Conference offering gives soldiers free phone cards

June 17, 2004                                                 

A UMNS photo courtesy of Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference The Illinois Great Rivers Conference set a goal to collect one million phone card minutes.

Bunny Wolfe, Illinois Great Rivers Conference director of missions and outreach, counts the phone cards received during the 2004 Annual Conference, held in Peoria IL, June 10-13. A UMNS photo courtesy of the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference. Photo number 04-226, 6/17/04

By Kathy L. Gilbert*

The Rev. Bob Morwell started a wildfire among United Methodists in Illinois that ended with more than 700,000 phone card minutes donated to men and women serving in Iraq and other overseas locations.

Morwell, pastor of Union United Methodist Church (Quincy, Ill.), had an email conversation with United Methodist Army Chaplain John Read. An elder in the Illinois Great Rivers Annual (regional) Conference who is stationed in Iraq, Read talked about how important it was to the troops and their families to be able to stay in touch with each other.

Morwell was inspired. As chair of the conference’s communications commission, he helped get the word out to churches to bring phone cards to the conference’s annual meeting, held June 10-13 in Peoria.

“I believe that God certainly had a hand in this,” Morwell told United Methodist News Service. “We have seen times when good ideas have died of apathy. But this one caught on like wildfire!”

As a result of the request, the conference received 714,518 calling minutes to be sent to troops in Iraq and other overseas assignments. The total includes 521,610 phone card minutes and $9,645.43 in cash donations. The conference has set a goal of collecting 1 million minutes.

Last fall, the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry’s Endorsing Agency also appealed for phone card minutes for soldiers. Since the campaign was launched, 575,635 minutes have been collected from more than 30 states and distributed by the agency that oversees military chaplains endorsed by the church.

“Churches of all sizes sent donations, some of them sizeable,” Morwell said about the Illinois effort.  "Everybody wants to do something for these folks who are in danger and far from home. Regardless of what people's view of the war is, they care for the troops."

The phone cards will be sent to military chaplains around the world, who will distribute them to soldiers regardless of their religious affiliation. Each card will have a sticker affixed to it, saying, "A Gift of Love from the Illinois Great Rivers Conference - United Methodist Church."

United Methodist Navy Chaplain Bob Phillips, also an elder in the conference, said he is especially gratified at the support for the phone card minute collection.

A UMNS photo courtesy of Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference Bunny Wolfe announces the grand total of phone cards collected in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference.

One pastor told Phillips, “‘There is a big difference between Vietnam and now. This time, regardless of what people think about the war, everyone is supporting those who are serving.’"

Contributions also came from individuals, such as two young brothers, Clayton and Cameron Locher, Collinsville, Ill., who said they understood the importance of family.

The boys wrote, “We hope you are safe and that you will be coming back soon. Our family is very important to us, and we know that your family is important to you, too.  We are sending this phone card so that you can have some time to speak to people you love.

“Thank you for all that you are doing for our country. We are so glad that we live in America. We are brothers, ages 10 and 7, and we have an older brother who is 13.  Someday maybe one or more of us will be soldiers, and we hope we can be as brave as you must be. We send our best wishes to you and all of your buddies.”

that God would use this ministry to help bridge the distance and the loneliness for those who are serving far from home and for those at home who await their safe return.”

The Illinois Great Rivers Conference, which covers the southern two-thirds of the state has 950 churches, 1,100 clergy members and 165,000 lay members. For more information on phone minute donations, contact Bunny Wolfe at (217) 529-2040 or by email at bwolfe@igrc.org. 

Anyone wishing to donate phone cards to the United Methodist Endorsing Agency, may send them to: United Methodist Endorsing Agency, General Board Higher Education and Ministry, P.O. Box 340007, Nashville, TN 37203-0007.

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer. Susan J. Meister, director of communications, Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference, contributed to this report.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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