wfn.org | United Methodist missionaries to leave the Congo

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 18, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
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By United Methodist News Service

United Methodist missionaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo are
being temporarily relocated to Zambia.

"They will be leaving the Congo on Thursday (Aug. 20)," said the Rev.
John McCullough, associate general secretary for mission personnel,
United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

A rebel uprising has spread in the African country, leading to clashes
with the government forces under President Laurent Kabila. Both
foreigners and citizens started fleeing the capital of Kinshasa on Aug.
14, unsure that the government could keep the rebels at bay. On Aug. 17,
rebels in control of a hydroelectric dam again cut electricity and power
to Kinshasa.

Although no United Methodist missionaries are based in Kinshasa,
personnel in the country are being moved as a precaution. Since the
conflict is restricted to a certain region of the Congo, McCullough said
it is not expected to be a long-term relocation.

He added that he had been in contact with the mission boards of the
Swiss and Danish United Methodist conferences, which also anticipated
pulling their own missionaries out of the Congo.

Some missionaries assigned to the Congo already were out for home leave,
vacation or other reasons. Larry Bropleh, a Board of Global Ministries
executive, will meet the remaining missionaries in Ndola, Zambia. Those
being evacuated include Tom and Elizabeth Ryder, Vivian Woodyard, Tom
and Sharon Crowe, Bob Walters, Ellen Hoover, and Dan and Rachel Gabler. 

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/