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Volume 149 Number 1 021000 |
May 17, 2002 |
Positions available • Part time Director of Music: First UMC, Bolivar, TN. Needed for Adult and Children’s Choirs. Salary and duties negotiable. Some choir experience necessary. Contact: the Rev. Tim Carpenter, First UMC, 218 W. Market St., Bolivar, TN 38008. Dance for Kamina at Wesleyan Hills The Mission Committee at Wesleyan Hills UMC in Memphis came up with a fun way to involve the church in raising money for the orphans living at Kamina in the Congo. They’re having a "Dance-a-thon." Church members are being asked to sponsor the children and youth. The "Dance for Kamina" will feature three rooms with three different eras of dance music. In May, Northside UMC joins 12 churches in prayer for Jackson In a united front of intercession for the city of Jackson, twelve churches are joining in prayer. Each church is responsible for covering one month of the year with prayer, fasting and repentance. In addition, the 12 churches will gather every first Monday of the month at the host church for a time of encouragement and intercession for the church "standing in the gap" during that month. Northside UMC is covering the month of May, praying for churches, communications, darkness (terrorism, pornography, prostitution, drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, gangs, etc.), entertainment & recreation, evangelism, families, industry, law enforcement, leadership, medical community, schools and unity. Brownsville First’s Covenant Kidz receive thank-you letter from New YOrk Firemen After the Sept. 11 tragedy in New York, Brownsville First UMC’s Covenant Kidz wrote letters and made cards for people involved in the search and rescue effort. The church mailed the cards and letters to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) which distributed them to the Uniformed Firefighters Association. A thank you letter was just received from Kevin Gallager, President of Greater New York’s Uniformed Firefighters Association. The letter reads: ‘Dear Friends, We here at the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York wish to thank you for your wonderful letters. Your kind words and good wishes are very much appreciated. We are all going through a time that requires good people to write and give to each other comfort, prayers, and help in any form. We want you to know that letters like yours do all of these things. It also lets us know that we are not alone, and that people like you care about us. A sincere thank you!’ Memphis First member senior volunteer of year Ricardo "Ricky" Vargas, a volunteer at FirstWorks’ in Memphis, was named Senior Volunteer of the Year at Volunteer Memphis’ 25th Annual Luncheon. Vargas, 66, works in the church’s food pantry and clothes closet. According to those who nominated him for the honor, "His presence adds security and balance for the women working in the food pantry and clothes closet. He’s a calming influence on the men, often homeless veterans, who seek help at First UMC."Scottie Brafford, executive director of FirstWorks, describes Vargas as patient and nonthreatening to the men he serves. "He’s very good at picking up the quiet messages," she said. "He listens to the little things." The retired boilermaker began volunteering after his wife died four years ago. At first, he said, it was an effort to help somebody. "Now, it’s a lifeline." Vargas was given a crystal award and FirstWorks received $1,000 in honor of his work. "When his name was called, the only thing we didn’t bring enough of was Kleenexes," said Brafford.
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The Rev. Roger Hopson, Bishop William W. Morris’ choice for conference coordinator of Program Ministries, is looking forward to the challenge of being an advocate for what he calls the "stewardship of life." "It’s exciting to be part of such a wonderful legacy through the PMT office," said Hopson who will be leaving the Paris District office in June to assume his new duties at the conference center in Jackson, Tenn. "It will be a challenge," he admitted, "but because of an excellent staff already in place, the transition will not be a difficult one. "I’ve always seen the PMT office as being an advocate for ‘stewardship of life.’ This means," he said, "we help churches to empower persons to give their gifts, graces and resources to bring all people into the kingdom of God. "Stewardship of life," he explained, "also means that the key ingredient in disciplemaking has to do with building relationships. It is through deep relationships that we evangelize and serve. "Our witness," he said strongly, "must go beyond theory. Our practice has to involve the human touch. Machines are programmed, but people are loved." The Savannah, Tenn. native was educated at U.T. Martin and received his M.Div. at Interdenominational Theological Center. He was a General Conference delegate in 1996 and 2000. Hopson is married to Dr. Cynthia Bond Hopson. They have two children, attorney Angela Hopson and Marcos Hopson.
Low budget ads Bus shelter signs catch the eyes of drivers caught in Memphis traffic
Emmanuel asked itself the question: ‘What do you look at when your car is stopped at a traffic light?’ They decided the answer was: ‘ Ads.’ By Justin Allen Associate pastor, Emmanuel UMC
A marketing expert once told me that when you advertise, you need to "saturate the market." One advertisement on the radio won’t accomplish anything except to waste your money. Since last September, the Igniting Ministry campaign has done a good job saturating the national market for The United Methodist Church. But at Emmanuel United Methodist, we knew we had to saturate our market in the eastern suburbs of Memphis if we wanted to have an effective campaign for our local church. Television and radio advertising were out of the question for us. Even one ad would have depleted the church’s limited evangelism budget. So we decided on outdoor advertising as the logical way to saturate East Memphis. Bus shelter advertising became an easy way to promote our church in "high traffic" areas at a relatively low cost. What do you look at when you’re stopped at a traffic light? Ads. We knew that one sign wouldn’t do the job, so we purchased eight signs for three months (during the Lenten season, in September, and in December) to advertise Emmanuel UMC. Clear Channel, a Memphis advertising company, was eager to sell the months of September and December because outdoor advertising declines as the number of daylight hours begin to decline. We knew we could get more advertising time for our money. Clear Channel’s artistic department created our sign and added a large cross and flame logo that our church has since used in additional advertising. We’ve used the United Methodist cross and flame advertisements in local newspapers, in high school theatre programs, and on outdoor banners around our church grounds. The cross and flame connects Emmanuel to the Igniting Ministry campaign and gives us a unique symbol with which we can "saturate the market." While we are in the beginning phases of this advertising campaign and its coupling with Igniting Ministry publicity, the first few months have seen a noticeable increase in first time visitors at Emmanuel.
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Two top staff executives have been approved to lead the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women, beginning this fall. The Rev. Soomee Kim and the Rev. Raponzil "Ra" Drake were approved by the General Council on Ministries during an April 19-23 meeting in Oklahoma City. The council elects general secretaries (top staff executives) of most of the denominationwide agencies. The new co-general secretaries will take office Sept. 1, becoming the first two clergywomen of color – Kim is Korean American, Drake is African American – to lead the agency. Drake and Kim will succeed the Rev. Stephanie Anna Hixon, still on staff, and laywoman Cecelia Long, who now serves as GCOM’s conciliar officer. The change in leadership was dictated by the denomination’s 12-year term limit for general secretaries. COSROW advocates the empowerment of women and monitors gender inclusiveness in the church’s institutions. Based in Evanston, Ill., it is the only churchwide agency with two general secretaries. Kim, 45, pastor of First United Methodist Church of San Fernando, Calif., has served on COSROW’s governing commission since 2000. Drake, 43, pastor of Newman United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Neb., previously worked with the Memphis and Nebraska conference commissions on the status and role of women. Drake has been active in the church since her childhood in Memphis. As she sat in the front pew of Golden United Methodist Church, she never thought that a woman could or should preach, she said. That changed when she was a sophomore in high school and ran in an 880 relay. In the third leg of the race, her foot hurting, she heard God speaking to her. "The clouds were breaking, there was beautiful sunlight. … God said, ‘I am with you. You can do this.’" At that moment, she said, she heard God calling her to ministry. Though her pastor encouraged her to answer the call, members of her family were against the idea. Respecting her family’s wishes, she got an accounting degree but remained active in the church. The call became so strong, however, that she finally responded, getting her master of divinity degree from Memphis Theological Seminary in 1987 and her doctorate of ministry two years later. Born in a Buddhist home in South Korea, Kim moved with her family to California when she was 18 and converted to Christianity at age 22. Eight years later, as an elementary school teacher, she heard the call to ministry. "My call came from God, and everybody else thought I was crazy," she said. As a first-generation Christian and a Korean-American woman, she became a trailblazer. She received her master of divinity degree from Claremont (Calif.) School of Theology in 1993. Before approving the candidates on April 20, GCOM members discussed the fact that both are clergywomen and expressed concern about ensuring the representation of laywomen. The council was told that COSROW had launched a second search in hope of drawing lay candidates, and that the search committee ultimately felt both Drake and Kim would serve laywomen well. Though Hixon and Long represented clergy and laity, that mix has not always been the case at COSROW. The agency’s first general secretariat was filled by three laywomen. Drake has two daughters in college and a son at home. Kim and her husband, the Rev. Keith Andrew Hwang, an associate director of connectional ministries and conference secretary in the California-Pacific Annual Conference, have a son who is preparing for a teaching career and a daughter in college. (UMNS)
National summit launches strategy to end hunger There’s a swamp out there called poverty and injustice. Jesus called Christians to work for justice. That was the message Dr. Tony Campolo, a popular author and speaker, delivered to the National Hunger Summit on May 9-10. The Washington, D.C. meeting connected key leaders from the world of government, charity, foundation and corporate philanthropy, and representatives from across the United Methodist Church. Representing the Memphis Conference were the Rev. Drew Henry, Coordinator of the World Hunger Task Force, the Rev. Joe Moseley, Outreach Ministry Division chair, and Cathy Farmer, Program Associate and Communications Director. The General Board of Church and Society (GBCS), the Society of St. Andrew (SOSA), and Wesley Theological Seminary sponsored the summit to launch a strategy to end hunger. "Hunger continues to be a scourge to millions of people," said the Rev. Ken Horne, Executive Director of SOSA. "The plight of the poor, especially the women and children who invariably comprise the poorest of the poor, dictates that the United Methodist Church respond to the Bishops’ Initiative on Children and Poverty by taking a leadership position in the elimination of hunger." "The key impediment to ending hunger is the political will to do so," said GBCS executive Jim Winkler. "The lack of an adequate living wage, universal health care, and temporary aid to needy families are all policies that if changed could enable every American family to provide for themselves. Horne added, "The broad anti-hunger strategy that comes out of this summit will be delivered to the Bishops’ Initiative on Children and Poverty for their consideration, in hopes that it will be presented at the next General Conference in 2004. Our desire is that those who participate in this Hunger Summit will be inspired to go back home and do what God wants them to do, right where they are, to bring about the elimination of hunger. "It can be done," Horne said, "and the church can play a serious role. We hope this summit starts a ’movement’ within the church and outside of the church that will energize people in all sectors to do what makes common sense and moral sense to put an end to hunger."
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