Remembering

The wind to the rain said
"you push and I'll pelt."
They so smote the garden bed
That the flowers actually knelt,
And lay lodged -- though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt.


On Mississippi Public Radio in Sept.ember 2005, an environmentalist observed the spring-like green growth on the hard-hit side of trees in south Mississippi.  We were experiencing "Second Spring" in which all that which grows green thought winter had come and gone.  Azaleas bloomed at the district parsonage.  Butterflies fluttered in great numbers.  God gave us the amazing sign of resurrection in the midst of destruction.  We "lay lodged -- though not dead."

 
With gratitude for the providence and purpose of God in us,
Hope Morgan Ward

Link here for UMNS report:  Lessons Learned Five Years After Katrina, from Bishop Hope Morgan Ward

• Video Greeting and Thanksgiving from Bishop Hope Morgan Ward
• Video Thanksgiving from Homeowners
• Prayers of Thanksgiving in a word document
• Prayers of Thanksgiving in power point. 

Click here to access them.

Please use all or parts of these in your worship services on Sunday, August 29, 2010. 

:: Announcements

 
Still Time to Register for Building Bridges: Poverty Conference

The Meridian District UMC, is sponsoring a workshop on developing relationships between the poor and the church, Building Bridges Through Relationships. The keynote speaker for the event will be Pastor Rudy Rasmus of St. John's UMC, Downtown Houston, TX.

Rasmus is an emergent messenger, an urban prophet, and global humanitarian with a passion for outreach to our world's poorest citizens. Rasmus was guest speaker at the 2009 Trans4mation and Mississippi Annual Conference.

Breakout speakers for the event include Steve Casteel - Director of Connectional Ministries, The Mississippi Conference UMC;  Matthew Pharis - Hope Ministries, Greenville, MS; Ginger Stevens - Director, Wesley House Community Center, Meridian, MS; Terrence Roberts - Pastor, New Wine Ministries, Meridian, MS; and  
Becky Glover - Parent Coach, Parents for Public Schools, Meridian, MS. 
 
The workshop is scheduled for Aug. 27-28, 2010 and CEU's are available. The event will be held at Central UMC in Meridian. Cost for the event is $30 and includes on-site lunch for both days.  Make checks payable to Meridian District UMC.  For more information contact Rev. Kenny McGill at revkennymcgill@comcast.netor by calling 601.485.2419.

UMVIM Seeking Volunteers for Haiti Trip

Due to two unexpected last minute UMVIM team cancellations for the Sept. 21-30 time period, the Haiti Response Project is in urgent need of at least one UMVIM team to fill these slots in order to continue work on priority projects.

If you are able to help field a team to go to Haiti on this short notice, please let Susan Meister, US-Haiti Volunteer Coordinator know right away. While a ten-member team would be ideal, a smaller team is okay (at least five persons.) For more information contact Meister at haitivolunteers@yahoo.com.

The United Methodist Hour of Mississippi Returns to North Mississippi

The Hour returns to the airwaves this Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010on WTWV Good News Television located in Memphis. The show will air at 2 p.m. CST and will replay on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m.

Friends and supporters of The Hour will now be able to watch each and every Sunday and Tuesday In North Mississippi, Metro Memphis and Parts of TN, AK, and Missouri. If you would like more information about The United Methodist Hour,  please contact Mike Boucher at 601 296-1676 or by email mike@thehour.org.

Grieving Loss and Giving Thanks
By Paige Swaim-Presley, Seashore District Communicator

On August 29, 2010, five years will have passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  Katrina destroyed homes, churches and lives. Today, the storm's effects continue to linger in empty lots and ongoing construction.  Yet, as our conference's Litany of Thanksgiving for use this August 29reminds us, our God has never forsaken us.  The faith God has planted in us has carried us through five years of recovery, and brings us now to this day of thanksgiving.  On this day, five years after the storm, we give thanks for the recovery of over forty churches and twenty parsonages.  We also give special thanks for the more than 160,000 volunteers who have responded to the Mississippi Gulf Coast's needs. 
 
These volunteers have worked on over 12,000 homes, and built over 100 new homes.  They have saved struggling Gulf Coast homeowners over $100 million in labor costs.  Many teams have continued to return over and over again, some making as many as twenty trips to our coast!  The teams and the homeowners often become close to one another, as well. One United Methodist church, for example, worked on the house of a man named James.  When they returned home, they immediately proceeded to fill up a truck with items for James's empty house, and sent it back down to the coast for him - all because of the relationship they formed working with him on his home.
 
And so, we thank God for the ministry that has happened here in these past five years.  We also give thanks for the ministry that will continue now and in the future.  While the Mississippi Gulf Coast has come far, much work still remains to be done.  Approximately 310 homes currently remain on our lists for repairs.  Early in the recovery, 38 local churches hosted repair teams. Today, three permanent camps with warehouse space, one in each of the three coastal counties, continue the mission of recovery.  Because of the generosity of volunteers and the connectional United Methodist Church, Mississippi United Methodist Katrina Recovery will be healing hearts and homes into 2012.  Your prayers, gifts and presence continue to make a difference in this recovery process.  May the Spirit of God continue to renew us and draw us all together in the years ahead!

UMCOR Gives $64.5 Million to Katrina Relief
By Linda Unger, UM News Service
 
Since the summer of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast on Aug. 23 and Hurricane Rita struck it again one month later, United Methodist Committee on Relief, a program supported by your generous gifts on One Great Hour of Sharing Sunday, has been working with annual conferences and grassroots organizations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Florida.

"Our work in Louisiana and Mississippi, like our work in Haiti

A Mississippi family looks through photos found in the ruins of their home.

(following the Jan. 12 earthquake) is based on (staying) for the long haul," said the Rev. Tom Hazelwood, an UMCOR executive.

UMCOR has supported survivors who fled to other states. More than 1.3 million people left hurricane-soaked hometowns where some 300,000 homes had been wiped out, scattering to all 50 states.

United Methodists and people of goodwill across the country donated more than $64.5 million to UMCOR's recovery effort on the Gulf Coast. Funds went to cleanup, reconstruction, family-by-family problem solving and direct assistance to support the survivors.

The remaining funds will continue to support recovery work in Louisiana, where UMCOR has helped the annual conference repair or rebuild more than 9,100 homes so far, and in Mississippi, where it has supported the repair of some 12,320 homes, more than 100 of them from scratch.

In Texas, where Hurricane Rita was strongest, UMCOR helped the conference repair or rebuild 721 homes. More than 8,300 volunteers carried out this work, donating some 268,108 hours, valued at nearly $5.5 million.

"Because of our connectional system, United Methodists are uniquely positioned throughout the country and the world to meet the needs of survivors, including how we rally volunteers," said Catherine Earl, UMCOR executive secretary for U.S. disaster response.

In Louisiana, nearly 72,000 volunteers have so far logged 3 million hours of donated time, energy and effort, and 160,000 volunteers have participated in recovery efforts in Mississippi.

"It was heartening to see the efforts of so many people from all over the country, who could just as easily have stayed home," said the Rev. Clyde Pressley, the conference's disaster recovery executive director. "I have had a rebirth in my heart over the value of the connectional church."

Fanin UMC Supports the MS Gulf Coast with Visit to Restaurant

As members of Fannin UMC in Brandon prayed for the people of the Gulf Coast back in June, Rev. Rod Borders, pastor at Fannin suggested the church should just charter a bus and go down and support the people impacted so much by the devastating oil spill. And, so they did.
 
In the early morning hours of July 10, 2010, 47 people met in the parking lot of the church to board a 56 passenger chartered bus and head down to the Gulf Coast to spend the day. Although the trip got off to rough start because of a flat tire, the group changed the tire and headed south on Highway 49 to "spend" the day on the Gulf Coast.
 
In all the fun, fellowship and of course, sharing snacks and goodies that everyone brought along for the ride, the time flew by and soon we were pulling into the Blow Fly Inn restaurant in Gulfport  and welcomed for lunch by owner Scott Weinberg and his staff.  The visit drew the attention of local ABC affiliate WLOX-TV who did a segment on their newscast about the trip followed the next week by an editorial from WLOX General Manager, Dave Vincent, urging others to follow suit.
 
After lunch, the group loaded back on the bus and enjoyed a ride along the beautiful coastline across Highway 90 into Bay St. Louis crossing the new bridge across the bay. Fannin UMC members and Mississippi Department of Transportation engineers, Chris and Amy Mood were along on the trip.  According to Nan Bingham, fellow member of Fannin UMC the two were involved with rebuilding the bridge.

 "It was neat to have them on the trip," says Bingham. "It is a beautiful bridge and they have every reason to be proud."

Jimmy Thompson, father of Meridian District Superintendent, Tim Thompson was admitted this weekend to the Baptist Hospital in Jackson. He suffers from kidney failure as a result of complications from chemotherapy treatments.  Please keep the Thompson family in your thoughts and prayers.
 
Revs. Rob and Erin Grant, pastors of Hickory Grove and Sumrall UMCs (Hattiesburg District) respectively, are the proud parents of a new baby girl, Savannah Belle Grant, born Thursday, August 19, at 6:30 p.m. weighing in at 9 lbs 14 Oz , 21 1/2 inches long.  Big sister Emma is proud of her new sister.
 
Rev. Kenny McGill, pastor of Pleasant Hill UMC-Meridian, had surgery to remove some benign tumors on Friday, Aug. 20. Please keep Rev. McGill in your prayers.
 
Rev. Art Kinstley, retired clergy of the East Jackson District  was scheduled for a heart cath this morning 6:30 a.m., August 24, St. Dominic Hospital, Jackson.  Please keep Rev. Art and his family in your prayers.
 
Maria Sanchez  of Chicago, IL passed away Aug. 16, 2010. She is the mother of Rev. Jorge Navarrete of the East Jackson District, pastor of  the Trinity Mission Center. Memorials can be submitted to UMCOR.  Please keep the Navarrete family in your prayers.
 
Rev. Tom McCallister, retired and living in Winona, is in ICU at Baptist Hospital in Oxford following last week's surgery. Please keep Mary and Tom in your prayers.
 
Winna Seefeld, Greenwood District Secretary has been admitted to the hospital in Jackson with complications from her chemotherapy. Please lift up Winna and her husband, Rev. Glenn Seefeld(Greenwood First/Valley Hill).

Quitman First UMC Trustees Offer For Sale:  Six 16" 225/75 R16 10 ply Michelin low mileage tires.  $20.00 per tire OBO.  Contact Ron Stanley at 601-776-2637 or Rosemary Hopkins at 601-776-2275.

Griffin UMC in Starkville has approximately 50 pews available for $100 each.  These pews are polished oak with cushions in very good condition and will seat approximately 20 people.   For more information, contact Rev. Eddie Lee Jones at 662-324-1060 or 662-617-4177.

Main Street UMC, Bay St. Louis is looking for a part-time Youth Director. For more information or to send a resume contact Heather Hensarling at hhensarling@bellsouth.net.
 
Crossgates UMC is looking for a self-motivated leader to lead and care for Youth.  The position is for a part-time Director of Youth Ministries, who has a passion for helping youth in 7-12th grades.  We are looking for an energetic person who lives out their faith in all they do, and who will encourage and nurture our youth in their relationship with God and one another.   Interested persons should contact Rev. John Moore at jmoore@crossgatesumc.org to receive a job description and application. The same may be obtained in the office of Crossgates UMC at 23 Crossgates Drive, Brandon, Mississippi (Monday through Thursday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.). The deadline for receiving applications is September 30, 2010.