Pastor's Pen:

I wanted to share with you this month excerpts from a letter that all churches in the West Ohio Conference recently received from Bishop Bruce Ough, Bishop of the West Ohio Conference.  It is a challenge to each one of us as individuals and as congregations.  The letter details some information about the West Ohio Annual Conference theme for 2008 as well as the missions that we will be supporting with our annual miracle offering that we collect at Annual Conference in June each year.  “The theme for the June 9-12, 2008 Annual Conference session is Love First.  “John 3:16 is written on the heart of every believer.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”  This is a clear and unequivocal statement that God loves us first, that God’s love is sacrificial and that God’s love is the standard for all who follow Christ.  And, the Good News of Jesus is built on the Great Commandment - “to love God with all your heart, soul mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)  For Jesus, “love first” is the basis for all the law, the prophets and his own gospel.”

In keeping with this theme, the Annual Conference has chosen to support two worthwhile mission efforts.  The offering will be shared between the Nothing But Nets initiative to stamp out the killer disease of malaria and the emerging United Methodist Church in Vietnam and the Methodist Church of Cambodia.  Unless otherwise designated,  1/3 of the offering will be allocated to Nothing But Nets and 2/3 to Cambodia and Vietnam.

“World-wide,, malaria remains the dominant killer disease of poverty.  More people, particularly children under the age of five, die of malaria each year than any other disease, even surpassing the global pandemic of AIDS.  The primary way to save persons from malaria is to be sure they sleep under a chemically treated mosquito net during the evening hours when the malaria-bearing mosquitoes are active.”  Their principle is “send a net, save a life”.  Each net costs $10.00 and covers the net itself, the distribution cost and educating families how to use the nets properly.  Imagine saving a life for $10.00!  How many lives could our congregation save?

“The United Methodist Church is growing rapidly in Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia and Vietnam.  One young person told a recent West Ohio mission team, “United Methodists do good things for people-they provide education, job training, medicines, food,, clothing, homes for orphans….they do lots of good things!”  Some of the money raised in this offering will be used to train pastors and lay leaders to start new churches and strengthen existing churches in Cambodia and Vietnam.  $100.00/month will support a pastor and allow a local congregation’s ministry to flourish. 

Finally, Bishop Ough closes with these words of challenge. “As the author of 1 John writes, “Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another….if we love one another, God lives in us, and God’s love is perfected in us.” (1 John4:11-12)  I believe our offering for Nothing But Nets and Southeast Asia will be a channel through which we can love our neighbors and through which God’s love can be perfected in us.”  For additional information go to the West Ohio Conference website at www.westohioumc.org and go to the Love First Offering link.

                                    Blessings,

                                    Rev. Betty Wineland