United Methodist Missionary Association

UMMA Update, February 28 (pdf version), No. 62

In this issue

The Cruse That Never Runs Dry by Jim Gulley, chair
The Rev. Bruce W. Griffith, Jr., is New Assistant General Secretary
UMCOR Launches New Response to Zimbabwe Crisis
Our Readers Write
Missionary Milestones
Missionary Reunions
Slumdog Methodist Ministry and Our MK by Richard Vreeland
Treasurer's Tips by Richard Vreeland
This is Your Invitation

1. The Cruse That Never Runs Dry by Jim Gulley, chair

Our cruses will not run dry: Now is the time for grass roots action. In UMMA UpDate 61, December 9, I suggested ways that UMMA membership might more fully re-engage in mission witness and service through Global Ministries of the UMC. We have begun in Rocky Mountain Conference to engage the UMC missionary community; Richard Vreeland reports they have in the Missouri Conference as well. Other members have expressed their desire to be renewed resources in God's mission. Now, I am challenging each of us individually to do something more.

This week Global Ministries General Secretary Ed Paup and Treasurer Roland Fernandes announced a reduction for 2009 of seven percent - $3.9 million . This means a reduction in outreach through GBGM at a time when needs mount daily. Let us not be weary in doing good, my friends, but let us personally and corporately increase our tithes and offerings by one, five or ten percent. We are prophets of hope not predictors of either gloom and doom or prosperity. When prophets speak forth the word of God, there are always new possibilities in that word.

Last Sunday (February 22), I was privileged to hear Rev. Sony Augustine, a Haitian-American pastor of Asbury Park UMC (NJ), preach to fellow Haitians on Ile à Vache, off the coast of Les Cayes, Haiti. His text from I Kings 17.13-14: "'Do not be afraid; ... but first make me a little cake ... and bring it to me .... For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug [cruse] of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.'" The oil and flour were never exhausted through the drought while the widow of Zarephath fed Elijah, her unexpected guest. This is our story; this is our history.

Let us dip into our oil cruses and flour bins and bring forth the leavened bread of generosity and sacrifice, reflecting our deepened commitment to mission witness and service around the globe. On March 1st, I will write a check for Global Ministries in 2009 for the first 10th of my additional giving and will continue each month for the next 9 months. On Christmas Day, I will celebrate by giving the last 10th of my additional giving for Christ's mission through Global Ministries. Together, we will make up the shortfall, and our cruses will not run dry. Let us put our treasure where our hearts are; that will be just the beginning of our doing more. Grace and peace through Christ Jesus. Jim Gulley, UMMA Chair, Haiti, 26 Feb 09

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A Christian is a provisional pessimist but an ultimate optimist, as we cope with what we must do on earth, living daily in the slough of bad news while sustained by the anticipation of the good news. - George Tyrell

2. The Rev. Bruce W. Griffith, Jr., is New Assistant General Secretary

New York, NY, February 4, 2009 - - The Rev. Bruce W. Griffith, Jr., a native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and a missionary in Central Asia for more than a decade, has been named as the new assistant general secretary in the Mission Personnel Program Area of the General Board of Global Ministries, the international mission agency of The United Methodist Church.

In his new position, Bruce will be responsible for maintaining extensive personal and professional contacts with missionaries around the world. "We had numerous strong applicants for the position," said the Rev. Edith Gleaves, who heads the mission personnel unit as a deputy general secretary of the agency. "Bruce brought especially strong credentials through both his service in the field and his previous experience at Global Ministries offices."

Rev. Griffith and his wife, Kathy, served as missionaries in residence at Global Ministries in 2004-2006 and then returned to Asia. They rejoined the agency staff to undertake special projects in late 2008. Kathy Griffith, a nurse, now works with UMCOR Health, a part of the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Bruce Griffith grew up in Johnstown and is a clergy member of the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference. He holds a degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh and taught school for six years before enrolling in Gordon-ConwellTheological Seminary in Massachusetts, from which he was graduated in 1988.

He was associate pastor of the Franklin Street United Methodist Church, Johnstown, from 1988 to 1994, when he became a missionary. He and Kathy met as missionaries and were married in 1999. Rev. Griffith succeeds the Rev. Stephen Goldstein as assistant general secretary for mission personnel. Abridged from the UMNS press release.

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Unless we think of others and do something for them,
we miss one of the greatest sources of happiness. - Ray Lyman Wilbur

3. UMCOR Launches New Response to Zimbabwe Crisis

NEW YORK (UMNS) - The United Methodist Committee on Relief has launched a multi-pronged plan to respond to the dire humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. A severe food shortage and cholera epidemic, combined with the world's highest inflation rate of more than 2 million percent, has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. An immediate distribution of food and additional support for United Methodist hospitals will begin to alleviate the suffering of thousands of people in the days ahead. Providing clean water in Nyadire and additional long-term projects are part of UMCOR's future plans in the African nation.

Let's pray for God's loving leadership in the struggle of African University, its faculty, students and staff. May volunteers go and help, and others give to UMCOR as they serve the cholera victims and most needy families in Zimbabwe.

4. Our Readers Write

Gene Matthews writes: November marked the publication in paperback of the book Gene and thirteen others authored about the human rights struggle in Korea during the 70s and 80s. The Korea Democracy Foundation originally published the book in Korea. Gene spent much of the year working on the paperback version. The title is More than Witnesses: How a Small Group of Foreign Missionaries Aided Korea's Democratic Revolution. You can check it out on Amazon.com but if you would like a copy, we can probably get a better price for you. Gene Matthews () [Note: Caring and I found the book inspiring, monumental, and exciting reading. - ed.]

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Dear Ric, Jim Gulley's emphasis on using the whole missionary community in outreach is great. It has been an area I tried to emphasize when I was a director of the GBGM. Finally when I had finished my eight years I received a request from the officialdom to survey the retired missionaries to see who was willing and able to do interpretation. A survey was sent out which some of you probably answered.... It was my hope that each conference would be informed about the retirees within their area and that these persons would be used in the churches and districts nearby. What happened, I am not sure.

Another goal I had was to get directors coming from outside our country to itinerate in our churches before or after they were here for GBGM board meeting. Our conference enjoyed having two directors who, when invited, were able to arrange their travel to and from the U.S. to allow time for them to travel to our conference. We may have paid their round trip fare to and from N.Y. The presentations by these devoted nationals are still remembered by numerous ones in our area. If an office were established to utilize missionaries, perhaps it could coordinate this type of exchange as well. Our people need to learn from our partners outside our country. They have tremendous testimonies that we need to hear. This is another area of witness that is underutilized. - Marion Muthiah

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Dear Ric, Thank you for taking the time necessary to keep us all informed about mission matters. I wanted to comment about the suggestion of using missionaries no longer on the field as resource persons. When we retired we made a point of introducing ourselves to the DS and Bishop of the area where we were living. We have also introduced ourselves to the DS and Bishop here in NYC. None of them have asked us to do anything. The local church where we finally settled was good about including us and asking for some mission interpretation. As we visited churches trying to find a 'home church' we introduced ourselves as retired missionaries and got luke-warm responses, at best. We were asked to make a 'brief' presentation at a Schools of Mission event. We received neither a thank you nor any 'gas money'. There is a real vacuum in using missionaries as resources. Sincerely, Elizabeth Suzuki

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Dear Richard, I have just returned from my yearly Missions trip to the Dominican Republic where Ray and I spent our last Mission Assignment. I have continued our program there with the street children and with a local church of Barahona. I go down each year with four or five dedicated women to administer to 40 children. We meet at the ministers home where I once lived. We use our funds to help students go to our Church's seminary in the Capital city of Santo Domingo. The influence of our church has spread through the whole town and area. The minister who took over after we left has done well with over l00 mission teams down there. Ray and I began our ministry there with 25 members and left the church with 200 after three years of work. The present pastor, Rev. Pedro Kery Johnson has maintained a good number in his present congregation and helped over nine young men to attend the seminary which began with Ray's help in l960. We have helped the original group of street children graduate and become good Christian citizens. I appreciate all of your work and time spent for this important part of God's work in these changing times. In God's grace and love, Delaine DeHainaut

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Hey Ric, thanks for your persistence about the need to increase our dental coverage. We finally got it doubled and back to where it once was for us who have served for at least 25 years! Another monumental work. - Frances Bray, Japan and now Pilgrim Place. She's 90 years young. - ed.

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When a man cannot do what he would, he must do what he can. - Francis Asbury

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We sincerely appreciate the donors and administrators of the
Collin's Health Plan for Retirees.
(For those who have served 15 years or more.)
We are thankful too for the Collin's Pension Plan.
The Collin's family is a huge blessing to God's mission work. - ed

5. Missionary Milestones

William F. Anderson II, 86, UMMA member, died November 18, 2008. He and his wife, Dorothy, served 33 years as missionaries in Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa as well as several years as Missionary Interpreters in Residence in the Southeastern Jurisdiction in the US. He was named for his grandfather, who was a bishop in the United Methodist Church."

Bruce T. Hulse, 89, (7 years in India and UMMA member) died November 26, 2008. He served as a medic in the Navy in the South Pacific. He married Mary Grim. Always active in the community, he served on the Renton City Council (WA) from 1962-67. and was on the Group Health Board of Trustees for 20 years. He was active in the Methodist Church, on both a local and conference level, in the Renton Ecumenical Assoc., and as a mentor with Renton Communities in Schools. As a member of the Seattle Peace Chorus, he traveled to Russia and Chile. He loved singing, gardening, ham radio, and his Oregon State Beavers. His wife Doris of Renton survives him.

Hugh S. Deale, 88, UMMA member, passed away December 9, 2008. Dr. Deale served almost 25 years in Central Congo/Rhodesia/Red Bird Mission, and Haiti as a missionary dentist.

Doris Hess, 84, died January 16, 2009. Dr. Doris Hess, a retired United Methodist missionary and long-time mission agency executive. Most of her career was devoted to mission education and communications. She was a major figure in ecumenical work devoted to Christian literature and communications. "Doris was one of the most significant Christian communicators of the 20th century," said Betty Thompson, a retired communications executive with Global Ministries. "She...trained an entire generation of United Methodist communicators around the world." Doris began her career as a Women's Division missionary in the Philippines. After nine years, she joined the staff of the Women's Division. In 1964, she became an assistant general secretary of the World Division, retiring from GBGM in 1990. After retiring, Dr. Hess did volunteer work in mission in Australia and Great Britain. She did short-term work in Russia as The United Methodist Church organized there following the breakup of the Soviet Union. After returning to the US, she volunteered at the International Language Center in New York. She lived at the Brooks-Howell retirement center in Asheville, North Carolina, for six years. Brooks-Howell is owned by the Women's Division and open to retirees of the GBGM mission agency. Many current residents are former missionaries and deaconesses. - abridged from a GBGM Press Release. [The editor had the privilege of sailing on the same ship to the Philippines in 1957 and received orientation from her as a P-3]

Vincent L. James, 89, UMMA member, passed away Tuesday, February 17, 2009, at Wesley Acres, Des Moines, where he resided. He served in the U.S. Army during WW II. On August 10, 1946. He wife was Amy MacNeil. Vincent began his ministerial career serving churches in Illinois. For 15 years, up to the early 1970s, Vincent and Amy served as missionaries in South America. They helped build churches and more than 100 homes in Chile while also attending to their neighbors' spiritual lives. They also assisted residents in other South American countries following major earthquakes and other natural disasters. After returning to the Unites States, Vincent served as pastor at numerous churches in Illinois. Even in retirement, he made several trips to Mexico to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. He is survived by his wife, Amy.

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Cicero: Six mistakes of mankind

The delusion that individual advancement is made by crushing others.

The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.

Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it.

Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.

Neglecting the development and refinement of the mind.

Attempting to compel other persons to believe as we do.

6. Missionary Reunions

April 17-20, 2009 Stony Point Reunion Winter Class 1967 (the 5th since 2001) Atlanta, Georgia, Contact: Jo and Warren Harbert ().

June 4-7, 2009 Japan Mission Connection (JMC) Ecumenical. At Judson University, Elgin, Illinois. Contact: Judith DeRolf (), l White Oak Lane, Elgin, IL 60123. They have been holding reunions since 1993.

June 26-28, 2009 Malaysia/Singapore/Indonesia Missionary Reunion at Scarritt-Bennett, Nashville. Contact: David and Shirley Wu ().

July 17-19, 2009 Liberia Reunion of former missionaries, students a d friends of Methodist institutions in Liberia at Lambuth Inn, Lake Junaluska, Contact: Wilfred and Stella Boayue (), 770.649.9373.

September 25-28, 2009 Nigeria Missionary Reunion, UMC Canyon Camp, west of Oklahoma City. Contact: Delphine Jewell (), 14901 N. Penn Avenue, Apt. 379, Oklahoma City, OK 7313, 405.753.9035.

October 2-4, 2009 India Missionary Reunion, Lake Junaluska. Contact: Mark Garrison (), 651.460.2208.

October 20-23, 2009 Brazilian Missionary Reunion, Lake Junaluska. Contact: Jane Spencer ().

I think that wherever your journey takes you,
there are new goals waiting there,
with divine patience and laughter. - Susan M. Watkins

"Senility Prayer"
God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,
The good fortune to run into the ones that I do,
And the eyesight to tell the difference. - Author Long Forgotten

Slumdog Methodist Ministry and Our MK by Richard Vreeland

Max Marble, grew up in India as son of missionary parents, Martha and Bob Marble. Max is the director of the Office of Creative Ministries in the Missouri Conference. He prepares a new mission video every week. Since the movie Slumdog Millionaire won the Academy Award as the best picture of the year, Max's video is very timely as it points out the spiritual nurture, job training and educational work which the Methodist Church in India is doing in the Mumbai slums among the "underdogs."

The website was prepared a couple of weeks ago, just before the Academy Awards were given. You can't help but be proud of what Methodist mission workers and MKs (missionary kids) are doing around the globe. See also the great examples of "Creative Ministries" in MO, the "Show Me State." [It reminds us of the work we were doing at Manila's "Smokey Mountain" dumpsite slum in the 1990s. Lives can be transformed by a few missionaries and a few hundered dollars - not even millions! - ed]

8. Treasurer's Tips by Richard Vreeland

Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day and Happy UMMA Dues Renewal Day!
As we begin our year, it is always gratifying to have so many of you send in your annual renewal of your UMMA dues promptly. In fact, some who prepaid for this year have sent money again so that they are now already prepaid for 2010!

If you have any question as to whether or not you are paid for 2009, please e-mail me () for a status check.

If you haven't yet paid your dues for 2009, please complete the membership form and send it to me along with your check.

When sending your 2009 dues to me, please print clearly on the following form so that we can keep your vital information correct and current in our records. The e-mail address is especially important as it provides the fastest and least expensive way of acknowledging your check (if I can read the address correctly! :-). Thanks for your promptness.

We welcome your comments: