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Beyond Earth Day (with mission in mind)
by Rev. Ed Rutenkroger
It is all too easy to celebrate any special day and then continue our lives just as before. Earth Day came on April 22. That was during a week bracketed by the fourth and fifth Sundays of Easter Sundays with wonderful continuing connection to Resurrection. There are still two Sundays of Eastertide to come. There are still God’s people and earth to care for. We are reminded of the undeniable connection between the Creator and the Resurrected One. There is also an undeniable connection between the Creator and the creation of which we are a part. Those connections tie us together in a continuing mission not just to the earth, but with God’s people wherever they may be. The following prayer is one way to prepare our hearts for the work of a true Easter People!
From Creation Justice Ministries:
“Gracious God, We have taken the fruits of your creation and your merciful abundance for granted. We have uttered prayers of thanksgiving without true gratitude. Meanwhile, we have failed to recognize the suffering of the earth and of the people who have produced our food. Ignoring our connection to the rest of your creation as we reap nourishment, we move further away from your vision of your beloved community.
Forgive us, O God, and transform us. Open us to the richness and beauty in connecting our food—at the Lord’s Table and at our individual tables—to all the natural and human resources who have brought it to those tables. Help us give thanks not just for our food but for all those who have brought it before us and to work that they might also flourish.
Encourage us to work for justice for all, so that all may give you thanks and be fed. In Christ Jesus we pray, Amen.”
- Beacon District Shining Light A Monthly Mission Newsletter of the Beacon District United Methodist Church
Vol. 4 - Issue 4
May 2016
Pg 1 - Beyond Earth Day
Pg 2 - Congregations For
Children (C4C)
Pg 3 - Youth and the
Community Garden
- Sierra Leone Mission
Trip opportunity
Pg 4 - Imagine No Malaria
update
Pg 5 - A message from Jeff
Jenkins, District Lay
Leader
- Update on Ganta
Mission School
Pg 6 - Orphans in Liberia -
What we can do to
help!
Pg 7 - Update on Ganta
School, cont.
- A message from
Gil Wise, District
Superintendent
For a calendar of events,
important information and
much, much, more
we are on the web!
beacondistrictnc.org
Email:
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As we prepare for another year of ministry through mission in the Beacon District leaders are looking for ways to engage with local communi-ties. One initiative that embraces a wide range of possibilities is Congregations For Children (C4C). You will soon hear more about one idea surround-ing food insecurity addressed through community gardens at schools. Stay tuned for more on that.
In the meantime, here is a brief overview of the goals of C4C which is a state-wide initiative of The United Methodist Church, focused on reflecting the love of Christ in the community by helping children in public schools who are living in poverty. C4C’s areas of focus include:
1. Helping to improve K-3 Literacy rates (volunteer tutors, collecting/donating books, summer reading programs etc.)
2. Helping to meet the Basic Needs of students (food, clothing, supplies etc.)
3. Helping to increase Parental Involvement (and interactions with positive adult role mod-els – i.e. Watch DOGS, lunch buddies etc.)
4. Increasing awareness of child poverty
C4C is a great option for churches looking for ways to increase their outreach to their community/mission field. The C4C model is based on best practices and is designed to set churches up for success and help to avoid common missteps. Even if your church is already involved in public school missions of some sort, C4C can help you to expand and strengthen what you are already doing.
Training & Resources: Training and coaching are available to churches who are interested in participating in the C4C. Each district has a District C4C Coordinator (some have more than one) who is trained to help coach pastors and laity through the C4C partnership development process as well
as provide general advice and assistance on C4C related matters. You may utilize your district coordinator as much or as little as you like.
For more information or to contact your District Coordinator follow the link to C4C. (http://nccc4c.org/)
Here are a few other important points to think about:
• C4C emphasizes quality over quantity. It’s better to do one thing very well than to overextend.
• C4C emphasizes sustainability. Be sure to care-fully evaluate sustainability before you start anything. Whatever we start, we want to be able to sustain.
• C4C emphasizes building a great working relationship with the school principal. Everything starts in the principal’s office. Partnerships are designed around what the principal perceives are the highest priority poverty related needs at their school. Everything a C4C church does is to be done with the blessing and permission of the principal and in compliance with school policies and relevant state/federal laws.
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Missions Trip to Sierra Leone
Want to see African lions, giraffes, and gazelle? There are private companies that can help you do just that. However, if you would like to be engaged in real Christian ministry in Africa, consider going to Sierra Leone from July 12-21, 2016.
In the Bumpeh Chiefdom, the Hatfield/Archer Hospital in Rotifunk stands as a beacon of hope and healing. Rotifunk Hospital was seriously damaged during the civil war which ravaged Sierra Leone, yet rebuilding is taking place and once again patients are being seen. Since 2013, there has been a relationship formed with the Sierra Leone Annual Conference primarily by members of the Wrightsville United Methodist Church who have gone to Rotifunk to form relationships and to investigate the health needs of the people in that community. In partnership with Bishop John Yambasu of the Sierra Leone Annual Conference and persons connected to the Norway Annual Conference, plans are being made for restoration of that hospital to a place which will provide help and care to numerous persons in that area of the country.
Since 2013, much work has been done—even in the midst of the Ebola crisis which gripped that country. With that outbreak of Ebola contained, it is time to once again venture to Rotifunk to form relationships with the new set of staff members there. While on site, the team that is going in July will do a variety of im-portant tasks which include cleaning and painting several buildings, itemizing and organizing supplies that have been sent to that hospital on behalf of our Conference, and working on a fence which is being built around the property for security purposes.
If you are interested in joining this team, please contact Rev. Bill Haddock at [email protected] or by phone at 910.262.3831.
Update on Youth and the Community Garden
- Rev. Bill Haddock
The Ahoskie Community Garden was the scene of energetic work led by about 27 youth from the Beacon District and their leaders on April 16. In all, about 60 volunteer hours were given to the garden that day. There were opportunities to plant seeds for the greenhouse, haul dirt, plant seeds and small plants in the garden, help to drain out excess water, build trellises for tomatoes, plant potatoes, build signs, fertilize fruit trees and a few other things.
The garden will never be the same!
Thanks to all of the youth and their leaders who came out on that beautiful day. The plants and seeds put in the ground are already growing. Soon all of the fruits of the harvest will be given to the local Food Pantry. The Community Garden of Ahoskie sincerely thanks our youth for making a difference in our community.
To find out more information Community Gardens , you can follow this link: http://www.nccgp.org/garden_directory/information/ahoskie-umc-community-garden
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director of the Global Fund. “This is the largest contribu-
tion ever received from a faith-based organization and
it’s extremely encouraging to see partners of all sectors
coming together to eliminate malaria”.
Funds raised by the Imagine No Malaria campaign bene-
fiting the Global Fund have contributed to life-saving
malaria programs in nine African countries particularly
affected by the disease. These countries are Angola, Côte
d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mozam-
bique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
Key results achieved by the Global Fund in these
countries from mid-2014 to mid-2015 include distrib-
uting 59.4 million bed nets (a 40 percent increase over
the previous year), treating 18.7 million malaria cases,
spraying 1.5 million houses, providing 5.1 million com-
munity outreach prevention services, and delivering
67,000 episodes of training for community workers.
The United Methodist Church has pledged up to $28 mil-
lion through the Imagine No Malaria campaign to the
Global Fund to help those in need enjoy a malaria-free
life. So far, the people of The United Methodist Church
have contributed $20,085,817 to the Global Fund, with
more than half of that amount donated last year alone.
A check for $9.6 million was presented to the Global
Fund this past April to mark World Malaria Day 2015, the
single largest contribution to the fund made by a faith
organization. The contribution was used in Angola,
Liberia, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda, along with
additional funds from the Global Fund for a total of
$42,985,839 in these countries. An additional
$1,924,0911 has been remitted to the Global Fund in
2016.
The United Methodist General Board of Global
Ministries and its Global Health unit provide support for
the denomination’s large network of hospitals and clinics
across Africa, which also receive funding through
Imagine No Malaria.
(Information was redacted from a recent Press Release
from UM Communications by Bill Haddock)
Imagine No Malaria Update
As you may have heard by now, the Imagine No
Malaria campaign in the North Carolina Conference
achieved its $1 million dollar goal under the
leadership of Bishop Hope Morgan Ward and the
generosity of our churches. I thought that you might
want to see how some of these funds have been used.
The United Methodist Church has used a portion of
the funds as a donation to the Global Fund which is a
global community of faith-based organizations that is
fighting malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2010, the Global Fund and the people of The United
Methodist Church joined forces in the fight against
malaria through the denomination’s Imagine No
Malaria campaign, which aims to raise $75 million to
address the impact of malaria in Africa through pre-
vention, treatment, communication and education.
Just recently, on April 25, World Malaria Day, the
following remarks were made by Bishop Bickerton,
who helped to form the Imagine No Malaria campaign
for the denomination. “The United Methodist
Church’s infrastructure in Africa, including a network
of hospitals and clinics, combined with the scope and
resources of the Global Fund, has enabled us to forge
a powerful partnership that achieves far more than
would be possible alone.” said Bickerton.
“Today, on World Malaria Day, we are thankful for the
headway that’s been made against this deadly disease
and we reaffirm our commitment to reducing the bur-
den of malaria.” said Bishop Thomas Bickerton, chair
of the Global Health Initiative.
“We thank The United Methodist Church for this
contribution and their relentless efforts in the fight
against malaria.” said Dr. Mark Dybul, executive
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ONE STEP AT A TIME - article continued from page 5
Updates from Ganta Mission School
Here are a few excerpts from a recent newsletter from Roger Domah, Principal of Ganta United Methodist Mission School:
“The Ganta United Methodist School ended its 4th Marking Period on Friday, April 1, 2016. The period was filled with lots of celebrations including a) the construction of a hand pump as alternative source of water supply for the stu-dents by the Gompa District through the Department of Human Right Monitors, LAC-UMC, b) the ongoing four room student-friendly toilet facility for the Elementary Section by the Student Council Government and as-sistance from the Women of First UMC, Colony, c) the refurbishing of the Senior High Library training of teachers in Phonics by our partners from the East Ohio Conference, d) the dedication of the Rev. Herbert S. L. Zigbuo Memorial Science Building, and e) the ongoing construction of two large fish ponds by Dr. Joe Butler through Fulbright Program.”
The North Carolina Conference has initiated a fund raising effort to help equip the Science labs and Computer lab in the new Rev. Herbert S. L. Zigbuo Memorial Science Building. This week we trans-ferred $3575 for Science equipment and supplies. In addition there were four donated new comput-ers on our recent shipment which should arrive within the next two weeks.
Roger has sent us the following thank you via email, “Greetings from Ganta Ed and our Brethren from North Carolina. We are very grateful and lack the words to express how much we appreciate
One Step at a Time
Coming down these steps early one summer morning in the NC mountains was not an issue. After several hours hiking in pursuit of photogenic waterfalls, however, I wondered how could I possibly climb those steps. The answer of course is one step at a time.
Living a Christian life is overwhelming for many. Finding time, energy, and motivation to work on missions seems too much. How can a sinner like me possibly live as Jesus describes? Many view their climb as too steep, unachievable. The answer for them is simple; not easy, but simple: One Step at a Time!
One step may be prayer; another is Bible study (both in groups and independently); another is associating with fellow Christians to encourage, teach, and hold each other accountable. Another step is to reach out to others in need; people in our social circles but also to those who do not look like us or talk like us; those that Jesus called “the least of these”.
The point is that ours is not a passive religion; it requires ACTION on our part. It requires us to take the first step. Consider the words from 1 Peter 1:13 (NIV) “Therefore, prepare your minds for action…”. Said again in James 2:16-17 (NIV) “If one of you says to him, Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”
Daunting? Yes. Achievable? Also yes.
It requires ACTION; one step at a time.
Jeff Jenkins Beacon District Lay Leader
- article continued on page 7
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Orphans in Liberia - What can we do to help?
As many of you know, the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa took many lives. One result is a large number of orphaned children who need a helping hand in order to become self-sufficient members of their communities. Your conference mission team has recognized the great need and has cre-ated a way for local churches…even small ones…to be a part of the solution. The mission team will match local church support, up to $500/ year, towards the cost to sponsoring an orphan group in Liberia. That means that 7-8 small churches can come together to be Hope Companions, sponsors of an orphan group, and permanently impact the lives of over 100 orphans. Since the Beacon District has a long standing relationship Liberia and many of our churches already contribute in a general way to ZOE, we are hopeful that we can identify supporting churches within our District for this special opportunity. As Hope Companions, churches will have the ability to be in contact with their sponsored group in many ways. ZOE and the missions team will help Hope Companions connect with this New Working group. Hope Companions will learn the names of the children who are in the program so that they can be prayed for. They will be kept up to date on the progress of their group. It will even be possible for members to make a visit if they wish!
Here is a little more information about how ZOE works. ZOE is a distinctive three-year program, developed in Africa that empowers orphans and vulnerable children around the world to overcome extreme poverty, become fully self-reliant, and learn of God’s love for them. The ZOE approach is not about doing things for orphans. Instead it is about partnering to empower them to provide for themselves. As many of you already know this approach has proved to be inspiring and successful.
Rather than giving sacks of food, you give seeds and tools so they can grow their own food.
Rather than providing an orphanage, you provide materials for them to repair or build their own homes.
Rather than providing sponsorship, you give them the opportunity to be leaders, helping one another thrive.
Rather than helping one child you partner with a group of up to 100 children who become self-reliant and can reach out to other vulnerable children in their home towns and villages.
ZOE forms a Working Group which acts like a family. There are some adult advisors, but the children and youth make all of their decisions. They elect leaders, decide whose entrepreneurial ideas will be support-ed, decide how to find food for the group and how to better themselves in nutrition, how to be safe and secure, and how to have a future that has hope.
This is a wonderful chance for churches who already support ZOE to deepen relationships with both ZOE and orphaned children in Liberia. If you are ready to jump on board or have questions, please contact Bill Haddock at [email protected] or by phone at 910.262.3831.
Please do not send money to ZOE for this program
without contacting Bill first.
Ed’s contact info: 252-799-7499 or
Bill’s contact info: 910-262-3831 or
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your partnership with us. With this assistance, we can fully operate the Science Lab and begin making adequate use of the Computer Lab as well….Once again, thanks a million and may God richly bless you.”
We are continuing to raise funds and seek assis-tance to fully equip the computer lab and science labs. Financial contribution should be sent to Conference Advance - Love for Liberia: S-00221. If you wish to talk about possible items to donate please contact Ed Rutenkroger or Bill Haddock for further discussion.
As you may know, donors from throughout the Conference now sponsor scholarships for approxi-mately 38 students at Ganta Mission School. The cost of these scholarships is $200 per year for each student. To sponsor a child please forward funds to NC Advance Love for Liberia Scholarship - S-00228. If you also notify Ed Rutenkroger you will receive information about the child your funds are sponsoring.
UPDATE ON GANTA SCHOOL - article continued from page 6
888.661.4941 OR 919.779.9435
Beacon District Office
910.322.0100
D.S. Gil Wise’s cell
252.333.0536
A.D.S. Tom Quance’s cell
Revival Fires - Can You Feel the Mountain
Tremble?
My prayer time is full of promptings from God that remind me that we are living in a time of great revival. The Mission Field is full of opportunities. Reading this newsletter, I find God pouring out courage to be part of the work that God is doing to establish the Kingdom of God in our day.
Let me paint a fresh picture of revival. The revival that God is preparing to pour out upon the land is a revival that touches everyone. It will not be said that one church or another church has revival. The revival that God is preparing to pour out will be
happening everywhere. This revival will be while you are shopping in area stores. It will be happening in our places work. It will be happening in schools and child care centers. It will be a move upon all our hearts that causes us to seek God more. To each one it will be given as a real hunger for more of God. Revival will be a resounding response of the masses to God’s move upon our lives.
This revival will be more about what God is doing than what we are doing. Revival is something that takes place out of God’s initiative and is seen in our eyes as people turn in mass to seeking God’s face. God declared that in the last days He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. As much as we see the evil in this world highlighted, if you will look closely you will see the good that God is reviving in His people.
People are seeking spiritual things like never before. The only reason we see the bad things as “many” is because the light of God’s goodness is shining in this dark place. In an effort to overcome the good the darkness increases to compensate. The evil does not realize that this is a losing battle. It only works out of its nature of working against good.
Look for REVIVAL! It is happening all around us. Encourage revival by declaring the work of the Lord in our day. Overcome evil with good. Don’t be overcome by evil.
Winning them to Jesus, Gil Wise, District Superintendent Beacon District
