News Roundup 8/31/2023

Below is a run-down of significant (United) Methodist stories from the past month.

Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters Approves Regionalization Plan: The unanimous action now sends the eight petitions of the plan, which was also endorsed by the Connectional Table, straight to General Conference next year: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/regionalization-plan-heads-to-general-conference and https://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/regionalization-legislation-petitions-submitted-to-general-conference

Church Separation Discussed in Liberia: In July, Bishop Quire convened a meeting at which proponents of both disaffiliation from the UMC and of continuing in the UMC shared their views: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/church-separation-takes-center-stage-in-liberia

Global Ministries Hosts Missionary Consultation: Global Ministries convened missionaries, staff, and partners at the beginning of Atlanta to discuss the guiding principles of missionary service: https://umcmission.org/story/consultation-reexamines-principles-of-missionary-service/

GCFA Approves Bishops’ Raise, Increase in Agency Pay Scale: The board approved the actions at its August meeting, and they will take effect in 2024: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/finance-board-votes-on-bishop-agency-pay

GCFA Conducts Training for African Leaders: GCFA hosted a virtual training on administrative matters for over 200 United Methodist leaders from across Africa: https://www.gcfa.org/resource/gcfa-hosts-administrative-training-for-africa, with related resources available in English, French, Portuguese, and Swahili: https://www.gcfa.org/central-conference-training

Africa University Announces New Degree in Journalism: Africa University is creating a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Media and Journalism: https://twitter.com/Africa_Univ/status/1690013782439809024/photo/1

Network Renamed to United Methodist Broadcast Network: The former United Methodist Radio Network, composed of United Methodists from across Africa and the Philippines, renamed itself to reflect a broader vision: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/radio-network-transforms-to-reach-more-people

Zimbabwe UMC Conducts Evangelism Campaign: The Mubvuwi weUnited Methodist, the UMC men’s organization, of the Harare East District conducted the campaign in a rural area: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/evangelism-campaign-fuels-church-growth-in-zimbabwe

Zimbabwe United Methodists Promote Business Success: A new WhatsApp platform is designed to increase business collaborations among United Methodists in the Zimbabwe West Annual Conference and its international diaspora: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/church-whatsapp-group-fosters-business-collaboration, while a career fair at UMC-run high schools sought to promote professional pathways: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/career-expo-helps-dreams-take-flight-at-rural-schools

North Katanga Orphanage Promotes Entrepreneurship: UMC-run Kamina Children's Home seeks to help its residents prepare for long-term success by fostering entrepreneurship: https://westohioumc.org/conference/news/orphanage-helps-youth-become-successful-entrepreneurs

UMC Hospital in DRC Opens Mpox Research Lab: The new center at Tunda Hospital was opened with support of the Congolese government and will respond to an on-going epidemic of Mpox/monkeypox in the DRC: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/church-congolese-government-unite-against-monkeypox

East Congo UMC Seeks to Help Displace People Following Fires: The East Congo Episcopal Area is mobilizing to provide help in South Kivu after fires destroyed two camps for displaced people: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/fire-ravages-two-camps-for-displaced-people-in-congo

UWF Africa Regional Missionaries to Itinerate in the US: The three regional missionaries working in Africa and supported by United Women in Faith will be itinerating in the United States this fall: https://uwfaith.org/latest-news/2023/meet-united-women-in-faith-regional-missionaries/

Methodists Celebrate International Partnerships: Methodists in several countries reaffirmed international partnerships, including Methodists in the following places:

• Wisconsin and Bolivia: https://www.wisconsinumc.org/news-detail/wi-conference-partnership-with-the-evangelical-methodist-church-in-bolivia-17535403
• Greater New Jersey and Tanzania: https://www.gnjumc.org/news/for-tanzania-2024-a-campaign-to-build-and-bless/

Fresh Expressions Continue to Generate Interest: The Fresh Expressions movement continues to receive increasing interest among U.S. United Methodists, including in the Dakotas and Minnesota: https://www.dakotasumc.org/calendar/fresh-expressions-imagine-day?recur=2375 and in Wisconsin: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-exploration-of-fresh-expressions-tickets-685054395137?aff=oddtdtcreator.

Methodists Care for Creation: Methodists in several congregations and conferences engaged in various forms of creation care work, including the following:

• Beach cleanup in Hawaii: https://www.calpacumc.org/action/kailua-umc-creation-care-on-a-hawaii-beach-umcom/
• VBS in California: https://www.cnumc.org/newsdetails/santa-rosa-vbs-17515320

Wespath CIO Defends Sustainable Investing: Wespath CIO Dave Zellner published an opinion on UMNews arguing that sustainable investing makes smart business sense, in addition to having positive values associated with it: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/sustainable-investing-is-smart-not-political

GBCS Appoints First-Ever Climate Fellow: Dr. Becca Edwards, a climate scientist and candidate for ordained ministry in the Rio Texas Conference, will fill the position, which is split between the General Board of Church and Society and Texas Impact: https://um-insight.net/in-the-world/disasters-and-climate-change/new-climate-fellow-aims-to-get-churches-talking-about-creati/

News Roundup 8/1/2023

Below is a run-down of significant (United) Methodist stories from the past month.

Groups Work on Regionalization Legislation: The Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters and the Connectional Table have been working together to develop legislation for the delayed 2020 General Conference that would regionalize the church. The legislation is being called the “Christmas Covenant 2.0”: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/efforts-for-regionalization-move-forward

Mark Holland Calls for Regionalization of UMC: Rev. Mark Holland of the advocacy group Mainstream UMC published an opinion piece calling for greater regionalization in the church: https://um-insight.net/in-the-church/umc-future/umc-has-tremendous-urgency-to-regionalize-its-structure/

Bishop Mande Muyombo Calls for Missional Collaboration: In an opinion piece, Bishop Mande Muyombo of the North Katanga Episcopal Area reflects on the state of United Methodism in Africa and calls for continued missional collaboration across geographic areas in the denomination: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/bouncing-forward-as-african-united-methodists

Agencies Issue Joint Statement on Renewal: Global Ministries and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry issued a joint statement on John Wesley’s birthday calling for continued faithfulness to the Methodist tradition and increased cooperation: https://www.gbhem.org/news/a-season-for-renewal-and-a-joint-commitment-to-our-worldwide-connection/

Mozambicans Form Pan-Methodist Council: Methodists from eight different Methodist denominations in Mozambique have joined together to form an ecumenical Methodist council: https://www.umnews.org/pt/news/igrejas-de-tradicao-wesleyana-formam-um-novo-conselho-metodista-em-mocambique, English translation: https://www-umnews-org.translate.goog/pt/news/igrejas-de-tradicao-wesleyana-formam-um-novo-conselho-metodista-em-mocambique?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=es&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Estonian Methodists Complete Process of Leaving UMC: At their annual conference in June, Estonian Methodists voted to conclude the process of separating from the UMC to form an autonomous church: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/estonian-churches-leave-united-methodist-fold

Methodists Celebrate International Partnerships: Methodists in several countries reaffirmed international partnerships, including Methodists in the following places:

• West Ohio and North Katanga (https://www.westohioumc.org/conference/news/west-ohio-team-takes-mission-journey-drc)
• Bolivia and Switzerland (https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/07/06/das-mit-den-blumen-fuer-die-frau-des-bischofs-war-so-schoen/)

African United Methodists Serve Others: In various ways and places across the continent, African United Methodists continued their heritage of service to others:

• Through healthcare in Mozambique: https://umcmission.org/impact-story/united-methodist-health-care-in-mozambique-upholds-tradition-and-expertise/
• Through medical work in Angola: https://express.adobe.com/page/OL1W56vQE3sRU/
• Through cyclone relief in Madagascar: https://www.umnews.org/pt/news/cyclone-freddy-aid-reaches-madagascar; English translation: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/cyclone-freddy-aid-reaches-madagascar
• Through feeding ministries in Angola: https://www.umnews.org/pt/news/igreja-em-angola-leste-alimenta-os-famintos; English translation: https://www-umnews-org.translate.goog/pt/news/igreja-em-angola-leste-alimenta-os-famintos?_x_tr_sl=pt&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
• Through missionary service: https://aunews.africau.edu/?p=2842

Africa University Creates College of Engineering and Applied Sciences: The UMC-affiliated university in Zimbabwe announced the new College of Engineering and Applies Sciences, its fourth school: https://aunews.africau.edu/?p=2848

Fred Vanderwerf Appointed New In Mission Together Coordinator for Ukraine: Vanderwerf, who has long-term connections to Ukraine, will be responsible for helping church in the United States partner with UMC churches in Ukraine: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/planting-churches-in-war-torn-ukraine

UMC Bishops Continue #DismantlingRacism Campaign: A video from UMC Council of Bishops President Thomas Bickerton provided an update on the bishops’ work to dismantle racism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcIg7JypKG4

Methodist Annual Korean Peace Rountable: The Korean Methodist Church, United Methodist Church, and World Methodist Council will collaborate in sponsoring a roundtable on peace on the Korean Peninsula at the end of August: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/korean-methodists-continue-work-for-reunification

Why United Methodists Should Care About Climate Change: Commenting on recent weather events, United Methodist Insight editor Cynthia Astle explains why United Methodists should care about climate change: https://um-insight.net/in-the-world/disasters-and-climate-change/why-should-united-methodists-care-about-climate-change/

Wespath Reports on Sustainable Investing: Wespath, the pension and benefits agency for The United Methodist Church, has issued a report on the impact of its work in several areas of sustainable investing: https://www.wespath.org/assets/1/7/5987.pdf?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=wespathinvests&utm_content=Organic+Social

Global Ministries Opens EarthKeepers Applications: Global Ministries is accepting applications for the EarthKeepers program, which is focused on promoting local environmental projects, through August 23: https://umcmission.org/earthkeepers/

UMC Annual Conferences Pass Creation Care Motions: Several annual conferences in the UMC passed similar motions on creation care, as UMC Creation Justice reports: https://umcreationjustice.org/2023-annual-conference-season-updates/

German UMC Central Office Gets Renewed Green Certificate: The central church office for the Germany Central Conference of the UMC has again won the “Grünen Gockel” (“Green Rooster”) award for eco-friendliness: https://www.emk.de/meldung/einladung-zum-mitmachen; English translation: https://www-emk-de.translate.goog/meldung/einladung-zum-mitmachen?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Cote d'Ivoire Seminary Runs on Solar: Thanks in part to support from the Central Conference Theological Education Fund (CCTEF), the Higher Institute of Theology of Abadjin-Doumé (ISTHA) in Cote d'Ivoire has been running on solar power since 2019: https://www.gbhem.org/news/wealth-of-the-sun/

Local Churches Act to Care for Climate: Local churches in California: https://um-insight.net/in-the-world/disasters-and-climate-change/california-nevada-united-methodist-church-takes-on-climate-a/ and Iowa: https://um-insight.net/in-the-world/disasters-and-climate-change/iowa-s-grinnell-umc-goes-solar/ have taken steps to care for creation by combatting climate change.

Lovers Lane UMC Hosts Climate Conference: Lovers Lane UMC in Dallas hosted a recent conference on "Resilience for Congregations" in the face of climate change. The conference also explored the need for action to mitigate climate change: https://um-insight.net/in-the-world/disasters-and-climate-change/conference-on-congregations-climate-resilience-turns-to-spea/

Mark Davies Calls for Fossil Free UMC: Rev. Dr. Mark Davies published an opinion piece calling on the next meeting of General Conference in 2024 to move the UMC toward becoming fossil free: https://um-insight.net/in-the-church/umc-future/general-conference-2024-should-move-umc-to-be-fossil-free/. Davies' piece prompted a further discussion by the Swiss UMC: https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/07/28/weiter-in-fossile-energie-investieren-ein-no-go-fuer-die-methodistische-kirche/; English translation: https://emk--schweiz-ch.translate.goog/2023/07/28/weiter-in-fossile-energie-investieren-ein-no-go-fuer-die-methodistische-kirche/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Florida Fresh Expressions Launches Podcast: Fresh Expressions, the movement to reach “new people in new ways” is spreading in the US UMC. The Florida Annual Conference, which has been supporting Fresh Expressions for years, has now launched a podcast on the topic: https://www.freshexpressionsfl.org/podcast

East Ohio Shares Stories of Missionaries, Deaconesses: The “Storyboard” podcast of the East Ohio Annual Conference has published recent episodes featuring deaconesses and home missioners: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storyboardeoc/episodes/Disciple-Making-Laity-Called-to-Ministries-of-Love--Justice--and-Service-as-Deaconesses-and-Home-Missioners-e206ph0 and missionaries: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/storyboardeoc/episodes/Disciple-Making-Making-Disciples-Around-the-World-e26d8p5

Edgar Avitia, Long-time Global Ministries Staffer, Dies: Edgar Avitia, who helped promote mission connections in Latin America and throughout the world through his work with Global Ministries, died unexpectedly at the end of June. See more from Global Ministries: https://umcmission.org/news-statements/global-ministries-grieves-at-the-death-of-rev-edgar-avitia-legarda/ and UMNews: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/global-ministries-staffer-mourned-near-and-far.

Connexio hope and develop Issues Annual Report: The Swiss United Methodist mission agencies released their annual report on their work with partners around the world, including in Cambodia, DR Congo, and Latin America: https://connexio.ch/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Connexio-Jahresbericht-2022_23_web3.pdf (in German)

News Roundup July 2023

Below is a run-down of significant (United) Methodist stories from the past month.

Bishop Bickerton Invites United Methodists to “Reclaim, Revive, and Renew”: Bishop Thomas Bickerton, chair of the Council of Bishops, issued a video inviting United Methodists to “reclaim, revive, and renew” their identity and mission as United Methodists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVXM7j_aL6c.

Global Ministries and GBHEM Call for "A Season for Renewal": Global Ministries and GBHEM issued a joint statement promising "to work together to support our worldwide connection" during "a season for renewal" in the church: https://www.gbhem.org/news/a-season-for-renewal-and-a-joint-commitment-to-our-worldwide-connection/.

Estonian Methodists Leave UMC: Methodist churches in Estonia have finalized a process for leaving The United Methodist Church to become their own autonomous Methodist denomination: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/estonian-churches-leave-united-methodist-fold.

United Women in Faith Selects New Leader: United Women in Faith announced Sally Vonner as their new General Secretary and CEO: https://uwfaith.org/press/2023/united-women-in-faith-board-elects-sally-vonner-general-secretary-ceo/. Meanwhile, UMNS profiled retired UWF leader Harriett Olson: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/from-girlhood-activist-to-denominational-leader.

Methodists Celebrate International Partnerships: Methodists in several countries reaffirmed international partnerships, including Methodists in the following places:

• Uruguay and Great Britain (http://www.imu.org.uy/hermandad-lancashire/)
• Zimbabwe and Ireland (https://vimeo.com/834677792)
• Poland and Ireland (https://vimeo.com/834775172 and https://irishmethodist.org/world-mission-news/mci-formation-student-visits-umc-poland)
• Fiji and California (https://twitter.com/cnumc/status/1669758050259939347)
• Tanzania and New Jersey (https://www.gnjumc.org/news/greater-new-jersey-rekindles-cross-and-flame-connection-with-tanzania-united-methodists/)
• Liberia and North Carolina (https://www.umnews.org/en/news/butchery-plant-empowers-pig-farmers-in-liberia)
• Angola and Florida (https://express.adobe.com/page/OL1W56vQE3sRU/)

European Methodists Promote Sustainability: The Austria Annual Conference passed a resolution at their June meeting calling upon the Austrian government to advance the cause of environmental sustainability: https://www.emk.de/meldung/mut-machen-trotz-sorgen-angesichts-der-klimakrise, English translation: https://www-emk-de.translate.goog/meldung/mut-machen-trotz-sorgen-angesichts-der-klimakrise?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp. The Switzerland-France-North Africa Annual Conference voted to create a Creation Care group: https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/06/16/arbeitsgruppe-fuer-umweltgerechtes-handeln-eingesetzt/, English translation: https://emk--schweiz-ch.translate.goog/2023/06/16/arbeitsgruppe-fuer-umweltgerechtes-handeln-eingesetzt/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp.

2 Churches in Louisiana Become Solar-Powered Relief Centers: Two New-Orleans area churches have partnered with others to install solar electricity generation so that they can serve as community relief centers in the case of catastrophic loss of power: https://la-umc.org/newsdetail/new-orleans-umc-churches-to-serve-as-true-neighborhood-lighthouses-17041165.

Reports on IAMSCU Meeting: International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges and Universities (IAMSCU) met in England in April. UMNS reported on that meeting: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/wesleys-vision-of-education-alive-and-well-today, and Adriana Murriello, newly elected president of the body, also offered reflections: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/knitting-bonds-of-love-and-hope-all-over-the-world.

Africa University Graduates Largest Class Yet: Africa University graduated over 950 students on June 10^th, including the first deaf student with a theology degree in Ghana (https://aunews.africau.edu/?p=2807) and the first PhD graduates in Business, Peace, Leadership and Governance: https://aunews.africau.edu/?p=2787 and https://www.umnews.org/en/news/africa-university-graduates-its-largest-class.

Czech United Methodists Support Hospital in Ukraine: As part of their response to the war in Ukraine, Czech United Methodists have been supporting a volunteer surgical hospital in Western Ukraine: https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/06/06/16-betten-der-heilung-und-der-hoffnung/, English translation: https://emk--schweiz-ch.translate.goog/2023/06/06/16-betten-der-heilung-und-der-hoffnung/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp.

Swiss Methodist Retirement Center Wins Mediation Prize: Haus Tabea has won the 2023 Swiss Mediation Prize for its work with elder mediation: https://emk-schweiz.ch/2023/06/07/haus-tabea-in-horgen-erhaelt-mediationspreis/, English translation: https://emk--schweiz-ch.translate.goog/2023/06/07/haus-tabea-in-horgen-erhaelt-mediationspreis/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp.

Michigan United Methodists Welcome Refugees: The Michigan Annual Conference and the Immigration Law & Justice Network have shared stories of Michiganders welcoming refugees from Haiti (https://michiganumc.org/make-their-dreams-take-flight/) and Ukraine (https://iljnetwork.org/no-road-too-long/). In related news, applications for Global Ministries’ Mustard Seed Migration Grants are open until Oct. 1^st: https://umcmission.org/impact-story/mustard-seed-migration-grants/.

Woman Leaves Sanctuary at UMC Church: After receiving a Stay of Removal, Maria Chavalan Sut has left sanctuary at Wesley Memorial UMC in Charlottesville, VA: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/woman-builds-new-life-after-3-years-in-sanctuary.

Bishop Dyck Chosen as WCC Committee Head: Bishop Sally Dyck, the ecumenical officer of the UMC, has been selected as co-moderator of the Permanent Committee on Consensus and Collaboration (PCCC) of the World Council of Churches: https://www.oikoumene.org/news/wcc-central-committee-appoints-youth-advisors-commissions-and-working-groups.

Hawxhurst Elected President of Churches Uniting in Christ: Rev. Jean Hawxhurst, Ecumenical Staff Officer for the UMC Council of Bishops, has been elected as president of the multidenominational ecumenical group Churches Uniting in Christ: https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/newsdetail/cob-staffer-rev-dr-hawxhurst-to-lead-churches-uniting-in-christ-17455827.

Avitia Legarda Mourned: Longtime Global Ministries staff person Rev. Edgar Avitia Legarda, known for his work with Latin America, was mourned after his sudden passing on June 27. Global Ministries statement: https://umcmission.org/news-statements/global-ministries-grieves-at-the-death-of-rev-edgar-avitia-legarda/, UMNews story: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/global-ministries-staffer-mourned-near-and-far.

Commission on General Conference Meets: The Commission on General Conference, which is responsible for planning that meeting, met to continue to make preparations for the 2024 General Conference: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/what-to-expect-at-the-next-general-conference. They referred a question about petitions submitted by those who are no longer United Methodist to its Rules Committee: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/tackling-a-petitions-conundrum.

News Roundup - June 1, 2023

Below is a run-down of significant (United) Methodist stories from the past month.

Council of Bishops Recommended 2026 General Conference: At their May meeting, the Council of Bishops recommended the UMC hold a five-day General Conference in 2026. That session would count as a regular General Conference and also be focused on making significant changes to the denomination: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/bishops-call-for-general-conference-in-2026.

Much Lower UMC Budget Proposed: GCFA and the Connectional Table agreed to send a much lower denominational budget proposal to General Conference: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/as-church-exits-rise-proposed-budget-drops.

United Methodist Africa Forum Organizes: The United Methodist Africa Forum held its first meeting in Johannesburg in April, where it organized itself, elected leaders, and adopted policy positions, including support for greater regionalization in the church: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/new-caucus-supports-african-bishops-regionalization.

Global Ministries and East Africa Episcopal Area Announce End to Embargo: Global Ministries and the East Africa Episcopal Area announced the end to a decade-long embargo of funds from Global Ministries to East Africa. The embargo arose out of disputes over audit issues, which have been resolved: https://umcmission.org/may-2023/joint-announcement-the-general-board-of-global-ministries-and-east-africa-episcopal-area-restore-relationship/.

UMC Council of Bishops Meets: The United Methodist Council of Bishops met for its first in-person meeting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The council sought to set a forward-looking tone amid church conflict and disaffiliations: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/amid-rupture-bishops-called-to-renew-church.

Connectional Table Reconsiders Restructuring: The Connectional Table voted at an April 27^th meeting to reconsider an earlier proposal for restructuring itself and reducing the number of members of the body: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/leadership-body-reconsiders-restructuring-plan.

Global Ministries Africa Consultation Promotes Mission Partnership: Global Ministries’ African Mission Partners Consultation, held in April, brought together African UMC leaders and Global Ministries board members and staff to strengthen mission partnerships in Africa: https://umcmission.org/may-2023/consultation-charts-way-for-missional-church/ and https://umcmission.org/may-2023/partnership-in-mission-with-mutual-respect-and-accountability/.

BMCR Forges Connections with Africa: Black Methodists for Church Renewal, the Black caucus in the US UMC, worked to develop closer ties with Africa during its annual meeting, inviting Dr. Peter Mageto of Africa University to address the group: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/black-caucus-draws-closer-to-african-partners.

Irish Methodists and Polish United Methodists Continue Partnership: Polish United Methodist leaders visited Ireland to continue a partnership with the Methodist church there: https://irishmethodist.org/world-mission-news/visit-from-world-church-family.

North African United Methodists Affirm Connection: United Methodist pastors and a church leader from UMC congregations in Algeria and Tunisia met with UMC Bishops Patrick Streiff and Stefan Zürcher to reaffirm the role of those congregations in the future of the church: https://www.umc-cse.org/en/liste_552612-1028104/when-uncertainty-gives-way-to-new-courage-of-faith.html.

Korean-American UMCs Support Mongolia Amid Divisions: The Mongolia Mission held a recent summit for its Korean-American supporters. Despite the decision of some supporting churches to disaffiliate, the event stressed unity in mission: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/korean-churches-hope-to-continue-shared-mission-work-in-mongolia.

Czech United Methodists Vote to Become Autonomous: At the annual conference of the Czech UMC, participants voted to leave the denomination to become autonomous. They will follow the autonomy process laid out in the Book of Discipline, which requires General Conference approval: https://www.umc-cse.org/en/liste_552612-1030316/setting-the-course-in-czechia.html.

United Methodists Prepare for Changes to Migrant Ministries in the United States: After the end of the Title 42 migrant regulations, United Methodists involved in ministry with migrants have been preparing for possible increases or changes to the flow of migrants to the United States: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/amid-policy-changes-church-keeps-faith-with-migrants.

Chilean Methodists Support Migrants: With help from Connexio develop, the Swiss United Methodist development agency, Chilean Methodists have been working to support migrants to Chile: https://connexio.ch/index.php/2023/05/17/als-kirche-fuer-migrantinnen-da-srf-1-zeigt-reportage-aus-chile/.

Global Ministries Celebrates Historic Ministry of Asian and Pacific Islander Immigrants: In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Global Ministries has been shared stories of Asian and Pacific Islander immigrants who have contributed to United Methodist mission: https://umcmission.org/asian-american-and-pacific-islander-contributions-within-methodist-mission/.

Philippines UMC Promotes Conversations about Religion, Race, Gender, and Ability: The National United Methodist Youth Fellowship in the Philippines, the Philippines Board of Women's Work, and the General Commission on Religion and Race are launching an initiative called #CloseTheGap to promote conversations about religion, race, gender, and (dis)ability: https://www.gcorr.org/news/closethegap-initiative-launches-in-the-philippines.

Yambasu Agricultural Initiative Reinvests in Second Season: The various projects across Africa associated with Global Ministries’ Yambasu Agricultural Initiative are planning to reinvest profits from their first growing season into a second season: https://umcmission.org/may-2023/reinvestment-in-yambasu-initiative-projects-leads-to-growth/.

UMC Ministers to the HIV-Positive in Congo: The United Methodist Church in the Kivu Annual Conference, with support from Global Ministries, is supporting women living with HIV/AIDS as part of the Maternal and Child Health Program: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/church-gives-hope-to-people-living-with-hiv-in-congo.

United Methodists in Zimbabwe Combat Drug Abuse: At UMC-run high schools in Zimbabwe, church and school leaders have worked together to discourage drug abuse by students: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/united-methodists-join-fight-against-drug-abuse.

East Congo UMC and UMCOR Respond to Flooding: The Disaster Management Office of the East Congo Episcopal Area and UMCOR have begun responding to significant flooding in South Kivu, which killed several people: https://umcmission.org/may-2023/united-methodists-killed-in-congo-flooding/.

UMNS Supports Press Freedom: In an editorial published on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, Tim Tanton, Director of United Methodist News, explained what press freedom means to the church and why the church should support it: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/why-church-should-care-about-press-freedom.

Øyvind Aske: Bishop Yambasu’s Driver

This piece is written by Rev. Øyvind Aske, Secretary of Metodistkirkens Misjonsselskap (the Mission Society of The United Methodist Church in Norway). The Norway Annual Conference has a long-standing partnership with Sierra Leone Annual Conference. This article originally appeared on the website of Misjonsselskapet. It has been translated by UM & Global’s David Scott and is republished here with permission.

One rainy Sunday morning, August 16, 2020, Bishop Yambasu was on the way to a funeral outside Freetown. The evening before, he had called Abdul Kamara, his driver, and asked him to drive. He had chosen not to drive together with others who were going to the same funeral the day before.

There was little traffic on the road. On the way north, not far outside the city, the unthinkable happened. A car traveling in the opposite direction on the four-lane divided road hit the median, which is at least 20 cm (8 inches) high, bounced up in the air, hovered over the left lane, and hit the bishop’s jeep in the right lane. We know the tragic outcome: this accident caused Bishop Yambasu’s all too early death. Abdul emerged from the accident with serious injuries in his head and leg.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we from Norway had not visited Sierra Leone in mission for over two years. Only now, in March 2022, were we able to see the accident site, meet with Bishop Yambasu’s widow Millicent, visit the grave site, and get to see Abdul Kamara.

Abdul was born in September 1987 and has worked with CELAD (Community Empowerment for Livelihood and Development, The Sierra Leone-Norway Partnership) for several years, most recently before 2020 as the bishop’s driver. His education beyond primary school is some car mechanics. There was a good relationship between them, and the bishop put great value on Abdul, who lined up at all hours of the day.

He was a skilled driver. That fateful Sunday, he held a steady course until he saw the shadow of something come in abruptly from the left. The car that came flying met the left side of the bishop’s car with enormous force. The driver’s side door was knocked in, met Abdul, and knocked him unconscious.

He lay unconscious at the hospital a long time but woke up and survived. His vision in the left leg is impaired, and his left leg was broken in several places. The doctor explained that he could no longer drive a car. Abdul has in addition struggled with guilt after the accident. It was he who was the driver for the bishop who died that day.

The United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone has not turned its back on Abdul. After the treatment at the hospital, he has gone back to his old workplace and “hung out” with his colleagues. They have tried to take care of him even if he can no longer drive a car. Eventually he got a job as an office assistant and does odd jobs for $100 a month.

On Sunday, March 20, after church service, we traveled up to Leicester Peak where the bishop is buried. The grave is covered with a roof and has brick and mortar walls and a gate that is locked. We had the CELAD staff with; Anne, Tove Odland, and I were there, and Abdul was also along. It was a very emotional moment.

Abdul knelt by the grave and afterwards fetched water and a cloth and washed the grave of dust and dirt. Andrew led the little ceremony. Joe sang, and we Norwegians said some personal words. We finished with the Lord’s Prayer and a blessing. Farewell, Bishop John K. Yambasu. Thanks for all the good memories. Rest in peace, and we will meet again in the heavenly home!

As for Abdul, he offers thanks for all the prayers and support from Norway. He himself says that he is now strong enough in his leg that he can drive cars again and hopes to be able to get the doctor’s statement on this eventually. He has a clear mark on the left side of his face, a dent that he thinks will heal eventually. What about his eye? He does not have the means to seek out an ophthalmologist or optician.

We may continue to pray for Abdul – a fellow human being with extra large challenges in our sister church in Sierra Leone.

Recommended Viewing: Methodist Church of Great Britain Twinning Training

The Global Relations team of the Methodist Church of Great Britain has created a series of training resources for what they call "church twinning," but is also called "sister church" or "sister parish" relationships. These training materials are intended for local congregations with partner congregations in other parts of the world. Many UMC congregations have such partnerships as well. The resources constitute five 10-15 minute long videos, each with discussion questions. The topics covered include "Mission Today," "Money and Power in Global Partnerships," "Sharing Gifts," "Crossing Cultures," and "Race, Racism and Unconscious Bias." The videos are highly recommended for churches looking to improve the quality of their international partnerships.

Recommended Reading: How COVID Reveals the Hypocrisy of the Global Health "Experience"

NPR recently published a thoughtful piece by Abraar Karan, a physician who has worked in global health for his career. The piece reflected on what the coronavirus pandemic had revealed about the sorts of partnerships that characterize global health work between the West and the global South. While the piece is about secular global health work, the moral issues that Karan raises are worth considering as United Methodists and other Christians re-think mission partnerships in a pandemic altered-world. Karan's critique is best captured in the following passage:

"The work that we [Americans and Europeans] do in global health is often done at our convenience – if for any reason we opt not to go, impoverished countries and communities must continue the work either way. The work that to some of us is more academic is a matter of survival for residents of those communities. ...

"Ultimately, some part of the U.S. and European participation in global health is just that: participation rather than equal partnership. Yet the power dynamics have for centuries leaned heavily and falsely toward the Western entity as the commanding leader— or more accurately, the brutal colonizer."

Substitute the term "mission" for "global health" in the above passages and contemplate what the import of this insight is for international mission partnerships.

US Membership Decline and the Rhetoric of the Global Church

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Mission Theologian at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

As I indicated last week, given the overall trends in the United States away from church membership, it is likely that the future United Methodist Church and other successor denominations will continue to struggle with membership. The new Global Methodist Church may grow in members over the next decade, in part through a drawn-out process of member and church transfers from the UMC, but unless long-term trends change, they will likely eventually struggle as well.

This prediction is based not only on the long-term experience of the UMC, but the recent experience of other Methodist denominations as well, most of them more theologically conservative, more evangelism-oriented, and more organizationally streamlined than the UMC. The Free Methodist Church is down about 10% in its US membership over the past decade (see this vs this). The Church of the Nazarene is down over 5% in its US and Canadian membership. The Wesleyan Church has fared the best, with increasing worship attendance but essentially flat membership. Good data is difficult to attain on predominantly black Methodist denominations, but none of the UMC’s successors will be predominantly black.

One particular problem that arises out of this likely continued decline in US membership has to do with the way that Methodists have thought theologically about membership statistics from the very beginning of the movement. In Methodist understandings, increasing membership is a sign of the movement of the Spirit. This was true when Wesley was determining how to deploy his preachers, and this has remained true right up to recent conversations about “vital congregations.” Increasing membership is seen as a sign that the work of the church and the will of God are aligned.

By pointing out this assumption, I do not mean to say that membership growth is bad or never correlated with the work of the Spirit. I do mean to say that membership growth has a much greater level of theological importance in Methodism that in, say, the Anabaptist tradition.

This concern with membership numbers plays out most often in assessing the work of local congregations, districts, or areas of new mission work. But it also characterizes how Methodist denominations think about themselves as a whole. Methodists of any stripe tend to see the numerical growth in their denomination’s membership as a reflection that they are being good and faithful to God and the movement of the Spirit.

But if one assumes that is true, then it is easy to assume the converse is true as well: Decline in denominational membership is a sign that the denomination is out of alignment with God’s will. I think this reasoning is why US membership decline has provoked so much handwringing for United Methodists: It conjures up not only organizational anxieties but theological anxieties as well.

These theological anxieties are heightened for Methodists from the United States, where there is a high cultural emphasis on numerical growth as a demonstration of success and a high cultural stigma on numerical decline as a demonstration of failure.

How then can Methodists in the United States respond to the situation of US membership decline and thereby address these theological (and cultural) anxieties about whether their denomination is aligned with God’s will?

One set of solutions is to try various efforts to realign the denomination with God’s will (either theologically or organizationally, as discussed last week) to begin to grow in US membership again. So far, none of these efforts have proven successful in the UMC.

The failure of this first set of solutions highlights the importance of a second solution to the theological problem of US membership decline: factoring in the growth of world Christianity. Growing membership outside of the United States can offset membership declines in the United States, resulting in the denomination as a whole continuing to grow in membership. While this does not completely alleviate anxieties about US membership decline, it can provide some psychological reassurance that the denomination is still doing God’s will, as evidenced by the growth of the church globally.

Within the UMC, membership gains outside the US have made up for membership loss in the United States, and thus the overall membership of the denomination has increased modestly over the past decade. For the Wesleyans, Free Methodists, Nazarenes, AME, AME Zion, and CME, membership gains outside the United States have more than compensated for membership losses within the United States, and thus all of these traditions can think of themselves as growing churches, despite US membership trends. And, in the Methodist way of thinking, being a growing church means being a church in God’s favor.

While there are a variety of reasons why both US Traditionalists and those in the United States intending to remain within the UMC want to court Africans, Filipinos, and others outside the United States to choose their side of the denominational split, I think a recognition, at least implicitly, of the rhetorical importance of connections to places where Christianity is growing is among the reasons.

Having been in an international denomination, and having been shaped by the rhetoric that the church is growing and doing exciting things outside the United States, few are willing to give that up and settle down to the challenges of being church in an increasingly secular society. Instead, they want to preserve the romance and the sense of alignment with God’s will that come with being part of a growing denomination, even if that growth is happening elsewhere in the world.

Of course, this desire for global connection is very US centric. Methodists elsewhere in the world are, by and large, not concerning themselves with assuaging US theological fears provoked by membership loss. Instead, they have their own sets of concerns that are impacting their decisions about whether to remain in the UMC or affiliate with the Global Methodist Church. I will turn to those next week.

UMC Ecumenical Partnerships: Multilateral Partnerships

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Mission Theologian at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

Last week, I wrote about the variety of one-to-one bilateral ecumenical partnerships in which The United Methodist Church is engaged. This week, I will share some information about the UMC’s multilateral partnerships, that is, the groups or consortia of which the UMC is a member along with several other denominations. Some of these are Methodist-specific. Some are more broadly ecumenical.

The multilateral Methodist group that jumps first to many people’s minds is the World Methodist Council (WMC). The UMC’s membership in the WMC is stipulated in ¶433.1 of the Book of Discipline. The WMC includes 72 distinct Methodist, Wesleyan, and historically related united/uniting denominations. Some of these denominations are nationally based and some are international. In the WMC’s listing of denominations, some regional bodies of international denominations are listed separately, so the cited number of members varies. There are some very small Methodist denominations around the world that are not members of the WMC, but it includes almost all of any significant size. This blog has produced maps of the members of the WMC.

The WMC originated as the Ecumenical Methodist Conference, first held in 1881. The Conference gave way to the Council in 1951. The WMC continues to host a conference every five years, along with working groups and other programming. The WMC has a number of related organizations, such as the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, and programs, such as the Oxford Institute for Methodist Theological Studies, that further promote intra-Methodist collaboration, but these are all built upon the framework of the WMC.

The World Methodist Council, however, is not the only group that brings together multiple Methodist denominations. There are also regional groups separate from, though associated with, the WMC. The UMC participates (through Global Ministries) in the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches in Latin American and Caribbean, or CIEMAL by its Spanish acronym. It participates (through the European central conferences) in the European Methodist Council. It participates (through the Philippines) in the Asian Methodist Council. Most, if not all, members of these regional groups are also members of the WMC, but the regional organizations allow for more regular meetings and closer collaboration on certain matters. CIEMAL and the European Methodist Council are particularly active.

In the United States, there are two further multilateral Methodist ecumenical partnerships in which the UMC participates. The Pan-Methodist Commission brings together the UMC and the five historically black Methodist denominations (the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal, Union American Methodist Episcopal and First African Union Methodist Protestant Churches). Although the AME, AME Zion, and CME are also international denominations, most of the work of the Pan-Methodist Commission is fairly US-focused. UMC membership is stipulated in ¶433.2 of the Book of Discipline.

The Wesleyan Holiness Connection brings together the UMC and historically related Wesleyan/Holiness denominations, including the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Assemblies of God, Brethren in Christ Church, Christian & Missionary Alliance, Church of God in Christ, Church of God Ministries, Church of God - Cleveland, Church of the Nazarene, Free Methodist Church, Grace Communion International, International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Shield of Faith, The Evangelical Church, The Foursquare Church, The Salvation Army, and the Wesleyan Church. Most of the work of the Wesleyan Holiness Connection is US-focused, but it does have regional networks in the Philippines, UK, and Brazil. The UMC tends to be a minor participant in this group.

The UMC is also a part of a number of broadly ecumenical partnerships with denominations beyond the Methodist family. Many of these take the form of “Councils of Churches.” The UMC is, as required by Book of Discipline ¶434.3, a member of World Council of Churches. The World Council of Churches brings together Protestant, Orthodox, and indigenous churches from around the world and is one of the most significant international ecumenical bodies.

The Book of Discipline indicates in ¶434.2.a that the UMC will be a members of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, a group of Protestant and Orthodox denominations. ¶434.1 requires that the UMC be a part of Churches Uniting in Christ, another US-based ecumenical organization of predominantly white and predominantly black mainline denominations seeking to “live into unity.” ¶434.2.c directs the UMC to seek observer status in the National Association of Evangelicals, the main ecumenical body of evangelical denominations in the United States. Many, though not all, US Annual Conferences are also members of statewide councils of churches, though that is not addressed in the Book of Discipline.

¶434.2.b leaves open the possibility that the UMC may be part of other national councils of churches, at the discretion of leaders of the UMC in those countries. The Council of Bishops has identified at least seven other countries where the UMC is part of national councils of churches, as well as the All-Africa Conference of Churches, Christian Conference of Asia, and several Europe-wide bodies, but this may not be a complete list. The difference between official recognition of US-based ecumenical relationships and the lack of awareness of ecumenical relationships in other countries should be noted as another example of the denomination’s US-centric nature.

There are numerous other ecumenical partnerships in which parts of the UMC participate. These include those focused on work on a particular topic (for example, Religions for Peace International), to programmatic bodies supported by multiple denominations (for example, Church World Service), to groups for ecumenical dialogue (for example, the Global Christian Forum), to regional bodies (for example, European Methodist Youth and Children). I will not attempt a comprehensive list here, though readers can find more information on the Council of Bishops’ website.

The thing to keep in mind about all of these multilateral ecumenical partnerships is that they do not necessarily imply close, direct collaboration between any two given member denominations. Often, the UMC will send one person or a handful of people to conferences or other meetings that may happen as infrequently as once every 5-10 years. This sort of arrangement does not yield close relationships.

Where these ecumenical partnerships tend to be more robust is those that involve ongoing cooperative work in which the UMC and other denominations meet frequently and each contribute resources. These sorts of partnerships work because they have active buy-in from boards, agencies, central conferences, annual conferences, or other units of the church designated to carry out programmatic activities. The downside of this sort of relationships is that other United Methodists outside of these units of the church tend to be uninvolved and often unaware of these partnerships. That problem may not be entirely solvable, but through greater exchange of information, awareness can be increased.

Jeanie Reimer: Doing Mission by Videoconferencing

Today's post is by Jeanie Reimer. Jeanie is the Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia In Mission Together Partnership Coordinator for Global Ministries.

Using videoconferencing for mission has been a new experience for many during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is a long-standing practice among United Methodists in the Baltics. Through my consulting work with Global Ministries, it has been such a blessing to build relationships with people from all over the Baltics, not only by in-person visits but with the wonderful world of videoconferencing!

My local church, FUMC of Neenah, Wisconsin, and our partner church, Pilviskiai UMC in Lithuania, started doing monthly Skype Bible studies in 2014 shortly after one of our mission trips. The idea of videoconferencing was born out of the desire to keep our relationship strong and to grow spiritually together in between our in-person visits.  Although it was a step outside our comfort zone, little did we know that 6 years later this connection would continue with great enthusiasm.

That first Skype Bible study back in 2014 reminds me of the parable of the mustard seed, which has grown in profound ways that we never imagined. We have planted and nourished seeds as we sought new ways to communicate and build relationships, despite being physically distant from each other. Together, through our openness to videoconferencing, we have been able to be the hands and feet of Christ for each other, halfway around the world. Grounded in prayer and devotions, we are now more involved in each other’s lives and more connected to our mutual spiritual journeys. Although it has not been easy, we have patiently and steadily developed the tools to gather people together virtually.

Connecting over a computer screen does not change the importance of being together in person and doesn’t replace the “real” hugs, but it certainly can keep partnerships alive and strong in between visits. And during this time of pandemic, we have been able to lift each other up and listen to the sharing of similar struggles and challenges. It has been very meaningful to see each other and pray for each other during this difficult time.  I am grateful for the groundwork laid in 2014 between UMC Pilviskiai and FUMC Neenah that has brought us to this point.

Even more exciting has been to see how the concept of videoconferencing has been embraced by more Methodist groups in the Baltics as a result of our first Bible study between our two partner churches, 5,000 miles apart. Here are the Methodist groups from the Baltics that are now using videoconferencing on a regular basis: 

Friends of Lithuania – This is a group of partner churches, individuals, and clergy from the US and Lithuania who have engaged in In Mission Together partnerships with the Lithuania UMC. We have been meeting monthly, and more recently quarterly, through WebEx since January 2018. We are grateful to Global Ministries for providing this resource. Beginning with devotions and prayer, we learn about what is happening in the Lithuania UMC and we keep each other informed about our partnerships. It has deepened our relationship with each other and has definitely improved our communication. It is a joy to have these calls!

Friends of the Baltics – This committee was born out of the desire to connect the three Baltic “Friends” groups – Friends of Estonia, Friends of Latvia, and Friends of Estonia. These are all groups in the US who partner with Methodist churches in the Baltics. Noticing that there was little communication between these groups, Dr. Üllas Tankler, Regional Representative – Europe, Eurasia & North Africa, Global Mission Connections, and I launched this group in the fall of 2018. Consisting of the co-chairs and leaders of each group, we meet quarterly though teleconferencing. The goal is to build relationships, learn from each other, and create a vehicle for communication. These “Friends” groups are passionate about their relationships with fellow Methodists in the Baltics. There are many similarities and challenges with United Methodism in these post-Soviet occupied countries and we knew there was a wealth of information that could be shared. One day, we hope to have a Friends of the Baltics gathering.

Friends of Latvia – This is a group of partner churches, individuals, and clergy from the US and Latvia who have engaged in connecting congregation partnerships with the Latvian UMC. We had our first call in January 2020 before even knowing what COVID-19 was! Since then, we have had two other teleconferencing calls. Our last call on April 25th replaced what was supposed to be an in-person gathering in Dallas, Texas. There were 40+ people on the call from the US and Latvia, and people stayed on the call for the entire time! I was blown away … I thought we would lose people, or they would be disengaged, but quite the opposite was true. Initially, this group was hesitant about getting started, but once we did, we realized how amazing it is to be connected. Our next call will be May 30th, and we look forward to our ongoing connections and conversation.

Development Committee of the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary (BMTS) in Estonia – We are excited about the newly-formed BMTS Development Committee which held its first meeting in early 2020 and continues meeting almost weekly.  Through Webex and Zoom resources from Global Ministries, this committee consists of BMTS leadership and board members and the Friends of Estonia co-chairs from Estonia and the US.  We were already working virtually on a 2020 Development Plan when suddenly everything changed with COVID-19. Creating a new development plan specific to the response to COVID-19, we quickly adjusted because we had the resource of videoconferencing available to us.

While the idea of doing mission through teleconferencing may seem foreign to many people, the partner relationships I am seeing in the Baltics during this pandemic are only heightening our steadfast commitment to each other. Teleconferencing is making real connections possible! Because the relationships are personal and ongoing, people are caring about each other, praying for each other and taking opportunities to engage with each other via videoconferencing. Our collective willingness to stretch outside of our comfort zones has made this growth possible.

These examples of groups using videoconferencing have reaffirmed my strong belief in the concept of In Mission Together where the framework embraces ongoing relationships. Promoting sustainability versus dependency, creating a journey of engaging in spiritual development with each other, each of us bring to the table our own unique gifts to share with one other. And just like the mustard seed, I see these covenant relationships growing in mutuality through God’s grace and love. We are joined together in human connection by participating equally as the body of Christ. I continue to marvel at God’s wisdom, guidance, and hand in this process for certainly the Spirit has inspired, and will continue to inspire, this journey.

COVID-19, Travel, Zoom, and the Future of United Methodist Mission

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Director of Mission Theology at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted many things around the world, among them the practice of mission. This blog has examined some of the impacts of the pandemic on United Methodist mission around the world. Lisa Beth White has reflected on “Short-Term Mission in a Time of Coronavirus,” including what happens when you are “Not Going on the Mission Trip.”

In addition, I have noticed in the past month has been a significant drop-off in the number of pieces posted by the US annual conferences about their work with mission partners around the globe. The boards and agencies and UMNS have continued to share stories about global United Methodism, even going out of their way to inform United Methodists about responses around the world, but annual conferences and local churches have not as much. Our own readership at UM & Global has also been markedly lower in the past month.

It seems safe to conclude that amidst the pandemic, US United Methodists are not paying nearly as much attention to global mission.

That is to some extent perfectly understandable. Churches have been overwhelmed trying to transition to online worship, figuring out how to celebrate Easter without in-person services, and in some cases providing expanded local mission services in greatly changed circumstances. Certainly, these pressing concerns have left US churches with less capacity to focus on many things, and international mission is just one of those things.

I think this drop-off in interest in international mission is, however, also a sign of just how dominant short-term mission trips have become as a form of mission engagement for American United Methodists. In the present context, no mission trips are happening, and upcoming mission trips have been canceled. That leaves annual conferences and local churches with a lot less to share about their engagement in international mission, especially since those trips may or may not be part of on-going relationships involving significant other aspects beyond trips.

The dominance of short-term trips in the US ties into differences I have noticed between US responses to the pandemic on the one hand and Swiss and Norwegian United Methodist responses on the other. While short-term trips are part of Swiss and Norwegian engagement with international mission, they are a smaller part of on-going relationships with specific partners that also involve regular communication, prayer, and funding. Despite COVID-19 cases and church closures in Switzerland and Norway, those branches of the UMC have continued to be engaged with their international partners, sharing information and launching special fundraising campaigns to support them. There has been some of that in the US (the Michigan-Haiti partnership is one example), but much less.

Given that the pandemic has been so disruptive to perhaps the major form of US United Methodists’ engagement with global mission, there are questions about what the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on US United Methodists’ relationships with international partners. The pandemic will certainly disrupt mission travel for the next couple of months at least, but as commentators have noticed about many aspects of life, things may not just go back to pre-pandemic normal afterward.

For instance, if US United Methodists are left with heightened concerns about travel in general and the risks of various diseases or of being stranded, short-term mission trips may be perceived as riskier and thus become less popular. Or, if local church finances are significantly impacted by the lack of in-person giving and the economic fallout of the pandemic, congregations may decide that they cannot afford to take international trips as they did in the past.

Alternatively, increased comfort with videoconferencing services such as Zoom for meetings within the United States may lead US United Methodists to become more willing to use video conferencing to talk to mission partners around the world even when not traveling to see them. Although internet availability and speeds vary around the world, it is still possible to conduct video calls with partners in most major urban areas, even in developing countries. More communication outside of trips could strengthen rather than hurt international mission partnerships.

Another possibility is that if US United Methodists become more inward-focused because of a felt need to focus on their own survival during the pandemic, that inward focus will persist after the pandemic is over. There was a rising tide of nationalism in the US (and many other countries) before the pandemic. That desire to separate from international connections and focus instead on the domestic may be exacerbated by the psychological impacts of the pandemic, which would be bad for the future of international mission partnerships.

A more optimistic prospect is that the pandemic could help to de-colonize mission partnerships between US United Methodists and their partners around the world. If partners discover that they can survive without short-term mission teams from the US, or even that they are able to flourish in some ways without such teams, they may be reluctant to return to the status quo after the pandemic. On the other side, if US United Methodists become chastened about their ability to save the world because of the severe impacts of the virus in their own country, they may bring a humbler attitude to mission partnerships in the future.

Finally, it is possible that things pretty much go back to normal after the pandemic. Once the virus is under control and travel is possible again, people take up the same patterns of mission practices as they previously did. Perhaps the resumption of mission trips will even give people a sense of normalcy restored.

It is impossible to know at this point what the long-term consequences, if any, of COVID-19 and the interruption of the short-term mission trip model of missions will be for US United Methodists. And it may be too much to contemplate these consequences on top of scrambling to respond to the many disruptions and large amount of sickness, death, and economic pain that are a part of our current experience. Yet, when we have the capacity, we should look for what is emerging from this situation. The answer may be surprising.

Recommended Reading: Michigan-Liberia Partnership

The Michigan Annual Conference recently posted this report about signing a new covenant to continue a 20-year long partnership between United Methodists in Michigan and those in Liberia. What makes this story particularly interesting is the way in which it honestly acknowledges the deep differences between Michigan and Liberia about the place of LGBTQ persons in the church and the tensions that those differences bring to the partnership. Moreover, the story indicates that those tensions exist for both parties - Liberians, as well as Michiganders, debated whether to reaffirm their partnership. Ultimately, both parties did, for the sake of the mutual mission and ministry that their partnership has facilitated and will continue to facilitate, despite the real potential that the two groups could end up in separate denominations. While it may or may not appear in official press, the sorts of conversations, tensions, and reassessment of missional relationships described in this article are certainly occurring for many such partnerships across the denomination.

Recommended Reading: African Theological e-Academy

UM News Service recently published a story about the launch of “Pamoja, a Methodist Network — East Africa e-Academy.” This story is significant for a couple of reasons:

First and foremost, it represents the spread of a new model of theological education that is based online following principles of distance learning. That model already exists in Europe in the Methodist e-Academy. Both Europe and East Africa have adopted this model out of missional necessity. But could this model of theological education end up being indicative of the future of theological education in the US as well? An analogy to the distribution of cell phones is perhaps apt. Cell phones were widely prevalent in the developing world before they were in the US because the US had so much infrastructure invested in landlines. The US also has a lot of infrastructure invested in traditional theological education, but Robert Hunt has argued in a series of pieces on his blog ([1], [2], and [3]) that new models of theological education will be necessary in the US as well.

Second, the range of international partners involved in this new endeavor is impressive. Four United Methodist theological colleges in East Africa, Robert Hunt and SMU, the Methodist e-Academy in Switzerland, the Endowment Fund for Theological Education in the Central Conferences, and Cliff College, England. This new network is a good example of successful multilateral, international partnership.

Total Local Giving in the Central Conferences

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Director of Mission Theology at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

Having looked at how much total United Methodists in the United States send annual to the central conferences (probably over $100 million per year), it is worth looking at how much money the central conferences likely generate themselves in giving by members in those central conferences.

While much uncertainty exists, the total given to local churches in the central conference might be between $110-470 million per year, though likely near the lower end of that estimate. Even the most conservative estimates yield at least $60 million in member giving. As in the United States, the majority of this stays in local congregations, with only a small fraction being used to support connectional ministries.

If we estimate that 10% of local giving in the central conferences goes to connectional ministries (in the US it is 14%), then the amount of US money supporting connectional ministries in the central conferences is several times the amount of local money supporting these ministries (which might be about $15-25 million yearly). Put another way, giving from the US perhaps quintuples the extent of connectional ministries (health, education, evangelism, creation care, discipleship, etc.) that happen in the central conferences.

As with estimating the amount of money that goes from the US, there is a lot of uncertainty in the underlying figures for calculating how much giving there is in the central conferences, so these numbers are only rough estimates. An explanation follows.

Let us begin with the relatively easy question of how much money central conferences pay in apportionments. In 2018, the central conferences as a whole gave $788,317 USD in apportionments. This represents 65% of the amount of apportionments assigned by GCFA, which was $1,204,990. The numbers are fairly similar for 2017.

During the first six months of 2019, central conference giving broke down by region as follows:
•    Africa: $73,428 USD
•    Philippines: $21,458 USD
•    Europe: $274,238 USD
•    Total: $369,124 USD
Again, these figures are in line with the data from 2018.

If we were to assume that central conference general church apportionments equaled 2% of total giving in the central conferences, as they do in the United States, then total giving would be somewhere around $60 million, based on requested receipts. Of course, there is no particular reason to assume that general church apportionments make up the same percentage of total giving in the central conferences as they do in the United States, though certainly GCFA is not asking central conferences to give a higher percentage of their budgets to general church apportionments than they ask of US churches. Thus, total giving is at very least $60 million yearly.

Another way to calculate the total church giving in the central conferences is to build a model based on assumptions about average income, church membership by country, the percentage of income given to the church, and the percentage of that total collection available for connectional ministries. This model assumes that United Methodists have an average income similar to that of their fellow citizens. This assumption may not be correct; United Methodists might be either poorer or richer than the average citizen, and this may vary by country.

Despite questions about this central assumption, this approach gives another estimate based on readily available data. Per capita income by country data is available from the CIA, and membership data is available from GCFA. Multiplying the one by the other gives an estimated total income for United Methodists by country.

It is easy to run a variety of estimates based on different assumptions about how much United Methodists give to their churches. In the United States, long-term trends show that individuals give about 2% of their income, and 30-40% of that goes to religious causes.

If people in the central conferences gave 0.7% of their income to the church, as do those in the United States, that would represent $110 million total giving ($77 million in Africa, $8 million in the Philippines, and $25 million in Europe). Since many central conference churches emphasize tithing, it is possible that those in the central conferences are more generous to the church than those in the United States are. Assuming 1% giving yields $158 million in yearly giving. Assuming 3% gives $473 million per year, and assuming a remarkable 5% gives $788 million per year, with the same ratios between geographic regions. Of course, it is possible that different parts of the central conferences give at different rates. Regardless, the lower end of these estimates seems more likely.

Most of this money stays in local congregations. It has been noted that many churches in Africa struggle to pay their pastors (more on this in a future post), and given the small size of many European congregations, pastoral salaries are likely to be high relative to total giving. Moreover, connectional giving is a much less well-developed tradition in many parts of the central conferences than it is in the United States.

Thus, it might be reasonable to estimate 10% of total giving going towards connectional ministries, including district superintendent salaries, conference evangelists, other staff, annual conference programs, and connectional health, education, and charitable ministries. Varying the estimated total giving yields a range of estimates for central conference connectional ministry support from $11 million up through $78 million. Again, a safe estimate might be $15-25 million.

Remember that giving from the United States to connectional ministries in the central conferences is likely to be at least $100 million. Thus, US support of connection ministries in the central conferences is likely to be at least four times as great as the central conferences’ budget for those same ministries.

While it is possible that central conferences could develop stronger programs of self-support for local connectional ministries, it is just not reasonable to expect central conferences to be able to replace a significant reduction in US support with local resources. Moreover, because central conference priorities are likely to focus primarily on the operation of churches and basic denominational structures (bishops, district superintendents, office support, etc.), cuts will primarily impact health, education, poverty reduction, disaster-relief, and other charitable ministries.

Thus, I hope that whatever future form The United Methodist Church takes, that form will allow for continued support of central conference ministries by the majority of US United Methodists. If not, central conferences will have to dramatically cut numerous life-saving medical ministries, educational ministries providing crucial opportunities, and other vital connectional ministries.

The World Methodist Council and World-Wide Methodism

Today's post is by UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, Director of Mission Theology at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries.

One of the reasons why the COSMOS proposals for an International Methodist Church or a World Methodist Council of Churches never really got off the ground was the existence of the World Methodist Council (WMC) as an alternative avenue for relationship. At the same time, some United Methodists now have suggested that the WMC could be a means for maintaining relationships in the likely event of a breakup of The United Methodist Church. Thus, it is worth describing what the WMC is, how it is structured, and what is does.

The World Methodist Council is made up of over 70 participating Methodist, Wesleyan, and United denominations. Some of these are autonomous Methodist churches in the British Methodist tradition. Some are autonomous Methodist churches in the American Methodist tradition. Some are world-wide churches in the African-American Methodist tradition. Some are world-wide churches in the American Wesleyan/holiness tradition. Some are nationally-based united churches that were formed from the merger of Methodist and other Protestant churches.

One very important member denomination of the WMC is The United Methodist Church. The UMC is the largest participating denomination in terms of membership, and it provides a lot of the personnel, organizational structure, and drive that enable the work of the WMC.

The UMC also contributes the largest amount of funding to the WMC. The UMC contributes about two-thirds of the total dues from participating denominations, which collectively make up 83% of the WMC's operating budget. Put another way, the UMC is responsible for over half (57%) of the WMC's total budget. This doesn't include indirect subsidies, such as the UMC covering the expenses for representatives from autonomous churches to attend the World Methodist Conference. Any future in which there is less UMC money to support shared ministry is quite likely a future in which the WMC takes a substantial financial hit and is less able to facilitate shared ministry.

There are several means by which the WMC promotes intra-Methodist relationships and shared ministry. Perhaps the most visible is the World Methodist Conference, which happens every five years. The origins of the WMC as an organization lie in the World Methodist Conferences, which have been meeting periodically since 1881. The next Conference will be in 2021 in Sweden. This group has no legislative power over participating denominations. It focuses on fellowship, worship, electing officers for the WMC, and overseeing the WMC's committee structure.

Carrying forward the work of the WMC in between conferences are a council president (currently J. C. Park of South Korea), a very small staff led by the General Secretary (currently Ivan Abrahams of South Africa), a steering committee, and a system of program committees.

Because of the extremely limited personnel resources in the WMC itself, much of the work that the organization does, it does through its program committees. Yet the committees vary greatly in the extent to which they function effectively and facilitate significant shared ministry among participating denominations. More effective committees are often dominated by a few strong individuals with clear ideas about what they want to accomplish and an understanding of the WMC as a salutary way to accomplish it.

In addition to the committee structure, the WMC serves as an umbrella for "affiliate" programs, which are operated mostly independently, but which have at least a nominal connection to the WMC. That connection can help draw in a wider variety of Methodist/Wesleyan/United participants to these programs and can also serve as evidence for or a justification of the "world-wide" nature of such programs. In reality, much of this programming originates in, is led by, and is funded by (mostly United Methodist) Americans or British Methodists.

The work that the WMC carries out generally falls into a few categories: education, evangelism, ecumenism, history, and peace-making. In education, the WMC is the origins of the International Association of Methodist School, Colleges, and Universities, which is mostly supported by GBHEM of the UMC, and other affiliate scholarly programs. In evangelism, the WMC serves as an umbrella for World Methodist Evangelism and the World Methodist Evangelism Institute, both American organizations with origins in the work of Eddie Fox and Maxie Dunnam. In ecumenism, the WMC operates the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome and the Methodist Liaison Office in Jerusalem (funded and staff mostly by Americans and Brits) and represents Methodists in discussions with other world faith communions. In history, the WMC maintains the World Methodist Museum in Lake Junaluska, NC, and has connections to some other affiliate programs. In peace-making, the WMC awards the annual World Methodist Peace Award.

As one can see, the WMC is often dominated financially and programmatically by The United Methodist Church and its American members, but in ways that often depend upon the current structures of apportionments and boards and agencies. Moreover, this domination by American United Methodists causes tensions with other participating denominations, who may resent this dominance or may have a different sense of what world-wide Methodist priorities should be.

Thus, there are three main challenges to the WMC serving as a means of continuing currently internal UMC international relationships in a post-UMC world. First, without the UMC as it currently exists, the WMC is likely to be a less robust organization that is less able to facilitate relationships and shared ministry. Second, if (post-)United Methodists try to remake the WMC for their own purposes, this could encounter strong resistance from other Methodist/Wesleyan/United denominations who already to some extent resent UMC domination of the WMC. Third, the priorities that the UMC might have for the WMC in serving as a means of continuing relationships may clash with priorities other denominations (some of whom already have internal international collaboration) may identify for the organization.