Global Ministries

In our recent newsletter we informed you about “A Common Word.” It’s the letter written in October 2007 from Islamic scholars and leaders “representing all regions, denominations and schools of thought.” Their letter is addressed to the Pope and a long list of Christian leaders, “and leaders of Christian churches everywhere.”

The skies have opened up and delivered some much needed rain. The world economy has turned upside down. Life is full of change. In one week, I attended a wedding of a graduate, the funeral of the mother of a colleague, rejoiced over a new birth, and mourned the loss of a dear friend and former colleague Martha Millett. Martha gave 38 years of her life to the people of Turkey. She continued to give of her life the best she knew how as she faced the growing limitations of a painful illness. She is one of the many examples of the fruits of a life of service to others. Life goes on, sometimes with us and sometimes without us.

One of the questions we are most often asked by members of our congregations and others is, “Why don’t we hear Muslim leaders speaking out against terrorism?”

Wider Church Ministries/Global Ministries sadly announces the passing of Martha Millett, former missionary to Turkey, in Pilgrim Place, Claremont, California on August 22, 2008 after a long illness.

The Association of Andover Newton Theological School Alumni/ae recognizes an alum who evidences in his/her ministry the capacity to fulfill the mission of Andover Newton Theological School and contributes to fulfilling the purpose of the Alum Association. This year's recipients are former Global Ministries missionaries in Turkey, Alan and Sally McCain

"Christians of Istanbul are divided into several strikingly different traditions. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is when these traditions encounter each other, Istanbul style, and we are privileged to experience it."

As I was walking through my neighborhood this morning, I could hear church bells ringing out of my left ear and the call to prayer out of my right ear. I was struck by the mixture of these sounds and the meaning they convey to the surrounding community, Christian and Muslim alike. Yet I wondered to myself. How much is the surrounding community oblivious to the sounds around them as they go about their business of the day? Do they appreciate the complexity of the society they live in? In fact do any of us really appreciate the complexity of the world we live in or do we paint things black and white as we attempt to categorize and make sense out of what seems, at times, so senseless?

SEV, a Turkish secular philanthropy, began in 1968 to protect and renew the educational and medical institutions of the American Board, which represents the founder of these institutions more than a century ago. SEV consists of volunteers who are the graduates of the American Board schools.

Turkey's Christian population constitutes less than one percent of the country's population. Through the American Board, Global Ministries personnel are active in ecumenical and Christian-Muslim relations in this largely secular country of nearly 70 million. Our principle partner is the Health and Education Foundation, which manages and supports three schools and a hospital historically related to the United Church of Christ. One of the local church's ecumenical projects is the Istanbul Interparish Migrants' Program, which grew out of the influx of internal and external refugees following the Gulf War. Pray for: The ministry of Christians in Turkey, including Armenians, Greeks, and Turks. The Istanbul Interparish Migrants' Program, which ministers to the needs of refugees and migrants in this Turkish city. Mission Personnel Elizabeth Frank Librarian and Christian-Muslim relations, Executive Director of the American Board in Izmir Ken Frank Executive Director of the American Board in Izmir Alison Stendahl Academic Dean at Üskudar American Academy Partners Istanbul Interparish Migrant Program Health and Education Foundation.