Features

Fire destroys church’s building, but not its spirit

May 7, 2013 Posted by Barbara Dunlap-Berg, UMNS Leave a Comment

The 111-year-old main sanctuary at Oconee Street United Methodist Church in Athens, Ga., lies in ruins following an April 15 fire. UMNS PHOTO COURTESY OF OCONEE STREET UMC

Sally Curtis AsKew was in Seattle, getting ready for a United Methodist Judicial Council meeting, when she learned about the fire that consumed her beloved church—Oconee Street United Methodist in Athens, Ga. The fire, detected around 10 p.m. April 15, gutted the 111-year-old structure. The cause has not been determined. The blaze apparently started in the basement of the wood structure, Ms. AsKew said. “I am sitting in a hotel room in Seattle, still crying so hard I have to stop to wipe my eyes often,” the Judicial Council clerk [...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Athens, church fire, Georgia, Oconee Street United Methodist

UMCOR makes grants for Sandy recovery

May 6, 2013 Posted by LInda Bloom, UMNS Leave a Comment

Directors of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) have approved $3 million in grants for Hurricane Sandy recovery in New York and New Jersey. The work will require help from thousands of volunteers through the UMC’s volunteer-in-mission networks. PHOTO COURTESY GREATER NEW JERSEY CONFERENCE

NEW YORK—United Methodists in New York were counting on the regional shipments of 15,000 flood buckets that they distributed to Hurricane Sandy survivors last fall. But they didn’t expect the more than 11,000 blankets from a faraway source, said Bishop Martin McLee, leader of the denomination’s New York Conference. “There was this wonderful call, asking if we would receive blankets from Russia,” Bishop McLee told directors of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries on April 11 as he recounted the conference’s relief efforts. The United Methodist Committee on [...]

Bishop’s book draws on faith, leadership theory, martial arts

May 2, 2013 Posted by Sam Hodges, Managing Editor 1 Comment

Greater Northwest Area Bishop Grant Hagiya earned a third-degree black belt in karate, as well as a master of divinity and a doctorate in organizational leadership. His new book Spiritual Kaizen: How to Become a Better Church Leader (Abingdon Press) draws on this varied background. Bishop Hagiya answered questions by email from managing editor Sam Hodges. Here’s an edited version of the exchange. Can you sum up, in a sentence each, how your faith, leadership training and martial arts experience are guiding you as you serve the UMC in a [...]

RVers work for parking at UM camps in Florida

May 2, 2013 Posted by Special Contributor Leave a Comment

The Rev. Gary Judson, a retired pastor working with NOMADS, helps transform a former storage building into a nature center for kids who will attend Warren Willis Camp this summer.

By Susan Green, Special Contributor… FRUITLAND PARK—Keeping the peace can be hard, even labor-intensive. The pastoral settings of the camps and retreat centers operated by the Florida Conference might look natural, but they don’t stay that way without human intervention. They require groundskeeping, housekeeping and structural maintenance. All that upkeep can run up quite a tab for the retreat ministry. Enter the NOMADS and Workampers, travelers who often are retired and seeking a place in the sun to ride out harsh northern winters. In exchange for a set number of [...]

Move triggers gratitude to God for ‘ordinary days’

May 2, 2013 Posted by Special Contributor Leave a Comment

By Heath Bradley, Special Contributor… Andrea and I have lived in eight different places over our 13 years together. We are used to moving. That doesn’t really make it any easier. I guess each move gets a little harder. More things to accumulate and more emotional attachments to more things. I’ve accumulated nearly 2,000 books about the Bible, theology and baseball. That takes a long time to pack, especially when you feel the need to thumb through each one as you lay them to rest in the box. Yesterday, we [...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Heath Bradley

Christian resurrection-deniers are wearisome bunch

May 1, 2013 Posted by Special Contributor 7 Comments

By Stephen Rankin, Special Contributor… Lots of good possibilities exist for serious give-and-take between believers and non-believers. I love talking to honest skeptics. But there’s one group I admit I’ve [...]

Filed Under: Features, Home Center Position 4L Tagged With: John Polkinghorne, John Spong, Marcus Borg, Stephen Rankin

For CBS series producer, focus on faith is key

April 30, 2013 Posted by LInda Bloom, UMNS Leave a Comment

NEW YORK—When John P. “Jack” Blessington of CBS worked with a United Methodist congregation in Manhattan on a televised Christmas Eve service, he looked beyond the seasonal trappings to see how the church was living out the gospel. Along with the carols and readings, A Christmas for Everyone, which aired in 2010, included a focus on the social justice work and interfaith connections of the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew. “We’re kind of a quirky church, and he picked up on all the quirkiness and seemed to embrace [...]

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: John Blessington, Linda Bloom

Event marks launch of Cameroon music ministry

April 29, 2013 Posted by Special Contributor 1 Comment

Jean Pierre Mviana (l) and Blandine Ngono, one of the singers for the Good Seed band. PHOTOS COURTESY KELSEY JOHNSON

By John Thornburg, Special Contributor… BUEA, Cameroon—“Music comes naturally to Cameroon. When we are happy, we sing. When we are sad, we sing. Music is speaking our language. When the music of the U.S. and Cameroon collides, there is an explosion!” So said the Rev. Ekoka Molindo, pastor of Hope United Methodist Church in Buea, at the conclusion of a recent seminar on musical skills held in this city of 90,000 on the slopes of Mt. Cameroon. At the event, a team of six representing Texas United Methodists and the [...]

UM clergy compete on court to fight malaria

April 29, 2013 Posted by Special Contributor Leave a Comment

The Rev. Kip Ryherd with Mirranda, who helped him during a free-throw challenge that raised approximately $1,000 for Imagine No Malaria. PHOTO BY JULIE RYHERD

By Lisa Diehl, Special Contributor… The opportunity to play basketball brought a young boy to church more than 40 years ago. Today, the man, a United Methodist pastor in the [...]

Today’s prayer by the Rev. Mark Craig

April 25, 2013 Posted by Special Contributor Leave a Comment

Invocation offered by the Rev. Mark Craig, senior pastor of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas, at this morning’s dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Let us pray. We have gathered today, oh God, to give thanks for the life and legacy of President and Mrs. George Bush. We are thankful for their distinguished leadership to our nation. Moreover we are grateful for their moral courage and commitment to public service. Oh God, our Lord, Creator and sustainer, today we honor a man who genuinely believes [...]

Filed Under: Features

Fire destroys church’s building, but not its spirit

UMCOR makes grants for Sandy recovery

Bishop’s book draws on faith, leadership theory, martial arts

RVers work for parking at UM camps in Florida

Move triggers gratitude to God for ‘ordinary days’

Christian resurrection-deniers are wearisome bunch

For CBS series producer, focus on faith is key

Event marks launch of Cameroon music ministry

UM clergy compete on court to fight malaria

Today’s prayer by the Rev. Mark Craig

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