Click here for a printable version of the Nov. 12 GPconnect.
In this edition of GPconnect:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Additional tax liability information available
Health insurance open enrollment – Nov. 10-21, 2014
Event to honor Virginia Elliott
UM Discipleship grants awarded to support aging in poverty ministries
Bishops call United Methodists to prayer in human sexuality statement
EQUIP DISCIPLES
Ralston UMC offers multi-use facility
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
Course of Study update New Great Plains Conference clergy gather
Pulpit supply idea
Seminary scholarship application deadline Nov. 17
TiM blog offers associate pastor’s reflection on program
MERCY AND JUSTICE
Bishop from Nigeria travels through Great Plains
New domestic violence resource
Epworth Village presents Freddie awards
Grain donations boost mission
UMC in Tucson, Arizona, offers sanctuary
IN THE NEWS
Newsletters
CLASSIFIEDS
Additional tax liability information available
The General Board of Pension and Health has provided some additional information regarding tax liability for the Great Plains Conference health allowance. The information has been added as a next question in the Frequently Asked Questions document on the website. Those can be found at www.greatplainsumc.org/healthinsurance.
The information from the new item is placed below for your convenience. Questions should be directed to Carol Fusaro, pension and health benefits officer and human resources director, at cfusaro@greatplainsumc.org.
to top
Health insurance open enrollment – Nov. 10-21, 2014
Enrollment packets have been mailed to clergy members of local churches as well as clergy appointed as staff of the Annual Conference. Please watch your mail in order to meet the deadlines.
Enrollment forms for group health insurance from clergy who are staff of the Annual Conference are due in the Topeka benefits office by 8 a.m., Monday, Nov. 24, 2014.
Enrollment forms for ancillary benefits (vision, dental, life, accident and/or critical illness) whether from clergy who are conference staff or clergy who serve local churches of any size are due in the Topeka benefits office by 8 a.m., Monday, Nov. 24, 2014. If you are already enrolled in life insurance, you do not have to complete the enrollment form. If you are wanting to increase or enroll for life insurance for the first time you would need to complete the medical part of the enrollment. All other benefits must be enrolled in each year.
Clergy serving local churches with 50 or fewer full time equivalent staff
You will receive from your church(es) a health care allowance in the amount of $14,232 per year. From that you will need to purchase health insurance for you and your family. For assistance in choosing the right coverage for you and your family we recommend contacting the Lockton Select Marketplace. This service is at no cost to you or the Annual Conference.
If you or your spouse are 65, or will be 65 by the first of year, you should select a Medicare supplement plan as well as a prescription plan. If CIGNA has been primary for you in 2014, you may have declined Medicare Part B in 2014. If you did you will need to contact Social Security and request Part B to begin January 1, 2015, as well.
Medicare plans are available through both Lockton Select Marketplace and One Exchange (an offering of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits). However, people in Nebraska who are 65 or older should not use the Lockton service. Nebraska clergy members (three-quarter and full-time) active as of Dec. 31, 2013, and who plan to retire by Annual Conference 2019 will be eligible for a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) that can only be accessed if you purchase plans through One Exchange. Kansas members are not eligible for an HRA therefore are free to purchase through Lockton Select Marketplace or One Exchange.
Other categories of persons currently covered by group insurance
We will no longer provide group insurance coverage or optional coverages for the following:
- Surviving spouses
- Retired clergy members under 65
- Retired clergy member spouses under 65
- Local church/other UM entities staff members
They can access coverage through the Lockton Select Marketplace or One Exchange taking into account the notations above.
Deadlines to purchase health insurance
To ensure you have coverage by Jan. 1, 2015 you should be enrolled by:
- Conference staff: Nov. 24, 2014
- Other persons (under 65): Dec. 15, 2014
- Medicare plans for other persons 65 and older: Dec. 7, 2014
- Ancillary benefits (vision, dental, life, accident, critical illness for staff or others: Nov. 24, 2014
Completed forms should be returned to:
Great Plains Conference
PO Box 4187
Topeka, KS 66604-0187
Attn: Benefits Office
Also please make a copy and send to your district office so they can have confirmation of enrollments to make sure the 2015 Clergy Support Worksheet is properly completed as relates to benefits.
to top
Event to honor Virginia Elliott
Virginia Elliott, United Methodist Health Ministry Fund vice-president for programs, will be retiring as of Dec. 31. A reception honoring Elliott and her 17 years of service with the Health Ministry Fund will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 4-6 p.m., at the organization's office (100 E. Main St., Hutchinson, KS). A short presentation will occur at 5 p.m., during the reception.
Virginia was a member of sessions planning for the 2014 Great Plains Conference and served for many years on the communications committee of the former Kansas West Conference. She is currently chair of the Governor's Fitness Council in Kansas. Anyone who would like to share a memory of working with Virginia is encouraged to provide a short letter, photo or other memento to Kristine Dean at kdean@healthfund.org or call 620-662-8586.
to top
Meriden, Kansas, recipient of grant for “Jefferson County Gray Wolves Empowerment Program”
UM Discipleship grants awarded to support aging in poverty ministries
Discipleship Ministries grants totaling $75,000 have been awarded to 31 churches around the world by the United Methodist Committee on Older Adult Ministries (OAM) to support Aging in Poverty ministry programs.
The Aging in Poverty grants seek to address a core issue in the mission of The United Methodist Church concerning worldwide poverty, said William Randolph, director of the Office on Aging and Older Adult Ministries at Discipleship Ministries.
In the new Great Plains Conference of the South Central Jurisdiction, for example, Meriden UMC, a medium-sized rural church in Meriden, Kansas, created a new program to provide a weekly luncheon, Bible study and empowerment class to directly address poverty issues such as food security, nutrition, wellness and older adult addiction, including chemical and other addictions.
Meriden Pastor Richart O. Randolph said this is a very exciting opportunity for the Meriden UMC. The congregation is very mission-oriented and trying to make a real difference in its community.
Randolph pointed to the church’s long history of supporting God’s Store House, a local food pantry serving western Jefferson County. In collaboration with other Christians in the food pantry the church identified that there are many older adults in Jefferson County living in poverty and struggle in a variety of ways.
He noted that many older adults are making decisions about whether to pay for their prescriptions or pay the heat bill. Others are raising their grandchildren and have taken on the responsibility of getting them to school and ensuring they become successful adults.
The grant will help fund The Jefferson County Gray Wolves Empowerment Program and was submitted by Karolyn Conaway. Randolph said Gray Wolves gives the community a chance to focus time and resources in a way that empowers older adults so that they can take on more responsibility and be more self sufficient.
In addition to helping meet some of older adult physical needs, Gray Wolves intends to offer social interaction, fellowship and spiritual nurturing.
Randolph and Conaway view this as a pilot project that can be perfected and used as a model for other congregations. Randolph also believes the basic template could be used to develop ministry for other age groups.
If you have questions about the program or grant proposal contact Karolyn Conaway at 785-484-2224.
to top
Bishops call United Methodists to prayer in human sexuality statement
The Council of Bishops issued a statement concerning human sexuality, addressing their diverse perspectives and calling the people of The United Methodist Church to be in prayer, both for their leaders and for one another.
The statement reads:
As bishops of The United Methodist Church, our hearts break because of the divisions that exist within the church. We have been in constant prayer and conversation and affirm our consecration vow “to guard the faith, to seek the unity and to exercise the discipline of the whole church.” We recognize that we are one church in a variety of contexts around the world and that bishops and the church are not of one mind about human sexuality. Despite our differences, we are united in our commitment to be in ministry for and with all people. We are also united in our resolve to lead the church together to fulfill its mandate — to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. As we do so, we call on all United Methodists to pray for us and for one another.
The bishops worked together on the statement during several executive sessions during their weeklong meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The statement came near the close of the Council's meeting, which opened on Monday with the bishops reaffirming the commitments they made when they were consecrated. During the president’s address, Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr. of the San Francisco Episcopal Area asked the bishops if they would stand with him to reaffirm their vows as he prayed.
Bishop Brown called for unity within the church and encouraged finding “places where we can agree to work together and find common ground.”
“Leading a church, such as ours, with a diversity of perspectives means we must let people know we hear them, and that we are listening both to those voices that are in the majority and those that are in the minority so that all know they’re heard,” said Bishop Brown.
In November 2013, the Council voted to form a task force which would lead conversations about human sexuality, race and gender with the goal of coming to a shared theological understanding amid differing perspectives and cultures. The task force will continue its work.
“The Council of Bishops is charged to lead the church in a time of prayer and discernment. The task force will seek to work for the council as the conversation continues,” said Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, who chairs the task force. "In a worldwide church serving in very diverse contexts and composed of faithful Christians who have different opinions, we, the bishops, are committed to pastoral care for all our people as we continue to find a way forward.”
The Council of Bishops provides leadership and helps set the direction of the 12 million-member church and its mission throughout the world. The bishops are the top clergy leaders of The United Methodist Church, the second largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.
to top
Ralston UMC offers multi-use facility
Ralston Trinity United Methodist Church, in Omaha, Nebraska, offers its facilities for local church, district and conference use.
The facility includes a gym (with basketball goals and volleyball net) and commercial grade kitchen. It has sleeping accommodations in addition to separate male and female showers. There are three separately decorated teen rooms with a pool table, ping pong table and air hockey.
The brochure describes available room settings and capacity. Please contact John Lindhjem, facilities coordinator for more information or to book the facility. He can be reached at jon.l@trinityralston.org or 402-331-4054.
View brochure.
to top
Course of Study update
The Saint Paul School of Theology Course of Study (COS) advisory council met Saturday, Nov. 8, at Platte Woods UMC. This group meets each spring and fall, following the time students have taken courses. It includes denominational representatives from Great Plains, Missouri and Iowa conferences, a student, and a COS faculty. At the recent meeting, it was affirmed to ask the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education Ministries (GBHEM) to approve a satellite location for COS in the west central or western areas of the Great Plains Conference.
The Rev Nancy Lambert, who is the Great Plains Conference representative to the advisory council, said, “The satellite location would make it easier for some part-time local pastors to attend COS in order to continue their progress in the program.”
A decision should be made at the March 2015 GBHEM meeting, and the first courses would be offered in fall 2015 at the approved satellite location.
to top
New Great Plains Conference clergy gather
By Ashlee Alley, clergy recruitment and development coordinator
Four to six times a year, new clergy are gathering at Rock Springs, a retreat center in central Kansas, to spend time learning, sharing and being equipped for a long tenure in ministry. Starting in September each year, each person who was commissioned as a provisional deacon or elder or who graduated from Course of Study gathers for a retreat that is coordinated by members of the Call Team of the Board of Ordained Ministry. Residency, as it is known, is akin to the period of instruction and training that doctors receive in their first several years upon graduation from medical schools. The goals for residency in the Great Plains are to provide training in specific areas of ministry, an opportunity for collegiality with other residents and an orientation into ministry in the Great Plains UMC. First-year residents also meet in groups with a mentor.
Pastors who are in their first year in the Transition into Ministry (TiM) program, a program for promising young pastors in their first appointment, also participate in the first-year residency retreats. As the director of the TiM program, I have joined them as their mentor. The first year of residency is geared to teach more about how they can understand, motivate and communicate more effectively with others. By the end of the year, they have a number of practical tools to enhance their communication in their churches and communities.
The curriculum has been used for five years as a part of residency and clergy who have been trained have indicated that they are able to care for themselves in the midst of stressful circumstances and lead their congregations through conflict. In the few short months since residency began, I’ve seen pastors grow and engage with excitement about learning how to connect better with their congregations. The time is well spent for these new clergy as they have opportunity to find support, camaraderie and share ideas with others who are also just beginning in ministry.
I am excited as it points toward an exciting future as these new leaders begin their ministry as clergy in the Great Plains UMC.
to top
Pulpit supply idea
United Methodists William Willimon and Grace Imathiu are among the outstanding preachers who have recorded lectionary-based sermons on video as part of a project called “A Sermon for Every Sunday,” intended as a resource for churches without pastors, churches in the interim, or churches that might simply need a supply preacher from time to time.
Any congregation with the capability of projecting video can see and hear America’s best preachers on any—or every—Sunday. There is a use fee. Visit the website for full details at www.asermonforeverysunday.com/
to top
Seminary scholarship application deadline Nov. 17
Centenary UMC in Beatrice, Nebraska, has a scholarship that is being distributed by the Clergy Excellence staff. The need-based scholarship is for any certified candidate in the ordination process in the Great Plains Conference who is currently enrolled in seminary. There are two scholarships in the amount of $1250 each for Fall 2014. The application is now available. Please be prepared to provide some financial information as well as answer three short questions.
The deadline for applying is Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. A disbursement of the funds will made by Dec. 1, 2014. If you have any questions, please contact Ashlee Alley, clergy recruitment and development coordinator, at aalley@greatplainsumc.org.
to top
TiM blog offers associate pastor’s reflection on program
The Transition into Ministry (TiM) Program is designed to assist young pastors in making the transition from seminary to effective full-time pastoral leadership. The TiM associates will offer weekly blogs sharing their experiences.
This week, the Rev. Austin Rivera reflects on some of what he learned in serving two years as a Transition into Ministry (TiM) Associate Pastor at First UMC in Emporia, Kansas, from 2012-2014. He is currently in his first year as a Ph.D. student in the Ancient Christianity program of Yale’s Religious Studies Department. Read Rivera’s blog.
Past articles authored by TiM pastors can be viewed on the Great Plains website. Learn more about the TiM Program.
to top
Bishop from Nigeria travels through Great Plains
Nigerian Bishop John Wesley Yohanna and his wife Asmau Yohanna spent time in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas on their way to the Council of Bishop’s meeting in Oklahoma CIty. While in Lincoln they met with members of the Nigeria Partnership team and were dinner guests at the Lincoln home of Bishop Scott Jones and Mary Lou Reece. The Yohannas were also dinner guests at the episcopal home in Wichita where they were joined by members of the Mercy and Justice Team and other staff members.
Bishop Yohanna expressed gratitude for the support for the orphanage which recently promoted its first graduating class. Topics discussed with the teams included sustainability, new resources and programming possibilities.
to top
New domestic violence resource
The following was submitted by the Great Plains Mercy and Justice Team.
October was Domestic Violence Awareness month and churches and church groups engaged in a variety of awareness raising activities. The Center for American Progress launched ProtectAllWomen.org, a website that provides state-specific information about the intersection of gun violence and domestic violence. From 2001 to 2012, 6,410 women were murdered in the United States by an intimate partner using a gun — more than the total number of U.S. troops killed in action during the entirety of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
The Great Plains Conference passed a resolution “Christians Respond to Gun Violence.” This resolution asks congregations to engage with these difficult and challenging issues, learning, studying and taking action.
to top
Kleinschmidt and Dob honored for service
Epworth Village presents Freddie awards
In the 1880’s, a young boy named Freddie Rawcliffe wrote a letter to the Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in New York. Included with the letter was a single dollar bill. The letter said to use the dollar he had earned from chores done the previous year to build a home for children. Little Freddie had realized a need and been moved to make a difference, no matter how small.
Freddie’s dollar, posted over 125 years ago, provided the inspiration for the mission which is now Epworth Village. A mission which would bring hope and healing to children and families in the name of Jesus Christ.
Each year, Epworth Village honors an outstanding individual who, through hard work and dedication has made a significant difference in the lives of those served. Recently at the agency’s annual banquet and fundraiser, Andy Marquart, Epworth Village vice president of programming, had the pleasure of recognizing two worthy recipients.
Awarded a Freddie was Dr. Nancy Dob. Dob, was born and raised in Pawnee City, Nebraska, and attended UNL. She received her doctorate in optometry at Ohio State University. She is the owner/founder of Mid-America Vision Centers.
Marquart noted, “Nancy has served on numerous boards in York, including York Chamber of Commerce President and on the York County Development Corporation She is a Chamber Ambassador and serves on the Epworth Village Board, of which she is currently president. For the past 20 years she has been active with York Rotary Club including being named Vocational Rotarian of the Year in 2009. And … she is royalty, as she was elected Yorkfest Queen in 2011.”
Nancy, her husband Dan and son Matthew are very active in their hometown of Benedict, Nebraska, and in the Benedict UMC. She is also involved with the Lively Livestock 4-H Club and served on the Benedict Q-125 committee.
“Nancy’s biography is a testament to her heart for mission and dedication to youth, families and the community,” Marquart stated as he presented Dr. Nancy Dob with the Freddie Award for her devotion to Epworth Village and her invaluable guidance.
Also honored with a Freddie Award was Abbi Harrington Kleinschmidt, who was born and raised on a farm in York County in Nebraska. She is a graduate of UNL with a degree in elementary education and special education.
Abbi is married to Kurt Kleinschmidt. The family resides on a farm in Fillmore County near Sutton. She is the mother of four boys, and grandmother of two (also boys).
Marquart said, “Abbi’s family knows her as someone who is always there to help people … especially when times get tough. Her three sisters say she is someone who isn’t afraid to dig into the trenches and someone who never backs away from a tough situation.”
Abbi is currently the Epworth Village Foundation Board president.
In presenting Abbi with the Freddie Marquart added, “Her caring and understanding of the mission of Epworth Village has roots in her Grandmother Harrington’s love of mission work, passed down through her mother Karen. Over the years Abbi has served as a substitute teacher for Epworth Village Learning Center. At this time she is serving as Coordinator of the very successful Partner’s program. It is because of Abbi’s understanding and dedication… Abbi’s ability to combine action with heart; that we present her with the Freddy Award.”
Photo: Pictured left to right are, Abbi Kleinschmidt, Epworth Village CEO Harrietta Reynolds and Dr. Nancy Dob. Kleinschmidt and Dob were honored at the Heart of the Matter with Freddie awards for their service to the agency.
to top
Grain donations boost mission
The brochure says, “Grains for Hope & Healing;” and Connie and David Hansen of Anselmo, Nebraska, are providing just that.
Donating grain “is just like CROP did years ago. At that time we weren’t farmers and now we are. We have a sustenance farm; we grow enough for our own animals and maybe enough to save for next year for feed,” explains Connie. “We are both retired and this is one way we can help without writing a check, and the grain doesn’t count as income for us.”
“I wish it wasn’t so small,” Connie says of the couple’s recent gift. “The price was going down and I kept telling David we needed to get those soybeans to town, but he wanted to take a full wagon,” when he took them. The wagonload turned out to be just over 92 bushel of soybeans … 92.1 to be exact — just a little over an acre’s worth.
“Every small bit helps,” Connie states, “if we can do it we are happy to. You don’t have to write out a big check to make a difference.”
Epworth Village Foundation Board member Kristi Scheele was instrumental in getting the Grains for Hope and Healing program off to a good start. Kristi and her husband Fred, along with the Hansens have made contributions through the 18 month-old program.
It’s easy, “you sell your grain like any other time. It is a simple process, you can donate off of the truck or when you are selling. Giving grain offers another option for giving and it benefits the farmer and Epworth Village,” Kristi adds. “There are two accounts set up through Central Valley Ag, one for Epworth Village, Inc. and one for the Epworth Village Foundation,” and arrangements can be made through other elevators.
Epworth Village CEO Harrietta Reynolds expresses appreciation for the gifts of grain, none of which is considered “small” by any means. That’s because 92.1 bushels given with love to a mission filled with hope is a large gift indeed.
Epworth Village, Inc., is non-profit agency based in York, Nebraska. From its beginning as an orphanage in the 1880's, the mission of Epworth Village has been to bring hope and healing to children and families in the name of Christ.
Photo: David Hansen (pictured) and his wife Connie of Anselmo are two farmers taking advantage of the opportunity to give a portion of their harvest to Epworth Village.
to top
Keeping families together
UMC in Tucson, Arizona, offers sanctuary
The following was submitted by Andrea Paret, Peace with Justice coordinator.
You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” - Psalm 91:1-2
The congregation of St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church, in Tucson, Arizona, started offering sanctuary for Francisco Córdoba on Sept. 25. The church has shown him this radical form of hospitality because the threat of deportation had been looming over his family's life for eight long months.
“He stepped out of the shadow of fear and into the light of the possibilities that you can help make true,” the Rev. Jim Wiltbank, senior pastor, explained. “It has been an honor for those of us here at St. Francis to receive the blessing of Francisco and his family and to offer them a place where they could begin to see a solution to the problem thrust upon them by our broken immigration system. It was even more important that we receive the amazing blessing that they bring to us.” Like so many others who live in fear of deportation, Francisco has no criminal history. He has been a valued member of the community and has worked in the same job for many years, regularly paying his taxes.
Comments posted after a newspaper article about the sanctuary offered by this church show the lack of information so many people have, believing that immigrants choose to not fill out papers and stay undocumented. The reality is that under our current broken immigration system a majority of immigrants do not have a line to stand in to apply for documents. Others file petitions and have to wait for many years with huge back logs in applications. And yet many U.S. companies want and need these workers. Families and communities are torn apart by the current broken system.
Read the full article by the Rev. Jim Wiltbank.
The General Board of Church and Society offers two ways for congregations to get involved:
- Becoming an Immigrant Welcoming Community
Immigrant Welcoming Communities is an invitation to a journey into a reciprocal missional experience alongside and among immigrant communities. The journey is open to all that wish to develop deeper, incarnational relationships among immigrant communities and who wish to engage in both mercy and justice.
- Offering Sanctuary – An Ancient Tradition of Faith Communities
Toolkit on Sanctuary Movement
For more information contact Sandy Sypherd, chair of the Great Plains Immigration Rapid Response Team at ssypherd@windstream.net or Andrea Paret, Great Plains Peace with Justice coordinator at amparet08@yahoo.com.
Photo: The family of Francisco and Sarai (Photo credit Desert Southwest Conference.)
to top
Newsletters
to top
Classifieds
View these classifieds and more at greatplainsumc.org/classifieds.
to top
Editorial Policy: The content, news, events and announcement information distributed in GPconnect is not sponsored or endorsed by the Great Plains Methodist Conference unless specifically stated.
Want to submit a letter to the editor? Email Kathryn Witte at kwitte@greatplainsumc.org
