Early Catholicism and the organisational structure of the United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe

The organisational structure of the United Methodist church shares many features with the early catholic institutions. Increased institutionalisation, that is, authority connected with office, is the clearest sign of Early Catholicism. By the late first century, the titles of bishop (ἐπίσκοπος), elder (πρεσβύτερος) and deacon (διάκονος) denoted specific leadership and service functions in the church. This study stresses the ethical qualifications and diaconal duties of these office bearers, applying it to the duties and responsibilities of United Methodist pastors, district superintendents, bishops and laity. It is argued that candidates for ordination should be aware of their calling to the divine ministry and their calling should be authenticated and recognised without a test of authenticity by the Church. In the Early Catholicism period, qualified leadership was established to preserve faith and combat false teaching. This must also be the case in the United Methodist Church.

Telling the story of the christian life: the use of the narrative in the sermons of John Wesley and Granger Community Church.

The case study examines the creative use of narrative in sermons within the United Methodist Church in light of the rapid decline in Christian church attendance. Using narrative theory, the study reviews sermons of John Wesley and the pastors of Granger Community Church for use of narrative patterns, mimesis and diegesis. This study shows both groups used narrative extensively but for different purposes. John Wesley employs narrative to shed light on the biblical text and to encourage his congregants adherence to the principles outline in the Bible. The pastors of Granger Community Church use narrative to create interest in the sermon's message and to establish a personal connection with congregants. Despite their different techniques, both John Wesley and Granger Community Church showcase innovation with their use of narrative in sermons.

Telling the story of the christian life: the use of the narrative in the sermons of John Wesley and Granger Community Church.

The case study examines the creative use of narrative in sermons within the United Methodist Church in light of the rapid decline in Christian church attendance. Using narrative theory, the study reviews sermons of John Wesley and the pastors of Granger Community Church for use of narrative patterns, mimesis and diegesis. This study shows both groups used narrative extensively but for different purposes. John Wesley employs narrative to shed light on the biblical text and to encourage his congregants adherence to the principles outline in the Bible. The pastors of Granger Community Church use narrative to create interest in the sermon's message and to establish a personal connection with congregants. Despite their different techniques, both John Wesley and Granger Community Church showcase innovation with their use of narrative in sermons.

Coming Out as a Library

The Styberg Library has offered support to the LGBTQ+ community in a variety of ways. This work stemmed from larger seminary commitments and statements which served as an impetus for the work. As an institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we recognized how the current impasse in the denomination had affected our community. In response, we offered ourselves as a place of affirmation and support. First, we curated several displays to highlight relevant resources and services that may be of interest to the queer community. We also created an LGBTQ+ LibGuide to highlight library resources/services and online community resources. Then, we began the process of constructing an archive to document the history of the seminary’s LGBTQ+ community after realizing our archive lacked these documents. We continue to explore further ways to extend support. This poster highlighted various aspects of this work.

The adjunctification of United Methodist part-time local pastors : a case study of part-time local pastors in the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church

The issue this dissertation addresses is that the fastest growing population of clergy leaders in The United Methodist Church (UMC) are local pastors who are generally not seminary degreed, ordained, or guaranteed employment. And yet, the employment and effectiveness of these local pastors, primarily part-time, is not researched or understood in the context of leadership needs in the 21st century Church. To address this problem, the purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the unique professional experiences and labor conditions of part-time local pastors (PTLP's) in isolated, rural, and declining communities within the Mountain Sky Conference (MSC) of The UMC. To gather data, artifact review, demographic surveys, and Zoom interviews were conducted with eight part-time local pastors from the Mountain Sky Conference. The data lead to the following themes: types and unique leadership of PTLP's, unique contextual labor conditions, and professional resources needed. These themes are useful for understanding that many of the professional and institutional benefit systems in which PTLP's operate are forged and framed for full-time, lifelong ordained clergy. They need to be adjusted for the unique types of PTLP's and their unique ministry settings.

A Philadelphia (Mississippi) Story

Previous research on Philadelphia, Mississippi and Neshoba County focuses overwhelmingly on the 1964 murders and subsequent legal trials (in 1967 and 2005), providing relatively little insight into the area’s commemorative practices. Furthermore, such research often depicts the twenty-five years following the murders as “the long silence,” a description that is not entirely accurate. It overlooks the annual commemoration services hosted by Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, the African American church that the three civil rights movement workers visited just before their deaths. This chapter recognizes and reconstructs the commemorative activities of Philadelphia’s African American community, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to Neshoba County in 1966 and other resistance to the local Ku Klux Klan. Doing so uncovers two distinct communities of memory: one characterized by Philadelphia’s dominant white public sphere, the official, government-sanctioned memory; the other representing a powerful and persistent countermemory embedded in Philadelphia’s African American community. In doing so, this chapter positions the twenty-fifth and fortieth anniversary commemorations within historical context, uncovering the mnemonic landscape that preceded the emergence of these two community-wide commemoration services.

Education in Supportive Care at the United Methodist Church Nursing School Kiss, the Eastern Part of Freetown, Sierra Leone

Background: Sierra Leone situated in west Africa. It lies between Guinea and Liberia. The country has a population of about seven million people. The country is divided into four regions, they are as follows-western area with Freetown being the capital city, southern province with Bo being the headquarter, northern province with Makeni being the headquarter and eastern province with Kenema being the headquarter. The country is divided into twelve district. Kissy is situated in the eastern part of Freetown. The population of Kissy is about four hundred and fifty thousand people. There are five public hospitals and small health centers. United Methodist Church Hospital is located at the heart of Kissy. Education on supportive care is very important in all hospitals and health centers so that health care workers can apply it when necessary. Supportive care are given to improve the quality of life of patients who have serious or life threatening disease. The goal of supportive care is prevention, treats as early as possible the symptoms of the disease, side effects caused by treatment of a disease, psychological, social and spiritual problems related to a disease or its treatment also called comfort care, palliative care and symptom management. Aim: 1. To raise public education on supportive care. 2. To help the participants understand the importance of supportive care to patients with life threatening disease. Methods: This study was based on interviewing forty health care workers comprises of the following people nurses, caregiver, social workers, community health officers, chaplain and volunteers from the three institutions and community. United Methodist church Nursing School, Kissy Nicole Terrace Health Center Kissy, Kissy Health Center and Kissy Mess-Mess: nurses (3); social workers (2); care givers (2); and community health officers (3). Nicole Terrace Health Center: nurses (3); social workers (2); care givers (2); and community health officers (3). Kissy Health Center: nurses (3); social workers (2); care givers (2); and community health officers (3). Kissy Mess-Mess: volunteers (5) and chaplains (5). Results: During my interview with the different categories of people in the different health institutions and community, I discussed with them supportive care its importance and the impact it creates in the life of a patient with life threatening disease. It was a one-to-one interview and information received was recorded. According to my evaluation, I observed that, none of them have knowledge about supportive care and the impact it creates in the life of patients with life threatening disease. The findings of my research indicate that all the people in the different institutions and community have no knowledge about supportive care. Conclusion: Since supportive care helps to improve the quality of life of patients who have serious life threatening disease, education on the issue of empowering the following people involved in providing supportive care, namely, nurses, care givers/volunteers, chaplain and social workers, will help to prolong the lives of patients with life threatening diseases.