THE BREEZE UNDERSTANDING THE SPECIAL UNITED METHODIST GENERAL CONFERENCE

Transcription

1 F E B R U A R Y THE BREEZE UNDERSTANDING THE SPECIAL UNITED METHODIST GENERAL CONFERENCE Every four years, United Methodists from around the world gather to worship, pray, learn from each other, and do the legislative work that forms the foundation of our life together as a global church family. This gathering is called General Conference. The General Conference has the power to set the rules and procedures for the United Methodist Church, as well as communicate the Church s official position on a variety of issues and cultural challenges. S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T : Understanding the Special United Methodist General Conference Just a Nobody February Calendar Train for Something Greater Youth Ministry This February in St. Louis, there will be a special session of General Conference which was called in order to vote on a plan to move the church past its decades-long struggle over biblical interpretation and human sexuality. Three different plans will be considered: The Traditional Plan, The One Church Plan, and The Connectional Conference Plan. In a nutshell, the Traditional Plan (now officially the Modified Traditional Church Plan ) keeps the church s stance on these matters the same as it is currently, and adds greater accountability. The One Church Plan allows churches, pastors, and conferences to choose what their theology and practice around human sexuality is. The Connectional Conference Plan creates several different branches with varying theology and practice around human sexuality, all loosely connected under the UMC umbrella. The 864 delegates to General Conference will consider these plans as well as legislation related to them. On a Discipleship Mission Looking Ahead... Congregational Care & Food Pantry 2019 Administrative Teams What We Celebrated Who are these 864 delegates? Every United Methodist Church around the world is part of a regional group called an Annual Conference. Each church elects someone from their church family to represent them at the annual conference, and every pastor also attends. Our Annual Conference is Upper New York (UNY), and covers all of NY State except for the Catskills and NYC area. Bemus Point UMC elects two representatives to our UNY Annual Conference, since we have two pastors (equal lay and clergy decisionmaking power is one of our United Methodist values). Our representatives are Louise Ortman and Nancy Thoman. Based on the size, the UNY Annual Conference gets to elect 6 lay and 6 clergy delegates to General Conference. (continued on the next page)

2 CONTINUED FROM PG. 1 CHILDREN S COMING SOON! MINISTRY REAL JESUS UNDERSTANDING THE SPECIAL UNITED METHODIST GENERAL CONFERENCE Our own Pastor Bill was the first clergy delegate to General Conference elected by our Annual Conference, which made him the chair of our UNY delegation to General Conference. That means he is responsible for organizing, communicating with, and leading our UNY delegation to General Conference. If you have questions about General Conference and missed the Town Hall informational meetings Pastor Bill held here at BPUMC, he would be glad to talk with you. Please hold General Conference and Pastor Bill in your prayers during the month of February. Ask God to move powerfully, that God may be glorified and his will may be done! Joyfully Yours, Pastors Kristen & Bill JUST A NOBODY Brandon Hatch Director of Contemporary Worship If there are any 1980 s southern gospel fans out there, our newest worship song might sound strangely familiar to you. In 1985, when Michael Jackson, Wham!, Madonna, and Phil Collins were tearing up the pop charts a group known as The Williams Brothers released a lesser known hit called I m Just a Nobody. Perhaps, you re one of the 12 million people who have watched their music video on youtube, but odds are that, like me who was negative 11 years old when it was released, you missed this gospel classic. Which is a shame, because the lyrics to the chorus so cleverly sum up what it means to be a believer: I m just a nobody Trying to tell everybody About somebody Who can save anybody This year, Casting Crowns released an album with a song featuring Matthew West called Nobody which draws from the classic gospel song, but gives it a contemporary sound and adds new verses. We are going to introduce this song in February and I hope that the chorus gets stuck in your head like it has been in mine. From the beginning of the Bible we are reminded as Dr. John Andrews once said, man is dust, but the breath of God is in him. In other words, even in creation all of humanity is a bunch of nobody s until God breathes life into each of us. In our salvation story, it s the same way. We are dead in our sins before the work of Christ breathes life into our lives (Ephesians 2:1-9). Now fully alive, we have the joy of sharing the good news that although I m a nobody, I want to tell everybody, about somebody, who can save anybody. Let s live those lyrics out together.

3 FEBRUARY CALENDAR P A G E 3 1 Friday 2 Saturday 7:30 AM Men s Bible Study 9:00 AM Discovery Class 3 Sunday Communion 10:00 AM Grace/Truth 1.0 2:00 PM Route 56 6:00 PM Super Bowl Party 4 Monday 6:30 PM Mission Commission 5 Tuesday 6 Wednesday 9:00 AM Women for Missions 6:00 PM Youth Group 6:30 PM Precept 1 Thess. 6:30 PM Healing Journey 7 Thursday 1:oo PM Ladies Bible Study 6:45 PM Prayer Meeting 6:55 PM Choir Practice 9 Saturday 10 Sunday 10:00 AM Grace/Truth :30 AM Chili Cook-Off 11 Monday 6:30 PM Safe Sanctuary 6:30 PM Ad Board 7:00 PM Prayer Shawls 12 Tuesday 6:30 PM SPRC 13 Wednesday 9:00 AM Women for Missions 6:00 PM Youth Group 6:30 PM Healing Journey 14 Thursday 1:oo PM Ladies Bible Study 6:45 PM Prayer Meeting 6:55 PM Choir Practice 16 Saturday 7:30 AM Men s Bible Study 10:00 AM NYSUM Departure 17 Sunday 10:00 AM Grace/Truth Monday 19 Tuesday 20 Wednesday 9:00 AM Women for Missions 6:30 PM Healing Journey 21 Thursday 1:oo PM Ladies Bible Study 6:45 PM Prayer Meeting 6:55 PM Choir Practice 23 Saturday 24 Sunday 10:00 AM Grace/Truth Monday 6:30 PM Finance 26 Tuesday 27 Wednesday 9:00 AM Women for Missions 6:00 PM Youth Group 6:30 PM Healing Journey 28 Thursday 1:oo PM Ladies Bible Study 6:45 PM Prayer Meeting 6:55 PM Choir Practice MARCH 1 Friday Fight Club & Bookcamp Mid-Rally 2 Saturday 7:30 AM Men s Bible Study 3 Sunday Communion 4 Monday 6:30 PM Ad Board 5 Tuesday SAVE THESE DATES & MARK YOUR CALENDAR! ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE Wednesday, March 6 7pm in the Sanctuary GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE Friday, April 19 7pm in the Sanctuary EASTER SUNDAY SERVICES Sunday, April 21 7am Sunrise (I-86 Overlook), 8:30 & 10am Contemporary, and 11am Traditional SUMMER CELEBRATION AT MIDWAY PARK Sunday, August 18 10am at Midway State Park VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Monday-Friday, July 29 August 2 from 9am-12pm ROYAL FAMILY KIDS CAMP Monday Friday, August Calendar listings are subject to changes. Your call is always welcome at the church office for additional information or bpumc@bpumc.com.

4 TRAIN FOR SOMETHING GREATER Heidi Hatch Director of Children s Ministry 56 As we kick off the new year and as I ve been involved in the planning of Ladies Bootcamp, I ve been reminded of how important it is to be disciplined in all areas of life. As a Leadership team, we ve been reading through the book Train for Something Greater by Wade Hodges. This book is such a great read and is all about training both physically and spiritually and what that looks like played out in our lives. Hodges touches on how disciplined athletes must be in their training for physical fitness, and in the same way, we need to be training spiritually. Training for spiritual fitness is the only way to be truly ready for anything. Ready for success, ready for failure, ready for love, ready for heartbreak, ready for leadership, ready for opposition, ready for service, ready for temptation, ready for life, ready for death, ready for life again. As I ve been thinking and praying about what spiritual fitness looks like, I ve been thinking about families and how this training is something that families can be doing together. Praying, studying scripture, serving, worshipping, etc, are all things that children can participate in too! I have so many memories of my family reading and memorizing scripture, worshipping, and praying together as a family, and those moments were so instrumental in my life. So I encourage you as you begin this new year and work to become a more disciplined person to ask yourself, who can I take on this journey with me? I was so encouraged to talk with a mom from our church this week who told me that one of her goals this year is to be reading the Bible more with her 7-year old son. She shared with me what a cool experience it has been so far and how many amazing and deep conversations have come out of reading scripture together. What a beautiful thing! God uses the spiritual disciplines to grow us and to work in our lives, and I believe that he is calling all of us to train for something greater. YOUTH MINISTRY Tom Holland Director of Youth Ministry What an amazing and busy time of the year! December saw many exciting happenings here. We had a great Christmas party for our youth on December 12th welcoming several new students. On December 19th we partnered with another youth group for a nerf war and a special message from Jon Bogue of Impact and the UCAN Men s Mission. Since the start of the new year we have resumed regular youth meetings on Wednesday evenings, begun a new confirmation class, and started preparations for our youth mission trip to New York School of Urban Ministry which will be from Feb Caption describing picture or graphic. Thank you for your prayers and support of our youth ministry!

5 ON A DISCIPLESHIP MISSION Tim Swauger Director of Outreach & Discipleship As we kick off this New Year it s been a joy witnessing the successful launch of a number of discipleship and outreach programs and activities. Our Fight Club kick-off saw 41 men attend and 32 men representing seven different churches sign-up to participate in the 10 week program. Our men s breakfast group was honored to hold their first breakfast of the year on Jan. 9 at the UCAN City Mission and served breakfast and fellowshipped with 18 homeless there. They also hosted 2019 s first Men of Integrity breakfast on Jan. 26 which served 86 men from multiple churches in the area. Our new Ladies Bootcamp program that s running simultaneously with the men s Fight Club has over 50 women signed up! Momentum is also building for BPUMC s Women s Retreat scheduled for March 9th. To round out our offerings, Pastors Bill and Kristen have been leading the way in informing the church about the denomination s engagement with the issue of human sexuality and are leading our Adult Sunday School class based on the book, Grace/Truth 1.0. As with all the awesome programs and activities of BPUMC they would not exist without the sacrificial dedication of a handful of volunteers and staff (and what a privilege it is working alongside them!). They also rely on prayer to achieve the impact we hope they will have among participants. So, if you aren t already involved as a volunteer and/or pray warrior for the mission of BPUMC, I want you to make 2019 your year to join with us in making all these life-changing programs and activities possible. We need your prayers and volunteer involvement to achieve all God is calling us into in Join us in bringing the Good News of Jesus to our region, our nation and our world!! LOOKING AHEAD TO GREAT OPPORTUNITIES WATCH FOR MORE INFORMATION, VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES & SIGN-UP IN THE SUNDAY BULLETIN & ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Sunday, February 10 at 11:30am Saturday, March 9 from 9am-3:30pm Saturday, March 16 from 9am-3pm Sun. Sat. March Friday, March 22 from 5-8 pm Saturday, March 23 9am Fri.-Sat. March Chili Cook-off. To benefit the NYSUM Youth Mission Trip District Leadership Day Workshops. Worship. Fellowship Fearfully & Wonderfully Made - A Retreat for the Women of BPUMC Mini Golf at BPUMC Open Mini Golf Men s Mini Golf Tourney 30 Hour Famine T H E B R E E Z E

6 CONGREGATIONAL CARE Britta Brown Coordinator of Congregational Care "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Proverbs 3:5 The food pantry is taking a different approach this year. We will no longer be offering our open hours on the last Thursday of the month but instead, will be available in emergency situations. We feel that God is leading us in a new direction, but be assured we will never let anyone go without food. Emergency bags will be available during our regular church hours, we will. continue to collect food donations year-round, and we ll provide special meals during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays. These changes reflect our desire to provide individuals and families with other helpful resources that are available in our community and offer specific focus. These support ministries include Love, INC, Community Helping Hands, Chautauqua Opportunities, and Meals on Wheels. If you have any questions, concerns, or know of needs, please contact brittabrown@bpumc.com. Thank you for your continued prayer, volunteer, and monetary support of the BPUMC Food Pantry and Congregational Care ministry. CONGREGATIONAL CARE FOOD PANTRY SHOPPING LIST BPUMC FOOD PANTRY SERVING THE COMMUNITY! The BPUMC Food Pantry serves families & individuals in need of a loving hand within our Town of Ellery community and those in our church family. The food pantry is available for emergency needs. If you or someone you know is in need of items from our pantry, please contact brittabrown@bpumc.com Shopping List: Cereal Spaghetti Sauce Toothpaste Peanut butter Pasta Shampoo Tuna Fish Canned Fruit Toilet Paper Mac n Cheese Canned Vegetables Laundry Soap Soup Oatmeal FOOD ITEMS MAY BE DROPPED OFF IN THE FOOD PANTRY BOX LOCATED IN THE GALLERY ON ON SUNDAY OR ANYTIME MON-FRIDAY 8AM-4PM. THANK YOU!

7 BPUMC CHURCH UNITED METHODIST 2019 CHURCH ADMINISTRATIVE TEAMS ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD Rev. Dr. Bill Allen Rev. Kristen Allen Chelsea Hatch Marlene Grant Bryce Ireland Mary Lausterer Scott Lindstrom Tammy Lockwood Heidi Ottaway Mike Richner (C) Kathy Swanson Aruna Swauger Kelsey Tarbrake Also serving: Nancy Thoman, Gerald Possai, Randy Graham, Chip Swanson STAFF PARISH RELATIONS Rev. Dr. Bill Allen Rev. Kristen Allen Dave Boughton Katie Graham Janelle Lindstrom Suzanne Myott Gerald Possai (C) Bill Soffel Nancy Tuggle Anne Tenpas Also serving: Louise Ortman FINANCE Rev. Dr. Bill Allen Kameron Brooks Jackson Graham Randy Graham (C) Mark Lockwood Pamela Noll Linda Richner Cathy Sinatra Also serving: Chuck Barnes, Louise Ortman, Nancy Quattrone, Mike Richner TRUSTEES Rev. Dr. Bill Allen Jim Alexander Chuck Barnes Tim Benson Kathy Bemus Betty Lou Cheney Tim Moore Chip Swanson (C) Rob Westcott Phil Strand- Steve Wascher Also serving: Steve Muscarella LAY MEMBER TO ANNUAL CONFERENCE Louise Ortman Nancy Thoman Tom Holland (Alt.) SAFE SANCTUARY Rev. Kristen Allen Kirsten Bishop Mike Himes Laury Marshall Cheryl Wascher Carolynn Wesp Chasity Vantassel Also serving: Britta Brown, Heidi Hatch (C), Tom Holland NOMINATIONS & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Rev. Dr. Bill Allen (C) Rev. Kristen Allen (C) Corrie Case Kelly Dill Julie Graham Tim Gustafson Jeff Hatch Brenda Peterson MISSIONS COMMISSION Rev. Kristen Allen Thom Bemus Larry Bolling Tim Dohl Steve Jones Danelle Padd (C) Logan Richardson (Y) Sue Shearer Jan Stowell Nate Terrill Also serving: Tim Swauger MEMORIAL COMMITTEE Rev. Dr. Bill Allen (C) Suzanne Allen Kathy Bemus Marian Forshee Walt Forshee Nancy Thoman EXECUTIVE MISSION TEAM Keith Webb Rev. Kristen Allen (C) Jack Evan Charlie Hodges Scott Lord Rick Rupprecht Emmett Tenpas Also serving: Tim Swauger Sheryl Thayer

8 Christmas Memories 2018 Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Bemus Point United Methodist Church 4954 Bemus-Ellery Rd Bemus Point, NY Phone: Fax: facebook.com/bpumc