October 2024 FFL by wmcouncil

First Friday Letter

The World Methodist Council

Greetings from the President

Dear Friends,

October 2024

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ who is central to each of our lives. What a joy it is to serve Christ and the church through the World Methodist Council.

My first month and a half as your President has included numerous Zoom calls and meetings with various World Methodist Council leaders as we launch the quinquennium. My heart is full of hope because of what God is doing in and through us individually and as a Council.

We have an amazing opportunity during the coming months and years to move toward our World Methodist Council vision of, “spreading the Gospel by making disciples and transforming the world.” The pace of this will be accelerated as we tap into the gifts and graces of the extraordinary leaders in our midst from the 80+ Methodist, Wesleyan, and United/Uniting Church traditions that comprise the Council.

A key to our next steps is the Nominating Committee. Indeed, this important team will help the Council to accomplish the task described in Ephesians 4:12-13, “to equip, the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”

I am delighted that the organizing meeting of the Nominating Committee, convened by our General Secretary, was quite fruitful. Ms. Isabel Thomas Dobson was elected chair of the committee and will be assisted by Rev. Megan Dean Tobola and Rev. Dr. Heather Morris. Please join me in thanking these and other leaders on the Nominating Committee for their commitment to identify, recruit, train and support World Methodist Council chairs and committees throughout this quinquennium.

One of the first charges for the Nominating Committee is to select the following committee chairs: Communications, Development, Ecumenical and Interreligious Relationships, Finance, Personnel and Achieving the Vision Investment. They will also work to populate Standing and Operational committees. World Methodist Council members are asked to be on the lookout for a form from the Nominating Committee to register interest in serving in one of these roles and/or to nominate persons from beyond the Council to serve in areas where they have special expertise. Our goal is to have all committees fully populated and functioning by early 2025.

Thank you for your part in contributing to the Nominating Committee’s important undertaking. My prayer is that, through our collaborative efforts, we may each embody the message of Ephesians 4, growing in maturity, unity of faith and deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Blessings to you in all that you do.

In Christ,

Debra Wallace-Padgett President, World Methodist Council

Helene Leaves Indescribable Destruction

A storm of Biblical proportions! Horrendous!

A 1000-year flood.

The list of descriptions to describe Helene’s raving waters and winds could fill this First Friday Letter. Covering several states, including North’s Carolina where the Waynesville office is located, many lives have been lost and property damage is in the billions. The state’s governor said that entire communities have been wiped out. Closer to home, the caretaker of many years for the office, lost everything in his family home to Pigeon River.

Transportation is difficult as interstate roads have been affected by damage, missing bridges, mudslides, debris and more. Supplies are currently in short demand as large warehouses were wiped out and with roads missing and affected, it is almost impossible to deliver goods. Wi-fi, internet, electric power, phone and texts have been and continue to be limited.

Prayers, manpower and funds are urgently needed. More information will be provided in the next First Fridy Letter as it has been impossible to communicate from the Office until today so information is limited.

From the Diary of the General Secretary

Greetings sent to the Methodist Roman Catholic International Dialogue Commission that met in South Korea in September 2024, via the Revd Dr Edgardo Colón-Emeric, its Methodist Co-Chair (https://www. facebook.com/methodisteor/videos/321208161051660):

Dear Edgardo,

Please greet MERCIC on my behalf as it starts the new round of dialogue for this quinquennium. I would like to reaffirm that the WMC is deeply committed to this dialogue with the Vatican. The WMC seeks full communion in Faith, Sacraments and Mission, as the 2022 MERCIC Report affirms. This has been the aim of the Dialogue for decades. The previous MERCIC Reports explored convergences in the take of the Apostolic Faith and since the Methodist Statement of Association with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, the partners in dialogue have very much come to the point of sharing the same view on the Faith respecting our different emphasis. We seek now in particular that God may bring us to share on the table of the Lord fully. Respecting our differences, I pray that the Petrine Office be a sign of unity within the diversity of the Church of Christ. Some may say I speak in faith, indeed, I hope nothing but the full expression of Methodist/Catholic communion in Mission to the world. May Love Divine abide with you as you work towards this aim, with my prayers and blessings.

Yours in Christ,

General Secretary Reynaldo F. Leao Neto

Weekend of Prayer and Action against Hunger

October 16,2024 is World Food Day. Many world communions and Christian organizations including the World Methodist Council encourage local churches to engage in the “Weekend of Prayer and Action against Hunger” October 11-13, 2024. Liturgical material for all ages, prayers and information, which was put together with the help of Geneva Secretary Rosemarie Wenner and Rev Judy Bors Davis, is available in several languages at : https://www.wvi.org/emergencies/hunger-crisis/weekend-of-prayer

Symbols from Member Churches

As a part of the Weekend of Prayer and Action against Hunger, we are co-organizing a special event that embodies the spirit of prayer and action. This event will take place on Friday, 11th October 2024, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Geneva, starting with a prayer service at 11:00 am, followed by a lunch and a Faith Community Nutrition Dialogue. If you wish to attend, please register here: https:// forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=MOBRuTiv10C9C_vtPIdlOtAGsRQY5utBs5k12Mc7NCdUOEZFUEgxOVU2WTZBVlQ0TUZWVEdBWE85Ry4u&origin=lprLink&route=shorturl

WesleyMen Welcomes New Leader

The World Fellowship of Methodist and Uniting Church Men (WesleyMen) is excited to announce that our governing board of directors has selected Rev. Edgar De Jesus as its third World President. Rev. De Jesus will serve as the chair of the WesleyMen organization and fill the post as an ex-officio member of the steering committee of the World Methodist Council. World President terms for WesleyMen last five years between World Methodist Conferences. (The board also welcomes new directors in no particular order) Very Rev. William Allotey-Pappoe, PhD (Methodist Church, Nigeria – from Ghana), D. Barnabas Emmanuel (Emmanuel Methodist Church Chennai – India), and Bro. Anthony Seale (Barbados – Methodist Church of the Caribbean and the Americas (MCAA). Please join the existing board of directors in welcoming them to our organization.

Rev. Edgar De Jesus is a clergy member of the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church and currently serves as Pastor of Bethel UMC & Plank Chapel UMC of the Heritage District. He is married to Judy

Nayre Gaid and has two children– Kristina Esther, who will serve as a Global Mission Fellow in Spain, and Kairos Elaine, a second-year BS Biology/Psychology student at UNC-Chapel Hill. Rev. De Jesus served as the World Methodist Council delegate from 2011-2023. He also served as President of the National Association of Filipino American United Methodists (NAFAUM) from 2018-2023, where he spearheaded the establishment of the Global Filipino United Methodist Movement– an initiative to empower and grow Filipino diaspora churches and migrant communities worldwide. Rev. De Jesus is the Vice-President of the New Federation of Asian American United Methodists (NFAAUM). The NFAAUM is one of the five officially recognized racial ethnic caucuses in The United Methodist Church comprising the Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Formosan, Hmong, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Karenni-Nepali, Middle Eastern, Pakistani, and Vietnamese.

WesleyMen is the common name for the World Fellowship of Methodist and Uniting Church Men, Inc., the Men’s affiliate organization of the World Methodist Council. WesleyMen was created as a global connecting point of men’s ministry for Wesleyan, Methodist, and Uniting denominations. Its mission is to lead men in Christian Fellowship with a foundation rooted in the actions and words of Jesus Christ.

Threat to peace and security in Northeast Asia highlighted

The strategic realignment and reconfiguration occurring within the emerging geopolitical context in Northeast Asia pose a serious threat and must be cognized within the broader framework of Asia’s security architecture. This trend has become more evident in the shifting dynamics of geopolitics, geoeconomics, and geostrategy in the region, which continues to lack an effective security mechanism, largely due to its lingering Cold War mentality, opined Dr Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA).

Delivering a keynote address titled “Geopolitics in Northeast Asia, and its Impact on Peace and Security in the Korean Peninsula - Ecumenical Responses” on the first day of the International Conference for the 100th Anniversary of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) in Seoul, South Korea, Dr Mathews George Chunakara stated that peace and security remain under constant threat in this sub-region due to various factors such as North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programmes, strategic realignment and reconfiguration in Northeast Asia, the Russia-DPRK Comprehensive Part-

nership Treaty and its impact, the rearmament of Japan, US-led strategic security alliances, the growing economic and strategic influence of China in the region, the potential threat posed by emerging trilateral alliances between Russia, North Korea, and China, including mutual defense agreements and military technical assistance, as well as territorial and maritime disputes in Northeast Asia.

Spoken Word

Your presence, presence, breathing peace and grace

Your presence, presence, restore my yesterdays

[VERSE 1 Pilgrimage/on the move, Simplicity]

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. (Psalm 23:1)

PILGRIMAGE has been a long tradition in Christianity, where people make a decision to embark on a journey to a holy destination, in order to get wisdom and a clearer vision of the meaning of life and its mission, while blisters relate to the pains of crucifixion, creation reminds us of new life when Christ was risen and the ultimate goal of union with God in heaven.

The MOTIVES differ for PILGRIMS being ONTE THE MOVE: Sometimes people simply want to prove that they can, and at times they disapprove of their current path in life, and behoove new goals, and at other times they want to remove sins and make amends, thus trying to improve and regain faith, hope, love and their general groove.

In Sweden, we have SEVEN KEY WORDS describing the ministry and life of being a pilgrim in motive and visibly; and the pilgrim’s FIRST Key Word is SIMPLICITY, which means living rather differently than the rich, carrying only things of necessity and realizing that we possess more than sufficiently, learning to make do with what we have physically instead of spending to the brim of stupidity, thus cultivating a trait of willingly living with just enough, near deficiency, yet sharing with and giving to others in solidarity, fostering in us a sense of humility, as well as well-needed harmony with creation and the holy trinity.

Your presence, presence, breathing peace and grace

Your presence, presence, restore my yesterdays

[VERSE 2 Silence, Slowness]

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, (Psalm 23:2)

The pilgrim’s SECOND Key Word is SILENCE, in which we strengthen our alliance with God, requiring stillnes, in abidance, waiting in prayer upon his holy arrivance in our hearts, telling the truth in confiance and seeking God’s guidance, all the while being in decidense to listen and follow his Word in compliance.

Written

by Maria

Linder,

Pastor in Uniting Church in Sweden

Hans-Erik Lindström, Priest in the Church of Sweden

Africa Methodist Council Shares Identity

Africa Methodist Council (AMC) is pleased to share with the Methodist siblings about our identity as a continental movement. The Council is a family of 44 Methodist Conferences connected by the common heritage and faith, grounded in the Wesleyan tradition namely Methodists, United Methodists, Africa Methodist Episcopal Zion, African Methodist Episcopal, Free Methodists, United African Methodist Church, and Christian Episcopal Methodist Church. The movement is driven by the to be a unifying Wesleyan movement for holistic evangelism for the transformation of Africa and humanity. Its mission is to equip Methodists for Christian Ministry and active involvement in the socio-economic development of Africa and the world. The Council affirms the historic Creeds of the Church, holds the Holy Bible as inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), and seeks to serve the present age in its diverse African contexts.

The history of AMC traces back to 1986 when African leaders saw the need for a continental movement after hosting the World Methodist Council (WMC) in Nairobi, Kenya. A similar call was made at the 1991 WMC in Singapore and in 1996 in Rio De Janeiro. The first formal meeting was held in March 1998 at Northfield Methodist Church in South Africa. The meeting agreed to name the move ment All African Methodist Leaders Conference (AAMLC). The second meeting was held from 4 - 8 March 2001 in Benoni South Africa. Several other meetings were held later, in March 2001 in Benon, South Africa, in March 2002 in Iperu Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, in October 2002, in Johannesburg, South Africa and in October 2003 in Kinshasa DRC. This was the last momentum meeting. No meeting was held until 2010. The 2010 meeting recognised in London, England affirmed the various attempts to establish the Council and agreed to put special attention to establishing the Councill before the World Methodist Conference in South Africa in 2011. The Church leaders met in Durban, South Africa from November 30 - December 2, 2010, and the name of the movement was changed to Pan African Methodist Leaders Network. Another

meeting was held in March 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya, and another one in Durban in July/August 2011. The church leaders also met in November 2014 in Ibadan, Nigeria. The Ibadan meeting proposed the basic structure, and operational outlook, and renamed the movement to Africa Methodist Council.

The Heads of Conference Summit was in October 2015 in Kumasi Ghana. The main agenda for the Summit was to adopt the Draft Constitution. Africa Methodist Council started to operate with a temporary secretariat in Ibadan, Nigeria with Very Revd. Opeyemi Awe as the Interim General Secretary, and the Interim Chairperson as Archbishop Michael Kehinde Stephen. It was also agreed that the secretariat moves to Accra Ghana.

The first General Conference was held in Kenya in March 2019 and confirmed Very Revd. Opeyemi Awe as the General Secretary and Revd. Joseph Ntombura the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church in Kenya to be the President. The First Quadrennial Conference was held in March 2023 in

Wesley House, Cambridge

We have the following forthcoming events for your diary

Online Start of Term and Welcome Service - Tuesday 24 September at 5.15pm (UK Time)

World Parish Webinars - October onwards. Join us online for a series of webinars which bring together scholars and researchers from around the world for a focused time of theological conferring. If you would like to be notified about the programme for 2024-25 then email us at office@wesley.cam.ac.uk

Online Founders and Benefactors Service - Tuesday 3 December at 5pm (UK Time)

Enabling Skills for Ministry and Mission - Are you helping people change the way they work? Are you committed to working with people to achieve their purposes? Do you want to develop your approach in a context of competing demands? Then this online course running from January to November 2025 may be for you.

Certificate in Reflective Pastoral Supervision Skills for Groups in Clinical Settings - 26-30 May 2025 - An in-person course designed to enable experienced chaplains to sharpen their skills in providing supervisory spaces for a range of groups within the hospital setting.

Diploma in Group Supervision - 9-13 June 2025 - A creative and professional training for experienced supervisors who want to/already offer group supervision

Certificate in Reflective Pastoral Supervision - 30 June - 4 July 2025 - An in-person course which provides initial training for those who have oversight of colleagues, team members or peers or who are interested to explore the skill set of a pastoral supervisor.

Diploma in Reflective Pastoral Supervision - 7-11 July 2025 - An in-person course for those that have completed the Certificate, or equivalent, and want to/already offer a professional level of supervision.

Join us for the rescheduled Brian E Beck Memorial Lecture on Saturday 14 December 2024. There is the option to attend in-person or online.

This year’s lecture will be provided by The Revd Dr Julian M. Pursehouse and the lecture title is The Complete Art of Happiness - Engaging with Wesley through a Theology of Happiness

We will also be joined by The Revd Dr Richard Clutterbuck who as well as introducing the lecture will be talking about Brian’s legacy.

Honouring his legacy his family established the Brian E Beck Memorial Fund to support teaching and research into Methodist theologies. Donations are invited in Brian’s memory.

For further information and to sign up for joining us either in-person or online CLICK HERE

Community Archaeology at Epworth Old Rectory

As part of a successful funding award from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Epworth Old Rectory, Epworth, North Lincolnshire, hosted a series of archaeological excavations in August 2024, to explore the history of Epworth Old Rectory and teach members of the community new skills. The Rectory welcomed archaeologist, Andrew Steers, and experienced volunteers from the Lincoln Archaeology Group to Epworth to support the excavations.

Epworth Old Rectory, an imposing brick building, was built on the site of the original timber framed, thatched rectory, following a fire in 1709. It was occupied by the Wesley family from 1696 until 1735. Father Samuel was the rector of St Andrew’s church, and lived with his wife Susanna and their children, including John and Charles. The Rectory is now a museum telling the story of the Wesleys and Methodism.

As part of our project ‘Out of the Box: Unlocking collections at Epworth Old Rectory’ funded by the Heritage Fund and made possible by National Lottery players, the museum organised two digs for community volunteers. This was an opportunity to work alongside staff and archaeologists to help excavate trenches in the Croft (the sheep field behind the Rectory) and the gardens to uncover ‘hidden’ stories of the Old Rectory. Thanks to a local metal detectorist, Mark McCormack, we had already found objects such a 17th century crotal bell, a coin from the 1377 and 18th century shoe buckles.

The dig took place over two weekends in August. The principal aim was to look for evidence of the original Rectory and investigate areas that had promising archaeological features by digging a series of test pits.

Volunteers from the Lincoln Archaeology Group worked with community members and local enthusiasts of all ages to give them a taste of an archaeological dig.

Epworth Old Rectory’s Visits and Collections Manager, Anya Johnson, said: “On the first weekend we worked with a family group with two young girls who were as excited by rescuing the worms as by the bones and pottery they found. Their father was totally engaged and had to be virtually dragged out of the trench for refreshments at the end of their session. It was clear that the event appealed to all ages and abilities.” The event also attracted several A Level students, interested in history and contemplating the possibility of studying archaeology at university.

Evidence contained in archival documents suggested that the remains of the original Rectory could be seen in the gardens to the south of the present building, so on the second weekend two test pits were opened on the lawns. Some limestone rubble and charcoal were found but further exploration would be needed to identify if this was part of the original building. During the weekend a local journalist and a party of American Methodists visited the Old Rectory and were fascinated by the community dig and overall level of enthusiasm.

Although the two weekend digs did not produce any significant discoveries it raised further questions about the history of the site, and such was the level of interest by the community that further archaeological work is being actively considered.

A huge thank you to Andrew Steers, Sue Hayden and Andrew Jenkins from the Lincoln Archaeology Group and all the community volunteers who sup ported the digs.

Story Submitted by Sarah Friswell Chair of Trustees, EOR

Archaeological Dig

This article was first published in the Methodist Recorder and is reproduced here with permission

Mobilizing Relief Efforts Following Hurricane Francine

Initial Reports of Impact on Churches

Hurricane Francine made its presence felt across several United Methodist congregations in south Louisiana, though reports suggest the overall damage to churches may not be as severe as initially feared.

In Dulac, a coastal community that is frequently hit hard by hurricanes, Rev. Kirby Verrett shared a positive update, stating that both the church and its associated preschool came through the storm unscathed.

In Houma, Rev. Katie Black of First United Methodist Church received reports that the exterior of the church had no visible damage when a staff member drove by to inspect it after the storm.

However, prior to the hurricane’s arrival, the church had already been dealing with leaks and some ceiling tile damage. With the storm bringing heavy rains, there are concerns that water may have entered the building, though it is likely contained to areas that were already affected before the storm.

In Thibodeaux, the effects of the storm were more immediate and apparent.

Rev. JoAnne Pounds reported that one-third of The Little School, a key ministry of First United Methodist Church in Thibodeaux, had flooded. There is also water in the Fellowship Hall.

In Morgan City, Rev. Joy Comeaux reports that Pharr Chapel received minimal damage while several homes in Mogan City flooded.

In New Orleans, Rev. Colleen Bookter shared a photo of St. Luke’s sanctuary (above photo), where water pooled in, and a reflection of Jesus in the stained glass was visible.

As Rev. Bookter shared, St. Luke’s was hit hard by Hurricane Ida several years ago, and the church is still recovering.

“But because of that, we were as prepared as we could have been for Hurricane Francine,” Rev. Bookter said. “We used a tarp to cover the chancel area and the screen, an area that often takes on water in our church. Our setup wasn’t enough to prevent damage, but it certainly lessened the damage. And for that, we are thankful!”

Rev. Bookter praised church members who helped prepare the church before the storm and said the church is ready to respond.

“We are resilient people and a resilient church,” she said. “This won’t slow us down. We will worship on Sunday. We will serve God’s people. And we will continue to reach out to others so that our community is stronger. Because that is what St. Luke’s is all about - that is what The United Methodist Church is all about - loving God and serving others.”

Meanwhile, in Kenner, the police chief has compared damage to parts of Kenner to damage from Hurricane Katrina, with a significant amount of flooding and power outages.

On the Web

This and past First Friday Letters can be found online at FirstFridayLetter.worldmethodistcouncil.org.

The World Methodist Council’s website may be found at worldmethodistcouncil.org.

The World Methodist Council’s Conference website is at worldmethodistconference.org.

To subscribe to this newsletter, please email communications@worldmethodistcouncil.org.

About the First Friday Letter

The First Friday Newsletter is a monthly publication of the World Methodist Council.

Publisher: Rev. Dr. Reynaldo F. Leão Neto, General Secretary Communications: Michaela Bryson

All stories and photos, unless otherwise stated, are protected by their respective copyrights. Please do not copy without expressed written permission from the Council.

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