Young Adults in Mission From Around the World

Application deadline: March 1, 2013

Come to the Orientation: June 8-15, 2013

“When I served as a missionary at the Robeson County Church and Community Center,” says NC Conference Outreach Team Coordinator, Steve Taylor, “it was one of my true blessings to partner with dozens of youth and adult work teams in the Center’s housing ministry.  I was always amazed at the passion and energy of the youth and young adults as they ministered to poor people in Robeson County who often had few options and little voice.  The young people’s willingness to engage the ‘hard spaces’ of ministry was a vital witness to Jesus who always goes to, enters in, and calls us to be with those whom he calls ‘the least of these.’  And I was always reminded that these young folks are some of the best of who we are as United Methodists.”

There are so many opportunities for young people in our United Methodist Church.  It is simply a story we must tell and make available.  Young adults have long-term opportunities to serve in ministries of love and justice that fully reflect a deeper call to Christian living.  To name a few:

The Mission Intern Program is a missionary ministry designed to place young adults in a cultural setting different from their own.  The three year ministry allows the participants to spend half their time outside of the United States and half of their time in cross-cultural settings inside the U.S.  It is a ministry designed to allow young adults to live out a radical expression of servanthood, justice, and walking inside the life of Jesus.

US-2 Ministry Program provides a missionary opportunity for young adults to serve in cross-cultural experiences in ministries of service and justice within the bounds of the United States.  Participants work in a myriad of different settings, living out a witness of love and advocacy in the name of Christ.  Young adults spend two years in ministry at their placement sites engaged in work that is transformational for the community and for the participant.  They live out the witness and incarnational presence of Jesus.

You can read more about these opportunities of missionary service as young adults tell their own missionary stories of life and hope and wonder.  

Of course, there are many other opportunities for youth and young people.  In short-term mission programs, like Global Justice Volunteers, young people in mission make a difference.  Whether participating in a program to raise awareness of social issues, networking with others around the world, volunteering in a clinic, or dedicating their lives to long-term missionary service, young people transform their communities.

And not to forget, UMVIM and other volunteer opportunities through our local congregations.

So … Go for it!  Be Mission!

UMCOR Missionary Mozart Adevu works with village women in sustainable agriculture and community development project.

10-Fold Emphasis for Week Five:  Fair Trade

The emphasis for 10-Fold for this week is on Fair Trade.   Our United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) connects consumers with Fair Trade-certified companies and other socially responsible businesses.  When you choose to buy Fair Trade items, you support farmers and artisans who are paid fair wages which enable them to feed their families, send their children to school, gain access to healthcare, and much more.

UMCOR works directly with farmers through its Sustainable Agriculture and Development Program.  One of the missionaries supported by several churches in our Conference, Mozart Adevu, is stationed in Accra, Ghana.  He serves as the regional director in Africa for this program which enables farmers to learn new agricultural techniques and to market the items that they grow.

UMCOR also partners with Equal Exchange International who helps various cooperatives around the world to market their items throughout the world.  To purchase items directly through this organization, go to the Equal Exchange Interfaith Store. 

10-Fold has been a five week emphasis on a variety of outreach ministries which are supported by the General Board of Global Ministries of the UMC.  When you visit 10-Fold you can trigger a US $1 donation to the week’s project by simply clicking on the Be Counted button and then registering with your email address.  These matching funds are possible because of 10-Fold’s sponsors.

Lake Junaluska Peace Conference

Mark your calendar and spread the word! Beginning October 1st and throughout the entire month, there will be an important event called 10-Fold that will mobilize passionate people to stand up and be counted for causes they believe in. Each week will feature a different United Methodist ministry supported by the General Board of Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

Here is the schedule of projects that will be featured at 10-Fold.org:

Week 1: Disaster Relief through UMCOR.  This week will remind us of how the UMC is responding to disasters around the world.

Youth & young adults make a difference … Do It Now!

Week 2: Young People in Mission.  Young adult missionaries will tell their stories in exciting and challenging mission work.

Week 3:  Mission Initiatives.  This week will explain how we can partner with churches that are being planted in places where the UMC is new to the population.

Week 4:  Missionaries.  This week will concentrate on missionaries who are employed by the Church in over 60 countries.

Week 5:  Fair Trade.  This week will remind us how we can support just and sustainable economies by choosing to buy Fair Trade items.

Through streaming video, Tweetups, and other media, you will learn about these amazing ministries that are changing people’s lives.

Visit 10-Fold.org and register your interest. You’ll be able to help secure tangible support for each project. With one click, you can trigger a US $1 donation, up to US $10,000 for each project.

Be counted and be a part of a movement that multiplies God’s work, 10-Fold!

Refugee settlement - the result of war. Photo - Steve Taylor/NCCUMC

Each year people all over the world recognize World Refugee Day. World Refugee Day encourages us to prayerfully reflect on the lives of refugees, and raise awareness in our communities and congregations about refugee resettlement.

UMCOR, together with congregations and the Church World Service resettlement network across the country, has developed a series of World Refugee Day materials that can be accessed online and downloaded. There is a church bulletin insert for use on Sunday June 19, the day before World Refugee Day. Additionally, you can arrange to make an announcement about World Refugee Day during worship or another church gathering. Your church may also consider planning a worship service around the theme of refugees. You can download the poster and other materials here.

We need YOUR HELP to get the word out about these materials so please forward this email to your networks, colleagues, pastors and friends. We hope that you will make every effort to lift up this important day at your worship service on Sunday June 19^th.

Do you have an idea for raising awareness in your congregation about refugees? Is there a way that UMCOR might be able to help? Please don’t hesitate to contact us at UMCORRefugee@gbgm-umc.org or 212-870-3888. The more we hear from you, the better!

Some of the many JFON volunteers. They reach out in the love of Jesus and find that it is Jesus whom they meet.

The Justice For our Neighbors (JFON) Peace and Justice Clinic is a joint ministry in partnership with the Western NC Conference.  Here is an opportunity for you to participate or to go for needed services.  We have a real need for Spanish interpreters in this critical ministry that shares the love and hospitality of Jesus.

“Professor Sean Lew and 15 law students from the Charlotte School of Law who are taking an advanced immigration course will join the other volunteers at the March 12th Peace and Justice Clinic at Matthews United Methodist Church.   They are interested in seeing and participating in the clinic’s hospitality ministry associated with the delivery of high quality free immigration legal services.   They will Read more »

Jan. 10 is the deadline to apply for a Human Relations Day Grant from the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS). The grants are to support ministries that respond to non-violent young offenders through education, advocacy or leadership training and development.

Grant funds are raised through The United Methodist Church’s Human Relations Day Special Sunday each year. Special Sundays are an opportunity for United Methodist churches to celebrate the denomination’s connectional work. This day of social action and raising awareness supports the Youth Offender Rehabilitation Program.

Human Relations Day happens the Sunday immediately following the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday: Jan. 16 next year. The United Methodist Book of Discipline describes Human Relations Day as a call to “the Church to recognize the right of all God’s children in realizing their potential as human beings in relationship with each other.”

To qualify for a Human Relations Day grant, the applicant must be either: Read more »

March 31 – April 3, 2011

Life in our world today is challenged by how we care for the gift of Earth given to us by God.  The Christian faith challenges us to be caretakers of Earth. Caring for Creation helps members of faith communities learn how we can care of the Earth is often taken for granted.
The Caring for Creation experience provides the Biblical and theological support for developing opportunities for faith communities Read More