In Memoriam

Mrs. Emma Lou Watson, wife of retired minister the Rev. Willard Watson, died Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004 after a long illness. Visitation was held Dec. 31 at the Dyersburg Funeral Home in Dyersburg, TN. The funeral service was held in the chapel of the funeral home on January 1, 2005. The Rev. Ralph Gunter officiated.

In addition to the Rev. Watson, Mrs. Watson is survived by three daughters: Willa Nelson, Humboldt, Tenn.; Rachael Parker, Sparta, Tenn.; Martha Davison, Finley, Tenn.; one son, Thomas Watson, Wilmore, Ky. She leaves seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Correspondence may be sent to: The Rev. Willard Watson, 6057 Hwy. 104 W., Dyersburg, TN 38024.

In Memoriam

Mrs. Jerlean Fleming, widow of the Rev. Rollie Benjamin Fleming, died Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004. The funeral was held Dec. 29 at Byrne Funeral Home in Mayfield, Ky. with burial at Spence Chapel. The Rev. Frank Bratt officiated. Mrs. Fleming is survived by two daughters, Mary Etta, Aurora, CO, and Sarah, Bellevue, WA. Correspondence may be sent to: Sarah Fleming, 16138 S.E. 33rd Lane, Bellevue, WA 98008.

Matheny delivers water, money to Gulf Shores

McKendree District Superintendent Mark Matheny delivered 250 bottles of water and a check for $500 to Gulf Shores UMC on Dec. 22, 2004. Amelia Fletcher, area Disaster Response coordinator, accepted the check. Ms. Fletcher assured Matheny that their team is committed to not only helping in the area, but to “pay it forward” some day in another conference.

Matheny and Amelia Fletcher.

Positions available

• Part-time Choir Director: East Dyersburg UMC, Dyersburg, Tenn. Will direct adult choir and lead congregational singing, Sunday, AM & PM. Send resume to: East Dyersburg UMC, 805 Merriman, Dyersburg, TN 38024. For more information, call the Rev. Dale Mills, 731-285-1527.

• Part-time Church Pianist: East Dyersburg UMC, Dyersburg, Tenn. Will play for Sunday AM & PM worship services. Send resumes to: East Dyersburg UMC, 805 Merriman, Dyersburg, TN 38024. For information, call the Rev. Dale Mills, 731-285-1527.

• Part-time Accompanist: First UMC, Jackson, TN. Responsibilities include playing piano/keyboard for blended worship service and accompanying First Song, the youth ensemble. Excellent keyboard skills and passion for music as ministry required. Salary commensurate with training and experience. Please email or mail résumés to: Rev. Charles Overton, Minister of Music and Worship Arts

First United Methodist Church
200 South Church St.
Jackson, TN 38301
charlie@jacksonfumc.org

 

 

UMs tap ingenuity to raise funds for victims of killer tsunamis

100% of all monies donated to tsunami victims through UMCOR to be used for relief, recovery

 

Isabelle and Alexandra Dillard, Scenic Hills UMC in Memphis,  hand out UMCOR bulletin inserts requesting donations for tsunami relief.

 Compiled from area reports and from an article by Jan Snider

 _United Methodists in West Tennessee and Western Kentucky are taking a creative approach to raising funds for the victims of the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami that struck at least 12 countries from Southeast Asia to Africa.

Collins Dillard is a graphic artist in Memphis, Tenn.. “I think visually,” he says. After viewing news reports of the disaster on television, he prayed about what to do, fell asleep and awoke with a plan.

Dillard designed T-shirt logos and printed up T-shirts in what he calls “urgent red.” His children wore the shirts during Sunday’s church service at Scenic Hills United Methodist Church in Memphis. They also passed out bulletin inserts from UMCOR and requested that donations be made to the agency.

“What is key to success is the fact that UMCOR has made information so accessible, and 100 percent of what they collect goes directly to the need,” Dillard says. “That’s why I think there is strength in giving through UMCOR.”

The logo features a heart and contact information. On the back, emblazoned over the words, “please give,” a verse from Psalm 69 reads, “I have come into the deep waters and the flood sweeps over me, yet God’s steadfast love is good.”

Dillard prints the artwork on transferable paper for church members who want to make their own T-shirts. He is making the logo available electronically to any organization that wants to contribute to UMCOR’s Asian disaster response efforts. United Methodist News Service is also posting the logo for downloading at http://umns.umc.org.

Also in Memphis, Dr. Solomon Christian has agreed to coordinate donations in the Metro area. His church, Good Shepherd, has been named a collection site.

Federal Express, which is based in Memphis, agreed to ship all donations to the affected area free of charge, according to the Rev. Mark Matheny, McKendree District Superintendent.

In the Paducah District, Broadway UMC is planning to receive special offerings every Sunday during January. At Fountain Avenue UMC, the United Methodist Youth Fellowship is collecting change to “Help Change the World,” and planning a bake sale later in the month.

Nearly 2,000 miles away from Memphis, two churches in Oregon are making an impact.

He wasn’t sure it would work, but the Rev. Dann Houghton decided to hold a “Tsunami Sing” before the Jan. 2 Sunday service.

“For a donation to the relief fund, we sang requested hymns,” Houghton says. He leads the Drain and Yoncalla United Methodist churches in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference.

He wasn’t expecting the response that followed. “I was flabbergasted!” Members enthusiastically called out hymns, and everyone joined in singing, he says.

Both churches are small, with less than 40 members each. After the “Tsunami Sing,” Houghton counted nearly $400 in donations that will go directly to UMCOR. The churches will do it again next week, with a slight change: the right to pick the first hymn of the service will be auctioned to the highest bidder.

The Rev. Charlene Gaspar serves Gladwyne UMC in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. A longtime collector of postcards, she’s auctioning pieces of her extensive collection and donating the proceeds to UMCOR. She sent out a request to family, friends, and churches to add postcards to the auction.

Other annual conferences are issuing pleas for donations. In Idaho, the Rev. Eric Brown says his church will match any funds given to the tsunami relief. The funds will come directly out of Pocatello First UMC’s budget.

“We’ve decided that regardless of the amount and regardless of the difficulties it may cause us in the future, God is calling us to open the church’s wallet as wide as individuals open theirs,” Brown says.

The Wisconsin Conference has blanketed local media with information on the UMCOR relief effort. “We’ve received calls from non-United Methodists who saw the television interviews or heard the radio news items. They called the conference center to make a donation because they really liked the idea of 100 percent of their money going to the relief effort,” says Thomas D’Alessio, conference communications coordinator.

Head of UMCOR disaster response, the Rev. Kristin Sachen is grateful for the church’s reaction but cautions that the need will not let up any time soon.

“What I have observed about United Methodists is that even in the week after Christmas, when a lot of people have already given their ‘discretionary’ charity money and are facing post-holiday debt, it just doesn’t matter,” Sachen says. “The need is in front of us, and we know that our resources are needed most elsewhere right now. So we give now.”

United Methodist churches across the globe have appealed to member churches to take up donations for tsunami and earthquake survivors.