The United Methodist Reporter

Volume 152 Number 35

Reporter.Memphis-UMC.org

December 30, 2005

Briefly…

In Memoriam

Mrs. Kathleen Fiser, widow of the Rev. James H. Fiser, died Nov. 23, 2005. The funeral was Nov. 26 at the Shackelford Funeral Home in Savannah, Tenn. Burial was in Shiloh National Cemetery. Mrs. Fiser is survived by two sons, James Ronald Fiser of New York and William Gerald Fiser of Mobile, Ala. Correspondence may be sent to Gerald Fiser, 813 Japonica Circle, Mobile, AL, 36693.

Notice to Pastors from Treasurer

The Table I and II worksheets will be mailed from the conference treasurer’s office IMMEDIATELY AFTER CHRISTMAS. Please watch your mailbox for the arrival of these forms and instructions. The completed forms will be due back in the treasurer’s office by JANUARY 31, 2006.

Position available

Director or Minister of Program and Education: University Church, Oxford, MS.

•To oversee the overall program and educational ministries of the congregation.

•To incorporate existing programs and services of the church in the opening of a new multipurpose building.

•To design and implement a third worship service targeting college students and young adults.

•To develop, coordinate and possibly lead a variety of small groups for study, recreation and community building.

•To connect the congregation to the community with ministries of fellowship, outreach and mission.

Qualifications: Previous education/training/experience in developing and managing ministry programs, education and worship. A background in theology and music is desired.

Please send resumes ASAP to:

Warren Black, Senior Minister Oxford-University UMC

424 South Tenth Street

Oxford, Mississippi 38655

Position Available

•Full-time Director, Children’s and Youth Ministries: First UMC, Brownsville, TN. Brownsville First is a 604 member church located 40 miles from Memphis and 25 miles from Jackson, TN along the I-40 interstate. The director will join in a team ministry partnership with laity and clergy to offer visionary and energetic leadership. Salary range is $28,000 to $35,000 with benefits. Job description available on request. Send resume: W. Kent Bailey, First United Methodist Church, 117 East Franklin Street, Brownsville, TN 38012, fax 731-772-1400, or email to: pastor@brownsvillefumc.com

Position Available

•Part-time Social Worker: Hannah’s Hope. Memphis Conference adoption agency serving West Tenn. needs licensed Social Worker on part-time contract basis. LCSW and experience in adoption preferred. Call 901-327-5560 for application. Deadline: Jan. 2.

Sharpe chosen for Candler Institute

Dr. Susan Sharpe, Forest Heights UMC pastor, will participate in the 2006-07 Candler School of Theology’s Institute of Preaching and Pastoral Renewal. The institute is dedicated to helping pastors renew their spirits and grow in their capacity to preach the gospel. Through the generosity of the Holy Land Institute, Sharpe and 19 other pastors from North America and Europe will participate in this 13-month program of continuing education designed to provide an environment for conversation, learning and interaction with members of the Candler faculty. One instructor will be Dr. Fred Craddock. •

Beware: Christmas virus on the loose, infecting the unwary

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and laying in a manger.

Luke 2:10-12

By Bishop Dick Wills

_Christmas is about “good news” and “great joy.” United Methodists all over our Conference are invited to share the joy and good news of what God has done in their lives. We do this by building relationships with people who don’t know how much God loves them. We share the good news and joy by the way we live our lives.

On the internet in the last couple of weeks, there has been a warning about the “Christmas Virus.”

The operating systems of a great many computers have already been exposed to this virus and it is possible that people everywhere could be affected. Some signs that you might have been infected by the “Christmas Virus” are:

1) a tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on past fears,

2) a loss of interest in judging other people,

3) a loss of the ability to worry (this is a very serious sign if this is happening to you),

4) a new appreciation of the “good news” of Christmas, that God came to show love for each of us at Christmas,

5) a slow realization that God’s direction is always for your best,

6) and, an overwhelming need to tell everyone else the “good news.”

Please send this warning out to all your friends. This virus has affected many systems. Some systems have been completely cleaned out because of it.

There is a multiplying power just like you see viruses on computers multiply and do damage and destruction. There’s a multiplying power in random acts of kindness which open the door to telling the “good news.”

There are so many people who live lives without any knowledge of how much God does love them. You and your church can make a difference this Christmas.

After all, this is the season of “Good News!” •

Sale of Germantown pastor’s book to provide clean water for Kibera Slums in Kenya, Africa

Rick Kirchoff

By Cathy Farmer

_It’s hard for me to talk about this without getting choked up,” said the Rev. Rick Kirchoff, senior pastor of Germantown (Tenn.) United Methodist Church, as he answered questions about the publication and sale of his book, Perceptions: A Collection of Favorites.

Kirchoff was reacting to what he hopes the profits from the sale of the book will soon be able to accomplish in the lives of thousands of impoverished Africans.

“We’re going to use the money to buy water treatment systems for the people living in the Kibera Slums in Kenya,” he said.

The Nairobi shantytown of more than one million people, a third of whom are HIV-positive, has scant electricity and no clean water. Drinking water, according to Allavida, a merger of Charity Know How and Alliance magazine, is “pumped through plastic pipes alongside sewage trenches. These trenches carry refuse and human waste to the river... The plastic pipes are brittle and exposed, often breaking, repaired by being jammed or taped back together, often without being cleaned, creating a suitable habitat for waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid.”

Many of the residents of the most populated informal settlement in East Africa die from these waterborne diseases and parasites.

Kirchoff said that each water treatment system costs $825.00 and includes a pump, chlorination unit and filter. Powered by a car battery, the system chlorinates and filters 55 gallons of water per minute. One system cleans enough water every day to meet the needs of 2,000 people.

“Depending on the sales of the book, we should make at least $10,000 which will allow us to buy ten or so units,” he said. “I’ve been signing and personalizing copies every day.” Over half the 2500 books printed have already been sold.

Friendly and non-preachy, Perceptions: A Collection of Favorites offers 100 devotionals that Kirchoff compiled from 60-second radio spots he narrated on local radio stations over the last two years. The $10 book can be purchased at the church, or at Cokesbury, Borders, Davis-Kidd and other local businesses. Mail orders are $12.00, including shipping.

Kirchoff continues to write and broadcast Perceptions every week, Monday through Friday, between 7:30 and 8:00 A.M. on three Memphis stations–94.1, Rock 103 and KIX 106. The drive-time messages reach thousands as they head to work.

“A significant number of people have joined Germantown United Methodist Church after listening to the radio spots,” Kirchoff said. “One of those new members is now attending seminary part-time.” •

Editor’s note: For information, contact Donna Thurmond, 901-754-7216.

Yada Sisterhood draws hundreds of women to Northside Methodist

Kellye Cash Sheppard: “Don’t worry, rejoice in the Lord always!”

“The Best Sister” gets the best seat in the house.

Lisa Clements gets everything started.

Over 300 women from West Tennessee, some United Methodists, many not, crowd into the Northside UMC gym every third Thursday of the month for upbeat messages that inspire them in their walk with the Lord.

By Cathy Farmer

_If you don’t arrive early for the Yada Sisterhood, you can expect to park your car a goodly distance away.

The parking lot at Northside United Methodist in Jackson, Tenn. is crowded every third Thursday of the month as hundreds of women–some members of the congregation, many not–flock to the church for an evening devoted to an upbeat message about God’s love.

Lisa Clements, mistress of ceremonies and one of the organizers of the wildly successful women’s gathering, said, “We’re not about denominations or any of that stuff! We’re here to minister to the women of the city. All we ask is, ‘Bring a dish, bring a friend, but just show up!’”

On November 17, the Yada Sisterhood celebrated its first birthday. Present that evening were over 300 women, some from as far away as Wisconsin and Kentucky, others from Millington, Jackson, Dresden, Milan and other towns in West Tennessee.

The theme for the evening was “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” The speaker was Kellye Cash Sheppard, former Miss Tennessee and Miss America.

On every table were bottles of bubbles with happy faces, refrigerator magnets imprinted with the Yada Sisterhood’s website address and meeting times, and baskets for prayer requests.

“We have a prayer team of 12 ladies who pray every month over the requests you drop in the baskets,” Clements explained.

Dozens of door prizes were given away to much applause, and two special “Best Sisters” were installed in easy chairs up front.

“You know something? I couldn’t find ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ in the Bible,” Kellye Cash Sheppard said as she began her message to the chuckling, receptive women. “But God does say do not be anxious. We don’t rejoice because everything’s going right, but because the Lord is good.” The women were soon on their feet, applauding Sheppard’s singing and witness. It was a real happening! •

Go to www.yadasisterhood.com.