"It was hard to leave. I was excited about retiring and coming back and being with family, but it was very hard to say goodbye." - Janet McCarty, retiring missionary Giving time and service from spiritual giftsNASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Sarah Ogilby remembers struggling to identify people to serve in various church positions. "It was kind of like taking a [round] peg and putting it in a square hole," recalled the GROW coordinator at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Wilmington, Del. Now, as more members have taken a spiritual-gifts assessment, it has become easier to ask those equipped with particular gifts to serve on the staff/parish relations committee, provide lay leadership, teach Bible studies and more. Interpreter magazine reports. California retired pastors pledge to perform same-sex marriagesSACRAMENTO, Calif. (UMNS) - Eighty-five retired clergy of the California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference have declared their willingness to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies in defiance of The United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline, the denomination's law book. The retired clergy announced their intentions in a press conference July 24 at Saint Mark's United Methodist Church in Sacramento. Southwestern University completes fundraising campaignGEORGETOWN, Texas (UMNS)- Two anonymous $1 million gifts have helped United Methodist-related Southwestern University complete its $150 million fundraising campaign two years ahead of schedule. An alumnus and his wife committed to one of the gifts while the parents of a Southwestern graduate provided the second $1 million gift. The funds are being used for extensive capital improvements and 18 new faculty positions. United Methodist missionary recalls life journeyJACKSONVILLE, Ill. (UMNS) After experiencing three calls in her life to do mission work, Janet McCarty finally responded in 1999, serving as a United Methodist Board of Global Ministries missionary in the Philippines and Nepal. Now retiring at age 70, she is sharing her story and encouraging others to pay attention when God nudges them. Pastors have to tithe ... have toFAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. (UMNS) - "You simply have to tithe if you are going to lead a church," writes the Rev. Shane L. Bishop, senior pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Fairview Heights. "And you need to tithe to your current church. The one whose name is on your paycheck." Bishop lists 10 reasons why. | More Resources
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