United Methodist Missionary Association

UMMA Update, Christmas 2005 (pdf version)

"Christmas Wars" by Bill Mooney
Greetings for the Holy-Days - Especially Christmas! by Jim Dwyer, chair
Christmas Greetings Response from Norma Kehrberg, outgoing chair
Report to the October 2005 Gathering at Stamford, Conn. - Norma Kehrberg
Missionary Milestones - Thelma Maw
What Was God Up To When Coming Down - Richard Schwenk
Missionary Reunions and Gatherings: 2006 Reunions
As a Non-Profit Organization, We Welcome Year-End Giving

1. "Christmas Wars" by Bill Mooney

To the Editor: (originally to The Oak Ridge Observer, Oak Ridge, Tenn.)

The so-called "Christmas wars" miss the point. How merchants and their employees express their feelings regarding the season are but a momentary part of Christmas, and seeing fellow Christians getting so bent out of shape as to call it "war" reminds me of Jesus' words about those who "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel." (Matthew 23:24)

A Christmas card received this year is more to the point. It said, "Blessed are those who celebrate Christmas as a way of life." The late Dr. Howard Thurman (1900-1981, philosopher-theologian) well defined Christmas as a way of life when he wrote:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among the brothers (and sisters),
To make music in the hearts.

Enough said! Bill Mooney, retired missionary to the U.M. Church in Vienna, Austria

2. Greetings for the Holy-Days - Especially Christmas! by Jim Dwyer, chair

Greetings from the new "office of the chair" of UMMA, now moved virtually half-way around the world from Hawaii to the Free and Hanseatic City-State of Hamburg, (Ha-Ha), where the clocks read the same, but there is a difference as between night and day!

As we mark the fourth Sunday of Advent, I wish that each of us may find the necessary quiet to become open to the arrival once more of the Spirit of God's Love expressed in His son Jesus this Christmas, and that each of us may be drawn anew into sharing that Love with the world in which we have been placed for our task of missionary service in Christ's name. - Jim
Dr. James Dwyer, chair, serving Hamburg's International UMC, Hamburg, Germany

3. Christmas Greetings Response from Norma Kehrberg, outgoing chair

Dear Jim: Greetings from the other side of the world in Hawaii as we prepare for a sunny Christmas day to celebrate the birth of Christ as we join others in such climes around the world. Best wishes for a blessed Christmas with family and friends wherever you are. I remember my first Christmas in Nepal. I had a work assignment visiting villages which took me from my mountain home, but had tucked in a Snickers bar in my backpack, yes even though a little stale. That was my special treat on Christmas Eve after a private devotion. Christ IS everywhere. Norma

5. Missionary Milestones: Thelma Maw

Long time UMMA member, Thelma Maw, physical therapist, missionary, knew in her heart she needed to travel abroad to help others in need. During the Korean War, she endlessly worked to establish a physical therapy program at hospitals, and received numerous awards for her dedication and hard work. Ms. Maw died on November 15, 2005 at Pilgrim Place in Claremont.

She was born on February 19, 1916 and grew up in Nebraska in a family with 6 sisters, 3 brothers, and 4 half brothers. She attended Chaffey Junior College and the University of California at Berkeley for a bachelor's degree in physical education. An injury led her into the field of physical therapy. She graduated in 1944 from the Children's Hospital School of Physical Therapy in Los Angeles. As Ms. Maw was working for an orthopedic surgeon and then headed the therapy department of St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank. She felt increasingly called to mission work, and was approved for service by the Woman's Division of the Methodist Church. The opportunity to go to China, which she hoped for, did not open up, so she was sent to Korea, where she began a career that lasted nearly 35 years.

"We all grew up active in the church, and for many of us, the coming of missionary speakers opened up the world to all of us," Ms. Pat Patterson said in her eulogy. "After World War II, we wanted to do things to make friends with people in other nations. Thelma was adventurous and interested in all types of things."

Six months after arrival in Korea, she was forced to evacuate when the Korean War broke out in the summer of 1950. She returned to work in Chunju in November 1951 and then back to Severance Hospital in Seoul, her assigned place, in June 1952. Physical therapy was almost non-existent in those days. Ms. Maw pioneered the development of training and integration of therapy into medical practice, often using simple local materials and training local workers.

By 1955 Ms. Maw had helped open the physical therapy department at Severance Hospital, and in the following year aided the establishment of the Korean Physical Therapy Association and the Korean Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled. Her work continued to face new challenges, such as the many industrial accidents that occurred during Korea's rapid industrialization. Often she worked with homebound patients with spinal cord injuries.

For two years, starting in 1969, Ms. Maw was assigned to Church World Service for work with Vietnam Christian Service. Her work was in the government rehabilitation center in Da Nang. In 1971, Ms. Maw was given a grand prize by the Asia Social Welfare Association of Korea for pioneer work in rehabilitation. On leaving Korea for retirement in 1982, she received the Moran Medal, a very distinguished civilian award from the Korean government. She was honored by Jong D Won, president of the Korean Physical Therapy Association, in a letter, which read in part: "Today we pay our respects to you, the mother of physical therapy in Korea. We pledge to carry on your mission, and to continue building from the base that you created. We promise to do our best to honor your commitment and your life...Ó Thelma will long be remembered for her commitment, faith, generosity and humor. Abridged and adapted from the Claremont Courier of November 26, 2005.

6. What Was God Up To When Coming Down? by Richard Schwenk

Flying back to my home area in Wisconsin from California was not easy in the rush before Christmas. After spending most of my Advent seasons as a missionary in the tropics, I identified a white Christmas with snow scenes on cards - these more than my boyhood winters. But nostalgia overtook me as I drove through 9 inches of snow to attend the 3rd Sunday in Advent service at my home church in River Falls, Wisconsin. I was inspired as the Rev. Janet Ellinger read Isaiah 61:1-11 and preach on "What's God Up To?" It was the "Good News of Deliverance":

The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his spirit. He has chosen me and sent me to bring good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to announce release to captives and freedom to those in prison. He has sent me to proclaim that the time has come when the Lord will save his people and defeat their enemies. He has sent me to comfort all who mourn, to give to those who mourn in Zion, joy and gladness instead of grief, a song of praise instead of sorrow. They will be like trees that the Lord himself has planted. They will all do what is right, and God will be praised for what he has done. They will rebuild cities that have long been in ruins...The Lord says, I love justice and hate oppression and crime. I will faithfully reward my people and make an eternal covenant with them." (GNB)

Pastor Janet spoke of how Christians are called to be "Light Unto the Nations" and pioneers of faith and service. It is more productive to be a "pioneer" than a "settler." A settler is quite satisfied with what is and Òhaving arrivedÓ - while a pioneer reaches beyond with a vision of what ought to be and determination to make it happen.

This was meaningful to me because I went to Wisconsin to help organize a branch of the Wisconsin Historical Society that would preserve what remains of my ancestral homesteads and the "Big Woods" from the bulldozers of housing developers. The awakening of the pioneer spirit was felt as 31 neighbors met and approved our Heritage Society bylaws. A significant "win-win" plan was approved that will save a large "sacred grove" of the "1852 homesteader's woods" for all generations to enjoy. Driving back towards St. Paul, I crossed the St. Croix River on the Interstate 94 Bridge and saw thick ice a mile wide except for a narrow channel of water. The sermon on Sunday and the meeting on Monday suddenly took on additional meaning as I thought of how we may be frozen assets at times. But God's goal is to thaw us into "living water," urging us to flow in a Holy way and with the Christmas hope of Isaiah and Jesus running in our veins.

7. Missionary Reunions and Gatherings: 2006 Reunions

March 27-30, 2006

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 due November 15, 2005.

June 23-26, 2006

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia Reunion. Notify before December 2005 re: extra day. Contact: Ernest Heard (), in Nashville with cc to Phil Wilson (), the new chair.

July 28-30, 2006

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

August 4-7, 2006

Philippine Missionary Reunion Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center - Lambuth Building, Lake Junaluska, NC. Contact: Claudia Webster () by June 1, 2005 (this year) send $40 (per adult) deposit check to Claudia L Webster, 7619 SW Surfland Street, South Beach, OR 97366.

September 8-11, 2006

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, 2006

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

Our annual UMMA Gathering is being planned. See the next issue of UMMA UpDate for early October 2006 dates. A 2007 missionary event is also in the think-tank to be coordinated with other missionary gatherings.

As a Non-profit Organization, We Welcome Year-end Giving

Merry Christmas! Opportunity for year-end giving"to support our non-profit organization is now made easy. Simply write your check to: "UMMAÓ make a notation: "for Dues" or "for Budget." Send to: Rev. Fred Price, UMMA Coordinator, 165 Grandview Ave., Pitman, NJ 08071.

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