NOTE: This is a digest of news features provided by United Methodist Communications for May 18-22. 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.
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After Ebola: A devastated country picks up the pieces
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (UMNS) — Liberia recently was declared Ebola-free, but the virus, while retreating, is proving to be an unshakable foe in Sierra Leone. More than 12,000 have contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and nearly 4,000 have died. In "Ebola: The Struggle to Recover," a four-part special report with stories and video, Jan Snider examines Ebola's impact on that West African nation.
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Ebola is gone from the headlines but church leaders in Sierra Leone remain vigilant.
After Ebola: A devastated country picks up the pieces
First in a four-part series
By Jan Snider
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (UMNS)
The Lungi Airport in Sierra Leone is busy. Crisis responders from all over the world gather around the luggage carousel. Staff for non-governmental organizations — representing Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom, France, Iceland, China and the United States — are easily identified by their uniforms, luggage tags or dialects. As the many containers of medical supplies and equipment spill onto the conveyor belt, the responders seem prepared to saturate the country with their enthusiastic support, resources, knowledge and skills in an effort to finally contain the Ebola virus.
With the easing of public health restrictions, Sierra Leoneans not only are weary of the virus but also are becoming more complacent in facing this formidable foe. While hand-washing stations are abundant throughout the capital city of Freetown, many simply ignore them. Public buses are packed beyond shoulder to shoulder, and those manning Ebola checkpoints in and out of the city often wave people through without a glance. All these factors allow the virus to maintain a stubborn grip on the health and psyche of a nation.
Even though Liberia was recently declared Ebola-free, the virus is proving to be an unshakable foe in Sierra Leone. It was difficult to tally accurate statistics at the peak of the outbreak, but the World Health Organization reports that nearly 11,000 have died of Ebola in west Africa, and more than 26,000 were infected. Even now, Sierra Leone reports a few cases a day, but more districts than not seem to have broken the transmission chain that originally fueled the outbreak so virulently in the last quarter of 2014. More than 12,000 have contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and nearly 4,000 have died.
NOBODY KNEW WHAT EBOLA WAS
We were there when Ebola first took hold in Sierra Leone.
At the end of May 2014, a United Methodist News Service team was covering the distribution of 400,000 insecticide treated bed nets through the church’s Imagine No Malaria ministry when we heard that Ebola had made its way to the far corner of the country.
The news team and United Methodist Committee on Relief representatives headed for Kenema Government Hospital to confer with the government health team treating Ebola patients. We wanted to communicate the facts to the many United Methodist Church doctors and nurses who might come into contact with Ebola patients. That was 12 months ago.
Since then, the world has witnessed the devastating effects of Ebola in West Africa. Thousands have died and the fallout has devastated the health, education, and economic sectors of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
From the beginning of the deadly outbreak, United Methodist leaders in West Africa have been on the frontlines. As the virus begins to show signs of retreating, it was time for United Methodist News Service to return to Sierra Leone to investigate how the church might be called upon in the coming years to rebuild all that has been lost during the outbreak.
Despite all the effort that has gone into controlling the epidemic, across the street from the modern hotel that accommodates responders from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control, an entire neighborhood endures quarantine. The orange plastic fencing draping the area indicates that for 21 days no one inside the fence can legally leave and their health will be monitored for any sign of the virus.
Joseph Bangura is one of the more than 300 living behind this flimsy barrier. He earns his living at the fish market where a boat arrived a few days ago with a handful of passengers from a northern village. One man on board was already dead from Ebola and the others were whisked away to treatment facilities. Bangura misses his family and has no means of earning a living while quarantined. “I am worried about my family and they are worried about me.”
Over the last year, Bishop John K. Yambasu has witnessed the far-reaching repercussions of Ebola. The United Methodist bishop for Sierra Leone has lost parishioners and pastors to the virus. He has experienced the death of a beloved surgeon, the closing of United Methodisthealth clinics and schools. And, he has prayed with his countrymen as they struggled to earn a living as society ground to a halt.
“My heart bleeds,” he says, “Ebola broke out in this country and nobody had any idea what it was.”
‘We all came together’
Yambasu steers the Religious Leaders Task Force on Ebola. Early in the outbreak, he directed training of all faith-based health institutions across the country. Nearly 300 attended the information sessions about the deadly virus.
“We all came together, imams and pastors and trained in the area of basic prevention,” Yambasu says. It was this task force that pressured the government to declare Ebola a national health emergency and put into place more stringent controls.
Throughout the unprecedented outbreak, the church has remained a trusted source of information. With the help of United Methodist Communications, Yambasu and Liberian Bishop John Innis have sent daily text messages of encouragement and information to their pastors.
Early on, the messages helped to amplify the reality of the outbreak and empower faith leaders to guide their congregations through the crisis. Nearly 700 recipients received messages such as, “Ebola is real. It kills with little warning,” and “Don’t fix our eyes on Ebola but on God’s presence…God’s grace is eternal.” The agency also co-produced an award-winning animation, recorded in indigenous languages, to persuade cynics that the virus had become an undeniable reality in the region.
To date, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries has poured over $630,000 into the Ebola response in Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as Côte d’Ivoire, where proximity to the two nations put the country at risk.
“Most of our grants included multiple elements like purchase of medical supplies and feeding people in hospitals,” says Francesco Paganini, the manager of International Response. The mission agency, United Methodist Women and the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry individually contributed to education and prevention efforts, as well. The United Methodist Women also distributed food to those quarantined and out of work because of Ebola.
On the frontlines in the affected countries, local church leaders organized information campaigns and distributed medical equipment and resources. When large numbers of people were quarantined, the church delivered food and water to help ease the burden of total shutdown.
Yambasu says it was sobering to witness the breakdown of nearly every social system in the country. “Ebola brought a lot of evil upon this nation but it opened our eyes to realities,” he says. When the outbreak first occurred, Sierra Leone had just a handful of ambulances. Yambasu explains that patients suffering from a variety of ailments, such as malaria or even high blood pressure, often were transported in the vehicles with those suffering from Ebola.
Because of the toxic mix, ambulances were regarded as “death wagons.” In Kailahun, an area where whole families were wiped out by the virus, villagers rioted when an ambulance approached to pick up a patient. An influx of new ambulances, a change in procedures and an extensive government campaign is slowly convincing a skeptical society that ambulances are not to be feared.
The recovery plan
The United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone is facing tremendous challenges as a result of Ebola and conference leaders have formulated a Post-Ebola Recovery Response Strategic Plan. The two-year plan addresses the resuscitation and enhancement of all forms of outreach – including health, education and agriculture – while addressing demands created by the sheer numbers of Ebola orphans and widows.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The United Methodist Churches in Sierra Leone and Liberia are struggling to recover from the Ebola epidemic. You can donate to the conference relief efforts online through the Advance.
Sierra Leone Undesignated Advance #00387ASierra Leone Undesignated
Advance #00387A
#00387A - Supporting mission work through Church partners wherever there is thegreatest need
Annual Goal:$0.00
YTD Gifts:$153,417.61
Location: Sierra Leone Africa
Partner:
Background/History
Goals & Objectives
Activities Plan
Budget and Financial Information
Income
Expense
Liberia Undesignated Advance #00382A
You can also give to the International Disaster Response fund Advance #982450 of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
Read full coverage of Ebola and The United Methodist Church.
The 18-page report underscores the growing number of vulnerable people in an already overstressed country, especially those who have lost parents or spouses and have no means of support. In addition, the document acknowledges that without a functioning health care system, many chronic diseases have been left untreated, which has resulted in even more deaths and disability than are being reported.
Strengthening the efforts to engage everyone from grassroots to governmental levels, the annual conference report emphasizes the urgent need to reopen the four United Methodist health facilities that were closed in the midst of the outbreak. The Sierra Leone Conference operates 10 hospitals and clinics throughout the country. The plan addresses operational vulnerabilities that were exposed because of the Ebola outbreak with the goal of transforming the facilities into a “robust first class health care system.”
In addition to health care, the church operates more than 300 primary schools and 50 secondary schools. The United Methodist University, slated to open in 2016, will inaugurate curricula that will address food security and nutrition, nursing and evangelization.
This recovery plan will serve as a framework for Sierra Leone Partners Conferences in Germany and Norway this month and in the United States in August.
Snider is special projects producer for United Methodist Communications and has reported from Sierra Leone multiple times since 2007.
Next: The United Methodist Church struggles with the devastation in the wake of Ebola.
View other stories in the four-part series»
Read story and post a comment
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Ebola is gone from the headlines but church leaders in Sierra Leone remain vigilant.
After Ebola: A devastated country picks up the pieces
First in a four-part series
By Jan Snider
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (UMNS)
The Lungi Airport in Sierra Leone is busy. Crisis responders from all over the world gather around the luggage carousel. Staff for non-governmental organizations — representing Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom, France, Iceland, China and the United States — are easily identified by their uniforms, luggage tags or dialects. As the many containers of medical supplies and equipment spill onto the conveyor belt, the responders seem prepared to saturate the country with their enthusiastic support, resources, knowledge and skills in an effort to finally contain the Ebola virus.
With the easing of public health restrictions, Sierra Leoneans not only are weary of the virus but also are becoming more complacent in facing this formidable foe. While hand-washing stations are abundant throughout the capital city of Freetown, many simply ignore them. Public buses are packed beyond shoulder to shoulder, and those manning Ebola checkpoints in and out of the city often wave people through without a glance. All these factors allow the virus to maintain a stubborn grip on the health and psyche of a nation.
Even though Liberia was recently declared Ebola-free, the virus is proving to be an unshakable foe in Sierra Leone. It was difficult to tally accurate statistics at the peak of the outbreak, but the World Health Organization reports that nearly 11,000 have died of Ebola in west Africa, and more than 26,000 were infected. Even now, Sierra Leone reports a few cases a day, but more districts than not seem to have broken the transmission chain that originally fueled the outbreak so virulently in the last quarter of 2014. More than 12,000 have contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and nearly 4,000 have died.
NOBODY KNEW WHAT EBOLA WAS
We were there when Ebola first took hold in Sierra Leone.
At the end of May 2014, a United Methodist News Service team was covering the distribution of 400,000 insecticide treated bed nets through the church’s Imagine No Malaria ministry when we heard that Ebola had made its way to the far corner of the country.
The news team and United Methodist Committee on Relief representatives headed for Kenema Government Hospital to confer with the government health team treating Ebola patients. We wanted to communicate the facts to the many United Methodist Church doctors and nurses who might come into contact with Ebola patients. That was 12 months ago.
Since then, the world has witnessed the devastating effects of Ebola in West Africa. Thousands have died and the fallout has devastated the health, education, and economic sectors of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
From the beginning of the deadly outbreak, United Methodist leaders in West Africa have been on the frontlines. As the virus begins to show signs of retreating, it was time for United Methodist News Service to return to Sierra Leone to investigate how the church might be called upon in the coming years to rebuild all that has been lost during the outbreak.
Despite all the effort that has gone into controlling the epidemic, across the street from the modern hotel that accommodates responders from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control, an entire neighborhood endures quarantine. The orange plastic fencing draping the area indicates that for 21 days no one inside the fence can legally leave and their health will be monitored for any sign of the virus.
Joseph Bangura is one of the more than 300 living behind this flimsy barrier. He earns his living at the fish market where a boat arrived a few days ago with a handful of passengers from a northern village. One man on board was already dead from Ebola and the others were whisked away to treatment facilities. Bangura misses his family and has no means of earning a living while quarantined. “I am worried about my family and they are worried about me.”
Over the last year, Bishop John K. Yambasu has witnessed the far-reaching repercussions of Ebola. The United Methodist bishop for Sierra Leone has lost parishioners and pastors to the virus. He has experienced the death of a beloved surgeon, the closing of United Methodisthealth clinics and schools. And, he has prayed with his countrymen as they struggled to earn a living as society ground to a halt.
“My heart bleeds,” he says, “Ebola broke out in this country and nobody had any idea what it was.”
‘We all came together’
Yambasu steers the Religious Leaders Task Force on Ebola. Early in the outbreak, he directed training of all faith-based health institutions across the country. Nearly 300 attended the information sessions about the deadly virus.
“We all came together, imams and pastors and trained in the area of basic prevention,” Yambasu says. It was this task force that pressured the government to declare Ebola a national health emergency and put into place more stringent controls.
Throughout the unprecedented outbreak, the church has remained a trusted source of information. With the help of United Methodist Communications, Yambasu and Liberian Bishop John Innis have sent daily text messages of encouragement and information to their pastors.
Early on, the messages helped to amplify the reality of the outbreak and empower faith leaders to guide their congregations through the crisis. Nearly 700 recipients received messages such as, “Ebola is real. It kills with little warning,” and “Don’t fix our eyes on Ebola but on God’s presence…God’s grace is eternal.” The agency also co-produced an award-winning animation, recorded in indigenous languages, to persuade cynics that the virus had become an undeniable reality in the region.
To date, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries has poured over $630,000 into the Ebola response in Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as Côte d’Ivoire, where proximity to the two nations put the country at risk.
“Most of our grants included multiple elements like purchase of medical supplies and feeding people in hospitals,” says Francesco Paganini, the manager of International Response. The mission agency, United Methodist Women and the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry individually contributed to education and prevention efforts, as well. The United Methodist Women also distributed food to those quarantined and out of work because of Ebola.
On the frontlines in the affected countries, local church leaders organized information campaigns and distributed medical equipment and resources. When large numbers of people were quarantined, the church delivered food and water to help ease the burden of total shutdown.
Yambasu says it was sobering to witness the breakdown of nearly every social system in the country. “Ebola brought a lot of evil upon this nation but it opened our eyes to realities,” he says. When the outbreak first occurred, Sierra Leone had just a handful of ambulances. Yambasu explains that patients suffering from a variety of ailments, such as malaria or even high blood pressure, often were transported in the vehicles with those suffering from Ebola.
Because of the toxic mix, ambulances were regarded as “death wagons.” In Kailahun, an area where whole families were wiped out by the virus, villagers rioted when an ambulance approached to pick up a patient. An influx of new ambulances, a change in procedures and an extensive government campaign is slowly convincing a skeptical society that ambulances are not to be feared.
The recovery plan
The United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone is facing tremendous challenges as a result of Ebola and conference leaders have formulated a Post-Ebola Recovery Response Strategic Plan. The two-year plan addresses the resuscitation and enhancement of all forms of outreach – including health, education and agriculture – while addressing demands created by the sheer numbers of Ebola orphans and widows.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The United Methodist Churches in Sierra Leone and Liberia are struggling to recover from the Ebola epidemic. You can donate to the conference relief efforts online through the Advance.
Sierra Leone Undesignated Advance #00387ASierra Leone Undesignated
Advance #00387A
#00387A - Supporting mission work through Church partners wherever there is thegreatest need
Annual Goal:$0.00
YTD Gifts:$153,417.61
Location: Sierra Leone Africa
Partner:
Background/History
Goals & Objectives
Activities Plan
Budget and Financial Information
Income
Expense
Liberia Undesignated Advance #00382A
You can also give to the International Disaster Response fund Advance #982450 of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
Read full coverage of Ebola and The United Methodist Church.
The 18-page report underscores the growing number of vulnerable people in an already overstressed country, especially those who have lost parents or spouses and have no means of support. In addition, the document acknowledges that without a functioning health care system, many chronic diseases have been left untreated, which has resulted in even more deaths and disability than are being reported.
Strengthening the efforts to engage everyone from grassroots to governmental levels, the annual conference report emphasizes the urgent need to reopen the four United Methodist health facilities that were closed in the midst of the outbreak. The Sierra Leone Conference operates 10 hospitals and clinics throughout the country. The plan addresses operational vulnerabilities that were exposed because of the Ebola outbreak with the goal of transforming the facilities into a “robust first class health care system.”
In addition to health care, the church operates more than 300 primary schools and 50 secondary schools. The United Methodist University, slated to open in 2016, will inaugurate curricula that will address food security and nutrition, nursing and evangelization.
This recovery plan will serve as a framework for Sierra Leone Partners Conferences in Germany and Norway this month and in the United States in August.
Snider is special projects producer for United Methodist Communications and has reported from Sierra Leone multiple times since 2007.
Next: The United Methodist Church struggles with the devastation in the wake of Ebola.
View other stories in the four-part series»
Photo by Jan Snider, United Methodist Communications
6-year-old Osman Konteh was shunned by his village after his parents died of Ebola and he survived. He now lives in a private orphanage with other Ebola orphans in Kenema, Sierra Leone.
Ebola: The Struggle to Recover in Africa
LEARN MORE
Read full coverage of Ebolaand The United Methodist Church.
For The United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, it’s been a year in the “combat zone.” The unseen enemy is Ebola and the deadly virus has left a path of destruction that will require foresight, determination and faith to help revitalize this resilient nation.
In May of 2014, a team of representatives from United Methodist Communications and the United Methodist Committee on Relief were on location when Ebola first entered Sierra Leone. It was the third African nation to succumb to the deadly virus and it was the hardest hit.
In early 2015, a team returned to Sierra Leone to ask the question, “How will United Methodists be called upon to help rebuild West Africa?”
After Ebola: A devastated country picks up the pieces
Ebola maintains a deadly grip on Sierra Leone, but United Methodists and others are working to help the people move forward. Read More
Who can put Sierra Leone together again?
Many in Sierra Leone have no seed to plant crops because they had to eat it during the Ebola outbreak in 2014. More
Ebola survivors and orphans can be pariahs
The United Methodist Church is considering launching an orphanage in the Kailahun district to help care for children orphaned by Ebola. Read More
A generation lost to Ebola
The principal of a United Methodist school says Sierra Leone may lose a whole generation of students because of the Ebola outbreak that shuttered classrooms for a year. Read More
Who can put Sierra Leone together again?
Ebola survivors are without enough seeds to plant crops and avoid famine in the future.
Who can put Sierra Leone together again?
Second in a four-part series
By Jan Snider
KENEMA, Sierra Leone (UMNS)
Lasting effects of the Ebola epidemic can be likened to a famous nursery rhyme: “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.” It’s a Humpty Dumpty moment for The United Methodist Church here and for the nation.
When blockades were imposed and public gatherings were banned, prices for rice and other staples skyrocketed. Farming, especially in groups, was limited and much seed that had been saved for cultivation had to be consumed to avoid starvation. In the urban areas especially, restaurants and other businesses where shut down and even government employees were kept away from their offices.
Just as the nation was beginning to see robust foreign investment, the epidemic spurred mass withdrawal of personnel and money. In a country with more rutted dirt roads than paved ones, a tenuous electrical grid that reaches less than 10 percent of the population and a mere scattering of Internet service, the nation’s economic future hinged on ambitious infrastructure projects. The epidemic halted all production and it is still on hold. Currently, lengthy bans on trade and travel are being lifted, albeit at a snail’s pace. Government officials estimate the nation’s economy declined by 30 percent in 2014, causing rapid economic deterioration that included unemployment, falling wages, and a scarce supply of goods and services.
It is clear that the influx of international funds and boots-on-the-ground response from non-governmental organizations has temporarily bolstered the economy. Hotels are overflowing with international experts who will leave behind a number of public health improvements.
The three affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have much in common: weak health care systems, lack of human and infrastructural resources, high rates of poverty, and recent emergence from conflict and instability. First surfacing in spring 2014, the torrent of Ebola cases changed the way West Africans refer to time. After more than a year of enduring the ravages of this mysterious virus, people now talk about life “before Ebola” and “during Ebola.” However, they are anxious to live in a “Post-Ebola” era. The World Health Organization reports that nearly 11,000 have died of Ebola in west Africa, and more than 26,000 were infected. In Sierra Leone, more than 12,000 have contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and nearly 4,000 have died.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The United Methodist Churches in Sierra Leone and Liberia are struggling to recover from the Ebola epidemic. You can donate to the conference relief efforts online through the Advance.
Sierra Leone Undesignated Advance #00387A
Liberia Undesignated Advance #00382A
You can also give to the International Disaster Response fund Advance #982450 of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
Read full coverage of Ebola and The United Methodist Church.
Just as the response has become more robust, many citizens point to the large mansions being constructed in the hills of Freetown and attribute the building boom to pilfered “Ebola money.” The claims appear to be substantiated with the release of an audit by the Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Commission that revealed major graft at the hands of national leaders. The report alleges that millions of dollars meant for Ebola response have been misappropriated. Asked when this corruption will end, one cynical Freetown resident shook his head and said, “It will end when Jesus comes down – but right now he is so angry with what he sees, he is cooling off.”
‘It shattered everything’
The United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone is facing its own financial crisis. At the beginning of this year, the government imposed a minimum wage that will require the conference to increase pastors’ salaries by 100 percent and the salaries of evangelists and lay pastors by 300 percent. The result will put many church employees out of a job just when their work is needed most. But Sierra Leone Bishop John K. Yambasu says the church must retrench, which might include laying off pastors and conference staff and the slowing down of church planting. Prior to the crisis, the conference amassed a six-year track record of “radical expansion” through the deployment of evangelists who planted new churches in all 14 districts in the country. These lay leaders, trained in United Methodist doctrine, received a smallstipend and served in rural communities eager for church guidance. It is clear that in terms of evangelism, Ebola has been an earthquake.
“As a church, especially in a country where there is widespread economic hardship, it’s a hard decision for us to make. It means you are removing bread from the mouths of people,” he says.
Empty mouths are already a problem and could get worse.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that over 1.2 million people in West Africa need immediate assistance and by the end of the summer over 4.6 million people will face food insecurity.
As the government restricted public movement in an attempt to isolate Ebola outbreaks, markets were closed and the farmers couldn’t sell produce.
Safiatu Bockarie is a slight woman, hands seasoned in soil and eyes steeled with determination. As a member of a farming group in Tilorma village, she explains that the group’s seed inventory withered as quarantines lingered for months on end.
“We had to eat the seed we had,” she says.
The farming group is empowered through the help of an ecumenical organization called Agricultural Missions, Inc., and it normally stockpiles up to 40 bags of rice for planting. This year, they have managed to save only three.
Because there is nothing in the coffers, many fields will lay fallow. Farmers suffered an additional blow when scores of birds descended upon the fields and ate what rice was there. Sento Conteh, the group’s facilitator, explains that “bird-scaring” is a group activity outlawed because of the outbreak.
“Policemen were assigned to all the communities to watch peoples’ movements,” she says. “So, the birds destroyed most of the rice.”
As the leader of the men’s group at Kercher United Methodist Church in Kenema, Denis Ngotho Lansana is concerned about how the church will address famine.
“Food security is about to be a problem. We will feel a lot of hunger in this country,” he says. Already the church pools limited resources to help feed those members who have been widowed or orphaned by Ebola.
Every day in Combema village, farmers pass by obliterated structures that were destroyed during the decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002. Farming facilitator Sheku Bunduka says that Ebola has been a reminder of past traumas of the war.
“You really want to come up on your feet then there is another plague, this Ebola, it shattered everything.”
Yambasu says most of those who died of Ebola were in the farming and agricultural communities. With the nation largely dependent on subsistence farming, the labor force is clearly reduced. The church intends to develop a substantial agricultural program that will not only address food security but also malnutrition, especially among children, but it will take time.
Time is something they may not have. This month, farmers would normally be up to their elbows in earth as they anticipate the season’s harvest. But as fields lay fallow, Sierra Leone may have yet another looming crisis –because hungry bellies won’t wait.
Snider is special projects producer for United Methodist Communications and has reported from Sierra Leone multiple times since 2007.
Next: Survivors and orphans.
View other stories in the four-part series»
See more UMNS Ebola coverage
A little-known big influence on John Wesley
HERRNHUT, Germany (UMNS) — John Wesley's spiritual awakening on May 24, 1738, was a turning point in his ministry, and it arguably would not have happened without the Moravians. Who are the Moravians? A group of bishops and their ecumenical staff recently visited the Protestant denomination's home base in southeastern Germany to learn more about the Wesleyan-Moravian connection. Heather Hahn reports.
Photo by Klaus Ulrich Ruof
A group of 17 United Methodists, including six bishops, join in morning devotions at the Moravian Congregation at Herrnhut, Germany. The group made the pilgrimage to the historic home base of the Moravian Church to learn more about a movement that influenced John Wesley.PreviousNext
A little-known big influence on John Wesley
By Heather Hahn
HERRNHUT, Germany (UMNS)
John Wesley was onboard a ship bound for the Georgia colony in early 1736 when a ferocious storm shredded the main sail and flooded the decks.
Many of the English passengers aboard screamed in terror that they would soon be swallowed by the deep. But a group of Moravian missionaries from Germany calmly sang throughout the squall. They were unafraid of death, an astounded John Wesley later recounted in his journal.
That journey marked Wesley’s first significant encounter with a small Protestant movement that would have an enormous influence on his ministry and the Methodist movement he started.
Two years later, a disheartened Wesley was back in England wrestling with his Christian faith after a miserable time in Georgia. On May 24, 1738, friends prevailed upon him to attend a Moravian society meeting on Aldersgate Street in London.
Many United Methodists can recite what happened next. That night, upon hearing Martin Luther’s preface to Romans, Wesley wrote, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation.” Wesley’s spiritual awakening was a turning point in his life, and arguably it might not have happened without the Moravians.
SEEKING FULL COMMUNION
General Conference, The United Methodist Church’s top lawmaking body, in 2016 will have a chance to recognize the denomination’s historic ties as well as potential future collaboration with Moravians.
The United Methodist Council of Bishops is asking General Conference delegates to support full communion with the Northern and Southern provinces of the Moravian Church in North America.
Full communion means each church acknowledges the other as partner in the Christian faith, recognizes the validity of each other’s baptism and Eucharist and commits to work together in ministry. Such an agreement also means Moravians and United Methodists can share clergy.
The provinces will vote on the question of full communion in 2018.
European United Methodists, starting in Germany, have already signed similar agreements with the European Province of the Moravian Church.
In some ways, such agreements make official the connection that already exists among United Methodists and Moravians.
“We concluded we have never been out of communion,” said Glen Alton Messer II, associate ecumenical staff officer with the United Methodist Office on Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships. He was part of the church’s dialogue with Moravians.
“Wesley and Zinzendorf had their differences, but ... we never said, ‘We are not Christian brothers and sisters.’ We never rejected each other.”
The worldwide Moravian Church, formally known as the Unity or Unitas Fratrum, consists of a federation of more than 20 semi-autonomous provinces. Altogether, there are more than 1 million Moravians worldwide. More than half live in Tanzania.
So who are the Moravians? Immediately following the Council of Bishops meeting, 17 United Methodists made a pilgrimage to the denomination’s historic home base in Herrnhut, Germany, to better understand the Wesleyan-Moravian connection.
“Most United Methodists know very little about this,” said Atlanta Area Bishop B. Michael Watson, who first suggested the visit. Watson will be the Council of Bishops ecumenical officer, starting September 2016.
In addition to Watson, the group included bishops from Germany, Zimbabwe and the Philippines, as well as the United States. Also on hand were four staff members from the bishops’ Office of Christian Unity and Interreligious Religious Relationships, the denomination’s ecumenical arm.
The Moravians’ origins
The story of the Moravians begins more than 300 years before John Wesley’s day with would-be church reformer Jan Hus.
Hus was a Catholic priest in what is now the Czech Republic. Moravia, incidentally, was a Czech region.
Hus took the then-radical step of offering the cup of Communion to laity. At the time, clergy only distributed the bread and reserved the wine for themselves. Like Luther would a century later, Hus also challenged the sale of indulgences. He further asserted the centrality of the Bible over church tradition and hierarchy.
None of these activities endeared him to his leaders. At the Council of Constance in July 1415, Hus was stripped naked and burned at the stake for heresy.
Yet his followers survived and managed to repel multiple papal crusades. They called themselves Unitas Fratrum, meaning the Unity of Brethren. But after the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) when Czech lands were re-Catholicized, persecution grew and they were forced to keep their faith hidden or to flee altogether.
In the early 18th century, some families from the Moravia region approached Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf about taking refuge in his domain in Saxony. The count, a devout Lutheran, did more than give the families asylum.
He gave the Moravians a community to call their own, Herrnhut, which means “the Lord’s watchful care.”
Also, just as Wesley did in England, Zinzendorf led a movement of spiritual revival.
Busts of John Wesley, at left, and Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf stand side-by-side in a museum at the Moravian Congregation at Herrnhut, Germany. Photo by Klaus Ulrich Ruof
Zinzendorf and Wesley
“Zinzendorf, in my opinion, was an amazing sociologist before sociology was invented,” Jill Vogt told the visiting United Methodists. She and her husband, Peter, are pastors of the Moravian Congregation at Herrnhut.
Zinzendorf’s big innovation, she said, was to form banden, or bands: small, voluntary groups that encouraged mutual accountability and spiritual growth.
“What he recognized was that people in the different stages of their lives have connections,” Jill Vogt said. The Moravian bands were based on age, gender and marital status.
If that practice sounds familiar, that’s because Wesley learned about the bands from his Moravian friends in England and soon adapted the small groups into a key part of his own ministry.
Wesley corresponded with Zinzendorf, and the two met face-to-face in Germany and England. They used Latin, since that was a language they both knew well.
Rüdiger Kröger, director of the Moravian Church’s archives, allowed the United Methodist visitors to hold some of these letters. Wesley’s penmanship, he noted, was better than Zinzendorf’s.
Both the movements of Wesley and Zinzendorf shared much in common. They both, at least initially, were communities that operated within their respective state churches — the Methodists within the Church of England, and the Moravians within Saxony’s Lutheran Church.
Like the early Methodists, the Moravians also de-emphasized distinctions of wealth and class, and stressed human equality before God. Even today, Moravians still call each other brother and sister in casual conversation.
Both movements also gave women greater freedom to speak publicly about their faith.
But ultimately, Wesley and Zinzendorf had a falling out. A big dispute centered on differing ideas of sanctification.
“Wesley saw sanctification as a process of growth,” said Glen Alton Messer II, a church historian and ecumenical staff officer with the United Methodist Office on Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships.
“For Zinzendorf, it’s very important to understand all holiness belongs to Christ. For Wesley, all holiness is made possible by Christ.”
Put another way, Zinzendorf saw Christ as the sole author of sanctification while Wesley saw sanctification as the result of Christ and humans working in partnership.
It’s a subtle distinction, and even Wesley told Zinzendorf he thought they were just arguing about words. But the difference was enough to prevent the merger of the two movements into one.
Still, Moravians continue to celebrate the connection between the two men. On the second floor of the Moravian church in Herrnhut is a small museum. There, busts of Zinzendorf and Wesley are displayed side by side.
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Church body seeks greater openness on human sexuality
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — United Methodist clergy could perform same-gender weddings and conferences could ordain openly gay clergy if legislation by a denominationwide leadership body wins General Conference approval. Heather Hahn reports.
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Photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS
The Rev. Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai explains that a piece of legislation is in line with the Connectional Table’s mandate in the Book of Discipline to address “emerging issues."PreviousNext
Church body seeks greater openness on human sexuality
By Heather Hahn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
United Methodist clergy could perform same-gender weddings and conferences could ordain openly gay clergy if legislation by a denomination-wide leadership body wins General Conference approval.
By a vote of 26 to 10 with one abstention, the Connectional Table on May 18 approved legislation that would remove prohibitive language that makes it a chargeable offense under church law for clergy to be “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” or to officiate at same-sex weddings.
Bottom line: If this legislation passes, clergy would not risk church trials or the loss of their credentials for officiating at same-gender weddings or, in some conferences, coming out as openly gay.
Dakotas-Minnesota Area Bishop Bruce R. Ough, who chairs the Connectional Table, led the group inprayer after the vote.
“We pray that through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you will use this work in ways that will ultimately honor you and help us find our way forward as the United Methodist expression of the faith,” Ough prayed.
The Connectional Table is a United Methodist body of clergy and lay people from around the world that acts as a sort of church council for the denomination, coordinating its mission, ministry and resources.
Ultimately, General Conference — The United Methodist Church’s top lawmaking assembly — will determine if the proposal becomes the denomination’s official policy when it meets May 10-20, 2016, in Portland, Oregon.
What the legislation says
Under the proposal, individual clergy would decide whether to officiate at same-gender marriages just as the Book of Discipline — the denomination’s law book — now allows clergy to decide which couples to wed. Clergy would not be required to bless same-sex unions.
Similarly, the proposal leaves the question of whether to ordain openly gay clergy up to individual conferences. The denomination’s constitution already gives conferences the main authority in determining whom to ordain, within the guidelines of the Book of Discipline.
WHO IS ON THE CONNECTIONAL TABLE
The Connectional Table’s membershipincludes 21 clergy and laity elected by the five U.S. jurisdictions and one member from each from the seven central conferences in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Representatives from each of the denomination's five official racial and ethnic caucuses serve, as well as one youth and one young adult from the United Methodist Division on Ministries with Young People.
The membership also comprises the chief executives of the 12 general agencies and most agency presidents, who are bishops, as well as the Council of Bishops’ ecumenical officer. The 12 agency executives have voice but not vote in the body’s decision-making.
Altogether, the Connectional Table has 59 members, 47 of whom can vote.
General Conference is expected to receive multiple petitions dealing with the church’s longtime debate about how best to minister with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning individuals.
The proposed legislation defines marriage as a covenant “that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between two people who are married to each other.” It also notes that such marriage “is traditionally between one man and one woman.”
At the same time, the proposal notes that the denomination “historically has not condoned the practice of homosexuality and has considered the practice incompatible with Christian teaching.” It also retains the denomination’s ban on using church funds “to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.”
The Connectional Table’s process
The vote came after more than three hours of prayer, small-group discussions and finally three speeches each for and against the legislation. The morning discussion also included time for hymn singing and reflection on Scripture.
Each of the small groups had members of varied perspectives on the church’s stance, which currently states that the practice of homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
The Rev. Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai, who guides the Connectional Table’s legislative writing team, told Connectional Table members before the discussion that no matter what they decided United Methodists would feel a sense of loss.
“Our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are already dealing with a sense of loss of acceptance in our churches,” she said. “If we change our position, our more theologically and socially traditional brothers and sisters will feel a sense of loss of acceptance in our church. No matter what we do, if we remain in conflict with one another, we will continue to feel a loss of stability and unity.”
The Connectional Table’s vote followed a motion it affirmed in April 2014 after the first of three public panels on human sexuality. After hours of discussion, the body approved “parallel paths” of dialogue and work toward changing the Discipline “to fully include LGBTQ persons in the life of the church.” The initials stand for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning.
At the body’s February meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, the legislative team announced that it was not considering any proposals to reorganize the denomination’s structure along ideological lines.
Instead, the team presented three directions for the full body to consider in response to the 2014 motion.
The first was to bring no changes to General Conference on this matter.
The second option was what the legislative team called “full inclusion,” removing all references in the Book of Discipline that cast homosexuality in a negative light.
The third approach of removing prohibitive language was what the legislative team recommended and the full table overwhelmingly affirmed at the Mozambique meeting. Thirty-six Connectional Table members attended that meeting.
The Connectional Table’s May meeting basically put that proposal into legislative language.
Why the Connectional Table is addressing this
Bigham-Tsai said the legislation is in line with the Connectional Table’s mandate in the Book of Discipline to address “emerging issues” and determine “the most effective, cooperative, and efficient way to provide optimum stewardship of ministries, personnel, and resources.”
Passionate debate over the church’s stance on homosexuality has erupted at every General Conference since 1972. The lawmaking assembly has consistently voted to keep the language and over the years has expanded restrictions against gay clergy and same-gender unions.
But the debate has heated up as more countries and more U.S. states legally recognize same-gender civil marriage and more pastors are asked by gay congregants to officiate at their weddings.
The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing the possibility of overturning state bans on recognizing such unions. A ruling on that question is not expected until the end of June. Nearly 60 percent of United Methodists live in the United States.
Since last year, some United Methodists have raised the possibility of a denominational splitaround theological views.
Bigham-Tsai said the hope is that this proposal will be seen as “a third way” that can keep people at the table and possibly end the denomination’s long impasse.
Reactions in the room
Representatives from Good News and Love Prevails, both advocacy groups with very different views on the church’s stance, were among the observers of the discussion. The Connectional Table invited the guests to share their thoughts on the proposed legislation.
People from both groups spoke out against the proposals.
“We believe this proposal that you are considering has the potential to increase conflict,” said the Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, vice president and general manager of Good News, which supports the denomination’s teachings on homosexuality.
He elaborated that the proposal will take a dispute that happens at the General Conference level and “bring it down to every annual conference and local church.”
The Rev. Amy DeLong of Love Prevails also spoke. Love Prevails aims to change the church's stance on homosexuality and end what it sees as discrimination against LGBTQ individuals.
“Saying that there is a third way on issues on oppression and discrimination is saying there is some level of my discrimination you all are comfortable with,” said DeLong, a lesbian who has been with her partner for more than 20 years. She faced a church trial in 2011.
The Connectional Table’s proposal is expected to be one of many petitions dealing with human sexuality that will go before the 2016 General Conference.
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Economist: Church in crisis but hope remains
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Church has only 15 years to reverse its decline in the United States if it is to have a sustainable future, an economist warned church leaders. At the same gathering, the church leaders discussed possible missional goals to address that decline and enhance the global denomination's ministries around the world. Heather Hahn reports.
File photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Economist Don House (left) helps lead a discussion about the church budget during the 2012 pre-General Conference news briefing at the Tampa Convention Center in Florida in this file photo. At right is Bishop G. Lindsey Davis.
Economist: Church in crisis but hope remains
By Heather Hahn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
The United Methodist Church has only 15 years to reverse its decline in the United States if it is to have a sustainable future, an economist warned church leaders.
At the same gathering, the church leaders discussed possible missional goals to address that decline and enhance the global denomination’s ministries around the world.
“By 2030, the denomination in the United States will either have found a way to turn around, meaning it is growing, or its turnaround in the United States is not possible,” Donald R. House Sr. told the May 19 combined meeting of the Connectional Table and the General Council on Finance and Administration board. “By 2050, the connection will have collapsed.”
In other words, he predicted that unless things change soon, the denomination in coming decades will not have enough U.S. churches to pay for its connectional structures. Such structures include conferences, bishops, agencies, missions and international disaster response.
His presentation came a week after the Pew Research Center released its 2014 religious landscape survey, showing the share of U.S. adult population that’s mainline Protestant had dropped from 18.1 to 14.7 percent in the previous seven years. The survey counted United Methodists among the mainline Protestants.
House — a lifelong United Methodist — holds a Ph.D. in economics and chairs the denomination’s eight-member Economic Advisory Committee, whose projections help shape the general church’s budget every four years.
House also holds other United Methodist leadership roles, including chair of the South Central Jurisdiction episcopacy committee that oversees the work of that region’s bishops.
In addition, he is one of the drafters of the revised Plan UMC, proposed legislation to reorganize the denomination’s general agencies. The Council of Bishops earlier this month took the unusual step of asking the denomination’s top court to determine if the legislation is constitutional before it goes before the 2016 General Conference.
He addressed the two bodies that put together the general church budget that goes before General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly.
House said he based his long-term attendance and financial projections on the denomination’s U.S.statistical trends because the denomination has incomplete data from many of its churches around the globe. But membership data shows The United Methodist Church is growing worldwide.
At this point, the U.S. membership supports the bulk of general church finances.
What he forecasts, he admitted, is “tough stuff” for church leaders to hear. Still, he also offered hope that the United Methodists can return to a trajectory of growth in the United States and fulfill its mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
But it will mean ministering to a church with different needs and much more ethnic diversity than found during the denomination’s last growth period in the 1950s.
Dallas Area Bishop Michael McKee, a General Council on Finance and Administration board member, told those gathered he does not see House’s report “as gloom and doom.”
“In some respects, we’ve been trying to recover what we’ve had,” McKee said. “Maybe the voice of God is directing us to have a new church. I think we’ll have a better church, but I agree we’re not there yet.”
APPROVING A BUDGET
The Connectional Table and General Council on Finance and Administration boardapproved a proposed budget of $611 million for general church funds in 2017-20.
That’s about a 1.3 percent increase above the $603.1 million general church budget approved at the 2012 General Conference.
But accounting for an annual U.S. inflation rate of 2 percent, the total budget actually marks a reduction in spending in terms of real dollars.
It is also more conservative amount than the $621 million “realistic budget proposal” suggested by the Economic Advisory Committee.
At the general church level, the budget supports seven apportioned funds. These include bishops, United Methodist ministerial education, 10 general agencies and denomination-wide efforts such as the Black College Fund and Africa University in Zimbabwe.
The Rev. Steve Wood, a General Council on Finance and Administration board member, asked Donald R. House Sr., given his projections, what he thought of increasing the denomination’s general church budget. Wood is also the lead pastor of Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church in St. Johns Creek, Georgia.
House noted that economic conditions are improving, and the church has seen increasing payout rates to general church ministries.
“The question is where do we think the money can best be spent,” House said. “Is it to be in annual conferences? Is it to be in local churches? Is it to be in general agencies? I’ve been around for a while and I think there is work for the general agencies.”
He said he thinks agencies can help in providing resources for the turnaround and increasing vital congregations.
The challenges the church faces
For the last 10 years, General Council on Finance and Administration statistics show, United Methodist worship attendance in the United States has decreased on average 52,383 per year.
Between 1974 and 2012, the U.S. church lost 18 percent in worship attendance. During the same period, House noted, the number of U.S. churches shrank by 16 percent, the number of conferences by 19 percent and the number of districts by 21 percent.
“What we are doing is disassembling our infrastructure faster than we are experiencing decline in the U.S.,” he said. “If this were a business model, I’d say you were gracefully closing your doors.”
But that’s not the way to reverse decline, he said.
Part of the problem, House said, is the denomination has church buildings that were in the right locations for 1952 but not for today. He recommended United Methodists focus on planting new churches and especially reinvigorating the congregations they already have.
“You can’t new-church-start your way out of this existing crisis,” he said.
What the denomination needs are nationally scalable strategies for revitalization, House said. He is testing one such strategy now.
His plan, “The Benchmark Project,” calls for nearly 1,000 churches with at least 125 members to raise and spend $119.5 million a year more to address what he says are deficiencies in investment such as lay staff members. He has received $100,000 from the Connectional Table to help fund the study.
He first hopes to have 217 churches in the South Central Jurisdiction taking part in the study by 2017.
So far, he has 16 churches participating with commitments from the Arkansas, Oklahoma and Great Plains conferences to join. He expects the study to continue through 2024. Three pilot churches in his home Texas Conference, he said, are already showing good results.
Possible missional goals
Church leaders also talked about missional goals that will be presented to the 2016 General Conference as part of the proposed 2017-20 budget.
Chicago Area Bishop Sally Dyck presented the goals being considered by the Council of Bishops and Connectional Table, which coordinates the work of general church agencies. Each goal is aligned with the denomination’s four areas of ministry focus and its drive to increase the number of highly vital congregations.
“This is so the work of the church though our apportioned giving is aligned around these missional goals,” she told United Methodist News Service. “In the agencies and hopefully in our annual conference budgets, we begin to see these as an alignment of our work.”
The current plan calls for United Methodists in the next four years:
Start two new faith communities a day
Create a culture of call in every faith community
Reach 1 million children with life-saving health interventions
Partner with 30,000 schools to help end poverty
Double the number of vital congregations by equipping congregations with disciple making practices
She said some goals, such as creating a culture of call, are still being refined so they can have measurable results. “We want to measure our success,” she said.
“This is a big step forward in terms of working together to come up with some internal goals that will help focus our work and will make a difference in our communities,” the bishop said.
“Hopefully, people will say: ‘Wow, those United Methodists. They’re working with us in our schools. They’re starting new faith communities all over the place.’”
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Connectional Table wants to model worldwide church
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church currently has only 10 percent of its members from outside the United States. Members want to change that, to reflect better the worldwide nature of the church.
Connectional Table Shares Vision for Next Quadrennium
The Connectional Table
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nashville, Tennessee: Meeting in Nashville, the Connectional Table voted to submit legislation to General Conference in May 2016 to examine how the church may better model worldwide connection through its Connectional Table membership. The proposed restructuring is part of the Connectional Table’s vision as it moves forward.
Currently, only 10 percent of the Connectional Table members reside outside the United States. The proposed restructuring, which may be potentially amended by 2020, would better represent the global membership of the denomination.
“The Connectional Table is committed to more faithfully modeling our worldwide connection in our membership, ministry, and function,” said Ricky Harrison, Connectional Table member and Master of Divinity student at Duke University. “As we continue to move forward in our work of stewarding the mission, vision, and resources of the global church, we are committed to using the upcoming quadrennium to deeply consider how the structure, membership, and function of the Connectional Table might best facilitate this."
Centered on mission and values, the church body stated goals to build relationships that strengthen the denomination as part of the Body of Christ, cross bridges across the church, connect strategies for great impact on mission and connect the story to inspire transformation in Christ throughout the world.
The Connectional Table remains steadfast in its purpose to be a geographically representative and intergenerational body exemplifying the diversity of the worldwide connection, while guiding with a unique Wesleyan theology and enabling new things by fostering creativity and enhancing ministry at all levels of the church.
The church body also stated that it would work to build trust in three primary relationships:
Relationship to General Conference through partnership with Commission on General Conference
Relationship to Annual Conferences through partnerships with the Active Bishops and Directors of Connectional Ministries; and
Relationship to General Agencies.
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About the Connectional Table
The Connectional Table oversees the coordination of mission, ministries and resources across the denomination. Created at the 2004 General Conference, the Connectional Table was formed to serve as both the visioning body of the church and the steward of resources to carry out the vision of the denomination worldwide.
Contact: Diane Degnan
ddegnan@umcom.org
615-742-5406 (office)
615-483-1765 (cell)Read press release
Reflecting on the Boston bomber death penalty
BOSTON (UMNS) — In a commentary, New England Area Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar reflects on a jury's decision to sentence Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death.
Bishop reflects on death penalty for Boston Marathon Bomber
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As I prayerfully reflect on the jury’s decision Friday to sentence Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death, several thoughts have entered my mind. May I share them with you prayerfully?
First, no one can undo the pain and suffering of those who lost their loved ones, or of those who were injured. The atrocities of the bombing changed everyone forever. It will take a very long time to heal the wounds, scars and losses imposed on the country by this tragic event.
Second, we live in a world where death penalties are meted out for all kinds of wrongs. Whether for murder, adultery, criticizing the government, certain sexual acts, robbery, or other violations of a country's culture, we witness capital punishment taking place almost daily.
We should remember, however, that as followers of Christ we say the Lord's Prayer, which teaches forgiveness as one of its main points (Matthew 6: 9-15; Luke 11:1-4). We are challenged to forgive one another "seventy seven times" (Matthew 18:22), and we profess our belief in the One who demonstrated forgiveness as He was dying on the cross by saying, "Father, forgive them ... " (Luke 23:34).
Without criticizing the jury, what I am struggling with just now is the issue of capital punishment. Is the death penalty appropriate in this case – in any case – in this country? Should those found guilty of heinous crimes be allowed to genuinely repent? Is it up to us in this Judeo-Christian culture to dispense a verdict that takes another's life?
Would it be beneficial if religious leaders of the world, those from all faith perspectives, were to gather and seekanswers to spiritual questions such as how we should address the issue of crime in a world where some faith communities believe in an "eye for an eye," and others like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa have demonstrated forgiveness in the midst of deep pain and suffering?
I am reminded of Gandhi's statement, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." It is my hope and prayer that we do not allow ourselves to be blind to a hurting world. We need to search ourselves as we struggle with death-penalty verdicts all around the world.
We need to pray for healing for the victims, the families and all those who are hurt and suffering as a result of the Boston Marathon bombing; for the jurors, and also for Tsarnaev himself.
May God speak to us (including me) so that through our own faith understanding on capital punishment, filled by the power of God, the love of Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit we may continue to be Christ's witnesses in the midst of controversy over this issue and others that tear the fabric of our world, and that we bring peace and hope to every situation.
Praying with you and reflecting with you, and always in Christ's love,
Bishop Sudarshana DevadharRead commentary
Clergywomen explore women's issues on Cuba visit
HAVANA (UMNS) — As official relations between the U.S. and Cuba continue to change this spring, a diverse group of 16 United Methodist clergywomen traveled to the island to explore Cuban women's social, political and religious issues and the unique evolution of the Cuban Christian church. The seminar was sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry and Boston University School of Theology. Mary Buckner has the story.
Theology in Revolution: Clergywomen explore politics, religion in Cuba
Mary Buckner
Participants of the Cuban travel seminar for clergywomen.
This spring, two world-changing events occurred back to back. On April 9, 2015, President Obama met with Cuban President Raúl Castro, the first such meeting in over half a century. Five days later, Obama announced his decision to remove Cuba from the list of states that sponsor terrorism, paving the way for better diplomatic relations. During this same historic week, 16 United Methodist clergywomen traveled to Cuba for a seminar sponsored by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) and Boston University School of Theology.
“The timing was very meaningful for us,” said Dr. HiRho Park, director of Clergy Lifelong Learning at GBHEM. “We felt that we were called from God to greet a new age of peace and reconciliation between two countries.”
The seminar faculty facilitator was the Rev. Dr. Cristian De La Rosa of Boston University School of Theology.
“This continuing education experience facilitated the re-framing of our understandings about Cuba as a nation, its religious institutions and the commitments and practices of its people,” De La Rosa said. “More seminaries should partner with our church agencies for transformational educational experiences like this one.”
The diverse group of U.S. participants included women of Asian, African, Hispanic and European descent, though they all found Cuba a very different world—a world where higher education is free to all, where everyone has access to good healthcare and where the income inequality gap seems absent, yet where Internet access remains with strong censorship.
The seminar was designed to explore Cuban women’s social, political and religious issues and the unique evolution of the Cuban Christian church. The seminar began in Matanzas, Cuba’s second largest city. Seminario Evangelico de Teologia, the Matanzas Evangelical Theological Seminary, was founded there by the Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches in 1946, as an ecumenical pastoral training center.
Participants of the seminar visited local Cuban mission works.
Seminar participant the Rev. Courtney McHill, pastor of McMinnville Cooperative Ministries, said, “Matanzas, ‘the Athens of Cuba,’ is ripe with theological, ecumenical and philosophical dialogue, street theater, and a ground of spirituality. Women are present in all spheres. Each speaker spoke to us with integrity and a wealth of educated information. Obviously, the context is layered and complicated, and yet we learned to the maximum capacity in our days together.”
In Matanzas, participants met with Cuban women leaders in theology, medicine, education and community organizations, including well known women theologians Dr. Ofelia Ortega of Matanzas and Dr. Elsa Tamez, a feminist biblical scholar. Park noted that the focus of Cuba’s revolutionary theology is inclusive, ecumenical, multiracial and interdisciplinary, where the church mission is not only religious teaching but also grassroots support for the health, education and human rights of the community.
“For the elderly women that made the revolution [women who participated in the revolution and nurtured a transformed country] a key concern is the future of young people in Cuba when and if relationships with the U.S. change and the embargo is lifted and possibly immigration of Cuban people to the U.S. is permitted. Will the young people leave the country?” De La Rosa commented.
Participants met with Tejedoras de la Esperanza, Weavers of Hope, a group of women who make and sell handcrafts and art to support community projects, and also visited the Kairos Center located in the Primera Iglesia Bautista, an organization that works to advance human rights. In the nearby town of Varadero, they visited the Iglesia Presbiteriana Reformadaand Casa Del Cariño, Loving Care Home, a ministry offering low-cost housing for the elderly.
The second half of the seminar took place in Havana, where participants attended Iglesia Metodista de Marianao, the Cuban Methodist Church led by Bishop Ricardo Pereia. Six services are held each Sunday, and over a thousand people attend. Park described the services as “spirit filled,” with a contemporary music band, vivacious singing, fervent prayer and joyful liturgical dance performed by a group of young people.
“I was moved by the Cuban people’s commitment to the Christian principles of love, inclusivity and justice,” said seminar participant the Rev. Patricia Bonilla, deacon from the Northern Illinois Conference. “As a clergywoman living and ministering in the United States, I was struck by how much closer Cuba seemed to the Kingdom of God than so many churches claiming to be representative of God’s kingdom on earth.”
“Cubans are very proud of their culture, their music and their arts,” Bonilla continued. “This was evident in the street theater, the music at every corner and the accessibility that the general public had to all sorts of cultural activities. Upon our visit to the Spanish Folkloric Ballet in Havana, we observed a theater full of young people. Artists sold paintings and handcrafted items at the Mercado, and the central Plaza was full of families late into the evening listening to music and sharing a laugh.”
Speaking of the seminar participants, McHill said, “This amazing group of clergywomen were all willing to be flexible, to not be ruffled by the changes and experiences to come, and we all always said yes to the next experience and adventure.”
After returning home, Park said, “I feel humbled and grateful to have had this opportunity, and I thank God that the U.S. and Cuba are finally reconciling. The Cuban people’s faith has developed a sense of duty through dark times, truly a theology in revolution.”
Buckner is a writer in Nashville, Tenn.
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Reaching out with a bilingual service
ROCKAWAY, N.J. (UMNS) — When Lysette Perez became the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of The Rockaways, she noticed the area had a growing Hispanic community. Jeff Wolfe of the Greater New Jersey Conference reports how the church is reaching new people.
Rockaways Shares Love with Bilingual Service
By Jeff Wolfe
jwolfe@gnjumc.org
When Lysette Perez became the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of The Rockaways nearly two and a half years ago, she not only paid attention to those attending the church, she took notice of who wasn’t there.
“When I looked around at the Hispanic community, I found that it was growing and I thought that this might be a good opportunity,” Perez said. “The statistics of the community and the program of outreach for low income families showed that there was a real possibility for ministry.”
A little-known big influence on John Wesley
HERRNHUT, Germany (UMNS) — John Wesley's spiritual awakening on May 24, 1738, was a turning point in his ministry, and it arguably would not have happened without the Moravians. Who are the Moravians? A group of bishops and their ecumenical staff recently visited the Protestant denomination's home base in southeastern Germany to learn more about the Wesleyan-Moravian connection. Heather Hahn reports.
Photo by Klaus Ulrich Ruof
A group of 17 United Methodists, including six bishops, join in morning devotions at the Moravian Congregation at Herrnhut, Germany. The group made the pilgrimage to the historic home base of the Moravian Church to learn more about a movement that influenced John Wesley.PreviousNext
A little-known big influence on John Wesley
By Heather Hahn
HERRNHUT, Germany (UMNS)
John Wesley was onboard a ship bound for the Georgia colony in early 1736 when a ferocious storm shredded the main sail and flooded the decks.
Many of the English passengers aboard screamed in terror that they would soon be swallowed by the deep. But a group of Moravian missionaries from Germany calmly sang throughout the squall. They were unafraid of death, an astounded John Wesley later recounted in his journal.
That journey marked Wesley’s first significant encounter with a small Protestant movement that would have an enormous influence on his ministry and the Methodist movement he started.
Two years later, a disheartened Wesley was back in England wrestling with his Christian faith after a miserable time in Georgia. On May 24, 1738, friends prevailed upon him to attend a Moravian society meeting on Aldersgate Street in London.
Many United Methodists can recite what happened next. That night, upon hearing Martin Luther’s preface to Romans, Wesley wrote, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation.” Wesley’s spiritual awakening was a turning point in his life, and arguably it might not have happened without the Moravians.
SEEKING FULL COMMUNION
General Conference, The United Methodist Church’s top lawmaking body, in 2016 will have a chance to recognize the denomination’s historic ties as well as potential future collaboration with Moravians.
The United Methodist Council of Bishops is asking General Conference delegates to support full communion with the Northern and Southern provinces of the Moravian Church in North America.
Full communion means each church acknowledges the other as partner in the Christian faith, recognizes the validity of each other’s baptism and Eucharist and commits to work together in ministry. Such an agreement also means Moravians and United Methodists can share clergy.
The provinces will vote on the question of full communion in 2018.
European United Methodists, starting in Germany, have already signed similar agreements with the European Province of the Moravian Church.
In some ways, such agreements make official the connection that already exists among United Methodists and Moravians.
“We concluded we have never been out of communion,” said Glen Alton Messer II, associate ecumenical staff officer with the United Methodist Office on Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships. He was part of the church’s dialogue with Moravians.
“Wesley and Zinzendorf had their differences, but ... we never said, ‘We are not Christian brothers and sisters.’ We never rejected each other.”
The worldwide Moravian Church, formally known as the Unity or Unitas Fratrum, consists of a federation of more than 20 semi-autonomous provinces. Altogether, there are more than 1 million Moravians worldwide. More than half live in Tanzania.
So who are the Moravians? Immediately following the Council of Bishops meeting, 17 United Methodists made a pilgrimage to the denomination’s historic home base in Herrnhut, Germany, to better understand the Wesleyan-Moravian connection.
“Most United Methodists know very little about this,” said Atlanta Area Bishop B. Michael Watson, who first suggested the visit. Watson will be the Council of Bishops ecumenical officer, starting September 2016.
In addition to Watson, the group included bishops from Germany, Zimbabwe and the Philippines, as well as the United States. Also on hand were four staff members from the bishops’ Office of Christian Unity and Interreligious Religious Relationships, the denomination’s ecumenical arm.
The Moravians’ origins
The story of the Moravians begins more than 300 years before John Wesley’s day with would-be church reformer Jan Hus.
Hus was a Catholic priest in what is now the Czech Republic. Moravia, incidentally, was a Czech region.
Hus took the then-radical step of offering the cup of Communion to laity. At the time, clergy only distributed the bread and reserved the wine for themselves. Like Luther would a century later, Hus also challenged the sale of indulgences. He further asserted the centrality of the Bible over church tradition and hierarchy.
None of these activities endeared him to his leaders. At the Council of Constance in July 1415, Hus was stripped naked and burned at the stake for heresy.
Yet his followers survived and managed to repel multiple papal crusades. They called themselves Unitas Fratrum, meaning the Unity of Brethren. But after the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) when Czech lands were re-Catholicized, persecution grew and they were forced to keep their faith hidden or to flee altogether.
In the early 18th century, some families from the Moravia region approached Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf about taking refuge in his domain in Saxony. The count, a devout Lutheran, did more than give the families asylum.
He gave the Moravians a community to call their own, Herrnhut, which means “the Lord’s watchful care.”
Also, just as Wesley did in England, Zinzendorf led a movement of spiritual revival.
Busts of John Wesley, at left, and Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf stand side-by-side in a museum at the Moravian Congregation at Herrnhut, Germany. Photo by Klaus Ulrich Ruof
Zinzendorf and Wesley
“Zinzendorf, in my opinion, was an amazing sociologist before sociology was invented,” Jill Vogt told the visiting United Methodists. She and her husband, Peter, are pastors of the Moravian Congregation at Herrnhut.
Zinzendorf’s big innovation, she said, was to form banden, or bands: small, voluntary groups that encouraged mutual accountability and spiritual growth.
“What he recognized was that people in the different stages of their lives have connections,” Jill Vogt said. The Moravian bands were based on age, gender and marital status.
If that practice sounds familiar, that’s because Wesley learned about the bands from his Moravian friends in England and soon adapted the small groups into a key part of his own ministry.
Wesley corresponded with Zinzendorf, and the two met face-to-face in Germany and England. They used Latin, since that was a language they both knew well.
Rüdiger Kröger, director of the Moravian Church’s archives, allowed the United Methodist visitors to hold some of these letters. Wesley’s penmanship, he noted, was better than Zinzendorf’s.
Both the movements of Wesley and Zinzendorf shared much in common. They both, at least initially, were communities that operated within their respective state churches — the Methodists within the Church of England, and the Moravians within Saxony’s Lutheran Church.
Like the early Methodists, the Moravians also de-emphasized distinctions of wealth and class, and stressed human equality before God. Even today, Moravians still call each other brother and sister in casual conversation.
Both movements also gave women greater freedom to speak publicly about their faith.
But ultimately, Wesley and Zinzendorf had a falling out. A big dispute centered on differing ideas of sanctification.
“Wesley saw sanctification as a process of growth,” said Glen Alton Messer II, a church historian and ecumenical staff officer with the United Methodist Office on Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships.
“For Zinzendorf, it’s very important to understand all holiness belongs to Christ. For Wesley, all holiness is made possible by Christ.”
Put another way, Zinzendorf saw Christ as the sole author of sanctification while Wesley saw sanctification as the result of Christ and humans working in partnership.
It’s a subtle distinction, and even Wesley told Zinzendorf he thought they were just arguing about words. But the difference was enough to prevent the merger of the two movements into one.
Still, Moravians continue to celebrate the connection between the two men. On the second floor of the Moravian church in Herrnhut is a small museum. There, busts of Zinzendorf and Wesley are displayed side by side.
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Church body seeks greater openness on human sexuality
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — United Methodist clergy could perform same-gender weddings and conferences could ordain openly gay clergy if legislation by a denominationwide leadership body wins General Conference approval. Heather Hahn reports.
DownloadPhoto by Kathleen Barry, UMNS
The Rev. Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai explains that a piece of legislation is in line with the Connectional Table’s mandate in the Book of Discipline to address “emerging issues."PreviousNext
Church body seeks greater openness on human sexuality
By Heather Hahn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
United Methodist clergy could perform same-gender weddings and conferences could ordain openly gay clergy if legislation by a denomination-wide leadership body wins General Conference approval.
By a vote of 26 to 10 with one abstention, the Connectional Table on May 18 approved legislation that would remove prohibitive language that makes it a chargeable offense under church law for clergy to be “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” or to officiate at same-sex weddings.
Bottom line: If this legislation passes, clergy would not risk church trials or the loss of their credentials for officiating at same-gender weddings or, in some conferences, coming out as openly gay.
Dakotas-Minnesota Area Bishop Bruce R. Ough, who chairs the Connectional Table, led the group inprayer after the vote.
“We pray that through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you will use this work in ways that will ultimately honor you and help us find our way forward as the United Methodist expression of the faith,” Ough prayed.
The Connectional Table is a United Methodist body of clergy and lay people from around the world that acts as a sort of church council for the denomination, coordinating its mission, ministry and resources.
Ultimately, General Conference — The United Methodist Church’s top lawmaking assembly — will determine if the proposal becomes the denomination’s official policy when it meets May 10-20, 2016, in Portland, Oregon.
What the legislation says
Under the proposal, individual clergy would decide whether to officiate at same-gender marriages just as the Book of Discipline — the denomination’s law book — now allows clergy to decide which couples to wed. Clergy would not be required to bless same-sex unions.
Similarly, the proposal leaves the question of whether to ordain openly gay clergy up to individual conferences. The denomination’s constitution already gives conferences the main authority in determining whom to ordain, within the guidelines of the Book of Discipline.
WHO IS ON THE CONNECTIONAL TABLE
The Connectional Table’s membershipincludes 21 clergy and laity elected by the five U.S. jurisdictions and one member from each from the seven central conferences in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Representatives from each of the denomination's five official racial and ethnic caucuses serve, as well as one youth and one young adult from the United Methodist Division on Ministries with Young People.
The membership also comprises the chief executives of the 12 general agencies and most agency presidents, who are bishops, as well as the Council of Bishops’ ecumenical officer. The 12 agency executives have voice but not vote in the body’s decision-making.
Altogether, the Connectional Table has 59 members, 47 of whom can vote.
General Conference is expected to receive multiple petitions dealing with the church’s longtime debate about how best to minister with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning individuals.
The proposed legislation defines marriage as a covenant “that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between two people who are married to each other.” It also notes that such marriage “is traditionally between one man and one woman.”
At the same time, the proposal notes that the denomination “historically has not condoned the practice of homosexuality and has considered the practice incompatible with Christian teaching.” It also retains the denomination’s ban on using church funds “to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.”
The Connectional Table’s process
The vote came after more than three hours of prayer, small-group discussions and finally three speeches each for and against the legislation. The morning discussion also included time for hymn singing and reflection on Scripture.
Each of the small groups had members of varied perspectives on the church’s stance, which currently states that the practice of homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
The Rev. Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai, who guides the Connectional Table’s legislative writing team, told Connectional Table members before the discussion that no matter what they decided United Methodists would feel a sense of loss.
“Our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are already dealing with a sense of loss of acceptance in our churches,” she said. “If we change our position, our more theologically and socially traditional brothers and sisters will feel a sense of loss of acceptance in our church. No matter what we do, if we remain in conflict with one another, we will continue to feel a loss of stability and unity.”
The Connectional Table’s vote followed a motion it affirmed in April 2014 after the first of three public panels on human sexuality. After hours of discussion, the body approved “parallel paths” of dialogue and work toward changing the Discipline “to fully include LGBTQ persons in the life of the church.” The initials stand for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning.
At the body’s February meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, the legislative team announced that it was not considering any proposals to reorganize the denomination’s structure along ideological lines.
Instead, the team presented three directions for the full body to consider in response to the 2014 motion.
The first was to bring no changes to General Conference on this matter.
The second option was what the legislative team called “full inclusion,” removing all references in the Book of Discipline that cast homosexuality in a negative light.
The third approach of removing prohibitive language was what the legislative team recommended and the full table overwhelmingly affirmed at the Mozambique meeting. Thirty-six Connectional Table members attended that meeting.
The Connectional Table’s May meeting basically put that proposal into legislative language.
Why the Connectional Table is addressing this
Bigham-Tsai said the legislation is in line with the Connectional Table’s mandate in the Book of Discipline to address “emerging issues” and determine “the most effective, cooperative, and efficient way to provide optimum stewardship of ministries, personnel, and resources.”
Passionate debate over the church’s stance on homosexuality has erupted at every General Conference since 1972. The lawmaking assembly has consistently voted to keep the language and over the years has expanded restrictions against gay clergy and same-gender unions.
But the debate has heated up as more countries and more U.S. states legally recognize same-gender civil marriage and more pastors are asked by gay congregants to officiate at their weddings.
The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing the possibility of overturning state bans on recognizing such unions. A ruling on that question is not expected until the end of June. Nearly 60 percent of United Methodists live in the United States.
Since last year, some United Methodists have raised the possibility of a denominational splitaround theological views.
Bigham-Tsai said the hope is that this proposal will be seen as “a third way” that can keep people at the table and possibly end the denomination’s long impasse.
Reactions in the room
Representatives from Good News and Love Prevails, both advocacy groups with very different views on the church’s stance, were among the observers of the discussion. The Connectional Table invited the guests to share their thoughts on the proposed legislation.
People from both groups spoke out against the proposals.
“We believe this proposal that you are considering has the potential to increase conflict,” said the Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, vice president and general manager of Good News, which supports the denomination’s teachings on homosexuality.
He elaborated that the proposal will take a dispute that happens at the General Conference level and “bring it down to every annual conference and local church.”
The Rev. Amy DeLong of Love Prevails also spoke. Love Prevails aims to change the church's stance on homosexuality and end what it sees as discrimination against LGBTQ individuals.
“Saying that there is a third way on issues on oppression and discrimination is saying there is some level of my discrimination you all are comfortable with,” said DeLong, a lesbian who has been with her partner for more than 20 years. She faced a church trial in 2011.
The Connectional Table’s proposal is expected to be one of many petitions dealing with human sexuality that will go before the 2016 General Conference.
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Economist: Church in crisis but hope remains
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Church has only 15 years to reverse its decline in the United States if it is to have a sustainable future, an economist warned church leaders. At the same gathering, the church leaders discussed possible missional goals to address that decline and enhance the global denomination's ministries around the world. Heather Hahn reports.
File photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Economist Don House (left) helps lead a discussion about the church budget during the 2012 pre-General Conference news briefing at the Tampa Convention Center in Florida in this file photo. At right is Bishop G. Lindsey Davis.
Economist: Church in crisis but hope remains
By Heather Hahn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
The United Methodist Church has only 15 years to reverse its decline in the United States if it is to have a sustainable future, an economist warned church leaders.
At the same gathering, the church leaders discussed possible missional goals to address that decline and enhance the global denomination’s ministries around the world.
“By 2030, the denomination in the United States will either have found a way to turn around, meaning it is growing, or its turnaround in the United States is not possible,” Donald R. House Sr. told the May 19 combined meeting of the Connectional Table and the General Council on Finance and Administration board. “By 2050, the connection will have collapsed.”
In other words, he predicted that unless things change soon, the denomination in coming decades will not have enough U.S. churches to pay for its connectional structures. Such structures include conferences, bishops, agencies, missions and international disaster response.
His presentation came a week after the Pew Research Center released its 2014 religious landscape survey, showing the share of U.S. adult population that’s mainline Protestant had dropped from 18.1 to 14.7 percent in the previous seven years. The survey counted United Methodists among the mainline Protestants.
House — a lifelong United Methodist — holds a Ph.D. in economics and chairs the denomination’s eight-member Economic Advisory Committee, whose projections help shape the general church’s budget every four years.
House also holds other United Methodist leadership roles, including chair of the South Central Jurisdiction episcopacy committee that oversees the work of that region’s bishops.
In addition, he is one of the drafters of the revised Plan UMC, proposed legislation to reorganize the denomination’s general agencies. The Council of Bishops earlier this month took the unusual step of asking the denomination’s top court to determine if the legislation is constitutional before it goes before the 2016 General Conference.
He addressed the two bodies that put together the general church budget that goes before General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly.
House said he based his long-term attendance and financial projections on the denomination’s U.S.statistical trends because the denomination has incomplete data from many of its churches around the globe. But membership data shows The United Methodist Church is growing worldwide.
At this point, the U.S. membership supports the bulk of general church finances.
What he forecasts, he admitted, is “tough stuff” for church leaders to hear. Still, he also offered hope that the United Methodists can return to a trajectory of growth in the United States and fulfill its mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
But it will mean ministering to a church with different needs and much more ethnic diversity than found during the denomination’s last growth period in the 1950s.
Dallas Area Bishop Michael McKee, a General Council on Finance and Administration board member, told those gathered he does not see House’s report “as gloom and doom.”
“In some respects, we’ve been trying to recover what we’ve had,” McKee said. “Maybe the voice of God is directing us to have a new church. I think we’ll have a better church, but I agree we’re not there yet.”
APPROVING A BUDGET
The Connectional Table and General Council on Finance and Administration boardapproved a proposed budget of $611 million for general church funds in 2017-20.
That’s about a 1.3 percent increase above the $603.1 million general church budget approved at the 2012 General Conference.
But accounting for an annual U.S. inflation rate of 2 percent, the total budget actually marks a reduction in spending in terms of real dollars.
It is also more conservative amount than the $621 million “realistic budget proposal” suggested by the Economic Advisory Committee.
At the general church level, the budget supports seven apportioned funds. These include bishops, United Methodist ministerial education, 10 general agencies and denomination-wide efforts such as the Black College Fund and Africa University in Zimbabwe.
The Rev. Steve Wood, a General Council on Finance and Administration board member, asked Donald R. House Sr., given his projections, what he thought of increasing the denomination’s general church budget. Wood is also the lead pastor of Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church in St. Johns Creek, Georgia.
House noted that economic conditions are improving, and the church has seen increasing payout rates to general church ministries.
“The question is where do we think the money can best be spent,” House said. “Is it to be in annual conferences? Is it to be in local churches? Is it to be in general agencies? I’ve been around for a while and I think there is work for the general agencies.”
He said he thinks agencies can help in providing resources for the turnaround and increasing vital congregations.
The challenges the church faces
For the last 10 years, General Council on Finance and Administration statistics show, United Methodist worship attendance in the United States has decreased on average 52,383 per year.
Between 1974 and 2012, the U.S. church lost 18 percent in worship attendance. During the same period, House noted, the number of U.S. churches shrank by 16 percent, the number of conferences by 19 percent and the number of districts by 21 percent.
“What we are doing is disassembling our infrastructure faster than we are experiencing decline in the U.S.,” he said. “If this were a business model, I’d say you were gracefully closing your doors.”
But that’s not the way to reverse decline, he said.
Part of the problem, House said, is the denomination has church buildings that were in the right locations for 1952 but not for today. He recommended United Methodists focus on planting new churches and especially reinvigorating the congregations they already have.
“You can’t new-church-start your way out of this existing crisis,” he said.
What the denomination needs are nationally scalable strategies for revitalization, House said. He is testing one such strategy now.
His plan, “The Benchmark Project,” calls for nearly 1,000 churches with at least 125 members to raise and spend $119.5 million a year more to address what he says are deficiencies in investment such as lay staff members. He has received $100,000 from the Connectional Table to help fund the study.
He first hopes to have 217 churches in the South Central Jurisdiction taking part in the study by 2017.
So far, he has 16 churches participating with commitments from the Arkansas, Oklahoma and Great Plains conferences to join. He expects the study to continue through 2024. Three pilot churches in his home Texas Conference, he said, are already showing good results.
Possible missional goals
Church leaders also talked about missional goals that will be presented to the 2016 General Conference as part of the proposed 2017-20 budget.
Chicago Area Bishop Sally Dyck presented the goals being considered by the Council of Bishops and Connectional Table, which coordinates the work of general church agencies. Each goal is aligned with the denomination’s four areas of ministry focus and its drive to increase the number of highly vital congregations.
“This is so the work of the church though our apportioned giving is aligned around these missional goals,” she told United Methodist News Service. “In the agencies and hopefully in our annual conference budgets, we begin to see these as an alignment of our work.”
The current plan calls for United Methodists in the next four years:
Start two new faith communities a day
Create a culture of call in every faith community
Reach 1 million children with life-saving health interventions
Partner with 30,000 schools to help end poverty
Double the number of vital congregations by equipping congregations with disciple making practices
She said some goals, such as creating a culture of call, are still being refined so they can have measurable results. “We want to measure our success,” she said.
“This is a big step forward in terms of working together to come up with some internal goals that will help focus our work and will make a difference in our communities,” the bishop said.
“Hopefully, people will say: ‘Wow, those United Methodists. They’re working with us in our schools. They’re starting new faith communities all over the place.’”
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Connectional Table wants to model worldwide church
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church currently has only 10 percent of its members from outside the United States. Members want to change that, to reflect better the worldwide nature of the church.
Connectional Table Shares Vision for Next Quadrennium
The Connectional Table
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nashville, Tennessee: Meeting in Nashville, the Connectional Table voted to submit legislation to General Conference in May 2016 to examine how the church may better model worldwide connection through its Connectional Table membership. The proposed restructuring is part of the Connectional Table’s vision as it moves forward.
Currently, only 10 percent of the Connectional Table members reside outside the United States. The proposed restructuring, which may be potentially amended by 2020, would better represent the global membership of the denomination.
“The Connectional Table is committed to more faithfully modeling our worldwide connection in our membership, ministry, and function,” said Ricky Harrison, Connectional Table member and Master of Divinity student at Duke University. “As we continue to move forward in our work of stewarding the mission, vision, and resources of the global church, we are committed to using the upcoming quadrennium to deeply consider how the structure, membership, and function of the Connectional Table might best facilitate this."
Centered on mission and values, the church body stated goals to build relationships that strengthen the denomination as part of the Body of Christ, cross bridges across the church, connect strategies for great impact on mission and connect the story to inspire transformation in Christ throughout the world.
The Connectional Table remains steadfast in its purpose to be a geographically representative and intergenerational body exemplifying the diversity of the worldwide connection, while guiding with a unique Wesleyan theology and enabling new things by fostering creativity and enhancing ministry at all levels of the church.
The church body also stated that it would work to build trust in three primary relationships:
Relationship to General Conference through partnership with Commission on General Conference
Relationship to Annual Conferences through partnerships with the Active Bishops and Directors of Connectional Ministries; and
Relationship to General Agencies.
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About the Connectional Table
The Connectional Table oversees the coordination of mission, ministries and resources across the denomination. Created at the 2004 General Conference, the Connectional Table was formed to serve as both the visioning body of the church and the steward of resources to carry out the vision of the denomination worldwide.
Contact: Diane Degnan
ddegnan@umcom.org
615-742-5406 (office)
615-483-1765 (cell)Read press release
Reflecting on the Boston bomber death penalty
BOSTON (UMNS) — In a commentary, New England Area Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar reflects on a jury's decision to sentence Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death.
Bishop reflects on death penalty for Boston Marathon Bomber
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As I prayerfully reflect on the jury’s decision Friday to sentence Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death, several thoughts have entered my mind. May I share them with you prayerfully?
First, no one can undo the pain and suffering of those who lost their loved ones, or of those who were injured. The atrocities of the bombing changed everyone forever. It will take a very long time to heal the wounds, scars and losses imposed on the country by this tragic event.
Second, we live in a world where death penalties are meted out for all kinds of wrongs. Whether for murder, adultery, criticizing the government, certain sexual acts, robbery, or other violations of a country's culture, we witness capital punishment taking place almost daily.
We should remember, however, that as followers of Christ we say the Lord's Prayer, which teaches forgiveness as one of its main points (Matthew 6: 9-15; Luke 11:1-4). We are challenged to forgive one another "seventy seven times" (Matthew 18:22), and we profess our belief in the One who demonstrated forgiveness as He was dying on the cross by saying, "Father, forgive them ... " (Luke 23:34).
Without criticizing the jury, what I am struggling with just now is the issue of capital punishment. Is the death penalty appropriate in this case – in any case – in this country? Should those found guilty of heinous crimes be allowed to genuinely repent? Is it up to us in this Judeo-Christian culture to dispense a verdict that takes another's life?
Would it be beneficial if religious leaders of the world, those from all faith perspectives, were to gather and seekanswers to spiritual questions such as how we should address the issue of crime in a world where some faith communities believe in an "eye for an eye," and others like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa have demonstrated forgiveness in the midst of deep pain and suffering?
I am reminded of Gandhi's statement, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." It is my hope and prayer that we do not allow ourselves to be blind to a hurting world. We need to search ourselves as we struggle with death-penalty verdicts all around the world.
We need to pray for healing for the victims, the families and all those who are hurt and suffering as a result of the Boston Marathon bombing; for the jurors, and also for Tsarnaev himself.
May God speak to us (including me) so that through our own faith understanding on capital punishment, filled by the power of God, the love of Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit we may continue to be Christ's witnesses in the midst of controversy over this issue and others that tear the fabric of our world, and that we bring peace and hope to every situation.
Praying with you and reflecting with you, and always in Christ's love,
Bishop Sudarshana DevadharRead commentary
Clergywomen explore women's issues on Cuba visit
HAVANA (UMNS) — As official relations between the U.S. and Cuba continue to change this spring, a diverse group of 16 United Methodist clergywomen traveled to the island to explore Cuban women's social, political and religious issues and the unique evolution of the Cuban Christian church. The seminar was sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry and Boston University School of Theology. Mary Buckner has the story.
Theology in Revolution: Clergywomen explore politics, religion in Cuba
Mary Buckner
Participants of the Cuban travel seminar for clergywomen.
This spring, two world-changing events occurred back to back. On April 9, 2015, President Obama met with Cuban President Raúl Castro, the first such meeting in over half a century. Five days later, Obama announced his decision to remove Cuba from the list of states that sponsor terrorism, paving the way for better diplomatic relations. During this same historic week, 16 United Methodist clergywomen traveled to Cuba for a seminar sponsored by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) and Boston University School of Theology.
“The timing was very meaningful for us,” said Dr. HiRho Park, director of Clergy Lifelong Learning at GBHEM. “We felt that we were called from God to greet a new age of peace and reconciliation between two countries.”
The seminar faculty facilitator was the Rev. Dr. Cristian De La Rosa of Boston University School of Theology.
“This continuing education experience facilitated the re-framing of our understandings about Cuba as a nation, its religious institutions and the commitments and practices of its people,” De La Rosa said. “More seminaries should partner with our church agencies for transformational educational experiences like this one.”
The diverse group of U.S. participants included women of Asian, African, Hispanic and European descent, though they all found Cuba a very different world—a world where higher education is free to all, where everyone has access to good healthcare and where the income inequality gap seems absent, yet where Internet access remains with strong censorship.
The seminar was designed to explore Cuban women’s social, political and religious issues and the unique evolution of the Cuban Christian church. The seminar began in Matanzas, Cuba’s second largest city. Seminario Evangelico de Teologia, the Matanzas Evangelical Theological Seminary, was founded there by the Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches in 1946, as an ecumenical pastoral training center.
Participants of the seminar visited local Cuban mission works.
Seminar participant the Rev. Courtney McHill, pastor of McMinnville Cooperative Ministries, said, “Matanzas, ‘the Athens of Cuba,’ is ripe with theological, ecumenical and philosophical dialogue, street theater, and a ground of spirituality. Women are present in all spheres. Each speaker spoke to us with integrity and a wealth of educated information. Obviously, the context is layered and complicated, and yet we learned to the maximum capacity in our days together.”
In Matanzas, participants met with Cuban women leaders in theology, medicine, education and community organizations, including well known women theologians Dr. Ofelia Ortega of Matanzas and Dr. Elsa Tamez, a feminist biblical scholar. Park noted that the focus of Cuba’s revolutionary theology is inclusive, ecumenical, multiracial and interdisciplinary, where the church mission is not only religious teaching but also grassroots support for the health, education and human rights of the community.
“For the elderly women that made the revolution [women who participated in the revolution and nurtured a transformed country] a key concern is the future of young people in Cuba when and if relationships with the U.S. change and the embargo is lifted and possibly immigration of Cuban people to the U.S. is permitted. Will the young people leave the country?” De La Rosa commented.
Participants met with Tejedoras de la Esperanza, Weavers of Hope, a group of women who make and sell handcrafts and art to support community projects, and also visited the Kairos Center located in the Primera Iglesia Bautista, an organization that works to advance human rights. In the nearby town of Varadero, they visited the Iglesia Presbiteriana Reformadaand Casa Del Cariño, Loving Care Home, a ministry offering low-cost housing for the elderly.
The second half of the seminar took place in Havana, where participants attended Iglesia Metodista de Marianao, the Cuban Methodist Church led by Bishop Ricardo Pereia. Six services are held each Sunday, and over a thousand people attend. Park described the services as “spirit filled,” with a contemporary music band, vivacious singing, fervent prayer and joyful liturgical dance performed by a group of young people.
“I was moved by the Cuban people’s commitment to the Christian principles of love, inclusivity and justice,” said seminar participant the Rev. Patricia Bonilla, deacon from the Northern Illinois Conference. “As a clergywoman living and ministering in the United States, I was struck by how much closer Cuba seemed to the Kingdom of God than so many churches claiming to be representative of God’s kingdom on earth.”
“Cubans are very proud of their culture, their music and their arts,” Bonilla continued. “This was evident in the street theater, the music at every corner and the accessibility that the general public had to all sorts of cultural activities. Upon our visit to the Spanish Folkloric Ballet in Havana, we observed a theater full of young people. Artists sold paintings and handcrafted items at the Mercado, and the central Plaza was full of families late into the evening listening to music and sharing a laugh.”
Speaking of the seminar participants, McHill said, “This amazing group of clergywomen were all willing to be flexible, to not be ruffled by the changes and experiences to come, and we all always said yes to the next experience and adventure.”
After returning home, Park said, “I feel humbled and grateful to have had this opportunity, and I thank God that the U.S. and Cuba are finally reconciling. The Cuban people’s faith has developed a sense of duty through dark times, truly a theology in revolution.”
Buckner is a writer in Nashville, Tenn.
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Reaching out with a bilingual service
ROCKAWAY, N.J. (UMNS) — When Lysette Perez became the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of The Rockaways, she noticed the area had a growing Hispanic community. Jeff Wolfe of the Greater New Jersey Conference reports how the church is reaching new people.
Rockaways Shares Love with Bilingual Service
By Jeff Wolfe
jwolfe@gnjumc.org
When Lysette Perez became the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of The Rockaways nearly two and a half years ago, she not only paid attention to those attending the church, she took notice of who wasn’t there.
“When I looked around at the Hispanic community, I found that it was growing and I thought that this might be a good opportunity,” Perez said. “The statistics of the community and the program of outreach for low income families showed that there was a real possibility for ministry.”
That possibility has turned into a reality in the last year as Perez’s church has started a bilingual service on Sundays at noon. That follows a communion service that takes place each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and a traditional family service that starts at 10:30.
“We didn’t have anything at the time when I came,” Perez said of the Hispanic service. “It was taking a step. You have some traditions that are there and that are important, but you need to try something different and new sometimes.”
Perez found in her research that 21 percent of The Rockaways community was Hispanic. She also discovered that a backpack program run by the church in conjunction with local schools to provide food and other items to low income families went mostly to Hispanic families.
Perez has also done translating for some of the Spanish-speaking people when they come in to pick up the backpacks.
“I found myself as the only person speaking Spanish,” she said. “For the older people, I was translating.”
Now a lot of translation takes places on Sundays, with the 10:30 service being translated from English to Spanish and the noon service being translated from Spanish to English. Perez says it does take a little extra time to prepare, but it has been more than worth it.
“It is some more work,” she said, “but at the same time we are reaching out to different people. On Wednesdays we also have a bilingual service and we sing short songs in both English and Spanish.”
She said there are a few times a year when the church comes together for one big service. She noted there were more than 200 at a confirmation service in December and nearly 150 attended a combined Easter service. In all, the average attendance has risen from between 50 and 60 to more than 90 total for the three combined services.
“It takes time to grow,” Perez said. “What we have been trying to do is offer options to people so they can praise God and have a way to reach out to God and we have been able to keep the attendance growing.”
She pointed out that one of the reasons for the growth is because of the congregation’s willingness to be diverse. Those who attend The Rockaways also include African Americans, Asians and Caucasians.
“There was an openness to being a multi-cultural church,” she said. “With a multi-cultural perspective, that makes it easier to welcome people the way they are.”
One of The Rockaways’ welcoming ministries is its vacation Bible school. Perez said the church had 66 children attend last year and has started the process of opening a day care center.
“Somehow we lose them (from coming on Sundays), not because of the children, but because of the parents,” Perez said. “So we are working on starting a day care with the intention of it being an outreach ministry and having a Christian perspective.”
Perez says having perspective with everyone is important in such a diverse community.
“Sometimes it involves taking risks and also being involved in the community,” she said. “The community knows what the church is doing and the last year and a half we have been involved in some interfaith services. Sometimes it helps if you can think a little differently.”
Perez says that nothing different happens without one key element taking place first.
“The first thing I do is pray,” Perez said. “I decided to pray for the Latino-Hispanic community when I got here. Prayer was the No. 1 step.”Read story
Blessing bestowed on new missionaries
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Following three weeks of intensive training, new missionaries with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries received a blessing as they prepared to live out their calling. The missionaries will be commissioned during annual conferences sessions. Laura K. Wise reports.
Global Ministries missionary candidates gather for a group photo prior to a service of blessing at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. (Front row) Jonathan Baker, Donna Baker, Elizabeth Tapia and Fracine Masuka. (Middle row) Marcelo Gomes, Chin Cho, Kutela Katembo and Cesar Duran. (Back row) Cheryl LaValley, Greg Henneman, Richard Boone and Alfred Zigbuo. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
United Methodist Missionaries Receive Blessing for Service
By Laura K. Wise
This week, 13 people answered the called to serve as missionaries with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.
Following three weeks of intensive training covering spiritual formation, cross-cultural awareness, team building, and conflict resolution, twelve of the thirteen new missionaries received a blessing as they prepared to live out their calling. Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., hosted the blessing service on Wednesday, May 13. The missionaries will be commissioned during annual conferences this spring.
Missionary candidates from Global Ministries have their feet washed during a service of blessing at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Missionary Services executive Catherine Whitlatch (foreground) washes the feet of missionary candidate Jonathan Baker. With Baker is his wife Donna Baker, also a missionary candidate. Behind the Bakers, General Secretary Thomas Kemper washes the feet of missionary candidate Cheryl LaValley. Behind Kemper, Associate General Secretary Judy Chung washes the feet of Chin Cho. At right, Bishop William McAlilly, Nashville Episcopal Area, washes the feet of missionary candidate Fracine Masuka. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Called to ministry
Elizabeth S. Tapia, a native of the Philippines, shared that her calling came as the result of her Christian upbringing and her exposure to various forms of church ministry as a young child. She was later trained as a deaconess at Harris College in Manila before taking on a host of other theological assignments, including a position at Global Ministries. “All along I felt I had been a missionary, though not commissioned, among my own people.” Now Tapia will live out that feeling in her next assignment.
Alfred Zigbuo described his calling as prompted by an American missionary couple, and his experiences at a mission church the couple founded in Ganta, Liberia. “As I listened to their stories and saw the wonderful ways these missionaries lived the love of God through their works, I began to wonder—why would these people leave their home to come to this very remote place and be able to serve so well, even with their very lives?” He continued, “As I began to grow in faith, my passion for mission service deepened.”
Donna Baker’s call came after 43 years of professional nursing. “When I retired from my corporate role as a healthcare consultant in December, God opened the door and called me to an amazing country called the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Servant Leadership
Guide my feet as I run this race…for I don’t want to run this race in vain.
Global Ministries General Secretary Thomas Kemper offers words of advice and encouragement during a service of blessing for new missionaries at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Thomas Kemper, Global Ministries general secretary, led the symbolic foot washing. Addressing the missionaries, he spoke of the nature of servant leadership:
By taking up the towel and basin, and kneeling to wash his disciples’ feet, once again, Jesus turned their understanding of what it meant to be his disciple upside down. He showed them what it meant to offer yourself in selfless love to another. These who have accepted the call of mission have the heart of servant leaders. We wash their feet as a sign of our deep love in Christ for them and with the blessing of God as they are sent to serve from ‘everywhere to everywhere’ in Christ’s name.
Learn how your church can enter a covenant relationship with any of these missionaries. Please keep them in prayer as they move forward in living out God’s call. Here is a list of annual conferences that will be commissioning missionaries this spring, with links to the missionaries’ bio pages.
Greater New Jersey, Friday, May 29 at 7:00 pm
Chin H. Cho, Country Coordinator, Mongolia
Ricardo Ramos, Coordinator for Theological Education, Bolivia
New Mexico, Thursday evening, June 4
Greg Henneman, HEAL Initiative Project Coordinator, USA/Ohio
Peninsula Delaware, Friday, June 5- ordination service
Donna Baker, Nurse In Mission, Democratic Republic of Congo
Jonathan Baker, Central Congo Partnership Coordinator, Democratic Republic of Congo
West Ohio, Wednesday June 10, afternoon
Richard Boone, Program Coordinator Horizon Prison Initiative, USA/Ohio
Rocky Mountain, Saturday, June 13 at 7pm
Cesar Duran, Developer & Coordinator for Hispanic/Latin Ministry, USA/Colorado
New York, Friday, June 12 8:30 am
Elizabeth S. Tapia, Professor of Bible, Theology and Mission, Philippines
North Georgia, Thursday morning, June 18
Cheryl LaValley, Children Ministry Trainer, Côte d’Ivoire
Fracine Mufuk Ilunga Mpanga, Young Girls Ministry Coordinator, Côte d’Ivoire
New England, Saturday, June 20, at 8:30 am
Marcelo Gomes, Brazilian Ministry Pastor, USA/Florida
Yellow Stone, Saturday, June 20th
Dieudonne Kutela Katembo, Agriculturist for Quessua Mission, Angola
Tennessee, Tuesday, June 9 at 5:00 PM
Alfred Zigbuo, Administrative and Liaison Support for the Episcopal Office, Democratic Republic of Congo
*Laura K. Wise is a mission intern with Generation Transformation serving as a mission communicator with Global Ministries.
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Try to humanize, not demonize
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — A gracious response by Mo'ne Davis — who impressed many with her 80 mile-an-hour fastball in the Little League World Series — to an offensive comment reminds us that people are not beyond redemption or restoration, even those who have committed crimes, writes Bill Mefford, United Methodist Board of Church and Society, in a commentary.
Humanize, not demonize
A justice system Mo’ne and Jesus would love
by Bill Mefford
When Mo’ne Davis starred last summer as a pitcher with an 80 mile-an-hour fastball in the Little League World Series, I was, like everyone else, impressed. As impressive as her play on the field has been the grace and ease with which she has handled her fame off the field. She is poised in her interviews and genuinely low key.
Now we can credit Mo’ne with one more attribute: graciousness.
And now we can credit Mo’ne with one more attribute: graciousness.
After it was announced that Disney was planning on making a film about Mo’ne, a baseball player from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania sent out an offensive tweet that was followed by an apology and the deletion of his Twitter account. The university responded by immediately removing him from the team.
What Mo’ne did next should serve as an example to those of us in the Church. She sent an email to the president of the university asking that the player be reinstated on the team.
When asked about it in an interview, she said:
Everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance. I know he didn’t mean it in that type of way, and I know a lot of people get tired of like seeing me on TV, but just think about what you’re doing before you actually do it. I know right now he’s really hurt, and I know how hard he worked just to get where he is right now.
A second chance
Mo’ne not only advocated for his reinstatement, she empathized with him and humanized him to the many people angered and offended by his tweet. Because of Mo’ne, the baseball player is no longer a sexist jerk who cruelly mocked a teenage girl. He is a young man who has worked hard to become one of the leading hitters on his college team. He is someone who made a mistake and has paid dearly for it for, as she claims, he is hurt even more than she is.
As we all should be reminded, everyone makes mistakes.
And he is a young man who deserves a second chance because, as we all should be reminded, everyone makes mistakes.
When I read Mo’ne’s comments I am reminded of how I wish our approach to crime could reflect more of her comments than our current insatiable thirst for retribution.
Fortunately, more and more people are seeing the length of some of the sentences being handed down, particularly for nonviolent drug offenses, as unnecessary and unduly punitive. And it may even surprise a few folks as to who share this view: U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rand Paul, R-Ken., and former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, to name a few.
Demonizing people
But we still have the problem of demonizing certain people and claiming they are beyond redemption or restoration. I see death-row inmates in this class, as well as people who have committed sexual crimes.
We rightly find these crimes repugnant and devastating to the victims and their families. Approaching criminal justice from a restorative-justice lens means first and foremost working for healing for the victims of crime.
At the same time, I think we have a tendency to define persons by the worst thing they have done. We see the detestable actions they have committed and they become those actions incarnate.
Yet, Jesus, throughout the Gospels, repeatedly reaches out and makes an example of faith those deemed deviant by the rest of society, particularly those within the confines of his faith.
Jesus humanizes them and makes it impossible for his followers to combine faith in him with demonization of those on the margins.
Radically different
Our criminal-justice system would be radically different, and far more effective, if we manifested this same kind of emphasis on restoration, even and perhaps especially on those who have committed the most heinous crimes.
All people are made in the image of God. All of us have sinned and fallen short. Those are truths whose ethical impact could very well transform our criminal-justice system if we took them seriously.
The invitation is ours to extend to the most hardened of criminals, the most unreachable of people. Jesus is already there and bids us to join him to humanize those who would be demonized by the rest of society and locked away forever or even put to death.
Whether it is a baseball player in Pennsylvania or someone who has committed an unspeakable crime, may we follow first the example of Jesus and even that of Mo’ne Davis. May we recognize the imago dei within them beyond the deeds they have committed, and then may we seek to restore them to a place of contribution once again.Editor's note: Bill Mefford is Director of Civil & Human Rights at the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.
This article originally appeared April 6 in Ministry Matters, which offers practical and immediate inspiration for preachers, teachers, and worship leaders. With thousands of original articles and blogs, unique book reviews, and weekly worship and preaching helps in its “This Sunday” area, MinistryMatters.com provides both community and inspiration to Christian leaders.Read commentary
Quiz yourself: United Methodist history
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Church has existed in various forms for more than 200 years. Test your knowledge of its history with this quiz, a partnership between United Methodist Communications and the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History. A new question will be added each day through John Wesley's birthday, June 17.
Photo by Mike DuBose. Illustration by Cindy Caldwell, United Methodist Communications.
United Methodist Church History Quiz
The United Methodist Church has existed in various forms for more than 200 years. Test yourknowledge of its history with these questions.
Come back each weekday until June 17 (John Wesley's birthday!) for a new question. Also, pass on this quiz to others to encourage them to test their knowledge as well.
This quiz is a partnership between United Methodist Communications and the General Commission on Archives and History.
At what public university did the first Wesley Foundation appear in 1913?
Who of the following was a Methodist, a temperance leader and a suffragist?
What has the Imagine No Malaria campaign accomplished?
What is/was the Holy Club?
Where is Francis Asbury buried?
What do we call May 24, when John Wesley's heart was "strangely warmed"?
Approximately how many hymns and poems did Charles Wesley write?
The “Christmas Conference” took place in what city?
What new holiday was recognized at General Conference 1912?
What is the birthplace of John Wesley?
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Lessons for church from the 'spiritual but not religious'
DELAWARE, Ohio (UMNS) — Pew Research Center's recent survey showed a steep rise in the religiously unaffiliated. Here is what Linda Mercadante, a professor of theology at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, has learned about reaching the "spiritual but not religious." Joe Iovino reports forumc.org.
"John Wesley preaching outside a church." Public domain, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
John Wesley often preached outside of churches so that he could be with people wherever they were.PreviousNext
Lessons for church from the ‘spiritual but not religious’
A UMC.org Feature by Joe Iovino*
Buckling into an airplane seat or sipping soup at a wedding reception, many unsuspecting people have found themselves sitting next to a United Methodist pastor. When the question, “What do you do?” is asked, pastors in the US report that conversations about spiritual journeys are likely to follow.
Stories of home congregations, moms who prayed, and favorite Sunday School teachers are often shared. Other times people will say, “I'm spiritual but not religious,” acknowledging belief in someone or something beyond human experience, coupled with general dissatisfaction with organized religion.
Statistics support what pastors encounter. A survey released May 12, 2015 by Pew Research Center, reported that a growing number of people in the US identify as religiously unaffiliated.
While the study revealed that 70.6% of US adults are Christians, the group of religiously unaffiliated adults (22.8%) is now larger than Catholics (20.8%) and mainline Protestants (14.7%).The United Methodist Church is a mainline Protestant denomination.
“A profound spiritual change is going on in America.” What can we learn from it? #PewResearch #UMC #SBNR
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Most of the religiously unaffiliated say they believe in God (69%), and many would say they are "spiritual but not religious" (SBNR).
The Reverend Linda Mercadante, Professor of Theology at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, warns that the separation of religion and spirituality is a false dichotomy. She used John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, to illustrate.
“Wesley’s heart strangely warmed is his spiritual experience,” she said, “but it was his religion that prepared him for that moment.”
A professor’s journey
“Estimates are that 20-25% of the [US] population identifies as SBNR,” Mercadante said, though she suspects the numbers may be higher. Some “are coming to church and might identify as United Methodist [for example] on a form, but are probably more SBNR.”
The Rev. Linda Mercadante is Professor of Theology at Methodist Theological School in Ohio and author of several books. Photo courtesy of The Rev. Linda Mercadante.
Mercadante understands SBNRs because she has been there. Raised in a nominally religious home, she began seeking a spiritual identity as a child. Her story, shared in her book Bloomfield Avenue: A Jewish-Catholic Jersey Girl's Spiritual Journey, led her to ordination in the Presbyterian Church and teaching at a United Methodist seminary.
“But as I began reading articles on these unaffiliated seekers,” she writes in Belief without Borders, “something just did not fit what I knew from experience as a seeker and with other seekers.”
Mercadante conducted a series of in-depth interviews with people who self-identified as spiritual but not religious. Her interviewees were from across the US and of nearly every age group, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Her findings are published in Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious.
“This whole journey,” she writes, “has made me even more convinced that a profound spiritual change is going on in America. No matter how organized religions try to ignore, challenge, adapt, or protest it, our society is being deeply changed by this pervasive ethos.”
Mercadante offered some lessons the church can learn.
1. Give up unproductive guilt
“We need to give up the mea culpa attitude,” Mercadante said. Many Christians assume SBNRs have been hurt by organized religion, but Mercadante rarely encountered victims of religious abuse among those she interviewed. “Most had little experience of church,” and were not present enough to have felt either encouraged or hurt by it. Rather than making assumptions, the church needs to listen.
2. Listen
“Everybody knows at least one SBNR person,” Mercadante said. We could learn much by compassionately inquiring about their spiritual lives. Mercadante found those she interviewed were “pleased to have someone listen to them… They were grateful, delighted to share their spiritual journeys.”
3. Live your fatih
Mercadante said many SBNRs want to see a connection between one’s inner life and outward behavior. Wesley encouraged the early Methodists to perform both acts of piety like worship andprayer, and acts of service like visiting the sick and serving those in need.
4. Value diversity
SBNRs are interested in diversity, Mercadante learned, when it fosters compassion and peace rather than division and conflict.
United Methodists value our diverse and connected community of faith, as demonstrated by our open communion table. All are welcome—member or not—to receive the sacrament as a witness to our emphasis on the prevenient grace of God present with everyone before we are aware of it.
5. Focus on mentoring relationships
Mercadante shared that a significant number of SBNRs “had their first encounter with spirituality through a recovery group.” In groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, participants receive strength and support from one another.
John Wesley preached many sermonsoutdoors, anywhere everyday people gathered. Photo is public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Similar relationships were a major thrust of the early Methodist movement. Wesley’s model of discipleshipincluded gathering people into small groups called classes where Christians were strengthened. United Methodists today can enter into similar accountability relationships to encourage one another toward holiness of heart and life.
6. Rethink church membership
“We live in a highly individualistic society,” Mercadante shared. Being part of a church, or any organization, is viewed suspiciously.
“We need to teach commitment gently,” Mercadante advised. People may participate in our congregations only for a season. We need to make the most of that time, offering a robust theology that will serve them well into the future.
7. Life Transformation
The goal of the spiritual journey for many SBNRs is not solely the afterlife. SBNRs “have a very this-worldly perspective and place highest value on self-fulfillment, rather than salvation of the soul,” Mercadante said. They want to be “on a path to finding and being your best self.”
While Christians know the hope of resurrection, we also know our faith enriches our lives daily.
8. Study theology
Many SBNRs stay away from organized religion over theological issues. “The questions SBNRs have are legitimate,” Mercadante reports. Unfortunately, the answers they assume the church has are often viewed as non-responsive or simplistic.
The church can improve by thinking theologically together. “We need more classes for [church] members where we sharpen up their theological tools,” Mercadante stated. “Inevitably [an SBNR friend] will ask a question you cannot answer. That is your homework.”
SBNRS prefer honest answers to difficult questions. “Whenever anyone asks you to speak of your hope," the Bible reads, "be ready to defend it.” (1 Peter 3:15). “We need to be able to do that gently and authentically,” Mercadante said.
Going forward
For many, SBNR is a new acronym, but people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious have been around for years. Jesus spent a significant amount of his time with those who hungered to connect with God while feeling distanced from their organized religion.
He regularly met people where they were—up a tree, surrounded by accusers with stones, or too ashamed to come to a well when others were present. We should too. We just might meet him there.
*Joe Iovino works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. Contact him atjiovino@umcom.org or 615-312-3733.
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United Methodist's journey shows how to 'live while dying'
HOPKINS, Minn. (UMNS) — When Bruce Kramer learned in 2010 that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, he decided to share his journey publically. The United Methodist and former dean at the University of St. Thomas did a series of interviews with Minnesota Public Radio News and collaborated with MPR reporter Cathy Wurzer on a book of reflections on the disease, vocation, faith and relationships. Kramer, 59, died March 23, just days after publication of "We Know How This Ends."
Listen: Cathy Wurzer remembers Bruce Kramer
Health
“We didn’t have anything at the time when I came,” Perez said of the Hispanic service. “It was taking a step. You have some traditions that are there and that are important, but you need to try something different and new sometimes.”
Perez found in her research that 21 percent of The Rockaways community was Hispanic. She also discovered that a backpack program run by the church in conjunction with local schools to provide food and other items to low income families went mostly to Hispanic families.
Perez has also done translating for some of the Spanish-speaking people when they come in to pick up the backpacks.
“I found myself as the only person speaking Spanish,” she said. “For the older people, I was translating.”
Now a lot of translation takes places on Sundays, with the 10:30 service being translated from English to Spanish and the noon service being translated from Spanish to English. Perez says it does take a little extra time to prepare, but it has been more than worth it.
“It is some more work,” she said, “but at the same time we are reaching out to different people. On Wednesdays we also have a bilingual service and we sing short songs in both English and Spanish.”
She said there are a few times a year when the church comes together for one big service. She noted there were more than 200 at a confirmation service in December and nearly 150 attended a combined Easter service. In all, the average attendance has risen from between 50 and 60 to more than 90 total for the three combined services.
“It takes time to grow,” Perez said. “What we have been trying to do is offer options to people so they can praise God and have a way to reach out to God and we have been able to keep the attendance growing.”
She pointed out that one of the reasons for the growth is because of the congregation’s willingness to be diverse. Those who attend The Rockaways also include African Americans, Asians and Caucasians.
“There was an openness to being a multi-cultural church,” she said. “With a multi-cultural perspective, that makes it easier to welcome people the way they are.”
One of The Rockaways’ welcoming ministries is its vacation Bible school. Perez said the church had 66 children attend last year and has started the process of opening a day care center.
“Somehow we lose them (from coming on Sundays), not because of the children, but because of the parents,” Perez said. “So we are working on starting a day care with the intention of it being an outreach ministry and having a Christian perspective.”
Perez says having perspective with everyone is important in such a diverse community.
“Sometimes it involves taking risks and also being involved in the community,” she said. “The community knows what the church is doing and the last year and a half we have been involved in some interfaith services. Sometimes it helps if you can think a little differently.”
Perez says that nothing different happens without one key element taking place first.
“The first thing I do is pray,” Perez said. “I decided to pray for the Latino-Hispanic community when I got here. Prayer was the No. 1 step.”Read story
Blessing bestowed on new missionaries
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Following three weeks of intensive training, new missionaries with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries received a blessing as they prepared to live out their calling. The missionaries will be commissioned during annual conferences sessions. Laura K. Wise reports.
Global Ministries missionary candidates gather for a group photo prior to a service of blessing at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. (Front row) Jonathan Baker, Donna Baker, Elizabeth Tapia and Fracine Masuka. (Middle row) Marcelo Gomes, Chin Cho, Kutela Katembo and Cesar Duran. (Back row) Cheryl LaValley, Greg Henneman, Richard Boone and Alfred Zigbuo. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
United Methodist Missionaries Receive Blessing for Service
By Laura K. Wise
This week, 13 people answered the called to serve as missionaries with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.
Following three weeks of intensive training covering spiritual formation, cross-cultural awareness, team building, and conflict resolution, twelve of the thirteen new missionaries received a blessing as they prepared to live out their calling. Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., hosted the blessing service on Wednesday, May 13. The missionaries will be commissioned during annual conferences this spring.
Missionary candidates from Global Ministries have their feet washed during a service of blessing at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Missionary Services executive Catherine Whitlatch (foreground) washes the feet of missionary candidate Jonathan Baker. With Baker is his wife Donna Baker, also a missionary candidate. Behind the Bakers, General Secretary Thomas Kemper washes the feet of missionary candidate Cheryl LaValley. Behind Kemper, Associate General Secretary Judy Chung washes the feet of Chin Cho. At right, Bishop William McAlilly, Nashville Episcopal Area, washes the feet of missionary candidate Fracine Masuka. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Called to ministry
Elizabeth S. Tapia, a native of the Philippines, shared that her calling came as the result of her Christian upbringing and her exposure to various forms of church ministry as a young child. She was later trained as a deaconess at Harris College in Manila before taking on a host of other theological assignments, including a position at Global Ministries. “All along I felt I had been a missionary, though not commissioned, among my own people.” Now Tapia will live out that feeling in her next assignment.
Alfred Zigbuo described his calling as prompted by an American missionary couple, and his experiences at a mission church the couple founded in Ganta, Liberia. “As I listened to their stories and saw the wonderful ways these missionaries lived the love of God through their works, I began to wonder—why would these people leave their home to come to this very remote place and be able to serve so well, even with their very lives?” He continued, “As I began to grow in faith, my passion for mission service deepened.”
Donna Baker’s call came after 43 years of professional nursing. “When I retired from my corporate role as a healthcare consultant in December, God opened the door and called me to an amazing country called the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Servant Leadership
Guide my feet as I run this race…for I don’t want to run this race in vain.
Global Ministries General Secretary Thomas Kemper offers words of advice and encouragement during a service of blessing for new missionaries at Belmont United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.
Thomas Kemper, Global Ministries general secretary, led the symbolic foot washing. Addressing the missionaries, he spoke of the nature of servant leadership:
By taking up the towel and basin, and kneeling to wash his disciples’ feet, once again, Jesus turned their understanding of what it meant to be his disciple upside down. He showed them what it meant to offer yourself in selfless love to another. These who have accepted the call of mission have the heart of servant leaders. We wash their feet as a sign of our deep love in Christ for them and with the blessing of God as they are sent to serve from ‘everywhere to everywhere’ in Christ’s name.
Learn how your church can enter a covenant relationship with any of these missionaries. Please keep them in prayer as they move forward in living out God’s call. Here is a list of annual conferences that will be commissioning missionaries this spring, with links to the missionaries’ bio pages.
Greater New Jersey, Friday, May 29 at 7:00 pm
Chin H. Cho, Country Coordinator, Mongolia
Ricardo Ramos, Coordinator for Theological Education, Bolivia
New Mexico, Thursday evening, June 4
Greg Henneman, HEAL Initiative Project Coordinator, USA/Ohio
Peninsula Delaware, Friday, June 5- ordination service
Donna Baker, Nurse In Mission, Democratic Republic of Congo
Jonathan Baker, Central Congo Partnership Coordinator, Democratic Republic of Congo
West Ohio, Wednesday June 10, afternoon
Richard Boone, Program Coordinator Horizon Prison Initiative, USA/Ohio
Rocky Mountain, Saturday, June 13 at 7pm
Cesar Duran, Developer & Coordinator for Hispanic/Latin Ministry, USA/Colorado
New York, Friday, June 12 8:30 am
Elizabeth S. Tapia, Professor of Bible, Theology and Mission, Philippines
North Georgia, Thursday morning, June 18
Cheryl LaValley, Children Ministry Trainer, Côte d’Ivoire
Fracine Mufuk Ilunga Mpanga, Young Girls Ministry Coordinator, Côte d’Ivoire
New England, Saturday, June 20, at 8:30 am
Marcelo Gomes, Brazilian Ministry Pastor, USA/Florida
Yellow Stone, Saturday, June 20th
Dieudonne Kutela Katembo, Agriculturist for Quessua Mission, Angola
Tennessee, Tuesday, June 9 at 5:00 PM
Alfred Zigbuo, Administrative and Liaison Support for the Episcopal Office, Democratic Republic of Congo
*Laura K. Wise is a mission intern with Generation Transformation serving as a mission communicator with Global Ministries.
Read story
Try to humanize, not demonize
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — A gracious response by Mo'ne Davis — who impressed many with her 80 mile-an-hour fastball in the Little League World Series — to an offensive comment reminds us that people are not beyond redemption or restoration, even those who have committed crimes, writes Bill Mefford, United Methodist Board of Church and Society, in a commentary.
Humanize, not demonize
A justice system Mo’ne and Jesus would love
by Bill Mefford
When Mo’ne Davis starred last summer as a pitcher with an 80 mile-an-hour fastball in the Little League World Series, I was, like everyone else, impressed. As impressive as her play on the field has been the grace and ease with which she has handled her fame off the field. She is poised in her interviews and genuinely low key.
Now we can credit Mo’ne with one more attribute: graciousness.
And now we can credit Mo’ne with one more attribute: graciousness.
After it was announced that Disney was planning on making a film about Mo’ne, a baseball player from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania sent out an offensive tweet that was followed by an apology and the deletion of his Twitter account. The university responded by immediately removing him from the team.
What Mo’ne did next should serve as an example to those of us in the Church. She sent an email to the president of the university asking that the player be reinstated on the team.
When asked about it in an interview, she said:
Everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance. I know he didn’t mean it in that type of way, and I know a lot of people get tired of like seeing me on TV, but just think about what you’re doing before you actually do it. I know right now he’s really hurt, and I know how hard he worked just to get where he is right now.
A second chance
Mo’ne not only advocated for his reinstatement, she empathized with him and humanized him to the many people angered and offended by his tweet. Because of Mo’ne, the baseball player is no longer a sexist jerk who cruelly mocked a teenage girl. He is a young man who has worked hard to become one of the leading hitters on his college team. He is someone who made a mistake and has paid dearly for it for, as she claims, he is hurt even more than she is.
As we all should be reminded, everyone makes mistakes.
And he is a young man who deserves a second chance because, as we all should be reminded, everyone makes mistakes.
When I read Mo’ne’s comments I am reminded of how I wish our approach to crime could reflect more of her comments than our current insatiable thirst for retribution.
Fortunately, more and more people are seeing the length of some of the sentences being handed down, particularly for nonviolent drug offenses, as unnecessary and unduly punitive. And it may even surprise a few folks as to who share this view: U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rand Paul, R-Ken., and former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, to name a few.
Demonizing people
But we still have the problem of demonizing certain people and claiming they are beyond redemption or restoration. I see death-row inmates in this class, as well as people who have committed sexual crimes.
We rightly find these crimes repugnant and devastating to the victims and their families. Approaching criminal justice from a restorative-justice lens means first and foremost working for healing for the victims of crime.
At the same time, I think we have a tendency to define persons by the worst thing they have done. We see the detestable actions they have committed and they become those actions incarnate.
Yet, Jesus, throughout the Gospels, repeatedly reaches out and makes an example of faith those deemed deviant by the rest of society, particularly those within the confines of his faith.
Jesus humanizes them and makes it impossible for his followers to combine faith in him with demonization of those on the margins.
Radically different
Our criminal-justice system would be radically different, and far more effective, if we manifested this same kind of emphasis on restoration, even and perhaps especially on those who have committed the most heinous crimes.
All people are made in the image of God. All of us have sinned and fallen short. Those are truths whose ethical impact could very well transform our criminal-justice system if we took them seriously.
The invitation is ours to extend to the most hardened of criminals, the most unreachable of people. Jesus is already there and bids us to join him to humanize those who would be demonized by the rest of society and locked away forever or even put to death.
Whether it is a baseball player in Pennsylvania or someone who has committed an unspeakable crime, may we follow first the example of Jesus and even that of Mo’ne Davis. May we recognize the imago dei within them beyond the deeds they have committed, and then may we seek to restore them to a place of contribution once again.Editor's note: Bill Mefford is Director of Civil & Human Rights at the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.
This article originally appeared April 6 in Ministry Matters, which offers practical and immediate inspiration for preachers, teachers, and worship leaders. With thousands of original articles and blogs, unique book reviews, and weekly worship and preaching helps in its “This Sunday” area, MinistryMatters.com provides both community and inspiration to Christian leaders.Read commentary
Quiz yourself: United Methodist history
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Church has existed in various forms for more than 200 years. Test your knowledge of its history with this quiz, a partnership between United Methodist Communications and the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History. A new question will be added each day through John Wesley's birthday, June 17.
Photo by Mike DuBose. Illustration by Cindy Caldwell, United Methodist Communications.
United Methodist Church History Quiz
The United Methodist Church has existed in various forms for more than 200 years. Test yourknowledge of its history with these questions.
Come back each weekday until June 17 (John Wesley's birthday!) for a new question. Also, pass on this quiz to others to encourage them to test their knowledge as well.
This quiz is a partnership between United Methodist Communications and the General Commission on Archives and History.
At what public university did the first Wesley Foundation appear in 1913?
Who of the following was a Methodist, a temperance leader and a suffragist?
What has the Imagine No Malaria campaign accomplished?
What is/was the Holy Club?
Where is Francis Asbury buried?
What do we call May 24, when John Wesley's heart was "strangely warmed"?
Approximately how many hymns and poems did Charles Wesley write?
The “Christmas Conference” took place in what city?
What new holiday was recognized at General Conference 1912?
What is the birthplace of John Wesley?
Take quiz
Lessons for church from the 'spiritual but not religious'
DELAWARE, Ohio (UMNS) — Pew Research Center's recent survey showed a steep rise in the religiously unaffiliated. Here is what Linda Mercadante, a professor of theology at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, has learned about reaching the "spiritual but not religious." Joe Iovino reports forumc.org.
"John Wesley preaching outside a church." Public domain, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
John Wesley often preached outside of churches so that he could be with people wherever they were.PreviousNext
Lessons for church from the ‘spiritual but not religious’
A UMC.org Feature by Joe Iovino*
Buckling into an airplane seat or sipping soup at a wedding reception, many unsuspecting people have found themselves sitting next to a United Methodist pastor. When the question, “What do you do?” is asked, pastors in the US report that conversations about spiritual journeys are likely to follow.
Stories of home congregations, moms who prayed, and favorite Sunday School teachers are often shared. Other times people will say, “I'm spiritual but not religious,” acknowledging belief in someone or something beyond human experience, coupled with general dissatisfaction with organized religion.
Statistics support what pastors encounter. A survey released May 12, 2015 by Pew Research Center, reported that a growing number of people in the US identify as religiously unaffiliated.
While the study revealed that 70.6% of US adults are Christians, the group of religiously unaffiliated adults (22.8%) is now larger than Catholics (20.8%) and mainline Protestants (14.7%).The United Methodist Church is a mainline Protestant denomination.
“A profound spiritual change is going on in America.” What can we learn from it? #PewResearch #UMC #SBNR
TWEET THISMost of the religiously unaffiliated say they believe in God (69%), and many would say they are "spiritual but not religious" (SBNR).
The Reverend Linda Mercadante, Professor of Theology at Methodist Theological School in Ohio, warns that the separation of religion and spirituality is a false dichotomy. She used John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, to illustrate.
“Wesley’s heart strangely warmed is his spiritual experience,” she said, “but it was his religion that prepared him for that moment.”
A professor’s journey
“Estimates are that 20-25% of the [US] population identifies as SBNR,” Mercadante said, though she suspects the numbers may be higher. Some “are coming to church and might identify as United Methodist [for example] on a form, but are probably more SBNR.”
The Rev. Linda Mercadante is Professor of Theology at Methodist Theological School in Ohio and author of several books. Photo courtesy of The Rev. Linda Mercadante.
Mercadante understands SBNRs because she has been there. Raised in a nominally religious home, she began seeking a spiritual identity as a child. Her story, shared in her book Bloomfield Avenue: A Jewish-Catholic Jersey Girl's Spiritual Journey, led her to ordination in the Presbyterian Church and teaching at a United Methodist seminary.
“But as I began reading articles on these unaffiliated seekers,” she writes in Belief without Borders, “something just did not fit what I knew from experience as a seeker and with other seekers.”
Mercadante conducted a series of in-depth interviews with people who self-identified as spiritual but not religious. Her interviewees were from across the US and of nearly every age group, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Her findings are published in Belief without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious.
“This whole journey,” she writes, “has made me even more convinced that a profound spiritual change is going on in America. No matter how organized religions try to ignore, challenge, adapt, or protest it, our society is being deeply changed by this pervasive ethos.”
Mercadante offered some lessons the church can learn.
1. Give up unproductive guilt
“We need to give up the mea culpa attitude,” Mercadante said. Many Christians assume SBNRs have been hurt by organized religion, but Mercadante rarely encountered victims of religious abuse among those she interviewed. “Most had little experience of church,” and were not present enough to have felt either encouraged or hurt by it. Rather than making assumptions, the church needs to listen.
2. Listen
“Everybody knows at least one SBNR person,” Mercadante said. We could learn much by compassionately inquiring about their spiritual lives. Mercadante found those she interviewed were “pleased to have someone listen to them… They were grateful, delighted to share their spiritual journeys.”
3. Live your fatih
Mercadante said many SBNRs want to see a connection between one’s inner life and outward behavior. Wesley encouraged the early Methodists to perform both acts of piety like worship andprayer, and acts of service like visiting the sick and serving those in need.
4. Value diversity
SBNRs are interested in diversity, Mercadante learned, when it fosters compassion and peace rather than division and conflict.
United Methodists value our diverse and connected community of faith, as demonstrated by our open communion table. All are welcome—member or not—to receive the sacrament as a witness to our emphasis on the prevenient grace of God present with everyone before we are aware of it.
5. Focus on mentoring relationships
Mercadante shared that a significant number of SBNRs “had their first encounter with spirituality through a recovery group.” In groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, participants receive strength and support from one another.
John Wesley preached many sermonsoutdoors, anywhere everyday people gathered. Photo is public domain, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Similar relationships were a major thrust of the early Methodist movement. Wesley’s model of discipleshipincluded gathering people into small groups called classes where Christians were strengthened. United Methodists today can enter into similar accountability relationships to encourage one another toward holiness of heart and life.
6. Rethink church membership
“We live in a highly individualistic society,” Mercadante shared. Being part of a church, or any organization, is viewed suspiciously.
“We need to teach commitment gently,” Mercadante advised. People may participate in our congregations only for a season. We need to make the most of that time, offering a robust theology that will serve them well into the future.
7. Life Transformation
The goal of the spiritual journey for many SBNRs is not solely the afterlife. SBNRs “have a very this-worldly perspective and place highest value on self-fulfillment, rather than salvation of the soul,” Mercadante said. They want to be “on a path to finding and being your best self.”
While Christians know the hope of resurrection, we also know our faith enriches our lives daily.
8. Study theology
Many SBNRs stay away from organized religion over theological issues. “The questions SBNRs have are legitimate,” Mercadante reports. Unfortunately, the answers they assume the church has are often viewed as non-responsive or simplistic.
The church can improve by thinking theologically together. “We need more classes for [church] members where we sharpen up their theological tools,” Mercadante stated. “Inevitably [an SBNR friend] will ask a question you cannot answer. That is your homework.”
SBNRS prefer honest answers to difficult questions. “Whenever anyone asks you to speak of your hope," the Bible reads, "be ready to defend it.” (1 Peter 3:15). “We need to be able to do that gently and authentically,” Mercadante said.
Going forward
For many, SBNR is a new acronym, but people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious have been around for years. Jesus spent a significant amount of his time with those who hungered to connect with God while feeling distanced from their organized religion.
He regularly met people where they were—up a tree, surrounded by accusers with stones, or too ashamed to come to a well when others were present. We should too. We just might meet him there.
*Joe Iovino works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. Contact him atjiovino@umcom.org or 615-312-3733.
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United Methodist's journey shows how to 'live while dying'
HOPKINS, Minn. (UMNS) — When Bruce Kramer learned in 2010 that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, he decided to share his journey publically. The United Methodist and former dean at the University of St. Thomas did a series of interviews with Minnesota Public Radio News and collaborated with MPR reporter Cathy Wurzer on a book of reflections on the disease, vocation, faith and relationships. Kramer, 59, died March 23, just days after publication of "We Know How This Ends."
Listen: Cathy Wurzer remembers Bruce Kramer
Health
Cathy Wurzer interviewed Bruce Kramer after a worship service Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013 at Good Samaritan United Methodist Church in Edina. Jennifer Simonson | MPR News
LISTEN Cathy Wurzer remembers Bruce Kramer43min 17sec
. Book cover courtesy of publisher
Guests
Cathy Wurzer: MPR Morning Edition host
Cathy Wurzer's MPR News series of reports about Bruce Kramer, the former St. Thomas dean who was diagnosed with ALS in 2010, offered radio listeners a candid and thoughtful look at life and how it ends.
After scores of interviews and more than three dozen radio stories for MPR News, Kramer and Wurzer released a book of his reflections on disease, vocation, faith, relationships, and coming to terms with death. It's called "We Know How This Ends" and it was published just days before Kramer passed away last month.
• Read the series: Living with ALS
In this hour of MPR News with Kerri Miller, Wurzer talks about the book and her friendship with Kramer and his family. We also listen back to some memorable moments from the radio series and take your calls.
GALLERY
Bruce Kramer, who had ALS, at home Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 in the Hopkins condo he and his wife Ev Emerson moved to after his diagnosis. Jennifer Simonson | MPR PhotoDean of the University of St. Thomas's College of Applied Professional Studies Bruce Kramer worked in his office in Minneapolis, Minn. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012. Jeffrey Thompson | MPR PhotoBruce Kramer, who had ALS, went skydiving just a few months after he was diagnosed. Photo from MPR News videoBruce Kramer and his wife, Ev, in Chicago in the summer of 2013. Photo courtesy Bruce KramerBruce Kramer, right, with his wife Ev Emerson and granddaughter Hypatia Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 during a family get-together where the group cooked Thai food. Jennifer Simonson | MPR NewsBruce Kramer, who has ALS, spoke with Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014 at Kramer's home in Hopkins. Jennifer Simonson | MPR News
Cathy Wurzer interviewed Bruce Kramer after a worship service Sunday, Feb. 17, 2013 at Good Samaritan United Methodist Church in Edina. Jennifer Simonson | MPR News
LISTEN Cathy Wurzer remembers Bruce Kramer43min 17sec
. Book cover courtesy of publisher
Guests
Cathy Wurzer: MPR Morning Edition host
Cathy Wurzer's MPR News series of reports about Bruce Kramer, the former St. Thomas dean who was diagnosed with ALS in 2010, offered radio listeners a candid and thoughtful look at life and how it ends.
After scores of interviews and more than three dozen radio stories for MPR News, Kramer and Wurzer released a book of his reflections on disease, vocation, faith, relationships, and coming to terms with death. It's called "We Know How This Ends" and it was published just days before Kramer passed away last month.
• Read the series: Living with ALS
In this hour of MPR News with Kerri Miller, Wurzer talks about the book and her friendship with Kramer and his family. We also listen back to some memorable moments from the radio series and take your calls.
GALLERY
Bruce Kramer, who had ALS, at home Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 in the Hopkins condo he and his wife Ev Emerson moved to after his diagnosis. Jennifer Simonson | MPR PhotoDean of the University of St. Thomas's College of Applied Professional Studies Bruce Kramer worked in his office in Minneapolis, Minn. Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012. Jeffrey Thompson | MPR PhotoBruce Kramer, who had ALS, went skydiving just a few months after he was diagnosed. Photo from MPR News videoBruce Kramer and his wife, Ev, in Chicago in the summer of 2013. Photo courtesy Bruce KramerBruce Kramer, right, with his wife Ev Emerson and granddaughter Hypatia Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 during a family get-together where the group cooked Thai food. Jennifer Simonson | MPR NewsBruce Kramer, who has ALS, spoke with Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014 at Kramer's home in Hopkins. Jennifer Simonson | MPR News
Commentary: Why clergy get kicked out
CASPER, Wyo. (UMNS) — Every year thousands of clergy across denominations are moved, removed or otherwise asked to retire from the pulpit. The Rev. Rebekah Simon-Peter, a United Methodist elder and church consultant, digs into data offering reasons why pastors may end up alienating a congregation.
WHY CLERGY GET KICKED OUT
Every year thousands of clergy are moved, removed, or otherwise asked to retire from the pulpit. Aside from big splashy issues like running off with the choir director, making off with the money, or not showing up for worship, there are a few key reasons clergy are kicked out. According to denominational resources, these reasons are surprisingly consistent across Protestant denominations—from United Methodist to Southern Baptist.
You might think that rapidly growing acceptance of gay marriage coupled with denominational tensions about the rights and roles of GLBT people would make doctrinal differences a primary reason clergy are shown the door. But it’s not.
Nor is it outspokenness on other hot topics such as racism, excessive police violence, poverty, immigration, or climate change.
So why do clergy get kicked out? For the surprising results, and what they might mean for you, read on.
Southern Baptists, who have been tracking this for over 15 years, show that 4 of the 5 top reasons clergy are let go is related to the leadership style of the pastor. Too strong a style is cited twice as often as too weak a style. But one thing that is consistent no matter the style is poor people skills.
An inability to get along with others is not limited to Southern Baptist pastors. In a broader study, Christianity Today has found that personality conflicts account for one third of all clergy dismissals.
On the flip side, a recent study conducted by United Methodist Bishop Grant Hagiya explores the top qualities that highly effective clergy share. The number one quality they exhibit is high Emotional Intelligence. EI is the ability to accurately know and manage oneself in a variety of social settings, as well as how to work well with others.
Similarly, another denominational study on clergy effectiveness indicates that strong people skills is central to the work of clergy, whether rallying people to enact a vision or helping them do good in their communities.
CASPER, Wyo. (UMNS) — Every year thousands of clergy across denominations are moved, removed or otherwise asked to retire from the pulpit. The Rev. Rebekah Simon-Peter, a United Methodist elder and church consultant, digs into data offering reasons why pastors may end up alienating a congregation.
WHY CLERGY GET KICKED OUT
Every year thousands of clergy are moved, removed, or otherwise asked to retire from the pulpit. Aside from big splashy issues like running off with the choir director, making off with the money, or not showing up for worship, there are a few key reasons clergy are kicked out. According to denominational resources, these reasons are surprisingly consistent across Protestant denominations—from United Methodist to Southern Baptist.
You might think that rapidly growing acceptance of gay marriage coupled with denominational tensions about the rights and roles of GLBT people would make doctrinal differences a primary reason clergy are shown the door. But it’s not.
Nor is it outspokenness on other hot topics such as racism, excessive police violence, poverty, immigration, or climate change.
So why do clergy get kicked out? For the surprising results, and what they might mean for you, read on.
Southern Baptists, who have been tracking this for over 15 years, show that 4 of the 5 top reasons clergy are let go is related to the leadership style of the pastor. Too strong a style is cited twice as often as too weak a style. But one thing that is consistent no matter the style is poor people skills.
An inability to get along with others is not limited to Southern Baptist pastors. In a broader study, Christianity Today has found that personality conflicts account for one third of all clergy dismissals.
On the flip side, a recent study conducted by United Methodist Bishop Grant Hagiya explores the top qualities that highly effective clergy share. The number one quality they exhibit is high Emotional Intelligence. EI is the ability to accurately know and manage oneself in a variety of social settings, as well as how to work well with others.
Similarly, another denominational study on clergy effectiveness indicates that strong people skills is central to the work of clergy, whether rallying people to enact a vision or helping them do good in their communities.
How do you know if you are close to being shown the door? Keep in mind these three indicators of your people skills:
Excessive Conflict
If everything comes with a fight, or resistance, this may mean that you and others have a hard time establishing a mutually agreeable framework for making decisions. Or that you disagree on the fundamental vision that underlies your ministry. Even worse, it may indicate there is no vision at all except to survive.
If excessive conflict is the symptom, immerse yourself in prayer. One of my favorite prayers is what I call the prayer of alignment: “God please prepare my heart and mind for them, and their hearts and minds for me.” This is a good starting point for seeking a new alignment whether the issue is timelines for decision-making or the need for a growth-oriented unifying vision.
Too Little Conflict
While too much conflict is a warning sign, so is too little conflict. On the one hand it may mean your style is authoritarian and you do not encourage any debate or disagreement. On the other hand, it may mean your style is so laid back that no new ideas or ministries are being proposed. Neither is helpful.
Develop your internal capacity for healthy debate, and begin to encourage the give and take of ideas. Ask for input from your allies and enemies. Pray for the courage of Christ to share your vision of how the Kingdom of God is at hand in your setting.
No Results
In some churches, people skills are overly prized. These clergy pay so much attention to maintaining harmonious relationships that results suffer. Very little tangible work actually gets done. No new ministries, no new outreach, no new worship experiences. Perhaps committees do not meet and paperwork is left undone.
Re-read the Gospel according to Mark. Notice how much Jesus actually did in a few short chapters. Much as he loved people, he didn’t stay put and just cater to one population. He was on the move; he got stuff done. He preached, prayed, taught, healed. If tasks take a back seat to people, check to see if your church suffers from either people pleasing or analysis paralysis. Pray the Spirit emboldens your spirit and quickens your pace. Increasing the sense of urgency is key to accomplishing results that truly serves people without being a people pleaser.
Still need more insight? If you are having trouble with people skills, check out the Platinum Rule for Thriving Congregations. You’ll increase your ability to bring out the best in the people who frustrate you the most. At the same time, you’ll learn how to grow in self-awareness and self-management encourage others to do the same.Read commentary
Candler students to visit South Korea
ATLANTA (UMNS) — Robert Franklin, the James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at United Methodist Candler School of Theology, will lead students on a study trip to South Korea May 20-30. The Candler group will meet with leaders and discuss such issues as normalization of relations with North Korea.
Emory's Franklin, students explore moral leadership issues in South Korea
Robert Franklin is James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Emory’s Candler School of Theology. Emory Photo/Video
Download, 1.3 MB, Credit: Emory Photo/Video
Robert Franklin, public theologian and James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Emory’s Candler School of Theology, is taking his teaching from the classroom to the world as he leads a group of Candler students on a 10-day seminar to South Korea May 20-30.
Students in Franklin’s summer course on moral leadership are traveling to Seoul "to examine moral leadership in context by visiting with leaders we regard as important moral agents in their communities and country," says Franklin.
Franklin and his students will meet with leaders dealing with several current issues facing Korean society, including:
In addition to their time in Seoul, students will travel to the City of Panmunjom near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea on May 23. Their visit will be one day prior to the planned peace rally by Gloria Steinem and a group of women’s rights activists, who will walk from North Korea through the DMZ to South Korea to bring attention to the issue of normalization.
"There are a lot of divided families who are concerned about reconciling the nations and reuniting family members during their lifetimes," says Franklin, who adds that the group also plans to meet with a number of North Korean refugees while in Seoul.
Franklin and his students also will meet with family members whose loved ones died in the Sewol Ferry disaster and attend a Catholic mass held weekly for the survivors.
In addition to meetings, worship and fact-finding trips, the students will participate in a demonstration alongside Korea’s World War II-era "comfort women," says Franklin. Forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army before and during the war, the surviving women are now in their 80s and 90s and still hold regular demonstrations outside the Japanese embassy. Their demands include an official apology and reparations from the Japanese government.
Co-leader of the trip is Korea native and Candler alumnus Won Chul Shin, now a Ph.D. student in Emory’s ethics program. Shin, who also is a graduate of Yonsei University, will lead a tour of Seoul, and will translate and interpret in the group’s meetings with leaders.
In planning the trip itinerary, Franklin says he has been in close contact with his professorship’s namesake, Emory President Emeritus James T. Laney, who served as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from 1993 to 1996. "He’s been very helpful in opening doors and assisting us," says Franklin.
“President Laney also told us that in his time there as U.S. ambassador, Berta Laney joined in the protests by Korea’s comfort women,” Franklin says. "We will stand in that tradition of solidarity with those who’ve been exploited."
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Perkins offers new degree
DALLAS (UMNS) — Perkins Sool of Theology, a United Methodist seminary at Southern Methodist University, will offer a Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree beginning this fall. The degree can be preparatory to Ph.D. studies, and students can focus in such areas as "The Biblical Witness" and "The Theology and Practice of Ministry."
Master of Theology (Th.M.)
The Master of Theology program is designed for students to fulfill one or more of three goals:
Enhancing the practice of ministry through advanced study of a particular theological or pastoral discipline.
Scholarly examination of a specific aspect of the Christian religion/traditions or function of Christian ministry.
Preparation for more advanced study at the doctoral level.
Students may choose to focus within one of the following broad divisions:
1. Demonstrate advanced understanding of their stated area of focus.
2. Identify and evaluate the primary methods of research in the stated area of focus.
3. Formulate useful research questions and develop research strategies in the stated area of focus.
Requirements for Admission:
The successful completion of an Association of Theological Schools-accredited degree at the master’s level requiring at least 2 years of full-time study or the equivalent credential from an institution outside the U.S. and Canada. Academic ability, as shown by a minimum GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) in a previous master’s-level program, is required.
More information about Perkins Admissions
Requirements for Graduation
Course Requirements
The Th.M. program requires 24 term hours. Given the open nature of the inquiry that students in the Th.M. program will pursue, there are no explicitly required courses. The student will prepare a Plan for Study establishing the parameters of study for the degree program, including a specific area of focus and courses to be taken, to be approved before final enrollment. These courses will meet the following guidelines:
One course may be a directed reading course. This course will require a minimum of one research paper of at least 5,000 words.
Th.M. candidates must maintain a B (3.0) grade point average in order to continue in the program and graduate.
Students may choose one of two options to fulfill the requirements of the program:
A thesis of 12,500 to 18,750 words (50-75 pages) on a topic related to the Plan of Study. If the thesis option is chosen, an approved thesis proposal is required to proceed after the completion of 12 hours of course work. Preparation of the thesis will count 3 hours toward the completion of the degree.
A portfolio that includes written and other material submitted in fulfillment of their course requirements. The material chosen must represent all the courses taken and cover all aspects of the approved Plan for Study. The portfolio must include at least two research papers of not less than 5,000 words (20 pages) each.
Assessment
The school will review theses and portfolios in aggregate to assess the overall success of students in the program and to identify areas where instruction and other aspects of the academic experience can be improved.
Advising
In order to facilitate the needs of applicants, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will serve as initial reader of the Plans for Study of applicants. S/he will assist successful applicants in covenanting with a final advisor and thesis supervisor as needed.
Thesis Supervision and Review:
The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will arrange for orientation of thesis advisors.
For more information
University of Denver holds symposium on Sand Creek Massacre
DENVER (UMNS) — A daylong symposium May 22 will focus on acknowledgement and repair for the Sand Creek Massacre in which more than 160 Cheyenne and Arapaho women, children and elderly men were slaughtered on the orders of Col. John Chivington, a Methodist clergyman. The University of Denver has released a report which finds Chivington "culpable for the Sand Creek Massacre."
THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION INSTITUTE
News & Events
CRI UPCOMING EVENTS
FRIDAY, MAY 22 | UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
SYMPOSIUM ON SAND CREEK MASSACRE: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND REPAIR
Panels include the following: DU John Evans Committee Report; Public Recognition and Acknowledgement; Possibilities of Repair: Truth Commissions, Reparations & Cultural Restoration; Learning and Healing: Continuing the Conversation. Panelists include Cheyenne & Arapaho descendants, representatives from the Governor's office, and DU faculty.
FALL 2015 | DU AND REGIS UNIVERSITY
TRANSPARTISAN DIALOGUES : ENGAGING PARTISAN DIVIDES
Co-Sponsored with Regis University’s Institute on the Common Good
ONGOING EVENTS & TRAININGS
TUESDAY-THURSDAY, MAY 5-7 | CHAUTAUQUA PARK, BOULDER, CO
FACILITATION & MEDIATION OF PUBLIC & ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS: PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR REACHING AGREEMENT
CDR training program. Learn how to develop essential skills to manage the complexities of multi-party conflict, discover new ways to implement inclusive processes, interact with a diverse group of professionals, and learn from trainers active in the field. Register atwww.mediate.org or call 303-442-7367.
FRIDAY'S@NOON: LEADING AND LEARNING | 11:30 AM-12:30 PM
Fridays@Noon is a lunch & learn series held on a bi-monthly basis over in Margery Reed. Theformat will range from speakers to interviews to discussions on both personal and professional topics.
For more information please visit Human Resources
The Mediation Association of Colorado Calendar of Events
The Conflict Center Programs & Classes
Conflict Resolution Month Events
Items Tagged "Sand Creek"
3 TAGGED ITEMS FOUND
Letter: Act of Repentance not a one-time event
Wrongs done to Native Americans didn’t end at Sand Creek, and the church has a role to play in addressing‘recurring trauma.’ Read More
Excessive Conflict
If everything comes with a fight, or resistance, this may mean that you and others have a hard time establishing a mutually agreeable framework for making decisions. Or that you disagree on the fundamental vision that underlies your ministry. Even worse, it may indicate there is no vision at all except to survive.
If excessive conflict is the symptom, immerse yourself in prayer. One of my favorite prayers is what I call the prayer of alignment: “God please prepare my heart and mind for them, and their hearts and minds for me.” This is a good starting point for seeking a new alignment whether the issue is timelines for decision-making or the need for a growth-oriented unifying vision.
Too Little Conflict
While too much conflict is a warning sign, so is too little conflict. On the one hand it may mean your style is authoritarian and you do not encourage any debate or disagreement. On the other hand, it may mean your style is so laid back that no new ideas or ministries are being proposed. Neither is helpful.
Develop your internal capacity for healthy debate, and begin to encourage the give and take of ideas. Ask for input from your allies and enemies. Pray for the courage of Christ to share your vision of how the Kingdom of God is at hand in your setting.
No Results
In some churches, people skills are overly prized. These clergy pay so much attention to maintaining harmonious relationships that results suffer. Very little tangible work actually gets done. No new ministries, no new outreach, no new worship experiences. Perhaps committees do not meet and paperwork is left undone.
Re-read the Gospel according to Mark. Notice how much Jesus actually did in a few short chapters. Much as he loved people, he didn’t stay put and just cater to one population. He was on the move; he got stuff done. He preached, prayed, taught, healed. If tasks take a back seat to people, check to see if your church suffers from either people pleasing or analysis paralysis. Pray the Spirit emboldens your spirit and quickens your pace. Increasing the sense of urgency is key to accomplishing results that truly serves people without being a people pleaser.
Still need more insight? If you are having trouble with people skills, check out the Platinum Rule for Thriving Congregations. You’ll increase your ability to bring out the best in the people who frustrate you the most. At the same time, you’ll learn how to grow in self-awareness and self-management encourage others to do the same.Read commentary
Candler students to visit South Korea
ATLANTA (UMNS) — Robert Franklin, the James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at United Methodist Candler School of Theology, will lead students on a study trip to South Korea May 20-30. The Candler group will meet with leaders and discuss such issues as normalization of relations with North Korea.
Emory's Franklin, students explore moral leadership issues in South Korea
Robert Franklin is James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Emory’s Candler School of Theology. Emory Photo/Video
Download, 1.3 MB, Credit: Emory Photo/Video
Robert Franklin, public theologian and James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Emory’s Candler School of Theology, is taking his teaching from the classroom to the world as he leads a group of Candler students on a 10-day seminar to South Korea May 20-30.
Students in Franklin’s summer course on moral leadership are traveling to Seoul "to examine moral leadership in context by visiting with leaders we regard as important moral agents in their communities and country," says Franklin.
Franklin and his students will meet with leaders dealing with several current issues facing Korean society, including:
- Normalization of relations with North Korea
- World War II-era "comfort women"
- The Sewol Ferry disaster
- Corruption and integrity in public and private life
In addition to their time in Seoul, students will travel to the City of Panmunjom near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea on May 23. Their visit will be one day prior to the planned peace rally by Gloria Steinem and a group of women’s rights activists, who will walk from North Korea through the DMZ to South Korea to bring attention to the issue of normalization.
"There are a lot of divided families who are concerned about reconciling the nations and reuniting family members during their lifetimes," says Franklin, who adds that the group also plans to meet with a number of North Korean refugees while in Seoul.
Franklin and his students also will meet with family members whose loved ones died in the Sewol Ferry disaster and attend a Catholic mass held weekly for the survivors.
In addition to meetings, worship and fact-finding trips, the students will participate in a demonstration alongside Korea’s World War II-era "comfort women," says Franklin. Forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army before and during the war, the surviving women are now in their 80s and 90s and still hold regular demonstrations outside the Japanese embassy. Their demands include an official apology and reparations from the Japanese government.
Co-leader of the trip is Korea native and Candler alumnus Won Chul Shin, now a Ph.D. student in Emory’s ethics program. Shin, who also is a graduate of Yonsei University, will lead a tour of Seoul, and will translate and interpret in the group’s meetings with leaders.
In planning the trip itinerary, Franklin says he has been in close contact with his professorship’s namesake, Emory President Emeritus James T. Laney, who served as U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from 1993 to 1996. "He’s been very helpful in opening doors and assisting us," says Franklin.
“President Laney also told us that in his time there as U.S. ambassador, Berta Laney joined in the protests by Korea’s comfort women,” Franklin says. "We will stand in that tradition of solidarity with those who’ve been exploited."
Read press release
Perkins offers new degree
DALLAS (UMNS) — Perkins Sool of Theology, a United Methodist seminary at Southern Methodist University, will offer a Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree beginning this fall. The degree can be preparatory to Ph.D. studies, and students can focus in such areas as "The Biblical Witness" and "The Theology and Practice of Ministry."
Master of Theology (Th.M.)
The Master of Theology program is designed for students to fulfill one or more of three goals:
Enhancing the practice of ministry through advanced study of a particular theological or pastoral discipline.
Scholarly examination of a specific aspect of the Christian religion/traditions or function of Christian ministry.
Preparation for more advanced study at the doctoral level.
Students may choose to focus within one of the following broad divisions:
The Biblical Witness.The Heritage & Context of Christianity.The Interpretation of the Christian Witness.The Theology & Practice of Ministry.Students who successfully complete this program will be able to:
1. Demonstrate advanced understanding of their stated area of focus.
2. Identify and evaluate the primary methods of research in the stated area of focus.
3. Formulate useful research questions and develop research strategies in the stated area of focus.
Requirements for Admission:
The successful completion of an Association of Theological Schools-accredited degree at the master’s level requiring at least 2 years of full-time study or the equivalent credential from an institution outside the U.S. and Canada. Academic ability, as shown by a minimum GPA of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) in a previous master’s-level program, is required.
More information about Perkins Admissions
Requirements for Graduation
Course Requirements
The Th.M. program requires 24 term hours. Given the open nature of the inquiry that students in the Th.M. program will pursue, there are no explicitly required courses. The student will prepare a Plan for Study establishing the parameters of study for the degree program, including a specific area of focus and courses to be taken, to be approved before final enrollment. These courses will meet the following guidelines:
- All courses will be at the 7000 level or above.
- At least two courses will be at the 8000 level.
One course may be a directed reading course. This course will require a minimum of one research paper of at least 5,000 words.
Th.M. candidates must maintain a B (3.0) grade point average in order to continue in the program and graduate.
Students may choose one of two options to fulfill the requirements of the program:
A thesis of 12,500 to 18,750 words (50-75 pages) on a topic related to the Plan of Study. If the thesis option is chosen, an approved thesis proposal is required to proceed after the completion of 12 hours of course work. Preparation of the thesis will count 3 hours toward the completion of the degree.
A portfolio that includes written and other material submitted in fulfillment of their course requirements. The material chosen must represent all the courses taken and cover all aspects of the approved Plan for Study. The portfolio must include at least two research papers of not less than 5,000 words (20 pages) each.
Assessment
The school will review theses and portfolios in aggregate to assess the overall success of students in the program and to identify areas where instruction and other aspects of the academic experience can be improved.
Advising
In order to facilitate the needs of applicants, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will serve as initial reader of the Plans for Study of applicants. S/he will assist successful applicants in covenanting with a final advisor and thesis supervisor as needed.
Thesis Supervision and Review:
The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will arrange for orientation of thesis advisors.
For more information
University of Denver holds symposium on Sand Creek Massacre
DENVER (UMNS) — A daylong symposium May 22 will focus on acknowledgement and repair for the Sand Creek Massacre in which more than 160 Cheyenne and Arapaho women, children and elderly men were slaughtered on the orders of Col. John Chivington, a Methodist clergyman. The University of Denver has released a report which finds Chivington "culpable for the Sand Creek Massacre."
THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION INSTITUTE
News & Events
CRI UPCOMING EVENTS
FRIDAY, MAY 22 | UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
SYMPOSIUM ON SAND CREEK MASSACRE: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND REPAIR
Panels include the following: DU John Evans Committee Report; Public Recognition and Acknowledgement; Possibilities of Repair: Truth Commissions, Reparations & Cultural Restoration; Learning and Healing: Continuing the Conversation. Panelists include Cheyenne & Arapaho descendants, representatives from the Governor's office, and DU faculty.
FALL 2015 | DU AND REGIS UNIVERSITY
TRANSPARTISAN DIALOGUES : ENGAGING PARTISAN DIVIDES
Co-Sponsored with Regis University’s Institute on the Common Good
ONGOING EVENTS & TRAININGS
TUESDAY-THURSDAY, MAY 5-7 | CHAUTAUQUA PARK, BOULDER, CO
FACILITATION & MEDIATION OF PUBLIC & ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS: PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR REACHING AGREEMENT
CDR training program. Learn how to develop essential skills to manage the complexities of multi-party conflict, discover new ways to implement inclusive processes, interact with a diverse group of professionals, and learn from trainers active in the field. Register atwww.mediate.org or call 303-442-7367.
FRIDAY'S@NOON: LEADING AND LEARNING | 11:30 AM-12:30 PM
Fridays@Noon is a lunch & learn series held on a bi-monthly basis over in Margery Reed. Theformat will range from speakers to interviews to discussions on both personal and professional topics.
For more information please visit Human Resources
The Mediation Association of Colorado Calendar of Events
The Conflict Center Programs & Classes
Conflict Resolution Month Events
Items Tagged "Sand Creek"
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Letter: Act of Repentance not a one-time event
Wrongs done to Native Americans didn’t end at Sand Creek, and the church has a role to play in addressing‘recurring trauma.’ Read More
Photo by Sam Hodges, UMNS
Cynthia Kent speaks at the Native American Banquet on Wednesday, June 18, part of the Rocky Mountain Annual (regional) Conference gathering in Pueblo, Colo. The event was held at First United Methodist Church in Pueblo. Photo by Sam Hodges, UMNSPreviousNext
Letter: Act of Repentance not a one-time event
By Heather Hahn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
A group of Native American United Methodists has a message for the church: Repentance for sins against indigenous peoples is an ongoing process — not a one-time event.
In 2012, the United Methodist General Conference — the denomination’s top legislative body — held an Act of Repentance Toward Healing Relationships with Indigenous People service. A General Conference resolution also charged the denomination’s Council of Bishops with carrying out an ongoing process to improve relations with indigenous individuals including local or regional acts of repentance.
Many annual (regional) conferences have planned worship services where church members can acknowledge the church’s wrongs against Native Americans and other first peoples.
TO SEE LETTER
Open Letter on Acts of Repentance
Native American United Methodist leaders have written an open letter to the bishops that offers advice on how these acts of repentance can avoid being “only token in nature.” The letter asserts that the church not only must confess past sins but also must address present challenges in ministering effectively with Native Americans and other indigenous people.
“We believe this is a time when our UMC can make a vital difference in the lives of our families, communities and nations,” the letter says, “and we, your indigenous brothers and sisters, can offer our wisdom and gifts to the UMC, if we cultivate and tend our partnership.”
The letter’s writers include: Cynthia Kent, chairperson of the Native American International Caucus; the Rev. Anita Phillips, executive director for the denomination’s Native American Comprehensive Plan and the Rev. Chebon Kernell, executive secretary for Native American and Indigenous Ministries at the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Oklahoma Area Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr., wrote the cover letter.
In writing the letter, the leaders also consulted with members of Native American International Caucus at their meeting in March. At that meeting, caucus members from across the United States stressed that the healing work will take time.
“Repentance means to turn completely around and go the other direction,” Kent told United Methodist News Service. “What does this church have to do, to stop what they have been doing that has hurt and hindered the inclusion of native people into this denomination?”
A tangled history
Native Americans have been part of Methodism’s story nearly from the beginning.
One of John Wesley’s great hopes as a young pastor in the American colonies was to preach the gospel to the Yamacraws, Mark C. Shenise told those gathered at the Greater New Jersey Conference’s Act of Repentance in May.
“Unfortunately, he never had a serious chance to minister to the tribe before leaving for England,” said Shenise, who works with the denomination’s Commission on Archives and History. “(Wesley’s) desire to work amongst native peoples never waned despite distance and time which separated him from the New World.¨
Other Methodists did carry out Wesley’s call to evangelize, and as the letter notes, Native Americans were among the first to carry Methodism westward across the United States even “as they made their tragic death marches during the ‘Trails of Tears’ and other historic Native removals.”
But conversion to Christianity didn’t stop the U.S. government’s continued plunder of Native American land and lives.
Methodists played a key role in one such incident — the Sand Creek Massacre. A Methodist clergyman-turned-soldier, Col. John Chivington, on Nov. 29, 1864 ordered the cavalry charge that slaughtered a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.
Some 650 United Methodists recently visited the site during the Rocky Mountain Conferenceannual meeting. At the site, visitors learned that Chivington ordered the attack on a village where the peaceful Chief Black Kettle flew both the U.S. flag and a truce flag.
The Colorado Territory governor of the time, John Evans, also a Methodist, defended Chivington’s conduct despite a U.S. congressional panel’s finding that he had “surprised, and murdered, in cold blood … unsuspecting men, women, and children.”
Not just Sand Creek
The widespread mistreatment of Native Americans did not end with the final shots of the American Indian Wars.
From 1869 to the 1960s, the U.S. government, in collaboration with Christian denominations, systematically removed as many as 100,000 Native American children from their families and sent them far from home to government- or church-run boarding schools.
The National Congress of American Indians, a civil rights organization, said the boarding-school policy served the purpose of “cultural genocide.”
At these schools — some of which were Methodist — youngsters were punished for speaking their native language, banned from acting in any way that might be seen to represent traditional practices and stripped of personal belongings. In some cases, school staff members — who were primarily non-Native — abused the students. White Bison, a Native American charity that works inaddiction recovery and prevention, has put together a documentary on the intergenerational trauma of these boarding schools.
Native American leaders write in their letter that The United Methodist Church “must acknowledge and respond to the real and recurring trauma experienced by Native American communities, honoring the continued hope we maintain in our People, in our call and in our Creator.”
Addressing present struggles
The letter also notes that Native Americans still face a variety of challenges in the church today.
“In recent years we have witnessed demanding and destructive burdens placed upon Native American churches, fellowships and ministries which threaten the survival of a Native American presence within the UMC,” the letter says.
Kernell, one of the letter signers, said many impoverished Native American communities don’t meet the criteria the denomination uses to determine church vitality — such as average worship attendance, professions of faith, baptisms and financial giving.
“If conferences and the denomination are looking for numbers then they may as well stop; if they are looking for larger churches they may as well stop too,” Kernell told UMNS. “This is the same burden that is placed on pastors and clergy in Native American settings all across the country. And when the expectations are not met, the ministry is defined as a failure, leaving everyone lost and dejected.”
He suggests a Native American ministry be measured by the responsibilities it has for the wellbeing of its community.
“Are we feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty?” he said. “Are there people asking for use of our facilities for prayer meetings, family gatherings, language classes, community meals and other Native forms of worship? … We as a church do not acknowledge the responsibilities we should have to all people in regards to their personal and community wellbeing.”
Kent urged longer appointments for pastors working effectively in Native American communities.
“We need for them to be there at least seven years so that they build up the trust (and) get people to understand The United Methodist Church and to begin to seek out leadership in the church,” she said. When that pastor leaves, she added, the church then will have lay people who can keep their congregation going.
She told UMNS that more United Methodists also need to recognize that “a person can be a native and Christian at the same time.” If someone says differently, the effect can be to drive Native Americans from the church, she said.
The letter expresses the yearning that the process of repentance will lead to tangible changes in the denomination.
For Kent, those include conferences working more closely with their Committees on Native American Ministries and native ministries being on the conference agenda, “rather than an afterthought.”
She also would like to see churchgoers give more to the Native American Ministries Sunday fund, which supports Native American outreach in conferences and provides seminary scholarships for Native Americans.
Kernell said he hopes for the security of Native American churches and ministries.
“Beyond that,” he said, “I can only hope that conferences, cabinet meetings, church worship services, agency board meetings, will be welcoming places for indigenous people.”
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Alex Davis of the Greater New Jersey Conference contributed to this story. Contact Hahn at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Pilgrimage to Sand Creek brings healing
Bishop Elaine Stanovsky keeps conference’s focus on injustice done to Native Americans.Read More
Pilgrimage to Sand Creek brings healingCynthia Kent speaks at the Native American Banquet on Wednesday, June 18, part of the Rocky Mountain Annual (regional) Conference gathering in Pueblo, Colo. The event was held at First United Methodist Church in Pueblo. Photo by Sam Hodges, UMNSPreviousNext
Letter: Act of Repentance not a one-time event
By Heather Hahn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
A group of Native American United Methodists has a message for the church: Repentance for sins against indigenous peoples is an ongoing process — not a one-time event.
In 2012, the United Methodist General Conference — the denomination’s top legislative body — held an Act of Repentance Toward Healing Relationships with Indigenous People service. A General Conference resolution also charged the denomination’s Council of Bishops with carrying out an ongoing process to improve relations with indigenous individuals including local or regional acts of repentance.
Many annual (regional) conferences have planned worship services where church members can acknowledge the church’s wrongs against Native Americans and other first peoples.
TO SEE LETTER
Open Letter on Acts of Repentance
Native American United Methodist leaders have written an open letter to the bishops that offers advice on how these acts of repentance can avoid being “only token in nature.” The letter asserts that the church not only must confess past sins but also must address present challenges in ministering effectively with Native Americans and other indigenous people.
“We believe this is a time when our UMC can make a vital difference in the lives of our families, communities and nations,” the letter says, “and we, your indigenous brothers and sisters, can offer our wisdom and gifts to the UMC, if we cultivate and tend our partnership.”
The letter’s writers include: Cynthia Kent, chairperson of the Native American International Caucus; the Rev. Anita Phillips, executive director for the denomination’s Native American Comprehensive Plan and the Rev. Chebon Kernell, executive secretary for Native American and Indigenous Ministries at the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Oklahoma Area Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr., wrote the cover letter.
In writing the letter, the leaders also consulted with members of Native American International Caucus at their meeting in March. At that meeting, caucus members from across the United States stressed that the healing work will take time.
“Repentance means to turn completely around and go the other direction,” Kent told United Methodist News Service. “What does this church have to do, to stop what they have been doing that has hurt and hindered the inclusion of native people into this denomination?”
A tangled history
Native Americans have been part of Methodism’s story nearly from the beginning.
One of John Wesley’s great hopes as a young pastor in the American colonies was to preach the gospel to the Yamacraws, Mark C. Shenise told those gathered at the Greater New Jersey Conference’s Act of Repentance in May.
“Unfortunately, he never had a serious chance to minister to the tribe before leaving for England,” said Shenise, who works with the denomination’s Commission on Archives and History. “(Wesley’s) desire to work amongst native peoples never waned despite distance and time which separated him from the New World.¨
Other Methodists did carry out Wesley’s call to evangelize, and as the letter notes, Native Americans were among the first to carry Methodism westward across the United States even “as they made their tragic death marches during the ‘Trails of Tears’ and other historic Native removals.”
But conversion to Christianity didn’t stop the U.S. government’s continued plunder of Native American land and lives.
Methodists played a key role in one such incident — the Sand Creek Massacre. A Methodist clergyman-turned-soldier, Col. John Chivington, on Nov. 29, 1864 ordered the cavalry charge that slaughtered a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.
Some 650 United Methodists recently visited the site during the Rocky Mountain Conferenceannual meeting. At the site, visitors learned that Chivington ordered the attack on a village where the peaceful Chief Black Kettle flew both the U.S. flag and a truce flag.
The Colorado Territory governor of the time, John Evans, also a Methodist, defended Chivington’s conduct despite a U.S. congressional panel’s finding that he had “surprised, and murdered, in cold blood … unsuspecting men, women, and children.”
Not just Sand Creek
The widespread mistreatment of Native Americans did not end with the final shots of the American Indian Wars.
From 1869 to the 1960s, the U.S. government, in collaboration with Christian denominations, systematically removed as many as 100,000 Native American children from their families and sent them far from home to government- or church-run boarding schools.
The National Congress of American Indians, a civil rights organization, said the boarding-school policy served the purpose of “cultural genocide.”
At these schools — some of which were Methodist — youngsters were punished for speaking their native language, banned from acting in any way that might be seen to represent traditional practices and stripped of personal belongings. In some cases, school staff members — who were primarily non-Native — abused the students. White Bison, a Native American charity that works inaddiction recovery and prevention, has put together a documentary on the intergenerational trauma of these boarding schools.
Native American leaders write in their letter that The United Methodist Church “must acknowledge and respond to the real and recurring trauma experienced by Native American communities, honoring the continued hope we maintain in our People, in our call and in our Creator.”
Addressing present struggles
The letter also notes that Native Americans still face a variety of challenges in the church today.
“In recent years we have witnessed demanding and destructive burdens placed upon Native American churches, fellowships and ministries which threaten the survival of a Native American presence within the UMC,” the letter says.
Kernell, one of the letter signers, said many impoverished Native American communities don’t meet the criteria the denomination uses to determine church vitality — such as average worship attendance, professions of faith, baptisms and financial giving.
“If conferences and the denomination are looking for numbers then they may as well stop; if they are looking for larger churches they may as well stop too,” Kernell told UMNS. “This is the same burden that is placed on pastors and clergy in Native American settings all across the country. And when the expectations are not met, the ministry is defined as a failure, leaving everyone lost and dejected.”
He suggests a Native American ministry be measured by the responsibilities it has for the wellbeing of its community.
“Are we feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty?” he said. “Are there people asking for use of our facilities for prayer meetings, family gatherings, language classes, community meals and other Native forms of worship? … We as a church do not acknowledge the responsibilities we should have to all people in regards to their personal and community wellbeing.”
Kent urged longer appointments for pastors working effectively in Native American communities.
“We need for them to be there at least seven years so that they build up the trust (and) get people to understand The United Methodist Church and to begin to seek out leadership in the church,” she said. When that pastor leaves, she added, the church then will have lay people who can keep their congregation going.
She told UMNS that more United Methodists also need to recognize that “a person can be a native and Christian at the same time.” If someone says differently, the effect can be to drive Native Americans from the church, she said.
The letter expresses the yearning that the process of repentance will lead to tangible changes in the denomination.
For Kent, those include conferences working more closely with their Committees on Native American Ministries and native ministries being on the conference agenda, “rather than an afterthought.”
She also would like to see churchgoers give more to the Native American Ministries Sunday fund, which supports Native American outreach in conferences and provides seminary scholarships for Native Americans.
Kernell said he hopes for the security of Native American churches and ministries.
“Beyond that,” he said, “I can only hope that conferences, cabinet meetings, church worship services, agency board meetings, will be welcoming places for indigenous people.”
Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Alex Davis of the Greater New Jersey Conference contributed to this story. Contact Hahn at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Pilgrimage to Sand Creek brings healing
Bishop Elaine Stanovsky keeps conference’s focus on injustice done to Native Americans.Read More
By Sam Hodges
EADS, Colo. (UMNS)
For the Rev. Sid Spain, just being here, walking the obscure and arid plain where the Sand Creek Massacre occurred, turned historical abstraction into something he could truly imagine.
He paused on a sandy path, the sun beating down, the wind swirling and carrying birdsong.
“I almost didn’t come,” Spain said. “There are so many issues facing the church, and I thought maybe this was tangential. I was wrong.”
This year’s United Methodist Rocky Mountain Annual (regional) Conference gathering became a two-day teach-in on the Sand Creek Massacre. It was a Methodist clergyman-turned-soldier, Col. John Chivington, who on Nov. 29, 1864 ordered the cavalry charge that slaughtered an unsuspecting, peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians.
Mountain Sky Area Bishop Elaine Stanovsky’s push for a major effort at understanding and healing climaxed on Friday, June 20. That’s when 13 buses carried some 650 Rocky Mountain Conference members and guests, including descendants of the massacre’s survivors, three hours into eastern Colorado, to the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.
“Today is a little bit beyond belief for me,” Stanovsky said to the group at a conference dinner that night, back in Pueblo, Co. “I knew I had to bring you to the site. But I didn’t know if you’d come. And you came!”
Indeed, the throng nearly outnumbered Chivington’s cavalry and constituted the largest single day of visitation at the Sand Creek site — one of the newest and most out-of-the way in the National Park Service — since its 2007 dedication.
Al Addison, an Arapaho whose great-great grandfather survived the massacre, has visited the site more than 60 times, but doing so in a crowd of United Methodists touched him.
“I can tell the church has compassion,” he said.
‘Called to repentance’
The United Methodist recognition of injustice against Native peoples, including by Methodists, is not new. But when Stanovsky arrived to lead the Rocky Mountain Conference five years ago, she determined that the history was much darker and relations much more strained than had been acknowledged.
While the 2012 United Methodist General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative body, saw an Act of Repentance Toward Healing Relationships with Indigenous People service and the passing of legislation committing the denomination to further action, Stanovsky has focused the Rocky Mountain Conference on the Sand Creek Massacre.
She personally undertook not just to learn the history in detail but also to build relationships with descendants of the survivors.
“She touched my heart, the first time I heard her,” said Henry Little Bird, an Arapaho from Oklahoma who joined in the site visit. “I’m here to support her.”
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the massacre, and the Rocky Mountain Conference integrated remembrance and teaching into liturgy, prayers and nearly every other aspect of the first two days of its annual gathering.
Conference members heard in full the Sand Creek story, including that two officers — Silas Soule and Joseph Cramer — ordered their men to “stand down” rather than participate in an attack that killed mostly women, children and the elderly.
They learned as well that the Colorado Territory governor of the time, John Evans, was a Methodist who so ardently defended the rights of settlers that he helped create the climate in which the massacre occurred, and defended Chivington’s conduct despite a U.S. congressional panel’s finding that he had “surprised, and murdered, in cold blood … unsuspecting men, women, and children.”
(Evans helped found the University of Denver and Northwestern University, and the latter’s location, Evanston, Ill., is named for him. Both universities have assembled panels to study his conduct as territorial governor, and Northwestern recently issued its report.)
Stanovsky devoted the first half of her Thursday, June 19, episcopal address to the threats of schism in The United Methodist Church, but in the second half directly addressed Methodist complicity in the Sand Creek massacre.
“None of us Methodists in this room personally participated in the events of 1864 and yet we are who we are, we are where we are, we have what we have, we live where we live, because of this history,” Stanovsky said. “And we participate in patterns of privilege and poverty that are shaped by this history. And so we are called to repentance.”
Native Americans leaders of The United Methodist Church joined historians and descendants of massacre survivors in speaking to clergy and lay delegates.
Henrietta Mann, founder of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College in Oklahoma, and a great-great-granddaughter of a Sand Creek Massacre survivor, thanked the conference for honoring her ancestors’ memory, and paid tribute to Soule and Cramer.
But Mann also noted that “inter-generational trauma” persists among Cheyenne and Arapaho because of the massacre. She also said federal policy abetted missionaries who force-fed Christianity and separated Native American children into boarding schools where native ways and languages were not allowed.
“The church and state worked together to eradicate our culture,” Mann said.
A severe landscape
Stanovsky described Friday’s visit to the Sand Creek site as a religious pilgrimage, and no doubt conference officials were praying they could meet the considerable logistical challenges.
The first of the buses headed east from Pueblo around 7 a.m. Each carried either a descendent of the massacre or a Native American United Methodist, to share thoughts and answer questions. Conference members also were given a booklet titled “Pilgrimage to the Sand Creek Massacre,” containing pertinent documents, such as Soule’s account of the massacre.
The Sand Creek site is 23 miles from the nearest town of any size, Eads, and the last few miles are by dirt road. As the buses began to arrive around 10 a.m., and people began to disembark, designated clergy, including Stanovsky, stood by to apply ashes to foreheads or hands — another underscoring of the visit’s religious nature.
The Rev. Skip Strickland, a district superintendent in the conference, was among those offering ashes. He helped plan the pilgrimage.
“The intent was to bring at least a group here,” Strickland said. “But as we listened to the descendants, we discovered how important it was for everyone to have the experience.”
For the next few hours, in staggered groups, conference members and others — including Chicago Area Bishop Sally Dyck and retired Bishop Roy Sano — made their way around the long, unshaded paths of the site. Most walked, a few rode in motorized wheelchairs, one hobbled along on crutches.
They read historical markers and quizzed park rangers about what happened where in a landscape relieved only by a few cottonwood trees, hard by a creek bed that often runs dry.
From one small group, Ranger Shawn Gillette fielded the question of why Chivington would order an attack on a village where the peaceful Chief Black Kettle flew both the U.S. flag and a truce flag.
Gillette noted that in late 1864, Chivington’s fortunes as a military leader seemed to be falling, and that he would testify after the attack that he had believed the Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek to be hostile.
But Gillette stopped short of offering those as real explanations.
“We have a lot of theories, but no hard and fast proof,” he said.
Gillette added that the death toll among the Cheyenne and Arapaho, previously estimated at 150-160, now is understood to be about 200, thanks to the identification of previously unknown women and children.
“That number will grow as we do more research,” he said.
Emerging with hope
Perhaps inevitably, the experience of walking the site led some to think about concrete reconciliation actions they and the church might take.
Larry Boven, a Sunday school teacher at Louisville United Methodist Church, in Louisville, Colo., said he would be focused on pushing the U.S. government to do more toward protecting the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide.
“I can’t personally go back 150 years and tell somebody, ‘God, I’m sorry,’” Boven said. “But I can certainly, as a person, take responsibility for what’s going on now.”
Mark Simmonds, after conversing with Henry Little Bird at the site, argued that The United Methodist Church should consider committing to major financial assistance to the Cheyenne and Arapaho.
“It’s great having a pilgrimage, but how can we help long term?” said Simmonds, a member of Fleming United Methodist Church, in Fleming, Colo., and a volunteer fundraiser for the denomination’s Imagine No Malaria campaign.
Stanovsky, who is part of the state of Colorado’s Sand Creek Massacre Commemoration Commission, has made clear that she means to build on the Rocky Mountain Conference’s attention to the event.
The Rev. Anita Phillips, executive director for the denomination’s Native American Comprehensive Plan, the Rev. Chebon Kernell, executive secretary for Native American and Indigenous Ministries at the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, and Cynthia Kent, chair of the United Methodist Native American International Caucus, came to Colorado for the conference.
And in the run-up to it, the three — all Native Americans — issued an open letter to The United Methodist Church, containing a seven-point plan for how acts of repentance can avoid being “token in nature.”
But in the aftermath of the Sand Creek site pilgrimage, there seemed to be a consensus that the Rocky Mountain Conference had, under Stanovsky, demonstrated a new level of commitment and seriousness.
The Rev. Charles Schuster, chair of the conference’s Task Force on the Acts of Repentance, noted that there were “many hopes” emerging from the experience.
His own, he said, “is that the descendants will remember this year as a time the Methodists came as angels of healing and peace and will less quickly recall the first time the Methodists came as agents of hatred and death.”
Hodges, a United Methodist News Service writer, lives in Dallas. Contact him at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org
Commentary: Massacre site offers historical truth
The 1864 massacre of 200 Native Americans in Colorado is remembered at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. Read MoreA UMNS photo by Eliida Lakota.
The Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin views the marker at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site near Chivington, Colo.
Commentary: Massacre site offers historical truth
A UMNS Commentary by the Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin*
FARGO, N.D.(UMNS)
It was an honor to represent the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns at the April 28 memorial dedication of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site near Chivington, Colo.
Chivington is a small, dusty town that has no retail businesses whatsoever and only a few sand-beaten dwellings. This town is named for Col. John Chivington, who led the 1864 massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho innocents.
People gather for the April 28 memorial dedication. A UMNS photo by the Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin.
It is because of Chivington that I, a United Methodist, found myself in this remote territory. A strange tie binds me to Chivington and the 200 who died at Sand Creek.
My tie to Chivington is that we are both Methodists and both preachers. I am left with questions: By what set of circumstances did this Methodist Episcopal pastor give up his Christian ministry and choose a path of violence - not a battle, but a vigilante massacre? And what happens to a man's spirit that he looks upon the perfect little faces of Indian children and says, "Nits make lice," ordering his men to kill them all?
I am not sure, but I am reminded that sin abides in us all, and evil can and will assert itself even through the very vessels which hold the souls of Christians.
My personal connection to the Massacre of 1864 is that I am Native American as well as a Methodist. My knowledge of the massacre dates back to my teen years, when our pastor showed the movie "Soldier Blue" to our youth fellowship group. The graphic images of that film have stayed with me over 35 years.
Another connection is that I had a friend, Dee Wright, a Pawnee Indian who was one of the last living members of the Pawnee Bill Wild West. I remember him telling me about a good friend of his who had escaped the Sand Creek Massacre at the age of 7. Dee said this friend had hidden in the creek, breathing through a reed for a day and night before daring to move. You don't forget images like these.
Descendants of the massacre survivors - Northern and Southern Arapahos, Northern and Southern Cheyenne - made the pilgrimage to Colorado, camping and praying along the now-dry creek bed.
Descendants of survivors of the massacre set up camp.
The singers, with steady drumbeat, sang old songs, including the actual death song of White Antelope, which he sang while lying at the edge of Sand Creek. It is still remembered in this most sacred oral tradition.
About 2,000 persons attended the ceremonials, which lasted from early morning until dark. In the evening, we were honored by descendants who danced gourd dances and round dances.
Darrell Flyingman, governor of the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne tribes, described the days of encampment and ceremonies by noting that "we were welcomed by our ancestors and our relatives." U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., brought the words "I apologize deeply. Forgive us."
It has become clear that words are not enough. At the 1996 United Methodist General Conference in Denver, a resolution was adopted to support government restitutions to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes for wrongs against humanity, but the statement offered only words from our church. A new resolution is being brought to the 2008 General Conference seeking financial support for this national historic site.
As a nation, we have come to this good day when we do acknowledge and remember what happened at Sand Creek. A monument will be built at the site, and perhaps of equal importance, a research center is being established in the nearby town of Eads, dedicated to not only this particular event, but also to the study of genocide. The park service is providing matching funds for donations to the project.
We envision Indians and non-Indians coming to the site to remember what happened at Sand Creek. We envision scholars and students, pastors and church folk coming to learn the truth of history and to continue raising the important questions lest we repeat the sins of our forebears. It is time for more than words.
*Lakota Eastin is the pastor of the Native American Fellowship-Dayspring United Methodist Churchnear Peoria, Ill., and a director of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Related Articles
Controversial Native American mascot retired
Appeal to Judicial Council focuses on Native American programs
Native Americans want 'act of repentance' in 2004
Resources
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
John Chivington
See list of speakers and topics for the symposium
Read UMNS coverage of Sand CreekSupplying basic needs to families in Syria and Iraq
NEW YORK (UMNS) — As civil war in Syria staggers into a fifth year, the United Methodist Committee on Relief is responding to basic, often-overlooked needs both in Syria and in neighboring Iraq, as both countries also face the challenge of persistent attacks by the Islamic State. David Tereshchuk reports for UMCOR.
UMCOR and Partners Supply Basic Needs to Families in Syria and Iraq
The 1864 massacre of 200 Native Americans in Colorado is remembered at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. Read MoreA UMNS photo by Eliida Lakota.
The Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin views the marker at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site near Chivington, Colo.
Commentary: Massacre site offers historical truth
A UMNS Commentary by the Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin*
FARGO, N.D.(UMNS)
It was an honor to represent the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns at the April 28 memorial dedication of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site near Chivington, Colo.
Chivington is a small, dusty town that has no retail businesses whatsoever and only a few sand-beaten dwellings. This town is named for Col. John Chivington, who led the 1864 massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho innocents.
People gather for the April 28 memorial dedication. A UMNS photo by the Rev. Carol Lakota Eastin.
It is because of Chivington that I, a United Methodist, found myself in this remote territory. A strange tie binds me to Chivington and the 200 who died at Sand Creek.
My tie to Chivington is that we are both Methodists and both preachers. I am left with questions: By what set of circumstances did this Methodist Episcopal pastor give up his Christian ministry and choose a path of violence - not a battle, but a vigilante massacre? And what happens to a man's spirit that he looks upon the perfect little faces of Indian children and says, "Nits make lice," ordering his men to kill them all?
I am not sure, but I am reminded that sin abides in us all, and evil can and will assert itself even through the very vessels which hold the souls of Christians.
My personal connection to the Massacre of 1864 is that I am Native American as well as a Methodist. My knowledge of the massacre dates back to my teen years, when our pastor showed the movie "Soldier Blue" to our youth fellowship group. The graphic images of that film have stayed with me over 35 years.
Another connection is that I had a friend, Dee Wright, a Pawnee Indian who was one of the last living members of the Pawnee Bill Wild West. I remember him telling me about a good friend of his who had escaped the Sand Creek Massacre at the age of 7. Dee said this friend had hidden in the creek, breathing through a reed for a day and night before daring to move. You don't forget images like these.
Descendants of the massacre survivors - Northern and Southern Arapahos, Northern and Southern Cheyenne - made the pilgrimage to Colorado, camping and praying along the now-dry creek bed.
Descendants of survivors of the massacre set up camp.
The singers, with steady drumbeat, sang old songs, including the actual death song of White Antelope, which he sang while lying at the edge of Sand Creek. It is still remembered in this most sacred oral tradition.
About 2,000 persons attended the ceremonials, which lasted from early morning until dark. In the evening, we were honored by descendants who danced gourd dances and round dances.
Darrell Flyingman, governor of the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne tribes, described the days of encampment and ceremonies by noting that "we were welcomed by our ancestors and our relatives." U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., brought the words "I apologize deeply. Forgive us."
It has become clear that words are not enough. At the 1996 United Methodist General Conference in Denver, a resolution was adopted to support government restitutions to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes for wrongs against humanity, but the statement offered only words from our church. A new resolution is being brought to the 2008 General Conference seeking financial support for this national historic site.
As a nation, we have come to this good day when we do acknowledge and remember what happened at Sand Creek. A monument will be built at the site, and perhaps of equal importance, a research center is being established in the nearby town of Eads, dedicated to not only this particular event, but also to the study of genocide. The park service is providing matching funds for donations to the project.
We envision Indians and non-Indians coming to the site to remember what happened at Sand Creek. We envision scholars and students, pastors and church folk coming to learn the truth of history and to continue raising the important questions lest we repeat the sins of our forebears. It is time for more than words.
*Lakota Eastin is the pastor of the Native American Fellowship-Dayspring United Methodist Churchnear Peoria, Ill., and a director of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Related Articles
Controversial Native American mascot retired
Appeal to Judicial Council focuses on Native American programs
Native Americans want 'act of repentance' in 2004
Resources
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
John Chivington
See list of speakers and topics for the symposium
Read UMNS coverage of Sand CreekSupplying basic needs to families in Syria and Iraq
NEW YORK (UMNS) — As civil war in Syria staggers into a fifth year, the United Methodist Committee on Relief is responding to basic, often-overlooked needs both in Syria and in neighboring Iraq, as both countries also face the challenge of persistent attacks by the Islamic State. David Tereshchuk reports for UMCOR.
UMCOR and Partners Supply Basic Needs to Families in Syria and Iraq
A displaced family in Iraq receives UMCOR hygiene kits and other basic necessities such shampoo, blankets, and diapers for newborn needs.
By David Tereshchuk*
As civil war in Syria staggers into a fifth year, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is responding to basic, often-overlooked needs both in Syria and in neighboring Iraq, as both countries also face the challenge of persistent attacks by the Islamic State, known also as IS or ISIS.
“In a complex crisis like those in Syria and Iraq, we see our role as providing a small but strong light in the midst of great darkness, as we work with partner organizations to supply basic needs,” said Francesco Paganini, UMCOR executive secretary for International Disaster Response.
Supplies are organized prior to distribution to displaced families in Iraq. Photo: GlobalMedic
Since late 2013, UMCOR has channeled more than half a million dollars to simple, well-targeted initiatives in Syria and Iraq, and to other countries in the region hosting a total of more than 4 million Syrian refugees.
A recent UMCOR grant to partner GlobalMedic, for example, is assisting the Toronto-based organization in its work with displaced civilian families in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where almost 2 million people have taken refuge from violence perpetrated primarily by ISIS.
Temporary housing, for nearly half the displaced population in Kurdistan, according to the United Nations, has sprung up in the form of spontaneously accessed communal shelters in schools and abandoned or unfinished buildings.
Typically, families have left their homes without adequate supplies and equipment for a long stay, and so the UMCOR-funded provision by GlobalMedic includes simple supplies such as a space heater, mattresses, blankets, and coverlets, as well as soap, diapers, and sanitary pads.
Displaced families in camps
A beneficiary in Iraq carries an UMCOR bag full of the hygiene supplies that will meet the needs of every member in his family. Photo: GlobalMedic
In Syria, where ISIS has taken advantage of the long-running civil conflict, UMCOR has issued another recent grant to Turkey-based partner, International Blue Crescent (IBC), which is working with displaced people in four camps near the Syria-Turkey border.
Notable among the camps is one called Bab el Salaam, meaning “Gate of Peace.” This camp has become home to 1,695 Syrian families, comprising a total of 8,354 displaced individuals.
UMCOR funding is allowing IBC to address the kind of unwanted consequence that often afflicts refugees and displaced persons’ lives—mass outbreaks of scabies and lice. In Bab el Salaam almost every child has been affected with lice.
IBC is responding by prioritizing a simple, small-scale intervention: the distribution of hygiene kits to every family. These kits contain anti-lice spray bottles, cream to combat scabies, plus soap, shampoo, and wipes—all of which will make life in Bab el Salaam a little more bearable.
The anti-lice and anti-scabies activity, Paganini said, “is a vital need.”
The crisis in Syria is long and complex, but through simple, targeted interventions such as this one, UMCOR is providing relief to some of the most vulnerable populations impacted by it.
Your gift to UMCOR International Disaster Response, Advance #982450, helps alleviate suffering as a result of disaster or crisis in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere around the world.
*David Tereshchuk is a journalist and media critic who regularly contributes to UMCOR.orgRead story
Haste makes waste in disaster response
FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — An effective disaster response by church folks requires "patience and process," say the Rev. Laraine Waughtal, disaster response coordinator for the Central Texas Conference, and Vance Morton, the conference's communications director. They offer five tips, drawn from experience in a region beset by tornadoes.
Effectively Responding to a Disaster Requires Exercising Patience and Process in the Midst of Chaos
by Rev. Laraine Waughtal* and Vance Morton**
The recent (and apparently ongoing) strings of Texas spring storms have delivered needed rain to much of the state. However, they have also brought tornadoes, strong straight-line winds, hail and, in some areas, too much of that good thing we call rain. The news reports, videos and photos from the communities most impacted probably has many of you wondering how and when the conference is going to respond and roll in with assistance. The answer is two-fold: we already are responding and hold your horses, we’ll let you know as soon as help is needed.
By David Tereshchuk*
As civil war in Syria staggers into a fifth year, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is responding to basic, often-overlooked needs both in Syria and in neighboring Iraq, as both countries also face the challenge of persistent attacks by the Islamic State, known also as IS or ISIS.
“In a complex crisis like those in Syria and Iraq, we see our role as providing a small but strong light in the midst of great darkness, as we work with partner organizations to supply basic needs,” said Francesco Paganini, UMCOR executive secretary for International Disaster Response.
Supplies are organized prior to distribution to displaced families in Iraq. Photo: GlobalMedic
Since late 2013, UMCOR has channeled more than half a million dollars to simple, well-targeted initiatives in Syria and Iraq, and to other countries in the region hosting a total of more than 4 million Syrian refugees.
A recent UMCOR grant to partner GlobalMedic, for example, is assisting the Toronto-based organization in its work with displaced civilian families in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where almost 2 million people have taken refuge from violence perpetrated primarily by ISIS.
Temporary housing, for nearly half the displaced population in Kurdistan, according to the United Nations, has sprung up in the form of spontaneously accessed communal shelters in schools and abandoned or unfinished buildings.
Typically, families have left their homes without adequate supplies and equipment for a long stay, and so the UMCOR-funded provision by GlobalMedic includes simple supplies such as a space heater, mattresses, blankets, and coverlets, as well as soap, diapers, and sanitary pads.
Displaced families in camps
A beneficiary in Iraq carries an UMCOR bag full of the hygiene supplies that will meet the needs of every member in his family. Photo: GlobalMedic
In Syria, where ISIS has taken advantage of the long-running civil conflict, UMCOR has issued another recent grant to Turkey-based partner, International Blue Crescent (IBC), which is working with displaced people in four camps near the Syria-Turkey border.
Notable among the camps is one called Bab el Salaam, meaning “Gate of Peace.” This camp has become home to 1,695 Syrian families, comprising a total of 8,354 displaced individuals.
UMCOR funding is allowing IBC to address the kind of unwanted consequence that often afflicts refugees and displaced persons’ lives—mass outbreaks of scabies and lice. In Bab el Salaam almost every child has been affected with lice.
IBC is responding by prioritizing a simple, small-scale intervention: the distribution of hygiene kits to every family. These kits contain anti-lice spray bottles, cream to combat scabies, plus soap, shampoo, and wipes—all of which will make life in Bab el Salaam a little more bearable.
The anti-lice and anti-scabies activity, Paganini said, “is a vital need.”
The crisis in Syria is long and complex, but through simple, targeted interventions such as this one, UMCOR is providing relief to some of the most vulnerable populations impacted by it.
Your gift to UMCOR International Disaster Response, Advance #982450, helps alleviate suffering as a result of disaster or crisis in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere around the world.
*David Tereshchuk is a journalist and media critic who regularly contributes to UMCOR.orgRead story
Haste makes waste in disaster response
FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS) — An effective disaster response by church folks requires "patience and process," say the Rev. Laraine Waughtal, disaster response coordinator for the Central Texas Conference, and Vance Morton, the conference's communications director. They offer five tips, drawn from experience in a region beset by tornadoes.
Effectively Responding to a Disaster Requires Exercising Patience and Process in the Midst of Chaos
by Rev. Laraine Waughtal* and Vance Morton**
The recent (and apparently ongoing) strings of Texas spring storms have delivered needed rain to much of the state. However, they have also brought tornadoes, strong straight-line winds, hail and, in some areas, too much of that good thing we call rain. The news reports, videos and photos from the communities most impacted probably has many of you wondering how and when the conference is going to respond and roll in with assistance. The answer is two-fold: we already are responding and hold your horses, we’ll let you know as soon as help is needed.
Here is what we currently know from the affected areas of our conference. As of this time, no conference-wide response is needed nor has any such action been requested. If you have other details and you are from that community, please email Laraine at laraine@ctcumc.org or call her through the conference office at 817-877-5222.
Mineral Wells - Reportedly there was little to no flooding or tornado damage to homes as the downtown area absorbed the brunt of the storm. Laraine continues to be in contact with local authorities and will provide updates as available/warranted.
Cisco –The needs of all the families are being met and they appreciate your prayers.
Corsicana and Ellis County – The flood waters are being monitored. There are limited needs but the community is able to meet those needs.
Morgan Mill – ERT teams have been working in this community to clean up the debris field and the situation is under control.
Hillsboro – all is well.
Much of the flooding being reported does not involve any homes. Our CTC communities have been quite blessed that the storm damage has not been more extensive.
How the CTC Responds to Disaster
From the time a disaster happens and is made known, the CTC is in response mode. The CTC Disaster Response Coordinator, Laraine Waughtal, and the members of the Disaster Task Force begin monitoring the situations in our communities and across the state and the South Central Jurisdiction for that matter. They are in
Mineral Wells - Reportedly there was little to no flooding or tornado damage to homes as the downtown area absorbed the brunt of the storm. Laraine continues to be in contact with local authorities and will provide updates as available/warranted.
Cisco –The needs of all the families are being met and they appreciate your prayers.
Corsicana and Ellis County – The flood waters are being monitored. There are limited needs but the community is able to meet those needs.
Morgan Mill – ERT teams have been working in this community to clean up the debris field and the situation is under control.
Hillsboro – all is well.
Much of the flooding being reported does not involve any homes. Our CTC communities have been quite blessed that the storm damage has not been more extensive.
How the CTC Responds to Disaster
From the time a disaster happens and is made known, the CTC is in response mode. The CTC Disaster Response Coordinator, Laraine Waughtal, and the members of the Disaster Task Force begin monitoring the situations in our communities and across the state and the South Central Jurisdiction for that matter. They are in
contact with city, county and state officials, our churches in the affected area and myriad others to learn first hand how we, as United Methodists, can be the hands and feet of Christ. Because the scene of a disaster is just that, a disaster, often times the immediate answer is "We'll let you know what we need as soon as we know."
Sometimes, the hardest part of disaster response is balancing what is being reported by media and what is actually happening on the ground. Watching the TV and reading online reports and Tweets can be deceiving about the scope of a disaster area, because often the details being reported are not complete or accurate.
However, our trained ERT and Disaster Response team members are in contact with those who do know what’s going on. As such, individuals and churches are reminded to be patient and don’t immediately respond to what you are seeing and hearing in the news. Of course that’s a big ask for compassionate christians living in a 24-hour news cycle society, where reporters too often employ the “we have to be first with the story and we’ll get to the actual facts of the situation much later” method of (ahem) journalism. Just try and remember the following before you head to the nearest big box discount warehouse store to buy pallets of bottled water for those in need. By the time you hear of a disaster, the CTC Disaster Response team is already compiling the most accurate information to share with CTC members and churches and will share it as soon as the local officials are ready to release information;
checking on which victims/survivors are insured versus those who are not; activating the CTC’s Early Response Teams, who have the specialized training to effectively respond and coordinating with UMCOR if a larger scale response seems necessary; determining if help is actually needed or if the local community can and prefers to handle it locally; patiently waiting for the disaster zone to be safe from flood waters, debris, electrical, gas and other issues (yes, they have to exercise patience too!); and holding off on any response outside our conference as the team never crosses the boundaries of another conference unless invited to come help.
Sometimes, the hardest part of disaster response is balancing what is being reported by media and what is actually happening on the ground. Watching the TV and reading online reports and Tweets can be deceiving about the scope of a disaster area, because often the details being reported are not complete or accurate.
However, our trained ERT and Disaster Response team members are in contact with those who do know what’s going on. As such, individuals and churches are reminded to be patient and don’t immediately respond to what you are seeing and hearing in the news. Of course that’s a big ask for compassionate christians living in a 24-hour news cycle society, where reporters too often employ the “we have to be first with the story and we’ll get to the actual facts of the situation much later” method of (ahem) journalism. Just try and remember the following before you head to the nearest big box discount warehouse store to buy pallets of bottled water for those in need. By the time you hear of a disaster, the CTC Disaster Response team is already compiling the most accurate information to share with CTC members and churches and will share it as soon as the local officials are ready to release information;
checking on which victims/survivors are insured versus those who are not; activating the CTC’s Early Response Teams, who have the specialized training to effectively respond and coordinating with UMCOR if a larger scale response seems necessary; determining if help is actually needed or if the local community can and prefers to handle it locally; patiently waiting for the disaster zone to be safe from flood waters, debris, electrical, gas and other issues (yes, they have to exercise patience too!); and holding off on any response outside our conference as the team never crosses the boundaries of another conference unless invited to come help.
Because these disasters get so much news coverage, and Texans in general are a generous bunch, communities too often end up with the secondary disaster of having an abundance of donated goods that they can’t use and don’t have a place to store. And even the ones that do have storage capabilities probably are in no shape to handle the immediate influx of donations. They have to have time to organize themselves and work things out. We do not want to be a part of the problem by trying to be a too immediate part of the solution.
So, what can you do to help immediately following a disaster? Here are the top 5 actions you can do to immediately assist...
Pray and be patient and let the Disaster Response Team find out the best answer to that question.
When the event is in our conference, believe that the team is working on it and sometimes answers take time.
Understand that most often, the greatest help for survivors are gift cards (what type will be shared when that info is available) and monetary donations to get them what they actually need not what we think they need. Remember, 100 percent of what you give through UMCOR or the CTCSC goes to the recovery of that community – no overhead or administrative costs.
Never call the local UMC in the disaster area in the days immediately following the disaster. That church is already overwhelmed and cannot take everyone’s call. That church is busy just trying to care for its own members and locate them and get organized. If you have questions call Laraine at the conference office. T
Look at the ERT section of the conference website and register for the next ERT training session so you can be more quickly involved in the recovery efforts. . None of the above is meant to quell the passion and desire to help so often expressed by Central Texas Conference members and churches. That passion is why our Disaster Response Team works so hard and is so vital to our conference. However, it’s been proven time and time again that the best way to focus our conference call to assist those in need is by working through our connectional system, taking all the time and steps to adequately assess each disaster situation and then going in and providing the assistance needed, when it’s needed, where it’s needed and how it’s needed.
*Laraine is the Disaster Response Coordinator for the CTC. larainewaughtal@ctcumc.org
**Vance is the director of Communications & IT for the CTC vance@ctcumc.orgRead commentary
Northeastern region considers possible episcopal reduction
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — In a letter to United Methodists in the denomination's Northeastern Jurisdiction, the conference's College of Bishops said it is in "prayerful consideration" regarding possible solutions to address the potential reduction of an episcopal area in the jurisdiction.
Sisters and Brothers of the Northeastern Jurisdiction,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the good news we are hearing about ministry occurring in the conferences across the Northeastern Jurisdiction.
We, the Bishops of the Northeastern Jurisdiction, write to you after a recent meeting in which we recognized that due to a reduction in jurisdictional church membership over the last four years we are scheduled to reduce from nine to eight bishops leading Episcopal Areas in the Northeastern part of the United States.
Within the United States, The United Methodist Church is divided into five jurisdictions: Western, South Central, Southeastern, North Central and Northeastern. In the Northeastern jurisdiction, there are 10 annual conferences served by nine bishops. The number of bishops assigned and serving within a Jurisdiction is based on a membership formula. In a preliminary assessment of 2014 membership statistics, the Northeastern Jurisdiction has 1,209,815 members falling below the 1,215,001 required to maintain nine bishops or nine episcopal areas. Bishops lead episcopal areas and episcopal areas may include two conferences within the same episcopal area. Presently the Philadelphia Episcopal Area has two conferences, Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula Delaware.
The Northeastern Jurisdiction has three options to address the scheduled reduction of a bishop as indicated by the membership statistics. Jurisdictional leadership is currently considering the following:
The Northeastern Jurisdiction may not be the only Jurisdiction that is facing a possible reduction in the number episcopal areas. We intend to enter into collaborative conversations with other Jurisdictions who find themselves in similar positions so that we might better discern together the journey ahead.
In Philippians 4:6 we read: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
We recognize we are facing challenges as the Church. We also believe that God will guide and support us through our greatest challenges. We call upon you to be in prayer for the General Conference, the leaders of the church, our conferences and our congregations. Pray for God’s wisdom as we move forward.
We also thank you for your faithfulness in your ministry. We continue to hear of the powerful ministry God is doing through our congregations.
Blessings,
Sandra Steiner Ball, Resident Bishop, West Virginia Area
Thomas Bickerton, Resident Bishop, Pittsburgh Area
Sudarshanna Devadhar, Resident Bishop, Boston Area
Peggy Johnson, Resident Bishop, Philadelphia Area
Marcus Matthews, Resident Bishop, Washington Area
Jane Allen Middleton, Retired, assigned as Resident Bishop, New York Area
Jeremiah Park, Resident Bishop, Harrisburg Area
John Schol, Resident Bishop, New Jersey Area
Mark Webb, Resident Bishop, Upper New York Area
Retired Bishops: George Bashore; Violet Fisher; William Boyd Grove; Susan Hassinger; Neil Irons; S. Clifton Ives; Alfred Johnson; Ernest Lyght; Felton E. May; Susan M. Morrison; F. Herbert Skeete; Forrest Stith; Peter D. Weaver; C. Dale White; Joseph H. Yeakel
Read letter
Watch now: How to pack a health kit
NEW YORK (UMNS) — In this video, the Rev. Brian Diggs, director of the United Methodist Committee on Relief's depot in Salt Lake City, takes viewers through the steps to assemble an UMCOR health kit, providing useful advice before items are shipped to any of the UMCOR Relief-Supply Network depots.
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/128305139" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/128305139">UMCOR Health Kit Assembly</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/gbgm">Global Ministries</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
UMCOR Health Kit Assembly
from Global Ministries PLUS 1 week ago NOT YET RATED
UMCOR West Depot director, the Rev. Brian Diggs in Salt Lake City, takes viewers through the steps to assemble an UMCOR health kit.
Watch the video now to learn more before shipping these items to any of the UMCOR Relief-Supply Network depots.
umcor.orgWatch video
A Wesleyan perspective on the Spirit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — This Sunday, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. While most United Methodists can articulate what they believe about Jesus and are reasonably comfortable talking about God, our confidence might waver when talking about the Holy Spirit. A sermon credited to John Wesley and a hymn by Charles Wesley offer insights into the sometimes misunderstood third member of the Trinity, writes Joe Iovino.
Photo by Nheyob, courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove, reminiscent of the Spirit of God descending upon Jesus at his baptism.PreviousNext
Come, Holy Ghost: A Wesleyan perspective on the Spirit
A UMC.org Feature by Joe Iovino*
While most United Methodists can articulate what they believe about Jesus and are reasonably comfortable talking about God, our confidence might waver when talking about the Holy Spirit.
Maybe that is because we can relate to Jesus as a human being and understand God through personified imagery like “Heavenly Father.”
Pentecost, depicted in this icon, is the day the Church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. Photo by МЕЛЕТИЙ ВЕЛЧЕВ, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
The symbols we use to talk about the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, are far less human. At Pentecost we read about the Spirit as fire and wind.In Baptism, we recognize the work of the Spirit through water and a dove. Not to mention the confusion caused by referring to the Spirit as the Holy Ghost.
Additionally, cultural understandings talk of specific work attributed to the Spirit like ecstatic utterances and other highly emotive responses. While we do not discount those experiences, many of us have not had them and wonder about the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives.
An old sermon may be able to help.
John Gambold, an original member of John and Charles Wesley's Holy Club at Oxford (from which would grow the Methodist movement), wrote the unimaginatively titled sermon “On the Holy Spirit.” The sermon, which appears in the 1872 edition of The Sermons of John Wesley, was found in John Wesley's papers after his death and closely matches his own understanding of the Holy Spirit.
The sermon seeks to address not the “particularly extraordinary gifts” of the Spirit, but “what the Holy Spirit is to every believer.”
Hymn writer Charles Wesley, brother of John, wrote a song known to many United Methodist congregations even today. “Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire” (The United Methodist Hymnal603) shares many of the same themes that help us better understand the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Harbinger of Day of Resurrection
Gambold writes of the Holy Spirit as the fullness of God at work in our broken world.
The “sin of Adam,” as the events of Genesis 3 are described in the sermon, distanced human beings from the image of God we were created to be. Addressing Adam's desire to cover up after sinning, the sermon states, “Well might Adam now find himself naked; nothing less than God was departed from him.”
In Jesus, God has bridged this separation by overcoming sin. “[W]hat we lost in Adam,” the sermon reads, “we might receive in Christ Jesus.”
While that process of reconciliation begins when we put our trust in Jesus, it will not be complete until the Day of Resurrection to come. The Holy Spirit is a harbinger of our future with us in the present.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Every child of God is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, specially gifted to play a unique and valued role in the body of Christ.
Learn more about the spiritual gifts described in the New Testament.
Take an online assessment to help you discover and cultivate your gifts.
Fountain of love
From the earliest days of the Methodist movement, John Wesley sought to help Christians live faith in the midst of ordinary lives of family, friends, work, bills, and more. He encouraged the Methodists to participate in what he called the “means of grace,” which included acts of piety like worship and prayer, along with acts of service like feeding the hungry and giving to the poor.
These acts are gifts strengthening us to live into the two-fold nature of discipleship: loving God and our neighbors.
In his hymn, Charles invites the Holy Ghost to strengthen us to live our faith daily.
Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire, let us thine influence prove;
source of the old prophetic fire, fountain of life and love.
Revealer of truth
John Wesley often called himself a “man of one book.” That book, of course, was the Bible.
Wesley was an ardent student of the Scriptures. He knew that the same Spirit that inspired the authors would also move in the hearts of readers centuries later, revealing God’s truth to us. The sermon states that the Holy Spirit is “a light to discern the fallacies of flesh and blood, [and] to reject the irreligious maxims of the world.”
In the second verse of “Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire,” Charles prayerfully asks the Holy Ghost to come to reveal God’s word to us.
Come, Holy Ghost (for moved by thee the prophets wrote and spoke),
unlock the truth, thyself the key, unseal the sacred book.
Bearer of New Creation
Having the Holy Spirit among us, a sign of that future day of restoration, also gives us the ability to live as people of that future now. Through the Spirit we see the world not only as it is, but as it will be, and are invited to participate in the work of reconciliation.
In Gambold's sermon we read that the Holy Spirit “is some portion of, as well as preparation for, a life in God, which we are to enjoy hereafter. The gift of the Holy Spirit looks full to the resurrection; for then is the life of God completed in us.”
When we sing verse 3 of Charles’ hymn, we pray for that day to come. Using an allusion to the presence of God’s Spirit moving over the face of the deep before the first day of Creation (see Genesis 1:2), we long for the new creation.
Expand thy wings, celestial Dove, brood o'er our nature's night;
on our disordered spirits move, and let there now be light.
Assurance of salvation
If you have ever wondered if you are really saved, you are not alone. Many Christians, including John Wesley, have gone through seasons of similar struggles. This sermon points to evidence in the gifts we see in our lives.
In "On the Holy Spirit" we read, “[W]here that divine Guest enters, the laws of another world must be observed.” A shift the Spirit brings to our priorities is then described. Where we once were primarily concerned about ourselves, the Spirit enables us to focus on our love of God and others.
In verse four of “Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire,” Charles Wesley writes how love flowing through us is evidence of the Spirit living in us.
God, through the Spirit we shall know if thou within us shine,
and sound, with all thy saints below, the depths of love divine.
It may be difficult for some of us to articulate a relationship with one described as fire, water, wind, or a dove. What we need to know is that the Spirit is the presence of the Holy in and around us each day, enabling us to live into the people God created us to be and will be restored to one day.
The Spirit is the presence of the Holy ... enabling us to live as the people God created us to be. #UMC #PentecostTWEET THIS
Learn more about the spiritual gifts described in the New Testament, and take an online assessment to help you discover and cultivate your gifts.
*Joe Iovino works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. Contact him atjiovino@umcom.org or 615-312-3733.
Read story
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.
Saturday, May 23
Wesley Festival Gala Concert — The event at 8 p.m. EDT at the Kennedy Center in Washington will feature choirs and singers from across the country and benefit Imagine No Malaria. Tickets are on sale.Details.
Sunday, May 24
Heritage Sunday — United Methodists celebrate John Wesley's Aldersgate spiritual awakening on May 24, 1738, by also celebrating the history of the movement he started. This year's theme will focus on the Wesleyan movement's heritage of welcoming the stranger. The United Methodist Commission on Archives and History provides resources.
Thursday-Saturday, May 28-30
United Methodist Women's History: Voices Lost & Found conference — In preparation for the 150th anniversary of the United Methodist Women in 2019, Methodist Theological School in Ohio will host a conference on campus, 3081 Columbus Pike in Delaware, Ohio. A $90 registration fee covers all conference activities, meals on Friday and breakfast on Saturday. One continuing education unit is available for an additional fee of $25. Details.
You can see more educational opportunities and other upcoming events in the life of the church here.
United Methodist Communications
810 12th Avenue South
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-4704
umcom@umcom.org
Phone: 615.742.5400
____________________________
So, what can you do to help immediately following a disaster? Here are the top 5 actions you can do to immediately assist...
Pray and be patient and let the Disaster Response Team find out the best answer to that question.
When the event is in our conference, believe that the team is working on it and sometimes answers take time.
Understand that most often, the greatest help for survivors are gift cards (what type will be shared when that info is available) and monetary donations to get them what they actually need not what we think they need. Remember, 100 percent of what you give through UMCOR or the CTCSC goes to the recovery of that community – no overhead or administrative costs.
Never call the local UMC in the disaster area in the days immediately following the disaster. That church is already overwhelmed and cannot take everyone’s call. That church is busy just trying to care for its own members and locate them and get organized. If you have questions call Laraine at the conference office. T
Look at the ERT section of the conference website and register for the next ERT training session so you can be more quickly involved in the recovery efforts. . None of the above is meant to quell the passion and desire to help so often expressed by Central Texas Conference members and churches. That passion is why our Disaster Response Team works so hard and is so vital to our conference. However, it’s been proven time and time again that the best way to focus our conference call to assist those in need is by working through our connectional system, taking all the time and steps to adequately assess each disaster situation and then going in and providing the assistance needed, when it’s needed, where it’s needed and how it’s needed.
*Laraine is the Disaster Response Coordinator for the CTC. larainewaughtal@ctcumc.org
**Vance is the director of Communications & IT for the CTC vance@ctcumc.orgRead commentary
Northeastern region considers possible episcopal reduction
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — In a letter to United Methodists in the denomination's Northeastern Jurisdiction, the conference's College of Bishops said it is in "prayerful consideration" regarding possible solutions to address the potential reduction of an episcopal area in the jurisdiction.
Sisters and Brothers of the Northeastern Jurisdiction,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ. We celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the good news we are hearing about ministry occurring in the conferences across the Northeastern Jurisdiction.
We, the Bishops of the Northeastern Jurisdiction, write to you after a recent meeting in which we recognized that due to a reduction in jurisdictional church membership over the last four years we are scheduled to reduce from nine to eight bishops leading Episcopal Areas in the Northeastern part of the United States.
Within the United States, The United Methodist Church is divided into five jurisdictions: Western, South Central, Southeastern, North Central and Northeastern. In the Northeastern jurisdiction, there are 10 annual conferences served by nine bishops. The number of bishops assigned and serving within a Jurisdiction is based on a membership formula. In a preliminary assessment of 2014 membership statistics, the Northeastern Jurisdiction has 1,209,815 members falling below the 1,215,001 required to maintain nine bishops or nine episcopal areas. Bishops lead episcopal areas and episcopal areas may include two conferences within the same episcopal area. Presently the Philadelphia Episcopal Area has two conferences, Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula Delaware.
The Northeastern Jurisdiction has three options to address the scheduled reduction of a bishop as indicated by the membership statistics. Jurisdictional leadership is currently considering the following:
- Request that the 2016 General Conference (the legislative body of The United Methodist Church)continue nine episcopal areas in the Northeastern Jurisdiction because the jurisdiction has a unique mission field that serves large urban areas and a diverse population. This request would be made through the Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy to the appropriate General Conference body. The Committee on Episcopacy is comprised of two representatives from each conference.
- Present legislation to the 2016 General Conference that would continue nine episcopal areas in the Northeastern Jurisdiction that would evaluate the need for bishops based on information other than or in addition to the Jurisdictional membership statistics. This legislation could also be submitted by the Northeastern Jurisdiction Episcopacy Committee.
- Reduce from nine to eight episcopal areas by aligning conferences together. In the past, this has been done by having two conferences in one episcopal area or by merging conferences. The College of Bishops, which is comprised of the bishops of the Northeastern Jurisdiction, is the body that would be responsible to make a recommendation for new alignments that would reduce the number of episcopal areas from nine to eight to the 2016 Jurisdictional Conference.
The Northeastern Jurisdiction may not be the only Jurisdiction that is facing a possible reduction in the number episcopal areas. We intend to enter into collaborative conversations with other Jurisdictions who find themselves in similar positions so that we might better discern together the journey ahead.
In Philippians 4:6 we read: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
We recognize we are facing challenges as the Church. We also believe that God will guide and support us through our greatest challenges. We call upon you to be in prayer for the General Conference, the leaders of the church, our conferences and our congregations. Pray for God’s wisdom as we move forward.
We also thank you for your faithfulness in your ministry. We continue to hear of the powerful ministry God is doing through our congregations.
Blessings,
Sandra Steiner Ball, Resident Bishop, West Virginia Area
Thomas Bickerton, Resident Bishop, Pittsburgh Area
Sudarshanna Devadhar, Resident Bishop, Boston Area
Peggy Johnson, Resident Bishop, Philadelphia Area
Marcus Matthews, Resident Bishop, Washington Area
Jane Allen Middleton, Retired, assigned as Resident Bishop, New York Area
Jeremiah Park, Resident Bishop, Harrisburg Area
John Schol, Resident Bishop, New Jersey Area
Mark Webb, Resident Bishop, Upper New York Area
Retired Bishops: George Bashore; Violet Fisher; William Boyd Grove; Susan Hassinger; Neil Irons; S. Clifton Ives; Alfred Johnson; Ernest Lyght; Felton E. May; Susan M. Morrison; F. Herbert Skeete; Forrest Stith; Peter D. Weaver; C. Dale White; Joseph H. Yeakel
Read letter
Watch now: How to pack a health kit
NEW YORK (UMNS) — In this video, the Rev. Brian Diggs, director of the United Methodist Committee on Relief's depot in Salt Lake City, takes viewers through the steps to assemble an UMCOR health kit, providing useful advice before items are shipped to any of the UMCOR Relief-Supply Network depots.
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/128305139" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/128305139">UMCOR Health Kit Assembly</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/gbgm">Global Ministries</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
UMCOR Health Kit Assembly
from Global Ministries PLUS 1 week ago NOT YET RATED
UMCOR West Depot director, the Rev. Brian Diggs in Salt Lake City, takes viewers through the steps to assemble an UMCOR health kit.
Watch the video now to learn more before shipping these items to any of the UMCOR Relief-Supply Network depots.
umcor.orgWatch video
A Wesleyan perspective on the Spirit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — This Sunday, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. While most United Methodists can articulate what they believe about Jesus and are reasonably comfortable talking about God, our confidence might waver when talking about the Holy Spirit. A sermon credited to John Wesley and a hymn by Charles Wesley offer insights into the sometimes misunderstood third member of the Trinity, writes Joe Iovino.
Photo by Nheyob, courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove, reminiscent of the Spirit of God descending upon Jesus at his baptism.PreviousNext
Come, Holy Ghost: A Wesleyan perspective on the Spirit
A UMC.org Feature by Joe Iovino*
While most United Methodists can articulate what they believe about Jesus and are reasonably comfortable talking about God, our confidence might waver when talking about the Holy Spirit.
Maybe that is because we can relate to Jesus as a human being and understand God through personified imagery like “Heavenly Father.”
Pentecost, depicted in this icon, is the day the Church celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. Photo by МЕЛЕТИЙ ВЕЛЧЕВ, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
The symbols we use to talk about the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, are far less human. At Pentecost we read about the Spirit as fire and wind.In Baptism, we recognize the work of the Spirit through water and a dove. Not to mention the confusion caused by referring to the Spirit as the Holy Ghost.
Additionally, cultural understandings talk of specific work attributed to the Spirit like ecstatic utterances and other highly emotive responses. While we do not discount those experiences, many of us have not had them and wonder about the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives.
An old sermon may be able to help.
John Gambold, an original member of John and Charles Wesley's Holy Club at Oxford (from which would grow the Methodist movement), wrote the unimaginatively titled sermon “On the Holy Spirit.” The sermon, which appears in the 1872 edition of The Sermons of John Wesley, was found in John Wesley's papers after his death and closely matches his own understanding of the Holy Spirit.
The sermon seeks to address not the “particularly extraordinary gifts” of the Spirit, but “what the Holy Spirit is to every believer.”
Hymn writer Charles Wesley, brother of John, wrote a song known to many United Methodist congregations even today. “Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire” (The United Methodist Hymnal603) shares many of the same themes that help us better understand the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Harbinger of Day of Resurrection
Gambold writes of the Holy Spirit as the fullness of God at work in our broken world.
The “sin of Adam,” as the events of Genesis 3 are described in the sermon, distanced human beings from the image of God we were created to be. Addressing Adam's desire to cover up after sinning, the sermon states, “Well might Adam now find himself naked; nothing less than God was departed from him.”
In Jesus, God has bridged this separation by overcoming sin. “[W]hat we lost in Adam,” the sermon reads, “we might receive in Christ Jesus.”
While that process of reconciliation begins when we put our trust in Jesus, it will not be complete until the Day of Resurrection to come. The Holy Spirit is a harbinger of our future with us in the present.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Every child of God is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, specially gifted to play a unique and valued role in the body of Christ.
Learn more about the spiritual gifts described in the New Testament.
Take an online assessment to help you discover and cultivate your gifts.
Fountain of love
From the earliest days of the Methodist movement, John Wesley sought to help Christians live faith in the midst of ordinary lives of family, friends, work, bills, and more. He encouraged the Methodists to participate in what he called the “means of grace,” which included acts of piety like worship and prayer, along with acts of service like feeding the hungry and giving to the poor.
These acts are gifts strengthening us to live into the two-fold nature of discipleship: loving God and our neighbors.
In his hymn, Charles invites the Holy Ghost to strengthen us to live our faith daily.
Come, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire, let us thine influence prove;
source of the old prophetic fire, fountain of life and love.
Revealer of truth
John Wesley often called himself a “man of one book.” That book, of course, was the Bible.
Wesley was an ardent student of the Scriptures. He knew that the same Spirit that inspired the authors would also move in the hearts of readers centuries later, revealing God’s truth to us. The sermon states that the Holy Spirit is “a light to discern the fallacies of flesh and blood, [and] to reject the irreligious maxims of the world.”
In the second verse of “Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire,” Charles prayerfully asks the Holy Ghost to come to reveal God’s word to us.
Come, Holy Ghost (for moved by thee the prophets wrote and spoke),
unlock the truth, thyself the key, unseal the sacred book.
Bearer of New Creation
Having the Holy Spirit among us, a sign of that future day of restoration, also gives us the ability to live as people of that future now. Through the Spirit we see the world not only as it is, but as it will be, and are invited to participate in the work of reconciliation.
In Gambold's sermon we read that the Holy Spirit “is some portion of, as well as preparation for, a life in God, which we are to enjoy hereafter. The gift of the Holy Spirit looks full to the resurrection; for then is the life of God completed in us.”
When we sing verse 3 of Charles’ hymn, we pray for that day to come. Using an allusion to the presence of God’s Spirit moving over the face of the deep before the first day of Creation (see Genesis 1:2), we long for the new creation.
Expand thy wings, celestial Dove, brood o'er our nature's night;
on our disordered spirits move, and let there now be light.
Assurance of salvation
If you have ever wondered if you are really saved, you are not alone. Many Christians, including John Wesley, have gone through seasons of similar struggles. This sermon points to evidence in the gifts we see in our lives.
In "On the Holy Spirit" we read, “[W]here that divine Guest enters, the laws of another world must be observed.” A shift the Spirit brings to our priorities is then described. Where we once were primarily concerned about ourselves, the Spirit enables us to focus on our love of God and others.
In verse four of “Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire,” Charles Wesley writes how love flowing through us is evidence of the Spirit living in us.
God, through the Spirit we shall know if thou within us shine,
and sound, with all thy saints below, the depths of love divine.
It may be difficult for some of us to articulate a relationship with one described as fire, water, wind, or a dove. What we need to know is that the Spirit is the presence of the Holy in and around us each day, enabling us to live into the people God created us to be and will be restored to one day.
The Spirit is the presence of the Holy ... enabling us to live as the people God created us to be. #UMC #Pentecost
TWEET THISLearn more about the spiritual gifts described in the New Testament, and take an online assessment to help you discover and cultivate your gifts.
*Joe Iovino works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. Contact him atjiovino@umcom.org or 615-312-3733.
Read story
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.
Saturday, May 23
Wesley Festival Gala Concert — The event at 8 p.m. EDT at the Kennedy Center in Washington will feature choirs and singers from across the country and benefit Imagine No Malaria. Tickets are on sale.Details.
Sunday, May 24
Heritage Sunday — United Methodists celebrate John Wesley's Aldersgate spiritual awakening on May 24, 1738, by also celebrating the history of the movement he started. This year's theme will focus on the Wesleyan movement's heritage of welcoming the stranger. The United Methodist Commission on Archives and History provides resources.
Thursday-Saturday, May 28-30
United Methodist Women's History: Voices Lost & Found conference — In preparation for the 150th anniversary of the United Methodist Women in 2019, Methodist Theological School in Ohio will host a conference on campus, 3081 Columbus Pike in Delaware, Ohio. A $90 registration fee covers all conference activities, meals on Friday and breakfast on Saturday. One continuing education unit is available for an additional fee of $25. Details.
You can see more educational opportunities and other upcoming events in the life of the church here.
United Methodist Communications
810 12th Avenue South
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-4704
umcom@umcom.org
Phone: 615.742.5400
____________________________
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