wfn.org | Work with Muslims requires sensitivity, board exec says

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

May 2, 2003 News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615) 742-54707Nashville, Tenn. 
10-21-31-71BPI{258}

NOTE: A photograph of the Rev. R. Randy Day is available at
http://umns.umc.org/photos/headshots.html.

DALLAS (UMNS) - The rhetoric of some Christian organizations toward Islam "is
not always helpful" for those doing ministry in Muslim countries, the top
staff executive of the United Methodist missions' agency says.

The Rev. R. Randy Day emphasized that the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries never ceases to proclaim Christ in its work around the world. At
the same time, he said, it's important for Christians to understand Islam, to
be "students of the Quran as well as the Bible," in order to understand their
faith and work cooperatively with Muslims.
 
Day spoke May 1 to the international United Methodist Council of Bishops
during the episcopal leaders' semiannual meeting in Addison, Texas. The
bishops, who met April 28-May 2, had asked Day to address the topic of Islam
and evangelism.

The denominationwide mission board has a long history of relationships with
people in Islamic cultures, particularly through providing relief following
natural and manmade disasters, he said. Agency staff work in many countries
in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East "where Islam is sometimes
a militant and dominant force." Through its United Methodist Committee on
Relief, the church is currently serving in areas that include Afghanistan and
Iraq.

Working in those settings is not always easy, he said, noting that Islamic
militants have killed many Christians. "The public rhetoric of some
Christians is not always helpful in some of those sensitive settings."

Day avoided naming any specific individual or group. In the last two years,
some well-known Christian leaders have condemned Islam. Those have included
Franklin Graham, whose relief organization, Samaritan's Purse, is planning to
work in Iraq.

UMCOR does not mix aid and evangelization, but reaches out to whomever is in
need, Day said. The Bible says nothing about feeding, clothing or visiting
only Christians, or about using food or any services in love to gain
disciples, he noted. "That's why we strive to make sure that in all that we
do, people know who we are and the deep Christian commitment of our
organization.

"I realize that not everyone understands or agrees with our theology of
service," Day said. "Sometimes our approach, which is shared by most mainline
Protestant and Roman Catholic relief organizations, places us in tension with
groups with which we find ourselves working in emergency situations." 

UMCOR's approach "does bear gospel fruit in the long run," he said. Its
relief work has been the prelude to the startup of United Methodist churches
in Eastern Europe and parts of Asia, he said.

Islam is a powerful force in the lives of millions, and it cannot be ignored,
dismissed or treated with contempt, he said. The church should work with
Muslims when appropriate for the cause of peace and reconciliation, he said.

"When we offer educational material on Islam to our United Methodist people,
it is never done out of a theologically insecure effort at equating
Christianity and Islam," Day said. "We do it with a full Wesleyan realization
that we, as Christians, cannot expect others - Muslims in this case - to
understand who we are in relation to God if we do not bother to learn about
their understanding of God in an open and unbiased manner.

The board never gives up its call to proclaim Christ and to offer people the
opportunity to receive him as savior, he said. "And we are clear that the
Christ we follow and offer is the Prince of Peace rather than an oppressor or
colonizer who follows in the wake of guns and violence."

The board's mission evangelism office has organized dialogues in Singapore,
Malaysia and Indonesia, focusing on Christian living and witness in countries
with a Muslim presence. A similar dialogue in the Philippines has been
postponed because of Muslim-Christian conflict. The dialogues have led to two
books published by the board. 

The board monitors the political treatment of Christians in Islamic and other
religious cultures. It participated in a World Council of Churches delegation
to Pakistan, where Muslims had lashed out at Christians following the
U.S.-led removal of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. Day noted that
interfaith relations are better in the Islamic country of Senegal, where the
denomination has 11 churches, and in Macedonia, whose president is United
Methodist.

# # #

 
 
 
 
Pre-General Conference News Briefing set for January '04
 
Feb. 25, 2003 News media contact: M. Garlinda Burton7
(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn. 10-21-71B{104}

By United Methodist News Service
 
Religion journalists and church media representatives are invited to attend a
news briefing Jan. 29-31, 2004, on the pressing legislative concerns to be
considered by the United Methodist Church's governing body next year.
 
The 2004 Pre-General Conference News Briefing will be held at the Ramada
Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. The city will also host the General Conference,
the denomination's highest legislative body, April 27-May 7, 2004.
 
General Conference, which comprises 1,000 lay and clergy delegates from
around the world, meets every four years to set policy and direction for the
9 million-member denomination, the second-largest Protestant body in the
United States. 
 
Presenters at the briefing will answer journalists' questions on issues
facing the conference, including: the role of youth and young adults in the
future church; the meaning and nature of Holy Communion; and possible church
pronouncements on contemporary social issues such as war and terrorism
 
Registration information will be mailed to media representatives this summer.
For more details, contact Tim Tanton at United Methodist News Service, (615)
742-5470 or ttanton@umcom.org.

# # #

 
 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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