The Poetry of Faith: Sermons Preached in a Southern Church, by the Rev. Stephen F. Dill, has been published by NewSouth Books in Montgomery, Ala. The collection’s publication is timed to the 100th anniversary of Dauphin Way UMC, where Dr. Dill was senior minister from 1972 to 1990, and remains pastor emeritus. Frye Gaillard, a Mobile author, edited the book and wrote the introduction, noting Dr. Dill’s eloquence and commitment to civil rights during 40 years of active ministry.
Read More...UMs take first steps in tornado response
May 31, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Staff and Wire Reports… Concerned individuals who want to volunteer in relief efforts following the May 20 tornado in Moore, Okla., are urged, for now, to pray and wait. “It will take time for emergency officials to assess the damages and for us to learn how we all can most effectively help meet needs,” Richard Norman, disaster response coordinator for the UMC’s Oklahoma Conference, said in a message posted to the conference’s website soon after the E5 tornado hit the area. It touched down at 2:56 p.m. local time and [...]
Read More...UMCOR partner starts earthquake relief in China
May 28, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
The Amity Foundation, a partner of the United Methodist Committee on Relief, is expanding its relief efforts to earthquake survivors in China’s Sichuan Province. Amity staff members have been on the ground since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Ya’an, including Lushan and Baoxing counties, on April 20. Nearly 200 people were killed and almost 2 million affected by the disaster, which also damaged roads and hundreds of thousands of houses. Qiu Zhonghui—top executive of Amity, an organization founded by Christians in China—met May 6 in Ya’an with leaders of the [...]
Read More...Wolfe is new Iliff president
May 26, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
From Staff Reports… The Rev. Thomas V. Wolfe has been named president of Iliff School of Theology in Denver, a United Methodist School. He’ll be the 14th president of Iliff, and comes from UM-affiliated Syracuse University, where he has been senior vice president and dean. “We are excited to have Dr. Wolfe join us,” said Jim Wilkins, chairperson, Board of Trustees, Iliff School of Theology. “He currently leads more than 350 Syracuse University employees in the areas of Health and Wellness; Discovery and Engagement, Inclusion, Community and Citizenship; and Central Services. His [...]
Read More...’Tis the season – Less debate, more worship for some annual conferences
May 24, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
In the past, delegates headed to Annual Conference might carry copies of Robert’s Rules of Order for long hours of legislative sessions and budget debates. This year, delegates might do better to pack hymnals, work gloves and sneakers. With the seven-week annual conference season under way (having begun with the May 16-18 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center) many such gatherings will spend less time on business and more worshipping, learning, performing mission work and even fostering healthy habits. “You will hear fewer reports, shorter reports and [...]
Read More...Costs are in, implications still debated, in Bishop Bledsoe controversy
May 23, 2013 Posted by 4 Comments
The arguments go on about whether the victim in the failed effort to oust Bishop Earl Bledsoe was accountability for bishops or Bishop Bledsoe himself. What’s beyond dispute is that the episode came at a cost, including financial. The South Central Jurisdiction recently paid nearly $100,000 to cover legal fees and other expenses of Bishop Bledsoe, as ordered by the UMC’s Judicial Council, which reinstated him last November. That money comes from apportionment payments—in other words, from people in the pews across the South Central Jurisdiction. Highland Park UMC in [...]
Read More...Gift of renewal – Donors provide retreat time for UM clergy
May 17, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
By Sally Hicks, Faith & Leadership… Last October, Margot Porterfield and her husband, the Rev. Mark Porterfield, faced big changes in their life together. He was starting a new appointment as pastor at First United Methodist Church in Port Lavaca, Texas. She was going back to full-time work after five years. And with their two girls in college, they were coping with an empty nest. So when they were invited to take part in Renew, a retreat designed for United Methodist pastors and spouses, the timing was exquisite. Being able [...]
Read More...UMR Communications, including United Methodist Reporter, to close
May 16, 2013 Posted by 18 Comments
Finding no viable plan for reversing financial losses of recent months, UMR Communications will cease operations on May 31. UMR Communications (UMRC) publishes the United Methodist Reporter in print and digital formats and online, and provides printing and communication services to churches and other nonprofits. The final print Reporter will carry the date June 7, but will be mailed and printed by May 31. The UMRC board reluctantly but unanimously voted this morning to close during a tearful meeting at the nonprofit’s Dallas office. “At one time, our ministry produced nearly [...]
Read More...Thomas V. Wolfe named president of Iliff School of Theology
May 15, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
The Rev. Thomas V. Wolfe has been named president of Iliff School of Theology in Denver, a United Methodist School. He’ll be the 14th president of Iliff, and comes from Syacuse University, where he has been senior vice president and dean. “We are excited to have Dr. Wolfe join us,” said Jim Wilkins, chairperson, Board of Trustees, Iliff School of Theology. “He currently leads more than 350 Syracuse University employees in the areas of Health and Wellness; Discovery and Engagement, Inclusion, Community and Citizenship; and Central Services. His leadership and management [...]
Read More...What Happened between John Wesley and his wife?
May 15, 2013 Posted by Leave a Comment
Methodists have always lived with an uneasy sense that something went seriously wrong between John Wesley and his wife, Mary Vazeille (née Goldhawk). Married in 1751, John and Mary stopped living together from around 1758. They were reconciled for a short period in the 1770s, and then again separated from each other. What happened? Traditionally Methodists have blamed Mary. The Encyclopedia of World Methodism (1974) has an article on Mary Wesley that blamed the breakup on “his wife’s perverseness, which was probably worsened by a streak of mental unsoundness …” [...]
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