WorldHope Corps

Dear friends and colleagues: I want to let you know that I will have a new position at Drew beginning January 1, 2008. After 12 years as Director of the Doctor of Ministry program, I will transition at the end of the year to give my full attention to my new position: Director of Communities of Shalom. My role will be to facilitate and provide resources for a grass-roots, faith-based, community development network of "shalom sites" in the USA and Africa, in connection with theological education at Drew. Here's a link to the announcement by the United Methodist Church General Board of Global Ministries in New York: Drew Theological School to Be New Home Of United Methodist "Shalom" Initiative If you are Methodist, you may remember hearing about "shalom zones" in the early 1990's. The United Methodist Church responded to the race riots and social unrest in Los Angeles by working with local congregations to create a "shalom zone" in Sout...

Rev. Copeland Nkata, pastor of Mzuzu Methodist Church and circuit, sends the following September Report on his HomeHome for 60+ Orphaned and Vulunerable Children (OVC) in Malawi: Dear Dr. Michael, Greetings of grace from the embassy of Christ at Mzuzu UMC in the office of Hope Homes and Hope Scholarships. The Angel Gabriel remitted to us MK138410.00 equivalent to US$1000.00 for September 2007, which we have spent on the following expenses: food, children’s picnic, pictures, transportation for maize, deliveries to UMC branches where orphaned and abandoned children are cared for, transportation to schools, medical help (malaria), school fees, and administrative costs. This time we had a more wonderful and awesome picnic with 60 children in attendance, their faces beaming with joy and hope. To add more flavor we had 22 foster parents in attendance. We meant to engage them in prayer as a key factor to working out the future of the OVC. We woo them to Christ by this grand fell...

We (Rebecca, Jeff Markay, Julie and I) attended the Bruce Springsteen concert at the Continental Arena this week. It was a nexus of joy! There was a special moment when Bruce looked up, enraptured, almost orgasmic and transcendent, that was pure joy shown like shekina on his face. I thought to myself "Bruce is doing exactly what he was made for on this earth."