Winter Conference January 29 - February 1, 2017 Epworth By The Sea

Transcription

1 Northwest District Office The United Methodist Church 1022 B - Second Avenue Columbus, Georgia Phone Edwin M.(Buddy) Cooper, Jr. District Superintendent R. Lawson Bryan, Bishop Winter Conference January 29 - February 1, 2017 Epworth By The Sea Held in the Strickland Auditorium, evening worship services, 7:00-9:00 p.m. are free and open to the public. Winter Conference sessions are scheduled throughout the day. Meals will be served cafeteria style. Preaching: Bishop Lawson Bryan (SGA Episcopal Area, UMC) Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson (NGA Episcopal Area, UMC) Rev. Kenny Grant (Calvary Baptist Temple-Savannah) Rev. David Yarborough (St. Simons Community Church) Bishop Lawson Bryan Rev. Jay Hanson and Ms. Anne Bosarge (The Chapel UMC-Brunswick) Bible Study Teacher: Rev. Dr. J. D. Walt of Seedbed.com Panel Discussion on Congregational Vitality: Bishop Bryan, Bishop Haupert-Johnson, Rev. Phil Schroeder, Rev. Dr. J.D.Walt and Rev. Hanson. Seminar on Church Development: Rev. Chuck Salter (MissionInsite) and Rev. Hanson. Bringing years of experienced conference leaders and teachers will focus on ministry, provide encouragement, and show you how to sharpen your skills for Christian service. For complete information and registration, visit Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson Rev. Kenny Rev.David Yarbrough Rev. Jay Hanson Ms.Anne Bosage Rev.Phil Schroeder Rev. Dr. J.D. Walt Rev. Chuck Salter APPOINTMENT MAKING PROCESS BEGINS January 5, the District Office sent to each clergy person Report to the Bishop and Cabinet Form upon which information relative to the appointment process for will be recorded. Also, on January 5, the District Office sent to each Pastor/Staff-Parish Relations Committee Chairperson a Report of the Pastor/Staff-Parish Relations Committee Form. This form solicits information from this Committee relative to the Appointment of a Pastor for Both the Clergy and the Committees are to return their forms no later than February 9, Each party is to sign the other s form after it is completed prior to returning to the District Office. January 5, the Cabinet Information Form will be available online on the Conference website ( within the Church or Extension Ministry Dashboard. Clergy serving local churches will access the form through their Church Dashboard, which was used during the Charge Conference season. Once you log in to your church dashboard, click on the link for cabinet information report. If you are serving a multiple church charge you can use your lead church s username and password to complete the report for all churches on the charge. Clergy should complete their reports by February 9. The Appointive Cabinet will meet February at Epworth By the Sea to begin the appointment-making process. Northwest District Newsletter January

2 CARES AND CONCERNS Congratulations to J and Laura Grantham on the birth of a grandson, Chandler Grantham Miller, on December 30, in Forsyth, GA. Chandler weighed 5 lbs. 13 ozs. and was 19 3/4 inches in length. Proud parents are Jordan and Brian Miller of Cumming, GA. Proud great-grandmother is Gail Grantham. Please be in prayer for Andrew Barrett, son of Alan and Beth Barrett. Alan was admitted to the hospital in Birmingham, Alabama January 6. Please lift him up in prayer along with the Cystic Fibrosis team as they work with him. Additionally, he felt like he might have the flu (in spite of having had a flu shot) along with the regular CF lung problems. Choir Robes Needed The Andersonville UMC is in need of adult choir robes. They also need children s robes. If your church has robes they do not need or knows of someone who does, please contact Elaine Hargrove at Join the Journey Confirmation Retreat March 3-5, 2017, Epworth By The Sea Jan. 1, 2017, registration will be open to all churches both in and out of conference. The deadline to register is Feb. 10, 2017, or until the event reaches maximum capacity. Contact Event Coordinator Suzanne Akins at the Office of Connectional Ministries at (912) or by at suzanne@sgaumc.com. Church Leader Training Opportunities New guidebooks for Discipleship Resources are available for leadership team training for church s key staff, laity in leadership positions and pastor. Topics of the four TeamWork Guidebooks are Spiritual Life of the Leaders, Connecting with Your Community, Creating a Discipleship System and Futurecasting. The guidebooks, are available for $7.50 each from Amazon, contain seminars, personal devotions, tools and articles. Downloadable tools and the webinars designed to train people to use the material in the guidebooks are available free at the TeamWorks website. For more information, go to or contact Craig Kennet Miller at cmiller@umcdisciplineship.org. SGC Leadership Training Archived Webinars. Visit to find archived webinars around the following topics presented by leaders in the South Georgia Conference: Local Church Treasurer 101-Derek McAleer; Lay Leader-Lois Duncan; PPRC/ SPRC- Tommy Martin; Trustees-Warren Plowden; Finance-Jimmy Cason Job Descriptions: Discipleship Ministries also has local church officer job descriptions and other resources available for many UMC positions. Free Downloadable Book: Solve the Puzzle Of Copyrights Download CCS s Solve the Puzzle of Copyrights: 6 Steps to Learning How to Do Music Right free so you can learn at your own pace and identify where you are at greatest risk for possible infringements. Live Broadcast Your Worship Service Online - FREE People don t have to miss church due to illness or bad weather. With Google Hangouts video streaming is easy and your church probably already has what it takes to do it. New Safe Sanctuaries Video -A new Safe Sanctuaries training video, produced by the Office of Connectional Ministries is available. This video explores the basics of Safe Sanctuaries and is presented by Allison Lindsey, Associate Director of Connectional Ministries. vimeo.com/ Handout of PowerPoint with sections for notes can be downloaded. Amplified Videos -Narrative videos from our Conference agencies are now available for use in your local church to help connect congregations to this vital work across South Georgia: Higher Education and Campus Ministry; Magnolia Manor; Methodist Home; Open Door Community House; Vashti; Wesley Community Centers; and Wesley Glen. Camp Connect is Now Hiring Camp Connect at Epworth By The Sea is searching for college students who want to serve a summer in ministry. If you are a college student or you know of one, Camp Connect is hiring! Applications for the 2017 Leadership Team (aka Camp Connect Summer Staff) are now available online, along with information about what the job entails: Northwest District Newsletter January

3 UMMen Annual Retreat April 21-22, 2017 Epworth By The Sea Rev. Craig Rikard, Speaker Men s Golf Tournament on Friday April 21st at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club in Waverly 2050 Sanctuary Wynd Waverly, Ga Phone website Format: Practice begins at 11:00AM and Tee times are slotted to begin at 12:00 noon on Friday April 21 st, Note this is the same course we played last year just off I-95 Exit #26. Entry Fee: $50.00 made out to South Georgia United Methodist Men. Mail to Don Goodroe-Treasurer, P O Box Albany, Ga man scramble with both players handicaps added together and divided by 4 to get deduction from gross score for a low net winner. Ex: a 10HC + a 20HC =30/4 =7.5 points deducted. Two players count best ball and total then deduct points for low net. USGA rules apply except club limit waived. Play YELLOW TEES 5660 yds. You may place ball in fairway one club length but no closer to hole and may not move ball out of a hazard such as sand or water to improve lie. 1 st place team prize 2 nd place team prize 3 rd place team prize Closest to pin prize on hole #8 160 yds $ 50 you must be on green to qualify Closest to pin prize on hole # yds $ 50 you must be on green to qualify $ for team total, $ each $ for team total, $ each $ for team total, $ each Directions to course available on website or as follows: Take I-95 South from Hwy 82 about miles to exit #26 then turn left (East) and go about 1 2 mile to entrance on left at Sanctuary Cove. Follow around to right on Sanctuary Wynd to course. Hole Sponsors are available for $100 each for sign with name, address and phone to advertise. Mail checks in advance to Don Goodroe - Treasure P O Box Albany, Ga or if you are getting there late you may pay Larry at the course that morning before starting. See registration form to submit handicaps along with name and partner. All proceeds from this tournament will go toward United Methodist Men s Ministries such as 24 hours Prayer Line, Boys/ Girls Scouts, Missions and Ministries. Questions: please call Larry Price at or cell price2406@bellsouth.net thanks for your participation. Registration form available on conference website, click on UMM. We need players and hole sponsors. If we got each of the six districts to sell 10 hole sponsors each that would give us $6,000 for ministry money and Missions. Please call a friend to come play with you and have your group sponsor a hole to support our missions. 12th National Gathering of United Methodist Men July Indianapolis, Indiana Sexual Ethics in Ministry For Clergy Schedule February 4, 2017, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Saturday Camilla UMC, Camilla, GA* February 23, 2017, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Thursday Epworth By The Sea, Nalls Building, St. Simons Island, GA. April 25, 2017, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Tuesday Vineville United Methodist Church, Macon, GA *recently added Saturday workshop Northwest District Newsletter January

4 GA-PAUMCS The Georgia Chapter (GAC) of United Methodist Church Secretaries is related to the Professional Association of United Methodist Church Secretaries--PAUMCS. The Purpose of PAUMCS is to establish a method for training and certifying United Methodist Church secretaries. opportunities for professional development, continuing education, and spiritual enrichment as we promote individual growth. To find out more about GA-PAUMCS contact the Chapter President, Jackie Powers, jpowers@gfumc.com. If you want to find out how to join the Chapter, contact the Membership Chairperson, Kathy Cawthon, kcawthon@fumcgreensboro.org. It is the desire of the organization to provide a supportive base for the unity and fellowship of its members, to provide ideas on how to share the good news of GA- PAUMCS, please contact, Lesley Baskette, lesley@umcommission.org. Children s Camp at Dooly Campground Planning for Children s Camp at Dooly Campground next summer is already underway Kathy Minor, Director of Children s Ministries at Cordele First UMC, directing it and looking for others to join a planning team. Summer Camp can be such an important part of a child s faith journey. If you have a heart for childrens, lover of Jesus, or simply have a talent for any part of camp, you are welcome. Contact Kathy at Kathy@cordelefirst.com or OPEN DOOR OPEN DOOR CLASSIC 5K RUN AND WALK WILL BE MARCH 4, In the same location as last year-beautiful Woodruff Park in Uptown Columbus. We welcome and thank TSYS as our very first Ironman sponsor! CATIES S CALL TO ACTION Our cupboard is bare! Can you please help? We are gratefully accepting canned goods/nonperishable items and especially need: Tuna, caned meats, peanut butter, spaghetti/spaghetti sauce, juice, soups, green beans, corn, peas, 1 lb. bags of rice HOMELESS MINISTRIES: Our Homeless Ministries are in need of the following: Q-tips, spray deodorant, socks, men s underwear (briefs), white t-shirts, disposable razors, foot powder, insect repellent. Epworth By The Sea Events Cord of Three Christian Women s Quilting Retreat And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Ecclesiastes 4:12 This retreat will focus on faith foundation supports. Presented by Mavis Rosbach, Quiltbird Studio January 27-29, 2017, Epworth By The Sea. Contact Mavis for complete details: mavis@quiltbirdstudio.com or register online: Saint Simons Island Storytelling Festival February 18-20, 2017 Storytellers: Donald Davis, The Dean of Storytelling Lyn Ford, Teller of Home-Fried Tales Andy Offutt Irwin, The Man is an Outer-Kid Bill Lepp, Champion Liar of Tall Tales and Witty Stories Be prepared to laugh, shed a few tears and enjoy their stories. Moore Methodist Museum s Historic Preservation Workshop, Epworth By The Sea January 26, 10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. The program is ideal for church historians, community historians, or anyone looking to preserve family history. Activities will include instruction on preservation and archiving techniques, tutorials on displaying artifacts, a tour of the museum, and a lecture from Rev. Dave Hanson. To register, or assistantdirector@mooremuseum.org. The workshop costs $30 per person, which is payable by cash, check or card (cost includes lunch at EBTS). All proceeds go to the museum. Northwest District Newsletter January

5 From the Desk of Dr. Derek McAleer Let Your Church Dashboard Save You Work! Most of you know that you should be filling in your monthly Discipleship Form in your church dashboard. Many do this faithfully -- some not quite so faithfully -- and a few haven't yet seen the need for full attention to this area. Let me mention to you that filling out this form is not more work -- it will save you work! In early January, you will be asked to review your Cabinet Information Form online. We will actually import the membership numbers and worship attendance directly from the monthly Discipleship Forms -- so if your Discipleship Form is correct, your Cabinet Information Form will be correct without you having to do anything. In early February, we will import the membership and attendance numbers from the Discipleship Form into the Statistical Reports. If your dashboard is correct, you won't have to worry about that portion of your statistical tables -- they'll be done! {Cue ominous music} But if your Discipleship Forms are not correct, or is just plain not done -- picture Snidely Whiplash tying Nell Fenwick to the railroad tracks, and you'll know how your District Administrative Assistant will feel about you -- because you'll have to deal with the district office to get the numbers corrected, as we need them for the Cabinet Information report, 2016 Statistical Tables, and 2017 Appointment-making process. {Bring back brighter music} But why worry about that? Just go ahead and make sure your December church Discipleship Form has your correct membership and worship attendance numbers -- even if you haven't filled another month's out this year. Get the December one correct, and you'll look like a champ! Ready to get this out of the way? Did you already work up most of those numbers for your Charge Conference report, but haven't entered them into your Discipleship Form? Head over to the Church Dashboard and work on that Discipleship Form now! Northwest District Newsletter January

6 This is a great opportunity for Continuing Education credit... From: Christina Green Sent: Thursday, January 05, :39 PM Subject: Pastoral Care Training with CEUs Greetings from the Turner Ministry Resource Center of the Pastoral Institute! Beginning in 2017, we are happy to introduce a new and exciting training opportunity for pastors, providers of lay pastoral care and Stephen s Ministers. The Pastoral Care Symposia will be an ongoing training program for clergy and congregational leaders. Each Spring and Fall there will be training days on a monthly basis. The format will be lecture, question and discussion, and small group interaction. These sessions will be designed around issues raised by local clergy. The sessions for the Spring module are Grief and Loss, Addictions, Pre-marital and marital therapy, and Pastoral/Congregational transitions. The opportunity to obtain 12 continuing education units (CEUs) will be available for clergy. For Pastors and Leaders of churches who are part of our Covenant Congregation Program (CCP) one CCP unit (value of $100) can be used to offset part of the cost of the series. After full payment has been received for the symposia, this benefit will be reimbursed upon request. Please contact a member of the Turner Ministry Resource Center for more information. For your convenience, please see the attachment for more in-depth information. Greetings and salutations, Christina Green Administrative Assistant Turner Ministry Resource Center/Department of Education and Counselor Training Pastoral Institute, Inc Fifteenth Avenue Columbus, GA Phone: , ext 1306 Fax: Northwest District Newsletter January

7 A Four-part Series for Clergy, Lay Pastors & Stephen s Ministers Local clergy have raised specific areas of Pastoral Concern with the presenter. The sessions of the Pastoral Care Symposia are designed to address some of these areas. Each session will present the latest informed research in that area. Each session will allow small group interaction around that issue. Each session will address issues of Theological Reflection and Pastoral Concern. We will address questions such as: How can I minister more effectively with different forms of loss and grief? What are addictions and how can I think pastorally about them? How effective is premarital counseling and how can I improve it? What actually occurs to pastors and congregations in transitions? What models can help us address transitions more effectively? Sessions Date Topic 2/2/2017 Session 1 - Grief & Loss: Toward a Theology of Hope 3/2/2017 Session 2 Pre-marital/Marital Therapy: Toward a Theology of Unity 4/6/2017 Session 3 Addictions: Toward a Theology of Grace 5/4/2017 Session 4 Pastoral Transitions: Toward a Theology of Conciliation Where? Community Room of the Pastoral Institute th Street Columbus, GA When? Each session is from 9:00 am 2:00 pm. Registration begins at 8:30 am. Cost $ Price includes registration and lunch for all four sessions. 12 CEUs will be awarded to Clergy at no additional charge. To register for this event click here to be taken directly to the link or visit us at choose the Upcoming Events link at the top of the page and go to the 2/2/17 date on the calendar. For questions, please contact Christina Green at (706) , ext or cgreen@pilink.org. Northwest District Newsletter January

8 A Four-part Series for Clergy, Lay Pastors & Stephen s Ministers Session I. Grief and Loss: Toward a Theology of Hope Perhaps the most common issue of Pastoral Care is Grief and Loss. This session will address the latest research in grief and loss. What are the various kinds of loss? How do they differ? What are appropriate intervention strategies for these losses? What recent research may be useful in supporting people on the journey to reclaiming hope in their lives; the pastoral task. Session II. Pre-marital/Marital Therapy: Toward a Theology of Unity Clergy and congregations are constantly addressing issues of pre-marital and marital stresses. This session will address such questions as: What is the latest research on the effectiveness of pre-marital counseling? How can pre-marital counseling be strengthened? What are the signs of a healthy marriage? How can the congregation support healthy marriages? Pastorally, how can a clear Theology of Unity assist us in developing a support mechanism for healthy marriages in our congregations and community? Session III. Addictions: Toward a Theology of Grace Pornography, drugs, alcohol... Are these and other addictions biological, psychological, spiritual? Are they some combination of these and other factors? This session will identify the characteristics of addictions from the latest research. It will identify the latest interventions in treatment. It will also explore how a better understanding of the Theology of Grace places the congregation in an appropriate place to support the addict and family while maintaining its place as a representative of the Kingdom of God. Session IV. Pastoral Transitions: Toward a Theology of Conciliation For many years the stages of Kubler-Ross have been a framework for understanding pastoral transitions. Is this a viable model? Is it a useful model based on the latest research? What happens to congregations in times of pastoral transition? What happens to pastors and their families in the midst of transition? In this session we will explore these issues and how a deeper understanding of a Theology of Conciliation can support and guide congregations, clergy, and families through times of transition. To register for this event click here to be taken directly to the link or visit us at choose the Upcoming Events link at the top of the page and go to the 2/2/17 date on the calendar. For questions, please contact Christina Green at (706) , ext or cgreen@pilink.org. Northwest District Newsletter January

9 Northwest District Newsletter January

10 SOUTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE GEORGIA APPOINTMENT MAKING SCHEDULE District Superintendents will continue consultations with Pastors and Pastor/Staff Relations Committees following these meetings, as needed. 5. Orientation for Moving Pastors Bishop Bryan and the Appointive Cabinet will host an orientation session for full-time moving clergy. Superintendents will release the date, location, and time for this event as information is figured up Annual Conference Materials At the 2015 Annual Conference Session members voted that only those clergy and lay members to Annual Conference who choose to opt-in to receive conference AC materials will receive paper material. Therefore, all AC materials will be placed on the conference and district websites to download and print or save to an electronic device. The Book of Recommendations will also be available to order at a minimal cost through lulu.com. All clergy for whom we have an address will receive a notification when Annual Conference materials are available. If an address was entered during Charge Conference season for the lay member to Annual Conference from your church that person will receive an as well. However clergy are requested to check with the church s lay member to Annual Conference to make sure they receive all of the Annual Conference materials. Information will also be included in the district newsletter and conference communications. Please make note of these procedures for Annual Conference materials. The process remains the same as last year, Northwest District Newsletter January

11 Northwest District Newsletter January