Daily Digest - April 24, 2013

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"Bob Edgar was a close personal friend of mine. I cannot believe we have lost him. He was a great servant of Christ, possessor of a magnanimous and positive personality, and a faithful United Methodist. Those of us who knew him have been sharing our sadness and our fond memories of him all day." - Jim Winkler, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society.

United Methodists mourn passing of Bob Edgar

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - The Rev. Bob Edgar, a United Methodist pastor and a "tireless defender of the poor and an advocate for justice" died unexpectedly April 23 of a heart attack at his home. He was 69. Edgar, who was the top executive of Common Cause, is the former top executive of the National Council of Churches and a former six-term congressman from Pennsylvania. He was president of Claremont (Calif.) School of Theology from 1990 to 2000.
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It is well with the souls of West, Texas

WEST, Texas (UMNS) - "In the midst of all the chaos in those first few hours following the blast, I saw people helping people, over and over and over again," the Rev. Jimmy Sansom, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church, told his congregation Sunday, April 21. "People from (West FUMC) helping other people! There were no strangers - only God active in us and through us." Vance Morton, communicator for the Central Texas Annual (regional) Conference, tells us about that service.
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Prayers, patience and hope in West: An update

WEST, Texas (UMNS) - At 10 p.m., April 22, Laraine Waughtal, the disaster response coordinator for the Central Texas Conference, wrote, "Today has been another day of interviewing clients, listening to their stories and praying! One person shared with us how everyone was at home when the blast occurred and every window in the house was blown in toward them except the one over the baby's bed!!! What a blessing. Every day we hear more and more stories as to how God was and is at work in West."
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United Methodist Men send devotionals to first responders

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - United Methodist Men shipped copies of its newly published Strength of Service for God and Community devotional for first responders to Boston and to West, Texas, last week. There is to be a presentation of 250 copies in Newtown, Conn., this weekend. The devotional was introduced last month.
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About the devotional

Birmingham-Southern students to march with history

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (UMNS) - On Wednesday, April 24, at 9:30 a.m., the president of United Methodist-related Birmingham-Southern College, Gen. Charles C. Krulak, and Mayor William Bell will lead students, faculty, alumni and members of the community on a march from campus to a downtown park. They will trace the footsteps of Birmingham-Southern sophomore Martha "Marti" Turnipseed, who on April 24, 1963, chose to join seven African-American students at a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's food counter downtown.
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Husband-wife team leads fast-growing Hispanic congregation

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Three years ago, Susana Lopez was a translator in a furniture factory. Wilmer Lopez made a living out of laying tile and carpet. Today, the two areco-pastors ofwhat might be the largest Hispanic congregation in east Tennessee and one of the fastest-growing Hispanic churches in the United Methodist denomination. Annette Spence, editor of The Call in the Holston Annual (regional) Conference, has the story.
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HBO movie raises needed malaria awareness

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - "Programs like The United Methodist Church's Imagine No Malaria initiative and its partner organizations are making a difference, producing life-saving results," writes the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of United Methodist Communications, as World Malaria Day approaches. "Malaria's impact has been cut in half in just a few short years, but the battle is still far from over."
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Learn about the HBO
Imagine No Malaria

Going the next mile for Imagine No Malaria

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Inspiration comes from many places, and this week, two men in East Tennessee hope their respective journeys will inspire others to imagine a world without malaria. Clayton Hensley, director of communications for First United Methodist Church in Maryville, shares the update on the start of their voyage.
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Chaplain begins journey along Appalachian Trail

MARYVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - In addition to completing the mammoth undertaking of hiking the whole Appalachian Trail, Josh Lindamood, 27, of Lynchburg, Va., stepped onto the trail April 4 with another mission: serving other hikers along the way as Holston Annual (regional) Conference's first chaplain commissioned to "The A.T." The Rev. Buzz Trexler, managing editor of The (Maryville) Daily Times and pastor of Green Meadow United Methodist Church, provides an update on the chaplain known as "Hardtack."
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Chuck Knows Church: Communion

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - "Chuck Knows Church" leads viewers through communion, one of two sacraments (along with baptism) in The United Methodist Church. This is the first of a three-part series about communion.
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