He has spent a
considerable amount of time studying the lives of John and Charles
Wesley, founders of the Methodist Church. He has made several
trips to England and Ireland.
In April 2005,
Dye led a group of 39 youth and adults from the Lone Oak
congregation on a Wesley London Tour. In 2001, Dye was one of the
first recipients of a Lilly Foundation Clergy Renewal Grant and
spent four months on a clergy sabbatical studying our Methodist
heritage. He spent two months in England, staying a month in
Charles Wesley’s house in Bristol, studying in Oxford, touring
Wesley’s London sites and observing the 2001 World Methodist
Conference in Brighton, England. Dye has also visited church
sites in Haiti, The Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Switzerland,
Singapore and Ireland.
In the Memphis
Conference, Dye has served as the pastor of Pleasant Grove UMC in
Marshall County, Associate Minister at Murray First UMC and as
Director of the Interfaith Center at the University of Tennessee -
Martin.
During his
time at Martin, he also served the Nebo and Mason Hall United
Methodist churches. Dye moved to Lone Oak UMC in June of 1995.
During his ministry at Lone Oak, he guided the relocation effort
of the church to its new site on Hwy. 45,
South. The entire debt of over $2,000,000 was paid in full
last year. During his ministry, Dye has spent 17 years in the
Paducah District.
He currently
serves as Vice-Chair of the Conference Board of Ministry and is
also a member of the Conference Board of Higher Education. Dye
also serves on the Paducah District Council on Ministries, the
District Committee on Ministry and is the Paducah District
Co-Chair of the 2006 Memphis Annual Conference Site Committee.
Dr. Dye is
married to Vicki S. Dye. Mrs. Dye is a Project Specialist and the
Master Data Coordinator at NewPage
Corp., formerly MeadWestvaco, in
Wickliffe, KY.
Dye is
optimistic about the future of the church. “Our society is in
desperate need for the Good News of God’s redemptive love and
grace. In too many cases, the church has been seen as judgmental
and far too politically inclined to offer this important message
to the world.” Dye hopes to build on the excellent work of Dr.
Jeffords and strengthen the dialogue between clergy and laity
about the needs facing the churches of the Paducah District. •
‘Top Cop’
speaks at Germantown church about his 13 months in Iraq training
police
By
Lois
Fannon
Michael
Heidingsfield, president of the
Memphis and Shelby County Crime Commission, spoke at Germantown
United Methodist Church on February 1 about his experiences during
his 13 months working in Iraq for the State Department as the top
civilian commander in charge of Iraqi police training.
This was the first in this year’s
series of “Tough Topics” offered by Germantown UMC as both an
outreach for the community and as an open forum for discussion
about difficult and relevant issues.This
is the third year “Tough Topics” has been offered. Some of the
topics addressed in the past were: “The New Age Movement,” “Where
IsGod When Life is hurts?” and “Stem
Cell Research.”
Heidingsfield,
a member of the church, gave what one participant called “a very
honest, non-political account of his everyday experiences” in
Iraq. His candid account offered the over 130 people in attendance
an opportunity to better understand the struggles in that part of
the world.
He described Iraq as a
“complicated place” and cautioned that we should not be misled by
the simplistic impression we get from the media. While working in
Iraq, every movement is fraught with danger. He told stories of
“extraordinary random violence.” For example on March 9,
insurgents, dressed as police officers, packed 3000 pounds of
explosives in a stolen vehicle and detonated it within the
boundaries of the compound, killing 48 people and destroying 62
vehicles and millions of dollars of equipment.
Heidingsfield
would later learn Al Qaeda had
videotaped the attack and put it on their website. On July 25, a
minivan loaded with 750 pounds of high explosives crashed into the
main entry control point, killing six Iraqi guards. In September,
insurgents hid a bomb in a garbage pile and a shooter hiding in an
elementary school detonated a vehicle, killing the police
officers. At times, insurgents use cell phones and garage door
openers to detonate bombs.
Just as Iraq is a “country of
contrasts,” so too were Heidingsfield’s
experiences. He told of the hope he saw and the “democracy in
motion” as people went to vote, undiscouraged by mortar rounds
flying around them.
The children were the brightest,
most inspiring thing he found there. They were the only ones who
regularly smiled at them and didn’t fear them. They went to school
everyday, not knowing whether or not they would be killed.
Heidingsfield said, “They were the
single most up-lifting event. They grounded us and kept us going.”
In talking about the progress
America has made there, Heidingsfield
said there are now Iraqi police where there once were none. About
70,000 have been trained. Yet he explained that we cannot go into
a culture that is thousands of years old, with such religious
divides and with legal codes that we cannot fathom, and recreate
their culture. He feels we cannot end the insurgency ourselves. It
will end when the Iraqi people decide to take the risk not to be
intimidated and not to be ambivalent.
“Tough
Topics” continues at Germantown UMC each Wednesday evening in
February. Upcoming topics include: “Human Life: Capital
Punishment, Abortion, Euthanasia and Suicide.” This topic will be
addressed by a clergy panel. “Intelligent Design: Science or
Belief?” will be discussed by Dr. John Olsen, biology professor at
Rhodes College. Linda Douty, author of
How Can I Let Go If I Don’t Know I’m Holding On –
Setting Our Souls Free will discuss how to let go of old
perceptions and behavior patterns that cloud our vision. •
Volunteers
flock to Mt. Carmel for UMCOR training in helping tornado
survivors recover
Volunteers listened intently
as they were told how to help people recover from life-changing
disasters.
Christy Smith, a
certified UMCOR consultant, was pleased at the large turnout of
volunteers.
By Cathy
Farmer
Nearly
30 volunteers gathered at Mt. Carmel UMC Feb. 1 for a full day of
training in how to be an effective caseworker after a disaster
strikes.
“You will find
that many survivors can’t recover on their own,” said Christy
Smith, a consultant with the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
Smith knows
what she’s talking about. She was the director of the relief
effort after tornadoes swept through the economically
disadvantaged east side of Jackson, Tenn.
“We found that
many fell through the cracks,” she said. “It was our job to find
them. Many were elderly women sitting quietly in their homes while
it was raining inside. They didn’t know where to go for
help.”
The Rev. Bill
Lawson, pastor of the Mt. Carmel and
Briensburg United Methodist churches, said the exact number
of families in Western Kentucky still needing help is unclear.
“Some believe there are more than 200; some say it’s more like
140.”
Smith told the
volunteers that disaster recovery comes in three phases: emergency
clean-up, a relief phase, and long term recovery. They were being
trained to help with long term.
“True healing
begins now,” she explained. “You will help the survivors move
through the process. Every disaster happens locally and it’s
locally owned. Only locals can fix it.”
“When I
knocked on one Jackson door, I apologized for taking so long to
get there,” Smith said. “The sweet lady inside responded, ‘It’s
okay, honey. I knew God would send someone.’ That’s an awesome
responsibility for us to bear.”
Smith looked seriously at the volunteers.
“You must empower the survivors to help themselves as much as
possible.” •
Project
20/20 needs help saving sight of thousands in Third World
countries
In
over 13 years as a Memphis Conference ministry, Project 20/20 has
helped more than 22,000 people in Third World countries see
better, even though medical and vision care for the needy is
virtually a miracle there.
Donations of
money and glasses on every Sunglasses Sunday celebrated in Memphis
Conference churches makes that miracle happen.
This year,
Sunglasses Sunday is February 19. Every church has received
suggestions on how to make the day more successful. Come to church
prepared to:
• Donate
sunglasses to prevent blindness from intense sunlight, wind and
dust.
• Donate old
prescription eyeglasses to improve the vision of those who have no
glasses.
• Donate $5.00
to provide a free eye exam and glasses for one person. Send all
monetary donations to the Memphis Conference treasurer, 24
Corporate Blvd., Jackson, TN 38305. Specify the check for Project
20/20, budget line 182.
• You can also
set up and support a community donation box. If an additional 300
community donation boxes collect an average of 12 glasses per
month, your church and Project 20/20 could expand our mission from
helping 1000 persons per year to helping 4,000 men, women and
children. Project 20/20 will provide professionally designed boxes
and a packet of materials to help those who place, host and check
the boxes.
• Ship
collected sunglasses and eyeglasses to your district office or to
Project 20/20 by April 1.
Every year,
the donations of money, glasses and the time of volunteers enable
medical teams to travel to Third World countries. But almost half
the medical teams that request support from Project 20/20 must be
turned away because of our limited supplies.
If you wish to
help, please sponsor community donation boxes, contribute glasses,
volunteer your time washing, bagging and transporting glasses,
help in the Memphis lab, or donate the money to underwrite the
medical teams. Contact Project 20/20, Emmanuel UMC,
2404
Kirby Road, Memphis, TN 38119 or email Project 20/20 coordinator
Nevin Robbins at nrobbins@project2020.org.
•
Sager
Brown needs supplies
NEW YORK (UMNS)
- Sager Brown needs donations to help re-stock its supplies.
The top two
needs are not the standard kits, but specific cleaning and
bedding items for 2005’s many disasters, according to Ted Warnock,
interim director of the Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, La.
Cleaning
supplies include bleach, two one-quart or one 82-oz. bottle;
all-purpose cleaner, 32-oz. bottle; liquid laundry detergent, two
25-oz. or one 50-oz. bottle; heavy duty trash bags, 33-45 oz.
24-bag roll; scouring pads; paper towels; dust-mask respirators;
toilet paper; insect repellant spray, 6-14 oz. can; and sponge
mops with replacement pads.
Bedding must
be new, in original packaging, and in packages of two. Needed are
flat full-sized sheets, pillow cases and pillows.
Other supplies
needed are flood buckets, school bags and layette kits. Assembly
and shipping instructions for those items are available online at
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/kits/,
UMCOR’s Web site.
Cash donations
are also needed to cover the purchase of additional items and
shipping costs. Contributions can be made to UMCOR Advance
#901440, Material Resource Ministry, and placed in church offering
plates.
Contributions
also can be made by phone at (800) 554-8583 or by going online at
www.methodistrelief.org.
Previously an
orphanage and school for African-American children, the 25-acre
Sager Brown site became a center for the storage and distribution
of relief supplies in 1992.
Each year,
more than 2,700 volunteers assist at the depot by processing
donated supplies and creating items such as health kits, school
kits, sewing kits, layette kits and flood buckets and preparing
them for shipment.
Volunteers
also are involved in local community outreach programs, ranging
from the rehabilitation of houses to assistance in public schools.
•
Watch for
Lenten World Hunger Offering materials
People have
seen the overwhelming generosity of United Methodists in
responding to natural disasters. Giving people hope with prayer,
help and a hand-up is the way we live out our Wesleyan heritage.
Hunger is an
ongoing natural disaster, causing the deaths of millions each
year. The World Hunger Task Force hopes to combat this ongoing
destruction of human life. Please give generously to the Lenten
World Hunger Offering. •
February
3, 2006
