wfn.org | Board of Global Ministries commissions young adults

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

Oct. 7, 1998        Contact: Linda Bloom*(212)870-3803*New York
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By Connie Nelson*

The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries has commissioned its
newest classes of young adult missionaries, assigning them to posts in
12 countries and 16 states.

The classes of US-2s and Mission Interns were commissioned during
separate ceremonies in the Atlanta area.

The 1998-2000 class of US-2s -- named for their two-year terms of
service within the United States -- was commissioned Aug. 9 at Central
United Methodist Church with retired Bishop Dale White officiating. 
  
The US-2s, their home conferences, and assignments include: Megan Abe
(East Ohio Annual Conference), assigned to Christ United Methodist
Church/The Shepherd's Way, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Aimee Bailey (East
Ohio Annual Conference), assigned to Warren Village in Denver;
Jacqueline Biggers (Southwest Texas Annual Conference) assigned to the
Nome (Alaska) Community Center Inc.; Sandy Chilcote (West Ohio Annual
Conference) assigned to the Pueblo Area Methodist Hispanic Ministry in
Pueblo, Colo.

Also included are Matthew Cox (Louisiana Annual Conference), assigned to
the Tacoma (Wash.) Community House; Darlene DiDomineck (Florida Annual
Conference), assigned to Newhouse in Kansas City, Mo.; Laura Fightmaster
(West Ohio Annual Conference), assigned to the Wesley Foundation Campus
Ministry in Cedar Falls, Iowa; Rachel Giessen (New Mexico Annual
Conference), assigned to Bethlehem Wilson Communities in Richmond, Va.;
Lisa Hartzog (Western North Carolina Annual Conference), assigned to the
Calexico (Calif.) Neighborhood House.

Other US-2s are John Haynes Jr. (Virginia Annual Conference), assigned
to the Northern New Mexico Group Ministry in Espanola, N.M.; Allison
Hicks (Western North Carolina Annual Conference), assigned to the
Hampden-Woodberry-Remington-Mt. Washington United Methodist Parish in
Baltimore; Elizabeth Kuonen (South Indiana Annual Conference), assigned
to the Bethlehem Center in Charlotte, N.C.; Kristal Lamb (Baptist,
Huntsville, Ala.), assigned to Foundry United Methodist Church in
Washington, D.C.; Niclaire Neely (North Georgia Annual Conference),
assigned to Casa del Pueblo Community Program in Washington, D.C.;
Michelle Owen (Oklahoma Annual Conference), assigned to Bread for the
World in Silver Spring, Md.

The US-2s also include Ericka Parkinson (Presbyterian, Glen Ellyn,
Ill.), assigned to the Mississippi United Methodist Native American
Parish in Philadelphia, Miss.; Janice Pennington (Oregon-Idaho Annual
Conference), assigned to the Upper Sand Mountain United Methodist Parish
in Sylvania, Ala.; Kathleen Peterson (West Ohio Annual Conference),
assigned to United Methodist Metro Office of Urban Ministries, Holy
Community/Smith Center in Memphis, Tenn.; Elizabeth Pond (Virginia
Annual Conference), assigned to the Nome (Alaska) Community Center Inc.

Rounding out the US-2s are Melissa Porter (Virginia Annual Conference),
assigned to the Community Food Bank in Tucson, Ariz.; Christopher Raines
(West Virginia Annual Conference), assigned to the Epworth Children and
Family Services of Webster Groves, Mo.; Camille Spratling (North Alabama
Annual Conference), assigned to the Frankford Group Ministry in
Philadelphia; Stephanie Wilding (Berean Bible Church of Seattle),
assigned to Gum Moon Women's Residence in San Francisco; and Rhianon
Wood (West Ohio Annual Conference), assigned to the Wesley Community
Center of Phoenix.

The 1998-2001 class of Mission Interns -- young adults who serve for
three years in ministries of justice and reconciliation -- was
commissioned Aug. 23 at the Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center in
Norcross, Ga., outside Atlanta, as part of the Global Mission Personnel
Conference. Bishop Robert E. Fannin of the North Alabama Area officiated
during the service.

The Mission Interns, who serve the first half of their three-year
assignments outside the United States and then return for the second
half of their terms, include: Courtney Angermeier (New York Annual
Conference), assigned to Fundacao Assistencial Xuxa Meneghel in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil; Kristin Box (Rocky Mountain Annual Conference),
assigned to the Tapepora Project in Ponta Porta, Brazil; Stacey Brown
(Alaska Missionary Annual Conference), assigned to the Asia Rural
Institute in Tochigigi-ken, Japan; Laura Bryant (Northern New Jersey
Annual Conference), assigned to For the Love of Children in
Johannesburg, South Africa; Wanda Collins (Mississippi Annual
Conference), assigned to the Batis Center for Women in Manila,
Philippines; Jessica Culley of Carlisle, Pa. (Brethren in Christ),
assigned to the Christian Commission for Development in Tegucigalpa,
Honduras.

Other Mission Interns are Jay Godfrey (Central Pennsylvania Annual
Conference), assigned to Centar Omaladinski in Bosnia Herzegovina;
Camille Harris (Detroit Annual Conference), assigned to the World
Student Christian Federation (Africa Region) in Nairobi, Kenya; Kristin
Kumpf (West Ohio Annual Conference), assigned to the Mangyan Integrated
Development Program in Calapan, Oriental, Philippines; Emily Lin
(Illinois Mennonite Conference), assigned to the Near East Council of
Churches Committee for Refugee Work in Gaza, Palestine; Jayant Magar
(Bombay, India Episcopal Area), assigned to the Forth Spring
Inter-Community Group in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Mission Interns group also includes Nannette Stamm
(California/Nevada Annual Conference), assigned to the Iglesia Metodista
Emmanuel in Cochabamba, Bolivia; Brian Underhill (Kentucky Annual
Conference), assigned to WI'AM Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center in
Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine; Harold Wheat (New York Annual
Conference), assigned to the Instituto Metodista Ana Gonzaga Ecological
Center in Campo Grande, Brazil; Warren Wilcox (Alabama-West Florida
Annual Conference), assigned to the National Council of Churches in
India, Nagpur, India.

The US-2s and Mission Interns underwent a period of preparation and
training at the Mission Resource Center, a cooperative effort of the
Board of Global Ministries, the Interdenominational Theological Center
and Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta.

# # #
					 
*Nelson works with the Mission Resource Center for the United Methodist
Board Global Ministries.

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