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Conference and district offices will be closed on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.  

Download the May 26 edition of GPconnect.

In this edition:

THIS WEEK'S NEWS
It's here! Annual Conference sessions take place Friday-Saturday
Conference providing bishop’s sermon to churches for May 30 or during June
Churches find new connections with online-only worship services
Tickets available for Great Plains at Royals game honoring Stanton
Trove of historic Methodist treasures has new home at SMU library

CLERGY EXCELLENCE
Upcoming webinars provide more information about Culture of Call
Mutual Aid Association helps clergy in their time of need

EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
Let’s make this a ‘Summer of Kindness’
Burton is guest at UMM’s first Faith Journey discussions
Videos on context, hybrid worship, digital age available for Great Plains
After a year’s wait, Pittsburg youth finally have confirmation
Leadership expert Ken Willard to speak at July retreat at St. Benedict

MERCY & JUSTICE 
Micah Corps members begin their summer journey making connections

ADMINISTRATION
Nebraska Foundation awards New Start/New Faith Community Grants
Deadline is June 30 for seminary, local pastor scholarship programs

ACROSS THE CONNECTION
Omaha’s Cavitt profiled in magazine, receives national Who’s Who honor
Pastor provides photos of storm damage in western Kansas
In other news
Newsletters
Classifieds

 

It's here! Annual Conference
sessions take place Friday-Saturday

This is the week for the Great Plains Annual Conference session, taking place over Zoom.

Here are the highlights of the next few days (all times Central):
TONIGHT
7 p.m. – VVoter practice sessions at this link (no registration needed): https://zoom.us/j/96166238789; New lay member orientation

THURSDAY
1:30 p.m. – VVoter practice sessions at this link (no registration needed): https://zoom.us/j/91375913064
6 p.m. – Social Bingo, a virtual interactive session via Zoom
7 p.m. – Memorial service, with sermon by the Rev. Mitch Reece, Wichita districts superintendent, and baptisms; available at this link with closed captioning, or from the Conference webpage or Facebook page. Bulletin in booklet or vertical format
 
FRIDAY
8:30-10:30 a.m. – Laity session
9:30-10:30 a.m. – Sponsor booths open
10:30 a.m. – Service of Word and Table (have bread and juice available to join in communion)
12:15-1:15 p.m. – Sponsor booths open; district prayer meetings
1:30-5 p.m. – Annual Conference session
7 p.m. – Retirement services and celebration; bulletin in booklet or vertical format
 
SATURDAY
7:30-8:30 a.m. – Sponsor booths open
8:30 a.m. – Annual Conference session
 
Download the conference workbook here. The addendum to the workbook and proposed disaffiliation agreements are available.
 
A help desk will be available for the duration of annual conference. Please call 785-272-9111 or 877-972-9111 (toll-free) and ask for the help desk, beginning at 10 a.m. Friday. Do not call for the help desk before then.

For kids, it’s Annual Conference in a Box! What is Annual Conference? Who is the bishop? What does abide mean? Kids can explore the answers to these questions with Annual Conference in a box. The downloadable packet includes a variety of activities that kids can do at home with minimal supplies, including taking Bishop Saenz on some adventures.

Annual Conference home page.

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Conference providing bishop’s sermon
to churches for May 30 or during June

Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. recorded a sermon this week available for use either this Sunday or throughout the month of June. In an adaptation of an ordination sermon he is providing for the Texas Conference, Bishop Saenz shares his reflection on Isaiah 42:1-9.

The message focuses on how all Christians are chosen by God for service. As such, followers of Christ are called to be servants, to transcend racial and ethnic divides, bear witness to peace, never quit and to live as agents of faith, hope and love.

This message was recorded May 25 and will be available for download by noon Thursday, May 27, for use in worship or on your church’s website or Facebook page. Get to it one of the following ways:

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Churches find new connections
with online-only worship services

As the coronavirus pandemic became widespread in March 2020, churches including those in the Great Plains Conference knew they had to keep connections with their congregations. 

Some re-created their church service in front of a video camera and empty pews, while others tailored their message specifically for an online audience. 

With in-person church attendance now inching toward normalcy, some of those in the latter camp are keeping their online-only services alive with no indication of stopping.

Find out how churches in Omaha and Wichita have made new online presences and reached out to more people.

Read more here.

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Tickets available for Great Plains
at Royals game honoring Stanton

 

The Rev. Nathan Stanton, Great Plains director of congregational excellence, is being honored on June 3 at the Kansas City Royals game where he will sit in the Buck O’Neil seat for Lou Gehrig Day as part of the MLB’s fight against ALS.

To show our support for Nathan and his family, we have reserved a block of seats for the Great Plains Conference for the June 3 home game. Tickets are $28 each, with parking passes available at nearly 50% off. If interested, email TeamStanton@greatplainsumc.org for details and purchasing.

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Trove of historic Methodist treasures
has new home at SMU library

Southern Methodist University’s Bridwell Library will soon be home to the entire World Methodist Museum collection, including John Wesley’s traveling pulpit and a number of his handwritten letters. Find out about some of the treasures of Methodism included in the collection.

Read more from United Methodist News Service.

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Clergy Excellence

Upcoming webinars provide more
information about Culture of Call

The Culture of Call Grant was designed to provide churches, campus ministries, United Methodist organizations and districts in the Great Plains UMC with resources to fuel their imaginations in creating opportunities to cultivate a Culture of Call. Grants will be awarded in the range of $500-$2,000. Since 2016, we’ve awarded 65 grants totaling almost $105,000!

Special opportunity for 2021: Are you interested in learning more about what a Culture of Call is? Do you want to learn more about how to make the most of a Culture of Call Grant opportunity? We’re offering an hour-long webinar that will include identifying what it means to have a “Culture of Call” and hearing from pastors, campus ministers, or other leaders who have a robust sense of Culture of Call in their context. You’ll be split up into a breakout room for some small group discussion and can expect to walk away from the webinar with the following:

  • Describe what it means for a community to have a Culture of Call
  • Identify Questions about calling in your context
  • Brainstorm possibilities for your ministry context to cultivate a culture of call
  • Create a “Next Step” plan
  • Receive a Resource Kit to share with people who are exploring calling
The cost for participation is $10 and will include a box of resources (valued at over $50) sent to you after the webinar. The webinar will be held:
  • Tuesday, June 8, 10 a.m. CT
  • Thursday, August 12, 10 a.m. CT

Learn more about the webinar and register here: www.greatplainsumc.org/culture-of-call-webinars.

To see some FAQs about the grant, read reports of previous grant recipients, and find the application, check out the grant website: www.greatplainsumc.org/cocgrant

2021 Grant deadlines:

  • Sept. 15 — Late Deadline, Awards announced Oct. 1
  • Oct. 8 — Distribution of funds

Questions? Contact Rev. Ashlee Alley Crawford, aalleycrawford@greatplainsumc.org, 785-414-4216

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Mutual Aid Association helps
clergy in their time of need

When a Great Plains minister or spouse dies, do you have an effective way to show you care about them? The Great Plains United Methodist Conference Mutual Aid Association was started to do just that.

The Mutual Aid Association provides a Sympathy Expressing Gift of $1,700 every time a member dies. When a member dies a Call Letter is sent or emailed to the other members of the Mutual Aid Association. The living members each send in $5 to the Mutual Aid Association treasurer. The treasurer then sends a $1,700 check to a designated beneficiary of the member who has died. Along with the check goes a list of the members who contributed the money. Since 1917 more than 820 families have benefited from this sympathy expressing gift.

If you would like more information about the Great Plains Mutual Aid Association, contact Rev. Bob Neben at nebenmary@hotmail.com or by calling him at 402-499-3636. This is a great way to show you care when a Great Plains minister or spouse dies.

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Equipping Disciples

Let’s make this a
‘Summer of Kindness’

Memorial Day traditionally signifies the start of summer, and the Great Plains Conference is among those developing a resource to make this season a “Summer of Kindness.”

Along with leaders from the Rio Texas and Michigan conferences, the Rev. Melissa Collier Gepford, intergenerational discipleship coordinator, has developed the resource that includes Kindness Bingo, and activities for families, youth groups and Sunday schools.

Find it here.

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Burton is guest at UMM’s
first Faith Journey discussions

Come join the UMMen listen to a witness of God’s grace with the first in its Faith Journey meetings on Zoom.
 
Rev. Darryl Burton was wrongly convicted of murder in 1984 and was exonerated on Aug. 29, 2008. Darryl served nearly 25 years in prison as an innocent man.
 
Today he is an Associate Pastor at Church of the Resurrection where he leads a weekly “Hope and Forgiveness” class for all people on how to overcome their past and move forward. He is also the co-founder of Miracle of Innocence, a non-profit organization created to “Help free the innocent and provide care for them when they come home.” You can read more about Darryl and his ministry here.
 
The discussion will be from 8:30-10 a.m. CT Saturday, June 12, at this link: https://zoom.us/j/95991457387?pwd=YWMxOGJQczU2V1p3c2RkQ3BoQmNGZz09
or via dial-in: (312) 626-6799. Meeting ID: 959 9145 7387 Passcode: 4673791

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Videos on context, hybrid worship,
digital age available for Great Plains

Three videos from Great Plains Conference sessions with leaders from Fresh Expressions are available for viewing until Aug. 12:

  • “From Franchise to Local Dive: Multiplying Your Church by Discovering Your Contextual Flavor” led by Rosario Picardo and Jason Moore
  • “Both/And: Maximizing Hybrid Worship Experiences for Online and In-Person Audiences” by Jason Moore
  • “Fresh Expressions in a Digital Age: How the Church Can Prepare for a Post Pandemic World” by Rosario Picardo

The videos are available at this link, with the passcode z3+WM3&s. Each of these seminars are based off the books. Handouts are available from a Congregational Excellence Liaison.

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After a year’s wait, Pittsburg
youth finally have confirmation

Many churches across the Great Plains Conference are celebrating their Confirmation Sundays as the school year concludes.

Rev. Mark Chambers celebrated his final Confirmation Sunday prior to retirement on Pentecost Sunday at Pittsburg First United Methodist Church. The class started in March 2020, just before pandemic restrictions went into effect. The five students kept their study materials intact and picked up where they left off in March 2021. The class helped lead worship when the church reopened for in-person worship June 14 as acolytes and in other roles.

Pastor Jill Chambers, also retiring at the end of the appointive year, assisted in the confirmation service.

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Leadership expert Ken Willard to
speak at July retreat at St. Benedict

Ken Willard is visiting the Great Plains Conference to lead certified lay ministers, along with those discerning or in-support, and those who participated in the recent “Time Management for the Christian Leader” book study. Gather the evening of Friday, July 23, to Saturday, July 24, at the Saint Benedict Center in Schuyler, NE. The conference will reimburse mileage and is providing room and board at a significant discount. A recorded sermon by communications director Todd Seifert, certified lay minister, will be made available for use at your local church for Sunday worship on July 25.

Willard is a Christian leadership coach, certified church consultant, author, speaker and developer of curriculum used by pastors and laity leaders. He is an associate certified coach with the International Coach Federation and a member of the faculty with Coaching4Clergy. He is the director of congregational vitality for the West Virginia UMC Conference. Ken works with pastors, laity leaders, local churches and other church organizations all over the country. As owner of Leadership4Transformation, his mission is to help equip God's people to expand God's Kingdom. Learn more about Ken on his website.

Register here.

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Mercy & Justice

Micah Corps members begin their
summer journey making connections

The six members of the 2021 Micah Corps began their journey last week with intellectual and theological discussions about the work of mercy and justice ministries in the Great Plains Conference, including a trip to Urban Abbey in Omaha.

John Finch, a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, brings us the first week's report. 

Read more here.

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Administration

Nebraska Foundation awards New
Start/New Faith Community Grants

The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation would like to announce and congratulate the following recipients of its New Start/New Faith Grant Program for 2021:

  • Fairbury UMC
  • Omaha Hanscom Park UMC
  • Omaha Saint Paul Benson UMC

Due to the generosity of donors supporting congregational development, the Foundation was able to award $60,000 in New Start/New Faith grants. These grants are available to enhance and support new church development as well as to alleviate some of the financial burden.

Grants are awarded annually. For more information on the New Start/New Faith Grant Program or if you would like to talk to the Foundation about how you can grow these types of grants, call 877-495-5545 or visit www.numf.org.

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Deadline is June 30 for seminary,
local pastor scholarship programs

The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation has scholarships available for seminary students, undergraduate students, and local pastors pursuing a career in church leadership. Scholarship applications for the 2021-2022 academic year can be found at www.numf.org and must be postmarked by June 30, 2021.

Through the Seminary Scholarship Program, the Foundation has more than $40,000 available in scholarship funds for the 2021-2022 academic year. The following is a list of seminary scholarships available:

  • Albert R. Murdoch Ministerial Scholarship
  • Alice Kruse Ministerial Scholarship
  • Alice Kruse Seminary Scholarship
  • Alva Clark Seminary Scholarship
  • Andrew & Nevabelle Howe Scholarship
  • Baldwin F. & Amy L. Kruse Scholarship
  • Ben & Martha Simmons Scholarship
  • Charles & Marilyn Humphrey Seminary Scholarship
  • Cowles United Methodist Church Memorial Scholarship
  • Floma Taylor Ministerial Scholarship
  • Harlan & Mabelle Wyrick Memorial Scholarship
  • Murdock Ebenezer UMC Professional Church Leader Scholarship
  • Myrtle E. Williams Seminary Scholarship
  • Scahill Family Scholarship
  • Verl & Sylvia Miller Memorial Scholarship
  • Tither’s Scholarship
  • Women in Ministry Scholarship

Those students applying for the scholarships listed above will also subsequently be considered for the following scholarships: Cal Leeds Scholarship, Darrell & Joyce Pickett Scholarship, Rev. Albert W. Winseman Scholarship, and Atherton Memorial Scholarship.

Through the Local Pastor Scholarship Program, the Foundation has over $8,000 available in scholarship funds for the 2021-2022 academic year. The following is a list of local pastor scholarships available:

  • Rev. Robert E. and Lily A. Berlie Local Pastor Scholarship
  • Frederick and Esther Paulus Local Pastor Scholarship
  • NUMF Gifts From The Heart Local Pastor Scholarship

The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation would like to acknowledge the generous gifts donors have made to make these scholarships possible. Thank you for being our partner in ministry. If you would like to talk to someone about how you can honor the memory of a loved one through a named scholarship or provide further financial assistance for a seminary student, call the Foundation at 877-495-5545.

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Across the Connection

Omaha’s Cavitt profiled in magazine,
receives national Who’s Who honor

The Rev. Portia Cavitt, pastor of Omaha Clair Memorial UMC, was profiled in Revive! Omaha’s magazine and website, as part of its Community Serving Community series. Read more here.

Cavitt also was named to Who’s Who in America’s Neighborhoods Award, presented by Neighborhoods USA. Read more here.

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Pastor provides photos of
storm damage in western Kansas

The town of Selden in Sheridan County, Kansas, sustained extensive damage but no serious injuries on Monday.

Jake Schadel, pastor of Selden and Hoxie UMCs, provided photos to KWCH in Wichita for its coverage of the storm damage.

See more here.

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In other news

Newsletters 

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Classifieds 

Classifieds are posted for 30 days unless otherwise requested. Submit your classified here. 

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PO Box 4187
Topeka, KS 66604
  785-272-9111