Daily Digest - August 29, 2012

"It touches raw feelings and brings back bad memories." - The Rev. Tim Smith, a Haiti volunteer team leader and pastor of Gretna (La.) United Methodist Church, on Hurricane Isaac.

After Haiti impact, U.S. prepares for Isaac

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (UMNS) - For a U.S. volunteer team from Louisiana visiting Haiti, the impact of Hurricane Isaac has shifted from the disruption of a work assignment on the island to concern for family members back home. On the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Isaac is forecast to pound the southern Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.
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UMTV: Act of Repentance

TAMPA, Fla. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Church at three General Conferences since the year 2000 has sought to acknowledge a history of racism and work toward healing. Preparations for the GC2012 Act of Repentance included listening sessions with indigenous peoples in Norway, the Philippines and the United States.
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Acts of Repentance guide stresses healing

WHITNEY POINT, N.Y. (UMNS) - The Act of Repentance service at General Conference was only the beginning of The United Methodist Church's work toward healing relationships with indigenous peoples around the globe. Church leaders have prepared a new guide including Scripture, video and discussion questions for annual (regional) conferences and local churches.
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Angola radio called 'symbol of democracy'

LUANDA, Angola (UMNS) - Radio Kairós, a new United Methodist radio station in the capital of Angola, was launched Aug. 28. The station "represents the vitality of the country's young democracy and the work of the Angolan government toward plurality and diversity" in social communication, said Media Minister Carolina Cerqueira, in a statement through Angop, the Angolan government's press agency. The minister was on hand for the launch of the station, which has a commercial license and is operating at 98.4 FM locally. The station is operated by the West Angola Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church and was started with assistance from United Methodist Communications.
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Pastor sees race issue in bishop's retirement

DALLAS (UMNS) - "I am an ashamed United Methodist! The action of the South Central Jurisdiction to force Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe into retirement was a sad and shameful day for me," writes the Rev. Henry L. Masters Sr. in a commentary for the United Methodist Reporter. Masters, the senior pastor of St. Luke "Community" United Methodist Church, observed that the action "was a painful reality that race is still an unresolved matter in The United Methodist Church."
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Tips to grow worship attendance

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - In a blog, Jessica Miller Kelley offers congregations five strategies for filling up the pews at worship. Miller Kelley is the managing editor of Ministry Matters, part of the United Methodist Publishing House.
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