e-Review archive
Global Connection
January 2005
 

United Methodists tap ingenuity, compassion to raise relief funds

Jan. 3, 2005    United Methodist News Service He wasn't sure it would work, but the Rev. Dann Houghton was willing to give it a try. As pastor of two small churches in Oregon, Houghton decided to hold a "Tsunami Sing" before the Jan. 2 Sunday service. "For a donation to the relief fund, we sang requested hymns," Houghton says. He leads the Drain and Yoncalla United Methodist churches in the Oregon-Idaho Annual (regional) Conference. He wasn't expecting the response that followed. "I was flabbergasted!" Members would enthusiastically call out hymns, and everyone would join in singing, he says. full story

UMCOR on USAID list for tsunami relief

Jan. 4, 2005     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05002} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is among the humanitarian agencies recognized by the U.S. government as providing assistance to tsunami-ravaged countries. UMCOR has had "long-standing cooperative relationship" with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), according to Jim Cox, executive director of UMCOR's nongovernmental organization. "USAID and UMCOR have jointly funded programs in both emergency and development programs worldwide," Cox told United Methodist News Service. "We work together on programs from the Congo to Afghanistan. We will be in coordination with USAID as we look at UMCOR's response to the tsunami." On its Web site ( www.usaid.gov ), USAID has a list of "Relief Organizations Working in the Disaster Area" for Tsunami/earthquake relief. In addition to UMCOR, the agencies listed include Church World Service and Stop Hunger Now. full story

Faith coalition helps Sri Lankans in struggle to recovery

Jan. 6, 2005     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05009} United Methodist News Service COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (UMNS) —  Homeless and hungry, survivors of the tsunami that struck Sri Lanka on Dec. 26 are struggling to carry on with life in almost a thousand temporary shelters around the island nation, accompanied by faith communities providing food, clothing, shelter and other support. Among those providing critical care for the 900,000 people who lost their homes to the huge waves is the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, a member of Action by Churches Together International. ACT is a global alliance of churches and church-based agencies, including the United Methodist Committee on Relief. full story

One Great Hour of Sharing offering 'essential' to aid work, exec says

Jan. 6, 2005     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05010} United Methodist News Service As soon as news of the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean hit the airwaves, the United Methodist Committee on Relief responded. "Being there" is UMCOR's priority. On behalf of the United Methodist Church, UMCOR provides relief wherever catastrophe strikes. Coordinating efforts with faith-based partners around the world, the agency rushes to disaster areas with aid such as food, clothing, shelter and medicine. After immediate needs have been met, UMCOR stays to help survivors rebuild. As of Jan. 6, United Methodists had contributed more than $1 million in online gifts to support relief for survivors of the Dec. 26 tsunami. Money continues to pour in, and every dollar given to "South Asia Emergency - UMCOR Advance 274305" goes directly to aid for the affected region. The same is true for all other UMCOR Advance giving. full story

United Methodist chaplain serves in mission of mercy

Jan. 6, 2005     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05011} United Methodist News Service In a sea of despair, Navy Chaplain Lt. Gregory J. McCrimmon sees himself as a lifeline representing God's love. The Rev. McCrimmon, a United Methodist, is one of four chaplains aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, operating in the ocean near Thailand and Indonesia. Helicopters make repeated trips to areas devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunami. Crews bring in supplies and take out the wounded most in need of medical treatment. "There are a lot of bodies," he says. "I would say at least 30 to 40 percent of the dead have been washed to sea. The percentage may be higher than that; I think that is a very conservative estimate." full story

United Methodist online giving tops $1 million for aid effort

Jan. 5, 2005     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05005} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Church has surpassed $1 million in online gifts in response to the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Bishop Peter D. Weaver, president of the denomination's Council of Bishops, announced Jan. 4. "There is no question United Methodist people are very generous people--that is not just about money, it is about prayers, heart, caring and love," Weaver said. "Our United Methodists, as part of the larger human family, have again demonstrated love for neighbor as well as love of God with their response to the tsunami earthquake disaster." full story

UMCOR allocates $750,000 in tsunami relief

Jan. 6, 2005     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05012} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — The United Methodist Committee on Relief has provided about $750,000 in relief to the tsunami stricken Indian Ocean region as of Jan. 6. Additional aid will be forthcoming, according to the Rev. Paul Dirdak, UMCOR's top staff executive. A truckload of health kits valued around $500,000 is on its way from UMCOR, along with kits from other denominations. Church World Service is coordinating that effort. The remaining $250,000 is being used for grants to Churches Auxiliary for Social Action in India, Christian Medical Association of India, the Methodist Church of Singapore and Church World Service. full story

UMCOR depot serves as hub for aid to tsunami-stricken areas

Jan. 7, 2005     News media contact:   Fran  Coode Walsh * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05014} United Methodist News Service BALDWIN, La. (UMNS) — Thousands of health kits with soap, bandages and other essentials are headed to Asia from the United Methodist Committee on Relief. The kits were assembled by volunteers from around the United States working at UMCOR's Sager Brown Depot in south Louisiana. The depot is a hub for the flow of relief supplies from UMCOR to points around the globe. full story

United Methodist delegation takes medicine, support to Indonesia

Jan. 7, 2005     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05016} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — Top mission and communications leaders of the United Methodist Church leave on Jan. 10 to convey Christian love and medicine to people near the center of the earthquake that triggered devastating tidal waves Dec. 26 in the Indian Ocean area. full story

Family gives thanks that missionary, orphans survived tsunami

Jan. 10, 2005   United Methodist News Service WASHINGTON (UMNS) — "The sea is coming!" These words haunt Diyana Sanders, a member of Grace United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg, Md. They were spoken by an orphan in Sri Lanka at 8:45 a.m. on Dec. 26, as one of the deadliest tsunamis in history approached the orphanage where Diyana's brother, Dayalan Sanders, worked. A day so full of tragedy - when at least 150,000 people died - also had its miracles. For the Sanders family, one of those miracles occurred at the orphanage. full story

Sri Lankans work across religious lines to help with recovery

Jan. 10, 2005   United Methodist News Service BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka (UMNS) — Abdul Mahid stands looking at what is left of his house. Unlike his neighbors, he is not searching through the rubble - all that remains of his home. "More than 50 of my neighbors died," he says. He is still dazed at having escaped the force of the waves with his life. full story

Methodists across Europe respond to tsunami

Jan. 11, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05022} United Methodist News Service Horrified by what they saw and heard of the destruction wrought by deadly tsunamis in South Asia, Methodists across Europe have lined up to help in whatever way they can. full story

UMCOR sets stage for long-term recovery

Jan. 11, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05024} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — In Sri Lanka, United Methodist relief agency staff are looking at ways to plug gaps in longer-term recovery plans, even as aid workers continue responding to the immediate needs of tsunami survivors. The Rev. Kristin L. Sachen, head of disaster response for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and Guy Hovey, international operations director, are meeting with representatives from other aid agencies in Colombo, Sri Lanka. full story

United Methodists’ contributions for tsunami aid reach $2 million

Jan. 11, 2005 United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — United Methodist contributions to tsunami relief in the Indian Ocean region reached $2 million as of Jan. 10, as officials continued processing donations. The figure incorporates the total of what has been given by online and telephone credit-card donations but only part of the boxes of checks received, according to Roland Fernandes, treasurer of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the parent organization of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. full story

United Methodists pour out compassion for victims of tsunami

Jan. 12, 2005    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05026} United Methodist News Service Compassion washed through Bethesda (Md.) United Methodist Church Jan. 9, as a special concert raised $6,000 for the survivors and victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami. The church sponsored a "Wave of Compassion" concert, and 100 people from the congregation and community attended. The church has raised more than $12,000 since Jan. 2 to send to the United Methodist Committee on Relief. "The concert gave people a chance to respond, a way to reach out to those in the face of disaster," said the Rev. Ronald K. Foster. "It was a great event, fun and poignant at the same time. This disaster has touched people very deeply." Concerts, paper chains, water purification tablets and offerings of prayers and money are just some of the ways United Methodist across the connection are reaching out to the survivors of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. full story

Online communities connect Christians in cyberspace

Jan. 12, 2005    News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470*  Nashville {05028} United Methodist News Service A U.S. soldier in Iraq watches sermons on live streaming video. A woman isolated by her chemotherapy draws strength from daily e-mails. And members of a Minnesota church use technology to stay in touch while wintering in Florida. All three are examples of Web ministry through online church communities. "It's really a way of ministering beyond the walls of your church - a way of reaching more people than we reach in church on Sunday," says Mark Stephenson, director of cyber ministry and technology at the Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio. full story

Best way to help relief effort: stay home, make donation, agency says

Jan. 14, 2005    News media contact:  Michael Wacht*     407-897-1140    mwacht@flumc.org     Orlando  {0226} An e-Review Feature By Kathy L. Gilbert** UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE — In the wake of televised images of the death and destruction in the tsunami-ravaged countries of South Asia and Africa, many United Methodists are feeling the need to go and help. full story

Sri Lanka's tsunami victims return to what's left of home

Jan. 12, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05030} United Methodist News Service JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (UMNS) — Mary Sriyoyogaveni isn't ready to go home yet. Sheltered in the Holy Trinity Methodist Church in Kaddaively, she is still healing from the lacerations she suffered when the Dec. 26 tsunami ripped through the coastal fishing villages in this part of northern Sri Lanka, on the Bay of Bengal. And then there are the wounds that will never heal: Sriyoyogaveni lost a daughter and two grandchildren to the waves. Another daughter is in a nearby hospital with broken legs. full story

African United Methodists pray, raise funds for tsunami victims

Jan. 13, 2005   United Methodist News Service United Methodists in Africa are raising money and praying for their brothers and sisters in South Asia, who have suffered most of the deaths and destruction from the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami also struck the northeast coast of Africa. According to reports, one person was killed in Seychelles, one in Kenya and 13 in Tanzania. Somalia, the hardest-hit country in Africa, lost nearly 300 lives. In a dozen countries around the Indian Ocean, about 150,000 people are believed dead and many are still missing. full story

Indonesian city of Medan provides aid for injured, homeless

Jan. 14, 2005 United Methodist News Service MEDAN, Indonesia (UMNS) — On the streets of Medan — where motorcycles, trucks, mini-buses and pedi-cabs sluggishly push past a landscape of small shops and meandering people — the effect of the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated the Aceh Province to the north is not immediately apparent. But at the Rumah Sakit Methodist Hospital, along with other hospitals in the area, survivors of the tsunami are receiving the medical care they couldn't get earlier. For some, like a 20-year-old man with an amputation, the consequences have been severe. Others suffer from malaria, pneumonia or leg fractures. full story

Methodists provide aid in hard-hit Indonesian province

Jan. 14, 2005 United Methodist News Service BIREUEN, Indonesia (UMNS) — When U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Banda Aceh to survey tsunami damage there, the world's attention followed. Other scenes of destruction in the Aceh Province have received less notice. The town of Bireuen is one of them, according to the Rev. Fajar Lim of the Gereja Methodist Indonesia (Methodist Church of Indonesia). full story

Returning to Banda Aceh, pastor sees 'unbelievable' destruction

Jan. 14, 2005 United Methodist News Service BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (UMNS) — As you drive along Tenku Umar, the road to Loknga Beach, the piles of debris grow bigger and higher. Uprooted palm trees and planks of wood, ripped from houses, are everywhere. Mattresses, tangled metal, plastic bottles, woven baskets, pieces of clothing and an odd assortment of household items are mired in water and mud. The debris — and the destruction — go on for miles. The houses left standing, many of them uninhabitable, have varying degrees of damage. Rice paddies, now brown and flooded with saltwater, are rendered useless. full story

United Methodist delegation comforts Indonesian church, bishop says

Jan. 14, 2005 United Methodist News Service MEDAN, Indonesia (UMNS) — The tsunami disaster in Indonesia has allowed United Methodists to reconnect with their Methodist counterparts here. The Jan. 12 arrival of a United Methodist delegation "is of great significance to our church," said Bishop Rusman Pungka Mual Tambunan of the North and Central Sumatran Conference of the Gereja Methodist Indonesia (Methodist Church of Indonesia). The tsunami tragedy is "so sad and so vast," the bishop said, then added through a translator: "Our heart is comforted by your presence. I thank you for being with us as members of one family." full story

UMCOR stays course in 'mega-disaster' relief

Jan. 18, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05042} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — How well do relief operations follow through with rehabilitation after "mega-disasters" such as the earthquake and tsunamis that swept the Indian Ocean Dec. 26? The New York Times posed that question in a front-page story Jan. 11, using as examples the 1998 hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the 2000 floods in Mozambique and the 2003 earthquake in Iran. The story described unfinished housing dotting the Honduran landscape and uncompleted projects in Bam, Iran. "We are abandoned," a resident of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, said. "In big, complex recoveries from mega-disasters, we plan to be in place for a long time — for years," said the Rev. Kristin Sachen of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. full story

Weekday ministries thrive at downtown churches

Jan. 18, 2005    News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470*  Nashville {05044} United Methodist News Service Not long ago, many Americans lived, worked, worshipped and shopped downtown. That changed as people moved to suburbia. Churches moved with them, expanding in a way not possible with urban land constraints to meet the needs of a changing population. Still, downtown Methodist churches remain a vital part of many cities. Members have overcome such obstacles as declining residential populations, parking headaches and even — in the case of Oklahoma City — terrorist activity, to continue serving their ever-changing neighborhoods. In doing so, the churches themselves have changed the way they do ministry and worship. full story

Giving to UMCOR tsunami relief exceeds $4 million

Jan. 21, 2005    News media contact:  Michael Wacht*     407-897-1140    mwacht@flumc.org     Orlando  {0232} An e-Review Feature By Elliott Wright** NEW YORK (UMNS) — Contributions to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) for Asian tsunami relief passed the $4 million mark during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. full story

CNN features United Methodist pastor on 'get-fit' program

Jan. 18, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05041} United Methodist News Service ATLANTA (UMNS) — The Rev. Leigh Ann Raynor, senior pastor of the 1,200-member Thomasville First United Methodist Church, is used to being in the limelight within her congregation, but now she is taking center stage on a much larger platform — the worldwide cable network of CNN. Raynor is one of five people selected to participate in the "New You Revolution," a project of CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to help people get fit and manage their health situations. Some 4,000 people applied by writing a letter to cnn.com. full story

Take precautions when giving online, UMCOR executive says

Jan. 19, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05046} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — Online giving came of age for the United Methodist Committee on Relief and for many people in the church in response to the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean. More than a fourth of the $2 million given to UMCOR in the first two weeks of the relief efforts came from online credit card gifts. The online giving option was developed through a partnership between UMCOR and United Methodist Communications. "We have had very few problems in making a major shift to electronic giving," says Glenda Survance, director of information services at the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, UMCOR's parent organization. "Online giving is extremely safe, but there are a few ways in which scam artists can mess up an occasional transaction," she continued. "So we have developed a short list of precautions that donors to UMCOR should follow." full story

United Methodist pastor gives benediction at inauguration

Jan. 20, 2005    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04050} United Methodist News Service United Methodist Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell asked for God's blessing on George W. Bush's family and administration during the president's Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony in Washington. As he did in Bush's first inaugural ceremony in 2001, Caldwell gave the benediction after the president's address. full story

United Methodist pastor preaches at National Prayer Service

Jan. 21, 2005 United Methodist News Service Not only does America have a future, but it is a future that is good and full of hope, a United Methodist pastor said during the National Prayer Service Jan. 21. "We all have a future, and the Bible tells us the future is good," said the Rev. Mark Craig, pastor of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas. "The reason the future is good is because God loves each and every one of us." The National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral wrapped up four days of inaugural celebrations for President George W. Bush. Highland Park is the home church of George and Laura Bush. full story

NCC delegation to seek peace opportunities in Middle East

Jan. 21, 2005 United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — The question "How can we make the current opportunity for peace a reality?" will be central to the Jan. 21-Feb. 4 mission of a National Council of Churches delegation to the Middle East. The 11-member group will be led by Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt Jr., a Christian Methodist Episcopal Church leader and NCC president, and the Rev. Robert W. Edgar, a United Methodist pastor and the agency's chief executive. They will press their conviction that governments and people of faith must seize the opportunity presented by recent developments - for example, the election of new Palestinian leadership and the Israeli government's movement on the settlement issue - to get the Middle East peace process back on track. full story

New Connectional Table plans state-of-church report

Jan. 24, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04056} United Methodist News Service SAN DIEGO (UMNS) — An annual state-of-the-church report will be presented to members of the United Methodist Church around the world. That's the first major decision made by the newly created "Connectional Table," meeting Jan. 20-23. The 60-member body, comprising staff executives and officers of denominational agencies and representatives of ethnic caucuses and jurisdictions around the world, invited the Council of Bishops to join in preparing the annual statement. If the bishops agree, the first report would be issued in 2006. full story

Church would be healthier if bishops elected nationally, dean says

Jan. 24, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05058} United Methodist News Service SAN DIEGO (UMNS) — Electing bishops on a national instead of regional basis could be good for the United Methodist Church, a seminary dean told denominational leaders. "We've become an increasingly regional church, (and) we would be healthier as a church if we elected bishops on a national basis," said the Rev. Russell Richey, dean of United Methodist-related Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. full story

College students open hearts, raise funds for tsunami survivors

Jan. 25, 2005    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05055} United Methodist News Service Shonti Breisch, a student at United Methodist-related University of Puget Sound, was vacationing with her family at a resort area of Khoa Lak, Thailand, when the Dec. 26 tsunami hit. Her 15-year-old sister, Kali, died. Her 16-year-old brother, Jai, barely survived. Ron Thomas, president of the Tacoma, Wash., university, says Breisch wanted people to hear about her experience. "Shonti asks that we share her family's story to help others appreciate the magnitude of what has happened, the resilience of the Thai people and the miracle of her brother's survival," he said. As the waves crashed over South Asia and Africa, many college students were on holiday break. On many campuses, officials are checking on students from the affected areas and hearing stories like Shonti's. At the same time, a tidal wave of response is on the way from returning students and faculty as they plan prayer vigils, concerts, spaghetti suppers and other creative fund raisers in response to the disaster, which left more than 200,000 dead and millions homeless. full story

Task force begins General Conference-mandated study of episcopacy

Jan. 25, 2005     St. Paul School of Theology     Contact:  The Rev. Dr. Myron McCoy, President 816-483-9600 CHICAGO — The United Methodist Church’s new Task Force to Study the Episcopacy, mandated by last year’s General Conference, has chosen its leadership and is creating a timeline to listen to the church as it fulfills its work. General Conference delegates directed the task force to study “all aspects of the episcopacy” — that is, the office of bishop in The United Methodist Church. The group will examine the theological, historical and missional basis for the office, as well as bishops’ responsibilities and how the church supports them financially. Leadership of the task force is shared by the Rev. Dr. Myron McCoy, president of St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City; Carolyn Briscoe, a laywoman from the Southeastern Jurisdiction and the Rev. Rachel Lieder Simeon from the Western Jurisdiction. “The General Conference, with very limited funding, has given us a Herculean task with numerous sensitive points which could impact large segments of our church,” McCoy said. “We are of one mind in our plan to be resourceful, thoughtful, and thorough in delivering what we hope will be a faithful response to the assignment. The task force set up a timeline as it begins to study the theological and financial issues surrounding the episcopacy. The team next meets November 6-9, 2005, in Atlanta.  A major element of its strategy will be listening posts within each jurisdiction to be held in early 2006. The listening posts will gather input of United Methodists’ hopes and concerns for the episcopacy.  The task force met in Chicago Jan. 17-18. full story

African church offers model for evangelism, growth

Jan. 26, 2005 United Methodist News Service Just four months after the Rev. Anastacio Chembeze was appointed pastor of a church in northern Mozambique, his chief concern is the shortage of trained church workers for his growing congregation. The new minister of Central United Methodist Church in Deira also worries about the size of the building the 1,000-member congregation is constructing with no outside funding. "We are always getting new people, so I am also hoping that the congregation will not have outgrown the church by the time we finish the building," he says. Nowhere have churches been more successful than in Africa, where the number of Christians has grown from 10 million in 1990 to 360 million today. Mozambique's United Methodists, who ended their annual conference session Dec. 12, reported an 8,000-person membership increase for 2004. full story

New hymns respond to need for healing in wake of tsunami

Jan. 27, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05065} United Methodist News Service In the aftermath of the world's deadliest natural disaster, complexities abound. How will we help care for the injured and orphaned? Assist in burying the dead? Bring food and healing and hope to survivors in the 12 countries touching the Indian Ocean, where nearly 300,000 people have died and millions have lost so much? Beyond the call for prayer, donations and manpower, some United Methodists say they have been moved to bring an offering of song to those who are suffering as a result of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami. full story

Forgiveness offers hope for healing after national conflicts

Jan. 27, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05066} United Methodist News Service Wearing an embroidered purple suit, Nohle Mohapi sat straight and dignified as she recounted her imprisonment, the interrogations, beatings and torture under South Africa's apartheid government. Placed in solitary confinement after her activist husband died in police custody in 1976, she spoke of electric shocks, cigarette burns and the suffocating hours spent with a sack over her head as interrogators tried to extract confessions of terrorism. Mohapi's riveting testimony in 1996 opened a seven-year quest for truth by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has become a model for seeking national healing and forgiveness in a world where no country can claim a flag completely free of stains. full story

Modern circuit rider uses pickup truck, Palm Pilot

Jan. 31, 2005    News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470*  Nashville {05070} United Methodist News Service The Rev. Randy Beeler sometimes feels like a throwback to the preacher on horseback with a Bible in his saddlebag. Especially when he jumps into his aging Toyota Tacoma pickup and drives 25 miles or so to preach for an audience of 50 at Wesley United Methodist Church in Bryan, Texas — then gets back in the truck to drive eight miles to preach to 38 worshipers awaiting him at his second church, Alexander United Methodist. Pastors in small, underserved rural communities still minister to more than one congregation, often traveling miles to preach at different churches. Those churches don't garner the same level of attention as their large-membership counterparts in the city, Beeler says. full story

Mega church announces plans for mega development in Houston

Jan. 31, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05071} United Methodist News Service HOUSTON (UMNS) — More than 10,000 members of the largest U.S. United Methodist congregation wept and cheered Jan. 30 as leaders unveiled a multifaceted plan for growth at Windsor Village United Methodist Church. During a combined "Celebrate Life Together" service at the Toyota Center, the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell introduced a 10-minute video for the Kingdom Builders Center, including architectural renderings for a 6,500-seat sanctuary, a 24-hour prayer center and a family life complex in southwest Houston. The primarily African-American congregation currently meets for its seven weekend services at three different locations, having grown from 25 worshippers in 1982 to its current membership of more than 14,000. full story