Download the Aug. 25 edition of GPconnect.

In this edition:

THIS WEEK'S NEWS
Great Plains part of reflective supervision pilot program
Topeka's Cafe Quetzal off to a caffeinated start with grand opening
Lenexa church members rally for Medicaid expansion in Kansas
Murithi to be installed as Elkhorn Valley, Prairie Rivers DS this weekend
Funding for bishops improves but still shaky
Pay gap persists between clergywomen, clergymen

GENERAL CONFERENCE
Organizers continue working toward General Conference in '22

CLERGY EXCELLENCE
Fifth, final episode of 'Threshold' series on joy has discussion Thursday
In-person clergy retreat set for Sept. 27-28 in Wichita

EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
Lay Servant Ministry classes begin this fall
Fundraiser for Epworth Village features online and live auction
Have an idea for a new church? Planter Incubator may make it happen
Immigrant congregations in Anglo churches sought for new program

MERCY & JUSTICE
UMCOR supporting Afghans in need, issues first grants for relief in Haiti

ADMINISTRATION
Deadline for Kansas Area UM Foundation ministry grant is Sept. 1

RESOURCES
Try your back-to-school bash with a VBS twist

ACROSS THE CONNECTION
In other news
Newsletters
Classifieds

Great Plains part of reflective
supervision pilot program for clergy

Holding a figurative mirror up to a clergy person to help them evaluate their own accountability is the mission of reflective supervision, a pilot program that will begin this fall in the Great Plains Conference.

The Great Plains is one of four conferences — along with Iowa, Minnesota and Tennessee — to be involved with the pilot program, a partnership between the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and the Wesley House in Cambridge, England.

Read more here.

Topeka's Cafe Quetzal off to a
caffeinated start with grand opening

The grand opening ribbon cutting on Saturday didn't go quite as planned, but Cafe Quetzal is already off and percolating at 21st and Belle in Topeka.

The coffeehouse ministry, which opened Aug. 2, already has regular customers and counted 45 people attending its first worship service, The Gathering, on Sunday morning.

Read more and see photo gallery here.
See coverage from WIBW-TV and Topeka Capital-Journal.

Lenexa church members rally
for Medicaid expansion in Kansas

Thirty-eight states, including all of the states surrounding Kansas, have Medicaid expansion, but the Sunflower State does not.

That bothers two members of Lenexa St. Paul's UMC, who are rallying United Methodists and others from across the state to convince lawmakers that it should take place in Kansas as well.

Read more here.

Murithi to be installed as Elkhorn
Valley, Prairie Rivers DS this weekend

The Rev. Dr. Charles Murithi will be installed as district superintendent of Elkhorn Valley (where he serves a portion of the district) and Prairie Rivers this weekend.

The Elkhorn Valley ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at Bassett UMC.

The Prairie Rivers services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Aurora UMC, and will be livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel.

Murithi is the last of five new district superintendents to be installed this summer. He joins Rev. Zach Anderson, Rev. Micki McCorkle, Rev. Dr. Tom Brady (moving from the Five Rivers and Parsons districts to the Kansas City District) and Rev. Karen Rice Ratzlaff as new members of the Great Plains Conference cabinet.

See a photo gallery from previous installation ceremonies.

Funding for bishops
improves but still shaky

With increased giving and cost savings from retirements, the fund that supports United Methodist bishops is in better shape, and bishops will receive their first raise in three years. However, the denomination's financial leaders still warn of possible troubles ahead for the Episcopal Fund.

Read more from United Methodist News Service.

Pay gap persists between
clergywomen, clergymen

How do United Methodist clergywomen's salaries compare to their male counterparts? A report by the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women found clergywomen are faring a little better than in 2015, but more work is needed. In 2020, clergywomen made, on average, 11% less than clergymen.

General Conference

Organizers continue working
toward General Conference in '22

After two postponements, organizers continue working to hold General Conference next year. The business manager says staff know how important the coming legislative assembly is as the denomination weighs a potential split. However, the delta variant presents new challenges.

Read more from UMNS.

Clergy Excellence

Fifth, final episode of 'Threshold'
series on joy has discussion Thursday

The fifth and final episode in this series of "At the Threshold" podcasts about joy includes two more testimonies and a reflection on some of what we heard throughout these episodes. The guests are Rev. Karla Sheffy of Emporia First United Methodist Church and Rev. Eric Meyer of Salina Trinity UMC.

Watch video of the interview.
Listen to the podcast.

Discussion on the final episodes will be at 10:30-11:30 a.m. CT Thursday. Register here.

In-person clergy retreat
set for Sept. 27-28 in Wichita

Would you benefit from having a two-day, guided retreat to give you an opportunity to connect with others through worship together, take an honest look at how you’re doing, and learn about creating a Rule of Life and Learning Plan for focusing your plan for growth?

“For Your Life: Giving your soul time and means to grow” is a retreat led by Rev. Ashlee Alley Crawford and Rev. Dr. Shelly Petz that will help you create space for pastors to work on a plan for learning and formation for the year ahead. It includes time for honest reflection, introduce you to a template for growth in the year ahead, and help you identify next steps in your individual development. You will have time to worship give you space to spend time in solo reflection and/or connection with others. The retreat will be held at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita, starting at 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 27 and will wrap up by 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28.

The cost to participate in the in-person retreat is $25 and includes one night of lodging, meals and a retreat notebook. The deadline for registering is Friday, Sept. 10.

Are you interested in a self-guided version of this retreat? We’ve now got a way for you to plan a solo or small group format with a couple of your friends. Complete the request here.

To register and for more information, check out the website, www.greatplainsumc.org/foryourlife or email Alley Crawford at aalleycrawford@greatplainsumc.org.

Equipping Disciples

Lay Servant Ministry
classes begin this fall

Basic Courses are ramping up this fall for lay persons interested in discerning a call to ministry. Lay servant ministries is designed to educate and train those persons interested in stretching their faith to participate more fully in all ministries of the church. Click the link and please scroll to the bottom of the page https://www.greatplainsumc.org/lsmtraining.

Check the course options within, or outside, your district that fits your availability. Basic and Advanced courses are being offered for those interested, obtaining certification or needing to recertify. If you have questions, please email Mary Feit, mkfeit47@gmail.com. Here is what is already scheduled:

Five Rivers District -- Sunday, Sept. 22 to Oct. 27, 6-7:30 p.m.
Basic Course meeting over five weeks on Zoom

Hutchinson District -- Saturday, Oct. 2, at Salem UMC
Basic Course, Advanced Transforming Evangelism course, and Advanced Preaching Funerals for Lay Servants

Missouri River District -- Saturday, Oct. 16, at Omaha St. Paul Benson UMC
Basic Course in English, Swahili and Spanish. Advanced courses UM Heritage, Leading Missional Small Groups, and Leading/Planning Worship (with an added element of Altar Decorating).

Parsons District -- Friday-Saturday, Oct. 1-2 at Parsons Wesley UMC
Basic Course, Aging and Ministry in the 21st Century course, and Preaching course

Fundraiser for Epworth Village
features online and live auction

Epworth Village — a ministry of United Methodist Women and affiliated with the Great Plains Conference — is based in York, Nebraska, and needs your help in hitting its fundraising goal of $25,000.

Epworth provides foster care services, in-home family training and day care, among other services aimed at helping children and invites you to take part in its annual “Heart of the Matter” benefit and auction in October. Money raised helps Epworth fulfill its mission of assisting children and parents. More than 360 people were served by Epworth Village in the past year.

The event features an online auction that begins Oct. 8 at www.charityauction.bid/epworthvillage2021. Items for this part of the auction include artistic prints, museum tickets and a package to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.

The live auction and program are scheduled for Oct. 15 at First United Methodist Church, 309 E. 7th St., in York. The evening begins with a meet-and-greet at 6:30 p.m., followed by the live auction and program at 7 p.m. The live auction includes a set of two season tickets to Creighton University men’s basketball.

Use the link above to RSVP for the event, view online and live auction items, view sponsorship possibilities or to make a donation.

For more information, to donate auction items or for other inquiries, please contact Mary Plock, development manager, at 402-362-3353 or via email at mplock@epworthvillage.org.

Have an idea for a new church?
Planter Incubator may make it happen

Planter Incubator is a supportive eight-month process that teaches new church planting/innovative ministry principles and competencies.

This incubator learning is for potential “planters,” clergy or lay, to explore what new ministry God is calling them to try at their current setting or beyond. At the end, all participants are expected to do a “Shark Tank”-style “pitch” to move from ideation to make a plan with possible funding from New Church Development.

Contact Rev. Nathan Stanton, Director of Congregational Excellence, at nstanton@greatplainsumc.org or Shane Warta, Lay Leadership Development Coordinator, at swarta@greatplainsumc.org for more information or to register.

Immigrant congregations in Anglo churches sought for new program

The Great Plains Conference is accepting applications for immigrant congregations nesting with an Anglo church.

Rev. Nathan Stanton, Director of Congregational Excellence, is inviting churches who will “take the challenge of moving their relationships with different communities from missional mindset of doing to and for and moving to one that harnesses the gifts and resources to innovate in the shared mission field together. This process creates retreat settings for twelve months where new spiritual leadership can incubate and accelerate discipleship in the rapidly changing mission field.”

The congregations will develop values, mission, vision and strategies, fruitfulness benchmarks and ongoing improvement processes.

Starting in September, the Anglo and immigrant congregations will have developed a Mission Action Plan together. Dr. Iosmar Alvarez and Greg Survant from Spiritual Leadership Incorporated will lead these sessions.

Please contact Rev. Nathan Stanton, Director of Congregational Excellence, at nstanton@greatplainsumc.org or Donna Ernest, administrative assistant, at dernest@greatplainsumc.org to request an application.

Mercy & Justice

UMCOR supporting Afghans in need, issues first grants for relief in Haiti

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is providing humanitarian relief and is preparing to assist with refugee resettlement for those who must leave Afghanistan. Read more here.

UMCOR also is responding to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that rocked Haiti on Aug.14. The quake, which particularly damaged the southern and western regions of the island, has left more than 2,200 dead and 12,000 injured. Read more here.

Administration

Deadline to apply for Kansas Area UM
Foundation ministry grant is Sept. 1

For the third year, the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation is offering one-time matching grants to advance ministries across our state, especially in ways that are creative, innovative, and new. Grant applications are due by next Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.

Through the Pathways for Discipleship Funds, matching grants (up to $1,000) are being awarded to support three key areas of ministry: Children and Youth Programs, Ministry and Outreach, and Leadership Education. More information is available at www.kaumf.org/grants.

Thank you to all the generous donors who support the Pathways for Discipleship Grant Ministry in life and in their estate. If you have any questions about the grants or would like more information on how you can support the grant ministry, contact the Foundation Office at jtrapp@kaumf.org or 620-664-9623.

Resources

Try your back-to-school
bash with a VBS twist

With fall approaching, churches can reconnect with families that attended vacation Bible school by holding a back-to-school bash. To reinforce the summer's Bible lessons, a volunteer suggests ways to repurpose decorations, reimagine snacks and remind families of God's love.

Read more here.

Across the Connection

In other news

Newsletters

Classifieds

Classifieds are posted for 30 days unless otherwise requested. Please allow three business days for your classified to appear on the website. Submit your classified here.


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