e-Review archive
Global Connection
May 2006
 

Parish nurse helps congregation stay healthy

May 1, 2006     News media contact:   Fran  Coode Walsh * (615) 742-5458*  Nashville {250} United Methodist News Service KIRKWOOD, Mo. — Carol Connolly is part of a growing movement of churches addressing not just the spiritual needs of their members, but also their physical well-being. "It encompasses the life span," said Connolly, a registered nurse who works two days a week as parish nurse at Kirkwood United Methodist Church near St. Louis. "We can start with the tiny newborns up through the dying.  And all in between, there's just so much to do." full story

United Methodist Men asks families to focus on hunger

May 1, 2006     News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {252} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The United Methodist Men's agency is asking families to fast a meal in June to feed the hungry. The churchwide Commission on United Methodist Men and the Virginia-based Society of St. Andrew are asking families to observe National Hunger Awareness Day on June 6 by fasting one meal and giving the amount that would have been spent on that meal to feed the hungry. full story

Judicial Council denies reconsideration of two decisions

May 2, 2006     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {254} United Methodist News Service OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The United Methodist Judicial Council has rejected appeals to reconsider two decisions that have created much debate within the church. The council voted not to revisit Decisions 1031 and 1032, issued last October and related to the case of the Rev. Ed Johnson of South Hill (Va.) United Methodist Church, who blocked a practicing homosexual man from taking membership in the church. full story

Protesters, Judicial Council members worship together

May 2, 2006     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {255} United Methodist News Service OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — In an example of Christian unity, Judicial Council members and individuals protesting recent decisions stood together to receive communion and sing hymns during a service at the close of the council's meeting April 28. As many as 50 protesters from across the country attended the regular Judicial Council meeting in Overland Park and stood in silent vigil throughout the United Methodist Church's supreme court session. Some held placards with the name of a council member for whom they were praying, and they were on hand to lend their support to the appeals of two decisions made last fall regarding a pastor's authority to deny someone membership in a congregation. James Holsinger, council president, issued an open invitation to the worship. A number of the protesters, most wearing rainbow stoles signifying their support for the gay, lesbian and transgender community, accepted the invitation and crowded into the small meeting room at the Embassy Suites hotel where the Judicial Council had been meeting. full story

Sudanese civil war survivors attend rally in support of home

May 2, 2006     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {256} United Methodist News Service WASHINGTON — On a magnificent, sunny spring day, Angelo Maker embarked on a journey down the National Mall that was only a fraction as harrowing as the one he undertook nearly 20 years ago in Sudan. But he approached his trek through the Save Darfur rally on April 30 with the same kind of determination that helped him survive wild animals and marauding militias in 1987, when he escaped a civil war. Maker and four other Sudanese men in their 20s wound their way around and over a crowd of between 15,000 and 20,000 to the foot of the rally's stage. They were decked out in the suits and ties they had worn to a service earlier in the day at Crossroads United Methodist Church in Ashburn, Va. full story

Doctor reclaims calling to heal 'whole person'

May 3, 2006     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {259} United Methodist News Service GALLATIN, Tenn. — The Salvus Center looks like most doctor offices: magazines on coffee tables, paper sheets on examining beds, medical equipment tucked in corners and a well-stocked medical supply room. But a closer look reveals things you don't usually see - crosses in the treatment rooms and Bibles in the lobby. In a clinic full of Christian symbols, Dr. Ted Hill is a United Methodist physician who has "reclaimed his call from God" and opened a faith-based health clinic in Sumner County for working people who have no health insurance coverage. The clinic operates just like any other doctor's office, but patients only pay a portion of the fees they would normally be charged. full story

Bracelets are reminders to 'dream God's dream'

May 4, 2006     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {263} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — R?ve, träumen Sie, sonhe, me?ta?, drøm, dream. No matter how you say it, the Division on Ministries with Young People wants you to do one thing: dream God's dreams. Brown latex bracelets featuring the word "dream" in English, French, Danish, Portuguese, German and Russian are available from the division for $9.90 for a package of 10. Proceeds from the sale of the bracelets will benefit the AIDS Orphan Trust (70 percent) and the Division on Ministries with Young People (30 percent). full story

Church store promotes fair trade, justice

May 5, 2006     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {266} United Methodist News Service TACOMA, Wash. — Anybody can go to the ends of the earth without leaving the state of Washington - and in doing so help struggling African farmers and support the rain forest. "Ends of the Earth," a small shop on the first floor of First United Methodist Church in Tacoma, stocks coffee, chocolate, crafts and a host of other fair-trade products. The unusual store also offers handmade cosmetic creams, jewelry, drums, pots and baby clothes - all produced by village farmers and artisans in countries such as Ghana, Mexico, Peru and Indonesia. Part of the growing international fair-trade movement, Ends of the Earth operates on the premise that consumer habits in affluent countries need not be supported at the expense of the poor in developing countries. full story

Poor also have dignity, speakers tell Women's Assembly

May 8, 2006     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {270} United Methodist News Service ANAHEIM, Calif. — The feminization of poverty is not an abstract concept for Wahu Kaara. "You are talking about my mother, friends, sisters, aunties and neighbors," said the Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder and coordinator of the Kenya Debt Relief Network. "Real women with names, homes and addresses and who have no real hope to ascertain their dignity due to the extremes visited on them by conscious decisions, made by conscious people, but shrouded in the myth of bureaucracy and technocrats." Kaara was the May 5 keynote speaker at the 2006 United Methodist Women's Assembly. She is a candidate in the 2007 Kenyan presidential elections and the ecumenical program coordinator for the U.N. Millennium Development Goals at the All Africa Conference of Churches. full story

Faith, action converge at United Methodist Women's Assembly

May 8, 2006     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {272} United Methodist News Service ANAHEIM, Calif. — In a "scary time" when war, terrorism, environmental calamity and unchecked poverty and disease are looming fears, United Methodist Women can still make practical expressions of their faith. That was the closing message from Jan Love to participants at the 2006 United Methodist Women's Assembly. Love is chief executive of the Women's Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. As a start, women can deepen their understanding of their own salvation and express the joy of their faith. Then they can "make every day a mission day," according to Love. "Continue with more determination to practice love, mercy, kindness and justice in your home, neighborhood, our nation and across the world." full story

Summit focuses on need to recruit young clergy

May 9, 2006     News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {273} United Methodist News Service United Methodist leaders are forming an advisory team to help develop a plan for recruiting young clergy - a group that one expert calls an endangered species in the church. Forming the team was proposed at a May 1-3 summit that brought experts in the recruitment and development of young clergy leadership to Atlanta. Once it's formed, the team will devise a national plan that will go into effect during the next year. full story

Agency chooses 11 young people for internships in D.C.

May 10, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {276} United Methodist News ServiceUnited Methodist News Service WASHINGTON — Eleven young people have been selected as the 2006 United Methodist Board of Church and Society Ethnic and Young Adult summer interns. The interns will be in the nation's capital June 4-Aug. 1. Interns live together and are assigned to work in organizations addressing social justice concerns. The work is supplemented by evening intern-led devotions, Friday seminars on topics of timely social justice concern, field trips and Sunday worship in area United Methodist churches. The internship has been sponsored by the board for the last 20 years and has at least 200 participants who either now lead the church in some way or influence society in their vocations, says the Rev. Neal Christie, executive with the Board of Church and Society. Agnes Poveda, a student at Florida International University in Miami and a member of United Wesley Hispanic Methodist Church, is excited she was chosen for a 2006 internship. full story

'We will not shrink from this challenge,' bishop vows

May 10, 2006    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {278} United Methodist News Service GULFPORT, Miss. — Sitting outside the shell of a church building, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward acknowledges the grief that Mississippians feel in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but today she is all about resolve. "The United Methodist Church is committed to this recovery," Ward says. "That commitment is long term." Beside her looms the ruin of Mississippi City United Methodist Church, a gutted building that still holds random attributes of a vital church - a few chairs, a piano, a stuffed toy. Mostly, though, it has a lot of open space. Like the church, much of the area along Mississippi's Gulf Coast still looks as battered as if the storm struck yesterday instead of half a year ago. While recovering slowly themselves, the churches at the same time are helping homeowners and their communities rebuild. "We will not shrink from this challenge," Ward says. But she acknowledges the enormity of the job ahead. "The task of rebuilding is long, is arduous, is beyond our comprehension still." Ward is encouraging United Methodists to help the churches in Mississippi and Louisiana rebuild through the Council of Bishops' Katrina Church Recovery Appeal. The appeal, developed at the council's meeting last fall, will be emphasized during U.S. annual conference sessions in May and June. full story

Connectional table considers church's 'global character'

May 11, 2006    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {280} United Methodist News Service VARNA, Bulgaria — United Methodists claim to be part of a "global church," but what does that phrase mean? How can international relationships be enhanced so that the church will be more effective in carrying out its mission? The Connectional Table, the 60-member forum created by the 2004 General Conference to set and guide the direction of denomination's  mission and ministries, discussed these and similar questions at its April 27-May 1 meeting. The meeting marked the first time the body met outside the United States. full story

'State of Church' report will include inside, outside views

May 11, 2006    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {281} United Methodist News Service VARNA, Bulgaria — Views of United Methodists and of people outside the church will be incorporated into the denomination's first State of the Church report. The churchwide Connectional Table approved contracting with the Martec Group, an international strategic marketing research firm, to develop the report through interviews, Internet bulletin boards, surveys and other methods. United Methodist Communications will facilitate much of the Web-based research. Research will be conducted globally. full story

First lady urges seniors to consider life of service

May 12, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {283}  United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Speaking before 2,500 seniors at Vanderbilt University, first lady Laura Bush urged the Class of 2006 to give its best to the world and answer the great questions of our time. "You won't waste your talents and education if you use them in service to others," she said. Service to others is especially important for this class because "more than any other generation, yours is tasked with resolving challenges that lie far beyond your doorstep," Bush said. Referring to the tsunami in Southeast Asia, genocide in Darfur, HIV/AIDS in Africa and cities in the United States lying in ruin after hurricanes, she said, "You understand the great questions of our time." Bush was the keynote speaker at Vanderbilt University's Senior Class Day on May 11. The students graduated May 12. full story

Valuable Washington property makes project possible

May 12, 2006 United Methodist Reporter Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church in downtown Washington, D.C., has sold property to a developer for a 12-story building just behind its historic, Greek Revival sanctuary, which will be repaired at a cost of $7.2 million. This might seem to be just another nice business deal, but in fact, it’s much more than that. It's a landmark partnership between the mother churches of segregated white Methodism and African American Methodism, with an innovative urban ministry laboratory thrown in for good measure. full story

Tony Campolo blasts Religious Right as 'frightening'

May 12, 2006 United Methodist Reporter Christian author and speaker Tony Campolo is so fed up with the Religious Right's stronghold on U.S. media and politics that he is calling for a new movement to better represent evangelicals. "The answer to the Religious Right is not a Religious Left," he told religion writers April 24 at the Associated Church Press convention in Orlando. Instead, Dr. Campolo and fellow progressive evangelicals, including the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine and emergent church movement leader Brian McLaren, have come up with a new name: "Red-Letter Christians," referring to the verses in the New Testament believed to be Jesus' own words. He hopes the new progressive movement will transcend party politics and focus on the issues that were important to Jesus, not Pat Robertson. full story

Charity offers hair, peace for cancer patients

May 15, 2006    News media contact:   Fran  Coode Walsh * (615) 742-5458*  Nashville {286} United Methodist News Service Debbie Glatz yells encouragement to her 6-year-old son at a T-ball game.  As Glatz faces the challenges of recently being diagnosed with breast cancer, she said her family means everything. "I have to get better for them," she said. Besides support from her family, Glatz will not be alone on her journey through months of chemotherapy and, later, surgery and radiation treatment.  Bonny Diver, a breast-cancer survivor who founded Hair Peace Charities with encouragement from her United Methodist church, will be there to help. full story

Churches, members can take bird flu precautions

May 15, 2006    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {287} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK — At a time when the U.S. government is drafting plans on how it would deal with a massive outbreak of bird flu or another virulent strain of influenza, United Methodists can prepare themselves as well. Kathy Griffith, staff member with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, believes the denomination can encourage preventive measures against a flu pandemic and use churches or church-related facilities as centers of care and treatment where outbreaks occur. "We're all over the world, in many different situations, with hearts to serve," she told United Methodist News Service in a May interview. full story

2006 grants support wide range of older-adult ministries

May 16, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {288} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — About 100 grandparents in Michigan are going to have a "grand weekend" thanks to a grant from the Committee on Older Adult Ministries and the vision of a United Methodist pastor who knows firsthand the challenges of raising the children of your children. Grand Camp will be held May 26-28 at Wesley Woods Camp, Dowling, Mich., in the Western Michigan Conference for grandparents raising elementary-age children. The grant of $1,500 will be used to help low-economic and racial/ethnic grandparents afford two days of play and support, says the Rev. David W. Meister, pastor of First United Methodist Church, Buchanan. The outreach is one of 29 programs receiving grants this year through the Committee on Older Adult Ministries at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. The funds total $38,000. full story

Grants fund dreams for peace around the globe

May 17, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {293} United Methodist News Service WASHINGTON — The most vulnerable people in Liberia are small, young and defenseless. The West African country is trying to recover from 14 years of a bloody civil war that was often fought on the backs of children. The Peace Builder Children's Club is the dream of a United Methodist missioner to change ex-combatant children into "bearers of good tidings of peace." "These children, who have been soldiers, they know the things they've done, and they worry that they will not be accepted back into society," says Frido N. Kinkolenge, a North Carolina-supported missioner in Liberia. A $5,000 grant from the United Methodist Board of Church and Society will help make the Peace Builder Children's Club a reality. "Boys and girls as young as 10 have been recruited by force by different belligerent powers to fight," says Kinkolenge. "They were fed drugs, taught murder and (they) murdered by utilizing hacking machetes. Children were used as channels for carrying out hatred across Liberia." The club will be for children ages 14-16. They will learn to work with their peers in United Methodist churches, United Methodist schools and communities in Grand Bassa, Rivercess and Sinoe counties and the Morweh circuit. The children will receive education about peace, reconciliation and forgiveness through seminars and workshops, Kinkolenge says in his request for the grant. The grant will also provide training for 200 people to work with the children in the different counties and circuit. Peace Builder Children's Club is one of 15 Peace with Justice Grants totaling $49,500 approved at the spring meeting of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. The funding comes from a churchwide offering taken on Peace with Justice Sunday, which falls on June 11 this year. full story

New Bible translation invites children on journey

May 17, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {294} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Did you know in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible the book of Psalms begins with the word "happy," and it is used 26 times in the rest of the book? Did you also know "happy" is only used 20 times in the rest of the Old Testament? Children will learn fun facts like this in a new edition of the NRSV Bible created especially for them. In the Children's Bible, published by Abingdon Press, they will also learn the definition of words like "chaff," and that sheep were important to life in Bible times and dependent on the care of a shepherd. full story

Coastal ministries need support through appeal, bishop says

May 18, 2006    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {295} United Methodist News Service NEW ORLEANS — A cloud of dirt unfurls from the gaping opening in the side of Bethany United Methodist Church, as a construction crew works through the midday heat to rebuild the sanctuary. Hurricane Katrina left the church in ruins, but the congregation kept its footing on a solid rock that doesn't move. "We still are excited about the Lord," says the Rev. Hadley R. Edwards, pastor. "We're having a hallelujah good time." Though the sanctuary is nothing more than a shell, church members still gather in it on Sundays to worship. On the other days of the week, the sanctuary becomes the ministry of construction workers, painters and others who are rebuilding it. Bishop William Hutchinson arrives at the church one afternoon as the workers are taking their lunch break. "I decided to wear hurricane casual," he quips. He's wearing a long-sleeve khaki shirt and jeans - no tie in sight. Inside the sanctuary, with a Bobcat sitting idle nearby, the bishop meets with a video crew to emphasize the need for the Council of Bishops' Katrina Church Recovery Appeal. full story

Storm led churches to 'dream big dreams,' pastor says

May 18, 2006    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {297} United Methodist News Service NEW ORLEANS — Many Gulf Coast pastors, like the Rev. Cory Sparks, say Hurricane Katrina has forced them to look at ministry in a new way. "It has revolutionized our thinking about ministry," Sparks, 35, says. In the days after the Aug. 29 storm, members of his congregations at Carrollton and Parker Memorial United Methodist churches served as rescue workers, provided relief, and distributed water, food and flood buckets throughout their neighborhoods, he explains. "It caused us to move out beyond our walls in almost every way," he says of the storm. full story

Commentary: 'Da Vinci Code' stands counter to Christ's code

May 19, 2006    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {298} United Methodist News Service In a few weeks, the Da Vinci Code tempest will have passed, and we will move on to the next riveting pop culture event. I admit that I've been frustrated and agitated at the historical inaccuracies - the role of Constantine in the Nicene convocation and the purported secret life of Jesus - and the casualness with which they've been addressed by those associated with the movie and book. For those of us in the faith community, this isn't just a movie, and these claims aren't just fictional constructions. Our faith tradition is deeply important to us, and to see it treated with what seems at best to be casual disregard and at worst outright exploitation is offensive. full story

Center offers safe haven for future volunteers

May 23, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {300} United Methodist News Service D'IBERVILLE, Miss. — Waves of volunteers started arriving in this coastal town March 6 with the goal of constructing a place for kind-hearted souls to lay their heads when they come to help rebuild Mississippi. More than 50 church leaders and volunteers gathered May 15 to dedicate the Seashore District Volunteer Center in D'Iberville. The project was completed April 27. full story

Archives agency offers voice of pioneer clergywoman

May 23, 2006    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {301} United Methodist News Service The voice of the first woman to receive full clergy rights from the Methodist Church can still be heard — through an audio file prepared by the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History. A page dedicated to Maud Keister Jensen, online at http://www.gcah.org/Jensen.htm, focuses on the thoughts of Jensen, a longtime missionary to Korea, about the ordination. Women were ordained in the Methodist tradition as early as the late 1800s but did not receive full clergy rights until the General Conference vote on May 4, 1956. Today, the denomination has more than 9,700 clergywomen. full story

New WCC executive committee addresses world issues

May 23, 2006    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {303} United Methodist News Service The world's hot spots have drawn the attention of the World Council of Churches' new executive committee, along with a planned reconfiguring of the council's work. Meeting May 16-19 at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute outside Geneva, Switzerland, the executive committee held its first session since the WCC's 9th Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in February. full story

Couple opens doors of communication for Africa

May 23, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {304} United Methodist News Service WASHINGTON — Looking for information about a treason trial in Ethiopia, low voter turnout in Chad or news about a new minimum wage fix in Mozambique? One place on the Internet carries all those stories and more: AllAfrica.com. For 30 years, two United Methodists have dedicated their lives to listening, reporting and making sure the world knows what is happening on the huge continent of Africa. full story

Katrina appeal 'solidifies connection' across church, bishop says

May 24, 2006    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {305} United Methodist News Service For United Methodists in South Alabama and West Florida, when you talk about hurricane recovery, you're not talking about one storm. Hurricane Katrina, which attacked the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, was the fifth named storm to strike the area in 11 months. Bishop Larry Goodpaster, who leads the United Methodist Church's Alabama-West Florida Area, says the cumulative effect of all those storms is what makes recovery so trying. "We're looking at three to five years of disaster recovery and rebuilding, provided no other storm comes our way," he says. The next hurricane season, which begins June 1, is looming large. "So we're hoping and praying that we don't have to do this again, but our track record for the last year and a half has not been real good," he says. To help the churches of the Alabama-West Florida Area, as well as Mississippi and Louisiana, rebuild their ministries, the United Methodist Council of Bishops has launched the Katrina Church Recovery Appeal. The appeal, being promoted at this year's annual conference gatherings, will raise money for rebuilding churches, re-equipping congregations for ministry and paying pastors' salaries. full story

Immigration bill falls short, United Methodist leaders say

May 26, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {311} United Methodist News Service The immigration bill passed May 25 by the U.S. Senate does improve border security, create a guest worker program and open the door to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, but it is still not just or adequate, according to some United Methodist leaders. "The Senate bill doesn't go far enough," said Bill Mefford, executive with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. "It doesn't create a pathway for all, and it doesn't protect workers' rights." He also pointed out the bill doesn't address family reunification. "In keeping with positions of the United Methodist Church and the Board of Global Ministries, I call on Congress to adopt comprehensive immigration policy that respects the full human rights of all immigrants," said the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, in a May 25 statement. "This should include full labor protections, family reunification, preservation of due process and a path to genuine legalization." However, Bishop Minerva Carcaño, who leads the denomination's Phoenix Area, spoke favorably of the bill. full story

Wesleyan Wisdom: UMC membership: Who needs to leave? Who needs to come?

May 26, 2006 United Methodist Reporter If you think by this column title that I don't understand Wesley's "catholic spirit," take a look at his sermon based on the text, "If thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?...If it is, give me thine hand?" (II Kings 10:15 KJV). Here's the context of the sermon: "Hold fast to what you believe is most acceptable to God and I will do the same....catholic spirit is not an indifference to all opinions. Go first and learn the first elements of the gospel of Christ, and then shall you learn to be of a truly catholic spirit... Keep an even pace, rooted in the faith...and grounded in love, in true catholic love...." To say "Methodists think and let think" is not an accurate quotation from John Wesley. What he actually said was, "As to all opinions that do not strike at the root of Christianity, we think and let think." Those who read the General Rules will know he frequently dismissed people from the Methodist societies. full story

Focus on decline needs to hit real issue

May 26, 2006 United Methodist Reporter Last week I attended our Pre-Annual Conference District Meeting. One of the hot topics of discussion was insurance. The conference medical insurance is in a budget crunch. In order to help out, the conference has decided to bill the local congregations the cost of the premium minus the portion it will charge the clergy. Also, all eligible clergy will be required to carry this insurance. As I sat and listened to the discussion, I could not help but feel that we were talking about a symptom of a much larger problem. Then on Tuesday, I received my copy of the United Methodist Reporter. Two articles caught my attention. full story

Church groups renew objections to Cuba travel restrictions

May 30, 2006    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {313} United Methodist News Service The National Council of Churches and Church World Service have joined with other organizations to renew objections to new U.S. government travel restrictions to Cuba. "The current U.S. policy toward Cuba restricts religious freedom and is contrary to the principles upon which our nation was founded," said the Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, the NCC staff executive for justice and advocacy, during a May 25 news conference at the National Press Club. "We reiterate our call on the U.S. government to respect religious freedom and restore the less restrictive travel licenses that we have had for decades." full story

UMCOR, partners respond to Java quake survivors

May 30, 2006    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {314} United Methodist News Service The United Methodist Committee on Relief is working with partners in the region to respond to survivors of the May 27 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java. Indonesian government figures released May 29 put the death toll at about 5,000. More than 15,000 are estimated injured and 100,000 people displaced from their homes. full story

Magazine for teens celebrates 10th anniversary

May 31, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {317} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For 16-year-old Victoria, a little bimonthly magazine called Devo'Zine is her "cheat sheet" for life. It is comments like that from teenage readers around the world that have fueled the embers and filled the pages of the devotional magazine for the past decade. The 64-page, full-color magazine, published by Upper Room Ministries is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the May/June 2006 issue. full story

United Methodists help raise Arkansas' minimum wage

May 31, 2006    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {316} United Methodist News Service WASHINGTON — Arkansas workers laboring at the nation's minimum wage level will get a raise in October thanks to United Methodists in the state who helped lead the way in advocating for an increase. Most states have not had an increase in the $5.15 an hour minimum wage since 1997. In Arkansas, workers will start earning $6.25. full story