iVoice is sent to clergy and lay leadership in the Wyoming Annual Conference and its local congregations. You have received this mailing because of the position you hold in the annual conference or in your local church, or because you have requested it. Please feel free to use this information in your bulletins, local church newsletters, or as announcements during worship services.
In this issue:
Dates to Remember:
2009 Statistical Report Forms on Website
Licensing School at SkyLake
Order Fair Trade Palms for Palm Sunday
NEJ Evangelical Connection Meeting
Students Make Video in Response to Haiti Tragedy
Letter from the MethodistChurch of Haiti
Digital Resource Packet for Haiti
Volunteer Disaster Chaplain Training to be held in Long Island
News from United Methodist News Service
Dates to Remember:
Thursday, February 4:Bishops Middleton & Hassinger at 7:00 p.m. @ Shavertown UMC - For laity (and clergy who can’t attend the clergy meeting)
Tuesday, March 2:Statistical Reports due
Friday, March 26 – Saturday, March 27:Spiritual Life Retreat @ Fatima
Monday,March 29:Licensing school registrations due
Wednesday, March 31:Pre-Conference material deadline
2009 Statistical Report Forms on Website
Don’t forget to file your local church 2009 Statistical Reports. The General Council on Finance and Administration's Statistical Input System will again be used to enter the information for Tables I, II and III. All reports are to be submitted by March 2, 2010. It is very important that all churches complete the reports by then, due to the upcoming conference boundary changes on July 1, 2010.
Please make a special effort to complete all information this year. It is likely that the Susquehanna and Upper New York Conferences will use different portions of the reports to determine Ministry Shares than we have previously. Failure to provide complete, accurate information may impact your churches financial strength rating. www.wyomingconference.org
To download instructions on how to access the site, click on Business and Finance on the conference website. Look for Instructions for Filing 2009 Statistical Reports in the left hand column. Or copy and paste the following link in your web browser:http://www.wyomingconference.org/pages/detail/1094
Licensing School at SkyLake
Licensing School will be April 18 - April 23, 2010 (Sunday evening to Friday late afternoon) and May 2 - May 7, 2010 (Sunday evening to Friday afternoon). The week in between will be used for some experiential learning with experiences pastors in the area around where the Local Pastor candidates live. The school will be held at SkyLake (our camp and retreat center in Windsor, NY). This school is open to persons from other area conferences!
The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (NACEC) and the University of Minnesota Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management (CINRAM) are working together with the Rainforest Alliance TREES program, Smartwood, and TransFair to certify palms harvested from the forests of Mexico and Guatemala for sale to Christian congregations in the United States and Europe. For more information, go to the General Board of Discipleship web site and to place an order, go to http://www.cinram.umn.edu/ecopalms/index.html or call 612-624-7418.
NEJ Evangelical Connection Meeting
Northeast Jurisdiction Evangelical Connection meeting is March 12-13, 2010, at the Quality Inn & Suites Lantern Lodge, Myerstown, PA. The speakers include Dr. James Heidinger, Mike Sigman (President of Evangelical Seminary) and Bob Ladd (UM Layman from Lebanon, PA). Registration is $25.
Tim Barnes is a member of the Park Terrace Community UMC and currently in graduate school in New York City.The following video is a PSA that the students he is working with this semester made in response to the tragedy in Haiti. Click on the link or copy and paste it in your web browser to see the video.Do the same with the second link that tells about the Youth Cabinet of America organization.
Youth Cabinet of America is an organization of youth, united to create awareness, leadership, and peace. The goal of the organization is to "inspire all youth to be agents of change in their lives and communities. Go to http://www.youthcabinet.org/ for more information.
Letter from the MethodistChurch of Haiti
A letter was sent to the Council of Bishops by the Rev. Gesner Paul, President of the Methodist Church of Haiti. It expresses thanksgiving from the Church in Haiti for the response UMCOR is leading after the devastation of the earthquake.
The letter is helpful in clarifying both the need for volunteers in the future and the wisdom of responding at the most appropriate time.
You are invited to continue your prayerful support and encouragement for the people of Haiti as we continue planning for the most effective response by the UnitedMethodistChurch.
The General Board of Global Ministries has put together a digital packet of materials for use by conferences, churches and groups to help interpret and promote mission and ministry in Haiti.
- UMCOR Haiti multimedia presentation, incorporating new images and music
- to be used in worship, on the web, small groups and a variety of other settings (available in MV4 and WMV formats).
- Three UMCOR Haiti ads to be printed. Various uses: bulletin inserts,
fliers, posters, conference newspapers, church newsletters, etc.
- MP3 of "Beje Mouin, Se You Rosua Damou" - Audio recordings of hymns from Haiti, which can be used in worship settings, celebrating the gifts from the Church in Haiti.
- Six Music Scores for the following songs: "Beje Mouin," "Jeze de Nazaret," "My Family," Agneau de Dieu," "Feuille-O (Kyrie)," "Lord Have Mercy" - to be used in worship settings for prayers for/with Haiti.
- Three articles from Global Praise for worship ideas including ways to use the contents of the Haiti Resource Packet.
Volunteer Disaster Chaplain Training to be held in Long Island
Training for pastors interested in serving as Volunteer Disaster Chaplains will be offered Monday, March 8, and Tuesday, March 9, from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The George mercer, Jr., Memorial School of Theology, 65 Fourth St., Garden City, N.Y. Attendance is limited to 35 participants and registration is due by March 1. Tuition is $195. The course is compliant with NIMS (National Incident Management Systems) and incorporates FEMA Incident Command System (IS 100) training. It also complies with the National VOAD* Points of Consensus for Disaster Spiritual Care. For more information …
If you have information that should be included in an iVoice, please send it to Don Perry at dperry@wyomingconference.org or Nancy Conklin at nconklin@wyomingconference.org. Please do not send information on fundraisers such as breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, yard sales, etc.
