By Jessica Brodie. A plan to keep The United Methodist Church united despite difficult differences over human sexuality will go before the denomination’s bishops this month.
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By Jessica Brodie. Driving through San Juan and into the mountains of northern Puerto Rico, it’s hard to tell what is hurricane damage versus storm-exposed poverty. Two-story concrete houses and mural-painted businesses stand strong alongside half-tattered rubble and buildings with blue-tarp roofs. Still others are just a crumpled shell of iron bars and decay. Litter-strewn patches of grass share space with grazing cows, horses and goats; a giant crushed-metal structure fills the next field over. And everywhere, amid the wreckage and the rebuild, Puerto Rican flags wave proudly.
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By Allison Trussell and Dr. Phillip Stone. The United Methodist Church turns 50 years old this month. On April 23, 1968, Bishop Reuben H. Mueller of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and Bishop Lloyd C. Wicke of the Methodist Church joined hands over symbolic items and said, “Lord of the Church, we are united in thee, in thy Church, and now in The United Methodist Church.” With that pronouncement, The United Methodist Church became the second-largest denomination with nearly 12 million members worldwide.
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By Jessica Brodie. In two more months, June 3-6, 2,000 United Methodists will head to Greenville for Annual Conference ready to worship, serve God and vote on a host of business items concerning the denomination in this state. Details are still finalizing for the gathering, but the conference has released plans for the 2018 Annual Conference Mission Project, as well as information on speakers, pre-conference trainings, offerings, resolutions, meal plans and more.
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By Allison Trussell. Forty years ago, the Rev. John Culp came face to face with the severe poverty that existed and remains in South Carolina and was determined to do something about it. On March 10 at Union United Methodist Church, Irmo, the South Carolina Conference celebrated 40 years of Salkehatchie, the result of Culp’s determination. Since 1978, youth and adults have crisscrossed the state repairing homes in weeklong camps.
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The Advocate has claimed six more awards for journalism excellence this spring, bringing its total to 100 awards since 2010.
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By Jessica Brodie. South Carolina is jumping through a huge hoop for health this month as one United Methodist church gears up for an Abundant Health Hulapalooza. Held at St. John’s UMC, Rock Hill, April 7 from 10 a.m. to noon, the Abundant Health Hulapalooza is a morning dedicated to embracing health and wellness and is the kickoff for the Abundant Health Initiative in South Carolina.
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By Jessica Brodie. One of the poorest counties in South Carolina will get some much-needed housing repair assistance this summer thanks to a newly launched Salkehatchie Summer Service Camp. Hemingway Kingstree East Salkehatchie, based out of Mount Seal United Methodist Church, Hemingway, will handle housing needs in that city and the eastern portion of Williamsburg County
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Steven Scheid, a licensed local pastor in the South Carolina Annual Conference, will assume the post of director of scouting ministries for the General Commission on United Methodist Men June 1.
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Bishop L. Jonathan Holston and his wife, Felecia Holston, have received Africa University’s highest honor: the Drum Award, presented to staunch supporters of and advocates for the United Methodist-related institution. By Dan O’Mara.
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Where is God at the Olympic games? This was the question I set out to answer when I went to the Olympics in South Korea. My senior thesis for the University of South Carolina is determining how religion affected the atmosphere of the Olympics, and I did so through interviewing as many religious groups as I could find. By Madeline C. Mulkey.
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The Rev. Christopher M. Lollis has been appointed as the new benefits officer for the South Carolina Annual Conference, effective July 1. Lollis, pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church, Darlington, will succeed the Rev. David Anderson, who has served as the conference benefits officer since 2005 and will retire.
Read MoreBishop L. Jonathan Holston, resident bishop of the South Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, has appointed three new district superintendents: the Rev. Terry Fleming to the Florence District, the Rev. Cathy Mitchell to the Spartanburg District and the Rev. Steve Patterson to the Anderson District.
Read MoreThe Rev. Robert M. Vincent has been named president-elect of the South Carolina United Methodist Foundation Inc., by the foundation’s board of directors. Vincent will begin his association with the foundation July 1 and will become president on Jan. 1, 2019, succeeding the Rev. Roger M. Gramling, who has served as the foundation’s executive officer since 1985.
Read MoreChurches are invited to spread the word and help others know about the Advocate’s newspaper ministry as the Advocate holds its annual awareness day on Sunday, May 20, 2018.
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Sometimes spreading the Gospel is sharing our testimony. Sometimes it’s bringing someone to church. Sometimes it’s loving people in His honor. And sometimes, it’s spray-painting His name on concrete planters on the northern coast of Puerto Rico to remind passersby that no matter what else the day, the week or this temporary human life can bring, at the end it’s all about God. A column by Jessica Brodie.
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It’s so easy to simply get caught up in the enthusiasm of the crowds and join the procession that has the loudest brass bands or the most elaborate floats or the greatest number of celebrities or the most charismatic leaders. It’s easy to miss the procession where Jesus is riding on a humble donkey proclaiming dominion, not with violence, but by courageously loving, humbly serving and bravely acknowledging his place among the victims of imperial power. A column by Bishop Jonathan Holston.
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By Jessica Brodie. Cabbage and baked chicken simmer in the kitchen as they gather around the folding tables in the community room at Wallace Family Life Center—older ladies and one older man, all huddled in pairs with calculators and workbooks, their pencils poised and brows furrowed. As they work, program coordinator Linda Sanders stirs the cabbage and tells her tale. Like many in the Wallace community, Sanders has seen the center go from a thriving haven to a struggling operation and back again. And today, as the center continues its climb, she says she’s trusting in God to use her and the other staff and volunteers to be His conduit, helping the people get the help they need.
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By Jessica Brodie. For as long as anybody can remember, softball has been more than a diversion in Salley—it’s been a way of life, an integral part of both of the town and its people. But the community’s softball field had fallen into disrepair over the years. People rarely got to see each other outside of worship. Thanks to Clinton UMC and its spirit of outreach, that is now changing. Last year, members of the 157-year-old church cleared the land for a softball field on church property, and the games have returned. They decided to take their recreation outreach a step further and recently poured the foundation for what will soon be a paved lighted walking track. Plans are in the works for a prayer walk program, Weight Watchers and possibly Zumba classes.
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By Jessica Brodie. This summer, South Carolina United Methodists will gather for an Annual Conference that embraces mission, both locally and across the globe. With the theme “A More Excellent Way: In Mission from Anywhere to Everywhere,” Annual Conference 2018 will celebrate local missions, such as Salkehatchie Summer Service and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, and lift up the impact they have made worldwide and in South Carolina.
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