Faith reigns for new Miss America

A UMNS Feature By Linda Green*

Lauren Nelson is relying on her faith to keep her grounded during the hectic year that lies ahead for the newly crowned Miss America.

Nelson, 20, a member of Centenary United Methodist Church in Lawton, Okla., won the coveted title on Jan. 29 in Las Vegas.

"It has been a whirlwind of a first two weeks," she said in a telephone interview with United Methodist News Service. "I have been in probably six different cities already, and I will probably travel about 20,000 miles a month. I am very excited about this opportunity."

Nelson took a year off from her studies at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond to compete first in the Oklahoma state pageant, which she won, and then to vie with 51 other contestants for the Miss America crown. Her long-term goals are to earn a master's degree in musical theater and perform on Broadway.

The daughter of Mark and Sherrell Nelson of Lawton, she entered the pageant circuit at 16 to fulfill her desire to sing and perform. After winning the Miss Teen Lawton (Okla.) pageant, she went on to win Miss Teen Oklahoma.

Winning those pageants helped her to save money for college, and she continued competing. "It just snowballed into this," Nelson said. "I watched Miss America as a little girl and never thought that I could be one of the contestants in Miss America, much less Miss America herself." She received a $50,000 scholarship with the crown.

Since winning, "life has changed drastically," Nelson said. "I am traveling 20,000 miles this month. I have no home base this year. I have taken another year off from school."

Faith plays major role
In performing her "royal" duties, Nelson is relying heavily on her faith and her favorite Scriptures, Psalm 23 and Philippians 4:13, to sustain her. "They are my favorites because they are the ones I remember learning as a little girl and loving for the first time."

Nelson said faith "plays a huge role" in her life. "I grew up in church. I was baptized in the Methodist Church and have gone since I was a baby.

"So, especially this year, my faith will keep me grounded and will keep me going," she said. "This year is going to be a very hectic schedule, and sometimes I am going to doubt myself, but I have to realize that God would not have put me in this position if he did not know that I could handle it."

For Nelson, being Miss American means "representing the youth of America, representing the ideals of America. I think especially now in our society we need a strong role model, and that is what I represent, and it is such an honor to be able to do that."

She wants her faith to be seen in her actions. "You can say a lot of things, but you have to show that you are a Christian and make the right choices because of that," she said.

Throughout 2007 and beyond her tenure as Miss America, she intends "to take it a day at a time and be grateful for every opportunity, thank God for every opportunity, and use every day to glorify him and give all the glory to him."

The contacts, experiences and doors opened through being Miss America "are absolutely endless" and filled with possibilities, she noted.

"This year can take my life down a whole 'nother path," she said.

Promoting Internet safety The Miss America Organization provides outlets for young women to achieve their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of nationwide, community-based programs, according to the organization's Web site.

The organization annually chooses a national platform, and the reigning Miss America promotes that platform and raises money for it and the Miss America Organization.

Miss America also chooses a personal platform, and Nelson's personal issue is "Be NetSmart - Protecting Kids Online." Nelson chose to promote Internet safety for kids because of an incident that occurred in her youth while she and her friends talked online.

"I was actually approached as a seventh-grader," she said. "My friends and I were in a chat room and we were approached by an older person who asked for some information about us.

Luckily nothing ever came of it, but as I grew up, I realized the significance of that experience," she said. "And with my mom being an educator, having a younger brother and sister, and seeing the accessibility to the Internet not only in school but also in our home, it became a natural fit."

She advocates safety online and offline. "This year as Miss America, I will get to travel and speak to spread awareness and education on that issue, (and) hopefully I will have the opportunity to touch many people and talk to a lot of kids and even parents about this issue."

Internet safety is a two-way street involving parents and children, Nelson said.

Children should "be very guarded" and learn not to talk to strangers, not to share personal information and to involve an adult, Nelson said. "Kids have to realize that it can happen to them because every day, one in five children in America is being approached by online predators. It happens all the time, and being guarded is the most important thing to teach our kids."

For parents, Nelson said the most important thing "is to be involved" by getting online with their children and monitoring their online activities. "Know what your kids are doing," she said.

"You would not allow your child to go to a party if you did not know what they were going to be doing and who they were going to be with, so don't let them do it on the Internet."

Nelson is excited about the year ahead, and grateful for the support of the people at Centenary United Methodist Church.

"Since I was a little girl, they have supported me and encouraged me throughout every endeavor that I have had, and it has been no different for the Miss America pageant," she said.

"I want to thank them for their support, their prayer and love. I am so honored and proud to be able to share this with them."

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Faith reigns for new Miss America

A UMNS Feature By Linda Green*

Lauren Nelson is relying on her faith to keep her grounded during the hectic year that lies ahead for the newly crowned Miss America.

Nelson, 20, a member of Centenary United Methodist Church in Lawton, Okla., won the coveted title on Jan. 29 in Las Vegas.

"It has been a whirlwind of a first two weeks," she said in a telephone interview with United Methodist News Service. "I have been in probably six different cities already, and I will probably travel about 20,000 miles a month. I am very excited about this opportunity."

Nelson took a year off from her studies at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond to compete first in the Oklahoma state pageant, which she won, and then to vie with 51 other contestants for the Miss America crown. Her long-term goals are to earn a master's degree in musical theater and perform on Broadway.

The daughter of Mark and Sherrell Nelson of Lawton, she entered the pageant circuit at 16 to fulfill her desire to sing and perform. After winning the Miss Teen Lawton (Okla.) pageant, she went on to win Miss Teen Oklahoma.

Winning those pageants helped her to save money for college, and she continued competing. "It just snowballed into this," Nelson said. "I watched Miss America as a little girl and never thought that I could be one of the contestants in Miss America, much less Miss America herself." She received a $50,000 scholarship with the crown.

Since winning, "life has changed drastically," Nelson said. "I am traveling 20,000 miles this month. I have no home base this year. I have taken another year off from school."

Faith plays major role
In performing her "royal" duties, Nelson is relying heavily on her faith and her favorite Scriptures, Psalm 23 and Philippians 4:13, to sustain her. "They are my favorites because they are the ones I remember learning as a little girl and loving for the first time."

Nelson said faith "plays a huge role" in her life. "I grew up in church. I was baptized in the Methodist Church and have gone since I was a baby.

"So, especially this year, my faith will keep me grounded and will keep me going," she said. "This year is going to be a very hectic schedule, and sometimes I am going to doubt myself, but I have to realize that God would not have put me in this position if he did not know that I could handle it."

For Nelson, being Miss American means "representing the youth of America, representing the ideals of America. I think especially now in our society we need a strong role model, and that is what I represent, and it is such an honor to be able to do that."

She wants her faith to be seen in her actions. "You can say a lot of things, but you have to show that you are a Christian and make the right choices because of that," she said.

Throughout 2007 and beyond her tenure as Miss America, she intends "to take it a day at a time and be grateful for every opportunity, thank God for every opportunity, and use every day to glorify him and give all the glory to him."

The contacts, experiences and doors opened through being Miss America "are absolutely endless" and filled with possibilities, she noted.

"This year can take my life down a whole 'nother path," she said.

Promoting Internet safety The Miss America Organization provides outlets for young women to achieve their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of nationwide, community-based programs, according to the organization's Web site.

The organization annually chooses a national platform, and the reigning Miss America promotes that platform and raises money for it and the Miss America Organization.

Miss America also chooses a personal platform, and Nelson's personal issue is "Be NetSmart - Protecting Kids Online." Nelson chose to promote Internet safety for kids because of an incident that occurred in her youth while she and her friends talked online.

"I was actually approached as a seventh-grader," she said. "My friends and I were in a chat room and we were approached by an older person who asked for some information about us.

Luckily nothing ever came of it, but as I grew up, I realized the significance of that experience," she said. "And with my mom being an educator, having a younger brother and sister, and seeing the accessibility to the Internet not only in school but also in our home, it became a natural fit."

She advocates safety online and offline. "This year as Miss America, I will get to travel and speak to spread awareness and education on that issue, (and) hopefully I will have the opportunity to touch many people and talk to a lot of kids and even parents about this issue."

Internet safety is a two-way street involving parents and children, Nelson said.

Children should "be very guarded" and learn not to talk to strangers, not to share personal information and to involve an adult, Nelson said. "Kids have to realize that it can happen to them because every day, one in five children in America is being approached by online predators. It happens all the time, and being guarded is the most important thing to teach our kids."

For parents, Nelson said the most important thing "is to be involved" by getting online with their children and monitoring their online activities. "Know what your kids are doing," she said.

"You would not allow your child to go to a party if you did not know what they were going to be doing and who they were going to be with, so don't let them do it on the Internet."

Nelson is excited about the year ahead, and grateful for the support of the people at Centenary United Methodist Church.

"Since I was a little girl, they have supported me and encouraged me throughout every endeavor that I have had, and it has been no different for the Miss America pageant," she said.

"I want to thank them for their support, their prayer and love. I am so honored and proud to be able to share this with them."

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

Liberia's Ganta Hospital rebuilds in 2006

United Methodist-supported Ganta Hospital is rebuilding and expanding, thanks in part to the support of First United Methodist Church in Peoria, Ill. A UMNS photo by the Rev. Timothy Bias.

A UMNS Report By Linda Bloom*

United Methodists in Illinois are among those helping Liberia's Ganta Hospital recover from massive looting and destruction in 2003 that temporarily shut down mission work there.

"We're committed to seeing the (new) hospital built," said the Rev. Timothy Bias, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Peoria, Ill.

Still rebounding from Liberia's long civil war, the United Methodist-related hospital completed renovations of the building that was burned and nearly destroyed during civil unrest in 2003 and has begun to construct a new hospital building. The hospital reopened in 2004 and currently has 164 employees, including three physicians, 18 registered nurses and seven certified midwives.

The rebuilding of Ganta also is helping to transform Liberians themselves, Bias said in a Feb. 6 telephone interview. "The same people who had destroyed the hospital are now building the hospital," he said, noting that ex-combatants were working at the construction site when he visited during 2006.

Other highlights of 2006 were the dedication of a new eye clinic, continued outreach for childhood vaccinations and visits by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, according to the annual report submitted by Victor Doolakeh Taryor, the hospital's administrator.

"Through the faithful support of partners and friends of Ganta Hospital, we continue to provide affordable and quality health-care services to the rapidly growing population of northeastern Liberia and the border towns of the republics of Guinea and Ivory Coast," Taryor wrote in his report.

Cherian Thomas, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, called Ganta Hospital a "success story" and said the Liberian Annual Conference, under the leadership of Bishop John Innis, "made a real goal of rehabilitating the hospital."

Thomas praised Taryor - who in July completed a year of study in hospital administration at the University of North Carolina - and said the Rev. Herbert and Mary Zigbuo, a missionary couple, "did a great job in laying the foundation" for Ganta's recovery.

Renovation on the burned building was completed in August, thanks to $42,500 from First United Methodist Church in Peoria, Ill., the United Nations Development Program, the Liberian government, locally generated donations and the denomination's Advance program.

The building now contains the drug depot, pharmacy, dental clinic, record room, cashier booth, six consultation rooms and two exam rooms.

The annual report said construction of the new hospital building's outpatient clinic was nearly complete, with construction of the emergency room planned next.

Covenant relationship
First United Methodist Church has worked with the church in Liberia for several years, growing from a covenant relationship between the denomination's Illinois Great Rivers Conference and the Liberia Conference.

When the Liberian church voted to build a new hospital at Ganta, the Peoria congregation agreed to raise $100,000 for that effort and accomplished that task in 90 days, according to Bias. The congregation designated $20,000 for the renovated facility and the remainder for the new building.

The congregation also collected donations of equipment from area hospitals and sent Ganta $380,000 worth of beds with wheels, gurneys and an industrial washer and dryer. "We knew that they needed equipment because much of what they had there had been taken or destroyed," the pastor said.

For example, hospital staff were using a lone refrigerator to store both food and blood, so the Peoria church provided a refrigerator strictly for surgical use. "We've had them tell us what they need," said Bias, who last visited Ganta in November. "We go out and find it here and get it to them."

Still needed is an industrial autoclave to sterilize surgical equipment - an expensive item that is hard to find used. Currently, Ganta Hospital uses two large pressure cookers for sterilization.

Because of the church's relationship with Peoria-based equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., church leaders secured a new generator "that can run on the same amount of diesel fuel than the one they had" with twice the electrical output. The church is working to obtain and ship additional equipment to get the new generator operational.

Such efforts are the norm for the Peoria congregation, which also raised $35,000 for a church building in Estonia and is the founding church for the "Walk to Emmaus" spiritual renewal program. "It's kind of the DNA of this congregation - to be in mission in a hands-on way," Bias said.

Aiding Ganta Hospital blesses the Illinois church as well, says Bias, noting that church members worked together on various projects to raise $100,000 for the Liberian initiative. "We've had more of a community spirit and an understanding of what it is to be church through the project," he said.

The Peoria congregation is excited about other ministries related to Liberia, such as providing scholarships for children. "We're convinced, as they are in Liberia … that education is the way to get the country back on its feet," Bias said.

Success stories
Ganta's new eye clinic was funded by Christian Blind Mission International. In addition to regular on-site and outreach treatment provided under the leadership of Dr. Joseph Kerkula, the clinic was part of a national eye camp initiative in Lofa County in December. Ganta's team was responsible for 33 of the 90 cataract surgeries performed during the camp.

Besides providing routine vaccinations in 2006, Ganta staff conducted diabetes awareness programs and voluntary blood testing, identifying 70 cases of diabetes during the year. "Plans are under way to initiate a national program that will create access to medication and education for all diabetics," Taryor wrote.

Other primary health-care activities included distributing mosquito nets to pregnant women and children to protect against malaria, supervising traditional midwives, conducting community-based HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, and surveying women about vesico-vaginal fistula.

Outside of church funding, the hospital received a $50,000 subsidy from the Liberian government for fiscal year 2006-2007. President Sirleaf, a United Methodist, donated food and a used ambulance in November.

Taryor said volunteer work teams still are needed to help renovate and build at Ganta and to provide guidance with medical and administrative needs.

Contributions may be made to the following Advance funds: Ganta Hospital Emergency Fuel, No. 09214A; Ganta Hospital Emergency Support, No. 10010T; and Hospital Revitalization, UMCOR Advance No. 982168.

Donations can be placed in church collection plates or mailed to Advance GCFA, P.O. Box 9068, GPO New York, NY 10087-9068. Make credit card donations online through the Advance at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/give/advance/ or by calling (888) 252-6174.

For more information, contact Taryor at vdoolakehtaryor@yahoo.com.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.

Soldier's little sister sings in YouTube hit





Cindy Martin accompanies her 6-year-old daughter, Heather, who loves to sing.A UMNS photo by John Gordon.




CACHE, Okla. (UMNS) - Six-year-old Heather Martin, accompanied only by her mother on piano, has become an overnight Internet sensation for a song performed at their rural Oklahoma church.

Written for her brother Shaun serving in Iraq, the song became one of YouTube's most requested videos of all time in December after a member at Cache First United Methodist Church recorded and posted Heather's performance on the video-sharing Web site. The video had received 1.7 million hits as of early February.

"My friend called me Christmas Eve and she says, 'They've featured your video and the numbers are just going up and up,'" Cindy Martin said of her daughter's video. "She said, 'It's going to snowball.' And sure enough, she was right. It's snowballed."

Since then, the song has aired on radio station KMGZ-FM in nearby Lawton, Okla., and has become a hit among soldiers overseas.

"I've seen an incredible outpouring from the community and from the church," said the Rev. Jennifer Long, the family's pastor, who in 2003 lost a family member in a grenade attack in Iraq. "It's opened a lot of hearts to let out some things that people have been holding in."

Cindy wrote "When Are You Coming Home?" after learning that 22-year-old Shaun would not be home for Christmas. She and Heather performed the song to give Shaun as a Christmas gift.

"When I had told (Heather) that he wasn't going to be home for Christmas, she reacted so sadly," Cindy said. "When I was writing the words, I thought it just really made sense that … it should be written from her point of view."

The video was recorded during a church service. With her mother playing piano off-camera, Heather stands in front of the pulpit and earnestly sings the lyrics, including a chorus of:
"When are you coming home, Shaun? "When are you coming home? "We lit up the house like we always do "But it doesn't seem right because we can't hug you. "In my prayers I ask God to keep you safe. "And I'm trying to be really brave. "Tell me that the fighting's through. "Come home! "I really miss you.

"It makes me cry every time I hear it," said Judy Runnels, who saw the original performance. "I think the fact that a little girl is singing that about her brother is very touching."

The Martins' church since has posted other videos of Heather singing in church. Her version of "God Bless America" has been viewed more than 19,000 times. Members say posting such videos is a way to connect with troops far from home.

"Of the key things that I think resonates with soldiers is that it brings a little home to them," said Cache Mayor Nolan Watson, who attends Cache First United Methodist. "It's very personal. It reaches out and touches you."

Cindy's song has been interpreted by some critics as an anti-war anthem, but friend Cindy Williams, who shot the video and posted it on YouTube, said it's not meant to make a political statement. "It's simply about a family that is missing a brother," Williams says.

Cindy echoes that sentiment. "Irregardless of how you feel about the war, we've got people over there serving our country and we should just support them as human beings," she said. "And that's what I'm trying to do for Shaun and other people like him."

Since making YouTube's featured list, Heather and her mother have received an outpouring of cards and letters. Their video, meanwhile, has drawn almost 6,000 comments on the Web site ranging from supportive to vitriolic.

The mother-and-daughter occasionally are asked to perform their song at churches, restaurants and nursing homes. "Sometimes I still get emotional," Cindy said. "Sometimes I'll watch her when she's singing it and it'll get to me again."

Spc. Shaun Martin, who was deployed last June with his counter-intelligence unit near Baghdad, is due to return home sometime in 2007. Cindy says he has shared the song with other soldiers, who are able to access YouTube.

"I feel like we're singing it to our son," she says. "And it feels like it almost brings him home for a little while."

*Simmons is a freelance producer based in Nashville, Tenn.

A UMNS Commentary by the Rev. Kelvin Sauls* -- We must lift every hand in responding to AIDS

Globally, 17 million women and 18.8 million men between ages 15 and 49 live with HIV/AIDS. A UMNS photo by G. Pirozzi.

Black History Month is not just another opportunity to look back and celebrate our heritage. We also must critically survey today's landscape and consider present challenges. One such challenge is HIV/AIDS.

To change the course of this pandemic, we will have to do more than sing "Lift Every Voice." It will take more than wearing African attire and romanticizing about the "underground railroad." To turn back this pandemic, we will have to lift every hand to build a railroad of compassion and acceptance above ground.

The faith community must lead the way! Churches, temples, synagogues and mosques must walk in love and solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are infected with - and affected by - HIV/AIDS.

The time has come for Christians to be intentional about demonstrating faith rooted in compassion. In our walk, we can exclaim with the apostle Paul that "nothing can separate us from the love of God" - not even HIV/AIDS.

Too many lives are being lost, while too many people are doing too little. The facts and fears are real and overwhelming! There is still no cure or effective vaccine.

More than 40,000 people are infected each year. AIDS is the No. 1 killer of African-American males ages 15 to 45. Two teenagers are infected every minute in the United States. Nobody has been cured to date.

There are also signs of "feminization" of the disease, with minorities particularly hard hit.

According to the 2004 collaborative report "Women and HIV/AIDS: Confronting the Crisis," African-American and Latina women represent less than a quarter of all women in the United States, but together they account for up to 80 percent of the nation's AIDS cases among women.
Globally, 17 million women and 18.8 million men between ages 15 and 49 live with HIV/AIDS. However, since 1985, the percentage of women among adults living with HIV/AIDS has risen from 35 percent to 48 percent.

In its 2004 report, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS observed: "Nowhere is the epidemic's 'feminization' more apparent than in sub-Saharan Africa, where 57 percent of adults infected are women and girls."

In the face of this challenge, people of faith are called upon to walk the talk and display compassion and care for all who are infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. To change the course, we must move from stigmatization to mobilization. It's time to take our heads out of the sand and allow our homes and congregations to become places where people with HIV/AIDS can experience acceptance, peace and love.

The time for lip service is long gone. With every crisis comes an opportunity. Our opportunity is to practice hope and love through prevention, intervention and mobilization.

Prevention can come in the form of blunt, compelling and innovative education forums to stem the tide of ignorance, arrogance and stigmatization. Hence, our faith education must include preventative health education. We must invite, teach and challenge people to make the necessary behavioral changes to end the spread of this preventable disease. Intervention can include making our congregations available as testing sites for HIV/AIDS, hosting support groups, collaborating to provide life-sustaining services for HIV/AIDS patients, and coordinating opportunities for retreat and respite.

We can mobilize our congregations, districts and conferences to influence and direct policy at the local, national and international levels. When our congregations commit to be centers of wellness, Christianity can once again become a bedrock for communities to move from disparity to vitality. We must fight to ensure that funding and HIV medications are available to all who need them. Accessibility, understanding and elimination of health disparities are keys to turning the course of the pandemic.

My brother and sister with HIV/AIDS are still my brother and sister. Now is not the time to be a spectator. Become a participator. Move from stigmatization to mobilization and make God's love, care and compassion visible and viable. Remember, "nothing can separate you from the love of God" - not even HIV/AIDS!

May God's compassion ignite us from within so we can practice a vital faith with open hearts, open minds and open doors.

*Sauls is a native of South Africa and serves as director of congregational development for the United Methodist Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tenn. Prior to his appointment, he was a pastor in Virginia, Ohio and California.

Brother and sister tie religion, globalization

A UMNS Report By Greta Gloven*

DENVER (UMNS) - Rising from humble beginnings as children of sharecropper farmers to become leaders in health care and the church, a brother and sister used their national platforms to explore how God is calling the church to respond to increasing global challenges.

The Rev. Chester Jones, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, and his sister Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former U.S. surgeon general, declared "shalom is our mission" during the Jan. 22-24 Leadership Conference at United Methodist-related Iliff School of Theology.

Elders is the oldest and Jones is the youngest of eight children in their family from rural Arkansas. Both served as leaders in the conference focusing on religion and globalization.

"Religion is at the heart of many of the world's tensions today, so it is fitting that we explore the topic of globalization in relation to it," said the Rev. MarKeva Hill, director of the Iliff Institute.

The conference was designed to explore "a more excellent way" to globalization - a path characterized by hope, vibrant community, mutual appreciation and sustained commitment to relationships.

"Together, we have learned a lot," said Jones, reflecting on his own family's journey.

The siblings said their circle of influence - family, teachers in their segregated schools, the local mid-wife and Sunday school teachers - instilled the importance of getting an education. As a family, they picked cotton to earn the bus money to get Elders to United Methodist-related Philander Smith College in Little Rock. They also looked to the church for scholarships.

Elders recalled that Jones, who was only 5 when she was saving for college, asked his parents excitedly at the end of a long hot day in the fields, "Do we have enough? Do we have enough to send Joycelyn to school? Is this enough?"

Today, said the siblings, the church needs to ask "is this enough?" a bit more often. They also encouraged listeners to work for change through their faith communities.

"I owe a lot to The United Methodist Church," said Elders. "I couldn't have done it without them. I couldn't have done it without the United Methodist women who gave me a scholarship to go to college when I didn't even know what college was. I thank them every day."

Jones' outlook on the world also is rooted in his upbringing and early experiences.

"My first memory of international issues had to do with my uncles returning from Europe at the end of World War II," he said. "There was a clear sense of the external world and its dangers, and that Americans must be vigilant and alert to other parts of the world."

"It was my first understanding that in many ways the world is a global village, although that term had not yet been developed. Nevertheless, I grew up in a global village and under the Cold War threat of the Berlin Wall and communism," he said.

Churches everywhere are called to care for the global village. However, Jones said many local churches have failed to develop biblically based global outreach strategies to take the Gospel "across the street" and "across the sea."

"As the richest country in the world, we are the only industrialized nation that can't afford health care for all Americans," added Elders. "There is no choice for the 47 million people who do not have access to health care."

Global racism is another issue of concern. "When personal prejudice is mixed up with economic, political, military and institutional power, the result has been and continues to be racism," Jones said. "Racism equals prejudice plus power. Power is the ability to define reality and have others accept it."

Elders decried the existence of the "the 5H club" for poor children in America. "In the richest country in the world, we have millions that go to bed hungry. Many of those are children - children who are healthless with no access to health care, that are homeless, hugless with no one care about them, and hopeless," she said.

"When hope dies, moral decay is not far behind. As a church, we must reduce the poverty in this country and address the issues created by this poverty, so that we can move ahead."

Elders and Jones urged conference participants to adopt strategies such as:

+Building healthy relationships among people around the world
+Ensuring that global actions work for all people
+Improving the understanding of all religions
+Growing the church by encouraging young people to come
+Getting involved and supporting common-sense educational goals
+Encouraging comprehensive school-based health services in schools
+Educating parents
+Pushing for health care for all people - as a right
+Forming alliances, partnerships and cooperative associations

"The church needs to be a catalyst to make change happen. If we are going to transform our society, we need to change," Elders said. "We need to have the courage to change."

"It is the role of the faith community to help the world understand that we are all people made in the image of God and are part of a universal family and global village," said Jones. "When one person suffers from racism, all people suffer."

*Gloven is the director of marketing communications at Iliff School of Theology.

United Methodists fight malaria through education

By Michelle Scott*

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Mrs. Monica, of Kassa, Nigeria, got to work immediately after the week-long training she received through the United Methodist Community-Based Malaria Control Program.

She asked her husband to cut down or trim trees growing around their home that could harbor mosquitoes. She emptied all containers of stagnant water that could be a mosquito breeding ground, then taught her neighbors to do the same.

She paid for malaria treatment for some of the children in Kassa and made sure pregnant women were tested for the disease as well.

But Mrs. Monica is an exception in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria is viewed simply as a fact of daily life. It is a disease that robs families of their children and makes parents too sick to work.

The United Methodist Community-Based Malaria Control Program seeks to create a culture of malaria prevention, educating people most at risk about basic measures they can take to prevent the mosquito-borne disease.

Armed with the right information, people can fight malaria by using treated bed nets, ridding the areas around their homes of stagnant water and reducing the mosquito population. The lessons begin with building awareness that malaria is completely preventable, through programs such as the training attended recently by Mrs. Monica and 36 other women from her community.

The idea of "malaria prevention and control in this part of the world is truly a strange thing because not so many people think that preventing or controlling it can be possible or even realistic," said Yolia Raymond, who works at the rural health project in Zing, sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Nigeria, and heads the HIV/AIDS and malaria program there.

The program began in 2005 in Sierra Leone when 25 people from seven countries gathered at Kissy United Methodist Health Center to learn how to begin sustainable malaria-fighting efforts in their own countries. All went home promising to spread the good word that this chronic and common disease, which steals a life every 30 seconds, can be prevented through basic measures.
What is happening in southern Nigeria under Raymond's leadership is an example of how the United Methodist malaria program is spreading all across Africa. Community leaders like Mrs. Monica are learning about malaria prevention and anti-malaria medication and prenatal education for pregnant women and are distributing mosquito bed nets to vulnerable families.

They are even working to grow their own malaria medicine. The rural health program is planting farms of Artemisia annua or sweet wormwood, a plant that normally grows in China and provides a key element in anti-malarial drugs. Having access to the plants in Nigeria will help make this life-saving medicine more accessible and affordable.

United Methodists can support the program in Nigeria and similar programs in Africa through financial contributions to Malaria Control, UMCOR Advance No. 982009. Checks to UMCOR may be placed in United Methodist church offering plates or mailed directly to: UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068. Credit card donations can be made by calling 1-800-554-8583.

*Scott is a communications specialist for the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Electing delegates to 2008 conference tops annual meetings

NOTE: A list of annual conference dates and meeting locations follows this story.

A UMNS Report By Linda Green*

When United Methodists around the world gather this spring and summer, electing delegates to worldwide and jurisdictional conferences for 2008 will top most agendas.

Meeting this year at annual conferences, United Methodists across the globe also will worship together, examine issues facing the church, approve budgets, receive reports from conference boards and agencies, review ministries, pass resolutions and adopt policy and programs of mission and ministry. The church has about 10 million members worldwide.

The 63 U.S. conferences, meeting during May and June, will elect 352 clergy delegates and 352 lay delegates to the denomination's highest legislative body, the General Conference. Convened every four years, the conference will meet April 23-May 2, 2008, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 53 conferences in Europe, Africa and the Philippines will elect 274 delegates. An additional 10 delegates from churches with concordat relationships with the denomination also will attend.

The annual (sometimes called regional) conference is the "basic unit" of the church, according to the denomination's Book of Discipline. It may include an entire state, part of a state or even parts of two or more states. There are also three missionary conferences in the United States, which rely on the denomination for funding.

The number of delegates to the General Conference is subject to change after the denomination's supreme court, called the Judicial Council, convenes April 25-28 in the Philippines. The meeting in Manila will be the first time a United Methodist Judicial Council has met outside the United States.

Depending on actions taken by the Judicial Council, General Conference delegates may take further action relative to the admission of the Methodist Church of the African nation of Cote d'Ivoire as an annual conference, a decision made by the 2004 legislative session. The delegates also may consider a recommendation proposing that the United States become a Central Conference.

The proposal introduced to the United Methodist Council of Bishops last November would end the current system that splits the United States from the central conferences that govern the church outside the United States and would revise the United Methodist Book of Discipline into a "truly general book of doctrine, mission and discipline, deleting all portions that apply only to the United States."

The five existing U.S. jurisdictional conferences would exist within one U.S. Central Conference, putting it on par with the central conferences already in existence. If approved, the changes would take effect in 2012.

The annual conferences will elect delegates to the five U.S. jurisdictional conferences, which will be held in July 2008 to elect bishops and assign them to geographic areas for the next four years. The 1,408 clergy and lay delegates to the jurisdictional conferences will elect nine U.S. bishops, and the Central Conferences will elect three bishops.

During the annual conference gatherings in the United States, Africa, Europe and the Philippines, one-year appointments of all conference clergy members will be announced, new deacons and elders ordained, and candidates for ordination approved. A bishop will preside over each annual session.

In addition to electing delegates, annual conferences will act on petitions from individuals and groups wanting to change policies, procedures and practices of The United Methodist Church. Approved petitions will be submitted to the General Conference, and those that are adopted will be included in the 2008 revision of the Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions.

General Conference delegates can change anything in the Book of Discipline except the church's Constitution. Any recommended changes in the Constitution must be ratified by the annual conferences.

Individual and group petitions must be postmarked by Oct. 26, which is 180 days before the opening day of the General Conference. Petitions secretary for the 2008 conference is Gary W. Graves, pastor of Beaver Dam (Ky.) United Methodist Church. Instructions for filing petitions are available at www.GC2008.umc.org.

The first session of 2007 conference gatherings will be the Northeast Philippines, scheduled for Feb. 22-25. The 63 regional U.S. gatherings will begin May 2-5 when the Troy Annual Conference convenes in Burlington, Vt., and will conclude June 24 with the adjournment of the California-Pacific Annual Conference in Redlands, Calif. Some annual conferences outside the United States meet in the fall and winter.

Annual conference meeting dates and places are:

U.S. ANNUAL CONFERENCES

North Central Jurisdiction
Dakotas, June 6-9, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Detroit, May 17-20, Adrian, Mich.
East Ohio, June 18-21, Lakeside, Ohio
Illinois Great Rivers, June 6-9, Peoria, Ill.
Iowa, June 6-10, Ames, Iowa
Minnesota, May 29-June 1, Saint Cloud, Minn.
North Indiana, May 31-June2, West Lafayette, Ind.
Northern Illinois, June 9-12, Saint Charles, Ill.
South Indiana, June 6-9, Bloomington, Ind.
West Michigan, May 31-June 3, Grand Rapids, Mich.
West Ohio, June 10-14, Lakeside, Ohio
Wisconsin, June 10-13, Middleton, Wis.

Northeastern Jurisdiction
Baltimore-Washington, May 24-26, Washington, D.C.
Central Pennsylvania, June 6-9, Grantham, Pa.
Eastern Pennsylvania, June 13-15, Philadelphia
Greater New Jersey, May 30-June 2, Valley Forge, Pa.
New England, June 7-10, Wenham, Mass.
New York, June 6-9, Hempstead, N.Y.
North Central New York, June 1-3, Liverpool, N.Y.
Peninsula-Delaware, June 8-10, Princess Anne, Md.
Troy, May 2-5, Burlington, Vt.
West Virginia, June 7-10, Buckhannon, W.Va.
Western New York, June 8-10, Buffalo, N.Y.
Western Pennsylvania, June 7-10, Grove City, Pa.
Wyoming, May 31-June 2, Scranton, Pa.

South Central Jurisdiction
Arkansas, June 10-13, Russellville, Ark.
Central Texas, June 3-6, Fort Worth, Texas
Kansas East, June 6-9, Baldwin City, Kan.
Kansas West, May 23-25, Hutchinson, Kan.
Louisiana, June 3-6, Baton Rouge, La.
Missouri, June 1-4, Springfield, Mo.
Nebraska, June 6-9, Lincoln, Neb.
New Mexico, June 6-9, Glorieta, N.M.
North Texas, June 3-6, Plano, Texas
Northwest Texas, May 28-31, Midland, Texas
Oklahoma, May 27-31, Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma Indian Missionary, June 7-10, Preston, Okla.
Rio Grande, May 31-June 2, Abilene, Texas
Southwest Texas, June 6-9, Corpus Christi, Texas
Texas, May 27-31, The Woodlands, Texas

Southeastern Jurisdiction
Alabama-West Florida, June 3-6, Montgomery, Ala.
Florida, June 6-9, Lakeland, Fla.
Holston, June 10-13, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
Kentucky, June 11-15, Louisville, Ky.
Memphis, June 3-6, Jackson, Tenn.
Mississippi, June 10-14, Jackson, Miss.
North Alabama, June 1-2, Argo, Ala. North Carolina, June 13-17, Greenville, N.C.
North Georgia, June 11-15, Athens, Ga.
Red Bird Missionary, May 11-12, Frankes, Ky.
South Carolina, June 3-7, Florence, S.C.
South Georgia, June 3-7, Savannah, Ga.
Tennessee, June 10-13, Brentwood, Tenn.
Virginia, June 10-13, Roanoke, Va.
Western North Carolina, June 7-10, Lake Junaluska, N.C.

Western Jurisdiction
Alaska Missionary, May 25-27, Anchorage, Alaska
California-Nevada, June 19-24, Sacramento, Calif.
California-Pacific, June 20-24, Redlands, Calif.
Desert Southwest, June 7-10, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Oregon-Idaho, June 12-16, Salem, Ore.
Pacific Northwest, June 12-16, Tacoma, Wash. Rocky Mountain, June 13-16, Denver, Colo.
Yellowstone, June 7-10, Billings, Mont.

CENTRAL (OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES) CONFERENCES
(Complete information on some conferences is unavailable.)
Austria Provisional, May 17-21, Linz, Austria
Bicol Philippines Provisional, March 15-18, Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines
Bulgaria Provisional, Sept. 13-16, Dobric, Bulgaria
Central Congo, Katako-Kombe, Democratic Republic of Congo
Central Luzon Philippines, March 29-April 1, Guimba, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
Central Russia, June 22-24, Moscow
Czech & Slovak Republics, May 10-13, Prague-Nove Mesto,Czech Republic
Denmark, June 27-July 1, Strandby, Denmark
East Africa, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe
East Congo, Kindu, Democratic Republic of Congo
East Mindanao Philippines, April 19-22, Obrero, Davao City, Philippines
Eastern Russia and Central Asia Provisional, May 18-20, Ekaterinburg, Russia
Estonia, May 30-31, Tallinn, Estonia
Finland-Finnish-speaking Provisional, July 4-8, Finland
Finland-Swedish-speaking Provisional, June 7-10, Grankulla, Finland
Germany East, May 30-June 3, Zwickau, Saxonia, Germany
Germany North, May 9-13, Braunfels, Germany
Germany South, June 21-24, Oehringen & Sporthalle Boeblingen, Germany
Hungary, April 11-14, Budapest, Hungary Liberia, Niva County, Liberia
Mindanao Philippines, May 10-13, Kidapawan City, Philippines
North Central Philippines, March 1-4, Cauayan, Isabela, Philippines
North of Save River (Northern Mozambique), Beira, Sofala, Mozambique
Northeast Luzon Philippines, May 24-27, Echague, Isabela, Philippines
Northeast Philippines, Feb. 22-25, Saguday, Quirino, Philippines Northern Philippines, May 31-June 3, Sanchez Mira, Cagayan, Philippines
Northwest Mindanao Philippines, April 12-15, Laguitas, Malaybalay, Philippines
Northwest Philippines, April 12-15, Salcedo, Ilocos Sur, Philippines
Northwest Russia Provisional, July 6-8, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Norway, June 21-24, Porsgrunn, Norway
Oriental & Equator, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo
Pangasinan Philippines, March 15-18, Dagupan City, Pangasinan, Philippines
Poland, June 14-17, Klarysew, Poland
Serbia-Macedonia Provisional, Oct. 10-14, Kisac, Serbia.
South Russia Provisional, May 25-27, Voronezh, Russia
South of Save River (Southern Mozambique), Maputo, Mozambique
Sweden, May 16-20, Norrkoping, Sweden
Switzerland-France, June 7-10, Zofingen, Switzerland
Tarlac Philippines, May 17-20, Tarlac City, Philippines
Ukraine & Moldova Provisional, June 28-July 1, Kiev, Ukraine
Visayas Philippines, March 22-25, Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines
West Congo, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.