Why do Christians lie? by Steven Skelley

Why do Christians lie? Isn't telling the truth one of the foundational principles of Christianity?

I ran across this publication by the UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE - http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/1181

The news article praises a Methodist seminary student / minister-in-training named Disney Weaver. (He claims his parents conceived him at Disney World - hence the catchy name).

Rev.-to-be Disney claims he created a youth fitness center by utilizing unused church facilities. He claims he sought donations of equipment for youth to use in a safe environment.

Unfortunately, for Disney, I know the truth.

Disney had NOTHING to do with the creation of the fitness center or youth outreach.  It had been created two years before Disney was even hired at Community Methodist Church in Belle Glade, Florida.

How do I know this? It's quite simple - Belle Glade area youth and I  created the youth outreach fitness center in unused church rooms in 2000 when I was on staff there after the church relocated my family to Belle Glade from Ohio.

A number of quality young people from Belle Glade raised funds and donations not only for fitness equipment, but also for a professional billiard table that they helped me carry to the second floor and install. Kevin Hale donated his own heavy bag (boxing equipment).

The youth involved in ACTUALLY creating the youth center but never given the credit that was instead unfairly bestowed on "Disney" include Harvard Law Graduate Matthew Sanchez, Stanford University Graduate Nick Sanchez, University of Florida Graduate Justin Gilmer, the late Fenton Hollingsworth, Published Author Steffany Skelley, Gulf Coast University Graduate Justin Miller and Kevin Hale.

I made several attempts to request that the United Methodist News Service print a retraction and correction for their article which is in complete error and is disrespectful to the people who actually DID create the youth center. They never returned my emails.

Here is the article they published-


Church connects with neighborhood youth through fitness center
http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/1181

1/18/2006

e-Review Florida United Methodist News Service
        
Church connects with neighborhood youth through fitness center

Jan. 18, 2006    News media contact: Tita Parham*  
800-282-8011   tparham@flumc.org    Orlando {0429}

An e-Review Feature
By John M. De Marco**

In neighborhoods all across the county there are kids who have the opportunity to immerse themselves in after-school activities, like sports, and there are those with no place to go once school gets out.

It's no different in the western Palm Beach County community of Belle Grade, but one neighborhood church is striving to catch the latter group of youth before they fall through the cracks.


BELLE GLADE — Youth who live in the neigborhood around Community United Methodist Church here work out at the church's fitness and game room center. Photo by Disney Weaver, Photo #06-297.
Members of Community United Methodist Church recognized the need for youth in Belle Glade to experience more physical exercise, discipleship and Christian fellowship, so they launched a fitness and game room that's open three times each week. The goal is to provide an opportunity for fellowship and recreation and to foster mentoring relationships between the church's adults and the neighborhood's youth.

"We've had the fortunate situation of having donations of some significant weight equipment and game room equipment," said Disney Weaver, the church's full-time youth and young adult coordinator. "We had the facility and were always raising the question, 'How do we utilize it in the most effective way?' In Belle Glade, there's boys and girls clubs, school activities, sports, but there is a gap when it comes to everyone having a positive, safe, drug-free environment."

Through the church's Hispanic ministry, some teenagers and adults had already begun to regularly use the cardiovascular and strength training equipment at different times throughout the day.

"We just began to explore the opportunity of designing an outreach ministry or program utilizing the facility we have," Weaver said. "We developed an idea of an after-school activity, opening up the church for teenagers to come and be here and have a safe place for recreation, as well as a place to be nurtured."

Weaver says they dream of mentoring the youth and establishing relationships with the neighborhood, "with those right around our church."

About 25 to 30 different youth gather at the church in the afternoons during the school year, with about 10 to 15 visiting every weekday. A devotional each Wednesday at 5 p.m. leads to a discussion of a current issue facing the diverse Belle Glade community. The church also has a Sunday evening youth group fellowship that was sparsely attended before the after-school activities began.

Residents around the church are primarily African-American, British West Indian, Haitian, Jamaican and a variety of other ethnic groups. Weaver said the Wednesday devotional time helps him and the ministry volunteers get to know some of the backgrounds of the youth.

"Many of the youth we encounter have a connection to another church, whether Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist, non-denominational or whatever. We seek to be ecumenical in our approach and not proselytize, but facilitate. We communicate to them that there is a spiritual component to healthy living, to being a whole person," he said.

Weaver said the church has also provided computer and Internet access, encouraging youth to download sermons or listen to Christian podcasts.

Support for the program from the congregation has been mixed. Weaver said some members have donated exercise equipment they no longer use and provided positive feedback. Others have expressed resistance, asking, "Do we really think they would fit into this church or become members here?"

"I tell them, 'If we are hospitable and welcoming to them, that's a possibility.' " he said. "I'm not going to shortchange what God could do in this scenario. I expect that we're going to get some different comments, and I just try to meet them with an informative defense."

Weaver says the church built an educational wing as a response to integration in the 1960s with the goal of making it a private school. "I'm very proud to say that it is being used in an integrated manner and is a place that is multicultural," he said. "It's not just for our own people. We're establishing a rapport with a younger generation that we hadn't been effectively reaching through our worship or even our traditional Christian education."

Every Monday an intercessory prayer group of adult members meets at the church. Weaver has taken some of the youths' prayer concerns to that gathering. When he does, he lets the youth know others in the church are praying for them.

"It's a way to build a bridge to some of the people who may be the most reluctant (to support the after-school ministry)," he says.

Weaver said he is motivated by the interaction with the youth and the opportunity to get to know them. One youth expressed an interest in going to college, and through Weaver's mentoring he has enrolled in classes — an event that stands out in a neighborhood where only 9 percent of the population has a college education.

"That's an encouraging thing," Weaver said.

###

This article relates to Health and Wholeness and Outreach.

*Parham is managing editor of e-Review Florida United Methodist News Service.
**De Marco is a commissioned minister of the Florida Conference and a freelance writer, speaker and consultant

****Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Steven Skelley's UM News Service articles.

Steven Skelley's UM News Service articles.

Approximately 100 of Steven Skelley 's articles and photos were published by the UM News Service.

He was a staff writer whose articles focused on churches that were successful in reaching out to people in need.

A list of his articles can be found at http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/site/search?keywords=Skelley




______
______
Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Miami Beach church spreads healing through arts By Steven Skelley

Miami Beach church spreads healing through arts

By Steven Skelley

Published by UM News Service at http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/2435

More than 14,000 people have attended events provided through Arts at St. John’s since the program began eight years ago at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Miami Beach. Photo by Steven Skelley. Photo #07-0667.

MIAMI BEACH — St. John’s United Methodist Church is just 10 blocks from the mansion of megastar Jennifer Lopez, and nearby residents range from the mega-rich to the disillusioned, homeless and abused of all ethnicities.

Amidst this diversity St. John’s has found a common thread: the arts.

“St. John’s is a reconciling church,” said Dr. Carol Hoffman-Guzman, director of Arts at St. John’s. “We are diverse ethnically. We welcome the gay community and those people who were disillusioned by churches in the past. Now, they have a safe way to peek inside a church again because of these arts programs.”

Arts at St. John’s is a nonprofit corporation begun at St. John’s United Methodist Church eight years ago. It was developed to increase the visibility of the church, attract new visitors and members, and build community. Its goal is to use the arts as a medium for bringing social, spiritual and personal transformation and a means of encouraging intercultural understanding, sharing and dialogue.

Arts at St. John’s events include concerts, shows, workshops, panel discussions and a variety of innovative arts programs. In addition to support from the church, the program also receives funding from such community and state groups as the Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.

Hoffman-Guzman says more than 14,000 people have attended Arts at St. John’s events since the program began, and each year the program receives between $50,000 and $60,000 in corporate donations and city, county and state grants.

“What started as a neighborhood outreach program expanded,” she says. “Attendees started coming from all over south Florida and then internationally. People said they made trips to the U.S. just to attend our events. One couple came all the way from England.”

Hoffman-Guzman says she believes the church should be part of the community and promoting and presenting arts and artists as a way to be agents of social, personal and spiritual transformation.

“We want to expose people to different cultures,” she said. “Many people in society separate for different reasons. We try to bring them together. We want to build relationships within our community and make connections with artists in this community.”

The Rev. Melissa Pisco, senior pastor of the church, agrees and says the arts can often say more than what language can convey.

“We do something together and we break through barricades,” she said. “It is a ministry of bridge-building with people and with God. Art breaks down those backgrounds that separate us. Everyone is welcome here.”

Bringing healing to people

Charm Walters says there were two things that carried her through the difficult times in her life: dance and God.

Dr. Carol Hoffman-Guzman (left), director of Arts at St. John’s, and Charm Walters, who developed the Rhythmic Rapture outreach dance program, believe the arts can transform both individuals and a community — spiritually, socially and personally — and that the church should be part of that, a main tenet behind the arts program. Photo by Thomas Routzong. Photo #07-0668.

“Spirituality can be expressed through the arts,” she said. “Having arts in a sacred place is just natural. What brought me back to the church were the artistic, inclusive activities here.”

Through Arts At St. John’s Walters has launched the nonprofit Rhythmic Rapture outreach program as a way to “use dance and rhythm to heal people.”

Rhythmic Rapture recently received a $7,000 grant from the county, and a psychotherapist has partnered with Walters to help her bring healing to abused, oppressed and homeless women.

The pair recently led a Flamenco dance therapy class at a local homeless shelter, particularly appropriate because Flamenco was created as an artistic release by people who were oppressed, according to Walters

Walters said one of the women in the class refused to participate in the dance therapy.

“She just sat with her arms crossed,” Walters said. “I offered to dance for her. As I danced, her face lit up. The next time, she opened up and participated herself.

Walter says the women are very strong in their faith, even though they’ve been “abused and beaten down.”

“This ministry empowers them,” she said. “You see women working things out through their movements and finding healing in what they’re doing. The arts can do something special that other avenues can’t. It reaches people in special ways.”

Tiffany Madeira teaches Sunday school at the church and Middle Eastern dance. She’s also reaching out to women at the shelter through a dance program she developed called Dance Empowerment. Its goal is to help women feel better about themselves.

Hoffman-Guzman assists both women in applying for grants to support their programs, which operate under the St. John’s umbrella.

“The United Methodist Church is a diverse church,” Hoffman-Guzman said. “We have music and dance from different cultures. We want to expose people to different cultures.”

Making connections

In addition to the church’s ministries and arts outreach, St. John’s also provides space for a Montessori school for moderate- and low-income children.

Participants attending the Afroroots Sacred Music concert Feb. 29, 2004, enjoy sacred music from countries and cultures with African roots. Photo courtesy of Arts at St. John’s. Photo #07-0669. Web photo only.

The Montessori Academy offers three learning environments: one for infants, one for toddlers and one for preschoolers and kindergartners. Lead teachers who hold bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees and Montessori certifications manage the levels.

“We recently did an outreach event that linked the church, the arts program and the Montessori school,” Pisco said. “Both children and adults created and decorated masks and talked about how we live with masks on in different areas of our lives.”

The academy is the first school to host a new cultural program called World of Art, featuring a different talent each week, according to the church’s Web site. One week the children were shown how to belly dance. Another week they were introduced to sign language. The program often features music and dance that is typical of a certain culture or region.

“Everything we do has some message,” Hoffman-Guzman said. “Some are fun. Some are inspirational. Some are confrontational. We want people to begin to look at the stereotypes that they have of others. Our arts program transforms the community and artists, but it also transforms us. It renews a sense of spirituality in us all.”

______

______

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

‘Revolutionary’ bishop celebrates 100th birthday By Steven Skelley

‘Revolutionary’ bishop celebrates 100th birthday By Steven Skelley Published by UM News Service at http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/2006 Nature Coast Clowns help Bishop Ralph E. Dodge celebrate his 100th birthday. The bishop is considered revolutionary by many for his efforts to improve social conditions in Africa from 1937 to 1964 while serving there as a missionary and bishop of the Africa Central Conference. Photo by Steven Skelley. Photo #07-0530. INVERNESS — Some people call the career of Bishop Ralph Edward Dodge a beacon of interracial healing and acceptance. Others call him revolutionary. His friends and family were able to share those sentiments and what his ministry has meant to them at the celebration of his 100th birthday earlier this year. Retired Bishop James Lloyd Knox, who lives in St. Petersburg, counts himself among those who say Dodge was a visionary bishop. Dodge served as a missionary in Angola from 1937 until his election as a bishop in 1956 by the Africa Central Conference. He was the only American Methodist missionary ever elected bishop by the African Methodist Church. His episcopal area included Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). He served as bishop for eight years before being expelled from the country in 1964. He was re-elected in exile and served another four years before retiring. “Bishop Dodge was a strong supporter of human rights for Africans when a white minority ruled,” Knox said. “For his actions, he was expelled from Rhodesia. This story is recounted in his book ‘The Revolutionary Bishop.’ ” At Dodge’s birthday celebration one of his sons, Dr. Ed Dodge, remembered his father’s legacy proudly: “When Dad was expelled from South Rhodesia by the white supremacist government in 1964, I was in the United States Public Health Service on assignment in Chillicothe, Ohio. Dad visited us on his speaking tour before going back to Zambia. He spoke at our Methodist church. After his presentation, one of the older men came up to me and commented ‘Your father is a remarkable man. It takes a big man to avoid indulging in anger or self-pity after the kind of experience he had. You can be mighty proud of him.’ Of course, I was!” Ralph Dodge was born the youngest child of Ernest and Lizzie Dodge Jan. 25, 1907. His parents were farmers. He rode to school in a horse-drawn bus and wanted to become a farmer, like his father. His school was so small the fourth- and fifth-grade students shared a teacher and schoolroom. The Dodge family attended Terril Methodist Church in Terril, Iowa. Dodge remembers his family seldom missing Sunday morning services or Sunday school and often returning for Sunday night services. When Dodge was a senior in high school, he attended a revival meeting where he says he committed his life to Christ. As the choir sang “Just As I Am,” he says he stood with his head bowed until his pastor, the Rev. H.O. Ward, put his arm around him and whispered in his ear, “God is calling you to give your heart to Jesus tonight. Won’t you come to the altar and let us pray together?” As Dodge reached the altar, he broke down in tears, confessed his sins to God and made a public commitment to Christ. He was baptized the following week. Soon after, Dodge’s high school principal advised him to go into farming because he felt Dodge’s speaking abilities were limited. At the same time, Ward said he had a feeling Dodge was being called into ministry. Dodge believed the principal had the right idea and says he heard an emphatic “No!” in his own mind concerning ministry. That summer, Dodge’s father was hit and killed by a train. The Great Depression was at its height, and though logic suggested Ralph work in a local grain elevator, he began to feel the call to ministry. He enrolled in college, learned to control his fear of public speaking and soon met his first wife, Eunice, to whom he was married for 48 years. Dodge attended Taylor University, then Boston University School of Theology and married Eunice June 28, 1934, in her family’s living room. After graduation Dodge served as pastor at churches in Malden, Mass., and Mohall, N.D., before hearing God’s call to missions. Bishop Ralph E. Dodge celebrates his 100th birthday with his children. Photo by Steven Skelley. Photo #07-0531. While serving as a missionary and then bishop in Africa, Dodge was not highly paid. He and Eunice and their four children — Ed, Lois, Clifford and Peggy — lived largely on local produce, fish and fruit. Breakfast was usually papaya and oatmeal. Malaria was a constant threat. Since there were few qualified teachers in the area, Dodge and Eunice started a number of local schools, teaching two sessions each day and a night session five days a week. Their efforts caused tension between the Dodge’s and local plantation owners who were not eager for Africans to be educated. Despite the challenges, the Dodges continued providing educational opportunities, in part so people could learn to read the Bible. While attending the 100th anniversary celebration of the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe in December 1997, Dodge received an honorary degree from Africa University for his efforts to promote education for Africans during and after his tenure as bishop. In a time of extreme segregation between blacks and whites, even at church conferences, Dodge also broke away from the accepted custom of missionaries providing their own cook and bedding while traveling and instead ate and slept in the homes of the people he served. Though he was portrayed as a criminal by the Rhodesian government for his treatment of blacks and whites as equals and his efforts to transform the country’s oppressive social systems, black Africans called him a hero. It’s been said he was leading Africans to greener pastures where they had not been allowed to graze. Dodge says he did not set out to be a reformer — he was just responding to the “inner urge of the Holy Spirit.” In his book “The Revolutionary Bishop,” he said, “Responding to that inner urge has caused some people to regard me as revolutionary or at least a meddler with the established structure of society.” He said true religion has no bounds and knows no frontiers. Dodge served in Africa, the United States, Portugal and Switzerland. After Eunice’s death, he married Florida businesswoman Elizabeth Law. Dodge’s family helped him celebrate his 100th birthday with a party Jan. 24 and a luncheon Jan. 25. Dodge resides in an assisted living facility in Inverness. Those wishing to send him a note may reach him at Highland Terrace, Unit 211, 700 Medical Court East, Inverness, FL 34452. ______ ______ Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

United Methodists celebrate growth of Haitian church from Miami to California By Steven Skelley

United Methodists celebrate growth of Haitian church from Miami to California

By Steven Skelley

Published by UM News Service at http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/1717

The Rev. Luc Dessieux and Jocelyne Jean-Baptiste help others remember the birth of  Haitian United Methodist churches in Florida and the United States. Dessieux helped launch Grace Haitian United Methodist Church, the first Haitian congregation; Jean-Baptiste was one of its first worshippers. Photo by Steven Skelley, Photo #06-441. Web photo only.

In 1979 a man named Luc Dessieux fled his Haitian homeland in fear for his family’s lives. An illegal immigrant, he was imprisoned in the United States for three weeks.


Just two years later, God led Dessieux to launch the first Haitian United Methodist Church in his new homeland.

From this one small beginning in Little Haiti, Miami, 18 Haitian United Methodist congregations in Florida and across New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia and California were born.

That first Haitian congregation was Grace Haitian United Methodist Church. It’s motto today is “Grace Haitian United Methodist: Where Everybody Is Somebody,” and that attitude was evident there Sept. 10 during the 25th anniversary celebration of the church and Haitian ministry in the United States.

Twenty-five years ago Bishop James Lloyd Knox was superintendent of what was then called the Miami District. He recalled how he came to know Dessieux. “Luc had washed ashore on Palm Beach,” Knox said. “Immigration had taken him to its facility in Immokalee. They held him there for three weeks. Luc’s brother, Pierre, lived in Miami and had somehow gotten Luc released.”

Dessieux, now an ordained elder in the Florida Conference, had been a school teacher in Haiti. He was also the assistant pastor of a nine-congregation Methodist circuit in the Cap Haitien area. A terrorist group called the Ton Ton Macoute threatened to kill his family unless he left Haiti. He fled in 1979 and did not see his family for six years.

In the fall of 1980, Dessieux contacted Knox about creating a Creole-language congregation. The Rev. Michael Loomis and the congregation of Grace United Methodist Church agreed to provide that opportunity. On Sept. 11, 1981, the first Haitian United Methodist congregation in the United States was formally recognized. Dessieux, now a local pastor, became the minister of that church.

“It was possible to get funding from the district, the Florida Conference and the then National Division of the Board of Global Ministries for pastoral support,” Knox said. “The Haitian congregation flourished.”
 

A banner hung at Grace Haitian United Methodist Church announces the 25th anniversary of the church. Photo by Steven Skelley, Photo #06-442. Web photo only.

By 1991 the church had more than 350 members. “Grace Haitian United Methodist Church is considered the mother-church, at least by the Haitians in Florida,” Knox said.

The Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries and the United Methodist
Committee on Relief gave the district funds for a number of Haitian ministries, including a ministry with Haitian and Hispanic women and children and a refugee resettlement program for Haitians, according to Knox.


The Rev. Deborah A. McLeod, superintendent of the South East District, which includes the Miami area, said the six Haitian congregations in the district are among the district’s strongest churches “in terms of average attendance, spiritual maturity and their evangelistic and mission efforts. There are many professions of faith each year in all these congregations.”

She added: “The Haitian-American United Methodist pastors are among the hardest-working pastors. They are often the only paid employee of the church, serving as spiritual leader, counselor, social worker, translator, friend in legal proceedings, immigration advisor, organizer of youth activities and driver of the church van. We have the finest men and women serving as pastors of our Haitian congregations.”

The Rev. Preval Floreal, the current pastor of Grace Haitian church, stood during the celebration and asked the congregation, “Has God been good to you?” They immediately stood and shouted, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” punctuating each “yes” with raised hands.

Grace Haitian United Methodist Church was filled to overflowing during the celebration of its 25th anniversary and the Haitian ministry it helped launch in the United States. Photo by Steven Skelley, Photo #06-443. Web photo only.

“We have gathered here to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Haitian ministry here in the United States of America,” Floreal said. “We thank God for all of you who have gathered together to praise and lift up the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”


Jocelyne Jean-Baptiste was one of the church’s first worshipers. “We feel God here,” she said. “He has done so much. We see people who have worshiped here for many, many years, and we see young people coming in. We see God doing something here.” She said the church’s revival meetings sometimes last until midnight.

Wilfred Toussaint attended the celebration with his wife, Julie. He said he feels the church is very important to the community. “We have a very helpful pastor, and the church is reaching out to the community. We formed PATC: People Acting Together for this Community. We meet to discuss the needs of the community, like transportation, education, immigration and people in need of housing.”

Floreal shared the stories of people who had come to know Christ through the church, including one woman who attributed the healing of a hemorrhage to giving “her heart to the Lord.”
“And there is another lady,” Floreal said. “God sent her to the church. I went to her house and began to witness to her. … One day after that, she came to the church and now she is coming here. The Lord is working.”

Others agree. “God has been working in our lives here for years,” the Rev. Fabolon Pradel said. “We try to touch lives in many ways because people have different needs.”

The Rev. Mike Oliver, superintendent of the Atlantic Central District, added: “I drove down to support the Haitian church in their celebration. I think God is using them in this community to do many good things.”

The celebration included a variety of special speakers, choirs, dancers and communion. The sanctuary was filled to capacity, and as many as 25 people stood in the narthex watching through the glass windows.

The praise team opened the celebration by leading the congregation in singing “How Great Thou Art,” while a clergy processional including Florida Conference Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker, Knox, Dessieux, Floreal and other conference pastors entered the sanctuary. The welcome was given in both English and Creole.


______
______
Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Orlando students, professionals join forces for at-risk kids By Steven Skelley

Orlando students, professionals join forces for at-risk kids

By Steven Skelley

Published by UM News Sevrice at http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/2590

 
ORLANDO — Natalie Graham is a seventh-grader whose brilliant smile and sparkling eyes tell you how happy she is even before she utters a single word.

“I graduated from this program two years ago,” she said one Saturday morning. “It helped me so much. I learned so many things. I did better in school.”

Damon Streeter receives tutoring from mentor Dinam Bigny through the Outreach Love program at First United Methodist Church of Orlando. Photo by Thomas Routzong. Photo #07-0708.

A huge grin spreads across young Damon Streeter’s face as his tutor, Dinam Bigny, walks over. Streeter reaches up and gives Bigny an enthusiastic high-five. He does the same when introduced to his new tutor, Chuck Diguardo. Streeter wants to be a police officer when he grows up.

Amarii Jones says the Saturday morning tutoring has helped him get two A’s and one B on his last report card. “Plus, I love going on field trips and camping. We even went to Sea World,” he said.

The students and tutors gather every Saturday morning on the second floor at First United Methodist Church of Orlando for a program called Outreach Love. They eat breakfast, then join hands and make a circle. One-by-one they share something they are thankful for and as a group recite a creed confessing their desire to learn. They then break off into pairs and trios and get to work.

Outreach Love is in its 11th year of service to at-risk kids in Orlando. It was founded by Beverly Gawlik of St. James Cathedral Catholic Church in partnership with Ferncreek Elementary School in Orlando. Ferncreek draws its students from the Paramore district, an area known for its high crime rate, and homeless shelters in the downtown Orlando area.

With every demographic excuse for failure, Ferncreek is an “A” school, and Outreach Love is considered a part of that success.

Outreach Love is a faith-based, non-denominational, all-volunteer effort that does not proselytize students, though the volunteers do pray every week with the students and ask them to give thanks to God.

About five years ago Outreach Love outgrew the available space at St. James Cathedral Catholic Church and started to look for a new location. First United Methodist Church stepped forward to offer its facilities, administrative support and the use of its bus.

“Our experience with FUMC has been a very positive one,” Outreach Love Director Don Madden said. “A television commercial (Igniting Ministry-aired) a few years ago declared that the doors of The Methodist Church were open to all. I can absolutely attest that FUMC has been a welcoming environment for our ministry.”

Agatha Alvarez teaches at Ferncreek Elementary School and refers children in need of tutoring to the program. “The school has a high turnover rate as kids come and go, and yet the Outreach Love tutoring program has a high retention rate,” she said. “The kids want to come and look forward to it each Saturday.”

About 25 to 30 children participate each year. In the past eleven years, 250 to 300 have been helped.

Madden says the program is reaching children who are “in survival mode.” “Their parents can’t pay their electric bills. They lose their homes. These kids move two to three times a year because of poverty,” he said. “Paramore is a high-crime, high-poverty area.

“Ours is hands-on Christianity. The geometry of human relations cannot completely describe the impact of one life upon another.”

That impact goes beyond helping meet educational needs.

“If there is no food in the home we pass the hat and go buy groceries,” Madden said. “I remember one year when two young girls showed up wearing dirty T-shirts as dresses. Our UCF (University of Central Florida) tutors went back to the dorm and got their friends to collect hand-me-down clothes from their younger sisters. The following week, after tutoring, the tutors held a fashion show, with the two girls trying on four to five new outfits each. The glow on the faces of the girls was reflected on the faces of the tutors. It was a good day.”

Each child is assigned two volunteer tutors who alternate Saturdays. They come from all walks of life — from UCF and Rollins College students to attorneys. A number of members from the Association of Young Urban Professionals volunteer their time and talents to the program. Tutors also come from First United Methodist Church, St. James Cathedral Catholic Church, University Congregational Church and many other Orlando churches.

Along with time spent doing schoolwork, tutors and students play games, build relationships and learn communication skills at the Outreach Love Saturday morning tutoring program at First United Methodist Church of Orlando. Photo by Thomas Routzong. Photo #07-0709.

Madden sees something special in this cooperative effort. “What we can learn is that while each of us walks our Christian life according to the tenets of our own religion, we can come together to do the work of the Lord among those most in need in our community,” he said.

Roz Mullen, a member of First United Methodist Church, says she is proud of the way so many people have caught the vision.

“Everything we have here has been donated,” she said. “Barnes & Noble donated 500 books. We have a computer lab with networked computers and desks and chairs that have all been donated. We have an arts and crafts room filled with supplies — First United Methodist Church donated the use of these classrooms. We have had a lot of support from some pretty wonderful people.”

Though he is dressed in “work” clothes for a day of community service, the Rev. Gary Spencer, senior pastor at First United Methodist Church, said he’s glad to take the time to lead people to the second floor rooms where the tutoring takes place. “We are really happy to be a part of this ministry to children,” he said.

Madden adds: “If the Lord looked down from heaven and asked us to be one of His instruments on earth, where do you think he would send us? There are many programs where you can write a check and feel good about yourself without ever having to see the face of the person you are trying to help. Our program is one of those rare opportunities for Christians to meet and interact with people in need on a very real human basis. Why wouldn’t any church want to use an opportunity like this to reach out to the community?”

First United Methodist Church of Orlando is located at 142 East Jackson Street, Orlando, 32801. More information about Outreach Love is available by contacting Madden at 1218 Salerno Court, Orlando, FL 32806 or 407-619-0693.

______

______

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Church-run clinics help families get needed care By Steven Skelley

Church-run clinics help families get needed care

By Steven Skelley

Published by UM News Service at  http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/2673 

Melissa Whaley has been having grand-mal seizures lately, but with no insurance, she said seeing a doctor was out of the question — until she learned about Shepherd’s Hope Health Center.

Dr. Jeff Thill, who volunteers at a Shepherd's Hope Health Center, examines patient Geannie Figuereo. Photo by Tim Griffis. Photo #08-0731.

“There was nobody in the world to help me, but this place helped me,” she said. “It was my first time here today, and I met the doctor for the first time, and he shook my hand, and he looked at me as a person, not a paycheck.”

Whaley received a free doctor’s visit, free medication and, most importantly, compassionate care.

Shepherd’s Hope Health Center was organized a decade ago by St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Orlando to serve people without access to insurance or medical care. Today, it’s a ministry that includes nine health care centers in the Orlando area run by 2,000 volunteers from 20 churches.

The Rev. Dr. William S. Barnes, senior pastor at St. Luke’s, says the ministry is simply “caring people, caring for other people.”

“We have so many people who are working part-time jobs in the parks (local attractions), in the entertainment community, a lot of persons who are involved in the hospitality industry who don’t have insurance benefits,” he said.

More than 60,000 people have found hope and healing since Barnes felt called to begin the ministry in 1995.

“I was walking on the beach … at Sanibel Island, Fla., minding my own business, and I had an epiphany from God to start a clinic,” he said.

The Rev. Dr. William Barnes says the Shepherd's Hope ministry is simply “caring people, caring for other people.” Photo by Tim Griffis. Photo by #08-0732.

Barnes sent out a call for volunteers, and 200 people showed up to help. Miraculously, he says, “the people, the places and pieces” all fell together. Within six months, the first Shepherd’s Hope Health Center opened its doors.

“When we give ourselves to God’s power and vision, there is no limit to what we can do, to what a difference we can make,” Barnes says.

All positions in the clinics, from the doctors and nurses to the clerical workers, are voluntary. Most doctors volunteer one shift a month.

Nann Carmine is a schoolteacher who volunteers in the pharmacy. “If we can keep the flow going, we can see 30 patients in an evening with two doctors,” she said.

Barnes believes the medical professionals who volunteer their time and talents benefit from their service. It reminds them why they were called to healing in the first place.

That service translates into even bigger benefits for the patients. In 2006 alone Shepherd’s Hope volunteers donated services valued at more than $1.8 million.

Shepherd’s Hope does not offer emergency care, but provides the kind of services patients would receive in a family practice setting. Commonly treated illnesses include upper respiratory infections, skin disorders, gynecological concerns and urinary tract infections. Area hospitals donate laboratory and radiology services.

Patients are eligible if they have incomes at or below 200 percent of the poverty level, are uninsured and are not eligible for government-assisted health care programs. Once treated, the patients are assisted in finding a permanent source of medical care, whenever possible.

Shepherd's Hope Health Clinic volunteer Nann Carmine organizes donated medications to be given to the clinic's low-income patients. Photo by Tim Griffis. Photo #08-0733.

Barnes says the clinic ministry is a “natural outgrowth of who we are here at St. Luke’s.” The name Luke comes from a physician in the Bible and the church has always seen itself as a healing ministry for the community, Barnes said.

Patients and their families seem generally “overwhelmed with gratitude,” he added.

”We’re just pleased to hear that there are things like this in existence,” Tonya Scott said. She and her husband, William, brought in their 1-year-old son, Seth, for a checkup.

”I love that there’s people that love us enough to be here for us,” said Whaley, who visited the clinic after hearing about it from friends. “God sent them to us to help us.”

A list of Shepherd’s Hope health centers, with locations and operating hours, is available at http://www.ShepherdsHope.org.

______

______

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Task team calls for greater support for African-American churches By Steven Skelley

Task team calls for greater support for African-American churches

By Steven Skelley

Published by UM News Service at http://floridaconferenceconnection.info/newsarchives/detail/2961

The Rev. Dr. Geraldine McClellan believes African-American churches have been neglected, and she is calling for change at the upcoming 2008 Florida Annual Conference Event.

The Rev. Dr. Geraldine McClellan attending the “Thunder in the Desert: Symposium for Partnerships in African-American Churches,” sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Discipleship in January in Nashville, Tenn. A UMNS photo by Linda Green. File photo #08-0744. Originally accompanied e-Review Florida UMNS #0795/Feb. 7, 2008.

“Forty years have passed and the annual conference has not fully recognized the blessings and contributions of the African-American church,” said McClellan, superintendent of the Florida Conference’s North Central District and liaison to the conference's African-American Task Team. 

“The strengthening of the African-American church is a vital part of making our church one. It is important to have a director of African-American Congregational Development and line item funding.”

The Rev. Walter Monroe, chairperson of the task team, agrees. He will be presenting recommendations from the team, based on its review of the African-American Comprehensive Plan, May 30 during the conference session, which runs May 29-31.

“We’re proposing that we need to fund a position called the director of African-American Congregational Development,” he said. “We’re asking the conference to hear our report, decide the responsibilities of this office and then include line item funding in the budget. We see this as a move in the right direction.”

At last year’s conference session, members approved the African-American Comprehensive Plan. It called for making churches in urban areas more relevant, externally focused and a higher priority of the conference; making worship in African-American churches more relevant through technological advances and training; and the consideration of an African-American Church Redevelopment office.

Of the 722 Florida Conference churches, approximately 75 are African-American, representing about 9.6 percent of the conference’s churches. The majority of them are located in the North East, West and Central districts.

Rev. Walter Monroe

Monroe says the task team held listening sessions in the Jacksonville and Gainesville areas and received some very positive feedback.

“Rev. Geraldine McClellan met with African-American leaders and asked how God is leading the African-American constituency in the Methodist Church,” he said. “I am very encouraged about the conversations we’ve had. They’ve been honest and engaging.”

“The director (of African-American Congregational Development), working in consultation with the director of Congregational Transformation, will provide promising approaches and tools for addressing disparities, as well as identifying appropriate points for change,” McClellan said.

In January, McClellan led a delegation representing 11 Florida Conference congregations to the “Thunder in the Desert: Symposium for Partnerships in African-American Churches” in Nashville, Tenn.

The event was designed to provide church leaders with resources to strengthen and energize African-American churches and was sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Discipleship.

Numerous African-American leaders at the event shared the concern that black churches have lost their identity and culture in worship and become so “Caucasian-ized” that they have forgotten God’s work and miracles in their lives.

“We have our own culture, and God has given us a style of worship that is unique, and we don't have to be ashamed of that,” McClellan said in a United Methodist News Service interview during the symposium. “We have become so ashamed of what God has done for us, and because of that our churches are dying."

Monroe wants the new director position to “become a reality and take effect in January 2009.”

Conference from the comfort of home

The “Living the United Methodist Way” 2008 Florida Annual Conference Event will be webcast live, beginning with opening worship May 29 at 2 p.m. Individuals would like to view the events via the webcast may go to http://www.flumc2.org/page.asp?PKValue=1339 on the Florida Conference Web site and click on the webcast link.

The entire conference session will be webcast, enabling those not able to attend the annual gathering at the Lakeland Center to see the activities and hear the important news taking place.

More information about the conference session, including a schedule of activities and reports being presented, is also available on the Web site.

______

______

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.