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Urban Ministry
Network Elects Officers, Plans Fall and Spring Gatherings
On March 12-13, supporters of Free Methodist Urban Ministries (FMUM) met at Lighthouse FMC in St. Louis to address the question "Where Do We Go From Here?" The gathering gave FMUMers an opportunity to review the nearly 30-year history of the organization and chart a course for the future. The event was planned by Professor Joe Culumber, Greenville College, and Pastor Rick Russell, Lighthouse Church. Sarah Coleman from Greenville College led worship music and Dr. Howard Snyder, Asbury Seminary, was moderator.
Business included election of new officers for two-year terms and settling on dates and locations for future "Urban Celebrations" — the gatherings known in former years as the Continental Urban Exchange, or CUE. Officers elected are as follows:
The first of the planned Urban Celebrations will convene in Cincinnati, Ohio, in late September, with Winton as the sponsoring church. The conference will run from Wednesday evening through Friday evening, a schedule familiar to former CUE attendees. In addition, a spring 2005 conference is planned for mid-April in Kansas City. The focus in these conferences will be on worship, fellowship, news of urban ministry happenings and sharing of stories and needs. It is expected that future gatherings will alternate among west coast, east coast and central locations. The idea for Free Methodist Urban Ministries came out of the recognized need among urban Free Methodist workers in the mid 70s for mutual support and encouragement. This need gave birth to the first Free Methodist urban workers' conference, called the Continental Urban Exchange, which was repeated every spring for the next 30 years, in 30 different host churches across the continent, including locations from Seattle to Oklahoma City, from Chino, CA, to Baltimore. Now, after a hiatus of two years, the CUE conference has returned to provide the inspiration and networking opportunities those in urban ministry say they need more than ever. |
Discussion
over the two days revealed strong support for continuing the organization's
traditional role of providing fellowship and networking opportunities
for Free Methodists ministering in urban situations. Members of the African
American leaders network who were present spoke of the continuing need
for an urban network that transcends the narrower focus of other networks
and brings the various ethnicities together under one umbrella. A comment
was recalled which was made at an earlier meeting by Pastor Al Poteat,
chair of the African American network, that the day may come when we need
ethnic networks less and the urban ministry network more.