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Download the printable version of the October 30 issue of GPconnect.

In this edition:

THIS WEEK'S NEWS
Great Plains internships for 2020 will help local churches grow leaders
‘Layman’s Terms’ podcast looks at technology as an evangelism tool
Census looking to churches to spread word on jobs, 2020 count

GENERAL CONFERENCE
Council of Bishops president reflects on journey to 2020 General Conference

CLERGY EXCELLENCE
‘Preparing for Your Future’ workshops set for April 20-22 in Salina
Mather among speakers at 2020 Orders & Fellowship, discussing ABCD

EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
Intersections conference on community health set for Nov. 18 in Salina
UM Men offers strategic planning workshop Feb. 21-22 in Bonner Springs
Workshop on engaging children in worship is this weekend
Creative Worship Conference set for Nov. 15-16 in Topeka

MERCY & JUSTICE
Karges reflects on completion of Revised Social Principles
Trinity UMC, Immigrant Legal Center reach out to families impacted by raid

DISASTER RESPONSE
Disaster response workers praised in poem, ‘I Saw Jesus Today’

RESOURCES
New UMC ad campaign offers encouragement through community
Video spells out Halloween, Methodism connections

ADMINISTRATION
Kansas Area Foundation partners with Wespath for new investment manger

ACROSS THE CONNECTION
Lincoln Christ UMC pastor makes good on challenge for CROP Walk
Omaha 'village' comes together in request for immersion baptisms
Youth in Elkhorn Valley District gather for rally, mission project
TV travel host Rick Steves featured in ‘Inside Perkins’ event
In other news
Newsletters 
Blogs and commentaries
Classifieds

 

Great Plains internships for 2020
will help local churches grow leaders

The summer internship program for the Great Plains Conference in 2020 will be calling on local churches to help identify potential leaders.

Applications have opened for the 10-week internships in youth ministry, kids ministry and pastoral ministry, as well as the Micah Corps program.

For 2020, churches are being asked to look within their congregations for potential leaders and apply for a matching grant of up to $1,750 for a full-time intern that will assist in their church.

Read more here.

Watch a new video about internships.

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‘Layman’s Terms’ podcast looks
at technology as an evangelism tool

The days of opening the church doors to find a waiting crowd eager to take their seats are long since gone.

Now, many other activities occupy people on Sunday mornings and throughout the week. So, how can you make a connection? 

In this episode of “In Layman’s Terms,” a Great Plains Conference podcast, communications director Todd Seifert looks at three churches — two in Nebraska and one in Kansas — that use a variety of techno-tools to connect with their congregations outside of Sundays while also reaching new people, even folks who otherwise likely would not willingly set foot inside a church without first making these kinds of connections.

Click here to listen.

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Census looking to churches
to spread word on jobs, 2020 count

The 2020 Census is on its way next year, and the government agency that oversees it is looking to churches to both get the information out and in help finding employees.

“It’s a good avenue to get information out,” Shannon Workman, partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau, said. “From the Census Bureau, it’s one of the categories we concentrate on, faith-based organizations.”

Those interested in working for the Census Bureau can go to www.2020census.gov/jobs, or call 1-855-JOB-2020. Here are the list of job requirements.

The Constitution states that a census take place every 10 years. Workman said it’s important, especially in rural areas, that everyone is counted.

“When people don’t respond, they’re losing out on representation for their area,” he said. “The Congress uses the census information for redistricting.”
Closer to home, it helps determine such infrastructure as police and fire service and roads.

“All of those use census data,” he said. “It’s important to get a complete count from everybody.”

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General Conference

Council of Bishops president reflects
on journey to 2020 General Conference

Bishop Kenneth H. Carter has held multiple roles during a time of great stress in the church. The Council of Bishops president talked to UM News staff about the road from the Commission on a Way Forward, which he helped moderate, to yet another General Conference.

Read the Q&A.
Watch videos of the interview.

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Clergy Excellence

‘Preparing for Your Future’
workshops set for April 20-22 in Salina

The Great Plains Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits, along with the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, invite you to “Preparing for Your Future,” April 20-22 at Salina Trinity UMC.

All active clergy members of the United Methodist Church who are preparing for their future are invited. Spouses are welcome.

This event is an opportunity to learn about the many benefit issues that affect your life and ministry. You will be given guidance on an active ministry to a retirement lifestyle. Caring for one’s physical, emotional, spiritual and social well-being is essential to maintaining — even improving — one’s quality of life.

For any participants who need lodging, the UMC Board of Pensions will cover the cost of the Tuesday night stay at a hotel. If you indicate on the registration form that you need lodging, the UMC Board of Pensions will make the arrangements. You will not need to make your own reservations.

The Monday night meal, Tuesday lunch and dinner will be provided by the Great Plains Conference Board of Pensions. Event begins at noon on Monday and ends at noon on Wednesday.

Download the seminar brochure here for more information.
Register for “Preparing for Your Future.”

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Mather among speakers at 2020
Orders & Fellowship, discussing ABCD

The Rev. Michael Mather, who spoke at this year’s annual conference teaching sessions, will return to the Great Plains Conference as one of the plenary speakers for the 2020 Orders & Fellowship, Jan. 15-16 at Lincoln St. Mark’s United Methodist Church.

Mather, pastor of Indianapolis Broadway UMC, will join with Darryl Answer, pastor of New Community Church in Kansas City, Missouri, and Rachel Metheny, pastor of Congress Street UMC in Lafayette, Indiana, to discuss Asset Based Community Development, or ABCD.

“ABCD is at the center of a large and growing movement that considers local capacities and assets – skills of local residents, local associations, and supportive functions of local institutions -- as the primary building blocks of sustainable community development,” Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. wrote to clergy in announcing the subject for Orders & Fellowship. “The approach is relationship-driven and recognizes the dignity of individuals, their knowledge and talents, regardless of their status, title, or degree. It is rooted in a deep respect for the skills people embody and their capacity to take agency and create local associations that transform their realities, bringing justice, healing, and wholeness to lives and communities.”

The Orders & Fellowship page for 2020 is now active on the Great Plains website, including group reservation discounts at 10 hotels in Lincoln.

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Equipping Disciples

Intersections conference on community health set for Nov. 18 in Salina

The 2019 Intersections of Faith & Health Conference, “Going Beyond Our Walls to Improve Community Health,” presented by United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, will be Monday, Nov. 18 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Salina.

The one-day event is designed for participants from the faith community, public health, health professionals and community members. The conference explores current and emerging health issues, with an emphasis on how stakeholders can work together and leverage their unique strengths to improve community health for all.

The conference opens with a keynote by Dr. Justin Moore, Double Arrow Metabolism, on the growing prevalence and profound health impact of loneliness and social isolation – and how we can help.

Workshops include:

  • Introduction to the Neighboring Movement
  • Why the Census Matters: Ensuring Everyone is Counted
  • Voter to Voter: The Importance of Civic Engagement
  • Behavioral Health: The Importance of Prevention and Protective Factors
  • Building Partnerships Beyond Your Walls to Improve Health
  • Faith in Action: The Importance of Faith-Based Advocacy at State and Local Levels
  • Connecting Community Dots to Improve Early Childhood Programs: From Silos to Strategy
  • Planting Seeds to Better Your Community’s Health
  • How Faith-Based Organizing Leads to Community Change

View a complete schedule here.
Video of United Methodist Health Ministry Fund president David Jordan talking about the conference.

Visit https://healthfund.org/ifh for full details and to register.  The conference is provided at no cost to participants through Health Fund sponsorship. Registration deposits will be refunded at check-in.

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UM Men offers strategic planning workshop Feb. 21-22 in Bonner Springs

The United Methodist Men of the Great Plains Conference are continuing with their vision to help local churches grow disciples of Jesus. We began with a workshop talking about how to Lead Like Jesus, followed by how lives are transformed through small groups. Now we turn to helping churches develop a strategy for ministry that focuses on your ministry vision and how to create value that will draw people into the ministry, capture them into the life of the ministry and then sustain them in spiritual growth. While the material was developed by the No Man Left Behind Ministry, the concepts are valid for all ministry. 

Don’t be fooled by the name! Yes, this is sponsored by UMM but it is inclusive for all church leaders. The concepts will help you if your ministry area is outreach or working with youth. This workshop is being presented in several conferences nationally. Women and men are going back to their churches with the essentials for helping ALL the ministries of their local church focus their strategy to be more effective. Our presenter comes to us from the Virginia Conference.

Pastors, imagine the impact to the ministry life of your church if several of your leaders attended together so that they could bring these proven concepts back to ALL the ministry leaders of your church? All this for only $50 per person and PASTORS come free when you bring three people with you. Please join us at Bonner Springs UMC on the evening of Feb. 21 and all day Feb. 22. For more information and to register go to: https://gp-reg.brtapp.com/UnderstandingMensMinistry or contact George Houle at ummwbb11@att.net

--George Houle

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Workshop on engaging
children in worship is this weekend

A workshop, “Worship, Led by a Child,” will be from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday at Baldwin City First United Methodist Church.

Teresa Stewart, creative director of Paper Bag Cathedrals, will present more than 10 models for transforming children's moments into an opportunity to fully engage children in meaningful worship experiences. This workshop is free for all participants, however, pre-registration is requested. Clergy and laity are welcome. 

Click here to register.
Click here for child care.

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Creative Worship Conference
set for Nov. 15-16 in Topeka

The Creative Worship Conference, a hands-on learning experience designed to bring creativity to congregations of any size means and worship style, will be Friday-Saturday, Nov. 15-16 at the Great Plains Conference office in Topeka.

The times have been updated: 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15; and 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.

Jason Moore from Midnight Oil Productions will be the presenter, and Chris Aytes and the praise band from Wamego First UMC will lead worship. Come away with new ideas and create your 2020 worship plan. Hear about Culture, Art, Team and Technology.

The first 50 participants will receive free coaching on worship and implementation for the next year.

Register at this link and watch a video invitation from Jason Moore here. Download the updated brochure.

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Mercy & Justice

Karges reflects on completion
of Revised Social Principles

The Rev. Cindy Karges, Great West and Gateway district superintendent, was among the members of a committee charged with updating the United Methodist Social Principles, which had not been done since they were first adopted in 1972.

“They are an attempt to be contextually relevant and faithful to the Gospel,” Karges said.

Now that the Revised Social Principles have been released, Karges talks about the work that went into the revision and its hopes for the future.

Read her reflections here.

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Trinity UMC, Immigrant Legal Center
reach out to families impacted by raid

On Oct. 23, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 14 workers at the D&D Industries in Madison, Nebraska. Fourteen families are impacted directly through this raid but as Alan Ehlers, superintendent at Madison Public Schools says, the ripple effect goes much further.
It is hard to imagine going to school and worrying that your parents might not be coming home from work.

As soon as the word got out, community members and several other organizations started offering support. Attorneys and paralegal staff from Immigrant Legal Center (ILC, one of our mission agencies) went immediately to offer legal advice and help.

Read more about the work of the church and ILC.

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Disaster Response

Disaster response workers praised
in poem, ‘I Saw Jesus Today’

As the Rev. Hollie Tapley, disaster response coordinator, and volunteers are in the midst of a “blitz” in the final stage of repair for 50 homes in the Fremont area this week, a poetic tribute to the volunteers comes from Delores Ruzicka, a member of the Verdigre UMC in the Elkhorn Valley District.

Read “I Saw Jesus Today.”

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Resources

New UMC ad campaign offers
encouragement through community

The United Methodist Church has launched the “Not the Only One” advertising campaign to help offer encouragement through community.
Research continues to emphasize people are experiencing a growing sense of loneliness. In fact, nearly half of Americans feel alone or left out, and it’s taking a mental and physical toll on them

“The advertisements target those who identify themselves as spiritual, socially conscious and seeking meaning in their lives, but who are not affiliated with a church. Our surveys show that they are craving meaningful relationships,” shares Poonam Patodia, chief marketing officer for United Methodist Communications, the church agency responsible for marketing of the denomination. “We invite them to find love, joy and peace by joining a welcoming community.”

The new ads encourage people to visit a local United Methodist church and share their faith journey with others. They celebrate diversity and promote reaching out to others. They acknowledge that true friendship and love aren’t always easy to find.

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Video spells out Halloween,
Methodism connections

Tomorrow is Halloween, with all of those ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night.

But should we celebrate it?

In this video produced by the Great Plains Conference last year, we explain Halloween – as well as the connection to Christianity and John Wesley.

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Administration

Kansas Area Foundation partners with
Wespath for new investment manger

On Nov. 1, the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation will change its investment partner to Wespath Institutional Investments. Wespath may be familiar to many as they manage the pension benefits for the conference clergy and are highly trusted.

After a diligent review of multiple investment companies, the Board of Trustees of the Foundation voted to invest the Foundation’s resources through Wespath. They are a leader in the investment industry and pioneer in providing sustainable and socially responsible investing in accordance with the Book of Discipline. The Board believes this relationship will help the Foundation better serve its churches and investment accounts. In cooperation with Wespath, the Foundation will be able to offer competitive investment returns as well as quarterly updates and investment trainings.

“I am excited about this new partnership for the Foundation and the churches and organizations that we serve,” the Rev. Dr. Dustin Petz, President of the Foundation said. "This new relationship will provide strong returns, plus many other value-added benefits for our ministry.”

With this new relationship, the Foundation will be offering an additional fund option, the Balanced Fund. It seeks to maximize long-term investment returns, while reducing short-term risk by investing in a broad mix of investments. This fund provides a simple solution for long-term legacy investments, with an asset allocation of 65% Equity and 35% Fixed Income. To learn more about investment options with the Foundation, please visit the Investment page on our website.

“Working with Wespath will simplify the investing process, allowing us to focus more on helping people leave a lasting legacy to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world," Petz said.

The Foundation will continue to offer the flexible option of choosing percentage allocations with the Equity, Fixed-Income, and Short Term Funds to meet investments needs, if the Balanced Fund is not preferred.

For churches and organizations who are already invested with the Foundation, no action is required unless they would like to move to the Balanced Fund or change the asset allocation on their accounts. The Foundation staff would be happy to discuss the new fund offering and the asset allocation that may be best for the church’s investments. This spring the Foundation plans to have a representative from Wespath available at regional meetings across Kansas, as well as at Annual Conference in May 2020. Details and dates for the meetings will be released at the beginning of the new year.

If you have any questions, would like to meet with the Foundation regarding the fund options, or are interested in investing with the Foundation, please contact 620-664-9623, foundation@kaumf.org, or online at www.kaumf.org.

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 Across the Connection

Lincoln Christ UMC pastor makes
good on challenge for CROP Walk

The Rev. Richard Randolph kept his promise to the youth group of Lincoln Christ United Methodist Church, and has a new ‘do to go with it.

The church’s youth group was far behind its goal of raising $1,500 for CROP Walk. Randolph laid down a challenge to the church, that if its members raised $1,000, he would get his head shaved.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 23, the total was $1,700, and Randolph sat still for the cut.

Watch the Facebook Live video of the big shave.

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Omaha 'village' comes together
in request for immersion baptisms

Omaha Hanscom Park United Methodist Church got a new, temporary addition last Sunday: A 150-gallon Rubbermaid horse trough.

It was used in a rarity for UMCs – baptism by immersion for three of its new members.

The Rev. Chris Jorgensen, Hanscom Park pastor, said she was explaining to potential new members about the three types of baptism for United Methodists: immersion, sprinkling and pouring of water.

“I will admit that in the moment of our conversation, I had no idea if it was actually possible to do an immersion baptism in our church,” Jorgensen wrote in the church newsletter, “but I said ‘Yes’ anyway.”

A clergy moms group on Facebook helped her in selecting the right size of trough. Cotton robes were borrowed from another church. Volunteers helped figure out how to fill and empty the trough, and other members helped with logistics.

“Turns out, it takes a village to have an immersion baptism!” Jorgensen wrote.

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Youth in Elkhorn Valley District
gather for rally, mission project

On Saturday, Oct. 12, 17 youth and six adults from Orchard, Ewing, Laurel, Norfolk, Madison and Bloomfield traveled to Lynch, Nebraska, for the annual Elkhorn Valley District Youth Rally and Mission Project.

Read more about the day’s events.

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TV travel host Rick Steves
featured in ‘Inside Perkins’ event

Prospective students considering graduate theological education at Perkins School of Theology will have the opportunity to attend a seminar with TV travel host Rick Steves, enjoy lunch and conversation with two notable agents of social change, and will hear from current students during the Nov. 12 “Inside Perkins” event.

Set for 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the campus of Southern Methodist University, the free exploration and information session is open to all prospective degree and non-degree students.

In addition to receiving a first-hand look at the range of educational opportunities offered at both the Dallas campus and through the hybrid Houston-Galveston Extension Program, prospective students will meet with students and faculty, attend a class, tour the school’s facilities and learn more about admissions and financial aid.  Perkins Dean Craig C. Hill will also meet with the group.

Find more information here.

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In other news

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Newsletters 

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Blogs and commentaries

  • Why the church should talk about mental health: “We have been taught to enter the Church doors with a smile on our face and pretend that everything is okay,” Gracie Rymel, a senior at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, writes for the United Methodists of Arkansas. “It seems ironic to me that we are supposed to bring our heavy burdens to the altar but, oh wait, did you say anxiety or thoughts of suicide? I wonder what would happen if the Church started treating mental health as important as physical health? How much more willing people would be to share their brokenness.”
  • Christians should defend journalists: Those who love Christ should speak for those who strive to report the truth, writes the Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell, a retired United Methodist clergyman now living in New Jersey. Caldwell notes that journalism provides a “means for raising awareness of issues that we might otherwise be inclined to ignore” in both the church and secular society.

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Classifieds

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