Hollering for Change: Self-care and the “ministry of rest”

Sept. 20, 2023 | SEVERNA PARK, Md. (UM News)

The Rev. Dr. Tori Butler (right) speaks with the Rev. Martha Orphe who contracted sarcoidosis from breathing contaminated air while cleaning out dozens of churches after Hurricane Katrina. Zoom video courtesy of the Rev. Butler via YouTube.

Hollering for Change is the name of a series of commentaries by The Rev. Dr. Tori Butler for United Methodist News. Graphic by Laurens Glass, UM News.

In this episode of “Hollering for Change,” the Rev. Martha Orphe, a United Methodist clergywoman on incapacity leave from the Louisiana Conference, shares with Rev. Dr. Tori Butler how prioritizing her ministry over her wellbeing led to a serious health condition. Orphe contracted sarcoidosis from breathing contaminated air while cleaning out dozens of churches after Hurricane Katrina.

Read related report on the Black Clergywomen of The United Methodist Church caucus gathering in Washington July 31-Aug. 2, Attendees of Black clergywomen’s event encouraged to ‘Be You’

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now

General Church

The Rev. Eunice Iliya (center) joins with hundreds of others attending the United Methodist Leadership Gathering in waving their glowing cell phones to the tune of “This Little Light of Mine,” at the close of morning worship on Oct. 23 in the sanctuary of Knox United Church in Calgary, Canada, which is hosting the global event. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

Ideas for the future church start to take shape

United Methodists at the Leadership Gathering began to imagine a church that, in the best Wesleyan tradition, connects passionate evangelism with prophetic witness that disrupts the global rise of tyranny.

Evangelism

The Rev. Roslyn Lee poses with a costumed Robert Festa, while the Rev. Won Tack Lee snaps a photo. Festa is a volunteer at the Restless Souls Haunted House, a ministry of West Hills United Methodist Church on Long Island, N.Y. Photo by Lilla Margiza, UM News.

Haunted ministry welcomes ‘Restless Souls’

Restless Souls Haunted House is serving up scares with a purpose: See how a collaborative effort by four New York United Methodist churches turns Halloween thrills into a ministry that brings the community together.

Church Leadership

Bishop Ande I. Emmanuel (second from left) and other episcopal leaders try out the newly acquired motorcycles at a handover ceremony in Jalingo, Nigeria. Built to handle rugged terrain, the vehicles will make it possible to reach isolated villages to plant churches, win souls and support pastoral work more effectively. Photo by Joseph Dauda Idris Balasa, UM News.

Motorcycles strengthen ministry in rural Nigeria

United Methodist Bishop Ande I. Emmanuel presented 48 motorcycles to district superintendents in the Nigeria Episcopal Area to ease travel challenges.

Related Tags

Sign up for our newsletter!