Net result: saving lives

Leia Williams emerges from beneath mosquito netting, part of the United Methodist "Imagine No Malaria" resources displayed at the 2010 Annual Conference in Tulsa-Boston Avenue Church.

With her are Sara and Dudley Brown, guests at the conference, who said they have seen communities ravaged by malaria. Their work as teachers has taken them around the globe. They are the parents of Pastor Kristen Brown of Blackwell UMC. Williams is field coordinator for the "Imagine No Malaria" campaign, through UMCOM (United Methodist Communications, the denomination’s news agency).

The Annual Conference Offering supported both that health initiative and, in Oklahoma, Cookson Hills Center, where a capital campaign is under way. A total of $62,780.49 was collected, as reported by the Treasurer’s Office.

Money gifts sent for the Annual Conference Offering can help a church qualify for "All-Star Church" status in a brand-new awards program through the Oklahoma Conference Mission and Service Ministry Team.

Find "All-Star" information online at: /All_Star; or contact Karen Distefano of Bartlesville, Conference Secretary of Global Ministries, 918-336-0351, kririe@aol.com.

Find information about "Imagine No Malaria" at: www.umc.org/nets.