> Church and Society 

2011: Gay, lesbian ministry still 2011 flashpoint (from TNUMConnects 12/21/11)

*Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., 615.742.5470 newsdesk@umcom.org.

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GBCS offers one-stop for UMC grants (from TNUMConnects 11/16/11)

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Methodists asked to stand for the poor (from TNUMConnects 10/26/11)

The Board of Church and Society of the TN Annual Conference has started a new initiative to encourage United Methodists in Middle Tennessee to stand for programs for the poor in the federal budget. The current debates on government spending have put many important programs for the poor at risk, and we believe that our faith compels us to stand ask our leaders to protect these programs.

Recently a group of denominational leaders, including Bishop Larry Goodpasture, president of the Council of Bishops, sent a letter to leaders in congress asking these leaders to avoid further cuts to programs that help the poor. We are likewise mobilizing United Methodists throughout Middle Tennessee to sign on to a similar letter, which will be sent to our congressional delegation and other federal leaders. You are invited to visit www.faithfulbudgettn.org to read this letter and take a stance for the poor and marginalized in our area.


> SIGN and READ the letter (CLICK HERE)

For more information on this initiative please contact the Rev. James Cole at jcolehumc@bellsouth.net or the Rev. Paul Slentz at 61aveumc@bellsouth.net.
 

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Words hard to utter (from The Connector, Oct. 2011)

by Ingrid McIntyre, co-founder of Open Table of Nashville, Inc. (www.OpenTableNashville.org)

One of my favorite movies is the 1985 hit, St. Elmo’s Fire. There’s a scene in the movie set in an upper-middle class home full of white carpet, antiques and china - it’s the home of one of the main character’s parents. Juxtaposed with scenes filled with the casual, apathetic lifestyles of recent postgrads, this locale is instinctively seen as nothing less than stuffy with a dash of pretension.

As family and friends are gathering around the dining room table the poignancy of the host’s conversation is not to be lost: Words Hard to Utter. (You should look it up on You Tube – it’s a great scene!) She whispers words like “Jewish,” “cancer,” and “wealthy” - plausibly words hard to utter in the 1980’s, I suppose.

I laugh at this scene - probably so I don’t end up cry my eyes out. I know a very similar scene is playing out over and over around the world (and dare I say within the church), among people who find certain words hard to utter therefore resulting in the difficulty of building relationships. “Gay,” “poor,” “homeless,” “prison,” “divorce,” “schizophrenic,” “alcoholic,”…“HIV/AIDS.” All of these are words, connected with people who we, even as the church, push to the margins of our society. I see it every day.

I live with a friend who was infected with AIDS over 23 years ago. He is a U.S. Army veteran and contracted the virus through sharing a tattoo needle with fellow soldiers in his battalion. Because of his age and the stigma that comes with being HIV positive, especially to a “tough guy” in the military, he didn’t receive treatment. Instead, he ran away and tried to hide from his sickness and the society that told him he was “nasty.” In doing so, he thought maybe it would all go away. He ignored his illness because there was NO ONE he felt safe to talk to about his fear. He ostracized himself to the extent of becoming homeless, and tried his best to take it all away by turning to the bottle.

I met him after the great flood in 2010. We built a pretty strong relationship and after one failed attempt, he now lives in our community house. In the process of lining up appointments with V.A. doctors, Nashville CARES, and other helpful resources, last month he received a voucher to move into permanent housing. When I asked him about apartment hunting, he said, “Ms. Ingrid, why would I ever want to move out of here?” He would rather live his days within a community that loves him, where he knows he will not be abandoned. Praise God! His experiences are certainly not ideal, but he has discovered family, love, acceptance and a portion of peace. We do not have to whisper about AIDS in our house.

With over 1.1 million men, women and children in the United States who have been infected with the AIDS virus (the majority of whom live in the rural south), I would say, we have some work to do church.

Our 2011 Annual Conference adopted a resolution that encourages each of our ministries to contribute to the 20/20 Global AIDS Fund: Visioning an AIDS-Free World. While I think this is a worthwhile objective, I am under-whelmed with the request of responding to our friends and family in the U.S. and around the globe with only raising an amount of $2,020 by the year 2020. I get the symbolism, and it’s kind-of cute and easy to remember. However I think we are called to be more than dollars and cents (though I know that is also a necessity).

I challenge us to incorporate hours and relationships with those dollars. I believe we can not only give $2.020, but can also serve 2,020 hours a year (84 days) working towards building relationships with people who have, in some cases, lost their community, resources, and their belief that they are a beloved child of God.

I urge you to use December 4, 2012, the Sunday following World AIDS Day, to educate your realm of influence about The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund. There are a few online resources that you can access to help you prepare (go to: http://www.2020aidsfreeworld.org/#/resources/educational-kit and http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/health/resources/). I know we can be a community that not only gives, but also serves. We do not cower and whisper words that may be hard to utter, but shout from the mountain top that “God is LOVE” and that we are a community that lives to exemplify love in relationships with all people.
 

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Free downloadable resource, 40 Days of Prayer for Persons with HIV/AIDS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From Wayne Rhodes, Director of Communications

General Board of Church & Society
wrhodes@umc-gbcs.org
 
40 Days of Prayer for Persons Affected & Living with HIV & AIDS
Free, downloadable resource, from United Methodist Global AIDS Fund and General Board of Church & Society, offers daily devotions leading up to World AIDS Day.

A free, downloadable resource is available that offers 40 daily devotions leading up to World AIDS Day, typically Dec. 1. “40 Days of Prayers for Persons Affected & Living with HIV & AIDS” is a joint effort of the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee and the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS).

Approximately 33 million persons in the world are infected with HIV, and 2.2 million new infections are reported annually. “40 Days of Prayer” offers a compilation of prayers, reflections and stories by members of the UM Global AIDS Fund Committee, the GBCS Board of Directors and persons living with or ministering to those with HIV & AIDS.

“This resource is ideal for use by individuals and/or small groups in their daily prayer life as a way of lifting prayers to God about one of the worst health crises facing humanity,” said Dr. Donald Messer, chair of the UM Global AIDS Fund Committee. “Each year, more than 16 million children are orphaned due to their parents dying of AIDS. This denomination is slowly but surely coming out of its sleep and awakening to the fact that it needs to take action.”

Messer, who has been addressing the issue of HIV & AIDS for decades, said the new resource will foster reflection about the pandemic and discernment on how to take action.

The United Methodist Church encourages its congregations to commemorate World AIDS Day with “special programs on HIV & AIDS education and religious worship services that focus on intercessory and healing prayer, hope in god and love and compassion” (#3242, Book of Resolutions). “40 Days of Prayer” enables placing short devotionals in Sunday bulletins, provides information and stories for preaching on AIDS and/or working with community health organizations.

“We are pleased to offer this resource to local churches as a way to prayerfully lift up our concerns about this disease that is killing thousands of men, women and children daily,” said Linda Bales Todd, GBCS staff representative to the UM Global AIDS Fund Committee. “To use this resource, one could begin reading the daily prayers on Oct. 22, which would lead through the 40 days to World AIDS Day. Or, this resource can be used at any time during the year as a prayerful pilgrimage with God.”

The devotional resource can be found on the GBCS Web site at “40 Days of Prayer.” It and other HIV & AIDS-related resources are available through the GBCS online store.

The UM Global AIDS Fund offers a link to the devotional at 2020 Visioning an AIDS-Free World.

The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund is an Advance Special Project providing funding to AIDS-related projects around the globe. More than $3 million has been raised to support over 175 projects that provide education and advocacy, care for orphaned children, and care for those living with HIV & AIDS in 38 countries.

To find out more about the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund, go to: 2020 AIDS-Free World or send an email to 2020AIDSFreeworld@gmail.com; phone: 918.289.1274 or 703.282.6254.

You can make a monetary contribution to the fund online at Give to Mission, through your church or by mailing your check to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Make sure to indicate the Advance Special number for the Fund: #982345.

More information about the dreadful disease is on the GBCS Web site at HIV & AIDS.

The General Board of Church & Society is one of four international general program boards of The United Methodist Church. The board’s primary areas of ministry are Advocacy, Education & Leadership Formation, United Nations & International Affairs, and resourcing these areas for the denomination. It has offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and at the Church Center at the United Nations in New York City.

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Christian-Muslim dialogue: Working toward common understanding and mutual support (from The Connector, May 2011)

by Merrilee Wineinger

Wearing a pink dress embroidered with delicate white flowers, the young girl pranced on her tippy toes. She swung her arms in a graceful pirouette as her white eyelet headscarf caught the breeze created by her movements. The crochet tatting on her scarf floated off her shoulders before landing on her soft sleeves.

Four feet away, the girl's mother placed her head on the ornate carpet, her headscarf secure around her face and neck. Her arms remained by her side as she returned to a standing position. With her palms turned inward, her arm movements drew an image of a straight path, "the way to water" in a barren desert – Sharia. With body and voice, the young girl and her mother were participating in the movement of Islam. This freedom of movement and the praise of God is what we witnessed during our recent visits to the Islamic Center of Nashville.

Our relationship with the Islamic Center resulted from questions that the members of our Wednesday Night Book Club at Hendersonville First United Methodist Church (HFUMC) raised about Muslims and the Islamic faith. In February, a small group of Christians gathered to study about the lives of women in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. We watched the movie adaptation of the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and read Azar Nafisi's memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran. The class members came from varied backgrounds, some with preconceived ideas, and most with a media driven perspective on current events.

After two sessions and too many unanswered questions, I contacted Chance Dillon at Scarritt Bennett's Wisdom House in Nashville. The Wisdom House recently opened with a mission to bring interfaith dialogue to the forefront within our theological conversations. Dillon put me in contact with Imam Mohamed Ahmed from the Islamic Center, who met with our book club the following Wednesday. Imam Mohamed responded to questions about terrorism in the U.S. and abroad, relations between Muslim men and women, and the revolution in Egypt.

Days after the Imam's visit, Tennessee lawmakers proposed a joint Senate and House
bill that would make being a Muslim  in Tennessee a felony. In response, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition along with Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders spoke out at a press conference in front of the Capitol building. The coalition and the interfaith community were successful in influencing legislators to remove all references to Sharia law from the proposed bill.

The building of relationships continued on March 26 when the Islamic Center of Nashville hosted an open house. Guests feasted on savory and sweet delicacies representing various cultures within the Islamic world. After the feast, Imam Mohamed presented a lecture on Sharia law, the code of law derived from the Quran and the teachings and example of Mohammed. After his presentation, Imam answered questions from the audience. The questions varied from simple curiosity to vigorous debate. The open house provided an opportunity for dialogue, a chance to learn about and from people whose lives and beliefs are different from one's own. More than once an audience member interrupted the dialogue by attempting to draw the Imam into a debate. With grace and compassion, Imam Mohamed addressed each question or confrontation. He demonstrated the difference between dialogue and debate by working toward a common understanding, rather than striving to prove the questioner wrong even when provoked.

That morning's conversation served as an example that we cannot learn from each other as long as we hold our opposing ground and refuse to re-evaluate our assumptions. For many people their knowledge of Islam comes from the mainstream media, a platform that excels at debating the issues, rather than bringing people together to enter dialogue. By attending the open house, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Agnostics, and Atheists were working to debunk these media-driven stereotypes.

Two days later, another group of seventeen men and women from HFUMC visited the Islamic Center. We were living out our Christian faith in loving our neighbor. In the 2008 Book of Resolutions #6061, United Methodists are encouraged to study Islam, visit local mosques, and "remedy situations in which Muslims encounter misunderstanding, prejudice, stereotyping, or even hostility from the neighborhood or population when they desire to express their faith in everyday life." In total thirty members of HFUMC opened their hearts and minds to be in relationships with our Muslim neighbors.

Similarly, the Islamic Center of Nashville maintains an open door policy to visitors. They are dedicated to bringing about a better understanding among Muslims and their neighbors through open houses, lectures, classes, and community activities. Clergy and Laity can arrange a visit, bring a class, or request a speaker to visit their congregation or small group by contacting the mosque at 615.385.9379.

Additional opportunities to engage in Interfaith Dialogue are available through programs offered by the Wisdom House at Scarritt Bennett in Nashville. The Wisdom House hosts the Common Table Breakfast on the second Wednesday of the month from 7:30 to 9:00 am, where people meet to break bread and discuss a table topic on faith. The Wisdom House also sponsors Essential Conversations, an informal spiritual discussion and lunch series held on the first and third Wednesday now through June from 11:30am to 1:00 pm. Additionally, Scarritt Bennett hosts Diversity in Dialogue, giving community members a venue to move away from debate as they practice the art of dialogue. For more information visit www.scarrittbennett.org/programs/wisdom.aspx.

The Tennessee Annual Conference Board of Church and Society urges United Methodists to seek out opportunities to enter Christian-Muslim discussions. When we dialogue with members of other religions, we demonstrate compassion for all people. We grow in understanding of another's beliefs and a deeper understanding of our own. We are then able to join with our brothers and sisters of faith to live out God's greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors as ourselves.



To learn more about Islam, watch the Unity Productions Foundation documentary based on six years of groundbreaking research conducted by Gallup, WATCH HERE

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Human Relations Day Grants awarded for 2011 (from TNUMConnects 3/29/11)

$89,300 awarded in Human Relations Day grants
2 grants will help expand ministries into other annual conferences.
 
FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. — Directors of the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) approved $89,300 in Human Relations Day grants at their spring meeting here.

The grants went to four programs: two in the Southeastern Jurisdiction, one in the South Central and one to the General Commission on United Methodist Men.

Grant funding comes through Human Relations Day, one of the six Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church. Human Relations Day strengthens United Methodist outreach to communities, encouraging social justice and work with at-risk youths.

GBCS distributes 10% of Human Relations Day receipts for youth-offender rehabilitation programs. The General Board of Global Ministries distributes the remaining funds for its United Methodist Voluntary Services and Youth Rehabilitation programs.

Two of this year’s grants were to programs that will expand ministries into other annual conferences.

Disciple Bible Outreach Ministries
Disciple Bible Outreach Ministries (DBOM) of Jamestown, N.C., received $25,000 to help expand into five other states: Georgia, Kansas, Tennessee, Virginia and the Maryland/Washington, D.C., area. DBOM was established in 1999 as a joint ministry of the Western North Carolina and North Carolina Conferences for outreach to the prisons and juvenile training schools of the state.

DBOM recruits and trains persons to establish Disciple Bible Study groups in correctional settings. A curriculum based on Disciple, “Rings of Fellowship,” was created for incarcerated youths in 2002.

Seventy North Carolina prisons, jails or youth development centers have participated in the ministry, which has involved thousands of inmates and hundreds of volunteers.

DBOM is an official partner with the General Commission on United Methodist Men. Gilbert Hanke, chief executive of the commission, said that following announcement of the partnership he received many inquiries hoping that their states could be added to the list of prospects. “I have been contacted by bishops and laity excited about The United Methodist Church returning to a strong Wesleyan practice of prison ministries,” he said.

Amachi — Mentoring Children of Promise
Hanke said DBOM is a “wonderful complement” to the successful work the commission is doing through the Amachi Mentoring program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Amachi is an African word that translates to mean “Who knows but what God has brought us through this child.” Amachi creates a mentoring environment to lead children and youths of low-income families out of poverty and into productive citizenship.

The Amachi mentoring model focuses on children of incarcerated parents. Mentors provide the children with self-assurance and intangible tools necessary for leadership-trait formation that may be lacking due to the absence of parental nurturing.

GBCS approved a $7,300 grant to the General Commission on United Methodist Men for expansion of "Amachi — Mentoring Children of Promise." The expansion follows a Human Relations Day grant-funded program last year that launched Amachi in 11 annual conferences.

The second phase is to engage two to three churches maximum in a conference, and recruit a champion to sustain and grow the ministry. Conferences targeted for the expansion are Rocky Mountain, California-Pacific, Desert Southwest, Oklahoma, Kansas East and North Georgia.

Freedom School
The Freedom School at Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, N.C., received $25,000. The Freedom School offers summer reading programs for at-risk children. It a joint effort of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, Selwyn Ave. Presbyterian Church and Montclaire.

The Freedom School entails a six-week summer-enrichment program to teach children to love reading. It uses curriculum established by the Children’s Defense Fund. Schools are conducted by college student interns, who perform as a combination teacher, camp counselor, role model and mentor.

St. Andrew’s UMC already has a partnership with Montclaire, which is across the street from the church. St. Andrew’s and Selwyn last year conducted a two-week summer-enrichment reading camp at Montclaire, which serves some of the poorest students in Charlotte.

Exodus House
Exodus House, a program of Criminal Justice & Mercy Ministries of Oklahoma Conference, received a $32,000 grant. The 13-year-old ministry has sites in Oklahoma City and Tulsa that provide transitional living and services to help newly discharged inmates reenter society.

Exodus House places special emphasis on family reunification and recovery. All residents make covenant to work their recovery program, participate in counseling and community meetings, attend Redemption Church twice every week, find a job and fulfill legal obligations by paying fines, court costs and child support.

Human Relations Day grants
More information and applications for Human Relations Day funding are available on the General Board of Church & Society Web site at GBCS grants. More information about the grant program can also be obtained by contacting the Rev. Neal Christie, GBCS assistant general secretary, Education & Leadership Development, at 202.488.5611.

The General Board of Church & Society is one of four international general program agencies of The United Methodist Church. The agency’s primary areas of ministry are Advocacy, Education & Leadership Formation, United Nations & International Affairs, and resourcing these areas for the denomination. It has offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and at the Church Center at the United Nations in New York City.

More information about Human Relations Day, celebrated the day before Martin Luther King Day in the United States, is available at UMCgiving.
 

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Church caucuses react to homosexuality statement (from TNUMConnects 2/22/11)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — United Methodists with differing views have weighed in on a statement (click link to read statement) from 36 retired bishops calling on the denomination to lift its ban on homosexual clergy.

The Renewal and Reform Coalition, representing six unofficial evangelical renewal caucuses in the denomination, issued a statement (click link to read statement) on Feb. 17 that called the bishops’ document “woefully inadequate.”

The retired bishops did not address “the clear pronouncements of Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments and almost 2,000 years of Christian history,” the coalition said. “The teaching of The United Methodist Church on human sexuality is consistent with the teaching of the church universal.”

Reconciling Ministries Network, an unofficial caucus that advocates for greater inclusion of homosexual members, also responded to the retired bishops’ statement. Troy Plummer, the group’s executive director, said the bishops “breathe Gospel life into putting in policy what we know to be true.”

“Gay clergy are called, gifted, prepared, qualified and are ready to continue or to begin serving our church openly,” Plummer said in an e-mail to UMNS.

The Book of Discipline, the United Methodist law book, states that homosexuality “is incompatible with Christian teaching.” Only General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking body, can change the Book of Discipline.
 

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