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Church celebrates its connection to Africa

October 15, 2014 / By Beth DiCocco / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Pictured above: Ashley Riddell, Conference Multimedia/Web Coordinator, with Privilege, then 11, who Riddell met on a 2013 mission trip to Zimbabwe.

It was fitting that on World Communion Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014, the Port Byron UMC was celebrating The United Methodist Church's connection to Africa.

Specifically, the morning service was focused on the Upper New York Conference's campaign Africa 360, which supports the ministries of Africa University and Imagine No Malaria.

Pastor Joyru Leet invited Conference Multimedia/Web Coordinator Ashley Riddell to talk about her 2013 mission trip to Zimbabwe.

The church has been working to raise money to support the Africa University Endowed Scholarship Fund, which began in 2011, and, now, for Africa 360.

The 2014 Annual Conference voted to continue to raise $1 million for AU scholarships as well as raise $1 million for the denomination-wide effort to eradicate malaria. These efforts would be combined under Africa 360.

"The congregation’s leadership thought it would be nice to have someone who had been there tell us more about what the university does," said Pastor Leet, saying that she hoped the congregation would come away from the service with "a greater sense of our connection to the rest of the world."

Pastor Leet talked about how she experiences that connection:

"I've been energized by the Africa University Choir when they have been at Annual Conference. I am excited for the fact that they have an education and will do something for their home people. We have been a part of teaching them – but not looking down on them, bringing them up to a different level."

Riddell, who serves on the Africa 360 Task Force, explained how the two ministries connect and the circle – the 360-degree cycle – they create together.

"I see this campaign as a cycle, a circle, a sphere like the globe I used during the children's sermon," Riddell said.Ashley Riddell speaking at Port Byron UMC about her mission trip to Zimbabwe, where she met then 11-year-old Privilege (above), and the Conference's Africa 360 campaign. Photo by Beth DiCocco. Click the photo to see a larger image

"If (someone) isn't protected as a child again malaria with a bed net, she will never grow up to be a college student at Africa University. If she never becomes a student at Africa University, she cannot become the teacher she hopes to become ... . It's a cycle. ... it's about the impact she can have on her own life, her family's life, her community, Africa, and the entire world."

Talking about her trip to Zimbabwe, Riddell told the story of meeting that girl, 11-year-old Privilege, HIV positive, who was orphaned because of AIDS. Privilege participates in Ishe Anesu, a United Methodist-sponsored afterschool program.

"From the moment I met her, we connected. She was shy at first, peeking out from under the brim of her red hat and whispering, 'hello.' Right before we stopped our activities for the day, she worked up the courage to take my hand and invited me to jump rope with her ...

"She followed me around a bit more before having to leave for the evening ... She hugged me and asked for a photo before I left. I wasn't really ready to say goodbye after a short time, but we had to be on our way.

"Three days later, we returned to Ishe Anesu to do some more work ... When Privilege and I saw each other that afternoon after school, our faces lit up and she ran and jumped in my arms. We spent the next two afternoons side-by-side, communicating mostly in smiles and giggles. While few words were exchanged, we didn't need them to show joy and love to one another.

"... God was teaching me (and still continues to teach me today) about the importance of simply being present. My physical presence seemed to bring her joy, and I felt the same with her presence with me. We didn't need to talk about her HIV diagnosis, we didn't need to talk about her home life, or her poverty, or how the only single meal she receives each day is at Ishe Anesu ...

"... I'm not very good at painting, or using a drill, or pouring concrete. But you know what I'm really good at? Relationships. Being a people person. ... That's not to say I didn't paint while I was there, or try my best to use a hammer! But my strongest gifts were used, especially in my relationship with Privilege.”

Riddell continues to support Privilege by helping pay for her school fees and uniform.

"Through Africa 360, we have the opportunity to make an investment in the lives of children and young adults across Africa," Riddell said. "What plans might God have for them, and how will God be glorified in their lives?"

But Riddell was not the only one who shared a connection to Africa that morning.

When members shared joys and concerns, Herb Marshall stood to say that his son, Butch, who had been working for eight weeks in West Africa – a region struck by the Ebola virus – had landed safely at JFK that morning.

Member Mary Quant shared what she called an "aha moment" she experienced at the 2014 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) graduation ceremony, where her daughter received her master's degree. One of the doctoral graduates was Zimbabwean Solomon Mungare, a graduate of Africa University.

Mungare's dissertation was on the social, economic, and environmental effects of the discovery of mineral wealth – in this case diamonds – on a small community in Zimbabwe.

Quant said the professors were asked to introduce the graduates, and when talking about Mungare, his professor said: "'Some dissertations require more courage than others;' that's about all he could say, because he was so tearful, and I thought 'aha, that was us; we helped support Africa University. We brought him all the way from Africa to Syracuse, and here's our work in the flesh.'"

Riddell, who told the congregation that she plans to return in 2015 to Africa, had begun her sermon with Matthew 10: 5-10 (MSG):

“Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the Kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously. Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light."

The choice may have been counterintuitive, Riddell admitted, but she explained:

"My point in sharing this Scripture is that we, as Christian disciples, are called to witness to the world in our own way. Some of us may never make it to another country to share the word of Jesus Christ. Some of us may not have a lot of money to give to a campaign to help those in need. But God has given each of us gifts, talents, and callings, with the right 'equipment,' as Matthew 10 says, to make a difference in the lives of those around us ... whether it's here in the U.S. or half way around the world in Zimbabwe, Africa. ..."

Host your own 'cookie walk'

In August,  Bishop Mark J. Webb asked all UNY churches to raise $1,000 to support Africa 360 by Annual Conference 2015.

“... I want to encourage you to find creative ways to allow the people of your congregation and community to be involved in these life-giving and lifesaving opportunities,” he said.

Here's a simple coffee hour fundraising idea.

On this Sunday, Port Byron was hosting a "cookie walk." It's one of the ways the church has been raising funds for Africa 360.

Participants purchase a decorated coffee can lined with a plastic bag; in this case, the price was $5. They then walk along a buffet table to fill their cans with a variety of homemade cookies (one of the members was very adamant on that point). Patrons then take their bag of cookies and return the can to be reused.

Here's a simple coffee hour fundraising idea.

On this Sunday, Port Byron was hosting a "cookie walk." It's one of the ways the church has been raising funds for Africa 360.

Participants purchase a decorated coffee can lined with a plastic bag; in this case, the price was $5. They then walk along a buffet table to fill their cans with a variety of homemade cookies (one of the members was very adamant on that point). Patrons then take their bag of cookies and return the can to be reused.