families, "Prayers for Encouragement" has connected them, in their physically isolated situation, to the larger family of Christ, bringing a sense of love and belonging.

The clinic at the Oceana Fishing factory in the little fishing town of Stompneus Bay, where unemployment and poverty are rife, continues to distribute "Prayers for Encouragement," in Xhosa and Afrikaans. The patients, many AIDS and TB sufferers, continue to ask "When are more of the little books coming?"

The continual demand speaks for itself as to the wonderful way this little booklet has helped bring comfort in the midst of their suffering, their questions of "why?" and their feelings of helplessness.

"Prayers for Encouragement" is our mighty God's love shown to them through the caring words of others in similar situations.

An exciting new project called "Masibambane," which means “Joining Hands” and deals with the AIDS situation and unemployment has been started in Laingville, a rural town on the West Coast. A farm has already been purchased where training and projects are under way creating desperately needed training and employment. A member of an American Health Organization has visited to advise and make recommendations, in addition to another overseas based company that is assisting with the Wind Power Project and expertise from a Cape Technickon providing the industrial sewing skills needed.

I am in the process of making contact with them to make them aware of Upper Room and "Prayers for Encouragement" and to see how we at Upper Room can contribute to this project, which already shows signs of God's powerful hand at work.

Published by Upper Room Ministries, a ministry of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, "Prayers for Encouragement" is now available in Afrikaans, English, French, Kiswahili, Korean, Portuguese, Setswana, Sotho, Spanish, and Xhosa.

Upper Room Ministries is an ecumenical organization that produces resources for encouraging deeper spiritual formation, including The Upper Room daily devotional guide, five other magazines, and a line of books and programs for youth and adults. For more information contact Dale Waymack at dwaymack@upperroom.org.

*Elaine Richardson works part-time with Africa Upper Room Ministries (AURM) and lives in Western Cape, South Africa.

Rethink Church launch events set for New York City and Washington, D.C. -- Conferences, churches urged to participate locally

Nashville: May 5 and 6 marks the kickoff of Rethink Church, the next evolution of The United Methodist Church’s “Open hearts” welcoming campaign. Major events will take place in New York City and Washington, D.C., and local churches and annual conferences are encouraged to put on events to benefit their communities, too.

“If we are to Rethink Church, we must rethink what it means be a servant community,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications.

Many United Methodist bishops from around the world will mark the launch on May 5 when they visit day laborers at three sites in and around Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Council of Bishops meeting. The bishops will serve breakfast to the laborers, and will offer conversation and prayer.

On May 6, more than 100 United Methodists will take to the streets of New York City to perform random acts of kindness. That includes hailing cabs, opening doors, and more. Those street teams will also give away iTune cards – good for one song download – that promote www.10thousanddoors.org, a new Web site to which The United Methodist Church is directing persons unaffiliated with the denomination, via Rethink Church advertising.

Local churches and annual conferences can participate in launch events, as well. Already, the North Texas Annual Conference has aligned a housing renovation project with the Rethink Church launch. More events are being added daily.

Resources for conferences and churches are available at www.rethinkchurch.org, a Web site that offers tools and resources to United Methodists for the Rethink Church launch. Just added to the site’s “Getting Started” area is new information on how congregations can get involved, including tips for launch-date activities. Also included is a conference- and church-level strategy for staging random acts of kindness events, similar to the event scheduled for New York City. Ideas range from cleaning up graffiti to bagging groceries.

Rethink Church launch events seek to make tangible the messaging found within The United Methodist Church’s Rethink Church advertising, which begins on April 20, and officially kicks off on May 5. United Methodist Communications (UMCom), the communications agency of the denomination, oversees the Rethink Church advertising and welcoming program, and provides Rethink Church training, media, and public relations support services to United Methodist congregations and conferences worldwide.

Exploring the best ways to bridge the gap between colleges and universities and United Methodist churches

Academy Relationship

By Vicki Brown*

United Methodist-related colleges and universities, local churches, and annual conferences are finding new and creative ways to strengthen their connections – from offering leadership development for clergy and laity to inviting students to Thanksgiving dinner.

Five events attended by 137 church-relations directors, campus ministers and chaplains, church pastors and youth directors, deans, colleges presidents, and annual conference leaders have been sponsored this year by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in an effort to discover what are the best ways to bridge the gap between colleges and universities and United Methodist churches.

Lisa Livingston, executive director of alumni relations at Columbia College in Columbia, S.C., said the campus is across the street from the annual conference center.

“We asked the annual conference what they needed that we could provide. They said they needed leadership opportunities for clergy and laity. We have a leadership institute, and we are putting together workshops and seminars. Had we not come to the table with that we would not have known what we could do,” she said during the final Bridging the Gap event in Daytona Beach, Fla., on March 27-29.

Ingrid McIntyre, GBHEM’s director of Connectional Relations and the organizer of the events, said she is developing a list of “best practices” from the five events.

She cautioned the connections cannot just be about money.

“Both the higher education institutions and the churches need to be okay with giving something for nothing for a while,” McIntyre said. She suggested that churches ask a college in their annual conference what 10 things they could do for the college and vice versa, then pick at least one.

The Rev. Quincy Brown, chaplain at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga., said LaGrange students are encouraged to go into congregations and find a need. One example of this is the LaGrange College Bus Project, a tutoring lab on wheels that students took into neighborhoods where students struggled and needed academic help.

The Rev. Brenda Beaver, associate pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas, who attended the first Bridging the Gap event in Arlington was impressed with the commitment from the United Methodist institutions of higher education to “sell” what they have to offer to the local churches so as to recruit future church leaders who are educated in the denomination’s colleges and universities.

“Not only is this plan good for creating leaders, it also takes a positive step toward restoring an understanding of the practice, teachings, and heritage of The United Methodist Church in future generations of young people,” she added.

“The local churches need to be intentional in their relationship-building efforts to offer generous hospitality to those college students, most of whom are living away from their homes and families,” Beaver said.

Dr. James Noseworthy, president of Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tenn., led sessions at two of the events. He said the Methodist people started more than 1,000 institutions of higher education in the United States. Today, there are 109 schools, colleges, and universities related to the UMC and 13 United Methodist theological schools.

“There are a lot more challenges than when we were the only game in town. There’s a community college on every street corner. Major universities are challenging us for our best students,” he said. “Colleges and universities need to be institutions of which the church can be proud.”

Mike Crawford, assistant dean of students and director of church relations at Florida Southern College, a UM-related college in Lakeland, said he thinks higher education officials at the top level understand the relationship with the church and want to tend it. “But at the next level down I don’t think they quite get this relationship,” he said.

The Rev. Kent Lewis, chaplain at Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro, said colleges have the responsibility of educating congregations about the connection.

Kelly Minter, coordinator of the Network of Ministries with Young People for the Florida Annual Conference, said some of the disconnect comes from the fact that local churches are “farming out” ministry with young people and youth ministers are often not United Methodist.

“They are underpaid, don’t have resources, and are under pressure for numbers,” Minter said.

McIntyre and Brad Fiscus, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Tennessee Annual Conference, cited Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn., as an excellent example of the benefits of closer connections between colleges and churches.

McIntyre said Martin Methodist was a two-year college on the verge of closing but is now a four-year institution that has 1,000 students this year. “They have built a strong relationship with churches in the annual conference,” she said.

Fiscus said he and other youth workers make sure that the college is in the face of United Methodist youth at every event.

Anne Burkholder, associate dean of studies at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, said colleges have to show their outcomes. “If we are not talking about what kind of impact our graduates are having in the world, it’s not going to matter what the marks of a United Methodist college are,” she said.

“What’s really at issue is that we have to form a compelling ethos that draws people to the colleges and universities.”

*Brown is associate editor and writer in the Office of Interpretation, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.


31 Ways Church and Academy Can Be in Relationship:

If you are a part of an academic institution:

.Host receptions at UM churches in surrounding cities on Sundays after church.
.Admissions staff should forward names of known United Methodists to the chaplain or campus minister.
.Campus ministry groups can go to churches that do not have youth ministries to help lead youth events.
.Write articles about your school or campus ministry for the UM Reporter, local papers, GBHEM’s Web site, the annual conference newspaper, or other publications.
.Invite church leaders and members to school lectures and trainings.
.Take your college choir on a tour of churches.
.Take students on United Methodist college tours.
.Establish an e-mail group to local congregations so they can stay up to date on school functions.
.Schedule visits from bishops and district superintendents.
.Chaplains can go out into the community (churches); school leaders should go to each church in the surrounding districts to speak about the school, not just to fill-in as the preacher.
.Request that churches identify members who are potential students.
.Host practical seminars on how to finance your higher education.

If you are active in the United Methodist Church:

.Host a special Sunday for homecoming or have a specific Sunday that highlights the school with the president, bishop, or an alum preaching, have it printed in school homecoming materials, have the university choir sing, host a meal.
.Have annual conference and Board of Higher Education meetings at your school.
.Turn in referrals of students from local churches to chaplains of UM Schools or Wesley Foundations.
.Plan Youth events at the United Methodist college in your area.
.Ask students to take a lead role for UM Student Day Worship - Choose a different day if the Sunday after Thanksgiving doesn’t work well for your church. Graduation Sunday, maybe?
.Put United Methodist students in the public eye. Ask them to pray at events or speak, mention them in worship.
.Take a trip to a campus ministry for worship.
.Have juniors and seniors in high school worship with campus ministries.
.Send students to Student Forum.
.Establish scholarships for Annual Conference schools for students who have shown active involvement and leadership in conference youth events.
.Be mindful of using lay terms when reaching students in academia.
.Pastors should hand out United Methodist college and university handbooks during confirmation interview with individual confirmands.
.Collaborate on days or events between the church and school communities.
.Host faith and values discussion groups on campus for students.
.Have vital and relevant worship experiences for the culture you are reaching.
.Make sure that information about United Methodist loans and scholarships is available to potential students/parents at your church.

Ways churches and schools can collaborate on projects:

.Determine who the contact person is in your area that will be a liaison between your local school and church. Make they are always updated and active.
.Be the intiator. Don’t wait for the church/ school group to start something amazing.
.Be okay with giving something for nothing (at least, no immediate gain).

Ethnic local church, Human Relations Day grants made

Nearly $220,000 approved for social justice ministries across U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The directors of the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) awarded at its spring meeting $185,231 in Ethnic Local Church Grants and $30,748 in a Human Relations Day Grant.

The Ethnic Local Church Grants program is to strengthen congregations through education, advocacy or leadership development for social justice engagement. The grants are awarded twice each year during the directors’ spring and fall meetings.

The $185,231 in Ethnic Local Church Grants was split among 13 programs in the five U.S. jurisdictions of the denomination. The programs are spread among nine annual conferences, one ethnic caucus and a cooperative program between a general agency and general commission.

Funds were approved for a wide variety of ministries. For instance, the denomination’s Hispanic/Latino caucus received a grant for advocacy training related to racism and immigration. Others included a seminary program for Native Americans in Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, an African-American heritage program in New Jersey, and a community garden program by a multi-racial congregation in Chicago.

Ethnic Local Church Grants
The 2009 Ethnic Young Adult Summer Internship (EYA) Program received $75,000. This program is a joint endeavor of the Inter-Ethnic Strategy Development Group (IESDG) of the General Commission on Religion & Race and GBCS. IESDG comprises the leaders of the denomination’s five U.S. racial/ethnic caucuses: Black Methodists for Church Renewal, Methodists Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans (MARCHA), the Native American International Caucus, the National Federation of Asian American United Methodists, and the Pacific Islander National Caucus of United Methodists.

Twelve persons, ages 18-25, from around the world participated in the 2008 summer internships. They worked for eight weeks with social justice advocacy agencies in the Washington, D.C., area. GBCS supervises intern placements and activities.

“Listening to Native Churches: Visioning a Seminary Program for Native American Leadership” received $12,331. The funds will support a dialogue tentatively set for this August that will address Native American theological educational needs at seminaries. The event is a partnership involving the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference and Saint Paul School of Theology at Oklahoma City University.

“The Annual Pathways to African-American Heritage Program” was granted $5,000. The Galilee United Methodist Church History and Archives Center in Englewood, N.J., received the funds for its scholarship initiative that sends youths on a pilgrimage to explore African-American history.

New Day United Methodist Church in the Bronx, N.Y., received $15,000 for its “Abundant Social Justice Ministries.” The multi-racial communitywide program aims to build a comprehensive justice ministry that includes, but is not limited to, congregational-based community organizing. New York Conference is helping the ministry get started by providing financial support.

“Faith Focused Church and Community Restoration” in Desoto, Texas, was awarded $15,000. The program of United Methodist Church of the Disciple includes direct service mentoring and social justice education especially targeted to teenage mothers, the mentally ill and children.

Brentwood United Methodist Church, Denver, will receive $10,000 for its faith-based community organizing program. The multi-racial program will provide a foundation for collaborative ministry, neighborhood revitalization, and congregational development in Southwest Denver. Six bilingual, faith-based organizers, both Spanish and Vietnamese, will provide the Denver Public School system quarterly training sessions, and be deployed to build partnerships with existing institutions. GBCS seed monies are to be applied to components necessary for organizing.

The grant to MARCHA of $10,000 is to help create comprehensive resource materials to raise awareness of institutional racism and issues surrounding immigration reform. A three-day consultation will gather information for the materials, and an advocacy workshop will be offered at the MARCHA Annual Encounter in August. The goal is to equip and mobilize persons who will work for social change on behalf of the Hispanic/Latino population.

The $7,000 to Hedding United Methodist Church in Barre, Vt., is for a local church multi-racial initiative to confront systemic, white privilege. Invitational events, ecumenical partnerships, community-based gathering events and creation of a Council on Racial Reconciliation will be employed to realign existing ministries to address racism. GBCS monies will support an internship and resources for the community events.

The Pharr, Texas, Literacy Project will receive $5,000 for a leadership development outreach to a predominantly Mexican-American population. This ongoing program seeks to provide comprehensive community outreach through literacy, hurricane relief, food pantry, cultural arts and English as a Second Language classes. This program also received $8,000 through an Ethnic Local Church grant in 2008.

Edison Park United Methodist Church in Chicago will receive $10,000 for “Education, Advocacy and Action for Filipino Social Injustices.” This is a new initiative for a Filipino-American congregation to be educated for advocacy through cultural presentations, and four specific workshops on poverty, Filipino World War II veteran equity, extrajudicial killings and human rights violations in the Philippines, and advocacy for undocumented persons.

Sons of Thunder Summer Day Camp in Titusville, Fla., will receive $10,000. This program of Indian River City United Methodist Church is a five-week interracial youth camp for boys. GBCS monies will be applied toward camp supplies. In approving the full grant request, GBCS said the ministry of a Caucasian church partnering with African-American churches provides “a great model for social justice mentoring programs.”

Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Community Garden Program in Chicago will receive $5,900. The ministry is a multi-racial response to inequitable food access as a justice issue. The proposal addresses health concerns among people of color and access to public space, sustainability, agricultural subsidiary and local ownership of food. GBCS monies will be applied toward project implementation.

GBCS described the ministry by Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church as “a good program on environmental issues, but needs to deal more with economic justice.” John Hill, director of GBCS’s work area on Economic and Environmental Justice, will provide support for this program.

Social Justice Advocacy for Refugees in Albany, N.Y., was awarded $5,000. A multicultural leadership team at Emmaus United Methodist Church leads the ministry.

Nearly $270,000 was available for the grants, and $83,100 has been carried over for the fall board meeting.

Human Relations Day Grant
The Human Relations Day grant of $30,748 was to “Redemption Church: Freedom from Bondage for Young Nonviolent Offenders.” Human Relations Day is one of the denomination’s six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings. Human Relations Day strengthens United Methodist outreach to communities in the United States and Puerto Rico, encouraging social justice and work with at-risk youths.

The Redemption Church grant supports a two-pronged effort of criminal justice and mercy ministries by Penn Avenue Redemption Church in Oklahoma City and Tulsa Redemption Church. This ongoing restorative-justice ministry seeks to deepen advocacy, victim/offender reconciliation and reunification of families. It also is intended to heighten public policy challenges to the prison-industrial complex through several community-based efforts: Exodus House, Redemption Church and Redemption Kids.

Grant funds will be applied to transportation of inmates, families and community members. The grant committee said it considers Redemption Church “a model program for criminal justice ministries.”

Deadline to apply for the fall grant cycle is Aug. 10, and for the spring cycle is Jan. 10. More information and applications are available on GBCS’s website, www.umc-gbcs.org, under Leadership Development. For more information about either grant program, you may contact the Rev. Neal Christie, GBCS assistant general secretary, Education and Leadership Development, at (202) 488-5611 or send e-mail to nchristie@umc-gbcs.org.

The General Board of Church & Society is one of four international general program agencies of The United Methodist Church. The agency’s primary areas of ministry are Advocacy, Education and Leadership Formation, United Nations and International Affairs, and resourcing these areas for the denomination. It has offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and at the Church Center at the United Nations in New York City.

Survey of Deacons Finds High Degree of Satisfaction

By Vicki Brown*

Deacons believe they are accepted and valued – but misunderstood – in The United Methodist Church, according to a survey of deacons, diaconal ministers, and those certified in specialized ministry.

Results of the survey, completed in 2008, were reported during a Division of Ordained Ministry session at the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry’s spring director’s meeting. Michelle Fugate, GBHEM’s director of Research and Data Management, said 49 percent of those who received the survey responded. That meant 1,521 responses were completed.

The presentation focused on demographics, appointments, salary level, and job satisfaction of deacons – ordained, commissioned, and candidates.

“Everyone may not understand the deacons’ role, but deacons feel valued,” said Fugate, adding that 63 percent of the 1,108 deacons who responded to the survey felt the Order of Deacons was accepted by the church, but 65 percent felt the Order was misunderstood.

The Rev. Anita Wood, director of Professional Development, said she was surprised to find that 21 percent of deacons who were appointed in the local church selected the title of associate pastor in the survey.

“Deacons are not pastors and that indicates that we have some work to do in communicating the role of the deacon in connecting the church and the world,” she said.

The Rev. Carolyn Peterson, an ordained deacon and vice chair of GBHEM’s Division of Ordained Ministry, said she believes bishops and churches give deacons the title of associate pastor. “I don’t think deacons are taking that title on themselves,” she said.

The survey found 60 percent of deacons were serving in the local church and 32 percent in appointments beyond the local church. Eight percent were listed as other. Fugate said most of those were still in college. The most common local church appointments for ordained deacons were associate pastor, minister of education, and minister of music. For commissioned deacons, the most common appointments were associate pastor, children’s minister, and minister of education. For candidates, the most common appointment was youth minister, followed by minister of education, associate pastor, and music minister.

Fugate divided appointments beyond the local church into church-related appointments and non-church appointments. The most common church-related were chaplain, annual conference or district staff, and general board or agency staff. The most common non-church appointments were teacher, administrator, and advocacy or social justice work.

The median annual salary for a primary appointment was $19,000 for part-time – $18,000 for part-time in the local church, and $23,000 for beyond the local church.

For fulltime appointments, the median salary was $45,000 –
$43,000 in the local church and $49,000 in appointments beyond the local church.

Other findings:
· 76 percent are female
· 92 percent are white, 5 percent African American
· 74 percent have at least a master’s degree, and 6 percent have a doctorate. Many candidates have not yet completed their education.
· The average age is 49.75 years old
· 95 percent find real enjoyment in their work
· 88 percent are satisfied with their job
· 78 percent believe their roles are valued.

To read the full report, http://www.gbhem.org/atf/cf/%7B0bcef929-bdba-4aa0-968f-d1986a8eef80%7D/PUB_DEACONREPORT2008.PDF


*Brown is associate editor and writer in the Office of Interpretation, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.