The United Methodist Vol. 40, Issue 21 / May 23, 2012 NEWSCOPE THE WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR UNITED METHODIST LEADERS

Episcopal Areas Share Goals for Vital Congregations During evening worship Apr. 30 of General Conference, Washington Area John R. Schol and the Rev. Amy Valdez Barker provided an update on the work of the Vital Congregations initiative. Included in the presentation were Vital Congregation goals for each episcopal area. The vision for fruitfulness includes The UMC having 648,626 new disciples worshiping weekly; 794,074 new disciples professing their faith; disciples growing through 443,952 small groups; 806,770 disciples serving God through mission in their communities, in their regions and all around the world; disciples giving $3.6 billion to missional ministries for God’s mission in this world. See the full list of goals at the Vital Congregations website, www.umvitalcongregations.org. According to Bishop Schol, Vital Congregations team leader: “Both congregations and set goals. Globally, 78 conferences participated the goal setting and 73% of the congregations in the United States participated. They were presented at General Conference as a gift to God and a covenant to work to- gether as UMs to grow and sustain more highly vital congregations. “This is significant because this is the first time that so many conferences and individual congregations have participated in a common initiative. It was a collaborative effort of laity and clergy, conference leadership, gen- eral agencies and the Council of . The goal-setting initiative will help congregations focus their efforts on making new disciples, growing worship attendance, forming more small groups, engaging disciples in mis- sion, and increasing our giving to mission. It also binds the annual conferences together in a common commit- ment to work together in resourcing our congregations to become more vital. “Key to achieving the goals is implementing the 16 drivers of vitality. A resource for implementing these drivers may be found on the website. The Vital Congregations team will provide regular resources and evaluation tools to annual conferences to assist their congregations. Churches are also encouraged to input their progress and stories on the vital signs website. We will also form a group of up to 15 conferences who are willing to work together to learn and resource their congregations to implement the 16 drivers of vitality. These conferences will be our pacesetters and offer ideas and resources to the entire denomination.” Valdez Barker, Vital Congregations project manager, offers her hopes for the project: “I hope leaders across the church will envision a hope-filled future as a healthy, vital congregation, multiplying disciples who are living transformed lives in light of their relationship with Christ .” —Newscope

[With this issue, Newscope begins its coverage of the 2012 Annual Conferences. As space permits, reports are published in the order in which they are received. Numbers supplied by conference staff are unaudited.] Provisional Annual Conference “To Be a Church Together” was the motto of the meeting of Bulgaria Provisional Annual Conference, which was held Mar. 30–Apr. 1, in Pleven/Bulgaria. More precisely this area will be called Bulgaria/Romania Provisional Annual Conference in the future, because “to be a church together” is also manifested in the reality that The UMC in Romania, which was established in September 2012, belongs to the Methodist work in Bulgaria. Rares Calugar, local pastor in Cluj, Romania, was officially commissioned for this service. He is supported by active lay people, who carry on—voluntarily or par- tially employed—the faith-sharing and serving ministries in the villages around Cluj. Personal insights and the witness of people involved with partnerships of local churches in Bulgaria, and the USA, as well as an impressive life testimony from Corneliu Goia, the lay delegate from Romania, ex- pressed in various ways and languages what it means to be on the move together. All members and guests were thus encouraged to continue serving Christ and his people in the local churches. During the last year the local churches in Bulgaria have been combined to larger charge conferences under the leadership of ordained elders (currently there are six) and the superintendent. This structure has proved to be a helpful source of mutual encouragement, and in these new charge conferences the larger churches can strengthen the ministries in the small village churches by sending volunteers. The ministry with children and youth in Mizia and Voyvodovo was one of the examples presented to the conference. The fact that The UMC in Bulgaria is slowly but continuously growing—both in regard to membership and finan- cial contributions—was a reason for joy and gratitude. Growing financial contribution is a remarkable achieve- ment given the poor economic condition of the country. —Office of Bishop Patrick Streiff, Zurich/ Provisional Annual Conference About 55 members and guests participated in the annual meeting of Hungary Provisional Annual Conference, which was held Apr. 11–14, in Szeged/Hungary. The past year with its many challenging questions regarding the state recognition of The UMC in Hungary of- fered a number of opportunities to think about the annual motto of The UMC in Hungary, and to live it: “Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction, Faithful in Prayer” (Romans 12:12). All these questions and the involvement with this motto were once again present in Szeged, and the leaders gave thanks to God and to other churches and Christian organizations both in Hungary and abroad for the joyful result of the varied efforts. The new annual motto, “The Church’s One Foundation Is Jesus Christ!” emphasizes very clearly that the foun- dation of The UMC in Hungary is not its state recognition. Conscious focus on the true foundation of the church should thus lead to the question how The UMC in Hungary can mobilize more energy and strengthen the local churches so they can reach out to people beyond their borders, to share God’s love with them and to help them growing as disciples of Christ. The conference acknowledged with gratitude that local giving in the churches slightly increased last year and that the charge conferences, which had been in debt with the church headquarters, could be almost completely self supporting. In the coming year, apportionments are expected to increase by 5%; however, since the in- crease of the overall budget will be even larger, the bottom line will show a reduced percentage of self-financing. Another joyful event was the admission of Bence Vigh as probationary pastor and the presentation of a new candidate for the ordained ministry: Kristof Sztupkai. The fact that a new generation of young, gifted and com- mitted men and women in the UMC in Hungary are willing to take responsibility is a reason for gratitude and hope. —Office of Bishop Patrick Streiff, Zurich/Switzerland GBPHB Center for Health Releases Clergy Health Survey Results The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits’ (GBPHB) Center for Health today released the results of its annual clergy health survey. The survey builds on the Center’s clergy health research conducted for the Church Systems Task Force (2010–11). Key findings confirm that when it comes to health and fitness, UM cler- gy have more work to do in order to approach national standards. Nearly 2,000 clergy responded to the 100-question online survey, representing a cross-section of active UM clergy by jurisdiction, gender, race/ethnicity and clergy type. Multiple dimensions of health (physical, emotion- al, social and spiritual) and the vocational setting were covered. The incidence of physical conditions, including high cholesterol (54%), borderline hypertension (11%), asthma (16%) and borderline diabetes (9%) are higher than comparable benchmarks (matching clergy demographics). Those reporting to suffer from depression (6%) have an incidence twice that of comparable benchmarks. Within the ranks of UMC clergy, gender and racial differences were also reported, notably:  Men are more at risk for cardio-vascular disease and diabetes  Women experience greater occupational stress and are at a higher risk for joint and muscle diseases  African-American clergy have a higher risk for hypertension and obesity, but exhibit lower rates of depression and stress  Asian clergy are healthier on several measures, including weight, arthritis and asthma The resulting data will be used by the Center for Health to monitor trends and needs, as well as to develop programs and services to support UM clergy in leading healthier lives—for themselves, their families, their congregations and communities. Click here to read the complete survey report. Clergy health studies, articles and other recently-added re- sources are available at the Center for Health website. —GBPHB Twelve Annual Conferences to Lead Imagine No Malaria Imagine No Malaria announced on May 2 at General Conference the commitment of 12 annual conferences to support the denomination’s effort to end preventable malaria deaths in . The annual conferences are part of the “Vanguard Wave” of the ministry’s effort to raise at least $75 million. The Vanguard Wave of Imagine No Malaria features a balanced approach to engagement, with an emphasis on advocacy activities, major gift cultivation and local church participation. The following annual conferences have made the commitment to support Imagine No Malaria by planning ac- tivities and raising funds during 2012-13: Arkansas, Baltimore-Washington,  GLOBAL HEALTH  California-Nevada, Dakotas, Desert-Southwest, Holston, Iowa, Kansas East & Kansas West, Missouri, New York and Pacific-Northwest. To date, more than $20 million has been raised to support the fight against malaria. These funds are at work in Africa, providing more than 846,000 bed nets, establishing 12 health boards to ensure greater accountability of donor funds and training more than 5,000 local health workers since April 2010. The church’s mission has drawn widespread praise, most notably from philanthropist Melinda Gates during the World Malaria Forum sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in October 2011, Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer, head of the President’s Malaria Initiative, and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health. For more information, visit www.ImagineNoMalaria.org. —GBGM Methodists Open New Office in the Holy Land The UMC is increasing its ministry in the world with a new office in the Holy Land. Serving the global Methodist family, the office will expand current work and will in part be a base for educating Holy Land pilgrims about a range of Middle Eastern and Israeli/Palestinian issues. The General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) is develop- ing the Methodist liaison office in partnership with the British Methodist Church and the . Thomas Kemper, who leads GBGM, outlined the plans to directors at the semi-annual meeting in March. Ac- cording to Kemper the office will “embody our commitments to peace and justice and underscore our concern for the future of the declining Palestinian Christian community.” —Melissa Hinnen, GBGM Bishop Rueben Job Center to Transition Bob Duffett of Dakota Wesleyan University and Bishop Rueben Job of Brentwood, Tenn., have announced that the Bishop Rueben Job Center for Leadership Development will face a transition during the next year. The center will no longer use the Bishop’s name in its title. “We are so appreciative of Bishop Job for lending his name to this endeavor for the past 14 years,” said Duffett, president of DWU. Job is a retired bishop of the UMC and is a member of the center’s advisory board. He plans to shift his focus to initiatives in spiritual formation at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. “I wish Dakota Wesleyan well as they move forward in considering the opportunities for leadership development within the church,” said Job. Events scheduled for the next year will go on as planned, according to Duffett. Any obligations to the North Cen- tral Jurisdiction, which has helped to fund the center, will also be carried out. —Dakota Wesleyan University UMCOR Refugee Ministry Gets Boost Church World Service is partnering with the UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to provide leadership for UMCOR’s historic mission among refugees and immigrants. As ecumenical relations director, Jen Kilps, will help get UM congregations involved in resettling displaced refugees and immigrants, as well as identify local programs for them. Find more information online. —UMNS Joint Paper on Eucharist and Earth For the past four years, Florida Area Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker has served as co-chair of dialogue between the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and The UMC. In his blog, Whitaker details a paper he and Catholic Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., drafted on Holy Communion and ecological stewardship. “When we celebrate the Eucharist we join with the rest of creation in acknowledging our dependence on the Father,” says the paper, Heaven and Earth are Full of Your Glory: The Eucharist and Ecology. —UMNS It’s the Time of the Season for Meeting Now that the 2012 General Conference has ended, UM leaders across the nation turn to jurisdictional and an- nual conferences coming up this summer. The first U.S. annual conference sessions began May 17 in the De- troit and Eastern Pennsylvania annual conferences. The annual conference meetings wrap up in the United States with the Virginia Annual Conference session June 22–24. The first annual conference session in the central conferences was Feb. 2–6 in Eastern Angola. Based on current data, the central conferences annual conference meetings wrap up Dec. 14–16 with the East Zimbabwe session. U.S. jurisdictional conferences meet in July every four years, following General Conference. The main purpose of jurisdictional conferences, which involves twice as many U.S. delegates as General Conference, is to elect and assign new bishops. Fourteen U.S. bishops and two central conferences bishops will retire this year. The North Central, South Central and Western jurisdictions each will lose a bishop’s position, while the Congo Central Con- ference will gain a bishop. New U.S. bishops will be elected during jurisdictional conferences July 18–21. Central Conferences will meet at various dates ranging from August to December 2012, and will elect or re-elect six bishops. The Central and Southern Europe central conferences will not meet until March 2013, but they will not be electing a new bishop. The following bishops are retiring this year:  North Central Jurisdiction: Linda Lee, Wisconsin Conference  Northeastern Jurisdiction: Ernest S. Lyght, West Virginia Conference; Jane Allen Middleton, Central Pennsylvania Conference; Peter Weaver, New England Conference  South Central Jurisdiction: Charles N. Crutchfield, Arkansas Conference; William W. Hutchinson, Louisiana Conference; Ann Brookshire Sherer-Simpson, Nebraska Conference; D. Max Whitfield, Northwest Texas and New Mexico Conferences  Southeastern Jurisdiction: Alfred Wesley Gwinn Jr., North Carolina Conference; Charlene Kammerer, Virginia Conference; Timothy Whitaker, Florida Conference; Will Willimon, North Alabama Conference; Richard J. Wills Jr., Memphis and Tennessee Conferences  Western Jurisdiction: Mary Ann Swenson, California Pacific Conference  Central Conferences: Hans Växby, Eurasia Episcopal Area; Leo Soriano, Davao Episcopal Area Bishops are permitted to serve up to three consecutive four-year terms in one episcopal area. In each jurisdic- tion, a committee on episcopacy reviews the bishop’s work and character and proposes a new assignment. The Jurisdictional Conference then has the ability to accept or reject the assignment. Bishops elected at the 2012 Jurisdictional Conferences will begin their new assignments Sept. 1. —Emily Snell for UMNS Corrections: May 16 Issue of Newscope In the article, “Four Elected to Judicial Council,” Newscope reported that the Rev. J. Kabamba Kiboko, nominated from the floor, is a member of the Southern Congo Annual Conference. Kiboko is a member of the Texas Confer- ence. …...In the section on New Places for New People from the article “Four Areas of Focus Celebrated and Reaf- firmed,” Newscope reported Bishop Mike Lowry as stating that “more than half” of the new church starts were racial-ethnic. Bishop Lowry stated that “almost half” of new church starts were racial-ethnic. The actual statistic is 48%. …...Newscope regrets these errors and any confusion caused by their publication. —Newscope Forthcoming Events Deaf Kenya 2013: This short-term deaf mission and the third Global Methodist Missions Conference of the Deaf is scheduled for July 26–Aug. 10, 2013. Led by Carol Stevens ([email protected]) and Tom Hudspeth ([email protected]). Hosted by the World Federation of Deaf Methodists and sponsored by the UM Congress of the Deaf and the UM Committee on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministries. Personalia The Iliff School of Theology announces the departure of David Trickett, Iliff’s 13th president, effective May 16. Trickett has led Iliff since 2006. Albert Hernandez, chief operating officer, dean of the faculty, senior vice president for academic affairs, and associate professor of the history of Christianity, will assume the duties of the presidency on an interim basis. Positions Available Chapel Hill UMC in Wichita, Kansas is seeking a full-time director of Children’s Ministry (through grade 5). For a detailed job description or further information, contact Melissa Hanson ([email protected]). Resumes may be sent to the Rev. Jeff Gannon, senior pastor, at [email protected]. ……The General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) is seeking a director and organizer for Women’s Advocacy. A detailed job description is available at Director & Organizer for Women’s Advocacy. Send cover letter and resume by June 15 to the at- tention of Ms. Frances Roberts, GBCS, Human Resources #224, 100 Maryland Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002, or via email([email protected]).

Editor: Mary Catherine Dean Managing Editor: Barbara Dick Publisher: Neil M. Alexander NEWSCOPE, 201 Eighth Ave. So., Nashville, TN 37203; ISSN 1073-4910.

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