Wednesday, March 9, 2016

The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 9 March 2016

The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 9 March 2016

Download the printable version of the March 9, issue of GPconnect.
In this edition:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
MERCY AND JUSTICE
ADMINISTRATION
OTHER NEWS
Still time to apply for some 2016 Great Plains internships

Great Plains Internships are halfway through interviewing! There are still some prime spots for young adults to explore. Will you share this information with any young adults? Someone may have their lives changed because you shared these opportunities!
Pastoral Leadership — For anyone experiencing the ministry of the local church by shadowing a pastor for 10 weeks this summer. The intern will have the opportunity to observe, reflect and join in the pastoral ministry of the church as an apprentice.
Youth Ministry Interns — For anyone exploring youth ministry in a local church by being mentored and assisting leadership of a youth ministry throughout the summer.
Micah Corps — For anyone interested in learning about connecting faith with social justice and practice leadership skills by visiting, researching and presenting key social justice topics throughout the Great Plains.
Great Plains internships provide opportunities on how to make a difference, explore leadership and spend a ‘summer of service’ that will be remembered for a lifetime! Go to greatplainsumc.org/internships for more information and to apply. Final application deadline is March 31.
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Early-bird rate drawing near for congregational care seminar
March 16 is the early bird rate deadline for the Congregational Care Ministry Seminar, April 7-9 at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.
The seminar is designed to train volunteers to become partners in ministry with pastors and staff to provide care for a congregation. The training is based on “The Caring Congregation” by the Rev. Karen Lampe, executive pastor of congregational care at Church of the Resurrection. The book serves as a manual to guide pastors and churches to organize their congregations for care and equip people to listen, visit, comfort and encourage congregants. Volunteers are equipped to be Congregational Care Ministers and are deployed to work alongside pastors and staff to minister to and holistically care for the congregation. This partnership between lay and clergy enables the church to provide a more consistent and deeper level of care to the church family.
Topics to be covered include: Prayer, Theology of Care, Boundaries, Listening, Visitation, Death and Grief and Organization. With this training, volunteers will be empowered to make hospital visits, telephone persons in need of contact, meet one-on-one with persons in need of a listening ear, offer support to grieving families and proactively seek to encourage and care for persons in need.
For more information, please visit the church’s webpage, cor.org/ccm. Registration is $160 through March 16th. For more information, contact Kathy Carter at kathy.carter@cor.org, or 913-544-0272 or Kari Burgess atkari.burgess@cor.org or 913-232-4139.
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Donate to UMW’s Legacy Fund

The United Methodist Women from across the country invite churches to take part in the second-annual Day of Giving to the Legacy Fund as part of the UMW’s 150th anniversary celebration.
The Legacy Fund is a permanent endowment that supports the work of future generations of United Methodist Women.
To donate, go online to this special website.
Or, call 800-278-7771 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time Monday through Friday. Text “Legacy150” to 41444. Or send a check to Office of Treasurer, United Methodist Women, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115.
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Learn about the Wesleys, others on tour of England
The Rev. Earl and Eunice Higgins are hosting a nine-day “spiritual journey” to England Nov. 6-16, 2016. This all-inclusive educational tour will showcase the beginnings of the Wesleyan movement. Participants will learn about John and Charles Wesley and the early spiritual leaders of what is now the United Methodist Church. They will visit places such as Birmingham and Coventry, Epworth, Stratford, Oxford, Bristol, Bath, Cotswolds, Gloucester and Wesley’s London. Each stop features an educational component.
Participants will have opportunities to share in special times of worship and fellowship. The costs of $3,148 per person includes the basic tour and guided sight-seeing, round-trip international airfare, administration fees, entrance fees, gratuities and program fees, daily breakfasts and dinners, deluxe motorcoaches and first-class hotels. An additional cost of $389 per person covers airfare from Lincoln, bringing the total cost to $3,546 per person.
There are two additional post-tour opportunities, including a four-day London post-tour and a five-day Ireland post-tour.
If you are interested in taking part, contact Earl and Eunice Higgins by phone at 402-438-6256 or via email at eehiggins@windstream.net. The brochure can be sent to 2634 Blaine Court, Lincoln, NE 68521.
Download the brochure.
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Learn about self-care at Horizons of Faith event

First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, invites you to refresh your life with the Horizons of Faith event April 22-24 at the church, 7020 Cass St.
The event features speaker Wayne Muller, author of “Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight in our Busy Lives.” Muller will help participants explore self-care, how the human heart can contribute in a digital age, challenging technology and the status quo.
The overall theme for the Horizons of Faith event is “Why People Matter: How the Inefficient Human Story Brings Beauty, Truth and Sacred Wisdom to a Digital Age.”
Learn more by checking out the event’s website, where you also can register.
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Worship workshops set for small congregations
Quarterly worship workshops designed for those leading small congregations are being scheduled by the Great Plains Conference with training in both states.
The workshops offer two to three months of detailed worship plans, building worship from the five unique gifts of small congregations, worship skills that work in a small setting and support and renewal for the quarter ahead.
Clergy and lay members are invited to the workshops, which will take place at the Rock Springs 4-H Camp, near Junction City, Kansas; and St. Benedict’s Center in Schuyler, Neb. Dates for the Kansas workshops areApril 28-29, Aug. 11-12 and Nov. 10-11. Nebraska workshops are June 16-17, Sept. 22-23 and Dec. 8-9. The fourth seminar, with dates to be announced, will be in early 2017. Each will be limited to the first 20 congregations.
The retreats will be led by Teresa Stewart, who for the past 15 years has developed distinctive worship resources for small congregations. She’s also curated worship for Saint Paul School of Theology and taught Worship & Sacrament for the Course of Study for the past seven years.
The cost for the first and second retreats is $125 for the first person from a congregation, $90 for each additional person. If you sign up for additional retreats at the same time, third retreat is $110 and $80; the fourth is $100 and $60.
Read complete information about the Worship Workshops and register.
Worship Workshops for Small Member Churches
The Great Plains Conference small member churches and clergy serving them have the opportunity to be in a pilot program of developing resources and skills specifically for small member congregations. The facilitator, Teresa Stewart, has spent several years developing the resources that will be used and researching the unique identity, gifts and needs of small churches. She has been the instructor for the Worship module of Course of Study and served as worship coordinator at St. Paul School of Theology. She believes deeply that small member churches are different than large churches.
Teresa Stewart
There are four separate workshops/retreats. Each will be held in two locations: Rock Springs 4-H Camp near Junction City, Kansas, and St. Benedict’s Retreat Center near Schuyler, Nebraska. There will be a limit of 20 churches at each location. You are encouraged to bring at least one lay person from your church, if possible, to help you implement what you learn. You will go home with much of your worship preparation done for several weeks, and will have given some focused attention on your sermons for these weeks.
Engaging worship can happen no matter the size of the church. Sometimes, we need to be challenged to think afresh about worship in our setting. Teresa will work with you and your congregation to address specific challenges you might have in your local setting. These workshops, if taken to heart, can help to bring new joy and life to worship and maybe even demonstrate new ways of experiencing Christ. Imagine what it would be like if every church had spirit-filled worship!
The cost for the first and second retreats is $125 for the first person from a congregation; $90 for each additional person. If you sign up for additional retreats at the same time, third retreat is $110/80; the fourth is $100/$60.
Registration will be open by end of day Thursday, March 10.
For more information, email Rev. Nancy Lambert, director of clergy excellence, at nlambert@greatplainsumc.org or call the Lincoln office, 402-464-5994. Scholarships up to $150 for clergy and $75 for laity (when registered for all four) are available.
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Response team seeks clergy, laity

The Great Plains Conference is committed to having clergy who are people of integrity and trust. However, there are times when clergy trust is broken and there are allegations of misconduct. When misconduct happens, we take important steps to nurture healing in the local church and with all individuals involved.
One way this happens is through the presence of a response team, called upon by the bishop, whose members are present in the local church in order to listen and help people through the turmoil that results when misconduct has been suspected.
The conference is forming a Bishop’s Response Team and are recruiting both clergy and laity interested in serving in this way. Qualities that make excellent Response Team members are good listening skills, trustworthy, able to keep confidences, reliable and compassionate. People who have experience in counseling, crisis intervention, conflict resolution and law are especially important to have on the response team.
The initial training will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, April 8, through 4:30 p.m.Saturday, April 9 at either Kearney or North Platte, Nebraska. Read more about this opportunity. Additionally, a letter of reference from a clergy person (if laity) or District Superintendent (if clergy) is necessary. Participation in the training is not a guarantee of selection by the bishop to serve on the Response Team.
This training includes an overnight and extra time in order to begin the group building that is important to a well-functioning Response Team. There is no cost for individuals to attend the training.
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Registration open for Spring 201 Boundary/Ethics Renewals training
All clergy serving churches in the Great Plains Conference are required to have Safe Gatherings certification. A second training that conference policy requires is called “boundary and ethics training.”
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. Boundary Training 101 classes were scheduled across the conference for those who have not previously had training, primarily for new clergy, DSA or CLM.
Boundary 201, the renewal course for those who have previously had Boundary/Ethics training, are now scheduled for spring 2016. Boundary training must be renewed every four years. Most likely, if you have been in ministry for more than four years, you need your training renewed if you did not take a course (either 101 or 201) in 2015 or early 2016. You can check your renewal date by calling or emailing your district office.
There are currently five Boundary 201 trainings scheduled across the conference in April. Each site has a limited number of attendees, so please register early.
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. You may register for any of these trainings. Refunds will be given only if cancellation is made at least weeks before the training.
Boundary 101 courses, for those needing their first Boundary training, will be scheduled this fall in various locations. If you would like to know those dates and locations, please check greatplainsumc.org/boundarytraining in July or August. Fall dates for Boundary 101 and 201 will not be scheduled until this summer. You may also contact your district office for information, the Rev. Nancy Lambert at nlambert@greatplainsumc.org or 402-464-5994, ext 126.
201 renewal trainings - register now.
April 5, Trinity UMC, 901 E Neal, Salina, Kansas
April 7, Grace UMC, 1832 W 9th St., Hastings, Nebraska
April 8, First UMC, 422 Chestnut St., Leavenworth, Kansas
April 11, West Heights UMC, 745 N Westlink Ave, Wichita, Kansas
April 21, First UMC, 815 N Broad St., Fremont, Nebraska
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New pastoral effectiveness training set this summer
The Rev. Bill Selby, creator and mentor of the Center for Pastoral Effectiveness of the Rockies, invites clergy leadership to attend the 2016 Great Plains Center at Manna House Retreat in Concordia, Kansas, this summer.

Track 1 is July 11-13, and Track 2 is July 20-22.
The center was created in order to maintain ministers. The center is a "pastoral" model that focuses on family systems in the church, said Selby. Everything done in the center enables clergy to be healthier leaders of their church.
“There is a lot of fear and reactivity across the country right now,” Selby said. “Elections, war and ISIS, economics, water, sexual issues and the changing face of the small town as well as the city, all add up to increased anxiety.
“Anxious people attend your church, and the systemic stress always ends up impacting the church. This will especially affect your life as a clergyperson – in personal, professional and familial ways,” he continued. “It is so important that you, as a clergy leader, take the opportunity to reflect on how you can best deal with this systemic anxiety, because much of the time the anxiety gets focused, even fixated, on you! How do you manage yourself so that you can maintain leadership of self, family, and the church? This is a valuable journey that you will not regret.”
More information is online at pastoraleffectiveness.org. More than 700 clergy from six denominations in seven states have taken the courses.
Each track consists of six, three-day retreats over two to three years. The total cost for the six retreats is $1,980 with payments of $330 at each of the six retreats.
To register or for questions, email Bill at integrity4u@comcast.net.
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Rally tradition still going strong in Beloit after 67 years

More than 600 people gathered to continue a tradition that has been maintained for two-thirds of a century. As it has for 67 years, the United Methodist Men in north-central Kansas flocked to Beloit for a night of worship and inspiration. This year, the speaker was Kevin Lockett, a Kansas State wide receiver who broke the Wildcat record for touchdown receptions in the same 1995 game where Coach Bill Snyder set the K-State record for most wins.
Learn more about this fun event.
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Experience the new Connectional Giving training course
United Methodist Communications has revised its training course, “Creating a Culture of Generosity,” which offers church leaders a chance to learn about holistic, meaningful giving experiences.
“Connectional giving is vital to the church’s work around the world,” said Dan Krause, chief executive of United Methodist Communications. “It begins with local church members understanding the scope of church ministries that are made possible locally and globally because of their support.”
The course empowers training participants to become storytellers who can inspire others to give generously by sharing honest, compelling accounts of ministry opportunities.
The training is composed of three parts:
Why we give: explore the biblical and theological basis for giving
The United Methodist connection: understand more about how The United Methodist Church is a connectional church
Creating a culture of generosity: learn how missional storytelling impacts giving and how to ask others to contribute gifts as well as prayers, time, talents and witness
Sessions begin with a centering moment of inspiration and prayer, and include videos and interactive exercises.
The training is free and is available online.
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Micah Corps interns create several youth activities

Creating change in the world — youth activities focus on poverty, environment, food security, peace/nonviolence and immigration.
The 2015 Micah Corps interns have created activities for youth groups that offer a series of discussions, videos and activities which will teach youth how the issues connect to their faith and challenge and inspire the youth to use their power to change the world. These activities are formatted under five four-part units where through the activities, Scripture and discussion students will learn concrete ways to be accepting, be aware and create change in their society.
Download the activities.
Throughout the next few months, we’ll highlight a different topic. This week, we focus on immigration.
Immigration — “Breaking Borders”
What happens when we break down the borders that separate us? This four-part session, "Breaking Borders: Topics in Immigration," teaches students about diversity and community building. Students will explore immigration in their personal history along with the current immigration situation. With these lessons students will learn how to be accepting of immigrants and their struggles to move to a new place and adapt to new culture, language and people.
Download poster for peace lesson. (PDF) (image)
Read more about the activities. You can learn more about the Micah Corps interns at greatplainsumc.org/micahcorps.
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Southwestern names first director of faith formation
The Rev. Wendy Mohler-Seib has been selected to be the first director of faith formation for youth and young adults at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, and will begin her new position July 1. Her primary responsibility will be to work within a 350-mile radius of the college to identify students for a selective one-week summer summit at Southwestern. The Summit will help participants explore the spiritual call in each of their lives and will be administered by the Institute for Discipleship with funding by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
“I'm thrilled to be returning to Southwestern,” Mohler-Seib says. “Some of the most influential years of my faith formation occurred at SC, so I am excited for the opportunity to give back in a way so many gave to me. For me, there is nothing more joyful than seeing young people engage in deep theological conversations and experiencing the life-transforming grace of Jesus Christ. This position is the perfect place for my greatest passions and gifts to meet in a way that I can positively influence others, particularly youth and young adults.”
Mohler-Seib is an ordained elder in the Great Plains Conference. She is the senior pastor for United Methodist Church At the Well in Wichita. She has worked as an associate pastor at Chapel Hill UMC in Wichita; a student pastor at Kingston UMC in Kingston, New Jersey; youth ministry architects consultant, and the director of youth ministries at Forest Park UMC in Panama City, Florida.
Southwestern College received a grant of more than a half million dollars to establish an annual youth leadership summit through the college’s Institute for Discipleship. The $506,403 grant is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative, which seeks to encourage young people to explore theological traditions, ask questions about the moral dimensions of contemporary issues, and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service.
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Webinar Thursday to address where we begin in welcoming refugees

A webinar is planned to introduce and invite churches in the Great Plains Annual Conference to become a “Welcome Place” for refugees who settle in our communities. Not sure where to begin or what to do? This webinar will get you started.
The livestream event starts at 6 p.m. and can be watched by going tohttp://www.greatplainsumc.org/livestream. Gather your missions and/or outreach ministry teams together to watch together!
Speakers include: Andrea Paret, Great Plains Peace with Justice coordinator; Gary Walters, staff attorney with Justice for Our Neighbors-Nebraska; and the Rev. Hollie Tapley, conference Disaster Response coordinator.
Justice For Our Neighbors-Nebraska (JFON-NE) – a ministry that was started through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) – welcomes immigrants into our communities by providing free, high-quality immigration legal services, education and advocacy. JFON-NE prioritizes services for low-income immigrants with the greatest need: battered women, abandoned children and refugees fleeing persecution. JFON-NE has strong connections with several United Methodist churches and their volunteers. Last year, JFON-NE worked on 2,011 cases for people from 42 different countries.
JFON-NE is one of our Great Plains Mission Agencies.
For more information on this webinar and/or how to get your church involved in becoming a Welcome Place for Refugees, contact Rev. Tapley at htapley@greatplainsumc.org.
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United Methodist Ministries to celebrate 50th anniversary

The Big Garden in Omaha is about to have a home all its own – and it comes just in time to celebrate 50 years of ministry.
United Methodist Ministries, which operates The Big Garden, has scheduled a ribbon-cutting and ceremonial planting of the first seeds for4 p.m. April 8 at its new location at 5602 Read St. in Omaha, Nebraska. Now, the ministry that aims to help people make healthy food choices finally will have office space, places to store equipment and a place from which to base its educational opportunities for the public.
Read more about the 50th anniversary celebration.
United Methodist Ministries plans to celebrate 50th year by playing in its own dirt
The Big Garden in Omaha hasn't had a permanent place to call “home.” It hasn’t had its own large plot of land on which to grow produce. It hasn’t had an office of its very own.

The Big Garden, operated by United Methodist Ministries, assists with more than 140 gardens across
Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. Many of those sites feature educational opportunities for children in an
effort to teach healthy eating habits. Photo by UM MinistriesBut that all is about to change. United Methodist Ministries, which operates The Big Garden, has scheduled a ribbon-cutting and ceremonial planting of the first seeds for April 8 at its new location at 5602 Read St. in Omaha, Nebraska. Now, the ministry that aims to help people make healthy food choices finally will have office space, places to store equipment and a place from which to base its educational opportunities for the public.
Oh yeah, and it finally will have a garden of its own. And it comes just in time to celebrate 50 years of service for Christ in the Omaha area.
“Our vision is, most of all, that nobody should go hungry in our city,” said Nathan Morgan, executive director of United Methodist Ministries. “Hunger is something that deeply offends those of us who are Christians.”
That vision has come into focus over the past 50 years.
Jaimee Trobough, UM Ministries director of marketing and communications, said the organization was founded in 1966, when the former Nebraska Conference tried to respond in a positive way to the race riots that rocked Omaha.
One incident involving a crowd of people on July 4 may have set the stage for a bigger confrontation Aug. 1, when a white, off-duty police officer reportedly shot and killed a 19-year-old man. According to the Omaha World-Herald, three buildings were firebombed, and 180 riot police were required to restore order. Socio-economic disparities and their related effects were largely blamed for both uprisings.
Celebrating 50 Years
The Big Garden will celebrate United Methodist Ministries' 50th anniversary with a ribbon cutting and ceremonial first planting of seeds at 4 p.m. Friday, April 8, at 5602 Read St., in Omaha, Nebraska.
Trobough said the 1970s led to expanded programs for UM Ministries, including assistance for unwed mothers, teenagers facing crisis, a youth theater group and Together Incorporated, an agency UM Ministries co-founded with other faith communities to help coordinate the charitable response to the 1975 tornado that killed three people and caused millions of dollars in damage in Omaha alone.
UM Ministries evolved into a social justice ministry in the 1980s and began to distribute grants. Then, in 2005, when the Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede was executive director of United Methodist Ministries, she sought funding from U.S. Department of Agriculture Community Food Project grants.
“That really was a turning point for us,” Trobough said.
The effort brought in $500,000 for community gardens in the Omaha area. A formal goal was set to start 12 community gardens in a three-year period. But the results turned out even better. Eleven years later, United Methodist Ministries helps with more than 140 gardens in Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa.
Known as The Big Garden, the food-security ministry that has evolved via United Methodist Ministries now provides education and entertainment for youth in the summer months, as well as year-round skill-building opportunities in partnerships with schools and civic organizations.
“We start with basics,” Morgan said. “We teach about healthy soil, how do you plant a seed, what is the proper way to water, how much sunlight to provide and even weeding.”
Right now, those programs operate largely in community gardens and at schools across the Omaha area. But with the recent purchase of property at 5602 Read St. in Omaha, The Big Garden and United Methodist Ministries will have about two acres on which to plant produce, a greenhouse ready to nurture plants and, once renovated, office space for staff members and educators.
“One thing the new property allows us to do is to gather our own seedlings,” Morgan said. “We’ll saved a lot of time and effort, and the programming we’ll be able to do is pretty exciting.”
Morgan said it may be difficult for some people to believe, but even larger urban areas such as Omaha have become food deserts, defined as areas where kids have no access to healthy produce. 

The new facility for United Methodist Ministries features a
greenhouse, open space and buildings that can be
renovated for offices. Photo by UM Ministries“So we have kids who have never eaten a fresh tomato before,” Morgan said.
The primary goal for UM Ministries as it enters its second 50 years of operation is to help make kids as healthy as possible by providing healthy eating alternatives to fast food and other unhealthy habits.
“Studies tell us with kids, their dietary habits are usually set at about age 6,” Morgan said. “So we get kids who eat mostly junk food and face serious health issues. Hopefully, we’ll be able to alter their eating habits and prevent them from falling into the same trap of poor eating habits and obesity.”
The new facility also will provide a base from which to teach skills that could be put to use to help families earn a better living.
“We see this potentially as a chance to teach real job skills, and that’s good for the Omaha economy,” he said. “I think we all feel that urban agriculture can be an economic engine in the low-income community. Urban agriculture is not a panacea for poverty, but it can be a small-business opportunity for people who approach it with that idea in mind.”
The new property comes with a cost of about $450,000 – a far lower cost than would have been needed had the structures not already been in place. So far, UM Ministries has collected about $200,000. To help, go to The Big Garden website.
Learn more about The Big Garden and United Methodist Ministries.
Contact Todd Seifert, communications director for the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church at tseifert@greatplainsumc.org.
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Watch presentation about Israeli Jewish-Palestinian conflict

Learn more about the movement to bring shared dignity and peace to Israeli Jews and Palestinians by watching a video of a presentation and discussion with Rabbi Joseph Berman of Jewish Voice for Peace and Bshara Nassar, founder of the Nakba Museum Project of Memory and Hope.
This recording was made Feb. 28 at Urban Abbey in Omaha, Nebraska, which was the first stop on a three-stop tour. Other presentations took place in Emporia and Lawrence, Kansas.
Watch the video.
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GCFA and Connectional Table affirm proposed budget
The board of the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) and members of the Connectional Table (CT) met last month to consider the recommendations for the 2017-2020 general church budget. The GCFA board approved the proposed budget of $611 million, reaffirming the budget proposal agreed upon by both GCFA and CT in May 2015. The members of CT met by conference call on Feb. 29 and also approved the budget by majority vote.
“This budget reflects a hopeful, reasonable proposal of the resources needed to engage in the mission and ministries around the world,” said Bishop Bruce Ough, chair of the Connectional Table. “We need to take a bold move to fund programs and priorities that focus on church vitality. This budget reflects the faith we have in our leaders to continue the adaptive work in increasing vital congregations across our connection.”
The decisions of both bodies reaffirm that the proposed budget fits the missional needs of the denomination in the next quadrennium. Though there have been recommendations to revise the budget based on new information provided by the Economic Advisory Committee (EAC) that considered several economic factors, the bodies who hold responsibility for recommending the budget to General Conference have voted to keep the current recommendation.
Bishop Michael Coyner, president of GCFA said, “The Budget Leadership Team, composed of members of GCFA and CT, has been in a multi-year process to consider the many factors affecting the final budget recommendations. The actions of the GCFA Board and CT membership reaffirm the work of the Team and voted to keep the recommendation.”
The details of the budget are included in the Advance Daily Christian Advocate (ADCA), volume 3 and made available to any member of The United Methodist Church at www.cokesbury.com.
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Editorials and Blogs
  • In Layman's Terms: While many people hear the word "call" and immediately think of ordained ministry, all followers of Christ are called to help in ministry. Communications Director Todd Seifert shares some thoughts about the need for laity to answer God's call in his latest blog.
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Newsletters
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Classifieds
To view these and other classifieds, go to greatplainsumc.org/classifieds.
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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.
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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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