wfn.org | 'Loving cup' commemorates John Wesley's 300th

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March 27, 2003	 News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-71BP{179}

NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.

JACKSON, Miss. (UMNS) - One of Mississippi's most widely recognized artists
and businesswomen is helping a United Methodist mission and celebration.

Gail Pittman, known for her hand-painted dinnerware and accessories, has
created a piece of pottery to benefit St. Andrew's Mission in McComb, Miss.
The piece is not part of her regular line - it's not a plate, platter or
bowl. Instead, it's a two-handled "loving cup."

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, designed the first loving cup in the
18th century for use at "love feasts." Christians gathered for the feasts at
house churches or small groups, praying, reading Scriptures, encouraging one
another and testifying to God's love in their lives. They ate a simple meal
of bread and water. Not to be confused with Holy Communion, the love feast,
or agape meal, recalled the meals other than the Last Supper that Jesus
shared with the disciples and others.

Wesley developed the cup with two handles for passing water from one
participant to the next. He also developed the practice of collecting an
offering for the poor during the feast.

On one side, the Pittman cup reads "John Wesley," and on the other, it reads
"Birth 1703" and "Rebirth 2003." This year, Methodists around the world are
celebrating the 300th anniversary of Wesley's birth, which occurs June 17.

The mission, in southwest Mississippi, is a community outreach program of St.
Andrew's United Methodist Church and is supported by the Mississippi Annual
(regional) Conference. Its services include health care provided by a parish
nurse, transition assistance for people moving from public to private
housing, money management training and help in applying for jobs.

The Rev. Jim Glass, mission director, says the mission's relationship with
Pittman and her Ridgeland, Miss.,-based company began through staff member
Eddie Spencer. Pittman and Spencer met in a Bible study group. Pittman
participated in a benefit for the mission last spring.

"We talked to her about doing a piece of pottery that would be of religious
significance and a fund-raiser for the mission," Glass says. "We also talked
with (Brookhaven District Superintendent) Ron Barham and about it being the
300th anniversary of Wesley's birth."
Glass says the goal of the loving cup goes beyond raising money for the
mission.

"We hope we can recover the love feast in the church. It is a real rich part
of our tradition and has been somewhat lost over the years," he says. 

"It's an honor and privilege to be asked to do this for St. Andrew's Mission
and the United Methodist Church," Pittman says. "God gives us gifts and
talents so we can turn them back to his service in order to bring him honor
and glory. John Wesley contributed so much to the development of Christ's
church, and we are so pleased to be able to help St. Andrew's mission with
this Wesley commemorative cup."

Glass says that having an artist with the name recognition Pittman enjoys,
plus the fact she's a person of faith and a Mississippian, "has been a
godsend." Response to the cup has been good, with calls starting to come in
from outside the conference, he says. He's received calls from the Memphis
Conference, the Louisiana Conference and the Chicago area, where former
mission director Rich Hendricks is promoting the cup.

More information on the cup is available by contacting St. Andrew's Mission
at (601) 684-6554 or (601) 684-4678, or P.O. Box 1407, McComb, MS 39649.

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This story was provided by the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate, the
newspaper of the United Methodist Church's Mississippi Annual Conference.

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United Methodist News Service
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