mid week update

April 20, 2010

Iowa Conference News

Thank You Note

Click here to read this week’s Thank You Note

BOGO

BUY ONE GIFT ONE

For several years the Junior Secondary School in Jalingo researched having an agricultural project to be implemented on campus. Would it be a poultry, garden or a goat project? The decision to pursue the goat project was made. So, BOGO.

Goats are seen all over central Nigeria used primarily for meat rather than for their milk. When we Iowans talked with JSS teachers about the milking of goats, they were astonished and visibly amused as the milking of goats is not a cultural thing in Nigeria. Goats are easier and cheaper to manage than cattle and have multiple uses. Goats can thrive in extreme climates and on poor, dry land by eating grass and leaves. Students are preparing the fenced area and construction of small building where they will be housed. Under the leadership of a JSS teacher and local veterinarian they will learn animal husbandry skills. Goats will be used to supplement the diet for over the 215 high school boarders.

BOGO, let’s get this program started? The average price for a goat is $75. You are welcome to help in the purchase of a goat so BOGO. Money may be sent through your local church and sent to the conference treasurer designated: INP #230, JSS Goat.

Wellness Activities at Conference

Even though Annual Conference has moved to a different place and is on different days of the week, several of the long-standing wellness activities are continuing. Listed below are the activities and events sponsored by the Wellness Committee of the Conference Board of Pensions

c Foot’n It for Relief: Saturday June 4, 7 am to 9:30 am. Join us on a 5K walk/run to raise monies for the Fit Challenge Disaster Relief fund. The route will be from Principal Park to Grey’s Lake along the MeredithTrail. A registration fee of $15 will go towards Disaster & Flood Relief. Contact Willy Mafuta at w.mafuta@mchsi. to register and for more information.

c Wellness Screening: Open to all clergy and spouses (part-time and full-time), ministry candidates/students even if you aren’t on the conference insurance. Monday and Tuesday mornings 5:30 am- 8:00 am in HyVee Hall.

Included is: a blood-pressure measurement, a self-serve weight measurement, and the following lab tests; glucose, complete blood-cell counts, cholesterol (LDL, HDL, & triglycerides), magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, thyroid, BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and a thyroid level. Men also have blood drawn for a prostate serum antigen. Pre-registration is encouraged. Contact Kae Tritle at bktritle@msn.com

Help Wanted: Medical/lab technicians, Paramedics, Nurses, Respiratory therapists, or Doctors Needed to assist with Blood Pressures during Wellness Screening at Annual Conference 5:30 am until 8:15 am Contact: Kae Tritle, RN at bktritle@msn.com or call 515-226-8760

c Mammogram screening: Open to all clergy spouses on Monday, June 7. Must have an appointment. Call Iowa Radiology at 515-226-9810. American Cancer Society guidelines apply; over 40 years old, no lumps or problems, and your last one was over 1 year ago. Will need your insurance information and co-pays may apply.

c Pedometer Walking Program: Increase your daily physical activity by walking. Clergy, spouses, and others on the Conference Health Insurance program can sign up for the Virgin HealthMiles “go-zone” pedometer. A UMC logo pedometer is also available for laity to purchase.

c Wellness Program and Wellmark Informational displays: Located in the exhibit area of HyVee Hall. Both the Wellness Program and Wellmark will have information regarding healthy lifestyles, self-care strategies, walking, and other benefits included with your health insurance. Open Saturday through Tuesday to all Annual Conference members and visitors.

I invite you to participate in the above activities as you are led and are able. Please take care of yourself physically, emotionally, and relationally in the midst of our ministry celebration called Annual Conference.

Kae Tritle, RN

Wellness Coordinator

Annual Conference Help Wanted

Medical/lab technicians, Paramedics, Nurses, Respiratory therapists, or Doctors Needed to assist with Blood Pressures during Wellness Screening at Annual Conference 5:30 am until 8:00 am on Monday & Tuesday Contact: Kae Tritle, RN at bktritle@msn.com or call 515-226-8760

Step Forward in Faith

Coming to Annual Conference is the Virgin HealthMiles walking program.

This is open to clergy, spouses, and others who on the conference health insurance program. For a $20 fee will enroll you in the program. Following enrollment you will receive a “go-zone” electronic pedometer in about a week. Each day the number of steps accumulates. As you reach different specified levels of steps, you are eligible for cash or gift rewards. Your “Go-zone” pedometer stores the number of your steps over a 2-week period so that even when away from electronics your steps will add up. The pedometer is “computer-friendly” and plugs into a web-based program to help you keep track of your steps and lets you know when you are eligible for rewards. Info at Annual Conference will help you sign up for better health and rewards. Contact Kae Tritle at bktritle@msn.com

United Methodist and Other News

HAITI: EMH: JOURNEY HAS JUST BEGUN

A high-ranking General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) delegation spent the first days of Holy Week in Haiti with The Reverend Gesner Paul, head of the Methodist Church of Haiti (EMH), to express the US church’s solidarity and strengthen the relationship between GBGM and EMH for the long term.

Bishop Bruce Ough, president of GBGM, and Rev. Jorge Domingues, deputy general secretary for Mission and Evangelism, were accompanied by Melissa Hinnen, director of communications of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

The delegation toured EMH offices in Petionville and visited Grace Children’s Hospital, where the young patients are currently being cared for in tents because of damages to the hospital’s buildings during the January 12 earthquake.

“We thank you for all you have done for us in Haiti. We thank you for UMCOR’s return to Haiti for the medium and long term,” said Rev. Paul. “As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord, we remember the journey has just begun.”

UMCOR is developing a bridge between EMH-identified needs and the relief and development work of UMCOR’s field office in Haiti, Bishop Ough said. GBGM’s Mission and Evangelism office will partner with EMH to build the church’s capacity “to be a beacon for Haiti,” he added. An April 20 roundtable in the Dominican Republic will further flesh out needs and responses. Read the full story here.

CHILE: MODEL RECOVERY PLAN

Following a Holy Week tour of earthquake disaster sites in Chile, executives of UMCOR and GBGM’s Mission Relationships are working on a “model” recovery plan with the Methodist Church of Chile (IMECH).

The plan was discussed Holy Saturday in Santiago after the executives, Rev. Tom Hazelwood for UMCOR and Dakin Cook for Mission Relationships, traveled with IMECH Bishop Mario Martínez Tapia and Emergency Relief Coordinator Juan Salazar to 14 cities and towns in four days. They were accompanied by United Methodist missionary John Elmore, a builder, who has lived in Chile for 13 years.

Under the plan, Annual Conferences and churches in the US would develop covenant relationships with individual congregations in Chile, and recovery efforts would be jointly coordinated by UMCOR, Mission Relationships, United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, and IMECH.

While the plan needs donations to support recovery efforts, it gives US congregations the opportunity to see themselves “not as donors only but as engaged in ministry,” said Hazelwood.

The earthquake in Chile registered a powerful 8.8 and was followed by a series of tsunamis. More than 500 were killed or disappeared and 1.5 million were displaced from their homes in Santiago and locations south of the capital.

Bishop Martínez called the effects of the earthquake “deceptive,” as many buildings that remained standing in its wake suffered irreparable structural damage, including numerous Methodist churches.

TURKEY: UMCOR SENDS EMERGENCY AID

As the earth remained unsettled in 2010, an earthquake struck Turkey on March 8, killing 57 and injuring hundreds. The epicenter was in the town of Basyurt and surrounding villages, where 287 buildings collapsed, 700 were damaged, and 5,000 people were left homeless. Most of the affected villages depend upon their livestock for their living, and these losses are estimated in the thousands.

The Turkish Red Crescent Society and the International Blue Crescent set up a temporary camp in Basyurt, in the middle of the ruined villages, to respond to the needs of survivors. UMCOR is assisting with a grant for food, hygiene materials and blankets.

Additional support will be needed as the economic impact of the quake begins to be felt and heavy spring rains are expected to inundate the area.

You can support recovery efforts in Turkey with your contribution to UMCOR International Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #982450

US: UMCOR RESPONDS TO FLOODS, TORNADOES

Heavy rains in New Jersey and tornados in North Carolina ushered in spring 2010, leaving hundreds of families in both states to deal with the aftermath.

After record snowfalls in New Jersey, a month’s worth of rain fell in 48 hours in mid-March, causing the Raritan, Passaic and other rivers to overflow their banks and impacting 400 families in the town of Bound Brook alone. UMCOR has responded with an emergency grant to the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference request for assistance for those affected.

On March 28, tornadoes raced through the High Point and Lexington districts of the Western North Carolina Conference, impacting the homes of more than 200 families. District Disaster Response Committees in both districts responded with relief aid. UMCOR is supplying additional assistance to help with the recovery, which is expected to take up to 20 months.

Your support for UMCOR Domestic Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670, will help these and other US areas recover from catastrophic events.

United Methodists Help Fight Malaria in DRC

Net Distribution Leads Up to World Malaria Day Kickoff

NASHVILLE, TN – The people of The United Methodist Church will join with partner organizations to distribute 30,000 long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where malaria is a leading cause of death.

The nets will be distributed to families in the Bongonga neighborhood of Lubumbashi during the week leading up to World Malaria Day, April 25—a date which also marks the official launch of The United Methodist Church’s Imagine No Malaria campaign, a comprehensive effort to raise $75 million to fight malaria and eliminate death and suffering from the disease in Africa by 2015. The campaign is supported by a partnership with the United Nations Foundation.

“Churches such as The United Methodist Church are often the only organizations serving rural communities located ‘at the end of the road’,” said Bishop Thomas Bickerton, chairman of the United Methodist Global Health Initiative. “That is one of the reasons faith communities are such a vital part of efforts to eliminate death and suffering from malaria. We provide education and resources in areas far out of reach or with no access to a health care facility.”

The distribution strategy and volunteer coordination are being organized and implemented by CORESA (Coalition Religieuse pour la Santé), a multi-faith coalition formed in 2008 that aims to implement community-based health programs in DRC. The United Methodist Church, through the United Methodist Committee on Relief, was a leader in forming the coalition and designing this project.

The United Methodist Church also provided $150,000 towards the net distribution—money raised through donations to Nothing But Nets, a global, grassroots effort to save lives in Africa through the distribution of nets. Other key partners contributing to the effort include Nothing But Nets creator the United Nations Foundation, which granted $30,000 to conduct the initial strategic planning and training program for CORESA member organizations in January, and NetsforLife®, who will supply the nets.

NetsforLife® typically accesses remote communities that are not reached by national health programs, using a network of local churches, faith-based groups and NGOs. NetsforLife® works to instill a “net culture”—a community-wide understanding of the protective value of nets and the right way to use and maintain them.

“In this country, we are born with malaria and we are dying with malaria,” said Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo of the North Katanga area. Ntambo says it’s critical for the church to teach people about malaria, how to avoid it, and the importance of health care.

A delegation of United Methodists from the U.S. traveled to DRC to help distribute the nets, including Bishop Bickerton of the Pittsburgh area, Bishop James Dorff of the San Antonio area, Bishop Earl Bledsoe of the Dallas area, and representatives from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and United Methodist Communications.

South African singer and humanitarian Yvonne Chaka Chaka , dubbed the “Princess of Africa,” will kick off the distribution event on April 15. The actual distribution will be conducted by volunteers who will go from house to house distributing nets and educating residents about their proper use.

According to the World Health Organization, malaria infects an estimated 23.6 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo each year, and causes an estimated 96,000 deaths. One in five children in the Congo die from malaria before their fifth birthday.