The global church

Nicoma Park UMC recently hosted T.D. "Skip" Hodges, a missionary deployed through the UM General Board of Global Missionaries.

After a fellowship dinner, Rev. Dr. Hodges made a presentation about his mission service in Bolivia and his new assignment to Argentina.

He will pastor Methodist congregations in Mendoza as well as coordinate Volunteers In Mission teams in Argentina.

The Oklahoma audience was especially moved by Hodges’ personal story of accepting Christ when he was 12 years old, attending a church camp.

While in the state, Hodges also met with staff at the United Methodist Ministry Center in Oklahoma City.

Nicoma Park UMC identifies itself as a small church with a big heart for missions and encourages all churches to take advantage of any opportunity to host a GBGM missionary.

Selling fair-trade products in your church or community is one way you can support the livelihoods of small-scale farmers around the world, in observance of World Fair Trade Day, May 10, which is promoted by UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief).

You can identify ways to promote fair trade through a hotline operated by Equal Exchange, an UMCOR partner. Go to www.equalexchange.coop/programs/selling-in-your-community.

Additionally, every time United Methodists and friends purchase fair-trade products through the UMCOR Coffee Project, a portion of every pound sold goes to UMCOR’s Small Farmer Fund. It supports farmer co-ops and sustainable agricultural projects. — April 9, UMCOR Hotline

Imagine No Malaria announced that United Methodists have reached the 80 percent mark toward the goal of raising $75 million by 2015.

Since 2006, the Church has focused on saving lives at risk from malaria. In the past eight years, this campaign has helped cut the death toll in half.

Next month in Sierra Leone, Africa, the Church will take part in a national distribution of 3.49 million nets.

Martha Curtis Hedrick Godwin, organist and pianist at Macedonia UMC in Southmont, N.C., has been recognized by Guinness World Records for playing the longest consecutive time at one church.

Godwin began playing at Macedonia UMC when she was 13 years old, and she has played for more than 73 consecutive years. 

She remembers her first Sunday. "I was scared to death. I played ‘Wonderful Words of Life,’ and it has a first and second ending. I played both and began to play through again because it didn’t sound right. We stopped and then started over. It was the most I have ever been embarrassed." — April 16, UMNS Daily Digest

From left, at Nicoma Park UMC are Charlie Jones, missionary Skip Hodges, and Jerry Carkhuff.