United Methodist Missionary Association

UMMA Update, March 17, 2002

Chicago Listening Event Report by Cherie White and Norma Kehrberg
Real Security Defined by Our Lives After 9/11 by Howard Heiner
Latin American Bishop Denounces Racism... by Joretta Purdue
Missionary Gatherings
Lots of Eyeballs are Viewing Our Website
Sustaining Our Support (SOS)
Support for UMMA Time by Gilbert Bascom, Coordinator

1. Chicago Listening Event Report

by Cherie White and Norma Kehrberg

The meeting took place on March 2 from 10am to 3pm with GBGM Directors from the Personnel Committee: Brenda Brown, Sally Dyck, James Mooneyhan and Duane Sarazin. Elizabeth Fenner, a GBGM Director, but not a member of the Selection Committee, served as recorder. There was no official presence of personnel from "475".

The official representatives for UMMA/NADAM/CCW who presented a joint statement (see UMMA Update #7) were: CCW: Harry Howe and Judy Atwood; NADAM: Joann Reich (Josephine Lewis was not able to attend); UMMA: Norma Kehrberg and Cherie White.

About 40 participated in the March 2 event. Of that number five were directors. UMMA/NADAM/CCW and a dozen or so other groups were represented.

Sally Dyck, Chairperson of the Personnel Committee gave a welcome and a opening meditation drawing upon the theme of Philippians 2: "be of one mind; empty ourselves so that others can know Jesus Christ." She also mentioned that the previous day another listening event was held to hear from UMC boards and agencies with 11 participants. Information from both listening events would be shared with members of the Search Committee that was to meet March 4-5.

The timeline and process in the search for a new General Secretary (GS) were shared, which take into account that applications should be in by March 31. A progress report on initial screening of candidates would be presented to the Board April meeting and interviews would take place in mid July in Atlanta with final interviews on Labor Day weekend. The nominee would be introduced to the October Board meeting and the GCOM would elect the nominee shortly thereafter in October. The new GS should be in place by January 1, 2003.

From the outset, one of the participants asked about confidentiality during the meeting. Sally Dyck immediately established that no statement would carry a name or organization attached to it -- this for her committee's report and on the part of anyone else present.

Two major sessions were held so that those present could discuss issues followed by reports to the entire group. The first session dealt with issues related to the question of the mission of the UMC in the next decade, what type of leadership on the part of a GS would be most helpful to the type of leadership on the part of a GS which would be most helpful to the church and how mission could be changing within the next few years so that the church could respond. A variety of mission concerns were voiced, such as a continuing tension regarding personal salvation, the impact of urbanization, plus the need to respond to the challenges of the poor, and marginalized, and to economic issues; a need for improved communication; a stronger stance on world peace; higher priority to interfaith sensitivity; more involvement in ecumenical issues; more effective listening beyond the US churches; and the effects of globalization.

Also mentioned were many aspects related to the selection of the General Secretary, which was the main focus of the second session. Many of the concerns from the joint UMMA/NADAM/CCW statement were expressed (see UMMA Update #7), but it was clear that everyone is concerned that the new GS have a collegial work style, be a "spiritual giant", be articulate -- yet be a listener; practice justice in relation to staff; not be intimidated by giving up power; have a heart for ecumenism and be sensitive to interfaith relationships.

Other issues focused on the breakdown of communication, lack of participation, lack of respect, and concern for financial aspects, such as Stevens Travel service and an operational audit was advised.

The meeting concluded with several participants expressing their gratitude for having been "listened to." Our general consensus also was that we were heard. For another report, please click here.

We urge those qualified to be the next General Secretary, to submit your Letter of applications, before March 31, to:

Bishop Joel Martinez, President
General Board of Global Ministries
PO Box 781668
San Antonio, TX 78278-1688

"The future is as bright as the promises of God." - William Carey

2. Real Security Defined by Our Lives After 9/11

by Howard Heiner

"As long as you live in the world, yielding to its enormous pressures to prove to yourself and others that you are somebody and knowing from the beginning that you will lose in the end, your life can be scarcely more than a long struggle for survival. If however, you really want to live in the world, you cannot look to the world itself as the source of that life." - Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved.

All of our faith traditions teach us not to look to the world for our source of strength and security. But, among the world's population, our faith in the concepts of the Western world has provided a small minority of us with the illusion of progress and progressive thinking. We have completed the modernization process and now have to face the reality of the problems we have caused -- "affluenza" the addiction to wealth and power. The tragedy of 9/11 has provided the opportunity for many to stop in the midst of the long struggle for survival and reflect on the false security that the world provides.

As a society we have fled from the turmoil of the inner city to the security of suburbia. But now suburbia is not safe so security is again being sought in enclosed and gated subdivisions. Our insecurity as a nation is now adopting the same concept to make us a gated and isolated subdivision in the community of nations. Daily we are told of threats of terrorism in order to justify billions and billions to defend our "freedom." We have assumed the role of world policeman, judge, jury and bearer of moral righteousness. Our national leaders now decide where the axle of evil is located! Real security will not be found in the paranoia of a bloated defense budget, military tribunals or a "gated" America.

Violence is no stranger for missionaries in their daily lives. A UMNS news release told of Sandra Olewine's recent experience:

"BETHLEHEM (UMNS) When a round of Israeli bombs fell on Bethlehem at 5:10 a.m. on March 7, the impact knocked a sleeping Sandra Olewine off her living room couch. The second blast shook pictures off the wall, blew open the front door of the apartment house, dropped shrapnel on the roof and showered glass from a neighbor's home onto her balcony. When the explosions stopped at 5:45 a.m., Olewine, a United Methodist missionary, found that homes and businesses on the street, which also contained a Palestinian police station, had been ruined."

If military might and retaliation were the solution, Israel would be one of the safest nations in the world.

Whether in the struggle for justice and peace in the inner-cities of the United States or around the world in such countries as Israel, Zimbabwe, or Columbia, our missionaries find their real security in God's call for community and compassion lived out among all people regardless of national origins, ethnicity or religious belief. Life for them has more meaning than a long struggle for survival.

O God, this is a hard time, a season of confusion.
Give us hope, Lord, and remind us of your steady power.
Renew our faith that the earth is not destined for dust and darkness.
Set us free from our anxiety for the future so that we may take the risk
of love today. - Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle by Ted Loder

"Be a light in the darkness and a voice crying in the wilderness until there is peace in the world." - Martha Collier

3. Latin American Bishop Denounces Racism

by Joretta Purdue

SEATTLE (UMNS)--Racism is about pain and power, and for Christians it is "one of the most violent expressions of human evil and sin," according to an Argentine Methodist bishop. Bishop Aldo M. Etchegoyen told the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race that only people who have power can be racist.

"From my pastoral perspective in Argentina and Latin America, racism as well as xenophobia have their origin in the use of power for the subjugation and economic exploitation of humanity," he said at the commission's March 1-3 meeting. "For some persons, racism may be the color of the skin or the nationality, but behind all of that there is always the issue of power."

"The exclusion of the native communities had an economic motivation," he said. Their lands were wanted, and military force was used to serve economic power. The black people had been brought in to serve the white people. Many black people were sent as soldiers to fight the native people and died in the fighting. A Yellow Fever epidemic from about 1871 to 1874 took a heavy toll, and by the end of the century the black population had vanished.

"Those slaves worked like animals on plantations," the bishop said. "They were 'things,' 'merchandise.'" He cited references that said the Africans rarely survived more than seven years of continuous labor.

The result of all the racism was a transfer of the wealth of Latin America to Europe between 1492 and 1660. "The silver sent from Latin America, especially Bolivia, to Europe (was worth) three times the total of the money in European banks during this time," he said.

"Racism is in a strong relation to capitalism," he said. "The wrong use of power is producing a new racism around the world to perform (the work of) the capitalistic system."

In this time of globalization, the use of power produces discrimination and exclusion, the bishop said. A few predominantly white, rich countries hold the economic power, and the rest of the world is being marginalized by globalization, he explained. "This social problem is growing rapidly." "Globalization is an expression of racism," he said.

A panel of five U.S. United Methodist caucus staff representatives responded to Etchegoyen's report.

"Racism definitely is alive, kicking and jumping over us today," said Inday Day, executive director of the National Federation of Asian American United Methodists.

"Filipinos died fighting in more than 1,000 uprisings during four centuries of colonial rule, first by Spain and then the United States, she said. Chinese immigrants worked in the United States, especially in building railroads, but faced discriminatory laws such as those prohibiting marriage," she said.

"In financial racism, the developing countries are all dependent on the rich countries," Day asserted. In Asia, even the countries that were not colonized are dependent on the rich countries," she added.

"...Christians who came to America were driven by an Old Testament mentality to cleanse the land of its occupants rather than the doctrine found in the Gospels. There is a need not only for reparations but for reconciliation," he said.

"In social, economic and religious groups, racism must be exposed," said Mary Silva, executive director of Metodistas Associados Representando la Causa de Hispano-Americanos (MARCHA). She called racism a crime against the Creator, an injustice and a sin.

"...This society and this church are still waiting for us to come and say clearly that racism is a sin," she urged. "Jesus is calling us to stop separating ourselves from the needy and powerless. In spite of the racism we see, we must come together." The End

Purdue is news director of United Methodist News Service's Washington office. Photos and stories also available here.

Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 12:30 PM. Abridged by rls, for full report see UMNS #089-Latin American bishop denounces racism as sin of power March 7, 2002 News media contact: Joretta Purdue�(202) 546.8722� Washington NOTE: For related coverage, see UMNS story #088.

4. Missionary Gatherings

April 19-21, 2002, 1957 Short-Termers "3s" 45th Reunion, "Journey's End"

Fowlers' home, Inks Lake, Burnet, TX 78611 (about 1 1/2 hours northwest of the Austin Airport, 11 miles west of Burnet, off of Highway 29). Andy and Nina Fowler (andina@star.net); 512.793.2430 weekdays or 254.634.3366 weekends.

July 9-10, 2002 UMMA Gathering in Atlanta, GA.

Contact Gil Bascom for latest details at gbascom1467@earthlink.net; (p): 253.879.8484; (f): 253.752.4484.

July 12-14, Former Chilean Missionaries and Chileans in the USA

Alton L. Collins Retreat Center (32867 SE Highway 211, Eagle Creek, OR 97022), about 40 min. east of the Portland, Oregon Airport. Dinner on 12th to lunch on 14th at $99 each. Registrar: Dorothy Johansson (dorjo777@aol.com).

August 1-4, 2002, Korean Missionary Reunion, all denominations

Lake Junaluska, NC. Email Gene Matthews (genematt@home.com).

August 1-5, 2002, Philippine Missionaries Reunion at Scarritt College, Nashville

Merwyn and Barbara Mackey Nelson, 2100 Barberry Drive, Springfield, IL 62704-4117, 217.546.8930 Email: Barbara Mackey Nelson (bmackey36@aol.com).

Aug 9-11, 2002, Servants of Sierra Leone Reunion

Cottontree Inn and Convention Center, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. Email Winnie Bradford (Bradford@fidalgo.net).

Sept. 24-27, 2002 India Reunion at Epworth-by-the-Sea, St. Simons Island, Georgia

Dora Kennedy, Registrar, PO Box 75, Penney Farms, FL 32079-0075. Email: deekenn@webtv.net.

October 7-10, 2002 Reunion of 1948 J-3/K-3s at National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, IL

Email to R. Paul Sims at psims@springnet1.com

November 12-14, 2002, 9th Agricultural Missions Conference ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization)

Ft. Myers, FL. Email Don Cobb (doncobb@echonet.org.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

5. Lots of Eyeballs Are Viewing Our Website

by Ric Schwenk

Leslie Batten, our webmaster sent these figures and wrote, "Lots of eyeballs are viewing your organization's website!"

Visits in 2001 and Events in the Same Month
Jan to June	An average of 205 visits per month
August	319	UMMA UpDate #1, Aug 14
September	195	UMMA UpDate #2, Sep 03 (9/11 event reduced website visits)
October	605	UU#3, Oct 2 (Mention was made of website improvements)
November	632	UU#4, Nov 8 (More mention of our website)
December	591	UU#5, Dec 3 (Christmas Holidays causes dip)

The most popular pages over this last 4 months were Actions, Related Links, UMMA UpDate, and Membership. We'll appreciate your suggestions to fill, update and promote the other pages. Check out the new links added.

Email ideas to RicSchwenk@earthlink.net, Chair, Communications Task Force

6. Sustaining Our Support (SOS)

In an email age, why do we still think in minimal terms of three missionary newsletters per year sent out to only 250 supporters and using expensive postage? Instead, send out short and snappy email newsletters whenever you have a little success or human interest story or list of your "10 best memories for the month that was." Set up your own mission website to let the world know what you are dreaming and doing for Christ. Then at the end of 3 or 4 months, summarize your best stuff from the email reports and send a paper newsletter with volunteer help of one of your supporting churches. If we don't tell what we are doing who will pray and pay for our mission involvements? Remember to give your Advance #s and your clickable website addresses.

7. Support for UMMA Time

by Gilbert Bascom, Coordinator

Thanks to all of you who have responded so promptly to the notification of a new financial year. Membership is running well ahead of last year at this time. That encourages us on the Steering Committee to feel supported as we try to represent you and to make your organization meaningful for both actives in the field and actives after 65 wherever we are.

We did change our wording about dues this year and that seems to have caused some confusion. To be sure all is clear I have repeated the dues notice below in what I hope will be a clarifying way.

Full Membership per person:$25 [voting privileges, 1/2 price accommodations at the annual meeting]

Affiliate Membership per person: $15 [no voting privileges or subsidized accommodations]

For Households: A combination of the above is acceptable. Remember, our member count is important when our representatives speak for the organization. We covet the membership of all members of a household who are GBGM related.

If you have not received your renewal form or are joining for the first time please use the form on our membership page.

We welcome your comments:
gbascom1467@earthlink.net