Mic monthly mar 2015 ke8frjxy

www.umc.org

l

Michigan Area of The United Methodist Church News Digest l

March 2015

Imagine No Malaria reaches $1.5 million and counting!

MOLLY TURNER INM Field Rep, Michigan Area

save a life—we have saved 154,227 lives. We know that there are still churches who are submit-

Nearly two years after the Michigan Area committed to raise $1.5 million for Imagine No Malaria, we are pleased to announce that we have exceeded our goal! The yearend total for the Michigan Area stands at $1,542,269. This includes contributions from the West Michigan Conference through December 31, 2014; contributions from the Detroit Conference through January 31, 2015.

ting funds. If you have not made your final gifts, please send your

continued page 8/INM

Globally, The United Methodist Church now stands at 85% of the $75 million goal established in 2008.

Together with others, we are in the process of ending suffering and death from malaria. With $10.00 representing an amount which can

Molly Turner attended a fund-raising event for UMCOR in October 2013 along with global disaster head, Jack Amick. ~MIConnect photo/Kay DeMoss

Annual Conferences will be voting on a concept not on a plan REV. DR. WILLIAM DOBBS Assistant to the Bishop I have been hearing the same question from a number of people lately, and, even though it has been addressed in a variety of other forums over the course of the last year, I would like to share my perspective. The Burning Question for this month is this: Why aren’t we seeing more information about what

this “new conference” in the Michigan Area will look like before we are asked to vote on it? I’m not comfortable voting for something until I know what it will look like!

One good friend even said to me that they would not buy a house without a building inspection and didn’t think we should be asked to “buy” an annual conference

continued page 3/ Vote

Page 2

MIConnect March 2015

There is a ‘huge’ task ahead for the world’s women KAY DeMOSS Senior Editor-Writer, Michigan Area “I would never want our people to think our church is not alive and well and influencing decisions around the globe.” That’s Nichea Ver Veer Guy’s biggest “take-away” from a very big event that she participated in last month.

Nichea, a lay woman who has served as a leader in the West Michigan Conference for many years, had the opportunity to become a leader on the world stage at the 59th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women held in New York, March 9-20.

With a strong background in social justice and the chair of the global UMW Finance Committee, Nichea was a natural to be chosen by the United Methodist Women as their only officer participating in this event. The focus was the progress

in women’s rights and lives since the Beijing Conference on Women’s Rights held 20 years ago. This was Nichea’s second opportunity to be part of a UN-related international delegation. She also shared in a Human Rights and Migration conference held in Geneva in 2012.

So what has happened over the past two decades? “Unfortunately,” Nichea comments, “not a lot. The United Nations has a 50-50 goal for women’s capabilities and participation in society by 2050.” In the sessions Nichea attended, she learned

of mixed progress. “In some nations, like Bolivia, there has been a 40% increase of women in Parliament. There have been gains in women’s participation in government in Africa,” she says.

“However,” Nichea continues, “it is quite interesting that most of the measures of progress have not been attained in the U.S. Why was her participation important? Nichea underscores that United Methodist Women have a

continued page 7/ Women

God leaves no case closed KAY DeMOSS Senior Editor-Writer, Michigan Area "When you help a child, you change a life." That's the aim of the Methodist Children's Home Society (MCHS) in Redford. In the miracle of God’s math, one family’s visit to the Children’s Home ultimately

changed eight lives ... forever.

The story began four years ago when Kevin and Ellen Harbin made a family decision to adopt. At that time, their kids ranged in age from 16 to 21. Kevin recalls, “Ellen couldn’t shake the notion that there was more for us” than an empty nest.“ That’s when the conversation got serious around bringing more children into the family. Some preliminary decisions started to be made.

“Because of our ages, Ellen and I did not wish to adopt an infant nor did we want to do an international adoption,” Kevin explains. “We also wanted to adopt more than one child, preferably a ‘sibling’ set.’”

The next step was natural. As a United Methodist pastor, currently serving Swartz Creek UMC, Kevin was aware of options close by. “As we talked and prayed we realized we had supported the Methodist Children’s Home Society for all these years,” Kevin says. “So now we wanted to see how they might

Nichea Ver Veer Guy (2nd from right) represented United Methodist Women at the recent United Nations Commission on Women. ~umns photo/Linda Bloom

continued page 6/Home

Page 3

Vote /from page 1 without knowing what it would look like.

I absolutely agree that we should not buy property without being absolutely clear what it is that we are buying. And in the past two votes on this question that was the approach we took. We were offered a plan for an annual conference which had enough detail to determine whether or not we wanted to “buy in” to a new conference. Many on both sides of the conference divide said, “yes,” but enough said “no” that the new conference did not happen and now we are back to a decision point in the lives of our two conferences. However, this time the decision is being presented in a different way.

In my opinion, this is a better way to move forward. Before we expend all the time, energy and dollars to develop a plan for one conference, let’s decide whether or not we want to be “one conference” for the entire State of Michigan. Let’s decide whether or not the idea has merit. Let’s vote on the concept before we vote on any specific plan. If a majority of us believe that we can be better together as one unified conference than we are as two separate conferences and we make a commitment to make that happen, then we believe it will. We have the intelligence and the experience to fashion a new thing that will reflect our shared vision on how best to make disciples for Jesus Christ and transform our world as the image of God’s Creation for the 21st Century.

But if we, as your conference leadership teams, have been reading you wrong and this is not what you want for Michigan, then this is the time to know that. And, in my opin-

MIConnect March 2015 March ion, this is really the fundamental question we have to decide. Do we want to be one? Or do we believe that we can be better by continuing down the same paths we have followed in the past?

Make no mistake; this is not a vote about change. Some of you think that the vote is “will we change or won’t we? As someone who has seen the numbers and taken the toll of the empty and shuttered buildings which used to be United Methodist churches, I know that we have to change! We cannot continue to do “conference” and “church” the way we have always done them. It would be insane to think otherwise. The question on the ballot at annual conference this year is deciding whether we can make these changes better by working together, or by continuing to go our separate ways.

Whatever we decide, there will be years of hard work ahead. There are difficult challenges which have already presented themselves to your cabinets and conference leadership teams relating to changes in

Burning Question

our Michigan Area and the communities contained within the boundaries of our two conferences. How will we do more with less? How will we fish for people when there are fewer people and they are located in different places that we found them in the past? How will we address the problems of aging buildings and shrinking resources and fewer young people in our pews?

And, if the vote is affirmative, how will we design a structure that enables mission and strengthens local churches without becoming an even greater burden to lay and clergy across the state?

These are the Burning Questions for all of us. I believe that with God’s help and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit we can find answers to these questions - and others not yet asked - as we seek to serve Jesus Christ together!

Detroit Conference Cabinet members were visited by Flat Charles and Flat John Wesley on April 1 at the Area Office in Lansing. Flat Wesleys are traveling a global circuit inviting children to discipleship. ~MIConnect photo/Mark Doyal

Page 4

MIConnect March 2015

West Michigan again a 100% Conference HEATHER HAHN United Methodist News Service A record number of conferences have paid 100 percent of their apportionments, part of a bright picture in denominational giving.

In 2014, 25 of 57 U.S. annual conferences paid full apportionments to support the national and international ministries of the general church. The West Michigan Conference was one of the 25. That number is up from 20 in both 2012 and 2013, and it’s the highest number in at least 10 years. Last year, United Methodists gave more than $130 million to general church funds, nearly 91 percent of the requested apportionments.

“I characterize this as very, very good news,” said Charlie Moore, a member of the finance agency’s board. “I think it is a reflection of the recovering economy, but I also think it’s evidence of the continuing commitment on the part of the people in the pews and annual conference leadership to support the connection.”

Apportionments (Ministry Shares) are the share each conference or local church pays to support international, national and regional missions. At the general church level, the money supports bishops, United Methodist ministerial education, most general agencies and denomination-wide efforts such as the Black College Fund and Africa University in Zimbabwe. The offering also pays for the work of United Methodist News Service.

The surge in giving comes as United Methodist membership and attendance in U.S. continues a long decline. However, Moore points out, those figures don’t tell the story of United Methodist generosity. “I think what it boils down to is that the giving per member, or the giving per attendee, has been increasing,” Moore said. He added: “I always characterize it that our church really doesn’t have a stewardship problem as much as it has an attendance problem. The stewardship amongst those who are still with us is still very significant, very positive.”

Meals for Millions recognizes giving by Detroit Conference UM Men of the Virginia Annual Conference contributed $21,713 to the Meals for Millions Fund of the Society of St. Andrew, the highest total of all U.S. annual conference organizations. Detroit Conference finished a close second with $20,351.

Wade Mays, national coordinator of the Meals for Millions Fund, listed the top ten contributors to the fund, during a March 7 meeting of conference presidents of UM Men and conference prayer advocates.

The fund establishes gleaning networks, raises awareness of the extent of hunger in America, and funds hunger relief advocates in 18 annual conferences.

Gifts to the Meals for Millions Fund provided 8.2 million servings of fresh produce to the hungry in 2014.

Every dollar in the collection plate in a U.S. church is allocated like this: 85 cents stays in the local church; 7 cents goes to Jurisdictions/Conferences/Districts; 2 cents pays general apportionments; and 6 cents is benevolent giving.

The partnership between United Methodist Men and Society of St. Andrew started in 1998.

Page 5

MIConnect March 2015

Wesley brothers itinerate around Michigan circuit Children throughout the United Methodist connection are learning about the history of the Methodist movement and practicing intentional discipleship with the help of drawings of John and Charles Wesley called "Flat Wesleys."

Grand Rapids Trinity UMC was among congregations receiving laminated copies of Flat Wesleys to begin the project, which will continue through September To date more than 700 churches have requested to participate.

"The end result of this project is for children to have the opportunity to practice compassion, justice, worship and devotion, to really pay attention to how they are doing that, and to be able to share their experiences with other children across the Methodist connection," said Melanie Gordon, Dir. of Children’s Ministries for the General Board of Discipleship.

Mar 2015

Nichea Ver Veer Guy, describes how that has worked at GR Trinity . . .

"Flat John and Flat Charles arrived just as our pastors concluded a six-week sermon series on the Wesleys." The figures visited classrooms and meetings like Church Council.

Nichea says, "People had opportunities to tell them how they were living out their faith."

Some of the younger children shared about their efforts "at learning what God has to say to them."

Older children talked about "social holiness and how they followed Jesus outside the church."

After a two-Sunday stay, Flat John and Flat Charles were sent on to a church in Maryland, as assigned in the material that brought them to Grand Rapids. By participating in the Flat Wesley project, children in United Methodist

congregations hopefully will be encouraged to learn that the Wesleys were "young people who believed that the church could do more, and they pushed the church to do more," Gordon said.

Published Monthly

Welcome to MIConnect, a printable edition of the top news from the online MIConnect Weekly, serving the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences.

MIConnect is the official news of the Michigan Area of The United Methodist Church.

Bishop Deborah L. Kiesey Publisher Mark Doyal Editor M. Kay DeMoss Find the “rest of the story” online: www.detroitconference.org www.westmichiganconference.org www.umc.org Direct comments and stories to Mark Doyal, mark@miareaumc.org.

Read the Gospel 1 Be the Gospel.

FROM MICHIGAN TO MONGOLIA Helen Sheperd (l) a missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries, is a native of Ann Arbor and a graduate of Bronson School of Nursing in Kalamazoo.

Helen has been using her medical skills at Grace Hospice in Ulaanbaatar for the past ten years. Helen will retired later this year but continue service in Mongolia as an Individual Volunteer in Mission. ~GBGM photo

Page 6

Home /from page 2 support us in this process.” And the relationship between MCHS and the Harbins began.

And then it stalled. “We were doing everything we were supposed to do,” Kevin notes, “then right at the final stages Ellen was diagnosed with cancer.” Their case was then closed. “After all,” Keven asserts, “children need to be brought into a healthy and stable environment.”

But while the official/legal case was closed, God’ case remained open.

In the months that followed, Ellen received treatment and the family provided loving support. When she received a good prognosis, the family again picked up the adoption thread that had been put aside but not forgotten.

“We questioned the path God had for us,” Kevin reports. “We didn’t

MIConnect March 2015

believe we got as far as we did” with no positive result. Doctors assured the family that they should not let fear keep them from moving forward with the family plan.

Their next phone call was to the Methodist Children’s Home Society, placing them back in touch with their previously assigned case worker. “The timing couldn’t have been better!” Kevin remembers.

“The case worker told us that she had just identified a brother and sister she believed would be a perfect fit with our family.” The woman had not contacted the Harbins because she believed their case was closed. “So our phone call was truly a God thing!” Kevin remarks.

In Kevin’s words, “a lot of life had happened in those ten months.”

Their daughter was now in college; two sons had graduated with the third about to finish high school.

Jaylen (then 7) and Sukanya (then

5) came into the Harbin home in December of 2010. “There was an instant connection in every direction,” Kevin reports. “We knew from the beginning that this was not a foster family but a forever family.”

As the family celebrated the bonding that was taking place among each other, the community, the school and the church, something more was going on. Coming home from worship at Schwartz Creek one Sunday, “We realized Jaylen liked to hum,” Kevin says. At first they thought it was a personal habit that the eight-year-old found soothing. They realized that more was going on with his musical spirit when they heard the tune of, “Shine, Jesus, Shine!” coming from a toy keyboard in the playroom.

“The next week he was plunking out the Doxology.” After several weeks of this Kevin and Ellen bought Jaylen a quality keyboard.

From that point on a series of instructors became aware that “Jaylen needed more”. Jaylen is now training as a classical pianist and has played in several significant venues around Flint, live and for radio. Jaylen has played a benefit recital for the Children’s Home and gifted them with $600. Their MCHS case worker is a regular attender of his performances.

When asked what counsel he would give to persons considering adoption, Kevin explains, “None of us jumps into parenthood without giving it some careful thought. Parenting children who have a life story like Jaylen’s and Sukanya’s takes a lot of dedication but the rewards are huge as you watch transformation take place.”

The Harbin family continues to marvel at how everything came together for good. Case closed by cancer and then case re-opened by God at just the moment two children were ready to find a home.

Kevin says, “We knew from the beginning we would be a forever family.”

Page 7

MIConnect March 2015

Women/from page 2 big role to play in policy-shaping investments and support of programs around the world. “But we rarely get a chance to be in community with women on the ground who can offer significant help in the development of program and policy,” she explains. “We must get to know our partners better through this kind of grassroots networking,” she continues.

And so she celebrates new relationships made during the course of the event. “I met powerful women. Like the wonderful farmer from Honduras,” Nichea recalls. “She was gutsy. She came to us wanting the world to take notice of her few hectares of land and we were able to offer her a voice and give her a forum. Awesome!”

Celebrating the broad scope of the session, Nichea added, “Then you sit down with first ladies of countries and hear what they are trying to do for women. It was a huge spectrum of women in leadership.” Then she remarks, “I really felt small. There was no one else there from Michigan. Hardly anyone there from the United States. But it is good to be reminded that we Americans are not always the big kahuna.”

Information sharing covered a broad range of issues and concerns: maternal care, human trafficking, fair trade, land use, childhood immunization, climate issues, and water scarcity. The role of agricultural and pharmaceutical corporations in the lives of women and children was also examined.

Of course, HIV-AIDS, Ebola and Malaria were among health concerns on the agenda. Nichea says, “African women from numerous countries talked about how the eradication of malaria is an attainable goal. Accomplishments in this effort were spoken loud and clear.”

Nichea calls the task ahead, “Huge.” She will have various opportunities to share in the months to come.

“Information about the worldwide status and role of women needs to be both clear and enticing. I want people to know more and then to act.” And she believes their arena for action is both global and local. “As I communicate with the United Methodist Women of Michigan, I want to emphasize that we also have concerns right here in our state about climate justice, health care, racial justice, maternal care, and equity in pay.” She intends to encourage dialogue that will result in making peace and doing justice at home and abroad.

“I want people to understand and appreciate the influence the church has in the world,” Nichea concludes.

“Fifteen million United Methodists around the globe have the resources and the networking that truly make a difference.”

Representatives from West Michigan and Southeastern Michigan JFON traveled to Washington, D.D. in 2014.

UMW blesses Michigan JFON The United Methodist Women recently awarded a grant of $50,000 to National Justice For Our Neighbors.

“We have been working on immigrant rights for the past eight years, because we believe that all person belong in God’s vision of a beloved community,” explains Sung-ok Lee, Assistant General Secretary, Christian Social Action, of the UMW. “We affirm the human rights of every person regardless of status and affirm that these rights do not stop at borders.” The grant money was divided among four JFON sites— Northern Illinois, Iowa, West Michigan, and Southeastern Michigan.

“As a member of my own UMW in Ann Arbor, I know the impact UMW volunteers can have to bring awareness and action around social justice issues,” says Tori Booker, site director for JFON Southeast Michigan. “We are excited to collaborate with such dynamic women.”

For JFON West Michigan, these much-needed funds will be put to good use developing their new site in Traverse City, a resort and farming community where immigrant workers play an integral role in the local economy.

Get the big picture.

Get the big picture.

Subscribe to our email edition sent every Wednesday. Faith news from your neighborhood and around God’s world.

Subscription link found on the homepage of your Conference website.

Page 8

MIConnect March 2015

INM/from page 1 contributions to your conference treasurer, marked for Imagine No Malaria.

“Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.” Luke 12:2-3, NRSV Perhaps you thought it would go away, or even hoped it would go away. Let it retreat back to the shadows where light won’t reveal it. It is more comfortable for you that way, and the light can be fearful if you do not know how to move forward.

On the other hand, maybe you instead feared that it would be allowed to become hidden and out of sight once again, while all of the underlying pain, tension and systemic patterns remain unresolved.

Hope and transformation can only be found in the spaces where darkness and light meet. This is the place of relationship. To move beyond the divide we are compelled to move into relationships. This is especially true as we consider issues of race, racism, multicultural complexity, power and community here in the United States.

On April 25th you are invited to Beyond the Divide: Building Relationships for a New Tomorrow. On a cold December evening several key leaders from our Detroit Conference came together in a conference call to prayerfully determine how we as United Methodist Christians in this time and place could respond to the tensions, tragedies and pain unfolding over circumstances in Ferguson, Missouri, and shortly thereafter in New York City and elsewhere.

Each time the secular news media has begun to drop the underlying issues from their coverage a new situation has emerged. That which is often kept in darkness for many is now continually being brought into the light. Christ compels us to step into that place and build for a new tomorrow.

Please make your donations by April 30 so that we can have a more complete total by our Detroit and West Michigan Annual Conference sessions.

Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey celebrates this achievement.

"I am pleased to offer my very personal 'Thank you!' to the entire Michigan Area for your generous giving to the Imagine No Malaria effort," she said. "Because of your faithfulness, efforts will continue for the eradication of this completely preventable disease. Even though you will never know the names of those whose lives you have saved, you have truly made a difference!!"

We add our many thanks to Bishop Deb, the full cabinets, district coordinators and Imagine No Malaria Steering Committee for all of their dedicated work.

This day of listening, discovery and exploring is being sponsored by our Detroit Conference Commission on Religion and Race and Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships. Input from others has helped to give shape to a place of sacred sanctuary for difficult issues to be named and brought into the light.

The Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey is our keynote speaker. She is Associate Dean for Community Life and Lifelong Learning and Clinical Assistant Professor of Contextual Theology and Practice at Boston University.

If you are someone that hoped the complexities of race, racism, power and control in this country would slip back out of the limelight, I invite you to instead walk into the light of this conversation. If you are one that simply has not known how to move forward, I invite you to trust God’s grace to help you learn how to build new relationships while having your understanding opened up in this light. If you are one that has feared that these tensions, patterns and pain will once again slip into the darkness then I invite you to come so that together we United Methodists in Michigan can build relationships for a new tomorrow. ~To register go to http://www.beyond-the-divide.info/.

Thanks, Michigan, for saving 154,227 lives from malaria!

Page 9

MIConnect March 2015

Africa University experiencing ‘growing pains’ VICKI BROWN United Methodist News Service As Africa University celebrated the installation of its new vice chancellor, the 23-year-old United Methodist-related University’s board struggled with growing pains. The board of directors at its March 20 meeting

discussed aging buildings, overcrowded dorms and the need for more professors with doctorates to retain Zimbabwean accreditation.

Bright spots included the announcement of an endowed professorship in agriculture and natural resources, a fundraising campaign for an en-

dowed chair in theology, and an endowment of $63.3 million.

Mushare Furusa, who was inaugurated March 21 as the university’s top executive, reported on costcutting measures, a staff audit, the new program for a B.A. in media studies and planning for hospitality and tourism degree.

“We are looking at strategies to get people with Ph.D.s,” Furusa said. One of those strategies could be to help instructors or professors finish a doctoral program.

Fifteen are now working on doctorates, Furusa said. One strategy Africa University is exploring is to partner with the Board of Global Ministries to find missionaries with doctorates to teach.

Bishop Marcus Matthews, the board’s vice chair, agreed. “To have a university that is only 23 years old that has all of its buildings paid for and no debt is a university with great opportunities ahead,” said Matthews.

Take the UMCOR Kit challenge How can you reach disaster survivors with your help and compassion?

Assembling or funding relief-supply kits for the United Methodist Committee on Relief is a way to offer hope soon after a disaster strikes. Receiving a relief kit encourages someone who has lost everything and provides some basic necessities for the dignity of survivors.

With spring flooding and tornadoes likely in the springtime season and other disasters occurring worldwide, now is the time to fund or assemble UMCOR relief-supply kits. Currently, UMCOR needs health kits and school kits.

Bethlehem UMC in Georgia decided to issue a challenge: could they assemble 1,000 health kits in three weeks. They not only met its challenge but exceeded it, assembling 1,246 health kits that will end up in the hands of disaster survivors in great need.

UMCOR is inviting churches to issue their own relief-kit challenges. First, check the UMCOR website to see which types of kits are most needed. Then, decide on an appropriate number for your challenge. You also can support UMCOR’s relief-kit ministry with a gift to UMCOR Material Resources, Advance #901440.

The board approved a 2015-16 budget of $12 million with a provision that if income is more than that amount, more can be spent.

Last year, total income was $12.8 million and the university ended the year with a $4,000 surplus.

Furusa said the university has 353 employees for about 1,500 fulltime students and another 1,000 enrolled part-time or through distance-learning programs.

Furusa reported to the board that the Ubuntu Retreat Center is not finished. The West Michigan Conference raised $500,000 for the center. A timeline for completion was drawn up. Under an adjudication agreement of the dispute, if the contractor does not adhere to the completion timeline, the company can be replaced, Furusa said. In the meantime, final payments are being withheld.

Page 10

MIConnect March 2015

Consultation re-thinks Latino/Hispanic Ministries REV. GUSTAVO VASQUEZ United Methodist News Service If you think most Latinos in the United States generally speak only Spanish and lead lives isolated from the nation’s other ethnic groups, think again. English has displaced Spanish as the first language used in Hispanic/Latino families, and a higher proportion of U.S. Hispanics/Latinos are part of interracial or interethnic couples than any other U.S. ethnic group.

Those were just two data points shared at The United Methodist Church’s third National Consultation for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, which drew 250 United Methodist leaders March 12-14 to Duke Divinity School. The consultation took as its theme the Spanglish phrase, “El Espíritu de Dios (the Spirit of God) is Upon Us.” About a fifth of those in attendance were young adults. The

diverse, dynamic and changing realities of Hispanic/Latino people were the main topics of discussion. The meeting also focused on nurturing a new generation of church leaders.

The Rev. Francisco Cañas, director of the National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, said “The Hispanic/Latino people — especially young people — must have a leading role in the mission of The United Methodist Church.”

He and other Hispanic/Latino leaders at the meeting have a message for the denomination: We are diverse, we have gifts to share, and we are an integral part of the church.

Make no mistake: The Hispanic/ Latino population in the U.S. continues to grow. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2050, the Hispanic population will reach about 106 million, about double

continued page 12/ Growing

Adrian Federico Apecena raises his arm in prayer during the third National Consultation on Hispanic/Latino Ministry. ~umns photo/Art McClanahan

Bishop John Innes welcomed home to Liberia with joy Bishop John G. Innis is back home in Liberia after 11 months in the United States for health

reasons and because of travel restrictions imposed on the country due to the Ebola outbreak.

Bishops Innis and Kiesey were together in Michigan for the Liberia Summit in November 2014.

A thanksgiving service at First United Methodist Church in Monrovia on Feb. 25 was attended by hundreds of United Methodist who praised God for the safe arrival of the bishop and for his successful back surgery in the United States.

The Rev. Matthew A. Jaiah of the Stephen Trowen Nagbe United Methodist Church urged those attending the service to be thankful to God for the challenging path he has led

them through during the Ebola crisis.

Innis thanked church members for praying for him. “I was overwhelmed by the out pouring of love from all of you for my health situation at the time,” Innis said.

The bishop was travelling for his episcopal duties when health issues arose, then he could not return to Liberia because the borders were closed due to the Ebola crisis.

He praised the leadership of the Liberia Annual Conference for ably managing the affairs of the church while he was away. “I thanked God for you wonderful people called United Methodists,” he added.

“Ebola must leave Liberia in Jesus’ name,” Innis said.

Page 11

MIConnect March 2015

Featured Resources

UMC Digest Special Sundays There is good news to share with you about United Methodist Special Sunday giving in 2014. Overall, contributions increased 8.1 percent. Five of the six Special Sundays showed growth. Last year, United Methodists across the connection gave nearly $5.3 million to six church-wide Special Sundays with offerings. Here are the amounts contributed to each Special Sunday offering: Human Relations Day: $521,392; One Great Hour of Sharing: $3,005,332; Native American Ministries Sunday: $266,031; Peace with Justice Sunday: $216,746; World Communion Sunday: $836,955; and United Methodist Student Day: $431,677

VIM Opportunity Revival!

Adam Hamilton Join Adam Hamilton for a six-week journey as he travels to England, following the life of John Wesley and exploring his defining characteristics of a Wesleyan Christian.

Wesley’s message and his faith continue to speak to 21st-century Christians—calling for a revival of our hearts and souls so that our world might be changed. Bishop Scott Jones says of the book: Adam Hamilton connects John Wesley’s contribution in 18thcentury England with his legacy for 21st-century America, bringing lessons from Wesley’s life and ministry to bear on discipleship today.

Adam Hamilton is the featured teacher at the 2015 West Michigan Conference.

The Saganing Native American Center is a project of the Detroit Annual Conference Committee on Native American Ministry (CONAM). The facilities are located in Standish, MI and previously served as a Native American Church since 1875. The North Central Jurisdiction VIM Office lists the site and invites helping hands. Projects include ongoing care for the Native American burial grounds, interior cleaning, improvements and renovations to both interior and exterior and structural repairs to the steeple. Specifically needs include roof repair, window replacement, flooring and power washing the building. Contact Amy F. Alberts: amyfaithalberts@juno.com.

General Conference Needs Petitions for consideration by the 2016 General Conference may be submitted to the Petitions Secretary beginning April 1 and continuing through October 13, 2015. According to church law, "Any organization, clergy member, or lay member of The United Methodist Church may petition the General Conference..." Detailed instructions are available on the General Conference website at gc2016.umc.org. Beginning April 1, volunteers can apply online at www.signup4.net/Public/ap.aspx?OID=130&EID=201630E to serve as marshals or pages during The United Methodist Church’s 2016 General Conference. Approximately 150 volunteers are needed and preference will be given to applicants who can serve throughout the entire conference. Volunteers are responsible for their own travel and expenses.

Just Say YES! Robert Schnase Churches can say "No" in a thousand ways: to new ideas, ministry initiatives, and creative people. We've become conditioned to view anything new with suspicion and resistance. Just Say Yes! is written for people who yearn to be told "YES!" It's for people with energy and ideas--people who can be emboldened to form new programs, find new ways to reach people, and create inspiring, fresh worship services. This book contains practical ways to rethink fundamental assumptions about leadership and organization.

GENERAL CONFERENCE 2016 General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church. The assembly meets once every four years to consider revisions to church law and adopt resolutions. The 2016 meeting will have 864 delegates

Page 12

MIConnect March 2015

Alarms sound over United Methodist theological education HEATHER HAHN United Methodist News Service United Methodist theological education in the United States is in crisis, and a longtime scholar says if trends persist the modern way of training pastors could disappear.

The Rev. M. Douglas Meeks sounded that alarm at a meeting of nearly 40 theology professors and United Methodist scholars to discuss the future of theological education Feb. 26-28 at the Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville.

“There is a great shortage of people who will be the teacher of the teachers,” said Meeks, Cal Turner Chancellor Professor of Theology and Wesleyan Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School.

“The event brought together representatives from most of the denomination’s 13 U.S. seminaries as well as Vanderbilt, Asbury Theological Seminary and Hood Theological Seminary, an African Methodist Episcopal Zion school in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Rev. M. Douglas Meeks

Growing /from page 10 what it is today. If the church wants to build the relationships necessary for its growth, many United Methodists will need to better understand their Hispanic/Latino neighbors and possibly rethink some assumptions.

Alexis Francisco is a United Methodist young lay leader of Dominican descent from the Bronx, New York. He outlined his experience as a second-generation Hispanic / Latino and stressed the need to rethink the current model of separate "racial-ethnic” ministries to meet the growing demand for inclusiveness.

Luis Velazquez, a certified candidate for ordained United Methodist ministry, also preached about the change that must be made. The

church needs to be an open space that mentors and empowers new generations of Hispanic/Latino who have the call and countless talents to serve, Velazquez said. He is a "dreamer" -- a young adult who is not a U.S. citizen but who has lived most of his life as undocumented in the U.S. “The time that we live in is an opportunity for young people, who have an identity forged between various cultures, to build bridges of inclusion and approach.”

The consultation, he said, “as a divine dialogue, has great potential to produce many strategies in which we can all reaffirm our commitment to support and accompany the changes in the coming years, as America also grows into its new self.”

Meeks said he fears U.S. United Methodists could end up like the Methodist Church in Britain, which no longer has any theological schools to call its own and must depend largely on ecumenical relationships for clergy training. “I think the situation is so severe that we are going to have to do some imaginative thinking about what the future can be,” Meeks said.

Meeks and other conference participants aren’t ready to give up on the basic framework of United Methodist seminary education just yet. But they said it may be time to rethink some aspects of the system.

The scholars are working on a paper about their discussions to be presented to United Methodist bishops and agency executives. They also are working with the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry to form an association of U.S. United Methodist scholars that can exchange ideas.

The Rev. Russell E. Richey, visiting professor at Duke Divinity School, pointed out that clergy training has evolved multiple times since Methodism's arrival on American shores more than 200 years ago.

He gave an overview of his new book. Formation for Ministry in American Methodism: Twenty-first Century Challenges and Two Centuries of Problem-Solving. Methodist clergy, he said, were at first largely self-taught in the works of John Wesley, and then they underwent apprenticeships under a more senior pastor. But as time went on, the Methodist movement required more formal education, eventually developing the seminary program expected of elders today.

Each change came after what Richey called “negative pressures.”

“It seems that at almost every stage, there was some really pressing problem the church sensed it needed to solve,” Richey said. “But at each stage, the church also saw fresh opportunities.”