Young People’s Ministry is United Methodist Priority

Dover, DE, June 16, 2010—A strong emphasis on youth and young adult ministry was evident throughout the 2010 meeting of the Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.

A contingent of young people was on hand to show the importance of youth and young adults in the church today as well as tomorrow. Most were voting delegates; others were present for special ministry presentations at the conference, meeting June 10-12 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland.
A prominent display in the lobby of the meeting hall announced a conference youth mission project that will culminate next January at the 2011 Youth Rally in Ocean City, Maryland. The goal is to collect enough supplies and funds to prepare 10,000 relief kits of various kinds for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), according to Shane Hinderliter, director of young people’s ministries for the conference.
The young people will assemble the kits during the three-day rally. They are asking congregations and individuals to assist with gathering the supplies and the funds needed. Money is needed for the designated items of 6,000 school kits. The youth will also assemble health kits and cleaning buckets for distribution in times of natural or human-caused disasters around the world. Pledges are being asked now for goods to be collected in the fall. (See below for contact information and contents of health kits and cleaning buckets.)
“Dead or Alive” Theme
“Dead or Alive” is the theme of the youth rally for next year, based on James 2:26: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” The rally in Ocean City, Maryland is a major event in the life of the conference, drawing over 4,000 students and leaders each year.
Nearer at hand is “Mission Possible,” a five-day summer mission and work camp for some 85 young people, to be held this year at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Pennsylvania on July 5-10.
The conference has placed three summer interns this year, one in the conference office in Dover and two in local churches. The interns and their assignments are:   Aaron Talbott (conference office), Tanya Kiboko (Elkton UMC), and Jera Lammy (Bethel UMC in Lewes, DE).
Tray Day
Conference delegates heard about the Youth Service Fund, through which small grants are made to a variety of ministries. Young people either contribute or earn the money for this fund, some $4,500 in the last year.
On the closing day of annual conference, the youth present raised dollars for the Youth Service Fund by assisting persons with their food trays, and picking up empty trays, in the university cafeteria at lunchtime.
The Conference Council on Youth Ministries coordinates the increasing efforts being made to encourage and assist youth ministries on local levels and to provide opportunities for young people to work together within on the regional and national level. Connectional youth ministry is an old and valuable part of The United Methodist Church.
In Princess Anne, the delegates heard a report on Wesley College, a 137 year-old institutions in Dover that has a covenant relationship with the conference. Wesley this year has 2,100 students, including the highest number of full-time enrollees in history.
The conference also has links to student ministries (Wesley Foundations) at Delaware State University, Dover; Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland; the University of Delaware, Newark, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Detailed reports on these ministries were included in pre-conference information packets.
Supplies for Kits
Additional information on the UMCOR kits’ project is available from Mr. Hinderliter at shinderliter@pen-del.org or by telephone, (302) 674-2626 ext15. The youth office needs to know who will be able to contribute what. The required contents of health kits and cleaning buckets are below. No additional items are requested.
Health Kit Items:
  • 1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27", No kitchen towels)
  • 1 washcloth
  • 1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)
  • 1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
  • 1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz. and up)
  • 1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, No child-size brushes)
  • 6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages
  • $1.00 to purchase toothpaste (purchased in bulk and added by UMCOR)
Cleaning Buckets Items:
  • 5-gallon bucket with resealable lid
  • Bleach (two 1-quart or one 82 oz. bottle. Do not include bleach if you are shipping the bucket through the US Postal Service, UPS or FedEx)
  • 5 scouring pads
  • 7 Sponges
  • 1 scrub brush
  • 18 cleaning towels (reusable wipes)
  • Liquid laundry detergent (two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle)
  • 1 household cleaner, 12-16 oz. bottle
  • Disinfectant dish soap, 16-28 oz. bottle
  • 50 clothes pins
  • Clothes line (two 50 ft. or one 100 ft.)
  • 5 dust masks
  • 2 pair latex gloves
  • 1 pair work gloves
  • 24-bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon (remove roll from box before placing in bucket)
  • 1 Insect repellant spray, 6-14 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps. See Special Requirements below.)
  • 1 Air freshener, 8 or 9 oz. can (If aerosol, cans must have protective caps.)