wfn.org | Methodists share stories at Conference

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.apc.org>]

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3121 notes).

Note 3120 by UMNS on Aug. 12, 1996 at 16:22 Eastern (5910 characters).

SEARCH: world, conference, Methodists, council, church, religion,
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CONTACT: Thomas McAnally                          406(10-71){3120}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615)742-5470              Aug. 12, 1996

Individual Methodists from around the world 
share stories of conflict, pain, joy

by Thomas McAnally*

     RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Stories of conflict, pain and joy,
interspersed with appeals for prayer, were shared by individual
Methodists from around the world at a session of the World
Methodist Council here Aug. 7.
     The council, representing 71 Wesleyan denominations from 107
countries around the world, is meeting in conjunction with a World
Methodist Conference Aug. 7-15. The council includes about 500
members. More than 2,700 are attending the larger gathering.
     At an early council session attended by former members and
those just beginning five-year terms, president Donald English
invited individuals to give brief reports from their respective
countries. English is a clergyman in the British Methodist Church.
     Stories ranged from the brutalities of war and pain of
religious persecution to the joy of church growth and national
harmony.
     The Rev. Christian Peacock of Sierra Leone said his country
and neighboring Liberia are enduring "the most traumatic
experience in the whole of our history."
     "Our nations are dying," he exclaimed, "but the worst is that
it seems the world does not know anything about it."
     The Rev. Nathan Junius, from Liberia, wondered aloud, "where
Methodists have been in the face of fighting and destruction that
has gone on for the past seven years."
     A similar concern was expressed by Bishop Zablon Nthamburi of
Kenya who said the international community largely has ignored the
crises in the African nations of Rwanda and Burundi. He also
expressed concern for a growing "wave of Islamic fundamentalism"
spreading in eastern Africa.
     Pointing to controversial parades planned for the next
weekend in his home community of Londonderry, Ireland, the Rev.
Kenneth Best said the demonstrations are a potential "flash point"
and could make or break the peace process. Best is president of
the Methodist Church in Ireland, which, he said, had shown "great
courage and leadership" during years of conflict and efforts
toward peace.
     Ruediger Minor, bishop of the Moscow Area of the United
Methodist Church, expressed thanks for the congregations in
Russia, most of which did not exist when the previous World
Methodist Council and Conference was held in 1991 in Singapore.
     While Russians have gained freedoms following the Cold War,
he said many also have lost "the most basic means to sustain
life." Despite this, he said many individuals raised in a totally
secular environment are turning to the church for meaning and
faith.
     Francisco Gustavo Cruz, bishop of the Methodist Church in
Cuba, reported "new life" and growth. When many church leaders
fled following the revolution several decades earlier, Cruz said
it was thought that the Methodist church might die. "But the
faithful remnant remained and the Holy Spirit has begun to give
new life to the church," he said.
     "Many Christians left the church and went to the
revolutionary process but are now returning," Cruz said. "Many
youth formed in a materialistic environment are returning to the
church." Although his country is experiencing an economic crisis,
he said, "the church is remaining faithful to the ministry of
Christ."
     At an opening session of the conference in the Rio Centro
Auditorium here Aug. 7, a 30-voice Cuban choir sang.
     Bishop Ho Chee Sin of Singapore reported on efforts to
prevent his government from taking seven acres of church land
valued at $300 million.
     Reporting from Western Samoa, where 95 percent of the
population is Methodist, was Fa'atoese Auvaa. Four major issues
for the church in the Pacific country, he said, are education,
economy, new religious movements and the environment, particularly
nuclear testing.
     Lincoln Lam-Hoi Leung, president of the Methodist Church of
Hong Kong, expressed anxiety about the return of Hong Kong to
China in less than 250 days. Although there are promises of
autonomy and continued prosperity and stability, he said
uncertainties remain.
     "As Christians we commit ourselves to God and Hong Kong," he
said. "Come visit us, especially after 1997."
     M. Stanley Mogoba, bishop of the Methodist Church in Southern
Africa, received resounding applause from the audience when he
said, "In the past I have been the bearer of bad news but today
I'm the bearer of good news ... Thank God we have survived and are
at peace!"
     Cecil Bishop, a U.S. bishop of the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, expressed concern about the burning of
African American churches. "There is a mean spirit in the wind
that tends to fuel this," he said. "Pray for the satanic lunatics
that are attacking the institutions that the black community has
called its own."
     The Rev. Robert Samuel Azariah of Pakistan said, there is
"tremendous renewal" among the churches in his country. He also
reported some success at combatting Islamic pressures.
     The World Methodist Council is the major decision-making body
of the World Methodist family. It meets every five years in
conjunction with a larger World Methodist Conference. Officers of
the council meet annually and a larger executive committee meets
every other year. Staff executive for the council, headquartered
at Lake Junaluska, N.C., is the Rev. Joe Hale.
                              #  #  #

     * McAnally is director of United Methodist News Service,
headquartered in Nashville, Tenn.

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