Issue 5, 2011 - Wisconsin Annual Conference

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Two Sections—Section A | 063000 | Volume 158 Number 24 | October 14, 2011
Keep Informed and
Stay Connected!
ABOVE: Bishop Lee sits with guests from Dong Bu Methodist
Conference. RIGHT: Visitors from the Dong Bu Methodist Conference
performing at Wisconsin’s 2011 Annual Conference.
Reflections on Our Dong Bu Partnership
and Other Blessings in Wisconsin
By Bishop Linda Lee
This past September was the beginning of my eighth year as
Bishop in the Wisconsin Conference. Quite a few things have
changed since I first arrived. Yes, we have had to face great challenges such as the economic crisis and its effects on all aspects of
our mission and ministry. And most recently,
we have come through the pain of a church
trial. However, many great things have happened. We have new processes for clergy and
lay leadership development and healthier
congregations, such as our “catalyst” teams.
Our circuits and congregations have launched
creative new ministries. The ministry plans in
most of our congregations have resulted in renewed vision for ministry and transformed
Bishop
lives. We have a Discipleship Leadership
Council to realign our Conference ‘form’ to be Linda Lee
more consistent with our function. Our communications efforts and
training programs have been greatly expanded, and are more effective and professional. Our work with our Health & Welfare Ministries
continues to grow and improve. Our collaboration with Wisconsin
Volunteers Active in Disaster and the Wisconsin Council of Churches
has helped us reach out in ministry beyond the doors of our
churches. Our partnerships with East Angola and Native American
Ministries have enabled us to help these underserved populations.
All of these efforts have remained true to our vision to Live,
Give, and Love—Beyond All Expectation, and to our focus for this
third year of this Quadrennium—to Love Unconditionally.
Experiencing Unconditional Love from Dong Bu
As I consider our focus of the 2011–12 Conference year—Love
Unconditionally—I am also reminded of our sister Conference, the
Dong Bu Methodist Conference of South Korea. I had the honor of
spending time with these loving partners and their congregations
during my trip there last April. The remarkable people of Korea
consistently show the unconditional love of Christ to their visitors,
as well as through the ministries and missions they share with their
communities and the world.
One congregation’s love was expressed in their discovery that
many of the elderly in their community did not know how to read.
Although the congregation was not very large by Korean standards,
and didn’t have very much extra money, they demonstrated a lot of
compassion. They started a teaching ministry, which then grew into
other ministries as new needs became apparent—like necessities
such as food and healthcare. It was their faith in God and desire to
express the love they had experienced themselves that gave them
the courage to step out and begin that ministry. As a result, the finances they needed came from various places and all were blessed.
Many of us here have seen God move in similar ways as we have
stepped out from our hearts to offer the unconditional love of
Christ to those in need around us.
Another gift that could be seen as an expression of unconditional love in Korea is ginseng. In their culture, it is a great honor to
receive ginseng as a gift. And it shows great respect and love on the
part of the giver. This is because this plant has been shown, through
medical testing and personal experiences of many people, to have
consistent and beneficial effects for the well-being of the person
who uses it. Ginseng has been shown to improve the eyes, settle the
heartbeat, boost the immune system, and generally enhance wellbeing. As a gift from one person to another, it is a way of expressing
and offering the gift of life—wholeness—shalom.
Showing Love Can Change the World
As we focus on loving unconditionally, what we offer to others
can be as simple as ginseng. It can be a warm smile or opening a
door for another. Unconditional love can also be a much greater
sacrifice, as in giving our life for another, like so many of our young
who have given their lives in war. Whether we are in the midst of
strangers, involved in whatever our day-to-day life entails, or living
comfortably in the midst of loved ones, let us consider this year one
way we can offer the love of Christ each day. It will make a world of
difference and, one by one, transform it.
In addition to Reflections, our print publication, we also
publish a weekly Enews email newsletter which contains timely
information about important UMC events, tips and resources,
and more. The Bishop creates her monthly Soul Food blog,
which is available online in print and as a video. Visit
www.youtube.com/wisconsinumc to view other videos from
the Wisconsin
Conference and
the United
Methodist Church.
Be sure to read
and post
comments on our
Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/wisconsinumc. Additionally, visit our
website at www.wisconsinumc.org for information, tools, and
links to all of our communications vehicles. You can sign up to
receive Enews or share your story or event by emailing
mvirnig@wisconsinumc.org.
Join Bishop Linda Lee on a Pilgrimage
to the Holy Land January 2nd–12th
Travel with Bishop Linda Lee January 2–12, 2012 for the Wisconsin Conference UMC-sponsored journey to the Holy Land entitled The Land of Jesus: Then and Now. You will experience the
people, culture and current realities of the place where Jesus and
the people of Israel lived. The exploration is much more than a
tourist trip—it is educational in all phases, with guest speakers
and teachers helping participants understand the ancient world as
well as current day realities. Rev. Peter Miano (UMC Clergy and former GBGM Liaison to Jerusalem) and the Society of Biblical Studies do an outstanding job of providing a custom experience.
Scholarships and clergy CEUs are available. For more information,
visit www.sbsedu.org or contact Forrest Wells at 608-752-0548 or
frwells@wisconsinumc.org.
The United Methodist Reporter (USPS 954-500) is published weekly by UMR Communications, 1221 Profit Drive, Dallas, Texas 75247-3919. Periodicals postage paid at Dallas, Texas and additional mailing offices.
Postmaster: Send address changes to The United Methodist Reporter. PO Box 660275, Dallas Texas 75266-0275.
THE UNITED METHODIST REPORTER
GOOD WORKS
Clothing ‘turnabout’
helps families save
It wasn’t a giveaway—it was
a turnabout. Elam United
Methodist Church in Glen
Mills, Pa., recently hosted a
Children’s Clothing Turnabout, a unique event that
benefits local families. The
weekend sale started as a
way for families to exchange
gently used children’s clothing as their kids grow, but it
expanded from there. Participants now bring in clothing,
baby equipment and toys
they no longer use to sell;
shoppers can select needed
items at bargain prices.
Families have the option of
donating unsold items to be
sorted by church members
and other volunteers and
distributed to families in
need.
GBOD names fund
development leader
Scott Gilpin, vice president
for advancement at United
Methodist-related Lon Morris
College, was named to the
fund development arm of
the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship in
Nashville as executive director, effective Oct. 3. In making the announcement, the
agency said that personal,
family and organizational
gifts are becoming increasingly central to how the
Board of Discipleship supports United Methodist leaders.
Georgia church
‘Feeds the 5,000’
The Gospel of Matthew gives
an account of Jesus feeding
5,000 with just five loaves of
bread and two fish. Following that example, Trinity
United Methodist Church in
Rome, Ga., held an event in
September, providing a
week’s worth of food to
nearly 5,000 people in one
day—and it was all free.
“Jesus in the Park” drew
1,600 families, with each
taking home 50 pounds of
shelf-stable food at no cost.
People started lining up at
5:45 a.m. for the event,
which started at noon. Free
concerts, refreshments and
games rounded out the
event.
—Compiled by Mary Jacobs
October 14, 2011
Panel urges UMC to become more global
B Y H E AT H E R H A H N
United Methodist News Service
The time has come for the United
Methodist Church to get serious about
its global nature and be less U.S.-centric, says an international panel of
United Methodist leaders.
“We are really hoping to shape the
hearts and minds of the church,” said
Bishop Scott J. Jones, chair of the
Committee to Study the Worldwide
Nature of the United Methodist
Church. “We want the leaders to understand our worldwide nature and
the diversity that we think is a real
blessing in the life of the church.”
To that end, the 20-member committee has issued a report and proposed legislation to General
Conference, the denomination’s top
lawmaking body.
The legislation would:
• Incorporate a new worldwide
United Methodist Church covenant
into the Book of Discipline, the denomination’s law book. The covenant
will be accompanied by a “Litany for
the Covenant of the Worldwide United
Methodist Church.”
• Make clear in a new global Book
of Discipline what decisions the General Conference makes, and which
areas of ministry and organization are
adaptable by central conferences outside the United States.
• Clarify how general agencies
function in a worldwide rather than
U.S.-centric church.
• Set in motion a process for annual conferences to study a proposed
new model for a worldwide church.
This study process may result in petitions for greater structural change at
the 2016 General Conference.
Passing this legislation will require
a majority vote of General Conference
delegates. The next General Conference meets April 24-May 4, 2012, in
Tampa, Fla.
Studying and listening
The United Methodist Church has
nearly 40,000 congregations in the
United States, Africa, Europe and the
Philippines. As of 2010, the denomination’s membership topped 12 million members worldwide.
However, the denomination’s U.S.
membership has been declining for
more than 40 years, even as the church
in Africa and the Philippines has been
growing. Today, about 7.8 million
United Methodists live in the United
States.
The 2008 General Conference au-
UMNS FILE PHOTO BY MIKE DUBOSE
The Africa University traveling choir performs during a 2008 event hosted by Black Methodists for
Church Renewal. Legislation at next year’s General Conference will seek to refocus the denomination
as a worldwide body.
thorized the formation of a worldwide
nature study committee to examine
the denomination’s changing demographics and take recommendations
to General Conference.
The group met six times between
August 2009 and July 2011. In addition, members traveled around the
globe for listening sessions with
United Methodists in the Philippines,
Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique and Europe as well as
the United States.
In its report to General Conference,
the panel listed some of what members heard in their travels to central
conferences, including desires for
more ministerial education, greater
communication with general agencies
and the ability to adapt the Book of
Discipline.
Overwhelmingly, Bishop Jones
said, he heard “a strong desire for the
worldwide unity of the church at the
same time as a desire for greater mutual understanding and respect.
“The dynamic with which we were
working was the desire to clarify what
holds us together while allowing for
greater freedom in other matters,” he
added.
Proposed changes
The committee is particularly
eager to get United Methodists on
board with adding the new covenant
to the Book of Discipline, said Bishop
Jones, who also oversees the Kansas
Area. The covenant puts into words
values most church members already
embrace but may not be fully aware of,
he said.
“United Methodists throughout
the world are bound together in a connectional covenant in which we support and hold each other accountable
for faithful discipleship and mission,”
the covenant says in part. “Integrally
holding connectional unity and local
freedom, we seek to proclaim and embody the gospel in ways responsible to
our specific cultural and social context while maintaining ‘a vital web of
interactive relationships.’”
The proposed legislation to clarify
the Book of Discipline specifies that
matters such as the denomination’s
doctrine, constitution, Social Principles and structure would not be subject to adaption. However, the
legislation, if passed, would empower
annual conferences outside the United
States to set some different educational standards for ordination as elders and deacons.
At General Conference, the committee also wants to set in motion
consideration of a new worldwide
model that would have the United
Methodist Church organized in the
same central conferences structure,
with the five U.S. jurisdictions constituting a new central conference.
Under the model, jurisdictions
would still elect bishops in the United
States, and larger central conferences
would have the right to form jurisdictions within their boundaries.
In 2009 and early 2010, voters at
annual conferences rejected constitutional amendments approved by the
2008 General Conference that would
have formed similar regional bodies.
“The key lesson of the constitutional amendments passed by the
2008 General Conference is that the
church must take time to think these
issues through as carefully as possible,” the committee said in its report.
“The committee is proposing a model
for conversation during the next (four
years). This model, we hope, will stimulate proposals for action in the 2016
General Conference to change our
worldwide structure.”
Ultimately, committee members
said, conversation about the denomination’s global nature must continue
beyond next year’s General Conference.
Liberia Area Bishop John G. Innis,
a committee member, said he hopes
next year’s gathering will promote
church unity.
“Let us prepare ourselves for General Conference to sing praises to God
and preach a common word,” he said,
“so that we who confess Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior can make the
world a better place.”
3A
BOOK REVIEWS
HISTORY OF HYMNS
Leader shares his journey in faith British hymn appeals
for peace in our time
B Y B I S H O P W I L L I A M H. W I L L I M O N
Special Contributor
Unexpected Destinations: An
Evangelical Pilgrimage to World
Christianity
Wesley Granberg-Michaelson
Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2011
Paperback, 312 pages
Who do you get when you take an attractive, intelligent
kid born into a loving, happy, Midwestern family and relinquish him for baptism, telling him he is now
“engaged to profess Christ”? Wesley GranbergMichaelson, that’s who.
This is a wonderfully well-written autobiography by one of the notable leaders of the
contemporary American church. If you are a
Protestant Christian over 50, there is a good
chance that you will see marks of your own
pilgrimage in Mr. Granberg-Michaelson’s story.
His journey began in a well-formed, evangelical Reformed church and in the fledgling
Young Life movement (he was a conservative
compatriot with our present secretary of state,
back when she was a young evangelical). He
was probably the only person to attend Hope
College as an act of rebellion. He went to Princeton Seminary and then became the youngest member of Senator
Mark Hatfield’s staff. He was mentored by Gordon Cosby,
was present for the earliest days of Sojourners, then became a pastor and general secretary of the Reformed
Church in America.
The World Council of Churches and Christian Churches
Together are some of the global Christian organizations in
which he has endured hours of meetings and moderated
fractious debates, all because of his conviction that the life
he was living was not his own.
Remarkably, though Mr. Granberg-Michaelson knows
firsthand the underbelly of the worldwide church, has met
and worked with just about everybody who is anybody in
Protestant Christianity and has made the tough, day-to-day
decisions required of a church executive, he comes through
as a warm, vibrant, generous, deeply pious and likable
Christian.
As he narrates his life in church, Mr.
Granberg-Michaelson has some remarkably
wise, candid commentary on Christian communitarian ventures (and why they so often
fail), on planting new churches (he refuses to
pit church growth against social justice commitment) and on the Christian life as a complementarily inward and outward journey. His
reflection on global ecclesiastical life challenges both mainline liberal stereotypes of
evangelicals and evangelical prejudices about
supposedly Jesus-forsaking social activists.
What a joy to read the autobiography of
someone who has devoted his life to church leadership and
who, looking back, would gladly do it all over again.
Bishop Willimon oversees the North Alabama
Conference. This review was first published
by The Christian Century.
Keeping open to God’s invitations
B Y M A RY J AC O B S
Staff Writer
Invitations from God
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
InterVarsity Press, 2011
Paperback, 208 pages
So often, we confuse discipleship with “doing stuff ”—
attending worship, studying the Bible, volunteering in a
soup kitchen. But those aren’t the main things, writes author
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun in Invitations from
God: Accepting God’s Offer to Rest, Weep, Forgive, Wait, Remember and More.
Jesus’ agenda, the author observes, didn’t
originate in best practices or target groups. Instead, Jesus consistently refused to meet others’
expectations, spent time with the “wrong” people, and set himself apart for rest and reflection.
“Jesus categorically refused to get caught up
in the invitations that brought grandiosity, compulsivity, anxiety and drivenness,” she writes.
The antidote: answering God’s invitations to
rest, weep, forgive, wait and remember. Ms. Calhoun devotes a chapter to each of 11 “invitations,”
making a convincing case for each and offering practical tips.
For example, a chapter entitled “Invitation to Rest” invites readers to “set aside the compulsion to ‘do, do, do’ and
live into God’s creational rhythms that nourish and restore
the body, soul and relationships.” Resting according to the
principles of the Sabbath, she says, gives us space to set
aside our work-related identities.
“(God) knows that a society that encourages overwork is
no different from a society that promotes lying, murder,
stealing and promiscuity,” she writes.
Similarly, a chapter on the “Invitation to Weep” looks at
instances of weeping in the Bible. While we tend to think of
tears as a sign of weakness, the author writes, weeping can
serve as a necessary step in coping or healing.
“God supplies a watery gift that can cleanse, release and
heal,” she writes. “We know this because the pages of the
Bible are wet with weeping.” One concordance counts 690
references related to crying.
Another chapter, “Invitation to Admit I Might
Be Wrong,” exposes a burden that weighs down
many Christians: the need to always be right.
“Judging isn’t our assignment as followers
of Jesus,” she writes. “That doesn’t mean we
can’t know truth. It simply means we cannot
be certain that our take on truth is absolute or
that our judgments about others are absolutely
right.”
Materially, Americans are by far the richest
people on earth. But many of us are starved
for time to rest, reflect and renew. By answering the invitations from God, the author concludes, we can see our way to the kind of life
that Jesus promised, in which “the burden is light.”
For anyone feeling hurried, harried, overworked or even
lost, Ms. Calhoun’s book is, well, an inviting and practical
manual for discerning a more God-centered and humane
way of life.
mjacobs@umr.org
BY IRENE TING-TING LAI
Special Contributor
Fred Kaan (1929-2009), together
with Fred Pratt Green and Brian Wren,
were called by British hymnologist
Erik Routley “the leading triumvirate”
of the new English renaissance in
hymn writing.
As described by Routley, Kaan’s
theology is radical and focuses on
current issues. Kaan himself suggested that he wrote hymns to stimulate in Christians the longing for the
realization of God’s kingdom on earth.
In other words, he believed that Christian life needs to be, in every dimension, a real presentation of Christ.
This doctrine of incarnation is spread
throughout many of the hymns he
wrote.
Kaan was born to a nominally
Christian family in Haarlem, in northern Holland. His social awareness was
developed by both his railway worker
father and his arduous experience
during the Nazi occupation of Holland.
Mathematics and the sciences
were his focus while he was in high
school. During this time he was stimulated so much by his religious education teachers that he changed from
his original aspirations of becoming a
painter to preparing for the ministry.
He began to study theology at the
State University of Utrecht in 1949.
He later transferred to Western College Bristol in England, and
graduated with a
B.A. in 1954.
In 1955, Kaan
was ordained as a
minister of Windsor Road Congregational Church in Fred Kaan
Barry, South Wales,
where he stayed until 1963. From
1963 to 1968, he was the minister of
The Pilgrim Congregational Church
in Plymouth, England. During this
time, he started writing hymns both
because he could not find the hymns
that he wanted and because of his desire to find more present-day and liferelated ways of singing the faith.
Pilgrim Praise was published in
1968, a collection containing 50 of his
hymns. The hymns in this collection
received a good reception and were
circulated widely. He was active in ecumenical ministries the rest of his
life.
In 1983, Kaan was invited to write
“We Utter Our Cry”
Fred Kaan
UM Hymnal, No. 439
We utter our cry that peace may
prevail,
that earth will survive, and faith
must not fail.
We pray with our life for the world in
our care,
for people diminished by doubt and
despair. *
a hymn for the opening service of the
Christian World Conference on Life
and Peace in Sweden. “We Utter Our
Cry” came into being for this event. It
was sung in Uppsala Cathedral, set to
William Croft’s tune HANOVER.
The main theme of the hymn is
striving for peace in this life. The first
stanza is a universal prayer for the
endangered and helpless; the second
stanza is a prayer of active creatures
for strength to refuse any disastrous
activities; the third stanza is a prayer
for the future; the fourth stanza is a
prayer for wise and honest leaders;
the fifth stanza is a commitment and
work with God; and the last stanza
stresses a commitment to peace and
life on earth.
All the stanzas of this hymn invite
the singers to follow their prayer by
taking up action. For example, “We
pray with our life for the world in our
care.” We “pray for strength to say
‘No.’” We pray for wisdom “that we
may hand on, replenished and
tended, this good planet Earth.” We
pray for “insight and grace to think
and make peace. . . .” The use of “we”
indicates that humans are one body.
Kaan also uses words like “cry”
and “fright” to convey what happens
to people around us and to stimulate
us to be aware that those are also our
own cries and fears.
He uses the immanence of God to
describe the manner in which humans should act. For example, “Creator of life . . . revealing the Way”—a
way that is full of life, creativity and
goodness; and “Love in protest and
march”—acts that will fill us with
patience, endurance, hope and trust.
* Words © 1984 by Hope
Publishing Co., Inc., Carol Stream,
IL 60188.
Ms. Ting-Ting Lai, a Methodist
from Maylasia, is a student of Dr.
Michael Hawn and a candidate for
the master of sacred music degree
at Perkins School of Theology.
U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R | O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1
4A
Wisconsin Conference Edition of the United Methodist Reporter
October 14, 2011
Mujila Falls Agriculture Centre
Empowers People to Help Themselves
Wisconsin panel included (left to right): Ken Arneson, John Lawson, Mac Weddle,
Steve Polster, Gary Gansemer, and David Green (at podium).
Wisconsin Health & Welfare Ministries
Lauded for Stellar Outreach Efforts
The Wisconsin Conference Health & Welfare
Ministries were highlighted at the United
Methodist Association national Transformation
Summit, held in Milwaukee, WI, this past summer. In addition to highlighting our ministries,
the purpose of the summit was to create a new
UMA that’s relevant, irreplaceable, essential and
priceless.
Several key presenters from Wisconsin talked
about how the Conference and Health & Welfare
Ministries work together as partners. The
spokespeople included Gary Gansemer, President
and CEO of Hillcrest Family Services; Steve Polster, our assistant to the Bishop; Ken Arneson,
President and CEO of Evergreen Retirement
Community; Mac Weddle, Executive Director of
Northcott Neighborhood House; John Lawson,
Chief Operating Officer of Three Pillars Senior
Living Communities; and David Green, the Chair
of the Health & Welfare Ministries Committee.
The Wisconsin Conference currently has
within its boundaries 14 Health and Welfare
Ministries serving persons of all faiths and races
as an outreach of the United Methodist Church.
The ministries serve poor families and children,
the elderly and disabled, and those requiring
health and hospital chaplaincy services. These 14
ministries are partially supported by the apportionment dollars received from congregations
throughout Wisconsin.
Ken Arneson spoke about how special the
Church connection is to the ministries. “The
Conference gives the ministries a sense of belonging, and a sense of serving something
greater than you,” he said.
Steve Polster indicated that “without our
Health and Welfare ministries, the Church can’t
fully live out our ministry in the world.” David
Green agreed, explaining that the Church needs
the ministries as much as the ministries need the
Church. “Half of our commitment as United
Methodists is to help those in need; a major opportunity to fulfill that commitment is through
our support of the Health and Welfare Ministries,” Green said.
Mac Weddle said that Northcott Neighborhood House, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary of providing low-income families and
communities in Milwaukee with a variety of programs and services, “couldn’t serve 10,000 people
every year without the United Methodist Church.”
He also talked about their sponsorship of Juneteenth, an annual event commemorating the
freeing of slaves. The participants have grown to
about 80,000 annually, and this year, the event
was declared a state holiday.
Barbara Certa-Werner from Harbor House
Crisis Shelters in Superior, WI, was also in attendance and explained how blessed they are to be
connected to the United Methodist Church. She
said that recently their funding was dramatically
down, and they were concerned how they could
keep their doors open. Then she received a call
about a woman who passed away and wanted
Harbor House to receive a bequest of $70,000.
“This reaffirmed for me that we’re on the right
track,” she said.
For more information about the United
Methodist Association, visit the UMA website at
http://umassociation.org. For more information
about the Health and Welfare Ministries in Wisconsin, visit www.wisconsinumc.org or contact
David Green at greend@uwosh.edu or 920-2352702.
Share Your Stories on Facebook; Win a Prize
Even though the RETHINK CHURCH and
Change the World events took place earlier this
year in Wisconsin, churches around the state
continue to do great ministries outside and inside the walls of their church in a wide range of
communities! We want to hear and share the stories of what your congregation is doing—either
locally or globally—to continue the momentum
to change the world.
We have already heard from some Wisconsin
UMC members: Merrimac UMC raised money for
Project Pink to provide a well and a source of clean
water in a Ugandan community. St. James UMC in
Milwaukee posted some great updates to our Facebook page that shows their choirs performing for
the Neighborhood Share Fair at Bethany Calvary
UMC in Wauwatosa, WI. Monona UMC shared a
video that documents a recent mission trip to help
people in the Dominican Republic. Solomon Community Temple UMC in Milwaukee featured their
community garden and Harambee initiative. For
the second year, Asbury UMC in Madison spent a
Saturday this past summer giving away free hamburgers, car washes and oil changes to people of
all income levels and religious beliefs—their way
of blessing the community.
To share your congregation’s story, visit
www.facebook.com/wisconsinumc. You can post
photos, video, links to your website, or simply
share your story directly on our wall. As a thank
you and special recognition for your heartwarming efforts, those who post updates will be able to
take their pick of either the Change the World
book or the informative Essentials for Religious
Communicators book/CD combination (while
supplies last).
Living in the United States, it is hard to imagine not having easy access to food. There are several grocery stores and restaurants in most cities,
and anybody who has been to a CostCo or Sam’s
Club knows that in the U.S., the options and
amounts of food available are practically endless.
But in many parts of the world, food does not
come in such abundance, or even at all. Such was
the case in Mujila Falls, a region in the African
country of Zambia, where for many years massive hunger, malnutrition, and protein deficiency
were daily realities. Mujila Falls had the highest
infant mortality rate in Zambia, and many babies and children bore the red-colored hair of
protein deficiency, and the bloated bellies and
watery eyes of severe malnutrition. The people
of Mujila Falls—hunter-gatherers by trade—
were having difficulty obtaining enough food to
feed their families and provide them with adequate nutrition.
The Mujila Falls Agriculture Centre (formerly
the Musokatanda Agriculture Project) was
started as an agreement between the LundaNdembu tribal chief and the United Methodist
Church to change those statistics. It was founded
in 1995 by Rev. Paul Webster and his wife Roxanne, both Wisconsin missionaries with the General Board of Global Ministries. Although
Roxanne passed away from ovarian cancer in
2004, Paul returned to the centre to continue
their work.
He and others at the centre introduce western-influenced agricultural practices to the people of Mujila Falls to help them more efficiently
use the natural resources of the area, while also
cultivating new, nutritious food sources not indigenous to the area. Their projects include:
building construction; raising dairy cattle; pork,
poultry and egg production; bee keeping; growing corn crops; utilizing agricultural and communications technologies; building irrigation
dams; maintaining a pre-school and sewing club;
and spiritual formation.
Following the premise of the popular quote,
“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach
a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime,” they
avoid giving handouts. Instead they strive to empower the people of Africa to advance through
their own initiative and God-given talents with
education, resources, and training.
One such individual is Tshala Mwengo. When
the Websters met him, he was a village boy from
the Democratic Republic of Congo who had a desire to learn about agriculture. With the help of
gifts from Wisconsin United Methodists, he was
able to obtain his Bachelor of Science degree in
Agriculture from Africa University and was re-
Solomon
Community
Garden
Young volunteers help
harvest Solomon
Community Garden
in Milwaukee.
André Kanjimana (left) and Paul
Webster, Missionaries at Mujila Falls
in Africa
cently commissioned a full missionary by the
General Board of Global Ministries. He now
serves as Paul Webster’s codirector at Mujila
Falls. André Kanjimana has also been empowered by his connection with the Mujila Falls Agricultural Centre. He serves as a mechanic and
missionary at the centre, takes care of volunteers
who travel there, and travels to the United States
to educate people about the work they do there.
He has a wife and four boys.
“[I follow a] Biblical calling to show God’s
love to all people, and to show them that God
wants them to live abundantly from the earth,”
said Webster. He cherishes the relationships he
has formed at the centre. “I have joy in seeing
people have more hope, worship together, care for
their children, become empowered, and have the
economic ability to make choices.”
The staff at the Mujila Falls Agricultural Centre works hard to help people in Africa gain access to resources like we do here in the United
States. In a land without CostCos, they are empowering people to improve their health and nutrition, and encouraging them to enjoy their own
sense of God’s abundance.
If you are interested in supporting this vital
ministry, please send a check to the Wisconsin
Conference UMC Treasurer for GBGM Advance
Number 15016A. Your gift will support the
Mujila Project by providing means for fuel,
supplies, equipment, facilities, and many more
things necessary to the operation of the centre.
Volunteer in Mission teams are always
welcome and appreciated. For more information,
visit www.mujilafalls.com. You can also view
Paul Webster’s PowerPoint presentation at
www.wisconsinumc.org under Tools/PowerPoint.
October 14, 2011
Wisconsin Conference Edition of the United Methodist Reporter
Prison Ministries in Wisconsin Bring Hope to a Hopeless Place
Conference
Calendar
“I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick,
and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you
visited me.”
Matthew 25:36 (New Living Translation)
People involved with prison ministries live
these words every day. Through their service to
incarcerated individuals and their families, they
bring hope to a hopeless place, provide each person with their Constitutional right of freedom of
religion, and see the image of God where many
would not bother to look.
They must be many things to the people they
serve; often acting as counselors, confidants,
worship leaders for the recognized religious
groups (including Protestant and Catholic Christians, Islamic, Native American, Pagan, Buddhist,
Jewish, and Jehovah’s Witness), program managers, and officiators at funerals for prisoners
who have died.
Luckily, they do not have to do it alone.
“I believe that the Wisconsin Conference of
the United Methodist Church is very supportive
of my ministry,” said Rev. Julie Reinke, a retired
prison chaplain who continues to lead Victim
Impact Programs on a volunteer basis. As an example, she noted that the members of Algoma
Boulevard United Methodist Church in Oshkosh
where she attends provided much education on
restorative justice and prison ministries.
“They collected yarn for the prison knitting
program, participated in Angel Tree, offered two
worship services a year at the prison, created a
program for Safe Sanctuaries, and when a sex offender returned to the community, provided a
Buddy System for the person so he could worship.”
However, there is still a stigma associated
with the incarcerated, which people involved
with prison ministries work to dispel.
“There is much prejudice against prisoners,
especially sex offenders,” said Reinke. “Forgive-
5A
October 21st–22nd
United Methodist Women Annual Meeting
Black River Falls UMC
October 21st–23rd
NCJ CORR Annual Learning Event
Holiday Inn, Des Moines, IA
October 22nd
Bullies, Victims and Bystanders: A Seminar
for Youth and Adults
Wauwatosa Avenue UMC, Wauwatosa
October 23rd–26th
ness is extremely hard for people and communities. They want second chances, but do not want
to give others a second chance.”
Sometimes, it is the prisoners themselves
who have to forgive. Reinke told of a prisoner
named Adam who was a participant in the Victim Impact Program, a ministry in which inmates witness the pain victims go through,
develop empathy for them, and make a commitment to never again harm a person through
crime. Although he was a Christian and believed
God had forgiven him, he had a hard time forgiving himself and carried a large burden of guilt.
One day, Reinke drew a balloon on a piece of colored paper and told him to write all the things he
was guilty for and give it to God. Long after
Reinke had forgotten about the exercise, Adam
came to her and told her that although he initially thought it was stupid, one day he started
writing around the balloon. He filled the whole
thing, tore it into shreds, and got down on his
knees. He told her he couldn’t believe the differ-
ence giving his burdens to God and letting Him
keep them made in his life.
There are many stories of redemption like
Adam’s. Samuel Royappa, District Superintendent of the Capital-Coulee region, has led Bible
studies and worship services at prisons in Wisconsin, and continues to preach at Dodge Correctional Institution. He said, “Prison ministry is all
about ministering to people who are feeling
lonely—being separated from God and from
people. They are looking for ways to connect…I
have witnessed their lives being transformed by
the good news of support and encouragement,
coupled with love and compassion.”
People who work in prison ministries continue to answer Jesus’ call to serve “the least of
these” through their ministries. In turn, they
find joy in sharing the redeeming love of Christ.
As Reinke said, “[The ability to] provide healing
for victims, offenders, their families, and the
community from which they come…is truly a
blessing.”
We’re Making Progress at the Wisconsin Conference
By Dan Dick
Sometimes the staff and elected leadership of the
Conference get so caught up in what we’re doing, we
forget to let anybody else know what’s going on. Just
so you know that we’re not all sitting around playing
solitaire on our laptops, here’s a short list of some of
the exciting things happening in our Conference.
In 2007–2008, the Conference went through a
visioning process, and identified three priorities:
1. To equip clergy and laity in collaborative
Dan Dick
ministry to strengthen positive relationships
within and between our congregations and circuits;
2. To support congregational ministry at the local and circuit level,
helping to cultivate healthy congregational environments engaged in
vital ministries;
3. To improve communication at all levels through our connection.
These three priorities have driven our structure and planning, and so far
have produced these results:
1. Eight Resource Teams–including spiritual formation; Christian
education with children, with youth, and with adults; worship arts;
evangelism; stewardship and missions–are working to offer training,
consultation, networking, resource sharing, and support for ministry
at the church and circuit level. When training and events are offered
in the future, they will be offered at minimum in each of the four
regions, ideally in each district.
2. The Discipleship-Leadership Council and Executive Team was
developed to provide comprehensive coordination and alignment. We
intend to work more closely in key ministry areas, making sure that
our boards and agencies are working together on our missional
priorities and Conference objectives.
3. A Conference-Wide Stewardship Campaign with the “Live, Give,
Love…Beyond All Expectation” theme will launch in the fall of 2012.
We will offer bulletin inserts, training, devotional materials,
discussion guides, Bible studies, video resources and other support
materials to lead a fall campaign. We will kick off the process at
Annual Conference, host training events through the summer, provide
downloads of all materials to churches, and conclude with a
celebration event in November.
4. “Living the Fruits of the Spirit” will be our new focus and vision
for the 2013–2016 Quadrennium. There are four guiding questions.
What do congregations and circuits need to become centers of love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control? What resources, training and support will enable every
church to cultivate, produce, harvest, and share fruit that will last?
How can we shift our focus from scarcity and need, to abundance and
possibility? What will it take to make the Wisconsin Annual
Conference’s witness to the denomination and world one of truly
living the fruitful life?
5. Mission and Ministry Education will be provided by a team of lay
servants and other leaders in 2012. They will preach and teach on the
amazing mission and ministry our Conference apportionments
provide locally, nationally and globally. We are doing incredible
ministry in Wisconsin that many don’t even know about. The giving
of Wisconsin United Methodists makes a huge difference, and they
should be proud of the fantastic ministry they do with their unselfish
giving.
6. Ongoing Communications Efforts will continue to get the word out,
share our thinking and planning, and invite feedback and
engagement around the priorities of the Conference. We will use the
website, Enews, Reflections, and our public gatherings to keep
everyone updated on the progress we’re making toward becoming a
fruit-bearing/fruit-sharing Conference.
Mission Week
Chippewa-Heartland (23rd), NicoletWinnebago (24th), Metro North and South
(25th), Capital-Coulee (26th)
November 2nd–3rd
Commission on Archives and History Retreat
Pine Lake Camp
November 12th
Clergy & Laity Retreat
Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells
November 11th–13th
Senior High Convo
Chula Vista, Wisconsin Dells
November 20th
Metros Regional Meeting with Bishop Lee
Whitefish Bay UMC, Milwaukee
November 27th
United Methodist Student Day Offering
November 30th–December 2nd
WIVOAD Annual Conference
Wisconsin Military Academy, Fort McCoy
For a more comprehensive list of events and
training opportunities, visit our website
www.wisconsinumc.org
REFLECTIONS
Linda Lee
Wisconsin Conference
UMC Bishop
Michele Virnig
Editor
Katelin Hillbo
Associate Editor
E-mail
mediacontact@
wisconsinumc.org
Phone
888-240-7328
Reflections is an official publication of the
Wisconsin Conference of The United Methodist
Church. Annual subscriptions cost $10. Send
checks payable to Wisconsin Conference UMC,
along with the recipient name and address to
Reflections Editor, Wisconsin Conference UMC,
750 Windsor St., Sun Prairie, WI 53590.
6A
Ark. music camp helps Minister organizes concert
medical ministry to fly to battle human trafficking
BY AMY FORBUS
Special Contributor
How can five days of musical fun
pay for medical help in the Congo?
One answer to that question comes
from First United Methodist Church
Fort Smith in Arkansas.
Campers from 14 churches and
four states gathered at First UMC Fort
Smith Aug. 1-5 for Music Camp, a tradition of the church’s music ministry
spanning two decades. Each year the
camp chooses a different mission
focus.
“The last few years we have chosen
the mission that the Arkansas Conference chooses in June,” says Nancy Vernon, music coordinator and organist
for First UMC Fort Smith.
This year, that meant giving the
money to Wings of the Morning, one
of several mission efforts supported
by the conference. A United Methodist
ministry, Wings of the Morning saves
lives by providing air transport so
people in remote villages of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can
reach the medical care they need.
First UMC Fort Smith’s Music
Camp is a day camp, limited to 55
children entering the second through
seventh grades. The campers spent
five days learning music and rehearsing for a performance on the evening
of Friday, Aug. 5.
This year the group presented the
musical Table for Five . . . Thousand!
The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes
by Tom Long and Allen Pote. The plot
shares the biblical story mentioned in
the title, and conveys the message that
with God’s help, everyone can do great
things.
Everyone involved participated in
multiple ways: Each camper had a
speaking part and a vocal solo in the
musical. The campers also played
How to help:
To give to Wings of the
Morning, go to gbgmumc.org/advance and search
for “08596A.” Or, visit the
Arkansas Conference website
at arumc.org/congo.
hand chimes, which gave some the opportunity to pick up a new musical
talent and others the time to sharpen
their existing skills.
As the week progressed, the children searched their homes for loose
change and gave the money to daily
offerings for Wings of the Morning. By
Friday, they had gathered more than
$100 for the cause.
Then came the Friday night
spaghetti supper and performance.
Before the children presented the musical, the crowd heard from a special
guest: Billy Reeder, a former communications director for the Arkansas
Conference who has traveled to the
DRC. He spoke about his experiences
there and the needs he witnessed.
“Billy gave a heartfelt, sincere and
well-received testimony to the needs
of the people of the DRC, whom he
obviously loves,” Ms. Vernon said.
At the end of the musical, the love
offering for Wings of the Morning totaled $4,425.
“Last year we raised $3,800 for a
water well in the DRC,” Ms. Vernon
said, noting that with two additional
events and individual donations, the
church was able to donate to the
Congo Wells Project the $8,000 required to pay for one well.
The offering total is the highest
amount raised to date at any of the
church’s summer music camps.
Ms. Forbus is editor of the
Arkansas United Methodist.
ARKANSAS UNITED METHODIST PHOTO BY CHARLES PARIS
Participants in Music Camp at First UMC in Fort Smith, Ark., play in
a hand chime choir at the concert that finished out the week and
helped them raise funds for Wings of the Morning.
O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1 | U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R
BY RAMON RENTERIA
Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas—Josh Rivera
wants to shed more light on one of El
Paso’s dark secrets: human trafficking.
Mr. Rivera is the inspiration behind “Save the Brave Music Fest,” a
Christian music concert held Sept. 29
to create awareness and raise money
for the Salvation Army’s anti-humantrafficking program.
Mr. Rivera, 25, a musician and
youth minister at St. Paul’s United
Methodist Church, came up with the
idea for the concert after reading what
he describes as a disturbing book
about a woman exploited for years by
her foster parents.
“I had no idea I was being called to
a greater need,” Mr. Rivera said. “I
wanted a small benefit concert. It
turned into a need to fund an organization that desperately needed help.”
The event at the El Paso County
Coliseum featured headliner Natalie
Grant, an award-winning Christian
singer who has her own anti-humantrafficking campaign.
The Salvation Army helped establish an anti-human-trafficking network in El Paso with a U.S.
Department of Justice grant that
ended more than two years ago. El
Paso’s anti-human-trafficking program is regarded as a model for other
programs across the United States because of its success in getting law enforcement agencies at every level and
social service agencies to work together.
Salvation Army officials said inadequate funding hinders the ability of
various agencies to reach out to more
people and help human-trafficking
victims once they are identified.
Officials said it takes about
$100,000 a year to effectively run the
program.
Human trafficking is defined as
using coercion for labor, sexual or
other exploitation.
Salvation Army officials said El
Paso is a key source of entry for children trafficked into the United States
from Mexico and other Latin American countries.
According to the U.S. State Department, 14,500 to 17,500 victims, many
of them women and children, are trafficked into the United States each year
from Asia, Central and South America
and Eastern Europe.
Some estimates suggest one out of
every five trafficking victims in the
U.S. usually travel along the Interstate
10 corridor from California to Houston. A Department of Justice report
PHOTO COURTESY CURB RECORDS
Christian singer Natalie Grant headlined “Save the Brave Music
Fest,” a Sept. 29 concert in El Paso, Texas. The event was organized
by United Methodist youth minister Josh Rivera to raise awareness
of human trafficking.
listed El Paso and Houston among the
most intense trafficking jurisdictions
in the country from 2001 to 2005.
The book Human Rights Along the
U.S.-Mexico Border suggests that
human trafficking cannot be easily
documented because it is an underground, illicit phenomenon. Kathleen
Staudt, Tony Payan and Z. Anthony
Kruszewski, all political science professors at the University of Texas at El
Paso, edited the book, published in
2009 by the University of Arizona
Press.
“While the full dimensions of
human trafficking remain unknown,
it is clear that within the United States
trafficking is a crime primarily perpetrated against undocumented migrants,” the authors wrote. “By virtue
of their immigration status, undocumented persons can be easily intimidated to accept illicit working
conditions, work without pay, and
other abuses by employers that, under
specific conditions, can be classified
as ‘human trafficking.’”
With that in mind, individuals like
Mr. Rivera hope to spread the word
about the known dimensions of
human trafficking. KJ-52, a Christian
hip-hop artist in the concert lineup,
shot a video to distribute on the Internet.
“El Paso is being known throughout the world because of this event,
because of the compassion that these
artists have for the cause,” Mr. Rivera
said.
Virginia McCrimmon, a crime vic-
tim advocate working with the El Paso
County Sheriff ’s Office, is often credited with launching the anti-humantrafficking program and task force in
El Paso. She helps train people from
across the world who come to El Paso
to study the region’s anti-human-trafficking program.
“Our aim is to protect these individuals who have been exploited,” Ms.
McCrimmon said. She often tells the
story of a 14-year-old boy named Carlitos from Central America who
sneaked into the United States near
Fabens, only to be taken in by a family
who offered him work but allegedly
never paid him. The teenager was
placed in foster care elsewhere in
Texas. The couple was not prosecuted
because of insufficient evidence.
Last May, a Las Cruces couple was
charged with human trafficking, a
federal offense, for allegedly bringing
two victims from Indonesia and forcing them to work without pay. John
Martin, director of the Salvation
Army’s El Paso chapter, estimates that
3,500 individuals trafficked into the
United States pass through El Paso
each year.
“Are some of those victims in the
sex trade? Yes, but it’s not just the sex
trade,” Mr. Martin said. “There is
forced servitude or slavery. There are a
number of individuals in El Paso that
have been forced into working for a
family or an individual.”
This story first appeared in the El
Paso Times.
7A
COMMENTARY
How churches can help
domestic abuse victims
B Y C AT H Y C OV I N G T O N
Special Contributor
Religious leaders historically have
had difficulty helping congregation
members who experience domestic
violence, often denying the abuse or
further endangering a woman by encouraging her to return to her partner.
As an advocate and a pastor’s wife, I
am encouraged by the steps many
churches have taken recently to address domestic violence, but other
churches still have a long way to go.
Many people, clergy included, do
not become involved in efforts to stop
domestic violence until a murder happens in their community, but the time
to address domestic violence is now,
before another victim loses her life.
Women of faith often feel they
must endure abuse because leaving
breaks the marriage covenant.
Churches must help victims understand that, in reality, the abuser is the
person who breaks that covenant. Victims are often blamed for not respecting their husbands, so churches need
to help release them from these preconceived notions. Marriages are destroyed when violence surfaces, not
when a woman acts to protect herself.
Domestic violence breaks up families,
not a woman’s decision to leave an
abusive partner. Deciding to divorce is
never an easy decision, but it is often a
needed step to save the lives of a battered woman, her children, and even
the abuser.
For clergy members offering hope
and healing to victims, the pulpit is
one of the best tools. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so
this is the perfect time to speak out at
worship services. Victims desperately
need to hear that they are not alone
and God wants them to be safe. Batterers need to hear that they are responsible for their behavior and will
be held accountable. Abusers often interpret Bible passages, such as Ephesians 5:21-33, to justify violence, but
clergy can counteract with 1 Corinthians 13 to discuss what marriage
should entail.
Clergy can further educate congregations about domestic violence by
printing articles in church newsletters,
making brochures about services
available in women’s restrooms, or
inviting advocates from local agencies
to speak.
While couples counseling can be
unsafe for victims because abusers retaliate and inflict greater physical
harm, clergy can still intervene when
domestic violence is suspected. Meet
with the victim, help her plan for
safety, and refer her to local agencies
that provide support services she will
need.
Ultimately, the church should provide a proactive pastoral care response to domestic violence by
focusing on actions and not blaming
the victim.
Ms. Covington is a member of
Fairview United Methodist Church
in Grubville, Mo., and a crisis
intervention specialist for ALIVE
(Alternatives to Living In Violent
Environments).
UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RONNY PERRY
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. For resources to
help United Methodist congregations deal with this issue, visit
http://goo.gl/4A5xT.
PHOTOS BY FRED KOENIG
LEFT: Volunteers planted
flowers at a local school during
a Sept. 11 service event in the
Missouri Conference. ABOVE:
Another participant picks up
trash along a highway.
Mo. churches join forces
for service event on 9/11
B Y F R E D KO E N I G
Special Contributor
Many United Methodist churches
around the U.S. marked the 10th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks
by performing service projects. In the
Missouri Conference, they did that in
a big way. On the weekend of Sunday,
Sept. 11, more than 260 congregations
in Missouri went out into their communities and extended a hand of
service.
According to numbers gathered by
the conference’s Office of Creative
Ministries, 264 United Methodist
churches participated. Of those, 69 reported their numbers of volunteers,
which totaled 4,786 UM volunteers
and 1,334 volunteers not affiliated
with the church.
The planning of the event had been
in the works since last spring by the
staff of the Office of Creative Ministries,
but many churches just started considering it in the last few months. The Rev.
Virginia Barnes pitched the idea of participating in SERVE2011 to the administrative council at Rocheport UMC, her
new appointment after annual conference. They liked it, and decided to turn
it over to the whole church.
They collected ideas for mission
projects during worship one Sunday,
and had 15 ideas submitted on pieces
of paper in the offering plate. The
church chose two: Host a community
picnic and pick up trash along the
highway into town.
The day of service on Sept. 10 was
just the beginning for them.
“The church has decided to adopt
the highway, so we’ll pick up trash
along it four times a year,” Ms. Barnes
said. “They have also said they would
like to accomplish all 15 of the ideas
submitted over the course of the next
few years.”
To invite people to the community
picnic, Rocheport members put out
door-hangers and hung fliers.
“The most meaningful part of this
for us may have been going out doorto-door, meeting all the people in our
community and inviting them to our
church,” Ms. Barnes said.
Visible presence
In Columbia, Mo., all of the United
Methodist churches in town participated in a day of service on Sept. 11.
Fairview UMC participated in the
group projects with the other
churches in Columbia, but also wanted
to do something that would have a
visible presence in their immediate
neighborhood, so they spent Saturday
cleaning up a nearby city park.
“I think we might stay with this
park and keep it as one of our regular
service projects,” said volunteer team
coordinator Gary Moreau.
On the morning of Sept. 11, a few
minutes before 8 a.m. the church bells
at Wilkes Boulevard UMC in Columbia
rang, as they did at churches across
the nation, commemorating when the
first of the Twin Towers was struck by
the hijacked airliners. Six times that
morning bells rang and a moment of
silence was observed, representing
each of the four plane crashes and the
times that the towers fell.
That morning at Wilkes Boulevard,
the Rev. Meg Hegemann told the 200
volunteers that they had two tasks before them.
“The work we’re doing is important, but of equal importance are the
relationships that we build,” she said.
“Take time to visit with the homeowners and chat with the neighbors.”
Later that day, one of the homeowners, Charlotte Hughes, was very
happy to have a large, dead oak tree
removed from her front yard.
“I’m very grateful, because it
would have cost a lot of money that I
don’t have if I had needed to hire
someone to take it down,” she said.
Volunteers from Woodlandville
UMC in Rocheport went to nearby
Harrisburg Elementary School after
church and spent the afternoon painting, planting flowers and assembling
shelves. The Woodlandville church
and many of its members reside in the
Columbia Public School District, but
the Harrisburg school is closer, and
they know that it has financial difficulties. The support they are giving to
the school has extended beyond the
weekend.
“We told the school to let us know
what they need, and we’ll do whatever
we can to help,” said the Rev. Karen
Alden, Woodlandville’s pastor.
Mr. Koenig is editor of publications
for the Missouri Conference.
U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R | O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1
8A
Wisconsin Conference Edition of the United Methodist Reporter
October 14, 2011
School of Christian Mission Helps Us Put Our Faith into Action
The School of Christian Mission (SOCM),
which took place this past August in Stevens
Point, is an annual event that was started in the
1920s, and continues to offer a way for people to
gather for education, spiritual growth, fellowship,
and most especially, mission work.
“I see mission as a way of living out faith;
putting faith in action. [The SOCM is an opportunity] to learn how the church is doing that and
how we can be a part of that,” said SOCM Dean
Gloria Carter.
The theme, All Things Made New, was played
out in three courses. Participants in Haiti: Challenges and Hopes learned about the history of
Haiti, including the influence of colonialism in
the region. “The 2010 earthquake awakened people to the problems that existed before [which]
have been exacerbated because of the earthquake,” said instructor Lorna Jost, Coordinator of
the North Central Jurisdiction United Methodist
Volunteers in Mission. Attendees also learned
about the heart and soul of Haiti’s people
through pictures and Creole adages, and discussed the impact of the January 12th earthquake and how they could become involved in
the recovery effort. The course was intended to
encourage ongoing exchanges of cultural understanding, respect, and mission between United
Methodists and the people of Haiti.
Joy to the World: Mission in the Age of Global
Christianity covered the changes in direction,
goals, and methods of mission work in the past
100 years. “Culture and ways of life are changing,”
said Rev. Tsuchue Vang , instructor of the course.
“I hope [this course helps participants] prepare
for the next century.” Participants learned the
Biblical mandates for mission and evangelism
and how they play out in a twenty-first century
context, why Christians are involved in mission,
and ways to proclaim the good news of Jesus
Christ.
The Spiritual Growth study The Journey: Forgiveness, Restorative Justice and Reconciliation
taught participants how individuals, families,
and communities are called to a life-long journey
of practicing forgiveness, justice, and reconciliation. The course included a series of Bible studies
and was intended to bring about personal and
social transformation. “I hope to build trusting
relationships so people can share stories safely
and take small steps toward being [part of a] forgiving community that brings restorative justice,”
said instructor Rev. Grace Imathiu.
Along with the courses, attendees were offered personal choice time in which they could
participate in a variety of enriching activities.
These included a presentation by General Board
of Church and Society Young Ethnic Intern Julia
Mayeshiba, leadership development, focus
groups, and mission group meetings. A learning
center coordinated by Rose Vanschyndel also offered a place for SOCM attendees to stop by at
their leisure to indulge their creative sides, relax,
and have fellowship with each other.
The SOCM attendees put their faith and fun into action.
There were people from many different backgrounds present at the SOCM, including several
youth. During the SOCM, the youth did a mission
project which involved cleaning and organizing
at the Central Wisconsin Children’s Museum, and
set up signs in Kmart and Trigs, a local grocery
store, to encourage consumers to consider products from companies that have adopted fair trade
practices. They also raised money for missions
by selling flower arrangements, “mug-ems” (premeasured and mixed ingredients meant to make
cooking and baking simpler), flower pot banks,
and bracelets. Their fingernail and toenail paint-
ing station and performance in the talent show
were fun additions to the SOCM, and their diverse perspectives enriched the classes.
Some 40 years after the first School of Christian Mission took place, mission is still a valuable
part of what it means to be United Methodist.
Through educational courses, fellowship, and
mission projects, the participants at this year’s
SOCM found many ways to “live out their faith.”
The theme for next year’s School of Christian
Mission is Living Sacramentally and Walking
Justly, with a focus on the location of Haiti, and
the issue of poverty.
Join the 2011 Wisconsin Mission Celebration:
Connecting the Church in Mission
The Wisconsin Conference UMC invites you to a statewide celebration of our
outreach activities. Come see how Wisconsin United Methodists are serving as the
hands and feet of God here in Wisconsin and beyond. The celebration is free and
will take place in four locations so everyone can participate. We are honored to
have Thomas Kemper, the General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries, as the keynote speaker. In addition, representatives from each of our ministries and agencies will be in attendance to answer any questions and explain
how you can become involved. See firsthand how your apportionment giving is
working to support these worthy causes. To make reservations, contact your local
District Superintendent office. For more information, contact Deborah Thompson
Thomas Kemper,
at 888-240-7328. The mission celebration will take place on the following dates:
GBGM General
❖ October 23rd, Eau Claire Chapel Heights UMC (4 p.m.—call 715-835-5181)
Secretary
❖ October 24th, Appleton St. James UMC (5:30 p.m.—call 920-991-0548)
❖ October 25th, Elm Grove Community UMC (5:30 p.m.—call 414-271-5080)
❖ October 26th, Madison Asbury UMC (5:00 p.m.—call 608-837-0056)
Visit our website at www.wisconsinumc.org for more details.
Storms tore through Lake Lucerne Camp
Lake Lucerne Camp Recovers
Thanks to Volunteers
The Lake Lucerne Camp and Retreat Center sustained extensive damage from the storms that
occurred this past September. The severe weather impacted 17 counties throughout Wisconsin.
Thanks to the efforts of 24 volunteers giving more than 140 hours of labor to help in the immediate
clean-up efforts, Lake Lucerne Camp has been able to return to serving guests.We have been very
grateful for all the help and support we have received in recovering from the damage. In early October, 40 VIM volunteers gave of their time and talents for additional clean up, repairs and preparations for our service to others as well as getting the grounds and facility ready for winter. We have
been blessed with your prayers and support. To inquire about future camping or retreat opportunities at one of our Wisconsin UMC Camps, call 877-947-2267 or visit www.wiumcamps.org.
umportal org
Grand homecoming
Don’t look back
Unblended worship
Theologian revisits
church of his youth | 2B
Past is unreliable guide
for UMC’s future | 6B
Multicultural churches
remain a rarity | 8B
PEOPLE
SING!
BY SAM HODGES
Managing Editor
PHOTO COURTESY ST. MARK’S UMC
Under the Rev. Jackson Henry, who supervises the music program, congregational singing is a major emphasis at St. Mark’s United
Methodist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Advocates emerge for congregational song
Managing Editor
Talk about preaching to the choir.
The Rev. Jackson Henry did that as
soon as he showed up to lead the
music program at St. Mark’s United
Methodist Church in Murfreesboro,
Tenn., eight years ago.
“I made it pretty clear to our choir
about my philosophy of church music
being that their primary goal is to facilitate and lead congregational
singing,” he said.
To the congregation, he preached
that they need to sing out, with fervor,
even if they miss some notes. And he’s
done his part, programming their fa-
vorite hymns, leading them to have
new favorites, constantly teaching and
coaxing.
Patti Daws, a congregation member who sang in her college choir, can
tell the difference.
“People are really into it,” she said.
“He’ll teach us a little bit of a new
song, or he’ll say something about the
hymn and how it should relate to what
we’re thinking about. He’s always upbeat and trying to share new things
and get everybody involved.”
Mr. Jackson belongs to a small but
growing number of young United
Methodist music ministers who believe congregational singing in the denomination isn’t nearly what it should
October 14, 2011
UM leader
of Liberia
wins Nobel
LET THE
BY SAM HODGES
Section B
be—for the souls of the parishioners
or the glory of God—and are heckbent on improving it.
They have dual, Dallas-based mentors in the Rev. John Thornburg and
the Rev. C. Michael Hawn, who are
friends and kindred spirits.
Mr. Thornburg—a writer of hymn
texts, president of The Hymn Society
in the United States and Canada, and
compiler of a hymnal for United
Methodists in Cameroon—felt called
to move from parish ministry to start
his Ministry of Congregational
Singing. That has him on the road
often, leading workshops.
And it also has him challenging
church music professionals to pay
considerably more attention to congregational singing.
“A lot of my work is asking choirs
and [praise] bands, ‘Do you want the
people to sing?’” Mr. Thornburg said.
“They look at me and say, ‘Of course
we do, stupid.’ I nonetheless say to
them, ‘Prove it.’ And I see lots of people with their arms crossed at their
chests.”
Dr. Hawn is in his 20th year of
teaching sacred music at Perkins
School of Theology, at Dallas’ Southern Methodist University, and he too
is gone many weekends, working with
congregations, choirs and music ministers.
See ‘Singing’ page 4B
Liberian President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf, a United Methodist who spoke
at the 2008 General Conference in Fort
Worth, has won the Nobel Peace Prize
with two other women leaders.
She shares the $1.5 million award
with women’s rights activist Leymah
Gbowee, also from Liberia, and
democracy activist Tawakkul Karman
of Yemen—the first Arab woman to
win.
Ms. Sirleaf, 72 and nicknamed
“Iron Lady,” was elected president in
2005, becoming the first democratically elected female leader of an
African nation.
Liberia had been ravaged by civil
war for more than a decade before her
election, leading to about 200,000
deaths and widespread population
displacement. Ms. Sirleaf ran as a reformer and peacemaker, and under
the country maintains a fragile peace.
Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop
Desmond Tutu cheered her recognition from the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“She deserves it many times over.
She’s brought stability to a place that
was going to hell,” said Archbishop
See ‘Nobel’ page 2B
UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE FILE PHOTO
BY MIKE DUBOSE
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
2B FAITH focus
NOBEL
Continued from page 1B
Tutu, according to an Associated Press
report.
Also saluting her was Bono, leader
of the rock band U2 and champion of
peace and justice work internationally.
He called Ms. Sirleaf “an extraordinary woman, a force of nature, and
now she has the world recognize her
in this great, great way.”
Ms. Sirleaf said Friday, Oct. 7, from
Monrovia: “This [award] gives me a
stronger commitment to work for reconciliation. Liberians should be
proud.”
When she spoke to the 2008 General Conference, Ms. Sirleaf emphasized her religious heritage.
“I feel at home with you, members
of my United Methodist family,” said
Ms. Sirleaf, a member of the Monrovia
(Liberia) United Methodist Church.
Ms. Sirleaf emphasized then that
Liberia’s key challenges were reducing
poverty, building democracy and giving youth a better future through education. She credited the UMC as a
force for good in her country. The
church operates a university, a hospital and more than 100 parochial
schools there.
“We thank all of you fellow United
Methodists assembled in this hall for
your support through the grace of
God,” she said in Fort Worth. “But I
would be less than honest if I didn’t
tell you that we need the church now
more than ever.”
Ms. Sirleaf first ran for president in
1997, losing to warlord Charles Taylor.
Though she trailed him badly, the
election gave her prominence and
earned her the “Iron Lady” nickname.
Ms. Sirleaf currently is running for
re-election, and has denied opponents’ charges of buying votes and
using public funds for her campaign.
The chairman, Thorbjorn Jagland,
of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
said the approaching election had no
bearing on the committee’s decision.
“We cannot look to that domestic
consideration,” he said. “We have to
look at Alfred Nobel’s will, which says
that the prize should go to the person
that has done the most for peace in
the world.”
Ms. Gbowee won for organizing
women “across ethnic and religious
dividing lines to bring an end to the
long war in Liberia, and to ensure
women’s participation in elections.”
Ms. Gbowee has a long record of
championing women’s rights, including raising awareness of rape.
Ms. Karman is a journalist and
longtime advocate for human rights
and freedom of expression in Yemen,
and has worked to oust the regime
there.
shodges@umr.org
Theologian gets church homecoming
BY SAM HODGES
Managing Editor
At 71, Stanley Hauerwas is hardly a
prodigal son, having achieved world
renown in the field of theological
ethics.
Nonetheless, the United Methodist
church in Dallas that he grew up attending is offering the fatted calf—or
at least a weekend full of celebration—when he returns there this
weekend.
“I’m honored to do it,” Dr. Hauerwas said by phone from Duke University Divinity School. “It’s a lovely
occasion.”
The idea for the theologian’s
homecoming came from the Rev. Annelda Crawford, pastor of Pleasant
Mound-Urban Park UMC, which was
known as Pleasant Mound Methodist
in Dr. Hauerwas’ day.
“I’m more than thrilled” that he
agreed to come, she said.
Dr. Hauerwas grew up in the Pleasant Grove section of Dallas, son of a
bricklayer. He and his parents seldom
missed a Sunday attending the nearby
Pleasant Mound Methodist Church.
His father, Coffee Hauerwas, served as
building superintendent for its sanctuary.
In his youth, Dr. Hauerwas labored
alongside his father during the summer, acquiring a strong work ethic
and salty vocabulary. He also became
a serious reader, going on to UMC-af-
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O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1 | U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R
filiated Southwestern University in
Georgetown, Texas, then to the divinity school at Yale University, where he
earned his Ph.D. and
embraced the theology of Karl Barth.
Through his long
teaching career—
first at Augustana
College, then at Notre
Dame, and for many
years at Duke—he
has risen before sun- Stanley
Hauerwas
rise to read, grade
papers and write.
He’s the author of many books, including The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer
in Christian Ethics, and Resident Aliens:
Life in the Christian Colony, which he
wrote with UM Bishop Will Willimon,
and which has sold more than 100,000
copies.
Dr. Hauerwas’ theology defies easy
summary. For example, he’s a committed pacifist who quarrels with much of
liberal Christianity. He has written on
a wide range of subjects, and is a
sharp critic of what he calls the “accommodated character” of much
Christianity in the United States.
His industry and depth as a writer
and thinker have impressed many in
the academy. He’s been the subject of
dissertations and books, and there’s
an anthology of scholars’ reaction to
his work.
Time magazine named him “America’s best theologian” in 2001, and that
same year he delivered the prestigious
Gifford Lectureship at the University
of St. Andrews, Scotland. Earlier Gifford lecturers included William James
and Albert Schweitzer.
jects, including the long ordeal of his
marriage to a woman with serious
mental illness. (His subsequent marriage to the Rev. Paula Gilbert, a UM
elder, he describes as extremely
happy.) Early chapters recount in
vivid detail the influence that the
Pleasant Grove community, particularly Pleasant Mound Methodist, had
on him.
Last January, Ms. Crawford traveled to New Orleans for a meeting of
the Society of Christian Ethics, of
which Dr. Hauerwas is president. With
cooperation of others in the group, she
benevolently ambushed him at a reception, playing a DVD with grainy
footage of the dedication of Pleasant
Mound Methodist Church’s building,
including the man most responsible.
“He said, ‘That’s my Dad,’” Ms.
Crawford recalled. “Oh, it was so moving.”
Dr. Hauerwas promptly accepted
Ms. Crawford’s invitation to come this
weekend. The church is hosting a
“This Is Your Life, Stanley Hauerwas”
dinner on Friday (Oct. 14), for family
and friends, including some fellow
Eagle Scouts from boyhood days.
On Saturday afternoon, there will
be an academic forum, with Dr.
Hauerwas answering questions about
Christian ethics and theology. Then on
Sunday morning at 9:30, he’ll be signing books during coffee hour, and he’ll
preach at the 10:30 worship service.
His title? “Coming Home.”
Dr. Hauerwas shared a copy of the
sermon, which references Exodus
33:12-23, Psalm 99, 1 Thessalonians
1:1-10, and Matthew 22:15-22.
In the sermon he recalls his father’s remarks on being honored at
the church building dedication years
ago. “I would like to say I am only
human,” Coffee Hauerwas said. “The
one we should be thanking is
almighty God. He is the one that gave
it to us.”
Dr. Hauerwas continues the theme
in his sermon:
“To have such a father is to be
given a gift that forces recognition
that all life is a gift. No one deserves
having such a father, but then none of
us deserve life itself. That is why we
are here to worship God.”
shodges@umr.org
‘That’s my Dad’
Ms. Crawford studied The Peaceable Kingdom at Perkins School of
Theology, but it was Dr. Hauerwas’
2010 memoir, Hannah’s Child, that
gave her the idea to bring him back to
his home church.
In that book, he covers many subTHE UNITED METHODIST REPORTER (USPS954-500) is published
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PHOTO COURTESY NORTH TEXAS CONFERENCE
Please recycle.
We do!
Martha Evans was a youth worker at Pleasant Mound Methodist
Church when Stanley Hauerwas was growing up there, and looks
forward to his return visit.
FAITH focus 3B
UM CONNECTIONS
UNICEF Halloween
campaign continues
Collection boxes are available now for the Trick-orTreat for UNICEF education
and fundraising initiative.
For more than 60 years, the
program has given U.S. children, along with their parents and teachers, the
opportunity to learn about
other children in need
around the world—and to
raise money on their behalf.
U.S. children have collected
nearly $160 million by
going door-to-door with the
trademark orange collection
boxes on Halloween and by
planning fundraisers.
United Methodist congregations may invite youngsters
to collect donations for
UNICEF, the United Nations
Children’s Fund. Visit
http://youth.unicefusa.org.
Claremont appoints
UM leaders to board
The Board of Trustees of
Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif.,
has appointed three new
trustees, including two
United Methodists: Jim Winkler, top executive of the
General Board of Church
and Society, the denomination’s public policy and social justice agency; and the
Rev. John Flowers, pastor of
First UMC in Phoenix, Ariz.,
an advocate for the homeless and an active leader in
the Desert Southwest Conference’s Urban Academy.
The third new trustee is
Brian McLaren, a leader in
the emerging church movement.
Young adults gear
up for Exploration
On Sept. 6, thousands of
young adults were thinking,
talking and praying about
hearing God’s voice calling
them into ministry, via Facebook, Twitter, blogs and
other online connections.
Participants aimed to generate a “social media buzz”
about Exploration 2011, a
national event sponsored by
the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry for young
people, ages 18-26, to help
them respond to their call
into ordained ministry. The
event takes place Nov. 1113 in St. Louis. Visit www.
explorecalling.org.
—Compiled by Mary Jacobs
Church reaction mixed on immigration ruling
B Y H E AT H E R H A H N
United Methodist News Service
United Methodist reactions to a
federal judge’s rulings on Alabama’s
new immigration law were as mixed
as the rulings themselves.
U.S. District Court Judge Sharon
Lovelace Blackburn allowed key provisions of the legislation to go into effect. However, she blocked part of the
law church leaders feared would criminalize routine acts of ministry, such
as transporting children to Sunday
school.
“The judge’s decision . . . protects
our churches’ ministries from prosecution under this over-reaching law
and substantially protects our religious liberties,” said Bishop William
H. Willimon of the North Alabama
Conference.
However, he and other United
Methodists expressed concerns about
portions of the law Ms. Blackburn let
stand.
Bishop Willimon joined three
other bishops from the state’s Episcopal and Roman Catholic dioceses in a
federal court suit to stop the law. The
Alabama law, HB56, also faces legal
challenges from the U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of civil
rights groups. Both opponents and
supporters of the Alabama legislation
have called it the toughest immigration measure in the country.
Of particular concern for the bishops was Section 13 in the law, which
would have made it a crime to knowingly “harbor” or “transport” immigrants who are not lawfully present in
the United States. In one of her three
rulings issued Sept. 28, Ms. Blackburn
put the section on hold while appeals
move forward, saying it conflicted
with federal law.
“One of the positive effects of this
bill is to learn all that our churches are
doing,” Bishop Willimon said. He said
he was particularly impressed by the
ministries some of the conference’s
small rural churches were providing
for immigrants.
Contracts not valid
The law has intimidated some of
these small congregations, Bishop
Willimon said. But with the judge’s
ruling, he said, United Methodist
churches in Alabama can continue “to
provide food, shelter, transportation,
housing and the church’s sacraments
to all of God’s people, regardless of
race, class or citizenship status.”
In her ruling on the lawsuit
brought by the bishops, Ms. Blackburn
denied the request of the church leaders to halt a provision that nullifies
contracts involving unauthorized immigrants.
The bishops contended that the
provision, Section 27, would prohibit
Alabama churches from performing
marriages and baptisms for unauthorized immigrants. They argued the
measure also would prevent the operation of camps, day cares or any service that might be used by individuals
suspected of being undocumented.
Ms. Blackburn, who was appointed
by President George H.W. Bush, disagreed. The Alabama law, she wrote,
excludes marriage licenses from its
definition of a “business transaction,”
and such services as day cares and
camps do not require contracts for
their operation and management.
Since the provision had no potential
to harm church work, she wrote,
church leaders did not have standing
to press the issue.
Danny Upton, a United Methodist
attorney and native Alabamian, also
challenged Section 27 as part of the
lawsuit brought by civil rights groups.
Mr. Upton is the national program
attorney for the United Methodist ministry Justice for Our Neighbors, which
provides free, professional legal services at monthly clinics for immigrants.
He argued that Section 27 would prevent him from entering representation
agreements with his clients.
Such contracts, he told UMNS, are
“the very mechanism by which the
undocumented can become documented . . . and I am not able to do
that with any undocumented people
in the state of Alabama.”
In her ruling on the case brought
by the civil rights groups, Ms. Blackburn agreed that Mr. Upton had
standing to challenge the law. However, she disputed his lawsuit’s argument that Section 27 violated federal
anti-discrimination law.
The federal law, she wrote, “does not
protect a person from discrimination
on the basis of unlawful presence.”
Bishop Willimon and Mr. Upton
had other misgivings about the law.
Ms. Blackburn let stand a provision requiring public elementary and
secondary schools to check the citizenship status of children. Bishop
Willimon wondered where the funding would come from to support “the
new bureaucracy” required to check
student birth certificates or immigration papers.
The judge also declined to block
the provision that requires law enforcement officials to “make a reasonable attempt” to determine the
immigration status of people they
stop and suspect of being in the country illegally.
Mr. Upton, a member of Hazel
Green (Ala.) United Methodist
Church, rejoiced that Ms. Blackburn
halted part of the law that banned
UMNS PHOTO COURTESY OF LYN COSBY
Participants from many faith communities participated in a march
in Birmingham, Ala., this summer to stop Alabama’s HB56
immigration law.
unauthorized immigrants from enrolling in public universities.
Yet, he said, he feared the law-enforcement provision could lead to
racial profiling and the unwarranted
detention of people based on their
ethnicity.
“We have such a painful history of
race relations in this state anyway,” he
said, “and I think this will be a painful
experience for all Alabamians in the
end.”
Open letter protest
More than 150 United Methodist
clergy in North Alabama signed a June
13 open letter sent to state government officials denouncing the law as
unjust.
The Rev. Matt Lacey, the North Alabama Conference’s director of mission and advocacy, and the Rev. R.G.
Lyons, pastor of Community Church
Without Walls, crafted the letter.
“We are pleased to see some of the
harsh and far-reaching elements of
the law have been struck down,” Mr.
Lacey and Mr. Lyons said in a statement. “We feel that many of these elements, written by members of the
state house and senate who campaign
on Christianity, are not representative
of the message of Christ who welcomed the stranger despite country of
origin or status.”
They added that they worry some
of the remaining parts of the law also
are too harsh and hope “the courts will
look further into those provisions.”
State Rep. Mac Buttram, a retired
United Methodist pastor, also had
mixed feelings about Ms. Blackburn’s
rulings. A Republican from Cullman
County, Mr. Buttram campaigned on
enacting immigration reform in 2010
and voted for the Alabama law this
summer.
While he disagreed with some of
Ms. Blackburn’s legal interpretations,
Mr. Buttram said, he saw her rulings
mainly as “an affirmation.”
“Our intent has been to make sure
people who are here illegally are not
given the same privileges people who
are here legally should get,” he said.
“I’ve always contended that we were
not limiting ministry in churches.”
He did acknowledge that the challenges to the law are far from over, and
the law already has prompted some
unintended consequences. In his
county, which depends on agriculture,
farmers have told Mr. Buttram that
they are short of workers because
even legal immigrants have left the
state since the passage of the law.
“I would not have anticipated that
people who are here legally would
have left because of the law, but apparently that has happened,” he said.
He is trying to help farmers apply
to participate in the federal guest
worker program.
“I am going to be pushing for solutions but not backing off people who
are here illegally,” Mr. Buttram said.
The Rev. John Bailey, director of
missions at Asbury United Methodist
Church in Madison, near Huntsville,
sees the law as an opportunity for his
ministry. Mr. Bailey is among the
clergy who spoke out against the law.
“My call as a United Methodist
deacon is to encourage, equip and prepare the body of Christ to join in
God’s work in the world, especially
among the poor and oppressed,” he
said. “It was painful to realize through
this process that so many who profess
the name of Christ view the alien as
‘other’ and do not see themselves in
the eyes of the alien. . . . My ministry
remains the same, to take people to
the places where the ‘others’ live and
work and trust the Spirit of God to
open our eyes and soften our hearts.”
U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R | O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1
SINGING Continued from page 1B
things about.
“I make it to my home church [Northaven UMC] about seven or
“What I found when I got to the worship was none of the congreeight Sundays a year,” he said.
gations was singing,” he said.
It’s his work at Perkins, though, where some say he’s made the
Mr. Thornburg confirms from his travels that vigorous congregabiggest difference, teaching Mr. Henry and others who have gone on,
tional singing in United Methodist churches is rare. And he thinks it’s
Johnny Appleseed-like, to lead church music programs with a congrean equal opportunity problem, with traditional worship churches
gational singing emphasis.
tending to have choirs and organs that overpower, and contemporary
“What Michael is doing that I think is brilliant is that he’s training
worship churches having praise bands that do the same.
leaders of the people’s song,” said Jorge Lockward, director of the
His theory is that the tradition of singing in the home, at school,
global praise program for the UMC’s General Board of Global Minand in churches waned with the easy availability of recorded music.
istries. “He’s not training music makers. He’s training music eliciPeople gradually became musically passive, eagerly receiving song
tors—people who bring the music from others.”
made by professionals, but not making even a
One is the Rev. Joe Stobaugh, a Perkins gradjoyful noise themselves.
uate who leads the music program at Argyle
Dr. Hawn agrees.
UMC in North Texas, but carries the title “cura“Culturally, there are very few opportunities
tor of worship” to reflect the philosophy he imto sing,” he said. “We’ve even given up singing
bibed under Dr. Hawn.
‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at a ball game. We
“Everything we do stems from involving the
let the soloist handle it.”
congregation in participatory worship and
Furthermore, Dr. Hawn contends, there’s
helping the congregation find their voice, betheological danger when music in worship because the song is ultimately theirs,” Mr. Stobaugh said.
—The Rev. Charlie Overton comes so much the domain of the highly
skilled.
Another is Chelsea Stern, who started as
“I don’t want poorly prepared and poorly
music minister at Greenland Hills UMC in Dalperformed music, I don’t want Scripture read poorly, I don’t want anylas the Monday after she graduated from Perkins in May 2010. She’s
thing done poorly. But when the professionalism takes over the peoworked hard to get the congregation singing more, and among those
ple’s song, we’re really running a heretical movement,” he said. “That’s
who testify to her success is the church’s pastor, the Rev. Marti Soper.
not what the Reformation was about.”
“Chelsea empowers congregational singing, because she communicates to them that she believes they can and will sing,” she said.
Beyond categories
“They begin to want to sing up to her expectations.”
The young music ministers in the Hawn-Thornburg camp have
Ms. Stern, like Mr. Henry, has deputized the choir to help teach
developed techniques through trial-and-error—what might be
new music to the congregation. She’s even had the congregation
thought of as best practices for bolstering congregational singing.
singing in parts on such numbers as “Come, All You People” from the
The Rev. Charlie Overton, who leads the music program at HillUMC hymnal supplement The Faith We Sing.
crest UMC in Nashville, Tenn., teaches new songs to the congregation
“With something like that, I don’t put the number in the bulletin,”
a few minutes before worship begins. At St. John’s UMC in Fort Mill,
she said. “I teach those by rote, and I teach all the parts.”
S.C., the Rev. Carrie Wright takes time to explain how a certain piece
Musical passivity
will connect with the sermon.
Ms. Wright also eagerly solicits requests for hymns, and makes it a
In the Mennonite Church, with its rich congregational singing trapoint to encourage singing away from worship.
dition, harmony singing by people in the pews would be the norm.
“I spend a lot time doing other things in other parts of the church,
“If you arrive in a Mennonite Church, the first thing they say to
not on Sunday morning, such as playing for the older men’s class,
you is, ‘You know we sing in four parts,’” said Mr. Thornburg.
leading music for the senior dinner,” she said.
The Church of Christ, in which most congregations avoid instruMr. Stobaugh likes to choose choral anthems that the congregation
mental accompaniment, is known for strong a cappella congregacan be taught to sing the chorus of. All the music ministers said they
tional singing. But other denominations—including the UMC—are
devote a part of choir rehearsal time to going over music the congrewidely considered to be on a long slide.
gation will sing, so the choir can provide strong leadership during
A 2008 article in The Briefing, an international evangelical
worship.
monthly publication, carried the title “The Slow Death of Congrega“It’s kind of like having 20 amazing leaders right behind you that
tional Singing,” with author Michael Raiter asserting, “In many
are helping you teach the song,” Ms. Stern said.
churches, genuine, heartfelt congregational singing has been in its
With varying levels of intensity, the music ministers argue that the
death throes for some years now.”
terms “traditional” and “contemporary” are not helpful when it comes
Mr. Henry offers anecdotal evidence from when he took a month’s
to boosting congregational singing.
renewal leave and visited a number of churches he’d heard good
“I hate the traditional/contemporary thing,” Mr. Henry said. “I try
to program music that I feel is authentic to the message, to the word,
and authentic to our community.”
Indeed, variety is a hallmark of those trying to add oomph to congregational singing. They speak of choosing everything from Charles
Wesley hymns to spirituals to white gospel to contemporary praise
music to the melodic and easily memorized songs of the Taizé and
Iona ecumenical communities.
Something as simple as having the congregation sing “Jesus Loves
Me” as a children’s sermon prelude (standard in Mr. Henry’s church),
or a Taizé chant on the way to take communion (customary in Ms.
Stern’s) leads to a new level of engagement, the music ministers say.
Of course, there may be those who sing too loud or sing off-key, or
both. But what God asks is faithfulness, not perfection, suggested Mr.
Overton.
“When I think of trying to improve congregational singing, it’s not
like teaching voice lessons,” he said. “The goal is to give people permission to offer what they have and to put it in a context where it
seems it matters, so they feel that even if they don’t like the sound
their voice makes, the fact that they’re using their breath in the act of
PHOTO COURTESY RELIGION COMMUNICATORS COUNCIL
worship, in the context of the story we’re telling today, makes it meanJorge Lockward, director of the global praise program for
ingful.”
the UMC’s General Board of Global Ministries, credits the
‘The goal is to give
people permission
to offer what they
have. . . .’
Rev. C. Michael Hawn in particular with “training music
elicitors—people who bring the music from others.”
4 B | O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1 | U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R
shodges@umr.org
1
2
REPORTER PHOTO BY SAM HODGES
PHOTO COURTESY HILLCREST UMC
1
The Rev. John Thornburg, a hymn text writer, felt called to start his own
Ministry of Congregational Singing (www.congregationalsinging.com). He
chats here during a break at a workshop he gave at Walnut Hill UMC in Dallas.
2
The Rev. Charlie Overton leads the Hillcrest UMC choir, in Nashville,
Tenn. He says the work of improving congregational singing is “not like
teaching voice lessons.”
3
4
Chelsea Stern has used her choir at Greenland Hills UMC, in Dallas, to help
teach the congregation new songs.
5
6
The Rev. Jackson Henry avoids terms like “traditional” and “contemporary”
in choosing music for St. Mark’s UMC in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The Rev. C. Michael Hawn, who is a professor of church music and director
of the sacred music program at Perkins School of Theology, is credited with
influencing young music ministers to make congregational singing a priority.
3
The Rev. Joe Stobaugh (with guitar) stresses congregational singing at Argyle
UMC in North Texas “because the song ultimately is theirs.”
4
PHOTO COURTESY THE REV. JACK SOPER
5
PHOTO COURTESY PERKINS SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
6
PHOTO COURTESY ST. MARK’S UMC
PHOTO COURTESY ARGYLE UMC
U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R | O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1 | 5 B
6B FAITH forum
God calls laity, clergy
Allegedly glorious past won’t
provide answers to UMC’s needs to ministry partnership
B Y W E S M AG RU D E R
Special Contributor
In Woody Allen’s most recent film,
Midnight in Paris, a young struggling
novelist pines for the “good old days”
of 1920s literary
Paris, when the cafes
were filled with
Ernest Hemingway,
F. Scott Fitzgerald
and Gertrude Stein.
Through Mr. Allen’s
inventive and playful
script, the novelist,
played by Owen Wil- Wes
Magruder
son, gets to revisit
that golden age.
Without giving too much away, Mr.
Wilson’s character learns that the
present is the only time we are given.
He discovers that the time he spends
pining for the past is wasted, as well as
misdirected.
In the raging discussion about
Methodism’s future, I believe all of us
are stuck in a similar rut. Some of us
think the good old days of Methodism
were in 1950s America, when church
attendance was generally higher. Some
of us think the best days of Methodism were in the early American years,
the time of the circuit riders who gal-
lantly evangelized the wild western
frontier. Others look back to the days
of John Wesley himself, particularly
his middle-age years, when he seemed
to have a fairly stable routine of annual conferences, society and class
meetings, and circuiting lay preachers.
The truth is hard to swallow.
Methodism since the 1950s has been
inextricably linked with the myth of
American exceptionalism, and thus
failed to slow the Cold War or prevent
wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and
Afghanistan, as well as numerous
covert operations elsewhere. Furthermore, mid-20th-century Methodism
was found to be profoundly white and
middle-class.
The 19th-century circuit riders
didn’t seem to protest the treatment of
Native Americans during the frontier
expansion, nor did they seem overly
concerned with treatment of slaves. It
appears they were more concerned
about beating the Baptists and Presbyterians to new areas than anything
else. Furthermore, they were ridden
hard by bishops who seemed to ignore
their declining health and diminishing enthusiasm.
And don’t get me started on John
Wesley. As much as I admire the guy’s
theology, writing and organizational
skills, he was likely a real pain to work
with. He had an obsessive-compulsive
disorder that rivals anything I’ve ever
seen in real life, had a strange relationship with members of the opposite sex, and ruled the Methodist
connection with an iron fist.
I’m making a very simple point
here: Let’s stop comparing our present
to our past. Our context is different
from those other places and eras. Discipleship in the 21st century may have
nothing to do with church attendance,
or baptisms, or recorded professions
of faith. It may have nothing to do
with buildings, denominations or
clergy.
So let’s quit trying to rebuild, recapture, redo old-time Methodism,
whatever it was. Stop worrying about
“death tsunamis” and “declining attendance” and “shrinking budgets.”
The serious disciple of Jesus only
has one real question to answer: What
does it mean to follow Jesus here and
now?
The Rev. Magruder is senior
associate pastor at First Rowlett,
United Methodist Church in
Rowlett, Texas, and blogs at
www.methofesto.wordpress.org,
where this column first appeared.
LETTERS
In support of Church and Society leader
Having read Mark Camp’s letter to the editor in regard to
Jim Winkler’s protest at the U.S. Capitol (Reporter, Sept. 23),
I feel compelled to express my deep appreciation for the witness Jim Winkler and other faith leaders made at the Capitol
on July 28. For far too long the church has failed to lift a
loud, strong voice in the halls of Congress on behalf of the
poor and oppressed in our society. This protest called attention to that lack of concern.
Clearly human needs were not a top priority in the debtceiling and budget negotiations going on in Congress at the
time of the protest. Indeed, they continue to be at the bottom of the list for many legislators. Whether Mr. Winkler
spoke for himself, or as the top executive of the General
Board of Church and Society, I am grateful that he has taken
seriously the gospel mandate to be a voice for the poor and
needy, and that he had the courage to act on that conviction.
Eloise M. Cranke
Des Moines, Iowa
***
As a lay person, I am responding to the letter from Mark
Camp questioning why Mr. Winkler should engage in
protest demonstrations. Personally, I have limited experience with protesting unsafe/unfair/inhumane policy and/or
conditions. But I appreciate why Mr. Winkler is called both
personally and in his position with our Board of Church and
Society to be a physical presence of witness for Christ and
the United Methodist Church.
In either case, Mr. Winkler is demonstrating more comO C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1 | U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R
mitment to his faith and to the Social Principles of the
United Methodist Church and UMC history of protest than
do most of us with our “busy lives.”
My greater concern is not about the activities of Jim
Winkler as he models for United Methodists. Ours is a history of protest. Against slavery. For full legal personhood for
women. Protests for peace. Preaching against child labor
and other workplace conditions. Demanding that public education be accessible and affordable for all children.
My concern is why more of us “in the pews” folk aren’t
joining Mr. Winkler as he stands for the gospel alongside
representatives of the Presbyterian Church (USA); United
Church of Christ; Church of the Brethren; the Roman
Catholic Church and our sisters and brothers in the Jewish
tradition, to cite a few.
Not long ago, I asked my then bishop where all the
prophets had gone. He smiled and directed a piercing look
at me. Our time and condition here in the United States is
not all that different from the time in which Christ walked
and talked. Mr. Winkler follows his call. Are we not listening?
Sue B. Mullins
FUMC Loveland, Colo.
The Reporter welcomes brief, civil letters, and reserves
the right to edit for space and clarity. Send to
news@umr.org or Letters to the Editor, The United
Methodist Reporter, 1221 Profit Dr., Dallas, TX, 75247.
Please include contact information.
B Y S A N DY J AC K S O N
Special Contributor
Most dynamic United Methodist
churches tend to have effective and
spiritually engaged
laity in leadership
roles, according to
the Call to Action report, and aside from
making disciples,
equipping the laity is
one of the most important tasks of the
Sandy
church.
Each member of Jackson
the United
Methodist Church is called by the
Book of Discipline to be in mission as
a servant of Christ in the world in all
areas of their lives—family life, daily
work, recreation and social activities.
The initial preparation for discipleship is the development of an understanding of the priesthood of all
believers. (I Peter 2:9) Too often when
we talk about the “call to ministry” in
the church, we are talking about the
call to ordination within the church.
However, all Christians are ordained by God to fulfill the role of
mission and ministry in the world. If a
layperson does understand the “call to
ministry” as referring to all believers,
they often believe that “ministry” is
what they do in the church—offices
they hold, services they perform or
meetings they attend as committee
members.
To value the concept of the priesthood of believers and grasp the meaning of mission and ministry is the
beginning of true discipleship.
Vital personal faith is a primary
concern when developing laity for
leadership. All congregational and
missional leaders should be spiritual
leaders who faithfully practice the
means of grace and participate in an
accountability group.
Because leaders become role models for others they should be attentive
to their own spiritual growth and personal piety. As John Wesley said, “O
begin! Fix some part of every day for
private exercises. . . . Whether you like
it or no, read and pray daily. It is for
your life; there is no other way: else
you will be a trifler all your days.”
Spiritually grounded individuals
who are gifted in their areas of leadership and passionate about their mission are disciples who serve not only
as role models but as mentors to others.
The laity themselves and their
spirit-given gifts are assets for effective
lay leadership. An initial effort to equip
the laity should include an assessment
of their spiritual gifts and their areas
of passion. When spiritual gifts are
discovered, an empowerment occurs
that is not related to permission giving
by a pastor, but by the acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit’s presence
which equips them for service.
What would it look like if each
member knew their spiritual gifts and
was equipped to use them? What if
clergy realized that they need help in
various areas of mission/ministry?
What if the laity did not expect the
clergy to do all the work of ministry?
What if the laity were able to fill in the
gaps in areas such as administration,
caregiving, prayer, shepherding, and
even preaching and teaching?
What if the congregation and pas-
‘… all Christians
are ordained by
God to fulfill the
role of mission
and ministry …’
tor were partners in ministry, and we
had not clergy and not laity, but
CLAITY—“holy partners in a heavenly calling”? (Hebrews 3:1)
As we strive to increase the vitality
of our churches, we must remember
our Methodist and early church history and endeavor to make it a reality
in our context today.
Scott Kisker notes in a book he coauthored with Elaine Heath, Longing
for Spring: A New Vision for Wesleyan
Community: “Renewal does not happen when the laity ‘take control’ of the
church, but rather when the laity realize we are the church. . . . ‘The church
is called holy,’ wrote John Wesley, ‘because it is holy.’ This need not be cloistered holiness, but it is intentional and
communal—a holiness in the midst
of the stresses and strains of everyday
life. If we can recover that, we will recover a church that is vital and effective in the twenty-first century.”
Wesley also said, “In the meantime, let all those who are real members of the Church, see that they walk
holy and unblamable in all things. ‘Ye
are the light of the world!’ Ye are ‘a city
set upon a hill’ and ‘cannot be hid.’ O
‘let your light shine before men!’”
May it be so.
Ms. Jackson is director of
connectional laity development for
the General Board of Discipleship.
FAITH forum 7B
WESLEYAN WISDOM
Arminianism—essential for Methodist recovery
B Y D O NA L D W. H AY N E S
UMR Columnist
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
thanksgivings be made for everyone,
for kings and all who are in high positions. . . . This is right and acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior, who desires
everyone to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.”
—I Timothy 2:1-4 (NRSV)
We live today in a new age of religious pluralism. The prognosticators
of modernity who expected religion to
move to the perimeter of cultural influence in the 21st century were
clearly wrong.
As Thomas Paine
wrote concerning
political debate,
“These are the times
that try [our] souls.”
Not since the 16th
century has there
been such a battle
Donald
for the religious
Haynes
mind as we have
today. If we as
United Methodists identify with the
world and have nothing to say, we
have no future. Recovering Arminianism is an imperative.
Everyone has a “place at the table”
but some are very articulate and engaging and convincing about their understanding of God and humankind,
while others hesitate to speak. In
United Methodism, those who have
deep convictions about social justice
issues are more bold and courageous
in speaking their mind than those
who are devoted Arminians. For many
generations we were taught a distorted version of Wesley’s “catholic
spirit,” so that our beloved denominational ranks have become “a mile wide
and an inch deep.” Thus it is that we
are very uncomfortable in stating that
we are Arminians.
Why is it important to revive an
old theological debate between
Arminians and Calvinists? The jurist
John Calvin! In Chapter 21 of Calvin’s
Institutes of the Christian Religion, he
asks why some of God’s children believe and others do not. His answer
lies not in us but in God’s eternal election. In Chapter 23, Calvin’s legal mind
leads him to the inescapable conclusion that God wills not only the salvation of the elect but also the
damnation of the reprobate. This is
why the theologically sophisticated,
precocious Susanna Wesley wrote to
her son, John, at Oxford, “The doctrine
of predestination, as maintained by
the rigid Calvinists, is very shocking,
and ought to be abhorred, because it
directly charges the most high God
with being the author of sin. I think
you reason well and justly against
it. . . .” Do we still hear such sound
advice when parents write to college
students today?
Jacob Arminius (1560-1609) was a
Dutch Calvinist who became a dissenter to the Calvinist notion of predestination. Wesley adopted the
doctrine of Arminianism and wove it
into the theological fabric of Methodism.
According to Wesley scholar
Richard Heitzenrater of Duke Divinity School, Wesley decided to meet the
Calvinist challenge head-on in November 1777 by producing a monthly
magazine himself. Wesley’s distribution of The Arminian Magazine popularized the work of Jacob Arminius
for over a century. John Fletcher and
Richard Watson made Arminianism
the cornerstone in their systemization
of Wesley’s theology. Until 1840, The
Methodist Quarterly Review reflected
the clearly Arminian evangelical
pragmatism of the Second Great
Awakening.
insists that God’s love is irresistible;
we insist it is resistible.
3) We believe that while we are not
saved by good works, “the saved will
do good works.” Moral responsibility
and missional service are the “proof in
the pudding” that we are being disciples. This we need to recover.
To rebrand Methodism with its
historic message, we must renew our
understanding of God’s sovereign nature as love, and our understanding
that being made in God’s image
means having what Wesley called
“natural liberty.”
Rejecting TULIP
Glenn Hinson, a moderate Baptist
who was once on the faculty of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
writes, “Fundamentalism of a more
sophisticated sort traces its roots to
Dort Calvinism.” Albert Mohler Jr.,
president of the seminary, has been
called by Time magazine, “the reigning intellectual of the evangelical
movement in the U.S.” Christianity
Today describes Dr. Mohler as a “cerebral, churchly . . . five-point Calvinist,”
a reference to the five points of the
Dort Calvinist TULIP: Total depravity
(to the extreme that we cannot hear
‘We believe God chooses to express
total sovereignty with total love for
every one of God’s children. . . . The
Methodist fundamental doctrine is
that God is inherently love.’
Arminianism is the linchpin of
Methodist grace theology. Grace “for
all and in all” is indigenous to the
Wesleyan revival and early American
Methodist growth; yet few United
Methodist seminaries taught it in the
20th century and almost none of our
laity know even the word “Arminian”!
Until the 20th century, every
Methodist was pretty clear on what it
means to be an Arminian. First of all,
Arminianism, like Calvinism, insists
that we are saved by God’s initiating
grace. The difference is three-fold:
1) We believe that salvation begins
with God’s love, not humankind’s sin.
Every person sins, but our sins do not
define us. Being made in God’s own
image defines our identity.
2) We believe that God’s grace, like
human love, can be resisted, resented
and refused. To this degree we have a
role in our being saved. The Calvinist
what Wesley called God’s “still small
voice” or “whispers of love”), Unconditional election, Jesus’ Limited atonement, Irresistible grace and
Perseverance of the saints (“once
saved, always saved”). We Arminians
disagree with each letter in TULIP!
Whereas John Wesley used the language, “God’s way of salvation” (via
salutis), the typical parlance in sharing groups and evangelistic tracts is
“God’s plan of salvation.” To me, the
word “plan” suggests a “business plan”
for a newly formed organization, company or corporation, or a “strategic
plan” that helps an institution foresee
its future. However, God is not in the
corporate or institutional sphere so
much as God is in the relational
sphere. To me, Jesus’ best portrait of
God is found in Luke 15—the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and
the lost son. In each case the finder
has a “love that will not let go.” The
woman whose betrothal necklace had
a missing coin and the shepherd who
had a missing sheep went looking for
the lost with a proactive, seeking love
that had no limits. The father whose
prodigal son was gone waited with a
patient perseverance that had no ultimatum.
Accepting God’s love
Another important Arminian accent in the parable of the Prodigal Son
is that the Prodigal Son’s salvation depended upon his volitional response:
“But when he came to himself he
said, . . . ‘I will get up and go to my
father. . . .’” The father had been waiting by the gate for years, but respected
his son’s human liberty enough to
allow the boy to “come to himself.”
The son did not save himself, but he
did belatedly realize his father’s love.
To the Calvinist, God expresses
God’s sovereignty in his omnipotence,
his power. To the Calvinist, God’s sovereignty is expressed by “elective
grace.” As Arminians, we believe that
God is all-powerful in sovereignty, but
we differ from the Calvinists in how
God expresses God’s sovereignty.
We believe God chooses to express
total sovereignty with total love for
every one of God’s children. That is
grace “for and in all.” The question
boils down to this: “Is the nature of
God inherently justice or inherently
love?” The question must not be seen
as an 18th-century issue. The
Methodist fundamental doctrine is
that God is inherently love.
Wesley’s sermon, “Free Grace,”
preached in 1739 at Bristol, was published to refute Calvinism. It begins:
“How freely does God love the world!
While we were yet sinners, ‘Christ died
for the ungodly.’ . . . And how freely
with him does he ‘give us all things’!”
Wesley then asks the tough question, “[But is this grace] free for ALL,
as well as IN ALL?” He first reiterates
the essence of Calvinism: “By virtue of
an eternal, unchangeable, irresistible
decree of God, one part of mankind
are infallibly saved, and the rest infallibly damned; it being impossible that
any of the former should be damned
or that any of the latter should be
saved.” He says if that were true, all
references to God’s weeping would be
“crocodiles’ tears, weeping over the
prey which himself had doomed to
destruction.”
He calls predestination a “flat contradiction, not only to the whole scope
and tenor of Scripture, but also to
those particular texts which expressly
declare, ‘God is love.’” Bottom line:
United Methodists are Arminians—
and we need to understand this fundamental!
Dr. Haynes is a retired clergyman
of the Western North Carolina
Conference. He is the author of
On The Threshold of Grace.
Email: dhaynes11@triad.rr.com.
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U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R | O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1
8B FAITH focus
Multiethnic churches still rare in 21st century
B Y L U C A S L. J O H N S O N II
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—As a young
white minister, the Rev. Michael Catt
said he was fired from a Mississippi
church for quoting Martin Luther
King Jr. He never forgot it.
“Getting fired . . . was really a pivotal, defining moment for me,” he
said.
Now 58, he’s pastor of Sherwood
Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., which is
among a few churches taking steps to
create—and maintain—multiethnic
congregations more than half a century after King gave his poignant sermon about the divisiveness among
so-called Christians.
In 1956, King wrote a sermon entitled “Paul’s Letter to American Christians,” in which he spoke as if the
Apostle Paul were delivering a message to the modern-day church.
King said: “You must face the
tragic fact that when you stand at 11
o’clock on Sunday morning . . . you
stand in the most segregated hour of
Christian America.”
Baptist Church, which had been damaged by the flood.
There Mr. Catt met the senior pastor, the Rev. Daniel Simmons, who is
black, and the two forged a friendship
that spawned a novel idea: pulpit
swapping. Now, the two regularly
preach at each other’s church and
their congregations come together for
those occasions. Mr. Catt, Mr. Simmons and their mixed congregation
are featured in a new movie Courageous, produced by Sherwood Baptist,
which was also behind the successful
movie Fireproof.
“We learn from each other,” Mr.
Simmons said of the two churches.
“We mutually support and encourage
each other.”
Pastors Ken Whitten and Jeffery
Singletary have a similar practice.
The Rev. Whitten, who is white, is
the pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church
in Lutz, Fla., and the Rev. Singletary,
who is black, led the 50-member Mission of Life church in Tampa.
Mr. Whitten said he approached
Mr. Singletary with the idea of starting a multiethnic church.
‘We’re going to have to create what
we want to see in society within the
church. I think it begins in the church.’
—Bernice A. King
There are currently between
300,000 and 350,000 congregations in
the U.S., according to Rice University’s
Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Ninety-two percent are homogeneous,
meaning at least 80 percent of the
congregation is comprised of a single
racial group.
When Mr. Catt became pastor of
Sherwood Baptist in 1989, he noticed
his predominantly white congregation
was a stark contrast to the small city
of Albany, whose population is about
65 percent black and where few concessions were achieved from the city
government after King visited there
during the civil rights movement.
“You can’t pastor a church in a
community that’s predominantly
African-American and look out on a
lily white crowd, because you’re not
being honest,” Mr. Catt recently told
the Associated Press.
He began by diversifying the
church’s leadership. He ordained its
first black elder, and would later appoint a black senior associate pastor.
But it was a tragic flood in Albany
in 1994 that eroded racial barriers
even more and created a sense of
unity that still exists today. Mr. Catt
and his congregation reached out to
the predominantly black Mt. Zion
“If we’re going to change our culture, they’ve got to see it,” Mr. Whitten
recalled telling him at the time.
From that conversation was born
Mr. Singletary’s Exciting Central Baptist, which currently has about 760
members. Former Indianapolis Colts
coach Tony Dungy attends, and late
NFL Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon
was a member.
For one of Selmon’s recent funeral
services, Mr. Whitten allowed the
service to be held at his nearly 10,000member church and Mr. Singletary
preached the eulogy, an example of
how the two pastors also switch pulpits and merge their congregations.
Mr. Singletary says such a practice
“aligns with the heart of the Lord.”
“When we look at Scripture, God’s
heart is on the nation; people of every
tongue, of every tribe, of every kindred,” he said. “We serve a BaskinRobbins kind of a God; a God of 32
flavors or more.”
As was the case when there was a
secular push for integration decades
ago, multiethnic congregations have
had resistance. Opponents often prefer
a certain type of worship style or remain opposed to any type of change
in regards to race.
Shaun Casey, professor of Chris-
O C TOB E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 1 | U N I T E D M ET HODI ST R E P ORT E R
tian ethics at United Methodist-affiliated Wesley Theological Seminary in
Washington, D.C., said more congregations are “entertaining the question
of becoming multiracial and multiethnic” because they’re starting to pattern the diversity of the
neighborhoods around them.
But he acknowledged “predominantly white churches are often very,
very reluctant to actively pursue a
multiracial composition out of pure
fear and ignorance,” and black
churches “fear losing autonomy and
tradition.”
The Rev. Rice Broocks, senior pastor of Bethel World Outreach Church
in Brentwood, Tenn., has a congregation made up of people from more
than 50 nations. While there may be
some resistance, he believes churches
like his are becoming more desirable.
“I believe that most pastors deep
down would love to have a diverse
congregation, they just don’t know
how to do it,” said Mr. Broocks, who
also heads similar churches in other
parts of Middle Tennessee, as well as
Dallas, New York and Phoenix. “And so
my hope is . . . discussions like this are
motivating and inspiring.”
The Rev. Furman Fordham II is
senior pastor of Riverside Chapel Seventh-day Adventist Church in
Nashville, Tenn. He supports diversity,
but understands why some ethnicities
might want to have their own services,
particularly when it comes to worship
style.
For that reason, Riverside allows
Latinos of the same faith to use a
church building to have their own
service, but also welcomes them to
worship with the main congregation.
“I don’t think there should be this
expectation for us as African Americans to say . . . you must come in and
worship according to an AfricanAmerican style,” said Mr. Fordham,
whose church has an International
Day each year that recognizes the congregation’s different ethnicities.
“Because I think that’s what some
of the Euro missionaries did to
Africans. And I think that’s inappropriate. So somewhere in between
there, I think that we give people an
opportunity to participate with us, but
we also give them the option to organize among their own.”
However, accepting a different
worship style or diverse congregation
could be tough for some if they can’t
get past the color of the preacher.
The Rev. Roland A. Scruggs, 73, recalled the first time he was asked by
the United Methodist Church to pastor
an all-white congregation just outside
of Nashville, in 1995. He said he had
“mixed feelings” about going there,
but received a warm welcome for the
UMNS PHOTO COURTESY OF RISING HOPE MISSION CHURCH
Rising Hope United Methodist Mission Church, a multiethnic
congregation in Alexandria, Va., was started in the 1990s to meet
the needs of homeless people in the suburb of Washington, D.C.
After the 9/11 attacks, the church found a new mission field among
the many workers in the area who lost their jobs.
most part, except for a man who left
the church because he wasn’t comfortable with a black pastor.
That man, Clifton Baker, talked to
the AP recently, and the 64-year-old
acknowledged that he “didn’t think it
was a good fit for the church at first.”
But he said he eventually changed
his mind and asked Mr. Scruggs if he
could rejoin the church after hearing
him preach and personally talking to
him.
“We had several conversations and
I found out we have a whole lot in
common,” said Mr. Baker, who asked
Mr. Scruggs to return to the church to
christen his granddaughter. “We became very close friends, and still are.”
The Rev. Ken Bevel, the black associate pastor at Sherwood Baptist
Church, acknowledges the church is
different from his roots. But he decided he didn’t just want to reach his
own people, but “all people, all nations.”
“I’m used to being around certain
people, but I’m willing to put that to
the side to reach a bigger audience for
Christ,” said Mr. Bevel.
As the nation prepares to dedicate
a monument to Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. in Washington on Oct. 16, his
daughter, Bernice A. King, hopes
churches will embrace the universal
beliefs of her father and understand
that “God is global.”
“We’re going to have to create what
we want to see in society within the
church,” she said. “I think it begins in
the church.”
For Advent & Christmas 2011
The Journey
Walking the Road to Bethlehem
by Adam Hamilton
Journey with Adam Hamilton on the page and
on video as he travels from Nazareth to
Bethlehem in this unique new look at the birth
of Jesus Christ, using historical information,
archaeological data, video excursions in the
Holy Land, and a personal look at some of the
stories surrounding that birth. Abingdon Press.
For more information about this
book and churchwide study, visit—
JourneyThisChristmas.com
store, web, phone
Cokesbury.com | 800.672.1789