Here I Am!

"the Lord will answer...here I am"
            -- Isaiah 58:9

God is with us!

This is strong, constant, magnificent good news to us in Jesus Christ. Jesus comes to us at Christmas, appears to the world in the light of the Epiphany star, is baptized and named God's beloved, begins his ministry in Galilee teaching and healing the sick and casting out demons.

God is with us in the quietness by the manger, in the brilliance of the sky, in the liturgies of the church, in moments of keen awareness, in ministries of helping and hospitality and healing.

Isaiah 58 is especially dear to us: We will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. This is God's promise and our destiny in Christ.

God delights when our worship and gratitude overflow in sharing with the poor. Wherever we go, God goes before us. As we arrive and engage, we discover God's "Here I am." God is always ahead of us, waiting for us, preparing for us, ready to use us to heal this wounded world.

Whenever we say or sing to God, "Here I am, Lord, send me," we are responding to God's strong word to us, "Here I am."

We love because God first loved us. Every breath is a gift. Every day of life is grace.

Here we are, Lord, send us. You are with us and we rejoice.

With gratitude for our life together in Christ,

Hope Morgan Ward
 

 To comment, link on the Bishop's Blog page here.

 Mississippi Methodist Peace with Justice Gathering Set for Feb. 21

Parkway Hills UMC in Madison will host A Mississippi Methodist Peace with Justice Gathering Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. Special guest speaker is Bill Pelke, author of Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing. Clergy and Laity of the Mississippi Conference are invited to attend. Admission is free, however, donations to cover the travel and lodging cost of the speaker are welcome.)

Pelke grew up Baptist and is an active member at Anchorage First United Methodist Church, Alaska. In his book, Journey of Hope...From Violence to Healing, he details the 1985 murder of his grandmother, Ruth Pelke, by four teenage girls. Paula Cooper, deemed to be the girls' ringleader, was sentenced to die in the electric chair by the state of Indiana. She was 15-years-old at the time of the murder.

Pelke originally supported Cooper's execution but underwent a spiritual transformation in 1996 and became involved in an international crusade on her behalf. In 1999 more than two million people signed petitions protesting her execution and Pope John Paul II asked for her life to be spared. She was taken off of death row and her sentence was commuted to 60 years.

Pelke is president and co-founder of Journey of Hope...from Violence to Healing, an organization led by murder victim family members who oppose the death penalty. He has been a guest on Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and NPR, as well as scores of international newspapers and magazines.

The event is sponsored by Mississippi Methodist Peace with Justice, a group gathering twice a year to have conversation around important issues facing our church and world. Rev. Bruce Case, pastor of Parkway Hills and chair of Mississippi Methodist Peace with Justice, invites all clergy and laity to attend the event.

"Bill will be a keynote speaker in New Orleans in late February, and wanted to share his story with Mississippians while he was in the Southeast," said Case. "Come join us in this important presentation and conversation!"

Parkway Hills UMC is located at 1478 Highland Colony Parkway, Madison, MS.

For more information, please e-mail Case at jbrucecase@gmail.com.

The Parchman Hour Play
Scheduled to run March 6 - 11

 

In commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Riders, the Mississippi Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CORR) will host a weeklong tour of the play "The Parchman Hour," by actor and playwright Mike Riley.

Admission is free to the performances, however a reservation is requested. Reservations will be available online February 7 or by calling 601-354-0515 ext. 14.

The Parchman Hour is an ensemble production celebrating the bravery and determination of the Freedom Riders who risked their lives to desegregate Southern interstate bus travel in 1961. This is the acclaimed actor and playwright's latest work.

Wiley has spent the last decade fulfilling his mission to bring educational theatre to young audiences and communities across the country. Through his production company, Mike Wiley Productions, his performances have introduced countless students and communities to the legacies of Emmett Till, Henry "Box" Brown and a one-man play based on Tim Tyson's memoir Blood Done Sign My Name.

For more information on Wiley and his plays visit www.mikewileyproductions.com.

Performance Dates:
March 6 , 2011 - 5 p.m.
Jackson Convention Complex
105 E. Pascagoula Street, Jackson
Reception after play

March 7, 2011 - 6:30 p.m.
Mississippi State University - Lee Hall
262 Lee Blvd., Starkville

March 10 - Time yet to be announced
Delta State University (building)
1003 W. Sunflower Rd., Cleveland

Follow The Choctaw Journey
with Mississippi Roads   

 

The vibrant culture and history of the Mississippi Choctaws are featured in a special Mississippi Roads program, The Choctaw Journey, airing Thursday, February 17 at 8:30 p.m. on Mississippi Public Broadcasting Television.

Following at 9 p.m., the network will air Choctaw Code Talkers, an empowering chronicle of Choctaw soldiers, the original code talkers during World War I. It's a story that has been buried in history for nearly a hundred years.

One of the Tribe's origin stories says the Choctaw emerged from a gap in the earth around the "mother mound" Nanih Waiya, a holy place for the Choctaw located inWinston County. Show host Walt Grayson takes viewers to the Nanih Waiya Day celebration.

"The reason we get together is to rededicate our life not only to God, but to rededicate it to oursleves, the Chahta people. The mound [Nanih Waiya] is a symbol of that. Long ago, we would have perished, but the strength of our people kept us together. Today, we're 10,000 members strong and as we grow, we need to remember where we come from," said Miko Beasley Denson on Nanih Waiya Day. "We stand together, united as one tribe. I'm glad to stand ... and say I am Choctaw." (Miko is the word for "chief" in the Choctaw language.)

Join Walt on a journer to learn about the history and culture of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi's only federally recognized Indian tribe.

St. Mary's to Honor Black History Month
at Valentine Banquet 

St. Mary's UMC in Crystal Springs, Ms cordially invites all to attend its Valentine (sweetheart)/Black History Program. The program will be Saturday, February 12 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the National Guard Amory building located on North Jackson Street.

Sampling Supper and Silent Auction
to Benefit Wesley Foundations

The 7th Annual Wesley Foundation of MGCCC-JD and USM-Gulf Coast Sampling Supper and Silent Auction is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 12, 2011 at Long Beach First , 208 Pine Street, Long Beach. The event begins with a silent auction at 5 p.m. followed by dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets at the door are adults $10, students $5, 4 & under are free. You may purchase tickets by calling Janis Slade 863-4296 or Wesley4JD@aol.com. All proceeds will be used for student scholarships and mission projects! Here are highlights of the event:

• Come sample some of the best dishes on the Coast prepared by our local Methodist churches! No one ever goes home hungry!
• Silent Auction -- Come bid on the silent auction that will begin at 5:00 p.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. We need your donations for the silent auction of new and "nearly new" items. You can receive a donation receipt form if you request it.
• Entertainment -- You'll be entertained by our board members' and leadership team members' children and grandchildren as they sing a song together. The program will also include some of our churches' youth
• Silver Spatula Award -- Vote for your favorite dish by placing monetary donations in the Voting Cups. The church receiving the most donations will win the Silver Spatula for  being the Seashore District church with the best cooks!!
• Tickets can be purchased from your church's Wesley Advisory Board Representative. If your church doesn't have a Rep., call Janis at the number above.
• Reserved Tables --You can reserve a table by purchasing 8 adult tickets by 7 p.m. on Friday. NEW! This is the only way to reserve a table.
• Church Donation Award -- The church that has the most monetary donations turned in by Friday, February 11th, receives the Church Donation Award. On checks, please include the name of the church you want to receive credit toward the donation award. All monetary donors will receive a receipt in their thank you card.
   

Long Beach First is located at 208 Pine Street, Long Beach, MS.

Religion and Race Commission
Opens Registration for 2011 Cross-Racial
/Cross-Cultural Event

The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) has opened registration for Facing the Future: Cross-Racial/Cross-Cultural Appointments in a Global Church, May 16-18, 2011 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif.The spring 2011 event co-hosted by the General Board of Higher Education & Ministry (GBHEM)includes pre-events on May 15 providing an eight-hour seminar on cross-cultural competency and a Teaching Church Site Experience.

Key presenter and co-author of Many Faces One Church: A Manual for Cross-Racial and Cross-Cultural Ministry, Bishop Ernest S. Lyght anticipates that "participants in the event will come with the necessary energy and interest to cause them to have an open mind, an open heart, so that they can become instruments of opening new doors."

The face of the future is changing. This event is designed to help church leaders, both clergy and laity, to obtain the new skills, insights, ideas and commitments that will prepare The United Methodist Church to face this future boldly.

Early registration is $250 per person through Feb. 28. Registration from March 1 - April 15 is $300. Visit www.gcorr.org/crccevent for basic information about the schedule, event presenters, and pre-event activities.

Megan Ducker, wife of Rev. Greg Ducker, Associate Pastor at Starkville FUMC, has been admitted to the hospital in Starkville. They are awaiting the arrival of a precious baby. Please remember the Ducker's when you pray.

Rhonda Jennings, the spouse of Tommy Jennings appointed to Spring Ridge UMC, West Jackson District, will have surgery tomorrow morning in Jackson. Please keep Rhonda and all the Jennings family in your prayers.

Linda M. Johnson, spouse of Rev. Kerry Johnson, Lake Charge, Meridian District, passed away Jan. 30, 2011. Visitation will be held Friday, Feb. 4, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Clark's Memorial Chapel in Newton and 6 to 7 p.m. at Wesley Chapel UMC in Meridian. The funeral will be Saturday, Feb. 5, 11 a.m. Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur. Please keep the Johnson family in your thoughts and prayers.

Stop Hunger Now (SHN) is looking for a warehouse manager for the Jackson, MS location. The position is responsible for maintenance of the warehouse and receiving and shipping of all goods. The manager also coordinates meal-packaging events, including training and supervising work of the volunteers. Position ensures adequate supply of materials, cleanliness of warehouse and timely shipment of outgoing food product. Read full job description here To apply send resume to jackson_os@stophungernow.org.
Please include your résumé, salary requirements and cover letter.