UMNS Weekly Digest
Oct. 16, 2009
NOTE: This is a digest of news features provided by United Methodist Communications for Oct. 12-16. It includes summaries of stories, UMTV video reports and additional briefs from United Methodist News Service. Full versions of the stories with photographs and related features can be found at http://umns.umc.org.
Stories this week:
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UMTV
United Methodist legislators disagree on health reform
WASHINGTON (UMNS)—As the debate over reforming the U.S. health care system rages in Washington, the 53 United Methodists who are members of Congress are listening to their constituents and deciding the best path to follow. But their feelings about the various reform proposals in both the House and Senate tend to echo the positions of their particular political party. All think some reform is needed, but how to make it happen is the issue. {403} Read full story
Women call for affordable health care for all
STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS)—Passing cars honked approval as more than 50 United Methodist Women rallied in support of health care for all that is “affordable, accessible and accountable” at a noontime vigil Oct. 10 outside the Marriott Hotel. The vigil was one of several actions related to health care that directors took during the Oct. 9-12 annual meeting of the Women’s Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. The division is the national policymaking arm of the 800,000-member United Methodist Women organization. {404} Read full story
Live from Stamford: The commissioning
STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) — Shannon and David Goran use the Internet to advertise their campus ministry to students in the Ukraine. So it seemed fitting that the young couple’s formal commissioning as missionaries of The United Methodist Church could be viewed live on a Webcast. “I think it’s a good illustration of the global church in the 21st century,” David Goran said. They were among the 40 people commissioned in an Oct. 13 service during the annual meeting of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. {405} Read full story
Skype brings global missionaries close to home
STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) — In the age of Skype, the church can instantly connect with far-flung missionaries. On Oct. 13, directors of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, meeting in Connecticut, used the technology to converse with a Brazilian missionary stationed in Mozambique. Skype allows real-time video calls over the Internet. The visual connection was with Claudia Maia, a community worker in the United Methodist public health mission in Chicuque. Despite some small time-lapse problems and a six-hour time difference, the strong audio connection put her squarely in the room with the directors. {406} Read full story
Bishop Eugene M. Frank, social activist, dies at 101
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UMNS) -- Bishop Eugene M. Frank, the first president of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church, died Oct. 13 at Kingswood Manor in Kansas City. At 101, Frank was the oldest United Methodist bishop. When he was elected in 1956, he was the youngest bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. A passion for racial equality in the church and beyond marked his ministry. During his 16-year tenure as bishop of the Missouri Area, he oversaw the merger of the African-American Southwest Missouri Conference with the two predominantly white annual (regional) conferences in the state. {407} Read full story
United Methodists discuss clergy job guarantees
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Should United Methodist pastors have a lifelong job guarantee? The denomination’s Study of Ministry Commission is examining the controversial practice that has survived in The United Methodist Church even as it is disappearing from other U.S. workplaces. How guaranteed appointments -- which require bishops to appoint every elder in good standing to a local church -- have an impact on the quality and diversity of clergy and whether the denomination can even continue to pay for such a system is up for debate. Commission members said that while no formal recommendations have been proposed, changes in the principle of guaranteed appointment are being studied. {408} Read full story
Campus ministers hear need for new ministry models
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)—Campus ministers need to be more evangelistic and visible, and they should work to empower students to tell the story of campus ministry, church education officials said. The old model of campus ministries fully funded by annual conferences is no longer enough to address the needs, directors of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry’s Division of Higher Education concluded. {409} Read full story
‘Imagine something more’ to end malaria, bishop says
STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) — United Methodist Bishop Thomas Bickerton, chairperson of the Global Health Initiative for the United Methodist Council of Bishops, seeks nothing less than the elimination of malaria – a treatable and preventable disease that still claims a life every 30 seconds -- by 2015. The reality, he told directors of the United Methodist Committee on Relief during their Oct. 13 meeting, is that it will take a far greater effort than Nothing But Nets to achieve that goal. A new campaign, Imagine No Malaria, has been formed, with a public launch set for the next World Malaria Day – April 25, 2010. {410} Read full story
Staff of two church agencies travel to Africa, Europe
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) – Staff from the United Methodist General Council on Finance and Administration and Board of Global Ministries met with bishops and staff in Germany and Zimbabwe to build support and fellowship among professionals with similar responsibilities. The group also visited Africa University, a United-Methodist-related school serving the continent. As a result of the meetings, GCFA will investigate quadrennial training outside the United States; provide documents in multiple languages; and hold more frequent conversations about processes that will include members across the globe.
Trick-or-treat for UNICEF improves children’s lives
WASHINGTON (UMNS)—Every October, United Methodists have the opportunity to improve the lives of children around the world through a longstanding collaboration between the United Methodist Board of Church and Society and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the United Nations’ Children’s Fund. This collaboration, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, has helped UNICEF save more children’s lives than any other organization, according to Caryl Stern, U.S. Fund president. Last year, United Methodists raised more than $154,000 for UNICEF. For more information about United Methodist participation in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, call its United Nations and International Affairs office, (212) 682-3633, Ext. 3106, or visit the board’s website.
Tsunami hits homes of Samoans studying in Tennessee
JACKSON, Tenn. (UMNS)—Ben Aigamaua was on the phone with his sister in American Samoa when the second wave of the killer tsunami hit their home in Leone Village Sept. 29. “She answered the phone from upstairs at our house,” said the defensive lineman at United Methodist-related Lambuth University. “She was safe, but the house, while still standing, was completely ruined.” Asosaogalu “Sunday” Meaole, Ben’s childhood friend and a linebacker for the Lambuth Eagles, learned his family’s house in Amanave Village was swept away. Meaole said he thought he should go home to help. “But my dad told me not to worry.” His father told the pre-engineering student: “Stay focused, stay in school, and stay strong.”
Methodist leader honored by Chilean government
GENEVA (UMNS) -- A Methodist pastor from Uruguay was honored Oct.14 by the government of Chile for his defense of human rights in that nation during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990. The Rev. Emilio Castro, who led the World Council of Churches from 1985 to 1992 , received the Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins, the country’s commendation for non-Chilean citizens. Bernardo O'Higgins, a central figure of Chile's fight for independence in the 19th century, is considered the nation's founding father.
Faith groups tie going green to poverty initiative
WASHINGTON (UMNS) – Thirty-four national faith organizations, including the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, will hold public events through Oct. 21 as part of a weeklong mobilization to encourage government officials to fight poverty while protecting the environment. Entitled “Fighting Poverty with Faith: Good Jobs, Green Jobs,” the initiative will include programs such as worker training, home retrofitting fairs, roundtable discussions on how to implement green job training opportunities and tours of green job facilities across the country. More information can be found at www.fightingpovertywithfaith.com and www.nccendpoverty.org.
UMTV: Tool swap after storms
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (UMTV) -- Any volunteer will tell you that having the right tool for a job makes all the difference. A group of handymen from Central United Methodist Church learned this firsthand through years of community service in the United States and South America. The ‘Toolies” bought a trailer and $5,000 in power saws, nail guns and gear that they lend out to any civic group with a building project. Their tool van has covered a lot of miles for hurricane repairs in Louisiana, flood relief in Iowa and Habitat for Humanity houses in Michigan. UMTV’s “Tool Swap After Storms” can be seen at http://www.umtv.org/archives/tool_swap_after_storms.htm. | 
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