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UMNS Weekly Digest
September 8, 2006
Special fifth anniversary coverage of the 9/11 attacks is being featured on the UMNS site. Also, a new standalone package of photos of the Africa University Choir is available in the site’s Photo Gallery.
Stories this week:
Plus:
United Methodists launch U.S. back-to-school ad campaign
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Church is marking the back-to-school season in the United States with a $1.5 million cable television advertising campaign that urges people to focus on God. The commercials are designed to appeal to audiences between the ages of 25 to 54. Two different television spots — titled, “I Believe” and “Prayer” — are included in the campaign. The commercials are airing on 21 cable networks through Sept. 17, according to United Methodist Communications, which manages the campaign. The communications agency also has awarded 70 grants totaling $240,000 to local churches to conduct media campaigns in their communities. {526}
Mountain family now has running water, thanks to ministry
LAKE CITY, Tenn. (UMNS) — Even in the 21st century, indoor plumbing remains but a dream for many Americans. Kathy and Jerry Lynn Jackson’s house, built in the Great Depression, is tucked way in the mountains of east Tennessee and has seen few improvements over the years. “Our toilet was non-flushable,” Kathy Jackson recalls. “We had to take a 5-gallon bucket of water and flush it, and in the wintertime it was like a deep freezer. Our water would freeze, even in the bathtub.” For 13 years, the Jacksons lived with a makeshift bathroom. Help came by way of the Appalachia Service Project, an organization founded by a United Methodist minister and comprising volunteers from around the country who make home repairs. The Cup of Cold Water Project, which is a part of the Appalachia Service Project, provides plumbing to homes without running water. For eight weeks, volunteers installed new plumbing and fixtures, built a new bathroom and rewired the house. {527}
City of Albany challenges church’s music ministry
ALBANY, NY (UMNS) — When the Rev. Maurice “Mick” Drown of Trinity United Methodist Church stepped into a courtroom July 20, he was glad to find that more than 50 people from the interfaith community had come to support him. Drown was in court after being cited by the Albany police for operating a nightclub in the basement of the church without a permit and using the building as a nightclub without an occupancy certificate. Since alcohol is never served at the New Age Cabaret, the charge was changed to operating a non-alcoholic dance club without a permit or occupancy certificate before the court date. The ticket came after a few people in the neighborhood of the church filed a complaint with the city about the noise and disruption caused by the New Age Cabaret, a ministry of the Artist’s All Faith Center. A judge’s decision is expected by Oct. 10, according to Drown. {528}
Commentary: Beware treating others like ‘nobodies’
(“Robert W. Fuller suggests in his book, All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies and the Politics of Dignity, that the word “nobody” as an epithet should be stricken from our vocabulary,” writes the Rev. Clayton Childers. Fuller is part of a “dignitarian movement” aimed at fighting “nobodyism” and “rankism.” Childers is the director of annual conference relations for the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.) {529}
Five years later, United Methodists finish 9/11 recovery work
NEW YORK (UMNS) — The Rev. James K. Law knows what it is like to live in the shadow of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The pastor of the Chinese United Methodist Church in Chinatown ministered to rescue workers at Ground Zero and dealt with church members suffering from trauma and temporary displacement from their apartments. He appreciated the financial assistance that allowed his church to help Chinatown residents. “Our church, the United Methodist Church, came through,” Law said. “I’m so proud of it.” In the five years since the attacks, United Methodists have completed recovery efforts from Ground Zero to the five boroughs of New York City to New Jersey and Virginia, to the rest of the United States and beyond.
The nature of the disaster called for a different type of strategy, according to the Rev. Paul Dirdak, chief staff executive of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. The immediate response included volunteer-staffed “listening posts,” where people could share their fears and concerns, and a temporary set-up for direct aid. That assistance expanded into case management programs, counseling, emergency food aid, legal aid and advocacy for immigrants and training in disaster response. The denomination raised $20.8 million after the attacks through UMCOR’s “Love in the Midst of Tragedy” offering, to assist with recovery. {530}
Church members assist with memorial for 9/11 crash site
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (UMNS) — Five years have passed since United Airlines Flight 93, a hijacked airliner, crashed in a remote field near Shanksville on Sept. 11. During that time, the field has attracted significant attention as people from across the United States and globe visit the site to show respect. More than 130,000 visited the site in 2006, and visitors have increased 46 percent this summer, according to Donna Glessner, a member of Shanksville (Pa.) United Methodist Church and coordinator of the volunteer ambassadors project at the site. The 42 ambassadors — including 12 United Methodists — help people deal with their reactions to the site. {531}
Brother of Flight 93 crash victim keeps memory alive
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (UMNS) — Five years ago, the peace of this wooded countryside was disturbed when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into an empty field just outside Shanksville, Pa., 150 miles northwest of Washington. Thirty-three passengers and seven crew members died after heroically trying to wrestle away control of the plane from terrorists who had hijacked the Boeing 757. Edward Felt was one of the people who died on Sept. 11, 2001. His younger brother, Gordon Felt, is the voice continuing to tell his story. “I’m terribly concerned that the victims of Sept. 11 aren’t forgotten en masse,” explained Felt, a member of Clinton United Methodist Church in Remsen, N.Y. He said he finds comfort as he helps with the creation of a memorial for Flight 93 victims. {532}
Church members in Congo receive election training
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo (UMNS) — More than 100 United Methodists underwent a program to learn how to train voters for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s recent elections. The church members came from three districts of the West Congo Annual Conference to receive training July 22 in Kinshasa. They focused on three themes: “The Profile of a Good Candidate,” “Ethics and Elections” and “How to Vote.”
The sessions began with readings by the Rev. André Masudi from Acts 6:3 and 1:24, which he related to the election of men and women able to serve the Congolese people. Stanislas Kasongo Ka Swedi, president of the conference’s United Methodist Men, defined the profile of a good candidate, highlighting some criteria and qualities for a good choice and insisting on a candidate who fears God. The following presenter, the Rev. Richard Okoko, explained proper Christian behavior in regard to the elections and advised participants to help people understand the importance of respecting the opinions of others. The last speaker, the Rev. Lucienne Afumba, gave practical information on how to vote, explaining the arrangements of the vote office and the roles of election workers.
Resident Bishop David K. Yemba noted that the seminar was funded through a grant from the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. He told the participants to share what they learned with members of their local churches in order to help them make good choices in the presidential and legislative elections. A week later, on July 30, incumbent President Laurent Kabila received 45 percent of the vote — 5 percent short of what was needed to be declared winner. A run-off presidential election will be held Oct. 29. — The Rev. Louis Loma Otshudi, Central Congo Area
New Yorkers say ‘thanks’ by helping Indiana church rebuild
DEGONIA SPRINGS, Ind. (UMNS) — Twenty New York City firefighters and another 20 volunteers from New York City and across the country were gathering Sept. 8-9 to help the Baker Chapel United Methodist Church at DeGonia Springs rebuild its facility, which was demolished during a deadly tornado last Nov. 6. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Boonville Mayor Pam Hendrickson, Indiana United Methodist Bishop Mike Coyner and New York Says Thank You Foundation Director Jeff Parness were scheduled to speak at an 8 a.m. kick-off breakfast and opening ceremony Sept. 8 at Main Street United Methodist Church, in Boonville, followed by all-day work sessions Friday and Saturday. Mission volunteers of Saint Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis were to assist local residents with meal preparations for the weekend. The effort is part of an annual campaign by the New York Says Thank You Foundation, which organized in 2003 as a way to repay the kindness visited on New York in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Women’s Division moves Service Center work, cuts 25 jobs
NEW YORK (UMNS) — The Women’s Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, is closing its Cincinnati-based Service Center by the end of the year and eliminating the 25 staff positions at the center. Functions handled by the center will be moved to a new Missions Resource Center in Dallas and will be run by UMR Communications. The division said it was “deeply grateful to all those who have faithfully staffed the Service Center,” which was established in 1940. The current facility at 7820 Reading Road in Cincinnati was built in 1951.
“At this point, long-term operations in the current building, with current production processes, are no longer financially sustainable,” wrote Jan Love, the division’s executive director, in an Aug. 21 letter. “A thorough evaluation across several months indicates that the most cost-effective means of delivering resources needed by United Methodist Women requires moving the entire center. I deeply regret that these conditions have such a profound impact on the personal circumstances of the employees.”
United Methodists protest ‘Survivor’ TV show format
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (UMNS) — United Methodists will encircle CBS affiliate television stations in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Reno, Nev., on Sept. 10 to protest the format of the upcoming 13th season of the reality show “Survivor.” In the show, contestants will be divided into groups along racial lines. “Our human race is not on the commercial auction block to be divided and sold for the profit of a 60-second commercial,” says Bishop Beverly J. Shamana, leader for the nearly 80,000 United Methodists in the denomination’s California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference. “We cannot allow CBS to wager the basic tenant of humanity — that we are all one race — for the sake of higher ratings. We cannot tolerate CBS’s blatant attempt to use racial segregation to boost show ratings.”
Contestants on the latest version of “Survivor,” scheduled to debut Sept. 14, will be divided into four ethnic group teams. Representatives from United Methodist churches in California and Nevada will encircle the CBS stations to demonstrate their commitment to racial unity. They will hold vigils from 5 to 6 p.m. at KPIX-TV in San Francisco and KOVR-TV in Sacramento, and from 6 to 7 p.m. at KTVN-TV in Reno.
Events will bring young, old, together to address hunger
BIG ISLAND, Va. (UMNS) — The Society of St. Andrew’s “Harvest of Hope” program has five intergenerational weekend opportunities available this fall for individuals, families and groups of all ages to become involved in the mission of feeding the hungry. The upcoming events include a College & Young Adult Weekend, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, Keezletown, Va. The rest are intergenerational weekends set for Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Fincastle, Va.; Oct. 6-8 in Dahlonega, Ga.; Oct. 13-15 in Colebrook, Pa.; and Nov. 3-5 in Johns Island, S.C.
The Society of St. Andrew is a nonprofit hunger relief organization that receives support through the United Methodist Church’s Advance for Christ and His Church program (Advance #801600). Weekend events start at 6:30 p.m. Friday and end at 1 p.m. Sunday. Cost of $65 per person includes lodging, supplies, tuition and meals. Participants in intergenerational weekends must be at least 10 years old, and teams should consist of 6-12 participants. Individuals and families may also attend, but anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Applications are available at www.endhunger.org or by contacting Lauren Holcomb at sosahoh@endhunger.org or (800) 333-4597.
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