United Methodist News and Communications Service
- Daily Digest - Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. The people of The United
Methodist Church – Monday, 25 November 2013
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“We say at United Methodist
Communications that a clear message can save lives. The Philippines disaster is
an example of the critical role communications technologies have in our lives
today.”(The Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of United Methodist
Communications.)
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Church helps rebuild communications in
Philippines
MANILA (UMNS) — A United Methodist-led
team has been providing communications relief in the Philippines this week,
assessing needs and identifying ways to reconnect churches and communities
after the recent typhoon.
Typhoon Yolanda, known outside the
Philippines as Haiyan, destroyed much of the communications infrastructure
across a wide swath of the central Philippines when it hit Nov. 8.
“The Philippine government issued a call
to international organizations for assistance to urgently restore
communications in the affected area,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, top staff
executive of United Methodist Communications. “This would help with everything
from air traffic control to monitoring disease to informing people where clean
water, food and medical assistance is available.”
The loss of communications capacity was
“very serious,” he said. “It meant that people were not only unable to report
on the extent of damage in the affected area, it meant that people in remote
places were literally isolated and did not know of rescue and relief efforts.”
United Methodist Communications received
inquiries from NetHope, a disaster communications organization, and the World
Food Program Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, which also does emergency
communications response, to consider partnering with them in helping to
re-establish the severely damaged communications infrastructure, he said.
The communications agency worked with
these and other partners in preparing to respond with a focus on assessing
needs and restoring communications.
When Hollon contacted the Philippines
bishops at the United Methodist Council of Bishops meeting in Lake Junaluska,
N.C., with an offer of assistance, they accepted.
‘One year to restore power’
Bishop Ciriaco Francisco returned to the
Philippines Nov. 22 and was preparing to meet with his staff for an update on
the disaster, which struck the church’s Davao Episcopal Area. “According to my
district superintendent, it will take one year to restore power to the area
affected by the typhoon,” he said in a note to United Methodist News Service.
“If that is the case, then the communications system which you will install
will help a lot (for) the people of the area.”
Tech Philippines cell phone cpmfig
290x202 Church helps rebuild communications in Philippines
The agency arranged for two engineers
with Inveneo, a technology company specializing in communications for
development, to go to the Philippines to assess church communications needs, do
site assessments and recommend solutions. Inveneo responded to the 2010
earthquake in Haiti by building a network that is used today by two
telecommunications providers and covers nearly a third of the country,
according to the company.
The Inveneo engineers were traveling with
other United Methodist partners based in the Philippines, including April
Gonzaga-Mercado, United Methodist Communications’ point person in the country.
Ciony Ayo-Eduarte, the field coordinator for the United Methodist Committee on
Relief in the Philippines, helped facilitate the team’s movement through the
affected areas.
Through Internews, another partner, the
team had access to an emergency radio station. Hollon noted that it “could be
employed to broadcast information to people such as the location of food
distribution points, health clinics and emergency room locations, sources of
clean water and similar essential information during the recovery.”
The Inveneo engineers also provided four
Android phones to UMCom/UMCOR and local staff for communicating in the disaster
area. United Methodist Communications has been working with Inveneo to provide
a satellite phone for partners in the country. (To view photos from
Inveneo/Andris Bjornso click here)
“Most of the time access to communication
is not given priority since our priority is to deliver help to people,”
Ayo-Eduarte said in an email to United Methodist Communications. “We were able
to have that access through the sat phone UMCom has provided, and the Inveneo
engineers, Andris (Bjornson) and Clark (Ritchie), have opened up other access
to the coordinating areas we visited.”
A communications lifeline
The team arrived in the hard-hit city of
Tacloban, the capital of Leyte province, Nov. 18. Its visit included the
distribution of food aid by UMCOR. From there, the team moved through the
vicinity, visiting local churches and assessing needs. It finished the week in
Manila, where team members met with staff in Francisco’s office to assess
needs.
“For the people of Visayas, communication
has become their lifeline,” Gonzaga-Mercado wrote, referring to the Visayas
islands that include Leyte. “It has become their shining beacon of hope that
will connect them to the rest of the world. It is through communication that
they were able to share their stories, catch up with surviving peers and family
members. It is through communication that we can turn this tragedy into
victory.”
Near the end of the week, Nov. 21, the
team split up to cover more areas. One group met with pastors in the Tacloban
area, including the Rev. Iris Picardal Terana. The pastor had been
incommunicado after the storm and was feared lost, but, before the team’s
arrival, she was finally able to get word out that she was alive after getting
a new load on her mobile phone – another example of the power of communications
in a crisis.
Members of the team mapped her church
using one of the satellite phones provided by Inveneo. Using the phone’s mobile
data collection tool, the team recorded the church’s coordinates for easy
location, setting the stage for a possible connectivity project after the
church is rebuilt. The team also provided relief to 25 families in the
congregation, many of them now homeless, according to an email report by
Gonzaga-Mercado.
Other areas visited included Western
Samar, where the team assessed cellular and FM radio conditions.
Tech Inveneo visits radio 290x186 Church
helps rebuild communications in Philippines
Team members also connected with
Internews, Solar News TV and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs on communications needs in the provinces of Leyte, Samar
and neighboring areas, according to Gonzaga-Mercado.
Internews, a nonprofit organization that
focuses on empowering local media worldwide, did a four-day assessment of
information needs and communications access in the affected area. “Restoring
the communication networks, including mobile phone and radio, must be a
humanitarian priority as people are literally left in the dark in most areas,”
said Jacobo Quintanilla, Internews’ director of Humanitarian Communication
Programs, on the organization’s website.
Through communications with the Emergency
Telecommunications Cluster, part of the team became aware of a need to connect
the Save the Children office to the United Nations Internet network, according
to Andris Bjornson, chief technology officer for Inveneo. He and United
Methodist communicator Ernani Celzo assembled the wireless antennas and
configured wireless equipment to connect the office.
Bjornson also spoke with a senior
engineer with the Philippines Long Distance Telephone Company in Tacloban about
restoring the network and cellular infrastructure in the area. Bjornson noted
that the telephone/power poles were “in total disarray following the storm and
will take time to restore.”
A clear message
United Methodist Communications was able
to assist immediately in part because of the work done earlier in the month by
a team visiting the Philippines. “Our constant communication and coordination
has helped in quick response to the situation,” Ayo-Eduarte said in an email.
The United Methodist Communications team,
led by the Rev. Neelley Hicks, visited the Philippines with partners from the
denomination’s Pacific Northwest Annual (regional) Conference and Inveneo. They
listened to needs, did site assessments for information and communications
technology centers, and trained United Methodist partners on the use of tools
such as FrontlineSMS, which enables texting across large groups of users; the
Ushahidi mapping tool; Worldreader and
biNu electronic reading tools; and MedicMobile, which enables health care
providers to communicate easily with people in other areas.
“Our ability to communicate is not merely
a matter of convenience or access to entertainment. And this is true around the
world,” Hollon said. “It’s a matter of life and death in emergency situations
such as a natural disaster.
“We say at United Methodist
Communications that a clear message can save lives,” he said. “The Philippines
disaster is an example of the critical role communications technologies have in
our lives today.”
News media contact: Tim Tanton,
Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org
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Bringing comfort to survivors in the
Philippines
MANILA (UMNS) — When the United Methodist
Committee on Relief delivered food packages Nov. 20 to six storm-ravaged
communities in Dagami, the Philippines, it was the first substantial emergency
relief aid there since Typhoon Haiyan struck nearly two weeks earlier.
Linda Unger, a senior writer for the
United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, and Mike DuBose, a photographer
for United Methodist Communications, were there to tell the story.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” said
Lucia Millona, a small, slight woman who is the only support for her small
child. “Our house was destroyed and we have no clothes,” she said. “This is the
first help we’ve received.”
Although Dagami, about 20 miles from
Tacloban, turns away from the coast, residents still suffered typhoon winds and
flooding from overflowing rivers that destroyed crops, homes, businesses and
livelihoods.
Read the full story about food
distribution in Dagami.
UMCOR Food Relief in Unassisted Interior
Town by Linda Unger
Dagami, November 20, 2013—Neighbors from
six communities in the interior town of Dagami, the Philippines, lined up this
afternoon to receive emergency food packages brought by the United Methodist
Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
It was the first substantial package of
food staples any of the communities, or baranggays, had seen since Typhoon
Haiyan, a category 5 super storm known locally as Yolanda, roared through the
central Philippines on November 8. The package contains a 10-kilo bag of rice,
coffee, cooking oil, beans and other basic food items.
This was UMCOR’s second food distribution
in two days, part of a truckload of 1,500 food packages that UMCOR staff and
volunteers assembled in Manila, the capital, and drove over the course of 36
hours to Haiyan-impacted communities in Leyte Province.
Until now, some of the Dagami communities
had received small packages from local television foundations, noted Orville
Berino, an official with the Department of Social Welfare and Development of
the Filipino government and a resident of the town. Berino accompanied the
UMCOR delivery.
Dagami is located about 33 kilometers
[20.5 miles] from Tacloban City, which suffered severe damage and destruction
from the typhoon. So far, most humanitarian assistance in the area has focused
on Tacloban and other coastal towns that bore the brunt of Haiyan’s rage.
UMCOR’s food distribution yesterday was in Tacloban.
Residents eagerly lined up at four
different spots in Dagami, which were designated by neighborhood officials who
helped UMCOR to organize the communities for the food distribution. Even before
many of the residents received their packages, relief shown on their faces, and
their thanks echoed along the lines.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” said
Lucia Millona, a small, slight woman who is the only support for her small
child. “Our house was destroyed and we have no clothes,” she said. “This is the
first help we’ve received.”
Although Dagami turns away from the
coast, residents still suffered typhoon winds and flooding from overflowing
rivers. Livelihoods were destroyed as the storm ruined crops, particularly
rice, coconuts, and bananas. Berino said any coconut trees left standing will
not likely bear fruit again for two to three years because of the battering the
trees took, and new plantings will take five years, he said.
John Harvey, 19, is from a family of rice
farmers. He said the family had harvested some of their crop before the storm,
but had had no way to protect it. “The water came up, and the current took it
all away,” Harvey said, as he balanced the bright yellow UMCOR food package on
his motorbike. Also lost in the storm were the family’s water buffalo that they
used for plowing.
Harvey’s straight, black hair was tied in
a knot at the top of his head in a stylish and, in better times, whimsical way,
but his furtive dark eyes clearly were still filled with images of the storm.
“The wind was very strong,” he said. “Everything was shaking and shattering—we
thought it was an earthquake.”
When the winds died down momentarily, the
family fled from the house, thinking they would be safer outdoors, but the
typhoon winds quickly returned, and they were left clinging to the roadside
guardrails for their very lives. All of them survived.
Katrina Anguren lives in Dagami with her
parents, brother, and elderly grandmother. She worked in a local pharmacy, but
it was destroyed in the storm.
“We were very scared because the wind was
so strong, with matching rain,” she said. “We watched as the [galvanized iron]
roofs of some of the houses flew across the street.”
The family decided to stay put, afraid
they might be struck by the heavy roofs if they left. They needed also to
protect the grandmother, who can neither walk nor see. This was their best
option, Anguren said, even as the floodwaters rose and the winds tore the
second story off of their house. In the fields her brother works, she said,
“There is so much broken glass.”
Nevertheless, she said, “While we live we
will not lose hope.” She expressed the family’s thanks for the UMCOR food
package that will provide them sustenance for about a week.
The Rev. Jack Amick, assistant general
secretary for International Disaster Response, who is in the Philippines to
accompany the relief effort of UMCOR’s local office here, remarked, “This
distribution is a link in the chain that begins with the generosity of our
UMCOR supporters. It’s the whole chain that is making a difference in the lives
of the people of Dagami and elsewhere in the central Philippines as they work
through these first days and weeks after this devastating disaster.”
Thank you for your gifts. They will
continue to be needed as UMCOR, together with our local partners, develops a
strategy of long-term recovery from Typhoon Haiyan. Please give generously to
International Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance 982450.
*Linda Unger is senior writer for the
General Board of Global Ministries.
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This was UMCOR’s second food distribution
in two days, part of a truckload of 1,500 food packages that UMCOR staff and
volunteers assembled in Manila, the capital, and drove over the course of 36
hours to Haiyan-impacted communities in Leyte Province.
The first was to residents of Barangay
Naganaga, a struggling and impoverished community in Tacloban, one of the areas
hardest hit by the Nov. 8 typhoon, known locally as Yolanda.
Ciony Ayo-Eduarte, head of mission of
UMCOR Philippines, and the Rev. Jack Amick, UMCOR ‘s executive for
international disaster response, led the convoy to Naganaga, where food assistance
had only begun to trickle in the day before, 10 days after the typhoon.
“We thought it was the end of the world,”
said Erlinda Andal, 30, as she waited for a food package. She, her husband, and
their four children ages 7, 8, 9, and 12, had climbed to the roof of their
modest home for safety as the storm surge rose. “The water kept going up and
up,” she said. “It was up to our chests.”
Andal, a manicurist, said she and her
husband, a carpenter, were thankful for the assistance. “It will be a very big
help for our family,” she said.
Read more about the Nagnanaga
distribution and the UMCOR relief team.
UMCOR Delivers Food Packages to Typhoon
Survivors by Linda Unger*
Tacloban, November 19, 2013—The United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) delivered food packages today to waiting
residents of Barangay Naganaga, a struggling and impoverished community in
Tacloban, Philippines, that was hard hit by wind, intense rain, and an
estimated 15-foot storm surge during Typhoon Haiyan on November 8.
At least 800 of the bright yellow bags of
rice, oil, beans, and other staples were handed out to residents who had
survived the storm by grit and grace, and who waited for the food packages in
muddy lines. “Thank you for helping us,” one survivor after another called to
UMCOR staff and volunteers as they struggled under the more welcome burden of
the 33 pound bags.
The UMCOR convoy of three vehicles had
departed from Dasmariñas on Sunday with three staff, 10 volunteers, and four
drivers. After what turned out to be a 36-hour drive from Cavite Province in
the north, where the UMCOR Philippines office is located, to Leyte Province in
the country’s midsection, the convoy reached the devastated city early Tuesday
afternoon.
Along the way, the destruction caused by
Typhoon Haiyan became increasingly apparent. Groves of palm trees stood limp
like closed but unsecured umbrellas; power poles and lines lay on their backs
as if shoved; cement walls of buildings were blown up in parts, leaving gaping
holes; while modest homes of thatch or wood lay shifted on their stilts or
flattened.
Everywhere, hand-lettered signs revealed
an unfolding story of destruction, need, and hope: “No Food & Water; We Can
Survive But of You”; “Merry Xmas Go Leyte Survive”; “Dead Bodies for Pick Up”;
“TINDOG TACLOBANAON” [in the local Visayan dialect this means: “Stand Up People
of Tacloban”].
Determined to deliver the
still-desperately needed food supplies before the city’s 6:00 pm curfew, UMCOR
staff quickly met with local officials and personnel from the United Nations
Office for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) in the interior of a damaged sports
complex and at city hall to learn which communities were in greatest need. The
city supplied a social worker and a peer counselor to accompany the UMCOR
distribution.
Ciony Ayo-Eduarte, head of mission of
UMCOR Philippines, and the Rev. Jack Amick, UMCOR assistant general secretary
for International Disaster Response, then led the convoy to Baranggay (or
neighborhood) Naganaga, where food assistance had only begun to trickle in the
day before, 10 days after the typhoon.
Baranggay Chairman Nikki Leaño, a locally
elected leader of this neighborhood, said it was coastal communities like this
one in Tacloban that were most affected by the category 5 typhoon, a super
storm on the order of hurricanes Katrina and Sandy in the United States. “When
the storm surge rose up, we were a spillway, and the water poured through our
streets from other communities,” he said.
He estimated that about 100 of his
neighbors in this small community of about 1,200 families died in the storm,
and said Naganaga was among the Tacloban baranggays with the highest
fatalities. Leaño had sent his own family, including three children ages 6, 9,
and 12, to Manila ahead of the storm for their safety. He and his brother stayed
back with their neighbors.
“We thought it was the end of the world,”
said one of those neighbors, Erlinda Andal, 30, as she waited for the
contrastingly sunny-yellow food packages. She, her husband, and their four
children ages 7, 8, 9, and 12, had climbed to the roof of their modest home for
safety as the storm surge rose. “The water kept going up and up,” she said. “It
was up to our chests.”
Andal, a manicurist, said she and her
husband, a carpenter, were thankful for the assistance. “It will be a very big help
for our family,” she said.
Another neighbor, Maria Theresa Peñafiel,
45, called the storm “horrifying.”
She said that although her home is old,
she was trying to make some last-minute repairs to protect it from the storm.
When Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, hit, she said, no one expected
what she called a “tidal wave.” She was referring to the surge that, along with
phenomenally high winds, knocked down power lines, crumpled red steel roofs as
if they were Christmas tinfoil, and picked up and tossed heavy objects like
boats, cars, trucks, and even a bus from one place to another.
Peñafiel, a single mother of three grown
children, climbed with them and three grandchildren to the roof of their home
for safety. She said the adults hung onto the roof with one hand and to a child
with the other for at least an hour. “We wanted to survive,” said Peñafiel, who
works two jobs, as baranggay treasurer and with an express mailing service.
So many days later, she said, she still
does not sleep well. Like those of her neighbors who are able to do so, she has
returned to her damaged home, set up tarps, and now lives in the more-or-less
habitable parts. She said she is afraid of burglars who have been on the prowl
for vulnerable homes to loot. But, she said, she was “overwhelmed” by the
assistance UMCOR brought. “We’re very glad you came,” she said. “This will be a
very big help.”
UMCOR will carry out a second food
distribution tomorrow, Wednesday, just outside of Tacloban, where small and
vulnerable communities have received little attention.
These distributions help meet immediate
needs, but recovery from the super typhoon will be long—as anyone who lived
through disasters like Hurricane Katrina or Superstorm Sandy can attest. Your
support for International Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #982450, will help
meet the needs of survivors long after Typhoon Haiyan has slipped from the
headlines. Please give now.
*Linda Unger is senior writer for the
General Board of Global Ministries.
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Through its presence and prayers, the
United Methodist team tried to respond to the hurt as well as the hunger.
When Edita Tante picked up the bright
yellow bag that contained enough rice, oil, beans, coffee, and other staples to
last her family about a week, an UMCOR volunteer, Archelaus Joseph Laudes,
offered to carry it for her back to her shanty.
It was only on arriving there that Edita
Tante, who survived the storm with her husband, Margarito, tearfully revealed
that four of their grandchildren had not. Laudes, a student pastor who is
finishing his studies at Union Theological Seminary in Cavite, listened to
Tante’s story and offered a prayer of strength and hope.
Read more about the Tantes and their
struggle to survive the typhoon.
“Gratitude and New Life in the Wake of a
Super Storm” by Linda Unger*
Tacloban, November 19, 2013—By the time
Edita and Margarito Tante, an elderly couple from a Tacloban shantytown, fled
their one-room home of wood and tin for a taller, more stable building, the
rushing storm surge provoked by Typhoon Haiyan was already knee-high and rising
fast. Ultimately, it would tower an estimated 15 feet. Edita feared she would
drown as the couple pushed back against the floodwaters, seeking safety.
“All the clothes we had in the cabinets
and closet washed away,” the diminutive Edita said, while she waited patiently
on a line to receive food assistance from the United Methodist Committee on
Relief (UMCOR) in the Naganaga neighborhood here. Her wiry, asthmatic husband,
Margarito, who was not healthy enough to join her for the distribution, had,
the morning of the storm, returned to the house through the fast-moving waters,
she said, and tried to recover some of the items. Most of them slipped from his
grasp, though, and sped away, she said, before he returned to their refuge.
Edita Tante picked up the bright yellow
bag that contained enough rice, oil, beans, coffee, and other staples to last
her family about a week. Seeing her struggle with the 15-kilo bag, Archelaus
Joseph Laudes, an UMCOR volunteer—and a “prophet in training,” he says—offered
to carry it for her back to her shanty, and they walked together through the
muddy streets, beneath a fine rain.
The little home seemed to shiver as it
sat shoulder to shoulder with other vulnerable makeshift houses like it. They
all are located on the unpaved incline that rises slightly from the estuary
that had wreaked so much havoc in the neighborhood just 11 days earlier.
It was only on arriving there—away from
the commotion of the food distribution—that Edita revealed a deeper hurt. While
she and Margarito had survived Typhoon Haiyan, a category 5 super storm, four
of their grandchildren, ages 3, 4, 7, and 10, had not. Tears filled her eyes as
she told how the bodies of three of the children had already been buried in a
mass grave, while that of the fourth, the seven-year old, had yet to be
recovered.
Laudes, who is a student pastor and is
finishing his studies at Union Theological Seminary in Cavite, listened to
Tante’s story. After returning the bag full of supplies to shore up her family
physically, he offered a prayer of strength and hope. Laudes gave thanks for
the strength God had given and continues to give to typhoon survivors like the
Tantes, and prayed God would continue to guide and bless them so that they
might “rise again” from the destruction and pain inflicted by the storm.
“We also pray,” he said, “for the UMCOR
volunteers and for the people who gave their financial resources, so that we
might continue to partner with and help these people in all the ways we can . .
. And may this calamity show us the real need to be mindful of your creation,
Lord, and to take care of it.”
Edita Tante made the sign of the cross
and thanked Loudes. She repeated her thankfulness to God and to the
international community, organizations such as UMCOR, local communities, and
her neighbors who had pitched in to help one another during and since the
storm. She also thanked Laudes for visiting with her at her own shanty. “I
never expected anyone like you would want to come here,” she said.
Behind the stories of survival of those
who lived through Typhoon Haiyan, are stories of strength, courage, and the
many details of their daily lives that will need to be put back together again.
Your support for International Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #982450, will
help advance the recovery process in the Philippines.
*Linda Unger is senior writer for the
General Board of Global Ministries.
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Many volunteers, mainly Filipino
university and seminary students, spent two days making food packages filled
with rice, oil, salt, brown sugar, mongo beans (a versatile lentil), sardines,
cooking oil, and coffee for the typhoon survivors.
“Thanks to the generous outpouring of
United Methodists, this is just the first of several shipments UMCOR
anticipates making to assist the survivors,” Amick said.
“Rebuilding will take years,” he said. “We will move forward with the Filipino
people, counting on God’s grace and the support of United Methodists and people
of goodwill everywhere.”
Read how UMCOR truck got ready to roll.
“UMCOR relief truck ready to roll” by
Linda Unger*
DASMARINAS, Philippines —Volunteers and
staff of the United Methodist Committee on Relief loaded a cargo truck with bright yellow bags
filled with relief goods this evening, and are now ready to begin a 26-hour
trek to typhoon-stricken communities in the central Philippines.
The volunteers, mainly Filipino
university and seminary students, spent two days making food packages filled
with rice, oil, salt, brown sugar, mongo beans (a versatile lentil), sardines,
cooking oil, and coffee for survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the
Philippines on Nov. 8.
Enough bags were filled to provide 1,500
families (or a total of 7,500 persons) with food staples to last about a week.
Survivors of the category 5 super storm will also receive water purification
tablets.
The 42-foot, 10-wheel wing van will be
part of a caravan of three UMCOR vehicles carrying the vital supplies, UMCOR
staff, and a handful of the dozens of volunteers who showed up at the UMCOR
Philippines office here to load the truck.
The caravan will leave this evening on
its long trek from the UMCOR Philippines office here in the northern part of
the country and will travel along the archipelago, through about 10 provinces,
to reach survivors in the hard-hit city of Tacloban in Leyte Province. The ride
will include a four-hour ferry trip between provinces.
“Thanks to the generous outpouring of
United Methodists, this is just the first of several shipments UMCOR
anticipates making to assist the survivors,” said the Rev. Jack Amick, UMCOR
assistant general secretary for International Disaster Relief, who traveled
from New York headquarters last week and will ride with the caravan.
UMCOR has already granted a total of more
than $180,000 US to its field operations in the Philippines to provide both
fast relief assistance and long-term recovery and rehabilitation aid. Recovery
is expected to take years, as the devastation provoked by the storm was great and
widespread.
Typhoon Haiyan destroyed more than
250,000 homes and impacted more than 11 million people across 44 provinces. At
least 3,500 people were killed in the super storm known locally as Yolanda.
“Rebuilding will take years,” Amick said.
“We will move forward with the Filipino people, counting on God’s grace and the
support of United Methodists and people of goodwill everywhere.”
Please continue to pray for Typhoon
Haiyan survivors and for the UMCOR caravan making its way to them. Your
generous gifts to International Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #982450, will
help UMCOR respond now and over the coming years.
*Linda Unger is senior writer for the
General Board of Global Ministries.
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More coverage on the United Methodist
response to Typhoon Haiyan.
Philippines Typhoon: The Church Responds
Download Video (MP4)
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height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fOjoJ027PtI"
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Typhoon Haiyan, possibly the strongest
storm ever to make landfall, battered parts of the Philippines on Friday,
November 8, 2013.
With sustained winds of 195 mph, the
category 5 storm cut a swath of devastation across the tip of Cebu and tore
through the three large island provinces of Samar, Leyte and Bohol. UMCOR, the
relief agency of The United Methodist Church, is working with partners in the
Philippines to provide assistance following the typhoon.
United Methodists across the globe are in
solidarity with the people in the Philippines and all those affected, offering
prayers, support and aid.
Read the latest news about the Church’s
commitment to long-term recovery efforts. Donate to the cause at UMCOR’s
website: Disaster Response, International (#982450): Typhoon Haiyan
(sub-designation). You can also text the word UMCOR to 80888 to give an immediate
$10 donation.
---
Support UMCOR’s relief and recovery work
in the Philippines by contributing to International Disaster Response, Advance
#982450.
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Schaefer says he does not blame others
for trial by Kathy L. Gilbert*
SPRING CITY, Penn. (UMNS) — When asked
what he would say to the people who brought charges against him for officiating
at his son’s same-sex marriage, the Rev. Frank Schaefer said, “I cannot blame
them because at one point I also had a different opinion.
“It took half a lifetime for me to come
to this conclusion that we have to be inclusive, we cannot exclude anybody.
Everybody is a child of God, everybody has the same human rights.”
During a two-day church trial, a jury of
United Methodist ordained clergy found him guilty of violating the
denomination’s law against performing a same-sex wedding and of disobedience to
the order and discipline of The United Methodist Church.
The jury decided on a 30-day suspension
that will be followed by stripping him of his clergy credentials if he cannot
agree to obey the denomination’s law book “in its entirety.”
Speaking to a group of reporters after
the trial ended, he said he was surprised he walked out of the trial with the
title of “Rev.”
“I gave them every excuse in the book to
defrock me immediately but that did not happen,” he said. “I am still wondering
what it means. I told them clearly that I can no longer be a silent supporter
but now I feel I have to an outspoken advocate for all lesbian, gay,
transgender and bisexual people.”
The 30-day suspension seems to be “time
for me to change my mind,” he said. “I am here to tell you, I will not change
my mind. I am what I am.”
In the next 30 days Schaefer is to be
monitored by his district superintendent, the Rev. James Todd, and then report
and be interviewed by the conference’s board of ordained ministry.
“This is a very divisive topic and I am
hoping we can get one little step further in the discussion and hopefully one
of these days get rid of those exclusionary policies altogether,” he said.
The Rev. Christopher Fisher, counsel for
the church, told reporters, “He (Schaefer) gets to choose, it is his
responsibility whether he can live within the covenant The United Methodist
Church has for clergy. When we make our vows we promise to uphold the
Discipline of our church and if we are not willing to keep those promises there
are judicial procedures that are instituted.”
Reactions have been pouring in after the
trial.
Bishop Peggy Johnson, episcopal leader
for the Eastern Pennsylvania Annual (regional) Conference said, “We know that
United Methodists have diverse opinions on this issue and our hope is that we
pray and work together toward unity and greater understanding and healing.”
Representatives of Faithful America, a
non-denominational, online community that describes itself as dedicated to “reclaiming
Christianity from the religious right and putting faith into action for social
justice,”on Nov. 20 presented Johnson with a petition signed by more than
19,000 calling for an end to clergy trials.
Good News, an unofficial, evangelical
United Methodist group that advocates maintaining the denomination’s definition
of marriage as between a man and a woman, said the verdict and penalty was a
sad day in the history of the church but eminently appropriate.
Called to a new ministry
On the first day of the trial, Schaefer
told his story of falling in love with The United Methodist Church.
He said he was called to ministry 22
years ago when he relocated to the U.S. from Germany. He talked about joining a
“lively church in Virginia.” After becoming active in that church the minister
called him into the office one day and said “I think you are being called into
ministry.”
“My first thought was I didn’t want to go
back to school,” Schaefer said.
He said he fasted and prayed for three
days. On the last day he said he had a dream. “I saw myself talking to my best
friend as a younger man, at 17, ready to graduate from high school. I was
saying what I would really like to do is go to Bible college but I can’t go
without a sign from God. God was standing next to me and he asked, ‘Who do you
think put that desire in your heart?’”
He took that as his sign. While he was in
school, he and his family became involved with a United Methodist Church and
“loved it.”
When it came time to decide on a
denomination, Schaefer said, he called United Methodist Bishop Susan Morrison.
“I told her I had always been active in
church, I told her about my love for The United Methodist Church and she said,
‘Welcome to The United Methodist Church.’”
“There have been many joys and some
hardships but many joys. My wife always said she didn’t sign up to be a
minister’s wife. She’s right but she’s a good one. We have struggled as a
church family living in fish bowl.”
Schaefer said three of his four children
are gay.
During the news conference after the end
of the trial, Schaefer again expressed his love for the church.
“I do love the church and it will be a
tremendous loss (if he has to surrender his credentials),” he said. “There
could have been a different ruling tonight that would have led to a path …
There is a diversity of opinions in The United Methodist Church and that was
not acknowledged tonight in this ruling.
“I think my son is very proud of me for
standing up for him and for everybody who is gay, lesbian, transgender and
bisexual. I did this for him and my other children but I did it really for the
LGBT community as well.”
* Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for
the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville,
Tenn. Contact her at (615) 742-5470.
---
What does the church say
The United Methodist Book of Discipline,
the denomination’s law book, since 1972 has proclaimed the practice of
homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.” The book prohibits United
Methodist churches from hosting and clergy from performing “ceremonies that
celebrate homosexual unions.” The 2012 General Conference, when it met April
24-May 4 in Tampa, Fla., rejected efforts to change that language, including a
proposal to say the church was in disagreement about homosexuality. General Conference,
the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly, will next convene in 2016.
Officiating at same-sex unions is a chargeable offense under the Book of
Discipline. Clergy convicted in a church court can face a loss of clergy
credentials or lesser penalties. However, church law does not censure those who
disagree with church teaching on this matter — only those who actually take
actions that violate church law. The Book of Discipline also states that
marriage is between a man and a woman.
---
Call for release of abducted Syrian
bishops
VIENNA, Austria (UMNS) — RELIGIONS FOR
PEACE
SYRIAN RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALL FOR RELEASE
OF TWO BISHOPS
At the 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace, Muslim and Christian
Leaders Call for Common Action
Syrian religious leaders attending the
9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace called for the release of two abducted
bishops in Syria. The Assembly, which serves as a venue for conflict
transformation, brought more than 600 religious leaders representing all
historic faith traditions and every region of the world to restore and build
peace. Each Syrian religious leader sent a strong message of support to the
abducted bishops, the demand for their release, and the hope for a peaceful
resolution.
The two Syrian bishops, Metropolitan Mar
Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, the Syrian Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, and Bishop
Boulous Yazigi, a Greek Orthodox Bishop in Damascus, were kidnapped in Aleppo on
22 April 2013.
“These two bishops always worked for
peace and a good life for all people,” H.E. Sheikh Dr. Mohamed
Sohaib al-Chami, an Islamic scholar and a
member of the Religions for Peace Interreligious Council of Syria, reflected.
“They kidnaped our bishops but they also took our soul, our love, and our hope.
We remember their big role and work. And we hope that happiness will return to
the people of Syria.”
Father Samuel Gümüs, Special
Representative of HB Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and All
the East, Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church, called for the
immediate release of the two bishops. Father Gümüs implored, "I appeal to
conscience, principles, morals and ethics of all peace lovers to spare no
effort to bring about a safe and dignified release of Yohanna Ibrahim and
Boulous
Yazigi."
Mrs. Asmaa Kiftaro, ### President of the Syrian Muslim Women’s Forum,
shared a message of peace. Ms.
Kiftaro declared, “Syria will rise again.
The sons of Syria will serve their country. Peace, happiness, and smiles will
come back to the people of Syria.”
Throughout the 9th World Assembly of
Religions for Peace, delegates from different faiths around the world have sent
prayers to express concern for those who are suffering in Syria. Plenary III,
beginning the
Assembly yesterday, opened with a moment
of silence for Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Bishop Yazigi.
Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General of
Religions for Peace, said, “We stand in solidarity, our hands are in your
hands, and we continue to pray.”
###
Contact: Ms. Oxana Trush
worldassemblyreligionsforpeace@gmail.com
RELIGIONS FOR PEACE—the world’s largest and most representative
multi-religious coalition—advances common action among the world’s religious
communities for peace. Religions for Peace works to transform violent conflict,
advance human development, promote just and harmonious societies, and protect
the earth. The global Religions for Peace network comprises a World Council of
senior religious leaders from all regions of the world; six regional
inter-religious bodies and more than ninety national ones; and the Global Women
of Faith Network and Global Interfaith Youth Network.
777 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017 United States
Tel: +1 (212)687-2163
Fax: +1 (212)983-0098
www.rfp.org
---
Winkler move to NCC official by Sam
Hodges*
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — Jim Winkler’s move
from the United Methodist Board of Church and Society to the National Council
of Churches is a big one in some ways. But he’ll still be in the United
Methodist Building in Washington, where both organizations are based.
“I’ll move from having a beautiful view
of the Supreme Court building and the Capitol to having a beautiful view of the
United Methodist Building parking lot, in an office one third the size,” he
said, laughing. “And I’m just fine with that.”
Winkler, top executive of the United
Methodist Board of Church and Society since 2000 — and an employee of the
agency for nearly 30 years — will become top executive of the National Council
of Churches on Jan. 1.
He was announced Nov. 5 as the sole
nominee for the NCC job, and the governing board officially elected him Nov. 18
during its meeting in Chicago.
“We are confident that Jim Winkler’s
gifts and experience are just what the council needs to stay on the right path
and expand its horizons,” said Kathryn Lohre, NCC president.
At the Board of Church and Society, the
55-year-old Winkler has led The United Methodist Church’s advocacy on social
issues, including peace, economic justice, immigration and more. His approach —
including getting arrested in protests — has earned him great loyalty as well
as opposition from different quarters of the denomination.
United Methodist Church law limits agency
executives to serving 12 years, but allows the agency board to suspend the
provision by a two-thirds vote. Church and Society board members wanted Winkler
to stay on as they worked through deciding his successor.
The Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe, dean of the
Chapel and Religious Life at Emory University in Atlanta, was chosen to replace
Winkler at Church and Society, and will start early next year.
“She was here yesterday, and is planning
to come up again in December,” Winkler said Friday. “In a sense, she’s already
on the job. We’ve been in contact every day about what seems like a thousand
details related to the work of the board.”
The NCC, founded in 1950 and consisting
now of 37 member communions, including The United Methodist Church, promotes
ecumenical cooperation in a number of areas, including Bible scholarship,
justice advocacy and interfaith relations.
The organization has faced extreme
financial challenges in recent years, leading to retrenchment in budget and
staff and a move of headquarters from New York to Washington.
“They have worked through the worst of
all that, thanks be to God,” Winkler said.
Winkler will lead a staff of six, with a
budget of about $1.4 million. He said his early tasks will include
fund-raising; supporting NCC’s “convening tables” in education and leadership
formation, faith and order, interfaith relations and joint advocacy and
justice, and preparing for a major meeting in May.
He said he was contacted about the job
several months ago and invited to apply.
“After a lot of prayer and thought, I
felt God was calling me to this opportunity,” he said. “As I reflected on my
own experience here at the General Board of Church and Society, I felt I’ve
helped this board come through difficult times and I feel I can do the same for
the National Council of Churches.
Winkler is in his 29th year at Church and
Society, having earlier served as seminar designer, director of annual
conference relations and a staff executive for resourcing congregational life.
Though a layman himself, he’s the son,
brother, nephew and great-grandson of United Methodist preachers. After
college, he was a short-term missionary with the Pacific Conference of Churches
in Suva, Fiji.
Sam Hodges is a Dallas-based writer for
United Methodist News Service. Contact him at 615-742-5470.
---
United Theological launches doctorate in
sports chaplaincy
DAYTON, Ohio (UMNS) — United
Methodist-related United Theological Seminary is launching a Doctor of Ministry
in Sports Chaplaincy program. The program is designed to enhance the role and
skills of chaplains ministering in sport environments.
Read news release
About sports chaplaincy
United Theological Seminary to Offer
Sports Chaplaincy Program
First Doctor of Ministry Program in
Sports Chaplaincy in U.S
Dayton, Ohio (PRWEB) January 31, 2013
Sports are so much a part of American
culture that they help define who and what we are as a society. Dr. Harold
Hudson, Associate Dean of Doctoral Studies and VP of Enrollment at United
Theological Seminary, has assembled a team of educators to develop a new
program that will address holistically a populace that has previously been underserved:
Our world’s athletes.
The program, United’s Doctor of Ministry
in Sports Chaplaincy program, will launch in August 2013.
“When we think about athletes, we first
think about the physical body, and then the toughness of that body,” said Dr.
Steven Waller, associate professor in the department of Kinesiology, Recreation
and Sports Studies at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. “In the last
decade, more and more athletic directors working with teams have come to
understand the value of caring for the spirit of the athlete as well.”
Sports chaplains associated with
professional or college teams help athletes to become more well-grounded, to
cope better in crisis situations and to think about life beyond the playing
field and court.
“People are becoming more and more
concerned about the holistic care of athletes. It’s a big issue in the 21st
century,” said Dr. Waller. “There are huge expectations in sports to win and
immense pressures to perform—this all takes a toll on an athlete over time.”
United Theological Seminary’s specialized
area of study in the Doctor of Ministry program will enhance the role and
skills of chaplains ministering in sport environments. The objective is to
provide a solid biblical, theological, pastoral and practical foundation for
ministering to players, coaches and families in sport environments.
“This intense training will address the
advanced issues that athletes and public figures face. We will examine the
theology and biblical basis of sports while working with athletes; we will
provide the pastoral care element; and, we will work to understand the
struggles and issues that many athletes face today,” said Rev. Dr. Harold
Cottom, III, co-mentor of United’s Doctor of Ministry Sports Chaplaincy
program. Dr. Cottom is also pastor of Daytonview Church of the Nazarene and a
former body builder.
Some of the complex issues athletes
struggle with at the college and professional level are suicide, depression,
addiction, head trauma and transitioning from competitive play. United’s Doctor
of Ministry Sports Chaplaincy program will intentionally address these
difficult issues, working to help students understand these feelings, why they
exist and how to address them.
The Sports Chaplaincy program will
provide its students with an opportunity to understand and practice in a
sport-related context. A requirement of the program is a unit of Clinical
Pastoral Education similar to an internship. Additionally, each student is
required to find and be guided by a professional mentor who also serves
concurrently as a sports chaplain. The program’s coordinators will work to help
identify opportunities for its students to learn and serve in contexts with
sports teams at other colleges and universities, and in the professional arena.
“The Sports Chaplaincy program is a
specialized calling,” said Dr. Hudson. “Many sports chaplains today are
themselves former athletes and have a passion for serving the athletic
community offering grace, love, spiritual nurture, growth, healing and
restoration of a just society in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
To read more information about the Sports
Chaplaincy Program, click here.
United Theological Seminary, now in its
142nd year, is one of the fastest growing theological schools in the United
States. It was founded in 1871 by Milton Wright, a Bishop in The United
Brethren Church and father of Wilbur, Orville and Katherine Wright. United
offers accredited, innovative graduate and non-degree education programs for
both clergy and laity.
---
Looking Ahead:
Here are some of the activities ahead for
United Methodists across the connection. If you have an item to share, email
newsdesk@umcom.org and put Digest in the subject line.
Native American Heritage Month, November
— Worship and devotional resources from the United Methodist Board of
Discipleship and more ministry resources from the United Methodist Native
American International Caucus.
---
Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 28 — Worship
resources from the United Methodist Board of Discipleship and the United
Methodist Publishing House.
Online course “Behold! Cultivating
Attentiveness in the Season of Advent,” Dec. 1-25 — e-retreat featuring Pamela
Hawkins’s Advent resource “Behold! Cultivating Attentiveness in the Season of
Advent, presented by Upper Room eLearning and BeADisciple, $40. Details
---
Online course “The Uncluttered Heart:
Making Room for God during Advent and Christmas,” Dec. 1– Jan. 5, 2014 —
eRetreat offers guided reflection through the weeks of Advent on through
Epiphany. Each day provides a quotation, scripture passage, reflection, prayer.
This online retreat is presented by Upper Room eLearning and BeADisciple, $40.
Details
---
Advent, Dec. 1-24 — Resources for Advent
wreath lighting and sermons from the United Methodist Board of Discipleship and
resources for drawing and welcoming visitors to Advent and Christmas services
from United Methodist Communications. Ministry Matters, part of the United
Methodist Publishing House, also offers the free Advent series "Follow the
Star."
---
World AIDS Day, Sunday, Dec. 1 — The
United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee asks local congregations to observe
the 15th anniversary of World AIDS Day committing to Just Save One child from
contracting the disease. The committee developed downloadable resources in
cooperation with the United Methodist boards of Church and Society and Global
Ministries. The UM Global AIDS Fund. To donate
---
#GivingTuesday, Dec. 3 — United
Methodists are invited to participate in #GivingTuesday, when every gift made
online through the The Advance will be matched dollar for dollar up to $500,000
total and $50,000 for any one project. Visit umcmission.org/give
---
Lecture by former ambassador, Tuesday,
Dec. 3 — 5 p.m. CT, Miguel H. Díaz, professor of faith and culture at Dayton
University and former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, will deliver a lecture
on peace at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology. Learn
more
---
Free webinar “Best Practices for Teaching
and Implementing Creation Care and Appreciation,” Wednesday, Dec. 4 — 3 p.m.
CT. Seminar highlights the best practices of United Methodist camp and retreat
ministries through their operations and programs. To register.
---
Free webinar “Developing Your Ministry
Plan 4: The Next 12 Months,” Thursday, Dec. 5 — 6:30 p.m. CT. Building on the
previous three sessions, your team will be guided in a process to identify key
steps for your congregational development. To register.
---
Holy Spirit Seminar: Signs and Wonders,
Friday, Dec. 6 — 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, United Theological Seminary will
present speaker Randy Clark, founder of Global Awakening, at Ginghamsburg
(United Methodist) Church, 6759 S. County Road 25A, Tipp City, Ohio. Details.
---
Deadline to register for Young Clergy
Leadership Forum, Friday, Jan. 10, 2014 — The United Methodist Board of Church
and Society is accepting applications from people 35 and under for gathering
Sunday to Wednesday, Jan. 26-29, 2014, at the United Methodist Building on
Capitol Hill in Washington. Event is $175. Details.
---
Certified Lay Ministers Academy,
Friday-Monday, Jan. 10-12, 2014 —Lake Junaluska Program Ministries, in
partnership with The Cal Turner\Center for Church Leadership at Martin
Methodist College, will present the academy at Lake Junaluska, N.C. Details.
---
Deadline to apply for local church
racial/ethnic ministries grants, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014 — Applications for
grants up to $10,000 to help local United Methodist churches build ministries
that strengthen and support racial and ethnic church concerns are available
from the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. Details.
---
Early bird deadline for 2014 Large Church
Initiative, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014 — April 28-30 at Mount Pisgah United
Methodist Church in Johns Creek, Ga., for United Methodist churches with 1,000
or more members and/or with an average attendance of 350 or more in worship.
Details.
---
Information and Communication Technology
for Development, Sept. 3-5, 2014 — United Methodist Communications invites
local churches to attend a conference focused on how congregations can use
technology to strengthen international development. Details.
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United Methodist News Service is a
ministry of
United Methodist Communications
810 12th Ave South
Nashville TN 37203 United States
Phone: (615)742-5400
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