CONFERENCE NEWS
Celebrating
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church over how Jewish and Gentile converts should in- teract. Some of the questions included whether Gentiles should be circumcised and whether Jewish and Gentile believers should eat together, even though they had dif- ferent dietary practices and cultural heritages. Paul, in prison, celebrates that the faithful in Ephesus remain in community together. “Paul realizes that it is in coming together that we become the body of Christ,” Katongole said. In coming together, he said, this group also became something new needing a new name — not only Jewish nor Gentile but instead Christian. “God is determined to change us, to change who we are, to change who my people are,” the theologian said. “God is determined to do that — to create out of the many a new ‘we.’” “I have a dream that is God’s dream, that we the people of God become that Ephesian space — that we come together in a manner that is not just occasional but becomes a culture that is who we are,” he said. “May this dream come true for you and for me.” (Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News.) In September, the Council of Bishops released a joint statement condemning political violence and authoritarianism. Since then, many United Methodist bishops in the U.S. have already released individual statements calling for prayer, compassion and peace as voters head to the polls and eventually the election results become known. “Our witness can be no more prevalent than right now, especially on this eve of the presidential election and in the days that follow,” Malone said. “We must be ever vigilant to stand against any form of violence in words or actions and be prepared to speak in prophetic ways and act in profound ways that make for peace.” Malone also spoke of her continued hope for the denomination to grow in faith and in the positive impact it makes. “God can and will do even greater works in us and through us, The United Methodist Church,” she said, “if we keep our hearts and minds and our leadership and ministry centered in Christ Jesus.” (Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News)
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Katongole recounted the irony that the 1994 Rwandan genocide — when Hutu militias slaughtered between 500,000 and 662,000 Tutsis — began two days after Easter Sunday. “Many of the same Christians had participated in not only the two services of Holy Week, but in the Easter celebration of new life — Christ risen from the dead. They had sung together choruses of holy alleluias and cel- ebrated that we were all born anew in the waters of bap- tism,” Katongole said. “On Tuesday, the killings started.” During the height of the genocide, the late Pope John Paul II sent a representative to the predominantly Catho- lic country to try to make peace. In talking to the nation’s Christian leaders, the representative raised a question that still haunts Katongole. He asked: “Do you mean to tell me that the blood of trib- alism is deeper than the waters of baptism?” Katongole offered the church in Ephesus as an example of how today’s Christians can ensure their shared identity in Christ is far stronger than any division. The theologian noted that the church in Ephesus was dealing with the same debate seen throughout the early edified as our president gave us hope for the continuity of unity in our church.” Malone stressed that The United Methodist Church can’t be boxed in to certain categories. “The United Methodist Church is not a gay church. It’s not a straight church,” she said. “It’s not a Democratic church or a Republican church, or a progressive church or a traditional church. The United Methodist Church is the church of Jesus Christ.” But even as she expressed hope for the new thing God is doing in her church home, Malone also expressed her concerns for her home country as the U.S. faces a monumental election. For many U.S. voters, the presidential election is serving as referendum not only on various national policies but also the nation’s constitutional order. After the violent attempt to overturn the U.S. presidential results on Jan. 6, 2021, many Americans are also concerned about the threat of violence in the wake of the election.
The concurrence said it shows a lack of accountability when retired elders choose to remain United Methodist but serve in non-United Methodist churches without the appointment or approval of their bishop. “Elders in full connection commit themselves through their ordination to ‘live in covenant of mutual care and accountability with all those who share their ordination, especially in The United Methodist Church,’” the concurrence said, citing and adding emphasis to the Discipline’s Paragraph 303.3. At the same time, the concurrence said, any Board of Ordained Ministry policy seeking to terminate the conference membership of such retired elders still requires the vote of the clergy session. The Revs. Luan-Vu “Lui” Tran, Jonathan Ulanday and Judicial Council President Susan Henry-Crowe signed the concurrence, as did Andrew Vorbrich. (Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News.)
Years
of
CHAPLAIN’S SERVICE AN EYEWITNESS TO NATION’S HISTORY
James Connett (right) standing with his father, the Rev. Orville Connett outside the Methodist parsonage in Flora just before he left home to serve in World War II.
CHAPLAIN COL. JAMES CONNETT
Mississippi but the burial at Arlington put Chaplain Connett in the role of pastor for the Evers family. Five months later, on Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Although Roman Catholic, Kennedy was to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery and Chaplain Connett played a leading role in planning the funeral and burial with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and members of the Kennedy family. He also had prayer with incoming President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House during one of those visits. In October 1964, former President Herbert Hoover died in New York. Hoover was honored with a state funeral in which he lay in state in the United States Capitol rotunda. Chaplain Connett oversaw the details for the service, which President Lyndon Johnson and First Lady Bird Johnson attended, along with former presidents Truman and Eisenhower. In 1967, Connett was voted Chaplain of the Year by the U.S. Reserve Officers Association, in recognition of a career that includes 12 decorations, including the Bronze Star for Valor with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster. A graduate of McKendree College, Connett was honored by his alma mater with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. Colonel Connett was the son of Rev. Orville E. and Pearl Brown Connett, clergy serving in the former Southern Illinois Conference. Born March 30, 1915, in Ridgway, Connett answered a call to ministry and was received on trial in 1935 by the former Southern Illinois Conference. He was ordained a deacon and elder in 1938 and 1940, respectively. He served churches in Shiloh, Troy, Granite City, Brighton, Marissa, Christopher, Effingham, East St. Louis: St. Paul’s. His final appointment was to Jerseyville, where he was serving when he died Oct. 13, 1973. Connett’s son, Reynold, followed his father into the military chaplaincy. Ordained in the Baltimore-Washington Conference, Reynold Connett served 25 years including tours of duty in Vietnam and later, in Iraq. When he retired in 1988, he, too, had attained the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army. Reynold Connett died in 2020 and is buried in Tacoma National Cemetery, Tacoma, Wash.
BY PAUL BLACK While the name James Connett may not be one many remember, his ministry as a chaplain during World War II, the Korean conflict, and his assignment as Ceremony Chaplain in Charge of Arlington National Cemetery during the 1960’s made him an eyewitness to history in the mid-20th century. In between his stints of service in the former
Southern Illinois Conference and his return to in the late 1960’s, Connett served as a U.S. Army Chaplain during World War II in the European Theater from 1943 to 1946 where he served in the famed 42nd (Rainbow) Infantry Division, earning the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Ribbon. The 42nd’s campaigns in World War II included: Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland and Central Europe. Connett returned to Southern Illinois in 1946 but six years later, was recalled to active duty during the Korean conflict. During the latter service, he became classified as a Senior Parachutist having made 64 jumps. Assigned to the 82nd Airborne from 1952 to 1956, Connett said his assignment “was to
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“I have walked the dank dungeons of Auschwitz, and I know the Ku Klux Klan is alive and well in my episcopal area, so let’s make it clear to this world that racism is incompatible with Christian teaching,” the bishop said to applause from his episcopal colleagues. “And for United Methodists, fascism will be resisted while we have breath.” In his presentation after worship, Katongole reminded the bishops that too often church attendance on Sunday doesn’t prevent Christians from committing atrocities later in the week. Katongole, a native of Uganda, is the son of Rwandan immigrants — one Hutu and one Tutsi. His firsthand experience with the impact of violence, tribalism and division on the African continent eventually led him to help establish the Center for Reconciliation at United Methodist-related Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. He is now a professor of world religions and the world church at the University of Notre Dame near South Bend, Indiana.
Photos courtesy of Ancestry.com
Chaplain Col James Connett speaking during a service at Ft Myer Chapel, Va.
accompany the young troopers – who were usually pretty scared on their first jumps.” Connett said most of the men felt that “if the chaplain can do it, I can do it, too.” From 1956 to 1959, Connett returned to Europe as Post Chaplain at Frankfurt, Germany, making him spiritual adviser to the largest Protestant congregation in Europe. From 1961 to 1967, Connett served as Post Chaplain at Fort Myer, Va., where he was Ceremony Chaplain in charge of Arlington National Cemetery. In June 1963, Connett presided over the burial of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, who was murdered outside his home in Jackson, Miss. A World War II veteran, Evers’ funeral was in
Subscribers’ email addresses sought SPRINGFIELD – Subscribers to The Current are encouraged to provide their email addresses to IGRC Communications as we work to improve the communication’s flow to the Conference. Having an identifiable email address for each subscriber means that breaking news and important information can flow more quickly and efficiently to the subscriber rather than having to wait for the U.S. Mail to bring the printed issue of The Current . Persons can simply send an email to Paul Black, Director of Communication Ministries, pblack@igrc.org and put in the Subject Line: Subscriber’s Email Address. We will add this information to the Subscriber database so that we can be more timely with information and communication. Time to update your email preferences SPRINGFIELD – Persons that wish to make changes to the IGRC emails they receive may do so by visiting the Conference website, www.igrc.org . Go to the lower right-hand corner and click the Subscribe button. You will be taken to a form to complete the various mailing lists. Click the lists you want to be added to and click the Sign Up button. If you are already in the database, you may receive a follow-up email to complete.
UNITED MEDIA RESOURCE CENTER UMRC Books available to borrow from the UMRC! Items can be sent to your church or home address and can be requested from the online catalog: www.igrc.org/umrc or by email: umrc@igrc.org No rental fee – the only cost to churches is return postage. Books for adults: #818179 Blue Christmas: Devotions of Light in a Season of Darkness #819130 Characters of Christmas: The Unlikely People Caught Up in the Story of Jesus #816043 Goodness and Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas #824557 Roads from Bethlehem: Christmas Literature from Writers Ancient and Modern #816212 Songs for the Waiting: Devotions Inspired by the Hymns of Advent #814210 Women of Christmas: Experience the Season Afresh with Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna Books for use with children: #805212 Before and After Christmas: Activities and Ideas for Advent and Epiphany #818133 Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God from Advent through Epiphany #821087 Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas: 100 Ways to Make the Season Sacred
The UMRC is now located at Kumler Outreach Ministries, a ministry of the Kumler United Methodist Church in Springfield. The mailing address is: Kumler Outreach Ministries Attn: United Media Resource Center 303 E North Grand Ave, Springfield IL 62702-3822 The phone number is 217-523-2269 , which is the number for
Kumler Outreach Ministries. When the receptionist answers, ask for the United Media Resource Center. The UMRC hours of operation are in flux so it’s likely that you will need to leave a voice message. Please do so and include your name and church name in your message. Questions, comments? Contact us at umrc@igrc.org If you are interested in volunteering at the UMRC during weekday hours, please call 217-523-2269 and ask for Sharon Brown.
Photo courtesy of Susie Wurth Twelve Certified Lay Ministry candidates from four districts completed their Module 1 training Nov. 9 with Rev David Kueker serving as their instructor. A new group of CLM candidates will be forming for 2025.
#817282 Joey and the Shining Star: An Owlegories Tale #821067 Look! A Child’s Guide to Advent and Christmas #817141 Rufus and the Very Special Baby
12 | DECEMBER 2024 | THE CURRENT
THE CURRENT | DECEMBER 2024 | 13
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