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Thursday, August 14, 2008 Come to this page first... it is the quick and easy way to miss nothing of All the National UMC news Something we may have overlooked? Please, tell us

Churches anxious over fighting in ex-Soviet republic By Christopher Quinn / The Atlanta Journal Constitution
	Church members in metro Atlanta are waiting anxiously to hear from friends they made working in the now embattled country of Georgia, and some have not canceled their plans to return there in September. Members of Peachtree Road United Methodist and Marietta's First United Methodist churches wonder how many of the friends they made are among the dead or displaced. The churches have sent teams of short-term workers to Georgia, a former Soviet republic, for years and have received sporadic e-mail from friends there during the fighting between local troops and Russian invaders.

Iowa training addresses spiritual and emotional care for flood survivors – by Susan Meister / UMCOR
	While the energies of many United Methodists in the Midwest are focusing on cleaning up water-soaked homes, others recognize that recovery from the devastating flooding in the summer of 2008 will mean more than mucking out and rebuilding. Survivors of disasters will also face unique emotional and spiritual challenges that unfold in the months of the recovery. The United Methodist Committee on Relief and the Iowa Annual Conference, are helping clergy and lay leadership begin to address the spiritual and emotional needs of their communities with a basic training, Calming After the Storm, held in three locations in the eastern part of the state on August 6, 7, and 8. Nearly 70 leaders listened to the practical suggestions presented by UMCOR consultant Mary Gaudreau.

Study guide offers steps on Darfur involvement By Wayne Rhodes / UMNS
	A biblically based study, developed to accompany a best-selling book on the crisis in Darfur, is available to help the Christian community mobilize against atrocities in Sudan. Not on Our Watch Christian Companion: Biblical Reflections on the Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond is an eight-week study written by Bill Mefford, director of civil and human rights for the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, and Greg Leffel, president of One Horizon Foundation.

Scripture lesson from the lectionary: Romans 11:1-2, 29-32
	11:1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 11:2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 11:29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 11:30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 11:31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 11:32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

Methodists in their local news:
•	Child turned away from vacation Bible school / Fayetteville Observer FAYETTEVILLE, NC — Jeers to Haymount United Methodist Church. My son was asked to attend vacation Bible school by a neighbor and her son, who are members of this church. My son was told by the vacation Bible school staff that there was no room for him. How devastating this must have felt for a 10-year-old not to be welcomed in the Lord’s house. He called his mom crying from his cell phone in the hallway of the church, “Please come and pick me up.” He felt unwanted.
•	Police urge Methodist to follow rules / Radio Fiji [Fiji] Police say the Methodist Church should abide by the rules set in their permit to hold their conference and not entertain any political activity.
•	Women's walking group raises $31,000 for cancer research By Amy Calder / Maine Today WATERVILLE, ME — The Pleasant Street United Methodist Church Pink PANTers will head to Boston Thursday to take part in the 2008 Breast Cancer 3-Day, a 60-mile fund raising walk to be held Friday through Sunday.
•	Methodist Church helping to feed hungry in Fallon Patranya Bhoolsuwan / Channel 2 News FALLEN, NV — There was a groundbreaking Wednesday morning for the new Wolf Center at the Epworth United Methodist Church. Part of the new facility will house a dining hall and kitchen for "Daily Bread" - the first hot meal program in Fallon.

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China: Christians plead for relief as Olympics continue
Hua Huiqi writes to President Bush; seminary staff to face trial after Games

(Compass) – Christian activist and house church pastor Hua Huiqi wrote an open letter to U.S. President George Bush on Sunday (August 10), asking for prayer for his personal safety and for freedom of belief for all Chinese people.
      Earlier that day, plainclothes policemen detained Hua to prevent him participating in a service at the government-approved Kuanjie Protestant church in Beijing, where Bush was scheduled to attend.
      “At the place where they detained us, they conducted an interrogation,” Hua wrote. “They threatened me: ‘We simply won’t allow you to go to Kuanjie Church today. If you say you will go there again, we will break your legs.’”
      Hua managed to escape but was fearful of the consequences. “Now I’m wandering outside and dare not go back home,” he wrote. “I am writing this letter to implore you to pray for my personal safety and for the freedom of belief of us Chinese people.”
       Also in Beijing, Christian bookstore owner Shi Weihan remains in custody at the Beijing Municipal Detention Center.
      Several house churches have been closed before the Olympics.

China's march against religious freedom
By Ray Nothstine / Acton Institute

"...While the expansion of economic freedom in China has been significant, religious and political freedoms may be trending backwards since the start of Olympic preparation in Beijing. Trying to shed the long shadow of Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, China promised improvements in human rights leading up to the games, but has instead used the occasion to crack down on those seeking religious and political freedom.
"While enjoying greater wealth and prosperity, many Chinese are finding that material riches don't bring happiness. Religion, specifically Christianity, has exploded in unsanctioned underground churches. In a country where more Christians are in prison because of their faith than any other place in the world, the government's response has at times been brutal. Although the vast majority of Chinese Christians are law abiding citizens, it is not lost on the government that religious strength could someday threaten authoritarian one-party control..."

New AIDS chief says faith groups useful if...
By Juan Michel / ENI

MEXICO CITY — Faith-based organizations can play an important role in the response to HIV and AIDS if they abide by the best public health practices, says Dr. Julio Montaner, the new president of the International AIDS Society.
      “We know what needs to be done to respond effectively to the HIV epidemic. What is lacking is political leadership,” Montaner told Ecumenical News International in an interview during the 17th International AIDS Conference held in Mexico City from Aug. 3 to 8.
      “To make a significant dent in the epidemic,” Montaner told ENI, a combination of prevention strategies must be applied. These include decriminalizing risky behavior, such as using injection drugs or men having sex with men, so that people involved are free to access treatment and care services. Effective anti-retroviral therapy for HIV-positive people has also proved to be a good prevention strategy because it reduces the “community viral load,” Montaner adds.
      He believes other measures needed are the promotion of the use of condoms, the provision of clean needles, and education.

DC land swap deal called unconstitutional
By Elissa Silverman and Nikita Stewart / The Washington Post

"This deal effectively subsidizes religious worship and instruction, thus violating core constitutional principles," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in an interview last night.
At a meeting last month, the D.C. Council approved an emergency bill requested by Fenty (D) that authorized the sale of a former city-owned homeless shelter known as the Gales School to the mission. Officials characterized the transaction as a land swap, but according to the legislation, the financial exchange is not of equal value.

John Edwards is The Real World
By Anthony B. Bradley / Acton Institute

"...What has been exposed, again, is that Americans do not value the necessary character formation concomitant with professional success. We do not demand it of our leaders because we do not demand it of ourselves. We are far more concerned about having the right ideology or professional achievements than about cultivating character and virtue. Leaders without character ultimately misuse economic, political, social relationships in ways that eventually hurt people.
"In the decades to come, stories like this will be the American social narrative because Americans are not inculcating virtue in children..."

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