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Daily Digest: March 28, 2014

“Poverty is a complex issue, but when you get down to it, we’re talking about people, not issues." – Cindy Thompson, fund development director at United Methodist Children’s Services in Milwaukee, Wis.

Milwaukee project aims to de-stigmatize poverty
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (UMNS) — United Methodist Children’s Services, a not-for-profit organization that helps Milwaukee citizens living in poverty, is a finalist in this year’s Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Initiatives. Neighborhood News Service explains how this project is working to de-stigmatize poverty.

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Ministry with the Poor


Chicago faith leaders join call to end deportations
CHICAGO (UMNS) — United Methodist Bishop Sally Dyck joined Congressman Luis Guitierrez, Mexican immigrant Elvira Arellano and other faith leaders in a rally and sit-in at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office March 27 in an act of civil disobedience. Watch for coverage on www.umc.org/news and the Northern Illinois Annual (regional) United Methodist Conference www.umcnic.org.

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Storage pod becomes portable medical facility
BRIDGE CITY, Texas (UMNS) — It took almost a year but the Orange County United Methodist Men have turned a storage pod into a portable medical facility that soon will go to Belize. 12newsnow.com explains how this project came together.

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Côte d’Ivoíre university now offers online classes
ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoíre (UMNS) — After being put on hold because of political unrest, the Distance Learning Center at the Methodist University of Côte d’Ivoíre is now offering classes online and connecting students and the library to the Internet. It’s all part of a Methodist Global Education Fund for Leadership Development. Vicki Brown has the story.

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Alabama church to remember Palm Sunday tornado
PIEDMONT, Ala. (UMNS) — March 27 marked the 20th anniversary of what has become known as the Palm Sunday tornado. Forty people died in that tornado, 20 of them inside the Goshen United Methodist Church. The Anniston Star reports that the church will have a special service March 30 to reflect on the events of that day and what has happened since.

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Urgent call to end violence against Bangladeshi minorities
GENEVA (UMNS) — Persecution of minorities in Bangladesh is not an “overnight crisis” but is a phenomenon deeply rooted in the country’s history and politics and women suffer the most, say participants in a March 26 meeting organized by the World Council of Churches’ Commission of the Churches on International Affairs and the Bangladesh Minority Council.

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‘Protect the common good’
WASHINGTON (UMNS) — “As a Christian, I reject this use of my faith as a weapon when the core message of Christianity is the commandment to love and care for one another,” Katey Zeh told a March 25 rally in support of the Affordable Care Act. Zeh is project director of the Healthy Families, Healthy Planet initiative of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. The Supreme Court heard arguments on a case in which a private company is challenging the act on religious grounds.

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