News In Brief – October 30, 2009

Brief items for use in local church newsletters
Prepared by United Methodist News Service

In celebration of a 240-year anniversary of Methodism, the coming together of two Philadelphia churches is making a new history. On Oct. 25, hundreds of members of Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church poured into St. George’s United Methodist Church and filled the sanctuary for a combined Sunday morning worship service in a symbolic reversal of the history of division of the two churches. The service was part of a celebration of the 240th anniversary of St. George’s. Mother Bethel was formed in the late 1700s after its founders experienced racism at the older church. 

What’s orange and round, grows on the ground and for one month a year is worth a few million bucks? If you live near a United Methodist church that turns into a Halloween wonderland every October, you know the answer: pumpkins. For 684 of those churches, the only place to get the magical gourds are from Pumpkin Patch USA. Grown on a Navajo reservation in Farmington, the pumpkins are sowed and reaped with tender loving care by the “Pumpkin Man,” Richard Hamby, and his crew.

When military veterans who fought in World War II, Southeast Asia and Korea have trouble putting food on the table, a Texas church steps in to help. Members of First United Methodist Church of Raymondville open their food pantry once a month to veterans. The church works in partnership with the local American Legion chapter to provide food to about 30 vets and their families.

Fifth- and sixth-graders at an Oklahoma church are reaching across generations—washing wheelchairs and walkers at nursing homes—and proving that mission work appeals to all ages. Members of the Scrub Club at Christ United Methodist Church in Tulsa are volunteering their time to visit retirement homes with their mops and buckets. “I just like helping out people,” says Troy Amos, 12, while cleaning wheelchairs and walkers at Oklahoma Methodist Manor. “And I like washing stuff.”

The need for young clergy—and the wide age gap that exists among pastoral leaders in the denomination—is made clear in a recently released study. It shows the number of "young elders"—clergy under age 35—isn't keeping pace with clergy entering retirement age. The fastest-growing segment of United Methodist clergy is over age 55, according to the study by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. "The decline in young clergy has been far more dramatic than the decline in church membership," said project director Lovett H. Weems Jr. "There's no quick fix to turning around the trend."

The United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race will hire three new team leaders and add at least four other staff positions in a reorganization plan that will focus on the global mission of the agency. On Oct. 12, the agency announced it would be eliminating five associate general secretary positions at the agency. Erin Hawkins, top executive, said new positions at lower salaries with greater emphasis on programming are being created.

The Commission on the General Conference is seeking a worship and music director for The United Methodist Church’s 2012 General Conference. The deadline for applying is Feb. 1, 2010. The top legislative body for the 11.5 million-member denomination will meet April 24-May 4, 2012 in Tampa, Fla. The worship and music director is responsible for the overall worship and music program management at General Conference and oversees liturgy and music throughout the assembly, including inviting choirs and worship groups from across the church to participate. Those interested in applying may view the position description at http://www.umcevents.org/2012GC/Worship&Music_Director_Position_Description.pdf.

Seven sessions of the seventh national "summit" of Communities of Shalom, a movement of faith-inspired community development, will be broadcast live via the Web from its meeting site in Columbia, S.C., through the facilities of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. The sessions, Oct. 29-31, cover themes such as justice, prophetic leadership, training and the use of Web technology for Shalom ministries. The Web site for the broadcast is http://gbgm-umc.org/shalom. Facebook users can post comments and engage in discussion at www.facebook.com/globalministries. A Twitter group has been set up using the connection #shalom09. For more information on the Shalom Summit, go to communitiesofshalom.org.

An updated sexual ethics Web site for The United Methodist Church will offer resources for those accused of sexual misconduct in addition to information for victims and church leaders. The new site, at www.umsexualethics.org, will debut Nov. 2. The accused and those who may be confused about what constitutes inappropriate behavior are “a new intended audience” for the site, explained the Rev. Darryl Stephens, with the Commission on the Status and Role of Women. The Web site is a ministry of the United Methodist Inter-agency Sexual Ethics Task Force, convened by the commission.