Lemonade Stand Revolution Supports Cass Community Social Services

Kids love setting up and hosting lemonade stands and the children of Birmingham: First United Methodist Church took it a step farther to start the Lemonade Stand Revolution.  In 2009, during Vacation Bible School, the children of Birmingham: First raised over $800 hosting neighborhood lemonade stands and repeated the results this year!   Ten-year old Tyler and seven-year old Mallory Bouque have been hosting lemonade stands for charity for the last four years.  Earlier this...

United Methodists Support a Student’s Dreams to Become a Nurse

  Kelsey Jordan, a lifelong United Methodist, figured out pretty early that she wanted to make a difference in the lives of children when she started volunteering at her church’s nursery.    Now a sophomore at the University of Central Oklahoma, Kelsey prepares for a dream career in pediatric nursing. She attributes much of her opportunity to learn and grow as a student to a scholarship she received from the United Methodist Church, funded in part by gracious donations...

World Communion Sunday: Thankful Student off to an Amazing Start

  College sophomore Jamiela Isaiah knows the value of an education and she is working hard her to earn it. Thanks to a scholarship through the World Communion Sunday Offering she is beginning her second year at West Virginia Wesleyan in Buckhannon where she is getting her bachelor’s in psychology.   “It has been a good first year. I made all A’s both semesters, made lots of friends, and found my niche at Chapel Hill United Methodist near campus. I was also...

Missionary Kristin Markay to Visit Detroit Conference in July

  The Rev. Kristin Chiles Markay, a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries, will be itinerating within the Detroit Conference from July 9-13 to make presentations about her ministry in Italy. Markay, one of the missionaries in a covenant relationship with the Detroit Conference, has been serving as a GBGM missionary with her husband, the Rev. David Markay, since 1996.   Markay currently serves with her husband, David, as pastors of the Italian Methodist...

Swartz Creek UMC Named 2010 Culture of the Call Church

The Foundation for Evangelism recently recognized Swartz Creek United Methodist Church as the first-ever recipient of the Culture of the Call Church Award. This annual award recognizes one local congregation of The United Methodist Church with a history of helping young people 35 or younger experience God’s call to full time Christian service as a result of affiliation with that church.   Swartz Creek UMC has a history of sending people into the ministry. The pastor and church...

Detroit Conference Honored For Haiti Relief Efforts

  The Detroit Conference has been recently honored by the General Board of Global Ministries for its efforts in the relief efforts in Haiti. Below is a letter received by Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton offering gratitude to the conference for its generosity:   Dear Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton,   Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  As the presidents of the General Board of Global Ministries, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and The...

New Research Indicates Child Mortality Rates Declining Worldwide

A new study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington published today in The Lancet medical journal reports that the number of deaths of children under age five decreased from 16 million in 1970 to 11.9 million deaths in 1990 to 7.7 million deaths in 2010.   The study examined the decline in death rates of children under five in 187 countries from 1970 to 2010 using data from all available sources. Improvement in the under-five mortality rate...

Change the World Success Leads to 2011 Event

  More than 100,000 people from over 1,000 churches united with a common purpose over a 48-hour period:  to make a world of difference in ways both large and small. United Methodists from 13 countries and every state in the U.S. energetically worked to build community locally and fight malaria globally during Change the World weekend, April 24-25, 2010.   Congregations at local churches rolled up their sleeves and took to the streets to feed the hungry, aid the homeless, visit...

North Central Jurisdiction names new Korean mission superintendent

Chicago, Ill. – Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, chairperson of the North Central Jurisdiction Korean Mission, has appointed Rev. Hoon Kyoung Lee as a Korean mission superintendent of North Central Jurisdiction. Ratified by the North Central Jurisdiction Council of Bishops and the Detroit Annual Conference, Rev. Lee will serve as a Korean mission superintendent from July 1, 2010, to 2012 for the remaining appointive period and carry out the parish ministry as a senior pastor of the local church....

Council of Bishops Announces Constitutional Amendments Voting Results

The United Methodist Council of Bishops announced today that only 6 of 32 amendments to the church’s constitution passed by the 2008 General Conference have been ratified by the annual conferences. The ratified amendments will become effective immediately.   The process for amending the Constitution of The United Methodist Church requires a two-thirds majority vote of General Conference delegates. Annual conferences must then ratify the amendments by a two-thirds affirmative vote....

Research Shows Support for Four Areas of Focus

Research conducted by United Methodist Communications on behalf of the Connectional Table reveals widespread denominational support for the Church’s four Areas of Focus, adopted by the 2008 General Conference.   “The research shows that most respondents believe that the Areas of Focus are very important for the church,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications.  “But we also heard that knowledge about the areas is still...

Conference Churches Invited To Change The World

Change the World, a denomination-wide event, is taking place on Saturday-Sunday, April 24-25. All United Methodist Churches are encouraged to participate in the event to make a difference by building community locally and fighting malaria globally. For churches in the Detroit Conference that are interested in participating in the event, information about Change the World and the various ways to participate can be found below. Build Community Locally During the weekend of April...

Peace with Justice Offerings changes lives of Liberia’s ex-children soldiers

Frido Kinkolenge, a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries and the EmK Weltmission (United Methodist Church in Germany), is the Director of the Children’s Ministries in the UMC Liberia Annual Conference as well as the EmK Weltmission Children’s Project Manager in Liberia.    Mr. Kinkolenge’s focuses on working with the Liberia ex-combatant children’s ministry. This ministry helps former child soldiers to be reintegrated into the community and...

Shockley to Head New Church Development in the U.S.

From the General Board of Discipleship   The Rev. Gary Shockley has been named executive officer for New Congregational Development in the U.S. for the General Board of Discipleship (GBOD), where he will be leading the Path 1 Team, effective July 1, 2010.    Bishop Lindsey Davis, chair of the Path 1 Team; Bishop Charlene Kammerer, president of GBOD’s board of directors; and Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, General Secretary of GBOD, made the announcement.   Shockley,...

AU Graduate Earns Ph.D. in the U.S., Returns to Alma Mater to Teach

Fall 2009   by Karen Williams   Many of Africa’s top scientists are leaving their country to live and work in developed countries. Bucking the trend of brain drain from Africa is Dr. Walter Manyangarirwa. An Africa University graduate and lecturer in Entomology and Plant Pathology, Manyangarirwa returned to his native Zimbabwe to give back after earning his Ph.D. in the United States.    In August 2005, Manyangarirwa took a study leave to enroll in the Ph.D....

Central Conference Pension Initiative Visits Define $25 Million Challenge Goal

by United Methodist Communications   Nashville, Tenn. – For the Rev. Charles Horace, a retired Liberian pastor, life without a pension was a daily struggle. He recalls weeks in which he would “just live on water” for two or three days.   But through the Liberia pension fund, Horace now receives a quarterly pension benefit made possible by gifts to the Central Conference Pension Initiative (CCPI). “If I were not a United Methodist pastor, who would have...

Black student leaders hopeful for Haiti’s recovery

By Ciona D. Rouse   If New Orleans can recover from Hurricane Katrina, there is hope the people of Haiti will find new life after the massive earthquake that struck Jan. 12.   “I feel hope for those people,” said Charlie Coleman, a student leader at Dillard University in New Orleans.    “I know that those people in Haiti right now are feeling like there’s lost hope and there’s nothing that can be done because it was a natural...

Dakotas and Minnesota to become new Episcopal Area in 2012

By Matt Kuzma, Northern Illinois Conference Director of Communications CHICAGO, IL – The United Methodist Church (UMC) North Central Jurisdiction (NCJ) College of Bishops announced its decision today on how it will reduce the number of episcopal areas from 10 to nine in 2012. Effective September 1, 2012, the Dakotas Annual Conference and Minnesota Annual Conference will be served by only one bishop, but maintain their current boundaries and structures. No other boundaries of annual...

United Methodists Unite to Change the World

Impact Your Community on April 24-25 United Methodists everywhere are encouraged to begin planning now to join in Change the World, a church-wide event on April 24-25 that prompts members to join with others in the community to make a difference locally and globally.    During that weekend, United Methodist churches are encouraged to create and participate in a service or fundraising event that helps effect positive and long-lasting change, whether it’s revitalizing a...

ABC To Air United Methodist Christmas Eve Service

from United Methodist News Service   ABC television affiliates nationwide will broadcast a United Methodist-produced Christmas Eve candlelight service on Dec. 24 and 25.    The hour-long broadcast was taped at First United Methodist Church of Dallas. The traditional service includes carols and Scriptures, and features a 100-voice choir, a brass and drum ensemble, and the church's pipe organ. The Rev. John Fiedler delivers the message, "I Am Bringing You Good...