e-Review archive
Global Connection
November 2004
 

Class meetings, a part of Methodist history, have relevance today

Nov. 1, 2004     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {04511} United Methodist News Service   NEW YORK (UMNS) - Anyone living in New York in the late 1700s with an interest in joining John Street Methodist Episcopal Church was required to attend a weekly class meeting. After six months of learning about Christian doctrine from class leaders, hearing the testimonies of regular members and making their own professions of faith, those who had been "admitted on trial" might be recommended for full membership or continued as probationary members. Even at its earliest stages, "it was apparent that the spiritual vitality and sect-like quality of New York City Methodism and, for that matter, the entire denomination, were bound up closely with the Wesleyan class meeting, which was referred to by some 19th century Methodist writers as 'the soul of Methodism,'" writes the Rev. Philip F. Hardt, a member of the United Methodist New York Annual (regional) Conference. full story

Group creates liturgy in Africana context

Nov. 2, 2004     News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04515} United Methodist News Service NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - A group of worship experts is creating the DNA for new liturgy in black churches across the globe. Seminary instructors, pastors, editors and curriculum writers converged Oct. 27-29 in Nashville to discuss how to write worship liturgy that is authentic to "Africana" populations - people of African descent from a number of ethnic, cultural and national backgrounds. The gathering, convened by the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, marked the beginning of formal conversation on Africana liturgy. The meeting responded to a need in black United Methodist churches for liturgy that is more specific to the congregations' context, life experiences, faith expressions and history, according to the Rev. Safiyah Fosua, director of invitational preaching ministries at the board. full story

Ex-governor serves self-imposed 'sentence' to end death penalty

Nov. 1, 2004     News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04510} United Methodist News Service KANKAKEE, Ill. (UMNS) - Just one day before Gov. George H. Ryan retired from public service in January 2003, he did something shocking and unprecedented. He closed down the state of Illinois' death row and commuted the sentences of all 167 inmates there to life without parole. His contentious act touched off an avalanche of outrage from prosecutors and the families of victims and created new enemies among some powerful political figures. Yet it is that same act for which George Ryan was nominated for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Another high-profile politician was also nominated for the 2004 peace prize - President George W. Bush. Bush and Ryan are both conservative Republicans and practicing United Methodists, but there the parallel ends. The president is a staunch advocate of the death penalty. full story

United Methodist bishops congratulate President Bush

Nov. 4, 2004  News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert* (615) 742-5470* Nashville, Tenn. {04520} United Methodist News Service ST. SIMON’S ISLAND, Ga. (UMNS) — In a 200-year-old tradition, United Methodist bishops signed a Bible to send to President George Bush and issued a statement of congratulations following his re-election. Meeting at Epworth by the Sea, a United Methodist retreat center, the Council of Bishops wrote a statement offering prayers and support for the president and his family as well as U.S. Sen. John Kerry and his family. The council comprises 130 bishops representing the United Methodist Church in the United States, Africa, Europe and Asia. The bishops are the top leaders of the 11 million-member denomination. The bishops offered to work with Bush "to build bridges of understanding." They also thanked Kerry "for the gracious way he has accepted the voters’ decision." full story

United Methodists work toward long-term hurricane recovery

Nov. 5, 2004     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {04522} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — This year's hurricanes may no longer rate coverage on the Weather Channel, but those affected by the storms are reminded daily of their impact. The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, domestic disaster coordinator for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, said his agency has received funding requests from United Methodist conferences in Florida, Alabama, Western North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. UMCOR also is assisting with recovery work in the Caribbean. How much assistance the agency can provide, especially for long-term recovery, depends upon the donations that UMCOR receives, he told United Methodist News Service. full story

Middle East Christians need contact with other Christians, Day says

Nov. 9, 2004     News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {04527} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — Christians in the Middle East need to connect with their Western counterparts, according to a United Methodist official who recently traveled to the region. In countries like Lebanon and Syria, the population of Christians - although still significant - has declined, the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries pointed out. The big concern, he added, is "how to continue to witness and function as minorities." full story

Sixty-one United Methodists will serve in 109th Congress

Nov. 9, 2004     News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04528} United Methodist News Service The number of United Methodists serving in the 109th Congress will remain at 61, unchanged from the 108th Congress. The United Methodist Church also remained in third place among all religious groups represented in the Senate and House of Representatives. The lawmakers will be working with an administration in which the president, George Bush, and vice president, Dick Cheney, are United Methodist. full story

Following Arafat's death, build for peace, United Methodist leader says

Nov. 11, 2004    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {04533} United Methodist News Service Israelis and Palestinians should consider the death of Yasser Arafat to be an opportunity for peacebuilding rather than an excuse for further conflict, a United Methodist official said. The Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, noted that Arafat's death "comes at a crucial and volatile time in the Middle East." Day returned Nov. 1 from a trip to the Middle East, where he and other members of a Church World Service delegation met with Christian and Muslim leaders in the region. full story

UMCOR focuses direct aid on Sudan's troubled Darfur region

Nov. 16, 2004    News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04535} United Methodist News Service NEW YORK (UMNS) — The United Methodist Committee on Relief, currently serving Sudanese refugees in Chad, is preparing to provide more direct services to the Sudan. UMCOR will extend its efforts with displaced people inside the violence-torn Darfur section of Sudan by mid-December. An investigative team, which spent three weeks in the area for the denomination's relief agency, found continuing need for basic relief efforts, for steps to ward off famine and for preparation to help people return to their homes. UMCOR has become a registered provider of direct services inside the country. The United Nations estimates that 70,000 people have been killed and 1.6 million pushed from their homes by a months-old rampage supported by the government of Sudan. International efforts to bring a halt to the violence have been unsuccessful. full story

United Methodist Church on frontline of AIDS crisis

Nov. 19, 2004    News media contact:   Kathy  Gilbert * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04545} United Methodist News Service A beautiful country bordering the Indian Ocean, Mozambique has a population of 18.8 million. The United Methodist Church is alive and flourishing in every providence with a membership of 160,000 and growing. Unfortunately the HIV/AIDS pandemic is growing faster-1.3 million people are living with the disease. The life expectancy of an infant born in Mozambique today is 37.1 years--37.8 for males and 36.3 for females. In 2003, 110,000 people died of AIDS, leaving behind 470,000 orphans. The latest figures suggest more than 14 percent of all Mozambicans ages 15 to 49 are HIV-positive. Poverty, inadequate health care and the lack of life-saving drugs means a large portion of Mozambique's population is sick and dying. full story

Pan-Methodist commission issues response to Sudan

Nov. 23, 2004    News media contact:   Linda  Green * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04552} United Methodist News Service DALLAS (UMNS) — Five Methodist denominations are calling on government and international officials to establish a peace process in the war-ravaged country of Sudan that "holistically considers the concerns of all Sudanese parties and ethnic groups." War has created deep brokenness throughout the world, the Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union noted in an open letter to U.S. and United Nations officials. "Particularly, we are distraught that tens of thousands of God's people in Darfur, Sudan, die from preventable famine, disease and violence as part of state-sponsored genocide." The commission, meeting Nov. 19-21, urged that the leaders respond to the humanitarian crisis, which has claimed more than 300,000 lives and left more than 3 million people at risk. The open letter was addressed to U.S. President George Bush, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.S. Secretary of State designate Condoleezza Rice, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Danforth. full story

Agencies plan emergency pension help for central conference clergy

Nov. 23, 2004    News media contact:   Tim  Tanton * (615) 7425470*  Nashville {04554} United Methodist News Service SKOKIE, Ill. (UMNS) — For the retired Mozambican minister and his wife, the "golden years" had nothing to do with gold and everything to do with trying to survive on a $120 annual pension. During a 2003 trip to Mozambique, a United Methodist team found that the couple exemplified the need for pension programs not only in Africa but other parts of the world. After a career in the church, the minister had reached the end of life with barely enough pension income to buy a few bags of food. full story

Commentary: World must unite in fighting AIDS

Nov. 30, 2004    News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New York {04562} United Methodist News Service The prevention of HIV infection and the care and treatment of AIDS patients is a major medical mission priority of the United Methodist Church. General Conference, the legislative branch of our church, has recognized the importance of, and encouraged congregations to engage in, HIV/AIDS-related ministries. General Conference encourages United Methodist participation in World AIDS Day through education, special offerings and direct services. The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the church's international mission agency, has been involved in HIV/AIDS ministries for many years, with a particular focus at the present on sub-Sahara Africa, where a huge percentage of the cases are found. We monitor every aspect of the global AIDS picture, and we are alarmed by what we see at the end of 2004. The statistics alone are distressing. full story