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HALLELUJAH MOMENT FROM THE US
Eight Young Missionaries Commissioned Into Good, Holy, and Extraordinary Service

General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church US-2 2006-2008 Missionaries: Left to Right, Back Row, Valerie Borhauer, Harris Tay, Adam Burgett, Tyler Davis; Front Row, Christina Wichert, Emily Pennington, Margaret Bagwell, Michelle Kuskie. Image by: Mary Beth Coudal Source: GBGM Mission News

Eight young adults were commissioned on Sunday, July 30, for United Methodist mission service in the United States. The service took place as part of morning worship at Christ Church United Methodist in New York City.

Bishop Jeremiah J. Park of the New York Area officiated at the commissioning, assisted by John Peterson, a young adult director of the denomination’s General Board of Global Ministries, and staff of both the agency and Christ Church. They laid hands on the young missionaries, symbolizing the Holy Spirit’s igniting Barnabas and Saul into mission service from the book of Acts.

“The call of God is always profound and our response can be no less extraordinary,” said Bishop Park from the New York Annual Conference, who had recently returned from the World Methodist Conference in Korea.

The young people, all 2006 college graduates, are from seven annual conferences and will be assigned to two-years of service in eight conferences. Six of the eight are graduates of United Methodist colleges or universities. They and their hometowns are:

• Margaret Bagwell, Warner Robins, Georgia
• Valerie Borhauer, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Adam Burgett, Goodlettsville, Tennessee
• Tyler Davis, Birmingham, Alabama
• Michelle Kuskie, Chadron, Nebraska
• Emily Pennington, Omaha, Nebraska
• Harris Tay, Temple Hills, Maryland
• Christina Wichert, Fairgrove, Michigan

In his sermon, the Rev. Stephen P. Bauman, senior pastors of Christ Church, commended the young missionaries for doing “good and holy work."

US-2s serve for two years in mission assignments in the United States. Some are in community centers or other denominational institutions while others serve in congregation-based ministries. They must be between the ages of 20 and 30; are college graduates or have equivalent life experience, and are connected to The United Methodist Church through local churches or campus ministries.

The eight young people this year comprise the 54th class of US-2 missionaries. Many United Methodist leaders on national, annual conferences, and local levels are US-2 missionaries.

“The US-2 program is nourishing ground for future United Methodist leadership,” said the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the mission board, in a statement honoring those newly commissioned. “These young adults have deep commitment to Jesus Christ and to the church. They are smart, alert, filled with compassion, and willing to work hard. We praise God for them.”

Joining Bishop Park and Mr. John Peterson in the act of commissioning were the Rev. Edith Gleaves, deputy general secretary for mission personnel of Global Ministries, and Christ Church pastors, Rev. Bauman, Rev. Cathy S. Gilliard, and Rev. Javier A. Viera.

Rev. Gleaves gave each new missionary an anchor cross, an early Christian icon. “Christian mission can be a perilous mission…The anchor cross is a reminder to be firmly rooted in faith, hope, and love,” she said.

During the commissioning, the missionaries made a covenant prayer in the Wesleyan tradition that began with the words, “I am no longer my own, but thine.”

The missionaries wrote their own litany of commitment, asking “for God’s empowerment in our attempts to be catalysts of social change.” The eight dedicated themselves “to our planet… to each other…to the inherent value of all persons… to economic integrity… to justice…and to harmony.”

During three weeks of July, the young people spent almost all of their waking hours together - studying, praying, and learning. They discussed faith, leadership, the journey ahead, mission work, and United Methodism with each other and with staff of the mission board.

The home conferences and assignments of the new US-2s are:

• Margaret Bagwell, South Georgia Annual Conference, who will work with the United Campus Ministries, Fargo, ND, Dakotas Conference.
• Valerie Borhauer, Southwest Texas Annual Conference, who will be school liaison/education assistant, The David & Margaret Home, LaVerne, CA, Southern California-Pacific Conference.
• Adam Burgett, Tennessee Annual Conference, who will be a social justice advocate at the Crossroads Urban Center, Salt Lake City, UT, in the Rocky Mountain Conference.
• Tyler Davis, North Alabama Annual Conference, who will work with the NOAH Project/PEACE for Youth and Central at Central United Methodist Church, Detroit, MI, in the Detroit Conference.
• Michelle Kuskie, Nebraska Annual Conference, who will be a counselor/case at Samaritan House/Café 458, Atlanta, GA, in the North Georgia Conference.
• Emily Pennington, Nebraska Annual Conference, who will be an intern for spiritual life activities/special group therapies, Cunningham Children’s Home, Urbana, IL, in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference.
• Harris Tay, Baltimore/Washington Annual Conference, who will be a public relations and youth enrichment coordinator at Wesley Community Center, Inc., Dayton, OH, in the West Ohio Conference.
• Christina Wichert, Detroit Annual Conference, who will serve with children and youth at the Wesley-Rankin Community Center, Dallas, TX, in the North Texas Conference.

To view all photos of this US-2 missionary class, visit our photo gallery.

More about the US-2 Program can be found online.