United Methodist Missionary Association

UMMA Update, February 24, 2006 (pdf version)

Collins and Mission - Synonyms? by Dick Vreeland
Spiritual Nurture Notes by Carolyn Belshe Cowen
Missionary Milestones by Elizabeth Clarke
Missionary Reunions for 2006-2007
Chair's Corner: JimD's Jottings by Jim Dwyer
Coordinator's Corner: Happily Overwhelmed with Letters by Fred Price

1. Collins and Mission - Synonyms? by Dick Vreeland

For those of us who "know which side our bread is buttered on" Collins and missionary support sometimes seem like synonyms. Indeed the Collins family of forest fame has a much longer relationship to missions than we may realize. It was, we are told, about the time of great missionary expansion in the 1850's when lumberman Truman Doud Collins (T.D. or "Teddy") was converted from membership in the Presbyterian Church to the Methodist Episcopal Church at a revival meeting in Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania. In the ensuing years he helped build seven churches in the Beaver Valley area.

Teddy's son Everell Stanton Collins contracted tuberculosis while attending Allegheny College and heeded the call westward, hoping for better health there. His father offered him one-half interest in a lumbering business in Ostrander, Washington, if he could make a go of it. Even before his father's death he had "made a go of it" with a multimillion dollar business famous for production of some of the longest and largest timbers in the world - among them the 225-foot flagpole for the "Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair" held in Portland in 1905.

Everell Collins continued the family's philanthropic relationship to the Methodist Episcopal Church, bequeathing twelve different gifts to the church, including $10,000 to the Salem (Oregon) Methodist Old Folks Home upon his death in 1940. His son Truman Wesley followed in father's footsteps until his death in 1961, and further generations have maintained the same spirit of philanthropy and commitment to mission - a story deserving much more space than our UMMA Update allows.

Additional information can be found online in the New World Outlook article "Mission's Living Legacy... from the Collins Family".

Editor's note: The Collins family legacy carries on a tradition of good stewardship of their timber business earnings by giving to mission work as well as following ecologically sustainable practices. Excellent Collins forest management is praised by both environmentalists and loggers. A report is located here.

Not all forests are created equal. All three Collins forests - Pennsylvania, Almanor, and Lakeview - have been independently certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) in accordance with the principles and criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)."

"The 295,000 acres of Collins timberlands are bio-diverse, multi-layered, canopied forests, not single-species tree farms. They are self-sustaining, containing more wood today than they did over a hundred years ago. They are home to bald eagles, black bears, wild turkeys, rubber boas, beavers, great blue heron rookeries and the endangered Goose Lake redband trout. They are enriched by meadows, springs, creeks, rivers, and lakes. They are naturally healthy forestsÑgrowing trees only from sunshine, water, and nutrients from fertile soil."

2. Spiritual Nurture Notes by Carolyn Belshe Cowen

As missionaries, we may be watching for that star in the sky that leads us to a means of ministry, an opportunity to tell of Jesus' love, to visit and comfort the sick. Some may know baby Jeremiah's story. He is Ric and Caring Schwenk's 2 1/2 year-old grandson who has endured more heart surgical stuff than a hundred adults in their lifetimes combined. We have read at this writing over 400 postings on the web CarePage and took the opportunity to write our prayerful wishes from the UMMA community for Jeremiah. Here is what I posted on your behalf under the title: "Praise God!" February 16, 2006 at 07:54 PM CST, "Jeremiah, your missionary friends around the world are lifting your name for angels to continue holding you close as you heal. We love you, Carolyn Belshe Cowen on behalf of the United Methodist Missionary Association."

This website has a star beaming on it like a star beaming on baby Jesus. What a ministry. Prayers of thousands accumulate from around the world for Jeremiah, for sheer strength for his parents to hold up under the stress, for his sister, for his extended family. You talk about a ministry! We have tried for a couple years now to manage a page for prayer requests on the UMMA website. It has not served as well as we want it to serve. Maybe little Jeremiah has brought us to the gateway of a service we as missionaries can do as we walk the rugged trails of the mission field, ride the subways of Toyko, or sit by the window in our own journey's ending while we wait for the train to show up at our station. We can pray for the "Jeremiahs" in our midst. What do you think?

Grace and peace,
Spiritual Nurture Teaming together with you and others to make a prayerful difference.

Editor's Response

Dear Carolyn and others giving spiritual nurture,
Thanks for the thoughtful note you posted on the CarePage website. Our deep appreciation to all who are praying for Jeremiah. Many have commented on how that website is an extremely handy tool for quick updates on wellness and learning specific prayer needs.

Reading over the postings by friends, world-wide, also is extremely uplifting and fosters a feeling of oneness and stronger faith that something can be accomplished when 1000s join in praying together towards well-defined needs. We all can be kept on the same page with the updates. This is therapeutic to both the caregivers writing the updates and friends posting encouragement and prayers. It's a win-win experience.

CarePage vastly aids our communication and spirituality. Imagine, for example, parents in a hospital 300 miles from home taking turns watching their child in ICU and trying to communicate with concerned family and friends with updates. The parents can write web logs ("blogs") with daily updates on specific health and prayer concerns for people to read on the CarePage website. Those interested can click to this website on the Internet, read the wellness blogs and become prayer warriors, for specific needs. The caregivers can read messages of comfort - all in a short span of time without having to deal with countless telephone calls. Those reading the blogs of the caregivers and the encouraging words in the postings of loved ones become a community of faith who give spiritual nurture and physical wellness. For examples of comfort that include uplifting passages of faith, please click to CarePage here.

Turning suffering into a blessing - CarePage was created by a couple whose newborn son was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. To keep friends and family informed, they constructed a simple web site which included updates and a message board. Five years later, the service is enhanced and now available to everyone at www.carepages.com. CarePage is now touching the lives of more than one million families across the globe!

3. Missionary Milestones by Elizabeth Clarke

Elizabeth Rebecca Tennant, born February 18, 1915, died January 2, 2006. She passed on at age 90 at theWyocena Health Care Center in Wisconsin (near Portage, Wisconsin, her home town) where she had been since 1997 after suffering a stroke which left her unable to walk or to use her right arm. The Memorial Service for Elizabeth was on January 14, 2006 at the United Methodist Church in Portage, Wisconsin.

Elizabeth was a United Methodist missionary primarily in Japan 1948-1985. She began her service as one of the 1948 J/K-3s (Japan/Korea 3-year short-term missionaries in post World War II), sent by the then Methodist Episcopal Church. She was assigned to Tokyo Women's Christian University to teach English. After completing her three-year term in 1951, she returned to the U.S where, in 1952, she spent the year as an intern at the United Nations for the Women's Division. In 1953, after commissioning by The Methodist Church, she returned to Japan as a life-time educational missionary. After completing two years of Japanese language study in Tokyo, she joined the faculty of Kwassui Women's College in Nagasaki where she continued as a professor until she retired in 1985, completing 32 years in Japan. One of her major contributions was the innovative English language program she developed at Kwassui. Many of her students became teachers of English in junior and senior high schools or colleges; some became translators; others worked in careers that required the use of English; and many who continued graduate study returned as teachers. Graduates of Kwassui Women's College have been known for their excellence in English. She dedicated herself to her students and to her work on the faculty. She also had an active role in the church life of Nagasaki, particularly in Furumachi Church of the United Church of Christ in Japan (Nihon Kirisuto Kyodan). Following retirement she returned to Japan in 1986 as interim director of the Zenrin Kan Christian Center in the northern city of Morioka for eight months.

How much Betty loved Japan, living in a small Japanese-style home on the mountainside above the college! She relished Japanese food and customs and entered fully into its life and traditions. She was a clear witness to her Christian faith among students, faculty and people she worked with in the community.

Before going to Japan she was the Director of the Wesley Foundation at the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1944-1948. She was a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa (BA 1936),Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois (MA in Christian Education in 1953) and Teacher's College, Columbia University in New York City (MA in Teaching English and Literature as a Second Language in1961).

Her only close relative is Jane Tennant, her niece, who lives near Vancouver. Her address is 12011 Hayashi Court, Richmond, BC, Canada V7E5W2. Jane's e-mail address is .

Earlene Bell, a UMC missionary and UMMA member, died January 9, 2006. She was born in Salyerville, KY and was trained as a Registered Nurse at Shirrman School of Nursing. The service was held January 14 at Hillview Retirement Center in Portsmouth, Ohio, where she and husband Otis lived before he died.

She and Otis went to Japan in 1950 and were assigned to Okinawa. They went to Kobe to study language for one year. They returned to Okinawa were they worked until 1958. Later they were assigned to Tokyo where Otis was the English Secretary of the United Church of Christ in Japan (Kyodan) Evangelism Committee and Associate Secretary of General Affairs of the UCCJ. Their final assignment in Japan was church outreach in Hokkaido until they left in 1969. Earlene's responsibilities involved working with women. After leaving Japan in 1969, Otis was a Methodist pastor in Ohio until they entered Hillview Retirement Center in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1986.

4. Missionary Reunions for 2006-2007

March 27-30

The River Plate Argentina and Uruguay Missionary Group Reunion at the Florida Conference Life Enrichment Center, Leesburg, Florida. Contact: Valene Long (); 941-748-7520. Reservations were due November 15, 2005.

May 13

The Centennial Anniversary of the Peoples' Central Institute, Brazil. Contact: Anita Betts Way ().

June 23-26

Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Myanmar Reunion, Scarritt-Bennett Center. Contact: Lionel Muthiah (), new chair; 701.663.1928. Lionel Muthiah, 1804 12th Ave. S.E., Mandan, ND 58554.

June 28-30

Servants of Sierra Leone Biennial Reunion, Holiday Inn Select, Naperville, IL. 60563, near I-88. Marilyn Kopp (), 309.444.2136.

August 4-7

Philippine Missionary Reunion Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center - Lambuth Building, Lake Junaluska, NC. Contact: Claudia Webster (); 7619 SW Surfland Street, South Beach, OR 97366.

September 8-11

Nigeria Missionary Reunion, Glen Eyrie Conference Center (near Colorado Springs, CO). Contacts: Delphine Jewell (), 405.753.9035 or Gerald Faust (), 719.456.0011.

September 15-18

Chile Reunion for Missionaries and Chileans living in the USA, Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center, Blackstone, VA. Email Walt Whitehurst () or Stan Moore ().

*October 8-11

Annual UMMA Gathering, Stamford, Conn. Contact: Fred Price ()

August 9-12, 2007

Greater Mission Gathering 2007, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL. Contacts: Norma Kehrberg () and Jim Dwyer ()

*Note: The last two events are being planned. More exact details will be forthcoming. Your advanced interest and suggestions will be appreciated during the planning stage.

5. Chair's Corner: JimD's Jottings by Jim Dwyer

Hands Free for Service or "Let Go and Let God"

Lent is just around the corner. German-speaking Methodism has in recent years kept a Lenten emphasis in which their motto is "Hands free through abstinence - praying, fasting and helping in Lent."bBoth of the usual German words for Lent have more intrinsic theological meaning than the English "Lent" (from lencten = lengthening of daylight hours), which is actually nonsense to the southern half of our globe. The older "Fastenzeit" means "time of fasting," the newer "Passionszeit" means "time of suffering (of Christ)." For the 4th year now the German United Methodist Global Ministries agency ("EmK-Weltmission") and the church's Association for Prevention of Addiction and Aid to the Addicted will sponsor the emphasis together (see www.emkweltmission.de if you read German).

For my part, it has been several years since I found sufficient energy or freedom to truly observe Lent. I have asked each year what is lacking in me and what I need to give up to free my hands for appropriate action - or so that I can spend more time folding them in prayer and resting them for reflection. Living on the limit of one's strength and energy makes the observance difficult.

For 2006 I have determined that I will give up silence. I am determined to address the issues of injustice and oppression in our world which move me most and will hope that I do not come into another situation of "passion" - of suffering - as a consequence. I noted today in the local newspaper, the Hamburg Abendblatt, that leaders of the U.S. Conference of the WCC meeting in Brazil have reached a similar conclusion, to that of our United Methodist Council of Bishops in October. Reformed church people in Europe often talk of the "status confessionis," especially with regard to conflicts between religious values and political society - what Luther meant when, in desperation, he cried out, "Here I stand, I can do no other." Howard Heiner recently pointed us to writings and speeches of Peter Storey, first Bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa and now professor at Duke University, as a source for the questions we must ask ourselves as we address the powers and principalities in our world. I hope to share some of his insights with my congregation and all who will listen to me or read what I write, beginning in Lent. I have located many of his speeches and articles on the web (just "google" Peter Storey). Peter Storey, himself a veteran of the struggle against South African apartheid and fascism, would be the first to acknowledge, that there will be some risk involved. Of course. The cornerstone of our faith was also a fearless and divine Risk-Taker.

What will you give up or take up for Lent this year? What consequences are you willing to deal with? I'd be interested in receiving your responses. Jim

6. Coordinator's Corner: Happily Overwhelmed with Letters by Fred Price
"Letters, We Get Lots and Lots of Letters"

I am overwhelmed!

No, that is not just a catch phrase to get your attention. I really am overwhelmed with the response of persons to renew membership in or to become members of UMMA. At home, next to my office printer, are about 100 envelopes from all over the United States and the world. Most of them have been processed: checks recorded and deposited, membership list updated, etc. Still, I am behind. I need to respond and thank people for their support and issue receipts. Plus, I have about twenty five letters to open.

Complaining? No Way!

Just grateful for sisters and brothers in Christ who care passionately about the mission of Jesus Christ and who see value in the mission of the United Methodist Missionary Association.

You can help to enhance UMMA's mission by your prayers, your continuing faithful service wherever God has placed you and by renewing your UMMA membership - or by becoming a member.

Membership dues are $25.00 per person for full membership (voting rights) and $15.00 per person for affiliate membership (non-voting).

Together we enhance one another and lift the name of Christ just a bit higher.

Thank you one and all.

We welcome your comments: