Farmville District United Methodist Church Newsletter April May 2013 Read about Bishop Cho s visit to the Farmville District page 2 See page 4 to see how local churches in the VA Conference are responding to Vital Congregations. See Rocky Hill UMC s congregation on pages 6 & 7. Read how your church can support the Edisto Indians on page 3. Change The World May 18 Check out page 4 to see how your church can be involved. Read the exciting District Council of Youth Report on page 7. A leader is needed for the District UMM see page 3 for details. Annual Conference Information page 5 & 6 District Office Information can be found on page 6 LUNENBURG CHARGE MISSIONARIES A team of missionaries sponsored by the Lunenburg Charge recently served on a home construction project in Aurora NC. The original home was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Irene in August, 2011. The 16 person ecumenical team included nine members of Antioch and Williams UMC s, and represented six congregations from four denominations. Charge members unable to participate on-site contributed nearly $1,000 in support of the project. This is the first multi-day, out-of-area mission of the Lunenburg Charge. The Aurora program is managed by UMCOR s disaster response initiative. Lunenburg missionaries - Front row, l-r, Betty Witt, Morgan O Leary, Courtney Layman, Shannon Hinkle, Brenda Barnes; 2nd Row: Rev. Alan Layman, Earl Callis, Will Arthur, Ronnie Overby, Abby Barnes; Back row,l-r: Robyn Fowler, Mike Witt, Walt Witt, Walt Moseley, Susan Moseley, Julie Layman. Taking the picture: Beth Wilkes
Sisters & Brothers, On March 5th we were fortunate to have Bishop and Kiok Cho with us for a teaching session, lunch and then worship at the Farmville United Methodist Church. Our gathering was well attended! Bishop Cho shared with us his vision for the conference and his commitment to spiritual formation. We are blessed to have Bishop Cho as our spiritual and episcopal leader. Bishop Cho is committed to Vital Congregations. He reminded us if anyone has questions or does not support the Vital Congregations Initiative, then pray and seek discernment and offer solutions for helping our congregations to become more vital. The United Methodist Church cannot sustain ourselves on the path we are now on. Prayer is vital. I pray every day that God will instill in us an attitude and discipline of prayer. We need to be in prayer and discernment before we do any programs or make any decisions. We must take time to rest (be silent) with God. We cannot afford not to. If our churches are to be what God created us to be, we must have a time of silence with God every day. I renew Bishop Cho s challenge to spend at least one hour daily in spiritual formation (reading scripture, prayers of petition, thanksgiving and silence before God). The one hour daily can be broken into half hours or quarter hours throughout the day. Bishop Cho challenged our pastors to enter the sanctuary on Saturdays or early Sunday morning to pray at the altar, and then to stand at each pew and offer a prayer for those who will sit in the pews that they will experience God s full blessing. Bishop Cho reminded us God created us with two ears and one mouth. Why, because we should listen more and speak less. This is a good lesson for us now during the season of Lent and hereafter devoting ourselves to prayer. For you I am praying, Bob Bishop Cho and his wife Kiok Cho pictured with our D.S. Bob Parks and his wife Susan at Farmville UMC on March 5th. Bishop Cho used this time as a teaching moment for clergy and laity, outlining how important prayer is in our lives.. Please mark your calendars now for Farmville District UMW Mission Study- Saturday, April 13, 2013, at Prospect United Methodist Church in Ebony. The time will be from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 noon. Lunch will be provided at this event. Our speaker will be Rev. Nancy Robinson. Her topic will be "Poverty". More information will follow in the Linkette. Conference UMW Spiritual Life Retreat May 3-5, Blackstone Conference & Retreat Center. Theme: Having Tea With Jesus. For registration information go to vaumc.org. events for costs and form. 2
EDISTO MISSION UPDATE Our district is in need of a United Methodist Men s president. If you have an interest in serving in this capacity or know of someone that might be - please contact Eric Arthur to let him know. He and his committee are searching now to find a president as one is very much in need. There are so many good men on this district but the UMM Nomination s Committee is limited in their ability to reach them all. Certainly there is someone out there that feels a nudge to give this a try. This is a very important ministry of the district and to all those that the men reach out to. The person that takes this position will have a committee to help them organize and plan events. Please consider this volunteer position the UMM need you! Contact Eric Arthur at ericfaye@dishmail.com or call 434-476-1116 The Edistos in Ridgeville, South Carolina, were identified in the 1990 s as being the most in need of services. As a result of this, the Farmville District entered into a covenant agreement to be in mission with them. We have been sending mission trips to work with them at least twice a year since 2002. Last year we became aware of a need for funding for their long standing senior meals (similar to Meals on Wheels) program. The District stepped up to the challenge and we were able to raise over $10,000.00 to keep the program going. In anticipation of a need to again assist in funding this year, a request was made to the Virginia Conference Council on Native American Ministries for financial aid. We were bluntly told any money collected by the conference could only be used for a Virginia tribe. We have raised $3,400.00 so far this year. We need another $8,600.00 to fund the program the rest of the year. April 14 is Native American Sunday and we are requested to take up a special offering for our Native American Ministries. As the Edisto project is an official ministry/mission of the Farmville District, please consider sending some or all of this special offering to the Friends of the Edisto. Checks should be made out to Friends of the Edisto and mailed to Friends of the Edisto, 291 Chappell Rd., Keysville, VA 23947. We are trying to get assistance for this program from South Carolina agencies but until that is in place, we need to do what we can to keep it operational. If each of us were to forego one 16 ounce soft drink this year and donate that dollar, we should come close to financing this program which feeds an average of thirty senior members of the tribe five hot meals each week. Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this request. Gary Lied, Friends of the Edisto, Team Leader DEAR FRIENDS OF UMFS: For 113 years, UMFS has been helping children and families find hope! Clean Up For Kids Day volunteers will make a difference by assisting UMFS in beautifying our Richmond campus. Through your volunteerism, we will continue to create an environment that brings comfort and healing. Volunteers can participate in painting, landscaping, and general clean-up projects on campus. This year during Clean Up For Kids Day, we also hope to build an area for our pet therapy dogs! Clean Up for Kids, May 17, 2013, 8:30am-3:30pm, UMFS, 3900 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23230 ALL supplies will be provided by UMFS. Please wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty and comfortable closed-toe shoes. Shorts and tank tops are not permitted on our campus. PLEASE register yourself or your group by Friday, May 10th (visit this link to register http:// cleanupforkids.eventbrite.com/). Release Forms will be emailed on Monday, May 13th and will be collected during check-in upon your arrival on May 17th. If you have any questions at all, please let me know. Thank you in advance for considering the opportunity to partner with UMFS as we work together to bring hope and healing to children and families! Peace, Angie Williams, Tel: (804) 353-4461, Ext: 1139, Direct Number: (804) 239-1039 3
POSTED ON BEHALF OF THE REV. MARK BROWN: 601 OF THE BOOK OF DISCIPLINE STATES: The purpose of the annual conference is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by equipping its local churches for ministry and by providing a connection for ministry beyond the local church; all to the glory of God. Here are some of the ways the churches and ministries of the Virginia Annual Conference have been equipped and connected during the past few months. Thank you to the churches of the Virginia Conference for your support of the Conference Mission and Ministries (401) and Conference Services (402) apportionments that help to make these ministries in our conference and around the world possible. EQUIPPING LOCAL CHURCHES FOR MINISTRY Conference staff leading and facilitating Small Church Vital Congregation Workshops on 14 districts with over 1,150 participants Conference staff leading 60 leadership training classes in 11 districts during the last 3 months of 2012 and first two months of 2013 311 clergy attend Ministers Convocation Over 300 clergy and laity participating in 5 Talent Academy Over 150 participants in Lay Servant Academy Sexual ethics training for clergy Candidacy mentor training for persons who will assist persons discerning a call to ministry Board of Ordained Ministry interviews for persons seeking ordination and provisional relationship with the Virginia Conference Training for clergy and church professionals reporting of child abuse and neglect training IT and Treasurer Office support for year-end reporting and preparation of Cabinet discernment of appointments PROVIDING A CONNECTION FOR MINISTRY BEYOND THE LOCAL CHURCH 12 day Cambodia Mission Trip led by Glenn Rowley to establish an Initiatives of Hope ministry partnership between the Virginia Conference and the fledgling Methodist Church in Cambodia Conference young adult mission trip in Bahamas Volunteer in Mission leadership training for persons leading local church VIM teams Conference benevolence grants including Chaplain Services (prison chaplain ministry) Virginia Conference sent $10,000 in flood relief funds to Mozambique More than 300 United Methodists attended United Methodist Day at General Assembly A total of 1,430 Cleaning Buckets were donated by churches across the Virginia Conference to be sent to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Campus ministry through 7 Wesley Foundations and 6 partnered ecumenical campus ministries In Christ's Service, Marc Brown On May 18, 2013, the Farmville District will have a "Change the World" Event. Change the World is a movement to connect United Methodists across the world in service, one weekend-locally and globally. Mission projects will be planned in each sub-district so that all of the churches on the Farmville District will have an opportunity to participate in missions on May 18th. If your church has a mission event that you would like to do on May 18 and you would like to open it up for other churches to participate as well, please let me know. In the next few weeks, please talk to your congregation, mission leaders, youth etc. and see what you might want to do on May 18th. A list of all mission opportunities will be made available. Pastors if you can supply me with the name and email address of one member from your church, then I can correspond directly with them about future information concerning this event (if you want to be the contact, then just let me know that too). Please help in making this a day that the churches on the Farmville District can come together in missions to Change the World. The Mission Focus Group for the District Common Table is sponsoring this event and we would like to have every church on the District involved in some sort of mission. Our focus group will be meeting on March 14 and I would like to have some information from the churches for the meeting. If you have any questions or need suggestions of ideas for this day, please do not hesitate to call (434-294-3002) or email me. Martha Reed, Farmville District Mission Coordinator. 4
2013 VIRGINIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE OFFERING BRAZIL: Shade and Fresh Water: $50,000 In our long term commitment to the children of Brazil through the Shade and Fresh Water ministry, these funds will provide support through training materials and startup costs as the program continues to expand across the county. MOZAMBIQUE: Janene Pennel Secondary School: $50,000 The school needs to add classrooms and repair other buildings after a typhoon struck last year and flooding this year. The funds will support this vital educational ministry in partnership with the Mozambican Ministry of Education. CAMBODIA Mission with Children: $50,000 The Methodist Mission in Cambodia is a church full of children and a new partnership of our conference. The funds will support developing Christian education materials, scholarships and other projects focused on growing the young church in Cambodia. CHILDREN S MINISTRIES IN VIRGINIA: $50,000 One Family Una Familia is a new project of the Eastern Shore District that seeks to build strong relationships between local churches and Hispanic communities by offering tutoring, Christian education and fellowship with children in impoverished areas of the shore. The Henry Fork Center Project support for this ministry to children in the economically-depressed area of Franklin County, Virginia. All God s Children-Project support for this vital ministry that provides camps for children from families with parents who are incarcerated. ANNUAL CONFERENCE MEMBERS Local church members if you find you will not be able to attend conference this year please let your pastor know as soon as possible so that they can advise the alternate to make plans to attend. In the event there is no alternate elected there is still time to nominate and elect a person to attend this year. Pastors will then need to notify the district office of the change. District members please let the district office know immediately if you will not be able to attend so that we can contact a reserve person. It is very helpful for our office and/or the pastor to know as soon as possible when there will be a change. 2013 VIRGINIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE THEME 4 CANS 4 CONFERENCE COLLECTION! This offering, now in its fifth year, will benefit the Peninsula Food Bank. Along with your Pastor and Lay Member, please send/bring at least one can of each of the following: * Fruit and/or Veggies * Meat and/or Fish * Soup and/or Stew * a Pop-Top can to be opened without an opener Beyond that, dry goods such as cereal, boxed/ packaged mixes (Hamburger Helper, pancakes, soup, etc.), rice, instant potatoes, powdered drinks, etc. Also Peanut Butter and Jelly! Please don't send home canned, damaged cans, expired date cans, or items in glass jars, as they tend to break at the worst times! Also, please keep in mind that "exotic" things are not "really" helpful. An entire case of each of these goods would go a great long way! Paper goods, too! And, reusable tote bags would help cut down on the amount of trash winding up in the local landfill and go directly to the recipients of the canned goods you bring. CONFERENCE KITS 2013 The following kits are in critical need at UMCOR this year: Layette, Health, School, Flood Buckets, Birthing. Kits contents may be found on the Farmville District Website www.umcfarmville.org, News & Events/News. All emergency kits are carefully planned to make them usable in the greatest number of situations. Since strict rules often govern product entry into international countries, it is important that kits contain only the requested items. Do NOT include any personal notes, money or additional materials in the kits. These things must be removed and will delay the shipment. DO NOT WASH ANY OF THE ITEMS AS THEY WILL BE CONSIDERED USED. ALL ITEMS MUST BE NEW. Send ALL monetary donations on one check, payable to Virginia Conference UMC, earmarked for Kits and mail to: Treasurer, Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, PO Box 5605, Glen Allen, VA 23058. DO NOT PLACE CHECKS INSIDE BOXES. CHECKS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 5
DISTRICT OFFICE NOTES ANNUAL CLERGY EVALUATION forms have been emailed to the pastors and mailed to the PPR Committee Chairpersons. These evaluations need to be submitted to the District Office by June 1. DISTRICT WEB PAGE we are updating our web page. If you know of any corrections or additions to be made please send them to farmvilledistrict@vaumc.org giving us editing rights. We will post as time and space allow. We encourage you to use this site as a resource. DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENCY COMMITTEE MEETING Thursday, April 4, 10:30 AM, District Office. DISTRICT FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING Thursday, April 18, 6:30 P.M. at the District Office. DISTRICT STEWARD S MEETING Monday, May 13 at 7:00 P.M. at the Keysville UMC. All charge steward s are encouraged to come and review the proposed district budget for 2014. 2012 AUDITS/2013 PARSONAGE REVIEWS & INVENTORY. If there is to be a move this year we would appreciate the Audit for 2012 and the Annual Parsonage Review for 2013 being completed in advance of the move. If there are any concerns that we need to be made aware of please call us at 434-392-4687 or email us at farmvilledistrict@vaumc.org so that we might be of help. Both forms can be found at www.vaumc.org. Parsonage Review go to: Administrative Services/Policies and Forms/Cabinet Policies/Parsonages -Annual Review Form and Parsonage-Inventory Form. Annual Audit go to: Administrative Services/Policies and Forms/ Charge Conference Forms/Form 5 Annual Audit Fund Balance Report. Remember to place the name of the church and the charge along with the date and year on all forms returned to the office. All forms must be signed to be official. Bishop Cho met with some of the congregation of Rocky Hill UMC and their pastor, Rev. Linda Lowe on March 5th. He and the Virginia Conference pledge their prayers and support. APPOINTMENT ANNOUNCEMENT DAY May 19, 2013 will be the Announcement Day. Your SPPRC will know by this date if there is to be a move. It will be your (S/PPRC) responsibility to see that an announcement is made in your church. Where there is a charge you need to have available a spokesperson at each church to make this report. If there is to be a change and the information is available the name of the incoming pastor can be made at this time. Until this date there should be no formal announcement made. The first day that new pastors will preach in their new churches will be June 30. Annual Conference Orientation Monday, June 3, 7:30 P.M. at the Keysville UMC. Every Annual Conference member and pastor should plan to attend this meeting. Information will be shared that will be of help to you. By this meeting date you should have received a package with your Book of Reports, name badge and registration card. If not, please contact Phyllis at the District Office. FARMVILLE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Due to limited space you are invited to call 392.4686 or look them up at www.farmvilleumc.org or email them at fumc@farmvilleumc.org to get a list of the many mission opportunities they are involved with. You can find their new activity list on our district site at umcfarmville.org/church Activities/Local Church Forum. 6
Attached is a partial listing of our calendar for your information. Please come and join us when you can. April 6 Youth Planning Meeting, (Boydton UMC @ 4 pm) April 14 - DCYM Meeting, Wesley Foundation, 2:30 5:30 April 27-28, Worship Team at Clover UMC (Halifax) Worship @ 9:30 AM May 12, DCYM Meeting, Wesley Foundation, 2:30 5:30 May 25 26, Worship Team at Wards Chapel, (Burkeville) Worship @ 9:00 AM June 7 9, DCYM Spiritual/Elections and Senior Recognition weekend (Sandy River Retreat) June 27 30 Girls Chrysalis Flight (BCRC -VUMAC) July 7 12 Farmville District Youth Missions Week (Woodman Camp @ Crewe) July 18 21 Boy s Chrysalis Flight (BCRC -VUMAC) I would like to draw your attention to the meeting scheduled at Boydton UMC and to let everybody know we are planning one for the middle and northern parts of the District as well. These meetings are for everybody who has an interest in youth (pastors, youth leaders, parents, and youth) and what DCYM is doing to help the youth on their journey with Christ. We will be gathering input for Winter Retreat 2014 and how to improve the Retreat to make it more meaningful for our youth. We need your thoughts, guidance and prayers. Please plan to attend and I will let you know about the meeting in the middle and northern parts of the District when they are set up. Please encourage youth from 15-21 years of age to prayerfully consider attending the upcoming Chrysalis Flights. This is a life changing opportunity and you may find out more about these events by going to www.southsideemmaus.org. This is a God-filled weekend of deeper spiritual understanding and if these young men and women really want to attend (even if they may not immediately realize it), please promote and encourage these events. It will change their lives. I know it changed my life. The Winter Retreat was a huge success as our attendance increased from 86 in 2012 to 125 in 2013. Lowell McNaney (the speaker) and Exodus (the Band) were awesome!! The workshops went well and we had many youth re-commit their lives to Christ and a few give their lives to Christ for the first time. The upcoming meetings scheduled across the District will in part address how to make our Retreat even more Spiritual. Thank you for your prayers, help, and leadership at this event-- giving God all the praise and glory. Once again, I would encourage everybody to go the website, farmvilledcym.org to learn more about who we are and what we are about. I very much appreciate the prayers and support from across the district, because we all understand that we cannot run youth programs without prayers and support from adults. Thank You, Rodney Lewis, Farmville District Youth Coordinator Sisters and Brothers, The faith community of Rocky Hill UMC met at 9am for worship in 28 degree weather beside the charred ruins of their church building. Their pastor and I shared with this congregation there is hope in the midst of tragedy. I am thankful to Bishop Cho for his quick response to Rev. Linda Lowe and her congregation. I am so grateful to the cabinet with your responses. It seems there was an explosion with the furnace and the people were grateful no one was in the building. Please continue to keep Linda and the Rocky Hill UMC in your prayers! 7
STAYING IN TOUCH Farmville District Virginia Conference The United Methodist Church 204 High St., Farmville, Virginia 23901 Phone: 434-392-4687 * FAX: 1-877-233-6168 E-Mail: farmvilledistrict@vaumc.org Web site: umcfarmville.org NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #89 FARMVILLE, VA 23901 Young Jin Cho Robert J. Parks, Jr. Phyllis Goin District Leadership: Johnnie Morris Betsy Hanmer Rodney Lewis Ruth Horn Don Pizzeck Sue Mayo Area Bishop District Superintendent Administrative Assistant Lay Leader President, UMW Youth Coordinator Children s Coordinator Lay Servant Ministries Newsletter Editor Return Service Requested From Staying In Touch Editor.. Our schedule for submissions to the 2013 newsletter: May 10 for Jun-July 2013 Jul 10 for Aug-Sep 2013 Sep 10 for Oct-Nov 2013 Nov 10 for Dec 2013-Jan 2014 Articles may be edited for length and correctness. Articles for the newsletter may be sent as you wish them to appear to Sue Mayo, editor, by email: bnsmayo@yahoo.com, mail: 521 Walnut Hill Rd, Crewe, VA 23930 or telephone 434-292-5486. APRIL 4 District Superintendency Mtg, 10:30AM, District Office 13 UMW Mission Study, Prospect/Ebony 14 Native American Ministries Sunday 18 District Finance Mtg, 6:30 PM District Office MAY Christian Home Month Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2 National Day of Prayer 3-5 Conference UMW Retreat, BCRC 12 Mother s Day 13 District Steward s Mtg, 7PM, Keysville UMC 18 Bishop s Convocation on Prayer, Bon Air UMC 18 Change the World Week-end 19 Announcement Sunday 19 Day of Pentecost 20 Common Table, 7PM, Keysville UMC 23-31 Licensing School Norfolk VA 8 26 Peace with Justice Sunday 27 Memorial Day-Office Closed 2013 DISTRICT OPPORTUNITIES JUNE 3 Annual Conference Orientation, 7:30PM, Keysville UMC 16 Father s Day 21-23 Annual Conference, Hampton 26 Moving Day JULY 4 Office Closed 7-12 District Youth Mission Camp 12-14 Camp Loud & Clear, Appomattox