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April 2006 |
National News Briefs
New Liberian president addresses U.S. Congress
WASHINGTON (UMNS) - Addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf asked for continued support as she vowed to show the world "the difference which one woman with abiding faith in God can do." An active United Methodist, Sirleaf is the fourth African head of state and the eighth woman to address a joint meeting of Congress. She referred to her faith several times during her 35-minute speech on March 15. She is scheduled to met at the White House March 21 with President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush - fellow United Methodists. Mrs. Bush led the U.S. delegation to the Liberian presidential inauguration Jan. 16, along with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Africa University, Clemson work together on food production
BLACKVILLE, S.C. (UMNS) - Africa University in Zimbabwe and Clemson (S.C.) University have joined hands to help small farmers in the region improve vegetable production, protect the environment and fight hunger in Africa. "The goal is to help the small farmers increase yields of leafy greens, be good stewards of the environment and produce foods without excessive pesticide residues," said Gloria McCutcheon, entomologist at Clemson's Coastal Research and Education Center at Charleston, S.C. The partnership is teaching farmers how to identify the families of insects that are important in biological control of plant pests.
Ethics course has students reflecting on universal themes
MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) - The Rev. Rosetta E. Ross is focusing on Christian ethics and values during her stint as a visiting lecturer in the Faculty of Theology at Africa University. She is at the university from January to May while on sabbatical from Spelman College in Atlanta. Her Christian Ethics and Values class is one of four core courses - the others are African Studies, Communications Skills and Information Technology - that every undergraduate student must pass to receive a degree. "One of the things that I would hope for all my students is that they would think that having a sense of integrity matters, even though we live in a world where all kinds of people do all kinds of things and they get by, they get what they want," Ross says.
Young person or group sought for General Conference address
Advance giving program undergoes leadership transition
EL PASO, Texas (UMNS) - The Rev. William T. Carter is preparing for retirement in June after 27 years as the top staff member of the 60-year-old Advance for Christ and His Church, the mission-giving program of the United Methodist Church. Two other veteran staff members retired in late February. "The church owes enormous gratitude to Bill Carter for his leadership of the Advance across almost three decades," said the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, which houses the Advance. Carter announced his retirement at the March 9-11 meeting of the Advance Committee, which oversees the program.
United Methodist board creates global education fund
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Church's Board of Higher Education and Ministry is creating a global fund that will help Methodist schools around the world develop leaders and become more effective. The more than 720 Methodist educational institutions outside the United States are looking to the agency and the denomination's University Senate for assistance in collaborative programs and peer review. The board seeks to raise $3 million to $4 million over the next three years for the Methodist Global Education Fund to provide technical support and scholarship aid to those schools. The global education initiative was launched as an unfunded mandate by the 2004 General Conference and was designated as a World Service giving special of the denomination.
UMCOR responds to Midwest tornadoes
NEW YORK (UMNS) - About 100 tornadoes touched down across the Midwestern United States March 12, causing damage across five states. At least 10 deaths were attributed to the storms. The United Methodist Committee on Relief is in contact with the affected annual conferences, offering assistance and emergency funding where needed. Following the tornadoes, Tom Hazelwood, director of UMCOR's domestic disaster response, contacted each disaster response coordinator in the affected annual conference to support them in their efforts, ensure they have what they need to respond to their communities, and to offer assistance that can come in the form of funding and additional personnel. Donations to the United Methodist relief effort can be marked for "UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response," and placed in church offering plates or sent to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, N.Y. 10087-9068. Contributions also can be made by phone at 800/554-8583.
Older adults face growing threat of poverty, committee warns
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Many working men and women will retire after a lifetime of service and come face to face with the shocking reality that the pension they thought would support them for the rest of their lives isn't worth the paper it is printed on. The United Methodist Committee on Older Adults is waving "a cautionary flag" before the church, asking that attention be paid to actions that will increase poverty among older Americans and their families. A resolution approved by the committee during its March 11-16 meeting urges "widespread notice and study of the threat to pension benefits throughout the church." The committee also approved a resolution calling for the church to observe an Older Adult Recognition Day, preferably during May, "to recognize and celebrate the gifts, talents and contributions older adults make within and beyond the local church."
People of faith pray for peace in Iraq
WASHINGTON (UMNS) - Hundreds of people of faith from Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim and Sikh traditions gathered March 13 on the west front lawn of the U.S. Capitol to pray for peace and justice in Iraq. Led in prayers from the many religious traditions represented, participants expressed sorrow at the loss of Iraqi, American and U.S. Allies' lives and made a commitment to be a healing presence in the world. "Our spirits are uneasy. We yearn for the bombings to stop, for the rhetoric to end, for people to be able to move freely through the streets, for the silencing of the tears," said the Rev. John McCullough, a United Methodist and executive director for Church World Service, during his devotional reflection at the prayer vigil.
Commentary: News stories under-represent women
Women constitute 52 percent of the world's population, but they make up only 21 percent of people featured in the news. The gender deficit in stories analyzed by a Global Media Monitoring event is a call for restoring women to their rightful place in human interactions, writes Glory E. Dharmaraj, executive secretary for justice education for the Women's Division, United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008