Yesterday the family and I took a Gandhi tour around the Durban area. Gandhi came to South Africa as a young lawyer in India to represent an Indian businessman here in Durban. After he was unceremoniously evicted at Pietermartritzburg from a first class compartment of a train bound for Johannesburg on June 7, l893, he decided to stay and remained for the next 21 years championing the rights of the oppressed and disenfranchised, leavingbehind a legacy of struggle for the right based on nonviolence. In l997 he was posthumously awarded the Freedom Award. On that day former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela said: "Today we are righting a century old wrong. This train station, once the site of a notorious symbol of discrimination, intolerance and oppression, now proclaims a message of dignity restored.
His grandson spoke: " Here in Pietermaritzburg today, here in this railway station, the question may well be asked: who was the man that was flung out, who was it that fell? The question may be answered thus: When Gandhi was evicted from the train, an Indian visiting South Africa fell, but when Gandhi rose, an Indian South African rose. Gandhi fell with a ticket no one honoured, he rose with a testament none could ignore, he fell a passenger, but he rose a patriot, he fell a barrister but rose a revolutionary. His sense of human decency transformed itself into a passion for human justice. In fact Gandhi was not flung here, he was launched.
Gandhi's impact on South Africa, on India, on all who seek to speak truth and work for justice without resorting to violence such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is beyond significant. I just stood in awe as we heard the story and visited the sites where he lived and worked. He learned from Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam, and he gave himself to be an instrument of God's justice and peace.
With gratitude,
Bishop Ann
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
World Methodist Conference- New Leadership and New Conversations
The World Methodist Conference is now in session. We began this morning with magnificent worship. The Africa University Choir sang. A South African mass choir sang. The energy and vital Christian faith of the African church and the power of the Holy Spirit were present as we worshipped and we were revitalized as a community. We heard Rev. Dr. John Barrett, British Methodist Church, preach a word of hope. Then we heard a call to cooperation of church and state to solve the problems of poverty and violence by the governor of the KwaZulu-Natal Province. Lastly we heard from Rev. H Myume Dandala, the former presiding Bishop of Southern Africa and the current executive of the All Africa Council of Churches as he called us to see the world as it is.
The World Methodist Council, where we deal with more administrative issues, has been meeting for three days. We are updating the Constitution of this body of Wesley's descendants - Nazarene, British Methodist, United Methodist, several kinds of Wesleyan,s and multiple national Methodist Churches from Latin American, Asia, and Africa. When we say the Lord's Prayer, each in our own heart language, it sounds like Pentecost.. Since its inception in l887 this body has been largely made up of Wesleyan Christians from the Northern Hemisphere and now there is a shift. The newly elected Executive Secretary is Bishop Ivan Abrahams, Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of South Africa. He will begin this full time ministry in December. The newly elected President is Bishop Paulo Lockmann, Methodist Church of Brazil. There are now more Christians in the global south than in the global north. and our leadership reflects this shift. The structure of the organization and the new Constitution and by-laws are also taking cognizance of these shifts. These are painful , yet exciting conversations.
Our own United Methodist Church is also dealing with these same issues. You will soon see some new legislation related to the worldwide nature of the United Methodist Church which is going to our General Conference in 2012. The world is changing. The church is changing because God is calling us to respond to the world in which we now live. It is an exciting time of new learnings and growth.
The World Methodist Council and the United Methodist Church can be God's agents to help us see the world as it is - the disparities between rich and poor peoples and nations, the tension between economic and person centered relationships, the polarized and often violent political struggles around the world, the deep hunger for meaning and purpose, the longing for a right relationship with God and neighbor. We have to move outside of our comfort zone to see this world in all its complexity.
Yet we are also connected. I have followed happenings in the US and around the world each day on TV no matter where we were. Almost everyone, even in remote and very poor areas, has a cell phone and can do SMS. We live in an interconnected and complex world.
Our task is to speak the truth about this world as we understand it and to listen to the truth as others standing in a different place understand it. When we know where we are hurting others we need to confess that sin. We need the word of forgiveness and changed life patterns that come through Jesus Christ and make reconciliation and new life possible. We need the hope of a new heaven and a new earth which God longs to offer. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message we must share. Transformed lives and new ways of living make our sharing of that Gospel more powerful and authentic.
Another first happened at our opening session this morning. A Sheik here in Durban came with the Methodist Bishop of this area to bring greetings. He spoke of how we as Abraham's children could bring hope and peace together. We are in a new era of inter faith dialogue.. How do we learn to live together, each holding our own beliefs and each respecting the other? .Here is yet another challenge for this century which comes to us in every locale around the globe.
I am grateful to share in these conversations. Hold us in your prayers. God wants to work through the Methodist movement. We long to know how to be God's people in such a time as this.
With hope,
Bishop Ann
The World Methodist Council, where we deal with more administrative issues, has been meeting for three days. We are updating the Constitution of this body of Wesley's descendants - Nazarene, British Methodist, United Methodist, several kinds of Wesleyan,s and multiple national Methodist Churches from Latin American, Asia, and Africa. When we say the Lord's Prayer, each in our own heart language, it sounds like Pentecost.. Since its inception in l887 this body has been largely made up of Wesleyan Christians from the Northern Hemisphere and now there is a shift. The newly elected Executive Secretary is Bishop Ivan Abrahams, Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of South Africa. He will begin this full time ministry in December. The newly elected President is Bishop Paulo Lockmann, Methodist Church of Brazil. There are now more Christians in the global south than in the global north. and our leadership reflects this shift. The structure of the organization and the new Constitution and by-laws are also taking cognizance of these shifts. These are painful , yet exciting conversations.
Our own United Methodist Church is also dealing with these same issues. You will soon see some new legislation related to the worldwide nature of the United Methodist Church which is going to our General Conference in 2012. The world is changing. The church is changing because God is calling us to respond to the world in which we now live. It is an exciting time of new learnings and growth.
The World Methodist Council and the United Methodist Church can be God's agents to help us see the world as it is - the disparities between rich and poor peoples and nations, the tension between economic and person centered relationships, the polarized and often violent political struggles around the world, the deep hunger for meaning and purpose, the longing for a right relationship with God and neighbor. We have to move outside of our comfort zone to see this world in all its complexity.
Yet we are also connected. I have followed happenings in the US and around the world each day on TV no matter where we were. Almost everyone, even in remote and very poor areas, has a cell phone and can do SMS. We live in an interconnected and complex world.
Our task is to speak the truth about this world as we understand it and to listen to the truth as others standing in a different place understand it. When we know where we are hurting others we need to confess that sin. We need the word of forgiveness and changed life patterns that come through Jesus Christ and make reconciliation and new life possible. We need the hope of a new heaven and a new earth which God longs to offer. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message we must share. Transformed lives and new ways of living make our sharing of that Gospel more powerful and authentic.
Another first happened at our opening session this morning. A Sheik here in Durban came with the Methodist Bishop of this area to bring greetings. He spoke of how we as Abraham's children could bring hope and peace together. We are in a new era of inter faith dialogue.. How do we learn to live together, each holding our own beliefs and each respecting the other? .Here is yet another challenge for this century which comes to us in every locale around the globe.
I am grateful to share in these conversations. Hold us in your prayers. God wants to work through the Methodist movement. We long to know how to be God's people in such a time as this.
With hope,
Bishop Ann
Monday, August 1, 2011
Durban
The World Methodist Council and Conference are meeting in Durban, South Africa. We began our Council meeting today, visiting with Methodists and other members of the Wesleyan family from around the globe. Evangelism, family life, worship and international concerns are the focus of our week. I am looking forward to our worship experiences which will feature music from around the world, but most especially from South Africa. Pastor Joe Scahill and his wife Marilyn and Pastor Charles Spence are also among the delegates. We will come home with many stories.
We are right on the Indian Ocean and it is fun to stick our toes in the water, but of course it is quite cool. It is winter in this Southern hemisphere and the days are cool. A little to the south of us there was snow last week. Of course the days are short. My grandson Max is having a grand time explaining to everyone he meets how it is cold in Mozambique and South Africa because it is winter, even if it is very hot summer back in Houston where he lives. . I am so privileged to be able to introduce him to the peoples and countries he could not begin to imagine. Our world, our foods, our customs, our cultures are so different, and there are delightful people everywhere. The miracle and gift of this diversity is almost overwhelming..
God is so good.
Bishop Ann
We are right on the Indian Ocean and it is fun to stick our toes in the water, but of course it is quite cool. It is winter in this Southern hemisphere and the days are cool. A little to the south of us there was snow last week. Of course the days are short. My grandson Max is having a grand time explaining to everyone he meets how it is cold in Mozambique and South Africa because it is winter, even if it is very hot summer back in Houston where he lives. . I am so privileged to be able to introduce him to the peoples and countries he could not begin to imagine. Our world, our foods, our customs, our cultures are so different, and there are delightful people everywhere. The miracle and gift of this diversity is almost overwhelming..
God is so good.
Bishop Ann
Does It Matter?
When we give to help a student with a scholarship or offer assistance to a person from another country we often wonder if it really makes a difference. Let me tell you about a recent experience in Mozambique. Thyrza Mucambe Person graduated from Southwestern, a Methodist college in Kansas, and has an MA from Southern Methodist University. She went home to Mozambique, is rearing two beautiful sons, is the chief financial officer for the Elizabeth Glaze AIDS Foundation, and is chair of the finance committee for her local United Methodist Church. Her sister Beth finished Central Methodist University in Missouri, is rearing a beautiful little girl, and, after further study in South Africa is working in public health. She is also active in the Liberdad United Methodist Church. Their brother Jorge graduated from Southwestern University and is a loan officer in Standard Bank in Mozambique. I had the joy of knowing them well and having them as house guests often while they were studying in the United States. They are delightful Christian young people and they are making their country a better place to live. All three had scholarships at United Methodist Colleges and their lives and faith were shaped by their parents, the United Methodist Church and opportunities our United Methodist people across the connection opened for them. They maximized their opporunities and United Methodist people gave generously. It makes me so proud to know them and to be part of that kind of church.
I am sure you know that four Lydia Patterson students have come to Nebraska Wesleyan on Scholarship. during the last 4 years. Another LPI student is at Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha. Local churches have provided financial assistance and one of the students lived with Kathryn Witte of our Conference staff all last year. I am eager to see how they will be changing the world in just a few more years.
Your gifts change lives. Thanks be to God.
Bishop Ann
I am sure you know that four Lydia Patterson students have come to Nebraska Wesleyan on Scholarship. during the last 4 years. Another LPI student is at Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha. Local churches have provided financial assistance and one of the students lived with Kathryn Witte of our Conference staff all last year. I am eager to see how they will be changing the world in just a few more years.
Your gifts change lives. Thanks be to God.
Bishop Ann
Peace Matters in Mozambique
Carol Windrum has a poster in her office: There is nothing acommplished by war that could not be better accomplished by peace. For 17 years prior to 1993 Mozambique was in the midst of a civil war. When I first traveled there I noticed there was great silence in rural areas - the birds were gone. If ever there was a bird a little boy with a slingshot had him. This was supper. The people were starving. Subsistance agriculture consumed most people's lives. Clean water and a little to eat took a family all day to get together.
The roads were awful -either destroyed asphalt or concrete or dirt. We bumped along from church to church with grave difficulty.
Mail could not get through. Many villages were without any water. The infrastructure needed for a developing state were almost non existant.
Babies died from lack of simple antibiotics easily available back in the States.
Land mines had been scattered randomly about the countryside and most of the land was not de -mined. and thus was unusable. Persons without limbs or sight were a common experience.
Now 15 peaceful years later the country has a road system, cell phones abound, computer communication is available almost everywhere, New industries are started regularly. The airport is brand new. The government is stable and there have been peaceful tranferances of power from leader to leader. Fewer people are hunger and clean water is in many villages. New buildings are all over the capital city of Maputo. Most children are able to go to school for 7 years. More people are able to work. The rate of inflation is reduced. The peace dividend is overwhelming.
I could only pause and thank God. There are still terrible inequities but the progress fills me with joy.
Bishop Ann
The roads were awful -either destroyed asphalt or concrete or dirt. We bumped along from church to church with grave difficulty.
Mail could not get through. Many villages were without any water. The infrastructure needed for a developing state were almost non existant.
Babies died from lack of simple antibiotics easily available back in the States.
Land mines had been scattered randomly about the countryside and most of the land was not de -mined. and thus was unusable. Persons without limbs or sight were a common experience.
Now 15 peaceful years later the country has a road system, cell phones abound, computer communication is available almost everywhere, New industries are started regularly. The airport is brand new. The government is stable and there have been peaceful tranferances of power from leader to leader. Fewer people are hunger and clean water is in many villages. New buildings are all over the capital city of Maputo. Most children are able to go to school for 7 years. More people are able to work. The rate of inflation is reduced. The peace dividend is overwhelming.
I could only pause and thank God. There are still terrible inequities but the progress fills me with joy.
Bishop Ann
Mozambique 2011
We have had five days with Bishop Machado and his family in Mozambique. As many of you know Mozambique and our friends there are very special to me. One of the gifts of our global church is developing friendships and relationships with persons in the United Methodist Church around the world. My colleague Bishop Machado and I had the opportunity to strenghtened the tie between churches and pastors in Mozambique and Missouri over a period of 12 years. Several hundred people from Missouri went to Mozambique on VIM and relationship building trips and dozens of Mozambicans came to Missouri. We learned from one another and shared what we had with one another. One of the many blessings of this connection was the opportunity to get to know Bishop Joao Somane Machado and his wife Nocia and their four children Thyrza, Sergio, Beth, and Jorge. We have visited many times in each other's homes and all the children were educated here in the States and made my Missouri home headquarters in between times. We are family to one another. Several years ago I went to Mozambique to preform Thyrza's wedding to Ricardo Person and on this trip I was able to get acquainted with their two little sons Tevin and Glen and visit in their home and in the home of Ricardo's grandmother. What fun we had. We also spent time with Beth and her little baby Melody and Jorge and his girlfriend. Krissy and Max, Wayne's daughter and my grandson, had no trouble crossing the language barrier. There was lots of playing ball, running, dancing and even playing UNO together. One yells Azur and the other blue. It does not take long. Bishop Machado remarked while watching the younger children play, "If only the world could relate as these children relate, violence and misunderstandings would end." It is such a hopeful experience to watch the children.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thoughts Before I Leave
Wayne, Wayne's daughter Krissy, my grandson Maxwell and I are going to Mozambique to visit students who lived with me while they went to college and many other old friends from Mozambique. Then we will be off to Durban, South Africa, where the World Methodist Council and Conference are being held. At the end of our stay we will stay a couple of days in Kruger Park. As we travel it will be fun to share our travels and learnings with colleages, family and friends.
Ann B. Sherer-Simpson, Nebraska Resident Bishop
United Methodist Church
Ann B. Sherer-Simpson, Nebraska Resident Bishop
United Methodist Church
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