Florida United Methodist Review Online -March 30, 2001

Team sees diversity of need in Latin America
     Dorothy Collins was one of 32 United Methodists from the United States who visited Mexico and Guatemala Jan. 27-Feb. 4 to experience the kinds of needs the people of the autonomous Methodist churches there have.
    Collins is the Florida Conference's representative to Encounter with Christ in Latin America and the Caribbean, a permanent fund of the General Board of Global Ministries. The trip was an opportunity for her and others who work with the Encounter to see for themselves the needs and challenges the ministry faces.
Full Story

Media campaign ignites ministry
United Methodist Communications will be using messages on billboards and in classified advertising sections of newspapers to promote the United Methodist Church during the next four years.
The ambitious national media campaign seeks to raise awareness about the denomination, inspire current members and encourage unchurched seekers to visit a local congregation. Full Story

Pastor finds ministry is obedience, not numbers

    Anthony United Methodist Church here held its first Motorcycle Ministry Retreat March 2-4. Several weeks before the event, John Suskey, the church's supply pastor, said he was worried about how many people might attend.
    He says God told him that it didn't matter if 30 or 300 people attended, and on the first night, he counted 30 people at the praise and worship service.
    The three-day Motorcycle Ministry Retreat was the vision of Suskey and Victor Russell, president of Spirit Riders Motorcycle Ministry in Jacksonville. "God spoke to Rainman [Russell] and me at the same time," Suskey said. "There's something about what God tells you to do. We couldn't not do it." Full Story

Church helps run free clinic
    The congregation of First United Methodist Church, Lakeland, has banded together with other area groups to provide a free clinic for the poor and uninsured of the greater Lakeland area.
    The Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine clinic opened in February through a partnership of area churches, Florida Southern College, the Watson Clinic, Lakeland Regional Medical Center and others. It offers primary, dental, pediatric, pharmaceutical and eye care, as well as mental health and pastoral counseling.
    To qualify for the clinic's services, patients must work in the greater Lakeland area, have no insurance and have a family income at or below the federal poverty level. Full Story

Personal need becomes Internet ministry
    The Rev. Ken Crossman, a retired elder living in Orlando, needed something to due during his three four-hour dialysis treatments each week. He decided to ask several Florida Conference pastors to send him tapes of their sermons.
    Crossman said he enjoyed listening to the sermons, but felt he needed to expanded the collection into a ministry. That ministry is called the Sermon Listening Exchange, an Internet site where pastors can submit sermon tapes and other clergy and lay people can order them.
    One goal of the ministry is to help improve preaching within the conference by offering pastors a learning resource, according to Crossman. Full Story

Get it in Print - send story ideas on local church news to Tita Parham or Michael Wacht

Notices

Anniversaries recognized at conference event

Counselor considered for Counseling Network

Opportunities

Conference offers Heritage Sunday worship resource

Dozens of bands, rides await youth at event

Volunteer organizations offer cultural sensitivity training

SpiritWorks offers labyrinth facilitation training

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