Thursday, November 12, 2015

The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 11 November 2015

The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Click here for the Nov. 11 printable version of GPconnect.
In this edition of GPconnect:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
EQUIP DISCIPLES
MERCY AND JUSTICE
OTHER NEWS
Help make disciples by assisting three of our key partnerships

The Great Plains Conference has set a goal of raising funds to help three mission partners close to home and abroad. And we need your help to hit our goal. Doing so can help us make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Learn more about our Mission Partnership Capital Campaigns on a special page on our website.
Once there, you’ll find short and longer-form videos that teach about the Lydia Patterson Institute – which educates children, often from poor backgrounds, in El Paso, Texas – and the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, which blends Wesleyan theology with Native American culture. You’ll also find a video with information about the Zimbabwe East Conference, one of the fastest-growing areas of our denomination.
To help churches share information about these three important partners with others in their congregations, you’ll also find a downloadable single-sheet bulletin insert that you can download in either color or black and white. We’ve also posted links to PowerPoint slides that can be used with announcements prior to worship services.
Help us reach our goal of raising $100,000 each for these three partners prior to next June’s annual conference session.
The OneEvent early registration ends Nov. 15

Hey youth ministers and leaders! The early registration deadline for The OneEvent is this Sunday, Nov. 15. If you want to make sure you get the best deal possible be sure to register before then. #‎TOE16 will be Jan. 30-31 in Grand Island, Nebraska.
The OneEvent is the event for youth, grades six through 12, their youth leaders and pastors. Attendees will experience great speakers, bands and workshops. Special guests include, Amanda Drury PhD., The City Harmonic, Zealand Worship, Dave and Brian, Ground Zero Master's Commission, Brandon Early, Steven Nick Talbott and Bishop Scott Jones.
You don’t want to miss out on the largest event for youth in #‎GPUMC. Check out greatplainsyouth.org/theoneevent for more info. Here you can view the video, lodging information, meal options and download the brochure.
Register now.
If you have any questions, please contact Shane Hinderliter, local church youth ministry coordinator, at 316-684-0266 ortheoneevent@greatplainsumc.org.
Young adults urged to apply now for summer internships

Have you dreamed about how God might use you to change the world this summer? The Great Plains Conference may have some opportunities for you to make a difference, explore leadership, and spend a “summer of service” that you will remember for a lifetime!
Apply now for our internship program, which provides opportunities to lead Vacation Bible School at small churches across Kansas and Nebraska, participate in mercy and justice ministries as part of our Micah Corps, learn about church planting, youth ministry or Hispanic ministry, or you can gain skills in pastoral leadership. We also have lots of opportunities for you to have fun while gaining leadership skills at one of our Great Plains camps!
Fill out the online application.
Registration open for Orders and Fellowship clergy event

Clergy members of the Great Plains Conference have responded to a “call to ministry.” Our annual clergy Orders and Fellowship meeting, scheduled for Feb. 17-18, will focus on “Follow God’s Call” – both as a reaffirmation of their own “call” as well as learning how clergy can promote a “culture of call” in the churches and communities they serve.
What better way for clergy colleagues to extend their ministry heritage than to empower avenues by which Christian women and men can hear and respond to a call to ministry as clergy in our Great Plains Conference.
Orders and Fellowship will be conducted at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd., Lincoln, Nebraska. Register now.
View more information, including speaker information, theme, schedule, childcare and lodging.
For any questions contact Dana Reinhardt atdreinhardt@greatplainsumc.org or call 402-464-5994, ext. 105, or email the Rev. Nancy Lambert at nlambert@greatplainsumc.org.
Attend Boundary renewal training
All clergy serving churches in the Great Plains conference are required to have Safe Gatherings certification and boundary and ethics training. Boundary training must be renewed every four years and for those needing renewal, Boundary Training 201 is scheduled for late fall and February at Orders and Fellowship. Register now.
Boundary training focuses on developing healthy boundaries in ministry and is specific to the role of a clergy person. Of particular concern is the power difference between a person in a ministerial role and a member of his or her congregation or a person being counseled. Boundary training also includes conversation about personal and professional health and the use of social media.
If you have questions about your need for boundary training please contact your district office. You may also contact the Rev. Nancy Lambert at nlambert@greatplainsumc.org or 402-464-5994, ext 126. View more information.
All trainings begin at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. The cost for lunch and the participant book is $25, but the Board of Ordained Ministry is covering a portion of this so your cost is only $10.
Remaining dates are:
UMC Seminary Caravan to stop in Great Plains Conference
Do you know someone who is considering seminary? It’s a challenge to go and take a seminary visit, but next week there will be an opportunity to meet an admissions representative from each of the 13 graduate theological schools of the United Methodist Church (listed below) through their UMC Seminary Caravan. The events will primarily be held in conjunction with campus ministries, but anyone considering seminary study is welcome to attend UMC Seminary Caravan events.
This is a wonderful opportunity to ask questions about what seminary life is like at schools near and far, learn what programs they have to offer and figure out the differences and similarities between them. In other words, it helps narrow down which of the seminaries is a good fit for future theological study. The dates and times for the UMC Seminary Caravan events are listed below along with contact information of someone on site who can let you know the location on campus for the event.
Tuesday, Nov. 17
11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. - Southwestern College, Winfield, Kansas
Contact: Campus Minister Ben Hanne,ben.hanne@sckans.edu
6:30-8 p.m. (food trucks arrive at 5 p.m.) - Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, Kansas
Contact: Admissions Rep Deana Brink,deana.brink@spst.edu
Wednesday, Nov. 18
12-2:30 p.m. - Kansas State, Manhattan, Kansas
Contact: Campus Minister, Justin Jamis,jamisj4@gmail.com
5:30-7 p.m. - New Church Lawrence, Lawrence, Kansas
Contact: Rev. Jacob Cloud,jacob@newchurchlawrence.org
Please consider joining (or passing along) this exciting opportunity to meet and learn more about the following United Methodist Seminaries:
Boston University School of Theology - Boston, Massachusetts
Candler School of Theology (Emory University) – Atlanta, Georgia
Claremont School of Theology – Claremont, California
Drew University Theological School – Madison, New Jersey
Duke Divinity School – Durham, North Carolina
Gammon Theological Seminary – Atlanta, Georgia
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary – Evanston, Illinois
Iliff School of Theology – Denver, Colorado
Methodist Theological School in Ohio – Delaware, Ohio
Perkins School of Theology – Dallas, Texas
Saint Paul School of Theology – Kansas City, Missouri and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
United Theological Seminary – Dayton, Ohio and Buckhannon, West Virginia
Wesley Theological Seminary – Washington, D.C.
Connecting Council explores ways to say Yes!’ to ministry

The Great Plains Conference’s Connecting Council opened its fall meeting Oct. 30 at Camp Comeca talking about how to foster a culture of saying “yes” to new possibilities in United Methodist churches across Nebraska and Kansas.
The meeting continued with votes on the use of Missional Opportunities Grants, updates on the capital campaigns for Camp Comeca and three cross-cultural campaigns and other subjects.
See a story with more details.Connecting Council explores ways to say 'Yes!' to ministry
The Great Plains Conference’s Connecting Council opened its fall meeting Oct. 30 at Camp Comeca talking about how to foster a culture of saying “yes” to new possibilities in United Methodist churches across Nebraska and Kansas.

The capital campaign to provide for long-term maintenance at Camp Comeca, near
Cozad, Nebraska, was just one topic discussed during the Oct. 30-31 meetings of the
Connecting Council, which was conducted at the camp.The group of pastors and laity, which serves as the decision-making body of the Great Plains Conference between annual conference sessions, took part in a discussion about the book “Just say Yes! Unleashing People for Ministry,” by Bishop Robert Schnase of the Missouri Conference. In the book, Schnase uses stories from his years in ministry to share how people, policies and church culture lead to people saying “No” to trying new ministries and empowering people to take risks.
With a core mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, Schnase then used examples to encourage people and churches to alter their assumptions about ministries, create systems that give the congregation permission to launch new ministries, and change attitudes and behaviors.
The Rev. Nancy Lambert, director of clergy excellence and assistant to the bishop who led the Connecting Council meetings, asked the members in attendance to consider how to expand the discussion about the local church to the conference level in hopes of establishing a culture in which experimentation is encouraged.
The theme of saying “Yes” continued throughout the two days of meetings, which concluded the morning of Oct. 31 with the Connecting Council approving the use of Missional Opportunity Grant funds to help improve ministries in several ways:
The council approved spending $21,000 to help fund the conference’s summer internship program, specifically a second team of Vacation Bible School workers to lead VBS in smaller churches across Kansas and Nebraska. The additional team will allow six to eight additional churches host Vacation Bible School next summer while helping a new generation of ministry leaders gain skills that could benefit the conference for many years to come. Summer 2016 will be the second year for the program, which placed 33 interns into positions in six ministry areas over 10 weeks in 2015.
The council also approved spending as much as $30,000 to fund worship workshop retreats aimed at smaller congregations to elevate the quality of worship experiences. The workshops – scheduled to be led by Teresa Stewart, who teaches Worship and Sacraments in Course of Study – will help participants bolster preaching techniques, increase participation in the crafting of worship and use local symbols to express theological insights. The retreats will be open to pastors as well as laity from the Great Plains’ smaller churches.
As a way to address growing diversity in the Great Plains, the council endorsed a plan to spend approximately $12,000 to provide Rosetta Stone language-learning software to pastors and key laity in churches across Kansas and Nebraska. The software allows for the tracking of progress and allows for participants to learn on their own schedules from anywhere in the world. The conference has access to all 29 languages that Rosetta Stone has in its library. The Connecting Council will review progress at its fall 2016 meeting to determine if the agreement with Rosetta Stone will be renewed.
Capital Campaigns

Bishop Robert Hayes of the Oklahoma Conference, takes part in a
traditional tribal dance during the Oklahoma Indian Missionary
Conference's gala in October in the Oklahoma City area. The Great
Plains Conference hopes to raise $100,000 for the OIMC.The council heard updates on a capital campaign for Camp Comeca and for three cross-cultural projects – the Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, Texas; the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference (OIMC); and the Zimbabwe East Conference.
The campaign to provide for repairs and long-term maintenance at Camp Comeca, a United Methodist ministry near Cozad, Nebraska, now has pledges of about $532,000. The pledges are expected to be paid over three years to fund an endowment for upkeep at the camp.
The council then watched three videos – one each for each of the cross-cultural capital campaigns. The Great Plains Conference hopes to raise $100,000 each to allow for expansion of the Lydia Patterson Institute, help fund an endowment to bolster salaries in the OIMC and build a conference office in Zimbabwe.
Financial Report
The Rev. Gary Beach, conference treasurer and director of administrative services, reported that as of the end of September, the conference was trending ahead of the same time in 2014 in apportionments paid by local churches. At the end of September, approximately $9.28 million – or 61.2 percent – of anticipated annual apportionments had been paid, compared to $9.22 million by that time in 2014.
Carl Nord, chairman of the Council on Finance and Administration (CFA), stated, as he has before, that the conference “spends money with a purpose.” He reported that CFA voted to pay off an expected unfunded liability of $1.4 million for the Nebraska retiree health benefit using conference reserves. The move means all churches in Kansas and Nebraska will be on a 10 percent tithe starting in 2016. Nebraska churches currently pay a slightly larger percentage to help fulfill obligations to the retiree health plan.
Nord also reported that the clergy pension reserves have saved sufficient reserves for long-term stability in the program.
The council voted to have Bishop Scott Jones appoint a team to devise a strategy for use of the conference’s reserves.
Other BusinessIn other action, the Connecting Council:
  • Approved several updates to the Personnel Committee’s description of duties.
  • Approved a change to the Plan of Organization to adhere to the Book of Discipline in encouraging local churches and organizations to pay deacons the minimum salary but allow for less-than-minimum salaries if the deacon agrees to such an appointment.
  • Began the process for setting up a method for approving Urban Ministry Grants. Under the Book of Discipline, when a church in an urban area closes, assets from that church must be used in an urban setting to further ministries. The council voted to set up a team to determine criteria for grant applications and a process by which the team would approve grants in the future.
  • Approved an agreement that will maintain the Kansas United Methodist archives at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.
  • Heard an update about Lay Servant Ministries in the Great Plains, especially the process for earning the designations of certified lay servant and lay speaker.
  • Heard that the venues being considered for the 2019 annual conference session will be tested to determine the levels of interference for electronic voting so that the best site can be chosen. That is the next year in which delegates will be elected for General and Jurisdictional conferences.The Connecting Council’s next meeting is scheduled for March 18-19 in Topeka, Kansas.
Become an Epworth Village Partner
The ministry of Epworth Village in York, Nebraska, has a small group of committed United Methodist volunteers who work tirelessly to raise awareness about the Christ-like work Epworth Village is doing in Nebraska. Epworth needs every church, individual and family to become involved, by praying for and supporting this near-by mission effort. These volunteers are Epworth Mission Interpreters and are prepared to go to churches and groups to share the story of Epworth Village. In the last two years, they have been in 150 churches. The goal is to be in 100 more by the end of 2016. Another goal is to have an Epworth Lay Ambassador (contact person) in each congregation.
Please contact Harrietta Reynolds, Epworth Partner coordinator, if you would like an Epworth Mission Interpreter to come to your church. She can be reached at 308-940-0147 or hrepartner@ymail.com.
Learn more about Epworth Village and its partners program.
Learn about your spiritual gifts

Phyllis Stoppel, from the Hutchinson District, has written the latest Lay Servant Ministries blog about her favorite course over the years: the “Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts” advanced course. She describes how participants were led through a process designed to put them in touch with themselves, with each other, and with the practice of knowing and using various disciplines.
Read more in the Lay Servant Ministries blog. Follow the link within the blog to take a spiritual gifts assessment online, provided by the United Methodist Church.
Kansas pastor receives award for work against death penalty

This past Saturday, as part of the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty's annual conference and Champions for Change dinner, the Rev. Loren Drummond, Lyndon (Kansas) United Methodist Church, was presented with the Faith Champion award for 2015.
“I appreciate and am honored by being presented with this award but do the work that caused its bestowal not for recognition or accolades but because it is the right thing to do.,” he said. “I thank the Coalition's board of directors for this recognition even as I look forward to continuing to partner and work with them until state sanctioned homicide is no longer a part of Kansas' approach to criminal justice.”
The Mercy and Justice Team of the Great Plains Conference works closely with both the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty and Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. To read what the United Methodist Social Principles say, go to greatplainsumc.org/deathpenalty.
Church links Lawrence agencies with people willing to get involved

New Church Lawrence wanted to create an event that would introduce residents to nonprofit helping agencies, build a sense of community and invite people to the church and University of Kansas campus ministry. The effort culminated Friday, Oct. 23, with what was known as the “Love Lawrence” event. The event drew in more than the goal of least 200 people.
Read more about the event.
New Church Lawrence sponsors day to spotlight nonprofits

The Rev. Jacob Cloud (right) poses with some team members who helped organize New Church Lawrence's "Love Lawrence" event. The Oct. 23 event featured nonprofit help agencies from the area.
The Rev. Jacob Cloud had a vision to create an event that would introduce residents to nonprofit helping agencies, build a sense of community and invite people to New Church Lawrence and University of Kansas campus ministry.
An event was planned to do just that, starting with an invitation to Lawrence-area nonprofits to set up booths introducing people to their organizations.
The effort culminated Friday, Oct. 23, with what was known as the “Love Lawrence” event. The hope was to draw in at least 200 people. By 5:30 p.m. that day, Monique Brigham, event planner, said attendance already had exceeded that goal by more than 25 percent.
Love Lawrence was funded in part by contributions Cloud and New Church Lawrence staff raised from community businesses. The event took place at the Lawrence Public Library and spilled outside for face painting, food trucks, live music, a ball pit and balloon animals.
Face-painting was one of the fun activities at the Love Lawrence event.
The first table inside the library, set up for the nonprofits, featured New Church Lawrence, a new church start that blends the KU campus ministry and adults in the community to form a congregation that meets in a movie theater in the southern portion of the city. New Church Lawrence representatives provided warm greetings and gave an invitation to future events sponsored by the church, which features lively worship and a variety of mission opportunities.
More than 17 booths provided an avenue for people to learn about nonprofit helping agencies in the Lawrence area, with each sharing information and sign-up sheets to help people get involved either by volunteering or contributing financially.
Although rain threatened to damper the event, it never happened. Children and adults alike seemed to enjoy the balloon animals and face painting, and they came away with important information.
Learn more about New Church Lawrence.
Read a story from the Lawrence Journal-World from prior to the event.
Love Lawrence event aims to connect locals with nonprofit organizations by Mackenzie Clark
New Church Lawrence will host an event Friday with hopes of matching Lawrence residents with local nonprofit organizations.
The event, called Love Lawrence, was originally planned as just a fun occasion for the community, said Michael Marcus, mission and outreach pastor of New Church Lawrence.
"But some of our leaders started talking about it and said, 'What if this was something that truly impacted the community, based on what the community needs?'" Marcus said.
If you go
What: Love Lawrence volunteer fair
When: 2 to 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.
After talking to members of various nonprofit groups around town, Marcus said, it became clear that awareness is a key issue.
"Across the board, people said, 'People in the community don't know about us,'" Marcus said. "So we're trying to create an environment where people can come and enjoy themselves but also get connected with a lot of organizations that are working to do great things in the community."
Love Lawrence will take place from 2 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. At least 13 local organizations have signed up to have representatives in the library's auditorium, where anyone can come learn about what they do and how to help. The event's Facebook page at Love Lawrence Volunteer Fair has a list of all that will be present.
In addition, food vendors including Torched Goodness, The Purple Carrot, Drasko's and Alchemy Coffee will be on site. Performers Steff Neff and Scott Guerrero will put on a concert on the library's lawn. For kids, there will be arts and crafts, face-painting and balloon artists.
Frantz Dorcel Ady to speak at Southwestern College
Southwestern College and Grandview United Methodist Church, both in Winfield, Kansas, will host speaker, Frantz Dorcel Ady for “The Gold of the Caribbean.”
Ady is the founder of PHF (Planting for Hope and Future) in Les Cayes, Haiti. He will speak about his vision from God to change the way farming is done in Haiti and help his country recover from poverty. Ady will speak at 11 a.m., Friday, Nov. 13, at Southwestern College (Pound’s Lounge – first floor of the student center).
View the event flier.
Donations may be made to Grandview UMC, 9044 111th Road, Winfield, Kansas 67156, or Harvesting 4 Haiti Foundation, PO Box 887, Perrysburg, Ohio 43551.
Classifieds
To view these and more classified ads, go togreatplainsumc.org/classifieds.
Newsletters
United Methodist Committee on Relief: Hotline
Nebraska United Methodist Foundation: November 2015
Press Clips
Congregations across the Great Plains Conference are making the news in their local newspapers. View our newspaper clipping reports to see if there are stories, ideas and ministry happenings you can learn from to use in your own congregation. Press clips can be found at greatplainsumc.org/inthenews. You can see education partnership ideas at greatplainsumc.org/education.
Editorial Policy: The content, news, events and announcement information distributed in GPconnect is not sponsored or endorsed by the Great Plains Methodist Conference unless specifically stated.
To submit a letter to the editor, send it to info@greatplainsumc.org.

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Episcopal Office: 9440 E Boston Suite 160 Wichita, KS 67207 316-686-0600
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