Daily Digest - October 16, 2012

"It is a way of this church participating in the community in which we live for the betterment of the community. A stronger community means that there is a greater opportunity for a stronger church." - The Rev. Blaine Scott, First United Methodist Church, Grand Junction, Colo.

UMTV: Church rethinks school lunches

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (UMNS) - A Colorado congregation has found a creative way to welcome the neighborhood to church. Church members provide a hot meal every Friday because the school has no cafeteria, only a vending machine. Young people come for free lunches and encouragement from people who care.
Watch video

Mountain Sky Mission to Angola

BOM JESUS, Angola (UMNS) - After 24 hours of travel, Mountain Sky travelers arrived in Luanda, Angola, on the evening of Oct. 11, ate dinner, slept a good night and awoke to breakfast at 7 and departure at 7:30 a.m. for Bom Jesus, writes Bishop Elaine Stanovsky of the Denver Area. "Malaria is the first cause of death in Bom Jesus. And it is PREVENTABLE; TREATABLE; AND BEATABLE. Our mission: to help eradicate malaria as a killer in Bom Jesus."
Read more about the mission
See images from the trip

Liberian president reports malaria control progress

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf talked about a 33 percent decrease in malaria deaths in Africa over the past decade in a recent speech to the United Nations Secretary-General's Every Woman Every Child Dinner. However, as allafrica.com reports, Johnson Sirleaf, a United Methodist, also warned that the global funding crisis threatens the successes.
Read more
Learn about what United Methodists are doing to fight malaria

HUNGER ACTION: A tale of two churches

LAKELAND, Fla. (UMNS) - For many children, summer is a happy time, full of fun. For others, it is a time to hunger, not only for food, but also for something to nurture their spirits. This past summer, two small churches, with the help of neighboring congregations, put their resources, volunteers and hearts into action to make a big difference in the lives of local children. Writing for the Florida Annual (regional) Conference, Anne Dukes explains what they did.
Read story

Bishop faults jurisdiction's gay issue stand

INDIANAPOLIS (UMNS) - Indiana Area Bishop Michael J. Coyner has identified what he sees as flaws in the Western Jurisdiction's stand against The United Methodist Church's teaching on homosexuality. In his Oct. 15 E-pistle to the Indiana Annual (regional) Conference, Coyner took exception to the Western Jurisdiction's actions in three ways.

Read story and post a comment

Ads go up in D.C. Metro stations

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - United Methodist Women and the United Methodist Board of Church and Society are among the organizations supporting billboards in three D.C. metro stations in response to an advertising campaign that they consider to be anti-Muslim. The ads, arranged by Shoulder to Shoulder, are similar to those sponsored by United Methodist Women in the New York subway system.
Read more

UMCOR fills new senior executive position

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Melissa Crutchfield, a staff executive with the United Methodist Committee on Relief, has been named to a new senior position overseeing international development and global health.
Read story