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| Council of Bishops - Week in Review |  The United Methodist Council of Bishops met for their semi-annual meeting May 2-7 in Columbus. While elections occurred and legislation was discussed, the main focus was one of the United Methodist Church's four areas of focus, "Engaging in ministry with the poor." Bishops met throughout the week to discuss areas of poverty and how poverty affects our communities not only locally but worldwide. Bishops looked at ways to increase relational dialogue with the poor. Speaking to the public and looking at ministries already at work, the Council of Bishops affirmed their commitment to reaching the poor by going beyond the church's walls and into the communities to the lives of people facing tough situations. [more] |
| Stan Sutton is coming in for a final landing |  After sixteen years of navigating the conference through all kinds of financial weather, Stan Sutton is soaring into retirement! We will certainly miss Stan's warm sense of financial humor. Some of you may not know that not only is Stan our conference treasurer, he is also a licensed pilot! We would like to honor Stan for his years of dedicated service by making a donation to Wings of the Morning ministry. [more] |
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| Rethink Poverty: A restored vision on church's greatest need |  On the rainy Saturday morning of May 1st, the people of the United Methodist Church in Columbus demonstrated their unified desire to fight against poverty and disease, brightening the day for those in need of care and compassion. Congregants and volunteers gathered in various sights to discuss the issues of poverty, but also to work together to continue building a community of strength based on the love and service so greatly needed by those unable to provide for themselves and their loved ones. This was not the beginning of this effort, however, but a glimpse at a shared passion that has been growing and developing for several years. This was not a show of the work in Columbus alone within the United Methodist Church, either, but of their work world-wide, from the devastated Haiti to the war-stricken peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo. [more]more]more] |
| Bishops cast out fear with HIV tests |  United Methodist bishops and spouses lined up in small groups throughout the morning for HIV/AIDS testing, administered by Columbus-based OhioHealth. More than 130 people were tested. The testing was a visible commitment to a major issue of global health, one of the four areas of focus in The United Methodist Church. In welcoming church leaders to participate, Bishop Bruce Ough said the action makes a public statement "that combating this deadly disease begins with testing." [more] |
| Church rejects move toward regional bodies |
The United Methodist Church rejected several amendments that could have paved the way for making the church in the United States one of several regional bodies throughout the world. Proponents of the changes said the new structure would reflect the growth of the church outside the United States, but some opponents expressed concern that it would lead to the division of the church into national groups. [more] |
| Bishops experience, affirm ministries of love | |
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| Bishops urge action on immigration |  A controversial Arizona law giving police broad powers to detain suspected illegal immigrants is mobilizing United Methodists across the denomination to work for immigration reforms. The Council of Bishops offered prayer and support to Phoenix Area Bishop Minerva Carca�o in her opposition to the new law, which she said "not only invites abuse, but gives wing to racial profiling." With applause and in public comments, bishops gave their blessing to a visit next week to Washington by Carca�o and others in an interfaith delegation from Arizona seeking federal support for immigration reform. [more] |
| Goodpaster becomes bishops' new president |  A former Mississippi pastor who is committed to engaging United Methodists in hands-on mission took office May 7 as president of the international United Methodist Council of Bishops. Illinois Area Bishop Gregory Palmer, outgoing leader, handed the presidential gavel over to Charlotte (N.C.) Area Bishop Larry Goodpaster with the words, "May you direct and assist us in the building up of God's work." Goodpaster will serve a two-year term. [more] |
| Bishop Weaver to address General Conference |  The United Methodist Council of Bishops has elected Boston Area Bishop Peter Weaver to give the Episcopal Address at the 2012 General Conference in Tampa, Fla. The council comprises 69 active bishops and 91 retired bishops from the U.S., Africa, Europe, and Asia. The bishops provide spiritual leadership for the 11.5-million member denomination. Weaver, a former council president, was bishop of the Philadelphia Area from 1996 to 2004, when he was assigned to the Boston Area. [more]
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| Bishop Ntambo Ntanda receives Tanenbaum award |  "To buy aspirin one had to walk 50 miles," explained the Bishop, describing the utility of planting moringa trees, the leaves of which offer natural pain relief. From meeting basic medical needs to negotiating with militia, Bishop Ntambo Ntanda has worked at multiple, interrelated levels to build sustainable peace in Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ntambo became a bishop of the United Methodist Church in 1996, at the start of an armed conflict that has killed 5.4 million people to date. He organized care for street children, helping reduce recruitment of child soldiers. He built brick churches and fishponds, and these physical signs of permanence helped empower the people of Kamina to stand firm, not flee, in the face of approaching rebels.
Ntambo was recognized at the Council of Bishops meeting in Columbus as one of Tanenbaum's newest Peacemakers in Action. This organization aims to promote peaceful religious diversity throughout the world. According to Tanenbaum, Peacemakers are people working for peace in some of the world's most dangerous conflicts zones. Ntambo is one of only 26 others worldwide to have received this recognition. [more] |
| Council of Bishops announce constitutional amendments voting results | | The United Methodist Council of Bishops announced today that only five* of 32 amendments to the church's constitution passed by the 2008 General Conference have been ratified by the annual conferences. The ratified amendments will become effective immediately. The process for amending the Constitution of The United Methodist Church requires a two-thirds majority vote of General Conference delegates. Annual conferences must then ratify the amendments by a two-thirds affirmative vote. The results of the voting are reported to the Council on Bishops, where they are verified and counted. The results are then reviewed and certified by the Council of Bishops. Anyone with a question about the amendments may contact InfoServ, the denomination's official information service, at infoserv@umcom.org. [more] |
| Annual Conference Luncheon: I Am Prophet Driven |  Join us for lunch, & learn how we can garner the wisdom of our prophets to assist those living in poverty. John Hill will encourage us to find ways we can assist those who are often forgotten when public policy is created. "As Christ's followers we are called to transform the world and proclaim a new order centered on the wisdom of the prophets, not the marketplace's false idols...As a faith community, we must play this prophetic role in our society. We must become advocates, standing with and speaking alongside the poor, demanding, with them, justice." Reserve your seat today! Contact Julie Bassett at jbassett@wocumc.org or call 800-437-0028. [more] |
| Volunteers in Mission news | | June 5...Haitian Culture Workshop for VIM Teams, Columbus; learn more about Haiti and gain language/cultural skills for mission trips. |
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