Sunday, July 14, 2013
Reflections on the United Methodist Ministers with Disabilities after the July 10-12th Meeting
Bishop Peggy Johnson attended the Ministers with Disabilities meeting, July 10-12, with EPA representatives, Rev.Dave Goss (left) and Rev. Paul Crikelair (right).
by Bishop Peggy Johnson
How wonderful they are….these sturdy, spirit-filled souls called by God. They are often looked down upon by the able-bodied part of the Body. Many are working hard at minimum salary churches, or asked to take disability benefits or early retirement. Next to many of them are faithful spouses and sometimes faithful golden retrievers. They are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, low vision, have mental health or mobility challenges. They are young, mature, Caucasian, people of color, from all over the Connection and theologically diverse.
They are powerful beyond belief: insightful, spirit-filled, and familiar with life on the margins and have the unique heart that it brings. Many are serving on Disability Committees in their annual conferences but rarely are asked to do other kinds of things. Their identities are so much more than being the “disabled one.” The church needs to wake up to their giftedness.
Bishop Johnson at the Ministers with Disabilities meeting with Peninsula-Delaware representatives, Rev. Bill Downing and Rev. Ruthann Simpson.
Pastors with disabilities work twice as hard as any other, endure countless careless comments, face skeptical personnel and review boards, and find that the accessible accommodations needed are often sadly lacking when they arrive at a meeting. They are often gracious and forgiving. Nonetheless, they are always pushing and encouraging the church to do better, often at their own expense so that the doors of the church can open wider, so that the one that follows them can have an easier road.
Pastors with Disabilities: you are a sign of God’s presence. The incarnated Christ’s nail-prints did not disappear at the resurrection and our bodily human frailty is still a paradoxical, God-inspired sign of the “power-made-perfect-in weakness” reality of how things really get done in the world. All people, no matter our physical, mental or emotional state, are vulnerable to this mystery and dance between ability and disability, strength and weakness on an hourly basis. May the church see that we are all a part of the disability community in Christ, who is our wounded, yet victorious Savior and comforter and power-giver.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Please support relief for Congo malaria epidemic
Dr. Pierre Diamba Manya, M.D., a missionary with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, recently talked with children at Hopeland UMC in the EPA Conference during his recent visit to the US.An epidemic of malaria in the villages of Wembo Nyama, Minga and Lodja in the central part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has prompted an emergency response from Bishop Peggy Johnson and the Peninsula-Delaware Conference and the Eastern PA Congo Partnership teams.
Bishop Johnson learned of the malaria outbreak through Dr. Pierre Diamba Manya, M.D., a missionary with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries who is currently serving as coordinator of health and medical services of the Central Congo Episcopal Area. Dr. Manya arrived in the USA from the Congo a week ago, and is currently itinerating in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. Bishop David Yemba of the Central Congo Episcopal Area has been in touch with Dr. Manya and has indicated that there are no funds available to purchase and transport the medication that is crucial to treating those who have contracted malaria and vital to containing the epidemic.
The Congo Partnership Team, knowing of this concern, has agreed to advance $4,000 to the Congo to purchase the necessary medication and transport it to these villages. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, three times the size of Texas, has less than a thousand miles of paved road. Jacques Umembudi, an UMCOR missionary who has worked extensively with the Congo Partnership Team, will fly the lifesaving medication to these three remote villages where medical care is extremely limited.
Bishop Johnson is inviting local churches to join the Congo Partnership Teams of PDC and Eastern PA in helping to provide this critical relief to our Congolese brothers and sisters. To participate, churches may send a check through their local treasurer to the Eastern PA Annual Conference (PO Box 820, Valley Forge, PA 19482) Checks should be made payable to the Eastern PA Conference with Congo Partnership/Malaria written in the memo line.
Sincerely,
Congo Partnership Teams
Bishop Peggy A. Johnson
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
50 Years Later
During the summer of 1963 the United States was in the midst
of the Civil Rights movement. Many
important things happened during that time.
President John F. Kennedy sent the National Guard to the University of
Alabama on June 10th to help black students enroll there despite the
objections by the governor at that time, George Wallace. Medgar Evers, the first Mississippi field
secretary for the NAACP was shot to death at his home on June 12, 1963. Later that summer, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. led the historic march on Washington, DC on August 28, 1963.
Were you alive in 1963?
Do you remember how things were back then in your neighborhoods, in your
churches? Have things changed?
In many ways the Civil Rights movement has made great
strides in the United States. But in
many ways we still have a long way to go.
Prejudice, discrimination, and racist attitudes are still a big part of
our world and even among the Body of Christ.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave
nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
(Galatians 3:28)
Spend some time this summer pondering what that means for
you and your life. Take time to read
about the life of the courageous people who led the Civil Rights movement. How can you continue what has been started in
your life and in your church?
Monday, June 3, 2013
Alcohol
The United Methodist Social Principles state (BOD 162L) “We
affirm our long-standing support of abstinence from alcohol as a faithful
witness to God’s liberating and redeeming love for persons.”
With regards to the sale of alcohol it says: “We support the
strict administration of laws regulating the sale and distribution of alcohol
and controlled substances.”
Historically, the Methodist movement has been opposed to the
use of alcohol and the United Methodist building located near the United States
Capital was built years ago as a place where Methodists lobbied Congress for
the cause of Prohibition due to the problems caused by alcohol use. In the past potential candidates for ministry
in the Methodist Church were asked if they drank alcohol and those that said
they did were not ordained. Today, we
still believe that abstinence is a faithful witness despite the fact that we do
not typically ask potential pastors about their use of alcohol.
Here are some important facts about alcohol abuse:
It is implicated in the incarceration of over half (56.6
percent) of all inmates in the America (Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and
America’s Prison Population, CASA Report, 2010)
Underage drinking in Pennsylvania costs $2.2 billion dollars
annually, in Delaware $200 million dollars and in the state of Maryland it
costs $1.3 billion dollars. The costs
include needless homicides, suicides, traumatic injuries and accidents, burns,
violence, property crime, high risk sex, fetal alcohol syndrome, lost wages,
poisoning and treatments, prevention and social welfare. (http://www.udetc.org/UnderageDrinkingCosts.asp)
The total estimated economic cost of alcohol and other drug
abuse in the US is more than $240 billion dollars annually. (The Lewin Group, a
health policy research and management consulting firm)
This is a serious problem in our country today and also
alcohol problems are found among our church members and our clergy. I have worked with a number of clergy in our
area who are alcoholics and it has done great harm to their families and
churches.
I urge laity and clergy not drink alcohol as a part of your
witness. It is not healthy for your
body, it is expensive, it can interfere with relationships and could possibly
ruin your life if it becomes an addiction.
Regularly teach the potential dangers of drinking to young people at
your church. Teach by your example of abstinence. Invite them to take a pledge not to ever
drink or use drugs. Allow Alcoholic and
Narcotic Anonymous Groups to meet at your churches. Finally in the State of
Pennsylvania there is a debate about privatization of liquor stores as a part
of the budget consideration. If you live
in Pennsylvania contact your legislator and urge them not to pass this
bill. It will expand the number of
outlets for the purchase of alcohol and no doubt cause more use and more misery
in this world. As Christians we are called
to be lights for the world. Expose the problems
that alcohol often brings so that needless pain can be avoided.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Daffodils in the Snow
An early spring snow reminds us that winter has decided not to leave quite yet. This week there was snow on the daffodils and the contrast was striking. Winter and spring were colliding but the next day, when the snow had moved on, the daffodil was looking as chipper as ever. Winter can’t stop spring from coming. Death cannot overcome life ultimately. That is the promise of Easter: life aftear death. And not just life that will eventually die in the fall, but life everlasting that goes on forever. While we live here on earth we face death every day: death of relationships, death in the form of brokenness and sadness, sickness, and evil. It is not going to last. Life is going to win in the end. We got the word from Jesus as he rose on Easter Sunday and it is a sure thing!
So spread life around wherever you see death. Brush the snow off the daffodils, help people who need to some encouragement and sustenance. We have exchanged our life for Christ so be “little Christs” out in the world bringing resurrection to places of despair and loss. It is in our power to do something, even something small every day.
Monday, March 4, 2013
“Violence Against Women Act” Passes
March is Women’s History month and I believe that the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act made history last Thursday when it passed in the House of Representatives after a considerable round of debates. According to the NY Times “this newly passed legislations creates and expands federal programs to assist local communities with law enforcement and aiding victims of domestic and sexual abuse. The bill also offers protections for gay, bisexual or transgender victims of domestic abuse as well as allowing American Indian women who are assaulted on reservations by non-Indians to take their case to tribal courts, which otherwise would not have jurisdiction over assailants who do not live on tribal land.”
More than 1,300 women’s and human rights groups signed a letter supporting this law. Among them was the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. While I was a pastor many times I was involved with helping women who were victims of domestic violence. One of my parishioners stabbed his wife to death in a domestic argument. She had been beaten by him a number of times before her murder. Many of our church families harbor terrible secrets of abuse in their homes and both men and women are victims.
According to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence nearly 25% of women and 7.6% of men were raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse or partner. Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by a partner annual in the US. In the year 2000 1,247 women and 440 men were killed by an intimate partner.
As we think about Women’s History this month, help more women have a violence-free, abundant life by teaching about domestic abuse, support programs and efforts to protect vulnerable people who find themselves in dangerous environments and pray that God might use you to help a person in need.
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