http://www.nyac.com/newsnothing provideden-usSat, 28 Jan 2012 07:00:00 ESTSat, 28 Jan 2012 07:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=290http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=290A UMNS Report By Tita Parham* The Executive Team of Spark12 are (from left) the Rev. DJ del Rosario, Patrick Scriven, the Rev. April Casperson, and Joseph Kim. A UMNS photo illustration by Kathleen Barry. The United Methodist Church is taking a page from the tech startup world, and the resulting initiative enables young adults to be leaders in ministry. Called Spark12, it is an incubator for social justice ministries developed and implemented by young adults. It is one way the denomination Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=291http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=291A UMNS Commentary By Teresa Mueller* HARTFORD, Conn. (UMNS) The author enjoyed a very multicultural, multifaith experience while living on campus at the Hartford Seminary. A web-only photo illustration by iStockphoto.com/Alex Max. Stepping out of our comfort zones to follow Godrsquo;s calling on our life is risky, but full of unimaginable rewards. Six years ago, I did something I considered crazy: I quit a job I loved to follow a calling on my heart into ministry. I am not one of those pFri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=292http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=292 Download: QuickTime (MP4) | Windows Media (WMV) INTRO: A United Methodist woman isnrsquo;t just fighting to stay young. Shersquo;s winning. Seventy-five-year old Ernestine Shepherd holds the Guinness record as the worldrsquo;s oldest female bodybuilder. How does she do it Physical, and spiritual, fitness. SCRIPT: (Locator: Baltimore, Maryland) Ernestine Shepherd: ldquo;My joy is working out, running. It makes me feel great and I love to inspire and motivate others. I never reFri, 20 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=289http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=289A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn* A UMNS photo illustration by Kathleen Barry Uneasy with the Call to Actionrsquo;s proposed restructuring, leaders of one special-interest group have submitted an alternative reorganization for The United Methodist Churchrsquo;s top lawmaking body to consider. The Methodist Federation for Social Action, an unofficial progressive caucus, has submitted legislation for a proposal titled ldquo;A New UM Administrative Order.rdquo; The group is the only one of the deThu, 19 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=286http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=286A UMNS Feature By Bishop Woodie W. White* Editorrsquo;s note: Bishop Woodie W. White, the first chief executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, writes a ldquo;birthday letterrdquo; each year to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in which the bishop reflects on the progress of racial equality in the United States. Bishop Woodie W. White pens his annual ldquo;birthday letterrdquo; to the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in advance of the civil rights leaderrsquo;s JanMon, 16 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=287http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=287A UMNS Report By Holly McCray* (From left) Sunrise Ross, Jeff Orsquo;Dell and the Rev. Bernadine Dowdy take part in a small-group project in Oklahoma City during Lay Missionary Planting Network training in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. A UMNS photo by Holly McCray Working in trios on a Saturday morning, the men and women decorated puzzle pieces to represent segments of The United Methodist Church: general agencies, annual (regional) conferences and more. Then they connected tFri, 13 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=285http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=285A UMNS Report By Lilla Marigza* Download: QuickTime (MP4) | Windows Media (WMV) Eighty-nine-year-old Hank Garwick has a heart for mission work. He has made 21 trips to India and 19 trips to Haiti. For more than a decade, Garwick has been the driving force behind a project of the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis, a congregation that helps find sustainable ways to feed people who do not know where they will get their next meal. Members of Hennepin Avenue Church maintaThu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=288http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=288A UMNS News-feature By Linda Bloom* For Methodists, the recovery process since the Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake can easily be measured by statistics: dollars raised, churches and schools repaired, volunteer teams sent. What is less measurable mdash; but ultimately more important mdash; are the new or renewed relationships forged among Haitian Methodists, Haitian communities, The United Methodist Church and other global partners, both large and small. ldquo;Generally speaking, itrsquo;sThu, 12 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=284http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=284A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn A web-only design by Wordle/Kathleen Barry. Two proposals hover near the top of the controversy list as The United Methodist Church approaches this springrsquo;s General Conference. The first would restructure the denomination, including consolidating nine of the churchrsquo;s 13 general agencies under a 15-member board. The second would end job guarantees for ordained elders in good standing. The 2012 General Conference, the denominationrsquo;s top lawmMon, 9 Jan 2012 12:00:00 ESThttp://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=282http://nysite.brickriver.com/news_detail.asp?PKValue=282A UMNS Report By Amy Forbus* The Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow, national president of Black Methodists for Church Renewal and pastor of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Ark., shares his perspective at the Can We Talk gathering. UMNS photos by Amy Forbus. View in Photo Gallery //--gt; Proposals for change across the denomination drove the discussion at a gathering of African-American church leaders from the South Central Jurisdiction. The main question that had United Mon, 9 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST