Monday's thoughts

One of the best things the United Methodist Church has done in the last two decades is Africa University. With all the various controversies the United Methodist Church has gotten itself into the one thing we can be proud of is the effort to put a United Methodist University in Africa. We have truly touched the future with this project and every General Conference the people from Africa have come back to tell us what an important step we have taken and how grateful they are for our effort.

Sunday, June 8th we have the honor of hearing one of the professors from Africa University Dr. Peter Maccucia. Peter was a student at the Iliff School of Theology. He is a scholar and a great preacher and we will enjoy his sermon. More importantly, we will catch some of the spirit and enthusiasm that is the result of our effort to support Africa University through out Conference "wider mission". First United Methodist Church has paid 100% of its Conference Apportionment every year for the last five years. This has amounted to over $100,000 a year. Some of those years we have had to make sacrifices to be able to do it. We have had to suspend some of our own hopes and dreams to participate in the United Methodist connectional ministries beyond our local church, but we have held the apportionments as a high and important value. Sometimes we may have wondered if we made the right choices. Sometime we have thought it might have been better to have spent our money on ourselves. But we have looked beyond ourselves and have supported such causes as the mission to Angola and the project to Guatamala, and the University in Africa.

I believe we have made good choices and we can be proud of what we have been able to accomplish through the United Methodist connection.

I hope you will receive the sense of satisfaction you have a right to feel Sunday when you hear this outstanding United Methodist preach in our pulpit.

Our church is one of the great churches in the United Methodist family. Sunday, June 8th, I think you will experience one of the primary reasons that is true.


Charles