World Population Day

July 11th is “World Population Day” according to the United Nations. This year the theme is “Fight Poverty: Educate Girls.” United Methodists have been doing that kind of mission work for centuries. Some of the first missions schools that were founded in India and Korea were established to educate girls and young women. The United Methodist Church is still about the business of educating females and this is one of the best ways of eliminating poverty and disease on our planet. The United Methodist Women have taken the lead on ministries to women and children for over 135 years. They have missions in over 100 countries. Girls and women are taught to read and write, learn a trade, learn how to care for children, and learn how to prevent diseases like HIV/AIDS. Both of our conferences are having Schools of Christian Mission this summer (Pen-Del: July 9-11 and Eastern PA: July 23-25) Learn more about how we do missions and make a difference in the world.

Transitions

This is the season for transitions for many of our churches. Some pastors are moving to new appointments and with the moves come a number of transitions that need our special care. First and most importantly we should pray for all of the pastors and their families who will be moving this year. Moving always involves a disruption of life and routine and all of these details come together through the power of prayer. Churches should give special care to honor the ministry of the departing pastor with an appropriate celebration. Likewise new pastors should be greeted with hospitality at their first service and as they move into the community. Our church parsonages need to be ready and in good order and the family greeted with a meal on moving day. Even if the pastor owns their own home some kind of welcome can be devised. Providing information about the community for the new pastor is another way that church members can help with the transition.

Many pastors will not be moving this year but the first Sunday of July marks the beginning of a new appointment year. Churches can celebrate the return of a remaining pastor on that first Sunday. In all of our dealings with one another, let us be supportive, gentle and helpful. We are the Body of Christ, the Family of God. Let us make this our best transition year ever for every family in our area.

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson

Call to Action

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church strongly supports the authority of the Food and Drug Administration regulating the ingredients in tobacco products, their devices, and their products of combustion in order to render harmless the greatest menace to human life in our country’s history.

Senate Bill S.982 will be on the Senate floor for action on Tuesday, June 2^nd.  This bill will create a historic shift in public health policy almost half a century after the U.S.

Surgeon General first warned of the lethal dangers of smoking.  Congress is poised to give the Federal Government sweeping new authority to regulate the manufacturing of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The legislation, long resisted by the tobacco industry, could allow consumers to see for the first time what chemicals and other additives tobacco companies put in their products.  It would empower the Food and Drug Administration to put new limits on harmful ingredients and prohibit tobacco companies from marketing “light” cigarettes.

And it would give the FDA new authority to enlarge warning labels and severely restrict full-color ads for cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The Senate bill has 53 co-sponsors including: Senators Carper and Kaufman from Delaware, Senator Casey from Pennsylvania, and Senators Cardin and Mikulski of Maryland.  Senator Spector has co-sponsored the bill in the past but has not formally done so yet.

As good United Methodist citizens we need to not only pray for passage of this legislation, but also encourage our Senators as they make this important step to protect the lives of God precious children.  So give a call or send an e-mail to your senators.  The Great Physician wants us to save lives this way.

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson

Leap of Faith

When a spider begins to spin a web she will cast a strand of silk out into space. If it catches on a tree branch or bush then the spider begins to make a web connecting one strand to another until a lacey web is fashioned. The threads of a spider web are very tiny but amazingly powerful. It can catch large insects and is strong enough to hold a necklace of raindrops. But the artistry of the web begins with that first leap of thread. God has great plans for us, the sheep of God’s pasture. God equips us to do every good thing. The famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” reminds us: “The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth.” We need to do our part: take a leap of faith. God often calls us to do something that we don’t think we can do. In our own strength we fail, in God’s strength we can do all things. Is God calling you to do something? Cast your strand of silk and see if God is not waiting on the other side to catch it.

Memorial Stones

When the Israelites finally crossed into the Promised Land they passed through the Jordan on dry land (Joshua 4).  Joshua instructed the people to appoint one person from each tribe to take a stone out of the riverbed and to make a monument out of these stones to remember the miracle of the parting waters and the miracle of their entry into the Promised Land.  Taking time to remember important milestones an important part of life.  This coming week we celebrate Memorial Day and remember all those who sacrificed in service to their country.  We remember the goodness of God, who has provided for us and cared for us in countless ways.  We remember God’s salvation through Jesus Christ.  We remember God’s promises to us for eternal life and God’s never failing presence.  When you remember something you Re-Member it….you give it a body.  It comes alive through your memory.  As we remember we need to bodily live the promises of God in our words and actions in the world and our remembering will be worthwhile. 

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson

Susanna Wesley

On this Mother’s Day I am reflecting on the “Mother of Methodism,” Susanna Wesley.  Her sons, John and Charles, began the Methodist Movement that changed the world.  I believe that the Christian nurture of Susanna and her husband Rev. Samuel Wesley, had much to do with their success.  Susanna home schooled her many children at an early age and used the Bible as a means of instruction.  She also had private meetings with each one to inquire about their soul.  She practiced the means of grace as a way of life in the home: prayer, study of scripture, fasting, tithing, self examination, worship, and the Lord’s Supper.  She prayed for an hour in the morning and an hour at night.  When her husband was away on business she would conduct worship in her kitchen.  Susanna once wrote in her journal, “There is nothing I now desire to live for but to do some small service to my children, that as I have brought them into the world, I may, if it please God, be an instrument of doing good to their souls.”


 

There are children in our lives that need our Christian nurture.  They may be your own children or grand children or children in your church or neighborhood.  There is nothing more precious than nurturing the soul of a young person.  It is one of the most important things we can be doing as we strive to grow our churches. 

 

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson

Ministry of Meditation

I have always been intrigued by the story of Abigail found in I Samuel 25.  She is the wife of a wealthy landowner named Nabal.  David and his men asked Nabal for some food and Nabal refuses their request.  David felt this was an injustice since David and his men were something of a protection ring around Nabal’s sheep shearers and the field workers.  David was planning an act of retaliation when Abigail gets word of it and intercedes.  She brings a large gift of food to David and asks that he not avenge himself.  She said “My lord (David), let the blame be on me alone….please forgive your servant’s (Nabal), offense.”  Abigail did no wrong to David but she was willing to put the sins of her husband on her self and intercede in order to save the lives of the entire household.   David accepts her peace offering and gives up his plan to attack Nabal’s farm. 

 

Every day we encounter places of conflict and moments of discord between people.  There is a true need for the ministry of mediation.  It takes a humble person to take on the sins of another and work peace from the middle.  Standing in the gap between two disagreeable parties is the hardest place to be in life.  It is the place where Jesus stood as he was dying on the cross, making peace between God and people.  As imitators of Christ we are called to be the world’s peacemakers.  Where do you see places in your work or church where you can intercede with a “winning word of love.”  It will always involve personal sacrifice and courage.  I believe there would be more peace in this world if Christ’s people were actively building bridges of understanding and reconciliation where there is discord. 

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson