United Methodist Missionary Association

UMMA Update, September 2003

UMMA Gathering and Mission Education by Norma Kehrberg, Chair
Keeping in Touch, "Linking mission workers worldwide" Our Readers Write
A Spiritual Nurture Note by Carolyn Cowen
UMMA Gathering by Gilbert Bascom

1. UMMA Gathering and Mission Education by Norma Kehrberg

One more reminder of the UMMA Gathering which is to be held in Stamford, Connecticut running concurrently with the meeting of the GBGM's Board of Directors. Do continue to consider joining the Gathering if at all possible. It is not too late to register with Gil Bascom, UMMA Coordinator. See details at the bottom of this e-newsletter.

Prayer Request

I also request that you pray for our UMMA Gathering and for the meeting of the GBGM Directors' meeting. There have been many changes in the GBGM structure and functions. Some of the changes and continuing financial restraints have led to some concern about whether or not GBGM will continue to be able to send mission personnel. In this year, to my knowledge, no new mission personnel were sent and we have been informed that the Mission Center in Atlanta, which was set up to train missionaries, is now closed, although other arrangements for training missionaries are being planned. Financial constraints should not be the sole deciding factor in determining whether mission personnel can be identified, trained, commissioned and sent. To be a church is to be a church in mission.

Opportunity for Mission Education

One other note of great interest is that all active and retired missionaries who reside in Texas have been encouraged to participate in a mission event scheduled at First UMC, Conroe, TX on Saturday, September 27. The event, entitled, "Claiming the World as Our Parish," will include opening worship led by Bishop Alfred Norris. The keynote address will be given by Reverend Randy Day, the new General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries, followed by workshops on mission. There also will be an opportunity for those assembled to be in dialogue with Randy Day. UMMA member Bill Savuto, missionary in Belize, Nigeria, and Kenya, will lead one of the workshops at this event.

For more information, please contact: Kathie Mann (Tel: 713.521.9383), Richard Lassiter (Tel: 713.468.3276), or Melissa Wilkens (Tel: 903.592.7396) This announcement has come from the Missionaries in Residence at the GBGM Office in New York City. This opportunity is one of the best ways to be involved in mission education and one of the reasons for UMMA. Let's make the most of it as we look forward to many more.

This comes with prayers for safe travel to the UMMA Gathering and also for a fruitful mission education event in Texas.

2. Keeping in Touch, "Linking mission workers worldwide" Our Readers Write

From time to time this section will appear in future issues. Letters to the editor, will be included as interest, priority and as space allow. If you don't want to be quoted, please let me know. - ed.

Dear Missionary Friends, I certainly want to continue my membership. I doubt if I can ever again go to a meeting, but I want to know what is going on. This week I will be 86. I have not been able to travel the last few years. I still really want to know what is going on in Missions. I want to receive your mailings! Thank you! Gladys E. Gipe, Fremont, OH, served in China & Philippines

Hello Richard, Just wanted you to know that the report [Adobe attachment] came through here in Kitwe, Zambia, just fine. Thanks so much for all your work! Vivian Woodyard Greetings, Richard, UMMA UpDate came through fine as an Adobe attachment. I am now involved in assisting in the care of children who suffer from aids in Southern Africa and the slave children problem in Haiti. I am completing my ninth book, a children's picture book, dedicated to African American children. The book is about a black family and their wonderfully inventive little son named Elgin. Next year I will teach cartooning at an Elderhostel in North Carolina. We appreciate the great work you are doing. In His name, Hall Dunkin, Edmund, OK, served in Zaire

Yes, UU#17 came through very well. Thanks for editing them down. They are very helpful and nice to hear quotes from various people. Helen Post, Claremont, CA. served in Japan

As I have Acrobat, I received it and printed it in very satisfactory condition. Thanks. Dick (and Betty) Blakney in Bothell, WA, served in Sarawak and Hong Kong

Thanks for your work in making the newsletter accessible to those of us who use a MAC! Aileen Williams, served in Pakistan

Ric, The PDF Acrobat looks great and prints out fine. The email text doesn't translate well to the MAC system it seems. Gilbert Bascom, UMMA Coordinator served in Japan

Thanks for sending the UMMA UpDate in an accessible manner as "quick text" ("qt") to those of us who do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader. I'm extremely interested and concerned and am delighted to have up-to-date information! I'm also most grateful to you who are conducting the negotiations with the GBGM on our behalf! As a GBGM missionary to Mexico for just under 33 years (1965 - end of 1997), those years were wonderfully rewarding and fulfilling! And I'd like the work to continue so. On Sunday I just finished teaching the UMW School of Christian Mission Mexico study for our Desert Southwest Conference, where I lauded the GBGM for its work and mission. Thanks again! Blessings, Marianne Hutchinson, Phoenix, served in Mexico

Yes, we wish to be on the "qt" list. Your UMMA UpDate 17 was received very clearly. We appreciate more and more the work of UMMA. The retired in Brazil are meeting in October. This material will be very helpful for our meeting if you have other material that we need to discuss please send to us. God bless you and the others who are so well representing our retired missionary community. Thanks again. Graça- Paz-Misericordia, Jo and Jim Goodwin in Brazil

Thanks for the excellent summary of events contained in UU #16. Charles Germany, served in Japan and then was Associate General Secretary of the World Division of the GBGM.

Richard, UU#17 came through very well. We are delighted to have all this new news and fresh insights into our beloved church's mission. We may seem to be going "backward," but we don't have to continue that way. Don Anderson, served in Africa

Dear Ric, Would missionary couples benefit from volunteer teachers helping with home schooling or in mission schools? We had the most wonderful volunteer teacher for two years that allowed our children to live at home and for us to continue working in Tanzania. What a blessing. She was recruited just though our newsletter. Would others give input? Stephanie Crutchfield. (E-mail: revkim_crutchfield@yahoo.com) served in Africa and Philippines, going to Taiwan soon

Jeff Hoover writes this follow-up about need for school teachers: There are small schools in some locations teaching missionary kids and sometimes open to a wider community that are not on endowment or budget subsidies from GBGM or other such organizations that are also interested in affordable teachers. The English-speaking School of Lubumbashi (TESOL) is a United Methodist school, open to the entire community although founded by the ecumenical missionary community in this city of 1.5 million.

Volunteers can more easily slip into a six-month or year slot at TESOL than elsewhere in the church since the language of instruction is in English, and many other parts of the school seem familiar to usage in North America or Europe. We have had a variety of young people out of college from Scotland, England, and the U.S. plus older volunteers; in fact, the first teacher who got us started had retired twice before joining GBGM to help us start. The news reports of war elsewhere in Congo has staunched the flow of volunteers during the past five years. Our tuition is a fifth that of The American School of Kinshasa, so we do not pay competitive international salaries but have provided housing, a subsistence stipend, and sometimes paid air tickets, depending on the candidate's abilities, the school's finances, and the length of term envisioned.

We also use Congolese teachers, retrained for international methods and educational philosophy. In recent years, we have had a number of interns for practice-teaching from the English departments at the university and teacher's college. Qualified and experienced teachers who serve as volunteers at TESOL thus have a chance to pass along some of their skills and perspectives to Congolese teachers in a country where rote-learning is still the norm. (Ellen and Jeff Hoover, P.O. Box 22037, Kitwe, Zambia; JEHoover@mwangaza.cd; note that the school is in the Democratic Republic of Congo, although the postal address is Zambia.)

There are places in the U.S.A. where retired missionaries are living or are near-by. Asheville, North Carolina has one of the heaviest concentrations of retired UMC missionaries, e.g. Brooks Howell and Givens Estate. Penney Farms, Florida has many too. At Pilgrim Place in Claremont, California there are a substantial number of us who are Board related. When people from the Board are in the area, if we knew within a reasonable time it would be possible to set up a session for discussion, input from the Board, etc. We can make better use of these venues for improved communication with intentional planning. Elizabeth Clarke, Claremont, CA, served in Japan

Greetings from London, where I'm stopping over on my way home from four weeks in Palestine and Syria. I've just downloaded several days of email... I found this helpful string of correspondence about new ideas for fostering communication. Paul Jeffrey, Honduras.

Some of Paul's Palestine work can be seen here. And one of Paul's regular columns in zhworld.net was reprinted in the latest Zion's Herald's insert section on "An Uncertain Quest for the Common Good" a series about issues facing the church and North American Christians. His article was titled "The Lies Begin at the Top" about the Jason Blair mess at the NY Times, but has implications for other leader. - ed.

Dear UMMA and Norma Kehrberg, I am concerned about the ever-escalating healthcare costs, and especially pharmaceuticals. Seems that is something all mission boards need to coordinate efforts on for a unified demonstration of alarm and call to action. With appreciation, Mary F. Zambrano, Claremont, CA, served in Mexico

...It has been years now since the Collins Task Force was dissolved and so UMMA has not had any official opportunity to discuss with staff our concerns over the management of the plan. Howard Heiner, former UMMA Chair, served in Central America

After having a wonderful experience in Mexico we were fortunate to land on our feet in North Carolina. Our older kids are in college nearby and we are settling in our new positions. Diana is starting an Hispanic congregation and I am placed as a missionary-in-residence at Pfeiffer University. Although the university pays my compensation, I am able to pay into my GBGM pension and maintain my title. Pfeiffer, located in Misenheimer, NC, has a very strong Christian education and religion department and maintains an historical relationship with the GBGM. As a model church-related institution, the president has added me to the faculty with the dream of starting a "missions major." If accomplished, it will be the only UMrelated college or university with a major in missions. At present we are still at the curriculum planning stage, so if any of you have any suggestions please feel free to contact me at pwingeier@pfeiffer.edu. It's difficult to create something when we have so few good models in our denomination - not even our seminaries emphasize missions anymore. Our denomination has a rich mission heritage, but we need to train future leaders with the ability to reflect upon and generate new mission models for a changing and hurting world. - Philip Wingeier-Rayo

Thank you for your e-mail UMMA UpDate which came through just fine... I've sent UMMA UpDate printouts to those who don't yet have email. Keep up the good work!! You're way out ahead. Shalom, Fred Brancel, Madison, WI, served in Africa

Dear Ric, Thanks for your communication. Excellent newsletter.... Grace and strength in your continuing ministry. Wilson Boots, served in Bolivia

Hello! I'm looking at the July statistics of your website, and visitors increased to 800 last month, which is a hearty leap of 200 from June (597). Congratulations!! Leslie Batten, UMMA Web Master, August 3, 2003.

3. A Spiritual Nurture Note by Carolyn Belshe Cowen

Hope's Power by Mary Lou Redding in "While We Wait"

Hope does not build on certainty. To hope means we cannot be completely sure. There are no guarantees. Coming to God with a mixture of hope and excitement is normal and human. We may even acceptable. God welcomes us with whatever degree and quality of hope possible for us. Even if the hope is simply an inexpressible desire for something more, it has power, and its power grows as we nurture the hope in God's presence. The psalmist says, "You, O LORD, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth" (Psalm 71:5). When we anchor our hope in God's steady love and good plans for us, hope becomes a permanent part of us. We have hope not because we are powerful or smart or resourceful but because of who God is. And as we test our hope by acting on it, we release God's power into our circumstances. Our "hope muscle" grows stronger and our desire for God more compelling, just as exercising strengthens our physical muscles. As we consciously work with God, we will see more evidence of God's work in the world around us. The more we hope and watch, the more we will see that reinforces our hope and trust.

4. UMMA Gathering 2003 by Gilbert Bascom

The 2003 UMMA Gathering is scheduled to be held from October 20-22 at the Budget Hospitality Inn (same as last year) to coincide with the GBGM Board of Directors' Meeting in a nearby hotel. Rooms have been reserved at the Budget Hospitality Inn again in Stamford, Connecticut for the 2003 UMMA Gathering. Steering Committee members will be arriving on Sunday, October 19 to prepare for the first UMMA session at 7:00 PM Monday following attendance at the opening GBGM Board Plenary Session. The UMMA agenda will include the confirmation of the election of the Steering Committee members, the election of a new Coordinator and the development of the UMMA agenda and priorities for 2004. The subsidized price for full members will be $30 per night each for a double room, payable to UMMA at the Gathering. For others, the cost will be $85 plus tax for a double room. UMMA will make the reservation if you wish. The inn has complimentary breakfast. All other meals will be at your own expense.

Please fill and return the following form to Gilbert Bascom at gbascom1467@earthlink.net as soon as possible to aid us in making accurate room reservations.

We welcome your comments:
gbascom1467@earthlink.net