e-Review archive
Global Connection
February 2008
 

Bush library opponents question process for approval

Feb. 1, 2008      United Methodist News Service DALLAS — Officials of Southern Methodist University say they have approval to give the George W. Bush Foundation a 99-year lease to build a presidential library, museum and policy institute on school property. The lease is renewable up to 249 years. However, United Methodists who oppose building the library and institute here argue that only the church's South Central Jurisdictional Conference can give final approval for the lease. The jurisdictional conference, which meets once every four years, is scheduled to meet this July in Dallas. full story

United Methodist ethnic ministries seek $12.3 million

Feb. 7, 2008      United Methodist News Service FORT WORTH, Texas — The six ethnic ministries of The United Methodist Church are requesting a $12.3 million slice of the denomination's $642 million pie for the next four years. Representatives of the plans and initiatives highlighted accomplishments and outlined plans to expand their ministries during a Jan. 26 breakfast during the church's Pre-General Conference News Briefing. full story

Joint effort brings medicines to the Congo

Feb. 7, 2008      United Methodist News Service KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo — A diverse coalition of organizations have come together to provide medicines worth up to $14 million to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The first and largest shipment of medicines arrived Feb. 2 in Kinshasa through a cooperative effort by Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Mo.; The United Methodist Church of North Katanga; Islamic Relief USA; the United Methodist Committee on Relief; and Interchurch Medical Assistance. The U.S. Department of Defense and American Embassy in Kinshasa facilitated the shipment. A second shipment is planned. full story

United Methodists respond to storms

Feb. 8, 2008      United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — United Methodists are helping communities in four states recover from a series of tornadoes that killed nearly 60 people in one night. A rare midwinter storm spawned the tornadoes that struck the U.S. South Feb. 5, flattening homes and businesses. Alabama, Arkansas and Kentucky all suffered fatalities, with Tennessee experiencing the highest death toll at 32, according to news reports. full story

A rare breed: Professions of faith decline in UMC

Feb. 8, 2008 United Methodist Reporter   In 2005, more than 40 percent of United Methodist churches reported they did not bring in a single new member by profession of faith or restoration of faith. Mary Jacobs takes a look at the trend and related information. full story

GEN-X RISING: Culture of the church gives us reason to live

Feb. 8, 2008 United Methodist Reporter The church Jesus wants us to be is still there for us, says Andrew Thompson. But to find it, we must radically embrace our faith and turn away from life's dangerous distractions, something actors Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro apparently failed to do. full story

WESLEYAN WISDOM: Recovering the message

Feb. 8, 2008 United Methodist Reporter   We’re fast approaching another General Conference, where the great temptation will be to tinker with the machinery of United Methodism even as God calls us to recover our message. What does our Christian faith mean to us today? We can’t let American culture, secular media and dysfunctional religion define life’s meaning, says Donald Haynes. full story

'Therapy' continues: Why the church feels like a castle

Feb. 8, 2008 United Methodist Reporter   With its labyrinthine structure, the United Methodist Church today is like “a gorgeous, well-maintained castle that is on its way to being a museum — or worse, a mausoleum,” says Eric Van Meter in the second part of his imaginary therapy sessions with the church he fell in love with. full story

Task force recommends unified effort to improve health

Feb. 4, 2008      United Methodist News Service FORT WORTH, Texas — A new unified effort to improve the health of clergy and lay employees of The United Methodist Church will be recommended by an inter-agency denominational health task force when the 2008 General Conference meets in April. The task force formed after the 2004 General Conference directed the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits to examine the feasibility of a mandatory health insurance plan for the denomination. Currently, HealthFlex, the denomination's voluntary health insurance plan, covers slightly more than half of the church's annual (regional) conferences in the United States. After an in-depth study, task force members concluded that they could not recommend a mandatory plan. Instead, they made four recommendations to confront health issues by changing The Book of Discipline, the church's book of rules and by-laws. full story

2008 General Conference to welcome online visitors

Feb. 4, 2008      United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — People unable to attend the 2008 United Methodist General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, still can watch the proceedings and gather related information online with Internet access. full story

Mother, son speak out against Iraq war

Feb. 6, 2008      United Methodist News Service LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. — Celeste Zappala and her son Dante are members of a distinguished order they never would have chosen. They are part of Gold Star Families, an organization of families who have lost loved ones in the Iraq war. Sgt. Sherwood Baker, 30, died on April 26, 2004, in an explosion while guarding people who were looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He was a son, brother and father. Now his mother, Celeste, and his brother, Dante, speak out against the war to as many groups as possible. Both spoke to participants at the 2008 Lake Junaluska Peace Conference held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at a United Methodist retreat center in North Carolina. More than 400 people attended. full story

United Methodist wins Alabama election

Feb. 11, 2008     United Methodist News Service A United Methodist has become the first African American to win election from his district to the Alabama House of Representatives. The Rev. James C. Fields Jr., 54, a part-time local pastor, won a Jan. 29 special election for the District 12 seat. He was sworn into the legislature as it began a 30-day session on Feb. 5. full story

Maryland church responds to family shooting

Feb. 11, 2008     United Methodist News Service BALTIMORE — How does a church respond when four of its members are murdered and the teenager who created its prayer garden stands accused of killing them? It's a surreal question, said the Rev. Bill Brown. But faced with that reality, the congregation of Epworth United Methodist Church in Cockeysville, Md., is replying — in both words and actions — that "God cares, God is present." full story

U.N. Foundation invites church to apply for grant

Feb. 12, 2008    United Methodist News Service The United Methodist Church has been invited by the United Nations Foundation to apply for up to $5 million to underwrite a campaign to strengthen its global health ministries. The fundraising, education and outreach campaign would aim to raise $100 million over three years and especially would support the church's efforts to eradicate malaria and other diseases of poverty in Africa. full story

Pastor, family killed in crash following storms

Feb. 12, 2008     United Methodist News Service LAFAYETTE, Tenn. — After a ferocious tornado pummeled their rural Tennessee county with death and destruction, members of Lafayette United Methodist Church thought their first Sunday worship service together would be a time to give thanks for survival and to seek divine guidance to minister to their battered community. Instead, worshipers who gathered on Feb. 10 grieved an unimaginable loss — the death of Welch and his family in a traffic accident on Feb. 7, two days after the storm hit. full story

Methodist Church of Southern Africa to build seminary

Feb. 12, 2008     United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Methodist Church of Southern Africa is working to open a Methodist seminary that will develop leaders to transform the church and the nation of South Africa. "Leadership is the gift and skill of moving other people into transformative action in the world," said the Rev. Peter Storey, former bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. full story

Continued Kenya violence disrupts food supply

Feb. 14, 2008     United Methodist News Service Continued violence in Kenya has displaced hundreds of thousands of citizens and disrupted the food supply in parts of that African nation. Stockpiled food has quickly disappeared, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief is appealing to United Methodists to donate money to bolster the food supply. UMCOR has spent $120,000 on relief needs in Kenya since early January, assisting more than 10,000 people in the region. "There's just not enough food to feed people," said the Rev. Sam Dixon, UMCOR chief executive, in a Feb. 12 interview with United Methodist News Service. full story

College student: 'I'll never forget' tornado aftermath

Feb. 14, 2008     United Methodist News Service JACKSON, Tenn. — Buried for three hours under tons of rubble left by an F-4 tornado, Jordan Thompson found new brothers and a deeper belief in God. "I'd have given up, 100 percent given up, without my faith," said Thompson, a member of Germantown (Tenn.) United Methodist Church, of his entrapment after a twister leveled his two-story dormitory at Union University in Jackson. full story

Q&A: Teens talk to author; she talks to parents, us

Feb. 15, 2008 United Methodist Reporter   What are your children really thinking? Most parents can guess, but Shaunti Feldhahn took it upon herself to get hard data. After interviewing and surveying more than 1,000 teens, she compiled some of the more surprising results in her new book, For Parents Only: Getting Inside the Head of Your Kid (WaterBrook Press, 2007), which she co-authored with Lisa A. Rice. She spoke recently with staff writer Mary Jacobs. full story

COMMENTARY: On my list of things I keep meaning to do

Feb. 15, 2008 United Methodist Reporter Beth Quick considers how little time she spends in ministry with people-in-need outside her congregation. full story

COMMENTARY: Who’s your Timothy?

Feb. 15, 2008 United Methodist Reporter Often, the determining factor for a young person’s involvement in a church as an adult is whether or not they had a positive church relationship with an adult other than their parent. Peggy Osborne asks who you are mentoring in this way. full story

United Methodists discuss how to have hard conversations

Feb. 15, 2008     United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — United Methodists need to learn how to talk about divisive issues in constructive ways that bring people together, says the director of the church's JustPeace ministry. For the last few years, United Methodists have been seeking ways to have debates on difficult issues without stopping dialogue on them. As the denomination's top lawmaking assembly prepares to meet in Fort Worth, Texas, in April, bishops and other church leaders have called for a civil gathering that places more emphasis on common ministry rather than on issues such as homosexuality, which have divided previous General Conferences. full story

Research: 'Open hearts' campaign helps perceptions

Feb. 15, 2008    United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The "open hearts, open minds, open doors" media campaign of The United Methodist Church is effectively communicating key characteristics of the denomination to the public, according to new research. Telephone interviews conducted last fall indicate that those exposed to the church's nearly 8-year-old campaign were much more likely to hold favorable views of The United Methodist Church than those who did not recall the advertising. full story

Church offers 'ministry of presence' to shaken campus

Feb. 18, 2008     United Methodist News Service DeKALB, Ill. — On the Sunday before Valentine's Day, students from the Wesley Foundation at Northern Illinois University prepared a pancake breakfast at the First United Methodist Church of DeKalb, just a few blocks from campus, to raise money for a mission trip to Puerto Rico in May. The mood was festive and fun. "Everything was great," said Nikki Walters, 20, president of the school's Wesley Foundation. On Feb. 14, all had changed for the students, church and school when graduate student Steven Kazmierczak, 27, opened fire in a lecture hall on campus, killing five people and injuring 17 others before killing himself. The United Methodist Church responded quickly to the latest shooting, providing counseling and assistance to families and students, holding prayer vigils for the university community, and opening church doors to offer support and hospitality to those shaken by the events. full story

Commentary: Finding new ways to attract new clergy leaders

Feb. 19, 2008     United Methodist News Service It's a phrase heard a lot these days: Leadership development. Bookstore shelves overflow with "how to" guides for employees, managers and CEOs. Service organizations, high schools, colleges and universities profess leadership development as a core value as they work to attract students. Young children are even part of the leadership emphasis. Every morning on my way to work, I pass Tomorrow's Leaders Pre-School! Equipping the right people with the right tools, and training them with the necessary skills to do a good job today and in the future, has always been important. full story

Border consultation lays groundwork on immigration

Feb. 20, 2008     United Methodist News Service EL PASO, Texas — Effective ministry and advocacy related to immigration must begin on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border as a partnership of The United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church of Mexico, according to church leaders along the border. Possibilities for such partnerships were explored during a Feb. 8-10 border consultation called "Abrazando a Mi Prójimo," or "Embracing My Neighbor," sponsored by the Methodist Border Mission Network. The event's goal was to help the church reach across the border and work together as neighbors in common ministry, particularly as the church works to respond to the impact of immigration. full story

Listening post explores Native American issues

Feb. 21, 2008     United Methodist News Service FORT WORTH, Texas — The Rev. Chebon Kernell was raised in two spiritual worlds that some people say have little in common. He's a lifelong United Methodist who responded to a call to Christian ministry at age 17. And he's a Seminole Native American, no stranger to the ceremonial traditions of his ancestors. "As a minister," he said, "I've wondered where to draw the line between the two-or whether it should even be drawn." That issue and others faced by Native Americans in The United Methodist Church were analyzed Feb. 16 at a "listening post" hosted by the denomination's Native American Comprehensive Plan. full story

Focusing on the main thing: Delegates told to sift legislation for mission

Feb. 22, 2008 United Methodist Reporter FORT WORTH, Texas — If delegates to the 2008 General Conference keep in mind the four areas of focus for the United Methodist Church, they may find it easier to sort through proposed legislation. They might even end up tossing aside some items that don’t fit that grid, say denominational leaders who are urging United Methodists to focus on the main thing: making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. full story

Unofficial caucuses prep for conference

Feb. 22, 2008 United Methodist Reporter A number of special-interest caucuses — politically active groups with no official ties to the United Methodist Church — will be present throughout the 2008 General Conference. They won’t be speaking on the legislative floor, but they will set up lobbying efforts near the convention center, urging delegates to support their causes when it comes time to vote. full story

GEN-X RISING: An appeal to delegates

Feb. 22, 2008 United Methodist Reporter Dear General Conference delegates: Every four years the whole church gathers in conference. Because of that, we have the opportunity every four years to make real strides toward becoming the kind of fellowship that Jesus Christ calls us to be. I have no specific course of action to propose. I only ask that you are guided by a certain spirit in your preparations for holy conferencing. full story

WESLEYAN WISDOM: Ministry among poor will take rehab for United Methodist Church

Feb. 22, 2008 United Methodist Reporter Donald Haynes takes a look at Methodism's origins among the poor and says that to recover the spirit of a movement, we need to overcome our "Enlightenment addiction." full story

SMU, Bush Foundation approve presidential library

Feb. 22, 2008     United Methodist News Service Thanking U.S. President George W. Bush for entrusting Southern Methodist University with an important national resource, the school's board of trustees unanimously approved an agreement to locate the Bush presidential library, museum and policy institute on the Dallas campus. The Feb. 22 vote came hours after an official announcement that the Bush Presidential Library Foundation had chosen the United Methodist-related school as home of the planned facility. The school had been in exclusive negotiations with the foundation for more than a year. full story

European Methodists establish Methodist E-Academy

Feb. 25, 2008     United Methodist News Service MOSCOW, Russia — A new institution that aims to provide theological education via the Internet was named the Methodist E-Academy during a meeting of the United Methodist Theological Schools in Europe. An ongoing project since 2006, the academy's development has been shepherded by an advisory board chaired by Bishop Patrick Streiff of Central and Southern Europe. Instructors who will conduct the online courses were trained at a gathering just prior to the Feb. 8-9 meeting of the European school leaders. The courses will address the growing need to provide theological education for prospective pastors for United Methodist churches, especially in Eastern Europe. The United Methodist Church is growing in Eastern Europe, but its numbers are not yet large enough to warrant establishing and supporting new local United Methodist seminaries. full story

Holston, East Africa conferences sign covenant

Feb. 26, 2008     United Methodist News Service KINGSPORT, Tenn. — In the summer of 2005, United Methodist Bishop James Swanson and his staff talked about possible mission projects they could pursue. One staff member mentioned a book she had read over the weekend about the "lost boys" of Sudan. Swanson told of a photo e-mailed to him that morning showing a starving Sudanese child being watched by a nearby vulture. The bishop was haunted by the image and challenged staff in the Holston Annual (regional) Conference to act. On Feb. 23, less than three years after that routine Tuesday morning meeting, Swanson signed a covenant with Bishop Daniel Wandabula of the East Africa Conference that includes Sudan. The covenant also was signed by Bishop Felton E. May, interim chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. full story

United Methodist youth raise $830,000 for the hungry

Feb. 26, 2008     United Methodist News Service United Methodist youth teamed up on Super Bowl Sunday with young people across the United States to raise more than $9 million in goods and dollars to fight hunger and poverty in their local communities through the 2008 Souper Bowl of Caring. More than 13,600 churches, schools and businesses participated in this year's campaign, including about 2,200 United Methodist congregations and about 25,000 United Methodist youth, said Caroline Stephens, director of church relations for the nonprofit Souper Bowl organization. United Methodist collections total approximately $830,000 thus far this year. full story

NCC sets Middle East peace as a top priority

Feb. 27, 2008     United Methodist News Service NEW YORK — A focus on the Middle East will be among the social priorities for the National Council of Churches over the next few years. But the council also will look at strengthening the relationships among its 35 member communions, including The United Methodist Church, and re-energizing the ecumenical movement as a whole. Those were among the topics discussed as the NCC Governing Board organized itself for the 2008-2011 quadrennium during its Feb. 25-26 meeting in New York. full story

British Methodist keeps Parliament in order

Feb. 27, 2008    United Methodist News Service LONDON — Ruby Beech's "day job" is a position that dates back to at least the 15th century. As an assistant sergeant at arms in the British Parliament, she helps look after the security and administration of the House of Commons. When Beech is not making sure British lawmakers can do their jobs in a safe and efficient environment, she can be found doing her other job: serving as vice president of the British Methodist Church. Appointed in 2005, Beech is only the second woman to hold a sergeant at arms job in the Commons' 700-year history. Her workdays can stretch from morning to past midnight and encompass responsibilities as diverse as corralling rowdy elected MPs (Members of Parliament) to issuing photography permits. full story

Chaplain helps troops readjust to home life

Feb. 28, 2008     United Methodist News Service MINNEAPOLIS — After two years away from his family for training and a tour of duty in Iraq, Capt. Colin Fleming of the Minnesota Army National Guard was in no mood for a homecoming party. "Being in a crowd is something that's taken me awhile to work on," Fleming says. "People will talk to me every once in a while and say, 'Hey, where have you been?' It's kind of complex — not avoiding you, it's just going to be awhile." But Fleming knew about many of the adjustments he would face on his return, thanks to the Minnesota Guard's Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program. The project, led by a United Methodist chaplain, helps returning citizen soldiers reintegrate with their families and communities. full story

Commentary: Casualty reports beg to be read

Feb. 28, 2008     United Methodist News Service About three years ago I signed up to receive casualty reports from the U.S. Department of Defense. I was looking for people from the local area that might have been killed. One of my responsibilities is to prepare for upcoming funeral missions as a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs chaplain and a member of Rolling Thunder, Chapter 1, Tennessee, a nonprofit organization devoted to publicizing and educating the public on POW-MIAs. I didn't know how receiving these reports would alter my life. Here's my attempt at describing it. full story

Q&A: Religion and presidential politics

Feb. 29, 2008 United Methodist Reporter Mary Jacobs spoke recently with Randall Balmer, author of God in the White House, about the religious climate in presidential politics since 1960 and whether voters should consider faith when choosing a political candidate. full story

Church will honor same-sex unions

Feb. 29, 2008 United Methodist Reporter By recognizing same-sex unions in special services, Foundry United Methodist Church is making “an attempt to be ecclesiastically obedient while at the same time offering pastoral care to our members,” says the Rev. Dean Snyder, senior pastor. full story

COMMENTARY: It’s Saturday night, and I ain’t got nobody

Feb. 29, 2008 United Methodist Reporter   As a young clergywoman, Meredith Gudger-Raines has noticed that people tend to treat her differently after they learn she's a pastor, which means making non-church friends can be difficult. full story

Pew study raises questions for Methodist leaders

Feb. 29, 2008     United Methodist News Service Mirroring most other mainline U.S. denominations, United Methodists are generally older, whiter and wealthier in a nation that is increasingly populated with young adults, people of color and families with modest incomes. The United Methodist Church is also losing more members than it's gaining, with its parishioners increasingly moving to evangelical Protestant churches or choosing not to affiliate with another religious group at all. That portrait of United Methodism was presented in a landmark study of religion in America released Feb. 25 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, the study found that U.S. religion is increasingly diverse and fluid--"a vibrant marketplace where individuals pick and choose religions that meet their needs," leaving religious groups to compete for members. full story

Commentary: John 3:16 vs. the 'religious marketplace'

Feb. 29, 2008     United Methodist News Service The new U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, offers a picture of early 21st-century American religious attitudes that is not surprising, at least to those of us who track religious life along Main Street U.S.A. The survey results suggest that a growing proportion of Americans view their faith choices as just that--personal choices made primarily to enhance personal lives. One commentator, quoted by The New York Times, stated that the religious groups gaining adherents offer "personal religion" in contrast, one assumes, to shared faith. What we have is a growing religious marketplace, a supermarket of faith options and products. Many Americans seem to believe that they are each personally responsible for establishing Divine Truth based on personal needs and inclinations at any particular moment. It is much like the television ad that asserts that if one dislikes a car or a spouse, "get a new one." Faith traditions are coming to look suspiciously like replaceable brands. full story

Religious organizations ask Bush to stop U.S. torture

Feb. 29, 2008     United Methodist News Service WASHINGTON — Faith leaders are urging U.S. President George W. Bush to stop U.S.-sponsored torture by signing the Intelligence Authorization Act to prohibit using torture as an interrogation tool. Letters have been sent to Bush from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and the National Council of Churches. The United Methodist Church is a member of both organizations. The United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the church's social action agency, launched a campaign on Feb. 20 called "United Methodists Do Not Torture," and more than 1,000 people have signed its petition calling for Bush to sign the legislation. full story