Home nourishes body, soul of Nigerian young

One day in the spring of 2011 a baby boy was found lying beneath his dead mother in Makong Danburam, a community in Nigeria. Danburam is in the far north and about 50 kilometers from Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State. The majority of the community is women. Many of the young females who give birth here are unable to read a book or sign their names. Most exist without adequate shelter, no health care or access to safe water. Children here usually die before they reach the age of 5. The...

Change the World weekend set for May 19-20

We cannot be connected to Christ if we're not connected to Christ's people. – The Rev. Mike Slaughter Change the World, a global movement of United Methodists to build community locally and fight malaria globally, will take place on Saturday-Sunday, May 19-20, 2012. Local churches are being asked to begin planning for the denominational event, as the church seeks to have 4,000 events take place worldwide. Change the World, an event that began in 2010, is an opportunity to connect...

Young adults lead social justice startups

The United Methodist Church is taking a page from the tech startup world, and the resulting initiative enables young adults to be leaders in ministry. Called Spark12, it is an incubator for social justice ministries developed and implemented by young adults. It is one way the denomination is working to develop principled Christian leaders, one of four areas of focus adopted by the 2008 General Conference, the church’s top legislative body. Directed by the Council of Bishops’...

Responses to Transition Team report at 2012 JCCS

TOPEKA, Kan. — Clergy responses to the Nebraska-Kansas Transition Team presentation at the 2012 Joint Called Clergy Session varied. Reflecting on the prospects of becoming one new annual conference, some clergy want to see a detailed budget for 2013 and 2014 and definitive answers around all the complex financial issues. Others believe the Transition Team is doing a good job by exploring how to be the church in the 21st century. Some were put at ease by the very fact that we can find...

Nebraska-Kansas Transition Team reports at Joint Called Clergy Session

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Nebraska-Kansas Episcopal Area Transition Team gave a status report of the proposal to become one new annual conference during the Wednesday afternoon session of the Nebraska-Kansas Joint Called Clergy Session. The Transition Team was charged with coming up with a plan to best transition into one episcopal area in September 2012. They were asked to make recommendations and set a direction for change. A video produced by Kent Taylor, Taylor Productions, set the tone...

McLaren to Nebraska and Kansas clergy: Everything must change

TOPEKA, Kan. — “Think garden, not tree,” began Brian McLaren’s Jan. 19 presentation at the Joint Called Clergy Session. Drawing upon the content of his book titled “Everything Must Change,” McLaren said we have to recalibrate more like spiritual directors and chaplains meeting diverse people who are seekers and who do not fit into the same slot as a parishioner. “None of us our owners we are sojourners,” he said, and urged those present...

Bishop Scott Jones preaches at JCCS closing worship: Through change, keep eyes on God

TOPEKA, Kan. — Clergy from Nebraska, Kansas East and Kansas West were sent forth to do ministry following a closing service that included communion and a message from Kansas Area Bishop Scott J. Jones. Jones and Bishop Ann B. Sherer-Simpson led the communion liturgy together and the district superintendents from the three annual conferences served the elements. Jones’ sermon encouraged pastors to keep their eyes up, focused on God. “I have a recurring dream,”...

McLaren offers formula for evangelism

TOPEKA, Kan. — Change is inevitable. Adaptation is optional. Leadership is optimal. Those are the words Brian McLaren, author and public theologian, gave to the clergy of the Nebraska, Kansas East and Kansas West annual conferences in his second of three presentations, on Jan. 18. “Let the possibilities sink in,” McLaren said. “My vision and prayer is that your churches are full and overflowing with people of all ages who are inviting their friends. My...

Bishop Sherer-Simpson preaches at Joint Called Clergy Session opening worship

TOPEKA, Kan. — More than 800 United Methodist clergy from Kansas and Nebraska gathered Jan. 17, in Topeka, for a joint conference intended to bring all clergy together from both episcopal areas. The opening worship service began with a drum circle and a dramatic interpretation of scripture. Bishop Ann B. Sherer-Simpson gave the message. Sherer-Simpson commented on the energy in the room generated by bringing all the clergy together. “In the midst of such joy, it is hard to pause...

Nebraska and Kansas clergy partner with Topeka's North Westlake Ace Hardware to build and give away tricycles

TOPEKA, Kan. — Tricycles were given away to 90 children of the Topeka Community Action Program’s Head Start on Wednesday, Jan. 18, as a result of a project partnership between United Methodist clergy from Kansas and Nebraska and Topeka’s North Westlake Hardware store. Clergy divided into 90 groups to assemble tricycles. The assembly of the tricycles was to help pastors from Kansas East, Kansas West and Nebraska United Methodist Conferences get to know each other while...

McLaren: Seeking hope in the face of change

TOPEKA, Kan. — While United Methodists in Kansas and Nebraska face significant structural change, Brian McLaren, keynote speaker for the Joint Called Clergy Session, said clergy need to understand “it’s not their fault.” “We might have to cope with change, but we don’t need to blame ourselves for it,” McLaren told the 800 clergy gathered at the Topeka Ramada Convention Center, on Jan. 17. Like a dramatic weather event, a hurricane of change is...

Lydia Patterson Institute faculty and students speak from the heart

Editor’s note: This fall I traveled to El Paso, Texas, to meet the parents of Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI) graduate Said Velasquez. I met his entire family and received a personal tour of Juarez, Chihauhau, Mexico, from his mother Lourdes Pinella, father Ernesto and brother Jael Velasquez. I spent the next half-day at Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI), where I interviewed two faculty members and three students, including Jael. Digitally recorded video segments, suitable for telling the...

Everett Reynolds leaves behind inspiring legacy for youngest son, Wayne

When talking to the Rev. Wayne Reynolds about his father, the late Rev. Dr. Everett S. Reynolds, the word integrity comes up again and again. As do the words character and respect. “I was always impressed by my dad,” the younger Reynolds, pastor of Lincoln Grace and Warren United Methodist Churches, said. “As a teenager, I always thought, ‘this can’t be real, nobody has this much integrity.’ He was looked up to and respected by so many people.” The...

Campus ministries taking new shape

Nebraska United Ministries in Higher Education (NUHME) disbanded July 1, 2010, after nearly 45 years of supporting campus ministries. NUHME was a partnership between the Nebraska United Methodist Conference, the United Church of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Presbyterian Church. The disbandment left campus ministries supported by NUHME in a state of uncertainty. The campus ministries are located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), the University of...

United Methodists score high in survey

United Methodists rank highest in favorability among five different faith groups in a new survey conducted by the Southern Baptist Convention’s research arm. The research shows United Methodists are held in more favorable regard by the U.S. public than Catholics, Southern Baptists, Mormons or Muslims, according to LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. “(United) Methodists are well liked — and there is great opportunity if (United) Methodist churches...

'AIDS-free generation' in sight

New scientific breakthroughs, combined with social strategies, are the key to making an “AIDS-free generation” a reality. Hillary Clinton, U.S. secretary of state and a United Methodist, delivered that message — and challenge — a few weeks before the Dec. 1 observance of World AIDS Day. The Rev. Donald Messer, chairperson of the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee, says the goal of an AIDS-free generation is worthy of support from faith communities and...

12 ways you can fight hunger

The United Methodist Board of Church and Society says that every minute 11 children who are 5 or younger die of hunger-related causes, and about 800 million people suffer from chronic or acute hunger. Think this is a problem too big for you to make a difference? Not so. To help you get started, here are a dozen ways you can make a difference today. 1.) Go the second mile through The Advance. The Advance, an accountable, designated-giving arm of The United Methodist Church, ensures 100 percent...

New tools add punch to vital congregations

With Advent approaching, United Methodist congregations are seeking new ways to attract visitors who will connect with the church — and stay after Christmas. A Wichita, Kan., congregation tried something new last year, and the Rev. Nathan Stanton is still excited about the results. Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church, where Stanton is senior pastor, was part of a pilot for the Innovative Leadership Project, created by the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. The project...

Wenner, Brown win election to lead bishops

November 4, 2011 | LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. (UMNS) Bishop Rosemarie Wenner of Germany will be the next president of the Council of Bishops, marking the first time a woman from outside the United States will lead the global body. The council on Nov. 2 unanimously elected Wenner president, and Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr. of the California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference as the president-designate. Wenner will start her two-year term on the third day of General Conference, the denomination’...

$3 million grant boosts malaria campaign

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation, has given a $3 million grant to the Imagine No Malaria campaign of The United Methodist Church. Pittsburgh Area Bishop Thomas Bickerton, the campaign’s spokesperson, said the grant would provide administrative support to help the church reach its $75 million fundraising goal. The new gift brings the total funds raised for Imagine No Malaria to more than $18 million. “It gives us a boost...