http://www.arumc.org http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1913 01 September 2011 12:09:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1913 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1904 31 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1904 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1903 30 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1903 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1896 23 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1896 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1895 23 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1895 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1894 23 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1894 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1893 23 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1893 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1888 18 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1888 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1886 18 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1886 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1887 18 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_eventdetail.php?id=1887 http://www.arumc.org/n_after_tornadoes_a_light_of_hope.php By Linda Unger*After some 200 tornadoes tore through the US South at the end of last week, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is working with annual conferences to assess damages, convene volunteers, and extend the light of Easter hope across a ravaged landscape.In North Carolina, UMCOR disaster consultant Barbara Tripp helped the annual conference establish a call center at Marion Edwards Recovery Center Initiatives (MERCI), the conference's disaster response center and relief-supply depot. The call center gives those in need a way to connect with a helping hand, and the conference a way to summon volunteers.Tripp, a native of Raleigh, says that North Carolina disaster response teams are used to cleaning up after a twister."It's not unusual to have a tornado touch down and do a little damage," she said,"but to have a whole string of them doing a lot of damage%26#8212;that's unique here."The North Carolina governor's office said on Wednesday that with assessments completed in 10 of 18 affected counties, it has so far counted 6,189 homes destroyed or that suffered major damage in the storm.The call center at MERCI, whose relief-supply depot is part of the UMCOR Relief-Supply Network, has set up an email address (tornadoresponse@nccumc.org) for inquiries and volunteers, including early response teams, recovery teams, and individuals to answer the phones.Rick Hill, also an UMCOR disaster response consultant and a North Carolina native, is working with Tripp and the North Carolina Conference to assess damages. Because the state was hit so hard by the storm, which spawned 92 tornadoes there, UMCOR is also calling on Southeastern Jurisdiction's Volunteers in Mission "J-Team" to organize volunteers for immediate needs and the long haul of recovery.The "J-Team," or Jurisdictional Team, is a small group of volunteers selected by a jurisdiction VIM office specifically to set up the management of volunteers in a disaster situation, especially one as complex as this. The team coordinates with annual conference disaster response personnel and UMCOR staff and consultants as they put response mechanisms in place.Emergency FundingFrom Thursday, April 14, through Saturday, a massive storm system raced through the following eight states%26#8212;Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The storm killed at least 45 people, injured hundreds, and caused millions of dollars in damages.By Tuesday, UMCOR had supplied emergency grants to four conferences with severe damage%26#8212;North Carolina, Alabama-West Florida, Mississippi, and Virginia. The grants will help the conferences assess needs and respond."UMCOR emergency grants allow us to be immediately connectional and to remain that way," said Rev. Wayne Napier, disaster response coordinator for the Mississippi Conference, where four counties suffered substantial damage and 16 others were impacted by the storm.Napier said the UMCOR funds will be instrumental in all phases of response and recovery. The grant covers the conference's costs related to fuel and other expenses of the assessment phase, as well as costs related to equipment rental, maintenance, purchase, and operation for debris removal.The emergency grant funds will help the conference establish the logistics of processing and assigning work projects related to rehabilitation and to case management of families affected by the disaster. The funds will also help the conference prepare more volunteers to respond to future emergencies.Napier underscored the importance of recent contributions in the Mississippi Conference to One Great Hour of Sharing, which underwrites UMCOR's costs of doing business and allows UMCOR to use one hundred percent of all other donations for emergencies such as this one.Just the BeginningUMCOR US Disaster Response executive, Rev. Tom Hazelwood, underscored that this storm, along with Red River flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota, and tornadoes a week earlier in Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin, are just the beginning of the spring storm season."We could be in for a very busy spring," he said.Residents of the Upper Midwest are currently experiencing flooding for the third year in a row. More than two-thirds of North Dakota has been declared a federal disaster area, including seven counties and five tribal nations. The Red River is expected to crest on Easter Sunday.And last weekend's storm in the South also brought severe, if seemingly less dramatic, weather to the Northeast, especially to New Jersey, where as many as 400 homes experienced flood damage. Some families said it was the third time in six months that their homes had been inundated.Despite the damages and casualties in North Carolina, Barbara Tripp said, radio airwaves were filled with people calling in to say how grateful they were to be alive and to see so many volunteers already at work."People who were strangers in the morning have become fast friends by noon," she said.That the consequences of this particular storm are becoming clearer as we go deeper into Holy Week only underscores the Easter mystery, Hazelwood pointed out."Holy Week is focused on the passion of Christ at the same time that it points toward his resurrection," he said."There is reason to hope."Cleaning buckets provide the supplies that enable people affected by storms, floods, or other emergencies to begin the overwhelming task of cleaning up. They can be shipped to any of the relief-supply depots in the UMCOR Relief-Supply Network.Click here to download a church bulletin insert on the storm that raged through the South. Your gift to US Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670, enables UMCOR to respond effectively%26#8212;to be there, be hope for people in need. To support UMCOR's work where it is needed most around the world, please give toUMCOR Undesignated, UMCOR Advance #999895. *Linda Unger is staff editor and senior writer for UMCOR. Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:04:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_after_tornadoes_a_light_of_hope.php http://www.arumc.org/n_storm_update_april_26_945_am.php As everyone is aware there have been some confirmed deaths and missing individuals from yesterday's storms. Please lift up those individuals, families, and communities in your prayers. Larry Gentry, the disaster coordinator for the Arkansas Conference, and Janice Mann, are contacting each district's disaster coordinator and district superintendents and have been receiving information from individuals regarding damage. At this time we have been asked to wait for emergency management personnel to complete their assessments and to remove downed power lines, etc. You may donate disaster relief funds on-line at the Conference web site or by mail by sending your gift to: Arkansas Conference Disaster Relief, Attn: Conference Treasurer, P. O. Box 3611, Little Rock, AR 72203-3611. We anticipate requests for funds will be forthcoming and are prepared to help meet needs as they arise. Please contact Larry Gentry, 501.231.1212 or Janice Mann, 870.703.8359 as needs arise. They will be coordinating clean-up and assistance teams. Updates will be posted through email, the Conference web site and Facebook page.Click Here to Donate Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:04:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_storm_update_april_26_945_am.php http://www.arumc.org/n_vilonia_umc_update.php Dear Friends I've spoken with Fred Fowlkes, our district UMM president and an active member of Vilonia UMC. There are lots of trees down and power lines, too. Right now they are swamped with help. The power companies are clearing the lines from the highways and crews are clearing debris off the roads, too. We need to wait until we hear back from him/them about how we can specifically help before we send personal. There will be lots to do for some time. The Vilonia UMC buildings and parsonage are standing. There may be some shingles missing but nothing major has been discovered nor reported. Rev. Belinda Price was out of town when the storm hit but is returning as I write this note. They ask for prayers as they begin the recovery. God bless,Rodney SteeleClick Here to Donate Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:04:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_vilonia_umc_update.php http://www.arumc.org/n_an_occasional_word_umc_generosity_meets_needs_arou.php Dear Friends:The color picture on the front page of the Democrat-Gazette was powerful%26#8212;a Pakistani man, up to his armpits in water, raising his arms in a prayer for help. We are there as a church, just as we are in Haiti, in Chile, in Indonesia, on the Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast, in Cote D%26#8217;Ivoire, in the Congo and dozens more places around the world. Our response to human need through UMCOR, and through our ongoing shared mission giving through apportionments, provides a powerful response to human need.Tragically, there are those who try to take advantage of our generosity. After every natural disaster, I receive emails requesting aid from legitimate sounding organizations. But they are not legitimate. I received a number of requests from alleged church groups in Pakistan asking for help from the floods that are so devastating. Your church (or you individually!) may have received the same kinds of requests.You and I need to be aware that in areas where we have no organized United Methodist Church, funds are given for disaster response to partner organizations that are transparent and accountable and have a track record of effectiveness. In Pakistan, for instance, we work through Church World Service, The Church of Pakistan (Diocese of Peshawar), the ACT Alliance (a world-wide ecumenical organization), Muslim Aid, Norwegian Church Aid, and GlobalMedic. These are all trusted partners. The first responsibility of every United Methodist church is to support in full the shared mission giving (apportionments) that provides the foundation for the rest of our outreach and mission. Through The Advance and through UMCOR, we respond to specific needs. Conference projects like the Congo water wells or the Russia Initiative (Moscow Theological Seminary) stand in need of our strong support. Of course, local churches may support missionaries like our own Shanna Harrison in Chile through the General Board of Global Ministries. Arkansas Rice Depot and Camp Aldersgate are important local mission opportunities. The key is for the mission project to be clear, transparent, accountable, and clearly in the spirit of Christ. If it is a United Methodist sponsored or endorsed project, it satisfies these requirements. Of course, each local church will have local mission projects as well. That is as it should be, but it is important to remember that together we are able to do far more than any one church can do by itself.In this vein, I once had the question asked, %26#8220;What have we gotten out of the apportionments?%26#8221; Interesting, but it is the wrong question because it is based on a wrong assumption. Our shared mission giving is not about us and what we get. It is all about what we provide for others and promote in mission and ministry for the Kingdom of God. It is not about what we get back. It is about what we make possible at home and around the world for the sake of Christ.A wonderful new resource has been made available to your church by the Annual Conference and the Arkansas United Methodist Foundation: Sharing Together in Christ%26#8217;s Name. It includes Bible studies for children, youth and adults, and worship resources that can help every congregation understand our shared United Methodist ministry. I trust each congregation will make good use of this excellent resource.As opportunities arise, United Methodist people are among the most generous on earth. We have raised over $40 million for the disaster response work in Haiti. Enormous amounts of money were raised in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on our Gulf Coast. The responsible use of those funds is carefully noted. There is accountability.Because we are the church, and have a wonderful %26#8220;in house%26#8221; delivery system, our overhead is extremely low. You can feel confident that your gift given through the United Methodist Church is going to the right place. We respond to the prayer of the Pakistani man in the picture because it is the right thing to do. We do all this in the spirit of Christ who so generously gave himself for us.Thank you for your faithfulness and generosity.Faithfully,Charles Crutchfield Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:09:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_an_occasional_word_umc_generosity_meets_needs_arou.php http://www.arumc.org/n_viewpoint_making_sense_out_of_the_senseless.php Dr. William O. ReevesWhen I was a kid, my family used to camp at the Albert Pike recreation area. We took our kids there when they were young. So I felt a connection when a flash flood ripped through the campground June 11 and killed 20 people. Later I felt a more intense connection when I found out that a dear friend%26#8217;s granddaughter, Gayble Moss, age 7, was one of the victims. The same day the papers screamed headlines about the flood, there was an article about the tragedy we had heard about at Annual Conference. Lillian Wilson, a dedicated servant of the Central United Methodist Church in Hamlin, was murdered in the sanctuary of the church. While gathering relief supplies to deliver to conference, she was beaten to death with the cross from the church%26#8217;s altar. It doesn%26#8217;t get any more evil than that.When we confront these horrible and senseless tragedies, our natural response is to ask the unanswerable questions. Why them? Why now? Where was God? Can%26#8217;t God stop this innocent suffering?There are no satisfying answers to these questions, as often as we ask them. The pastor at Gayble%26#8217;s funeral suggested we focus on what we know, rather than what we do not know. Wise words. To focus on what we do not know and cannot understand only leads to anger and bitterness.What we do know is the nature of God. God is pure love and compassion. Jeremiah said, %26#8220;He will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.%26#8221; It is a comfort to know that the first heart to break when the flood arose and when Lillian Wilson was attacked was the great divine heart of God.I heard the Albert Pike flood described on television as an %26#8220;act of God.%26#8221; The God I worship does not act that way. In his divine wisdom, he has limited his sovereignty to allow freedom in the natural and human realm. Only in freedom can we be fully human%26#8212;to love, to believe, and to be in relationship with our Creator. Natural and human freedom sometimes turn tragic, and when they do, it is God who stands in the gap%26#8212;to comfort, strengthen, and heal. It%26#8217;s his nature.The second thing we know is that the physical world is temporary. Paul writes, %26#8220;What can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.%26#8221; Lillian Wilson was blessed with a long life; Gayble Moss with only seven short years. Both were blessings to those who knew them. It is no small thing to believe that their lives did not end when their physical lives were cut short. They had a home prepared for them. Despite the pain of their loss for those who were left in the temporary world, for them it is all good.The last thing we know%26#8212;the last thing we need to know%26#8212;is the powerful reality of grace. It is captured in the immortal words of Romans 8:28: %26#8220;We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.%26#8221; (NIV) This is the way God has dealt with human tragedy from the beginning%26#8212;the Garden of Eden, the Hebrew captivity, the Babylonian exile, the crucifixion of Jesus, the Holocaust, 9/11, and too many others. Not all things are good; some are horrible and senseless. But out of the worst that human sinners and a broken creation can do, God can bring good. God%26#8217;s goodness is not mathematical%26#8212;what can equal the life of a child? But it is miraculous, that anything good can come out of some of the tragedies we experience. More love, more faith, the healing of a broken heart, a new beginning on the rubble of shattered hopes and dreams%26#8212;that%26#8217;s where God works best.For the families whose lives were devastated by the Albert Pike flood and the murder in the sanctuary, things will not be OK for a long time. But slowly healing can happen. Things will never be the same again, but they can be good again. That is an amazing gift of grace and a real act of God. Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:07:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_viewpoint_making_sense_out_of_the_senseless.php http://www.arumc.org/n_youth_experience_of_ac_mostly_positive.php Jessica SzenherSpecial contributorLike Mark Norman in his opening prayer at Wednesday morning%26#8217;s session, the youth representatives of the Arkansas Annual Conference are choosing frontier, not fortress. Their fresh eyes for the annual meeting saw the experience with excitement and curiosity.Youth delegate Alan Miller, 17, of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Maumelle was excited even before the meeting began. %26#8220;I am still excited,%26#8221; he said after two days of meetings. %26#8220;The worship service Monday night was my favorite. I liked the music and the sermon. Bishop Ntambo talked about how he wants us to bring about big change to get rid of poverty and oppression.%26#8221;The energy and music at Monday night%26#8217;s worship service were the favorite part of the Annual Conference for several youth, including Natalie Clark, 17, of Conway First United Methodist Church. But her friend Emily Morton, 18, of Beebe First United Methodist Church liked the traditional service on Sunday night best. %26#8220;I can%26#8217;t get into the loud, crazy praise band. I like it to be more serious.%26#8221;Michael Hughley, 14, of Haven United Methodist Church in Hot Springs is a preacher%26#8217;s kid. He likes the energy of the Conference and is happy to see what really happens rather than just hearing about it from his dad, Clyde Hughley.%26#8220;It is great to experience it myself,%26#8221; he said. %26#8220;I like to listen to what is being said. At the Clergy Meeting this afternoon they kept talking about youth. It was good to hear what they are doing for us.%26#8221;The proceedings were a little boring to Jameson Hall, 15, of Pioneer Memorial United Methodist Church, but he enjoyed hearing about his church and learning more about the issues. %26#8220;I was volunteered to do this and didn%26#8217;t know what I was getting into,%26#8221; he said. %26#8220;But it was cool.%26#8221;Sara Tenison, 18, of Sequoyah United Methodist Church is attending her first Annual Conference. %26#8220;The way the meetings are held is different than I expected. I didn%26#8217;t know how they%26#8217;d hear the ideas of so many people. I like the microphones and the way they listen.%26#8221;
Also from Sequoyah UMC is Henry Darnell, 15, who described himself as %26#8220;lighted up about mission%26#8221; after going to Ozark Mission Project in the summer of 2009. %26#8220;I am a voting delegate and I%26#8217;ve been taking a look at the resolutions. The only one I%26#8217;ve decided about so far is about homosexuals being denied membership. I don%26#8217;t think they should have rights taken away because of their sexual orientation; so I%26#8217;m going to vote for referring this back to the Judicial Council.%26#8221;Katy Baldridge of Goddard United Methodist Church and Aaron Lensing of Greenwood United Methodist Church are both involved in the Wesley Foundation at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. They served communion at the opening worship service, the first time either of them had had the privilege of helping with the sacrament.%26#8220;When I said, %26#8216;This is the blood of Christ, shed for you%26#8217; it was definitely a special experience. You could feel the atmosphere,%26#8221; said Baldridge. Mary French Wynne, 14, helped create a banner for her church, First United Methodist Church in Fordyce. Emily Coates, 13, was bearer for the banner at the Sunday evening worship service %26#8220;It is important for people to know my church is a part of the Conference,%26#8221; Coates said.Manning the booth for the Youth Service Fund was Max Hocott, 16, from Asbury United Methodist Church in Little Rock. He was selling T-shirts and blankets to raise money for the fund to send youth groups on missions. %26#8220;I hope I can be a delegate next year,%26#8221; he said. Especially interested in missions, Hocott is considering a call to the ministry.Taylor Skinner, 17, of Clarendon United Methodist Church made the official report to Annual Conference as the Vice President of the Arkansas Conference Council on Youth Ministries. She reviewed the six youth Conference-wide events managed by the council and said the Youth Service Fund which raised $7,000 in grants this year.%26#8220;I live in a small town, and I don%26#8217;t have a big youth group at my church,%26#8221; said Skinner. %26#8220;Conference youth events are who I am and what keeps me going on my path to Jesus. I encourage all churches to get involved with District and Conference events.%26#8221; Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:07:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_youth_experience_of_ac_mostly_positive.php http://www.arumc.org/n_congolese_bishops_goal_100_wells_in_100_villages.php Heather HahnFor the Arkansas United MethodistBishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo grew up pagan in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. At his father%26#8217;s bidding he used to periodically sacrifice large chickens to two household idols. His grandfather, he said, was a %26#8220;witch doctor.%26#8221;%26#8220;You can see how far we were from Christianity,%26#8221; he said.The Methodist education he received in high school, he said, was what transformed his faith %26#8212; and his life. He began regularly attending church services, joined a Christian youth group and read the works of Martin Luther King Jr., who introduced him to Jesus%26#8217; command to %26#8220;love your enemies.%26#8221;In a country long torn by war %26#8212; first against Belgian colonizers and then among local tribes %26#8212; the idea of loving one%26#8217;s enemy was a revelation.%26#8220;I gave my life over to Christ,%26#8221; Ntambo said. %26#8220;I asked God to let me become a pastor so I could preach the Word of God to my people. This is how I became who I am.%26#8221;Today, Ntambo, 62, is bishop of Congo%26#8217;s rapidly growing North Katanga Annual Conference and a widely respected senator in Congo. He is also a peacemaker, who was recently recognized by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding for his role in ending hostilities between a rebel militia and the Congolese government. Ntambo was the guest preacher at this year%26#8217;s Annual Conference in Hot Springs. He came, in part, to share his gratitude for the aid the Arkansas Conference to Congo%26#8217;s development and to discuss his home community%26#8217;s still critical needs. Bishop Charles Crutchfield described Ntambo and his wife %26#8220;Mama Bishop%26#8221; Nshimba Nkulu as %26#8220;an enormous force for good in the lives of the United Methodist Church and in the building of the Kingdom of God.%26#8221;In the 50 years since Congo gained its independence from Belgium, the number of United Methodists in the country has grown from some 60,000 to more than 500,000 members. Ntambo expects North Katanga%26#8217;s membership to triple in this quadrennium. United Methodist conferences throughout Africa report similar growth at a time when most U.S. conferences, including Arkansas, are struggling to reverse of longtime trend of declining church membership and attendance. Ntambo attributes the growth in part to ministerial outreach and active youth ministries. Daily, he said, church members have activities in town or at the church to reach people. Another contributor to growth, he said, is the church%26#8217;s charitable outreach. The church provides comfort to the grieving, food to the hungry and ministry for those in prison.%26#8220;We all are human beings, and if we are touched by kindness, it can change your heart,%26#8221; he said. The global United Methodist Church also is taking a lead role in helping to develop Congo, including providing education, clinics, agricultural assistance and even bridges. The benefits of these advances in infrastructure aren%26#8217;t limited to just United Methodists.The Arkansas Conference has been a partner in that development.Since 2006, the Arkansas Conference has provided Bibles, bicycles and support to dig 26 water wells. The wells now cost $8,000 each. At Annual Conference, Arkansas United Methodists presented the bishop with $35,000, enough for four more wells. At the gathering, Ntambo shared his goal that 100 wells would be constructed in 100 villages in North Katanga within two years. %26#8220;Water is life,%26#8221; Ntambo said in an interview. %26#8220;With all the rain we have, we have no clean water. %26#8230;We have a lot of children and adults who die of cholera or typhoid.%26#8221;Since the construction of water wells in various communities, Ntambo said fewer people are dying. Also, more girls are going to school rather than traveling to collect water far from home.%26#8220;The water wells provided by Arkansas I can say are saving the life of millions of people,%26#8221; he said. %26#8220;They bring hope. They bring a clean body as well as a clean spirit.%26#8221;To learn ways to help the North Katanga Annual Conference, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.northkatangaumc.org/" www.northkatangaumc.org/.Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:07:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_congolese_bishops_goal_100_wells_in_100_villages.php http://www.arumc.org/n_wilson_was_heart_of_the_church_says_pastor.php Heather HahnUnited Methodist News ServiceHOT SPRINGS %26#8212; Few places were as meaningful to Lillian Wilson as Central United Methodist Church just outside Wynne.She was baptized and married there. She made sure the communion elements were always prepared each month and recently started teaching Sunday school to help out while the church%26#8217;s longtime teacher recovered from a stroke.And on Sunday morning, June 6, the 80-year-old retired nurse was in the church to finish assembling disaster relief buckets and health kits for collection at the denomination%26#8217;s Arkansas Annual Conference meeting, which started that night.It was her last act of servanthood. She was found beaten to death in the church sanctuary that afternoon.Investigators with the sheriff%26#8217;s office in Cross County were still searching June 8 for two suspects in Wilson%26#8217;s death. Her pastor, Dixon Platt, said authorities believe the murder weapon was the cross the church kept on its communion table.Platt went to check on Wilson when she didn%26#8217;t show up for worship Sunday at nearby Ellis Chapel United Methodist Church. The congregation of about 20 alternates worship each Sunday between Ellis Chapel and Central Church.The pastor discovered Wilson%26#8217;s body about 12:30 p.m. June 6 beneath an overturned pew. Her purse and car were missing.Wilson died doing what she loved to do, Platt said, and that was serving God.%26#8220;Lil %26#8212; everyone called her Lil %26#8212; was the heart of the church,%26#8221; he said. %26#8220;Lil just very quietly, very unassumingly lived out her Christian faith and encouraged others to do the same.%26#8221;In a church of mostly retirees, Wilson did almost every kind of ministry at some point. In addition to teaching Sunday school, she was the church treasurer and its staff-parish committee chair. %26#8220;Her church was everything to her,%26#8221; said Mary Anne Cruthirds, her friend and fellow church member. %26#8220;If ever I or anyone else needed help, she would be there.%26#8221;The Rev. Kurt Boggan, district superintendent, said Wilson spoke for the entire group when he met with members of Central and the two other churches in the charge last year to talk about what they were looking for in their next pastor. %26#8220;She said, %26#8216;We need a pastor who has a Methodist presence,%26#8217;%26#8221; Boggan recalled.A few months after Platt arrived, Wilson called Boggan to report on her new pastor. %26#8220;We%26#8217;ve got a fine one,%26#8221; she said.%26#8220;This is the kind of person she was,%26#8221; Platt said, %26#8220;My father died last year after I%26#8217;d only been here for a short while. Lil and another church member came to the funeral to give me comfort. That meant the world to me.%26#8221; Her devotion to following Christ%26#8217;s example extended beyond her local congregation.Central wasn%26#8217;t big enough to have its own United Methodist Women%26#8217;s group, so Wilson became active with the group at Wynne First United Methodist Church. On Communion Sunday each month, Wilson organized a collection of groceries at Central and Ellis Chapel for the food pantry at the larger Wynne congregation.She also volunteered as a greeter at Cross County Hospital and helped out at the local animal shelter. She had a sign that said %26#8220;We Love Animals%26#8221; outside her home, Platt said.Still in shock, her fellow church members gathered on Sunday to pray and weep together. They met outside the church, which was covered in yellow police tape.Arkansas Area Bishop Charles Crutchfield asked those gathered for annual conference on June 7 to pray for Wilson and the many in her community who loved her.%26#8220;This is a tragic moment for a wonderful woman devoted to the life of the church and building God%26#8217;s kingdom, a woman who had been the heart and soul of her church,%26#8221; Crutchfield said in an interview. %26#8220;At moments like this, we ask %26#8216;Why? Why?%26#8217; And there is no real answer to that question,%26#8221; he said. %26#8220;But I do know the question we need to ask is who do we trust in a moment of tragedy, in a moment so inexplicable. I think our answer would be her answer: Trust the Lord through high points and low points, through good times and through the valley of the shadow of death. In the wake of this tragic death, that%26#8217;s who we all have to trust.%26#8221;Hahn is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:07:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_wilson_was_heart_of_the_church_says_pastor.php http://www.arumc.org/n_episcopal_address_arkansas_annual_conference_.php EPISCOPAL ADDRESS Arkansas Annual Conference June 7, 2010I want to share with you a grainy, gritty image of the past. The Times, They Are A%26#8217; Changing %26#8211; Bob Dylan singing.As a child of the 60%26#8217;s I listened to the nasal twang, the harmonica and guitar of Bob Dylan, and I%26#8217;ve always liked this song. It fit the spirit of the age, and unlike many of the songs and ballads and words of protest and prophesy out of the 60%26#8217;s, it is still relevant. We are in rapidly changing times. The old verities shift. It is a different world. To say it is a new and dangerous world is to state the obvious. As we focus on the theme of %26#8220;Imagine Ministry,%26#8221; there is a metaphor/Biblical Text that serves as a background for the Episcopal Address today. You know it well. It is the story of Moses leading the children of Israel into the desert across the Red Sea and into the Wilderness of Sinai. They were in the wilderness for a long, long time. On more than one occasion they would murmur and complain that Moses led them into the wilderness to die. They would prefer slavery in Egypt to the unknown and uncomfortable world of the wilderness. They would prefer the %26#8220;fleshpots%26#8221; of Egypt and the bread of Egyptian ovens to the uncertainty of manna from an unknown source. Like the old story of the lion who escaped from the local zoo, only to be found pacing back and forth in front of a five foot fence, a fence it could have easily jumped. So, also the children of Israel. The lion was programmed into its patterns of behavior from the past. To pass through the wilderness, the Israelites would have to change their perspective and way of thinking and acting. It would call for more than a corporate change %26#8211; it would require deep personal transformation.We share the wilderness experience of the Children of Israel. The Church, the United Methodist Church and our Church in Arkansas are in a land we know not, a culture that is rapidly changing, a world for which we in the church were not prepared to engage, nor for which most of us were trained. Our patterns of behavior no longer resonate.This wilderness experience is a time of great change. While the Gospel truths to which we strongly hold are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, the way in which we communicate the Gospel, the ways in which we live out the gospel, the manner of personalizing our own gospel experience must change or it will fall on deaf ears. The ways in which we %26#8220;do%26#8221; church, %26#8220;are%26#8221; church -- the ways in which we articulate the Gospel must learn from our new and strange environment. Like God%26#8217;s challenge to Moses and the Israelites to choose life or death, we will either choose life giving deep change or we will experience slow death. Someone has said that for the kind of deep change we envision, we need the %26#8220;courage to walk naked into a land of uncertainty.%26#8221; Where we find ourselves in this story is not so much about the way out of the wilderness, but about how we pay attention to the landscape of the wilderness and how we are reformed and renewed by what we encounter. In late 2008 and early 2009, discussion began to pop up across the annual conference about our future and how to face it. All the discussions, though varied in both depth and detail, acknowledged that we need to experience a transformation in the way we do church in Arkansas. We can no longer do as we have done in the past if we are to reverse the decline of vitality and the loss of energy and passion in our church. Our purpose, %26#8220;To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world,%26#8221; will become a laudable, but laughable tag line if we do not experience deep change in the life of our conference.The Imagine Ministry Team was formed, but not to fix all our problems or tell us how to do solutions. Rather we have secured an insightful consultant. (You will hear from Gil Rendle later today.) We have been intent on gathering information, raising questions and creating the context for conversation that recognizes that God is doing a new thing in our midst, something dramatic is happening %26#8211; as it did at Sinai; and we now need to decide how we will respond. As we move forward, the change of which I speak is not about rearranging the office chairs in the conference office or reducing the shared ministry giving. On our journey I suspect the conference will deal with structural and financial issues, but the real issue before us is not structure, and it is certainly not money. The issues are much more profound and fundamental. It is how we will view and deal with the wilderness/world in which we live and through which we are moving. It is how we confront our fears and hopes and opportunities. It is about our attitudes, our understanding of who we are %26#8211; clergy and laity. Will we be bound by the past or use it as a spring board into the future. Will we pace back and forth in front of a fence or will we jump over it into a new life. It is about personal and corporate deep change that is both risky and transforming.Through four regional meetings involving over 1600 clergy and laity the Imagine Ministry Team has invited all the local churches of our conference into a conversation and a time of discernment and discussion. We have shared data, some of which is very stark and not very pleasant. The first step into the future is to look at the hard facts of the present and the past. The second step is to let go of the past in order to embrace a positive future. To that end, we have commissioned a staff and structure assessment to analyze what we are doing now. Local churches have been invited into the conversation around three critical questions the results of which you will return today. In a few minutes Susan Ledbetter will invite you into a conversation about the central values and strengths of our conference in an annual conference-wide discernment process.It is interesting that as we have moved through this year, as we have held the regional meetings, as we have had local churches doing their homework, we have heard the voices of both hope and fear, of cynicism and expectation. Others have simply refused to join the conversation. Groups have coalesced, conversations have transpired. Some say, %26#8220;Go for it.%26#8221; While others say, %26#8220;Cut the budget and go back to business as usual. It is exactly what you would expect to hear in the wilderness. In essence, there are folks who are saying, %26#8220;Let us go back to Egypt, at least we will die in comfort.%26#8221; While others say, %26#8220;Let us take the risk, ask the hard questions about who we are and who we can yet become, let us go up and take the promised land. We are able!%26#8221;What really excites me in all this, are the signs of hope. Churches have written to me with excitement about the conversations in their administrative councils. Individuals have spoken of hope restored. One young pastor wrote: I really thought the Imagine Ministry meeting would be one more silly waste of money and an institutional %26#8220;hoop%26#8221; to have to go attend and jump through. I thought it was ridiculous that you required us to be there; but, I stand corrected. I just wanted to say that I thought the presentation was very well done. I was thoroughly intrigued by it%26#8230;.I am very impressed by the conversation that you have started%26#8230;.It seems there is an inherent skepticism in my mind for authority unless that particular authority is proven to be worth respecting. I suppose my generation has just seen such a break down in %26#8220;authorities%26#8221; in our lifetime and in history that we are scared to blindly put our trust in someone or something%26#8230;I smiled when I left the meeting last Sunday.%26#8221; I am excited not so much by the kind words, but by the underlying hope that we can, and indeed, must cross all the artificial boundaries that separate us if we are to navigate the wilderness.And new forms of ministry are beginning to bloom. For example, we are just beginning to utilize a new style of ministry in special situations - Transitional Intentional Interim Ministry. Mt. View Church had been served long and well for 18 years by Rev. Steve Johnson. The church was not in crisis. He was to be appointed to First United Methodist Church, Hope, Arkansas at the first of the year. It would be an opportunity for the cabinet to facilitate a transitional intentional ministry that would bring a pastor, Dr. Ed Matthews, with specialized training to a church for a designated period of time as the congregation made the challenging transition from an 18 year pastorate to a new pastor. It would be an opportunity to work through the grief and to re-examine who and what the church was all about. Listen for a few moments as Missy Irvin speaks of their experience. The wilderness is not a stable place. It is filled with all kinds of questions, some already asked, others yet to be articulated. But if we are to cope with it and continue the journey through it, deep change will be required of us. What excites me is that there is a very real and palpable movement toward the realization that deep change is possible. For me, and this is very personal, I think this involves finding our value before God and in the Kingdom of God as related not to size of congregation or building, or salary, or conference position, but in the satisfaction that we are part of a team that is bringing people to Christ. It is not about my status, it is about our effectiveness. It is about leaving the comfortable fleshpots of Egypt and our self-absorbed attitudes behind. Frankly, some will resist. Others will wait for someone to tell them what to do, then complain they don%26#8217;t want to do it. There will be the cynics and nay-sayers. There will be those who are in deep denial about the need for any change. But we are realizing that there is no silver bullet that will immediately fix all our problems, whatever the problems are. There is a dawning realization that we need to forget about what we know and discover what we need. There is an awakening that the most important issue before us is not the cost of the pension program and our health insurance, but whether or not we will once again become a movement through which the breath of the Holy Spirit will blow. We are beginning to understand that we can reinvent ourselves, and transform our church and rise to the future God is offering. The Arkansas Annual Conference has advantages. We have a high percentage of full member clergy under the age of 35. We are the envy of conferences all across the church because of the %26#8220;Connected In Christ%26#8221; process. We are blessed with an effective training process for new church development pastors. But most importantly, we have clergy and laity that refuse to be part of a dying church. The hard work is just beginning. But this is our time. We were born for this hour, for this day, for this week, for this year. God has given into our hands the gift of a precious opportunity. The choice is ours. God said, %26#8220;I place before you life and death.%26#8221; We can stay as we are and slowly die. We can embrace the risk of deep change and live. Choose life. Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:07:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_episcopal_address_arkansas_annual_conference_.php http://www.arumc.org/n_amy_forbus_named_editor_of_arkansas_united_methodi.php May 26, 2010 Amy Forbus of Carrollton, Texas, has been named editor of the Arkansas United Methodist, the official newspaper of the United Methodist Church in Arkansas. Currently the digital community builder for the United Methodist Reporter in Dallas, Forbus has 14 years of writing, marketing communications and United Methodist ministry experience. She will join the conference ministry team in August.%26#8220;We are excited to have Amy as the editor for the Arkansas United Methodist,%26#8221; said Martha Taylor, Director of Communications for the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church. %26#8220;Amy is coming home to the Arkansas Conference. A Hendrix graduate and lifelong United Methodist, she brings excellent writing skills and expertise in new media that will strengthen Conference communications today and in the future.%26#8221;Forbus, a Hot Springs native, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Hendrix in 1996. She began her career as a writer and account executive at advertising and technology agencies in Dallas. She worked for Leadership Network in Dallas, a church innovation and growth organization, and served as coordinator of program ministries at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Carrollton before joining theUnited Methodist Reporter staff.%26#8220;Amy rose to the top from a pool of several very qualified candidates,%26#8221; said Roy Smith, Director of Connectional Ministries. %26#8220;Her skill as a writer and reporter and her knowledge of the church at the local, conference and general levels is unmatched.%26#8221;Forbus%26#8217; expertise in both print and digital media will be extremely valuable as the conference engages a wide variety of audiences, Taylor added.Forbus will succeed Heather Hahn, who has taken a position with United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn. The Arkansas Conference communications team is led by Taylor and includes Forbus and communications coordinator Patrick Shownes. Arkansas United Methodist story ideas, news and information or questions may be directed to Martha Taylor, mtaylor@arumc.org, 501.324.8005 until Forbus joins the staff in early August. The Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church represents 132,000 members in 697 United Methodist congregations throughout the state. The mission of United Methodists in Arkansas is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Four areas of focus for United Methodists are starting new congregations, developing leadership, engaging in ministry with the poor and improving global health by eradicating malaria, HIV and tuberculosis. For more information, visit www.arumc.org. Wed, 26 May 2010 12:05:00 http://www.arumc.org/n_amy_forbus_named_editor_of_arkansas_united_methodi.php http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=158 09 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=158 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=159 09 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=159 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=161 17 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=161 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=160 11 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=160 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=162 18 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=162 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=163 24 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=163 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=164 24 August 2011 12:08:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=164 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=165 01 September 2011 12:09:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=165 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=166 02 September 2011 12:09:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=166 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=167 08 September 2011 12:09:00 http://www.arumc.org/k_jobdetails.php?jobId=167