Interpreter | 2017 May/June by United Methodist Communications

United Methodists Living Their Faith M A Y / J U N E

2 0 1 7

UNITED METHODIST...

EVERYONE IS A STORYTELLER

PEACE WITH STATE OF THE JUSTICE SUNDAY CHURCH REPORT

Turn your reluctance into boldness by walking in the footsteps of MOSES

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Learn more at

available May 2017 Adam Hamilton is senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, named by The Church Report as the most influential mainline church in America. Hamilton is the best-selling author of Half Truths, John, The Call, Revival, The Way, 24 Hours That Changed the World, The Journey, When Christians Get It Wrong and Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White.

AdamHamilton.org

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Contents

A UNITED MAY

JUNE

METHODIST 14 CONNECTION MAKES THE UMC WORK

17 ONE FAITH, DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDINGS 19 A (BRIEF) HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 22 A QUICK QUIZ ON UNITED METHODIST HISTORY 32 CHANGE: IT’S CONSTANT 34 GENERAL RULE OF DISCIPLESHIP LEADS TO DISCIPLINED LIFE 36

SITES EVERY UNITED METHODIST SHOULD SEE

United Methodist Interpreter

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Contents

F E AT U R E S

D E PA RT M E N T S

40 Everyone is a storyteller Master storyteller Michael Williams offers ideas for finding and telling your own story. Everyone has one!

42 Grandparents are parenting again Resuming full-time parenting when you are in your 60s presents challenges and opportunities for congregations to provide support. 4

44 Five bishops elected in Germany, Congo Four newly elected German and African bishops are beginning their service; another is now a bishop for life.

46 Making a difference – one grant at a time A grant is helping support a ministry of advocating for victims of crimes.

6 Publisher’s Page The church’s vibrancy comes from living out faith in communities around the world.

7 Reflections Readers share thoughts.

8 It Worked for Us First responders’ badges blessed; blessing boxes spread across Oklahoma district; cooking, art classes draw kids and parents; ‘Shark Tank: Missions’ supports youth who serve

11 IdeaMart Voting on constitutional amendments; Asbury film Emmy-winner; communications grants for churches; e-newsletter for members; UMM to meet in Indianapolis

13 ‘We asked ... ;’ ‘You said ... .’ ‘Why are you a United Methodist?’

48 I am United Methodist

S TAT E of the

CHURCH 2 0 17

Beverly Ludlam values EUB, Methodist heritage, being ‘church people.’

49 Technology Youth tutoring senior members to use technology builds lasting relationships.

50 To Be United Methodist What is the Judicial Council? Answers to History Quiz

Their Faith odists Living / J U N E 2 0 1 7 United Meth M A Y

HODIST...

UNITED MET

EVERYONE IS A STORYTELLER

STATE OF THE PEACE WITH Y CHURCH REPORT JUSTICE SUNDA

COVER: Cover design and illustration by Troy Dossett, graphic designer, United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tennessee.

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United Methodist Interpreter

United Methodist Communications, Inc. May/June 2017 Vol. 61, No. 3 Interpreter (ISSN 0020-9678 Periodical #9154) is published six times a year by United Methodist Communications, 810 12th Ave. S., P.O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320; 615-742-5107; www.interpretermagazine. org. Periodicals postage paid at Nashville, Tenn., and additional offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Interpreter, P.O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320. Subscription Questions: For individual subscriptions, duplicate/ missing issues, enrollment forms and subscription corrections, call 888-346-3862 or e-mail subscriptions@umcom.org. Change of Address: Send the mailing label with your new address and name of your church to Interpreter Subscriptions, P.O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320; call 888346-3862, or e-mail subscriptions@umcom.org. Allow six weeks for changes. Indicate if you hold any offices. Advertising: Contact Fox Associates, Inc., Fox-Chicago, 116 W. Kinzie St., Chicago, IL 60654; 312-644-3888, 800-4400231, 800-440-0232; (Fax) 312-644-8718 The publication of advertising in Interpreter does not constitute endorsement by Interpreter, United Methodist Communications or The United Methodist Church. Advertisers and their agencies assume liability for all content of advertisements printed or representations made therein. Reprints: Local churches, districts, annual conferences and other United Methodist-related entities may reprint, photocopy or create Web links to any materials from Interpreter, except items bearing a copyright notice. Please include “Reprinted from Interpreter Magazine, a publication of United Methodist Communications” and add the issue date on your copies. For more information, call 615-742-5107. Publisher | Dan Krause Editor | Kathy Noble Design | GUILDHOUSE Group Editorial Assistant | Polly House Contributing Editor | Julie Dwyer Multimedia Editor | Joey Butler Photographer | Mike DuBose Photo Researcher | Kathleen Barry Advertising Manager | Jane Massey Production Manager | Carlton Loney Subscription Fulfillment | 888-346-3862

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United Methodists: Unique, creative, vibrant

went to New Orleans to help repair Johnson’s home. The weeklong reconstruction project was part of the church’s Youth Service Project, an annual summer mission service outing for junior high and high school youth that serves in three different areas of the United States: Appalachian Mountains, New Orleans and on Native American reservations in the Pacific Northwest. Taytay United Methodist Church in the Rizal Philippines Annual Conference East of the Manila Episcopal Area is a vital congregation that has planted 22 local churches in the past 102 years. Its members have a heart for mission. They currently support five mission churches and a number of ministries that reach into the community. The Young Adult Fellowship at Taytay leads one of the most popular ministries. Called Adopt-AChild, it provides indigent children in the community with Christmas gifts and a

Children enjoy a day out as part of the Adopt-A-Child ministry for indigent families, one of numerous outreach efforts at Taytay United Methodist Church in the Philippines.

holiday outing. Since 2006, more than 100 children have been “adopted.” The Adopt-AChild program is an offshoot of a broader children’s ministry at Taytay that provides school supplies, as well as ensuring community children receive health care. When students at Princeton University commented that on-campus study spaces are frequently frenzied and anxiety-ridden in the weeks and days leading up to midterms and finals, members at Kingston United Methodist Church and the university’s chapter of the Wesley Foundation responded. They transformed church space across the street from the university into a coffee shop for students and the broader community. The church seeks to provide a place of rest during the peak academic periods, as well as a setting that encourages friendship, spiritual engagement and fun. The lure of baskets of chips and unlimited bowls of salsa has resulted in a standing

COURTESY FEED TRUCK CAFE

elcome to the May/June 2017 issue of Interpreter. We continue to celebrate Easter, and we are heading toward Pentecost. Indeed, with the Holy Spirit’s presence, there is much happening throughout The United Methodist Church! This issue of Interpreter examines what it means to be a United Methodist. In the pages ahead, explore who we are and what many United Methodists believe that make us unique among mainstream Protestant denominations. The articles consider our connectedness, our open communion table and our rich history of being missional. The fact is The United Methodist Church is a global community of more than 12 million, all people who call themselves “United Methodists” while seeking to follow Jesus Christ faithfully. While we are connected by the title of “United Methodist,” the vibrancy in our denomination is found in the unique and creative ways we live out our faith in communities throughout the world. Almost 10 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, repairs to Betty Johnson’s home in the Upper 9th Ward of New Orleans were still needed. Young people from First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica, California,

COURTESY TAYTAY UMC

The Publisher's Page

The Feed Truck Café ministry in Princeton, New Jersey, provides a relaxing environment for university students. MAY • JUNE 2017

United Methodist Interpreter

room only church service originated by leaders at Wildwood United Methodist Church in Wildwood, Florida. For the past two-and-a-half years, the church has held weekly services in a Mexican restaurant during an event called “Burritos and Bibles.” Because of the popularity of the service, current Wildwood Church members are asked to bring a guest, which results in invitational evangelism. These few examples are among the thousands of ways that our 32,000 United Methodist churches throughout the connection are creatively living out their faith and inviting others to become disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. For a look at a few more churches featured in this issue of Interpreter, check out the “It Worked for Us” section. As we approach Pentecost, let us go forward with the words from a benediction for the season from Linda Ridener Dickson, a composer who attends Goddard United Methodist Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas: Dear Friends, Go in the joy of the rushing wind, a thousand tongues to know. Speak the wonders of our God in Heav’n and Earth below. Amen. Amen. Dan Krause is general secretary of United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and publisher of Interpreter.

A Forum for Readers

Reflections Defining church The magazine refers to the buildings as “the church.” To me this is where the misconception begins – and grows with the followers for life. The church is the group of God’s people. Great song: “I am the church, you are the church ... .” Please discontinue helping lead followers astray. Howard Piggee, Hillcrest UMC, Fredericksburg, Virginia

A response Responding to James M. Case’s letter defending homosexuals (Jan/Feb): Romans 1:24-36 has a list of many sins, one being unnatural sex between men and men, women with women. God will judge homosexuals, but we can judge right and wrong. We have allowed sin to come into the church and we are already feeling the WE WANT MAIL

results of it. Isaiah 5:20 reads, “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil.” The church has become like the world in many ways. We all should examine ourselves and repent. It is better to obey God rather than man. We must not let Christ’s death on the cross be meaningless. Thank God for the resurrection of Christ and the love he has shown us. Please let us not disappoint the Lord. Imogene Whitfield, Ebenezer UMC, Moundsville, West Virginia

Enjoys Interpreter The Interpreter is great reading and I enjoy it very much because it’s educational and it also feeds my soul. It has values that help me daily walk with Christ. I would encourage each and every member to take advantage of this information and

subscribe to receive a copy to enhance their abilities in their walk with Christ and the United Methodist faith. Curtis Davis, Bethany UMC, Hampton, Virginia

Questions theme With great dismay and sadness, I just read “Bible Boot Camp in Winter” (March/April). If we follow our Lord Jesus who preached peace and love, why does a church teach little children military concepts such as “prepare for battle” (and) “be warriors for God” with “drill sergeants” and “platoon leaders”? The Rev. Donna DeCamp, retired, Point Richmond, California Ed. Note: The camp’s theme came from Ephesians 6:10-18 urging Christians “to put on the full armor of God.”

Interpreter welcomes Letters to the Editor that address articles in the magazine or other topics of interest to United Methodists. Letters should be no more than more 150 words, include the writer’s name, local church, city and state and may be edited for length and clarity. Send to interpreter@umcom.org or Interpreter, P. O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320. 7

MY MISSION

“...is to help young people, especially children of color, to flourish and to encourage them to listen for and respond to the voice of the Divine as we work towards greater peace and justice in our communities and in the world.” —Ashley Johnson, MTS ‘17

OUR MISSION

is to prepare students to do good in the church and across the world.

bu.edu/sth

“...is to encourage the United Methodist Church to be in true relationship with the Hispanic/Latino community by listening to and learning their stories. I want to move congregations from ministering to Hispanic/Latino communities to being transformed alongside them.” —Emma Escobar, MDiv ‘14

Success Stories From Local Churches

COURTESY CHUCK MITCHELL

It Worked for Us Blessing of the Badges

said the Rev. Chuck Mitchell, Dobbins’ pastor. After talking with Delanco Township Mayor Kate Fitzpatrick and Police Chief Jesse DeSanto, he decided to have a Blessing of the Badges. Worship attendees heard about the origins of badges. As the emergency responders came forward for the blessing, Mitchell, Dave Gannon, youth leader from Dobbins, and the Rev. Donshae Joyner of My Friend’s House, another ministry in Delanco that partnered

ore than 100 police officers, fire fighters and emergency medical technicians filled the sanctuary of Dobbins United Methodist Church in Delanco, New Jersey, on Dec. 16, 2016, for a service of appreciation and blessing. “With what is happening in our nation and suspicions rising against police, I wanted to connect with our police, fire and emergency squad and provide support to them,”

with Dobbins, anointed their badges and foreheads with oil. They also anointed the badges that some of the officers carried for colleagues who could not be present. Mitchell said the service was to show appreciation to the first responders. He wanted them to know that the church community cares, supports and wants to be present for them. “Each department expressed gratitude, grateful that we are supporting them,” he said.

The Rev. Chuck Mitchell (left) anoints an officer’s badge during the “Blessinng of the Badges” service at Dobbins United Methodist Church in Delanco, New Jersey.

He was inspired after learning about the badge blessing that his friend Conni Murray organized at First United Methodist Church in Moorestown, New Jersey. “The bigger vision and hope is that other communities will provide this support to their police, fire and emergency departments,” Mitchell said.

This box blesses

ROBERT HARRIS

he wooden box looks like a kitchen cabinet with see-through doors. It sits near the church, and it is full. People open and close the doors numerous times each day. Get close enough and you can read

“This is why we continue to build them,” said the Rev. Rob Harrris after watching these three young boys take cereal and crackers from the Box of Blessings.

the message: “Leave what you can. Take what you need. Remember, God loves us all.” Non-perishable food items fill the Blessing Box at Tonkawa United Methodist Church. Replenished frequently, it is one of many found at United Methodist churches throughout the Northern Prairie District in Oklahoma. “I saw a man in an old pick-up truck put food in the box,” said the Rev. Rob Harris, pastor of Tonkawa. “I also saw a very nicely dressed lady in a nice car who stopped and picked up food in the evening.” Harris said you never know who needs to eat or feed a family.

Elementary, middle and high school students are among those who take food. They receive free lunches at school, but no school means no food. “Some high schoolers are embarrassed to ask for food,” Harris said. The Blessing Box allows them to take food discreetly. Tonkawa church members started the Blessing Box in late 2016 after speaking with David Nichols about the need for food in their community. Nichols, husband of Northern Prairie District superintendent the Rev. Tish Malloy, suggested starting the Blessing Box. Men from churches in the district build the boxes at a woodworking shop at

Northern Oklahoma College. Eighteen have already been placed at churches throughout the district. More are waiting for their box. Church members and people from the community pack the Blessing Box with soup, spaghetti and sauce, breakfast bars, tuna, macaroni and cheese, soap, shampoo and other items. “It’s a true blessing just as much for people who give as those who receive,” said Harris. “I truly believe that it’s the ruah, breath of God, to help. People come out of the woodwork to help,” including many from the community.

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United Methodist Interpreter

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it worked for us

Success Stories From Local Churches

he Rev. Melissa Meyers asked, “What can we do for kids to help them with life skills and create a place of wonder?” Her answer: Offer cooking and art classes. Twelve attended when Meyers, pastor at Faith United Methodist Church in Genoa, Illinois, first invited the children for a cooking lesson during vacation Bible school in 2015. Seeing the interest sparked, Meyers and church members organized to offer the 90-minute classes weekly. Each Wednesday evening, 28-49 children gather to peel and chop vegetables with kid-friendly knives and do

other prep work. Meyers then demonstrates how to cook the meals in the kitchen with the older youngsters actually cooking. Children and their parents then enjoy the meals of pizza, tacos, salads, pineapple salsa, cupcakes and many other delicious dishes. “The parents love it, and they appreciate that their kids are excited,” said Meyers. “I can make it with my own hands and taste it with my own mouth,” said 8-year-old Kelly. On some Sunday afternoons, families and single adults attend cooking classes. Offered in rotation with the Wednesday cooking

MELISSA MEYERS

Cooking and art classes draw youngsters

“It Worked for Us” is written by Christine Kumar, a freelance writer and administrator, Baltimore Metropolitan District, Baltimore-Washington Conference. Send story ideas to interpreter@umcom.org. Find more “It Worked for Us” at Interpreter OnLine, www.interpretermagazine.org.

Making salad dressing is a team effort for Ava, Henry and Miley during cooking classes at Faith United Methodist Church in Genoa, Ill.

classes are art classes for preschoolers through sixth graders. Twenty to 60 creative artists do projects while youth help. Sometimes the fun gets messy, Meyers said. One night they threw paint-filled balloons onto an empty canvas

to create art. They also learn about artists like Vincent Van Gogh and do projects related to their work. Art class offers more time for conversations said Meyers. A young girl spoke to Meyers about her grandmother dying and how sad she felt for her mother and family as they were grieving. The church received a $3,000 grant from the Northern Illinois conference for food and art supplies. Church members donated utensils and other items. “We may not talk about Jesus, but we are acting like Jesus,” said Meyers. “The church is a safe place and a place of wonder.”

Shark Tank: Mission

he young people stood before the five “sharks,” each pitching ideas for making the world a better place. As each of the six groups spoke about their idea and the funding they needed, the judges, all members of Southside United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, were impressed. “The teens took it very seriously,” said Suzanne Honeycutt, one of the judges. Steve Dickson, youth director at Southside, and then-youth assistant Connie Hoover wanted the youth both

to understand empathy and passion, Dickson said, and “we wanted to turn passion into action. We came up with Shark Tank: Mission, an event patterned after “Shark Tank,” a television show in which budding entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to potential investors. Prior to the Nov. 13, 2016, event, the teens researched causes that spoke to their hearts. Seventh grader Libby DeVooght’s project was “Ukuleles for Christ.” She asked for funds to purchase ukuleles

for those who could not afford them and pay an instructor to teach the class. Shelby Morgan, a sixth grader, sought funds to allow students at Hendricks Avenue Elementary School to go on field trips. Logan Frank, 17, is taking water filters to Guatemala to allow people in the villages to have clean drinking water. The funds from Shark Tank: Mission and other means like GoFundMe will allow Frank and her mother to continue distributing water filters through their “Clean Water

for Lasting Water” project. In 2016, they handed out 200 filters and plan to give 100 this year. “There is so much joy in getting the opportunity to serve others,” Frank said. “I feel so blessed to live here.” The clean water also reminds her of the living water that Jesus offered the Samaritan woman at the well. Each of the six groups received at least $300 for their project. “Hopefully, we can get more people involved and do this annually,” Dickson said.

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United Methodist Interpreter

Inspiration & Resources

Ideamart Five constitutional amendments head to vote

eneral Conference delegates had their say last year. Now, it’s up to the members of annual conferences around the world to determine whether five amendments will become part of The United Methodist Church’s constitution. The voting began in Liberia in February. To be ratified, a constitutional amendment first requires at least a two-thirds vote at General Conference, which happened in May 2016. Then, it must win at least a two-thirds majority of the

total voters at annual conferences around the world. Here is an overview of the amendments:

GENDER EQUALITY This amendment declares, “men and women are of equal value in the eyes of God.” It goes on to say maleness and femaleness are characteristics of human bodies, not the divine, and asserts The United Methodist Church will “seek to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, whether in organizations or in individuals, in every facet of

its life and in society at large.” If ratified, it will become a new Paragraph 6 in The Book of Discipline.

the election of delegates “by a minimum of a simple majority of the ballots cast.”

BISHOP ELECTIONS INCLUSION IN MEMBERSHIP This amendment would add gender, ability, age and marital status to the list of characteristics in Paragraph IV, Article 4 that do not bar people from membership in the church. Go to http://gcsrw. org/¶4,Article4/FAQ.aspx for more information about the amendment supported by the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women, Discipleship Ministries, the DisAbility Ministries Committee and United Methodist Women.

DELEGATE ELECTIONS This amendment to Paragraph 34 specifies elections of delegates to General Conference, as well as jurisdictional and central conference meetings, will include open nominations from the floor at annual conference sessions. The measure also calls for

This amendment to Paragraph 46 states central conferences are to elect bishops at a regular, not an extra, session of the central conference “except where an unexpected vacancy must be filled.”

BISHOP ACCOUNTABILITY If passed, this amendment to Paragraph 50 says General Conference can adopt provisions for the Council of Bishops to hold individual bishops accountable. It keeps primary responsibility for a bishop’s accountability where he or she is elected, while also creating a mechanism for the Council of Bishops to step in for global accountability if needed. Adapted from an article by Heather Hahn, United Methodist News Service writer. Read the full article at www.umc.org/ news-and-media/5-constitutional-amendments-head-to-vote.

Francis Asbury film wins three regional Emmys

COURTESY DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES

short documentary film outlining the impact of Francis Asbury on The United Methodist Church won three regional awards at the 30th Midsouth Emmy® Gala

Josh Childs narrates the Emmy award-winning short documentary film, “Francis Asbury: A Flame Spirit.”

sponsored by the Nashville/ Midsouth Region of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. “Francis Asbury: A Flame Spirit” was nominated for nine Emmys. The Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, executive director of communications and brand strategy at Discipleship Ministries, received the Emmy for Writer/Short Form. The Emmys for set design went to crewmembers Matthew Pessoni, Duncan Ragsdale, Scott C. Jackson and Scott Pessoni. Matthew Pessoni also won for lighting. Written and directed by Horswill-Johnston, the

United Methodist Interpreter

documentary features Josh Childs who plays “Chuck” on the popular web series, “Chuck Knows Church.” It was filmed at two of the oldest American Methodist chapels – St. George’s Chapel in Philadelphia and Barratt’s Chapel in Dover, Delaware. The film was the brainchild of the Rev. Alfred T. Day III, general secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History, which coproduced the documentary with Discipleship Ministries. The production utilized crew and studio facilities at United Methodist Communications. “The United Methodist

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Church marked an important milestone in our history (in 2016) when we commemorated the 200th anniversary of the death of Francis Asbury, one of the founding bishops of the Methodist Church in America,” Day said. “This documentary focused our attention on the life of Asbury, and we are proud to be one of the sponsors of this award-winning production.” Learn more about Asbury at www.gcah.org/history/ asbury. Go to www.youtube. com/watch?v=6QzARl7Nmd4 to watch the film. Discipleship Ministries

ideamart

Inspiration & Resources

UMMen to gather in Indy

nited Methodist Men will have their 12th National Gathering July 7-8 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. The theme is Discipleship – The Contact Sport. Scheduled as featured speakers are: »» Bishop James Swanson, president of the General Commission on United Methodist Men and episcopal leader of the Mississippi Area »» South Carolina Bishop Jonathan Holston »» The Rev. Kevin Watson, author of The Class Meeting and Blueprint for Discipleship and assistant professor of Wesleyan and Methodist studies at Candler School of Theology

Grants available from UMCom

»» Shan Foster, director of MEND, a program to end violence against women and girls, with the YWCA of Nashville, Tennessee. Each attendee will choose three of 19 workshops on topics related to leadership, personal growth, spiritual development and UMM ministry development. Men can also be a part of mission outreach projects supporting Mobility Worldwide (formerly PET project), the Society of St. Andrew (produce drop) and the Handicap Ramp Project of host St. Luke’s Church. Go to www.gcumm. org/12th-national-gathering or email Martha Davis (mdavis@gcumm.org) for any registration questions. United Methodist Men

nited Methodist Communications has established a series of grants and resources to support local church communications. Three types of grants are available: »» New Church Starts Grants. These grants focus on the need for promotional items for new church starts. A one-time grant of $2,500 lets a new church start choose from a variety of promotional items. UMCom designs, purchases and ships the items to the church. »» Website Development Grants. These grants support local United Methodist churches and church-related entities without websites or who want to replace

New e-newsletter serving church members

nited Methodist Communications (UMCom) invites you to subscribe to a new free bi-weekly e-newsletter, designed especially for church members. “United Methodist Now” will highlight examples of Christian living, share inspirational messages and focus on what it means to be part of the United Methodist connection. Produced by the agency’s

marketing department, “‘United Methodist Now’ will have a variety of content from articles to video pieces, quizzes, multimedia and links to other interesting sites,” said Fran Walsh, director of member communication. “It’s the first of its kind for UMCom,” Walsh added. “It really focuses on members, the people in the pews. We want to get information directly to members in their inbox.” Topics will include what it

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means to be United Methodist, beliefs, Christian living/ your daily journey, inspiration and things worth watching, church history, motivation and general information. “Learn more about what it means to be United Methodist as we share the stories of the people of The United Methodist Church,” said Walsh. “We also welcome your contributions. Let us know if you have a story to share via email at umcnow@umc.org.”

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their current website. The grant provides the church with a new WordPress site and the tools and help they need to create a useful online presence. »» Demographic Data Grants. UMCom offers free demographic reports for your church community through MissionInsite. Agency staff will help recipients understand the report findings and how to use them to reach out to those neighbors who may be looking for a new church home. Go to www.umcom.org/ services-products/localchurch-grants or email localchurchgrants@umcom.org to learn more. Polly House, Interpreter

9:41 AM

100%

Go to www.umcom.org/ newsletter to subscribe. Polly House, Interpreter

Readers respond

”We asked … you said …“ Several weeks prior to finishing each issue of Interpreter, we email a question to readers asking them to respond with a short answer of 50-75 words. A select few are included here. Find many more responses at Interpreter Online, www.interpretermagazine.org.

FO R TH IS ISSU E, WE ASKED,

“Why are you a United Methodist?”

Y O U S A ID . . .

I am a United Methodist because several clergy and lay leaders taught me about the way, showed me the way, encouraged me to follow the way and asked me personally to put my foot on the way. John Barnes, Glen Mar UMC, Ellicott City, Maryland Our family attended (an) Evangelical United Brethren Church when the merger took place, and I have remained a United Methodist. Alan Bostdorf, Halifax (Pennsylvania) UMC I am United Methodist because of our theology and my heritage. I agree with Wesleyan practices, especially our theology of God’s grace and in faith based on Scripture, tradition, experience and reason. Also, even though I explored other Christian beliefs, my heritage is that my second greatgrandfather was a Methodist clergy who did circuit ministry in Louisiana in the late 1800s. The Rev. Lindy Broderick, Oak Grove /Weaver UMC and Provencal UMC, Shreveport, Louisiana I am a United Methodist because I feel called by the Spirit to belong to that family of believers. Ted Kilvington, Robbins UMC, Mason, Michigan I appreciate the influence of John Wesley. Many of his “methods” and ideas speak to me personally. His views on the Holy Spirit match mine. The thing that I most love about being United Methodist

is the freedom it gives me to formulate my own opinions. There is no judgement or “this is the ONLY way to think about this,” which allows me to sink in roots while I grow in my faith. Janet Moody, Saint Mark UMC, Kankakee, Illinois The short answer is personal piety/ social holiness. I am called to be part of a people committed to living out their faith in every aspect of life: Bible study leading to works of justice, prayer leading to works of mercy, worship leading to right living. The Rev. Carol L. Pazdersky, St. John’s-Idlewylde Cooperative Parish, Lutherville Timonium, Maryland I like the friendly non-judging atmosphere of our church. I also like not being forced into dogmatic beliefs. Instead of being told what to believe, we are led through Bible study and other activities to find out what we individually believe. It’s okay (expected) that we won’t all have the same belief. It’s good to listen to others who believe different than I do. I also like the service outreach to the community – the homeless, near homeless and other hurting people. Scott Rhyner, Prescott (Arizona) UMC I’ve never considered being anything else, mostly, because I believe teaching grace trumps teaching sin – and I’m a big fan of John Wesley. Yep, I’m a “prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness” United Methodist. Debbie Sandifer, First UMC, Elgin, Texas

United Methodist Interpreter

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I am United Methodist because of love. I love that The United Methodist Church is a connectional church linking me with godly servants throughout the world. I love John Wesley’s heritage centered around holy living. I love The United Methodist Church’s organization because it brings greater efficiency and direction to individual congregations. I love the system of sending ministers; it alleviates the stress of “calling” a pastor. Finally, I love our church’s focus on God’s grace. Reba Seals, First UMC, Fayetteville, Tennessee One of the many reason I have stayed in The United Methodist Church is that anyone who wants to partake of Communion is welcome to kneel at God’s table and receive the sacred gift of the blood and body. Jesus welcomed all and the church should do the same. Mark Smallwood, Trinity UMC, Seymour, Indiana The United Methodist Church is respectful of tradition without being blindly tied to it. Open and accepting of all. The UMC tries hard to study the Scriptures and determine how Christ would apply them to our lives today. The UMC makes it clear that my faith is between the Lord and me. While providing resources, support and assistance, they are not here to dictate how to live. Lyle Tague, UMC of North Chili, Spencerport, New York

Connection makes the

UMC work BY ERIK ALSGAARD

t was John Wesley himself, the founder of the Methodist movement, who first organized his followers into a connexion. From its earliest days, when Societies became too large and Classes were formed (small groups that met weekly for Bible study), Wesley organized Circuits (clusters of Societies) and created superintendents to supervise them. According to a profile piece in Christianity Today, thanks to Wesley’s organizational genius, we know exactly how many Methodists were around in 1791 when he died: 294 preachers, 71,668 British members, 19 missionaries (5 in mission stations) and 43,265 American members with 198 preachers. Ever since, The United Methodist Church and its predecessors have proudly called themselves a connectional church. From how we practice stewardship to how we “do” communion, the connection has many manifestations and is at the core of what it means to be The United Methodist Church. The connection is what holds us together.

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In 2014, United Methodist Communications conducted a survey about core values of United Methodists in the United States. When the 500 pastors were asked, “Which two or three values are most important?” the most common answers were having Wesleyan roots, being a connectional church and embracing an emphasis on God’s grace. The answers of local church leaders (350, all laity) to the same question were different. Their top answers were having fellowship with my church. bringing people to Christ and emphasizing local mission and outreach. In addition, 400 church members surveyed ranked values of openness, acceptance, fellowship and helping others most highly. What the three groups agreed on was the emphasis on God’s grace and having an open communion table. Researchers found that 98 percent of pastors, 91 percent of church leaders and 62 percent of church members said that an emphasis on God’s grace was “very important” to them. When it came to having an open table at communion, 92 percent of pastors, 87 percent of church leaders and 60 percent

United Methodist Interpreter

A UNITED METHODIST ...

The Rev. Shawn Anglim uses chairs to illustrate how the connection has supported First Grace United Methodist Church in New Orleans. On the right is one of the first chairs donated to the new congregation, while Anglim holds one of the second set.

of church members called this “very important.” In other words, United Methodists are also held in connection by our theology and practice of ministry.

TOGETHER – WE DO MORE

But what else does “connectional” mean? What does that look like? How does it impact you? On a recent Saturday in March, the Rev. Jane Wood, pastor at Locust United Methodist Church in Columbia, Maryland, faced a crisis. A funeral was planned for that day at the church, but a family member was in the hospital. Wood, obviously, couldn’t be in two places at one time. Wood texted the Rev. Tony Love, the church’s previous pastor who now serves as the director of vibrant communities for the Baltimore-Washington Conference, asking if he could help. Love stepped forward and preached the funeral. And this author preached the following morning at both Sunday services. Crisis averted. The connection means every church has a pastor, and every pastor has a church. It means every United Methodist church around the world is connected to every other United Methodist church. Together – connected – we do more for the Kingdom of God. One way United Methodists do more together is through of a system of connectional giving known as apportionments. Let’s say you put $100 in the offering plate. That money will support more than just local church ministries, such as the pastor’s salary, the light bill, insurance, local missions and so forth. Eighty-five dollars stay in your local church, but the rest goes beyond, to the annual conference, regional and worldwide causes and ministries of The United Methodist Church.

In A Theology of United Methodist Giving, South Carolina Bishop Jonathan Holston wrote, “Apportionments provide for us avenues for giving in order that we not only can be strong local churches and annual conferences, but that we can be connected together, seeking to be in mission together, seeking to be God’s people at home and around the world.” The General Council on Finance and Administration publishes the booklet. Apportionments are called the “first mile” of mission giving. Based on formulas developed by their annual conferences, every church is apportioned to ensure that each is contributing its fair share to support mission and ministry around the world. At the denominational level, apportionments help support mission and ministry through the World Service Fund; fund scholarships at historically Black colleges; support Africa University in Zimbabwe; support United Methodist seminaries, colleges and universities; pay for your bishop and her/his office and staff; and much more. As some churches struggle to pay apportionments, there is good news, too. In 2016, a record 27 United States annual conferences paid 100 percent of their apportionments to the general church, with an overall payout rate of 91.8 percent. And there are other benefits to the connection, too, according to the Rev. Laceye Warner, author of The Method of Our Mission: United Methodist Polity and Organization (Abingdon Press).

CHURCHES, CONFERENCES, AGENCIES INTERRELATED

Warner said Wesley used the term connexion to refer to the three layers of relationships within the Methodist movement: members, societies and preachers.

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The connection “enables the interrelationship of organizational bodies, from local churches to annual, jurisdictional and central conferences, general boards and agencies, the Council of Bishops and Connectional Table to the General Conference,” wrote Warner, associate professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies at Duke Divinity School. “This complicated structure sometimes lacks clear lines of accountability, but the connection ... at its best continues to facilitate the missional character of the denomination in ministry to and with the world.” A strength of the connection, she said, is the high level of trust and balance presumed among the various interrelated entities. “However,” she said, “when trust

UMCOMMUNICATIONS/JACOB LEE

INTERPRETER/KATHY NOBLE

is connected

Bishops rest their hands on the heads of those being commissioned as officers of the National Association of Lay Leaders during the 2016 Philippines Central Conference in Angels City.

is low, this becomes a weakness since there are few, if any, clear structures for accountability that almost maintain the connection.” Warner agreed that the connection is facing some stressors these days, particularly with “an unusually high number of entities testing the connection’s ability to practice accountability,” she said. In the local church, Warner said it is the charge conference where the connection is first embodied. “Through the charge conference,” Warner said, “local churches participate in contributing to the United Methodist connection. The connection benefits the

local church by involving it in a larger community of missional imagination and ministry practice.” The charge conference, according to the church’s Book of Discipline, is the “basic unit in the connectional system” of the church. Every church is part of a charge (which may be one or more churches), and charge conference meetings happen at least annually. The charge conference has oversight of all the church’s councils, boards and committees. It adopts the church’s budget, approves salaries for the pastor and staff, votes on candidates for ordained and licensed ministry and conducts other business. Even though The Book of Discipline 2016 states the annual conference is the “fundamental body” of The United Methodist Church, the local church has functioned, for the past 70 years or so, as the most significant component of the denomination, Warner said. “This makes sense in that individuals in more recent generations tend to experience church in the context of local church worship,” she said, “a distinction from 16

earlier generations of Methodists who identified most closely with small groups such as classes, bands and, subsequently, Sunday schools.”

CONNECTING WITH CHAIRS

Perhaps no church better embodies the connection than First Grace United Methodist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana. It may be “the most United Methodist church there is,” said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Shawn Anglim. Speaking to a group of United Methodist communicators recently, Anglim explained how the church was created by the merger of First and Grace United Methodist churches after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. First Church – a white congregation – and Grace – a black congregation – were only one mile apart, Anglim said. In the recovery after the storm, the question was asked: “Do you believe we can do more for our city as one body of Christ than as two a long mile apart?” Donations poured in from other United Methodist churches, from chairs

to volunteers who helped with the cleanup and restoration of the less severely damaged First Church building. Anglim illustrated his point by holding up a chair, part of a set that arrived right after the storm. It was well loved when it arrived, he said, but it was a Godsend. Another, less-worn set of chairs arrived a few years later. And now, Anglim said proudly, they are on their third set of chairs, these with comfortable cushions and seatbacks. The Louisiana Conference paid his salary as a pastor of the “Mission Zone” where the church is located, Anglim said. Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey of the Louisiana Area has helped pay the salary of the Rev. Juanita Ramos, a community development pastor who leads the Hispanic worship at the church. “This story goes on and on,” Anglim told the communicators. “Without the United Methodist connection, there would be no First Grace.” The Rev. Erik Aslgaard is editor of UMConnection, the newspaper of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

One FAITH , different

A UNITED METHODIST

thinks

understandings BY CECILE S. HOLMES

WESLEYAN SPIRIT CAN UNITE

Morris Davis

United Methodist Interpreter

CANDLER SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

PERKINS SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

The Rev. Tamara Lewis

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The Rev. Kevin Watson

DUKE DIVNITY SCHOOL

Wesley is unity in diversity,” she says. “Diversity is an honorable word, but I think Christians have more engaging words, like love, like compassion, like go into all the world,” says Bishop William Willimon, now teaching at Duke Divinity School. “I am an historian,” says Morris Davis of Drew University School of Theology. “Among Methodists, there has always been – in every era – a quest for unity.” “Plenty of historical artifacts unite (them),” Davis says. “All United Methodists claim John Wesley and his writings. They claim the common music. They claim the Articles of Religion.” In recent years, what they hold in common has brought “very different

Within United Methodism are Christians rooted in mainline Protestantism, the Holiness Movement and everything in between, says the Rev. Kevin Watson, assistant professor of Wesleyan and Methodist studies at Candler School of Theology. Essentially every denomination connected to John Wesley and Methodism is “represented in the United Methodist denomination.” The Rev. Tamara Lewis, assistant professor of Christian history at Perkins School of Theology, sees the multiple views as ground zero for missional creativity, theological strength and social justice influence. “The core of United Methodism even going back to DREW UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

tudy 12.5-plus million United Methodists and you will learn: »» Some grew up in congested cities and others in isolated rural villages in at least 120 countries, experiencing different languages and cultures. »» Some don’t give a thought to having water and electricity; others can’t imagine their easy availability. »» They read and hear Scripture from a myriad of translations and paraphrases. »» Some are “cradle” United Methodists; others are partners in marriages looking for a bridge between their differing childhood faith traditions; some decided to try church for the first time and found a home. »» Some experience Christ in the homeless person with whom they are sharing a meal; others feel closest to God when in prayer as the day begins or ends. With those five factors alone, is it any wonder that United Methodists who adhere to the core tenets of the Christian faith also differ in their understandings of particular Scripture passages and teachings? Do those differences have to be sources of division?

Bishop William Willimon

Methodists together,” says Lewis. Such groups share the hope that “within United Methodism and Pan-Methodism is a realization of our fundamental unity and doctrine in the Wesleyan spirit.”

WHO ARE UNITED METHODISTS?

So how might one describe United Methodist Christians? “First we are Christians in the deep catholic sense,” says Watson. “We believe things that Christians have believed for 2000 years.” While known for their openness doctrinally, United Methodists do agree with “the core teachings of the Christian faith with regard to the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, to our basic understanding of sacraments – baptism and the Eucharist – and the particular Methodist understanding of the role of grace in the way of salvation,” Lewis says. “Wesley was able to sit down at the table with Calvinists, with Eastern Orthodox leaders – who clearly had a different understanding of church life – but those core understandings of the way of salvation, the oneness of God, these things that all make us core Christians – were there,” Lewis explains. Watson says, “The Methodist movement is a gift to the body of Christ, oriented around the idea that growth and faith happen in community, especially in small groups. We are people who gather to watch over one another in love. “The second part of it is our basically wanting to spread the emphasis on entire sanctification. It’s radical optimism that complete transformation by God is possible in this life.” “Wesley affirmed the catholic spirit which was unity in regard to the essentials and the agreement to disagree with regard to nonessentials,” Lewis says. “In other words, the differences in particular aspects of theology, aspects of certain worship differences and practices and a narrow understanding of the faith does not break that essential unity.” Throughout the church, Lewis said, theological differences on questions of homosexual leadership in the church or other interpretations and understandings

of Scripture “do not have to divide Methodism as in splitting the church institutionally. I don’t think these questions have to make or break us if we follow Wesley’s lead.” Watson likens the denomination to a big tent. “We keep moving the tent poles as wide as we have to make sure that anyone who is part of it or wants to be part of it can be,” he said. And while Willimon would agree The United Methodist Church is diverse, he says, it’s not as diverse as “Jesus orders us to be. We flunk in reference to the Gospel. I think a lot of our current debate could be improved if we were more obedient to Jesus and reaching out to all.”

APPROACHING DISAGREEMENTS

At the same time, Drew’s Davis sees an on-going quest for unity in the church, he also finds historical precedent for today’s disagreements. “(United) Methodists now are stuck in a battle over the fundamental nature of Scripture and our fundamental differences (over) how to interpret it, and therefore the nature of Christianity,” he says. “It’s not at all unlike the fundamentalist-modernist differences of 100 years ago.” An approach to helping United Methodists interpret Scripture and think through tough questions of life theologically came in the mid-1960s when theologian Albert Outler introduced “The Wesleyan Quadrilateral.” While earlier systems typically relied on Scripture, tradition and reason, Outler added experience to the factors. “Outler intended the quadrilateral to be a means of providing a kind of unity,” says Watson. “There has been kind of a sense that Methodists chose to use this as a common method of theological reflection.” So what role does the quadrilateral play today in United Methodist life and debate on difficult topics including homosexuality in the United States and polygamy in some African countries? Watson’s critique “of the quadrilateral is it has become a way of saying, ‘We’re saying this because we’re using the quadrilateral so we are right.’ We’re united because we’re using the same process, but

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United Methodist Interpreter

we’re coming up with different answers.” “Scripture is primary” in Outler’s quadrilateral, says Willimon. “I would just say that our Scriptures are diverse and have a cacophony of voices so it’s fair to have a church that is reflective of that.” “I’m with those who say the notion of the quadrilateral may be questionable,” Willimon says. Of greater value “is to try to search the Scriptures and argue about the meaning of them. As (United) Methodists, I would stress more Wesley’s practical theology.”

PRACTICE LOVE, HOLY LISTENING

Willimon is disturbed by United Methodists who worry over the impact of social change and cultural influences on church life. “Cultural differences are really powerful. In practice, they are probably more powerful than our theologies or biblical interpretations. But for Christians that’s not the end of the story,” he said. “Individual Christians need to get ready to have their opinions challenged. Being from South Carolina, I say I’m really glad that the Gospel challenged my culture. “A belief is only really interesting as it is put into practice by believers. For Wesleyans, it should not be so much that we come up with a unified position but that we practice love with one another, holy listening, being willing to be changed in the conversation, being able to see things through our fellow Christians’ eyes,” Willimon says. Lewis concludes, “We reaffirm our Wesleyan spirit and we agree to accept our diversity.” Veteran religion writer Cecile S. Holmes teaches at the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Watch and learn why saying “United Methodist” matters: “The United Methodist Church … More than a Name”

A UNITED METHODIST ...

has a story

UMCOMMUNICATOINS/KATHLEEN BARRY

A (Brief) History of the

PEOPLE of The United Methodist Church THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN 2017 IS A PRODUCT OF A WORLDWIDE MISSION THAT BEGAN SOME 300 YEARS AGO. IT STARTS IN ENGLAND, TRAVELS TO THE AMERICAN CONTINENT WITH THE COLONISTS AND QUICKLY SPREADS AROUND THE GLOBE.

This oil portrait of the Rev. John Wesley hangs in the Great Hall at Christ Church Cathedral in London.

United Methodist Interpreter

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1751-75: CROSSING THE OCEAN

As the movement grew, so did pressures to separate the Methodists from the Church of England. John Wesley refused – and remained an Anglican priest until his death. The Wesleyan movement spread to America and in 1771, Francis Asbury arrived to begin 45 years of ministry, much of it to people on the frontier. Among those with whom Asbury bonded was Philip William Otterbein, a German clergyman. Emigrating from Ireland and providing leadership to what would become the Methodist Episcopal Church were Philip and Margaret Embury and Paul and Barbara Heck. New York’s Wesley Chapel

opened in 1766. It is still an active congregation – John Street United Methodist Church. The first annual The Rev. Phillip William conference was Otterbein, founder with the in Philadelphia Rev. Martin Boehm of The in 1773. WilUnited Brethren in Christ liam Watters became the first native-born American itinerant preacher.

Methodist Society for freed slaves headed to Liberia. Missionaries traveled to Australia, the Dominican Republic, Gambia, Haiti, India, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Tonga.

1826-50: GROWTH AND DIVISION

American Methodism was part of The Second Great Awakening. Local churches and classes sprung up wherever a few women and men gathered under the direction of class leaders and lay preachers. Ordained circuit riders visited regularly and administered the sacraments. The Sunday school movement began to flourish. In the same years, divisions over slavery deepened resulting in schism at the 1844 General Conference. In 1845, delegates from the Southern states organized the Methodist Episcopal Church South. It was not the first division in the young church over social and theological issues. The Methodist Protestant Church was founded in 1828 and The Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1841. Methodist missions were established in Argentina, Brazil, China, Dehomey (Benin), Fiji, Germany, Ghana, Liberia, Samoa, Sweden, Switzerland and Togo.

1776-99: A CHURCH IS BORN

John Wesley utterly opposed the American Revolution. In the aftermath, with American Methodists having few options to receive the sacraments, Wesley appointed lay preachers Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey for ministry in America and commissioned Thomas Coke as superintendent of America’s Methodists. Wesley charged Coke to commission Asbury to serve with him as Wesley’s deputies. Asbury refused to accept the assignment unless he was elected by the free vote of the American preachers. His election came in the Christmas Conference of 1784, and the Methodist Episcopal Church was born. 1785 saw the first Book of Discipline published. The young Methodist Episcopal Church experienced its first division in 1787 as some African-American members left. They would form the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in New York. Missions began reaching the Channel Islands, France and Spain.

1800-25: THE CHURCH GROWS

Asbury, now calling himself bishop, was the undisputed leader of the American Methodists until his death in 1816. 1808 brought the denomination’s first Constitution, a publishing house and revivalism and camp meetings to draw new converts. While Asbury led the growth of Methodism into the frontier, Otterbein and Martin Boehm founded The United Brethren in Christ. Daniel Coker organized a

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1851-75: WAR AND THE AFTERMATH

The American Civil War took a heavy toll, especially in the South, although both churches eventually rebounded. The Freedmen’s Aid Society and the Colored

United Methodist Interpreter

This photo of a Sunday school in a Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church illustrates that, almost since its beginning, there have been congregations formed around first languages of the congregants and new groups of immigrants.

COURTESY GENERAL COMMISSION ON ARCHIVES AND HISTORY

An Oxford Fellow, John Wesley was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1728. He and brother Charles were sons of an Anglican clergyman the Rev. Samuel Wesley and Susanna Wesley, a woman of great strength, faith and character. In 1729, Charles Wesley formed a small group at Oxford, known as the Holy Club. John soon became leader of the group, which he later regarded as the first expression of Methodism. As he led others, John struggled with assurance of his own salvation. In 1736, the Wesley brothers embarked on an ill-fated missionary trip to Georgia. John left Georgia in disgrace, but with deep admiration for the Moravians he met on the voyage to America. On May 21, 1738, Charles had a life-transforming experience. Three days later, on May 24, during a service at a church on Aldersgate Street in London, John felt his heart “strangely warmed” and became assured of his salvation. Soon after, his friend and revivalist George Whitefield convinced him to preach in the fields. John was soon preaching to miners, farm workers, day laborers and others who often found themselves less than welcome inside church buildings. John organized the converts into societies, bands and classes. He began training lay preachers to lead them. In 1744, John initiated the first annual conference to bring together his preachers.

COURTESY GENERAL COMMISSION ON ARCHIVES AND HISTORY

1725-50: A MOVEMENT BEGINS

A UNITED METHODIST ...

has a story

(now Christian) Methodist Episcopal Church organized to serve the newly freed slaves. The Methodist Episcopal Society organized in Denmark, and the Free Methodist Church of North America began in New York. Helenor M. Davisson was ordained deacon in 1866 in the Methodist Protestant Church, the first clergywoman in the Methodist tradition. Methodism reached Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Hawaii, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), New Guinea, Norway, Portugal and Uruguay.

1876-1900: MISSIONS AND DREAMS

Both the northern and southern churches emphasized mission work in the United States and internationally. Missionaries established schools for former slaves and their children. Women began

Circuit riders, whose journeys might take them into several states, carried the Gospel and the young church to the frontier.

forming missionary societies and raising funds. Missionaries Isabella Thoburn, Susan Bauernfeind and Harriett Britten and administrators Belle Harris Bennett and Lucy Rider Meyer motivated churchwomen to support home and foreign mission. The push began for increased participation in decision-making by laity and women.

Bishop William Taylor worked in Angola, Bolivia, Chile, Democratic Republic of Congo and Peru. Bishop James M. Thoburn pioneered ministries in Malaysia and the Philippines. Thoburn founded the first Christian women’s college in India. Methodist missions spread to Costa Rica, Cuba, Hungary, Korea, Mozambique, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Russia. In 1898, Bishop Joseph Crane Hartzell stood atop Mount Chiremba in then Rhodesia and dreamt of hundreds of African youth running to school in the valley below.

1901-25: HEALING BEGINS

HERITAGE SUNDAY – MAY 21, 2017

United Methodists annually celebrate their heritage on

The churches began to heal May 24 – Aldersgate Day – or the Sunday preceding it. some of the early schisms. The The approach to Heritage Sunday 2017 is something Evangelical Association and new and different. Instead of focusing on a denominathe United Evangelical Church tion-wide historic person or event, the General Commission on Archives and History is urging each congregation became The Evangelical Church to discover and celebrate its local church’s history. in 1922. While there was growThis is a tremendous opportunity for church leaders and ing theological ferment between congregations to uncover, examine and take inspiration liberal Protestant theology, from their local story. Lift up the defining people, events fundamentalists and a conservaand special moments that stirred, ignited and continue tive group termed neo-orthodox, to shape the mission and ministry where you are. Methodists worked together in Find ideas and resources for capturing your congremission. gation’s history and celebrating it at www.gcah.org/ In 1908, the Methodist Episresources/heritage-sunday-2017. copal Church adopted The Social Creed to express outrage over the miserable lives of millions of workers. United States. Though troubling to many, Methodist missionaries reached the proposal was accepted. The three Albania, Belgium, Borneo, Czechoslovakia, churches united in April 1939 to become Estonia, Java, Latvia, Lithuania, ManThe Methodist Church (USA). churia, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Missions extended into Burundi and Serbia and Sumatra. The Primitive EvanRwanda. The North Africa Provisional gelical Methodist Church of Guatemala Conference was established. formed. Hartzell launched missions in In response to World War II’s devastatAlgeria and Tunisia. ing effects, the 1940 General Conference of The Methodist Church approved forming the Methodist Committee on Relief. 1926-1950: COMING TOGETHER The push toward reunification continued as The Methodist Episcopal Church, 1951-75: UNITING AND UNITED The Methodist Protestant Church and In 1951, The Methodist Church helped The Methodist Episcopal Church South form the World Methodist Council. Ties forged a plan of union. The final proposal established with the World Council of included dividing a united church into six Churches and the National Council of administrative units, called jurisdictions. Churches allowed for greater cooperation Five were geographical. One, the Central in mission and other ministries. Jurisdiction, was racial, including AfriThe Methodist Church was increascan-American churches and annual coningly concerned with the issue of racism ferences wherever they were located in the in the church and United States. While

United Methodist Interpreter

MAY • JUNE 2017

A QUICK QUIZ ON UNITED METHODIST HISTORY earlier General Conferences considered proposals to eliminate the Central Jurisdiction, it continued until its abolition became part of the proposed union with the Evangelical United Brethren. Full clergy rights for women were also part of the plan of union. The Methodist Church agreed to full clergy rights for women in 1956, but it took more than a decade for the number of women in seminaries to increase. In 1968, General Conference approved the proposal to create The United Methodist Church. Merging and reorganizing structures followed. Many of today’s general agencies had their beginning. Meanwhile, congregations flourished in Taiwan and Zambia. The European Methodist Council, the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches of Latin America and the Burundi Conference were established.

1976-2000: YEARS OF PROGRESS

As an increasing number of women were admitted to ordained ministry, Marjorie Matthews was elected the first female United Methodist bishop in 1980, and Leontine T.C. Kelly became the first female African-American bishop in 1984. The first African bishop, Abel T. Muzorewa, became prime minister of Zimbabwe. Hartzell’s dream of African youth running to school took a step toward reality when General Conference 1988 approved establishing Africa University in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe. Opened in 1992, it continues to draw a diverse body of students from throughout Africa. New churches emerged in Colombia, El Salvador and Vietnam. Central and Southern Europe Bishop Heinrich Bolleter and the United Methodist Committee on Relief aided Kosovo.

regardless of racial or ethnic background, can participate in every level of its connectional life and ministry (The Book of Discipline, Historical Statement, p. 22). The Protestant Methodist Church of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) joined The United Methodist Church in 2004. In 2008, General Conference entered into full communion with The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. United Methodists responded to devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Japan and to other disasters. In 2012, the General Conference participated in “An Act of Repentance toward Healing Relationships with Indigenous Peoples.” The church also entered into communion with several historically African-American pan-Methodist denominations, made United Methodist Women an autonomous organization and created a national ministry plan for Pacific Islanders in the United States. General Conference 2016 approved five new bishops for Africa in 2020 and provisional central conferences in Southeast Asia and Mongolia and a provisional annual conference in Rwanda. For the first time, a member from outside the United States, N. Oswald Tweh Sr., a layman from Liberia, is president of the Judicial Council, the denomination’s “supreme court”. He will hold the office until 2020. Views on human sexuality continue to be divisive in the worldwide church. General Conference 2016 accepted a Council of Bishops’ proposal to defer debate on these issues until after a period of study and discussion by a special commission. A special General Conference dedicated to the topic has been called for February 2019. Adapted from Therefore, Go: A Handbook for United Methodists, a publication of United Methodist Communications.

2001-PRESENT: INTO THE FUTURE

The church continues to experience change and increasingly knows itself as a world church with members and conferences in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. While membership in Europe and the United States has declined, it has grown significantly in Asia and Africa. The church endeavors to become a community in which all people,

1. What is the birthplace of John Wesley? A. Epworth B. London C. Salisbury 2. What is the birthdate of John Wesley on current calendars? A. May 24 B. June 17 C. June 28 D. July 5 3. What do we call the day John Wesley’s heart was “strangely warmed?” A. Burning Heart Sunday B. Warm Wesley Day C. Strange Sunday D. Aldersgate Day 4. How many hymns and poems did Charles Wesley write? A. 400 B. 900 C. 4,000 D. 9,000 5. What new holiday was recognized at General Conference in 1912? A. Mother’s Day B. Father’s Day C. Memorial Day D. Labor Day 6. Which is NOT a tip for good health from John Wesley? A. Take cold baths. B. Go to bed at 9 p.m. and rise at 4 or 5 a.m. C. Stand while reading and writing. D. Exercise to the point of weariness. 7. Where does “united” come from in the denomination’s name? A. It refers to the church’s roots in the United Kingdom. B. It is meant to encourage church members to stay together. C. It references the Evangelical United Brethren Church. 8. The Christmas Conference took place in which city? A. New York B. Baltimore C. Philadelphia 9. At what public university did the first Wesley Foundation appear in 1913? A. University of Virginia B. Michigan State University C. University of Illinois D. University of North Carolina 10. Name two of Francis Asbury’s horses. A. Peter and John B. Seabiscuit and Hard Tack C. Little Jane and Little Fox

Originally published at www.umc.org/who-weare/united-methodist-church-history-quiz, this quiz is a partnership between the General Commission on Archives and History and United Methodist Communications. Answers on Page 50.

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THER EFOR E , GO … in MIS SION TOGETHER

S TAT E o f t h e C H U R C H 2 0 17

United Methodist Interpreter

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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ: This is an important issue of our annual State of the Church Report. This report follows our collective experience of holy conferencing in Portland in May 2016 during General Conference. As we gathered for General Conference, we celebrated, as a worldwide church, the fruit of our 2013-2016 efforts to focus and align ourselves to the mission. As we begin a new quadrennium, we build upon this alignment, moving into strategic planning processes. In November 2016, members of extended cabinets within the United States gathered for a summit to learn and share their strategies for increasing vital congregations, bearing fruit in four areas of collaborative focus with one another. This event, and others like it around the connection, demonstrate our commitment and our conviction that we are stronger together when we are focused on our mission. This commitment to unity undergirds everything we do as a church in the Wesleyan tradition. Our Wesleyan theology informs that, as disciples in community, we join God’s mission to transform the world. We are compelled by a vision of salvation in its fullness, encompassing all of life and all of creation. We are, in other words, “together in mission for the sake of the world.” We express this through the four missional foci: Leadership – New places with new people – Ministry with the poor – Global health. Together the four foci form a holistic expression of our Wesleyan understanding of a mission-driven church. One focus cannot be detached from the others. None of the foci is self-pollinating; rather, they are interdependent and intertwined as they influence and shape each other. This quadrennium, we, as The United Methodist Church around the world, will: »» continue our focus on increasing vital and vibrant congregations »» make 1 million new disciples, many of whom will come through our commitment to new faith communities »» equip 3 million difference-makers to transform the world »» develop 400 community partnerships to reach those at the margins »» and save 1 million children’s lives through life-saving interventions We pursue these strategic directions and priorities, presented at General Conference, together. We believe fervent prayer, clarity of vision and direction, intensified collaboration, respectful mutual support, a deliberate worldwide scope, purposeful communication, extravagant generosity of grace and resources and unconditional dependence on the Holy Spirit will determine the quality of the longterm outcome.

Bishop Christian Alsted CHAIRPERSON, THE CONNECTIONAL TABLE

Bishop Bruce Ough

PRESIDENT, COUNCIL OF BISHOPS

Bishop Michael McKee

PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNCIL ON FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

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Moving to truly glob ROCKY MOUNTAIN CONFERENCE BAPTISM: Bishop Elaine Stanovsky baptizes the daughter of a clergy couple from the Rocky Mountain Conference. COURTESY ROCKY MOUNTAIN ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

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toward a bal church

S GENERAL CONFERENCE 2016 delegates worked through hundreds of petitions, they approved continuing work that will support the teachings and polity of The United Methodist Church worldwide. Their efforts will serve tens of thousands of congregations in places as distant as Anchorage, Alaska, United States, and Pasig City, Philippines, as diverse as Alberta, Canada, and Kalima, Democratic Republic of Congo, as different as Mutare, Zimbabwe, and Trondheim, Norway. Work continues to develop the General Book of Discipline and to finalize which sections one or more central conferences may adapt to fit their context and which sections must be the same throughout the Church. Leading the work is the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. It is working in consultation with the Commission for the Study of Ministry, the Committee on Faith and Order and

the Connectional Table on chapters in Part VI and developing a new Part VII. As work continues, each annual conference will have an opportunity to respond to the draft before the writers finalize the new sections for proposal to General Conference 2020. The Committee on Faith and Order, established in 2012, is leading study of the church’s ecclesiology – its understanding of church – using a draft document entitled Wonder, Love and Praise. Working through the annual conferences, the Committee is inviting members around the world to review the document and provide feedback as it drafts a final version for recommendation to the 2020 General Conference. When adopted, the statement articulating and clarifying the identity of The United Methodist Church will carry the same weight as By Water and the Spirit, the Church’s official teaching on baptism, and This Holy Mystery, the official statement on communion. The General Board of Church and Society is continuing work begun in the 2013-16 quadrennium to make the Church’s Social Principles succinct, theologically grounded and globally relevant. Actual

rewriting of the Social Principles is underway this year. The draft will be discussed in public hearings in 2018 and 2019 in each central and jurisdictional conference. Collaborating with Church and Society in the work are the Connectional Table, the Committee on Faith and Order and the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters. Another step toward embodying our worldwide connectional system is the apportioning for the first time a part of the general budget to the annual conferences in Africa, Asia and Europe. While a number of those conferences have made voluntary contributions to support the Church’s budget for connectional mission and ministry, each is now apportioned a share of the support of the Episcopal Fund and the General Administration Fund. The Connectional Table continues to move toward adapting its own structure and membership to better serve the worldwide connection, and engaging the urgent question of how United Methodist leaders in the United States make decisions about matters only relevant to churches in that country. As the Council of Bishops and Connectional Table Task Force on the Global Nature of the Church reported to the 2008 General Conference, “U.S. dominance in denominational governance damages both the Church in the United States and in central conferences. It disempowers central conferences from being fully actualized within the body and allows the Church in the United States to escape responsibility from dealing with its internal issues.”

Kuimei project coordinator Daniella Charles gathers community health survey information from Aye James, a pregnant woman from Kpawula Village in Sierra Leone. UMNS/PHILEAS JUSU

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Pastor Ivan Morunov (front) plays music during the 2015 Bulgaria-Romania Provisional Conference in Shumen, Bulgaria. COURTESY BULGARIA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

General Church Funds Membership Statistics The United Methodist Church reports a professing membership of 12.7 million disciples worldwide, a 12 percent increase over the past 10 years. The membership numbers have shifted globally during the past 10 years, with growth in Africa and Asia and decline in the United States and Europe. CENTRAL CONFERENCE/REGION

AFRICA CENTRAL

2005

374,090

2015

610,125

This chart shows the total amount of apportioned funds requested and received from annual conferences in the United States. In 2016, the delegates to General Conference approved expanding apportionment collections for the General Administration Fund and Episcopal Fund to central conferences. Some central conferences have contributed to apportioned funds in the past, but not in a formalized apportionment collection system.

Paid on Apportionments to All General Funds, 1994-2016*

10-YEAR CHANGE IN MEMBERSHIP

10-YEAR % CHANGE IN MEMBERSHIP

236,035

63%

1994

$110,639,996

$93,339,909

84.4%

$113,828,214

$97,868,862

86.0%

YEAR

TOTAL FUNDS APPORTIONED

PAID

% PAID

CONGO

1,216,257

3,081,590

1,865,333

153%

1995

WEST AFRICA

1,462,457

1,673,612

211,155

14%

1996

$117,146,649

$100,382,948

85.7%

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN EUROPE

1997

$118,425,273

$104,496,463

88.2%

18,410

13,539

(4,871)

-26%

1998

$118,431,010

$105,394,783

89.0%

GERMANY

34,900

30,069

(4,831)

-14%

1999

$119,630,756

$107,857,724

90.2%

2000

$121,999,757

$111,187,769

91.1%

-36%

2001

$127,256,750

$114,676,537

90.1%

32,148

16%

2002

$127,860,750

$113,095,935

88.5%

(931,402)

-12%

2003

$129,634,750

$112,418,090

86.7%

12%

2004

$132,656,250

$116,808,070

88.1%

NORTHERN EUROPE AND EURASIA

15,731

9,996

(5,735)

PHILIPPINES

201,309

233,457

UNITED STATES

7,995,591

7,064,189

TOTAL

11,318,745

12,716,577

1,397,832

2005

$139,955,000

$121,703,502

87.0%

2006

$142,849,627

$126,427,676

88.5%

2007

$145,693,841

$130,564,022

89.6%

2008

$150,973,581

$130,210,994

86.2%

2009

$150,308,000

$126,303,259

84.0%

2010

$150,232,058

$129,428,321

86.2%

2011

$149,472,006

$130,885,848

87.6%

2012

$147,268,131

$132,743,590

90.1%

2013

$143,302,750

$128,613,187

89.7%

2014

$143,132,984

$130,069,948

90.9%

2015

$142,579,036

$130,649,815

91.6%

2016

$143,115,210

$131,444,245

91.9%

*Excludes the 25% of Ministerial Education Fund apportioned funds that is retained by the annual conferences. Parishioners raise their hands in praise during worship at Vedado Methodist Church in Havana, Cuba. UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE

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UMC Membership, Congregations, Clergy, Conferences, Bishops In 10 years, The United Methodist Church has experienced strong growth in Africa and Asia as evidenced by increases in the number of clergy, congregations, conferences and members.

2015

PROFESSING MEMBERSHIP

AFRICA

TOTAL CONGREGATIONS

ORDAINED CLERGY

ANNUAL CONFERENCES

ACTIVE BISHOPS

5,365,327

13,668

4,758

ASIA

233,457

1,762

2,016

EUROPE

53,604

1,237

977

NORTH AMERICA

7,064,189

32,149

47,271

TOTAL 12,716,577

48,816

55,022

132

66 27

2005

PROFESSING MEMBERSHIP

TOTAL CONGREGATIONS

TOTAL CLERGY

ANNUAL CONFERENCES

ACTIVE BISHOPS

AFRICA 3,052,804

9,757

4,005

ASIA EUROPE

201,309

1,654

798

69,041

1,601

1,228

7,995,591

34,678 45,220

TOTAL 11,318,745

47,690 51,251

126

NORTH AMERICA

The General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) is constantly assessing the way in which statistics are collected from central conferences in an effort to make the process as efficient and effective as possible. From terminology used on forms to communication and deadlines, every aspect of collecting data has been evaluated. One example of reaching out to improve the processes is that later this year, GCFA will conduct training in Africa to deal with data collection. We continually thank the global leadership in our Church for efforts that assure our information is correct.

Sylvain Jean Baptist, 42, sells food from her market stall in Mazak, Haiti. She is one of the first clients of the microcredit program at Haiti Artisans for Peace International. UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE

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Connected in mission through Four Areas of Focus

S 28

INCE 2008, Four Areas of Focus have undergirded the connectional mission and ministry of the people of The United Methodist Church. The Council of Bishops first named them to identify areas in which the ministries of faithful disciples of Jesus Christ in their conferences were making disciples, changing communities, transforming the world. Increasing vital congregations bearing fruit in these four areas continues to be an essential element of our United Methodist mission. Understanding how the connection works together through local congregations as one of the most significant arenas for disciple-making is necessary to our mission. Delegates to General Conference 2016 reaffirmed our mission and supported the Four Areas of Focus to guide the work of the Council, the Connectional Table and the general agencies as they lead the church and support the ministries of local churches and annual conferences. As the 2017-2020 quadrennium begins, we work together towards achieving strategic directions for each of the areas: developing leaders, new places for new people, ministry with the poor and global health. Implementing carefully developed strategic plans has been key to the progress The United Methodist Church has made in each of these areas over the past two quadrennia. The work of the general church in developing these strategies, though, is not enough to bring about the fruit we’ve seen in these areas of focus. Equally important is each individual United Methodist and each congregation living Jesus’ command to love God and love neighbor, of each individual United Methodist playing his or her part to carry out the church’s mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Among the results will be an increase in vital congregations nurturing new and growing disciples.

Developing Leaders

In the Dakotas Annual Conference, the Elisha Project is creating a “Culture of Call” for students and providing an environment to uncover prospective ministerial leadership. The Elisha Project is an internship program that allows students to explore, discern their call and discuss with mentors and peers where God is calling them. As we seek to develop leaders who are “difference makers,” we will urge members to remember, discern

This inflatable church used in Germany draws in curious visitors of all types – even secular Europeans who’ve never set foot in a church. COURTESY BARRY SLOAN

to be followers of Jesus Christ and to be United Methodists, their comfort in carrying messages of faith will increase. New church plants, new and revitalized faith communities and spiritual neighborhoods will welcome new people and both nurture spiritual practices and involve people in mission. General Conference goal: Make 1 million new disciples of Jesus Christ around the world and double the number of highly vital congregations

Ministry with the Poor

To be in ministry with the poor means we share in ministry with the poor, recognizing the gifts as well as the needs of those who are marginalized. In working to transform Alexis Soto (left) and Freddie Bermudez share reflections during a MARCHA caucus in Boston. UMNS/TIM TANTON

and live the call to service that came with their baptism. We encourage every congregation to develop a “culture of call” that affirms and nurtures those called both to ordained and lay ministry. General Conference goal: Engage 3 million-plus “difference makers.”

New Places for New People

Between 2013 and 2015, 1,885 new faith communities/ministries started in the central conferences, 330 faith communities started in parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe outside central conferences and annual conferences planted 510 new churches in the United States. We have long known that the most effective evangelism comes through relationships, through one friend or neighbor or co-worker sharing with another. As local church members grow in their understanding of what it means

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Nhots Celzo demonstrates how to use solar bulbs to the Rev. Iris Picardal Terana in Tacloban City, Philippines. UMCOM/APRIL GRACE G. MERCADO

400 communities for vital, abundant living, we will train conference and local church leaders to develop partnerships in their communities to challenge systems that create and perpetuate poverty. We will encourage members to develop relationships with the people to whom they extend God’s love as they serve to meet needs. General Conference goal: Address issues of poverty within 400 new communities.

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Global Health

The Imagine No Malaria global health initiative helped halve the death rate from malaria among people in subSaharan Africa. As we move to emphasizing Abundant Health for All, projects are already underway in Liberia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Haiti and the United States. They range from maternal-child health projects to prevention and treatment of childhood illnesses and promotion of child health and wellness. In some places, connectional ministries and

Finding A Way Forward

A youngster receives a bandage from pharmacist Rick Talley for bravely offering to take a flu shot during a community health fair at Friendship United Methodist Church in Millington, Tennessee. Although she was too young to be immunized, her father did receive the vaccine. UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE

local churches will be partners in mission; in others, local churches will engage in fundraising to support the efforts. In all places, we will encourage church members and leaders to adopt healthier lifestyles and urge pastors to become advocates for health and wellbeing in their communities. General Conference goal: Reach 1 million children with life-saving interventions. As we continue our connection-wide ministry through the Four Areas of Focus, we will see congregations becoming more vital and vibrant as they reflect both flourishing discipleship and a connection to local and global communities.

OR DECADES, The United Methodist Church has struggled with how it addresses questions of human sexuality, specifically, how to be in ministry with LGBTQ people and their life and roles in the Church. Midway through General Conference 2016, as it became apparent that the Church was at an impasse on these complex questions, the delegates turned to the Council of Bishops for guidance and leadership. In response, the bishops presented “An Offering for a Way Forward” that asked the delegates: »» “to affirm your own commitment to maintaining and strengthening the unity of the Church,” »» to “‘pause for prayer’ – to step back from attempts at legislative solutions and to intentionally seek God’s will for the future” and »» to authorize a special commission, named by the Council of Bishops, to develop a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph in The Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality. In January 2017, the 32 members (eight bishops, 11 laity, 11 elders and two deacons) of the General Conference-authorized Commission on A Way Forward began their work

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with the guidance of three moderators, Bishops Sondra Steiner Ball, Kenneth Carter and David Yemba. The 18 men and 14 women on the commission are from Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, Mozambique, Nigeria, Philippines, Switzerland, the United States and Zimbabwe. A special session of General Conference has been called for Feb. 23-26, 2019, in S. Louis, Missouri, USA, to receive and act on a report from the Council of Bishops based on the recommendations of the Commission. The Commission’s mission, as set forth by the Council of Bishops’ executive committee, is to address matters of human sexuality and unity that are the presenting issues for a deeper conversation that surfaces different ways of interpreting Scripture and theological tradition. Ultimately, the Commission’s work is to inform deliberations across the denomination and to help the Council of Bishops as they serve the next General Conference in finding a way forward. The bishops said the Commission would consider giving “greater freedom and flexibility to a future United

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Methodist Church that will redefine our present connectionality, which is showing signs of brokenness.” As they began their work in January, the Commission members worshipped together and began foundational work integral to their charge of developing consensus about how to move forward amid different theological understandings of LGBTQ identity. Conversations in small groups ranged from challenges, hopes and concerns for what is happening in the Church currently to the meaning of unity. The members also developed some initial proposed outcomes along with a list of learning objectives and informational needs. Reflecting on the meeting, the moderators noted, “While the ‘we’ of The United Methodist Church is contested, at the moment, there is a fundamental

Council of Bishops President Bruce Ough presents “An Offering for A Way Forward” to the 2016 General Conference. UMNS/PAUL JEFFREY

David Armstrong thanks then 5-year-old Ellie Hill as he receives the light of Christ during worship at the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference. OREGON-IDAHO ANNUAL CONFERENCE/GREG NELSON

commitment to seek unity.” “This work can be a part of our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,” they continued. “It is not an interruption or a distraction from that work.” While the formal process of study, discernment and recommendation falls to the Commission, the entire Church can support it through an initiative of “Praying Our Way Forward.” Aiming to seek God’s guidance at this critical time, the Council of Bishops created the initiative as part of their commitment to lead the Church in every part of the world in times of worship, study, discernment, confession and prayer. During the first phase, 84 active and retired bishops spent 15 minutes each day for four months in prayer for the selection and initial work of the Commission. In the second phase, which began Jan. 1, each of the annual conferences is taking one week to have intentional prayer for the mission of the Church and for the work of the Commission. In addition to joining in their conference’s week of prayer, individuals are encouraged to pray daily and fast weekly for the Church, its mission and future. Commission on a Way Forward, www.umc.org/who-we-are/ commission-on-a-way-forward Praying Our Way Forward, UMCprays.org

This report is a collaborative effort of The Connectional Table and United Methodist Communications with statistical data provided by the General Council on Finance and Administration. To view this report online, visit www.umc.org/sotc.

COVER PHOTO CREDITS: (Clockwise from upper left) GifffinCreative; UMNS/Mike DuBose; UMNS/Mike DuBose; UMCom/Kathleen Barry; UMCom/Kathleen Barry; UMCom/Kathleen Barry

The Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church Phone 866-648-9584 Website www.umc.org/connectionaltable

The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church Phone 202-547-6270 Website www.umc.org/councilofbishops

The General Council on Finance and Administration Phone 866-367-4232 Website www.gcfa.org

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A UNITED METHODIST ...

experiences change

be servants recaptures a lot of our Wesleyan history,” Cataldo said. “I absolutely think John Wesley would be a fan.”

MISSIONS

As the understanding of the church as global has grown, the approaches to mission work and deployment of missionaries have changed. Since 1890, said Thomas Kemper, general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), mission activity by the predecessors of The United Methodist Church almost always meant missionaries from the United States went to other countries to preach the gospel and minister to those in need. “Now, our slogan has become ‘from anywhere to anywhere,’” he said. “Almost half our United Methodist missionaries are not from the United States. We have missionaries from the Ivory Coast going to the Central African Republic, from

CHANGE:

It's constant

oon after John Wesley began his ministry, he realized he could not grow a movement alone. Even with the help of other clergymen, the work was too great and the land too vast. God raised up an army of lay leaders and teachers – women as well as men – to spread the message and lead schools and other ministries serving the poor. The role of laity in leadership is only one of many areas in which change has characterized United Methodism. A few of the others are mission, the role of women and being a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural church.

LAY LEADERSHIP

“Wesley placed great importance on the work of the laity, both men and women,” said the Rev. Fred Day, general secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History. “Laity were the backbone to the success of the British Methodist movement right from the start. There were very few university-trained preachers, so lay ministers would become important to Methodism on both sides of the Atlantic. “Wesley saw his movement as a renewal movement for laity and managed by laity,” Day continued. The emphasis on lay ministry changed in 1784 when Methodists became a church in the United States. “After the Christmas Conference, leadership in the church was reserved for the clergy,” Day said.

During the 19th century, the church could try both laity and clergy for advocating for lay representation, said the Rev. Diane Lobody, professor of church history at Methodist Theological School of Ohio. Today laity have equal voice and vote with clergy in the church’s legislative and decision-making bodies – General, central, jurisdictional and annual conferences. “Once the early American church became established with clergy leading the churches and work, the laity became sedentary,” said Jodi Cataldo, director for Laity in Leadership at Discipleship Ministries. “It stayed mostly that way until the 1950s when social ministries became widespread.” Cataldo sees tremendous lay leadership in the denomination, especially in areas where churches typically are small and far apart. She also sees a change in the attitude of pastors toward growing leadership by laity. “I believe clergy and pastors do not see certified lay ministers as threats,” she said, “but see them as vital partners in ministry. The pastors recognize they cannot do everything themselves.” The denomination as a whole seems to agree. The 2016 General Conference adopted significant legislation identifying five categories of lay ministry for which people can be called, trained and credentialed. “I think our work to empower laity to

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UMNS/PAUL JEFFREY

BY POLLY HOUSE

Dawn Wiggins Hare is one of seven women heading United Methodist general agencies and the Connectional Table. She leads the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women.

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Brazil to Mozambique, from Germany to Central Asia. “Global Ministries is committed to connecting the church in mission,” he said. The agency sends missionaries, including young adults, collaborates and engages with volunteers, evangelizes and plants churches, addresses poverty and global health, and responds to natural and civil disasters. The staff at the GBGM headquarters in Atlanta reflects the “from anywhere to anywhere” approach. “Our staff in Atlanta come from more than 30 countries and speak more than 30 languages,” said Kemper, who is from Germany and was a missionary in Brazil. “We believe that is very important.”

WOMEN

Six of the top executives of the 13 United Methodist general agencies are women as is the chief officer of the Connectional Table. Hare said progress is making the church more inclusive, but she believes it will take a change in what people see as the norm before there is gender equality. “I think for many people, they see ‘maleness’ as the norm in ministry,” she said. She doesn’t believe those who see “the church culture that way are in any way misogynistic. I think it’s just a matter of what seems normal to them.”

In 1766, Barbara Heck helped establish a Methodist congregation in New York City, and in 1770, Mary Evans Thorne became a class leader. However, it took until 1889 for the Rev. Ella Niswonger to be the first woman ordained in the United Brethren in Christ (UB). 1904 saw the first laywoman delegates to the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) General Conference – some 20 to 30 years after the first women’s missionary societies were organized. In 1956, women won full clergy rights in the MEC – and full clergy rights for women were part of the agreements leading to the union in 1968 creating The United Methodist Church. From 1988 until 2015, the number of women in clergy positions grew from almost 16 percent to more than 30 percent. Today’s United Methodist Church is appointing and electing more women to positions of influence. “Having women share in leadership of the church is very important,” said Dawn Wiggins Hare, top executive for the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women. “The women who are leading now – both clergy and non-clergy – are changing the norm. From a reality standpoint, women bishops and leaders are bringing a different voice to the table. That is huge in terms of messaging, education and nurturing.”

UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE

RACE RELATIONS

Scott Johnson, delegate from the Upper New York Conference, speaks during the Laity Address to General Conference 2016.

United Methodists elected their first woman bishop Marjorie Swank Matthews in 1980, and since then have elected 33, including two in the central conferences and seven in the United States in 2016. Currently 18 female bishops are active, 14 are retired and two are deceased.

Progress toward inclusiveness and leadership has been slow but steady for people of color in The United Methodist Church and its predecessors. In recent decades, United Methodists both celebrated “firsts” and formally repented for mistreatment. General Conference 2000 included “acts of repentance,” acknowledging the racism that caused some blacks to leave the denomination in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 2004, General Conference honored and celebrated those African-Americans who remained as members of the MEC. General Conference 2012 engaged in an “Act of Repentance toward Healing Relationships with Indigenous Peoples.” The 2016 session learned about and formally lamented The Sand Creek Massacre in which Col. John Chivington, a MEC pastor who had joined the Union Army, led a surprise attack on a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment. The church never took action against Chivington. African-Americans became a part of Methodism in 1758 when John Wesley baptized two slaves, breaking the color barrier for Methodist societies. By 1787, black congregations had formed in the United States. The 1800 MEC General Conference urged the abolition of slavery. Ordination as elders and full clergy rights came in 1864 in the MEC North. Although some African-Americans had left the MEC earlier over mistreatment, contention over slavery finally led in 1844 to a split into two MECs, one North, one South. In 1858, Bishop Francis Burns was the first African-American elected bishop. He

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served in Liberia. In 1920, Bishops Robert E. Jones and Matthew W. Clair were the first African-Americans elected who served in the United States. The separation lasted until 1939, when the MEC North, MEC South and the Methodist Protestant Church merged to form The Methodist Church (USA). However, the merger agreement included segregation of local African-American churches into their own annual conferences in the Central Jurisdiction. “For Methodist blacks, the creation of the racially segregated Central Jurisdiction was a humiliating disappointment,” the late W. Astor Kirk told the 2008 General Conference. He was a member of the Committee of Five, a group mandated by the Central Jurisdiction to end racial segregation within the denomination. However, Kirk said, “Many resourceful men and women used the organization as an instrument for empowering Methodist blacks.” In 1968, the union creating The United Methodist Church included the abolition of the Central Jurisdiction. In spite of missteps, raising and affirming leadership from within different racial, ethnic and cultural groups has been a consistent part of the United Methodist story. Turtle Fields was ordained in 1833, the first Native American clergy. No Native American has yet been elected bishop. The ME South ordained Alejo Hernandez the first Mexican elder in 1882. He organized the first Methodist church in Mexico City. Bishop Wilbur Choy was elected in 1972 as the denomination’s first Asian-American bishop. Elected in 1984, Elias Galvan became the church’s first Hispanic bishop. The first Korean-descent bishop, Hae-Jong Kim, was elected in 1992. Polly House is a freelance editor and writer now serving as editorial assistant for Interpreter.

TO LEARN MORE:

See a detailed timeline of United Methodist church history at http://gcah.org/history/ united-methodist-church-timeline.

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loves God and neighbor

More from the Rev. Steve Manskar and others on “The Rule of Discipleship”: “Means of Grace, Means of Growth” webinar and “Get Your Spirit in Shape: Everyday Disciples” podcast

General Rule of DISCIPLESHIP leads to disciplined life

THE RULE

The General Rule of Discipleship, recorded in The Book of Discipline, is “to witness to Jesus Christ in the world and to follow his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” Manskar said this rule is a restatement of the general rules Wesley developed to help early Methodists further their Christian discipline. “There’s this balance between the social and the personal,” Manskar said about Wesley’s teachings on holiness. “From 1743 on, these general rules served

as the rule of life for every Methodist.” A life of balanced discipleship incorporates works of piety and works of mercy, embracing Jesus’ commandments to love God and love people. “Acts of compassion and justice are the habits that God wants to form in us. It’s how we love our neighbor as ourselves,” Manskar said. “The acts of devotion and worship are those practices that God and Scripture have given us to live out our relationship with God.”

COVENANT DISCIPLESHIP

Mark Deshon, a member of Newark (Delaware) United Methodist Church, is a certified lay servant who has been leading his congregation in Wesleyan discipleship for over a decade. Deshon said a training with the Rev. David Lowes Watson nearly 20 years ago influenced his personal journey with covenant discipleship. “I had been recognizing for several years that I wasn’t getting the right motivation to be doing enough in my own personal life in my response to Christ,” Deshon said. “This method of Wesleyan practice began to intrigue me, and I became interested in bringing it to my church family.” Covenant discipleship groups, which are a modern version of some early Methodist structure, emphasize weekly

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accountability with a small group of participants who create a covenant to guide their lives and their meetings. When The Rev. Steve Manskar Methodists of Wesley’s time met, they would ask one another about the state of their souls, and their answer would be shaped by the rule of discipleship. “The importance of this rule of life is the formation of habit in the people,” Manskar said. “It’s in the formation of these habits that people come to faith in Christ, and it’s in these habits that their faith grows.” The Rev. Laura Parker, associate pastor at Fairhope (Alabama) United Methodist Church, said her congregation’s covenant groups, which started in connection with Lent, integrate the church’s theme of connect, grow and serve. “You hold each other accountable for growth, holiness in your personal life, and that leads to acts of compassion and justice,” Parker said. Groups at Fairhope were provided with

DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES/VINCENT ISNER

ur mission as a denomination is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Most people can recite that from memory, but the question is, ‘How do we do that?’” The Rev. Steven Manskar, director of Wesleyan Leadership at Discipleship Ministries, believes the answer to that question lies in the General Rule of Discipleship. “The way you make disciples is by introducing them to Jesus and connecting them to other Christians in a small group that’s focused on helping each other live the Christian life,” Manskar said. “And that Christian life is shaped by this rule of discipleship.”

BY EMILY SNELL

United Methodist Interpreter

COURTESY MARK DESHON

COURTESY LAURA PARKER

COMMITMENT LEADING TO GROWTH

When a couple of women expressed interest in creating a group that would go deeper, Ware recognized that a covenant discipleship model might be the right fit. In addition to meeting for accountability, Ware’s group engages in “compassionate outreach” by visiting care centers, delivering Communion to those who can’t attend church services and embracing the congregation’s mission to be welcoming and reconciling. Ware said she believes the success of

Mark Deshon leads the emphasis on Wesleyan discipleship at Newark United Methodist Church in Delaware.

engage them in the basics of discipleship – a balance between works of piety and mercy that regularly involve acts of compassion, justice, worship and devotion – under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” Deshon and other church leaders continue to brainstorm how they can implement more Wesleyan practices. “I’m the first to admit that what we’re doing isn’t perfect,” he said. “It’s still new. We’re introducing the idea that discipleship is not a program; it’s what we’re called to do as followers of Christ.” Parker said she is waiting to see what may be in store regarding discipleship opportunities for the future. “My hope is that this fall we may have some people who want to hold onto this covenant group model,” she said. “We’re putting it out there and seeing what God wants to do next. I’m hopeful it will help provoke them to think about how being a disciple is a place where you’re called to balance – to be in God’s presence, to be with other Christians and to take faith out into the world.” Whatever form it takes, Manskar said he advocates for congregations to “adopt the General Rule of Discipleship as their rule of life.” He suggested this may include pastors encouraging members to “memorize and internalize” the general rule, parents teaching it to their children, church committees implementing it or individuals making it their Lent 2017 included the introduction of covenant discipleship groups personal goal. at Fairhope United Methodist Church in Alabama. “What this is ultimately all about,” he said, “is helping people live ship that can disciple others,” Manskar the baptismal covenant, helping every said. “In particular it is to form class leadmember live faithfully.” ers who will be discipleship coaches.” For that reason, Deshon said his Emily Snell is a freelance writer living in church created an additional opportuNashville, Tennessee. She writes frequently nity called Disciples TREE “because we recognize some people may not be ready to for Interpreter and other publications. be in a serious weekly commitment with others.” According to the church’s website, “Disciples TREE is for those who are interested in entering into a relationship with a discipleship coach, a class leader who will train, remind, encourage and covenant groups comes from dedication. “I think it’s the commitment to one another to be challenged that may make a lot of difference.” Parker said several groups at Fairhope were sharing experiences of new growth as they journeyed together. “I’m hearing some really cool things from groups where they’re going deep – deeper than they’re used to going in their spiritual life,” she said. Deshon has seen progress in his congregation in more fully pursuing justice as part of their discipleship. “I’ve seen real positive growth in that element in our church over the last 10 years,” he said. “It’s very gratifying to see people step forward and become passionate about changing things.” While discipleship groups are an excellent way to develop leaders, Manskar said they might not be the best starting point for everyone. “The purpose of covenant discipleship groups is to form the leaders in disciple-

a guide containing questions to help structure their time together. The guide asks how members maintained the covenant, how they experienced Christ, how they responded to God’s call to be a disciple, how they were challenged, what they’ll do differently in the coming week and how the group can pray for each member. Manskar encourages people to “be in a small group that watches over them in love and helps them to incorporate these practices into their daily lives, to form habits of heart and soul, habits of loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself.” In early 2017, Marilyn Ware, a retired deaconess who attends Desert Mission United Methodist Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, helped coordinate a covenant discipleship group of seven women, ages 50 to 85, at her church. “God started it,” Ware said about the group’s sudden existence. “It just emerged. It was like a whirlwind. I could not deny that it was God working.”

United Methodist Interpreter

MAY • JUNE 2017

A UNITED METHODIST

is curious

Watch and learn more about “Tindley Temple: A Highlight of Methodist History” and “Ocean Grove’s Great Auditorium.” Then enjoy “Christmas Carols at United Methodist Landmark” (Barratt’s Chapel)

Sites every UNITED METHODIST should see

W 36

orld travelers may seek out pyramids, cathedrals and safari parks, but United Methodists have destinations across the globe that hold their own allure. Here are suggestions for 21 fascinating places to visit. Send a brief description of your favorite to interpreter@umcom.org, and we’ll consider listing it with this article at Interpreter OnLine. (www.interpretermagazine.org).

WHERE WESLEY WALKED

John Wesley started the worldwide evangelical movement in England. Travelers can visit three main sites that trace the steps of Wesley and his followers. In Bristol, the New Room stands as Methodism’s first building. It was both a meeting and preaching place and a center for helping and educating people in need. London is home to Wesley’s Chapel and House. To explore where Wesley grew up, take the three-hour train ride from London to Epworth to tour the childhood home of John and his hymn-writing brother Charles. (www.newroombristol.org.uk) (www.methodistheritage.org.uk/wesleyschapel.htm)

FIRST METHODIST MEETING PLACE IN AMERICA

The Strawbridge Shrine is where the seeds of Methodism were planted in the New World. Robert and Elizabeth Strawbridge came to Maryland from

Ireland about 1760. Robert would travel on horseback to preach and hold circuit meetings. Elizabeth cooked meals and led Bible studies for neighbors. During one of these dinners, John Evans became the first convert to Methodism in America. Strawbridge tells the story of everyday people starting the Methodist church in America in their homes. The Strawbridge and Evans homes and a recreation of the first log cabin meeting house are open for tours by appointment. (www. strawbridgeshrine.org)

A FATEFUL MEETING

A decisive event in the formation of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ occurred when Philip William Otterbein met Martin Boehm during a “great meeting” in a barn on the farm of Isaac Long in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The year is believed to have been 1767. “Great meetings” were popular evangelistic and fellowship gatherings of people living in sparsely populated rural areas. At the end, Otterbein embraced Boehm and exclaimed in German, “Wir sind brüder!” (“We are brethren!”). Today the barn is on

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a privately owned working farm that is visible from the road. Markers are on the roadside and the property. (https://ub.org/ about/history)

MOTHER CHURCH OF UNITED BRETHREN

Old Otterbein United Methodist Church is the mother church of the United Brethren in Christ and the oldest church edifice in continuous use in Baltimore. In 1771, a temporary chapel was erected to house the first congregation of the newly organized German Evangelical Reformed Church. Philip Otterbein The Great Auditorium, Ocean Grove, New Jersey

OLD OTTERBEIN UMC/TOM GIANINNI

as a Methodist society in 1767 and has occupied the historic building since 1769. Missionary Joseph Pilmore made the first public statement on Methodist principles and beliefs there and held the first national Methodist prayer meeting. Francis Asbury preached his first American sermon there in 1771 and dubbed it “The Cathedral Church of American Methodism.” St. George’s offers a Time Traveler’s tour. (www.historicstgeorges.org/time-traveler)

Old Otterbein United Methodist Church, Baltimore

accepted the pastorate there in 1774. The present church was built in 1785. The 1811 parsonage stands nearby. Otterbein’s grave is in the churchyard. Historical exhibits are in the church. Worship is at 11 a.m. each Sunday. Tours are available. (www. oldotterbeinumc.org/home)

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

OLDEST METHODIST CONGREGATION IN THE UNITED STATES

John Street United Methodist Church is a 250-year-old treasure in the heart of Manhattan. Founded in 1766 as the Wesleyan Society in America, it is believed to be the oldest Methodist congregation in North America, The current church building dates to 1841. Francis Asbury preached at John Street many times, and early General Conferences met here. Artifacts include the original pulpit, church record books and a clock given by John Wesley. (www.johnstreetchurch.org)

John Street United Methodist Church, New York

POWERFUL PREACHING SITES

Mother African Zoar and Tindley Temple United Methodist churches are located just a couple of miles apart in Philadelphia. Mother Zoar has birthed

MOTHERZOARUMC.ORG

The oldest house of Methodist worship in continuous use in America is St. George’s United Methodist Church of Philadelphia. The congregation was begun

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ARCOTERION

CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF AMERICAN METHODISM

Mother African Zoar United Methodist Church, Philadelphia

five churches over the centuries, including Tindley Temple, and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Tindley Temple is the home church of the Rev. Charles Albert Tindley, one of the founding fathers of gospel music, and displays his papers and personal artifacts. It houses one of the largest Moller pipe organs in the United States. In the 1920s, Tindley

United Methodist Interpreter

MAY • JUNE 2017

grew the congregation to a megachurch with 10,000 members. (www.motherzoarumc.org/about_us.html) (www.tindleytemple.net/)

GOD’S SQUARE MILE AT THE JERSEY SHORE

Founded in 1869 during a prayer meeting, Ocean Grove, New Jersey, still offers spiritual growth and renewal in a Christian recreational setting. The city holds a camp meeting revival every Sunday, closes its beaches to the public on Sunday mornings, features streets with biblical names, sells no alcohol and maintains a commercial-free boardwalk. The 6,000seat Great Auditorium features an 11,000pipe organ. Each spring, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association erects 114 canvas tents around the auditorium and rents them to tenants. (www.oceangrove. org) (www.umc.org/news-and-media/ ocean-groves-great-auditorium)

WITNESS TO THE WORLD

Dedicated in 1924 in Washington, D.C., the United Methodist Building is the only non-governmental building on Capitol Hill. Located across from the United States Capitol and next to the Supreme Court, the Italian Renaissance-style building houses the General Board of Church and Society, the General Commission on Religion and Race and other church and ecumenical groups. The building is open weekdays to visitors who may also attend worship services each Wednesday morning in Simpson Memorial Chapel. (www. interpretermagazine.org/topics/a-beaconon-capitol-hill-the-united-methodist-building)

QUIET SPACE

Offering tranquility in a bustling district of Nashville, Tennessee, the Upper Room Chapel is a place of prayer and reflection. The campus includes a prayer room and a Christian art museum with rotating exhibits. It is the home of global United Methodist ministries focused on spiritual development. The Chapel is a pilgrimage destination for thousands of people who have used the publication called The Upper Room. The chapel holds a

distributed throughout the world. Sager Brown has been a hub of UMCOR missions since 1992. For more than a century prior, the campus served as a Methodist school and home for black children orphaned by the Civil War. Tours of a small museum and the depot are available by appointment. (http://www.umcor.org/ UMCOR/Relief-Supplies/Relief-Supply-Network) (http://www.umc.org/ news-and-media/historic-black-haven)

worship service each Wednesday morning. (http://chapel.upperroom.org/)

BEACON OF HOPE

Africa University serves the people of Africa’s developing nations. The United Methodist-related school opened in 1992 in Mutare, Zimbabwe, near a mission site established a century earlier by the Methodist Episcopal Church. The mission’s founder, Bishop Joseph Hartzell, envisioned youth holding books one day walking in the valley. Today, the 25-yearold university is molding hundreds of students from dozens of African nations into educated, principled Christian leaders who serve in a wide variety of fields. (www. africau.edu)

RADIO OUTREACH IN AFRICA

La Voix de L’Esperance, the Voice of Hope Radio Station transmits from the campus of the Côte d’Ivoire conference

Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, Louisiana, is the primary supply depot in the United States for the United Methodist Committee on Relief. The 2,600 volunteers annually process and ship $7 million worth of supplies and relief kits

UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE

REPOSITORY FOR RELIEF

Voice of Hope Radio Station, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

offices in Abidjan. Broadcasts reach more than 1 million people in 18 languages daily, reaching remote areas in the West African country. On the air since 2010, it promotes and proclaims hope in Jesus Christ, but United Methodist radio programming goes beyond music and sermons. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, radio was an important public health communication tool. Daily broadcasts cover environmental concerns, women’s issues, legal help and human rights education. (http://www.umc. org/news-and-media/a-brief-history-ofmethodism-in-cote-divoire)

HOPE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Mary Johnston Hospital has been providing free and low-cost healthcare to residents in the impoverished Tondo neighborhood of Manila since 1906. It also serves as a training hospital for doctors and nurses. Although suggestions have been made to relocate Mary Johnston to a more affluent part of Manila where paying patients could supplement free care, the only United

Photo: Paul Jeffrey

WHAT’S THE UNITED METHODIST COMMITTEE ON RELIEF (UMCOR) BEEN UP TO LATELY? Find out in the Spring 2017 issue of New World Outlook. The Ministries of UMCOR • UMCOR’s unique place among faith-based and secular relief agencies • Disaster Response, near, far, and before a disaster strikes • Long-term development strategies • UMCOR’s 5 country offices • Water, Livelihoods, Shelter, Agriculture, Health, and Education ministries • Volunteers—trained and ready

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UNITED METHODIST TELEVISION

Christmas and Easter stories in the Native Alaskan tradition. On the poles, Joseph holds a paddle to signify the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem in a dugout canoe. Salmon and berries represent the bread and wine of the Last Supper. An adopted member of the Killer Whale Clan of the Tsimshian people, Fison’s tribal name is Nadaam Nlomsk, which means “Carver of

and Retreat Center in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, is home to the World Methodist Museum. There visitors can see a lock of John Wesley’s hair, his traveling pulpit from London and a life-size mural of John Wesley preaching. The portrait gallery features the founding fathers of Methodism. (www.lakejunaluska.com/)

Easter Totem Pole, Anchorage, Alaska

SACRED CARVINGS IN ALASKA

The Christmas and Easter totem poles at Saint John United Methodist Church in Anchorage are replicas of a sacred gift to the Native Alaskan people. The Rev. David K. Fison, a retired United Methodist pastor, carved the cedar poles to tell the

This article is adapted from articles originally published at UMC.org by Lilla Marigza, a producer for United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tennessee, and Marta Aldrich, a freelance writer from Franklin, Tennessee, and on the website of the General Commission on Archives and History (www.gcah.org).

UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE

Methodist hospital in the Philippines remains committed to ministering to the poor. The Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society established the medical mission. (http://maryjohnston.ph/about-us/ company-profile/)

Lake Junaluska, North Carolina

Sacred Things.” (www.stjohneagle.com/ totem-poles.html)

A MOUNTAIN RETREAT

MORE PLACES TO VISIT

Lake Junaluska is the home of the World Methodist Council. The Conference

The General Commission on Archives and History identifies 49 Heritage Landmarks of The United Methodist Church (www.gcah.org/research/ travelers-guide).

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MICHAEL E. WILLIAMS

EVERYONE IS A STORYTELLER. I DIDN’T SAY THAT EVERYONE COULD BE A STORYTELLER; EVERYONE ALREADY IS A STORYTELLER, WHETHER HE OR SHE REALIZES AND ACKNOWLEDGES IT OR NOT.

After 40 years of telling stories and helping other people tell stories, I have learned this one fact: From the first time a baby grunts and reaches for a cookie before he has finished his pureed green beans, he has begun to tell a story (albeit nonverbally) of choice and desire. When a parent asks a child what happened today at school and refuses to take “Nuthin!” for an answer, the child begins to frame her experience as a narrative. The astute parent knows that persistently asking the question, “Then what happened?” helps to drive the sequence of events that become the story of the day. Stories arise at bedtime when a parent or grandparent opens a book and reads aloud or turns off the light and creates a world of historical or completely imaginary characters and events, a world in which both teller and listener take part until one or the other falls asleep. Stories erupt around the dinner table with the words, “You won’t believe what happened at work today.” Or they emerge slowly, accompanied by “Did I ever tell you about the time ...?”

the very air we breathe, often invisible to us but absolutely necessary for life. This is why Paul can say to those gathered at the Temple of Athena that God is the one in which we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28) This is the reason that, when we speak of our experiences of God, we most often tell stories. Telling stories is not simply a way of framing our understanding of the world and the people around us but also the means by which we speak of our divine encounters as well. Storytelling, along with music, dance and drama, is one of the most ancient arts that human beings practice in community. Most of the earliest stories we know about were told or sung or danced or enacted using some combination of all three. Stories allow us to tell others what happened in our lives while we were apart or before they were born, thus passing along our own history and the history of where we live. Stories help us express our feelings in all their depth and our thoughts in their complexity. In short, stories help make us human.

LIFE IS A STORY

CREATING RELATIONSHIPS

Human beings live in story like fish live in water. We literally experience our lives as a narrative – not as a series of random events but as a sequence of connected occasions and experiences stitched together in narrative form. In this way, our experiences take on coherence and meaning. We learn to understand the world, other people and God through a narrative lens. We also live surrounded by God like

Stories are not simply spoken words. In their essence, stories create a network of relationships. First, a story creates a relationship between the teller and those who hear the story. Anyone who has heard an excellent storyteller perform can attest to the rapport and intimacy between the teller and hearers. A story told aloud benefits from the physical presence of the teller, creating immediacy and closeness.

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United Methodist Interpreter

It is not unusual for strangers to approach storytellers and speak to them as if they know each other, because the stranger has heard them tell their stories. Second, a story creates a relationship between both tellers and hearers and the characters who populate the world of the story. My favorite novel of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird. Ever since I first encountered Scout, Jem, Boo, Atticus and the other citizens of Macomb, Alabama, when I was a teenager, they have lived inside me. In fact, I wanted to grow up to be Atticus Finch. No, I didn’t want to practice law; instead, I wanted to be the kind of man that the fictional character Atticus embodied. Many of the biblical characters I first heard about as a child in Sunday school or worship are more familiar to me than the people with whom I attended elementary school, though I got to know both at roughly the same time in my life. These characters left an indelible mark on me that remains to this day. Third, stories help us relate our outer world of daily experience to the inner world we often call “imagination” or “spirit” or “faith.” Too often, the imagination has imposed upon it a bad reputation. We say, “It’s just your imagination!” as a way to dismiss an idea as unimportant and disconnected with reality. But without a healthy imagination, we could not participate in the worlds of biblical stories or any other narratives, nor would we be able to imagine the world being other than it is. If we cannot imagine a better world, we have neither the vision nor the motivation to work toward it. Many cultures recognize that our inner world – our soul or spirit – actually shapes the way we perceive the “real world” because it provides the lens through which we experience “reality.” Fourth, the stories that leave a lasting impression on our lives do so because

COURTESY WEST END UMC NASHVILLE TN

Everyone is a storyteller

The Rev. Michael E. Williams

they relate us to that dimension of life we call “the holy, the sacred, the divine” or what we as Christians name “God.” These don’t have to be overtly religious stories or come from the Bible or another holy book, although those are good places to start. Stories hold mystery and meaning together, and therefore they hold the power to put us in touch with the divine. They help us move beyond our fears and fantasies. They give us courage and genuine hope grounded in the presence of the divine within us and around us.

TIPS FOR TELLING A STORY

1 Find a story. That should be easy since we live surrounded by stories. Think

characters who populate the story? When

of something that happened to you today or

and where does the story take place? What

think of a story you were told by a parent or

things appear in the story? What hap-

grandparent. Or you might look at the Bible, a

pens first, then next, then next, then last?

children’s book or a book of folktales.

Outline these in a way that will help you

2 Choose a story. The only good reason to tell a story is that it engages your mind,

The Rev. Michael E. Williams is a writer, storyteller and pastor in Nashville, Tennessee. This fall he will join the faculty of Martin Methodist College as writer/ storyteller-in-residence. This article is excerpted and adapted from his latest book Spoken into Being: Divine Encounters through Story, which will be released in July 2017 from Upper Room Books, bookstore. upperroom.org.

3 Outline the story. Who are the

remember them.

4 Rehearse the story. Go over the

heart and spirit through the imagination. The

story in your imagination until you have the

story might make you laugh, or it might make

outline firmly in mind, then begin to tell

you cry, but it moves you in some way.

it. You can simply tell it to yourself at first, then try telling it to one person, until you are confident to tell it to a group. Then just tell the story.

United Methodist Interpreter

MAY • JUNE 2017

BY JULIE DWYER

FOR A GROWING NUMBER OF GRANDPARENTS, THEIR GOLDEN YEARS ARE LOOKING A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THEY MIGHT HAVE IMAGINED. THAT’S BECAUSE ABOUT 2.7 MILLION GRANDPARENTS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE ACTING AS THE PRIMARY CAREGIVERS TO THEIR GRANDCHILDREN.

The number of children living in grandparent-maintained households has doubled over the past four decades, according to “Coresident Grandparents and Their Grandchildren: 2012,” a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. The reasons vary. Parents may be unable to care for their kids due to alcohol or drug addiction, incarceration, economic struggles or other issues. Grandparents often step in as caregivers to keep kids out of foster care. However, parenting later in life can be a challenge — physically, financially and emotionally. “Grandparents are getting the grandchildren at about retirement time,” said Diana Strickland, who coordinates a grandparent support group at Seaside United Methodist Church in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. “Generally, they’re in their 60s when they first get them,” she said. By the time the children leave the house, grandparents are often in their 80s. “And that gets more and more difficult, because then your health issues are involved. You’re responsible for a teenager. It’s stressful enough when you’re a young parent, but when you’re an older parent, it gets a little harder,” she said. According to the census report, about 39 percent of grandparent caregivers have cared for their grandchildren for five years or more. COMPLEX ISSUES

Parenting at retirement age is a major life adjustment, and those thrust into the role need all the support they can get. Many require help with custody issues and other legal matters, while some need financial assistance and parenting advice.

Dave Panowitz, a longtime member of Bel Air United Methodist Church in Maryland, is the chairperson for Raising Our Children’s Kids Successfully (R.O.C.K.S), a grandparent support group the church has been sponsoring for about five years. He said the biggest problem facing grandparents today is funding. “For some of these people, the system works against them. They’re trying to do the right thing and they can’t get assistance in a lot of cases. ... There is zero funding for this stuff,” he said. About 10 to 20 people attend the monthly gatherings at Bel Air UMC. Meetings often feature speakers who address

ENCOURAGEMENT HELPS

While there are plenty of books and other resources available, caregivers also need encouragement and support from people in their community. Strickland helped start the Seaside grandparents group in 2004 when she and © DARIA FILIMINOVA. ADOBE STOCK.

GRANDPARENTS ARE PARENTING AGAIN

issues grandparents may be facing. A retired advocate in the school system also participates regularly to help with kids who are having behavioral problems. Both Strickland and Panowitz said the transition in caregiving is a culture shock for grandparents and children, especially when kids are struggling with emotional needs. “You’re dealing with children who probably have been hurt one way or another because they are not with their parents. You’re dealing with a lot of issues here that you can’t resolve. You can’t heal that for them and you’re doing the best you can,” Strickland said. “Some of these parents, if they’re on drugs, they overdose, and then the child’s got to deal with the death. So there are a lot of traumas and a lot of things where the grandparents need a lot of support.”

her husband began raising one of their seven grandchildren. Another church member had been dealing with a similar situation and offered Strickland advice. From there, the group grew to other church members and people from the community. Now, up to a dozen people attend weekly. “A typical meeting at this point is mainly to get together, to touch base, to find out what is going on in each of their lives and what their needs are and what their prayer concerns are. And we pray for one another,” Strickland said. Panowitz said the meetings offer grandparents an opportunity to share their stories and learn from those who have gone before them. He and his wife are raising an 11-year-old grandson. The Bel Air group offers child care on meeting nights, which allows children to interact with others in similar situations. Seaside UMC has a resource book in the church library filled with information about services and agencies that

grandparents who are new to caring for their grandchildren can call. The support group also offers suggestions of local lawyers and pediatricians. Both coordinators liken the support groups to Alcoholics Anonymous, where meetings are confidential and members become like family. “If we go through it as a group, it becomes personal. Therefore, when one of us loses one of the parents of the children, everyone hurts for them. It’s just tragic and there’s not much you can do. And that’s the other hard thing is to continue to pray for each of the things that comes up that you know that you really can’t do anything about it. It’s beyond our control when you’re dealing with sick parents. That’s the way it is,” Strickland said. “You just try to protect the child as much as you can, that’s the main thing.” She said United Methodist churches that don’t currently offer support groups for grandparents should consider doing so. All you need is a staff or church member

who “has a real feeling” for this type of ministry, she said. Regardless of the size of the church, Panowitz said, there are bound to be members facing the same situation and it’s important to extend them a lifeline. He said the best advice he can offer grandparents navigating parenting again is to focus on the grandchildren, not their parents. “You’re here for these grandchildren. You’re not here for their parents. ... The parents have made all the mistakes. What’s going to happen to them happens to them. You’re here to make the best thing for these grandchildren. ... People have to hear that from somebody else,” he said. “You have to look out for the well-being of these children.” Julie Dwyer is general church content editor with United Methodist Communications. Read an expanded version of this story at Interpreter OnLine, www.interpretermagazine.org. 43

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Five bishops elected in Germany, Congo

This article is adapted from stories by Eveline Chikwanah, communicator in the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference, and the Rev. Klaus Ulrich Ruof, a communicator with The United Methodist Church in Germany.

Bishop Harald Rückert is the new episcopal leader in Germany. Now a bishop for life, Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda serves the East Congo Area. Other bishops elected in the Congo Central Conference and their assignments are Daniel Onashuyaka Lunge (Central Congo), Kasap Owan (Southern Congo) and Mande Muyombo (North Katanga). The new bishops were consecrated on March 19.

after an internship with the South Germany Annual Conference, he studied at Reütlingen School of Theology. During 10 years as superintendent for the Reütlingen district, he chaired the Committee for New Mission and played a major role in setting up and organizing the Youth Church Karlsruhe. His pastoral work included redeveloping The United Methodist Church Hof-Stammbach.

BISHOP HARALD RÜCKERT BISHOP GABRIEL YEMBA UNDA

Now bishop for life, Unda was re-elected March 18 on the first ballot during the Congo Central Conference meeting in Kamina, Democratic Republic of Congo. Three Congolese bishops have retired: Bishops Kainda Katembo (Southern Congo), Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo (North Katanga) and Bishop David Yemba (Central Congo). In his first term, Unda concentrated on rebuilding sanctuaries destroyed during war. He will now focus on building a skills center for women and on “Congo Women Arise,” an initiative with the Tennessee, Memphis and California-Pacific conferences to address the needs of rape

GERMANY AREA UMC/KLAUS ULRICH RUOF

Bishop Harald Rückert

Reütlingen. He will succeed Bishop Rosemarie Wenner as bishop of the Germany Area on May 12. Wenner is retiring. “We are a church together,” Rückert said. “I am very pleased to be able to shape and carry on the way of the church together with you.” Rückert was born in Nuremberg, Germany. First a student of food technology,

BISHOP DANIEL ONASHUYAKA LUNGE

Delegates elected Lunge, 59, dean of the faculty of theology at Patrice Lumumba University, on the third ballot. He was the second bishop elected by the conference. Born in Emongo village in Sankuru province, Lunge was a teacher before

Bishop Patrick Streiff (left) of the Central and Southern Europe Episcopal Area greets Bishop Daniel Onashuyaka Lunge after his election.

UMNS/EVELINE CHIKWANAH

Germany Central Conference delegates elected Rückert, 58, March 15 on the fourth ballot in Hamburg, Germany. He had been senior pastor at United Methodist Church of the Redeemer in

survivors in a location often called the “rape capital of the world.” “Women suffered the most during my area’s civil war and the center would equip them with training to improve their lives. When you heal a woman, you heal children and the nation, too,” Unda said. He is also working to evangelize the indigenous people known as pygmies and provide them better access to education and health care. Unda oversees the East Congo Conference, the largest part of the Congo that has experienced recurring violence since 1998, with millions dead or displaced from their homes. Some parts of the conference remain unsafe for travel. Mostly recently, United Methodists were among the dead in an August 2016 massacre in Beni that has been linked to the rebel Allied Democratic Forces, a partly Islamist armed group of Ugandan origin. Unda is a widower with eight surviving children.

UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE

FOUR NEW MEMBERS ARE JOINING THE UNITED METHODIST COUNCIL OF BISHOPS. THEIR ELECTIONS CAME DURING CENTRAL CONFERENCE MEETINGS IN HAMBURG, GERMANY, AND THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. A CURRENT BISHOP WAS RE-ELECTED AND IS A BISHOP FOR LIFE.

connection,” said Muyombo, who has been executive director for Global Mission Connections with responsibility for the mission agency’s regional offices. “The UMC enabled me to go to school, and my ministerial training unfolded at Africa University and Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas, U.S. After working as

UMCOM/KATHLEEN BARRY

studying theology. He served as pastor in Katoka, Kananga, and as treasurer for the Congo Central Annual Conference. He has also been a district superintendent and assistant to the bishop in Kinshasa. “Improving evangelism will be a priority for me as an episcopal leader. We need to revive the spiritual life of the church,”

Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda

Lunge said. “We also need to renovate and build new sanctuaries and parsonages. In some areas, they are still using the old houses built by missionaries many decades ago.” He expressed gratitude to the General Board of Global Ministries for sponsoring his studies for a doctorate in Yauonde, Cameroon, and his practical theology thesis in Switzerland. Lunge is married to Julianne Dembo, and they have seven children. BISHOP KASAP OWAN

President of the Katanga Methodist University in Mulungushi, Owan, 62, was elected March 18 on the third ballot during the Congo Central Conference meeting. “In the 1980s, one old man prophesied that a bishop would come from our village in Mwaji,” Owan said. “Today, that prophecy has come true.” Owan was born into a Christian family. His grandfather, Chief Kasap Owan, started the first church in Mwaji and “encouraged me to study and become a pastor,” the new bishop said. “He was the traditional leader but was unable to read or write.”

Owan taught at a United Methodist school in Kapanga before attending Mulungushi Theological College. He has a master’s degree in theology and a doctorate. Owan, who is widowed, has a daughter and three sons. “I intend to improve evangelism, education and agriculture in my episcopal area. We also need to establish an English school in Kolwezi and provide scholarships for women and youth. I am concerned that we do not have many women who study up to doctorate level,” he said. He also dreams of a university for the South Congo Area, which includes the Zambia Annual Conference. Owan said he will encourage pastors to study other fields and intends to establish a scholarship to train doctors.

UMNS/EVELINE CHIKWANAH

Bishop Mande Muyombo

BISHOP MANDE MUYOMBO

Muyombo, 44, an executive of the General Board of Global Ministries, was elected on the fourth ballot during the Congo Central Conference. He is the first graduate of Africa University to be elected bishop and the youngest episcopal leader in the central conference. “I am committed to working towards the unity of The United Methodist Church because I am a product of the UMC

Bishop Kasap Owan

president of Kamina Methodist University, I was called to serve as executive secretary for Africa at General Board of Global Ministries and later promoted to assistant general secretary in the mission evangelism department,” Muyombo said. He expressed appreciation to Ntambo and Global Ministries General Secretary Thomas Kemper for shaping his ministerial experience. Muyombo was born in a poor family in Kambove village in Haut Katanga province. His father had two wives and 16 children. He is married to Blandine Muzhinga. They have three daughters and a son.

Electing bishops There are seven central conferences — Africa, Central and Southern Europe, Congo, Germany, Northern Europe and Eurasia, Philippines and West Africa. Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conference re-elected Bishop Christian Alsted last October, the Philippines Central Conference re-elected its three bishops in December and West Africa elected a new bishop for Liberia in December. There were no bishop elections in Africa Central Conference or Central and Southern Europe. In the United States, bishops are elected for life. Central conferences have discretion as to the length of their episcopal leaders’ tenures. Bishops in Germany can serve a maximum of 12 years (four on their first election and eight on their second). If they are old enough to retire, they become bishops for life. Otherwise, German bishops return to pastorates. Those in Congo are first elected to a single fouryear term and then if re-elected become bishops for life.

United Methodist Interpreter

MAY • JUNE 2017

MAKING A DIFFERENCE – ONE GRANT AT A TIME

Peace with Justice Sunday, June 11

THE MURDERS OF NINE PEOPLE ATTENDING A WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY AT AME EMANUEL CHURCH IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, IN JUNE 2015, WERE A WAKE-UP CALL TO VININGS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

Looking outside their own doors convinced them they had to become actively involved in ministry to local crime victims. When they hosted a memorial/healing service in 2016, more than 250 people impacted by homicide attended. Vinings Church applied for and received a grant from the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society to support the work of the Crime Victims Advocacy Council (CVAC), a ministry of the North Georgia Conference since 1989. Each year on the first Sunday after Pentecost – June 11 this year – thousands of United Methodist congregations worldwide collect a special offering for Peace with Justice Sunday. Created by the 1988 General Conference and one of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings, their gifts enable United Methodists to have a voice in advocating for peace and justice throughout the world. The funds given let the Church and Society board award grants to churches and annual and central conferences advocating for peace and justice through a broad spectrum of ministries and programs. Vinings offers one example of how a grant has made a difference in hundreds of lives. “After the Charleston shooting,” said the Rev. Kelly Van, Vinings pastor, “many people realized the need to minister to local crime victims as the Good Samaritan parable (Luke 10:25-37) exhorted us to do.” The church saw CVAC as an invaluable partner. CVAC was founded by the Rev. Bruce Cook, a retired chaplain and author of

Redeeming the Wounded, after a car crash involving alcohol put a young Vinings Church member in a coma. “After helping the family, church members realized they should start a ministry to help crime victims heal in the name of Jesus Christ.” Since then, the ministry has grown to include a crisis line for crime victims and a Tuesday evening support group at the church for families in the community who have been impacted by a murder, DUI fatality or an attempted murder. CVAC also assists United Methodists in understanding and responding to violence in a Christian healing service for crime victims and in moving people (i.e., crime victims) to reconciliation, transformation and redemption. The program develops leaders by encouraging crime victims to plan and operate the service and restores communities by caring for victims’ suffering and pain in the annual healing service. The Vinings church used its grant to help fund the 2016 memorial/healing service. Church members lead prayers with surviving family members. Cook, whose step-brother was murdered, lit one of the candles during the service. “More than 250 family members impacted by homicide attended,” said Cook. “The grant helped defray costs for program bulletins, candles and candle holders, a memorial wall listing the names of 300 murder victims, and booths containing information about crime victims’ rights, legal help for civil justice and preparing victim claims. “Peace with Justice funds are very important to small, grassroots nonprofits like CVAC that honor the command of Jesus to help the victimized neighbor. In the Good Samaritan parable, Jesus said to help the wounded crime victims and take them to the inn of healing. VUMC and CVAC’s inn of healing is several things: the

MAY • JUNE 2017

United Methodist Interpreter

COURTESY BRUCE COOK

BY CINDY SOLOMON

The Rev. Bruce Cook, founder of CVAC, delivers a homily to family members of homicide victims during a memorial service at Northside United Methodist Church in Atlanta.

memorial service, individual and support group sessions, and our hotline assistance. We honor and obey Jesus’ command to love our crime-victimized neighbor.” Cindy Solomon is a marketing consultant and freelance writer living in Franklin, Tennessee.

To Support Peace with Justice Sunday »» Find and order resources to support Peace with Justice Sunday at www.umcgiving.org/ ministry-articles/peace-with-justice-sunday. »» Give online at www.umcgiving.org/give-now. »» Give through your local church. Write a check to your local church and identify it as “Peace with Justice Sunday offering.”

To Learn More

Go to Crime Victims Advocacy Council’s website at http://cvaconline.org. Watch videos about CVAC: »» Homicide support group, http://goo.gl/w4poNX »» CVAC 2015, https://goo.gl/hQ0enA »» Church care for crime victims, https://goo.gl/jA9ZLG

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People, personalities, passions

I Am United Methodist

hen Betty Jane Hoback Ludlam’s husband, Leslie (Les), experienced a call to ordained ministry after being in the business world for 31 years, did they panic? “No,” she quickly responded. “It felt natural. We love working with people and sharing our faith journey.” Now a member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Ludlam grew up in the rural western part of the state. Her family worked for ranchers and farmers and was part of a network of people who attended the Evangelical United Brethren Church and later, the Methodist Church. “My mother was the driving influence in our Christian upbringing,” Ludlam recalled. “We were ‘church people,’ even if it meant having church at her bedside when she was ill or at home when the car wouldn’t start and we couldn’t get to town.” As a girl, Ludlam found her niche in United Methodist Women’s predecessors as she accompanied her mom to meetings. After she and Les married, they moved frequently for his work. Locating a church was always high on their list. Wherever they moved, she sought out United

Methodist Women. “This was the group where I found support and help in a new community.” Today, Ludlam is involved in Stephen Ministries at St. Luke’s, and she serves on district and Rocky Mountain Conference UMW leadership teams. In the community, she volunteers at her grandchildren’s school. Because of her background of work with children, Ludlam took a part-time job at a local toy store. Living what she believes is central to Ludlam’s life. She is proud of her United Methodist heritage and grateful that she and Les instilled in their children the value of being “church people.” Ludlam said she loves being a United Methodist, especially what she calls “the open and accepting nature of most United Methodist congregations. ‘Come as you are whoever you are!’ That certainly applies to my current congregation,” she said. “We have traditionalists, (people from) other faith backgrounds and the previously unconnected. I see us as a very welcoming congregation.” Ludlam is especially excited about her congregation’s reach beyond the church’s walls that includes youth and adults in mission (hands-on) locally, nationally and internationally. “We

MAY • JUNE 2017

ST. LUKE’S UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, HIGHLANDS RANCH, COLORADO

COURTESY PHOTO

Betty Jane Hoback Ludlam

“I am United Methodist” is a regular department of Interpreter featuring stories of individual laity and clergy eager to claim their United Methodist identity. To suggest a person to feature, send an email to interpreter@umcom.org.

Betty Jane Hoback Ludlam

have so many outreach programs involving food for others,” she said. “I think there are at least 10 food outreach programs at our church. The ‘Feeding of 5,000’ annually gathers more than 100,000 pounds of nonperishable food for Denver Urban Ministries food pantry. A Sunday evening group started with worship and to make sack lunches for the homeless.” This group has moved on to other outreach but the “Monday Lunch in the Park” program continues under the direction of a church member. A group gathers every Monday morning to make 100 lunches and then drives to the center of Denver to deliver them. The congregation furnishes monthly meals for a teen shelter, and the UMW provides meals to about 25 families annually

United Methodist Interpreter

at Warren Village. St. Luke’s Caring Connection prepares meals for members experiencing needs, because even a congregation focused on others needs self-care, Ludlam acknowledged. “Our congregation is experiencing many health issues, loss of life and relationships and economic hardship with loss of work,” she said. “With a very active Stephen Ministries program and Caring Connection, we work hard to meet these needs.” Her husband, who retired in 2004, has multiple sclerosis. “But I am confident that as needs arise we will have overwhelming support from our church.” Her advice for the future? Remember that “hope never changes. Continue to ‘forward think’ to promote understanding of diversity and compassionate justice for all.” Barbara Dunlap-Berg is now retired from United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tennessee. She wrote this article while serving as general church content editor.

Getting wired for God

Technology Bridging generational gaps – technologically

echnology can be a wedge dividing older-generation United Methodists from younger ones as the pace of technological innovation steadily increases and makes the smartphone purchased last month obsolete. However, the youth ministry at Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church in Savannah, Georgia, is leveraging technological change to unite rather than divide the generations. Inspired by a New York Times article on reverse mentoring, Mary Ellen Campbell, vice-chairperson of the Asbury church council and a member of the youth leadership team, broached the

Ryan Heebner tutors Val Utsey on making the best use of her cell phone.

idea to the youth of hosting a reverse mentoring opportunity. The youth would assist their elders in the church with their technological needs by working through problems and questions about their smartphones, laptops and tablets. Like all good youth volunteers, Campbell went the

Aiden Taylor (right) provides Judy Jones with tips on using her mobile phone.

extra mile to facilitate as the students designed and led the program rather than planning it herself. In planning, the youth tackled questions such as when to have the event to draw the largest crowd, how to announce it and how to get it on the church calendar. Once the big pieces were in place, Campbell had the students think through the kinds of qualities and skills they needed to exhibit in order to teach a skill to a senior. She said, “They identified patience, speaking clearly and slowly, making sure they are (speaking) loud enough, giving the device to the senior for them to apply what they were learning and repeating the skill.” When it came time to promote the event to the church, the young people’s creativity shone. “We did a skit during church announcements with the minister not knowing how to turn on his cell phone and

United Methodist Interpreter

the youth coming out to save the day.” Along the way, the youth discovered that the event was more than an opportunity to help seniors install apps or remove malware. Jackson Brantley, a senior at Savannah Arts Academy, said, “Basically it provides a foundation for the youth to build relationships beyond the normal or surface, ‘Hey how’s it going?’ It was a peer-to-peer experience because we were working on a problem together.” The feeling was mutual. Carol Klein, an Asbury Memorial member for more than 14 years, was one of many older adults who wrote an email to the Rev. Billy Hester, pastor, saying, “It was such a pleasure to see the wonderful kids we have in our youth group. They were so polite, bright and gracious. I learned so many things I did not know about my iPhone and my Mac.”

MAY • JUNE 2017

To other churches considering doing something along these lines, Campbell advises, “Go for it, be smart and shamelessly steal anything that we have already created to assist in the planning, but allow lots of time to allow the youth to be intimately involved in idea generation and planning for the event.” There is no need for technology to divide individuals, churches or generations. With a little creativity, the technology divide can be transformed into an opportunity for intergenerational community! The Rev. Jeremy Steele is Next Generation minister at Christ United Methodist Church, Mobile, Alabama. He is also an author, blogger at jeremywords. com and a frequent contributor to MyCom, an e-newsletter published by United Methodist Communications. Photos by Christina Kincaid, Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church.

Youth served as tutors to older members during the intergenerational technology workshop.

People, personalities, passions

To Be United Methodist What is the Judicial Council?

he Judicial Council is the highest judicial body or “court” of The United Methodist Church. Each General Conference elects four or five of the nine members for eight-year terms. Membership alternates between a mix of five laity/four clergy and four laity/ five clergy. General Conference also elects alternate members. N. Oswald Tweh Sr., a layman from the Liberia Conference, is the current president and the first person from a central conference to fill that office. Other members of the 2016-2020 Judicial Council are the Rev. Dennis L. Blackwell, Greater New Jersey; Beth Capen, New York Conference; Lídia Romão Gulele, Maputo, Mozambique; the Rev. Øyvind Helliesen, Norway; the Rev. J. Kabamba

Kiboko, Southern Congo, a member of the Texas Conference; Ruben Reyes, Manila, Philippines; Deanell Reece Tacha, Great Plains; and the Rev. Luan-Vu Tran, California-Pacific. General Conference establishes the powers of the Judicial Council, which are found in The Book of Discipline. Among its other powers, the Judicial Council determines the constitutionality of acts or proposed acts of the General, jurisdictional, central and annual conferences and of bodies created by General Conference. It acts on these either on appeal of lower rulings or through requests for declaratory decisions. It also rules on whether acts of other official bodies of the denomination conform to The Book of Discipline. The Judicial Council

also reviews and affirms, modifies or reverses decisions on questions of law submitted to bishops in central, jurisdictional, annual or district conferences. All decisions of the Judicial Council are final

ANSWERS TO UNITED METHODIST HISTORY QUIZ ON PAGE 22. 1. A. Epworth 2. C. June 28 3. D. Aldersgate Day 4. D. 9,000 5. A. Mother’s Day 6. D. Exercise to the point of weariness. 7. C. It references the Evangelical United Brethren Church. 8. B. Baltimore 9. C. University of Illinois 10. C. Little Jane and Little Fox

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