Men's commission moves four-year gathering from Purdue

By Linda Green

"It's a new day with a new opportunity for us to provide this meeting."

- Gil Hanke

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - The governing body for United Methodist Men is moving the denomination's quadrennial men's conference from Purdue University to Nashville.

The churchwide Commission on United Methodist Men voted on Sept. 16 to hold the 10th national United Methodist Men's gathering July 9-12, 2009, at a university to be determined in Nashville, Tenn.

The tradition of gathering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., began in 1953. The conference has been described as a "life-changing event" that allows men from across the world to gather for fellowship, spiritual renewal, instruction and inspiration.

The men's organization, once part of a division on men's ministry at the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, became a churchwide agency in 1996. Its purpose is to help The United Methodist Church help men make Jesus Christ the center of their lives.

"We are not going back to Purdue for the 10th gathering," said Glenn Wintemberg, Saint Charles, Mo., chairperson of the gathering committee and president of the National Association of Conference Presidents of United Methodist Men "We have nothing against Purdue University," he said. "It has run its course."

The commission, which met Sept. 14-17, voted for the change in response to requests for a more family-friendly locale, better access to an airport or metropolitan area, and more confined spaces for workshops and other options, instead of having to walk long distances to participate in gathering events.

"It's a new day with a new opportunity for us to provide this meeting," said Gil Hanke of Nacogdoches, Texas, president of the men's commission. "The transportation to Nashville is much easier than our previous location. The facilities that we are considering are very accommodating ... and we felt that it was a time to move this event closer to the center of the population centers of The United Methodist Church."

He emphasized that Purdue has "done an excellent job for well over 30 years," but he said Nashville offers better logistics, a more family-oriented type of atmosphere and "comparable facilities that can provide an event that will be an exciting and spiritually dynamic encounter with God." He said he is delighted at the move because "Nashville really shows off the center of The United Methodist Church."

The commission also:

Passed a resolution in support of reducing teen smoking.
Learned that the United Methodist Church completed 2005 with 376,472 scouts - boys and girls - meeting in 11,864 units in more than 8,000 of the denomination's 35,000 churches; and that while losing traditional Boy and Cub Scout memberships, the size of Venturing crews has doubled.
Heard that more than 230,000 copies of the Strength for Service to God and Country devotional have been distributed to military personnel serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries in Southwest Asia.
Learned that 2008 will be the centennial anniversary of United Methodist Men and that the commission will propose some type of celebration at the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

Linda Green serves as a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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