Overflowing with Thankfulness

It’s difficult to think that I will no longer be working in the UMVIM, SEJ office - a place to which I love coming and to work that I love doing. As I walked through the office Friday, my last day before retirement, so many thoughts and memories came to me. I thought of the many places I have traveled and the people I have meant. How do I thank them for their hospitality and friendship?

I thought about the pioneers of UMVIM who gave so much to make this grassroots movement an organized ministry of the United Methodist Church. How do I thank them for their efforts in creating a way for hundreds of thousands to serve God by serving others?

I thought about those involved in UMVIM before me but especially those who served as the Executive Director for UMVIM, SEJ. How do I thank them for the foundation they built that has allowed me to engage in a ministry that I love and am so passionate about?

I thought about all the UMVIM, SEJ board members who have provided vision and oversight to continue the work of this ministry. I especially thought of each board member who has served since I became Executive Director. How do I thank them for their support and encouragement?

I thought about the Conference UMVIM Coordinators who with little or no pay offer assistant and guidance to their local churches and team leaders. How do I thank them for the leadership they have provided their annual conferences?

I thought about our partner church and project leaders and the struggles and hardships they face daily. How do I thank them for hosting the countless volunteers that they house and feed?

I thought about team leaders who agreed to accept the responsibility and challenge of preparing their teams to serve. How do I thank them for providing the vital connection between their team, the host, and UMVIM?

I thought about the volunteers who God has called to use their gifts, talents, and resources in serving a broken, hurting world. How do I thank them for the sacrifices they have made to be able to go and serve?

I thought about those UMVIM, SEJ employees who willingly worked for less pay and benefits then they would have received somewhere else. How do I thank them for the dedication and integrity with which they preformed their jobs?

I thought about God and the ultimate sacrifice that He made for me and for all of us. How do I thank Him for all He has done?

Thank you – these words are not enough to express the appreciation I feel. These words from Colossians 2:7 hopefully express my feelings better: “Rooted and built up in Christ, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness”. Yes, I am overflowing with thankfulness for UMVIM!  

2017 Summer Intern

A rising senior at Birmingham Southern College studying Urban Environmental Studies and Asian Studies, Allen Doyle, will serve as the 2017 UMVIM, SEJ Summer Intern. From the Tennessee Annual Conference, he has dedicated thousands of hours to organizations in the Southern Jurisdiction becoming fully immersed in inner-city and rural communities. Haywood Street Congregation in Asheville, NC was one of the ministries with which Allen served. For three months, not only did he work alongside persons experiencing homelessness, but he also lived on the streets with them. “A person can stand behind a counter at a soup kitchen, and that is great,” he said. “Personally, however, I know that there are more meaningful ways to do service - by building relationships and tearing down societal constructs.  It takes living on the streets with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to even begin to understand what their experience is all about. But even then, I will never truly understand their experiences, for my time with them was still from a place of privilege.”

Allen admits that he was wary of “mission trips” because of the numerous needs he saw and encountered in his local community and surrounding areas.  Another issue that Allen had was a fear of developing a “savior complex”. So why travel? His experience has shaped him drastically in seeing dynamic cultural and theological sensitivities necessary in new contexts so when he had an opportunity to go to Cuba with Birmingham-Southern College in January, he was hesitant. It was also his first time outside of the United States. Allen soon discovered that people of faith across Cuba were extremely passionate, accepting and loving. Perhaps because he spoke little Spanish and also because of the unique way in which he was able to be in Cuba when so many from the United States have been unable to travel there due to the embargo, he felt invasive. As he played soccer, shared meals, worshiped together and had conversations about mutual interests, friendships were formed. Before long, these acquaintances felt like life-long friends and the churches began to feel like home. “The cultural differences are vast, but the common thread of faith ties us all together, as one family in Christ.  Our ability to dig dirt was not special; the relationships we built along the way, as we worked together, were,” he recalls. “The Holy Spirit was present as we worshipped together. These were our gift to share.”

Allen has completed his orientation time at the UMVIM, SEJ office where he completed Team Leader training, competed Early Response Team training, learned about the organization of the United Methodist Church and its connectional structure, and assisted with some of the daily responsibilities.  In addition, he attended the North Alabama annual conference June 4-6 where he also represented UMVIM, SEJ at its mission display.

Over the next three weeks, Allen will serve with the North Carolina Conference Disaster Recovery Ministry under the supervision of Ann Huffman, North Carolina Conference Call Center Volunteer Coordinator and Disaster Readiness Coordinator.  While there, he will be learning all aspects of how an annual conference responds following a disaster; as well as, working with volunteer teams coming to serve.  He will also have the opportunity to visit Robeson County Community Center, a conference UMVIM project and learn how they were affected and what they are doing in disaster recovery.

Afterwards, Allen will travel to Eleuthera Island to serve with Bahamas Methodist Habitat, a disaster outreach ministry of the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church.  An UMVIM project, BHM, is also dealing with disaster recovery following Hurricane Matthew October, 2016. When not responding to disaster, BMH organizes and facilitates about 500 volunteers annually. Volunteer teams serve on projects that address substandard housing and promote community. Alicia Sands, the new BHM Executive Director, indicated that he would also be serving with teams coming during July at Camp Symonette, the base of BMH operations.  Allen will serve on home repair projects with these teams but will also have community building opportunities.

Following his domestic and international assignments, Allen will return to the UMVIM, SEJ office for debriefing and evaluation. “The United Methodist Church and its missions have simultaneously served as the anchor and the inspiration forward in my life.  I believe it is our mission to serve in the world with each other, not for each other.”