Wednesday, 21 December 2011
LegacyTree Foundation gives
$50,000 gift to Feed America First
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: john.philleo@gmail.com
LegacyTree Foundation President James Wolter, center, and Vice Presidents Annette Johnson and Nanette Beebe, present a $50,000 check to Feed America First Executive Director Tom Henry and Treasurer Al Adams, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2011.
 BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – LegacyTree Foundation presented a $50,000 gift to Feed America First on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, to help support FAF’s mission of providing food to those who feed the hungry.
“LegacyTree Foundation has been an important partner with Feed America First,” said Tom Henry, founder and executive director of FAF. “Their generous support will allow Feed America First to provide hunger relief to thousands more families in Middle Tennessee. We are grateful for their continued generosity and compassion, and thank them for helping us feed our hungry neighbors.”
Founded in June 2000, Feed America First receives large-scale food donations and distributes the food to a network of about 250 church pantries, women’s shelters, children’s homes and other similar agencies in the Middle Tennessee region.
Through this network of mostly small-town and rural organizations that spans 80 counties in Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama, Feed America First helps feed about 20,000 families each month.
Feed America First, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has distributed nearly 5 million pounds of food so far this year, with a full-time staff of only four people who are assisted by a multitude of dedicated volunteers.
For every dollar donated, FAF can provide enough food for 12 to 15 meals. This gift of $50,000 will help FAF provide enough food for more than half a million meals.
FAF is headquartered in Franklin and operates a 16,000-square-foot food distribution center in Murfreesboro.
Located in Brentwood, TN., LegacyTree Foundation works with other non-profits to create charitable partnerships in order to help them develop additional sources of revenue; works with professional advisors to explore the many benefits that LTF LegacyPlans can provide for their clients; and partners with families and individuals to create LegacyPlans for themselves and their heirs, while supporting charitable causes that are close to their hearts.
For more information, visit www.feedamericafirst.com or www.legacytreefoundation.org.
> TNUMC.org: Extension Ministries
Posted on 12/21/2011 5:02 PM by John Philleo
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
2011: Outreach to young adults pays off in 2011
This year, the best way churches could minister to young people may have been finding them a job. More of them are finding that job as clergy.
a UMNS Report by Joey Butler*
There has long been urgency for The United Methodist Church to bring more young people into its pews and its pulpits, and this year there is evidence that it may be happening.
The annual report on clergy age trends in the denomination, conducted by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., revealed a 10-year high in the number of United Methodist clergy under the age of 35.
The church holds numerous events throughout the year to reach young people and build stronger relationships. Events like Youth 2011 and Relevance X are designed for various age groups and stages of faith.
Exploration events, sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, help young people feeling called to ministry better understand where God is leading them.
Job ministries abound
A main concern of young people the past several years has been the bleak job outlook. To help reach out to those struggling to find work, job ministries have been popping up at churches nationwide. One such ministry at Roswell United Methodist Church outside Atlanta attracts as many as 300 job seekers at its twice-monthly networking events. Many of the participants are recent college graduates, frustrated that they are now saddled with college debt, can’t find a job to help pay off that debt and may wind up living back at home with family.
Roswell’s job ministry provides networking opportunities, support groups, résumé-writing services and even a clothing boutique so people have proper attire for interviews.
“Nobody is designed to go through this job search on their own, to go through life on their own in general,” says participant David Hampe.
A DREAM denied?
During September and October, churches were encouraged to hold DREAM Sabbath services, a national campaign to dedicate time during regular weekly worship services to inform and advocate for passage of the DREAM Act, which gives undocumented students a chance to earn legal status.
DREAMers, as the students have become known, spoke to congregations and asked them to contact their lawmakers to support the bill, opening a portal for them to go to school, join the military and become productive members of society.
A December 2010 filibuster prevented the DREAM Act from going to the U.S. Senate floor for a vote. The House of Representatives had already approved the bill.
Easier path to ordination?
In this tough job market, becoming a United Methodist pastor is one of the last secure jobs left. But that may be changing.
If the recommendations of the Ministry Study Commission are approved by delegates to the 2012 General Conference, clergy no longer will have guaranteed appointments, but the steps to ordination will get a lot easier.
If the commission’s legislation is approved by the church’s top legislative body, elders and deacons could be eligible for ordination as soon as they complete their educational requirements. After serving a minimum of two years as a provisional elder or deacon, they would be eligible for full conference membership. But, the security of guaranteed appointments would be replaced by various steps to gauge the effectiveness of each pastor’s ministry.
Additional legislation proposed by the Connectional Table would allocate $50 million in church funds as an investment in recruiting and training clergy younger than 35.
# # #
*Butler is editor of young adult content for United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn. News media contact: Joey Butler, Nashville, Tenn., 615.742.5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
> A.N.O.W.: Nurture, Young People's Ministry
Posted on 12/21/2011 6:04 PM by Joey Butler
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
2011: Gay, lesbian ministry still 2011 flashpoint
General Conference 2012 to take up revisions to Book of Discipline ban on gay clergy and officiating at same-sex unions
a UMNS Report by Heather Hahn*
The Rev. Amy DeLong is nearing an important deadline after being found guilty this summer of violating the denomination’s ban on blessing same-sex unions.
By Jan. 1, DeLong must present a draft outlining procedures for clergy to help resolve issues that “harm the clergy covenant, create an adversarial spirit or lead to future clergy trials." She has been collaborating on the document with Wisconsin Annual (regional) Conference leaders, including Bishop Linda Lee.
DeLong’s church trial, from June 21 to 23 in Kaukauna, Wis., was just one of many flashpoints this year in the ongoing debate about how the church should minister to gays and lesbians.
Over the past few months, DeLong’s collaboration group members have discussed at length how they define the word covenant, DeLong said recently.
“Our understandings of covenant were incredibly varied and multiple and incredibly divergent,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’ve broken the clergy covenant at all. I feel like I’ve honored my clergy covenant to be in ministry to all people.”
Others disagree. “This is not some insignificant violation of the terms of the Book of Discipline,” the Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, the church’s counsel in the DeLong case, said during the trial’s closing arguments.
The Book of Discipline, the denomination's law book, says all people are of sacred worth but also states, “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”
The book bans “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed to serve in the denomination. It also says that marriage is to be between a man and a woman and forbids United Methodist clergy from officiating at same-sex unions.
But in February, 36 of the denomination’s 92 retired bishops called on the denomination to eliminate its ban on the ordination of gay clergy. The denomination has 92 retired bishops. The statement sparked varied reactions from active bishops as well as the denomination’s unofficial evangelical and progressive caucuses.
Starting during annual conference season, more than 1,000 United Methodist clergy in the United States signed pledges to bless same-sex unions. The pledges marked a new turn in the longtime debate, said the Rev. Robert J. Williams, chief executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.
The pledges, in turn, sparked a countermovement by other United Methodist clergy and lay people urging the bishops to make clear that they will enforce the Book of Discipline on this issue. As of Dec. 9, more than 2,600 clergy and 12,800 laity in the United States have signed petitions to the bishops.
The Council of Bishops responded in a Nov. 10 letter that urges churches and families not to “reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends,” but also says the bishops will uphold church law.
Only General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking body, can change the Book of Discipline, and unofficial caucuses of varying views will be out in force next year advocating their perspective. At least 13 of the 59 U.S. conferences also approved resolutions this summer petitioning General Conference to change the language related to homosexuality.
Since 1972, the topic of homosexuality has surfaced every four years at General Conference. Delegates consistently have voted to keep the Book of Discipline’s stance on the issue.
# # #
*Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., 615.742.5470 newsdesk@umcom.org.
> A. N. O. W.: Outreach, Church and Society
Posted on 12/21/2011 6:28 PM by Heather Hahn
Monday, 19 December 2011
61st Ave. UMC teams with Toys For Tots, Last Minute Toy Store run through Dec. 21
Posted on 12/19/2011 9:01 AM by WKRN Nashville
Monday, 19 December 2011
Christ UMC prison ministry featured on local news
from FOX Nashville WZTV
A Williamson County church (Christ UMC) has become the pipeline for prison inmates re-entering society.
It started as a calling ten years ago and has bloomed into a full-blown mission, with a higher success rate than the national trend.
To learn how you can donate or be part of it, CLICK HERE (you will be redirected to Christ UMC's website). Click on the image below to watch the video:
> A.N.O.W.: Outreach, Discible Bible Outreach Ministries
Posted on 12/19/2011 3:12 PM by FOX 17 WZTV
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
General Conference rule changes proposed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UMCom
| Office of Public Information
www.umcpresscenter.org
General Conference Rule Changes Proposed
 NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Rules Committee of the Commission on the General Conference has announced their recommendations for changes to the Plan of Organization and Rules of Order which provides the governance structure for the 2012 General Conference. The changes will be presented to delegates for consideration at the opening session.
"Our goal was to create a hospitable environment and an efficient structure for all delegates," said Judi Kenaston, committee chair. "Some of the significant changes will provide for worship and rest on the Sabbath, specify a set deadline for evening adjournment, and expand the time scheduled for legislative committee work by approximately 25 percent during the first week.”
Kenaston said the committee worked diligently to correct oversights, errors and problems that had been identified since 2008, as well as to keep abreast of technological advances. Both official motions and unofficial requests from the 2008 General Conference were incorporated in order to improve and streamline plenary and legislative committee proceedings.
The proposed rule changes include the following recommendations:
• Make administrative committees more geographically representative by including at least one person from each central conference and jurisdiction, beginning in 2016.
• Designate the members of the Committee on the Plan of Organization and Rules of Order to serve as the Committee on Ethics (a new committee requested by General Conference 2008 to investigate alleged rule violations).
• Make training mandatory for those elected to serve as committee and sub-committee leaders.
• Require that plenary sessions and legislative committees adjourn by 9:30 p.m. each day, and that committee meetings not conflict with plenary meetings.
• Increase the time for legislative committees (23.5 hours of legislative time will be provided in the first week, mostly in the morning and afternoon, compared to 18.25 hours in 2008).
• Set a deadline for legislative committee work to be completed by adjournment on Saturday of the first week. Legislative work not dealt with by this deadline will be reported to the plenary session as “not considered.”
• Prioritize calendar items brought before the plenary by the Calendar and Agenda Committee in this order when possible: items affecting the global church, items with financial implications, items with minority reports (priorities have not previously been specified).
• Stipulate that motions supported by the legislative committees be reported as disciplinary items recommended for adoption; non-disciplinary items recommended for adoption; or items recommended for referral. Items not placed on one of the three consent calendars will be listed in the Daily Christian Advocate as not acted upon because another petition dealing with the same subject was acted upon; not supported by the legislative committee; or not considered by the legislative committee.
• Focus initial debate and voting on substitute motions and minority reports on the question of whether or not they should replace the main proposal put forward by the legislative committee. Once a preliminary decision has been made, debate will ensue on whatever motion remains before the body.
Further explanation of the proposed changes and a complete draft of the Plan of Organization and Rules of Order are available on the General Conference 2012 website.
# # #
About General Conference |
The General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church, and meets once every four years to consider revisions to church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for churchwide programs for the next four years. The 2012 meeting will take place April 24-May 4 at the Tampa Convention Center.
Posted on 12/14/2011 7:19 AM by Diane Degnan
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
5 ways to better equip Vital Congregations
 Every month we send you just 5 ways you can better equip Vital Congregations and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Here’s this month’s issue! (SUBSCRIBE to Five Better Ways)
1. Gather your new church start team for a free retreat webinar. Train your new church launch teams in effective collaboration, visioning and planning through a free virtual retreat Jan. 20 – 21. The Launchpad Retreat Webinar will help teams and projects move toward launch or re-launch. Local retreats are led by the new church planter in or near the community of the new faith community. GBOD’s Path1 New Church Starts team leads the retreat, providing three live web-based presentations and a guide with a suggested schedule and activities. To learn more, go to http://bit.ly/i9h7ua.
2.Join college students and other young adults for a Motown Mission. During the upcoming service week, March 11-17, collegians and young adults will work on rebuilding, greening and feeding projects in Detroit during the day and explore the city each evening. The Motown Mission is a United Methodist-connected organization that offers an experience deeply rooted in Wesleyan theology and the contemporary UMC's call to mission and service. For more information, go to www.motownmission.org.
3. Start the New Year with a clean planning calendar. This free resource from GBOD contains lectionary readings, holidays, seasons and special days from both the church and civil calendars for 2012. Your church staff, committees, leaders, teachers and musicians will find it helpful as they plan in the coming year. To download the calendar as PDF file for free, go to http://bit.ly/rpf1XS.
4.Think differently about your ministries with children and families. Attend the 2012 Children’s Ministry Forum Feb. 21 - 23 at Calvary UMC in Nashville to learn about creative programming with children of special needs, with tweens and more. Sponsored by GBOD’s Large Church Initiative team, Sing a New Song: Recreating Your Ministry is designed for children's ministry leaders in larger congregations. For more information, go to www.gbod.org/cmf. or contact Connie Schmutz at cschmutz@gbod.org or call 615.340.1761.
5.Nourish your spiritual life and strengthen your discipleship. Attend the two-year Academy for Spiritual Formation beginning Feb. 7 at the Lindenwood Retreat Center in Donaldson, IN. The Academy offers a place for spiritually hungry pilgrims (both lay and clergy) to be part of a spiritual community that practices a rhythm of prayer, worship, instruction, silence and rest. The Academy meets for five days in residence (once every three months) eight times over the course of two years. For those seeking a short-term experience of spiritual formation, the Five Day Academy is also available. For more information, go to www.upperroom.org/academy or call 877.899.278 x7233.
> SUBSCRIBE to Five Better Ways
> A.N.O.W.: Outreach, Congregational Development; TNUMC.org: Vital CongregationsPosted on 12/14/2011 2:40 PM by Steve Horswill-Johnston
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
2011: Suffering increased for poor, hungry
United Methodists engage in ministry with the poor, hungry and marginalized around the world
a UMNS Report by Kathy L. Gilbert*
The year 2011 was not kind to the poor, hungry and marginalized.
The worst drought in decades compounded by civil strife has affected more than 13 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti. Problems with food shortages in the Horn of Africa have been building over the years but came to a “critical mass” this summer, said Melissa Crutchfield, UMCOR executive for international emergency response.
On the heels of news of severe suffering in Africa came a U.S. report finding another 2.4 million children joined the ranks of the poor during the past decade. The U.S. Census Bureau announced the total Americans living below the poverty line has climbed to 46.2 million.
The continuing bleak economic outlook has left more than 2 million people jobless for the last two years and 700,000 for three years.
Income inequality is increasing in much of the developed world driven by disparity in wages, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Skilled workers have the largest share.
Budget fights
As Congress and the Obama administration faced off over budget cuts and debt ceilings, faith leaders joined hands to form a “Circle of Protection” around programs that affect those with the most to lose: the unemployed, uninsured and homeless.
Two United Methodist faith leaders were among a group of 11 arrested July 28 in the U.S. Capitol as they refused to stop public prayers asking the Obama administration and Congress not to balance the budget on the backs of the poor. Their arrests came after months of protest and prayer vigils held on the grounds of the United Methodist Building in Washington.
Bridging the gap
From the halls of Congress to the sands of Somalia, United Methodists are working to fill the gap between the rich and poor.
A few examples:
• Hundreds of job seekers come to Roswell (Ga.) United Methodist Church for a weekly dinner and range of workshops every second and fourth Monday.
• Open Table, a nonprofit organization founded by Jon Katov, a member of Paradise Valley (Ariz.) United Methodist Church, brings a group of volunteers together as mentors for people in poverty. The people selected for Open Table become “sisters” and “brothers.”
• UMCOR has been funding aid programs in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia since July. As of Nov. 11, the agency had raised $874,921.23 for Horn of Africa relief and approved $430,929 in grants. The situation is not hopeless. UMCOR is continuing to seek donations for Horn of Africa famine relief.
The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries launched a web site Ministry with the Poor to track how the church is engaging in ministry with the poor around the world.
In a striking example of the power of one person to make a difference, the Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith of San Antonia, Texas, sold all her possessions, rejected her pastor salary and benefits and traded her safe warm bed for a park bench or a blanket under an interstate overpass. The petite pastor asked her bishop to appoint her to the streets so she can be in ministry with the poor and advocate for systemic changes.
She is trekking across the country speaking to churches, seminaries and other organizations. Her Facebook page documents her travels.
“Found me a good little high spot next to the creek,” says one of her recent posts. “Had to put up my tent in the rain, but all good and dry inside the tent now.
“It is such a privilege and I pray that the Spirit always guides my calling.”
# # #
*Gilbert is a multimedia reporter for the young adult content team at United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn. News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., 615.742.5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
> A.N.O.W.: Outreach, Mercy and Mission MInistries, Hunger MinistriesPosted on 12/14/2011 3:18 PM by Kathy L. Gilbert
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Host an M.L.K. Sunday Supper
by Rich Peck
 On Sunday, January 15, 2012, you are invited to participate in a community-by-community, nationwide conversation about our most pressing social issues in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is an opportunity for individuals to reach out to new persons and build community over a shared meal.
Inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., America's Sunday Supper invites people from all backgrounds to come together to share a meal, discuss issues that affect their community and highlight the power each person has to make a difference!
The 2012 event is a collaboration promoted by HandsOn Network, Points of Light Institute and Rethink Church. Neelley Hicks, a UM Communications staff executive, reflected on a visit to a civil rights exhibit in Memphis, Tenn.
“I still remember how I felt reading about Dr. Martin Luther King’s 'kitchen table' experience,” said Hicks. In January of 1957, Dr. Martin Luther King struggled for courage to keep up the fight that would later become known as the civil rights movement. After having his life threatened, King went to his kitchen table and had a conversation with God – expressing his doubts as a leader and asking for guidance.
“I was ready to give up. With my cup of coffee sitting untouched before me, I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture without appearing a coward.
“The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory. ‘I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid…I’ve come to the point where I can’t face it alone.
“At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced God before. It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying: ‘Stand up for justice, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever.’ Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything.”
- Martin Luther King, Stride Toward Freedom
The Memphis art exhibit featured a kitchen table with a coffee cup humbly displayed along with those words.
“The table was simply made, but it echoed the holiness of communion – Christ at the table – feeding one who was hungry with something more than physical sustenance – the power to go on,” said Hicks.
“King’s table experience empowered him to feed others – to share a vision of something much larger than any one life – and to inspire others to fight for that something more. Elsewhere in the exhibit were pictures of lives lost and maimed, exposing the ugliness of humanity’s bent toward oppression. Yet that ugliness was diminished and overshadowed by the power to overcome, and it was that power that dominated my experience.
“In the last few weeks, I’ve been working on 'America’s Sunday Supper' supported by Rethink Church and HandsOn Network. It’s a way for people to come together on January 15, 2012 (the day before the King National Day of Observance) and talk about issues over dinner – then follow with a service project.
“Hosting a Sunday supper isn’t like taking to the streets and putting my life on the line. But if it creates an opportunity for me to meet God at the table and eat in the communion of saints (and sinners), I’ll be there.”
Photo above: Martin Luther King Jr.’s kitchen inMontgomery, Ala. Photo courtesy of Leslie Clagett
For more info about America’s Sunday Supper, go to www.sundaysupperumc.org or email sundaysupper@umcom.org.
> A.N.O.W.: Outreach, Mercy and Mission Ministries
Posted on 12/14/2011 4:02 PM by Neelley Hicks
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
General Conference rule changes proposed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UMCom
| Office of Public Information
www.umcpresscenter.org
General Conference Rule Changes Proposed
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Rules Committee of the Commission on the General Conference has announced their recommendations for changes to the Plan of Organization and Rules of Order which provides the governance structure for the 2012 General Conference. The changes will be presented to delegates for consideration at the opening session.
"Our goal was to create a hospitable environment and an efficient structure for all delegates," said Judi Kenaston, committee chair. "Some of the significant changes will provide for worship and rest on the Sabbath, specify a set deadline for evening adjournment, and expand the time scheduled for legislative committee work by approximately 25 percent during the first week.”
Kenaston said the committee worked diligently to correct oversights, errors and problems that had been identified since 2008, as well as to keep abreast of technological advances. Both official motions and unofficial requests from the 2008 General Conference were incorporated in order to improve and streamline plenary and legislative committee proceedings.
The proposed rule changes include the following recommendations:
• Make administrative committees more geographically representative by including at least one person from each central conference and jurisdiction, beginning in 2016.
• Designate the members of the Committee on the Plan of Organization and Rules of Order to serve as the Committee on Ethics (a new committee requested by General Conference 2008 to investigate alleged rule violations).
• Make training mandatory for those elected to serve as committee and sub-committee leaders.
• Require that plenary sessions and legislative committees adjourn by 9:30 p.m. each day, and that committee meetings not conflict with plenary meetings.
• Increase the time for legislative committees (23.5 hours of legislative time will be provided in the first week, mostly in the morning and afternoon, compared to 18.25 hours in 2008).
• Set a deadline for legislative committee work to be completed by adjournment on Saturday of the first week. Legislative work not dealt with by this deadline will be reported to the plenary session as “not considered.”
• Prioritize calendar items brought before the plenary by the Calendar and Agenda Committee in this order when possible: items affecting the global church, items with financial implications, items with minority reports (priorities have not previously been specified).
• Stipulate that motions supported by the legislative committees be reported as disciplinary items recommended for adoption; non-disciplinary items recommended for adoption; or items recommended for referral. Items not placed on one of the three consent calendars will be listed in the Daily Christian Advocate as not acted upon because another petition dealing with the same subject was acted upon; not supported by the legislative committee; or not considered by the legislative committee.
• Focus initial debate and voting on substitute motions and minority reports on the question of whether or not they should replace the main proposal put forward by the legislative committee. Once a preliminary decision has been made, debate will ensue on whatever motion remains before the body.
Further explanation of the proposed changes and a complete draft of the Plan of Organization and Rules of Order are available on the General Conference 2012 website.
# # #
About General Conference |
The General Conference is the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church, and meets once every four years to consider revisions to church law, as well as adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues. It also approves plans and budgets for churchwide programs for the next four years. The 2012 meeting will take place April 24-May 4 at the Tampa Convention Center.
> For complete coverage of G.C. 2012 news, CLICK HERE
Posted on 12/14/2011 12:30 PM by Office of Communications
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