> 2011 Annual Conference Theme 

Risk Taking Mission and Service (from TN Conference Review 10/29/10)

Part 1:
The Theme for the 2011 Tennessee Annual Conference is Risk Taking Mission and Service. It is one of the fundamental practices outlined in Bishop Robert Schnase's book, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.

In his provocative work Bishop Schnase challenges the Body of Christ to put in effect these five practices in order to fulfill the mission of the church "by graciously inviting and welcoming people with Radical Hospitality so that God can reshape their lives through Passionate Worship and mature their faith through Intentional Faith Development, may discern the call of God to transform the world with the compassion of Christ through Risk Taking Mission and Service. To sustain these core processes so that that the Body of Christ thrives in this generation and into the future requires Extravagant Generosity."

In prior consecutive years, we have observed the first three of these practices on a conference-wide basis during Annual Conference. As you will recall we celebrated Intentional Faith Development, the third practice, during the 2010 Annual Conference.

For this year Bishop Dick Wills, the Extended Cabinet, and the Conference Council on Connectional Ministries are inviting the conference to begin observing this theme NOW. In fact Risk Taking Mission and Service is our focus of ministry for this conference year. It is an integral part of the missional priority in making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Therefore, we are being given an opportunity to live out this theme beginning right NOW, leading up to and culminating during the 2011 Annual Conference. The scriptural basis for this theme is found in Matthew 25:35-36: "For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me." (NRSV)

What then is Risk Taking Mission and Service? Bishop Schnase defines this practice as "the projects, the efforts, and work people do to make a positive difference in the lives of others for the purposes of Christ." He further states that this practice, however, is not just a nice thing for us as Christians to do. It also means to "push beyond ordinary service and everyday missions to offer extraordinary opportunities for life-changing engagement with people." Therefore, the questions according to Bishop Schnase, with which we as a conference must continue to grapple with are the following:

- Are we willing to step beyond the edge of ordinary service?
- Are we willing to step into greater uncertainty, to move into a higher possibility of discomfort, resistance or sacrifice?
- Are we willing to switch from indifference to compassion among a few people leading to monumental change for the purposes of Christ?

The Conference Council on Connectional Ministries staff has made the commitment to engage in this fundamental practice. We are making a more intentional effort NOW to seek ways through our respective areas of ministry to allow God to use us by connecting to Christ and communities, by equipping leaders, and by changing lives. In addition we are inviting congregations to join us in this risky undertaking.

We celebrate the fact that some congregations are currently practicing Risk Taking Mission and Service. We acknowledge how God continues to accomplish a good work in you. We also recognize that there is still so much work to be done. As Bishop Schnase has emphasized, God is calling us into greater possibilities and extraordinary service.

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* Part 2, "Mission, Service, and The Risky Dozen" will be featured in next week's Instant Connection from the ListServ eBlast. If you'd like this article in its entirety, please pick up a copy of the TN Conference Review newsletter on October 29!

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The Risky Dozen! (pt. 2 of "Risk Taking Mission and Service" from TN Conference Review 10/29/10)

Part 2:
Considering this year's adopted theme Risk Taking Mission and Service, the fourth practice of fruitful congregations as outlined by Bishop Robert Schnase, it might be helpful to discuss potential ways to put this practice into motion. To initiate this conversation, listed below are examples of how individuals and congregations can push beyond ordinary service in order to bear witness to the compassionate Christ. I call these "The Risky Dozen."

The Risky Dozen
1.  Take the time to visit with the un-churched and the stranger in your midst by listening to their stories.
2.  Encourage your church to reach out to the troops returning home from the military and to their families, and then invite them to take part of a healing and reconciling worship service.
3.  Make a personal commitment to spend time visiting with a prison inmate on death row. Jason Brock (jbrock@tnumc.org) through the Work Area Church and Society can help facilitate this process.
4.  Celebrate the richness of cultural diversity within your church and community as a regular practice and not just during Human Relations Day. Invite a family or a person from another racial/ethnic background to family dinner.
5.  Step into another setting by being willing to learn and communicate in a different language, such as Spanish prior to embarking upon a VIM mission trip. Please contact Enrique Hernandez (ehernandez@tnumc.org) and Joaquin Garcia (jgarcia@tnumc.org) for additional information.
6.  Engage in collaborative efforts with other churches, civic organizations, and social agencies in order to address the needs of the poor, the homeless, and the powerless.
7.  Encourage inclusiveness by honoring and affirming "all" people as children of God, created in the image of God.
8.  Engage in a time of "Lectio Divina," by reading scripture slowly and meditating on it while asking the questions: How can I personally become involved in Risk Taking Mission and Service?  How can we as a congregation respond to human need in our community through this missional priority? Suggested scriptural passages include: Psalm 99:4, Luke 4:18-19, James1:22.
9.  Become engaged with more intentional efforts in "Works of Mercy" through "Acts of Compassion and Justice" to include serving the poor, visiting the sick and mentally challenged, and constructing hand-cranked wheel chairs such as through the P.E.T. (Personal Energy Transportation) Project sponsored by the United Methodist Men.
10.  Reach out and give support to those persons living with HIV/AIDS by educating your congregation about this disease, by breaking the stigma and silence, by praying regularly for people living with HIV/AIDS, and by inviting someone with AIDS to give a personal testimonial.
11.  Recognize the "Life-Giving Ministry" of organ donations and become an organ donor.
12.  Be intentional in reaching out and welcoming "all" children and young adults with their families into the household of faith. For suggestions please contact Patty Smith (psmith@tnumc.org) or Brad Fiscus (bfiscus@tnumc.org) at the Conference office.

As followers of Jesus Christ we are challenged to engage in all kinds of risky mission and service. We are encouraged to deepen our faithfulness and to multiply our efforts in order to serve this present age our calling to fulfill. And by the grace of God we can make a positive impact in how God uses us to make disciples of Jesus Christ in order to transform the world.

Therefore, NOW is the time to go the extra mile to bear witness to our faith. NOW is the time to put into effect Risk Taking Mission and Service projects in order to make a difference in the lives of others. For additional information related to other mission projects, please contact Jason Brock, Missions Coordinator (jbrock@tnumcm.org), and Brandon Hulette, VIM Coordinator (brandon.hulette@tnumc.com).

As we engage in these "Works of Mercy," the Conference Council on Connectional Ministries invites individuals and congregations to share your exemplary stories with us in order that we can share with others how God is moving across the Tennessee Annual Conference in a powerful and magnificent way. Please send these stories to Kevin Sparkman, Communications Coordinator (communications@tnumc.org).

As the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church we must spread our faith by exemplifying the compassion of Christ for the sake of Christ for ministry to all the world.

The Rev. Bettye P. Lewis is the Director of the Conference Council on Connectional Ministries, TN UMC, blewis@tnumc.org

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Revision of the TN UMC Conference Council on Connectional Ministries (from TN Conference Review 11/12/10)

In 2007 the Tennessee Annual Conference approved a resolution for a Conference Council on Connectional Ministries (CCOCM) Task Force to be formed in order to revise or restructure our plan of ministry with regard to the Work Areas/Committees. We are beginning to live into this change NOW in order to maximize our resources for greater effectiveness.

How then is this revision defined or organized? This revision is organized around two (2) primary factors:
1) The inter-relatedness of ministry teams and
2) The alignment of ministries to the Annual Conference focus of ministry.

The inter-relatedness of ministry teams
The revision of the CCOCM structure involves a cultural shift with a focus on the mission and ministry of the church. This change in structure includes the following
key elements:
* Each of the conference Work Areas/Committees has been placed or housed in one of the four (4) ministry teams:  Advocacy, Nurture, Outreach, Witness.
*The Chairs or representatives of each of the conference committees comprise the ministry team membership.
*The CCOCM Ministry staff and support staff serve as coordinators of each ministry team.
*Each of the four (4) ministry teams will meet at least quarterly to coordinate its work. Two (2) of these meetings will be held in conjunction with the regular CCOCM meetings in September and January.

Each Ministry Team, in one sense, is a separate entity because it will continue to meet separately to plan ministries related to its particular area. However, each ministry team is not isolated from the other teams. They all have points at which they intersect and connect to the other teams. The four teams do not exist independently, but are part of the whole CCOCM body, whereas all the ministries planned by each ministry team must be accountable to the CCOCM.

Some of the advantages of placing the Committees into these four (4) ministry teams are the following:
* More focus on ministry rather than on committee work;
* An enhancement of communication
* More intentionality in seeking ways to work together as a means to fulfill the mission of the church;
* More coordination of ministries through workshops and training events;
* A means of holding each other accountable through mutual support;
* A way to build community and to enhance ministry skills;
* A better working knowledge of all the ministries and training events being planned/held;
* A way to eliminate the concept of keeping people "busy" as opposed to equipping all for ministry;
* A discovery in how to maximize our time and resources with more coordination of ministries;
* A way to maximize our efforts and to minimize competition.

With this new structure in place ministry teams can now plan, coordinate, and help implement ministries, not in isolation from each other, but rather in concert with each other. Each team can work together more effectively by staying more centered on the vision or the Annual Conference focus of ministry each year.

The alignment of ministries to the Annual Conference focus of ministry
As some of us are aware the theme/focus of ministry for this conference years Risk-Taking Mission and Service, the fourth practice defined by Bishop Robert Schnase in his provocative book, "Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations." Bishop Schnase challenges the Body of Christ to push beyond ordinary service and everyday missions to offer extra-ordinary opportunities for life-changing engagement with people. And remember that we as an Annual Conference will observe celebrate this theme beginning NOW, leading up to and culminating at the gathering of the 2011 Annual Conference in June.

With this focus of ministry now established then ministry teams are positioned to align their ministries accordingly. As committees plan and coordinate their ministries there now is a central focus. As ministry teams oversee the work of committees there now can be more accountability and support. Furthermore, we can become more intentional in seeking ways to maximize our resources in order to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

We as the CCOCM staff are committed to a more consistent effort, a more concentrated thrust, and a more intentional response as we guide the ministry teams in envisioning how we can work together more effectively. Since Risk-Taking Mission and Service is our focus of ministry this conference year, we are going the extra mile. By allowing God to use us, whether it is feeding one person at a time, building one house at a time, or counseling one prisoner at a time - we are stepping into a higher possibility of service and sacrifice. We invite each of you to join us in this risk-taking endeavor!

Please remember to share your stories in order for us to share them with others! Contact the TN UMC Office of Communications and Kevin Sparkman, communications@tnumc.org or 615.329.1177.

Please take note of the graphic (above). The intersection of the circles representing the four (4) ministry teams. There is a cross of Jesus Christ in the center. The CROSS reassures us that God's grace is sufficient to meet our needs as we work together to maximize our resources through this revision. The ministry teams can lead the way as we practice Risk-Taking Mission and Service during this season. And by the power of the resurrection we can make a difference. Victory will be ours, all in the name of the compassionate and merciful Christ!

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Is your ministry filled with risk-taking kids? (from TN Conference Review 11/26/10)

by Patty Smith, TN UMC Director of Children's Ministries

Probably so! Consider how kids navigate the dreaded or beloved first days of school.  Every ten minutes offers a new risk-taking proposition: Will I know anyone? Where's my class? What happens if I get bullied? When's lunch? Where's the bathroom? How will I ever learn to speak Chinese, Spanish, or French?

These risk-taking adventures prompt kids to push themselves out of their comfort zones in order to gain new experiences and perspectives, ultimately shaping their development into adulthood. These daily risks also test kids' strengths and help them recognize their limitations. As children's ministry leaders, how can we capitalize on kids' innate risk-taking behavior and use it for risk-taking mission in their families, churches, and communities?

A ten year-old boy gave me lots of insight. Before I share his story, I'll clarify that I acknowledge this is the experience is that of just one boy. However, reflecting on my first days of school and even those of my friends and sibling's first days, there are many commonalities. Therefore, I think his wisdom is worth exploring.

Where does your ministry rank on the Risk-O-Meter?
Here's the account of Travis' first days at a new school. As Travis recalled a few of his risky situations, he rated the riskiness of the challenge on our pretend "Risk-o-meter." A "1" indicated a low risk while a "10" equaled a high risk, high stress scenario. After each situation, you'll find how his experience can inform how children's ministry leaders provide risk-taking mission and service opportunities for kids.

1: I said goodbye to my parents in the parking lot and walked into school alone. I wanted to hug and kiss them, but at my age, that's not cool.
Risk-o-meter: 7
What does this mean for risk-taking mission and service? "KAGOY!" (Kids Are Getting Older Younger!) Maybe on the outside, but they're still young on the inside. Be sure to provide time for relationship building between peers and leaders during your service experiences. Kids still need our guidance, love, support, and physical presence even though they may tell you otherwise.

2. I walked into school, I knew I'd know some people from last year, but I wouldn't know whom. 
Risk-o-meter: 4
What does this mean for risk-taking mission and service? Kids are willing to take risks as long as they do it in community where they know and trust other kids. During mission experiences, place kids in small groups of no more than 6 kids. Allow ample time for kids to get to know one another by playing leader led, ice-breaking games. For extra, friend-making fun, have kids name their group. You'll be amazed by the group's creative branding expertise.

3. I didn't know how to adapt to the new schedule at school. Unfortunately, I didn't write down my assignments. The schedule was overwhelming at first, and with trying to make new friends, I had to take risks with trying to be social and successful at school. My grades suffered.
Risk-o-meter: 7
What's this mean for risk-taking mission and service? Kids are willing to take risks, but they find it challenging to balance the risk and the reward. Set up clear boundaries for kids, and let them know what the goal of the service project is and what potential outcomes could be. Break mission experiences into steps and stages, making service as easy as 1, 2, 3!

4. I had to form my own opinions about subject matter at school. Before, most of my tests required information. Now, I have to offer an opinion and tell people what I think.
Risk-o-meter: 5
What does this mean for risk-taking mission and service? Give kids time to process what they did to serve others, and how they felt about it. Ask good open-ended questions that help kids derive personal meaning from the experience and discover how their service transformed their lives and the lives of others. As kids share, remind the group to treat each other respectfully, honoring group members by listening carefully and refraining from judging others' opinions.

5. In my other school, I had more guidance and help from my teachers. Now I have to be more of a self-starter and track my assignments independently. I'm not good at that.
Risk-o-meter: 8
What does this mean for risk-taking mission and service? We can't expect kids to go from toddling to running without lots of practice. It's the same in children's ministry, too. Give kids opportunities to practice serving in your congregation. Guide them during these experiences. Work alongside them. Offer suggestions when they're struggling and celebrate loudly when they succeed.

As the child recalled each risk, his facial expressions, body language, and words made me wonder why ANY kid would take such risks. I asked him, "What made it worthwhile? What made it bearable?"

His response was illuminating.

"I took the risks because I honestly believed I could do it. I knew that they would benefit my life. And I hoped they would eventually be fun." Apparently, in the end, all three of these things were true. 

What does this mean for risk-taking mission and service? 
Kids need to feel confident as they reach out to others with Jesus' love. Make sure your risk-taking mission experiences are age-appropriate and relevant to kids today. Kids also need to know that you believe in them and their ability to accomplish the mission set before them. More importantly, they need to know firsthand that there's a God who believes in them, and will help them accomplish what seems impossible alone.

Because kids are concrete thinkers and live in a can-do-and-do-it-now world, they're wired to be results-oriented. To help kids see the results of their service projects, pinpoint how each mission experience will benefit the targeted community. Identify specific ways the service project will impact the lives of others in the name of Jesus. As kids are serving, keep Jesus front and center by equipping kids to tell others why they're doing what they're doing. If kids serve others without sharing Jesus, they'll miss out on a great opportunity to be salt and light in a broken world.

Finally, kids need fun. And, honestly, adults do, too. Make fun a key ingredient in your risk-taking mission projects. You'll experience the type of laughter that will touch your heart and replenish your soul. Seeing kids laughing out loud while taking risks in the name of Jesus makes an eternal difference in all of our lives. It's a 3 on the "Risk-o-meter" and the rewards are priceless.

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Epiphany: serving Christ and neighbor (from The Connector 12/24/10)

This year thousands of Middle Tennessee families will spend Christmas in a shed, barn, or a camper. Perhaps as long time guests with friends or family or, will be spending money they don’t have renting a “second” home. Forty thousand (40,000) families in the TN Conference were directly affected in the May and August storms of 2010.

Even for those who have repaired their homes or moved into new ones, Christmas will not be the same. While many are able to recover with either their own resources and/or the help of family and friends, others will only do so if neighbors and strangers come bearing gifts of love, prayer, time, and money.

On January 6, 2011 we celebrate Epiphany - the day we remember strangers, the Wisemen, who came bearing gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh to offer to the Christ Child. They came bearing gifts to this young family who was alone and far from home. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus spent the first Christmas without family and friends and in a stable - the only shelter they could find. Soon they would flee King Herod's wrath to become political refugees in Egypt. It would be a long road home, a long road back to “normal,” and these Wisemen's gifts made all the difference in this young family’s survival.

Local church and community members have come bearing gifts to their neighbors who have suffered so much. Beyond the incredible work they did in cleanup and early relief, many have organized to provide leadership and direction to the long term needs of their communities. At last count, nineteen (19) different groups made up of various denominations, community groups, and relief agencies have formed to serve more than forty (40) counties in Middle TN.

Many have added the work of coordinating volunteers, doing case management, or other tasks to their job. Many have become part or even full-time volunteers. These are the individuals giving the most of their blood, sweat, and tears of anyone as they struggle day in and day out with survivors through this long and painful recovery process. They sacrifice time with family and “normal” life as they serve Christ and neighbor.

Akin to the Wisemen, strangers from neighboring counties and dozens of states have journeyed to help clean up and rebuild since May 1. Only counting the teams the TN Conference has helped coordinate, only half of which are Methodist, we’ve had approximately 150 teams (1,500 volunteers) who have logged over 85,000 volunteer hours from May to December. This equates to over 1.7 million dollars of labor. We have another 100 teams scheduled through the end of next summer and are adding more teams each week. These strangers - who are now our neighbors - sacrifice vacations, monies, and the comforts of home to serve their Christ and neighbor.  

Gold - can’t forget the gold! TN Conference churches have contributed $200,000 to 2010 TN Conference flood relief. More than $100,000 has already been granted to UMC Districts, community Long Term Recovery Committees, and to the direct purchase of materials and specialized labor. We are holding to our target of using 90-95% of all our funding to directly serve survivors. UMCOR has provided $60,000 in grants and has committed another $100,000 by the end of the year. Another grant will likely be available by the middle of 2011.

As much as we celebrate the many gifts for Christ and neighbor, it is hard not to worry how we will meet the overwhelming amount of need. While everyone deserves help, community and church groups generally are only able to provide long term assistance to about 10% of those affected. Normally that group includes a large percentage of senior adults, single parent families, persons with disabilities, persons without a church home or family support, and those who were struggling with health or finances before the disaster.

Even with $150 million dollars being provided directly to affected Middle Tennessee families from FEMA and SBA, we are finding remaining unmet needs of $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, and more per case just for materials. Anticipating at least 3,000 long term cases, you can see how this adds up quickly.

As we continue over the next one and a half years to partner with flood survivors, we invite you to serve Christ and neighbor by partnering with local efforts in your community, scheduling a work team, volunteering to be a case manager in your community, and/or contributing funds to the TN Conference 2010 Storms.

A 2010 Relief Fact sheet is available for download at https://sites.google.com/a/tnumc.com/tn-flood-2010/. If you know of persons struggling to recover, please give us their contact information so we can connect them with a case manager. To schedule a team or found out other ways you can serve, send us an email or call us today!  DisasterResponse@tnumc.com, 615.695.2765 (Disaster Line).

Photo captions: 1. Holston Conference and TN Conference volunteers cleanup in Cookeville, 2. TN Tech Wesley Foundation students doing cleanup in Cookeville

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Mission opportunities can be across the world, or across town (from TNUMConnects 1/19/11)

by Brandon Hulette, TN UMC Coordinator of Flood Relief

As followers of Jesus Christ, and members of the body of Christ in the world, we believe that we have inherited Christ’s call to bring good news to the poor (Luke 4:16), and that bringing good news to the poor, the captive and the oppressed begins with us being where our brothers and sisters are when they are experiencing these conditions in their lives. Accordingly, we find mission opportunities across the country, across the world, or even across town.

For example, within our conference is Community Care Fellowship, which has been in ministry with the homeless and other poor and marginalized persons in Nashville since July 1981. First as an outreach of McKendree United Methodist Church, then organized as a program unit of United Methodist Urban Ministries in September of 1984. Later, in June of 2000 it became a stand-alone ministry and was officially renamed Community Care Fellowship in 2001 and is affiliated with Nancy Webb Kelly United Methodist Church.

Currently under the direction of Rev. Pat Freudenthal, Community Care Fellowship serves as a Christian presence among the poor and homeless people of Nashville, and works to relieve their suffering by providing showers, laundry facilities, personal hygiene items, pastoral and psychological counseling, lunch on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Sunday, breakfast each Monday through Friday and use of a telephone. There is also an after school program offered to children living in the James A. Cayce Homes, and a quiet, clean place so those with nowhere else to go can have a place to sit down for a few minutes and be uninterrupted, or simply have a clean place to go to the bathroom, all the while promoting self help, encouraging hope, instilling motivation for a better life, and proclaiming Jesus Christ as the source of that hope.

The CCOCM staff visited Community Care on November 30, 2010, to serve lunch, fellowship with the CCF staff and those they serve, and lend a hand to the ministry wherever it was needed. As with any mission project, while we were there to serve others, by the end of our time there, we felt that it was indeed us who had been blessed by the experience. “This was a great, Christ-centered service experience; I can’t wait to do it again!” said Patty Smith, Director of Children’s ministries. Tobie Halliburton, support staff for Mercy, Mission, Justice and Disaster Ministries echoed this sentiment saying “This was a great opportunity to serve, and the shared experience also helped me to grow closer to those I work with on a daily basis.”

Also, while there, Rev. Freudenthal shared some of the experiences she has had in serving this community, and highlighted the service they are able to provide as a result of support from the churches of the Tennessee Conference. “As with so many other ministries, our ability to meet the needs of the community is dependent on the support and participation of the greater Church. With all of us working together, we can move the mountains that people here face in their life.”

CCF provided over 120,000 services to individuals in the community in 2010,  and saw a significant increase in first time visitors to the facility overall as well as a dramatic jump in the number of pastoral care visits in the 8 months following the May 2010 storms and floods. “The homeless are a group often ignored in the long term aftermath of a natural disaster, and it is our responsibility as the Body of Christ to ensure that their recovery needs are addressed along with all those affected” said Jason Brock, Director of Mercy, Mission and Justice for the Tennessee Conference. “Our mission activities, including those at CCF are the ways we live up to that responsibility as United Methodists.”

Deuteronomy 15:11 reminds us that “There will never cease to be some in need on the earth.” Therefore God commands us to “Open your hand to the poor and needy in your land.” If you would like more information on how to participate in the missions of Community Care Fellowship, visit their website at http://www.ccf-ministry.org or call 615.227.1953.

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CAPTURED 2011! Be captured by evidence of Risk-Taking Mission & Service (from TNUMConnects 2/2/11)

How many times have you heard about a returned blessing? No matter how hot or cold, far away, or dirty and dangerous - God often instantly returns a blessing on those working to provide one for others. One can say they were "CAPTURED" by that moment, as an unexpected blessing came their way.

As Christians, we are encouraged by hearing how God is at work in the lives of those going above and beyond. This year at Annual Conference, the Tennessee Conference wants to feature you or your ministry CAPTURED during a moment of risk-taking mission and service.

Send your videos and images, along with your risk-taking mission and service testimonies to the Conference Center by Friday, April 15 to be included in a very special video presentation at this year's Annual Conference.

> For more info or to submit your media, CLICK HERE

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Risk-Taking Mission & Service in Puebla, Mexico (excerpt from The Connector, Mar. 1)

by Joaquin Garcia

Bishop Robert Schnase’s book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations has found its way into our lives and ministry over the last few years. Since first reading his book, I found myself trying to personally discern how we can truly embody those practices as a church, an Annual Conference, and for me individually. I found a lot of help from Reverend Bettye Lewis’s article a few months ago when she, in a very poetic way, gave us “The Baker’s Dozen” ways to live out these five practices (from the TN Conference Review, October 29, 2010), and especially as we focus on the 2011 Annual Conference theme (Schnase’s fourth practice) of Risk-taking Mission and Service!

Reverend Lewis mentioned in her October article about being volunteers in mission. Since the beginning of the new year my wife Barbara and I have been engaged in a risk-taking ministry experience. This is a “bridge-building” mission adventure and many of you are here “in spirit” with us!

Many are aware of the complex issues of immigration, yet also believe that we cannot just deal with the issues from afar. By living into Jesus’ model of being “present” in the lives of people and their families, this adventure has placed Barbara and I in direct contact with the people who have lived on “the other side of the coin” of immigration. We have been witnesses to as well as recipients of a hands-on education on how the Methodist Church of Mexico is addressing this issue. We are learning and understanding more about the “why’s” and “causes” of the immigration influx.

Barbara and I are working with the Give Ye Them To Eat ministry (known as GYTTE,
pronounced “jitty”) and teaching in the Methodist University ‘Madero’ in Puebla, Mexico. As God has placed us in Puebla, we are actively building bridges between the United Methodist Church in Tennessee and the Methodist Church here in Mexico! We are a walking testimony of God’s goodness back home in urban and rural Middle Tennessee as in the rural village of Tlancualpican outside the City of Puebla, and the Methodist Church is testimony of this!
 
GYTTE provides training in sustainable living practices, stewardship of God’s Creation, addresses issues of immigration, poverty, justice and mercy, and leads people into a relationship with Christ. This ministry helps people to become instruments of God’s grace in the midst of turbulent violence and poverty.

This mission is accomplished through six different aspects of the ministry - 1. Church and Faith Development, which supports the spiritual growth of Methodist congregations through training events for laity and clergy as well as the production and distribution of Christian Education materials to reach people for Jesus; 2. Community and Family Health, (called “More Than a Bandage”), through equipping village women as volunteer workers for community-based primary and preventative health care; 3. Community Development, which serves to better family life and decrease human drudgery through appropriate technology in construction of low-cost housing, dry composting toilet systems, fuel-efficient mud stoves and solar cookers, etc.; 4. Agricultural Development, in order to preserve and improve the condition of the land for better production and thus increase family income. This is accomplished through contour terracing and other methods of soil conservation, composting and manure usage, family gardens, medicinal plants, etc.; 5. Livestock Development, accomplished through training people in environmentally-sound livestock management practices and by selling food and income-producing animals at a subsidized price to those in need of quality livestock; and 6. AWARE Ministry, (Alternative Work-study And Reality Experience), which provides educational and work experiences for Mexican and international visitors, volunteers, and teams raising their awareness of the needs of rural Mexico with opportunities for service in response to hunger and poverty in our interrelated world.

If you are interested in building bridges between Middle Tennessee and Mexico, or in participating in or putting together a group from your church to actively experience God’s grace in the midst of the marginalized and the poor, please contact us at bpgoffice@comcast.net, or myself at jgarcia@tnumc.org. More information about GYTTE can be found online at www.gbgm-umc.org, Advance code #07629A.


This article is an excerpt tp the full version featured in the TN Conference newsletter The TNUMConnector. Get a full year for only $12! Click the button to subscribe now!

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Volunteers In 'Risk-Taking' Mission (excerpt from The Connector, April 2011)

by Norris Allen

La Toma is a community about  a 10-minute drive from the small town of San Antonio, Guatemala and about 20 minutes from a more modern town of Mazatenango. Most of the people there work at the main sugar cane fields or at the rubber plantation earning a very low wage. You do not see many of these people shopping at Guatemala’s “Wal-mart” or at the mall. They have to do most of their shopping at the local markets where they can buy the local basic items at a very low price.

The road to La Toma originally was a trail through the sugar cane fields. Years of natural erosion has cut deep into the field to the point that it is now just large volcanic stones forming the road surface. There is a natural speed limit of one mile per hour because you just don’t want to drive any faster. Traveling along the road you don’t see any houses with driveways with garages, however there are many one-meter wide paths going to homes sometimes miles away.

Our VIM teams have traveled that road 5 years as we worked with the people to help address some of their many needs and other ways that they shared their faith in Jesus.

This past October Rev. John Wesley Hembree and I traveled that road again to give the community some good news. At an earlier visit they had requested that we come back and help on the many needs of the school. An enrollment of 627 students this year overcrowded the facilities that have only 3 working latrines.

We were back to inform them that our VIM teams were planning to return in January, February, and March, 2011 to help them!


To read more about Norris and VIM's experiences in Guatemala, pick up a copy of The Connector on April 1, 2011!

Norris Allen has been involved with VIM for more than 20 years and has been traveling to Guatemala for the past ten. Norris is a member of Dickson First United Methodist Church in Dickson, TN.
 

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Puebla revisited - Risk-Taking Mission & Service continues in Mexico (excerpt from The Connector, May 2011)

by Rev. Barbara P. Garcia

“It took a week to make me a believer!”

The eighteen women gathered with smiles, bags packed for the week, and energy to put the most fit and impervious to heat to the test. They had finished the first week of training as Community-based Primary Health Care Workers six months ago, and were now ready to continue with the Intermediate Course. Their energy, anticipation, faith and commitment inspired me more every kilometer that took us nearer the Tree of Life Training Center two hours from the city of Puebla. Here were women who were so excited to be serving their families and communities, and were answering God’s call to serve thousands who don’t have ready access to medical help.

Known as the More Than a Bandage Program in The Methodist Church of Mexico, and especially in the rural areas of south central Mexico, village women are equipped as volunteer primary health care workers in their community. Through interactive learning and hands-on experiences, the women are equipped to return to their communities with the ability to share their knowledge and use their new skills. In this way the health workers empower people to prevent serious disease by changing the conditions in which cause it and treat illnesses in their earliest stages central to their own community.

The women attend 3 one-week long courses over an eighteen-month period. They experienced and learned about a variety of topics related to health issues. Upon completion of the first week’s course, the health workers were then invited to offer their services in addressing the health needs of their family, church and community.

In the Basic Course they learned about self-esteem, parenting, child Development, vaccinations, basic sanitation, disinfecting fruits and vegetables, family nutrition, dental hygiene, and even how to build a dry composting toilet system! And with six months of sharing ‘back home’ about these most basic topics, they were ready for more!

In the Intermediate Course, they learned more about common diseases and their remedies, amoebas and parasites, CPR, and first aid measures to take with burns, fractures, cuts and scrapes, hemorrhages, nosebleeds, bites and stings, eye injuries, symptoms of diseases, and even how to give intramuscular injections.

Because so many villages do not have doctors nearby, these women become crucial to the health and even lives of many people! But could they learn all this in a week?

Each woman was given a three-ring Binder filled with complete information on each topic, and an extensive First Aid Kit so that they were equipped for service upon return. Throughout the week they practiced just what they have learned, first with one of the other women. Then in teams, they had to present the “classes” to the whole group, creating their own approaches and methods of teaching. By the end of the 7 days, they had observed, practiced, taught, demonstrated, taken written and oral exams, and then taught some more! Also, keep in mind this was not conducted in an air-conditioned hospital space, but rather in an open-air classroom at the Tree of Life Rural Training Center throughout long, hot days which began at 6:00 am and continued till 9:00 pm. On the last day, many had wet washcloths over their foreheads to combat the 88-95 degree heat in the shade - yet not one of them waned!

A special thank you:
A special word of thanks to the Tennessee Annual Conference from the 18 women themselves: “Gracias! …for the beautiful backpacks remaining from a Conference activity and by the AWARE Team from Brentwood UMC! The women were able to transport their huge notebooks and other materials back home ‘in style and security!’ And equally important, the women were thrilled to know that others are supporting them in their VERY BOLD ventures to serve their families and communities, helping to heal and serve others in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you!”

It took being there and seeing the remarkable work and planning of the leaders in this program, plus all of the women at work to see that all this could be done in just one week!

Please visit www.gytte.org to learn more about this and other “Risk-Taking ministries” happening through the Give Ye Them To Eat Ministry of The Methodist Church of Mexico in collaboration with The General Board of Global Ministries - and to see where and why I am enjoying “volunteer life” in Mexico!

This article or a version of it was featured in the TN Conference newsletter The TNUMConnector. Get a full year for only $12!
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