wfn.org | Pennsylvania Methodists make yearly commitment to mission

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 8, 2002   News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
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NEW YORK (UMNS) - Every year, for the past 29 years, United Methodists in
Central Pennsylvania have chartered a bus to New York City.

The aim of those trips is not to catch the latest Broadway shows or visit
the Statue of Liberty. Instead, the delegations head uptown, to the
headquarters of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, where they
participate in seminars to further their understanding of the church's
mission in the world.

As a result, the Central Pennsylvania Annual Conference is fully committed
to mission, according to Una Jones, the board executive who arranges the
seminars. The latest delegation spent Feb. 4-6 in New York.

The Rev. Charles Keller, currently pastor of First United Methodist Church
in Hershey, Pa., arranged the first visit to what was then known as the
Board of Missions. "The event was so successful and received so
enthusiastically we decided we wanted to do it for anyone in the conference
who wanted to participate," he recalled.

Over the years, there have been 1,662 participants from the Central
Pennsylvania Conference, and all new pastors are now required to attend a
seminar as part of the process leading to ordination. 

Hildegard Sollenberger, who serves as the conference secretary of global
ministries, estimated that 25 to 30 percent of the local churches in Central
Pennsylvania have relationships offering financial and spiritual support for
missionaries, with some congregations supporting as many as eight or nine
missionaries. "This past year, we've had a number of new covenant
relationships," she added.

The conference as a whole also puts its money where its mouth is regarding
mission and general support of the denomination. For years, according to
Sollenberger, the conference has paid 100 percent of its apportionments, or
what conference officials refer to as "shares of ministry."

A conference publication entitled Guide to Mission Involvement 2001-2004
explains how shares of ministry pay for the basic costs of global and
national missions, conference and local missions, operating expenses and the
recruitment, training, assignment and supervision of pastors. 

"Shares of ministry are not a luxury. They pay the essential costs of being
a church of Jesus Christ in our world," the publication states. "If your
church doesn't pay its full shares of ministry, others will have to carry
the load for you or Christ's ministry will suffer."

Central Pennsylvania has moved far beyond that commitment, however. Its
"second-mile giving" to Advance Specials, which support mission projects,
increased by 46.4 percent from 2000 to 2001. The conference also has formed
a sister relationship with the United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone and
is trying to raise $280,000 to build a children's home there as part of the
denomination's "Hope for the Children of Africa" campaign.

The annual mission seminars at the Board of Global Ministries provide an
opportunity, Keller said, "to understand what in the world we're doing now
and why in the world we're doing it." Their three-day schedule includes two
days of sharing information with staff and one day visiting local church
projects. 

Participants also forge personal connections with board staff while
witnessing how agency employees work as devoted Christians, not faceless
church bureaucrats, he added. This year, the delegation presented a plaque
of appreciation to the Rev. Randolph Nugent, the board's chief executive, in
recognition of the many times he has addressed the Central Pennsylvania
groups.

Any group of interested United Methodists can arrange for a mission seminar,
according to Jones. She can be reached at (212) 870-3792 or by writing to
the Office of Mission Education, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 1344, New York, NY
10115.

Keller also is willing to advise groups about the seminars and
travel-related arrangements. He can be reached by e-mail at fumccwk@cplx.net
or by calling (717) 533-9668.
 
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