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THIS WEEK'S NEWS
Great Plains delegates discuss issues before General Conference
Delegates look to Africa as crucial in General Conference
Conference leaders, staff to deliver sermons this weekend
Bishop leader: Easter should be 50 days of celebration
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Registration now open for June 6-9 gathering celebrating anniversary
Expand leadership skills, lift up emerging leaders through nominations
GENERAL CONFERENCE
General Conference guide is now available online
Pre-General Conference video resources available from UM News
Upper Room offers prayer guide for General Conference
Native Americans to share art, faith at General Conference
Webinar next Tuesday looks at General Conference, inclusion
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
Summer, fall clergy programming to include four different retreats
New resources available for clergy, congregations in pastoral transition
April 15 is deadline to get grants for kids, youth, pastoral ministry
EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
LSM class on dementia care open to all in conference
Healthy Congregations retreat coming up in two weeks
Want to do something that matters? Check out volunteer opportunities
Nominate clergy, laity or youth for Denman Evangelism Award
MERCY & JUSTICE
Concluding two videos of ‘Unity in Diversity’ series available
In Easter sermon, pastor talks about Palestinians’ struggles with faith
DISASTER RESPONSE
Volunteers are crucial in ministry of disaster response
ADMINISTRATION
PAUMCS to meet April 23-24 at Lincoln St. Mark’s UMC
Nebraska UM Foundation scholarship program opens
RESOURCES
Environmental stewardship, nature subject of DVDs, books from center
Helping churches embrace digital revolution is subject of webinar
ACROSS THE CONNECTION
Former Husker encourages men to be on Christ’s team
In other news
Newsletters
Classifieds
Great Plains delegates discuss issues
coming before General Conference
Five delegates from the Great Plains Conference — Rev. Amy Lippoldt, Scott Brewer, Lisa Maupin, Rev. David Livingston, and Rev. Dr. Kalaba Chali — share some brief remarks on some of the key topics coming up for General Conference in late April and early May 2024.
Watch the introductory video (34 minutes) here.
To view a video of a more in-depth discussion on these issues and more (nearly 70 minutes), click here.
To learn more about General Conference, go to https://www.greatplainsumc.org/UMCGC.
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Delegates look to Africa as
crucial in General Conference
Two of the Great Plains Conference’s clergy delegates to General Conference believe that the African vote will be crucial to efforts for regionalization to become reality in The United Methodist Church and for American churches to have their own say about human sexuality.
Rev. Dr. Kalaba Chali said that the key will be acceptance by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the second largest voting block to the United States.
“If 85% of U.S. delegates, and 85% DRC delegates agree to go one way, it doesn’t matter for the rest of the church what they vote,” Chali said. “It will pass.”
Rev. David Livingston said any progress made in Charlotte, North Carolina, from April 23 to May 3 would be contingent on the African continent’s votes.
Read more here.
United Methodist News Service looks
at regionalization in four-part series.
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Conference leaders, staff
to deliver sermons this weekend
Leaders and staff from the Great Plains Conference will be spread out across Nebraska and Kansas this weekend, delivering sermons and thanking churches who have stayed loyal to The United Methodist Church.
“I wanted to show our continued support and recognition for the GPAC churches that are working through the disaffiliations that have affected their local church,” Bishop David Wilson said. “I thought sending out folks from our annual conference to preach and be present would let many know that they are not forgotten, and we recognize their work through this process.”
The churches and their guest pastors will be:
Nebraska
- Bloomfield Christ Memorial: Rev. Dr. Nancy Tomlinson, Blue River-Elkhorn Valley districts superintendent
- Callaway: Rev. Jeff Clinger, congregational excellence director
- Gothenburg: Lisa Maupin, conference lay leader
- Omaha FaithWestwood: Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede, Missouri River-Elkhorn Valley districts superintendent
- Ord-Sargent-Loup City: Rev. Dr. Ashlee Alley Crawford, associate clergy excellence director
- St. Paul: Rev. Dr. Jane Langat, intercultural development coordinator
- Stromsburg-Polk: Rev. Karen Jeffcoat, Board of Ordained Ministry registrar
- Superior: Randall Hodgkinson, associate conference lay leader
Kansas
- Coldwater-Wilmore: Rev. Hollie Tapley, disaster response coordinator
- Liberal: Rev. Dr. Gerald Liu, emerging faith communities cultivator
- Lyona-Woodbine: Angela Hall, administrative services administrative assistant and receptionist
- Pratt: Rev. Dr. Kalaba Chali, Wichita districts superintendent
- Scott City: Rev. Zach Anderson, Dodge City-Hays districts superintendent
- Stilwell: Rev. Dr. Tom Brady, Kansas City District superintendent
- Wamego: Bishop Wilson
- Washington: David Burke, communications content specialist
“I am excited to have a good variety of lay and clergy persons who volunteered to go out to the churches in the Great Plains Conference,” Bishop Wilson said. “I know they will have a great time at the churches and I am so thankful for their commitment.”
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Bishop leader: Easter should
be 50 days of celebration
The Easter message from Bishop Thomas Bickerton, president of the Council of Bishops, is to celebrate the risen Savior for 50 days after the Resurrection.
“Easter is seen more as a single day, a culmination of the journey through Lent. It is associated with higher-than-normal attendance in our churches, pomp, procession, and Easter lilies that are taken home before they fade,” Bishop Bickerton writes. “Whatever happened to the Fifty Days of Easter?”
Read more here.
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Annual Conference
Registration now open for June 6-9 gathering celebrating 10th anniversary
Registration is now open for the Annual Conference session, June 6-9 at Younes North Conference Center in Kearney.
Register at this link.
Register for child care.
This year's session will celebrate "10 Great Years as the Great Plains Conference," including video memories of events from the past decade that helped shape the conference.
A 10th anniversary celebration will open the session at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 6, with a memorial and baptism service that evening.
The retiree celebration will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 7. After a dinner for the ordinands on Saturday night, the ordination service will take place at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 9, followed by the setting of appointments and adjournment.
Keep up to date with our annual conference page.
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Expand your leadership skills, lift up emerging leaders through nominations
The Great Plains Conference is seeking people who want to expand their leadership skills and who want to lift up emerging leaders across Kansas and Nebraska. Our Nominations Committee is looking for people to serve on a number of conference committees, including Archives and History, Vital Congregations, Camping Ministries, Campus Ministries, Nominations, and Pensions and Health, just to name a few.
There are a large number of positions open for both clergy and lay persons. And there is definitely a significant shortage of lay persons in the nomination pool. It is important to note certain nuances of the nominations process when thinking through who is a good person to lift up.
- The nominations process involves two steps, where the person is nominated via the interest form and then the nominee is sent a more extensive survey questionnaire about interest areas, skills, etc. A person cannot be considered for a committee unless that interest form is filled out.
- The nominations committee is not responsible for filling open Board of Ordained Ministry, Administrative Review, Transition into Ministry, 0r Committee on Investigation spots. Please check with your District Superintendent regarding interest in serving on those committees.
- The conference currently does not allow for persons, unless by virtue of their office, to serve on multiple conference committees. This was part of our organizing framework when we became the Great Plains. This means that if someone is already on a conference committee they cannot serve on another.
To indicate your interest or to lift up the name of another person please fill out the nominations form on the Great Plains Conference website https://gp-reg.brtapp.com/leadershipnomination.
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General Conference
General Conference guide
is now available online
The new Guide to the Postponed 2020 General Conference is now available for download at umcgc.org. This UM News resource is packed with information on how General Conference works, its history and major legislative issues, along with background on The United Methodist Church. For those attending the April 23-May 3 event, the guide also includes information on the host city, Charlotte, North Carolina, and the convention center. It is available in English, French and Portuguese.
Download English-language guide (PDF)
Visit General Conference site
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Pre-General Conference video
resources available from UM News
As The United Methodist Church approaches General Conference, UM News is providing video resources to help people better understand how the legislative assembly works and what legislation is under consideration. The first three videos are now posted with more to come over the next few weeks.
Watch videos
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Upper Room offers prayer
guide for General Conference
The theme of this General Conference is “... and know that I am God.” To prepare you for the journey, Upper Room offers this devotional guide, from April 7-23, as a path to enrich your knowledge of God.
The content of this guide is written by persons from all over the world who have found God’s presence in ordinary moments in their lives.
Their experiences offer us new perspectives on how God is at work in the world. We hope that this devotional guide will lead you into a calm, open mindset as delegates gather to do the work of the church. Let us remember it is not about our agendas but about what God and the Holy Spirit can do in and through us for the betterment of the whole church at this General Conference.
No matter where we come from, prayer can connect all of us in our shared United Methodist mission of doing no harm, doing good, and staying in love with God (General Rules of the UMC). Regardless of our language, physical stance, or the manner in which we pray, we raise our voices in hopeful prayers of unity, mission, and ministry through Jesus Christ for our church.
— Excerpts from the "Welcome" by Kim Simpson,
Chair of the Commission on the General Conference
Find the devotions here.
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Native Americans to share
art, faith at General Conference
Participants at the upcoming General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, will receive beaded pins crafted by Native American United Methodists.
Lay pastor Diana LaRocque made more than 1,000 of the pins for the 2020 legislative assembly, which was delayed until this year. LaRocque died in 2020, but her pins and 5,000 others produced elsewhere remain and will be circulated with help from United Women in Faith.
Among those speaking about the importance of the pins is Bishop David Wilson, the first Native American episcopal leader in the denomination.
Read more here.
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Webinar next Tuesday looks at
General Conference, inclusion
The United Methodist Association of Retired Clergy and Friends plans to hold a webinar titled “The Resurrection of an Inclusive Church: United Methodism’s Upcoming General Conference” at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday, April 9. Keynote speakers include the Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of Resurrection, a United Methodist church in Leawood, and Mountain Sky Conference Bishop Karen P. Oliveto.
Learn more and register.
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Clergy Excellence
Summer, fall clergy programming
to include four different retreats
Are you thinking about your Continuing Education needs for this summer and fall? The Registration links for several retreats have recently opened up, so this is a good time to check out what’s available in the months ahead:
- A Time Apart, a sermon and worship planning retreat led by Rev. Dr. Theresa Mason, Rev. Anne Gahn, and Rev. Doug Gahn. $250, Monday, July 29 (5 p.m.) to Friday, Aug. 2 (3 p.m.) at The Leadership Center in Aurora, Nebraska. Register here.
- Roots for Your Soul Retreat, The Embodied Gospel, led by Dr. Dave Janvier and Rev. Dr. Shelly Petz. $50, Monday, Sept. 16 (1 p.m.) to Wednesday, Sept. 18 (noon) at the St. Benedict Center, Schuyler, Nebraska. Read more about the retreat and register here.
- A Pastor’s Place Retreat, a retreat and 8-week small-group based group experience for Pastoral Renewal, let by Rev. Dr. Ashlee Alley Crawford. $50, Monday, Sept. 9 (1 p.m.)-Wednesday, Sept. 11 (noon) at the Marillac Retreat Center in Leavenworth. Read more about the retreat and register here.
- More information coming soon about Challenging Times, Powerful Preaching: Practices for Keeping the Flame Alive, a five-part webinar with Dr. Lucy Hogan to support you through preaching this fall. Limited spaces will be available. $150 (Registration will be opening soon!)
Also, don’t forget about the resources available to you on our Clergy Discipleship page. Of special note are some information about grants and one-on-one supports for Clergy:
And, finally, if you’re a clergy who is in the midst of transition, check out our new and updated resources for pastoral transition here.
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New resources available for clergy, congregations in pastoral transition
Transition of Pastoral Leadership can create stress and opportunity, grief and excitement. The clergy and congregations who will be experiencing a transition of pastoral leadership are invited to join several new opportunities to navigate the change in healthy ways.
- Zoom-based training meetings designed by the Offices of Clergy and Congregational Excellence to provide a healthy foundation amid pastoral change for the outgoing pastor, plus1-2 congregational leaders (SPRC, Administrative Board, Lay Leader, or other key leaders from the congregation) to identify healthy strategies for the leadership change. Participants can choose to attend one meeting of the following options that will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. (CT) on April 9 and May 9.
- New and Updated Resources added to our website for creating healthy pastoral transitions.
- Clergy who are moving appointments this year are invited to attend a For Your Life retreat that will be focused on soul care and creating a plan for spiritual health amid the transition. For details, contact Rev Dr. Ashlee Alley Crawford, aalleycrawford@greatplainsumc.org.
Learn more and register for events here: www.greatplainsumc.org/pastoraltransitions.
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April 15 is deadline to get grants
for kids, youth, pastoral ministry
Do you have a young adult, at least 18 years old, who has the gifts for serving in your church full or part time as an intern in kids, youth, or pastoral ministry this summer? The conference is offering Matching Internship Grants for churches this summer up to $2,400 for the summer. The deadline for applying is April 15. Check out more information here.
Our objectives for Church Matching Internship Grants are:
- To help churches identify a young person with gifts for ministry.
- To support a vibrant and creative summer season of ministry.
- To connect interns with a learning community of other interns throughout the summer.
Our expectations for the churches applying:
- Your intern will be paid an hourly rate (at least minimum wage) for up to 40 hours per week. Internship must be a minimum of 10 weeks, running from May 20 to July 29.
- Mentors will receive onboarding resources and interns will receive a welcome box from the conference.
- Someone from the church staff will be an assigned supervisor throughout the summer and will meet weekly with the intern for supervision and making space for reflecting on the intern’s summer learning.
Contact Rev. Dr. Ashlee Alley Crawford to learn more about the Pastoral Leadership internship, aalleycrawford@greatplainsumc.org or 785-414-4216 or Rev. Melissa Gepford to learn more about the kids or youth internships, mgepford@greatplainsumc.org or 785-272-9111. And if having an intern is new for you and you’d like to learn more about best practices, reach out to Ashlee or Melissa. This could be a life-changing summer for a young adult or for your congregation to nurture the call of an intern. Will you check out the possibilities today?
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Equipping Disciples
LSM class on dementia
care open to all in conference
Dementia and its related diseases affect every congregation and community in the Great Plains Conference. Few of our families are unaffected by this disease.
In response to this overwhelming need, Lay Servant Ministries of the Dodge City and Hays districts are offering a class which will apply for continuing certification as a certified lay servant.
The class, “Ministry with the Forgotten,” is based on a book of the same name written by Bishop Kenneth Carder. Due to the importance of this subject matter, we are opening the class to all laity and clergy in the conference.
Concurrent with this class we will also offer the basic class for those seeking to become certified as Lay Servants.
Both classes will be help at Camp Lakeside, a United Methodist camp just north of Scott City, April 19-20. We will begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday and conclude by 4 p.m. Saturday.
The cost is $80 for advanced class, free for basic class (cost covered by scholarships).
For more information or to register, contact Nancy LaPell, nelp@st-tel.net.
From U.M. News Service: South Carolina church starts services for those with memory issues.
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Healthy Congregations
retreat coming up in two weeks
Great Plains Conference United Methodists seeking to improve congregational and community health are encouraged to attend the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund’s 2024 Healthy Congregations Retreat, April 18-19 in Salina.
Day 1 features a workshop -- Leaving a Legacy of Abundance in a Culture of Scarcity -- facilitated by Rev. Adam Barlow-Thompson, executive director and co-founder of The Neighboring Movement. During this interactive workshop, participants will practice moving from scarcity to abundance. The activities and tools in the workshop will be available for use in local settings and will help churches see the power of becoming community connectors. The workshop will focus on reducing the sense of isolation and loneliness that is created when doing ministry in a culture of scarcity.
Day 1 also offers Healthy Congregations certification training. The training provides orientation and tools for success to new Healthy Congregations teams and team members. For those not yet participating, the training is a great opportunity to learn more about the initiative - which offers volunteer Great Plains teams annual funding, training and assistance, and connection with resources to improve congregational and community health.
The event continues on Day 2 as Intersections of Faith & Health, expanding the audience to include those from other faith communities and the fields of public health, health care, and non-profits, along with community members.
Intersections explores current and emerging health issues with an emphasis on approachable ways to collaborate, partner, and coordinate to improve community health for all. Featured topics for 2024 include maternal and child health, childcare, Medicaid expansion, food security and civic engagement.
Through Health Fund sponsorship, the event is provided at no cost to participants. Hotel rooms are still available for April 18, but space is filling up.
Learn more and reserve your place today.
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Want to do something that matters?
Check out volunteer opportunities
Summer is right around the corner and local church mission teams are beginning to make plans for their mission experience and for making disciples. Team leaders there are all kinds of helps on the conference website to make your planning easier: https://www.greatplainsumc.org/VIMteamresources.
Not sure where to go? We are in the process of securing some in-conference sites for you to select from. For other UMVIM projects check out this site: https://coor.umvimncj.org/projects/ For questions, contact Rev. Hollie Tapley, Conference Disaster Response and UMVIM Coordinator.
Local churches of the Great Plains Conference, do you have unmet needs of small repairs, painting, yard work, etc. that youth and adult mission teams could do for you this summer? We are looking for local projects within the conference for our UMVIM Mission Teams to connect with. If your church needs a mission team contact Tapley, htapley@greatplainsumc.org.
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Nominate clergy, laity or youth
for Denman Evangelism Award
Each year The Foundation for Evangelism works with annual conferences to offer the Denman Evangelism Award to three recipients: one clergy, one laity and one youth.
This is a meaningful way to honor and thank people who demonstrate evangelistic passion to reach others for Christ. Awards are presented at Annual Conference sessions. Nominations for the 2024 awards are due by May 1. Instructions and guidelines are on this the Nomination Form; specify whether you are nominating clergy, laity or youth.
Nomination forms in the Great Plains should be submitted to Rev. Jeff Clinger, director of congregational excellence, at jclinger@greatplainsumc.org.
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Mercy & Justice
Concluding two videos of
‘Unity in Diversity’ series available
The third and fourth videos in the Wichita districts' "Unity in Diversity" series are now available.
In the third video, members of the Unity in Diversity Team share one unique aspect of the United Methodist Church that has impacted their faith in a profound way.
In the fourth and final video, team members look at the meaning of unity and its importance for the future of the church.
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In Easter sermon, pastor talks about Palestinians’ struggles with their faith
“It is so hard to hold on to our faith! But Christ is risen, the final word belongs to God!” -- Easter Sermon from Bethlehem
Over 850 people from around the world participated in the livestreamed Easter Vigil for Gaza. Those participants that shared about where they were from listed the following countries: Australia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, India, Jordan, Mexico, Norway, Palestine, Portugal, Qatar, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States. Prayers and scriptures were read by people from around the world. The Lord’s Prayer was shared in Aramaic, a language that Jesus spoke.
It was special to worship with others from around the world but the reason was somber. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus cries out on the cross. Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, shared in his sermon how difficult it is for Palestinian Christians to hold on to their faith with the genocide in Gaza having been normalized with over 32,000 people already having been killed. The call for a cease fire has not made any difference on the ground yet and with hardly any food and medicine being allowed into Gaza more and more people are starving to death. “It is so hard to speak of resurrection. We are mourning. Our siblings in Gaza are literally dying from starvation, man-made starvation.” But he emphasized that they look at the cross and at the empty tomb to find hope. “In the Easter story we find hope and empowerment in knowing that Jesus identifies with us.” “Faith is the only thing they cannot take away from us. Christ is risen, God has the final word.” Rev. Isaac also urged us and our churches to hear the call from God to take action, to stand up for our siblings in need.
Click here to listen to his sermon.
Submitted by Andrea Paret, Holy Land Task Force
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Disaster Response
Volunteers are crucial in
ministry of disaster response
Are you looking to grow in your discipleship and make a difference in someone else’s life at the same time? The Great Plains Disaster Response Ministry is for you! Our ministry is based on making disciples by showing compassion and care to all people affected by a disaster. If you are 18 years and older, we need you! Volunteers are crucial and serve as the “hands and feet” of Christ. Without an abundance of willing volunteers, the work does not get done for those who cannot afford insurance or have limited insurance.
You are needed to make a difference! You are needed to make disciples! Contact Rev. Hollie Tapley, htapley@greatplainsumc.org for more information and to sign up.
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Administration
PAUMCS to meet April 23-24
at Lincoln St. Mark’s UMC
“Gifts of the Holy Spirit” is the theme of the spring workshop for the Great Plains chapter of the Professional Association of the United Methodist Connectional Structure, or PAUMCS.
The workshop will be April 23-24 at Lincoln St. Mark’s UMC.
The guest speaker is Rev. Dan Safarik, a retired veteran pastor who has served throughout Nebraska and now has a part-time appointment at St. Mark’s.
The workshop form and membership form are available here. The deadline to sign up is April 12.
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Nebraska UM Foundation
scholarship program opens
The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation opened its scholarship season on April 1 with more than $50,000 in scholarships available for undergraduate students, seminary students, and local pastors pursuing a career in church leadership.
The Seminary Scholarship Program has 26 different seminary scholarships available.
The David Wayne Krick & Donald E. Krick Jr. Seminary Scholarship are for those ministerial students who have lived in the Gateway District for two years.
The Tither’s Scholarship is a $10,000 scholarship and is available to students who will attend or are attending an accredited two or four-year college or university in Iowa or Nebraska, or any UM-affiliated and accredited institution of higher learning (post-secondary) education. Parents must have tithed for at least five consecutive years prior to which the scholarship would begin. The students and parents must be members of a United Methodist Church in Iowa or Nebraska.
The deadline for the above scholarships is June 30.
The Course of Study Scholarships are administered on a reimbursement basis to individuals enrolled in classes within the Course of Study program. Candidates must be a member of a Nebraska United Methodist Church and a certified candidate. They must also be available to be an appointed member of the Great Plains Conference with the intention of serving ministries approved by the Conference.
For more information on these scholarships, visit www.numf.org.
The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation would like to acknowledge the generous gifts donors have made to make these scholarships possible.
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 student, please call the Foundation at 877-495-5545.
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Resources
Environmental stewardship, nature subject of DVDs, books from center
We’ve landed in the month of Earth Day, and United Media Resource Center has DVDs and books available on environmental stewardship and nature.
Among the videos are “Awakening Grace: Spiritual Practices to Transform Your Soul,” “Footprint: Population, Consumption and Sustainability,” and “Organic Wesley: A Christian Perspective on Food, Farming and Faith.”
Book titles include “7 Simple Steps to Green Your Church” by Rebekah Simon-Peter, “Harvesting Abundance: Local Initiatives of Food and Faith” by Brian Sellers-Peterson, and “Stewards of Eden: What Scripture Says About the Environment and Why It Matters” by Sandra Richter.
See those and more here.
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Helping churches embrace digital
revolution is subject of webinar
Two United Methodist pastors will lead a free workshop: Liturgy and Leadership in the Digital Age, in-person and online. Methodist Theological School in Ohio will host the event from 8:30-11 a.m. CT Wednesday, April 17. The workshop will be led by the Rev. Rachel Billups, pastor of New Albany United Methodist Church in New Albany, Ohio, and the Rev. Matt Rawle, pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana.
Read press release and register.
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Across the Connection
Former Husker encourages
men to be on Christ’s team
DeMoine Adams, a star with the Nebraska Huskers from 1999-2002 and a veteran of the Green Bay Packers, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers, told Prairie Rivers United Methodist Men about being on the team of Christ’s church during a dinner gathering March 18.
About 90 men, plus women and youth, attended the presentation at Central City UMC.
Read more here.
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In other news
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Newsletters
Classifieds
Classifieds are posted for 30 days unless otherwise requested. Please allow three business days for your classified to appear on the website. Email David Burke to update or renew your classified. Submit your classified here.
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