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By John Clinton
Special to the UMConnection

Nothing but Nets is a powerful program, in which The United Methodist Church is in partnership with the National Basketball Association and other groups. Its purpose is to raise money to buy insecticide-treated nets to be distributed in Africa.

The nets protect people from the sting of the mosquito that carries malaria. Each net costs $10.

Last fall, our the senior pastor of Severna Park UMC praised the congregation for its mission mindedness and mentioned that our church was the leader in the Baltimore-Washington Conference in giving to the "Nothing but Nets" campaign.

During the singing of the closing hymn, I was inspired to go to the altar and take the microphone. Interrupting the hymn, I asked the members of the congregation to put the pastor's words into action.

I put a $20 bill on the altar and asked those present to follow my lead. When I returned to my seat, my wife said, "Look at that. Isn't that a beautiful sight?" Folks were streaming to the altar. We collected nearly $1,000.

In the weeks since, other groups in the church have contributed and our total is nearing $2,000. Then the basketball coach at Severna Park High School (a member of our church) called me and asked how he could get his team involved in this project.

He and his team supported "Nothing but Nets" by soliciting donors to contribute money for every free throw the team made. What a wonderful response from a member putting his faith to work in the community.

Recently I sent an e-mail to my brother Philip who is in Khartoum, Sudan. He is the Superintendant of Khartoum American School, an international school with more than 200 students from many nations and cultures. I told him about our special offering, placed on the altar for "Nothing but Nets."

Here is his reply:

"I'm glad to hear that you've joined the crusade against malaria. Malaria is such a big thing over here. For people like you and me, it's not the big danger that it is for many Africans. I sleep in air-conditioned rooms and there is never a question of mosquitoes getting into my house.

Since the mosquito that carries the disease only comes out from dusk to dawn, the risk of exposure is pretty small for me. The majority of the poor, however, sleep outside or in open areas where their risk is far greater. There is a course of medication that is readily available here so it shouldn't really kill anyone but, unfortunately, it does. Especially if you're poor, or a child, or elderly. Anyway, the nets are catching on over here through a lot of public advertising and the work of many NGOs."

It's good to hear first hand that this project is successful. Severna Park wants to challenge other United Methodist churches to join us in this project. If you want to contribute, you can.

Checks should be made out to the "Conference Treasurer" and mailed to the attention of Jo Chesson, 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046.

I and the people at Severna Park feel as if we've scored a slam dunk, and we're saving lives. Won't you join us?