Mozleys serve as missionaries to Ghana
Who: Mike and Claire Mozley
What: Missionaries
Where: Accra, Ghana
When: Since 1999
E-mail: mclairemozley@yahoo.com
In Ghana, probably the most stable country in West Africa, the Rev. Michael Mozley, a North Georgia Conference clergyman, and wife Claire are finding a fertile field for sowing the gospel seed. “We really see a movement in the Methodist Church here, especially in the area of evangelism and missions,” they write via e-mail. “The church’s eyes are being opened to the needs within the country and outside the borders in surrounding countries.”
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The Rev. Mike Mozley and Claire Mozley and their two daughters, Maggie, left and Anna pause for a photo with the Job Chimogo clergy family in Bole, Ghana. |
Those taking the lead are Ghanaians, and thus much of the Mozleys’ work involves support, encouragement and training. “The laity are the grassroots evangelists who go from village to village and assist the local clergy in establishing new churches,” they say.
A new program in the country is the “Twining” program which links a church in the U.S. and an established church in Ghana with a struggling church in the African country.
The country is 68 percent Christian and about 18 percent Muslim, but the two faiths coexist peaceably. “Our president is a Roman Catholic, and our vice present is a Muslim,” writes Claire. The country is a democratic republic with open and free elections every four years.”
Michael serves as African Regional Coordinator for The Mission Society, and Claire as Member Care representative for the Ghana field. They also work with volunteer mission teams and help in local ministries, as do their children – Anna, 17, Maggie, 14 and Luke, 9. “The kids have really adapted to living in Ghana,” writes Claire.
Michael is currently working on his Ph.D. in African theology at Akrofi-Christaller Institute in the town of Akropong. One of the benefits, he said, has been to show local pastors that they, too, can be educated at home and don’t have to spend three or four years apart from their families.
The Mozleys will be back in the U.S. on a short furlough from mid-June until mid-August and will be visiting in several states, including Georgia. They ask that United Methodists pray for their ministry, consider being a part of the Twining program, and to consider supporting financially their work.
Writes Claire: “We are blessed to be a part of what God is doing here in Ghana and so thankful to be living here as a family. “We miss our family and friends in the U.S.,” she said, “but when our family talks about ‘home,’ we are talking about Ghana. We would invite anyone who feels called to come and visit and see what the Lord is doing here.”
Deaconess offers laywomen avenue of service
Who: Dr. Sandra Hortman
What: Deaconess, General Board of Ministries
Where: Open Door, Columbus
When: Commissioned, April 2007
E-mail: Sandi_odch@yahoo.com
Sandra (Sandi) Hortman felt a growing call to full-time ministry after she left her position in 2000 as a marketing professor at Columbus State University to spend more time with her then middle-school-age children. During that time, she volunteered at her church, St. Luke UMC, with UM-related Open Door Community House, where today she serves as director of resource development, and with Columbus Hospice. However, her call wasn’t to ordained ministry, but to lay ministry as a deaconess, a long-time avenue of service for laywomen in the Methodist Church.
She was commissioned as a deaconess in April by the UM Board of Global Ministries, along with nine other deaconesses and a home missioner. “It [the deaconess relationship] is a wonderful place for laity who are called to cutting edge ministries to receive seminary training and find a network of support for their lifelong calling,” she says.
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Deaconess Sandi Hortman, who works at Open Door Community House in Columbus, presents a skit which highlights the history of Open Door and its support by United Methodist Women. |
Hortman holds both a Ph.D. in educational research and a Ph.D. in marketing, and while she no longer teaches marketing, those skills are helpful in her work at Open Door. “I am responsible for all marketing activities, including fundraising,” she said. Currently she also is assisting in the development of a strategic plan for the agency.
Hortman grew up in Alabama and Florida and met her husband, Dr. Bill Hortman, in graduate school; he recently retired as associate superintendent with the Muscogee County School District. They have two teenagers: Tyler, who will enter Reinhardt College this fall, and Alexandra, who will be a junior at Northside Hill School in Columbus. Open Door Community House has been serving economically disadvantaged people for 72 years. “All programs are undergirded by our chaplaincy services and are designed to empower impoverished children, youth and adults to realize their full potential as children of God,” said Hortman.
United Methodist Women have always been strong supporters of Open Door, which is a national institution of the UMC’s mission board. People can contribute either through the National Advance Mission Special #712620 or the South Georgia Conference # 606. Gifts to the operating funds are “greatly appreciated,” said Hortman, since that frees the agency to concentrate on meeting the needs of people in the community. In addition to funds, said Hortman, “our programs also are in need of donations of Christian literature, clothing, undergarments, personal hygiene items, adult backpacks, bottled water, coffee, canned goods, sleeping bags, children’s books and school supplies and volunteer services.”
Herrins work in emerging Venezuelan Methodist Church
Who: Jon and Jeanne Herrin
What: Missionaries
Where: Barquisimeto, Venezuela
When: Since 2005
E-mail: jherrin@intercable.net.vs
Methodism is growing in Venezuela, and the Rev. Jon Herrin, a clergy member of the North Georgia Conference, and his wife Jeanne Herrin, who serve as missionaries with The Mission Society, are in the thick of it. “We now have about 25 congregations and preaching points in eight states, and that’s after some eight years of work,” writes Jon via e-mail. “So, the movement is growing, and it’s very exciting to be a part of it.”
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The Rev. Jon Herrin speaks in Maracay, Venezuela. |
United Methodists from the U.S. have been at work in the country for 15 years, and there are four different expressions of Methodism there, says Herrin, who works primarily with the United Methodist Movement, whose statistics are reflected in the paragraph above.
“We have cooperated with and communicated with the other [Methodist] movements,” he says. “The General Board of Global Ministries [of the UMC] has made some steps toward bringing the four groups together.”
The Herrins, who are the first United Methodist missionary couple from the U.S. to live in the country, are headquartered in Barquisimeto, a city of 1.2 million people almost due east of the country’s capital of Caracas. Their work is multi-faceted, including teaching, supporting local churches, assisting in social service programs, and working with volunteer teams.
Volunteer teams from Georgia have come from Mt. Pisgah in Alpharetta, Tucker First, Marietta First, Calhoun First, Cool Springs in Cornelia and McEachern Memorial in Powder Springs. This year, Coosa UMC, which Herrin was serving when he entered missionary work, is sending a team, as is New Liberty in Braselton.
Both Jon and Jeanne teach English as a Second Language classes in different arenas, and Jon also teaches in the local churches and at the Methodist seminary, El Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela.
The Herrins have three children: Jesse, 15, Megan, 13, and Andrew, 10, and like the children of other missionary couples, they have embraced life in another country. The family will be returning to the U.S. for a visit in August and September and will be back in Venezuela Oct. 8.
Jon Herrin writes that despite the tension at the international level between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments, “We have found the Venezuelans to be friendly, accepting and caring. We have not yet had the first anti-American experience. The only tension seems to be between the governments, and we hope the tensions go no further than that. “We are so grateful to our home district, the Gainesville District, and our home church for their incredible support,” he says. “As we ask them, we ask all – please pray for us; come see us if you get a chance, so you can see what God is doing through your prayers and gifts; and, if you cannot come, pray and give toward missions here as the Lord leads.”
Hutchings’ 500-member ‘flock’ is Army battalion
Who: Wyne Hutchings
What: Chaplain, U.S. Army
When: Since 2005
Where: 57th Signal Battalion, Tikrit, Iraq
E-mail: wyne.hutchings@us.army.mil
Chaplain Wyne Hutchings, a clergy member of the South Georgia Conference, and the soldiers in his battalion were naturally disappointed when their deployment in Iraq was extended, but he is firm in his belief that he is fulfilling God’s direction for his life. “It is my love for and allegiance to Jesus that sent me to the Army,” he writes in an e-mail from Iraq. “I have had many more opportunities to touch the lives of the unchurched with the grace of God than I ever had in the local church.”
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Chaplain (Capt.) Wyne Hutchings, in the foreground, with Spc. Ralph Collins and Capt. Dan Fox are transported in a Sherpa airplane. |
He was serving as pastor of Cochran First and Longstreet UMCs when he answered the call to full-time Army chaplaincy in 2005. After graduating from the Chaplain’s Basic Course at Ft. Jackson in Columbia, S.C., he reported to Ft. Hood, Texas, and was deployed to Iraq last October. His wife, Catherine, and children, Nathan, almost 13, and Rachel, 9, await his return in mid- to-late December. Hutchings serves as chaplain for the 57th Signal Battalion, a communications unit, and is stationed just outside of Tikrit, Iraq. Many of his responsibilities are similar to those of a local church pastor.
He takes his turn preaching at Sunday services, teaches book and Bible studies, visits soldiers, offers support in times of crisis, and counsels soldiers who are stressed about marital or dating relationships. One unique ministry is “Operation Bedtime Story,” where soldiers are videotaped reading books for their children and then receive a mini-DVD to mail home.
One big difference between parish ministry and the Army is that many in his 500-member “congregation” aren’t Christians or regular worship-goers. “Still, from a pastoral standpoint, they are all my flock. … The most exciting thing for me, I think, is the opportunity to minister to people who would absolutely never come to a preacher in a church office.”
Hutchings asks for continuing prayer for himself and his family and his fellow soldiers, and urges United Methodists to show their support of those on the front lines.
“A simple ‘thank you for your service’ can mean the world to a weary military member from any branch of service,” says Hutchings. “Even if you don’t support the war, never stop supporting the soldiers. They are duty-bound to serve, and do it magnificently and at great personal cost.”
He also urges United Methodists to be in support of military spouses and families who are waiting back home, and to continue sending “goody” bags to those who are deployed – and not just at holidays.
Bagwell serves in UM’s version of ‘Peace Corps’
Who: Margaret Bagwell
What: US-2, General Board of Global Ministries
Where: Baldwin, La.
When: Since August 2006
E-mail: mnellbagwell@gmail.com
Margaret Bagwell was considering a term in the U.S. Peace Corps after graduation from LaGrange College last year, but her South Georgia preacher father – the Rev. Bill Bagwell, pastor of Trinity UMC in Warner Robins – reminded her that the UMC has a social justice service program for young adults. Subsequently, she applied to and was accepted in the US-2 program of the UMC’s General Board of Global Ministries, specifically designed for college graduates aged 20-30 to spend two years in mission service.
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Margaret Bagwell loads the final box of supplies for an international relief shipment. “Since I began working here we have sent kits to the [Republic of] Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Haiti,” she said. |
Last summer she began work in Fargo, N.D., serving in a campus ministry involving North Dakota State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead. In February of this year, she moved back south and is now working at the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, La. The depot serves as a warehouse where relief supplies are stored before they are shipped across the U.S. and around the world during a time of disaster. Sager Brown also is involved in local outreach programs to the community.
“My first year as a US-2 has been full of many new and exciting experiences,” said Bagwell, who serves as director of outreach ministries at Sager Brown. “I feel so blessed to be able to serve the United Methodist Church and love the opportunity to represent the North and South Georgia Conferences.
In living in such far-flung places in the U.S. as Georgia, North Dakota and Louisiana, Bagwell has appreciated going into United Methodist churches in all these areas and feeling at home. She also has been able to witness up close the connected nature of the UMC.
“At the close of each week, we have a joint worship service, in which each volunteer team [serving at Sager Brown] participates in some way. The services are always a beautiful expression of the larger United Methodist community,” she said.
A number of United Methodists regularly travel to Sager Brown to volunteer, and Bagwell also encourages churches to participate in the ministry by assembling and donating kits [health, school, layette and bedding kits] which are kept on hand to be shipped out in a time of need.
When her US-2 term ends in June 2008, she plans to begin graduate studies with the ultimate goal of becoming a college professor. In addition to supporting Sager Brown through the donation of kits, she reminds Georgia UMs that the young adult programs sponsored by GBGM can use additional financial support. To make a donation directly to the US-2 program, use Advance Special #982874.
