Thursday, May 5, 2016

The Great Plains Conference of The United Methodist Church from Wichita, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 4 May 2016 "GPconnect"

The Great Plains Conference of The United Methodist Church from Wichita, Kansas, United States for Wednesday, 4 May 2016 "GPconnect"

In this edition:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
MERCY AND JUSTICE
ANNUAL CONFERENCE SESSION
SOUTHCENTRAL JURISDICTION CONFERENCE
ADMINISTRATION
OTHER NEWS
Stay up to date with happenings from General Conference

If you want to stay updated with what is going on each day during General Conference in Portland, Oregon, you can check in each day on the conference website - www.greatplainsumc.org/generalconference.
The conference communications staff will share information from United Methodist News Service as well as the staff's own stories detailing decisions made, reaction from the Great Plains delegation and how others from Kansas and Nebraska are working in the open and behind the scenes.
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Great Plains Conference committees seeking servants

Do you have a passion for Campus Ministry? Are you concerned with the health and future of all clergy in the conference? Are you willing to step out in faith and help a new church begin ministry that will make even more disciples of Jesus Christ? Is the upkeep to all conference property important to you? If not you, then do you know someone who has a passion for one of these areas.
Nominations are needed for the conference teams of pensions and health benefits, trustees, new church development and campus ministry. If you are interested please go towww.greatplainsumc.org/serve and nominate potential leaders online.
This call goes out to all United Methodists in the Great Plains Conference. If you have a passion for something please step up and volunteer to serve. DSAs, CLMs, local pastors, ordained clergy, certified lay speakers, members of local church committees and all people who worship in a United Methodist Church are needed.
Nominate yourself, nominate your friends, nominate all God's people. It takes us all to make this conference a place where God's glory can shine. If you want to be a part of something more than your local church, volunteer today.
Any questions please contact Rev. Tessa Zehring at tzehring@greatplainsumc.org. Hope to see your nomination soon!
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Scholarships available from the Nebraska UM Foundation

The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation has scholarship applications available online for seminary students or students pursuing a career in church leadership. Materials can be found atwww.numf.org/scholarships. The Foundation is pleased to be able to administer these scholarships to individuals who are members of a Nebraska United Methodist church and pursuing a degree for service in the Great Plains Conference.
Applications are available for the following scholarships:
  • The Albert R. Murdoch Ministerial Scholarship
  • The Alice Kruse Ministerial Scholarship 
  • The Alice Kruse Seminary Scholarship
  • The Alva Clark Seminary Scholarship 
  • The Baldwin F. and Amy L. Kruse Scholarship
  • The Charles and Marilyn Humphrey Seminary Scholarship
  • The Cowles United Methodist Church Memorial Scholarship
  • The Darrell and Joyce Pickett Scholarship
  • The Harlan and Mabelle Wyrick Memorial Scholarship
  • The Lincoln St. Mark's United Methodist Church Foundation Scholarship
  • The Murdock Ebenezer UMC Professional Church Leader Scholarship
  • The Myrtle E. Williams Seminary Scholarship
  • The Scahill Family Scholarship
  • The Verl & Sylvia Miller Memorial Scholarship
  • The Wilson's Tither Scholarship
The application deadline is June 30, 2016.
Those students applying for the scholarships listed above will also subsequently be considered for the following scholarships:
  • The Cal Leeds Scholarship
  • The Rev. Albert W. Winseman Scholarship Endowment
  • The Atherton Memorial Scholarship Fund
  • The Ben and Martha Simmons Scholarship Fund
  • The Andrew & Nevabelle Howe Scholarship.
The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation would like to acknowledge the generous gifts donors have made to make these scholarships possible, and thanks them for being a partner in ministry. For more information, please visit www.numf.org/scholarships.
If you would like to talk to someone about how you can honor the memory of a loved one or help a seminary student, please call 877-495-5545.
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View presentations about culture of call from Orders & Fellowship

All videos and photos from the Orders and Fellowship clergy meeting in February are now uploaded to the conference website and are available for viewing and to download. The meetings this year focused on creating a culture of call in our local churches.
You can view all resources at www.greatplainsumc.org/of2016.
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Percentage of clergy educated at UM seminaries continues to rise
Almost two-thirds of the deacon and elder ordinands for The United Methodist Church in 2015 received their seminary degrees from a United Methodist-affiliated institution. This represents the highest concentration of ordinands from UM institutions in recent years, according to a report by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM).
Of the 438 total ordinands in the United States, 273 earned degrees from UM institutions, which is a 4 percent increase over the previous year, and represents a continued upward trend since 2009, when just over half of the ordinands earned degrees from UM institutions.
“We are pleased that the percentage of ordinands who receive their training from UM schools is rising,” said the Rev. Dr. Kim Cape, general secretary at GBHEM. “Their United Methodist identity is strengthened by the background, education and training from United Methodist seminaries. These study results are a testament to the resources and support being given at an annual conference level and at a local church level. A denominational emphasis on young clergy will be a factor in continuing this trend in a positive direction,” Cape adds.
Each year, all UMC annual conferences complete a “Business of the Annual Conference” report. This report includes the names of the individuals ordained as a deacon or elder in the conferences that year, as well as the seminary that awarded the degree for each person. GBHEM has been collecting this information over the past several years to better understand where ordinands in The UMC are receiving their seminary education.
Asbury Theological Seminary remained the most predominant institution among ordinands, with 57 individuals, or 13 percent, in 2015, the report says. Closely following Asbury was Duke Divinity School, the single most predominant UM-affiliated institution, with 52 individuals, or 12 percent, of the 2015 ordinands.
Candler School of Theology was the second most predominant UM institution with 38 individuals, or 9 percent, of 2015 ordinands. Wesley Theological Seminary, Perkins School of Theology, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary rounded out the top five UM institutions, each with around 6 percent of the 2015 ordinands.
A total of 108 ordinands, or 25 percent, received their degrees from other institutions besides Asbury and the United Methodist schools. The two among the others with the greatest number were Hood Theological Seminary with 11 graduates, and Vanderbilt Divinity School with nine.
To obtain the full GBHEM report, go to http://www.gbhem.org/sites/default/files/documents/gbhem-2015-ordinand-seminaries.pdf.
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MTSO announces doctorate in ecology, justice and ministry

The doctor of ministry program at Methodist Theological School in Ohio will offer a new specialization in 2016: Ecology, Justice and Ministry. Those enrolling in MTSO’s D.Min. program may choose either the new specialization or Leadership for Transformational Change.
The next cohort of doctor of ministry students will begin studies July 25 with a week of classes on campus. The application deadline is May 31. More information and an application form are at www.mtso.edu/doctorofministry.
“At MTSO, we see a growing emphasis on ecology, coupled with our long-term historic commitment to social justice as a theological school,” said Professor Diane Lobody, director of the doctor of ministry program. “For us to offer a D.Min. track that links those two seemed to be the next important step.”
D.Min. students in Ecology, Justice and Ministry will take specialization courses including Creation and New Creation in Christian Tradition; Environmental Theology and Ethics; Justice and the Practices of Ministry; and Ecology, Place and Justice.
Lobody said MTSO is uniquely suited to offer the new specialization in a number of ways, including the presence of Seminary Hill Farm, a campus-based organic farm that produces food served on campus and provided to many community partners.
Classes meet on campus in two intensive sessions per year – one week each in mid-summer and January. The remainder of students’ work toward the D.Min. can be done off-campus.
MTSO’s D.Min. degree is offered through a joint doctor of ministry program with Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus. MTSO students in the program receive their degrees from MTSO while having the benefit of working with faculty from both schools.
Methodist Theological School in Ohio prepares leaders of many faith traditions for lives of lasting significance in service to the church and the world. The school offers master’s degrees in counseling ministries, divinity, theological studies and practical theology, along with a doctor of ministry degree. For more information, visit www.mtso.edu.
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Registration open for global United Methodist clergywomen gathering
United Methodist clergywomen from around the world will gather in Aug. 29-31 in Houston to celebrate 60 years of full clergy rights for women in the Methodist tradition, and 20 years of the full-clergy-membership diaconate for United Methodist deacons. The gathering is the culmination of regional gatherings of United Methodist clergywomen that have taken place throughout the connection and will be held in the days leading up to the World Methodist Conference.
Themed “ONE: Birthing a Worldwide Church,” the gathering’s events are designed to foster unity among clergywomen and strengthen their Methodist identity. The three-day event provides clergywomen with leadership building, education and networking opportunities, as well as the opportunity to explore how women in leadership influence The United Methodist Church.
“We are an international church, and it is important that United Methodist clergywomen build upon the church’s legacy of leadership,” said the Rev. Dr. Kim Cape, general secretary, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM). “We need clarity of purpose and flexibility in strategy. This assembly of clergywomen from around the world creates a rich intellectual, intercultural and spiritual space that every clergywoman can contribute to, and grow from.
The gathering begins Monday evening with an opening worship designed by Rev. Dr. Beauty Maenzanise, an ordained elder and global clergy formation consultant for GBHEM. The opening worship speaker is Rev. Helen Manalac-Cunanan, an ordained elder and pastor of the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Angeles City, Philippines. Rev. Manalac-Cunanan organized the Filipino UM Clergywomen Consultation in Manila last year.
Tuesday offers a multitude of interactive learning and networking activities. Tuesday night will be capped by a UMC Clergywomen banquet featuring women bishops and leaders of the World Federation of Methodist & Uniting Church Women; Bishop Janice Riggle Huie of the Houston Episcopal Area will be a speaker. The General Secretary of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, the Rev. Charmaine Morgan, will greet participants. This year, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa is celebrating 40 years of ordination of women in their ministry.
During Wednesday’s discussions, women bishops will share their vision for women leading the church into the future, and clergywomen will set forth their views of UM clergywomen as church changers and world changers. The gathering culminates at a luncheon with United Methodist Women bishops, and a celebration of deacons.
Registration is open here: http://bit.ly/1YYvhkh.
For additional information, please go to www.gbhem.org/clergy/clergywomen.
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2016 “Pass the Torch” Scholarship recipients named
A total of 13 “Pass the Torch” scholarships were awarded in 2016 for the upcoming academic year. This was the largest number of awards in the history of the program. Scholarships were given to Course of Study students and seminary students.
The “Pass the Torch” scholarship program was established in 1971 by the Kansas West Retirees and Spouses Association. The first scholarship was given in 1995.
This year’s recipients were Marcee Binder, Julie King, John Lewis, Alex Rossow, Nick Smith, Gina Tyler, Kathy Webster, Richard Webster and Suzanne Werthmann.
The scholarship fund is invested with the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation. The Scholarship Committee is currently comprised of retired pastors and spouses from the former Kansas West Conference, but there is a commitment to broaden the committee’s membership. Through 2015, a total of $70,025 has been distributed in scholarship assistance.
The Scholarship Committee uses “5 percent of the average fair market value of the Pass the Torch Endowment for the last three years to determine the amount of funds available for scholarships each year.” This year, an amount of $6,000 was distributed. The amount of this year’s awards ranged from $150 to $300 for Course of Study students and $500 to $1,000 for seminary students.
There is no geographic restriction or preference given to scholarship applicants. In 2016, there were scholarship recipients from each of the former conferences that now comprise the Great Plains Conference. Six were for Course of Study students, and seven were for seminary students. Schools where students plan to attend this coming year are: Asbury Theological Seminary, Iliff School of Theology, Saint Paul School of Theology, United Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary.
Applicants must be at least certified candidates for the ordained ministry, under care either of a District Committee on Ordained Ministry or the conference Board of Ordained Ministry.
Changes were made in the scholarship application this year, given our reality as the Great Plains Conference. A copy of the application is available on the conference website, and copies were sent to all district superintendents for distribution to eligible applicants.
Members of this year’s “Pass the Torch” committee were Bill and Beverly Salmon, Don and Sue Swender, Don and Darlene Snyder, Gary Harms, Harlan and Judy Rittgers, Jerry and Christine Vogt, and Mark Conard.
Contributions to the “Pass the Torch” Scholarship Fund are always welcome. You may send your donation for this purpose to the “Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation” at Box 605; Hutchinson, KS; 67504-0605.
You may also donate online through the Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation’s website, which is: http://www.kaumf.org/ Your online contribution may be a one-time, weekly or monthly gift. You may designate your contribution “in memory” or “in honor” of someone important to you, perhaps a mentor for your own ministry or as a gift in honor of a new ordinand.
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Registration deadline nears for Flowing Streams Retreat

May 15 is the early registration deadline for the Flowing Streams Retreat, a three-day spiritual experience retreat scheduled for June 24-26 at Manna House of Prayer in Concordia, Kansas.
Leader for Flowing Streams 2016 is the Rev. Jane Vennard, a noted retreat leader and spiritual formation teacher and author. Her latest book is “Fully Awake and Truly Alive” (Skylight Paths Publishing, 2014). In her book, she encourages the readers to develop spiritual practices as a living part of their whole nature.
Participants can expect to be involved in presentations, spiritual practices, worship, silence for reflection and conversation in small groups.
The retreat is sponsored by the Nebraska Covenant Community, and the Great Plains Conference Academy Council. It uses a format similar to that of the Five Day Academy for Spiritual Formation. Lay persons and clergy of various religious affiliations are welcome.
Registration is now open for the retreat. You may register online at www.gpspiritualformation.org, or for more information, contact the Rev. James Brewer via email at jamesbrewer136@gmail.com, or call him at(402) 992-2729.
Please submit your registration with $50 deposit before May 15 to avoid an additional $50 charge for late registration.
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Connecting high school seniors

As the school year is coming to a close, your church has nurtured youth in discipleship and leadership. You can help students and their families in this important transition by helping them get connected with faith communities on the next part of their journey.
With your help, we can connect students to United Methodist campus ministry and/or United Methodist church nearby. Would you please share a list of graduating high school seniors as well as any information you have on next steps for them at https://gp-reg.brtapp.com/studentcontact or send this link to the person that would know?
United Methodist campus ministers and local church leaders will follow up with them and extend an invitation to get connected. Thank you for your ministry and connecting our next generation of leaders.
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Men's meeting inspires, raises money for scholarships

“A Christ centered day” was the response by the Rev. Mitch Reece, Wichita East District superintendent, in response to attending the second-annual Christian Men’s Gathering. Other attendees loved the small group interaction. Most of all, the messages from Dan Meers and Rod Handley reached the hearts of the men.
Meers shared his story of how, when as the Kansas City Chief’s mascot, his bungee stunt at Arrowhead Stadium failed and slammed him into the seats from 75 feet. His response – OOPS” – is not in God’s vocabulary. Nothing is an “accident.” Everything has a purpose in God’s plan.
He spoke to the group about how C. S. Lewis shares that “Pain insist upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our consciences, but shouts to us in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf ear.”
Handley gave a truly transparent message focused on the story of Joshua. He stressed the importance of knowing your enemy. That enemy may be alcohol, drugs, pornography or something else. Once you know your enemy, declare war on whatever binds you, keeps you from a closer relationship with God, and discipline yourself in faith and do something about it.
The event raised more than $1,200 this year for the scholarship fund. Kenzie May and Jordan Rousselle have been awarded scholarships by Kansas Wesleyan from last year’s funds. Southwestern College has not announced its awards. May is from Colwich, Kansas, and her home church is Gracepoint Church in Wichita. Rousselle is from Aurora, Colorado, and his home church here is Emmanuel Foursquare in Salina.
Plans are coming together for the 2017 Gathering, either April 22 or 29 at Wichita Calvary UMC depending on speaker availability.
You can keep up with the planning by going tohttp://makethedifference.care.
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Holy Land trip provides chance for reflection on conflict

Oliver Green, associate lay leader for the Great Plains Conference, provides a first-person account of what he learned during a trip with others from Kansas and Nebraska from interactions with Israelis and Palestinians.
Read Oliver's reflections.
Holy Land trip provides chance to reflect on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

(From left) Carol Garwood, Oliver Green and Shayla Jordan pose for a photo overlooking Jerusalem during a trip this winter to the Holy Land. Photo courtesy Oliver Green
From the 1960’s movie, "Exodus," The words “this land is mine, God gave this land to me. This land, this precious land to me ...” ring through my subconscious mind. I can remember leaving the movie theater with great feelings towards the Israelis and their plight in Palestine.
Fast forward 30 years, when I am chaperoning a group of conference youth on a UM/DC study tour focusing on peace in the Middle East. We heard from one Palestinian who said the situation in Palestine was much like that of the native peoples and the invasion/occupation of North America.
In February, Shayla Jordan, Carol Garwood and I were a part of a UMC sponsored trip to the Holy Land. The trip to Israel and the West Bank left me perplexed and solidified my understanding that things are not right in that area. Who has what rights? Whose homeland? How do we live in peace?
We visited the various traditional holy sites: Capernaum, sailed the Sea of Galilee, walked in the Garden of Gethsemane, toured Hebron, ate dates in Jericho and watched the bathers in the Dead Sea. We stayed in Nazareth and Bethlehem. We toured Jerusalem and Tabgha. We walked the Via Dolorosa and purchased many souvenirs, collected rocks and ate good food. I watched Shalya play volleyball with Palestinian youth (she is good). And we walked around Sebastia, where John the Baptist was imprisoned/beheaded and where Jezebel met her death.
We visited with numerous Palestinians, including Bishop Elias Chacour (who we will be speaking at our annual conference session in June). I appreciated and identified with the plight of the Palestinians (Christians and Muslims). I found them very gracious and hospitable, as were the Israelis we met. But there was ample evidence that the Palestinians were, in fact, not wanted. It felt like the treatment was intended to demonstrate that if you don’t like it, move. I believe it is called “pacification.” I remember reading a statement by one African leader who stated that apartheid was a picnic compared to what the Palestinians are experiencing in Israel and the West Bank.
We listened as a rabbi from the Rabbis for Human Rights spoke of the divestment move on the part of the religious community – a movement to divest from companies such as Caterpillar, Motorolla Solutions and Hewlitt Packard, all of whom are profiting off the occupation. His position was you may choose to divest from those companies but look for opportunities to reinvest in companies operating in the West Bank or Israel that are not a part of the pacification effort.
At our upcoming General Conference in Portland, there will be legislation, debate and lobbying to have our General Board of Pension divest from Caterpillar, Motorolla Solutions and Hewlitt Packard. I ask that you pray that whatever we do will be pleasing to God and recognize the legitimacy of the Palestinians to have a part in their homeland.
Special thanks to Great Plains Mercy and Justice for their support of this opportunity.
Oliver Green is an associate lay leader in the Great Plains Conference. He lives in the Topeka, Kansas, area.
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Nigeria orphanage partner seeks speaking engagements
Simon Benjamin, director of the Nigeria Mission Partnership Orphanage will arrive to the Great Plains on Sunday May 22, in advance of his attendance to the GP Annual Conference meeting, May 31. Any church interested in hosting Simon, either live or by video conference, or wishing to learn more about his visit are invited to contact Kathryn Witte at kathrynwitte75@yahoo.com.
The orphanage children continue to thrive, four of the students have advanced to the college level. Thirty-nine of the students are in the equivalent to American high school. The orphanage works with 58 students in primary school. To learn more about the Great Plans Mission Partnership in Nigeria go to the website at www.greatplainsumc.org/nigeriapartnership. To join the work of the partnership committee contact Witte at email provided above.
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Spider provides welcome lesson on patience of waiting

A reflection on spiders by John Martin, member of Conference Creation Care Team:
The Patience of Job
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.
Does not the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
Is wisdom with the aged,
and understanding in length of days.[Job 12:7-12 (NRSV)]
When Carol Windrum shared these verses as a moment of reflection at one of the Great Plains Annual Conference Creation Care Team meetings, my first thought was, “Have I heard or read these verses before? Surely I have.” Likely, I was not paying attention to the words, in the same way that I often do not pay careful enough attention to creation.
When she invited us to share experiences of how we have listened to and learned from creation, my thoughts went to the spider.
A few years ago I took a silent retreat at a center in northeast Kansas. One morning I went to sit in quietness and silence at the small dock on a pond. It was a beautiful spring morning, the sun was shining, the breeze blowing gently. I sat taking in the sounds of birds, the still water, and the plants bursting with green. Being careful to be as quiet as I could be, I slowly turned my head to gaze at the beauty of God’s creation, and I saw it.
The web was the first to catch my attention, then I noticed a large spider in the middle of the web. I began watching. And watching. And watching. The spider did not move. I thought, “Surely a bug will catch in the web and the spider will move,” although a few small insects briefly touched down on the web, none got stuck, and the spider kept waiting. I watched for quite some time. I began looking around again, always allowing my gaze to come back to the spider. Still waiting. I watched the movement of the sunlight on the web, at first the spider was in the shade, I thought, “when the sun shines fully on the spider, it will move.” The spider contracted in on itself a bit in the heat, but it stayed in place. Still waiting. I got up to stretch my legs by walking up the path a bit, but when I came back to the dock, the spider was still there. Just waiting. Finally I gave up and went to my cabin for lunch and a nap. When I went back to the dock later that day, the web was still in place, but the spider was gone.
Wait, all the spider could do was wait. It had spun its web in a place that looked like a good spot, insects were flying, but all the spider could do was wait.
Have I learned the lesson of the spider? Do I trust the process of life and love enough to wait?
When you and I have done what we can, hopefully as well as we can, then are willing to simply wait — wait while God’s love is consistently and constantly working in and through creation — we will have listened to the animals.
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Peace with Justice makes difference
Peace with Justice Sunday, May 22, encourages congregations to focus on what each one of us can do to bring about true peace with justice. Read about two examples of grants given from last year’s offerings:
Spring Break Trip with Emporia State University Campus Ministries. Campus Minister Kurt Cooper and a group of students traveled to Washington, D.C., and participated in a seminar at the General Board of Church and Society on Earth Justice. This was the topic the students had chosen. Read about their experiences.
Peace Conference at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, “Longing for Peace / Exploring the Heart of God.” Walter Marsella, one of three scholarship recipients, shared about the peace conference on a panel at Saint Paul School of Theology.
For more information about Peace with Justice Ministries go towww.greatplainsumc.org/peacewithjustice.
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Consider special offerings to help annual conference reach goals

Your church can help the Great Plains Conference reach its goals on several fundraising efforts by taking up a special offering to be delivered during the annual conference session June 1-4 in Topeka, Kansas.
Four offerings will be taken during the session, so choose which ones you would like to support and send your special offerings with your pastor or a lay member to annual conference. The offerings this year will go for:
  • Multicultural Mission Partnerships (offering during opening worship June 1) – The conference is trying to raise $100,000 each for the Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI) in El Paso, Texas; the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference (OIMC); and the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference. LPI needs funds to make repairs and expand the school. OIMC needs funds to help pay its pastors, which are the lowest-paid in the South Central Jurisdiction. And the Zimbabwe East Conference is building an office to help coordinate ministries. Learn more about the partnerships and find resources such as bulletin inserts and videos.
  • Camp Comeca (during the memorial service June 2) – The conference is trying to raise $994,000 for our camp near Cozad, Nebraska, to help pay for cabin renovations, debt repayment, swimming pool repair and sewer improvements. Learn more about the Camp Comeca Renewal campaign.
  • Imagine No Malaria (during the ordination service June 3) – The conference is taking one more offering for this United Methodist Church program aimed at helping curb the spread of malaria by providing mosquito nets and other means to prevent the spread of disease, particularly in developing nations. Learn more about the Imagine No Malaria campaign.
  • Youth Service Fund (during the youth-led worship serviceJune 4) – Money in this fund supports projects led by youth in the Great Plains Conference via grants to local churches. Learn more about the fund.
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Free social media, website training day prior to annual conference
The Great Plains Conference and United Methodist Communications are providing free workshops on creating a social media strategy for local churches and then how to bolster each church’s website presence.
The sessions begin with the social media workshop at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, at First United Methodist Church, 600 SW Topeka Blvd., in Topeka, Kansas. The website workshop will follow in the same location at 3:30 p.m. Both workshops come at no cost to participants.
The workshops will be led by Craig Catlett, the training and development specialist at United Methodist Communications. He holds a bachelor’s degree in religion and a master’s degree in communication. Before coming to work for United Methodist Communications, Catlett taught interpersonal communication, public speaking and business and professional communication for Western Kentucky University. He has a background in ministry and teaching classes online and now combines his experiences to serve The United Methodist Church.
Please register for the workshops as you fill out the form for the annual conference session. Or send an email to Todd Seifert, communications director for the Great Plains Conference, at tseifert@greatplainsumc.orgby May 20. Registration will help us plan for the best room and to ensure enough materials are prepared.
Here are descriptions of the two workshops:
  • Communicating Faith in the 21st Century
  • Communicating Faith in the 21st Century will teach how to effectively communicate in today’s society and to equip the faith community to share transforming stories. This workshop focuses on going beyond just having a church website to effectively implementing a broader online presence. We will cover the basics of launching a successful online strategy that helps people connect with your church in a new way. This workshop will also focus on implementing a broader online presence, using the social media tools of today. By engaging your audience online first, you extend your reach beyond Sunday services and expose your audience to your message before they visit your church.
  • Your Church Website: Rethinking Your Front Door
  • Your Church Website focuses on going beyond just having a church website to effectively implementing a broader online presence. We will cover the tools to plan, build, and launch a successful online strategy that helps people connect with your church in a new way. This workshop looks at going beyond just having a church website focusing on how to effectively implement a broader online presence. By engaging your audience online first, you extend your reach beyond Sunday services and expose your audience to your message before they visit your church.
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Take part in mass choir as part of jurisdictional conference

The Holy Spirit is almost certain to be present during the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Wichita, Kansas, when Grammy and Dove awards nominee William McDowell takes the stage July 15 for the "area night" concert.
Along with a mass choir from more than 20 Wichita-area churches, McDowell will bring his energetic and soulful worship music to the Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center, 225 W. Douglas Ave., in Wichita. McDowell's talents have landed him atop the Billboard Gospel single and album lists. His performance will include his hit songs as well as music from his new album, which was released in February.
A T-shirt with this creative design showcasing that God's love is greater than anything else we will encounter will be for sale for $10 at the same ticket locations and at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference hospitality booth at the Hyatt Hotel. You can reserve yours when you register for the conference.
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Concert provides opportunity to celebrate during conference in July

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  • Email address changes for archivist based in Nebraska
  • The email address has changed for reaching the conference archivist at Nebraska Wesleyan University.
  • The email address for Karrie Dvorak, the conference’s previous archivist, has been changed to gpcarchives@greatplainsumc.org. Her previous email address will continue to forward to this new address temporarily. Archives staff will be checking this new email address as well as the archives2@greatplainsumc.org address on a part-time basis as available. 
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Church to celebrate 160 years
Brock (Nebraska) UMC will celebrate 160 of history on May 22, 2016, during its 10:15 a.m., worship service. In 1856, a circuit rider organized the church at a meeting in the home of Phillip Starr. This was just two years after the Nebraska Territory was opened for settlement.
Brock UMC is one of five Nemaha County churches with beginnings in the 1850s: Brownville Christian started in 1855, St. John Lutheran Stone Church started in 1856, Brownville Methodist started in 1856 and Peru Baptist (now part of the Peru Community Church) started in 1857. Several other churches were started during this time period, but these are the only five surviving churches. (More information can be found at the Nemaha Valley Museum.)
Brock UMC has families who have six generations in attendance and enrolled in the children’s Sunday school: Bob and Lenora Sandfort’s family and Bob and Jane Gravatt’s family.
The church’s chicken pie and now chicken biscuit dinner held in March has been an annual event since 1942.
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Save the date for GraceMed Health Clinic’s 5K
Grace Med Health Clinic of Wichita, Kansas, will be hosting its sixth annual “Say Grace” Thanksgiving Day 5K Race. The race will be begin at 9:30 a.m., Nov. 24, at 1122 N. Topeka St. in Wichita. Proceeds go to benefit a mission trip to Kenya. More details are to follow in the coming months.
For more information, contact Lesa Dreifort at 316 866-2069 or ldreifort@gracemed.org or Nancy Duling at 316 252-8720 or nduling@gracemed.org.
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Church shows how you can help support foster care in Kansas

Greenwich United Methodist Church held a series of collections for children in foster care served by EmberHope’s Youthville programs. The church focused on the following themes: Undie Sunday, Bubble UpSunday, and Sock It To Me Sunday. It ended its series with time spent in worship learning about the important work of the agency, and the growing need for support.
Fostering children is challenging and to make it easier, families should have support from their communities. This is why the Youthville Foster Care Program at EmberHope, in partnership with the United Methodist Church, is interested in developing a Community of Hope Foster Care ministry model to attract, engage, support and retain families in foster care with a team of volunteers in local communities across Kansas. It is EmberHope's intent to develop a network of individuals to use their time, treasures and talents to care for their local communities through a ministry model to support foster care children and families. If you are interested in learning more, please contact the EmberHope office at 800-593-1950 and ask to speak to someone about foster care.
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