Skip to main content

Malawi Summit in Nashville

I was blessed this week to participate in the first Malawi Summit sponsored by the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries to bring together church groups and organizations (like WorldHope Corps) involved in ministry in Malawi.
 
Eight mission groups were represented at the Summit in Nashville, including:, Belmont UMC, Church of the Resurrection in KC, First UMC in Ankany, Iowa, and other active clergy and laity). We compared notes, found out what each other were doing, and asked questions about how we might work together in a more coordinated and transparent way in Malawi.

Most gratifying for me was learning that the WorldHope Corps initiatives--HOPE HOMES, HOPE SCHOLARSHIPS AND HOPE TAILORING SCHOOL--have been enthusiastically embraced and supported by the other volunteer mission groups.  And that there are others who want to put in village wells and support the work in Malawi, each in their own way.

Rev. Herb Mather, a Drew Theological School graduate, and his wife, Sue, who have made many trips to Malawi and aised several thousand dollars for mission projects, organized and hosted the Summit, and made us all feel welcome.


Its a great benefit to be in ministry together, and I look forward to next year's Summit, and to returning to Malawi with another mission team in May, 2011.

I want to include in this mission update with a short note from Rev. Daniel Mhone, Conference Superintendent of the United Methodist Church in Malawi, whose heart was encouraged during the Summit:
 
I write just to appreciate your participation in the Malawi Summit we held in Nashville and God bless you.

To be very honest as Superintendent in the newly legislated Missionary Conference, there have been times when I have personally got frozen in my spirit and thought this is a non starter and we are heading nowhere. BUT after the summit I feel that our cry has been held and there is a future and way out and we corporately take the work of the Missionary and a Methodist family. God bless you and let us carry out ministry to the glory of God.

Stand with us and may God richly bless you.

Rev. Daniel Mhone

CONFERENCE SUPERINTENDENT

Background on United Methodist Church in Malawi:

The United Methodist Church in Malawi is fairly young. Started some 21 years ago by indigenous leaders, it was for 20 years a district of the episcopal area based in nearby Zimbabwe. In April 2008, the United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's legislature, recognized Malawi was a Missionary Conference, with special ties to the General Board of Global Ministries. Today, there are about 100 congregations organized into 22 circuits.

Malawi is a land-locked country of 10.5 million mostly rural people east of Zambia, west of Mozambique, and south of Tanzania. Like Zimbabwe, it was colonized by English-speaking Europeans in the 19th century. It gained its independence from Great Britain in 1964 and become a democratic republic in 1994. Lilongwe is the capital city. The annual per capital income is $800. Some 80 percent of the population is Christian, 55 percent of those Protestant.

Source: 
http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=5416
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Liberation Spirituality: Henri Nouwen and Gustavo Gutierrez in Dialogue

Liberation Spirituality: Henri Nouwen and Gustavo Gutierrez in Dialogue Lecture Notes: Presented by Michael J. Christensen, Ph.D.,  Associate Professor in the Practice of Spirituality and Ministry,  Drew University;  and  International Director, Communities of Shalom, The United Methodist Church Introduction “There is a little man in Peru, a man without any power, who lives in a barrio with poor people and who wrote a book.   In this book he simply reclaimed the basic Christian truth that God became human to bring good news to the poor, new light to the blind, and liberty to the captives.   Then years later this book and movement it started is considered a danger by [the USA, or Rome], the greatest power on earth.   When I look at this little man, Gustavo, and think about [the President of the US, or the Pope], I see David standing before Goliath, again with no more weapon than a little stone, a stone called A The...
Read more

First Generation Lambs Club Reunion

Fifteen of us gathered Saturday night at the Lambs Club for a 35 th year reunion of those who helped start the Lamb’s Church in Times Square in the mid to late 1970’s, including: Rev. Paul S. Moore , Founder of the Lamb’s Church of the Nazarene, and his wife, Tamara Dr. Michael J. Christensen , charter member and former associate pastor, and his wife Dr. Rebecca Laird Fr. William (BJ) Webe r, former Associate Pastor and Director of the Lamb’s Residency, and his wife Sheila who lived at the Lamb’s Jim and Dustee Hullinger, who were on staff together and made the Lamb’s their home for over 25 years Effie Canepa , who was the church pianist under 3 pastors, and her husband Peter Shirley Close, who attended the Lamb’s in the late 1970’s while studying, performing  and teaching music and voice Carl "Chappy" Valente , former associate pastor Rev. Bob DiQuatto , lead singer of the Church’s “Manhattan Project” and staff member of the Lamb’s, and his son Jason Rev. Gab...
Read more

Let the River Flow: Why WorldHope Corps digs village wells

  Sunday Sermon at the The Water's Edge in OB , San Diego, CA. "Woman at the Well" (John 4:7-15) When you think about the gospel story of the Samaritan woman with Jesus at Jacob’s well, I’d like you to picture this Woman at a similar well in northern Malawi. Sitting and talking with Pastor Dennis Singini about water. Her name is Nyang'oma, which means "drum." Her Christian name is Mary Botha. She is 85 years old and lives in a village in the Kampenda area of Northern Malawi. She has cared for 11 children, two of whom have died. And her husband has died. When Dennis and I first met Mary in 2008, her village did not have a deep well or access to clean water. Nor did the six surrounding villages with over 1,500 people. Women and children had to drink with animals from shallow seasonal wells or walk about of 5km away to drink from the closest stream. Sometimes they would get sick and complain of stomach aches. Cholera and dysentery were widespread, and m...
Read more