News

Pewo, Donna Chaat

Church And Community Worker With Native Youth

My call to ministry formed in my local church. I served as a worship leader, a Sunday school teacher, as chair of the administrative board—I was active. Then one Sunday our District Superintendent came to church and asked me if I was interested in going to lay-speaking school. I didn’t know what it was then, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. He said, “pray about it, and I’ll contact you again.”

I owned a custom drapery-workroom business with my friends. I was working, and I was doing church work, going back and forth. So, I prayed about it, and I said, “Sure, I’ll go.” I’m always willing to learn new things. I went to lay-speaking school and was certified as a lay-speaker. I was asked to fill in the pulpit at the church in Clinton, Oklahoma. The church membership was very low. I was one of many that went and filled the pulpit periodically.

I became familiar with the kids out there—they were much younger then. I was going through a hard time in my life, learning to live by myself again, and learning to trust God. I think the turning point was when I was at church one Sunday and as I was heading home, the thought crossed my mind: “I think it’s time to move on.”

By that time, we had a new District Superintendent and I told her I thought God was calling me to do something else. She said: “I know exactly what you need to do.” It was an “ah-ha” moment for me.

Once I committed and said yes to God, doors started opening. But I had to close some doors too, and that was difficult. I had to give up my business. That was scary and exciting at the same time, but overall, a big sense of relief.

Truly, in my heart, I was thinking: “God has seen you through so much. How can you turn away from him? How can you not serve him in whatever capacity you can?” That was the turning moment for me.

After that, things started falling into place. That didn’t mean the struggles went away. But my faith was strong, and I knew that God would see me through.

Clinton/El Reno Ministry

In 2012, I was commissioned as a Church and Community Worker and assigned to work with a new venture of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference (OIMC), the Clinton and El Reno Church and Community Ministry. Today I meet with the children and youth twice a week, and other times for events for this ministry, the Clinton Indian Church and Community Center (CICCC).

Recently I received another appointment through the OIMC—I’ve just been appointed to a new faith community in Oklahoma City, the North Oklahoma City Native American Fellowship (NOCNAF). I’m traveling back and forth from Clinton to Oklahoma City.

Our focus at Clinton is on mending the relationship between the church and the Native American community that I work with—I serve the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal communities. I share the love of Christ with them and remain focused on education—because education is so very important for our Native American children and youth. By focusing on Christ, but also connecting to our traditions, cultures, and ceremonies, we become who God created us to be. God blessed us with these ceremonies and traditions. We’ve learned tribal hymns, had beadwork and moccasin-making classes, and we’re forming a parental alliance to support a dance troop that can perform at Native functions. It is also important for them to learn their hymns and hold onto their language so that it won’t die.

Learning to Serve

Since 2012, we’ve been in relationship with Providence United Methodist Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Providence has provided for some financial needs and repairs for the CICCC, and they host Vacation Bible School each year. From this relationship and friendship my youth became friends with the people and youth of Providence.

The year before last, we decided to take a mission trip to Mt. Juliet to visit the covenant church that supports us. We raised our own money—Indian Taco sales, raffles, donations from various groups and individuals—more than $3000 to take this trip. Some of these kids had never been out of the state of Oklahoma. We traveled with the Rev. David Wilson, our conference superintendent, and we took off to Mt. Juliet.

Once there, we worked in their food pantry. We fellowshipped with their youth and we worshiped together. The night before we left, they had a special service for us. We sang tribal hymns—and they laid hands on each one of the youth in prayer. It was a wonderful trip.

On the way back, one of my youth, Kehly Riggs, leaned over to me in the van and said, “Donna, you know, I didn’t know that people still cared.” That was a powerful statement. She felt the love from this group, the care. She’s had a hard struggle in her life. This confirmed to her that God loved her and blessed her with these wonderful people—and that God is still in her life.

I’ve tried to instill in these youth that when an opportunity comes, you need to go, leave your comfort zone, and experience God’s creation. The world is open and it’s there for you. Rely on God and ask God to help you as you move forward in your life. Even if everyone else takes off, God will be there.

Excerpted from New World Outlook magazine, Fall 2017 issue. Used by permission.

Robinson, Dr. Jane Bancroft (1847-1932)

Early Proponent Of The Deaconess Movement

Jane Bancroft Robinson, daughter of a Methodist minister, studied in the United States, Switzerland, and France, earning many degrees, including a Ph.D. She was professor of French Literature and Language at Northwestern University and dean of its Woman’s College from 1878 to 1885. She married George O. Robinson in 1891.

While studying in Europe, Jane Bancroft become interested in the deaconess movement and her research in this area contributed greatly to the establishment of the deaconess movement in America. She chaired the first Committee on Deaconess Work established by the Women’s Home Missionary Society. She later published a book entitle Deaconesses in Europe and Their Lessons for America.

An articulate speaker, Jane’s presentations on behalf of the deaconess work encouraged William J. Sibley to provide funds for a hospital (1894) to be erected in connection with the Lucy Webb Hayes Training School, which was founded by the WHMS in 1890. Through Mrs. Robinson’s encouragement, the George O. Robinson School in Puerto Rico was begun. She was an alternate delegate to the 1932 General Conference from the Southern California Conference. When Jane Bancroft Robinson died, her home at Pasadena, California, was given to the church as a home for retired missionaries. It was named “Robincroft.”

Taken from They Went Out Not Knowing… An Encyclopedia of One Hundred Women in Mission (New York: Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, 1986). Used with permission of United Methodist Women.

Hartzel, Jennie (1846-??)

Pioneer Missionary Among Freedwomen And Girls

Jennie Hartzel began work among the freedwomen in New Orleans in 1876. Her work was approved by officials of the Methodist Episcopal Church and reported through the Freedman’s Aid Society. With Bishop Wiley and Dr. and Mrs. R.S. Rust, she raised funds; and a school with three teachers was established. A memorial was sent to the 1880 General Conference noting approval of Mrs. Hartzel’s work in New Orleans and recommending that it be incorporated into the regular efforts of the Freedman’s Aid Society throughout the South. The report was adopted, and seemed to signal general church approval for work among freedwomen and girls. Within a week, women met in Cincinnati, and the Woman’s Home Missionary Society was formally organized. Mrs. Hartzel was present to report on her work in New Orleans. She was appointed recording secretary of the WHMS and worked to get the organization recognized by the Louisiana Conference. She later served as conference president. Ill health caused by earlier strenuous activity preventer her participation in the wider organizational activities of the Society.

Taken from They Went Out Not Knowing… An Encyclopedia of One Hundred Women in Mission (New York: Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, 1986). Used with permission of United Methodist Women.

Haygood, Laura Askew (1845-1900)

Pioneering MECS Home Missioner And Educational Missionary To China

Born in Watkinsville, Georgia, Laura Haygood moved to Atlanta at age seven, received her early education from her mother, enrolled at Wesleyan Female College, Macon, Georgia at age sixteen, and graduated in two years (1864). She established a private school for girls in 1866. In 1872, she was appointed teacher, and later principal, at Girls’ High School, the first Atlanta public school for girls. During these years, her roots were deeply entrenched in Trinity Methodist Church in Atlanta. She pioneered there in the organization of the Trinity Home Mission, a church home and industrial school to serve the poor and needy that later became a model for city mission projects. In 1883, she assisted in organizing the women’s home mission work of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In her writings and speeches, she addressed issues of women’s rights and the needs of the poor. In 1884, she decided to go to China. The McTyeire Home and School in Shanghai, completed and dedicated seven years after her arrival, remains today a visible symbol of her work. The Laura Haygood Normal School, built in 1916 in Soochow, China, also honors her work. She died in Shanghai, and was buried there.

Taken from They Went Out Not Knowing… An Encyclopedia of One Hundred Women in Mission (New York: Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church, 1986). Used with permission of United Methodist Women.

Marquez, Filipe

Horseback Riding Early Filipino Pastor

Felipe Marquez was one of the first Filipino pastors to be ordained. When Nicholas Zamora became the first ordained elder, Felipe Marquez was ordained deacon.

Pastor Marquez started his work in Manila and moved to Gerona, Tarlac, as traveling evangelist on horseback. Later in 1903, he was transferred to Dagupan, but served in in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija for one year, and then returned to the Northern District where he had twenty preaching places in Bautista, Alcala, Villasis, Rosales, Balungao, Umingan, San Quintin, Tayug, and San Nicolas. Pastor Marquez traveled on horseback as did John Wesley to cover his large circuit. He also managed to write articles and notices for the Philippine Christian Advocate, edited the Tagalog Mabuting Balita, and co-edited the Ilocano Naimbag a Damag until 1920.

While Pastor Marquez was busy with mission work, Mrs. Marquez, known as “Nanay Pastora,” was giving her time to junior league and Sunday school work among the youth and serving as spiritual adviser to them.

Taken from Methodism in the Philippines: A Century of Faith and Vision, ed. by Bishop Jose Gamboa, Jr., Gamaliel T. de Armas, Jr., Roela Victoria Rivera, and Sharon Paz C. Hechanova. (Manila: Philippines Central Conference of The United Methodist Church, 2003).

Alejandro, Dionisio D. (1839-1974) 

Filipino Evangelist And Bishop

Dionisio D. Alejandro, at a young age became an interpreter for the American missionaries in his hometown of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, stirring an early passion for the church. He became an active member of the Methodist young people’s group called the Epworth League, forerunner of the Methodist Youth Fellowship. Rev. Cirilo Kasiguran, first Filipino evangelist in Nueva Ecija, had a profound effect on Alejandro who later became an evangelist himself in the old Central District in 1915 to begin his ministry after obtaining his Bachelor of Philosophy and other theological courses at Asbury College in Kentucky, USA. He taught at the Union Theological Seminary and Union High School in Manila while completing his Bachelor of Divinity at UTS. He became the first Filipino delegate to the Southeastern Asia Central Conference and also the first Filipino ministerial delegate to the General Conference in 1936.

During the Japanese occupation when the church was being pressured by the Japanese Army Religious Section to join the Evangelical union, the Philippines Central Conference held its 3rd session at Knox Memorial Methodist Church and Alejandro was elected to the episcopacy on January 22, 1944, becoming the first Filipino bishop to head The Methodist Church in the Philippines, thus ending the American leadership.

Bishop Alejandro left a lasting legacy to the church with the book he wrote entitled “From Darkness to Light,” published by the Philippines Central Conference in 1974 after his death. The book chronicled the early beginnings and spread of Methodism in the Philippines until the early seventies.

Taken from Methodism in the Philippines: A Century of Faith and Vision, ed. by Bishop Jose Gamboa, Jr., Gamaliel T. de Armas, Jr., Roela Victoria Rivera, and Sharon Paz C. Hechanova. (Manila: Philippines Central Conference of The United Methodist Church, 2003).

Minor, Rüdiger R. (1939-2017)

First United Methodist Bishop In Russia

When Bishop Rüdiger (Ruediger) R. Minor became the first United Methodist bishop to reside in Moscow, he was uniquely qualified to head a mission to oversee the denomination’s fledgling congregations there and in other parts of the former Soviet Union.

As a child, one of his earliest memories was of the Russian Army taking up permanent residence in East Germany.

Later, as an episcopal leader during a time of political transition and the reunification of Germany, he learned from Russian Christians, he said, about the need for a broader reconciliation and then promoted ecumenical cooperation during his tenure in Moscow.

As he told a group of Russian doctors and nurses in 1992, “it was not easy for both of our peoples in the last few decades to work and live with each other.”

But Minor’s own experience had showed him the church could bridge that gap.

“It was the Methodist Church that helped me to meet Christ and taught me the gospel and its consequences for my life as a youth in communist East Germany,” he explained, years later, while talking about the importance of global representation within The United Methodist Church.

Minor was born on Feb. 22, 1939, in Leipzig, Germany, to a Methodist family. He was a graduate of Karl Marx University there and the United Methodist Theological Seminary in Bad Klosterlausnitz, where he became a full-time faculty member in 1976 and served as seminary director from 1984 to 1986.

Minor was elected a bishop in the German Democratic Republic on May 22, 1986, and assigned to the Dresden Area. He was particularly supportive of the initiatives of young people during this period of “peaceful revolution” — leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of East and West Germany on Oct. 3, 1990 — and called upon the churches to stand by these new social forces for change.

Thomas Kemper, a German native and top executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, called Minor a “great friend and mentor.” “He was incredible in bridging the gap between east and west after the fall of the (Berlin) wall and the Iron Curtain,” Kemper added.

The Rev. Robert Morwell, currently pastor at First United Methodist Church in Carterville, Ill., first got to know Minor during that period. At the end of 1986, after his congregation at the time had a joint worship service with an East Berlin congregation via speakerphones, Morwell had the idea of repeating that connection on a grander scale.

He helped create and produce a joint Christmas Eve service between United Methodists in Illinois and East Berlin that was broadcast in 1990 by ABC-TV. On the German end, the groundwork was laid by the bishop. “Bishop Minor interceded on our part with the East German government. He got them to agree before ABC did,” Morwell said. “That attested to his negotiating skills.”

By then, he had become better acquainted with Minor and his wife, Gerlinde. He invited Minor to preach at his home church when the bishop was attending the 1988 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis and later visited East Germany. “He was gracious and friendly,” Morwell recalled. “I was struck by his humility and his humor.”

What also impressed Morwell, he said, was the way that Minor tackled his assignment in Moscow “with grace and dedication.”

On Aug. 16, 1992, Minor was consecrated as the episcopal leader for United Methodists in the Commonwealth of Independent States, which included Russia and neighboring countries.

The service took place in an auditorium in Moscow that also served as worship space for a Russian-Korean United Methodist congregation. Among the 160 participants were representatives from new Russian congregations, pastors from Estonia, Latvia and Europe, a Russian Orthodox priest and 40 United Methodists from the U.S.

The Russian Orthodox presence was important because ecumenical cooperation was one of the goals of the new mission established by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. United Methodists already were cooperating with the Russian Orthodox Church on projects involving humanitarian aid and religious education.

The following year, Minor was formally elected bishop of the Eurasia Area by the North European Central Conference. In 1993, the Russian United Methodist Church received state approval and a theological seminary was established in 1995.

After 15 years of work, the structure of the church was formed into 12 districts: Volga, Moscow Southern, Moscow Northern, Saint-Petersburg, Western, Novgorod, Ural, Siberian-Far East, Central Asia, Northern-Caucuses, Central Black Soil, Ukraine and Moldova. Now, there are more than 100 churches and Bible groups.

Minor continued to serve in Moscow until his retirement in 2005. He also was the president of the Council of Bishops from 2003 to 2004.

Adapted from “Bishop with East German, Moscow ties dead at 78” by Linda Bloom, assistant news editor for United Methodist News Service. The original article may be found at http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/bishop-with-east-german-moscow-ties-dead-at-78.

Baker, James Chamberlain (1879-1969)

Mission Bishop, Ecumenical Leader, And Father Of The Wesley Foundation Movement

Bishop James Chamberlain Baker, 1879 – 1969, was a prominent mission bishop and ecumenical mission leader who is likely best remembered as “Father of the Wesley Foundation movement”—student ministries on the campuses of publicly funded colleges and universities. He served as a bishop in three successive Methodist churches, the Methodist Episcopal, The Methodist and The United Methodist.

Prior to his election to the episcopacy of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1928, he and his wife, Lena, developed a ministry, beginning in 1907, with students at Trinity Methodist Church, Urbana, Illinois, which was located adjacent to the campus of the University of Illinois, then a school of less than 5,000 enrollment. Across 21 years, the innovative ministry at Urbana became the model for campus student work of all faiths around the world. His designation the “Father of the Wesley Foundation” was a title that he valued as highly as he did that of “bishop.” When asked on his eightieth birthday what he prized most, he replied without hesitation, “The affection and confidence of so many young people.”

The bishop was born in Sheldon, Illinois, June 2, 1879, and graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1898. He entered the ministry in 1900 and was ordained in the Illinois Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. At that time, he was on the faculty of Missouri Wesleyan College in Cameron, Missouri. In 1902 Bishop Baker entered the Boston University School of Theology and accepted a student pastorate in Asheland, Mass. He received the degree of Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1905 and returned to his native Illinois to become pastor of a church in McLean. In 1907 he accepted an appointment to Trinity Church in Urbana.

Upon election to the Episcopacy in 1928, he was named to lead the Seoul Area, which included Korea, Japan and Manchuria. He returned to the US in 1932 and after serving the San Francisco and Los Angeles Areas retired in 1952. Baker would have jurisdiction over large parts of the Pacific and West Coasts of the United States as resident bishop of the major California cities.

The bishop was deeply involved in the International Missionary Council (now Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches), serving as its vice president for many years starting in 1938. He chaired the highly important 1947 World Missionary Conference in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, a meeting which recognized the vital role of indigenous churches of Africa and Asia in mission life and history. He took part in landmark ecumenical conferences pre- and post-World War II, including Oxford in 1937, Madras in 1938, and Cambridge in 1945.

After retirement, Bishop Baker remained active in church affairs. He taught at the graduate School of Theology of the University of Southern California for several terms, and he showed his lifelong concern for students by donating to the school, after it moved to Claremont, California, most of his personal theological library. He died on September 26, 1969.

_____

Narrative by Elliott Wright, adapting material from the November 1969 issue of World Outlook magazine, data from http://prabook.com/web/james.baker/283079, and the online archives of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church, http://catalog.gcah.org/publicdata/files/4642/baker-bishop-james-c.pdf

Chimonyo, Rhodes 

A Treasure Of A Treasurer

A key leader in The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe was Rhodes Chimonyo, a Person in Mission in his own country. Rhodes was a lay person who took over the position of field treasurer from a missionary in 1975. He received the funds from the World Division of the Board of Global Ministries and made certain those designated funds went directly to the specific church projects all around Zimbabwe. Mr. Chimonyo always had at his fingertips the needed financial information; his continual correspondence with the World Division of the General Board of Global Ministries enabled all to be informed.

In addition, Rhodes Chimonyo was the conference treasurer starting in 1977. He received payments from stations and circuits throughout the conference. He also managed the pension program.

Wherever Rhodes lived and worked, he found ways to serve God through the church. Rhodes first taught at a rural mission school. The missionary school manager saw and respected the ability and dedication of Rhodes Chimonyo and asked him to serve as school manager. This meant working with 150 teachers in 30 schools, planning the building of new schools, and handling money.

At that time in North America, the church was seeing more clearly the value of scholarships and international experience for emerging African church leaders. Rhodes and his wife, Grace, and their two children came to Nebraska where he earned his B.A. degree at Nebraska Wesleyan and his Master’s degree at the University of Nebraska.

Upon their return home Mr. Chimonyo was appointed to teach French at the Old Umtali Center. Soon he became field treasurer for the conference and continued faithfully in that task. Some folks in the church in Zimbabwe called Rhodes Chimonyo “the glue of the Zimbabwe Annual Conference.”

Taken from “A Treasure of a Treasurer: Rhodes Chimonyo: Person in Mission,” in People Just Like These: Stories of Persons in Mission Serving Around the World, edited by Elizabeth L. Howard. (Denver, CO, and New York, NY: Global Mission Partners and The World Division, The General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, 1992), p. 19.

Nacpil, Emerito P. (1932 – )

Bishop, Educator, And Evangelist

Emerito P. Nacpil was admitted into the Methodist ministry in 1951 and served local churches until 1958. In 1956, he was ordained elder after receiving his Bachelor of Theological degree from Union Theological Seminary in Dasmariñas, Cavite. He finished his Bachelor of Arts from the Philippine Christian University, Manila, in 1958 and in 1962, he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Systematic Theology and Philosophy of Religion from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. Dr. Nacpil spent 14 years at UTS starting as professor of theology in 1961 and ending as president in 1975. For the next 7 years he was Dean of the Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology and Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools in Southeast Asia. He was elected to the episcopacy in 1980 during the 12^th Session of the Philippines Central Conference assigned to the Manila Episcopal Area.

The coming of Bishop Nacpil ushered in a new thrust and strategy in the mission evangelism ministry in the Manila Area. When he took office, most of the churches in the MEA had no program on mission evangelism, 75% of the local pastors did not conduct mission evangelism perhaps due to the fact that the seminary did not offer a course in evangelism, and there was no official policy at the annual conference level to promote mission evangelism. Aided by an experimental program that assessed the elements that work in mission evangelism and the types of training that would be required of the clergy and lay, and after consultation with pastors and lay leaders, the Manila Episcopal Area came out with a program pattern for mission evangelism. The local church became the evangelism outpost that provided the leadership, training, and other resources to conduct and support its own evangelism program. The bishop and cabinet took responsibility for the mission evangelism program and they became evangelists themselves.

Bishop Nacpil also proposed the establishment of a Self-Reliance Fund, development of church properties with commercial possibilities to generate income, and challenged some Methodist institutions to allocate a percentage of their income to support the church’s outreach program. The Central Conference Coordinating Council in its meeting on August 14-15, 1982, approved the Self-Reliance Fund program of The United Methodist Church in the Philippines to be raised in various stages throughout the whole connection. As envisioned and contained in a circular letter of Bishop Nacpil, the Fund was to be owned by the Philippines Central Conference with the objective of financing three major areas of concern, namely: (1) expansion of the Methodist constituency through increase in the membership of local churches and planting new Methodist churches in areas where there was none; (2) the purchase of new church lots and the construction of new church buildings and parsonages; (3) the standardization and stabilization of support for pastors and other church workers.

Bishop Nacpil was elected to a second consecutive term in 1984 and his election to a third consecutive term in 1988 made him the second and last Filipino bishop to be elected-for-life, before the privilege was rescinded. Bishop Nacpil completed his uninterrupted ministry as bishop for 20 years from 1980 until his mandatory retirement in 2000.

In 1997-1998, he became the first Filipino and first Asian to be installed as President of the United Methodist Council of Bishops. In May 2000, he also gained the distinction of being the first non-American bishop chosen to deliver the Episcopal address during the General Conference. Among his involvements were: Member and Vice-Chair, Faith and Order Commission; UMC observer at Vatican II; Member, Central Committee, World Council of Churches; moderator, Commission on Theological Concerns; Christian Conference of Asia; member, General Board of Global Ministries, 1980-188; member, Committee for Ecumenical Activities and Relations; Council of Bishops, 1984-1988; member, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, 1989-1996; and chairman, the Council of Bishops Committee on the Study of the Global Nature of the Church, 1992-1996.

He has been dubbed as a world-class bishop with a great mind and great heart. In the words of Supreme Court Associate Justice Reynato S. Puno, “Bishop Nacpil targeted the transposition of our Church from a passive church to an active church in the matter of contributing inputs on the burning social, economic, political and religious problems confronting our people.”

 Methodism in the Philippines: A Century of Faith and Vision, ed. by Bishop Jose Gamboa, Jr., Gamaliel T. de Armas, Jr., Roela Victoria Rivera, and Sharon Paz C. Hechanova. (Manila: Philippines Central Conference of The United Methodist Church, 2003).