Volume 151 Number 35

January 07, 2005

Briefly…

Lutheran church burns; congregation to worship in Arlington UMC gym

The Rev. Deb Christiansen, pastor of Arlington (TN) United Methodist Church, wrote the following:

“The Lutheran church in Arlington burned. We offered and they accepted our gym as a place to worship. They worshipped in our gym yesterday but this coming Sunday we will be together as our choir does our Cantata and I’ve invited Lonnie (the Lutheran pastor) to share a message and then we will have potluck together and Santa will be there for the kids. It ought to be a fantastic day! They have so much to work through so they will be with us for awhile. Their people park in their church parking lot and some walk and some are shuttled over. It was a pretty amazing sight. Some of the kids in the Lutheran church are part of the scout troop that meets in our church so it was very natural for them. But it was so sad to see the smoke-damaged Nativity they pulled out of the building and to see the burned packages that had been wrapped for needy families. I’m pretty sure it’s a total loss. We are trying to be as helpful as we can.”

Positions available

• Executive Director: United Methodist Neighborhood Centers, Inc. Memphis. Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree in social or behavioral science required, Master’s Degree preferred. Five to ten years experience in senior management plus experience in a 501c3 non-profit environment preferred. Applicant will need knowledge and experience in financial planning and supervision of high level managers. Must have excellent communication, organizational, public speaking and fundraising skills. Must also be able to lead a team and delegate responsibilities. UMNC desires applicants with strong Christian commitment, who can lead organization to assist neighbors in need. Send resume to UMNC Search Committee, P.O. Box 111348, Memphis, TN 38111-1348 Resume must be postmarked by Jan. 17, 2005.

• Full time Associate Editor & Writer: General Board Higher Ed. and Ministry: Nashville. Edit, proofread copy; develop, write news releases; develop promotional materials; write ad copy, scripts; serve as staff liaison with Cokesbury; and serve as staff liaison to Interpreter. Some travel required. Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or English required; minimum 2-3 years’ writing experience (news and feature) required (scriptwriting a plus); knowledge of United Methodist structure and polity. Apply To: GBHEM Human Resources Cheryl Stacker, P.O. Box 340007, Nashville, TN 37203-0007. Phone: 615/340-7360 Fax: 615/340-7048

‘It’s a God thing!’

Just months ago, there were no children’s programs at Briensburg UMC.
Now, 25 attend on Wednesday evenings and as many as 21 crowd the Sunday school classrooms.

By Cathy Farmer

_Briensburg United Methodist Church recently suffered a near death experience. Despite being one of the oldest churches in Marshall County, Ky., with deep roots in the community, it fell on hard times.

“We agonized over our position here,” said Ginalee Wyatt, the church lay leader. “We suffered anxious months with attendance going down, nothing stirring with our few children, and no Sunday school. It was a downward spiral. We asked ourselves what we were supposed to be doing here. Attendance on a good Sunday was only 30.”

Tom Wilson, the small rural church’s head usher, added, “We had a lot of negatives going on. We were struggling to get out of that mindset, but couldn’t seem to find the answer. Then Bill (the Rev. Bill Lawson) was appointed to the church, and two new couples joined on the same Sunday.”

It was a God thing, according to John Roberts, chair of the Paducah District Church Revitalization and New Church Development Committee. Not only did two couples and their children join at just the right moment, they brought needed skills and energy to the congregation. “It’s about what God is doing in this church,” he said.

While acknowledging that the whole church family “pitched in” heroically to renovate the parsonage and repair the buildings, and that the revitalization committee supported the church with new playground equipment, a subsidy for a Christian Education leader, and study materials, Roberts believes the church was saved from near certain death by God.

“He gets all the credit,” said Roberts. “Being attentive to His spirit and His goals is what made it work.”

Mrs. Wyatt agreed. “Things have been so different since that day, June 27. That’s the day the two new families came. Our attendance last Sunday, Dec. 12, was 63. Now we average at least 55 and half of those are children!”

“A snowflake is a fragile thing, but look what they can do when they stick together,” said Jean Hudson, a long time member of the church.

“We celebrate our new blood,” Mrs. Wyatt said, “but we need to emphasize the faithful ones like Jean here who persevered. People who have been members for 40 or 50 or even 60 years. We would have disappeared without these faithful ones, their work and their prayers.”

The change at Briensburg didn’t happen overnight. Everyone agrees it took prayer, hard work, and mutual encouragement.

One of the key ingredients in the turnaround was the Wednesday evening program for children started by Terri Petway, the new director of Christian Education whose salary is underwritten by the district committee. Petway and her husband Gary joined the church on that fateful Sunday, June 27, 2004.

“I call it K.I.D. for Kids in Discipleship,” said Mrs. Petway. “We started in October. We have 25 kids and 20 adults here every Wednesday evening.”

Letters from Petway and word of mouth brought the children to the church. Some are the children of Briensburg members; others attend Mt. Carmel, Briensburg’s sister church. The rest are unchurched or from other denominations. They range in age from three to thirteen.

“The kids can’t wait to come,” Terri said. “They call it Kid Night. They love to sing and learn about Bible people.” She added that they always close the 5:00 -6:30 PM program with prayer concerns.

“One evening, six-year-old Victoria even asked us to pray for a boy who pushed her at school,” Terri said.

Matt Wyatt, chair of the church council, said his son, Kip, 5, really looks forward to the program. “He’s eat up with it,” said the young father. “He yells more than he sings, though.

“I’m a life-long member of this church,” Matt said. “Kip and two others were the only children in church consistently until we began the Wednesday program. We hope this bonding they’re having continues through their teen years.”

Not only do the children come to Briensburg on Wednesday nights, they’ve begun attending on Sunday mornings.

Ginalee says they’ve moved from three in Sunday school to 21.

“So many of our people are working hard to make this happen,” said the lay leader. “We’re a true body of Christ. We hold it together with prayer and our time.”

As Mrs. Hudson said, “A snowflake is a fragile thing, but when they stick together, look what can happen!”

Online giving boosts aid to tsunami victims

By Jan Snider (UMNS)

_As the need for help increases following the tragedy in South Asia and Africa, United Methodist officials say that online giving is providing a new way of responding quickly.

The donations are sorely needed in a recovery effort that some observers say will cost billions.

“The count of dead right now is 124,000 - only 16,000 less than Hiroshima (a city destroyed by an atomic bomb during WWII) - and I would not be at all surprised if the final count is higher,” said the Rev. Kristin Sachen, head of disaster response for the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Despite the overwhelming need, the Rev. Larry Hollon, top staff executive of United Methodist Communications, is encouraged by the initial response he’s seen in donations made online. UMCom developed the MethodistRelief.org link for people to support UMCOR’s efforts.

“Fortunately, we were online quickly and were able to offer people an efficient, functioning site within a few hours of the first news reports,” he said. “The response since that time is heavy. Over a million people have viewed our messages, (and) several thousand have come to the site and made a secure donation. This is an amazing response.”

By Dec. 31, online donations through MethodistRelief.org were $445,000. But that figure is dwarfed by the tremendous need. The funds given to UMCOR will be used quickly with 100 percent of the donations going directly to the relief and recovery efforts.

“Meanwhile, we are using a limited amount of funds on hand to send (an) initial $100,000 in relief,” she said.

The MethodistRelief.org link will remain in place as long as it is needed.

Besides giving online, donations to UMCOR’s “South Asia Emergency” relief work can be placed in local church offering plates or sent directly to UMCOR, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Designate checks for UMCOR Advance #274305 and “South Asia Emergency.” Credit-card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583.

United Methodist ensures hometown soldiers get parades

By Lindsay Ferrier (UMNS)

Lisa Bishop plans parades for homecoming soldiers.

_Flanked by his wife and child, Pfc. George McCready sits atop a Cookeville, Tenn. fire engine and beams at the bustling streets.

The scene is a far cry from the war-torn roads of Fallujah, where McCready spent time guarding a bridge from suicide bombers.

On this November afternoon, he is receiving a hero’s welcome home from Iraq, acting as grand marshal in a parade held just for him. As the procession winds through downtown streets, bordered with cheering Putnam County residents, McCready’s joy is evident.

“I’ve been gone a long time,” he says. “It feels good to be home.”

McCready is one of more than a dozen Cookeville soldiers whose return from Iraq has been celebrated with a citywide parade. National Guard member Frank Robertson led his own parade just a few weeks earlier.

Remembering the feelings of pride and honor it stirred within him, Robertson showed up to join the crowd cheering for McCready. “It just brings tears to your eyes to see your little girl next to you smiling and waving, to see your wife glassy eyed with that big smile,” he recalls. “It’s the best feeling in the world.”

The parades are the idea of Lisa Bishop, a United Methodist and president of the Putnam County Soldier Support Group.

In addition to organizing 17 parades as of Dec. 1, her group helps the soldiers’ families back home in Cookeville. Members do all they can to answer the families’ physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

“We don’t see color and we don’t see branches,” Bishop says. “We see soldiers and heroes. We see families left behind. If you need us, we are there.”

Bishop can’t recall how she came up with the idea to hold parades for returning soldiers. She knew she wanted the returning troops to receive better treatment than two of her brothers did when they returned home from serving in Vietnam. Bishop has five brothers, who have a combined total of 102 years in the military.

Once the idea of the parades entered her mind, she knew she had to act. The quick support she received from city officials led her to conclude a higher presence was behind the idea.

“It shocks me sometimes,” she says with a laugh, recalling the ease with which her plan came to fruition. “Where did it come from? It didn’t come from me; it came from God because I don’t think that way.”

The first parade was held July 4, 2003, for a special soldier: her son, Lance Cpl. Mathew Bishop.

Bishop’s pastor, Friendship United Methodist Church’s Gerald Taylor, believes the parades help wash away the horrors of war for returning soldiers.

“It’s a moment that will stay with them the rest of their lives,” he says. “Those guys swell up. You can’t keep from smiling, and they can’t keep from smiling.”

Bishop’s efforts prove that with divine inspiration and a little effort, anyone can make a positive difference in the lives of others, Taylor says. “Lisa is a minister, as we all are, and she is very effective. She gets cards and calls from some of those people that she’s their angel, and what bigger compliment can you get than that?”

Inspired by Bishop’s zeal, Taylor has begun placing local soldiers’ pictures on his church’s altar each Sunday. Church members are encouraged to approach the altar during services to pray for the safe return of their local heroes.

Bishop’s favorite way to support local soldiers continues to be the personal parades, and she hopes her idea will catch on in other towns. She never tires of seeing the line of fire engines, police vehicles and decorated private cars as they roll through the streets. The parades begin with a public ceremony, awarding the soldier a key to the city, and end wherever the soldier would like, often at his or her own front door.

McCready has a different destination in mind for his parade. The memory of field rations – or “meals ready to eat,” in Army parlance – is still fresh, and he grins as the fire engine pulls into the parking lot of his favorite restaurant.

“It’s my decision,” he says. “Golden Corral has good food. Anything beats MREs.”

The Evangelism Corner

George Barna in his book “Evangelism That Works,” says that the key to effective witnessing is to keep it simple. “In my own inexact and imperfect way, I can tell other people what God has done for me, what I know He would like to do for them, and what they can do to accept his offer.”

The Evangelism Task Force of the Memphis Conference is encouraging our churches to utilize a witness in a worship service at least once per quarter. You can use one or several witnesses in lieu of a sermon, or you can have a layperson give a short (perhaps five minutes) testimony in addition to the regular sermon. Just watch how alert a congregation becomes when someone is telling his or her own personal story.

Bill Bouknight

Chair, Evangelism Task Force

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year from the Evangelism Task Force. This is the first in a series of monthly installments of “The Evangelism Corner.” We hope you’ll watch for it, discuss it with your evangelism committee, pastor, and others. May God bless you and your church this year.