FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2008
Contact: James V. Heidinger II
859-858-4661
Rev. Tom Lambrecht
920-757-5101
Wilmore, Ky. – At its most recent gathering, the Good News board of directors took action affirming a National Call to Prayer for United Methodist Renewal, beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing on beyond the 2008 General Conference.
“In all of our venues—the magazine, our monthly letters, and our web site—Good News will be calling upon United Methodists to make time to pray for renewal and revival in our denomination,” said Good News board chair, the Rev. Tom Lambrecht, senior pastor of Faith Community United Methodist Church in Greenville, Wisconsin. “We especially need prayer for the upcoming General Conference and the election of episcopal leaders at this summer’s jurisdictional conferences.”
“We are urging folks to pray for a time each morning, between 5 and 7 a.m. if possible, or whatever hours work best in their schedule. We are also encouraging folks across the church to begin weekly noon-time prayer corporately, joining with as many others as might be willing to gather and pray at mid-day,” Lambrecht added.
The Good News board was inspired after hearing the story of Jeremiah Lanphier, a layman, who decided to start a Wednesday noon prayer meeting in New York City in 1857. His effort began slowly with only a hand full of persons praying, but the numbers grew across the city and soon they began meeting daily. The movement spread throughout the nation and even around the world. That grass-roots prayer effort led to more than a million Americans coming to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Renewal Award. The Good News board also presented the seventh annual Edmund W. Robb, Jr. United Methodist Renewal Award to the Rev. Dr. Riley Case, a long-time member of the Good News board.
Case, now a retired elder in the North Indiana Annual Conference, was an evangelical leader in that conference throughout his years of ministry. He was responsible for starting the North Indiana Evangelical Fellowship (NIEF) in the 1970s, served effectively in numerous pastoral appointments in North Indiana, and also as a District Superintendent of the Marion District.
Case was elected five times as a delegate to the United Methodist General Conference, the church’s top legislative body. He is the author of numerous books, including his important work, Evangelical and Methodist: A Popular History, published by Abingdon Press in 2004. He was elected as a Lifetime Honorary member of the Good News board in 2002.
“Riley’s life and ministry have had an extraordinary impact on both the North Indiana Conference as well as the entire United Methodist Church,” said the Rev. Dr. James V. Heidinger II, President and Publisher of Good News. “Riley has been responsible for writing numerous petitions that brought significant changes and improvements to the Book of Discipline,” said Heidinger. “He’s really the Will Rogers of Methodism. His theological maturity and broad grasp of Methodist history have combined to make Riley an effective evangelical leader who is respected by persons on both sides of the theological aisle,” added Heidinger. The Robb Award is given annually to a person (or persons) who have made a significant contribution to renewal within the United Methodist Church.
General Conference. The board also heard about Good News’ plans for the 2008 General Conference, as part of the efforts of the 2008 Renewal and Reform Coalition. A major part of the effort will be briefing breakfasts for delegates, set for 7 a.m. on nine mornings of the conference, in the ballroom of the Fort Worth Hilton Hotel just across the street from the Convention Center, the site of General Conference.
The Renewal Coalition includes the Confessing Movement, Good News, the RENEW Network for Women, Lifewatch, Transforming Congregations, and UMAction. The Rev. Tom Lambrecht, chair of the Good News board, is serving as chair of the Coalition.
In other action, the board recognized the Rev. Michael Walker, who was elected by the board last summer to be a Lifetime Honorary member of the Good News board. Walker, a retired clergy member of the North Texas Conference, was a member of the original board when Good News was launched in 1967.
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