For immediate Release
October 1, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Local Initiatives Grants.
The winners are:
Columbia Wesley Foundation Methodist Student Network: Contact Tom H. Wall at WallBrodie@aol.com: This project gathers the United Methodist Wesley Foundation in Columbia, South Carolina, with the Hilell Foundation and the campus Muslim Student Association in order to get to know each other and be in ministry with each other during this school year. Students will create together goals and the timeline, and will help lead the projects together.
St. John United Methodist Church and Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church: Contact Cynthia Wilks-Mosley at cmosley19@hotmail.com: This project brings together two neighboring churches in Fairfield Township, New Jersey, who split from each other 175 years ago. Currently, the membership of the two churches are Native American and African American. They are working on reconciling and have several ministry projects planned to help pull the congregations back together.
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry: Contact Tamara K. Gieselman attgieselman@gbhem.org: This project works with the National Association of Schools and Colleges of The United Methodist Church (NASCUMC) to bring together university presidents in order to teach the value of interfaith leadership formation on their campuses. Eboo Patel’s book, Out of Many Faiths, will be used as a resource. The grant will be used for the formation event and to purchase the books.
The Council of Bishops offers three (3) grants of $1,000 each to groups within The United Methodist Church for special projects designed to strengthen ecumenical and/or interreligious relationships.
Any questions about these programs should be directed to Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst via email at jhawxhurst@umc-cob.org.
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Media Contact:
Rev. Dr. Maidstone Mulenga
Director of Communications – Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
mmulenga@umc-cob.org
202-748-5172
