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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3097 notes).

Note 3097 by UMNS on Aug. 1, 1996 at 16:09 Eastern (4745 characters).

SEARCH:   missionaries, UMMA, Heiner, Schwenk, Harman
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

Contact:  Joretta Purdue                          383(10-71){3097}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722            Aug. 1, 1996

United Methodist missionaries
organize new association

     NEW YORK (UMNS) -- United Methodist missionaries have formed
an organization to be called the United Methodist Missionary
Association (UMMA).
     Seventy missionaries home from Asia, Africa, Latin America
and Europe unanimously approved the new organization at the annual
missionary conference held in Asheville, N.C., July 10. They also
had an additional 113 proxy votes from missionaries unable to
attend.
     Membership is available to current and former missionaries,
and by the end of July, 500 had already applied.
     The organization's constitution -- still being ratified --
cites the intention "to nurture and develop a vital connectional
network among active, inactive and retired missionaries."
     UMMA leadership said the association is designed to interact
with the board and staff of the denomination's Board of Global
Ministries, headquartered here, and to provide input as the agency
moves toward a new vision of mission for the 21st century.
     The staff of the agency is undergoing a major restructuring
that includes bringing together the former World and National
Divisions. In addition, the size of the board of directors has
been cut in half -- from 180 to 90 -- for the quadrennium that
officially begins January 1, but for which organizational meetings
take place in the fall.
     With the formation of UMMA active missionaries now will have
a representative "voice," and retired or inactive missionaries
will have an ongoing organization through which they can continue
to be in contact with United Methodist mission work, according to
Howard Heiner, a retired missionary who was elected interim chair
of the association.
     Other interim officers are the vice-chair, the Rev. Richard
Schwenk, missionary-in-residence at board headquarters in New
York; coordinator, Gilbert Bascom, an educator from Penn Yan,
N.Y.: and treasurer and incoming missionary-in-residence, Shirley
Wu. The executive committee also includes regional
representatives.
     Schwenk said that international missionaries were the driving
force behind the formation of UMMA. Because they are appointed to
three- or four-year terms outside the United States, missionaries
are able to attend the annual board-sponsored conference once
every few years.
     Conference attenders include missionaries on home assignment
to visit families and supporting churches and those on medical or
study leave.
     At this first UMMA meeting, a dozen committees were formed to
address concerns ranging from mission theology and evangelism to
the use of technology such as desktop publishing, e-mail and web
pages on the internet.
     Some of the committees will work on maintaining health when
on assignment, spiritual well-being and pastoral care, home
assignment and itineration, environment and natural resources,
resolution of problems encountered by single parents, and
retirement policies and use of retirees' experience and talents.
The committees are expected to continue working through the year.
     Schwenk said many people expressed enthusiasm for the
symbolism they see in the new group's acronym. "To the indigenous
people of Sarawak, the word uma means longhouse -- a village under
one roof where families live together and gather for dialogue and
peacemaking," he said. Soon to return to the Philippines, Schwenk
had earlier served in Sarawak.
     He added that in Arabic, umma means the whole society of
God's people, "a fitting expression for the missionaries of the
United Methodist Church."
     The Rev. Robert Harman, deputy general secretary at the
mission agency, called the new organization "an important link
between the board and missionaries in the field."  He said UMMA
will be able to represent the missionaries and to further
interpret the role of Christ's vision in the world today.
     UMMA's next meeting is scheduled in conjunction with the
annual missionary conference at Simpsonwood, Ga., in July 1997.
                               # # #

     EDITORS: If your policy allows, you may want to include all
or part of the following paragraph.

     The Rev. Richard Schwenk may be contacted for more
information about membership by phone at (212) 870-3767, by fax at
(212) 870-3895, or by e-mail at MIR@gbgm-umc.org at the office or
RicSchwenk@aol.com at home.

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