2025januarycurrent

CONFERENCE NEWS

MISSION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

PHILIPPINES RE-ELECTS BISHOPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

families – typically farm families – selected the children they wanted to take home. This provided homes for many older children who could help on the farm, but not for infants and toddlers. In 1905, the Deaconess Society sent a new graduate of their Training School, Nellie Randle, to Normal to get the Mason home organized as a home for young children. When Randle was hospitalized with pneumonia, the Deaconess Society sent another Deaconess, Tompie Asher, as a temporary replacement. She came to Normal in 1908 and her assignment lasted 27 years. She brought the agency through WWI and into the midst of the Great Depression. “Mother” Asher cared for orphans and toddlers with very few resources except for a spirit that would never give up and support of the community and churches. In 1910, the Board of Trustees met and decided to move to four lots on East Willow. The home was considered to be virtually in the country and had no running water, no electricity, and no access to paved roads. Around the turn of the century, The Baby Fold aggressively sought adoptive homes for children, particularly those who were especially vulnerable– children with special needs, minorities, and sibling groups. Adoption laws were almost nonexistent. People would simply come to The Baby Fold nursery, select a child, and take the child home. In 1939, Rev. William and Gwendolyn Hammitt were named as Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent and they got busy making significant improvements to the agency. The first order of business was to improve the physical living areas. As soon as the building improvements were underway, they focused on hiring trained professionals to staff specific functions such as nursing and social work. Then they began working with Illinois Governor and State Legislature to improve adoption laws. Over the next several decades, The Baby Fold would undergo significant changes in both services and facilities. In 1966, The Baby Fold began a residential program for children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Providing special education was a natural outgrowth for children living at The Baby Fold. In 1971, Special education services were first offered through the Child Development Center, which later became Hammitt School. In 1999, The Baby Fold purchased and completely renovated the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home, renaming it ‘The Family Center’ to house foster care and adoption services, family support services, clinical services and to provide a training center for staff and gymnasium and chapel for the children. In 2002, Hammitt School was expanded to the high school and junior high school levels. The Baby Fold repurposed the former Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School again, transforming the space back into a school once again and in the fall of 2018, Hammitt Junior/Senior High School students moved into the new space from their rented location on Towanda Avenue. And today, through multi-faceted services, the Baby Fold continues to serve children in need.

becoming an autonomous church.” In The United Methodist Church, bishops are ordained elders who are called to “lead and oversee the spiritual and temporal affairs of The United Methodist Church.” Bishops, in consultation with district superintendents, are responsible for appointing clergy. They also preside at annual conferences, jurisdictional conferences and General Conference, the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly. The reelected bishops are coming aboard as the denomination deals with the continuing fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising congregational disaffiliations amid a denominational splintering.

All three bishops emphasized the importance

of moving the church forward.

“Let us give peace and reconciliation a chance,” Acdal said. “Our church cannot afford further divisions.” Estrella said God is doing new things in the denomination and the Philippines. “Let us put behind us our debates and disagreements and move forward to lead the church to the best expression of The United Methodist Church that would become (an) instrument of hope, peace and justice in this broken world.” (Mangiduyos is a UM News correspondent based in the Philippines)

WEST AFRICA ELECTS BISHOPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

of the biggest UMC churches in the State of Taraba, Nigeria. This was the congregation that nurtured me to discern God’s call in my life to pastoral ministry,” Emmanuel said. He is married to Lami Ande Emmanuel, and they have two sons, Goodness and Shalfolomi, and a daughter, Mercy. He holds a Master of Theo- logical Studies degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and an undergrad- uate degree from Reform Theological Seminary in Mkar, Benue State, Nigeria. Emmanuel served the Southern Nigeria Con- ference for more than two decades and also worked with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society. In his post-election remarks to UM News, Em- manuel said church unity is his top priority. “I am calling for a time of unity, and I pledge that the No. 1 priority for me is how to unite the different factions that have been in The United Methodist Church. I want to send a message of peace, unity and forgiveness.” Bishop James Boye-Caulker Boye-Caulker was elected by the central conference’s 60 total delegates, an equal number of United Methodist clergy and laity from the country’s three episco- pal areas: Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Soon after the 2024 General Con-

ference, the Côte d’Ivoire Conference, which had been part of the West Africa Central Conference, voted to leave The United Methodist Church and return to being an independent Methodist denomination. In the West Africa Central Conference, like the United States, a bishop is elected for life on his or her first election. Boye-Caulker was the endorsed candidate of Sierra Leone. He holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Gbarnga School of Theology in Liberia, a diploma in theology from Cliff College in England and a Master of Philosophy degree in theology from the University of Sierra Leone. He is cur- rently a doctoral candidate at the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. Boye-Caulker is married to Janet Juma Caulker, and they have three children, James, Jimmy and Julia. In his post-election remarks, Boye-Caulker shared his hopes for the future. “We want to create a stronger bond in (the) West Africa Central Conference. We will continue to give our service, not just for Sierra Leone but across the African continent.” (Chikwanah is a UM News correspondent based in Harare, Zimbabwe.)

Members of the Conference Staff and Cabinet participated in the Annual Day of Sharing at Midwest Mission Distribution Center the morning of Dec. 4. Participants were led in prayer by Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai and participants were assigned to various work projects from making desks in the woodworking shop, cutting material and assembling hygiene kits. Bishop Frank Beard established the first Day of Service in 2017, and this event has become an annual event for staff and Cabinet ever since – with the only exception being in 2020 during the pandemic. — Photos by Bob Schafer and Midwest Mission Distribution Center

UMRC Books on Sabbath and Retreat 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. #818093 For Sabbath's Sake: Embracing Your Need for Rest, Worship, and Community by J. Dana Trent #818162 Invitation to Retreat: The Gift and Necessity of Time Away with God by Ruth Haley Barton #812086 Practicing Your Path: A Book of Retreats for an Intentional Life by Holly Whitcomb #814208 Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest by Wayne Muller #817295 Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now by Walter Brueggemann #805001 Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest by Lynne Baab #818083 Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by Saundra Dalton-Smith #816111 Time Away: A Guide for Personal Retreat by Ben Campbell Johnson and Paul Lang #821125 Unhurried Life: Following Jesus’ Rhythms of Work and Rest by Alan Fadling #819079 Wrestling with Rest: Inviting Youth to Discover the Gift of Sabbath by Nathan Stucky UNITED MEDIA RESOURCE CENTER

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.

12 | JANUARY 2025 | THE CURRENT

THE CURRENT | JANUARY 2025 | 13