e-Review archive
Global Connection
February 2005
 

United Methodists continue hurricane aid in Alabama-West Florida

Feb. 1, 2005     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05072} United Methodist News Service ATMORE, Ala. (UMNS) — United Methodist churches throughout the Alabama-West Florida Annual (regional) Conference are continuing to help their communities recover from Hurricane Ivan, four months after the storm. In partnership with the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the conference expects to be involved in the long-term recovery process for at least two to three years. full story

Church offers opportunities to help children affected by tsunami

Feb. 1, 2005     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05073} United Methodist News Service Countless thousands of children were left homeless, orphaned or traumatized after the Dec. 26 tsunami slammed into 12 countries around the Indian Ocean. As the children struggle to survive, they become even more vulnerable. Deciding how to respond to a tragedy of such proportions can be daunting. The United Methodist Committee on Relief has raised more than $6 million as of Jan. 25 for tsunami relief, and since a large percentage of the survivors are children, those funds will provide immediate and long-term help to many of them. Beyond that, the church offers other programs that more specifically minister to children. full story

UMCOR readies start-up operations in Sri Lanka, Indonesia

Feb. 2, 2005     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05077} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — Guy Hovey was in Sarajevo, Bosnia, during the siege of that city, and he witnessed in Northern Iraq how Saddam Hussein's efforts at ethnic cleansing wiped away entire villages. But Hovey — who directs operations for Europe and Asia for the United Methodist Committee on Relief — was unprepared for the magnitude of the devastation he found in Sri Lanka after the Dec. 26 tsunami. Though only sections of the country were struck by the tsunami, "the destruction is just total in the affected areas," he said. "Nothing comes close to the scope of it. The power of nature is unbelievable." full story

Korean United Methodist council sets vision for 2005-2008

Feb. 2, 2005     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05078} United Methodist News Service The Korean church is a "gifted community with much to offer the whole church," a bishop told leaders at the organizational meeting of the United Methodist Council on Korean American Ministries. "We actively serve God's people through our collective gifts and wish to join continually for glorious transformation and God's miraculous expectation for the United Methodist Church," said Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, who leads the denomination's Chicago Area. In setting a vision for the council, he said members of the Korean-American United Methodist community are not just consumers but contributors toward a "future-oriented, gifted community of faith." full story

Church leaders focus on building healthy congregations

Feb. 2, 2005     News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05079} United Methodist News Service HOUSTON (UMNS) — Faith formation, disciple making and social witness are the foundations of healthy congregations, speakers told United Methodist leaders at a conference on building strong churches. About 1,300 local church and conference leaders from across the United States met Jan. 27-30 to learn more about creating and maintaining healthy congregations. full story

Is the World Wide Web changing our ethics?

Feb. 3, 2005     News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470*  Nashville {05080} United Methodist News Service A boss peeks at employee e-mail. A straight-arrow college student rushes to draft a term paper by cutting and pasting entire paragraphs from Internet sites. A teenager who never would shoplift a CD has no problem downloading music without paying for it. A Colorado woman awaiting a kidney transplant tracks down her own donor through the Internet, prompting new worries about organ trafficking. Is the World Wide Web changing our ethics? full story

United Methodists open table to homeless

Feb. 7, 2005     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05082} United Methodist News Service HOUSTON (UMNS) — Inspired to action, some United Methodists in town for a conference on creating healthy congregations left their plush hotel, walked to a fast-food restaurant and bought 400 meals for a group of homeless people living under an expressway overpass. full story

Native American Women cited as one of most neglected U.S. populations

Feb. 4, 2005     News media contact:   Kelly C. Martini * (212) 870-3729 Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church The United Methodist Women's Division Office of Public Policy is urging its one-million member organization to become involved in advocacy with Native American women. The office released an action alert this week citing Native American women as one of the most neglected populations in the United States. The report states that years of violence, disease, and unjust government policies have created the problems. According to the Friends Committee on National Legislation, suicide and poverty rates are at disproportionately high numbers: "Suicide is second highest cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives aged 15 to 24 and the third cause of death for Native American children aged 10 to 14. Native Americans have among the highest rates of diabetes and chronic kidney failure. The poverty rate on Native American reservations is 31 percent, the highest poverty rate in America. Approximately 46 percent of Native Americans are unemployed." full story

UMCOR opens mission in Sudan

Feb. 8, 2005     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05084} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — The United Methodist Committee on Relief is now providing direct relief and rehabilitation in the embattled Darfur region of Sudan. Opened in early February, the mission's priorities include providing emergency aid and development services in water, sanitation, and agriculture. The initial work will be concentrated in South Darfur, on the western side of Sudan in northeastern Africa. full story

Sudanese church leaders meet to consider future

Feb. 10, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05086} United Methodist News Service NAIROBI, Kenya (ENI) — A meeting of Sudanese Christian leaders in Nairobi has ended with a warning that churches risk being marginalized if they cannot draw up a clear strategy after an agreement by the Sudanese government and rebels to end a long-running civil war. "Sudan is at the most dangerous stage now," said the Rev. Mvume Dandala, a Methodist and chief executive of the Nairobi-based All Africa Conference of Churches, which hosted the two-day meeting that ended Feb. 8. "The churches must unite to fortify the peace." The 21-year-long civil war, in which predominantly Christian and animist southern Sudanese struggled for autonomy from the mainly Islamic north, also led to the formation of two ecumenical church groups for the country. full story

Dominican cocoa farmers recover with United Methodist help

Feb. 11, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05088} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — When Hurricane Jeanne struck the Dominican Republic last September, the resulting damage affected some 1,600 cocoa farmers. Those farmers — or producers, as they are called by the National Confederation of Dominican Cocoa Producers — are part of the United Methodist Committee on Relief's coffee project. The project encourages people to buy "fair trade" items such as coffee, tea, cocoa and chocolate. In 2004, United Methodist churches and individuals bought 34 tons of products through Equal Exchange, which markets fair trade items. A $10,000 grant from UMCOR, along with a similar contribution from Equal Exchange, helped the producers recover from the hurricane, according to Abel Fernandes, a manager with the cocoa producers confederation. full story

Black caucus still fills vital role, leaders say

Feb. 16, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05094} United Methodist News Service In 1968, African Americans created a caucus to advocate for their concerns — and their future — in the new United Methodist Church. Black Methodists for Church Renewal was formed following the dissolution of the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction. Now 37 years old, BMCR has a been a strong advocate for the black colleges related to the denomination; for parity for black clergy in the appointment process, in compensation and in other areas; and for the inclusion of African Americans in positions of leadership in the church. The caucus remains unique because of its keen concern for the future of African Americans in the denomination, said Bishop Melvin Talbert, the interim executive director. full story

Many white Methodists joined fight against segregated church

Feb. 16, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05093} United Methodist News Service The Rev. Denny Gleaton learned the dangers of preaching against segregation during the 1960s. Gleaton, since deceased, served a circuit of white Methodist churches in South Carolina in 1968, the year the denomination was desegregated, said the Rev. Eben Taylor, 80, a former district superintendent of the South Carolina Annual Conference. "Denny knew who he was and to whom he belonged," Taylor said. Sermons against segregation resulted in Gleaton's gas tank being filled with sand. And after preaching in one church and preparing to leave for a second, he found his tires had been stolen and his car was resting on cinder blocks. Soon after those experiences, Gleaton received a telephone call. "We're tired of you," said a deep voice. "Better get your loved ones out of the parsonage." Gleaton's adult children were not home, and his wife went to stay with relatives, but he stayed up all night. Finally, a late-night phone call came. "Got you worried don't we, preacher boy?" said the same chilling voice. "We'll be there tomorrow night." full story

Church's 1936 debate revealed passions, differences over race

Feb. 16, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05091} United Methodist News Service Long before the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction was formed, white Methodists had debated what to do about the "Negro problem." The differences between the Northern and Southern Methodist denominations had been "fermenting just below the surface, and although there were those people who were trying to move the church toward union," issues of race had been a stumbling block, said Marilyn Magee Talbert, author of The Past Matters: A Chronology of African Americans in The United Methodist Church. "There were always proposals about what do you do about the Negroes," she said. full story

Remembering Central Jurisdiction: 'The story needs to be told'

Feb. 16, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05090} United Methodist News Service When Bishop Leontine Kelly was growing up, she remembers her father giving sage advice to her brother, who was considering leaving the Methodist Church over racism. "He said, 'You don't win the battle by leaving the battlefield,'" Kelly recalls. The battle was being waged within the Methodist Church, and African Americans had become reluctant soldiers in a fight for their survival within the church structure. full story

Soaring health costs turn churches into primary care providers

Feb. 17, 2005    News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470*  Nashville {05101} United Methodist News Service In a downtown neighborhood of Wichita, Kan., where the elderly make their homes alongside the working poor, churches know the need that many residents have for basic health care. So four years ago, a group of churches joined with local health providers to organize annual health fairs offering inoculations, blood screenings and other services. Some recipients were so grateful they were close to tears. full story

HIV/AIDS orphans affecting women from Kenya to Rocky Mountains and Nebraska

Feb. 18, 2005     News media contact:   Kelly C. Martini * (212) 870-3729 Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church In the Mulathankari village in Meru district of Kenya, the young people attend school then leave for the cities where they can find jobs and opportunities. But the city is not home. And when they contract HIV/AIDS, they come home with their children to die. Anne Kiome Gatobu, a member of Lodgepool United Methodist Women in Nebraska conference, realized the significance of this when she returned to her home village for a brother's funeral. He had died from meningitis. But more than her brother's death, she says, she was most affected by the number of orphans left by HIV/AIDS and the grandparents who care for them. full story

Light media coverage means lack of funds for crisis-plagued Africa

Feb. 21, 2005    News media contact:   Matt  Carlisle * (615) 742-5470*  Nashville {05107} United Methodist News Service After a Dec. 26 earthquake generated a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, extensive news coverage spurred some $6 billion in donations to governments and relief agencies in less than a month. But lack of coverage can mean little money. Although millions of people in Africa continue to suffer from the scourges of war, disease and poverty, people elsewhere who might be inspired to open their wallets don't hear of the need for humanitarian aid. full story

Commentary: Tragedies provide chance to respond in faith

Feb. 22, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05110} United Methodist News Service The images from Southeast Asia are horrific: entire towns washed away, shorelines laid bare, mountains of dead bodies. Can our minds even conceive a disaster taking 150,000 lives? Only four months ago we were wondering how to cope with four hurricanes in Florida. Disasters like the earthquake/tsunami and the hurricanes, as well as other heart-breaking situations, often cause us to question the goodness and providence of God. It is one of the oldest and still the hardest question of all: Why does God allow such suffering? Did God send the tsunami to punish all those people? What could they have done to deserve that? full story

United Methodist-supported program promotes solar cooking in Haiti

Feb. 23, 2005    News media contact:   Fran  Walsh * (615) 742-5458*  Nashville {05113} United Methodist News Service While baking, boiling and frying are easily accomplished by most families in developed nations, cooking a simple meal can be a daily challenge in impoverished countries such as Haiti. The island nation's ongoing economic woes and massive environmental destruction have contributed to the pillaging of virtually all of Haiti's trees, which often are used for charcoal and cooking fuel. The practical consequences of deforestation have been devastating for families. Obtaining cooking fuel is a daily struggle, and many women are forced to walk long distances to find firewood. During numerous mission trips to Haiti, United Methodist missionary Rick Jost saw the problem firsthand. Thus, Solar Oven Partners was born. full story

UMCOR receives $15 million for tsunami aid

Feb. 24, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {05116} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — A total of $15 million has been contributed to the United Methodist Committee on Relief for post-tsunami recovery work in the Indian Ocean region. "We are extremely pleased, but we are not surprised," said Roland Fernandes, treasurer of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, which is UMCOR's parent organization. "United Methodists are known for their generosity in times of great human distress." full story

When I fall on my knees

Feb. 25, 2005     News media contact:   Dean McIntyre * (877) 899-2780 Music Resources, General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church Much has been written about the coded language in the Spirituals used to convey messages and information between slaves without their owners' knowledge. This secret communication comes together with other elements to play an important role in the development of one of the most known and sung Spirituals today, "Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees." full story

United Methodist giving grows, despite membership drop

Feb. 25, 2005    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05118} United Methodist News Service United Methodists increased their giving by nearly 4 percent to the denomination's churchwide ministry during 2004, despite the loss of more than 69,000 members. The increase of almost $4.4 million to the United Methodist Church's seven apportioned funds marks a reversal from slight decreases in the two preceding years, noted Sandra Lackore, treasurer and head of the denomination's financial agency. full story

Mission team brings healing to Sierra Leone village

Feb. 28, 2005    News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {05122} United Methodist News Service JACKSON, Tenn. — An ecumenical volunteer team to Sierra Leone helped villagers learn how to combat water-borne illnesses with new equipment. The 16-member team of United Methodists, Roman Catholics and Presbyterians treated at least 500 people at the United Methodist Clinic in Taiama. Most of the members came from west Tennessee, but some were from Illinois, New Jersey, Minnesota and the African country of Mauritania. During its Jan. 2-16 visit, the team treated people for malaria, tuberculosis, worms, malnutrition, dehydration, respiratory diseases and intestinal diseases. full story

UMCom adopts plan to lead church into digital age

Feb. 28, 2005    News media contact:   Ginny  Underwood * (615) 742-5470*  Nashville {05123} United Methodist News Service MARLBORO, Mass. — Using the latest technology, United Methodist Communications is embarking on a new course to better serve the church around the world. The agency's governing directors, meeting Feb. 23-26, voted to enter into a $1.2 million partnership with Kintera Inc., a San Diego-based provider of technology services to nonprofit organizations. The move will allow UMCom to build a technology infrastructure for meeting the growing expectations of a multimedia world. full story