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Welcome to the community of missionaries in service through the United Methodist Church. I am excited that you have chosen to share your gifts in this way. I hope that the opportunity to serve God both in your place of assignment and by sharing that ministry with the wider UMC connection will be a fulfilling experience for you and a blessing to the people with whom you interact.
As part of that journey, the United Methodist Missionary Association (UMMA) is a group of your fellow missionaries who have formed a loose association to develop and nurture a vital connectional network among active, inactive and retired missionaries of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church for the purpose of promoting Christian mission. We hope you will engage with us!
Read on to learn more about who we are and how to be a part.
peace & blessings,
Katherine Parker
UMMA Chairperson & UMC Global Missionary in Nepal
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I am Katherine Parker, a Global Missionary currently serving with the United Mission to Nepal as a Health & Community Transformation Advisor. I started my service through Global Ministries as a Mission Intern (now GMF-International) at the Asian Rural Institute in Japan and have also served with Practical Farmers of Iowa in the USA and the Community Health & Agricultural Development project of the Cambodia Mission Initiative. I have the additional voluntary role as the chairperson of UMMA. Email me!
The Administrative Council also includes:
- Becky Harrell, Vice-Chairperson (Retired)
- Alina Saucedo, Treasurer (Global Missionary in Nicaragua)
- Hillary Taylor, Secretary (GMF Alumni and student at Candler School of Theology)
- Ron & Cathy Whitlatch, Newsletter Editors (Retired)
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We don't yet know where you are assigned! Please update your profile with your location of service and check out the list of Steering Committee Representatives on our website to know who is your point of contact.
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We are happy to offer you
complimentary membership in UMMA for your first year of service.
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Full Membership
- $36 per person
- for current and retired missionaries
Affiliate Membership
- $25 per person
- for non-missionaries, supporters or low-cost participation
- No vote
Lifetime Membership
- $540 ($36*15 years)
- $360 ($36*10) if over 75 years
- $375 ($25*15) for affiliate lifetime
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Make checks payable to:
UMMA
Send to:
Becky Wright
636 Riverside Drive
New Braunfesl, TX 78130
+1-830-643-9717
bhinscj@yahoo.com |
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In UMMA we understand that your calling to mission service extends beyond your employment status with Global Ministries, even as this relationship is an important part of the process. In UMMA, we are linked together by our commitment to mission as a vital component of the ministry of the church and by our shared Methodist connection.
We are not a formal part of Global Ministries, but a voluntary membership organization composed as above. While part of what we do as an Association is to advocate with Global Ministries’ leadership for more fair and equitable policies as related to missionaries currently and formerly employed by Global Ministries, we also see that our connections to one another go beyond this to include dialogue on the meaning and process of mission service.
We include among our members those missionaries who are currently active in all of GBGM categories of service (YAM/GMF, Global, Racial/Ethnic, Advocates, CCW, Volunteers etc.), missionary alumni (those actively serving in capacities other than employment through Global Ministries), retired missionaries, and associates who desire to help support this vision and connection.
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- Send out a periodic newsletter by email (& post as needed) called UMMA UpDate;
- Organize a physical presence of missionaries at Global Ministries’ Board Meetings to listen for changes that impact missionaries and to engage in an ongoing dialogue with executive leadership and board members around issues that affect the missionary community as a whole (e.g. role of MIR as advocate for missionaries, pension, SSN/Medicare equitable compensation, families in mission – unassigned spouses, policy/handbook changes or vague wording, missionary care, communication & support needs of missionaries);
- Engage in monthly Skype conversations among missionaries serving on the Steering Committee of UMMA, who in turn connect with missionaries serving in a similar region of the world;
- Periodically organize a Forum or Gathering (or join in on other events) to bring together missionaries for vital conversations to promote Christian mission;
- Be in mutual support of each other as we serve God through the United Methodist Church.
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- We would like to offer you complementary membership in UMMA during your first year of service through Global Ministries. (Membership dues are typically $36/year for full membership, or $25/year for Associate/low cost membership. This helps to cover our overhead, website, mail newsletters to retirees without email, fund travel costs for advocacy work at Board Meetings, etc. See below.)
- We would like to add your email to our MailChimp newsletter. In fact, we have already done that as evidenced by your receipt of this message. Please feel free to unsubscribe if you don’t want to receive this. You can also update your profile to change to a personal email address if you want to receiving the newsletter at an email other than your @umcmission.org address.
- Select 2 representatives from your training class to service on the UMMA Steering Committee (see below) for two years. Feel free to volunteer yourself or another from your class.
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Thank you for selecting class representatives as follows:
Collins Etchi Ako
Lourdes Calderoon
Becky Parsons
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What is the Steering Committee?
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In order to facilitate communication among us all, UMMA has formed a Steering Committee for regular dialogue. The Steering Committee meets quarterly on the first Tuesday of the first month of each quarter at 1 or 2pm UTC/GMT for a Skype conversation about key issues happening in the missionary community.
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In order to accommodate time differences, a second or third call is often set up to engage more people. We also often meet by Skype on the first Tuesday of in-between months to discuss specific topics that have arisen needing more focused conversation. Steering Committee members then are encouraged to be in communication with other missionary members either in the region or class/cohort whom they represent to share details of the conversation and gather additional feedback.
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How can I become a full (paying) member?
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Paid membership in UMMA helps to fund our presence and advocacy with the Board of Directors of Global Ministries as well as offer opportunities for conversation with Executive Leadership (Thomas, Roland & Judy). It also covers the administration of the organization such as website and mailing newsletters to those (retirees) who don’t have email, and seed money to organize Gatherings and Forum.
Dues can be paid at any time during the calendar year. Dues also entitle you to a vote at the Annual Gathering (business meeting), which you can attend in-person or via Skype. Most importantly they allow us to count you on our roster when we advocate for changes with Global Ministries. At the end of your complementary period, you will start to receive a reminder, along with UpDate newsletters, inviting you to pay dues.
Dues are $36/year per person (or $25/year for Associate/low cost level).
Lifetime membership is also available for the cost of 15 years of annual membership.
Pay by check: Send a check, payable to UMMA to Becky Wright, vice-chairperson, 636 Riverside Drive, New Braunfesl, TX 78130
+1-830-643-9717, bhinscj@yahoo.com
By PayPal or CreditCard: Follow the link to our website where you can choose your membership level and pay using Credit Card via PayPal
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Other options: We have requested and continue to follow up on the option to pay dues by salary deduction. We recognize this is important for missionaries who don’t have a US bank account. In some countries, missionaries have worked together to send in dues from several folks together during a regional gathering, etc. or using one person coming on itineration. Please be in contact if you would like to become a full member but would like help coordinating one of these options.
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UMMA’s role in mutual support and advocacy
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UMMA recognizes the need for advocacy on both a personal and collective basis. Over the years, UMMA has advocated to establish and strengthen the position of Missionary in Residence (MIR) who can be supportive when missionaries need a personal advocate to help them navigate a particular situation. We hope that you will be in touch with the MIR (it is a three-year post) when you are navigating a challenge in your relationship with Global Ministries. They are there in Atlanta, among other things, to help identify who is the best person to address your challenge and also to walk over and knock on a door if you are not getting a response to inquiries.
By building a supportive community and communication among missionaries, we also hope to be of mutual support and to share experiences and support to each other when challenges arise. However, UMMA as an organization does not get involved in issues relating to specific missionaries. If you choose to share personal challenges with us (confidentially or not), this helps us as we look for trends and challenges that arise from a common source. This enables us to act as an advocate in these areas. Usually this takes the form of questioning policies & practices and how they are interpreted with respect to our Theology of Mission within Global Ministries.
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Happy to help.
Please be in touch with me, Katherine Parker, or any of the current Steering Committee for more information. Use the button below to see their names and contact on the UMMA Website www.umma-global.org
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