United Methodist Missionary Association

UMMA Update, September 2011 (pdf version), No. 79

In this issue

A Word from the Editor
Register for UMMA Gathering, October 9-10, in NYC
Word from the Chair
Greeting from Judy Chung, AGS, Missionary Services
Passings Noted
Mission Interns and US-2s Commissioned
Comments and Thanks from Our Readers
Reunions Anticipated
Links of Interest
Benediction

1. A Word from the Editor and Communications Chair ()

The physical address from which UMMA UpDate is launched has changed to Claremont, California, where Helen and I are living with our daughter Anne until our house at Pilgrim Place becomes ready for us. Meanwhile the virtual locations remain the same.

Request UMMA UpDate via e-mail from an "announcement-only" Google group. Send input to or by postal mail, e.g., reunions, death notices, other matters of concern. And if you have information you'd like on our website, please submit it!

Other feedback is welcome via (1) our "feedback" Google group (), (2) our blog at umma-global.blogspot.com, and (3) our Facebook page "UMMA - United Methodist Missionary Association". Just "like" it to keep up with changes. Ask for help!

For dues, use mail or PayPal™.

2. UMMA Gathering and Elections, NYC, October 9-10 (Register now!)

The UMMA Gathering will convene at 12:00 noon on Sunday, October 9, 2011 at Manhattan's United Methodist Church of the Village in Greenwich Village at 201 West 13th Steet (entrance on 7th Avenue), New York, NY 10011-7701. We anticipate concluding around 7:00 p.m. for an evening meal nearby. Please register your intention to attend via email c/o . A variety of sandwiches will be ordered for lunch (including vegetarian) based on the number of your registrations.

You are invited to join the Church of the Village congregation for worship in English at 10:30 a.m. Bishop Alfred Johnson, the Rev. Vicki Flippin and the Rev. Sara Giron-Ortiz provide pastoral leadership to English- and Spanish-language ministries there. Both local and express subways 1, 2 and 3 (red line) stop at the 14th Street Station (exit mid-platform at 13th Street).

On Monday, October 10, at 11:30 members of the Steering Committee will meet at '475' for our regular consultation with GBGM staff and directors.

Watch for the finalized agenda on this website, our blog, and our Facebook page.

Elections of new officers and a number of new regional representatives to the Steering Committee are on the agenda. Make your suggestions for regional representatives and representatives from the 'new missionary' classes known! We will also propose a few more updates to our constitution and bylaws. Drafts will be available, at the latest, at the meeting.

3. Word From the Chair

Be Still... Scrolling through my iTunes library for background music while working one evening last week in Haiti, I came upon a song written and performed by close friend Nancy Cook. It celebrates powerfully the life of a mutual friend who customarily opened a period of contemplative prayer with these words: "Be...Be still...Be still and know...Be still and know that I am...Be still and know that I am God", entering silence after each articulation. That phrase has become a meaningful musical epitaph for our mutual friend Mary Johnson who died of cancer at age 62 in 2006. As I went to bed, I began my silent sleep by replaying Nancy's tribute to Mary again: Be Still...and know...that I am God. Another morning I awoke reflecting on this exhortation "to be still and know..." God's word for us in all life circumstances.

Living beyond my mid-sixties jogs me a bit more to the wisdom of being still and listening for The Divine Pull on our lives into the most consequential matters of life: a friend discovering terminal disease; a brilliant vigorous clergy colleague succumbing to cancer in her mid-fifties; a husband-father just past forty plunging to his death while rock climbing - all personal yet significant life events. Having spent 1 1/2 years engaged in Haiti, studying some of our government's history in Haiti, and being in the midst of reading Travesty in Haiti: A true account of Christian missions, orphanages, food aid, fraud and drug trafficking by Timothy T. Schwartz (PhD), I am compelled - yes, I would say pulled by the Divine - to engage at the socio-political levels in the U.S. and Haiti to find ways to shape policies that encourage changes that benefit the poor and marginalized in Haiti - not an easy task given the scope of the challenge and the power of entrenched interests, internally and externally. But the pull is there.

Most of us missionaries of the 20th century are a part of a rich legacy of long-term, cross-cultural mission that we continue to believe to be vital to the life of a global church. Today mission volunteers who seek service in shorter spans vastly outnumber us 20th-Century missionaries. Some of us (perhaps a little arrogantly) cringe at the notion of waves of mission volunteers coming and going to Haiti and elsewhere in 7-10 day segments.

Let's get over it! Instead, let's get with it and take the bull by the horns to engage mission volunteers as partners in mission with whom we can share perspectives, experiences and support as we seek to be a part of God's mission in this 21st century. I dare say neither you, nor I, nor mission volunteers know where God is pulling in mission in the years ahead. But I trust that The Divine will show us the way forward when we engage in that process. Let us begin thinking together at our annual gathering next month.

The UMMA leadership are considering the following substantive topics for the upcoming UMMA Annual Gathering: "How Should Long-term and Short-term Mission Meet?" "Caring for the Whole Missionary Community" and "Possible Futures for Global Ministries in the Global Church." I encourage each of you to consider participating in the annual gathering on Sunday, October 9, 2011, held in conjunction with GBGM's Fall Board of Directors Meeting. We will take care of our normal business of reports and elections but will also engage each of the above topics. Come and join us to engage United Methodists in mission in this 21st Century!

Grace and peace. Jim Gulley (), UMMA Chair

4. Greeting from Judy Chung, AGS, Missionary Services

As I begin my ministry as the Associate General Secretary of Missionary Services at General Board of Global Ministries, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all the members and the officers of the United Methodist Missionary Association. I truly appreciate your ministry and mission and am honored to be working in partnership with all of you as we continue to fulfill God's mission in this world.

I do hope that I will have the opportunity to get to know you personally and to learn more about your ministry.

May God's grace and guidance be with you!

Grace and Peace, Rev. Judy Chung (), Associate General Secretary, General Board of Global Ministries

5. Passings Noted - Our Thoughts and Prayers Go Out to Families and Loved Ones

Marianne Bohr has shared thanks for all thoughts, prayers and kindness to her husband Alfred Bohr, who recently died after a long battle with leukemia. The Bohrs served alongside the Gulleys inter al. in Nigeria in the 1970s. Marianne writes, "On Sunday, August 14, at 4:25 a.m. Alfred entered into his heavenly home." A memorial celebration was held on September 1, Al's 78th birthday. Details.

Esther Megill, editor of the Brooks-Howell newsletter, reports that Patricia Richardson, long-time missionary in Argentina, passed away on May 2, 2011, just short her 82nd birthday. As a Methodist missionary she served at the Colegio Americano, then with the United Board in Argentina. Twenty years into her service, she was asked to become a lay pastor for an English-speaking congregation, then sought and received ordination before becoming the first woman District Superintendent in Argentina, according to the Serendipitor. Obituaries for Pat and for Marcella Mathys (see last UpDate) can be found in the May-June Serendipitor (pdf).

Our new Missionary In Residence, Cathy Whitlatch, has reported the following deaths registered with GBGM:

Edwin L. Williams II died on June 30, 2011. According to his online obituary, Dr. Williams, a skilled surgeon, served as a medical missionary through GBGM in Borneo (1968-71) and Hong Kong (1971-73), as well as several short-term missions in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and the RoseBud Indian Reservation mission in South Dakota. Cf. onlinw obituary.

Gerald Janousek, who died July 2, 2011, served for 7 years in Liberia. Cf. online obituary

J. Clagett Taylor, who died July 10, 2011, served for six years in Zimbabwe. In the spring of 1961 he and spouse Patricia traveled with a 6-month-old daughter to Rhodesia as educational missionaries for the Methodist Church. Cf. online obituary

George W. Parrott died on July 14, 2011, at Pilgrim Place in Claremont, CA. He had served almost 41 years in Japan, first teaching English from 1948-1953 at To-o-Gijuku High School in Hirosaki, Japan. Upon returning to Japan in 1957 until his retirement in 1991, he was full professor at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. He had a loyal following of students. When he was unable to attend the Parrott Advisor Group Reunion in September 2010, his former students shared their thanks with him, including: "You, Mr. Parrott, are still our mentor." George and wife Ruth retired to Pilgrim Place in California in 1991. Cf. online obituary

Helen Eisenberg died August 29, 2011, at age 90. A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, she died in Richmond Hill, Georgia. She served in Zimbabwe and Redbird Mission, and studied at Southeastern State University,(OK), Garrett Biblical Institute (IL), and University of Virginia. Her husband John died in 1997. Cf. online obituary

6. Young Adult Class Commissioned

We greet the newest class of twenty-five Young Adult Missionaries recently commissioned. Their email addresses as found on the GBGM website are included here to allow our readers, who may know them or live near them, to congratulate them on their call and their new assignments. The listings include (1) home conference and (2) place of assignment.

Commissioned as US-2s

Rachel Michelle deBos (), California-Pacific A C; assignment: South Florida Urban Ministry, Miami, Florida

Zachary Ferguson (), Virginia A C; assignment: Workers Interfaith Network, Memphis, Tennessee

Marjorie Hurder (), Louisiana A C; assignment: Crossroads Urban Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

Stephanie Kimec (), Virginia A C; assignment: Immigration Task Force, California-Pacific A C and Echo Park Shalom Ministry, Los Angeles, California

Brinna Kolitz (), New York A C; assignment: Family Support Network, Billings, Montana

Alexander Larson (), Dakotas A C; assignment: United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, Washington, DC

Christopher Alan Steppe (), Virginia A C; assignment: Nome Community Center, Nome, Alaska

William Wilson, Jr. (), Greater New Jersey A C; assignment: United Campus Ministry in Fargo-Moorhead, Fargo, North Dakota

Commissioned as Mission Interns

Rachel Rebecca Berry (), Illinois Great Rivers A C; assignment: National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Manila, Philippines

Kara Johansen Crawford (), Illinois Great Rivers A C; assignment: Centro Popular para América Latina de Comunicación (CEPALC), Bogotá, Colombia

Alexander D. Devoid (), Western North Carolina A C; assignment: Acción Médica Christiana, Managua, Nicaragua

Michelle S. Dromgold (), Baltimore-Washington A C; assignment: Evangelisch-methodistische Salem-Gemeinde Neukölln, Kindertreff Delbrücke, Berlin, Germany

John Daniel Gore (), West Michigan A C; assignment: Wi'am Palestinian Conflict Center, Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine

Nicholas L. Haigler (), Western North Carolina A C; assignment: United Methodist Church, L'viv, Ukraine

Joseph Kanyike (), East Africa A C (to be commissioned separately at a later date, due to visa difficulties); assignment: World Student Christian Federation, Geneva, Switzerland

James Kjorlaug (), Arkansas A C; assignment: United Methodist Mongolia Mission Initiative, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Su Hyun Lim (), Korean Methodist Church; assignment: World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland

Ashley Norton (), West Michigan A C; assignment: Haitian Artisans for Peace International, Mizak, Haiti

Stephanie Norton (), West Michigan A C; assignment: Haitian Artisans for Peace International, Mizak, Haiti

Michelle J. Ozier (), North Alabama A C; assignment: Haitian Artisans for Peace International, Mizak, Haiti

Clifford K. Pauley (), South Georgia A C; assignment: Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute, Davao City, Philippines

Joy N. Prim (), Western North Carolina A C; assignment: Mission for Migrant Workers, Hong Kong, China

Matthew Roudebush (), West Ohio A C; assignment: United Methodist Mongolia Mission Initiative, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Adam T. Shaw (), East Ohio A C; assignment: Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines

Katharine Steele (), West Ohio A C; assignment: Youth to Jesus, L'viv, Ukraine

7. Comments and Thanks from our Readers

Carolyn Belshe shares an announcement from Dr. Kirsteen Murray, University of Edinburgh, for the ninth annual Methodist Missionary History Project conference (UK), 9-10 November, 2011 on the theme 'Gender, Ethnicity and the Methodist Missionary Enterprise'. Project website.

8. Reunions Anticipated

India Missionary Reunion October 7-9, 2011, St. Louis, MO.
Brazil Missionary Reunion October 11-14, 2011, Lake Junaluska, NC. Contact Warren Danskin () before September 1.
Southeast Asia Mission Reunion June 29-July 1, 2012, Lake Junaluska, NC. Contact David () or Shirley Wu () for details or download information here (pdf).
Pakistan (Ecumenical) Reunion July 26-29, 2012, Zion IL. Contact Linda McQuinn (), 13018 Cricket Hollow, Cypress TX 77429, 281.373.9754 (Thanks to Norma and Alan Seaman!)
Servants of Sierra Leone Biennial Reunion Sioux Falls, SD, summer 2012
Nigeria Reunion September 28-October 1, 2012. United Methodist Canyon Camp located west of Oklahoma City, OK. Contact Lon Labumbard ().

9. Links of Interest

On Christians and Palestinian Statehood check out Alex Awad's contribution to our Blog.
Notes of meeting of UMMA reps, GBGM staff, directors at invitation of GS (pdf file)
Verses and Verse of the Day
UMW/Women's Division changes (UMW Board and UMW Press Release)
"10 Fold" links to missionary podcasts and more
The Rev. Judy Chung new AGS for Missionary Services
Lyda Pierce's PNW ordination sermon

10. A Word of Benediction (from J. Philip Newell's Celtic Benediction

"...The vitality and passion and wakefulness of God be yours that you may be fully alive this day." - heard at Claremont (California) UMC

We welcome your comments: