Though we are looking at Nativities and singing carols, the Small Membership Church office is thinking about Vacation Bible School!
VBS 2015 will be an amazing Road Trip!
The Great Plains Conference will once again have college student interns traveling around the Great Plains doing VBS this coming summer. If you would like a team of interns to come to your congregation, download the application for your church. If you know of college students who would be enjoy this learning and leadership opportunity, send them to the student application.
This year’s curriculum is called “Mission Road Trip!” We will explore Paul’s journeys in the Bible and look at our own mission partnerships in the Great Plains: Zimbabwe, Haiti and Nigeria. There will be fun crafts from our partner countries and a live conversation with children in another country!
We'll update www.greatplainsumc.org/vbs when we have more information.
Summer Feeding Program Summit: Jan. 26
In Kansas, nearly one in four children live in poverty. During the school year, many children receive two square meals a day, but in the summertime, too many of our Kansas children go hungry. However, the Federal Summer Feeding Program provides funding for communities to host sites where kids can be guaranteed a meal during the summer months. Unfortunately, Kansas ranks 50th in the nation for the percentage of children served by the summer meal program.
Congregations in the Great Plains Conference can make a big difference.
Consider sending representatives to the Summer Meals Summit in Wichita on Jan. 26, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., hosted by the Kansas Department of Education. Civic leaders, parks, educators, faith-based organizations and more will share best practices as well as barriers to participation. The Summit will include speakers from Share Our Strength, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Kansas Dept. of Education (KSDE), and Kansas Appleseed. The Summit will address urban and rural communities in both Eastern and Western Kansas and will include breakout discussion groups for all four groups.
The Summit is FREE of charge for Kansas churches and includes lunch. Register online. The location for the Summer Feeding Program Summit is the Kansas Leadership Centerand Kansas Health Foundation conference center, 325 East Douglas Ave., in Wichita. (See map.)
For those individuals who live more than 175 miles from Wichita, the Kansas Health Foundation will provide one night’s lodging on Jan. 25 at the Ambassador Hotel, adjacent to the Summit location. (Participants will be responsible for any hotel charges other than the room rate and taxes.) Hotel reservations must be received by Jan. 4. You will need to provide a credit card number in order to guarantee your reservation when you call 316-239-7100. Be sure to mention the Kansas Summer Meals Summit when making your reservation.
Your voice is needed to help solve this crisis.
Please consider sending representatives to learn about providing meals for children this summer and share what needs are particular to your community. If your congregation has an education partnership already or is looking to begin one, this program is a natural tie-in to engaging with schools. Read more about Great Plains education partnerships.
If you have questions about the Kansas Summer Meals Summit, contact Blythe Thomas with the Kansas Health Foundation at bthomas@khf.org or 316-262-7676.
Grants available
Discipleship Ministries at GBOD is offering grants for Church Vitality. The ministry for which you are seeking the grant must fit one of four areas of focus for the UMC:
- Development of Principled Leaders
- New Places for New People
- Ministry with the Poor
- Global Health
The deadline is January 30, 2015. Download the application: Word or PDF.
Save the date: Small Wonders 2015
October 2-3 in Nebraska
Rev. Dr. Dottie Escobedo-Frank will be our keynote as we focus on Wonderful Worship. A pastor and District Superintendent with the United Methodist Church, Dottie is on the leading edge of church transformation and reStarts, including with small membership congregations. She is a speaker, writer, and community leader. Books she has authored include:
- Igniting Worship: Advent & Christmas
- Sermon Seeds: 40 Creative Sermons
- Jesus Insurgency, the Church Revolution from the Edge (co-authored by Rudy Rasmus)
- ReStart Your Church
- Our Common Sins
- Give It Up!
As a speaker, Dottie’s voice brings courage and hope to pastors and church leaders around the world. Dottie was raised on the mission field in Mexico, living in Nogales, AZ and helping her parents care for the people in Nogales, Mexico. Dottie knew she was called to do God’s work when she was 8 years old.
Her style of worship is innovative and relaxed. She teaches at conferences that are designed to inspire worship leaders to create more vibrant worship service. Prior to joining the clergy she was a social worker for fifteen years.
Resources
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