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To reclaim heritage, Methodists must
invite people to church
By
Linda Green
Special to GwinnettForum.com
(Editor's note: Linda Green is a United Methodist
News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn. This story
was especially edited and shortened to 500 words for GwinnettForum
by Wade Marbaugh of Snellville ---eeb)
SNELLVILLE, May 9, 2008----If the laity of the United Methodist
Church want to reclaim the Methodist heritage of winning communities
for Christ, they have to invite people to church, carry the name
of Christ with them and claim a personal ministry.
Powell |
That is the advice Gwinnett County resident Lyn Powell gave to
the 992 delegates attending the 2008 United Methodist General Conference
recently in Ft. Worth, Texas. Powell is a member of the Snellville
United Methodist Church and serves as lay leader of the North Georgia
Annual Conference.
The denomination's top legislative assembly meets every four years,
and the laity address is one of the highlights of the meeting. Powell's
speech was chosen from 60 submissions by lay conference leaders.
The General Conference draws delegates from around the world to
establish policies for the 11.5 million-member denomination.
Powell's address, titled "Disciples Transforming the World,"
challenged lay people to reclaim spiritual gifts that would bring
people to Christ. The New Testament considers adding new members
to the church to be of utmost priority, she said.
According to Powell, the UMC in the United States lost 55,000 members
in 2007 and 70,000 in 2006, and 60,000 the year before that, adding
to the annual decline in membership since the 1970s.
Asking why membership is declining, Powell cited the famous tag
line of the comic strip character Pogo, who said, "We have
met the enemy and ... they is us." She said, "Well, we
have met the answers to our questions, and they is us."
The Apostle Paul brought people to Christ by preaching the gospel
to anyone who would listen, she said. Church buildings and clergy
and laity did not exist when Paul began his ministry, but with an
understanding of the gospel, he established churches in town after
town, and trained people for ministry.
"These designated pastors did not do ministry themselves; they
equipped the laity to go out and do ministry," Powell said.
In the past 50 years, many lay members have "disengaged from
the idea of having a ministry of any kind, much less a transforming
one," she said. She noted that it was no coincidence that when
the laity disengaged from the ministry, the denomination began its
decline. Laity, she said, have become complacent and think it is
their calling to receive ministry from clergy rather than be equipped
by the clergy to go out into the world and offer Christ.
"Imagine the transforming effect on the communities around
us" because new and exciting outreach ministries would bring
more people into the church, she said.
Retired in 2003 as vice president of information technology for
Associated Credit Union, Powell has served extensively in the Snellville
United Methodist Church. As the conference lay leader, she serves
on the extended cabinet of Bishop Lindsey Davis and the Conference
Board of Ordained Ministry. She is a member of the conference's
Vision Forum, vice chair of the Simpsonwood board of directors and
serves on the board of Aldersgate Homes.
We'll see more choice in Gwinnett political
races during 2008
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
MAY 9, 2008 -- Whenever we come to an election season, what we
want is choice. We want to see candidates from the two major political
parties, and even don't mind seeing people running under other party
banners, all giving the people more choice.
Brack |
Back when editorializing in South Georgia years ago, we campaigned
for more Republican candidates for local offices. Before 1984, we
championed that same cause in Gwinnett. But after 1984, when the
Republicans took virtually every office in Gwinnett, we began asking
for more Democrats running for local offices.
We're getting more choice this year. The political year 2008 is
seeing the most Democratic candidates running since the 1980s. Altogether,
there are 24 Democrats on the local ballot for 2008, compared to
37 Republicans running for office. There are 36 positions to be
filled by the election.
In addition, U.S. Congress Rep. John Linder has drawn a local opponent
in Democratic challenger Doug Heckman of Norcross.
Five Democrats have no opposition for Senate and House seats, while
nine Republicans run unopposed for the legislative slots. There
are five Republicans running for county positions without opposition.
The five Republicans polling no opposition include District Attorney
Danny Porter, Probate Judge Walter J. Clarke, Chief Magistrate George
Hutchinson, Tax Commissioner Katherine Sherrington and Sheriff Butch
Conway.
A run-down of the local contested seats, which includes some districts
only partially in Gwinnett:
Senate District 40: Incumbent Don Weber (R) of Atlanta
is opposed by two Republicans, Paul Achey of Norcross and Brian
Anderson of Dunwoody. In the fall, the winner faces Democrat Martin
McConaughy of Tucker.
Senate District 45: Incumbent Republican Renee Unterman
of Buford faces Republican Peggy Armstrong of Lawrenceville.
Senate District 55: Democrat Incumbent Gloria Butler of
Stone Mountain faces Democrat Robert Crowder of Snellville.
State Rep. District 88: Incumbent Democrat Billy Mitchell
of Stone Mountain faces Democrat Robford Hill of Redan.
State Rep. District 95: Republican Robert F. Mumford of
Conyers is not seeking re-election. Running for the open seat
are two Democrats, George Wilson of Stone Mountain, who lost to
Mumford last time, and Toney Collins of Conyers. A Republican
in the race is Erick Hunt of Snellville.
State Rep. District 96: Incumbent Democrat Pedro Marin
of Duluth faces Torry Lewis of Norcross in the primary. Keith
Shewbert of Norcross is running as a Republican.
State Rep. District 98: Incumbent Bobby Reese of Sugar
Hill faces Republican David Hancock of Suwanee in the primary.
State Rep. District 103: Incumbent Republican David Casas
of Lilburn has Democrat Allan Burns of Lilburn as his opponent.
State Rep. District 104: Republican John Heard of Lawrenceville
faces Democrat Lee Thompson of Lawrenceville.
State Rep. District 106: Incumbent Republican Marvin Everson
of Snellville faces Democrat Tony Lentini of Snellville.
Clerk of Superior Court: Incumbent Republican Tom Lawler
of Norcross has opposition from Abby Alaoui of Grayson.
County Commission Chairman: Charles Bannister of Lilburn
faces Commissioner Lorraine Green of Lawrenceville and Glenn Pirkle
of Buford in the Republican primary. The winner will take on Democrat
Vincent Passariello of Snellville.
Commission District 1: This is an open seat, with three
Republicans running: Carol Hassell of Suwanee, Shirley Lasseter
of Duluth and Bruce LeVeil of Duluth. The winner faces Democrat
Cheryl Williams of Duluth.
Commission District 3: Incumbent Republican Mike Beaudreau
of Lawrenceville faces Doug Stacks of Dacula in the primary. The
winner faces Democrat Earl Hendon of Dacula in the general election.
School Board District 1: Incumbent Republican Carol Boyce
of Dacula goes up against Democrat Megan Kline of Lawrenceville.
School Board District 3: Incumbent Republican Mary Kay
Murphy of Duluth faces Democrat Jane Hendrix of Duluth.
School Board District 5: Incumbent Republican Louise Radloff
of Norcross faces the winner of the Democratic Primary between
Ravindra Kumar of Lilburn and Ralph Villani of Lawrenceville.
Whew!
But, at least the arrival of more Democratic candidates means we
have more choice!
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Two
more elements concerning the rebate checks
Editor, the Forum:
I read with interest your
column about the tax rebate checks being sent out (officially
called, perhaps disingenuously, "economic stimulus payment")
by the government. Although I agree with your overall sentiment
about the rebate, I want to point out two areas in your article
where you are mistaken:
1. You said "... any "rebate" comes from taxes
we've already paid, since we fund the government." In reality,
since the government is operating in a deficit situation, the
rebate actually comes from taxes that will be paid at some point
in the future, not taxes we've already paid. In other words, the
government is borrowing money to send these checks out. Which
makes it even worse.
2. Later in the article, you laid the blame for high oil prices
on George Bush. In reality, this president, or any president,
has little control over oil prices. Yes, perhaps the uncertainty
created by the Iraq war has contributed to the run-up in oil prices,
but of far more culpability is dramatically increased demand from
China and India, coupled together with disrupted supplies due
to unrest in Nigeria and Hugo Chavez's nationalization of the
Venezuelan oil industry. If any real blame is to be laid at the
feet of a president, it would be President Clinton's for vetoing
the bill over 10 years ago that would have opened up areas of
Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico for oil exploration and extraction.
If he had signed the bill, that oil would now beginning to be
coming on line...just in time to make a difference.
Far be it from me to defend George Bush, but let's lay the blame
where it really belongs. Yes, he deserves the blame for a misguided,
ineffectual tax rebate, but no, he deserves little blame for high
oil and gas prices.
-- Lee Hutchins, Hog Mountain
Dear Lee: you are right. And you add good background,
to which I might add lots of the borrowing by our country comes
out of China and other nations. I also failed to mention that
the high gasoline prices are due to the fall of the dollar against
the Euro. If our dollar was worth what it was when President Bush
came into office, gas would not be at $120 a barrel, but perhaps
around $60, and the prices would not be so high at the pump.--eeb
Watch Out: Those rebate
checks could cause grief in 2009
Editor, the Forum:
The one thing we can both agree on is that the Fair Tax or any
other meaningful tax reform will never become reality because voters
absolutely refuse to demand change. The American people have shown
in the past that they can get results by blasting Congress and the
White House with phone calls and a mountain of telegrams demanding
they carry out the people's wishes. Remember Hillarycare during
the Clinton regime?
On a side note, the "rebates" are hardly a handout if
handled as they were the last time. It will be deducted from any
refund due next year and will have a lot of American's owing taxes
come filing time in 09. If you don't genuinely need the rebate,
send it back and save yourself some grief come April 15, 2009.
-- Larry Partain, Norcross
Dear Larry: Hurrah, we can at last agree on something,
that the voters are lazy.--eeb
Upset over recommendation
for mall hotel construction
(Editor's Note: the following letter was written
to Glenn Stephens of the Planning and Development Department of
Gwinnett County, and copied to GwinnettForum. -eeb)
Dear Director Stephens,
I am writing to you as a very concerned citizen of Gwinnett County
who is sick and tired of the explosion of commercial development
without the proper infrastructure to support it!
This morning I read an article in the Gwinnett Daily Post regarding
a Hilton Garden Inn. It states that your department granted the
permission for the construction of this 20,000 square-foot conference
center, two restaurants, and 15,000 square feet of office space
near The Mall of Georgia. What rational was used for this decision?
With all due respect, Mr. Stephens, have you traveled to the Mall
of Georgia or any of the establishments surrounding that area on
a weekend lately? If you have, you may have experienced the extreme
congestion of traffic and the lack of traffic flow. There are too
many retail businesses, restaurants, and hotels in such a confined
area! Now your department is granting more businesses permits to
construct buildings that will attract more people in more cars creating
more traffic?
I reside less than five miles from The Mall of Georgia, yet I refrain
from traveling there Friday through Sunday because the commute takes
30+ minutes. I would love to conduct commerce at my favorite retailers
and pay sales tax to support our community, but I refuse to deal
with the traffic. It is preposterous! Enough is enough!
-- Audra Favre, Buford
Reader finds second
way to follow lower gasoline practices
Editor, the Forum:
I know that there is no such thing as cheap gas. However any time
we can help each other save a few cents on the gallon is better.
Motor Trend has an easy to use site that all you do is plug in your
zip code and they show you where it is. It also gives you all the
different grades prices. Go to: http://www.motortrend.com/gas_prices/.
-- Clarence Moore, Snellville
Dear Mr. Moore: There's even a quicker way to
check out local cheaper gasoline, right here on the GwinnettForum
web site. Note on the right side, under the picture and plug for
a book, we have AtlantaGasPrices.com.
Click it and who's offering the best price will pop up. And while
we're plugging this site, note a new feature below the gas prices:
the current pool level at Lake Lanier, still 13 feet below normal
pool. Another benefit of reading GwinnettForum! -eeb
Says CBS airing of
TV program, Dexter, is irresponsible
Editor, the Forum:
When Dexter debuted on CBS, the American people were promised
that it would be "scheduled responsibly in the last hour of
prime time." These are the very words of the CBS Network executives.
But their words are no longer true. CBS airs episodes of Dexter
as early as 9 p.m. on the east and west coast and 8 p.m. in the
Central and Mountain time zones!
It is the height of irresponsibility for CBS to schedule this intensely
violent, premium-cable series so early in the evening when millions
of impressionable-and easily-frightened children are still awake
and watching television. You've had time to see for yourself just
how gruesome and disturbing Dexter is, and how grossly inappropriate
this series is for the broadcast medium. I urge CBS to do the responsible
thing by pulling Dexter off the air.
As you know, CBS' broadcast license is contingent on their acting
in the public interest and convenience, and that their failure to
take this community's concerns into consideration when making broadcasting
decisions will surely be an issue when it's time for the FCC to
renew their broadcast license.
I sincerely hope that CBS will behave as a responsible member of
this community and pull the airing of Dexter.
-- Roy McCreary, Dacula
More
on those rebate checks
Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:
Carl
Hiaasen to speak May 12 at Georgia Perimeter College
Hiaasen |
A famous author will make an appearance at Georgia Perimeter College's
Clarkston Campus on May 12. He is Miami Herald columnist and novelist
Carl Hiaasen, an author of 17 books, many, like his recent Hoot,
favorites of children (and adults alike.)
He will speak at 7 p.m. at the Cole Auditorium on the college campus
at 555 North Indian Creek Drive in Clarkston. Doors open at 6 p.m.
for the event. The appearance is co-sponsored by the Georgia Center
for the Book.
The event is free. For more information, call the Writer's Institute
at 678-891-3275. To learn more about the Writers Institute, visit
http://www.gpc.edu/writersinstitute/.
Atlanta History Center
booksigning with Hackman, Lenihan
Actor and author Gene Hackman and co-writer, Daniel Lenihan will
present a lecture and book signing on their new book, Escape
from Andersonville, on Friday, May16, at the Atlanta History
Center. The reception at 6 p.m., lecture at 7 p.m. and book signing
at 8 p.m. The Center is at 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta.
A prepaid cost of $30, includes the book, hors d'oeuvres reception,
and admission to "Turning Point: The American Civil War"
exhibit at the Center. For reservations, call 770-578-3502.
Gary Custar becomes
chairman of Evermore CID
Continuing the Evermore CID Board's tradition of rotating chairs,
Gary Custar became chairman of the Community Improvement District
at the April 23 Board Meeting. His term will be until April 2009,
at which time Jimmy Norton, current vice chair, will assume those
duties.
Custar |
Gary Custar is a partner in Presentation Solutions, an audio visual
equipment supplier to school systems across the nation located off
U.S. Highway 78 in the Parker Court Business Park.
Jimmy Norton, who worked for the formation of the CID during its
inception, owns Quality Buildings, which sells custom-built storage
buildings, near the intersection of U.S. 78 Highway and Georgia
Highway 124 and operates Kipha Communications, a retail printing
firm, located in the Fountain Square Center.
Also at the April 23, 2008 Board meeting, Emory Morsberger, the
founding chairman of the organization, rejoined the CID Board to
fill an open seat. The Evermore CID Board is composed of eight members
-- six members are elected to three year, staggered terms by property
owners, one member is a Gwinnett County appointee, and one member
is a City of Snellville appointee.
County providing larger
buses for commute into Atlanta
A larger transit bus will soon be operating on the Gwinnett Transit
System. The county is purchasing nine state-of-the-art commuter
coaches that provide seating for up to 57 passengers each. Amenities
found on the buses include reclining seats with footrests, overhead
rack storage, individual reading lights and airflow controls. The
buses also provide wheelchair accessibility. The current buses to
be replaced had seating for 35-38 persons.
Each of the new buses cost $462,673, or a total of $4.1 million.
Federal transit funds provided 80 percent of the purchase price,
the Georgia Department of Transportation provided 10 percent and
Gwinnett County provided 10 percent, according to Gwinnett Transit
Director Phil Boyd.
The new buses are powered by clean diesel engines that use ultra
low sulfur fuel and meet strict EPA air quality emission standards.
Boyd added: "These buses will help address Georgia's air pollution
problem by emitting less harmful pollutants into the air. It also
gives solo drivers a chance to get out of their cars and into a
smooth, quiet ride high above the traffic."
The new commuter coaches are manufactured by Motor Coach Industries
of Schaumburg, Ill.
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
Trustees
of Georgia reverse themselves, and allow slavery
Georgians' campaign to overturn the parliamentary ban on slavery
was soon under way and grew in intensity during the late 1730s.
Its two most important leaders were a Lowland Scot named Patrick
Tailfer and Thomas Stephens, the son of William Stephens, the Trustees'
secretary in Georgia. They and their band of supporters bombarded
the Trustees with letters and petitions demanding that slavery be
permitted in Georgia. They also wrote pamphlets in which they set
out their case in more detail. The crux of their argument was that
the Trustees' economic design for Georgia was simply impractical.
Tailfer and Thomas Stephens wanted to recreate the slave-based plantation
economy of South Carolina in the Georgia Lowcountry.
Before the late 1730s the Trustees were not under any serious pressure
to lift the ban. All this began to change when Thomas Stephens realized
that financial pressure could be brought to bear on them. Because
the Trustees depended upon the British House of Commons to finance
the continuing settlement and defense of Georgia, Stephens tried
to persuade the House to make its financial support conditional
upon the introduction of slavery. He spent time in London lobbying
members of Parliament and trying to secure a broad base of public
support for his arguments. Thanks to the political influence of
the Trustees, his efforts bore little fruit. As long as Spain remained
a threat, the British Parliament was willing to invest money into
the Georgia project.
The situation changed dramatically in 1742 when Oglethorpe defeated
the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh and returned to England.
The military arguments in favor of prohibiting slavery were no longer
tenable. In Oglethorpe's absence a growing number of settlers became
more willing to ignore the ban on slavery.
By the mid-1740s the Trustees realized that excluding slavery was
rapidly becoming a lost cause. Oglethorpe had virtually lost interest
in Georgia by this time, and the health of Egmont had begun to deteriorate.
In the absence of their strong leadership, there was little to prevent
the Georgia settlers, with the connivance of South Carolina sympathizers,
from illicitly importing slaves primarily through the Augusta area.
The Trustees, bowing to the inevitable, agreed that the ban on
slavery be overturned but only after they had consulted their officials
in Georgia about the conditions under which slavery would be permitted.
In opposition to South Carolina's slave code, the Trustees wished
to ensure a smaller ratio of blacks to whites in Georgia. These
consultations were completed by 1750. The Trustees asked the House
of Commons to replace the Act of 1735 with one that would permit
slavery in Georgia as of January 1, 1751. The legislation they recommended
was adopted. The Trustees' desire to exert an influence on the pattern
of slavery and race relations in Georgia, even after their Royal
Charter expired in 1752, proved very short-lived.
(To be continued.)
No real freedoms without
this one freedom
"There can be no real freedom without the freedom to fail."
-- Mystic Erich Fromm (1900-1980) , via Jim Dumond, Buford.
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
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MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
© 2008, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum
is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett
County, Ga. USA.
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