BOOKS from Executive Director Don Messer
Names, Not Just Numbers:
Facing Global AIDS and World Hunger
We live in a world with 33.2 million infected by HIV and AIDS, and more than 900 million people daily facing hunger, yet these statistics hardly cause a ripple in the consciousness of most people. What touches the heartstrings are not abstract statistics, but portraits of people struggling to conquer hunger and disease. Numbers are important, but it is the names—the up close and personal relationships—that potentially enable the reader to understand and identify with these crises of humanity. Names, Not Just Numbers is a moving book that presents the faces and stories of people struggling to conquer hunger and disease, as well explaining the factual underpinnings of this global crisis and what each of us can do about it. Urging all of us to stop turning a blind eye, Names, Not Just Numbers reveals the stark personal, statistical, and political realities of the AIDS epidemic and world hunger.
Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence
Christian Churches and the Global AIDS Crisis
This book is aimed to awaken Christian compassion in the coming years to this fathomless tragedy. ''At this unprecedented kairos moment in human history,'' says Messer, ''God is calling the church to a new mission and ministry.'' Drawing on his own involvement in global AIDS education in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, Messer uses stories, basic factual information, and theological insights to motivate lay and clerical Christians to assume leadership and form partnerships with Christians around the world in this struggle. Just as individuals must change their behavior to prevent and eliminate AIDS, so must congregations and church leaders. Compassion, not condemnation, is desperately needed, says Messer. But financial resources for education and prevention programs are also urgently required from churches.
52 Ways To Create An AIDS-Free World
Top pick for any who are concerned about AIDS by Midwest Book Review. AIDS is a virus that can spread far and wide, but it is defeatable. "52 Ways to Create an AIDS-Free World" is a read that tackles HIV and AIDS and what the people and the world can do to fight back against the virus and stop its spread across the world. With many wise ideas for readers to embrace and use, "52 Ways to Create an AIDS-Free World" is a top pick for any who are concerned about AIDS.
Celebrating God's Love:
Living into Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships
This collection of essays offers a framework for reflection and study by United Methodist laity, clergy, and seminarians seeking to live into our faith’s commitment to ecumenism and interfaith relationships.
The vision and voices of writers from around the world are indispensable in understanding the biblical, historical, and theological basis for ecumenical and interreligious work. The writers are Warner H. Brown, Jr. Sudarshana Devadhar, Gaspar Joao Domingos, Adam Hamilton, Benjamin L. Hartley, Hee Soo Jung, Gladys Mangiduyos, Glen A. Messer II, Bruce R. Ough, Stephen Sidorak, Jr., Mary Ann Swenson, and Rosemarie Wenner.
