Health, Funding Threaten Adult Education Center

They have helped low-income Nashville residents improve their future, but now Better Tomorrows Adult Education Center needs help to secure its future. This nonprofit organization offers free classes in literacy, GED preparation, and computer skills in order to help local residents in and around the Dickerson Road area further their education and increase their employment value. Yet soon it may be forced to close its doors due to health, relocation, and funding issues.

Better Tomorrows (BTAEC) is a nonprofit organization founded four years ago to help underserved Nashville adults earn a GED, increase literacy levels, and develop computer skills. The organization currently serves 75 students and plans to expand its operations to help serve the 68,000 Nashvillians without a high school diploma and the 20% of Nashvillians with low literacy skills, including 100 students on their waiting list (according to the 2000 U.S. Census). “We have just been inundated with people that want desperately to learn and improve their lives,” said co-founder Tammy Unruh. “Right now, we have 50 volunteer tutors that encourage students, provide one-on-one attention, and help remove as many barriers as possible to student success.”

BTAEC fills a desperate need for adult education services in East Nashville where almost half of all adults lack a high school diploma. Currently, they offer eight classes in GED, Literacy, and Computer Skills. Each class is free and provides a flexible schedule for students juggling education goals with hectic work and family responsibilities.

“You can tell they really care,” says GED student Anastasia Batey, “They’re always encouraging.” Vera Perry, yet another GED student, chimes in, “You get more one-on-one attention here. I’ve learned a lot.”

The center’s future plans had included the opening of Satellite Education Centers in other depressed areas of the city in order to reach a larger number of Nashville residents who need job training and literacy help. Progress was also being made toward moving into a facility that could accommodate more students, more computers, and more classrooms. Currently based out of the Ray of Hope Community Church on Meridian Street, the organization was looking forward to its eventual move across the street into Fountain Blue, a 6,000-square-foot historic home built in the 1840s by early Nashville settler James McGavock. The church, which owns the building, has generously leased the historic building to the non-profit organization for $1 a year. Plans are already underway to renovate Fountain Blue for Better Tomorrows, with volunteers pitching in and in-kind support offered by Sara Gillum Interiors and the Home Builders Association of Middle Tennessee. The additional space will allow for more classes to be taught and more students to attend.

Now, the organization and its innovative plans are in jeopardy as each co-founder faces radical life changes. Co-founder Mary Humber was recently diagnosed with cancer. While her treatment is going well, she still needs to continue to focus on her health and recovery. Tammy Unruh, the only other staff member, is moving to Kentucky as her minister husband transfers to a new church.

“The board would like to hire individuals to build on Mary and Tammy’s success,” says BTAEC board member Eddie Gwock, “but we are hampered by a serious shortage of funding despite generous donations from foundations and corporate sponsors such as Dollar General, Gannett and The Community Foundation.” For most of the four years of Better Tomorrows’ existence, Humber and Unruh have chosen to direct available funds toward meeting students needs before paying salaries. Therefore, funds must now be raised in order to hire a replacement staff as well as to continue the program expansion.

Better Tomorrows Computer Skills graduate and literacy tutor Larry Holt sums it up well, “If we have a literacy problem in this city, then places like this don’t need to be closing. It’s just going to keep the welfare system overloaded. A lot of people in this community are dependent on this program. I benefited from it, and now I’m turning around and helping someone else.” Batey agrees, “Their volunteers are so nice. It’s inspired me to find a place to volunteer my time.”

For more information about Better Tomorrows’ needs and how you can help, call Development Director and Co-Founder Tammy Unruh, 228-6525.

Some things YOU need to know about the need for Adult Education

In Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County:

68,000 adults aged 25 and over lack a high school diploma
5,000 youth aged 16 to 24 lack a high school diploma
80,000 adults reading at lowest level of literacy

Other Adult Education facts:

Individuals with a high school diploma or GED realize a 35% increase in median annual earnings over non-high school grads (Source: Occupational Outlook Quarterly: Spring 2002).

When adults enter literacy programs and improve their literacy skills, their children tend to have fewer nutrition and health problems, drop out of school less, and have fewer teen pregnancies, less joblessness, and less social alienation.
(Source: U.S. Adult Literacy Programs: Making a Difference, ProLiteracy America, March, 2003)

Agency awards $51,000 in Peace with Justice grants

The 11 grant recipients include a center that helps former Liberian child soldiers get a new foothold in life.


Akim Werkpewolo (center) enjoys playing games at a center for former child soldiers in Virginia, Liberia. A UMNS file photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.

A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*

United Methodist churches around the globe will use grants from the denomination's social action agency to promote peace, restore communities and work for economic justice.

Eleven projects from Los Angeles to Liberia will receive Peace with Justice grants totaling $51,000 from the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.

Funding for the grants comes from a churchwide offering taken by local churches on Peace with Justice Sunday, celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. It is one of six churchwide Special Sundays of The United Methodist Church. Annual (regional) conferences keep 50 percent of the offerings and the remaining funds are used for Peace with Justice grants administered by the agency.

In 2007, $301,357 was given to the Peace with Justice Sunday offering. The year before, the offering drew $306,905, an increase from $247,173 in 2005.

Projects for peace
Children once used "as channels for carrying out hatred across Liberia" gain a new perspective on life at the Brighter Future Children Rescue Center, operated by The United Methodist Church in Liberia. The project will receive a $5,000 grant to build its programs for former child soldiers ages 14-16. The children were "fed drugs and taught to murder," said Frido N. Kinkolenge, director of the Department of Children's Ministries, Liberia Annual Conference.

Youth exposed to violence in their communities and schools will get a chance to experience peace and learn leadership skills at the Youth Leadership Academy in Peacemaking in Los Angeles. The program is a ministry of United University Church in the California-Pacific Annual (regional) Conference. The $2,500 grant will be used for after-school and two-week summer peacemaking programs.

Other grants for 2008 include:
.Memphis Workers Center, a project of the Mid-South Interfaith Network for Economic Justice, Memphis, Tenn., $5,000. The center educates immigrants and native-born low-wage workers about workplace rights.
.Deep Roots, New Branches Initiative, Minneapolis, $5,000. Minnehaha United Methodist Church has developed an ecumenical affordable housing project for seniors and families in South Minneapolis.
.Haiti Solar Oven Project, Brookings, S.D., $5,000. The project focuses on placing solar ovens in the hands of the poorest women in the Western Hemisphere.
.National United Methodist Youth Fellowship in the Philippines, Out-of-School-Youth Program, $5,000. This program will provide alternative education to millions of Filipino youths ages 7-24 who are not in school and help reintegrate them into the formal school system.
.Strengthening Capacity Building for Peace and Justice, Riruta-Nairobi, Kenya, $5,000. This program provides health, psychosocial and legal assistance for women, girls and children who are victims of sexual and other forms of violence in the slums of Nairobi.
.Your Faith Matters, Wesley Foundation at University of California-Berkeley, $3,500. This .project is intended to reconnect faith and social justice by inviting students to participate in monthly group discussions, listen to guest lecturers from the community and serve in one to two volunteer projects in the course of the academic year.
.Healing the Harm with Restorative Justice, Sedalia, Mo., $5,000. The Sedalia Community Mediation Center was organized by the Wesley United Methodist Church to educate, promote and provide restorative justice services to Sedalia/Pettis County community.
.Give Peace a Chance in Israel-Palestine/Sharing Jerusalem USA, Lanham, Md., $5,000. The project engages local congregations in education and advocacy work for peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.
.Faith and Globalization of the Economy, Iliff School of Theology, Denver, $5,000. The funds will be used to develop a nationwide conference that addresses the intersection of the globalization of the economy and its impact on marginalized communities throughout the world.

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Chaplain works with prisoners on 'maximum' ministry

Corey Wagner, a prison inmate in Colorado, works on a pencil drawing of the beheading of John the Baptist. A UMNS Web-only video image.

A UMNS Report
By Jan Snider*

Corey Wagner will never be free again.

But the cold cinderblock walls and barbed wire that surround him have become his sanctuary.

"If life imprisonment is going to keep me worshipping God and changing lives, so be it."

With tattooed tears on his face, the 29-year-old Colorado inmate studies the intricate detail taking shape on a pristine piece of paper. He grabs a pencil stub and sharpens it by running it back and forth across torn scraps. Carefully, he places the needle-sharp tip on his evolving artwork.

As Wagner begins to draw, the texture of freshly hewed lumber emerges. He prays, "Father, this is your project. This is not mine. This is to glorify you in Jesus' name. I'm putting the pencils to the paper, and you guide my hand."

An image of a guillotine is his depiction of the beheading of John the Baptist. It is just one of many illustrations that he and other inmates have created for inclusion in the Maximum Saints devotional books edited by United Methodist prison chaplain, The Rev. Yong Hui McDonald.

"Amazing stories, powerful stories are coming out," says McDonald, chaplain of the Adams County Detention Facility in Brighton, Colo. "Jesus is right there and catching these people when they fall."

The Rev. Yong Hui McDonald is a United Methodist chaplain at the Adams County Detention Facility in Brighton, Colo. A UMNS photo courtesy of the Rev. Yong Hui McDonald.

After encouraging inmates to write their personal testimonies, McDonald saw the prospect of a devotional book to be shared within the prison community as well as beyond its walls. "When people start writing their stories, they will experience healing because God will help them to reflect what is missing in their lives," McDonald says.

Transformation Project
With the help of local United Methodist churches, the chaplain formed the Transformation Project: Prison Ministry and raised enough funds in 2005 to publish the first book of prisoners' spiritual reflections, Maximum Saints Make No Little Plans. Three years later, there are three volumes of Maximum Saints devotional books.

"When I say 'maximum saints,' that means they are using their gifts to the maximum to serve the Lord and help others," McDonald explains. Often, she discovers "saints" among the Christian inmate leaders who mentor other inmates and encourage them to share testimony or a creative expression of their spiritual journeys.

Her world of saints isn't limited to the incarcerated. Volunteers have embraced the project, and she has witnessed lives changing outside the prison. Laura Nokes Lang is just one of many United Methodist volunteers who raise money to print and distribute the Maximum Saints books to inmates across the United States.

Lang started visiting the prison after learning about McDonald's prison ministry. "I think that we're all prisoners in our own little cells," she says. "Sometimes we know it and sometimes we don't, but we're all captive somehow of something - some bad habit, some addiction, some relationship, and we don't know how to get out. These inmates have found a way out through God, and it's just wonderful."

When congregations read prisoners' testimonies and experience a harsh reality that is usually very distant from their own, they begin reaching out to inmates. At first, Lang says, it was frightening to visit the prison, but she found the inmates receptive and welcoming "because I was there to give them something from my heart."

Hard stories
Lang's pastor, the Rev. Kay Palmer-Marsh of Westminster United Methodist Church, says her Colorado congregation's involvement in prison ministry has open up the hearts and minds of parishioners.

"These are way beyond devotional stories," she says. "These are real-life stories of real-life people, not made up. The fact that I know that these are people who have done some sort of crime and now they are writing about it, it's incredible."

Wagner's own story is a hard one. The California native grew up in a broken home and joined a gang at age 11. He was incarcerated for the first time a year later. Never getting past sixth grade, he nonetheless earned his GED, but has spent much of his life in prison for offenses including burglary, assault and murder. He was sentenced in April to life without parole for the shooting death of another man more than two years ago.

"Maximum Saints Ordained by God" is the third devotional published by the Transformation Project: Prison Ministry.

The latest devotional book, Maximum Saints Ordained by God, is a collection of Wagner's art and stories. His stark revelations reveal his hidden wounds just as his divine drawings speak of the healing power of Christ. McDonald was never able to present Wagner a finished copy of his book in person because he was transferred to a state prison in Colorado after receiving a life-sentence for his crimes.

She reflects in the book's introduction that knowing this talented inmate has been a blessing. "When Wagner finishes his art for the Lord, an angel picks it up and takes it to Jesus, and there is rejoicing in heaven. We are created to give God glory with all we have and with all our gifts. Wagner is doing just that."

Proceeds from the book sales go back into Transformation Project, which also provides preaching and counseling in the prison and gives backpacks of supplies to inmates upon their release.

The Transformation Project: Prison Ministry is seeking 100 organizations or individuals willing to donate $10 a month to sustain the book ministry. McDonald is confident that there are many more Maximum Saints books to be written.

The Transformation Project is a nonprofit corporation and can be reached at 5209 Montview Blvd., Denver, CO 80207, or (303) 428-9293.

*Snider is producer for United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn.

House of the Carpenter gives hope to poor

A UMNS Report
By Chuck Long*

"I worry about the kids first," says Cora Lynn as she browses through rows of clothing racks. "Right now, it's not so good."

Lynn is on a mission. She is trying to find donated clothing and food for her children, and the House of the Carpenter has come to her rescue. "They always help," she says.

Based in Wheeling, W.Va., the House of the Carpenter was created in 1964 to help poor and disadvantaged people as a ministry related to the West Virginia Annual (regional) Conference of The United Methodist Church. The impact was immediate. Families with small children, the newly homeless and the elderly flocked to the two-room storefront on Wheeling Island.

Maple Newland selects clothing at the House of the Carpenter in Wheeling, W.Va. UMNS photos by Reed Galin.

On the second floor of its current and much larger location, the Rev. Jack Lipphardt, associate minister of the House of the Carpenter, looks away from his computer screen to gaze at the street below. "I see a city and a region of people that are in distress," he says.

West Virginia has a higher-than-average rate of poverty, leaving families like that of Barbara Riggle struggling.

"I get $52 in food stamps, so this helps a lot," says Riggle, a mother of three, as she scans the boys' clothing section at House of Carpenter. She also brings her family to the center for complimentary dinners twice a month. "This is about the only way I can get the kids what they need. I don't know what I'd do (otherwise), to be honest."

The ministry's list of needs continues to grow. On an average month in the mid-1970s, the center helped feed 50 families. Today, it helps feed more than 850 families. The organization also provides assistance to those having trouble paying for such essentials as rent, utilities, medical bills and transportation costs.

A goal for many organizations that assist the underprivileged is to provide food and shelter, but staff at the House of the Carpenter tries to look beyond those needs.

"We know the Band-Aid approach of providing food for someone provides an immediate response for a need," Lipphardt says, "but it doesn't solve the problem of why there's hunger, why there's no food in the house, why the children aren't doing well in school, why there are health issues. So we get involved in more long-range kinds of things, such as the creation of a health clinic."

More than 10,000 patients
The health clinic had a modest beginning but evolved quickly. "A free walk-in clinic was started in a Sunday school room and provided care to the working poor one day a week," he says. "It is now operating as a complete primary care center operating from three different sites. They have an active patient load of over 10,000 individuals."

Nurse practitioner Frances Smaltz examines Christine Siburt at the United Methodist-supported social services ministry.

The House of the Carpenter develops additional long-term programs exploring the root causes of hunger and poverty, and working to understand the health, education and human rights needs in communities. To pay for those, Lipphardt browses the Internet in search of grants.

"The need is up in this region. There's been a lot of industrial loss, a lot of job loss. People are getting older and can't make the contributions they once made."

Despite depressed economic times, Lipphardt remains positive, pointing to other success stories.
"One of the best ways to describe success is CAPE (Children And Parents in Education) that we combined with the school system," Lipphardt points out. "Project CAPE helps young parents finish their education while their children attend Head Start (the national program that promotes school readiness). The program was designed to help break the cycle of poverty."

Lipphardt is on a roll. "We have a large number of folks who are able to support themselves with new jobs as a result of the ministry of the church. They find their self-esteem and put their lives and families back together. They're not living in the mansion on the hill, but they're caring for themselves and taking care of the kids and, in some cases, even finding ways to cover college expenses for the kids. We're real proud of that."

Poverty is widespread
Discussing his passion for the House of the Carpenter, Lipphardt notes that poverty knocks on the door all too often. He feels compelled to counsel not just the oppressed but the fortunate as well.

"We as Christians can be pretty judgmental at times. There is not a face of what poverty looks like. It might be somebody sitting in the pew next to you in a pool of tears."

Downstairs from Lipphardt, another wave of less-fortunate people arrives to peruse fresh produce and search for clothes to take to their families.

Helping shoppers find what they need, House of the Carpenter organizer Ann Senkbeil observes, "It makes you aware of why we're here. It's not new clothes, but it's new to them. There are so many people that are very appreciative of what they get from here."

*Long is a freelance producer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Young adults explore social justice in nation's capital


Juliana Abe, a native of Côte d’Ivoire, is working at TransAfrica Forum on human rights issues.

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

WASHINGTON (UMNS)-Juliana Abe, a native of Côte d'Ivoire, is exploring a different culture and country while she works for the rights of Africans and African-American people around the world.

She is also enjoying getting to know her new "family" - The United Methodist Church.

Abe is one of 12 young people participating in the United Methodist Board of Church and Society's Ethnic Young Adults Summer Internship in the nation's capital. Young adults passionate about social justice and active in the denomination are selected annually from the church's five ethnic caucuses to participate in the summer intern program.

The 700,000-member Côte d'Ivoire church was formally received as a United Methodist annual (regional) conference at the 2008 General Conference, the denomination's lawmaking body, held in Fort Worth, Texas, April 23-May 2.

"We have different ways of worshipping in my country," Abe says. "We have very big choirs, lots of instruments, drums. ... African people like to dance during the service. It is not the same here in Washington."

Brothers and sisters
Abe is working at TransAfrica Forum, an African-American human rights and social justice advocacy organization that promotes diversity and equality in the foreign policy arena, according to its Web site. All the young adults in the intern program are placed in nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations in Washington, for two months.

"We are all different but we are all brothers and sisters in Christ," she said. Abe is a doctorate student at the University of Abidjan in Cocody, Côte d'Ivoire, and is active in the Cocody United Methodist Church.

Included in this year's slate of interns are young adults from Gambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Philippines. "This is the most international group we have had," said the Rev. Neal Christie, executive at the board. Christie oversees the interns and was an intern himself for the social action agency in 1984.

Jose Carlo G. dePano, a recent graduate from the University of the Philippines, said he is interested in seeing how problems are addressed in the United States so he can help his country gain social equality. He is active in The United Methodist Church in the Philippines.

"In the Philippines the government says we have equality, the government says we are in a democratic country, but there are a lot of political killings, a lot of poverty issues that are not resolved," he says. "They are offering short-term solutions for long-term problems." DePano is working in the Board of Church and Society's communications office.

Arianne Reagor, from Washington state, is learning about "making laws and harassing senators and Congress people," she says, laughing. She works with the Rebecca Project for Human Rights and is learning about how drug use affects families, schools and communities. She said she is also learning about the racism and sexism of the prison system. She attends George Fox University in Oregon.

Range of assignments
Other interns and their social justice assignments this summer include:
.Lakisha Lockhart, a student at Claflin University in South Carolina. She attends Trinity United Methodist Church in the North Georgia Annual Conference and is placed with the NAACP.
.Kelsey Williamson, a student at Sterling College in Kansas, works with People of the American Way.
.Melekaufusi Pepa, a student at the University of Hawaii Manoa. She represents the California-Pacific Conference and is working for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.
.Mayzara Garcia, a student at the Florida International University. She attends the Iglesia Metodista Unida de Coral Way United Methodist Church and is working for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
.Luke Eastin, a student at Illinois Central College. He is active in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference and works with the National Council of Churches with a focus on eco-justice issues.
.Jonathan Kim, a student at Emory University, Atlanta. He is from the North Georgia Conference and works with Jubilee USA.
.Ilunga Raissa Kiboko, a student from Central Methodist University. She works with the Faith and Politics Institute and represents the Iowa Conference.
.Aarendy Gomez, a student at Huntingdon College in Alabama. She is active in the Alabama-West Florida Conference and is placed with the Latin American Working Group.
.Joseph Aubee, the 2008 senior intern who works with the National Council of Churches and the Board of Church and Society. He is an African from Gambia, studying at Shepherd University in West Virginia. He represents the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Rare opportunity
The students are housed at United Methodist-related American University and attend church together every Sunday. They meet for weekly evening devotions and Bible studies. They will also travel to New York to visit the United Nations office of the Board of Church and Society.

In addition to their assignments, the interns participate in weekly seminars that explore issues that concern different racial ethnic communities.

"The EYA program has provided me with an opportunity that very few people are blessed to receive, which is the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people with different backgrounds and traditions, from different countries, and with different views," Lockhart said. "It allows us all to come together and focus on the one thing that binds us all together no matter what our age, ethnicity, or gender ... God."

* Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Tomato picker shares personal story at forum

Farm worker advocates Romeo Ramirez and Brigitte Gynther speak at the 2008 Young Adult Ecumenical Forum in Washington D.C. A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

WASHINGTON (UMNS)--The Coalition of Immokalee Workers was organized in Florida after a young migrant farm worker was brutally beaten when he stopped to get a drink of water while picking tomatoes.

Outraged, other farm workers marched to the tomato grower's home, carrying the young man's bloody shirt as a flag.

"We told him by beating one of us, he was beating all of us," said Romeo Ramirez, a farm worker who is now a member of the coalition.

More than 600 laborers marched that night in 1996, helping the workers to realize that there is power in organizing.

Ramirez shared his story with young adults gathered for the 2008 Young Adult Ecumenical Forum focusing on slavery and human trafficking in the 21st century. The June 12-15 forum was held at Wesley Theological Seminary, a United Methodist-related school in Washington. Also speaking was Brigitte Gynther with the group Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida, which has worked with farm workers in their battle to gain equal rights and fair pay.

Ramirez traveled to Immokalee, Fla., in 1996 to escape poverty in Guatemala after farm industry recruiters came to his village promising a better life. "They go to Mexico or other countries and say, 'Come with us, we have a great job for you,'" he said. "When they get them to Florida, they are sold to contractors."

Before organizing, many workers were not paid for their labor and often were abused by supervisors in the fields. When the workers first shared their stories with the U.S. Department of Justice, officials did not believe them.

"He won't tell you this, but Romeo risked his life to get evidence for the department," Gynther said, sharing that Ramirez went undercover to gather evidence against the growers. Six slavery rings have since been prosecuted and another is under federal investigation, according to Ramirez.

Making progress
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers now has more than 3,500 members and just reached an agreement with the fast-food chain Burger King to increase the pay for farm workers and make tomato growers abide by a "code of conduct" eliminating abuses against the workers. Yum! Brands and McDonalds also have agreed to pay one penny more per pound to the tomato pickers and to only use tomato growers who follow the code of conduct.

The first victory for the grassroots organization came in 2005 when Taco Bell agreed to improve working conditions for tomato pickers in Florida after four years of talks and boycotts. The United Methodist Church supported the boycotts.

The coalition now is working to get Subway, Whole Foods and Chipotle to agree to the same terms.

"During the Taco Bell boycott, it was just amazing to have that support from the church. It was really powerful," said Gynther, citing the support of United Methodist Bishop Timothy Whittaker, episcopal leader of the church's Florida Area. "It was so heartening to have him come to visit Immokalee and visit the farm workers."

Ramirez agrees. "It is good for us that The United Methodist Church is not only worried about the spiritual parts of our faith but also about the teachings of our faith," he said. "The United Methodist Church is a church that lives out their faith."

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Young adults address slavery, human trafficking

Workers harvest tomatoes at a farm in Immokalee, Fla., where low wages and poor conditions have prompted advocates to lobby for increased pay for farm laborers and protection from abuse. A UMNS photo by Scott Robertson.

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

WASHINGTON (UMNS)--Early on a typical summer morning, migrant farm workers are awakened by the grinding sound of a truck door sliding open.

Loaded into pickup trucks and driven to lush, green tomato fields, the workers toil from dawn to dusk in temperatures soaring into the 90s, filling and emptying 32-pound buckets of tomatoes.

If they pick two tons, they will make $50.

This scene is being played out daily in places like Immokalee, Fla., and other agricultural hubs in the United States. Farm workers lured to the U.S. with promises of jobs and a better life end up enslaved, living in locked U-Haul trailers or other sub-standard housing. Many are forced to work, robbed of their wages and subjected to abuse.

Romeo Ramirez, who came to Florida from Guatemala, has transformed himself from an abused farm worker to a champion for workers rights as a member of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

Ramirez told a gathering of young adults about his life and the horrors faced by farm laborers working long hours so that consumers can have tomatoes in their fast-food sandwiches and on the grocery shelves.

More than 40 young adults representing many faith groups attended the 2008 Young Adult Ecumenical Forum focusing on slavery and human trafficking in the 21st century. The June 12-15 event was held at Wesley Theological Seminary, a United Methodist-related school in Washington.

In addition to Ramirez, participants heard from members of grassroots organizations committed to ending human trafficking and modern slavery.

The Rev. Neal Christie, executive with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, opened the forum, telling the young people that "freedom cannot be separate from suffering.

"Slavery doesn't just happen over there. We are all connected to it. We all gain some privilege from this system of slavery," he said. "Every time I go to the supermarket, I am potentially fueling this boom of trafficking."

Christie said many people have stories "that are just under the surface."

"They work as child care providers. They work in the grocery stores. They are cleaning people's homes. You don't know their story. You don't know the slavery they have experienced until you start asking them questions."

A world without slavery
Human trafficking is the modern practice of slavery, said Kristen Brewer, site coordinator for the Polaris Project in Washington. The grassroots organization, formed in 2002 to fight human trafficking and slavery, is named after the north star that guided slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad in the 19th-century America.

Brewer explained what human trafficking means, who is involved and what steps can be taken to stop the practice.

Jen Joy McDaniel of the Not For Sale campaign describes atrocities faced by young women forced into prostitution. A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.
A trafficked person is anyone forced or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation, she said. All children under age 18 are considered trafficking victims even if no force or coercion is used. More than 200,000 American children are at risk of being involved in the sex industry each year, and an estimated 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked in the United States annually.

Worldwide, there are 27 million slaves today, according to David Batstone, author of Not for Sale. The U.S. Department of Justice has prosecuted slave-trade activity in 91 U.S. cities and in nearly every state. The Federal Bureau of Investigation projects that the slave-trade industry generates $9.5 billion in revenue each year.

Some women end up as sex slaves through false job offers. Others are literally kidnapped from their front steps. Many are sold by their parents, boyfriends and husbands.

After undergoing a "seasoning" process of gang rape, beatings and threats, the victims are too afraid to escape or tell anyone what has happened to them, said McDaniel, coordinator for the Not for Sale campaign in Washington. "Only 10 percent of the offers of jobs abroad are legitimate," she said.

The key to stopping human trafficking is stopping the demand.

McDaniel shared video documentaries produced by the anti-slavery campaign in which young men talked about visiting prostitutes three or four times a week. Brewer said prostitution is often thought of as a "victimless" crime. "Calling someone a prostitute dehumanizes them," she said.

Brewer told the young people that the popular online service Craigslist is used by pimps to advertise sex slaves "because it is free." McDaniel said newspapers like The Washington Post run ads for "massage parlors" that are really fronts for sex slavery.

"That girl dancing in a strip club might be 15 years old, she might be beaten every day," McDaniel said. "Knowing that has to change the way you feel about 'harmless' entertainment."

Most of the time, women and children forced into the industry see 40 to 50 "clients" a day. "Pimps charge $30 for 15 minutes," Brewer said.

Dire consequences
"Behavior viewed as 'boys just being boys' has had destructive consequences far greater than anyone could have imagined," said Brian Shuve, a forum participant and a graduate student in Boston. "This is something we need to share with our friends, colleagues and people from our churches to really show we are in solidarity with the people fighting this."

After hearing the speakers, participants spent time in quiet Bible study in small groups. They also visited the African-American Civil War Memorial and went to see the Emancipation Statue in Lincoln Park.

"It is important to get the word out and let people know what human trafficking is--that it is not just out there but is here in our own neighborhoods," said Michelle Collins, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Collins was struck by the "empowering message" that one person can make a difference.

"We deceive ourselves into thinking migrant workers choose that job, that they are getting minimum wage," said Jeannie Sur, also a member of the ELCA. "It just doesn't hit your brain that they are really being kept in jail for their labor."

Many of the speakers said it was good to see young men participating in the forum.

"I have discovered the value in my own voice and the special role I can play which is something I didn't know before," said John Asher, a member of the Presbyterian church in New York.

Arianne Reagor, a United Methodist in Washington/Oregon, said human trafficking and modern slavery is something she has been studying for the past two years.

"This is something that is a huge passion of mine," she said. "It is interesting to see the different connections that I didn't see before. It is neat to see the different ways I can become involved. It is much more of a reality now than it was before."

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Mission Leader Endorses Ecumenical Call for Prayers for Zimbabwe

New York, NY, June 17, 2008--The head of the United Methodist mission agency has endorsed a call from the World Council of Churches that Christians worldwide join in a day of prayer on June 22 for Zimbabwe as that country faces a run-off in a deeply contested national election.

Bishop Felton E. May, interim general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries, said he welcomed the initiative of the World Council to unite all Christians to join Zimbabwean sisters and brothers in prayers for peace and justice.

The run-off election is set for June 27. The day of prayer was initiated by Christians in Zimbabwe.

Bishop May commended a prayer, written by World Council leader Dr. Samuel Kobia, that remembers Zimbabwe in its time of trial and prays "with and for Zimbabwe in this hour of national decision."

The full text of Bishop May's endorsement and of the Kobia prayer follows:

I welcome and endorse the call of the World Council of Churches for Christians around the world to join in prayer for the nation of Zimbabwe and its people on Sunday, June 22. This observance, initiated by Christians in Zimbabwe, comes at a time of crisis for the African country, which on June 27 will hold a run-off election to select national leaders, including a president.

Prayer is a powerful offering that Christians can make in politically troubled times and places. I urge United Methodists in our global mission connection to pray diligently with Zimbabwean brothers and sisters for a peaceful electoral process that will lead to justice and prosperity for their country.

Dr. Samuel Kobia, a Kenyan Methodist and the secretary general of the World Council of Churches, of which The United Methodist Church is a member, has offered a model prayer for Zimbabwe on this occasion. I commend his words to our people:

Eternal God:
In your sight nations rise and fall, and pass through times of trial.We pray with and for Zimbabwe in this hour of national decision,and we ask your divine blessing on all the people of the land.May Zimbabwe's leaders seek justice by means that are just;May the voters take action to promote the common good;may international observers and mediators be guided by your wisdom.Lead us not into temptation, Lord, and deliver your people from evil:Empower us all to overcome anger, jealousy, division and violence;help us to respect one another despite our differences;and teach us the things that truly make for peace.This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

The full call of the World Council can be read online at oikoumene.org.

Ailing children navigate with Wheels of Love

Renee Moore buckles her daughter, Elizabeth Long, into a wagon customized by the Wheels of Love ministry of First United Methodist Church in Conroe, Texas. UMNS photos by John Gordon.

By John Gordon*

CONROE, Texas (UMNS)-With just a few modifications, a simple red wagon is transformed into "Lizzie's Limo," enabling 4-year-old leukemia patient Elizabeth Long to navigate her hospital with the help of her family.

"She waves at everybody like she's in a parade," says mom Renee Moore. "She feels like she's the princess. So it helps her."

Elizabeth received one of the first wagons produced by the Wheels of Love ministry launched in 2007 at First United Methodist Church in Conroe near Houston. The wagons are customized with IV poles, holders for oxygen bottles, car seats and a trailer.

"It makes the treatment days a lot easier," says Moore. "I would be pushing her in the stroller with one hand and I would be dragging the IV pole with another hand and sometimes having to get both of them on an elevator to go down to day surgery to do the bone marrow or the spinal taps. And it was just very cumbersome trying to maneuver all that."

Retired millwright Richard Stanton started the Conroe church ministry to help seriously ill children and their parents move more easily through hospitals, their homes and their communities.

"We found that some of the children can't move at all and they have to be on their respirators or feeding tubes all the time," says Stanton. "It allows the child to be with the rest of the family-take him for a walk down the street, go to the park, go watch big brother play softball."

Church member Phillip Keitel, a retired IRS auditor, helps to customize the wagons. Each one takes about 20 hours. "I just can't turn away from a child in need," says Keitel.

The wagons are given to families regardless of their income. Donations cover the $350 cost of materials.

Among the beneficiaries are children such as 3-year-old Anthony Castrejon, who is being treated for heart problems and complications including lung, liver and kidney disease and asthma.

"We need the help," says his mother, Elizabeth Castrejon. "God bless them because this is a wonderful idea."

Stanton spreads the word about the wagon availability through hospitals and social workers. He believes the demand will be big because of the large number of children's hospitals in the area. Eventually, he would like to see the ministry help seriously ill children across the United States.

"These kids, you look in their faces and there's absolute innocence. These are God's angels on earth," says Stanton. "And I feel we have an obligation to do the best we can do for them."

Keitel agrees. "There's the satisfaction I get when I see these children and their parents receive one of these," he says. "I can see in their eyes what this means to them."

For Elizabeth's family, the wagon serves as both a toy and a tool to help the youngster during treatments expected to last more than two years at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. The child was diagnosed in August 2007.

"Life is already turned upside down as it is," says Moore. "Just the fact that somebody cared enough to take the time-to use their workmanship and their talents to make something that we can use and benefit from and make our life a little bit easier-it just really means a lot."

*Gordon is a freelance producer based in Marshall, Texas.

Bonhoeffer achieves martyr status with United Methodists

A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*

Although Dietrich Bonhoeffer has been dead for more than 60 years, the well-known German theologian has been a role model of faith for many Christians, including the Rev. Charles Sigman.

That's why Sigman, the 42-year-old pastor of First United Methodist Church of Newport, Ark., about an hour and a half north of Little Rock, has helped make Bonhoeffer the first martyr officially recognized by The United Methodist Church.

A Lutheran pastor, Bonhoeffer was a member of the resistance against dictator Adolph Hitler and was executed by the Nazis in 1945, during the final months of World War II. "I always find myself quoting him because of the way he lived his faith and because he really teaches us all that there are things in this world worth dying for," Sigman told United Methodist News Service.

As a seminary student, he was shelving books one day in the Pitts Theology Library at Emory University when he happened to glance at a book from 1956 written by a Lutheran pastor. The pastor was lamenting the fact that children were holding up athletes as their role models and that the church itself had failed to lift up role models of faith. "Ever since then, I've been thinking about it," Sigman added.

The musicians, actors and athletes that today's youth idolize are all going to fail in some way, he reasoned, but Bonhoeffer "rose above our basic human instinct to proclaim a love that is worth dying for."

The resolution he submitted to the 2008 United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, was simple: "In keeping in line with the Church of England and the Church of Wales, we, as United Methodists, should also recognize Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a modern day martyr for the cause of Christ."

It was approved when the conference met April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. During the same General Conference, United Methodists approved a full communion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Rebellion against Nazis
Born in Breslau, Germany, in 1906, Bonhoeffer received his doctorate from Berlin University in 1927, where he lectured as part of the theology faculty in the early 1930s and was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1931.

In rebellion against the Nazi-controlled state church, some 2,000 Lutheran pastors organized the Pastors' Emergency League in 1934, which later became the Confessing Church. Bonhoeffer was head of the independent church's seminary at Finkenwalde. It was one of five seminaries closed by the Nazis in 1937.

A member of the resistance, he communicated with the British government and also worked on his book, Ethics, from 1940 until his arrest in 1943. As Simon & Schuster points out in a description of the book on its Web site, "The Christian does not live in a vacuum, says the author, but in a world of government, politics, labor and marriage. Hence, Christian ethics cannot exist in a vacuum; what the Christian needs, claims Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is concrete instruction in a concrete situation. Although the author died before completing his work, this book is recognized as a major contribution to Christian ethics."

Bonhoeffer's fellow resisters tried to kill Hitler but were unsuccessful. Executed with him on April 9, 1945, were Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of German Military Intelligence, General Hans Oster and Hans von Dohnanyi, who was married to Bonhoeffer's sister, Christine. On April 23, two other members of the conspiracy, Bonhoeffer's brother, Klaus, and a second brother-in-law, Rudiger Schleicher, were executed, seven days before Hitler committed suicide.

In his rationale for the General Conference resolution, Sigman wrote: "During a time of grave darkness in Nazi Germany, Bonhoeffer shined the light of Christ all the way to a hangman's noose. Nearly every clergy has studied him and used him in sermons and theological discourse. It is time we recognize his accomplishments and martyrdom of the highest calling."

Sigman believes it is important for the church to show how people sometimes die for their faith. "I hope it will start a precedent," he said. "I personally think we, as a denomination, need to start recognizing these people."

Recognizing saints
Alan Combs, a 25-year-old provisional elder with the Virginia Annual Conference, said he was excited by the resolution on Bonhoeffer. He has been working on his master's thesis at Duke University, which focuses on how The United Methodist Church looks at the issue of recognizing saints.

"I think the writer of the resolution was smart to use martyr because we don't have any formal recognition of saints," he said.

A martyr can be a saint, but the reverse might not necessarily apply, Combs pointed out.

Christianity's early heroes were martyrs because the church was under persecution. Saints lived lives of holiness but weren't always subject to persecution.

John Wesley "liked the community of saints," he said, but the idea may not have universal appeal among church members. "We're fairly willing to call biblical heroes 'saints,' but beyond that, we start getting uncomfortable about it," he explained.

Combs - who will become the associate pastor at Heritage United Methodist Church in Lynchburg, Va., on July 1 - applauds taking a look at people who lived holy lives as a way of influencing Christians today. Such recognition could include biblical heroes, founders of the church and leaders of early American Methodism.

As a director of the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns for the past four years, Combs also appreciates the recognition of ecumenical leaders such as Bonhoeffer. "We're recognizing the martyr of another church," he said. "That's a way of us affirming the holiness we see in them."

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

Archives and History recognizes Methodist research

MADISON, N.J. (UMNS)-Grants and awards encouraging writing and research on topics related to the history of Methodism have been announced for 2008 by the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History.

The annual grants allow the commission "to support scholarly research and help to ensure that neglected areas of study will receive the attention they deserve," said the Rev. Robert J. Williams, the commission's chief executive. "The mission of the contemporary church is weakened when the strength of our forbearers is not taught to future generations."

The recipients of the Asian, Black, Hispanic and Native American United Methodist History Research Grant are Hannah Kim, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Delaware and instructor at Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J., and Tash Smith, a Ph.D. candidate and graduate teaching assistant at the University of Oklahoma.

Kim's project examines five key "moments" in Korean and American ethnic relations spanning a period between the 1880s and the 1980s. Smith's research will focus on the establishment of Methodist churches within Oklahoma's Native American communities. Both received $1,000 grants.

Two recipients were named for the John Harrison Ness Award recognizing the best papers on a topic in the history of Methodism by a Master of Divinity candidate. First place, a $500 grant, went to Tom Lank for a paper titled "Poetic Sideshadowings of Fundamentalism in Southern Methodism, 1865-1866." Lank is a student of Kenneth Rowe at Princeton Theological Seminary.

The $300 second-place award was given to David Vaughn for his paper "Holistic Visioning: Health and Health Care in Early Methodism." He is a student of Richard Heitzenrater at the Divinity School, Duke University.

Two scholars each received $1,000 for the Women in United Methodist History Research Grants. One grant was awarded to Lisa J. Shaver, assistant professor in the English Department at Baylor University, for research about antebellum women's rhetorical development within the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The other recipient was Rachel Cope, a Ph.D. candidate in American History at Syracuse University, who is writing about 19th-century female religious experiences, particularly in relation to revival movements.

The Women in United Methodist History Writing Award was granted to two papers. One was written by the Rev. Priscilla Pope-Levison, professor of theology and assistant director of women's studies at Seattle Pacific University and titled "A 'Thirty Year War' and More: Exposing Complexities in the Methodist Deaconess Movement."

The other paper was written by Pearl Young, an undergraduate history and physics major at Emory University, Atlanta, and titled "Genius Uncultivated is like a meteor of the night: Motives and Experiences of Methodist Female College Life in the Confederate States of America." Both women received a $500 grant.

More information about the awards is available at http://www.gcah.org/site/c.ghKJI0PHIoE/b.3526373/.

Africa University awards degrees to 354 students

More than 350 students from 16 African countries graduate June 7 from United Methodist-related Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. UMNS photos by Andra Stevens.

By Andra Stevens*

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS)--After two years of study at Africa University, Bigi Ruhigita prepared to return to the Democratic Republic of Congo to work in a 50-bed clinic that she and her siblings founded in honor of their father.

"I'm the only one in my family in the health field, but I'm happy to be keeping my late father's idea alive," Ruhigita said of Jean Ruhigita, a former bishop of the Pentecostal church in the Congo. "He wanted the clinic to help poor people in our area, and since 2003 it has been there for so many people who have no money to go to the hospital."

The 30-year-old nurse was one of the 354 students from 16 African countries who received their degree certificates on June 7 at Africa University's 14th graduation ceremony. Awarded a master's degree in public health, she is excited about using her new skills to help her community.

"I'm planning to begin with an evaluation of the clinic to see how we are doing, where we are doing well and not so well, and what we can do to improve the services we provide," Ruhigita said.

As graduation day approached, Ruhigita was sad to leave the friends she'd made on campus and in the wider community. "I came and stayed for two years without going home, so Africa University is my second home now," she said.

Fellow graduate Valerie Mpawenayo has not been home in five years and could hardly believe that graduation day had finally arrived.

In 2003, Mpawenayo traveled by boat from Burundi to Zambia and then overland to enroll at the United Methodist-related, pan-African school. She came with little money and, after paying tuition fees for her first semester, didn't have much left to buy food. Over the years, Africa University provided meal tickets and financial aid grants that enabled her to complete her bachelor of business studies degree program.

"Life was hard at the beginning," she said. "I learned that God is there and if you are serious, you can be transformed spiritually. I appreciate my education so much."

Academic performance
Undergraduate female students like Mpawenayo made up the majority of graduates, and there were some excellent performers among them. Six young people were awarded first-class degree certificates for achieving cumulative grade point averages of 3.65 or higher out of 4.0. An additional 18 were placed on the Dean's List for achieving grade point averages of 3.50 or higher.
"I believe all of you … have gained tremendously from your interaction with your peers as you've lived, learned and succeeded together," said Fanuel Tagwira, the university's interim vice chancellor. "What is needed now is for you to apply what you have learned to the challenges you will encounter-to inquire, invent, create, share and change conditions around you for the better."

In his address, Tagwira thanked the students and staff for their "zeal and determination" in the face of the current socio-economic challenges in Zimbabwe. He highlighted the university's ongoing projects to improve the learning and living environment for students as well as new programs and outreach initiatives.

All seven of the university's academic units presented candidates for graduation. Of the 272 young people who received bachelor's degrees, 134 were from the faculty of humanities and social sciences. Other degrees were awarded from the faculties of management and administration, 99; education, 38; agriculture and natural resources, 36; theology, 19; Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance, 16; and health sciences, 11.

Graduate programs
Master's degrees were awarded to 81 graduate students in six academic units. Among them was the second group to enroll in the Public Sector Management Training Program, funded by the African Capacity Building Foundation. The one-year program seeks to enhance the management capacity of senior professionals working in government and public enterprises in Africa.

"It's very intensive but well organized to deal with service delivery and other important issues in the public sector," said Abeba Fekadu, an Ethiopian who just completed the management program. Fekadu, a financial manager working within the Ethiopian customs authority, said common problems facing African governments include a slow service delivery, poor code of ethics, brain drain and inadequate compensation for public service.

"I now feel better equipped to provide solutions that improve service delivery, minimize corruption and put in place good systems that will help us to collect more revenue," Fekadu said.

Her classmate, Jim Kalikeka, is deputy director of the productivity department in Zambia's Ministry of Labor. He found the courses related to project management, performance appraisal and strategic management particularly relevant to his work. He's also concerned about the impact of political concerns on long-term investment and development programs in Africa.

"The public service in Africa still has a lot to do. … Trying to divorce politics from administration is very important if the public service has to function. Politics should not take center stage," Kalikeka said.

This year's graduating class increased the number of Africa University alumni to more than 2,600. Africa University graduates are at work as agriculturalists, pastors, educators, businesspeople, health workers and other professionals in communities across sub-Saharan Africa.

Founded by The United Methodist Church in 1992, Africa University was the first private university to open in Zimbabwe. It has an annual full-time student population of 1,300.

*Stevens is the director of Africa University's Office of Public Information.

Bishop urges Africa University grads to make a difference

United Methodist Bishop Woodie White delivers the convocation address June 7 at the graduation ceremony for Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. UMNS photos by Andra Stevens.

By Andra Stevens*

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS)--In an address that elicited laughter, cheers and ultimately a standing ovation, United Methodist Bishop Woodie White urged Africa University's newest graduates to live a principled life and to make a difference, especially in Africa.

Serving as the convocation speaker at the United Methodist-related school's 14th graduation ceremony on June 7, White shared his own story of growing up in Harlem, N.Y., and developing a personal philosophy to guide his life and career choices.

He shared what he called the "Newbern principles," named for the late Captolia Dent Newbern, an African-American educator who was his mentor and made a tremendous difference in his life and the lives of many other young people.

Born in Georgia in 1905, Newbern began her education at a time when state law restricted formal schooling for black children to six years. Yet, in the course of her life, she earned degrees in music, social work, education and ministry.

White painted a portrait of Newbern as a committed, no-nonsense individual who believed in lifelong learning, perseverance and excellence. He invited the graduates to embrace a similar mindset.

The bishop urged the graduates to develop a philosophy of life that places value on every person as a child of God, eschews hate and extends graciousness, even to the ungracious. He spoke of respecting one's body as a temple of God and of always looking to God, who is able to open doors no one can close.

On the brink of a new chapter in their lives, the graduates were encouraged to work hard to overcome whatever difficulties they encounter and avoid making excuses. "You have to succeed whether (people) like you or not, so strive for excellence and shun mediocrity," he said. "Africa University wants you to be the very best.

"Take what you have and make what you want, and your skills and abilities will always make room for you," he said, quoting Newbern.

As he congratulated the graduates for their individual achievements, White highlighted the investment of The United Methodist Church in Africa University and its students. He reminded the graduates that the institution was meant to benefit communities that have great needs. He spoke of the sacrifices their families had made so that they could be trained and told each graduate to "stay with the church and be a person to work for change to improve the surroundings wherever you find yourself. … In all that you do, do to help somebody."

White is bishop in residence at United Methodist-related Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. His association with Africa University dates to the institution's inception.

"Since the late 1980s, Bishop White has been a strong advocate for the ministry of Africa University and he has worked diligently to see that ministry develop," said Fanuel Tagwira, the institution's interim vice chancellor.

Under White's leadership, the former Central Illinois Annual (regional) Conference supported construction of the "Bridge to Dreams," which spans the Nyagambu River and provides secure access to the Africa University campus. In 1994, the bridge was formally dedicated in honor of the area's first missionary bishop, Joseph Crane Hartzell, and the O'Farrell missionary family that served in Southern Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe, for more than 40 years.

As the bishop in Indiana, White led area congregations in a fundraising campaign for Africa University that resulted in the construction of four three-story residence halls housing 108 students each. His leadership was recognized by the naming one of the halls in honor of him and his wife, Kim Tolson White, an elementary school teacher. White retired from the active episcopacy in 2004.

*Stevens is the director of Africa University's Office of Public Information.

Teenage abolitionist shares story at United Methodist event

Zach Hunter

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. — Zach Hunter studied slavery in his seventh grade class like many other 12-year-olds. Appalled by the stories he heard, he told his mother that he would have done something about slavery if he had been living back then. Zach was shocked when his mother told him that slavery still existed even today. He knew that he was called to do something about it.

Now at age 16, Zach Hunter is like any other teenager who goes to school and hangs out with his friends, but he is also an abolitionist working to end slavery around the world.

Hunter is one of three keynote speakers challenging youth and young adults to actively seek justice at the 2008 Youth in Missions Week, an annual event of the Southeastern Jurisdiction (SEJ) of The United Methodist Church held at Lake Junaluska, N.C., July 6-10.

Creator of “Loose Change to Loosen Chains,” a student-run campaign to raise money to end slavery, Hunter spoke to half a million people last year. His book “Be the Change” has been inspiring students everywhere to make a difference in the world.

Youth in Missions Week was originally created in conjunction with the SEJ Volunteers in Mission Week in the early 1990s for middle and high school youth. This year, the event design team has added a college-aged component to the week. Students attending the week have opportunities—through seminars, worship, mission experiences and small groups—to discern and respond to their callings to serve God.

“Youth In Missions isn't just a summer camp; it’s a community of missionaries, believers and revolutionaries all working towards one thing, which is showing God's love here on earth,” said Laura Kigweba, a sophomore at University of Tennessee Chattanooga who chairs the event design team.

Youth in Missions Week encourages young people to discover where their faith and justice meet. The theme for this year’s event is “Change for Change: A Steady Remedy.” Students will be challenged to find ways to be the change in their own communities, at their schools and around the world.

Laren Poole, one of the filmmakers and founders of Invisible Children, will also speak at the event.

Poole and two other young filmmakers traveled to Africa in the spring of 2003 and exposed the disturbing story of northern Uganda’s night commuters and child soldiers through their documentary “Invisible Children: Rough Cut.” The film, which was originally shown to friends and family, jump-started a movement, which has inspired millions of young people to respond to the children of Uganda.

Charles Lee, a professor, pastor and co-founder of Just4One Ministry based in southern California, will speak to students about the need for being in mission and outreach locally. The event features a concert by the band RunKidRun and worship leaders Eddie Willis and the Narrow Path.

To book a group or register individuals for Youth in Missions Week, July 6-10, contact reservations@lakejunaluska.com or call 1-828-456-4040.

For more information, contact Kris Konsowitz, adult co-chair for Youth in Missions Week, at kkonsowitz@colliervilleumc.org.

“Equipping Community Clergy and Clinical Counselors”

A seminar of tools to assist returning veterans and families

The Tennessee Valley VA Medical Center is reaching out to assist local clergy of all faith representations in ministering to their returning active duty military/veterans and their families.

This seminar will be conducted from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at the Tennessee Valley VA Medical Center, 1310 24th Ave. So., Nashville, TN 37212. Registration will be in the Quality Management Conference Room immediately off the crosswalk from the garage.

Subject Matter Experts will discuss common issues confronting clergy and clinical counselors in dealing with returning military/veterans and families in their faith community. Topics include:

.Domestic Violence
.Suicide Awareness
.Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
.Active Duty Rehabilitation
.Sexual Trauma
.Seamless Transition from Active Duty Medical Care to VA Medical Care
.Common Grief Issues
.Organizational Resources to Enhance, Mind, Body and Spirit

Each attendee will receive a portfolio containing helpful information and available resources in the local area. Questions will be addressed throughout the seminar.

Please RSVP no later than 09 Jul 2008 by calling the Chaplain Service at (615) 327-4751, extensions 5362 or 6591. This will greatly assist us in ensuring an adequate number of packets are available for each participant.

There is no cost to attend.

*3.5 CEUs will be provided through the VA National Chaplains Center.

United Methodists declare victory for farm workers

Workers harvest tomatoes at a farm in Immokalee, Fla., where low wages and poor conditions prompted farm worker advocates to lobby fast-food giant Burger King Corp. A UMNS photo by Scott Robertson.

A UMNS Report

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

United Methodists are celebrating a victory for farm workers following an agreement by Burger King Corp. to pay more for tomatoes picked by workers in Florida.

The second largest fast-food chain in the United States agreed to pay an extra 1.5 cents per pound for tomatoes picked in Florida. One penny of the increase will go for wages, and a half cent will fund incremental payroll taxes and administrative costs to encourage grower participation in the pact.

The May 23 agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers roughly doubles the earnings of the Florida workers. It also offers protection to farm workers who have been subjected to abuse from growers, according to Brigitte Gynther, Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida.

United Methodists in Florida have worked with both the coalition and Interfaith Action to bring about change for farm workers laboring in harsh conditions for as little as $50 a day.

The coalition already has similar agreements with McDonald's Corp. and Taco Bell owner Yum Brands Inc. The United Methodist Church supported a boycott against Taco Bell that ended in March 2005 when the fast-food chain agreed to the one-cent increase.

'Huge victory'
United Methodist leaders lauded the pact with Burger King.

Bishop Timothy Whitaker, episcopal leader of the church's Florida Area, commended Burger King for its pledge to be a leader in improving the working conditions of farm laborers.

"Many United Methodists have been praying for this outcome, and we shall share with others our appreciation for the leadership Burger King is demonstrating," Whitaker said.

Melinda Trotti, director of justice and spirituality ministries for the church's Florida Annual (regional) Conference, called the agreement a "huge victory."

"I started crying when I heard the news," she said. "You work hard and you don't always get good news, but this is really good, big news."

John Hill, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, said the agreement "marks another step in the march to justice for all workers."

"Today, we celebrate the great work of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in securing better working conditions and wages for the workers of Immokalee, Fla., and recommit our efforts to live into The United Methodist Church's vision of a living wage in every industry," Hill said.

Melinda Trotti, director of justice and spirituality ministries of the United Methodist Florida Annual (regional) Conference, presents petitions April 28 to the Miami headquarters of Burger King Corp. The petitions, signed by United Methodist Women, ask for improved working conditions for workers in Immokalee, Fla.

The denomination's social action agency signed a letter sent to Burger King's corporate office in Miami calling for the penny increase, a code of conduct and a voice for farm workers in uncovering farm labor abuses.

Worker conditions
A congressional hearing held in April called for an investigation into farm worker conditions in Florida.

Gynther said there have been reports that workers have been locked in trucks and even chained at times.

"Instead of paychecks, their bosses would deduct for rent, food and $5 for showers with a garden hose," she said. One case is currently under federal investigation using anti-slavery laws dating back to the Civil War.

In November 2007, thousands of people of faith brought more than 85,000 petitions to the Burger King headquarters. The march started with a prayer breakfast hosted by First United Methodist Church, Miami.

Trotti said many advocates for the farm workers are young people.

"These are really amazing young people who are working along side the workers," she said.

"They believe this is what you should do as a Christian. You should really take seriously Jesus' call to take care of those who don't have their own voices. They are doing it and they are being successful."

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

National Conference to build connections for health ministries, September 21-24, 2008, Lake Junaluska

“Empowering Ministries of Health: Connecting Around the World” will be the focus of the fourth annual National Congregational Health Ministries Conference Sept. 21-24 at Lake Junaluska, N.C.

The conference is designed for health and welfare chairpersons, clergy, parish/faith community nurses and others with a passion for health ministries. Sponsors are the General Board of Global Ministries and the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits.

Two scholarships for tuition, lodging and meals will be offered to designated representatives from each annual conference.

More than 35 speakers will make presentations in plenary sessions, workshops and daily worship services. “Because of the multitude of speakers and talent we are bringing, this conference will really give participants the tools they need to create health ministries to the fullest,” said Patricia Magyar, executive secretary of Congregational Health Ministries at the Board of Global Ministries.

Topics will include strengthening clergy and laity health, funding, planning strategies, collaborating with other faith and business communities, advocating for health care and connecting with global health ministries.

A panel of United Methodist agency executives will discuss, “Global Health in the Next Quadrennium and What it Means to You.” They are: Rev. Gary Henderson, executive director of the Global Health Initiative; James Winkler, general secretary of the General Board of Church and Society; Barbara Boigegrain, general secretary of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits; and Dr. Cherian Thomas, executive secretary of health and welfare at the General Board of Global Ministries. Raul Alegria, treasurer of the Southeastern Jurisdiction, will be the moderator.

“They will give us the perspective of their objectives and how we can help them achieve the goals of the denomination,” Magyar said.

Other plenary speakers and their topics are Bishop Mike Watson of the South Georgia Area, “Clergy and Congregational Health: Strengthening the Connection,” and Dr. James Early, director of Clinical Preventive Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, “How to Change Health Behaviors.”

Worship services will be led by Rev. Vance Ross, deputy general secretary for connectional relations and strategic initiatives at the General Board of Discipleship; Rev. Patty Myers, chair of the department of Christian vocations at Pfeiffer University; Rev. Embra Jackson, administrative assistant to Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of the Mississippi Conference; and Rev. Fred Smith, associate professor of urban ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary.

Workshops will be offered in four tracks:
.Congregational health ministry will provide tools for planning, assessing and developing a health ministry team.
.Conference health ministry is designed for those who want to mobilize lay leadership, evaluate health ministry programs and develop faith collaborations.
.Parish Nurse & Health Advocate will provide a broad overview of topics including working with clergy, care for the caregiver, holistic health and networking.
.Servant Leadership: A Model for Self-Care will guide participants in assessing own health and in making self-care covenants for improvement.

For more details and registration, see www.gbophb.org and click on events and education, or contact Anne Green at AGreen@gbophb.org or (847) 866-4560. For questions about scholarships, contact Patricia Magyar at pmagyar@gbgm-umc.org or (212) 870-3683.

Download a complete brochure with workshop descriptions, listing of leaders, registration information CLICK HERE

http://www.gbophb.org/UserFiles/File/events/emp_min2008.pdf

3-day workshop to help church find voice on immigration, Conway, Arkansas, September 11-13

Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the Desert Southwest Conference of The United Methodist Church will be a featured speaker at “Welcoming the Sojourner — Finding the Church’s Voice on Immigration.” The event will be Thursday to Saturday, Sept. 11-13, at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark.

Carcaño is chair of the United Methodist Council of Bishops committee on immigration. She also heads an interagency task force of the denomination that targets reform of U.S. immigration laws.

“Welcoming the Sojourner” is co-sponsored by the Arkansas Conference and the United Methodist Board of Church & Society.

Other featured speakers include Bishop Charles Crutchfield of the Arkansas Conference; the Rev. Mark Sills, executive director of FaithAction International House, Greensboro, N.C., an interfaith, interracial non-profit organization working to form a united community of many cultures; and Bill Mefford, director of the Civil and Human Rights program at the Board of Church & Society

Workshops at “Welcoming the Sojourner” will include:

.The Bible and Immigration
.Root Causes of Immigration
.Organizing United Methodists for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
.The Local Church as a Place of Outreach and Ministry, and
.Immigration and Racism.

A Continuing Education Credit will be awarded for the event. Registration fee is $50. To register online, go to www.umc-gbcs.org/scjimmigration.

For more information, contact the Rev. Steve Copley, Arkansas Justice for Our Neighbors, at (501) 374-3811.

Another “Welcoming the Sojourner” event will be Oct. 16-18 in Naperville, Ill. That event is co-sponsored by the Board of Church & Society and the North Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. Besides Bishop Carcaño and Sills, featured speakers will include Bishop Hee-Soo Jung of Northern Illinois Conference and Jose Oliva of Interfaith Worker Justice, Chicago.
Registration fee for the NCJ event is $95. To register online, go to www.umc-gbcs.org/ncjimmigration. For more information, contact the Rev. Clayton Childers, director of Annual Conference Relations at the Board of Church & Society, (202) 488-5642 or cchilders@umc-gbcs.org.

The United Methodist Board of Church & Society is one of four international general program boards of the denomination, which has more than 11 million members worldwide. The board’s primary areas of ministry are Advocacy, Education and Leadership Formation, United Nations and International Affairs, and resourcing these areas for denomination. It has offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and at the Church Center at the United Nations. Its Web site is www.umc-gbcs.org.

The Arkansas Conference is one of 14 conferences, including two missionary conferences, that make up the United Methodist Church’s South Central Jurisdiction. Its Web site is www.arumc.org.

Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON) provides church-based legal clinics and safe havens for immigrants across the United States. JFON is a program of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) of the Board of Global Ministries. More information about JFON is available at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/work/immigration/jfon/.

"Dramatically Different" Faith Fellowship To Figure in School of Congregational Development

New York, NY, June 4, 2008--A college first-year student who consults the online "Student Guide to Pittsburgh" will find only two listings under the heading "churches/worship services."

One of those is "Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community" on the Steel City's South Side near the historic Hot Metal Bridge. If the student shows up at Hot Metal on Sunday, or most any evening except Friday, she will find a church with a difference. In fact, Hot Metal describes itself as "dramatically different," a reference to emphasis on sharing "the story of God through drama and the arts." The focus is on young adults.

Hot Metal meets in a Goodwill Industries' building as well as other sites. It teaches that Jesus both loved people and loved to eat. "The Table" is the Tuesday evening free meal, not only for the underfed but also for spiritual nourishment: "We believe some of the best conversations happen around a dinner table." This emphasis is fitting, since the bridge itself may be named for the nearby Hot Metal Grille. Bible study is on Monday evening; congregational worship on Thursdays.

Hot Metal Church, a four-year-old United Methodist-Presbyterian joint new church start, will be among the models examined at this year's United Methodist School of Congregational Development, meeting July 31 to August 5 in two locations, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Orlando, Florida.

Hot Metal Church is the centerpiece in one of eight ministry tracks at school section in Grand Rapids, where the Cornerstone United Methodist Church is the host congregation. Holy Communion in Hot Metal's dramatic style will be shared from Grand Rapids via electronic links between the two sites.

There will be equally exciting ministry tracks among the 12 offered in Orlando. New this year is "Restructuring Your Ministry," led by the Rev. Bill Barnes and his staff at the thriving St. Luke's United Methodist Church, the Orlando host congregation.

All major services of worship and plenary addresses will be common via telecommunications in the two locations, some originating in Grand Rapids and others in Orlando.

The track featuring Hot Metal Church is entitled "Head Wounds: Practicing Koinonia in a Fractured World" and will be led by the Rev. Jim Walker, the United Methodist pastor of the Pittsburgh fellowship, and the Rev. Chris Heckert, who heads the communications unit of the General Board of Global Ministries. Mr. Walker will officiate at the linked service of communion.

The annual School of Congregational Development is a joint project of Global Ministries and the General Board of Discipleship. In the recent past, a school at a single location has drawn between 600 and 700 pastors, lay leaders, district superintendents, and bishops.

Two locations connected by technology were planned this year to take account of differing demographic realities in various parts of the United States. The Grand Rapids program is geared more toward urban and rural congregations typical of northeastern and north central areas of declining or level populations; the Orlando event is geared more toward southern regions across the whole country where populations are expanding.

Both take account of increasing immigrant communities.

The Orlando school will feature ministry tracks dealing with African American, Korean, Hispanic/Latino, and multicultural congregations. Tracks for bishops, district superintendents, and annual conference leaders will also be in Orlando.

Shared-site plenary presentations will take account of the broad spectrum of United Methodist congregations and congregational development possibilities.

At both locations, the Sunday in the schedule will include visits to local "teaching churches" and interactions with clergy and lay leaders of those congregations.

Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño of Phoenix is the keynote speaker and will address the topic of the "Spiritual Life of the Leader."

Other plenary speakers include:
*The Rev. Jose Acevedo, Grace Church, Coral Gables, Florida
*The Rev. Bill Barnes, St. Luke's United Methodist Church, Orlando, Florida
*The Rev. Mark Beeson, Granger Community Church, Granger, Indiana
*The Rev. Brad Kalajainen, Cornerstone Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan
*The Rev. Ed Jones, Living Water United Methodist Church, Pearland, Texas
*Carol Howard Merritt, author of The Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation.

In addition to ministry tracks, each school includes a group of "core seminars" that cover such topics as leadership styles, the role of music in starting new churches, creative preaching, and other practical issues.

The registration fee, covering some meals, is $425 per person. Participants can register online at gbod.org/scd/registration.html and also link there to sites for making hotel reservations. Full schedules are available at the website. Individuals and conference groups make their own travel arrangements.