Early warning proposed for General Conference legislation
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (UMNS) — What if General Conference delegates could get a heads up that legislation might be in trouble without waiting for a Judicial Council ruling? That is an aim of the Advance Legislative Research Panel proposed by the Commission on General Conference. Heather Hahn reports on the proposal.
DALLAS (UMNS) — Across the United States, United Methodist churches with native Liberians and Sierra Leoneans are telling stories of grief and suffering, while trying to rally support for medical relief. Albert B. Travell, a member of First United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas, had seven family members die from Ebola in July. Kathy Gilbert and Sam Hodges report.
Ebola grief: Every church service is like a funeral<iframe width="690" height="388" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-4l1K8IFoCs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
DALLAS (UMNS) — Methodist Health System in Dallas has agreed to provide space for specialized treatment of Ebola, should more cases materialize in Texas. Gov. Rick Perry announced the involvement of Methodist, among other health care systems. A Methodist Health System facility in Richardson, Texas, near Dallas, will offer an entire floor for Ebola treatment. "It is the right thing to do," said Stephen Mansfield, president and CEO of Methodist Health System.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — In honor of Pastor Appreciation Month, Laurens Glass of United Methodist Communications asked clergy to share some of the ways church members had made them feel valued. She found that for congregants and clergy alike, simple acts of caring help build a connection beyond the pulpit. Here are some ideas.
E-Reader Project set to expand
DALLAS (UMNS) — A United Methodist effort to get e-readers to pastors-in-training in developing countries will expand to 15 more schools in Africa and four in the Philippines. The E-Reader Project, which debuted at Gbarnga School of Theology in Liberia, provides an extensive library of e-books to students who struggle to find paper-and-print texts. Sam Hodges has the story.
United Methodist 'rabbi' honored by Jewish school
DALLAS (UMNS) — The Rev. Lowell McCoy taught speech for more than 50 years at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Now the Cincinnati school has named an interfaith relations award for him. The retired United Methodist minister, 95, is credited with shaping the oratory of many Reform rabbis and was affectionately called "Rabbi McCoy" by his students.
WICHITA, Kan. (UMNS) — By a vote of 1,066 to 158, clergy and lay members of the Great Plains Annual Conference decided to end the conference health plan for local church clergy and enrolled lay employees in January 2015. That means many United Methodist employees in the conference, which encompasses Kansas and Nebraska, will need to get insurance from marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act. Church pastors serving three-fourths- and full-time will receive a $14,232 "health care allowance."
N.C. pastor shares recipe on 'Today Show'
NEW YORK (UMNS) — The Rev. Carolyn Sims, pastor of Corinth United Methodist Church in North Carolina, recently was featured in a segment on NBC-TV's "Today Show." Sims and her cranberry-apple pork chops were among the three winners in the "Too Good to Be Healthy" search for low-calorie, apple-inspired recipes.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UMNS) — United Methodists in the Memphis Conference have an innovative way to help people making the transition to the Wesley Living senior residence: move-in kits. The kits cost about $200 each and contain household and personal items. The Memphis Conference reports on the Golden Cross Senior Residents Fund ministry.
The United Methodist Women of Memphis First UMC recently donated a move-in kit to Wesley Senior Ministries. Kristi Henson Henson Owens, executive director of the Golden Cross Senior Residents Fund, fourth from right, receives the donation on behalf of Wesley Senior Ministries and the Golden Cross. Submitted photo
The Golden Cross Senior Residents Fund is collecting donations to purchase and assemble “move-in kits” for Wesley Living residents who arrive with little or inadequate possessions.
“These (move-in kits) are for those residents who come to us in desperate, dire situations,” said Kristi Henson Owens, Executive Director of the Golden Cross Senior Residents Fund. “These kits offer them a helping hand at a time in their lives when they need it most.”
Owens helped develop the idea for move-in kits after meeting a woman who moved into a Wesley facility with nothing but her clothes, pocketbook, tattered blanket and dish soap.
“Upon walking into her apartment I was faced with the reality of what nothing actually looks and feels like. The stark bareness of the space brought (her) reality to life for me,” said Owens.
Hearing about other residents with needs, the idea for move-in kits was born. Since May, 11 move-in kits have been distributed.
Move-in kits cost approximately $200 each and contain household and personal care items such as a bath mat, shower curtain and rings, dishes, towels, pillows, blankets, hangers, hand soap, toilet paper, body soap, shampoo and more. Click here for a list of items that make up a move-in kit.
Individuals, classes and churches may purchase items to assemble kits and deliver them to the Golden Cross office or have them picked up. Or call 901-213-1930 to request a pick-up.
To donate money for move-in kits, make checks payable to Golden Cross and send them to the organization’s office at 1615 Appling Road, Cordova, TN 38016. The memo line should say “Move-In Kits.”
For more information about move-in kits, email Owens at kristi.owens@wesleyhousing.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UMNS) — The Rev. Talbot Davis, pastor of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, gives reasons not to go into ministry, including personal validation and emotional healing. He wraps up his commentary by offering the best reason to choose a ministerial career. 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.
Tuesday, Oct. 28
Free webinar "Leading with Style" — 6:30 p.m. CT. Participants in this webinar will explore different leadership styles, discern their own approach to group engagement, understand the influence stress has on the ways they interact in group settings, and strategize ways they can help groups function most effectively. Details.
November
Native American Heritage Month — United Methodist Discipleship Ministries and Native American Comprehensive Plan offer prayer and worship resources.
You can see more educational opportunities and other upcoming events in the life of the church here.
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (UMNS) — What if General Conference delegates could get a heads up that legislation might be in trouble without waiting for a Judicial Council ruling? That is an aim of the Advance Legislative Research Panel proposed by the Commission on General Conference. Heather Hahn reports on the proposal.
Early warning proposed for General Conference legislation
Ebola grief: Every church service like a funeralDALLAS (UMNS) — Across the United States, United Methodist churches with native Liberians and Sierra Leoneans are telling stories of grief and suffering, while trying to rally support for medical relief. Albert B. Travell, a member of First United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas, had seven family members die from Ebola in July. Kathy Gilbert and Sam Hodges report.
Ebola grief: Every church service is like a funeral<iframe width="690" height="388" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-4l1K8IFoCs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Prayer for Those Affected by Ebola
As reports of the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa spread, the Rev. Frederick Yebuah, who is a native of Ghana in West Africa, decided to compose a litany for those impacted by the disease. Yebuah, who is a clergy member in the South Carolina Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church, shared the litany on the website of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. Producers at United Methodist Communications excerpted a portion of the prayer and matched it with music and images from West Africa to create a powerful meditation for use by individuals or in group settings. It offers a way for people of faith to show their support of those who are suffering and to reflect on challenges in their own lives.
Script:
A Prayer for Those Affected by Ebola
Gracious God, we call you the Great Physician.
We pray your healing power to touch those bodies that now shake with fever, ache with pain, and are too weak to sustain the demands of life.
We pray your healing power to touch those bodies that now shake with fever, ache with pain, and are too weak to sustain the demands of life.
Gracious God, we know you are a Mighty God.
Grant access to medical care for the most vulnerable in West Africa.
Protect doctors and nurses who kneel at the bedsides of the sick and the dying.
Provide resources in places of lack. Guide churches and church leaders.
Empower all who work tirelessly to be Christ’s hands and feet.
Protect doctors and nurses who kneel at the bedsides of the sick and the dying.
Provide resources in places of lack. Guide churches and church leaders.
Empower all who work tirelessly to be Christ’s hands and feet.
Gracious God, we believe you are Hope for the hopeless. Hold parents who’ve lost children.
Gently father and mother children who’ve lost their parents.
Make your presence known to those who are dying alone, in the streets, in wastelands, without friends or family.
Speak tenderly to all who feel abandoned by the world’s governments and systems of power.
Give strength to our friends in West Africa who feel that “life more abundantly” is an unfulfilled promise.
Gently father and mother children who’ve lost their parents.
Make your presence known to those who are dying alone, in the streets, in wastelands, without friends or family.
Speak tenderly to all who feel abandoned by the world’s governments and systems of power.
Give strength to our friends in West Africa who feel that “life more abundantly” is an unfulfilled promise.
Gracious God, we know you are the Light overcoming darkness.
Why should we be afraid?
Help us, O God, to trust in your unchanging nature in times of uncertainty.
Grant us peace that Ebola or anything in this life that would threaten to undo us, is not impossible for you.
Hear our prayer.
Amen.
Why should we be afraid?
Help us, O God, to trust in your unchanging nature in times of uncertainty.
Grant us peace that Ebola or anything in this life that would threaten to undo us, is not impossible for you.
Hear our prayer.
Amen.
Excerpted from, “A Litany in Response to UMCOR’s Call to Pray for Those Affected by the Ebola Epidemic” by the Rev. Frederick Yebuah for The United Methodist Board of Discipleship.
This video was first published on October 20, 2014. Media contact: Fran Coode Walsh
United Methodist-related hospital answers Ebola callDALLAS (UMNS) — Methodist Health System in Dallas has agreed to provide space for specialized treatment of Ebola, should more cases materialize in Texas. Gov. Rick Perry announced the involvement of Methodist, among other health care systems. A Methodist Health System facility in Richardson, Texas, near Dallas, will offer an entire floor for Ebola treatment. "It is the right thing to do," said Stephen Mansfield, president and CEO of Methodist Health System.
Methodist Health System in Dallas will provide space for a state-of-the-art Ebola treatment and infectious disease biocontainment facility in North Texas.
One floor of the system’s Methodist Campus for Continuing Care, in Richardson, Texas, just north of Dallas, will be available if needed.
“Methodist Health System answered the call because it is the right thing to do,” said Stephen L. Mansfield, president and CEO, Methodist Health System. “Like all North Texans, we wish we weren’t in this situation. But the reality is there remains a threat, and as long as it’s there, Methodist is obligated by our mission — to improve and save lives through compassionate, quality health care — to do all we can to help.”
Dallas found itself at the center of Ebola-related anxiety in the United States after Thomas Eric Duncan of Liberia was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and diagnosed with the disease — the first such diagnosis in the United States.
Duncan died Oct 8. Two of the nurses who cared for him have been diagnosed with Ebola. Others who had contact with him were placed under quarantine for 21 days. As of Oct. 20, the quarantine of 43 of 48 people on the original watch list had ended.
Teas Gov. Rick Perry held a press conference Tuesday, announcing that Methodist, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital System will work together to set up and operate the unit at Methodist Campus for Continuing Care.
UT Southwestern Medical Center, affiliated with the University of Texas, is contributing physicians experienced in infectious disease, critical care and other specialties, and some nursing professionals as staffing requires.
Parkland Hospital has begun moving critical equipment such as personal protective equipment, IV fluids and laboratory supplies to Methodist Campus for Continuing Care. Parkland will provide nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists and lab technicians.
Methodist will provide some modifications for decontamination, laboratory equipment and other dedicated personnel for IT and biomedical support.
“In the event of another diagnosis, this facility will allow us to act quickly to limit the virus’s reach and give patients the care they need in an environment where health care workers are specially trained and equipped to deal with the unique requirements of this disease,” Perry said.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston also has been designated an Ebola treatment and infectious disease biocontainment facility.
Methodist Health System said its Methodist Campus for Continuing Care was chosen because it’s easily adaptable and has a recently vacated intensive care unit and an emergency department — both essential assets in the treatment of infectious diseases.
“Our hope is that the facility will not be needed for this purpose, but until the current threat has passed, Methodist stands firmly committed with its coalition partners to meet the health care needs of the community it serves and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of patients, health care providers, and our fellow North Texans,” Methodist Health System said in a press release.
The creation of special facilities for Ebola treatment was recommended by the governor’s recently named Texas Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response.
Dallas Methodist Hospital opened in 1927, the realized dream of Methodist ministers and civil leaders. That sole hospital has evolved into Methodist Health System, which has facilities across the Dallas area and employs more than 7,500.
The system maintains a covenant relationship with the North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church, and United Methodist clergy and laity serve on the system’s governing boards.
Hodges, a United Methodist News Service writer, lives in Dallas. Contact him at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — In honor of Pastor Appreciation Month, Laurens Glass of United Methodist Communications asked clergy to share some of the ways church members had made them feel valued. She found that for congregants and clergy alike, simple acts of caring help build a connection beyond the pulpit. Here are some ideas.
(More than) 10 ways to appreciate your pastor
I remember the first time I heard the phrase “a mother’s work is never done" as a child and thinking that sounded pretty daunting. Perhaps I would be a writer or astronaut instead. If there is one other person besides your mom who is on call practically around the clock, it’s probably your pastor.
A pastor is wedded to his or her church family as we are to our own families. But it’s definitely not a thankless job. In honor of Pastor Appreciation Month, we asked several ministers to share some of the ways church members had made them feel valued and found that for congregants and clergy alike, simple acts of caring help build a connection beyond the pulpit.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T — Find out what it means to me
Aretha Franklin knew of what she sang. The first component of a healthy and rewarding relationship is respect. If you disagree with something clergy are saying or doing, let them know respectfully, and in private. Give them a chance to respond and to explain, as well as to hear your side. They will appreciate your discrimination and better receive your advice.
What then can I offer?
When my great-uncle died, three different pastors made the drive to speak at his funeral. A quiet and humble man, he had made their jobs easier simply by taking on the tasks that no one else would. From cleanup to chairing committees, he had been the one person they could count on when no one else stepped up, but until his eulogy, no one knew the impact he had made by having such a deep commitment to the life of his church. You may not feel you have a particular talent like music or financial skills to offer, but your time and attention may be the greatest gift of all.
The Rev. Lily Ramirez and family. Photo courtesy of Rev. Ramirez.
The way to a pastor's heart
We hate to generalize, but United Methodists enjoy food. Asking your pastor to dinner or making them a meal — especially if they are single or have children — can mean a lot to someone who is on the go.
The Rev. Lily Ramirez, pastor to a Hispanic congregation in Paterson, New Jersey, said that while visiting an English-speaking church, she was touched that members had prepared recipes from Colombia where she had lived as a child. In the Hispanic church, she said, "It is common for families to prepare traditional foods from their countries of origin — such as Mexico, El Salvador or Puerto Rico — and to share them with their pastor." Celebrating another's culture is great way to get to know them better and to express gratitude for them just for being who they are.
Speaking of children, Ramirez added that church members have been helping babysit her two girls "since they were born." Because church members expect that she will "show up for activities with her daughters," she says it has been a natural process for people to act as surrogate parents while she is involved in worship or committees.
The Rev. DJ del Rosario preaches at Bothell United Methodist Church in Bothell, Wash. Video still, courtesy of Bothell United Methodist Church.
A simple "Thank You" will do
The day I asked my pastor if he would email me a copy of the sermon was the day I realized people don’t always take the time to say thanks for a job well done. For the Rev. DJ del Rosario, pastor of Bothell United Methodist Church in Bothell, Washington, personal thank-you notes “can make a world of difference — especially ones that clarify faith development and discipleship.”
The letter he treasures most came from a young man he had befriended at a fellowship group earlier in his college career: “Thanks for taking the time to introduce me to your friends and make sure that I found a space. I didn’t grow up going to church, but I am now because of people like you who took the time to say hello and look me in the eye.”
It’s just my size
Music teachers tend to get a lot of paperweights with eighth notes and treble clefs, and pastors probably get the United Methodist equivalent. Not that there’s anything wrong with giving Cross and Flame bookends (especially, if you already have), but for the Rev. Darian Duckworth, currently serving St. Luke United Methodist Church in Cleveland, Mississippi, it was the personal touch that touched her the most.
The Rev. Darian Duckworth models a necklace given to her by her church secretary. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Duckworth.
At her first appointment, Duckworth received a long string of beads and wooden pieces from the church secretary: “I know you get a lot of crosses and angels and fish symbols since you’re a pastor. I wanted you to have something that was you.” The jewelry not only matched Duckworth’s style — Christian yoga teacher and granola eater — she was touched to be appreciated for her “individuality as a person — not just as a pastor.”
Air miles or thinking outside the box
Not everyone or every church has the money to reward a pastor in the way they might like to financially, but sometimes a little creativity can go a long way toward making a difference in someone’s life. When members of Brecon United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, learned the Rev. Jacob Lee's mother was facing surgery in his home country of Korea, two members donated their air miles so he could make the flight to be with her in her hour of need.
Photographs and memories
Creating a scrapbook of photos and mementos or a digital slideshow of images of the events and people at your church is a wonderful gift — especially if your pastor is moving to a new parish. Photos of services, families, community projects and fellowship will express your gratitude and enrich their memories. Be sure to make a copy for your church as well.
The Rev. Ivana Prochazkova is a pastor near Prague. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Prochazkova.
Walking the talk and trusting your preacher
Keeping the faith, putting your beliefs into action may be one of the greatest gifts you can give your pastor. It’s sort of like taking your college professor’s advice and majoring in chemistry. For the Rev. Ivana Prochazkova, a preacher in Sedlcany (a small town near Prague in the Czech Republic), the greatest demonstration of pastor appreciation is “living fellowship among the members of my congregation and a living relationship with God.” She says this is most visible as “mutual solidarity — in having open hearts to varied people, in mutual respect and empathy.”
“When people in my congregation share their lives, joy and worries, their faith, I feel that my ministry is meaningful and appreciated.”
Happy birthday, dear pastor
A friend of mine told me that every year her congregation takes the time to pick out a birthday card that suits their pastor — and they all sign it. A greeting card to honor the anniversary of your pastor’s first day on the job, to wish that person a Merry Christmas or offer comfort if that person is under the weather is just as treasured as it would be by a member of your own family.
Money
There, we said it. For most pastors, as for most people, a gift of cash is greatly appreciated. Some churches take up a voluntary contribution among its members, and some churches include a clergy bonus in their yearly budget. Several people mentioned gift cards — especially to a restaurant. Sharing prosperity is a very real and meaningful way to show of gratitude.
Prayer
We are all in need of prayer — pastors are no exception. Praying for your church leaders is one of the best ways you can care for them. Ivana Prochazkova related that two older ladies from a parish where she served years ago still regularly pray for her, her family and her ministry. When Prochazkova’s daughter became ill, the women prayed for the entire family for three months — every day. “I am very grateful to God and to them for all these things. They are fruits of the Kingdom of God among us. “
During a Pet Blessing Service, the Rev. Gene Martino Jr, prays with a parishioner mourning the loss of her dog. Photo by Laurens Glass.
In closing…
While working on a video project, the Rev. Gene Martino Jr, shepherd for Lambuth United Methodist Church in Gallatin, Tennessee, telephoned to say he was on the way but running a bit late. A member of his flock had died in the middle of the night, and he had gone to be at her side in that final hour.
Why do people choose a profession in which they have to minister to people, not only at the happiest moments of their lives, but often during the worst? For Martino, it is because he feels called every day "to be the bridge between the Eternal Holy and God's children."
“To hold the hand of a dying saint and metaphysically place it in the hand of God as they pass is a sacred and humbling responsibility. It is akin to pouring water over the head of an infant, symbolically entrusting them to the care of God and Church, and having a hand in that responsibility and a share of that joy!”
"We don’t really celebrate Pastor Appreciation Day," several churchgoers told me. "We try to show our appreciation year-round."
That seems like a fitting goal.
Laurens Glass works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. She may be reached atLGlass@umcom.org or 615.742.5405.
DALLAS (UMNS) — A United Methodist effort to get e-readers to pastors-in-training in developing countries will expand to 15 more schools in Africa and four in the Philippines. The E-Reader Project, which debuted at Gbarnga School of Theology in Liberia, provides an extensive library of e-books to students who struggle to find paper-and-print texts. Sam Hodges has the story.
E-Reader Project set to expand in Africa, Philippines
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The E-Reader Project is looking for support from churches, Sunday school classes and individuals. Learn more or donate online.
At Gbarnga School of Theology, there’s no running water, electricity comes and goes, and classrooms remain scarred from when troops occupied them during Liberia’s long civil war.
On top of all this, Gbarnga — pronounced without the “G”— has closed temporarily because of the Ebola epidemic gripping Liberia and much of West Africa.
Still, learning goes on. That’s because each student has an e-reader provided by The United Methodist Church and loaded with books well-suited for a pastor’s education.
“These 85 students have their e-readers with them, wherever they are, and continue to use them to read and study and to preach and teach in churches,” said Robin Pippin of The United Methodist Church’s Discipleship Ministries (formerly known as the Board of Discipleship.)
The denomination’s E-Reader Project, which Pippin helps run, debuted in 2013 at Gbarnga and is set to expand to 15 more United Methodist schools in Africa, as well as four in the Philippines.
Some 1,500 Kindles will be distributed by 2016, catapulting students and faculty members over the digital divide.
Of the E-Reader Project, the Rev. Yatta Young, former Gbarnga dean, said: “Its potential for improving theological education in Africa is enormous.”
The Rev. Yatta Young, former dean of Gbarnga School of Theology, displays
an e-reader. A 2013 file photo by Jeff Oliver.
Getting started
The United Methodist Church and Christianity in general have grown rapidly in Africa, and with that has come recognition of the need to support pastor education there. The 2012 General Conference created a $5 million Central Conference Theological Education Fund.
The E-Reader Project grew out of an August 2012 writing seminar in Monrovia, Liberia, led by Pippin and the Rev. Stephen Bryant, who directs international ministry initiatives for Discipleship Ministries. Gbarnga faculty attended, and one day the conversation turned to the struggle their students had getting books.
In some classes, only the professor had a textbook, meaning students photocopied or hand-copied pages to study.
“When Steve and I and photographer Francisco Litardo got back to the Methodist Guest House that evening, we started batting around some ideas,” Pippin said. “Having personally been a relatively early adopter of the Kindle, I wondered aloud whether an e-reader with e-books could serve to resource this particular campus.”
Litardo would soon forward a New York Times story explaining how a former Amazon executive was working to get e-readers to children in developing countries, to boost literacy. This confirmed Bryant and Pippin’s thinking that such a program could serve theology students.
Bryant contacted Young, who enthusiastically agreed that Gbarnga could be the pilot site.
“We thought if it can work there, it can work many, many places in Africa,” Pippin said.
Discipleship Ministries formed a partnership with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry to launch the E-Reader Project, with the agencies raising $42,000 in starter funds from individuals, churches, annual conferences and foundations.
`A library of its own’
Since early 2013, Gbanga students and faculty members have had basic Kindles loaded with some 180 English-language texts, many bought at deep discount from or donated by United Methodist Publishing House. Cost of the e-reader and texts: about $300.
Texts include Christian education, evangelism, preaching, counseling, church leadership, United Methodist worship, and Wesleyan theology, as well as six Bible translations.
While religious books dominate, students can call up books on health, math and English grammar. The e-readers come with two classic African novels: “Half of a Yellow Sun,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and “Things Fall Apart,” by Chinua Achebe.
Though both are taught in U.S. classrooms, the African students hadn’t heard of them until getting Kindles.
Closing that gap “has been one of the best things about the project,” Pippin said.
The Rev. Jerry Kulah, current dean of Gbarnga, knew the e-readers were a hit when he saw students using them to read Scripture during chapel, instead of printed Bibles. Both professors and students quickly saw classroom advantages, namely being able to assign and cover more material.
“The students see the e-reader as a library of its own,” Kulah said.
Lessons learned
The pilot phase was not flawless. Due to inexperience by the users, and rugged bus travel, some e-readers got broken, and screens were not lighted.
“Several people said, `We wish it had a lighted screen, because at night we have no electricity and we want to be able to read,’” Pippin said.
But such problems were small and correctable (Pippin has since found discounted Kindles that do have a lighted screen).
In September 2013, Young reported on Gbarnga’s experience to leaders of the African Association of United Methodist Theological Institutions.
“They immediately said they wanted to participate as a partner in this program,” said Scott Gilpin, executive director of fund development for Discipleship Ministries.
Providing Kindles to students and faculty at all 16 of the association’s schools and the four in the Philippines will cost about $700,000.
The Central Conference Theological Education Fund has provided one $50,000 grant to the association to help African schools be part of the E-Reader Project. Gilpin is hopeful that the fund will provide two more grants at that level in coming years.
Another income source will be modest fees charged to students. The rest of the money will need to be raised.
About $100,000 has come in so far, and Gilpin is optimistic that more churches, Sunday school classes and individuals will provide help.
“It really is a very understandable project, because when you get down to the common denominator, you’re talking about a $300 e-reader with a theological library,” Gilpin said.
Keeping faith with Gbarnga
Discipleship Ministries and Higher Education and Ministry recently renewed their collaboration on the E-Reader Project, extending the project’s reach to the four schools in the Philippines.
“It is a perfect complement to our ongoing work — promoting theological education in fast growing central conferences, expanding access to theological resources and enhancing the teaching/learning environment at each institution, no matter how remote they are,” said the Rev. Kim Cape, top executive at Higher Education and Ministry.
As the program expands in Africa, it will move into countries where French and Portuguese are the main languages. Finding Wesleyan texts in those languages is a challenge, Pippin said.
The E-Reader Project will, going forward, be based in the schools’ libraries, with students checking out the e-readers. Graduates will get one to keep.
Project leaders promise to keep faith with Gbarnga, and to be ready when it’s open again.
*Hodges, a United Methodist News Service writer, lives in Dallas. Contact him at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org
DALLAS (UMNS) — The Rev. Lowell McCoy taught speech for more than 50 years at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Now the Cincinnati school has named an interfaith relations award for him. The retired United Methodist minister, 95, is credited with shaping the oratory of many Reform rabbis and was affectionately called "Rabbi McCoy" by his students.
United Methodist ‘rabbi’ honored by Jewish school
Great Plains votes to end clergy health benefitsWICHITA, Kan. (UMNS) — By a vote of 1,066 to 158, clergy and lay members of the Great Plains Annual Conference decided to end the conference health plan for local church clergy and enrolled lay employees in January 2015. That means many United Methodist employees in the conference, which encompasses Kansas and Nebraska, will need to get insurance from marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act. Church pastors serving three-fourths- and full-time will receive a $14,232 "health care allowance."
Can health care law save conferences money?
Come fall, the Rev. John Cross won’t be able to enroll in a conference health insurance plan. Instead, he must shop for coverage through the Illinois insurance marketplace, part of the Affordable Care Act.
He may pay more, the United Methodist pastor said, but it beats the alternative.
“My opinion was we didn’t have a lot of options,” said Cross, pastor of Eldorado (Illinois) First United Methodist Church. Costs were rising so much, he said, that many congregations — especially smaller churches — no longer could afford to contribute the required amount to their pastor’s insurance.
This summer, Cross and other members of the Illinois Great Rivers Annual (regional) Conference approved a plan to end the conference insurance program on Dec. 31. The decision means about 415 clergy and their dependents must turn elsewhere for coverage. Among those possibilities is Get Covered Illinois, the state marketplace that’s part of the law commonly called Obamacare.
WHAT DOES CHURCH LAW SAY?
In The United Methodist Church, conferences historically have had the primary responsibility for sponsoring or participating in a group health plan that covers full-time clergy in the United States.
In 2012, General Conference amended the Book of Discipline to take the Affordable Care Act into account. Church law now allows conferences to end their group health plans if, regardless of their health status, employees can find affordable coverage through health insurance exchanges or another mechanism.
The Book of Discipline, the denomination’s law book, does not require conferences to cover lay employees at local churches and other extension ministries.
The Illinois Great Rivers Conference is not alone in looking to the new marketplaces to relieve mounting health care costs. At least three other conferences are sending some workers to the marketplaces or considering doing so by 2016.
The problem many conferences face, say benefits officers, is providing health care to an aging and often ailing risk pool.
As of this year, the median age of elders is 56, that of deacons is 55 and that of local pastors is 57, reports the United Methodist-related Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Surveys also repeatedly have found United Methodist pastors in the United States have a higher incidence of health problems than their peers, mostly due to stress.
Some conferences include lay local church employees in their group health plan; some do not. In any case, clergy comprise the bulk of conference insurance participants.
The Affordable Care Act is “a game-changer” for clergy and cash-strapped conferences, said the Rev. Richard A. Van Giesen, Illinois Great Rivers Conference treasurer and benefits officer.
“Clergy now have a viable alternative,” he said. “They cannot be denied access to a qualified health plan because of a pre-existing medical condition. Because so many of our clergy have multiple chronic conditions, we knew that before the ACA they would not be able to obtain insurance anywhere else.”
Large employers and local churches
Last year, a big question for the denomination was: Who counts as the employer of United Methodist clergy — the ministry where they are appointed or the clergy member’s conference?
If the Internal Revenue Service deemed conferences to be the employer, then conferences likely would be required to continue providing insurance benefits under the Affordable Care Act's large-employer rules or pay a penalty.
HOW LAW AFFECTS UNINSURED
Meet a United Methodist deacon who has helped hundreds of uninsured people sign up for coverage..
In February, the IRS released its final rule regarding employers’ responsibility. Essentially, that rule instructed churches to use a “reasonable, good faith interpretation” standard in identifying employers in their organizations, explained Andrew Q. Hendren, associate general counsel at the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits. He is the church agency's expert on the health care law.
Saying local churches are the employer for purposes of the Affordable Care Act is likely a reasonable interpretation, Hendren said.
Still, he urges conferences to proceed with caution. Participants can see their tax burden and out-of-pocket costs go up if they shift to the new marketplaces. Some legal uncertainty also exists about whether individuals will be able to qualify for federal subsidies in some states. Also, without the equalizing effect of the same health plan for all local church appointments, new friction may emerge over clergy appointments, Hendren said.
Some conferences, though, see a need to act now. Here is an overview of how they are using the law.
Illinois Great Rivers Conference
In the largely rural Illinois Great Rivers Conference, the current conference insurance plan is self-funded, which means the conference assumes the responsibility for paying clergy medical claims. The conference’s health care costs last year exceeded health care payments from local churches by $1.5 million, reported the conference’s Board of Pensions and Health Benefits.
HOW EXPENSIVE ARE THE PLANS?
The Health Research Institute at PricewaterhouseCooper has compiled data from 33 states and the District of Columbia. The institute found average rate increase for premiums of 7 percent, while the average monthly premium (without subsidies) is around $379.
To qualify for subsidies, people generally must have a household income between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level and not have access to another source of affordable health insurance coverage. In 2014, that translates to annual income between $11,670 and $46,680 for an individual or between $23,850 and $95,400 for a family of four.
Under Affordable Care Act rules, the Internal Revenue Service looks at the cost of coverage only for an individual employee, not for a family. That means if a person can get insurance through an employer that costs less than 9.5 percent of his or her income, then federal subsidies would not be available.
Earlier this summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Affordable Care Act does not authorize subsidies for those who purchase insurance on federally established marketplaces. On the same day, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held the opposite.
On Sept. 4, the circuit court announcedit had granted the Obama Administration’s request for an en banc rehearing, meaning a review by all the judges on the court. Democratic nominees now hold a 7-4 majority. Oral argument is scheduled for Dec. 17. By granting further review, the court wipes out the three-judge panel’s previous ruling on the matter.
Challengers to the Fourth Circuit ruling have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case.
It is unclear what impact the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision to rehear the case will have on the Supreme Court, writes Lyle Denniston of Scotusblog. If there is no conflict between appeals courts, the high court is unlikely to step in. If conflict remains, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately may have to settle the issue. For now, subsidies continue.
The proposed open enrollment period for 2015 starts Nov. 15 and will end Feb. 15 next year.
Van Giesen said there were two main drivers of the deficit. First, local churches were unwilling or unable to accept a premium increase. Second, the conference was seeing increasing claims from a generally unhealthy population.
The conference plan for 2015 calls on each local congregation to increase full-time pastors’ annual salaries by $12,000 to help them buy health insurance. Because of the salary increase, local churches also will have to pay a corresponding higher pension payment. Local congregations are now on the hook for $17,520 annually to cover the employers’ share of insurance.
For pastors, the concern is that their new “health care allowance” will be taxable, unlike current health benefits. But Van Giesen noted it’s not all bad news for pastors. Depending on their income, some may qualify for subsidies — that is, tax credits — on their monthly premiums.
The big beneficiaries are local churches. Some, he wrote, will be able “to retain a full-time pastor because of the savings they will experience — and because of a big premium increase they will not experience” in the conference’s group health plan.
The vote to end the conference’s current plan was 735 to 106.
Northern Illinois Conference
The neighboring Northern Illinois Conference is taking a slower approach. Starting this year, the conferencehas a one-year pilot project that will send some clergy to Get Covered Illinois.
The project is only open to appointments where clergy can get similar health coverage through the marketplace at a lower cost. Participation requires approval of the clergy’s family, the church’s staff-parish relations committee, the district superintendent and the Conference Board of Pensions.
Lonnie Chafin, the conference’s treasurer, said the impetus for Northern Illinois was that some clergy thought they could save their churches money and still get affordable coverage. The conference calculated that a clergy family appointed to a low-salary church might have monthly premiums of $250, while the same family at a high-salary church might have expenses of $1,350.
“Our policy, colloquially stated, is ‘Let’s see where it works,’” Chafin said.
The conference expects 35 clergy, about 10 percent, will participate.
Arkansas Conference
The Arkansas Conference is in the early stages of seeing whether it should also end its current self-funded group health plan and send employees to its state marketplace, Arkansas Health Connector. Such a move would happen in 2016, at the earliest.
Like Illinois Great Rivers, the conference sees its current plan, which covers both clergy and full-time lay employees, as unsustainable. At present, the conference is spending close to $7 million a year on health care, said Mona Williams, conference benefits officer.
“With the increasing cost of medical care, churches may be spending more money to provide health care than they are on making disciples,” Williams said.
The Florida Conference
The Florida Conference was a pioneer in using the new insurance marketplace.
Since the beginning of this year, the conference has no longer provided health insurance for lay employees at its local churches and extension ministries, such as campus ministries.
The Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits announced this August that it was also considering a marketplace-based approach to providing health benefits for clergy. Changes to the clergy plan, however, will not take place at least until 2016. The conference added that local churches always will be required to help clergy pay for health insurance.
Wendy McCoy, the conference’s director of human resources and benefits, said some lay employees have found better coverage in the insurance marketplace, while others found it more expensive.
“So it’s not any different from the environment we had before,” she said. “We had people who could not participate (in the group plan) because their church didn’t meet the enrollment requirements. … Just like before, there are those who were satisfied with the status quo and those who were not — its’ just different folks who are pleased with the change and others who are not.”
Robert Jackson, choir director at First United Methodist Church in Gainesville, was among those who ended up paying more.
He already made too much to qualify for subsidies. His church also formerly paid his monthly premiums of $661 on the conference plan. To help defray the costs of the new insurance plan, First United Methodist gave its lay employees a salary increase.
But that increase is taxable and doesn’t cover the full amount of the new premiums. Jackson said he is paying about $280 more out-of-pocket for insurance. The pay increase also puts him in a higher tax bracket.
“I have insurance, and I think it’s a fairly decent plan. But it’s not what I’ve been used to for 20 years with The United Methodist Church,” he said. “I hear positive stories from people who never had insurance before and are able to get it, and so that’s where the plan works really well.”
Cross, the pastor in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference, said he too expects to pay more for his insurance in 2015.
“It’s possible that a lot of our pastors will come out and qualify for the government subsidy,” he said. “They fall into a place where it will be very reasonable for them. But the thing is others will not. … But again, the reality was we had to do something. Not many of the pastors I know said, ‘Hey, this is a great thing we’re doing.’ But they all said we have to do it.”
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
NEW YORK (UMNS) — The Rev. Carolyn Sims, pastor of Corinth United Methodist Church in North Carolina, recently was featured in a segment on NBC-TV's "Today Show." Sims and her cranberry-apple pork chops were among the three winners in the "Too Good to Be Healthy" search for low-calorie, apple-inspired recipes.
How do you like them apples: Sweet, savory, scrumptious? You’ll satisfy all your cravings with these three winning“Too Good to Be Healthy” recipes sent in by TODAY viewers.
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Video: TODAY nutritionist Joy Bauer is joined by the three winners of our “Too Good to Be Healthy” search for apple inspired recipes that are low-calorie. Willie Geist and Tamron Hall taste the “Itty Bitty Brown Betty,” chicken apple meatballs and cranberry-apple pork chops.
Carolyn Sims’ cranberry-apple pork chops
TODAY
Ingredients:6 lean pork chops (4 ounces each), slightly browned
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
2 honey crisp apples, diced (or other slightly tart apple)
1 ounce dried cranberries
1 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup orange juice
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
2 honey crisp apples, diced (or other slightly tart apple)
1 ounce dried cranberries
1 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup orange juice
Directions:
Place pork chops in slow cooker. Combine other ingredients and pour on top of pork chops. Set to low heat and cook 6-8 hours.
Nutrition:
Makes 6 servings; each serving contains 319 calories, 27 grams protein, and 3 grams fiber
Place pork chops in slow cooker. Combine other ingredients and pour on top of pork chops. Set to low heat and cook 6-8 hours.
Nutrition:
Makes 6 servings; each serving contains 319 calories, 27 grams protein, and 3 grams fiber
Jennifer Valdenegro’s chicken apple meatballs in onion and apple gravy
TODAY
For the meatballs:1 package ground chicken (13.2 ounces)
2 (heaping) tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 apple (any variety), peeled and grated with excess juice squeezed out
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
2 (heaping) tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 apple (any variety), peeled and grated with excess juice squeezed out
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch of salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
For the gravy:1 tablespoon grape seed oil
1 onion, sliced
1 large shallot, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 apples (any variety), peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Several sprigs fresh thyme
2.5 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Couple dashes of low-sodium soy sauce
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:For the meatballs: Preheat oven (convection, if available) to 475 degrees.
1 onion, sliced
1 large shallot, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 apples (any variety), peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Several sprigs fresh thyme
2.5 cups low-sodium chicken stock
Couple dashes of low-sodium soy sauce
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:For the meatballs: Preheat oven (convection, if available) to 475 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together using your hands until well combined. Form into balls and with a food scale, weigh out 2-ounce portions. (You'll get about 8 meatballs.)
Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook in oven for 10 to 15 minutes, just until browned on the outside. (They will finish cooking in the gravy.)
For the gravy: Using a heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, place oil in pan.
Add onion, shallot, garlic and apples. Sauté until soft, about 10 minutes. Add chicken stock, mustard and soy sauce. Stir and let cook for 5 to 7 more minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.
With an immersion blender (off hot burner), puree the mixture to desired consistency.
Add thyme leaves and meatballs and turn heat back to low. Let gravy simmer, cooking down to desired thickness.
Nutrition: Makes 6 servings; each serving contains 334 calories, 27 grams protein, and 4 grams fiber.
Shauna Havey’s itty bitty brown Betty
TODAY
Ingredients:8 mini "Fillo" shells (freezer section of any grocery store)
For the filling:
2 large Granny Smith apples, diced small
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon crystallized ginger, chopped fine
2 tablespoon dried cranberries, chopped
1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons salted butter
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch salt
Juice of a fresh orange (reserve 1 tablespoon for glaze)
2 large Granny Smith apples, diced small
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon crystallized ginger, chopped fine
2 tablespoon dried cranberries, chopped
1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons salted butter
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch salt
Juice of a fresh orange (reserve 1 tablespoon for glaze)
For the topping:1 slice dense whole-wheat bread
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Pinch of cinnamon
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
For the glaze:1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon orange juice
Directions:To make the filling: Heat a skillet to medium and add all of the filling ingredients.
Mix well and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and allow to cook for about 10 minutes (or until the fruit is tender and the filling is thick).
To make the topping: Pulse the bread in a food processor to make crumbs. Then, toast the crumbs over medium heat in a dry skillet for 2-3 minutes until lightly toasted.
Slowly stir in the melted butter. And finally, add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Combine well, turn off the heat, and set aside.
To make the glaze: Combine the powdered sugar, reserved tablespoon of orange juice, and the zest. Mix until smooth.
To assemble: Evenly distribute the filling among the 8 pastry cups and divide the crumb topping over each as well.
Place the cups onto a cookie sheet and set under the broiler for about 3 minutes to brown the topping.
Remove from oven and finish off with a drizzle of the orange glaze. Garnish with some fresh thyme if desired.
Nutrition:
Makes 8 servings; each serving contains 110 calories, 1 gram protein, and 1.5 grams fiber
Ministry idea: Move-in kits for seniorsMakes 8 servings; each serving contains 110 calories, 1 gram protein, and 1.5 grams fiber
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UMNS) — United Methodists in the Memphis Conference have an innovative way to help people making the transition to the Wesley Living senior residence: move-in kits. The kits cost about $200 each and contain household and personal items. The Memphis Conference reports on the Golden Cross Senior Residents Fund ministry.
'Move-in kits' help Wesley senior residents in need
The United Methodist Women of Memphis First UMC recently donated a move-in kit to Wesley Senior Ministries. Kristi Henson Henson Owens, executive director of the Golden Cross Senior Residents Fund, fourth from right, receives the donation on behalf of Wesley Senior Ministries and the Golden Cross. Submitted photo
The Golden Cross Senior Residents Fund is collecting donations to purchase and assemble “move-in kits” for Wesley Living residents who arrive with little or inadequate possessions.
“These (move-in kits) are for those residents who come to us in desperate, dire situations,” said Kristi Henson Owens, Executive Director of the Golden Cross Senior Residents Fund. “These kits offer them a helping hand at a time in their lives when they need it most.”
Owens helped develop the idea for move-in kits after meeting a woman who moved into a Wesley facility with nothing but her clothes, pocketbook, tattered blanket and dish soap.
“Upon walking into her apartment I was faced with the reality of what nothing actually looks and feels like. The stark bareness of the space brought (her) reality to life for me,” said Owens.
Hearing about other residents with needs, the idea for move-in kits was born. Since May, 11 move-in kits have been distributed.
Move-in kits cost approximately $200 each and contain household and personal care items such as a bath mat, shower curtain and rings, dishes, towels, pillows, blankets, hangers, hand soap, toilet paper, body soap, shampoo and more. Click here for a list of items that make up a move-in kit.
Individuals, classes and churches may purchase items to assemble kits and deliver them to the Golden Cross office or have them picked up. Or call 901-213-1930 to request a pick-up.
To donate money for move-in kits, make checks payable to Golden Cross and send them to the organization’s office at 1615 Appling Road, Cordova, TN 38016. The memo line should say “Move-In Kits.”
For more information about move-in kits, email Owens at kristi.owens@wesleyhousing.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UMNS) — The Rev. Talbot Davis, pastor of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, gives reasons not to go into ministry, including personal validation and emotional healing. He wraps up his commentary by offering the best reason to choose a ministerial career. 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.
Tuesday, Oct. 28
Free webinar "Leading with Style" — 6:30 p.m. CT. Participants in this webinar will explore different leadership styles, discern their own approach to group engagement, understand the influence stress has on the ways they interact in group settings, and strategize ways they can help groups function most effectively. Details.
November
Native American Heritage Month — United Methodist Discipleship Ministries and Native American Comprehensive Plan offer prayer and worship resources.
You can see more educational opportunities and other upcoming events in the life of the church here.
| United Methodist News Serice Weekly Digest for Friday, 24 October 2014 NOTE: This is a digest of news features provided by United Methodist Communications for Oct. 20-24. It includes summaries of United Methodist News Service stories and additional briefs from around the United Methodist connection. Full versions of the stories with photographs and related features can be found at umc.org/news.Top Stories Top court hears appeal in Schaefer case MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UMNS) — The question of whether an appeals committee was correct in restoring the clergy credentials of the Rev. Frank Schaefer opened the Judicial Council's Oct. 22-25 fall meeting. Schaefer lost his standing in the denomination's Eastern Pennsylvania Conference after being found guilty in a church trial last November of performing a same-sex wedding ceremony for his son. Judicial Council is the denomination's top court. A decision is not expected until after the meeting ends. Linda Bloom reports. Judicial Council hears arguments on Schaefer case | By Linda Bloom | Oct. 22, 2014 |MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UMNS) | The question of whether an appeals committee was correct in restoring the clergy credentials of the Rev. Frank Schaefer was argued Wednesday, Oct. 22, before United Methodism’s top court. | Schaefer lost his standing in the denomination’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference after being found guilty in a church trial last November of performing a same-sex wedding ceremony for his son. Church law prohibits clergy from officiating at same-sex weddings. | An oral hearing on his case opened the Judicial Council’s Oct. 22-25 fall meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, one of 21 docket items under consideration by the nine-member body. Decisions about the Schaefer case and the other items are not expected to be made public until a couple of days after the meeting. | In the penalty stage of the November 2013 trial, the court suspended Schaefer from his ministerial duties for 30 days and declared that if he could not “uphold the (Book of) Discipline in its entirety” at the end of the suspension, he would surrender his credentials. He refused to do that, and on Dec. 19, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Board of Ordained Ministry asked him to give up his credentials. | After a hearing in June, the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals restored his credentials and ordered the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference to compensate Schaefer for all lost salary and benefits dating from Dec. 19, 2013. | The Rev. Christopher Fisher, who served as counsel for the church, appealed the reinstatement to the Judicial Council and laid out the case for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. He was accompanied by Robert Shoemaker, the conference’s legal advisor and assistant counsel. | The Northeastern Committee on Appeals, Fisher argued, misinterpreted two previous Judicial Council decisions in making its decision and did not take into account that The Book of Discipline has changed over the years. | "Trial courts now have the power to delay a penalty,” Fisher said. “The Discipline does not specify what that delay should look like." In Schaefer’s case, he argued, there were not two penalties but a “seamless penalty with a lawful delay." | The only requirement for Schaefer to avoid losing his credentials, Fisher said, “was a commitment to the polity of the church.” All United Methodist pastors must make that same commitment, he added. | Naming “two other significant errors,” Fisher said a brief he had filed with the council elaborates on charges of bias by the committee on appeals and reports of questionable conduct by Schaefer. | Fisher did not provide further details during the hearing but when the Rev. Scott Campbell, counsel for Schaefer, spoke to the Judicial Council, he argued that unverified allegations are not part of the official record and should not be considered. | "We do not want to give the impression that we concur with this serious allegation (of bias),” Campbell said. “Having an opinion, even a strongly held opinion, is not a disqualification from serving on a judicial body in The United Methodist Church." Church members must just be willing to set those opinions aside and be guided by the Discipline, he added. | Campbell argued that Schaefer never said that he would violate the Book of Discipline in the future, but, “because he is a man of deep integrity,” Schaefer also could not say what would happen in an ambiguous future. | After the hearing, Schaefer told United Methodist News Service that both sides had made good points in what he considered to be a discussion about the technicality of church law. | The Judicial Council’s decision, he believes, “will either signal there is going to be a change toward inclusiveness or there is going to be a digging in of heels.” | Fisher said he is looking for guidance from the council to clear up confusion on what can and can’t be imposed as a penalty by a trial court. | The arguments presented by the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, he said, have “strong points the Judicial Council has to answer for the sake of the whole church.” | Bloom is a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in New York. Follow her at http://twitter.com/umcscribe or contact her at (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org | By Heather Hahn | Oct. 20, 2014 | LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (UMNS) | Some United Methodist leaders still talk with frustration about the last day of the 2012 General Conference. | That was the afternoon the Judicial Council — the denomination’s top court — struck down as unconstitutional a plan to restructure the denomination’s general agencies. The plan had been years in the making. Delegates then scrambled to downsize agency boards in hopes of salvaging some part of the movement for structural change. | What if General Conference delegates could get a heads up that legislation might be in trouble without waiting for a Judicial Council ruling? | That is one aim of the Advance Legislative Research Panel proposed by the Commission on General Conference, which met at Lake Junaluska last week. | The planned panel will include experts on United Methodist church law who are willing to volunteer significant time reading petitions submitted to the next General Conference in May 2016. | The panel members’ task will be to review all petitions they are assigned. They will identify closely related Judicial Council decisions and memoranda as well as related paragraphs in the Book of Discipline, the denomination’s law book. The Discipline includes the denomination’s constitution. | The information assembled by panel members would be strictly advisory, and panel members are not to include any editorial comments. Only the Judicial Council officially can answer the question of whether legislation passed by General Conference passes constitutional muster. | It will be up to the General Conference whether to take the panel’s advice when it votes on the rules and orders of the meeting. | “The commission wanted this to operate as a test model this time around,” said the Rev. Gary Graves, who compiles petitions for General Conference. | The panel will operate as though it has already been approved, he said. If General Conference approves the effort, then legislative committees will receive the information compiled. If not, then they won’t. | Who can serve on the panel? | The commission’s executive committee will select the panel from former Judicial Council members, conference chancellors and members of the Committee on Correlation and Editorial Revision, which works to maintain accuracy and consistent language in the Book of Discipline. Being a panel member does not prevent a person from also being General Conference delegate. | The goal, for now, is to have 12 panel members — one for each of the 12 legislative committees at the 2016 General Conference. The panel members each will review one legislative committee’s petitions. They will not meet face-to-face but instead review the assigned petitions on their own. | In a survey of General Conference delegates, the Commission on General Conference received a number of requests for Judicial Council to review petitions before they go before the delegates. But that’s not possible. | Under the Book of Discipline, the Judicial Council only rules on proposed legislation if such a decision is requested by the General Conference as a whole or by the Council of Bishops. As a practical matter, the Judicial Council — which typically meets twice a year — does not have time to review all the submitted legislation. | “Hopefully, this would answer some of that concern in more of an advisory role,” Graves said. “They are just going to do research and make sure pieces don’t get missed. That’s the intent.” | Preventing contradictions | The panel can also avoid another problem, helping to ensure the Book of Discipline does not contain contradictory paragraphs. | “What’s happened is we have approved petitions that are in direct contrast with each other,” said Duncan McMillan, chair of the commission’s rules committee and member of the North Carolina Conference. “This is to say that if you do this change, you need to look at this (paragraph) as well even if it’s before a separate committee.” | The 2012 General Conference also faced an issue with disciplinary consistency. It deleted required security of appointment for elders in good standing in one paragraph while leaving it intact in another. | The Rev. L. Fitzgerald "Gere" Reist II, General Conference secretary, pointed out the conflicting language a month after the 2012 General Conference had adjourned. Later that year, the issue proved moot when the Judicial Council ruled that eliminating security of appointment would violate the denomination’s constitution. | Reist, like others at the commission meeting, sees the advisory panel as a step toward a less frustrating General Conference. | “It will help legislative committees actually make a change rather than just thinking they’ve made the change,” he said. “It may also help prevent people from doing something that is unconstitutional.” | Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org | By Kathy L. Gilbert and Sam Hodges | DALLAS (UMNS) | “We come in expecting a celebration, a day of worship, but it always turns into a funeral,” said the Rev. Emmanuel Shanka Morris, pastor of Spencer Memorial United Methodist Church, Charlotte, N.C. | Morris is Liberian and so are nearly nine out of 10 members of his church; another 10 percent are from Sierra Leone. Since the Ebola outbreak began, every Sunday one or more members of the congregation reports the death of another family member in the two West African countries hit hardest by the deadly virus. | The church is observing five days of praying and fasting in the month of October. Using 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 and Ezra 8:23 as guiding scriptures, each Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. people of the congregation intercede for the people of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. | Morris was born in Greenville, Sinoe County, Liberia. His associate pastor, the Rev. Colston Wuor-Gabie Morris is also from Liberia. | GET INVOLVED | Donate through UMCOR | "Ebola: A Poem for Living" animated video for use in West Africa to dispel myths about Ebola | Ebola checklist for pastors and church leaders | Donate online to the United Methodist Women's efforts to fight Ebola. | Read full coverage of The United Methodist Church’s response to the Ebola outbreak | Donate online to United Methodist Communication’s efforts to help the denomination distribute information about the disease. | Grief and support | Across the United States, United Methodist churches with native Liberians and Sierra Leoneans are telling similar stories of grief and suffering, while trying to rally support for medical relief. | Albert B. Travell, a member of First United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas, had seven family members die from Ebola in July. | “The daughters of my brother were preparing a body (another sister) for a funeral and became ill,” Travell said. The family thought she died from malaria. | “We have a tradition in Liberia when someone passes away, family members stick around so many days before burial and after burial they cook and everyone eats from the same bowl,” he said. His nieces started getting sick and dying one after another. | Now the remaining family is having trouble getting food. | “I am trying to send them some money so they can buy food. I am praying by the grace of God, everything will be all right soon,” Travell said. | Helping their families | Many Liberians living in the U.S. are stepping up contributions to family members and friends because so many people are unable to work and are not getting paid, said the Rev. Richard L. Stryker, executive director of ethnic ministries for the North Alabama Conference. He is also a native of Liberia. | “My wife has lost an aunt, although not to Ebola, we wonder what role the strain on the already degraded health system played in her death from sickness,” Stryker said. His wife also lost a high school classmate to Ebola. Four out of eight people in her classmate’s family also died after waiting days for an ambulance to arrive to take them to the hospital. | “Sanitation, communication, lack of facilities remain major problems for the prevention of this disease,” he said. “I believe people from the West that are going to help assume a certain level of basic care that is nonexistent.” | Heart of Africa | Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas has long supported a hospital in Liberia founded by two of its members, Betty and Peter Weato. Now, because of Ebola, the church is raising funds for medical supplies for Liberia and Sierra Leone. | The church’s Heart of Africa Fellowship includes members from 10 African countries, including Liberia and Sierra Leone. On Oct. 19, the Rev. Stan Copeland, Lovers Lane’s senior pastor, led the group in prayer about Ebola and announced a churchwide prayer service on Ebola for Sunday Oct. 26. | “None of our people have been infected, but they’ve been upended,” Copeland, who has traveled twice to Liberia, said in an interview. | Bishop John K. Yambasu, episcopal leader of Sierra Leone, said he and Bishop John G. Innis of Liberia co-signed a letter requesting that all medical and other relief items go through UMCOR. | "This is still the case," Yambasu said. However, he noted that some partners in the denomination had a schedule of shipments of non-medical supplies such as school supplies and equipment even before Ebola. | "These are sent directly to us. For instance, one of our partner churches has shipped an ambulance to Sierra Leone which cannot be channeled through UMCOR," he said, adding that UMCOR staff are aware of that shipment. | Since the end of July, all non-Ebola related conference staff have been asked to stay home in order to avoid the risk of contracting Ebola while using public transportation. "Only the Ebola response team and the administrative staff come to work every day," Yambasu added. | The United Methodist Committee on Relief recommends that people who want to help send money through the International Disaster Response Advance, said Emily Miller, associate general secretary for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. | Shipping goods presents several problems, Miller said. Ports are clogged, and even if goods are unloaded, United Methodist conference staff must take time to pay customs and get the goods delivered. | Ebola spawning prejudice | Dallas became a focus of news coverage when Thomas Eric Duncan of Liberia was admitted to the city’s Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and diagnosed with Ebola — the first such diagnosis in the United States. His subsequent death, the infection of two nurses who cared for him, and the quarantining of people who had contact with him all raised anxiety in the city, Copeland said. | Copeland noted that African members of Lovers Lane United Methodist have faced extra prejudice during the Ebola scare, an assertion confirmed by Eric Pratt, lay leader of the Heart of Africa Fellowship and a native of Sierra Leone. | “Even your neighbors that you used to play and laugh with, they start to shun you,” said Pratt, who has lived in the Dallas area for 29 years and owns a limousine service. | Pratt said Copeland and Lovers Lane have shown strong support for Africans. That was echoed by Melvin Morgan, a Heart of Africa Fellowship member who recently lost his sister, Victoria Jackson, and two nieces to Ebola in the family’s native Liberia. | “It is a blessing for me and my family to be part of this congregation,” he said. “In times of needs and difficulties, they have been there.” | Morgan hopes the United States and other wealthy countries will pour resources into West Africa, to help arrest Ebola. He acknowledged feeling a range of emotions on learning loved ones in Liberia had died of the disease. | “As a human, I weep, because Jesus himself wept,” Morgan said. “But as a Christian, I also put on my faith, because the Bible says with God all things are possible.” | *Gilbert is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service in Nashville, Tennessee. Hodges, a United Methodist News Service writer, lives in Dallas. Contact (615) 742 5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org. | LITURGY | A Litany in Response to UMCOR’s Call to Pray for Those Affected by the Ebola Epidemic | by The Rev. Frederick Yebuah | If we had a thousand tongues, O God, we would not be able to praise you enough for the gift of your handiwork. | When nothing existed but chaos and a formless void, your breath brought forth light and life. | Then you breathed your spirit into us, and you fashioned humankind to reflect your very image. | Your hands made and continue to make beautiful things from dust. | Lord, we give you thanks. | Gracious God, we also recognize that because of our carelessness, your world now groans with labor pains; | creation bears the scars of destruction, and many suffer. | Therefore, you have called us to uncover our eyes in order to see the world’s needs, to include our ears to hear the world’s cries, | and to open our mouths to speak life where there is death. | Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. | Today, O God, we especially lift up to you our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone—for all those who live with the threat of the Ebola virus. | God of Life and Love everlasting, hear our cries for mercy, comfort, and help. | Gracious God, we call you the Great Physician. | We pray your healing power to touch those bodies that now shake with fever, ache with pain, and are too weak to sustain the demands of life. | God of Life and Love everlasting, hear our cries for mercy, comfort, and help. | Gracious God, we know you are a Mighty God. | Grant access to medical care for the most vulnerable in West Africa. | Protect doctors and nurses who kneel at the bedsides of the sick and the dying. | Provide resources in places of lack. Guide churches and church leaders. | Empower all who work tirelessly to be Christ’s hands and feet. | God of Life and Love everlasting, hear our cries for mercy, comfort, and help. | Gracious God, we believe you are Hope to the hopeless. Hold parents who’ve lost children. | Gently father and mother children who’ve lost their parents. | Make your presence known to those who are dying alone, in the streets, in wastelands, without friends or family. | Speak tenderly to all who feel abandoned by the world’s governments and systems of power. | Give strength to our friends in West Africa who feel that “life more abundantly” is an unfulfilled promise. | God of Life and Love everlasting, hear our cries for mercy, comfort, and help. | Gracious God, we know you are the Light overcoming darkness. | Why should we be afraid? | Help us, O God, to trust in your unchanging nature in times of uncertainty. | Grant us peace that Ebola or anything in this life that would threaten to undo us, is not impossible for you. | Hear our prayer. | Amen. | The Rev. Frederick Yebuah, a native of Ghana in West Africa, is a clergy member of the South Carolina Annual Conference, currently serving as the Orangeburg District Superintendent. | Please also see "UMCOR, UMC Health Boards Respond to Ebola." | Categories: Times of Crisis, Grief and Loss, Natural Disasters | By Sam Hodges | DALLAS (UMNS) | The oratory of hundreds of rabbis across the United States bears the influence of a retired United Methodist minister. | The Rev. Lowell McCoy, 95, taught speech for more than half a century at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. | That school has created a Rev. Lowell McCoy Prize in Interfaith Relations. The annual award for a graduate student will be featured in a school fundraising banquet on Sunday, Oct. 26, in Cincinnati. | “Lowell’s gentle manner, kind and caring heart, and commitment to interfaith understanding and love for Reform Judaism make this prize an apt tribute,” said the Rabbi David Whiman, who was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1979. | McCoy served as a U.S. Army chaplain in World War II and the experience of working with military personnel of various denominations and faiths confirmed for him the importance of interfaith relations. | He led Methodist congregations before beginning his teaching career in the speech departments at Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati. | In 1949, the president of Hebrew Union College asked McCoy to help create a speech program there. He served full time on the faculty beginning in 1954, eventually becoming faculty chair and associate dean. After his retirement in 1989, he taught part time for years. | The school said students affectionately called their one Christian professor “Rabbi McCoy.” He improved their preaching through such innovations as recording them and arranging feedback sessions with faculty and other students. | McCoy helped students with more than 2,000 sermons and listened to them lead more than 6,000 services in the campus chapel. Many of the students he taught continue to lead Reform congregations across the United States. | A scholarly paper written about the school’s speech program noted that McCoy was a trusted figure who sometimes mediated in faculty conflicts or faculty-student conflicts. | “Throughout his career, Lowell endeavored always to build bridges of understanding and friendship between people of diverse religious and cultural backgrounds,” the school said in announcing the prize. | A school representative said McCoy was not up to an interview, but that he’s expected to attend the Sunday event. He lives with his wife, Carolyn, in Cincinnati’s Hyde Park section. | Hodges, a United Methodist News Service writer, lives in Dallas. Contact him at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org | AC vote ends clergy health plan, replaced with allowance | 10/20/2014 | Bishop Scott Jones has reviewed the tally of the votes cast by clergy and lay members of the Annual Conference. An overwhelming majority approved the use of the mail/email ballot instead of asking for a special session. The vote was also overwhelming to approve the recommendation of the Connecting Council to end the Conference health plan for clergy appointed to local churches and enrolled lay staff. (Remember that employees of the Conference and clergy appointed to our largest church will continue to be covered by their employers.) The results of the ballot are as follows: | Do you approve the use of this mail ballot? | 1149 Yes 59 No | Do you approve the Connecting Council recommendation to end our Conference health insurance plan to pastors appointed to the local churches and enrolled lay employees of local churches? | 1066 Yes 158 No | Thus, there will be no special session of the Annual Conference on Oct. 25. And therefore, the Conference health plan will no longer be in effect on Jan. 1, 2015. | To help clergy and local church leaders in this transition, a resource called “Guidelines and Instructions for Great Plains Clergy Health Insurance” can be found at www.GreatPlainsUMC.org/HealthInsurance. This web page will supply information on how to complete clergy compensation forms as well as all the background leading up to the vote. The Frequently Asked Questions document is updated regularly. | "This has been a difficult and complex decision, but I am proud of our Pensions and Health Benefits Team, the Conference staff, the Cabinet and all of us for the way we have carefully considered our options and taken a clear and timely decision," said Jones. | ___________________________________________________________________________ | Annual conference member ballot begins Oct. 10 | Connecting Council recommends ending clergy health benefits | Active clergy would receive health insurance allowance instead | Gary Beach webcast script | Mike Chamberlain webcast script | Recorded Oct. 9, webcast video | Frequently Asked Questions (including Kansas Exchange Rates) (Updated 10/20) | Nebraska Exchange Rates | Voting Options Document | The Great Plains Conference Connecting Council met in Hastings, Nebraska, Oct. 3-4, to review a full agenda of conference business. | The main item of business was the consideration of the Pension and Health Benefits Team recommendation for clergy health benefits coverage for 2015. | The Pension and Health Benefits Team recommended a conference premium increase from $14,232 for 2015 to $17,232, and deductibles for clergy would double, for each three-quarter or full-time pastor. After much discussion, the Connecting Council determined it would be better to end the Conference health insurance program for pastors and instead provide a health care allowance. Moving this recommendation forward requires a vote of the annual conference members, including permission to honor the ballot. | Decision-Making Process | Ballots will be sent by email to all annual conference voting members for whom we have an email address and by U.S. mail for those for whom we do not have an email address. Voting will start on Oct. 10 and conclude by 3 p.m., on Monday, Oct. 20. The result will be announced at 4:30 p.m., CDT on Oct. 20. The ballot will be determined by a simple majority. | The ballot for annual conference voting members will have two questions: | Do you approve the use of this mail ballot? A no vote will ask Bishop Jones to call a special session of annual conference to be held in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Oct. 25, beginning at 10 a.m. CDT. (Yes or No) (No matter how you vote on question 1 you must vote on question 2, in case there is no special called session.) | Do you approve the Connecting Council recommendation to end our conference health insurance plan for pastors appointed to local churches and enrolled lay employees of local churches? (Yes or No) (A no vote on question 2 will approve Option 2, which maintains our current plan with the increased premium and deductible for 2015.) | Questions regarding the plan should be forwarded to Carol Fusaro at cfusaro@greatplainsumc.org or gbeach@greatplainsumc.org. | If you learn that a voting member of the annual conference has not received correspondence by Oct. 10, please have them contact rdelisi@greatplainsumc.org or call 402-464-5994, ext. 107. | Webcast on Thurs. Oct. 9, to answer questions | A webcast will be available at 7 p.m. CDT featuring Conference Treasurer and Director of Administration Gary Beach, Pension and Health Benefits Chairwoman Kelly Williams and Dean of the Cabinet and Kansas City District Superintendent Mike Chamberlain answering questions. The webcast is available at GreatPlainsUMC.org/livestream. A test of the live stream will be available Thursday, Oct. 9, from 2:30-3:30 p.m., to test your local connection. | Send questions ahead of time to info@greatplainsumc.org. | Commentary: Reasons not to go into ministry | By the Rev. Talbot Davis | CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UMNS) |  Why should an individual enter pastoral ministry in the first place? In processing that question, I've come up with several wrong answers and one I believe to be most on the mark. First, the wrong answers: 1. For personal validation. If you, like me, are on a relentless quest for the approval of parents, friends, colleagues and most especially parishioners, then please don't go into ministry. Christ nailed your approval into the cross, and if that's not enough, you're not ready for the parish. 2. For emotional healing. If you believe that by surrounding yourself with church people and ministry activity, you will heal wounds from your past, then please don't enter ministry. The parish is not a laboratory that cooks up the perfect concoction for your healing; in fact, many local churches do a pretty good job of tearing down whatever emotional health you had built up. 3. To make a name for yourself. I can honestly say that in 1986 when I most clearly "heard the call" the thought of making a name in ministry never occurred to me. There was no mega-church movement, no multi-site phenomenon, and relatively few celebrity pastors. My, how that landscape has changed, and notoriety has supplanted proclamation. If you want to “become known,” please don't go into the ministry because you'll likely get known for all the wrong reasons. 4. To build a platform. This is the first cousin of No. 3, above. If you want to build a platform so that your parish ministry can propel you into other, higher profile ministry — politics? publishing? speaker’s bureaus? — then please don't go into ministry. Local churches are starving for people who are entering ministry to love and lead people in the parish. As for reasons to enter the ministry, I believe the healthiest one is to help others have done to them what was done to you. See, the Gospel was done to me. When I am awake to the Holy Spirit, the Gospel continues to be done to me. It is the daily awareness of and celebration of the fact that I am, at the same time such a wreck that I can't save myself and such a treasure that God saved me. That needs to be the primal instinct of a pastor's soul. I do best in ministry and in life when those are the first thoughts on my mind in the morning and the last at night. I am “being saved” as I Corinthians 1:18 says and that joyful awareness is to be the foundation of a call to ministry. A wrecked treasure. Or a treasured wreck. Take your choice. But celebrate the truth, and enter into ministry. Davis is pastor of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C. This piece was published first on his blog. |
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