MLUMC Youth Group: MLUMC youth group members, who normally spend a week each summer working on missions projects out of state, such as Habitat for Humanity, decided to spend this summer working around MLUMC, helping to ready the church for our 100th anniversary celebration in 2011. Group members will speak about their experiences..

Rev. Patrick Friday is director of Special Mission Initiatives at the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). One of the areas this position focuses on is evangelism and church growth in Eastern Europe, where Patrick has spent years working with Methodist churches. Rev. Friday served as North Alabama Conference Director of Mission and Advocacy from 2003 to 2006. Previously Patrick served as a GBGM missionary to Belarus and Latvia. His dedication to global ministries has led him to lead such initiatives with the North Alabama Conference churches as the Children of Chernobyl program and Camp Wesley, a United Methodist facility in Latvia.

MLUMC Ministry Fair: Here’s your chance to learn about the ministries of MLUMC. Representatives from the vocal and handbell choirs, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Youth Program, Sunday School, Mission Team, Media Team, Worship Team, Church and Society, and other church organizations will share deatils of their work. Looking for a place to serve God? The Ministry Fair might show you the path.

Amy E. Bentz, of the Bentz Law Firm, P.C., has served as chancellor and legal advisor to the W PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church since 1996. She currently is a member of the Chancellors’ Executive Committee and has served as a member of the Legal Responsibilities Committee for the UMC. In addition to her work for the church, Ms. Bentz has extensive experience in the areas of construction law, mechanics’ liens, suretyship and non-profit law. Ms. Bentz is a civil trial lawyer with 22 years of federal and state court litigation experience, has spoken extensively on various legal topics for national forums and has authored numerous papers including recent articles published by the American Bar Association.

Rev. Larry Homitsky currently serves a cluster of United Methodist churches, rebuilding an urban ministry presence in Pittsburgh, PA. He previously served as the Director of Connectional Ministries of the Western PA Conference of the United Methodist Church for 12 years. Prior to that appointment, he served various congregations in urban, rural, and suburban settings. Homitsky has been involved with Igniting Ministry since its inception, serving collaboratively to test and design resources and television commercials. Since 2001, he has been integral to the training efforts of the ministry, personally training more than 18,000 people from 2,500 churches in every jurisdiction. Larry and his wife, Ellen, live in Cranberry. They are parents to Luke, Joy, Sarah, Nathan, and Anna. In his spare time, Larry enjoys traveling to churches to present a dramatic and informative presentation on the life and work of Charles Wesley.

Gordon Reynolds (Renny) Clark is a native of Western Pennsylvania and a graduate of Geneva College who resides with his wife, Linda, in Pittsburgh. He is very active in a number of cultural, civic and sports organizations and serves on numerous local non-profit boards. He retired from Westinghouse in April 2000 after a 33-year career. That retirement was short lived as Mr. Clark is now Vice Chancellor for Community Initiatives and Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh, with responsibilities for community development initiatives and the overall operation of the Chancellor's office.

MLUMC Zimbabwe Missions Team: Through partnerships with various organizations, including The Nyadire Connection, MLUMC supports several missions in Zimbabwe. Among them are the Home of Hope Orphanage and the United Methodist Hospital in Nyadire, which serves about 150,000 patients yearly. A team of MLUMC?members and others will visit Nyadire this year and will speak about their experiences.