wfn.org | Re: United Methodist Daily News note 3400

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3442 notes).

Note 3436 by UMNS on Feb. 18, 1997 at 09:03 Eastern (2223 characters).

ITLE:     Rural Life Sunday focus
SEARCH:   Rural, simplicity, Sunday, United Methodist
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                      82(10-24-71B){3436}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722          Feb. 17, 1997

"'Tis a Gift To Live Simply"
to be 1997 Rural Life Sunday theme

     Rural Life Sunday offers United Methodists the opportunity
to consider what some people are calling the hottest trend going
and what others point to as both biblical and Wesleyan tradition.
     The 1997 theme, for observance on a date set by the annual
conference, is "'Tis a Gift To Live Simply."
     Said Gerald Celente, director of the Trends Research
Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y., "We track 300 different trends
daily, and none in the 16 years that we've been at this has
generated as much interest as voluntary simplicity.
     The United Methodist Rural Fellowship, which creates
materials for the day, notes that founders of the world's great
religions have directed their followers away from pursuit of
material wealth and status. 
     The fellowship points to John Wesley, Methodism's founder,
as a person dedicated to living more simply to give more for
those in greater need. 
     Voluntary simplicity, say proponents, is not a retreat from
life but a matter of priorities and choices -- stripping away the
too many, too much and too busy.
     Rural Life Sunday has a triple purpose: to celebrate the
denomination's rural heritage, recognize the ongoing crisis in
rural areas and affirm the interdependence of rural and urban
communities.
     Materials for the 1997 observance include a worship bulletin
and liturgy, sample sermon and sermon starters, suggested
scriptures, useful quotes, life style survey, personal choices
quiz, and list of resources.
     These materials are collected in a 16-page booklet available
from the UMRF, 108 Balow Wynd, Columbia, MO 65203. Costs are
single copy, $3; 2-9 copies, $2.50 each; and 10 or more, $2 each.
Additional discounts may be available for large quantities.
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