Advocate: Lift up your voice!

The need to not only sustain but increase global funding for malaria control efforts is tremendous. The United Methodist Church will raise $75 million by 2015, a major undertaking for our denomination. But the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that a total of $5.1 billion is needed each year in order to continue making progress against the disease. Read more about the need in this WHO report.

As Katie Dawson, Iowa Field Coordinator for Imagine No Malaria, explains,

While the money we raise with Imagine No Malaria makes a huge impact, one of the things you can DO to help our effort is to advocate for global health funds from our U.S. government.

The budgets from the President, House and Senate for 2014 all include $1.65 billion for the Global Fund and between $650-670 million for the President's Malaria Initiative.

Those funds are available for our United Methodist conferences in Africa, our health boards, our hospitals and clinics to receive through grants. Because of our work raising funds and our incredible distribution and connection on the ground, we are a voice at the table with the Global Fund.

Talk to YOUR legislator in support of funding for global health in the budget to help save lives.

Some 100 anti-malaria advocates visited Capitol Hill in
December 2012 to speak to legislators about global health
funding.

While phone calls and hand-written letters still have the greatest impact in conveying how important the topic is to you, you can also sign an online petition in about a minute at the General Board of Church and Society's "Take Action" site.

Proverbs 31:8-9 offers this instruction (from The Message paraphrase by Eugene Peterson):

“Speak up for the people who have no voice,
    for the rights of all the down-and-outers.
Speak out for justice!
    Stand up for the poor and destitute!”

How will you lift up your voice on behalf of those who have no voice? Join us in advocating for global health funding to fight malaria!

We are making progress - and the need continues!

In the last month or so, two very different news reports regarding the fight against malaria have received significant attention.

First, in July, the BBC and Public Radio International aired a story (Bed Nets for Malaria: Losing the Arms Race?) that raised serious questions about whether bed nets were making genuine and sustainable progress in reducing malaria infections, because mosquitoes in some areas were shown to be developing resistance to the primary insecticide with which the nets are treated.

Rev. Larry Hollon, General Secretary of United Methodist Communications, wrote a thoughtful response to the questions raised in the BBC article. Rev. Hollon contended that malaria experts had long anticipated the problems now being observed, and that this evidence demonstrates the importance of a more comprehensive, holistic approach to eradicating malaria. This is one of many reasons that Imagine No Malaria goes beyond just bed nets to include other methods of prevention, alongside diagnosis and treatment, education, and communication strategies.

Then last week, CNN.com reported on a breakthrough in U.S. efforts to develop a malaria vaccine. A study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on a vaccine developed by Maryland-based company Sanaria showed highly promising results, but the initial trials were quite small, involving just 57 volunteers, and more extensive field testing is required before the drug can be considered scientifically proven in order to be approved for distribution - a process that could take 5-10 years. 

This development is very encouraging in thinking about the big picture of preventing malaria infections in future, although the requirement to receive five intravenous doses of the vaccine could make it difficult to administer widely in areas of very low incomes and lack of infrastructure like roads. Other researchers around the world are working on different approaches to a vaccine (see, for example, this CDC page.) However, the length of time before these vaccines come on the market, even if they prove very successful, makes it all the more important that we keep up our efforts to reduce malaria infections through prevention and education, and to relieve suffering through diagnosis and treatment.

Ending deaths from malaria in Africa is no small undertaking. This disease has been a scourge of humanity for thousands of years, but we know that it can be done because it has been done in the United States and other developed countries. What is needed to accomplish the same goal in Africa is, quite simply, the will to dedicate resources to ease the suffering of the poor who cannot otherwise afford quality health care, in order to enable more families, more communities, more nations to live life to the fullest - something that Jesus cared quite a bit about.

You can donate to Imagine No Malaria here or here, or text MALARIA RMC to 27722 to give $10. Thanks for helping us save lives!

Schedule of Training/Information Sessions

I'm having some trouble getting the permanent page for the schedule of volunteer trainings/information sessions to display in the header, so here's a big ol' link:

Training/Information Sessions

Hope you can join us in person this summer or fall, or perhaps even tomorrow at 11am via Webinar!

Webinar: YOU can make it happen!

Join us for a webinar on Wednesday, July 31, at 11am MDT:

Imagine No Malaria: YOU can make this happen!

It's time to GET INVOLVED!  Learn more about Imagine No Malaria. This informative webinar will begin with a detailed overview of this extraordinary effort to end deaths from malaria in Africa. You will then learn ways to engage your church and community, as well as some of the different volunteer opportunities available. (Attending a training does not obligate you to take on any specific role!)

Rev. Kerry Greenhill, Field
Coordinator (on the left!),
will present this training/
information session.

Title: Imagine No Malaria - YOU can make this happen!
Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM MDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server

Mac®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 or newer
 
Mobile attendees
Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet 

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/810667062

Equip & Empower

One of the things I love about The United Methodist Church and our approach to mission and service work is that we really strive to go beyond a simple 'charity' approach. What I mean by that is we don't simply drop off supplies or funds to people in need and go home. Nor do we come in with a strict, cookie-cutter plan for how relief or development work should happen. Rather, through the United Methodist Committee on Relief and other agencies, we seek to partner with the people with whom we are in ministry.

Young people in Nigeria help educate their community
about malaria

We take time to listen to their needs, concerns, hopes, and strengths, and to learn from those living the experience what will be most helpful. And we work with local leaders to develop a plan that not only alleviates immediate suffering, but also builds capacity for the long term. Our goal is to equip and empower people in need to first become part of the solution and ultimately to chart their own future.

That's exactly what Imagine No Malaria is doing with the 16 African countries where Health Boards have been established and trained in economic sustainability for health care institutions. After learning best practices in planning fee structures, grant writing, and similar topics, members of the Health Boards - many of whom are health care providers themselves - have the opportunity to write grant proposals to the General Board of Global Ministries (UMC) and to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

Since 40-60% of health care in Africa comes from faith-based organizations (depending on the country), this work of equipping and empowering local leaders to pursue infrastructure development is vital--not only to reduce deaths from malaria, but also to increase opportunities for abundant life along a variety of measures. These leaders can share their knowledge and skills with colleagues and neighbors, who can then pursue similar improvements in education, nutrition, overall child and maternal health, economic development, and other areas.

Rev. Kerry Greenhill leading a workshop
at First UMC, Limon, CO

And on the flip side of the initiative, we are also working to equip and empower individuals and congregations across the United States to become advocates and leaders in the fight against malaria here. If you want to get involved - and invite your church or community to join you - in this extraordinary effort to save lives and offer hope and healing in Christ's name, contact me, Kerry Greenhill, Field Coordinator, today: 303-733-3736 x152, or kerry@rmcumc.com. I'm currently scheduling volunteer trainings for summer and fall, and will make sure you get the information you need about training opportunities in your area.

Here is a tentative schedule of trainings over the next three months (subject to change, but updated here when they do); each training will last approximately 2 hours:

Date         Day             Time         Location
July 31    Wednesday   11am       Webinar (online/anywhere)
Aug 6     Tuesday        6:30pm     Highlands UMC, Denver    CO
Aug 10    Saturday       10am       First UMC, Pueblo, CO
Aug 29   Thursday      6:30pm    Hope UMC, Greenwood Village, CO
Sep 12    Thursday      6pm        Durango, CO
Sep 13    Friday           6:30pm     Hotchkiss, CO           
Sep 14    Saturday       2pm          Meeker, CO (UMW District Mtg)
Sep 18    Wednesday   6:30pm     First UMC, Greeley    CO

Sep 28    Saturday       10am        First UMC, Casper, WY
Sep 29    Sunday          4pm         First UMC, Cheyenne, WY

I am still hoping to add one or two Colorado trainings the week of August 26, and a trip to Utah sometime this fall! Hope to see you sometime soon as we equip and empower one another to proclaim the good news of God's desire for abundant life for all people!

Children saving children's lives

Rev. Dr. Leanne Hadley, Misty the Mosquito, and
Rev. Kerry Greenhill

Last week I had the privilege of visiting the final day of Vacation Bible School (VBS) for First UMC of Colorado Springs. Along with several other churches in our conference, First UMC chose to make Imagine No Malaria a mission and curriculum focus for their summer children's program - I only wish I could have had time (and perhaps a teleporter) to visit them all!

Rev. Dr. Leanne Hadley, Minister to Children and their Families, planned four days of learning, singing, and craft activities around this extraordinary effort by the people of The United Methodist church to end deaths and suffering from malaria in Africa.

Each morning, a human-sized mosquito named Skeeter arrived during the opening session to try to cut or blast holes in a mosquito net up front. On the final morning, Skeeter, with the support and encouragement of the 150 children in the sanctuary, decided not to try to bite children any more, but to become a "fruitatarian"!

Throughout the morning, children in each age group had the opportunity to work on different kinds of crafts, all of which would eventually be put on sale to the congregation through the "Imagine No Malaria Marketplace." Products ranged from tile coasters to headbands and other hair accessories, from wooden birdhouses and squirrel feeders (painstakingly prepared by a volunteer for the older children to assemble) to silverware wind chimes and hand-dyed silk scarves.

In the closing session on Thursday, guests from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo brought in some African animals for the children to see up close. No, there was no live lion in the church building, but a lizard, a salamander, and a vinegaroon (like a scorpion but spits vinegar instead of stinging with its tail) made appearances, and the children were also able to touch the pelts of a lion and a zebra that had died of old age at the zoo.

VBS participants also learned an African song to which they tapped wooden sticks (dowels) in unison to get a feel for the rhythms of Africa, and a driving dance beat with a chant of "No more mosquitoes, no more malaria!"

Rev. Hadley describes her enthusiasm for the mission:

"One of my volunteers called me a few days before VBS began and said, 'Can you imagine the day when our kids open the Gazette and the headline says, 'Malaria is No More'? They will never forget this VBS because they are truly making a difference in the world, in the name of Christ!' And he is right! You know that one of the reasons young people leave the church today is because they say it has no direct connection to real life... well, curing malaria is a direct connection to real life. I just can't wait for the day when we can tell the kids that malaria has been eliminated and that the work they did made a difference!"

Some children were going above and beyond making crafts for sale to members of the congregation, bringing in bags of change to add to the offering. One little girl made her own bead necklaces at home and brought them in to be added to the marketplace, and all of the children were bursting with pride at the chance to ask their parents to buy the items they had made. In the six days since VBS concluded, First UMC has already raised $5,143.00 through the Imagine No Malaria Marketplace!

Rev. Hadley is more than happy to share ideas, mosquito skit scripts, and stories with any church that would like to know more or adapt this approach. Of course, not every church has 150 children in VBS, or the resources available in larger congregations. But every church can find a way to introduce this mission of saving lives to members of all ages, and when presented with creativity and passion, we may find that the children are the ones who lead us to save the lives of other children! Let's find out what happens when we allow God to work through us to Imagine No Malaria and make that vision a reality!

Abundant life, abundant generosity

Fantastic pre-conference volunteers

This is "Annual Conference Recovery Week" for several staff and other conference leaders, so we'll get back into the swing of things next week, but I did want to highlight a few of the wonderful developments last weekend. To sum up, God is good - all the time!

First of all, I could not have finished preparing all of our packets of materials in time if it weren't for the help of four fantastic volunteers on Tuesday before conference. Thanks to Hamu, Darcy,  Michael, and LeAnn for your great - and fast - work!

Becky Buxton, our scientific
expert on malaria

Dozens of people stopped by the Imagine No Malaria resource table in the display area to ask questions, collect materials, and sign up to volunteer or get more information. My thanks go out to our Steering Committee members, especially Robin Ball and Becky Buxton, who helped staff the table so I could eat and take a break occasionally!

CCYM selling cute & colorful mosquitoes (the fashion
accessory of the year, according to Bishop Elaine)

The Conference Council on Youth Ministries made pipe cleaner mosquitoes that they then sold for $5 each, raising $638 for Imagine No Malaria! Also, the Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry invited participants to vote for their favorite campus ministry by making donations, and they raised another $175.18 for our work in malaria prevention, treatment, education, and communication! (The Wesley Foundation at UW in Laramie won, in case you were wondering!)

Robin Ball, Steering Committee
Co-Chair, with the banquet centerpieces

About 65 people volunteered as Table Captains (or Co-Captains) for the all-conference Missions Banquet on Friday night, making it possible to set up centerpieces, programs, "prayer nets" and bookmarks, handouts, and pledge forms in a very short time period, also making sure that anyone who entered the room could see where there was still room at a table. Thank you for helping us practice gracious hospitality and keep things running smoothly and on schedule!

Rev. Gary Henderson, Executive Director
of the UMC's Global Health Initiative

 Rev. Gary Henderson gave a powerful and inspiring keynote presentation about the success of Imagine No Malaria so far, both on the ground in Africa, and among United Methodist churches in the United States. We hope to have video of that presentation available in a couple weeks - stay tuned!

The all-conference Mission Banquet on Friday night

Somewhere around 700 attendees at the banquet engaged in conversation about how to carry the energy and passion for Imagine No Malaria back to their churches and communities, and made pledges of prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. It'll take some time for us (Kerry and the Steering Committee) to follow up with everyone, but we are thrilled by the support and commitment of the lay and clergy members of the Rocky Mountain Conference.

That support and commitment was made concrete in the abundance of gifts and pledges collected in the banquet, which totaled $40,188.61! In addition, Imagine No Malaria will receive half of the Bridge of Love offering from Saturday morning, which means that our total raised for Imagine No Malaria during annual conference is nearly $50,000, or 5,000 lives saved in just three days!

Rev. Kerry Greenhill
(Field Coordinator)
with a human-size mosquito!

I am so thankful and awed by the movement of the Spirit during our time together, and by the This is not just second-mile giving, but third- or fourth-mile giving for many who already give tremendous amounts of time and energy to the work of the kin'dom of God through the church.
outpouring of generosity from conference participants. Clergy and lay members to annual conference are asked to give to several offerings from Thursday to Sunday, usually from their own wallets and checkbooks (unless a church has been organized enough to plan ahead and send funds with their delegates).

I believe that this work, to prevent unnecessary deaths and suffering from malaria, particularly among children and pregnant women, is truly what God desires from the Body of Christ. All who have received the gift of abundant life have an opportunity to receive blessing in the act of offering a blessing to others through their generosity. Thank you to all who recognized this opportunity and are joining in this extraordinary effort with the people called United Methodist around the world!