New resource gives women safe place to meet, talk, heal For 12 weeks last spring, a group of eight women from Suntree United Methodist Church in Melbourne met for a half hour each week and discussed what was on their hearts and minds.     One woman found help dealing with her father's death. Another found the support she needed while putting her marriage back on track.     The women were part of a pilot group for the new "Heart to Heart: A Spiritual Journey for Women" program written by the Rev. Patricia Brown, the Florida Conference Council on Ministries' director of Spiritual Formation.     It's a small-group program designed to give women a time to comfortably discuss on their own issues that are important to them. Full Story

Mentor helps church start new service

When members of St. James United Methodist Church in Palatka decided three years ago to start a contemporary worship service, they weren't sure what direction they would head, so they started attending seminars and workshops on church growth and contemporary worship.     But it wasn't until they experienced a contemporary worship service and workshop led by Mike Wycuff, minister of music and celebration at the United Methodist Pine Ridge Fellowship in Deltona, that they got excited about the potential for the new service.     "The workshop made for a very exciting day," St. James' pastor, the Rev. Hardy Sandlin, said. "It served as a catalyst to really get moving." Full Story

United Methodists learn to be contagious "Ten percent of people who go to church consider themselves evangelists," said Donna Foster, a member of the International Bible Society and leader of the "Becoming a Contagious Christian" workshop Aug. 28 at Trinity United Methodist Church here.     Despite that statistic Foster said she believes every Christian can be evangelical if they learn a style of evangelism that suits them.     That is what more than 80 laity and clergy from seven Lakeland District churches who attended the six-hour workshop set out to do, according to the Rev. Glen Gutek, pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church here and local coordinator for the seminar.     The workshop was held to train people for personal evangelism and begin a process of ongoing evangelism training throughout the district.  Full Story

Bladers, boarders find home at Clermont church     A 1996 advertisement run by skateboard manufacturer World Industries in many skateboarding magazines offered kids a chance to sell their souls to World Industries and "ensure your permanent place in Hell." The three page cartoon depicted heaven as a boring place with prohibitive rules, while hell is full of skate parks, attractive women and fun.     Members of First United Methodist Church, Clermont, decided to combat World Industries' advertising campaign by giving skaters the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ and find a church home. They opened a skate park on the church's property last April and now have nearly 80 kids registered to skate there. Full Story

Director postpones water activities    The deaths of 160 alligators in Leesburg's Lake Griffin since December 1997 have scientists looking for answers and members of the Lake Griffin Restoration Task Force debating how to address the lake's problems.     Meanwhile, Michel D'Annecy, executive director of the Florida Conference's camps and retreat center, has suspended all lake activities at the Life Enrichment Center and Warren W. Willis Camp until further notice. Full Story

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