Martin Marty to speak at UT Martin, November 18

Martin Marty, the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, will be a featured academic speaker at UT Martin on November 18. The lecture, “Religious Pluralism as Threat and Promise,” will be in the Watkins Auditorium in the University Center at 7:30 PM. The lecture will end with a brief question and answer period. Marty taught at the University of Chicago for 35 years. The university founded the Martin Marty Center to promote “public religion” endeavors. He’s the author of over 50 books and writes a biweekly column for Christian Century magazine. Marty is the past president of the American Academy of Religion and the American Society of Church History and is a winner of the National Book Award. Some other upcoming speakers for UT Martin’s  Academic Speakers Program include:  Feb. 3, Hali Jilani, “From Kabul to Baghdad: The Rise of Radical Islam,”  and March 3, Ambassador Walter Cutler, “The Middle East: Crisis, Conflict and Change.”

Memphis Conference Older Adult Team receives GBOD Grant

Shirley Painter, chair of the General Board of Discipleship’s Committee on Older Adult Ministries, recently announced that the Memphis Conference Older Adult Design Team has been selected for a 2003 grant of $1800. The general agency was able to fund only 22 projects out of the 88 that applied for 2003. The Rev. Deborah Suddarth, program ministry associate for Christian Education and Age-Level Ministries, says the funds will be used to underwrite conference-wide workshops to train lay and clergy leadership in creative ways to facilitate older adult ministry in their congregations. Anyone interested in helping develop the workshops may contact Suddarth at (731) 664-8480 or dcsuddarth@memphis-umc.org.

Christian Educators to meet November  7

Memphis Conference Christian Educators will meet Thursday, November 7, from 10 AM to noon at the Conference Center Office, 24 Corporate Blvd., Jackson. Call (731) 664-8480 for directions if needed. The group will go out together for lunch after the meeting is concluded. Are you a Children’s Director, Youth Director, Program Director, Activities Director, or Christian Education Director? If you are, come fellowship and plan for 2003.

The Paducah District invites everyone to tour England and celebrate Wesley’s 300th birthday

The Paducah District Council on Ministries is sponsoring a tour of England in June, 2003. In conjunction with Educational Opportunities Tour, the trip will feature a Conference on Wesley’s Life, Legend and Legacy at the University of Manchester (June 15-18). Plenary speakers will include Phyllis Mack, David Hempton, Richard Heitzenrater, Ted Campbell and John Walsh. The conference after dinner speaker will be Lord Hattersley. Five principal presentations will be made, along with 45 additional papers. Included in the educational program will be visits to: Asbury House in Birmingham; New Room and Charles Wesley House in Bristol; City Road Chapel in London; Old Rectory and St. Andrews Church, Epworth; Coventry Cathedral, Coventry; St. Mary de Crypt, Gloucester.

Advance material about the tour stresses that this is NOT a vacation, it’s a continuing education event. The cost of the trip from St. Louis is $2682 (includes tax, tips, etc.) The group will leave on June 13. To secure a place, you must send a $250 deposit to Educational Opportunities Tours. The Paducah District has secured a chartered bus from the Lone Oak UMC parking lot to the St. Louis airport and back for $50 per person. For more information, contact the Rev. Rick Dye at (270) 554-1272 or rcdye@comcast.net. To contact Educational Opportunities Tours, John Wesley’s Birthday Celebration, link to www.wesley2003.org.uk. There are no Free Tours or Discounts for this tour for anyone.

Will this election deliver trick or treat?

Pulled quote:

    “The end never justifies the means. To further education by exposing people to possible addiction, bankruptcy, and criminal activity would be immoral.”

The end of October marks Halloween when children turn pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns and they go trick or treating. 

The object of the game is to receive candy or some other goody to save the giver from a trick. Of course the children are dressed as goblins or some scary creature. Occasionally they will only wear a costume of one of their heroes.

On November 5, Tennesseans will cast their vote for either a trick or a treat.  The lottery is being portrayed as a tremendous treat for the State of Tennessee. Tennesseans are being told that the lottery is gaming and not gambling. Tennesseans are being told that it will bring more students to the universities. Tennesseans are being told that the poor do not play the lottery more that the rich.

The State of Georgia, which is presented as the example to follow with the Hope Scholarship, has discovered two things.

• First, when it came to testing since the inception of the lottery, Georgia ranks 50th of the states.

• Second, the cost of the lottery has risen from 21.9 million in 1993 to 222.9 million. Governor Ray Barnes indicates that he will cover the deficit from the general fund. 

Studies show that the poor spend more on lottery tickets than the wealthy to the detriment of their families.

Most universities in Tennessee have exceeded their  enrollment goals  and they are not in need of more students to remain financially  solvent.

While we can argue endlessly about costs and all the programs that will be developed or enhanced, the real issue is a moral one. If an entity is to be worthy of support, then the means and the end must both be good. We can never use any means available to achieve a noble end.

The end never justifies the means. To further education by exposing people to possible addiction, bankruptcy, and criminal activity would be immoral.

The treat is to VOTE NO to the lottery and seek more just and moral answers to educating the children of Tennessee.

Yours in Christ,

 William W. Morris

Homeless! Mullins youth spend a night living in boxes and depending on the generosity of strangers

‘HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS!’

Amanda Hasselle and Jennifer Mastin were two of the Mullins UMC youth who spent a night living in boxes on the church lawn.

By Rachael Scarbrough

Mullins UMC 10th grader

Imagine a cool, fall night. All you have to live in is a box, and all that you have to keep warm are the clothes on your back.

Also imagine that if you wanted food or extra clothes for warmth, then you would have to depend on the generosity of your neighbors.

This is what the youth group of Mullins United Methodist Church experienced on Friday, October 18, as Box City returned full blast for its third year.

“It was great coming back this year,” said senior high youth Rachel Maness of the event that started at 4:30 PM on Friday and ran until the next morning. “I had a blast with everyone!”

The majority of Mullins’ youth participated with much excitement. By 5:00 PM, at least 13 youth were lining the streets on the corner of Walnut Grove and Mendenhall in Memphis with signs ranging from “Donate coats and blankets for the homeless” to “Honk if you love Jesus!”

The entire youth group was so excited when someone yelled that they had gotten a donation from someone in a passing car or when they saw a person bring coats and blankets to help keep them warm.

“I supported the youth because I see the need of our community around us,” said Katherine Black, a Mullins member. “It’s a wonderful cause.”

The youth never seemed to get tired and were even asking passersby for donations as late as 10:00 PM. They passed their time on the church lawn by playing games, good conversation, receiving donations and enjoying the food they were given.

When it was time for worship, the youth got into a “ready to worship” kind of mood. They started with a few praise songs on the front steps of the church that face Walnut Grove, but had to finish in the sanctuary because it started to rain.

“Even though it rained, we had a good time,” said the Rev. Timothy Prather. Associate Pastor and Mullins youth leader. “The youth really embraced this project and enjoyed reaching out to others.”

The youth led worship with lots of singing. The devotions were given by Prather and Nathan Brock, another youth leader at Mullins.

“I liked it when Nathan said that in his spare time he likes to spend it with us, even if he could be doing a lot of other things. It really meant a lot!” said Peter Mason, a junior high youth.

Most of the youth wanted to get some sleep, so once the event had to be moved into the church’s gym, it was lights out at 2:00 AM.

Box City received over $150 in cash donations as well as a refrigerator box full of blankets and coats. Non-perishable food items were also donated. All donations were given to United Methodist Neighborhood Centers.

The experience of Box City always seems to make Mullins’ youth group think about what they have and remember that they need to be thankful for all the blessings God has given them.

Senior High youth Gail Stratton said, “Even though I didn’t get to participate this year, I stopped by. I loved seeing all the love and support that my youth group showed. It was also great seeing total strangers care about this project.”

For Mullins’ youth, this was a one-night experience in homelessness, but for many others, for those who really don’t have a home, it lasts much longer.

Hopefully, Box City will return for a fourth year next fall with more love, generosity and kindness to assist in this cause. Box City was truly a great experience!

Repairing Marion’s dream home.

By Carrie Handerson

Memphis Conference VIM team

Sorry, wrong number.” Isn’t that what most of us say when someone dials our number by mistake?

For Marion Stanley, a wrong number turned out to be the right one. She had spent years appealing to government agencies to assist her in refurbishing her house. During her last attempt, her finger slipped and she found MERCI–Marion Edwards Recovery Center Initiatives.

MERCI is a Goldsboro, North Carolina center originally designed to assist hurricane victims. It’s sponsored by the North Carolina Conference and is named for the conference bishop. Between Hurricane Fran (1996) and Hurricane Floyd (1999), MERCI has evolved into an assistance program with a much broader base. In addition to helping the working poor, such as Ms. Stanley, MERCI sends aid to four other countries–Armenia, Afghanistan, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In fact, for part of the week, several members of our Volunteers in Mission team from the Memphis Conference put school kits together for students in Afghanistan. Further, two sign painters on our team worked late into the night to complete a sign on a shipping crate bound for Sierra Leone.

Ms. Stanley never heard the words, “Sorry, wrong number.” MERCI sent a project coordinator to her home in Kinston 45 minutes away to assess her needs. Subsequently, MERCI sent our VIM team. Most of our team’s skills were in painting and remodeling. We were asked to complete at least three rooms in the house. Instead, we completed five, including one room with a hole in the floor.

I’m still surprised at our progress,  even though I’ve worked with this team for four years on various buildings in two countries.

When we started to slow down, or the heat exhausted our energy, someone started singing a familiar hymn and we all sang along. We weren’t singing alone, either. Ms. Stanley watched over us the entire week. She showered us with gratitude and stories of the life she hoped to live in the house we were repairing.

The house was the dream home Mr. and Mrs. Stanley were going to remodel together. They had started the foundation when Mr. Stanley became terminally ill. Following his death, “dream home” savings were used to pay medical bills.

That was about 10 years ago. Now in her sixties, Ms. Stanley relies heavily on the generosity of her family and any money she makes from crocheting.

There’s something extremely motivating about working on someone’s home. Initially, we hadn’t intended to lay flooring, but after talking to Marion, we wanted to see her that much closer to moving in.

By the end of the week, she was sure she would be making Thanksgiving dinner for her family in the house.

As the sun set on our last evening at Marion’s house, our team leader, Myrtle Brown, handed a teary-eyed Marion the keys to her doors–keys to locks our team had installed.

We blessed Marion’s home with a chorus of “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” We were singing–through tears of our own–with the knowledge that our God can turn a wrong number into hope, not just for this one woman, but for all who assist  her and those like her.

On the team were Brown, Larry Tubb, Joyce Wiggins, Kerry Brown, Kim Brown, Max Brown, Wendy Brown, Carrie Handerson, Matt Johnston, Betty Orms, Carrie Schwartz, Oma Strickland, Gwen Tubb and Mary Wolfe.