July/August 2014 Interpreter

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U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t s L i v i n g T h e i r Fa i t h J U LY/A U G U S T

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A CALL TO

A MINISTRY OF United Methodist Communications

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT ENHANCING GIVING TOGETHER 50TH ANNIVERSARY WASHING FEET LEARNING

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Contents JULY AUGUST

FAITHFUL COMMUNITY A CALL TO

14 Faithful Community: A Call to Living Differently 16 Giving Time and Talents 18 Words of Witness Needed 19 Giving Together 22 Connectional Giving for United Methodists 27 Tithing: From Hesitant to Joyful Giving 29 Treading Lightly on God’s Good, Green Earth 31 Celebrating God’s Bounty

WHEN PEOPLE JOIN THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, THEY VOW TO BE LOYAL TO JESUS CHRIST THROUGH THE CHURCH, TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH’S MINISTRIES AND TO PARTICIPATE FAITHFULLY IN THOSE MINISTRIES WITH THEIR PRAYERS, PRESENCE, GIFTS, SERVICE AND WITNESS. THE VOWS CALL US TO LIVE DIFFERENTLY THAN DOES MUCH OF SECULAR SOCIETY, TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF ALL THE GIFTS – ESPECIALLY TIME, TALENTS, OUR INDIVIDUAL STORIES, MONEY AND THE EARTH – WITH WHICH GOD ENTRUSTS US, AS A CONCRETE WAY OF LIVING AS FAITHFUL DISCIPLES.

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Contents

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F E AT U R E S

D E PA RT M E N T S

34 Washing Feet

6 First Thoughts

36 Civil Rights Act 50th Anniversary

7 Reflections

While in a lengthy induced coma, Sam Murillo had a vision of what Jesus considers that most important act of discipleship.

Six who were part of the Civil Rights Movement — and continue to be a part of the struggle — reflect on Freedom Summer and the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

40 Summer Tutoring Programs Enhance Learning

More and more United Methodists are part of ministries to help students retain what they have learned – and get a jump on the next school year.

42 Means of Grace: Works of Mercy

Acts of mercy – responding to Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” – are core to what it means to be United Methodist.

The Lenten coin folders he filled as a child helped open the Rev. Larry Hollon’s eyes to a world and people beyond what he could see.

Send Letters to the Editor to knoble@umcom. org or to Interpreter Editor, P. O. Box 320, Nashville, TN 37202-0320.

Interpreter (ISSN 0020-9678 Periodical #9154) is pub05.30.06 lished 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. strategic branding+design

8 It Worked for Us

A cook-off supports missions; corn is a sweet treat for fair-goers; sheep control grass on a hill too steep to mow; “Warm Welcome” snack is breakfast for some children.

10 IdeaMart

School of Congregational Development webcast; ideas for observing Hispanic Heritage Month; ethnic local church grant applications; new Bible study; book address same-gender issues; AIDS Conference; YOUTH 2015 headliner to make 10-city tour.

13 ‘We asked ...,’ ‘You said ....’

Readers answer, “If you described your local church as a ‘faithful community,’ what would you be saying about your congregation?”

44 To Be United Methodist

Young adult Jasper D. Peters looks to The United Methodist Church’s future with excitement and hope.

45 Technology

The Game Changers’ Summit will offer possibilities for transformative change as mission and technology intersect.

46 Lighter Fare

Very short stories to make you smile.

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United Methodist Communications, Inc. J uly/August 2014 Vol. 58, No. 4

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49 Link to New World Outlook (July-August 2014) Publisher | Larry Hollon Editor | Kathy Noble Associate Editor | Barbara Dunlap-Berg Multimedia Editor | Joey Butler Art Director | GUILDHOUSE Group Photographer | Mike DuBose Photo Researcher | Kathleen Barry Advertising Manager | Jane Massey Production Manager | Carlton Loney Subscription Fulfillment | 888-346-3862

CORRECTION: The pastor leading Worship for the Soul in the photo on Page 8 of the May-June issue of Interpreter is the Rev. Kristen J. Larsen, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Glen Ellyn, Ill. She was incorrectly identified.

COVER PHOTO: Junie Nkonge, a United Methodist from Democratic Republic of Congo working at United Methodist Communications, and Jake Cummings of Nashville, Tenn., demonstrate some of the stewardship practiced in faithful communities. Photos: UMCOM/KATHLEEN BARRY; Illustration: GUILDHOUSE GROUP/MATTHEW MCVANE

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It Worked for Us Cook-off for missions

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Competing in the cookoff brings families and friends together.

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Competing cooks prepare to serve tasters at the Van Geaux cook-off at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Slidell, La.

an McKenney’s cooking keeps people coming back for more.

McKenney, a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church, Slidell, La., has been crowned Iron Chef for the past five years at their annual Van Geaux cookoff. More than 150 people attended the October 2013 event.

Categories include appetizers, main dishes and desserts. Cooks range from kindergartners to older adults. As each chef displays his/her dish, tasters put money into bags by the dishes as part of the voting process. The person with the largest amount of money in his or her bag wins the category.

The idea emerged when the church sold cookbooks. When McKenney suggested that people cook from the cookbook, his idea blossomed into a cook-off. “I love to cook,” he said.

AT A GLANCE

COURTESY PHOTO

Success Stories From Local Churches

His wife, Kathryn McKenney, coordinates the event.

In 2013, the congregation raised $5,400, which they used to maintain three church vans.

“Our church is big on missions,” Kathryn said.

Aldersgate members use the vans during eight to 12 mission trips each year. They provided outreach in Texas, West Virginia, Mississippi and Maryland and helped rebuild tornado-damaged homes in Oklahoma and Alabama. The church also uses the vans to transport people to special church events and vacation Bible school.

“The cook-off is also an opportunity to welcome the community into our church,” Kathryn said. She hopes visitors will attend worship at Aldersgate on Sunday mornings. The theme for the sixth annual cook-off in October will be “Meals and Wheels for Missions.” Cooks will prepare their favorite holiday dishes.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church | 360 Robert Blvd., Slidell, LA 70458 | 985-641-5829 | AUMC@aldersgate-slidell.org | www.aldersgate-slidell.org | Pastor: Rev. Gary Don Willis | Average Attendance: 393 | Louisiana Conference

Sweet corn popular at county fair

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any hands make light work at the county fair, husking and cooking more than 1,000 ears of sweet corn daily. The corn is the best-seller at the Muskingum County Blue Ribbon Fair in Zanesville, Ohio.

Members of Rolling Plains United Methodist Church in Zanesville husk more than 9,000 ears of corn during fair week in July or August. The church has sold food at the fair since 1963, said Gary Handshy, longtime church member. He and his wife, Barb Handshy, coordinate daily operations AT A GLANCE

at the corn stand.

The idea to sell corn started when Rolling Plains members Jim Butler and Cliff Radcliff saw many people buying and eating corn from a stand at a nearby fair and decided to do the same to benefit their home church. Member Virgil Slack grew the corn.

As demand for the tasty food grew, the church decided to sell the cooked corn on and off the cob at the fair. The Rev. John Alice, pastor of Rolling Plains, began the first year of his appointment there in July

2013 and enjoyed being at the fair. He and his wife, Erin, along with their four children, helped serve and work at the pickup window. “It was a perfect experience,” said Alice. “It was a huge opportunity also to build great relationships.”

In addition to selling the corn, “the church sold 350 pounds of barbequed pulled pork, 200 pounds of ground chuck for sloppy joes, 25 pies and other desserts, salads and drinks on a daily basis,” said Handshy.

Proceeds benefit mission and ministry.

Rolling Plains United Methodist Church | 3350 Moxahala Park Road, Zanesville, OH 43701 | 740-453-4192 | rpchurch@rrohio.com | www.rollingplainsumc.com | Pastor: Rev. John M. R. Alice | Average Attendance: 528 | West Ohio Conference

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Inspiration & Resources

Ideamart

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

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School of Congregational Development webcast set

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onference leaders, pastors and laity can learn the best practices for revitalizing their congregations and starting new churches at the 2014 School of Congregational Development to be held Aug. 14-17 in Matthews, N.C. A live Satellite Experience on Aug. 16 will provide one component of the school to ministry teams and individuals in other locations.

During the Aug. 16 webcast, the Rev. Joseph W. Daniels Jr. and Christine Shinn Latona will explore leading a relevant, enthusiastic, authentic and loving (REAL) cultural revolution that results in changed lives and a changed community. The two are the authors of Begging for REAL Church and The Power of REAL: Changing Lives, Changing Churches, Changing Communities.

The Satellite Experience will provide several sites with facilitators to guide conversations with ministry teams.

Other small groups and individuals will be able to watch at locations convenient for them.

Cost is $29 per person.

Two schedules are available

Ethnic local church grant applications due Aug. 10

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with start times at 10 a.m. ET and MT and 9 a.m. CT and PT. Find a current list of sites for viewing the webcast at scdscholarships2014.com. At Interpreter deadline, there were eight set viewing locations: Arizona: Crossroads UMC, Phoenix.

Arkansas: BCD Inc., Little Rock.

Connecticut: Golden Hill UMC, Bridgeport.

Louisiana: Wesley UMC, Baton Rouge.

Maryland: St. Paul UMC, Oxon Hill Montana: St. Paul’s UMC, Helena Virginia: Annandale UMC and Norfolk UMC. More than 500 people are expected to attend the four-day event sponsored by the general boards of discipleship and global ministries at Matthews United Methodist Church in suburban Charlotte. For more information and to register for the four-day school, go to www. scdnetwork.ning.com.

The Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston, executive director, communications office, General Board of Discipleship.

ug. 10 is the deadline to apply for an Ethnic Local Church Grant from the General Board of Church and Society.

Local churches, districts, annual conferences, racial/ethnic caucuses or other affiliated ethnic groups/organizations may apply for a grant as can ecumenical groups working with at least one United Methodist ethnic minority local church.

ept. 15 to Oct. 15 brings a month long celebration of people in the United States who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking countries of Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Worship and other events provide settings for Hispanic/ Latino United Methodists to celebrate their heritage and cultures and for others to learn more about them.

Worship resources suggested by the General Board of Discipleship are listed at www. gbod.org/worship/church-civic-holidays/hispanic-heritage-month. The website includes the history of some of the songs in the collections.

Among the resources are: »» Mil Voces Para Celebrar, a complete hymnal and worship book, contains liturgy, services, resources, indexes, hymns and songs in Spanish, including some Spanish translations of well-known English-language hymns, modern-day Spanish-language hymns in a variety of styles, as well as contemporary praise and worship choruses known as coritos. »» “Pues Si Vivimos” (“When We Are Living”), The United Methodist Hymnal, 356. »» “Amarte sólo a ti Señor”

Grants go to programs addressing chronic social problems initiated by or developed in partnership with one or more United Methodist ethnic minority local churches that serve a majority of racial/ethnic people. New programs have priority for funding.

For more information, contact the Rev. Neal Christie (nchristie@ umc-gbcs.org), assistant general

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(“To Love Only You, O Lord”. »» “Cuando El Pobre” (“When the Poor Ones”), The United Methodist Hymnal, 434. »» “Padre Nuestro/The Lord’s Prayer,” Worship & Song, 3069, and Upper Room Worshipbook, 456.

Here are some other ways to learn more or launch new ministries with Hispanic/Latino neighbors: »» If you speak Spanish — or even if you do not — sign up to teach English Language Learners, formerly called English as a Second Language, classes at a church, community center or school. »» Invite someone to tell the congregation or a Sunday school class about famous Hispanic Americans or well-known Hispanic United Methodists. The website of MARCHA (United Methodists Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans), www.marcha.umc. org, is a great place to start. »» Organize an outing to an area Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Learn about the culture, sample traditional foods and meet your neighbors.

Barbara Dunlap-Berg, associate editor, Interpreter and general church content editor, United Methodist Communications.

secretary for education and leadership formation, at 202-488-5611 or download the application at Ethnic Local Church Grants, www.umcgbcs.org/faith-in-action/ethnic-local-church-grants1.

Wayne Rhodes, director of communication, General Board of Church and Society, Washington, D.C.

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Inspiration & Resources

ideamart

Covenant Bible Study emphasizes Bishops address same-gender issues in new book relationships

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roduced by Abingdon Press, a new 24-week Bible study offers a fresh look at a timeless promise and enduring commitment between God and God’s people to live in a loving relationship with and for each other.

Covenant Bible Study participants will discuss this unique and special relationship — as well as humans’ relationships with each other and the world around them. Through sharing and conversation, Covenant will help participants to apply the Bible to their personal story.

The study covers both the Old and the New testaments — discussing books from each to show the interconnectedness of Scripture. The in-depth Bible study contains three eight-week modules, each dealing with an aspect of covenant: creating, living and trusting.

Video segments hosted by the Rev. Shane Stanford, senior pastor at Christ United Methodist Church, Memphis, Tenn., and the Rev. Christine Chakoian, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Lake Forest, Ill., will be a part of each Covenant Bible Study group meeting. Participants’ guides are available in print or as enhanced e-books in the Covenant Bible Study app.

Learn more at http://covenantbiblestudy.com.

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uestions and conflict abound about same-gender relationships and The United Methodist Church.

As laity and clergy hear prayers, questions and outpourings of conviction or anguish, many hunger for the church to engage hard questions with rigorous thinking and deep prayer and in a spirit of generosity, gracefulness and mutual respect.

Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church, published

by Abingdon Press, is aimed at enunciating and clarifying pathways that represent faithful, responsible and constructive ways forward. Co-authors are eight United Methodist bishops: Kenneth H. Carter Jr., Reuben P. Job, J. Michael Lowry, Gregory V. Palmer, Melvin G. Talbert, Hope Morgan

Ward, Rosemarie Wenner and John K. Yambasu.

Each articulates a view to move readers through tensions related to homosexual practice, same-gender unions, qualifications for ordination and related issues of church teaching and governance. The book encourages frank and constructive dialogue and prayer to help United Methodists reach faithful, fair, just and loving resolution to issues that challenge the faith community.

Readers can join the dialogue at MinistryMatters.com/FindingOurWay. 11

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Readers respond

”We asked … you said …“ Several weeks prior to finishing each issue of Interpreter, we send a question to all readers for whom we have email addresses, asking them to respond with a short answer of 50-75 words. A select few are included here, edited for length as necessary. Find many more at Interpreter OnLine, www.interpretermagazine. org. We hope you will join the conversation.

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nity is a faith family reflecting the kingdom of God by empowering and engaging families and individuals in making disciples for Jesus!

We have a Hispanic service with interpretation, English worship, youth worship and children’s worship. Our food pantry feeds hundreds of people a month. Our intercessory prayer is powerful. We work with human trafficking and anti-bullying. The Holy Spirit is shown through the dedication and love in every person here. All are welcome.

Tamara Bennett, Unity United Methodist Church, Northwood, Ohio

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e are a United Methodist community of faith, where God’s love flows for all through worship and service. We are united in our goal of inclusiveness. We are United Methodist in our ties to the connection. We are a community working together to offer Christ to others. Our faith rests in our trust in God as revealed in Jesus of Nazareth. Our motto is “All are welcome. All are accepted,” and “all” means “all.”

George Brightwell, Wellspring United Methodist Church, Georgetown, Texas

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he church in which I serve is filled with a generous and loving spirit that pours forth in truly Christlike ways. The actions of the people in our community of faith loudly proclaim to hurting people beyond our walls that the love of Jesus is as real, relevant and life changing as it has ever been!

Jennell Bryan, First United Methodist Church, Canton, Ga.

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y church is a faithful community when we participate in fulfilling our mission statement to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We are faithful when we follow John Wesley in acts of mercy and means of grace.

Susan Connor, Sullivan (Ill.) United Methodist Church

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faithful community knows and follows the commandment to love God and to serve one another in love. Members faithfully participate in community worship; engage in the ministry of the church, both within the church and in the larger community; and enthusiastically and generously give of their time, talents, financial support and witness.

“If you described your local church as a ‘faithful community,’ what would you be saying about the congregation of which you are a part?”

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almost never use the word “congregation” when describing our community of believers. I use the word “church” to indicate the building. I imagine our group to be like the very first followers of Christ. When we say “faith community,” we are professing our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We are seeking to live like Christ: loving God, loving others and serving the world.

Arlene Dempster, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, San Diego

The Rev. Melinda Harwood, Oskaloosa (Kan.) United Methodist Church

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Roseanne Driscoll, Faith Fellowship United Methodist Church, Mansfield, Mass.

The Rev. James E. Magaw Sr., Gay Street United Methodist Church, Mount Vernon, Ohio

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e are a loving and open community, seeking to live into our mission statement to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.

Steven Ellison, First United Methodist Church, Easley, S.C.

Claudia Jean Roberts, Fremont United Methodist Church, Portland, Ore.

o find faith, follow the joy. Our church is full of smiling people who truly love our Lord so much that they want nothing more than to serve the community. Talk to us, and you will hear glory stories about clothing and food giveaways, English lessons and medical and shopping transportation. The pastor’s door is open to the community. We share each other’s celebrations. Faith is evident when there is joy in discipleship.

(Acts 2:42)

y church is always faithfully devoted “to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

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ur church nurtures children and youth and engages them in ministry. When they sing, they are leading us in worship, not performing.

Once a year, when the children lead an entire worship service, the fifth-grade students stand near the exits to administer a blessing to each of us as we leave the building. This is a place of acceptance and inclusion of all God’s children.

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FAITHFUL COMMUNITY A CALL TO

BY TITA PARHAM

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WHEN PEOPLE JOIN A UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, THEY MAKE SPECIFIC PROMISES. AMONG THEM ARE TO BE LOYAL TO JESUS CHRIST THROUGH THE CHURCH, TO DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH’S MINISTRIES AND TO PARTICIPATE FAITHFULLY IN THOSE MINISTRIES WITH THEIR PRAYERS, PRESENCE, GIFTS, SERVICE AND WITNESS. Those vows, says Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball of the West Virginia Area, are the core of faithful stewardship.

“Living in community requires commitment, responsibility and accountability to and for all its members,” she says. “This should inspire deep-rooted, foundational care for each other, as well as for our local and global communities. This is stewardship, and it is reflected in the vows each of us made when we joined the community of faith.

“Christ gave and gives abundantly. We have been blessed for the purpose of being a blessing to others.”

Steiner Ball says stewardship, for her, is “a pathway for living a faithful life. It is about sharing the gifts God has given to us in a way that significantly impacts the way we live our lives.”

For many others, however, living that faithful life can be difficult in a society that often places individual needs above the good of many.

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INTERPRETER SAMPLE EDITION FAITHFUL COMMUNITY

COURTESY RAUL ALEGRIA

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The Rev. Dan Dick, director of connectional ministries for the Wisconsin Annual Conference, says three beliefs are critical to a congregation’s faithful stewardship. The good of the whole is greater than any individual’s; the congregation — not just the pastor — owns the church’s mission and vision and supports it with energy, spirit and resources; and both clergy and laity equip, empower and enable all members daily to live their faith in the world.

Faithfulness also requires acknowledging that all wealth comes from God, Steiner The Rev. Dan Dick Ball says, and “human beings are called to be the managers and multipliers of God’s gifts.”

As a personal vision for stewardship, Dick points to 1 Peter 4:10: “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received” (NRSV).

Ultimately, Dick says, believers are called to be faithful to God and good stewards of “God’s grace and God’s will, manifest in us as gifts for ministry in and through the community to produce the fruit of the Spirit.”

Money, he explains, is just one of those gifts. The Rev. Bill Barnes, co-lead pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Orlando, Fla., agrees.

“Faithful stewardship is living into the unique giftedness that you are from God and the talents that you have from God and using them for the kingdom, even Raúl Alegría as you would use your money,” he says. “It’s money, but it’s [also] time; it’s serving with your spiritual gifts, offering yourself to others, being present with others in need.”

Barnes says connecting the assets of a congregation — spiritual gifts, professional

skills, resources of members — with the needs of a community is an integral component of faithful stewardship.

Members of St. Luke’s, which has an average worship attendance of 1,890, used their assets to launch a clinic for the uninsured 17 years ago. Shepherd’s Hope is now five regional clinics and a separately incorporated nonprofit organization. It has served 180,000 people for free, saving the lives of “scores and scores of people who had life-threatening illnesses and didn’t know it,” Barnes says.

Members also developed a tutoring program that helped increase the rankings of several elementary schools. One school rose from an F- to an A-school. The Orange County superintendent of schools adopted the church’s model for the county.

Now 110 schools there collaborate with faith communities.

God calls people of faith to be stewards of “all of life ... including our money, time, energy, spiritual gifts and commitment,” says Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of the Wisconsin Area.

For Raúl B. Alegría, president of MARCHA, the national Hispanic caucus of The United Methodist Church, to say “all of life” is to be literal, to include people, all other living creatures and the planet itself.

“We are called to be stewards of God’s creation, of the persons God has placed in our lives or in our life faith journey,” he says. “The environment and the natural world are God’s creation. The people of our world are God’s children, and we have a responsibility as stewards for them.”

The Rev. Mark Stamm sees stewardship of the environment in practical terms.

“What message does it send when we take recycling seriously or when we are good stewards of water?” asks Stamm, professor of Christian worship at Southern Methodist University. “As a witness, let landscaping reflect the environment in which we live, so that we work in concert with what God has called forth in a particular geography. We have a stewardship problem when we want church and home lawns in Texas to look like lawns in Connecticut.”

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LIVING DIFFERENTLY

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Using one’s gifts for others as an act of faithfulness to God, all agree, is countercultural.

“To place the common good above individual and personal entitlement is countercultural,” Dick says. “To see our material blessings as a means to an end, rather than an end in themselves, is countercultural. To see the church, not as the institution we attend for our own benefit, but as an institution that prepares and equips us to be the church in the world is countercultural.”

HOW WE LEARN IT, LIVE IT, TEACH IT People learn to live for others, Steiner Ball says, by studying Christ’s teaching.

“We are to live after the example of Christ,” she says. “Christ gave and gives abundantly. We have been blessed for the purpose of being a blessing to others.”

That belief, she says, prompts the question every member should ask: How will you use your spiritual and material gifts to work alongside others to build up Bishop Sandra Steiner this body of Jesus Ball Christ?

The church provides an answer.

“Christian community creates the space, the situation, where God’s abundant blessings can be brought to light, so that we can be accountable to the image of God in which we are created by modeling our lives after the life of Christ,” Steiner Ball says.

One of the best things the church can do, Stamm says, is give people a vision of a different way of life and permission to live it.

Membership vows offer a framework for that vision, offering accountability and growth, Dick says, but the church must be clear about the expectations behind those vows.

“An individual can say ‘yes’ to prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness, then decide ... what it means to keep these

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COURTESY ST. LUKE’S UMC

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COURTESY WISCONSIN CONFERENCE

COURTESY KATE MURPHEY

vows,” he says. “Unless we are crystal-clear what the expectations are, it is impossible to hold one another accountable in love. Low expectations equals irrelevancy of membership.”

The Rev. Katie Murphey, associate pastor at Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington, says that congregation has “raised the bar” to help members take their vows more The Rev. Kate Murphey seriously.

“I did a lot of research that showed increasing expectations actually led to increased growth, specifically in closing the ‘back door’ of the church, where people come in and join, but then leave because they’re not connected and not sensing any of the difference they expect to come from the church,” she says.

To counteract that phenomenon, the church launched a 16-week membership program, still in its pilot phase, that asks prospective members to complete eight membership classes before they join and eight afterward. They must also practice ministry related to each vow.

“We’re focusing on holistic stewardship of the good news,” she says, “to make disciples who actually have their talk, walk, pocketbook, focus and skills

proclaiming the value of shalom in word, action and presence.”

Congregations teach that faithful practice through preaching, educating all ages, providing opportunities to participate in hands-on ministry, studying Scripture, living as examples for family and neighbors, and, Jung says, talking about “the ways God blesses and provides for us.”

Alegría says there is no one way to teach stewardship, but everything should be biblically based and “applied as appropriate within the local congregation’s context.”

Barnes believes younger people particularly are getting the message.

“They understand that making a difference in the world is more important than making a difference in your banking account,” he says.

“When you look at what millennials want to do with their time, with Bishop Hee-Soo Jung their talents, I have great hope because they will be changing the culture.”

That is good for the world and the soul, Jung says noting 1 Timothy 6:18, “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so they may take hold of the life that really is life.”

“I am grateful,” Jung says, “for all disciples who have learned the joy of generosity in sharing.”

Tita Parham is a writer, editor and communications consultant based in Apopka, Fla.

T I M E & TA L E N T S GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER AND UNITED METHODISTS ARE GIVERS. IN BIBLICAL TIMES, PEOPLE GAVE AND TITHED THE ACTUAL PRODUCTS THEY GREW OR MADE – GRAIN, WOOL, VEGETABLES OR OIL. IT WOULD BE HARD TO JUSTIFY ONLY FINANCIAL GIVING BY LOOKING TO SCRIPTURE. “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing” (Malachi 3:10, NRSV).

United Methodists give generously of their financial blessings, but many don’t stop there. Many also give of their time and talents and from their hearts.

Dave Knapp is a member of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio. He found his passion for serving others through participation in mission trips from the church.

Knapp, owner of a successful car dealership in Tipp City, had an epiphany one Sunday morning as the offering plate went by.

GIVING HIMSELF “I know it’s important to be a faithful steward with our financial resources,” he says. “But when the offering plate was passed one Sunday morning, I heard God speaking to my heart, ‘Put yourself in that basket, Dave.’

The Rev. Bill Barnes addresses a fund-raising event to benefit Shepherd’s Hope, a multi-site medical clinic begun 17 years ago by St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Orlando, Fla. With him is Ruth McKeefery, the first volunteer president of Shepherd’s Hope.

JULY • AUGUST 2014

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Each time Knapp has cherished his time ministering to people who need to see God’s love in action.

“What I love about being on God’s agenda is that I get to live above the noise,” he says. “I can turn off the corporate and just focus on the spiritual. It’s refreshing and beautiful.”

It’s ironic, but Knapp discovered, “When I left my comfort zone, I stepped into the place I am most comfortable,” he says with a laugh. He found where he most loves to be.

For Knapp, being a faithful steward with his finances is good, but he sees God using him best outside the church building, serving others.

ALL CAN SERVE IN, OUTSIDE CHURCH Serving outside the walls of the church is also the way Cesie Delve Scheuermann sees God most at work.

COURTESY GINGHHAMSBURG UMC

“I remember hearing the sermon in a whole different light after that,” he continues. “I knew I had to step out of my comfort zone and serve. I knew I had to step out in faith and do something.”

That something for Knapp was to join a mission trip team going to serve survivors of Hurricane Katrina in Slidell, La. “God has given me a bold spirit,” he says. “I’m a car dealer for goodness sake!

So, I will gladly go wherever he sends me.

The first two times I went to Louisiana, I held back a little, watching what others did. I honestly felt uplifted staying in the background.”

As a corporate CEO, Knapp is in charge of a large company every day. He found not being in charge a welcome change. By his third trip to Louisiana, though, he knew God wanted him to do more. God wanted Knapp to lead some of these mission trips.

More mission opportunities followed.

Dave Knapp (right) led the complimentary oil change team, one of many services offered as Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church

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OREGON-IDAHO CONFERENCE/GREG NELSON

BY POLLY HOUSE

Cesie Delve Scheuermann (in blue) walks in a fundraising event for Imagine No Malaria during the 2014 Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference.

A member of First United Methodist Church in Salem, Ore., she works as a consultant in stewardship, development and grant writing. She also writes a blog, “Inspiring Generosity,” for the Oregon-Idaho Conference website, www.umoi.org/blogs.

Scheuermann sees her congregation serving its city through a quarterly event, “Saturdays of Service.”

“One thing our church is very good at is understanding it’s equally important to serve the church from within and to serve our neighbors from without,” she says.

“We encourage our members to serve God and each other through participation in worship, music, committees, teaching, child care and other jobs,” she says. “It takes all of us to help the church organization function well.

“But we also encourage our members to serve Salem and the rest of the world,” she continues.

“We make sure that each member of the family has a way to serve appropriately. For example, adults and youth might go out and clean up a dirty street, pick up trash, clean up a park, serve a meal, pass out water, something like that. We teach

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INTERPRETER SAMPLE EDITION Watch a pastor say, "It is about the money," as he urges socially responsible investing.

our church children about the joy of serving, too. They have put together backpacks for school kids. They’ve helped at the humane association. We want them to see serving as a normal thing.”

Scheuermann says Salem First teaches about serving the world.

“We have members who are missionaries in Kenya working at a hospital through the (General Board of ) Global Ministries’ Zoe Project,” she says.

“We give our money, of course, but more importantly, we give our fervent prayer support to this ministry.”

ABILITY PLUS DESIRE EQUALS DUTY

COURTESY HERBIE KRISLE

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Herbie Krisle, a 25-year member of Collierville (Tenn.)

United Methodist Church, has been sharing her gift of song with fellow church members since she could walk and talk.

“I can’t remember a time in my life when I was not involved in choral music at my church,” Krisle says. “My parents began taking me to church as soon as I was born, and as a toddler, I was part of the kids’ choir. I’ve been singing in church ever since.”

When Krisle was a college student in Arkansas, she often pulled double choir Herbie Krisle duty. She would sing at her home church, then leave and go to share her beautiful soprano voice at a nearby small church.

“I really felt like helping that church was a way to give

back to God,” she says. “I still feel that way. I have always seen choral worship as an integral part of the worship experience. I have been blessed with the ability — and desire — to sing, so I have a duty to serve in that capacity.”

Krisle says being involved in the choral music program requires a great deal of commitment on a weekly basis for the choir members.

“There is a least a two-hour rehearsal midweek and two hours on Sunday morning,” she says. “Sometimes it’s even more than that depending on our church season. When we have multiple Sunday morning worship services, the choir is expected to be at each one. Our worship leader encourages excellence in all of us.”

Krisle believes that for most of her fellow choir members, rehearsal time often is as much a time of worship as is the Sunday service. It’s during rehearsal they begin to take the music into their hearts and God speaks to them through the music.

“I think most of us look at our service in music as worship,” she says. “I believe that even during rehearsal, we are giving our gifts and talents.

“I feel like I serve my fellow church members by sharing in leading worship,” Krisle continues. “The spirit with which we sing helps those in the pews sing with more gusto and dedication. I believe the anthems, while not performances, bring all worshippers nearer to God. I hope that our voices bring all worshippers to the throne of God while we sing.”

Polly House is a freelance writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

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OF WITNESS NEEDED

WORDS OF WITNESS NEEDED

“Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”

This famous quote, commonly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, has been used by countless preachers (myself included) to illustrate the importance of living out one’s faith in daily activities and encounters. Christians must “walk the walk,” and sometimes this quote is understood as discouraging words.

However, as the 2008 General Conference worked through proposed legislation, delegates realized and agreed that we do need words and changes were made to the membership vows.

Previously, when a person joined a local United Methodist church, they vowed “to faithfully participate in its ministries by their prayers, their presence, their gifts and their service.”

These were the means by which Christians in the United Methodist tradition were to embody their faith. All four components are means of sharing the love and hope of Jesus Christ with others. General Conference determined that we also needed to be intentional about verbally connecting the individual and congregational stories to God’s story.

Since Jan. 1, 2009, new members of United Methodist congregations promise to participate in that church’s ministry by their prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.

We live in a society becoming increasing secular. The percentage of unchurched people is rising rapidly. We can no longer assume that people know the Gospel story, have ever been told that God loves them, or that they see our service and mission work as a response to the love we have experienced through Jesus Christ.

There is a tremendous amount of fear associated with the thought of “witnessing.” What if I come across as pushy?

What if I am rejected? What if I cannot answer their questions?

Because many United Methodists experience high levels of discomfort and anxiety around verbalizing their faith, pastors and other church leaders need to help them articulate their stories and provide safe opportunities for practice.

Does your congregation regularly practice sharing faith stories or naming where they have witnessed God’s activity in the world? How might you do so?

The Rev. Heather Heinzman Lear, director, evangelism ministries, General Board of Discipleship, Nashville, Tenn.

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TEACHING TO GIVE WITH GRATITUDE AND COMPASSION NURTURES GENEROSITY

BY HEATHER PECK TRAVIS

UNITED METHODISTS SUPPORT MISSIONS AROUND THE WORLD. YOU CAN FIND THE CROSS-AND-FLAME LOGO ON SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES, COMMUNITY CENTERS AND SEMINARIES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH NAME IS ON THE SIDE OF HOSPITALS, RETIREMENT HOMES AND A UNIVERSITY IN ZIMBABWE, AFRICA.

But, guess what?

While it takes significant funding to support denominational ministry, on average only 2 cents of every dollar given to local churches in the United States go to fund this expanse of ministries. Those pennies combine in seven apportioned funds, the budgets of which for 2014 total $150,078,000, to support the worldwide ministries and mission of the denomination and operations of the general agencies, 13 seminaries, 11 historically black colleges, bishops, the Judicial Council, ecumenical and interreligious ministries, and jurisdictional and General conferences.

Of the remaining 98 cents, 7 cents supports jurisdictional,

19

Archivist Dale Patterson describes the storage system at the General Commission on Archives and History in Madison, N.J.

In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, prayer is offered for bishops from the Philippines during the November 2013 meeting of the United Methodist Council of Bishops.

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UMNS/ANDREW JENSEN

TION SERVE IN MISSION IN MOST NATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE.

UMNS/JOHN C. GOODWIN

MEN AND WOMEN TRAINED AND COMMISSIONED BY THE DENOMINA-

annual conference and district ministries and 6 cents goes to The Advance, World Service Special Gifts, Special Sundays and other recipients designated by the giver.

The bulk of every dollar – 85 cents on average – stays in the local church.

Being connected through giving allows United Methodists to be a part of many ministries that few could do alone or even with several other congregations.

APPEAL TO COMPASSION VERSUS OBLIGATION “The apportionment system is near and dear to my heart,” says the Rev. Ken Sloane, director of stewardship and connectional ministries at the General Board of Discipleship. “United Methodists work together to do what an individual can’t. As a result, we make an enormous impact on our world, such as attempting to eradicate malaria.”

Sloane says a common challenge for local churches is “getting the message out to people that appor20

RESOURCES FOR DISCUSSING MONEY AND STEWARDSHIP

»» Connectional Giving, www.umcgiving.org »» Let’s Go Fishing: United Methodist Handbook, shop.umc.org »» General Council on Finance and Administration, www.gcfa.org.

Read or download “Our Financial Commitment 2013-16.” »» General Board of Discipleship, www.gbod.org/leadership-resources/ stewardship »» Lewis Center for Church Leadership, www.churchleadership.com »» The United Methodist Foundation, www.umcfoundation.org »» Let the Children Give by Delia Halverson, The Upper Room, bookstore.upperroom.org »» Resources for children, http://ministrywithchildren.com/ childrens-books/

tionments are not just a tax or something taken away from them.”

“Many older generations grew up in the church with the understanding that tithing is a duty, obligation and commitment,” he says. “However, younger adults are inspired to give out of generosity, compassion and commitment.”

Sloane says congregations should talk about money and stewardship throughout the year.

“Churches should also help members stick their toes in the water of generosity,” says Sloane, who writes offertory prayers posted on the Discipleship website, www. gbod.org.

‘DEPROGRAM’ CULTURAL MINDSET OF NEEDING MORE “What the Christian faith teaches about giving is radically countercultural to an American society [that teaches to] value acquisition and consumption over generosity,” says Ann Michel, associate director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary. “The most fundamental challenge in encouraging adults to give financially is deprogramming them from a cultural mindset that causes them to think they constantly need more for themselves.”

People must understand why they should give before they are open to learning how much they should give.

Teaching about apportionments needs to stress mission and ministry, not institutional maintenance, Michel continues. “We need to find ways to inspire our church members to want to support a ministry that extends beyond their local congregation.

“In my experience, the congregations that do the best job of forming people as givers are the ones where there is a culture of generosity.”

FIND CAUSES ABOUT WHICH YOUTH CAN BE PASSIONATE “If youth are not aware of how their parents’ budget works, and how they give to the church, they don’t have a pattern of behavior to follow,” says Chris Wilterdink, director of Young People’s Ministries, General Board of Discipleship. “As a gener-

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INTERPRETER SAMPLE EDITION

The Africa University choir performs during the school’s 20th anniversary celebration in March 2013.

ational trend, millennials and younger give money to places where they understand how their money will make a difference.”

“The church must clearly share its vision of ministry with young people in a way that is relevant and understandable to them,” says Wilterdink. He urges congregations to invite young people into leadership and give them a voice in how church finances are used. “Transparency in how the money given will be used,” he says, will encourage support from youth as well as from adult members.

“The church must show [members] tangible ways that its resources are being used to touch lives,” says Dietrich Kirk, executive director of the Center for Youth Ministry Training in Brentwood, Tenn.

Personal connections between givers and receivers are invaluable.

PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN TO GIVE “For children to experience giving as an act of worship, they must be given the opportunity to give of their own resources,” says the Rev. Dan Pezet, Rosinton United Methodist Church, Baldwin County, Ala. “My family has used the jar method for years. Our boys have three jars labeled ‘God,’ ‘Save’ and ‘Spend,’ respectively.

Their church offering comes from their ‘God’ jar.”

His congregation also provides opportunities for children to give. A changejar campaign invites youngsters to give change to Imagine No Malaria, Pezet says.

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“Children need to see adults model faithful stewardship,” says Melanie Gordon, director of ministry with children, General Board of Discipleship. “If you place your offering in the plate, let them witness this. If you send your offering electronically, let them sit at the computer with you, and talk to them about why we give to the church.”

EDUCATE TO JUMP-START STEWARDSHIP When the Rev. Chris Hemund began his appointment at Cornerstone United Methodist Church, Jonesboro, Ark., in summer 2012, the church was in serious financial crisis and had not paid any of its apportionments.

The church hosted a series of six “pow-wows with the pastor,” during which members talked about the importance of paying apportionments. “We found a wonderful opportunity to educate our people,” Hemund says.

The weekly newsletter then carried a section titled “All about Apportionments.”

An annual country fair and auction raised $54,000 and with that income, the congregation paid half of its apportionments.

“That was the shot in the arm we needed,” says Hemund. “The spirit of the church soared. Our church paid 100 percent in full by the first of December.

“Proper stewardship is becoming a part of our DNA once again.”

CONNECT APPORTIONMENTS, LOCAL MINISTRIES

KAMI HEINZ

“Here in the Alabama-West Flori-

One of the best ways for children to learn to give money is to give from their resources. Kimberly Peacock looks out from beneath a mosquito net during a “sleepunder” at Columbia Falls (Mont.)

United Methodist Church that raised money for the Imagine No Malaria campaign.

HOW DO WE MANAGE GOD’S RESOURCES? What did the Blanca Philippines Annual Conference do to increase its resources?

We simply began giving what belongs to God — tithing. It is biblical, equitable and measureable.

Malachi 3:10 tells us, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, ... see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing” (NRSV). Tithing is giving back what belongs to God. By moving from an apportionment/ fixed allocation scheme to tithing local churches’ income, giving in our conference increased dramatically — from an approximate total of $1,250,000 in 2005 to $2,250,000 in 2010! The totals include loose offerings, tithes, pledges and other contributions (except designated and restricted funds).

Districts in other annual conferences in the Philippines also adopted this practice, and their income improved significantly.

Isagani G. Arceo, lay leader, Bulacan Philippines Annual Conference

da Conference, we have faced various weather-related disasters,” says the Rev. Bob McKibben, pastor of Daphne (Ala.) United Methodist Church, which pays 100 percent of its apportionments.

He recalls the damage caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 while he was serving Pine Forest United Methodist Church in Pensacola, Fla. “After seeing and experiencing firsthand the greater church at work in the recovery, [the congregation] began to increase its apportionment giving from zero to nearly 100 percent. The congregation simply saw the importance of our connectional system and desired to be a part of it,” McKibben says.

“Education is the strongest encouragement” when it comes to apportionments, he says. “I’ve found that misinformation is usually at the root of any lack of support.”

CREATE AN EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN In 2012, North Charleston (S.C.) United Methodist Church had not paid its apportionments for several years, says Linda Vaughan, the worship design team

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chairperson. “After looking over the list of things that the apportionment monies are used for, several people in key leadership positions decided something had to be done in our church to contribute our fair share.”

By fall of 2013, when a campaign to educate the congregation began, the church “had paid a meager 6 percent of our apportionment,” she says.

The campaign included “one-on-one talking about why apportionment and connectional giving was not just mandatory but important,” an article in the monthly newsletter explaining the purpose of apportionments, pulpit announcements, an appeal by the finance committee to less-active church members, and some serious number crunching by the finance committee.

“By the end of December 2013, we were writing a check for the full apportionment!” exclaims Vaughan. This year the church will use funds raised from a “Tea Room and Silent Auction” and its annual fall bazaar to help pay its share.

CONSIDER CULTURAL DIFFERENCES “The understanding and importance of giving has been evident in our communities for years,” says the Rev. David Wilson, district superintendent of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. “The Native understanding of the circular nature of life enables many to know that our giving is natural and it always comes back to us in some form or another.”

While the missionary conference has paid 100 percent of its apportionments for many years, Wilson notes that the support from apportionments helps supplement the “low salaries for Native American pastors.”

“Since we receive funding from apportionment dollars, it is easier for us to help our [members] understand where apportionment dollars go,” he says. “However, it is always a continual cycle of educating and communicating that message.”

The Rev. Motoe Yamada Foor “intentionally mentioned apportionment giving” when she was appointed to serve The Garden Church, Sacramento (Calif.) Japanese United Methodist Church, in 2009.

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INTERPRETER SAMPLE EDITION FAITHFUL COMMUNITY CONNECTIONAL The Garden Church pays its apportionments in full each year. Foor says while the older members of her predominately-Japanese congregation are accustomed to tithing, the younger generation is sporadic in its giving.

She also notes that while most Japanese members do not like to discuss money or receive recognition for giving money, it is a dishonor to the family if one does not give to the church.

FOR UNITED METHODISTS

(Adapted from The United Methodist Handbook. Order free copies at shop.umc. org.)

Learn more about each of these channels of giving at www.umcgiving.org.

APPORTIONED FUNDS

The General Conference establishes budgets for the apportioned funds. Find these in “Our Financial Commitment 2013-16,” which can be read or downloaded from the General Council on Finance and Administration website, www.gcfa.org. The support of these is divided among the annual conferences, based on a specific formula. Each annual conference, using its own approved formula, divides these fund requests, along with the conference’s administrative and benevolence fund requests, among the local churches.

“Payment in full of these apportionments by local churches and annual conferences is the first benevolent responsibility of the Church.” (The Book of Discipline 2012, Par. 812)

GBGM/CASSANDRA ZAMPINI

World Service Fund: Is basic to the connectional giving program of The United Methodist Church and helps to build new churches, pay missionary salaries, expand Bible studies, provide leadership for youth ministry, develop resources for local churches and annual conferences and much more. Provides basic support for the work of the general boards of church and society, discipleship, global ministries and higher education and ministry, and the general commissions on religion and race, status and role of women, United Methodist Men and United Methodist Communications.

Kathleen Pryor (left) receives the anchor cross from Judy Chung as 29 young adult missionaries were commissioned and sent into service by the General Board of Global Ministries in August 2013.

22

FIND COMFORTABLE WAYS TO DISCUSS MONEY “Research shows that church people know little about faith and giving,” says the Rev. Lovett Weems, director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. “They have not rejected Christian principles of giving so much as never having learned them. We also know how difficult it is to find comfortable ways for people to discuss money.”

Weems suggests local churches: »» Talk about how “the need for people to give as an expression of their faith is far greater than the church’s need to receive funds.” »» Invite people to participate in “God’s vision for your church to change lives and the community.” »» Emphasize stewardship of all possessions, not just the portion given to the church. »» Give as much attention to helping members understand and address their personal financial issues as to the financial needs of the church.

Heather Peck Travis is a freelance journalist living in Glasgow, Ky.

Africa University Fund: Supports general operating expenses, including faculty and staff salaries and infrastructure support, for the first fully accredited United Methodist-related educational institution in Africa established by General Conference. Africa University is in Zimbabwe.

Black College Fund: Continues work that began with the Freedmen’s Aid Society. Organized following the Civil War, the society helped to establish more than 70 schools to educate people newly freed from slavery. Eleven United Methodist-related institutions remain and receive support.

Episcopal Fund: Pays for the salaries, office and travel expenses of 46 active bishops in the United States and 20 serving assignments in the central conferences (Africa, Europe and the Philippines); also provides pension and health-benefit coverage.

General Administration Fund: Pays the expenses of General Conference, the Judicial Council, special commissions and committees constituted by General Conference and other administrative agencies and activities approved by General Conference.

Interdenominational Cooperation Fund: Enables United Methodists to participate in ecumenical and interreligious organizations advocating for unity among the worldwide Christian church.

Ministerial Education Fund: Supports the recruitment and education of ordained and licensed ministers. The maximum amount possible goes directly for programs and services at United Methodist seminaries, continuing education of ordained, licensed and diaconal ministers and courses of study.

DESIGNATED GIVING

The Advance: Lets contributors designate support for more than 800 projects related to the General Board of Global Ministries. Individuals, local churches and others may donate. One hundred percent of every gift goes to the project. Administrative costs come from other sources.

World Service Special Gifts: Enable general agencies to appeal directly for specific project funding. One hundred percent of every gift goes to the designated project.

SPECIAL SUNDAYS WITH OFFERINGS

Six churchwide special Sundays give people the opportunity to make offerings to support special programs. Learn more about the purpose and recipients of the offerings in the January/February 2014 issue of Interpreter, at Interpreter OnLine and at www.umcgiving.org.

Although churches may observe the special Sundays when most convenient, the next dates set by General Conference for the observances are:

»» »» »» »» »» »»

World Communion Sunday, Oct. 5.

United Methodist Student Day, Nov. 30.

Human Relations Day, Jan. 18, 2015.

One Great Hour of Sharing, March 15, 2015.

Native American Ministries Sunday, April 19, 2015.

Peace with Justice Sunday, May 31, 2015.

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Listen as students hear of milestones and current struggles in this podcast, “Civil Rights: Then and Now.”

50 Anniversary th

36

uly 2 marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, the workplace and facilities that serve the general public.

The signing and passage came in the midst of Freedom Summer, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee’s voter registration drive in Mississippi.

It was a summer when three Freedom Summer workers were murdered and acts of violence occurred in many places in the United States. At the same time, black and white Methodists and members of the Evangelical United Brethren Church were working alongside many others to keep the efforts for change and responses to them non-violent.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary, Interpreter invited six United Methodists involved in the struggle for civil rights to share their reflections. Read more of their thoughts at Interpreter OnLine (www. interpretermagazine.org) and UMC.org.

COURTESY GILBERT H. CALDWELL

FREEDOM SUMMER ANNIVERSARY BRINGS REFLECTION

The Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell (right) stands with the Revs. Martin Luther King Jr. (left) and Virgil Wood on the roof of a Boston public school in 1965.

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CIVIL RIGHTS ACT

50

th

ANNIVERSARY

COMMITTED TO LIBERATION

BENDING TOWARD JUSTICE

By Angella Current-Felder

By Maxie Dunnam

Now retired, the Rev. Maxie Dunnam is pastor emeritus of Christ United Methodist Church in Memphis. He began his pastoral service in Mississippi, served 10 years with The Upper Room and 10 years as president of Asbury Theological Seminary.

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am a product of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.

My experiences as a graduate of a segregated high school in Richmond, Va., and as a student at Morgan State University in Baltimore, enhanced my worldview and commitment to the liberation of people of African descent.

My father, the Rev. Gloster B. Current, was director of branches and field operations for the NAACP and a major strategist in coordinating the 1963 March on Washington. Dad was also a founding member of the General Commission on Religion and Race. Mom, who became Bishop Leontine T.C. Kelly, was then a teacher at segregated Armstrong High School in Richmond. She agreed to be one of two African-American teachers to integrate the faculty of John Marshall High School and ensure that the first African-American students integrating that school would have teachers of color to support them.

In 1963, I was at Morgan State. I was a student participant in the Maryland Freedom Rides, picketed the movie theater near the campus at Northwood Shopping Center and was arrested with 343 Morganites. Each of us was charged $600 bail and jailed for six days in Baltimore’s Pine Street Jail. With NAACP support and funds raised by residents, the charges were dropped, we were freed, the theater was desegregated and buses returned us to campus.

The Rev. James Lawson, a Methodist minister, and others founded the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, which became largely responsible for organizing student activism in the Movement. To this day, many of us believe that it was the student movement that played a major role in ensuring the passage of the Civil Rights Act in July 1964.

We have celebrated 60 years of the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. This year we mark the 50th Angella Current- anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, and 2015 will Felder bring the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. We have witnessed the passing of our heroes and “sheroes,” who fought for our freedom and are among that mighty cloud of witnesses. Yet, simultaneously, we are witnessing a frightening emergence of racial hatred.

Every generation inherits the world that the preceding generation helped to dream and create — both the good and the bad.

As my generation passes the baton, are there people we can rely upon who will remain steadfast, unmovable, always abiding in the Word of the Lord?

COURTESY PHOTO

ifty years is a long time. I realized that in 2013, when the Mississippi Annual Conference recognized 28 ministers for an act they performed here in 1963. These ministers, then young, issued a statement called “Born of Conviction,” written in response to the violent riots stirred by the admission of African-American James Meredith to the University of Mississippi in 1962.

I was one of the four writers of the statement and among the 28 who signed it. Today, it’s difficult to imagine the statement could have been the bombshell that it was. That itself is witness to the dramatic difference between where we were then and where we are now.

After completing the march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

I came to Memphis, Tenn., as senior minister of Christ United Methodist Church in 1982. Our city is where King went to his death supporting striking sanitation workers. In 1991, our city elected Willie Herenton as our first African-American mayor. We now have our second African-American mayor. The arc is long, but it bends toward justice.

I’m praying the bend will be more noticeable in the future. I left Memphis in 1994 and returned in 2004. Poverty and race are still our most critical issues. I believe public education is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. A The Rev. Maxie person’s ZIP code should not determine his or Dunnam her opportunity for a good educational foundation.

Four years ago, our church established Cornerstone Prep as a private Christian school and located it in one of the neighborhoods where many underserved children live. Now a public charter school, Cornerstone Prep has grown from 60 students in our original private school to 625 and has responsibility for the first three grades of one of the most failing schools in the city. The school has had amazing results.

This movement on the part of our congregation is giving me great hope. Memphis is a very troubled city. Race and poverty flavor every relationship and every corporate decision. But I don’t know another city that has more bold and creative expressions of mission and ministry.

I believe it would be just like God to witness to the nation that if it can happen in Memphis, it could happen anywhere. Some of our city’s churches are at the forefront of bending the arc of justice, and I’m trusting that the arc will bend more dramatically during the next 50 years than it has in the past.

GOOD NEWS MAGAZINE/STEVE BEARD

ry

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Angella Current-Felder is the former executive director of the Office of Loans and Scholarships, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Her books include Breaking Barriers: An African American Family and the Methodist Story, Abingdon, 2001, and School of Dreams in the Valley of Hope: The Africa University Story, AU Press, 2012.

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INTERPRETER SAMPLE EDITION CIVIL RIGHTS ACT

50

th

ANNIVERSARY

THE CHURCH AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT e often see history as the work of great individuals. In 1964, critics condemned President Lyndon B. Johnson and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for not staying in traditional roles. The president was preaching. The preacher was moving from personal faith into the political world.

King was the visible leader of the Civil Rights Movement, pushing the president and Congress to act. His personal faith was a testimony revealed in courage and imprisonment, reminding many people of biblical figures. He could have understood his role as just changing hearts and minds. King insisted that morality had to be part of political activity.

Are we dependent on charismatic powerful leaders alone to bring change? Must we wait for the next prophet?

The institutional church was crucial in developing political support to bring racial change. Laws were passed only after Americans in every part of the United States demanded change.

The democratic American system was slowly aroused. The president would not lead without significant public support. He had to know racial justice was not just an issue for blacks in the South.

He had to have strong bipartisan support in Congress.

The organized work of the church through boards, agencies and ecumenical cooperation aroused believers who were also loyal citizens. Then-Rep. Gerald Ford explained to me that the Civil Rights Movement had to make our issues matter to people at the grassroots level outside the South and Northern urban centers.

The familiar images of burning buses and burning churches in the South, of nonviolent demonstrators and martyrs, began to open these “silent” Americans. Denominational structures and the ecumenical work of the National Council of Churches in traditional agencies and in new structures such as the Delta Ministry reached these people.

Then, perhaps more importantly, civil rights workers were sent to almost every state to talk with small groups about personal experiences (denials of voting rights, prison, torture), and people were urged to pray for us and for America AND to let their members of Congress know racial justice did matter. These good folk were urged to write letters to their The Rev. Edwin local newspaper as well as to political leaders. King Slowly, enough Americans everywhere became involved, and Washington responded. However, the successful massive organization was achieved through those ecumenical and denominational agencies and staff we sometimes ignore and often criticize as insignificant to the personal faith and life of the local church.

nniversaries, whether they are of marriages, churches or of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, are best celebrated when we remember the struggles that make progress much more sweet. Grace and I this November will have been married 57 years. This year, as we have done before, we will celebrate without pretending we have had no struggles. Anniversaries have deeper meaning when we admit there have been valleys amid the mountaintops.

As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, it is important to acknowledge the racial segregation that existed in voter registration, public schools, restaurants, hotels, workplaces, buses, trains and other public places. It is especially important this year that the nation and The United Methodist Church remember their respective histories of racial segregation.

Suppose Joseph and Mary were denied the right to register in “their own towns” (Luke 2), as blacks were denied the right to register and vote before the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. When people who are not black, think of themselves or of Mary and Joseph denied equal access, the awfulness of blacks being denied because of their race becomes almost unbelievable and repugnant.

In 1964, I was 30 and pastor of Union Methodist Church in Boston. I was a Civil Rights volunteer in Mississippi Freedom Summer in Palmer’s Crossing, Miss. That was the summer when three volunteers, one black and two white, were killed. They were involved in voter education and registration.

We cannot remember this anniversary with conscience and integrity if we do not remember those – including many MethodThe Rev. Gilbert H. ists – who gave their lives, were injured, lost Caldwell their jobs, were rejected by their families or were separated from their churches because they dared to engage in acts of protest against racial segregation.

I believe that if United Methodists are serious about disciple making in the United States and the world and want to observe this 50th anniversary, we must admit that on matters of race, the U.S. is not yet whole.

Because of our racial struggles and progress, we have an opportunity to engage in a race- and culture-based ministry as no other religious group in the nation can. We can do this by plowing up the ground that holds vestiges of the racism of old, in order to plant a crop that reflects the inclusive love and justice of Jesus.

May we say “Amen!” to this ministry.

The Rev. Edwin King is a retired member of the Mississippi Annual Conference. In the 1960s, he was appointed chaplain of historically black Tougaloo College by Bishop Joseph Golden of the Central Jurisdiction. King was an organizer of Freedom Summer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. He lives in Jackson, Miss.

Ed King’s Mississippi – Behind the Scenes of Freedom Summer will be published in October by the University Press of Mississippi.

The Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell, a retired elder of the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference, lives in Asbury Park, N.J.

UMNS/MIKE DUBOSE

By Gilbert H. Caldwell

JACKSON CLARION-LEDGER/RICK GUY

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NOT YET WHOLE

By Edwin King

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50

th

ANNIVERSARY

BEFORE AND AFTER

By Bette Prestwood

‘I AM GRATEFUL’

JOHN MOORE

was born in 1935 in Laurel, Miss. As I reflect on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many memories and feelings come to mind. The first and most personal is the move my family made in the middle of the night in 1940. My older brother had responded to a heckler in a group of white teens by pushing one of them into a store window.

Due to the prejudice and racism that existed in Mississippi at that time, my brother’s opponents immediately planned to kill him. There was plenty of evidence that black teen boys who dared to respond to white men’s threats, heckles or promises would be hung, shot or killed in various ways. Heeding the warning about the plan from a white family for whom we worked, our family gathered our personal belongings and disappeared before sunrise.

Seven decades later, I reflect on that brother of mine. At age 24, in Chicago, after graduating from Du Sable High School, he enlisted in the armed forces. He served his country many years, as a lieutenant and captain. After retirement, he worked several years for the Texas House of Representatives.

I have strived to break down barriers and fight for justice and equality. I worked for more than 49 years at Marcy-Newberry Association, reaching out to help the least, the last and the lost. I believe I have made a difference.

As I look at what my son and my daughter have accomplished, I am grateful for the signing of the Civil Rights Act. Today, my grandchildren have clear rights and great opportunities as they enter college to reach their professional goals. I pray that they will have faith and pursue their dreams as they work hard, pray without ceasing, accomplish their goals and always be thankful to God. The signing of the Civil Rights Act motivated The United Methodist Church to move forward. It influenced the church to realize where we needed to do some self-examination and make changes and additions to our Book of Discipline. The churches struggled with racism and segregation at all levels.

I relate the meaning of this 50th anniversary to a key word in the United Methodist vocabulary: diversity ... addressing the needs The Rev. Margaret and concerns of an inclusive church, respecting Ann Williams the efforts and objectives of racial ethnic groups, eliminating the atrocities of racism and bigotry and creating awareness of the history, heritage and contributions of all ethnic groups. God intends diversity!

The Rev. Margaret Ann Williams is a retired deacon in the Northern Illinois Conference.

jumble of images surrounds me as I think about the 1964 Civil Rights Act. I see the signs in the big department stores in Birmingham designating water fountains and restrooms for the use of “White” and “Colored.” Riding to my high school through a residential area peopled by black residents, I knew these high schoolers rode buses and streetcars past my neighborhood to the school meant exclusively for them. I never had a childhood friend whose skin was dark; all my playmates bore a lighter skin color.

I visualize the dividing markers on buses and streetcars, assigning the front to whites and the rear to blacks. The relative size of the two sections changed as the white section became more crowded to allow seating for more whites. But the section for blacks never grew larger as their riders crowded on. There could be empty seats up front, but riders overflowed into the aisles in the back.

An assassin’s bullet disrupted the progress toward passing the Civil Rights bill proposed in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy.

It fell to President Lyndon Johnson to wrestle the legislation through Congress.

Many white Southern business operators argued that the government had no right to tell them who they had to serve in their restaurants or hotels. Public swimming pools were closed in cities over the South rather than allow black children to swim with white children. Public parks were abandoned.

Today, I see people socializing, based not on skin color, but because they enjoy one another’s company and have common interests. I am able to go to restaurants with any person because of friendship, not outer appearances. Whereas I had no playmates my age who were black, my 11-year-old granddaughter Zoe tells me that three of her best friends have dark skins. It’s wonderful to go to her school and see students, Bette Prestwood teachers and administrators of all races.

Even though churches were not included in the Act, I believe working and playing together during the week made worshiping together more desirable. I rejoice that, at last, local United Methodist churches are multi-colored, with members joining together in respect of our differences and recognition of our commonalities. It brings tears to my eyes when I observe the changes from likeness to variety in our churches. I thank God for those who have sacrificed to make it so.

COURTESY PHOTO

By Margaret Ann Williams

Bette Prestwood was wife to the late Rev. Charles Prestwood and is mother to four daughters. In 1963 and 1964, she worked informally with a network and the Women’s Society for Christian Service (predecessor to United Methodist Women) for peaceful integration of the Mobile, Ala., school system and urged church friends to support the proposed Civil Rights Bill.

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‘THE MEANS OF GRACE’ SERIES

By Emily Snell

T 42

hough negative influences in society can at times seem overwhelming, United Methodist clergy and lay leaders say they see people engaging in works of mercy every day, making their communities better and helping their neighbors thrive.

John Wesley preached works of mercy as one of the means of grace — ways in which people served and those serving experience the grace of God. Wesley believed in works of piety and works of mercy and taught that both are necessary in order for believers to be most fully formed into the image of Christ.

Just as Wesley’s acts of piety – means of drawing closer to God – included individual actions and acts in community, so did the works of mercy.

Individual practices include doing good works, visiting the sick and those in prison, feeding the hungry and giving generously to the needs of others. Seeking justice is identified as a communal practice along with ending oppression and discrimination, and addressing the causes of the needs of the poor.

However, says the Rev. Steven Manskar, director of Wesleyan leadership at the General Board of Discipleship, “An important piece that is frequently missed when we discuss works of mercy today is that Wesley believed Christians must also care for the spiritual needs of people. ...

For Wesley, evangelism, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, his forgiveness of sin and love for all people — especially the poor, marginalized and oppressed — is as much a work of mercy as is feeding the hungry. “

MERCY IS COMPASSION Tracy Faulkner Carlson, director of connectional ministry at First United Methodist Church in Wenatchee, Wash., says she thinks people often do not realize that they are participating in works of mercy.

“I don’t know if they understand that’s what they’re doing,” she says about those who serve, “but I very much believe that it is an act of mercy. For me, mercy is compassion. In a sense, you absolutely feel what these people are going through. You want to help them not be in pain; you take some of that pain away from them.”

Volunteers from Wenatchee prepare and serve meals three times each month at a local soup kitchen. Carlson thinks many people may not realize they’re experiencing God’s grace until they stop to reflect.

“In the middle of working in the soup kitchen, making sure the toast doesn’t burn, cleaning the table, you don’t really feel what you’re doing until after you stand back,” she says. “You go, ‘Oh, that’s what God feels like when you’ve been touched by grace.’”

The Rev. Ben Burt, pastor at Epworth United Methodist Church in James Island, S.C., says he thinks works of mercy benefit all those involved.

“As Methodists, we are constantly seeking the means of grace so that we can grow in holiness,” he says. “The Christian life is not just about attending church and enjoying worship, but it’s (also) about being in the community so that they can experience God’s grace in the works of mercy.”

Burt says receiving works of mercy

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UMNS/JAN SNIDER

Offering mercy, receiving grace An applicant cradles her son as she fills out paperwork required by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Justice for Our Neighbors ministries host legal clinics like this one at Hillcrest United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., to help with the process..

from others helps people to encounter God’s love. “They know that God is real because of what they have experienced,” he said.

The Rev. Tom Albin, dean of The Upper Room at the General Board of Discipleship, says Wesley considered the works of mercy “as the concrete expression of love with skin on it.”

REQUIRED PRACTICES Wesley was known for visiting the sick and imprisoned, speaking out against slavery and giving of his finances to the poor.

For Wesley, those practices and others named in Matthew 25:31-46 “are required of all people who profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ,” says Manskar. “They are practices through which Christians obey the command of Jesus Christ to ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

In “Opening Ourselves to Grace,” an Upper Room study on the means of grace, the writers include these traditional ways

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of participating in the works of mercy and add acts such as being a peacemaker, volunteering as a tutor and listening to those in need.

Ultimately, God’s Spirit should guide Christians into which specific works of mercy are appropriate in their context, Albin says.

One way that United Methodists are providing works of mercy is through home repair with UM ARMY (United Methodist Action Reach-Out Mission by Youth).

Through service camps for high school students, UM ARMY mostly

UMTV/CAREY MOOTS

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The Rev. Jerry Herships (left) serves Communion and shares sandwiches in ministry with the hungry and homeless as part of the outreach of AfterHours Denver, a young United Methodist congregation.

serves low-income, elderly or disabled individuals who would not be able to repair their homes without help.

“So many of them, because of their life situation, they have fallen through the cracks,” says Brian Smith, the organization’s national executive director. “They have such great needs. We come in and really fill those voids in their lives. They respond over and over and over that we were the grace they needed.”

GIVE, EXPERIENCE GRACE “There is no better way to experience grace than to give it, and at the same period of time, you begin to see how others have also served you,” he says.

“This organization encourages young people to do this sort of service work because we know they will experience God,” says David Sabom, executive director of the Texas Conference chapter of UM ARMY. “It’s important for me to encourage our young people to grow in their spirituality and to experience God in their service to others.”

This connectedness is one aspect of what makes Carlson want to serve.

“While I’m in the midst of serving,

that is when I feel God working inside of me, working through me, guiding me,” she says.

Burt says he encourages people to practice the works of mercy because it’s a way to engage in the church’s mission and to grow in faith.

“We want to help people realize that this is a life of discipleship,” he says. “The

best way to understand discipleship is to be a part of it, so we want to encourage people to engage in the works of mercy.”

Emily Snell is a freelance writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

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People, personalities, passions

To Be United Methodist Jasper D. Peters

A

44

t 29, Jasper D. Peters is already thinking about retirement.

“I dream of retiring from a United Methodist church that is vibrant and thriving, relevant and welcoming to all people, and that serves as an agent of change and healing wherever it goes,” says Peters, young adult coordinator at Trinity United Methodist Church. Located in the heart of downtown Denver, Trinity was the first congregation formed in Colorado’s capital in 1859.

Peters grew up attending a National Baptist congregation.

He attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, majoring in philosophy and religious studies. “I was searching for a religious framework that was willing to engage with me and with my questions,” he recalls.

Now a second-year master of divinity student at Iliff School of Theology, Peters is a certified candidate for ordained ministry.

“I am situated in the liminal space between clergy and laity,” he says. “I hope to be ordained, but am not there yet.

This makes church involvement really interesting. I am often treated as clergy, or at least I am provided with opportunities to voice my beliefs and feelings.”

Peters sees young adult ministry as a work in progress.

“People in my age group,”

he says, “are statistically underrepresented in church. The only reason that I’m in church today is after I walked away in my teens, someone created an intentional space where I could be heard, met and affirmed. I regularly meet young adults who are seeking a place that is seeking them, so that is what I try to provide.”

The Trinity congregation of more than 1,700 is diverse, according to Peters. Of the young adults, he says, “We count among us those that are economically privileged, as well as those who are challenged. We have some who are just beginning college and others that are in their early 40s.

These differences never create a strain. Instead, we embrace, recognize and affirm each other through all parts of life.”

He works to be in intentional community with the young adults.

“Through

friendships that are maintained in and out of church, we work to understand what it means to be the church in ways that are different than what was modeled for most of us.”

Attending the 2014 Rocky Mountain Annual Conference sessions was a new and exciting experience.

“I was blown away by annual conference,” Peters says. “It was so very substantive. I was able to help lead worship at our ordination service. It was so meaningful for me. To watch friends be commissioned and ordained was to watch something holy transpire. Those moments will definitely stay with me.”

The opportunity to network was an unexpected bonus.

“I saw old friends and made new friends,” Peters says, “and very often, I found I shared a heart for ministry and for this United Methodist community with someone, and after

TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, DENVER

that, we were fast friends!”

This future pastor believes in connectionalism.

“Though challenging at times,” Peters says, “the connectional system has so much power for good. Through it, we are able to do much more than we could accomplish individually. We also have the ability to love and challenge each other, as any healthy family should do.”

He is optimistic about the future.

“Despite the challenges that are clearly facing us,” Peters says, “there are so many talented, compassionate, intelligent and faithful individuals that are committed to our future together and committed to the transformation of our world.

“My largest concern, which coincides with my greatest hope for the future, is that we remember our collective history and our shared calling to the ministry of Jesus Christ.

If we can do that well and do it consistently, I believe we can move forward into the future together as United Methodists.”

Barbara Dunlap-Berg is associate editor of Interpreter and Interpreter OnLine and general church content editor for United Methodist Communications.

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Bringing a smile

Lighten Up No sermon? Yes!

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hen our children were young, we attended a small United Methodist church that was part of a two-point charge. One morning, we arrived to find the church parking lot overflowing with cars. My son questioned this unusual situation, and so I explained that instead of our normal worship service, the choirs from our two churches had combined and were presenting a cantata at our church that morning.

A look of understanding came over his face, and he said, “I get it. A lot of extra people came today because they heard that there wouldn’t be a sermon!”

The Rev. Audrey Brosious, Good Shepherd/ Buckhorn United Methodist churches, Bloomsburg, Pa.

Ewwww!

46

A

t one time, I was an organist at a rural church. One Saturday night, a skunk got into the crawl space underneath. Early Sunday morning, the church reeked of skunk. By 11 a.m., the church was aired out enough to be tolerable for the service, but it was still bad for another service that afternoon.

The visiting minister commented that the smell of the skunk gave a new meaning to the word “pew.”

Have a fun church-related or similar story to share in 100 words or less? Send it to Barbara Dunlap-Berg, associate editor of Interpreter, bdunlap-berg@umcom.org.

Cheers!

Highway to heaven

I

n the church I attended years ago, two boys went to the altar rail for Holy Communion. After receiving their wafers and little cups, they looked at each other and clinked their cups together in “Cheers!”

Heather Bennett, Bethlehem United Methodist Church, Franklin, Tenn.

Move over, Emma Stone!

A

s a pastor’s daughter, I was invited to participate in many church activities. I joined a youth choir, even though I was terrified of public speaking (or singing, for that matter). Not surprisingly, when it was time to sing on Sunday morning, I panicked. However, only the director and group members knew because I lip-synced the entire song.

Sara Pérez, Nashville, Tenn.

M

y son-in-law Tony told my 8-yearold grandson Bradley that there is a stairway to heaven and a highway to hell.

Bradley, in his infinite wisdom, said, “Then it’s easier to get to heaven!”

Tony asked, “How do you figure?”

“I can’t drive, duh,” Bradley replied.

The Rev. Diane Mettam, prayer ministry coordinator, United Methodist Disability Connections, Eureka, Calif.

An ancient tradition

T

he reading was from Acts, where the faithful gathered to pray, divided their belongings according to each one’s needs, lived together and ate together. This was the very first church potluck!

Kris Peterson Shults, Sioux City, Iowa

A Columbarium in the life of the Church preserves a tradition of remembrance.

Esther Wilcox, Dryden (N.Y.) United Methodist Church

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