by Helen Kaufmann
CUE is the annual gathering of the Free Methodist Urban Fellowship (FMUF), a ministry of the denomination now in its 34th year. Held in a different area of the country each year, the CUE conference emphasizes celebration and networking among supporters and participants in urban ministry.
Bishop David Kendall was keynote speaker at the April 23-25 CUE: “Urban and Free!” in Lawrence, MA. Taking as his text Psalm 72:16, “May people blossom in the cities,” Bishop Kendall traced the human story from the garden to the city and said that the Board of Bishops intends to “see that our traditional commitment to the poor” and therefore to “the cities where most of the poor are” be more than history or rhetoric.
The bishop reminded those gathered that it was said of the early Methodists, “wherever the poor were, there also the Methodists could be found,” and that B.T. and Ellen Roberts sold their comfortable home to go to the city of Buffalo, NY, to serve the poor.
He concluded by saying that as Free Methodists we, too, must serve the poor — either through our gifts or through our physical presence in the cities. For cities to blossom we should “advocate for redemptive partnerships between urban and suburban ministries — so that growing, vibrant churches outside the cities express part of their expanding life toward the cities for the blessing of many.”
Other presenters included Pastor Tasha Hodgens Pryor (Washington D.C.) and Pastor Joel Guzman, (Brooklyn, NY) speaking for scheduled speaker Hector Fernandez. New England Conference Superintendent Wil Sharpe and Pastor B. Elliott Renfroe presented morning devotionals. Dr. U. Milo Kaufmann highlighted the challenge of city ministry in a talk entitled, “A Tale of Two Cities.”
Seminar presenters included: attorney Socrates de la Cruz on “Unity in the Family,” Pastor John Hay on “Hospitality vs. Service to the Poor” and Pastor Rose Brewer on “The Beauty of Women in Ministry.” The program was rounded out by a Friday afternoon ministry tour to Emmanuel Gospel Center in nearby Boston.
The host church for this year’s conference, First Spanish FM Church of Lawrence, MA, is pastored by Rev. Luciano Tavaras. Although most of the church’s congregation have roots in the Dominican Republic, the spirited evening worship rallies included a diverse group of worshipers from across the United States and half a dozen other nations.
In addition to sponsorship of the CUE conference, a second major focus of the Free Methodist Urban Fellowship is providing stipends for urban internships to several young people each summer. FMUF’s Coordinating Council met during CUE to chose three applicants as this year’s scholarship recipients. The names will be announced soon.
The FMUF Coordinating Council includes: President Lieut Curry, Vice-President Rose Brewer, Secretary-Treasurer B. Elliott Renfroe, and Members-at-Large: Beth Scandrett-Leatherman, Socrates De La Cruz and John Hay. U. Milo Kaufmann is Men’s Ministries International liaison and Helen Kaufmann is Communications Coordinator.
Next year’s CUE conference is scheduled for March 25-27 at Twinsburg, OH.
Read more church news in our latest online edition of Light & Life magazine. Did you know you can have Light & Life delivered to your home FREE? If you attend a Free Methodist Church and aren’t receiving our denomination’s award-winning discipleship tool, talk to your local church staff about how to start your subscription!
