Wednesday, February 24, 2016

GPconnect for Wednesday, 24 February 2016 - The Great Plains Conference communications of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States

GPconnect for Wednesday, 24 February 2016 - The Great Plains Conference communications of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States

Download the printable version of the Feb. 24, issue of GPconnect.
In this edition of GPconnect:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
MERCY AND JUSTICE
OTHER NEWS
Take part in March 1 prayer vigil

If your church has chosen to take part in a 24-hour prayer vigil March 1 for General Conference and the United Methodist Church as a whole, please contact our communications team to let us know in which hours your church is participating.
Our goal is to have all 24 hours represented. Download this spreadsheet,which his broken into 20-minute increments for March 1. Fill it out and send it to Roxie Delisi in our communications department at rdelisi@greatplainsumc.org as soon as possible. The times are merely suggestions. Adapt the sheet to fit your church’s needs.
We realize many churches may be able to fill the 24 hours all by themselves. That would be a great way to pray for our church as it enters into this once-every-four years meeting of the worldwide church.
Need help? Check out a page set up by Upper Room to assist you in this effort. Call Delisi at 402-464-5994, ext. 107 with any questions.
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Grant available to help nurture a Culture of Call

Grants will be awarded in the range of $500 - $2,000 for churches, campus ministries, and United Methodist organizations in the Great Plains Conference to fuel their imaginations in creating opportunities to cultivate a Culture of Call.
Creating a Culture of Call means that the behaviors, beliefs and attitudes of your congregation/community readily supports the members of the community to identify and explore a call by God to serve God as a lay, licensed, or ordained person. Not everyone who feels a call will work “in ministry” for a church, but as everyone seeks to live out his or her faith more deeply, we pray that everyone will consider their work in the world, and even their interactions with other people will be an opportunity to live out God’s call.
The early deadline to apply is April 15. A second deadline is Sept. 15. Learn more including FAQs and information on applying atgreatplainsumc.org/cocgrant.
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Nebraskans offered chance to learn about death penalty

A workshop to help Nebraska United Methodists learn about the death penalty is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 19 at First United Methodist Church in Lincoln.
In 2015, the Nebraska Legislature replaced the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole. In November 2016, Nebraskans will vote whether to retain this action or bring back Nebraska’s death penalty. The workshop will provide information about capital punishment and the Nebraska ballot question. Participants will study what the Bible says, practice how to talk with people about issues, get tools and practical resources, and plan how to engage their congregations and communities. There is no cost. Lunch will be provided.
This event will be hosted by Nebraskans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, with support from Great Plains Mercy and Justice Team.
For information, write Rev. Stephen Griffith, griffith@nadp.net.
Download the registration form.
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Congregational care seminar set at Church of the Resurrection

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, is hosting a Congregational Care seminar from Thursday to Saturday, April 7-9.
The seminar is designed to train volunteers to become partners in ministry with pastors and staff to provide care for a congregation. Church of the Resurrection developed a program transforming the way care is provided for congregations. The church equipped volunteers to be Congregational Care Ministers and deployed them to work alongside pastors and staff to minister to and holistically care for the congregation. This partnership between lay and clergy has enabled Resurrection to provide a more consistent and deeper level of care to the church family. The ministry of Congregational Care is deliberate in connecting the church with people during difficult times.
Topics covered in the training include: Prayer, Theology of Care, Boundaries, Listening, Visitation, Death and Grief and Organization.
For more information, visit the webpage, cor.org/ccm, or contact Kathy Carter at kathy.carter@cor.org or 913-544-0272. Registration is limited. An early bird rate of $160 is available through March 16 and the regular registration fee is $200.
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United Methodist missionary seeks stops in Great Plains

John Elmore, a United Methodist missionary to Chile, will be in the Great Plains Conference from April 12 to 17 to tell the missionary story of how the church is connected around the world.
He will not be asking for money.
The Richmond, Virginia, native and his family are mission volunteer coordinators.
Churches or church groups interested in hosting Elmore can contact the Rev. Alan Gager at agager@greatplainsumc.org with preferred and alternate speaking times, information on the group receiving the presentation and contact information for a point person.
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Run/walk to benefit Youthville

The first Tough Road, a 4-mile run/walk to benefit the Kansas Kids Fund, will be Saturday, April 2, at Youthville, 4505 E. 47th St. South, Wichita.
A $35 registration fee includes race entry, a T-shirt, food, raffle ticket and medal. A party in the “Village,” including family-friendly entertainment, food, booths, raffle drawings and a kids mini-Olympics, has a $5 entry fee for non-runners.
Individuals, companies or organizations who raise $150 for Youthville by March 18 will get their names on the back of the race T-shirt.
Register online, and click on “Tough Road 4-Mile.”
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Harriett Jane Olson to keynote
UM Ministries 50th anniversary

This year marks 50 years of United Methodist Ministries' (UMM) radical, justice-seeking work in the Omaha community and beyond. Founded in 1966, UMM has had many identities over the years, but the commitment to social justice has always remained the same. This year, UMM is honoring the past and celebrating new growth.
On April 8 and 9, United Methodist Ministries will hold a two-day celebration. Friday evening will begin with a ribbon-cutting at UMM’s new campus site, followed by a locally-sourced gourmet banquet at First UMC. The keynote speaker for the dinner event will be Harriett Jane Olson, general secretary and CEO of the United Methodist Women, an international organization of women committed to tackling injustices worldwide. There will also be awards and recognitions and a choir at the dinner. Saturday will consist of a line-up of dynamic workshops on poverty and food security, spring canning, organic gardening techniques, a living history of United Methodist Ministries and a conversation with Harriett Jane Olson. The day will also include local music, tours of the new campus and a blessing of the seeds. All are encouraged to attend.
Pre-registration is required. Cost for the full weekend is $50; Friday only is $30 and Saturday only is $20. Limited scholarships are available. Contact UMM if interested.
View registration information.
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Camp Fontanelle seeking male summer counselors
Camp Fontanelle, a United Methodist camp north of Fremont, Nebraska, is seeking college-age counselors, with a special need for male applicants.
Counselors need to have graduated high school before 2016 and love the outdoors. Training is provided. The opportunity to gain experience as a lifeguard, a facilitator of leadership activities through the camp’s Challenge Course, and grow as a person and as a Christian are just a few of the highlights of being a camp counselor. The position provides room and board, a competitive pay for summer counseling, and an opportunity to have a lot of fun and be a role model.
For more information, contact program director Derek Bergman at 402-203-0782 or dbergman@greatplainsumc.org. Applications can be found on the camp's website.
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Church of the Resurrection to host Young Preachers Festival
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection has announced that registration is now open for the second-annual Young Preachers Festival and Conference (YPF), scheduled for July 21 and 22 at the Leawood, Kansas, campus. The Church of the Resurrection has partnered with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry to encourage and equip the next generation of leaders for the United Methodist Church.
The gathering is designed specifically to engage and empower young people across the country to pursue their call to ministry and to help further inspire and develop preaching gifts in those who have already answered that call.
Attendees will experience:
  • Featured Preaching sessions led by the Rev. Dr. Alyce McKenzie, the Rev. Olu Brown, the Rev. Matt Miofsky, Bishop Scott Jones and the Rev. Adam Hamilton.
  • Inspiring and practical workshops led by seminary representatives and Methodist leaders.
  • Intentional time of networking and connection.
  • Fun and interactive “sermon slam.”
  • An optional opportunity to preach a sermon and receive feedback from a panel of ministry leaders.
The festival is designed for high school youth group students, college-aged ministry participants, seminary students, declared candidates, youth directors and young clergy already serving in churches.
Additional details and registration can be found atwww.youngpreachersfestival.org. Registration is limited, so register early. Questions may directed to sharechurchevents@cor.org or 913-232-4139.
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Great Plains pastors gather to talk about creating a culture of call

Pastors who attended the annual Orders and Fellowship clergy meetings explored how to develop, maintain and grow a culture of call throughout the Great Plains Conference. The two-day event Feb. 17-18 at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, featured leadership, education and discipleship (LEaD) talks from seven pastors and one lay person from throughout Kansas and Nebraska, lively worship settings and two teaching moments and one sermon by Bishop Janice Riggle Huie of the Texas Conference.
Read more about the gathering.
Pastors talk about rekindling fire, passing spark to next generationPastors who attended the annual Orders and Fellowship clergy meetings explored how to develop, maintain and grow a culture of call throughout the Great Plains Conference.
The two-day event Feb. 17-18 at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, featured leadership, education and discipleship (LEaD) talks from seven pastors and one lay person from throughout Kansas and Nebraska, lively worship settings and two teaching moments and one sermon by Bishop Janice Riggle Huie of the Texas Conference.
Read more about this year's
Leadership, Education and
Discipleship (LEaD) talks. “Our stories of call are unique, intimate, special to each of us,” Bishop Huie told the approximately 650 clergy in attendance. “It’s a major source of joy our whole ministry long – remembering our story.”
Huie said her own call story came from her hometown in the coastal bend of Texas. She was one of the few female students in her seminary and hadn’t been met another woman in the ministry until Huie’s final year – “and she was unemployed.”
The Texas bishop asked those in the St. Mark’s sanctuary to share their call stories with those seated next to them. Videos shown throughout the gathering included a variety of pastors in the Great Plains Conference telling their call stories, from those who knew they wanted to go into the ministry when they were in school to those who made it their second, third or even fourth careers.
Nurturing the next generation of clergy in the United Methodist Church, Huie said, is one of the denomination’s biggest challenges. Fewer than 7 percent of Methodist clergy are younger than 35, she said, compared to 15 percent in the 1980s.
“There’s some soul searching to be done among us,” Huie said. “The church will always need its next generation of clergy leaders.” 

The Rev. Junius Dotson of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas,
takes part in a time of prayer during the recent Orders and Fellowship clergy
gathering in Lincoln, Nebraska. Photo by Todd Seifert
In the second of her three addresses to the clergy, Huie said clergy leadership should develop an “Ecosystem of Excellence,” organic and relational in context, rather than an organizational flow chart.
“It’s a complex set of relationships ... among living resources,” Huie said.
Ecology, she said, can be healthy or unhealthy, fruitful or unfruitful, sustainable or unsustainable.
Young clergy in her conference a few years ago, Huie said, were so rare that they were referred to as spotted owls – with a mascot in a giant owl costume even roaming the floor of the annual conference meeting.
Like scientists studying an ecosystem, Huie said, clergy and churches can keep young ministerial prospects from becoming extinct by observing, questioning and experimenting.
“We have had experiments that have worked, and we have had experiments that have been abysmal failures,” Huie said.
One detriment in attracting young clergy, she said, has become the debt load that they take on during their seminary training. She encouraged churches and established clergy to think of ways to alleviate the financial burden, from fundraisers to a program where pastors “paid it forward” to a new generation after already receiving financial assistance.
Orders & Fellowship began with a worship service that included a sermon by the Rev. Wendy Mohler-Seib from Fellowship at the Well in Wichita. Mahler-Seib said her call story was full of “buts” – talking herself out of a possible path to the ministry because she was a woman, too young or not raised as a United Methodist.
“Your ‘buts’ may be bigger, your ‘buts’ may be smaller,” she told fellow pastors. “We come from a long line of people who could have sat on their ‘buts.’”
A panel on campus ministry told what was being done at some of the 15 campuses in the Great Plains Conference.
“Campus ministry is really a ripe culture,” said the Rev. Justin Jamis of the Kansas State-Wesley campus ministry program. 

Closing worship featured a "messy prayer" and a
poetry slam about God standing by us even when we
are at our lowest point. Photo by Todd SeifertMentoring was the subject of a discussion led by the Rev. Ashlee Alley, clergy recruitment and development coordinator for the conference, and the Rev. Mitch Todd, from the Mulvane United Methodist Church near Wichita.
“We think that mentoring is an essential feature in cultivating a culture of call,” Alley said.
Todd said the ideal relationship between a “mentee” and mentor is 80/20, with the majority of the learning, asking and seeking done by the initiate, and the remainder by the established pastor. In the Great Plains Conference, 299 local pastors are in the training phases of a mentorship – 175 established pastors and 124 going through ordination – with 54 clergy serving as mentors.
Bishop Scott J. Jones said that all of the more than 1,000 churches in the Great Plains Conference all have pastors, while other denominations struggle for months and sometimes years to fill pulpits.
“When we do it well, it’s an incredible system,” Bishop Jones said. “We need to nurture a new generation of Christian leaders. “Help us rekindle that passion and that fire.”
Contact David Burke, communications coordinator with the Great Plains Conference, at dburke@greatplainsumc.org.
Read about the LEaD talk presentations.
LEaD talks help pastors learn from each otherWhile corporate America has its TED Talks, or Technology, Entertainment and Design, the Great Plains Conference introduced LEaD Talks, or Leadership, Education and Discipleship, at the Orders & Fellowship clergy meeting Feb. 17-18 at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Seven pastors and one lay person from churches and colleges large and small in Kansas and Nebraska delivered the 10-15 minute talks to their fellow clergy, interjecting their own call stories, humor and life experiences.
Rev. Ashlee Alley
The Rev. Ashlee Alley, clergy recruitment and development coordinator for the conference, told of her career plans to become a physical therapist before transitioning into a ministry track while at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas.
"I knew all about how the heart beat," she said, "but I didn't know why my heart was beating." Alley used anatomy to illustrate the essential qualities of a pastor: Eyes (always open), hand (to be a mentor), heart (unique gifts and skills), bicep (spiritual nurturing) and smile (confirmation by the community).
Dr. Cheryl Rude
Cheryl Rude, the lone lay person to deliver a LEaD talk, spoke of her friends, husband and colleagues at Southwestern College who use their gifts and talents without being ordained nor licensed ministers.
"All of these people have an understanding of calling, and that's what they're living out," Rude said.
Rude emphasized that calling is not limited to clergy members and that everyone is called into service of some kind by God, with their various talents all being put to use.
Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede
Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede, pastor of South Gate United Methodist Church in Lincoln, combined sports metaphors and her love of Nancy Drew books as she went scouting in the church basement. She shared how both a dormant church league sports team and a disdain for small groups have turned into gatherings of volleyball and softball team members.
"They are not small groups," she said. "They are merely people who get together to do stuff," which propelled many of them into new and expanded roles in the church.
Rev. Craig Finnestad
Rev. Craig Finnestad of Water's Edge United Methodist Church in Omaha spoke of the benefits of mentoring, where two of his charges have had a part in growing 50 small-groups meeting throughout the city.
"Healthy Christians reproduce healthy Christians. Healthy small groups reproduce healthy small groups," he said. "Healthy churches reproduce healthy churches."
Finnestad’s presentation included videos that featured interns describing how the experience has benefitted the church and them personally. Among the successes Finnestad shared was the way the young adult interns had helped start small groups that grew in popularity among people in their 20s and had helped invigorate worship.
Rev. Aaron Duell
Mentoring also was the topic by the Rev. Aaron Duell of the First United Methodist Church in Columbus, Nebraska. He credits his mentor with his advancement.
"Most of our relationship was living life side by side," Duell said.
Duell talked about how having a mentor and lifelong friend provided him with the nurturing he needed to discern his call into ministry. He used a humorous clip from the movie "Nacho Libre" to craft his talk about how people can use a mentor's help to focus their calling into ministry.
Rev. Jeff Clinger
In a poignant présentation, the Rev. Jeff Clinger of First United Methodist Church in Topeka talked about his quick rise in the church and how redemption after an extramarital affair nearly cost him his marriage and his ministry.
Clinger talked about how his appointment to Church of the Resurrection and praise he received from the congregation there fueled his desire for recognition. It took nearly losing his family to help him realize the importance of returning to his calling.
"I can cling to my baptism and search for my call more than I ever did," Clinger said.
Clinger cautioned his fellow pastors not to let arrogance prevent them from hearing God’s ongoing call into ministry.
Pastor Shane Britt
"Super Doppler Radar," Shane Britt pastor of the Emmanuel United Methodist Church in Abilene, Kansas, said, is so advanced that it can detect the intensity of a storm.
"We need to develop that kind of sensitivity," said Britt, who recalls being ignored by his pastor after he spoke at a youth Sunday and wanted to learn more about going into the ministry. Decades later, after careers in insurance and farming, he finally followed through on his call to be a pastor.
"Always have your Super Doppler Radar on," Britt added.
Rev. Amy LippoldtThe Rev. Amy Lippoldt of the Basehor United Methodist Church in Kansas, said pastors and improvisational comedians both operate under the same philosophy of saying, "Yes, and ..." when dealing with various situations.
"We say it because we hate to say the word ‘no,’" Lippoldt said. "We hate the conflict, and we hate the anxiety and we hate the miscommunication."
Lippoldt told a story to colleagues of a time she said “no” to an appointment and the anguish that decision caused for a brief time. Unlike improve, Lippoldt said, decisions made about ministry have long-lasting effects, and God sometimes helps people discern a call of “no.”
Read more about Orders and Fellowship.
Contact David Burke, communications coordinator, at dburke@greatplainsumc.org.
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Iliff School of Theology president offers update
The Rev. Dr. Thomas V. Wolfe, president and chief executive officer at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, has provided the 2016 presidential update for the school.
In it, Wolfe talks about the seminary's commitment to Wesleyan theology, its focus on educating the next generation of leaders and the challenges we all face because of the changing religious landscape in the world, among other topics.
ILIFF SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
Rev. Dr. Thomas V. Wolfe, President and Chief Executive Officer
Greetings from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. We wish you blessings as together we continue the work of strengthening the Church and offering a compassionate presence to the World.
The Iliff School of Theology’s commitment to the Wesleyan ethos of providing hopeful, intellectually alive, and spiritually grounded theological education for each and every student over the course of their lifetime continues. Iliff’s identity is focused on educating leaders for three primary publics: the world, the church, and the academy. At Iliff, we refuse to choose between being a training home only for ministerial candidates, a center only for activists and
scholar-activists, or a school only for academics. We believe all three are inseparable and enhance one another as we deliberately situate ourselves in the world and critically operate out
of the world’s complexities.
As such, we recognize that the world’s religious landscape is changing and there is much at stake. Iliff recently completed its strategic plan, revised its curriculum, transformed its library,
and initiated new relationships with other institutions. In collaboration with the people of Africa, we’ve started a discussion with Africa University (AU) to foster an educational alliance
that will benefit Iliff and AU students. We’ve also begun work with Wiley College to strengthen the presence of minority students in seminaries.
Iliff’s enrollment continues to be strong with 365 students joining us this academic year, 60% female and 40% male, 35% Methodist – all actively engaged in a host of ministry contexts. Their interest continues to be strong in Iliff’s online and hybrid classes. A concerted move by Iliff to reduce student debt and grow the ability of students to lead financially sound, engaged communities continues with many MDIV students participating in the Spiritually-Integrated
Financial Resiliency Program, funded by a $250,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment.
Iliff’s numerous events for area clergy and supporters remains part of our foundation. Via forums on social justice, food justice, the role of faith in politics, world events, and more, campus speakers included Rev. Gerald Durley, nationally-known civil rights leader and this year’s Jameson Jones Preacher, Heather Jarvis, student debt reduction advocate, and more.
Our efforts were duly noted by McCormick Theological Seminary’s Center for Faith and Service when we were named as one of the nation’s “Seminaries That Change the World” and our Master’s of Theology Program was ranked seventh in the nation by OnlineColleges.net.
We continue to look forward with a courageous theological imagination. We are sincerely grateful for your support.
www.iliff.edu
1-877-887-7822
Read the full address.
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Timothy Circle call-nurturing project seeks resources and insights

Timothy Circle, a new project from the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College, seeks to help young people explore their call into lay or ordained ministry, is seeking advice from local churches.
Still under development, the project will include a community and resource website as well as a “Timothy Mentor” training process for laypeople in local churches. The project is seeking feedback on what resources churches have found useful in developing a culture that supports “call” in its parishioners. Those with ideas can email contact@timothycircle.com or go towww.institutefordiscipleship.org/timothy-circle to learn more about helping the development process.
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Bishop invites KS, NE youth to confirmation rallies

Approximately 65 young people traveled to Hays, Kansas, on Feb. 13 for the first of three confirmation rallies hosted by Bishop Scott J. Jones. A second event followed Feb. 20 in Emporia, Kansas, with a third planned for March 5 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
In each event, the bishop answers kids’ questions, students learn about the United Methodist Church and things special to the Great Plains Conference. Featured speakers this year include Lindsey Graber, a Southwestern College religion and philosophy major.
Read more about the rally.
First of 3 confirmation rallies draws 65 teens to HaysWhen she was their age, Lindsey Graber told Great Plains confirmation students, she felt like prayer was a “one-way thing.”
“I wasn’t receiving much back,” Graber, a Southwestern College religion and philosophy major from Wichita, told junior-high students and high-schoolers at the first of three Bishop’s Confirmation Rallies on Feb. 13 in Hays, Kansas.

Bishop Scott J. Jones poses for a selfie with students participating in the Bishop's
Confirmation Rally on Feb. 13 in Hays, Kansas. Photo by David Burke
Graber said this was the time in the students’ lives when they should be examining what it means to be a Christian. She said Christians should resemble Christ and, after showing a series of humorous pictures of pets who look identical to their owners, said our resemblance of Jesus should be “internal … not external.”
She also told students not to give up on Christ when he doesn’t answer their prayer – or His answer isn’t what they had hoped.
“Should we be limiting Jesus to just a few responses to our questions?” she asked.
Graber encouraged the students to get to know Christ and to be the face of Christianity to their friends.
“All of us together representing Jesus is much more stronger, more powerful,” she said.
About 65 students, sponsors and clergy, representing 11 churches, gathered at First United Methodist Church in Hays for the first of three rallies across the Great Plains Conference. The latter two are Feb. 20 in Emporia, Kansas, and March 5 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Following a lunch, praise and worship services opened and closed the rally. The opening service included a service of the students either remembering or anticipating their baptism, by a cross drawn in water on their foreheads. The closing service included a communion and a message by Bishop Scott J. Jones sprouting from Ephesians 2: 8-10: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
In between the sessions, students learned about United Methodist scripture and tradition, what it means to be a leader and a Q&A session with the bishop, during which participants asked questions ranging from the bishop’s own spiritual life at their age to his opinion of the current presidential campaigns.
Contact David Burke, communications coordinator, at dburke@greatplainsumc.org.Register for the rally in Lincoln.
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Deadline drawing near for Denman Evangelism Award

The Great Plains Annual Conference is now accepting nominations for The Harry Denman Evangelism Award for clergy, lay and youth. The Harry Denman Evangelism Award recognizes a person whose life and ministry exemplifies the teaching of Christ and the Great Commission.
Recipients of these awards, nominated by individuals, churches, or districts, and selected by the conference, live their call to “Offer Them Christ” daily as modeled by Dr. Harry Denman, founder of The Foundation for Evangelism that sponsors these awards.
Download a brochure to learn more.
Download the clergy nomination form.
Download the laity nomination form.
Download the youth nomination form.
Download a sample information item for your bulletin.
Nominations must be received no later than March 1 to be considered for the 2016 awards. Call the Rev. Patrick Broz at 620-532-3381 for more information.
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Micah Corps interns create several youth activities

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 peace.
Peace — “Becoming Peacemakers”
We are called to respect each other as part of God’s creation. Yet humans throughout history have harmed one another with different forms of violence. This unit helps high school-age students understand how we can be intentional in our use of nonviolence to solve conflicts and to fill the needs of our communities. They will learn to be advocates of peace.
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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School for Laity set for March 3-5
CitySquare CEO Larry James will give a keynote question-and-answer session to headline the 2016 Perkins Theological School of the Laity, scheduled for March 3-5 at Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
James has been involved with CitySquare – a faith-based, human and community development corporation that battles the causes and effects of poverty through service, advocacy and friendship – since 1994. An elder in full connection with the North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, James currently has a dual appointment with CitySquare and Highland Park United Methodist Church. He previously served for 14 years as senior minister at the Richardson East Church of Christ in Richardson, Texas.
Additionally, a dinner on Friday, March 4 in the Great Hall of Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Hall will recognize the recipients of the Woodrow B. Seals Laity and the Person of Faith awards. The recipient of the laity award is Mauro Ferrari, executive vice president of Houston Methodist and President and CEO of the Houston Methodist Research Institute. The person of faith recipient is Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, founder and executive director of the Jewish Studies Initiative of North Texas.
More registration information for Perkins Theological School of the Laity is available online. Advanced discounted registration ends Friday, Feb. 26, and first-time attendees can receive a $25 discount by using the code NEW when registering. Also, continuing-education credits will be provided for a $25 fee.
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Healthy Congregations program offering grants
Churches interested in becoming a part of the Healthy Congregations program can do so through the Omaha-based Faith Community Health Network.
Church teams of at least three people will receive a $1,000 startup grant for core training. If churches sign up and become certified before the next grant cycle, they will receive an additional $1,000 grant to support work from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.
First United Methodist Church, Omaha, will host a virtual training site from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, March 29 (Health Ministry 101); 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 5 (Outcomes-Based Planning) and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 (Program Evaluation and Using Data). Training will also take place at Rock Springs Ranch, south of Junction City, Kansas, on Thursday, April 21.
For more information, contact program officer Katie Ross, 620-662-8586 orkross@healthfund.org.
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Bishop Scott Jones lobbies Kansas, Nebraska legislators

Bishop Scott J. Jones has been busy lately contacting legislators in Kansas and Nebraska, urging lawmakers to stand up for residents of Kansas and Nebraska on issues surrounding mercy and justice.
In Kansas, the bishop has asked lawmakers to consider expansion of the state’s health care system to help families who make too much money to qualify for the Affordable Care Act coverage but make too little money to afford private health insurance. Read his letter to lawmakers.
In Nebraska, the bishop provided written testimony urging the defeat of a bill that would make it extremely difficult for agencies to assist people seeking to flee violence as refugees to America and the state. Read his prepared testimony.
Bishop Scott Jones offers testimony against Nebraska anti-refugee bill

The Rev. Nancy Lambert, Great Plains director of Clergy Excellence and assistant to the bishop, reads prepared testimony on behalf of
Bishop Scott J. Jones during a Nebraska Legislature Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill that would hamper efforts to help refugees
seeking a safe place to relocate within the state. Photo by Andrea Paret
Bishop Scott J. Jones recently wrote testimony for the Nebraska Legislature about LB 966, a bill that would force Nebraska refugee resettlement agencies, including Justice for Our Neighbors-Nebraska (JFON-NE) to purchase liability insurance in the amount of $25 million. Any agencies that lacked the insurance would be forced to pay a $1,000 fine per day, multiplied by the number of refugees served by that agency over the previous five years.
The Rev. Nancy Lambert read the bishop's testimony Feb. 19 to the Legislature's Judiciary Committee.
"Rather than helping such persons feel welcome in Nebraska, LB 966 place an unsustainable burden on those very agencies that make the transition work well," Bishop Jones said in his prepared remarks. "Christians are under the command of Christ to welcome the stranger as if it was Christ himself (Matthew 15:31-46)."
Bishop Jones has spoken out about the need for United Methodists and Christians throughout the Great Plains Conference to welcome refugees fleeing civil war and famine in Syria and elsewhere. In November, the bishop indicated as many as 35 United Methodist Churches in Kansas and Nebraska stood ready to assist families fleeing the human catastrophe in Syria. Read the story.
The Nebraska bill's sponsor, Sen. Bill Kintner, has said he merely wants to start a discussion on the matter and has asked the committee not to pass the bill on to the full legislature this year.
Here is the full letter admitted as testimony from Bishop Jones.
 
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Advocate travels to Kansas to teach against death penalty

Kansas has nine inmates who have been sentenced to death. The state has not performed an execution in 50 years and is not likely to do so anytime soon, but justice advocates, including many members of United Methodist congregations in Kansas, believe this is not enough and are working to see capital punishment eliminated altogether as an option in the state. To assist in that movement, Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer, social justice activist, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and professor at New York School of Law, traveled to Kansas to share about alternatives to capital punishment during a discussion at St. Mark United Methodist Church in Wichita.
Nationally acclaimed speaker challenges Kansans on death penalty
Bryan Stevenson advocates for fairness and the abolition of the death penalty in the criminal justice system
during a reception at Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Wichita on Feb. 20, as Mark McCormick,
Rev. Junius Dotson and others listen. The nationally renowned advocate’s visit to Kansas was facilitated
by Saint Mark UMC and the Mercy and Justice Ministry of the Great Plains Conference. Photo by Sarah Gooding
Kansas currently has nine inmates who have been sentenced to death.
The state has not performed an execution in 50 years and is not likely to do so anytime soon, but justice advocates, including many members of United Methodist congregations in Kansas, believe this is not enough and are working to see capital punishment eliminated altogether as an option in the state.
“We’ve been working with the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty,” said the Rev. Junius Dotson, senior pastor of Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Wichita. “We’ve had conversations about how to keep this issue in the forefront.”
Within these conversations, the group had dreamed of getting Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer, social justice activist, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and professor at New York School of Law, to Kansas to share about alternatives to capital punishment.
On Feb. 20 that dream was realized as Stevenson spoke on the death penalty, race, poverty and justice at Saint Mark UMC at an event co-sponsored by the local church, the Mercy and Justice Ministry of the Great Plains Conference, the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty (KCADP) and The Kansas African American Museum.
“There is great work to be done in this state,” Stevenson said. “There is great work to be done in the community.”
His speech mixed powerful personal stories with concrete suggestions for activism, including going into the places where there is injustice, changing the narrative, holding onto hope and committing to do uncomfortable things.
“We’ve been working since August trying to get him here,” said Ewnetu Tsegaw, community coordinator in the Wichita area for KCADP. “Our main sponsor is the Great Plains UMC Conference.”
“They were very influential in helping us make contact,” said Mary Sloan, KCADP’s executive director. “They sponsored this event and helped make it possible for us to bring Professor Stevenson here.”
The timing could not have been more relevant, given that a Kansas House bill that would eliminate the death penalty has not been given a hearing, and Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeay, D-Wichita, recently introduced a similar bill in the Kansas Senate.
Stevenson was clear that he had struggled to find time to speak in Kansas, but did so because of the importance of the issue.
“He made the time because he wanted to support our efforts for repealing the death penalty in Kansas,” Sloan said.
This was reflected as Stevenson spoke.
“Why do we want to kill all the broken people?” he asked. “What is it that when we see brokenness do we want to kill it and crush it and throw it away? I realize all of my clients are broken people. They’ve been broken by poverty, broken by race, broken by neglect, broken by abuse.”
Stevenson said an outpouring of compassion in a broken justice system is possible when people recognize that everyone is broken.
“I do what I do because I’m broken, too,” he said. “The truth is, if you change narratives, if you hold on to hope, if you do uncomfortable things, it will change you.”
Stevenson said the character of a community should be judged not by how it treats the rich and powerful, but by how it treats those who are poor, incarcerated and condemned.
He also said the death penalty is not in line with the Christian values articulated by Kansans.
This stuck with Tsegaw.
“Kansas is such a Christian state,” Tsegaw said. “But our Christian values should be reflected in the criminal justice system as well. As Kansans, the death penalty just doesn’t go with our values.”
Sloan said more information on Kansas’ death penalty is available at the website ksabolition.org, and she urged people of faith to contact their legislators about the bills that have been introduced.
“The churches have already played a big role in supporting the repeal of the death penalty,” Sloan said. “This includes the Mennonites, the UMC, the Roman Catholic Church, many other churches, the Episcopal Church, increasing numbers of evangelical denominations. They can mobilize their members and have their members contact their elected officials and tell them they want a state repeal.”
This story was written by Sarah Gooding, who is a freelance journalist and a staff writer for The Morning Sun in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Read about his presentation.
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Webinar 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.
Gather your missions and/or outreach ministry teams together to watch together! The livestream will be 6 p.m. Thursday, March 10. Watch it by going to the conference's website.
Speakers include: Andrea Paret, Great Plains Peace with Justice coordinator; a 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 athtapley@greatplainsumc.org.
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Help provide relief with One Great Hour of Sharing

In just more than one week, we will celebrate One Great Hour of Sharing. This is a crucial Sunday because it is the day we come together to empower our disaster relief arm of Global Ministries, United Methodist Committee on Relief, for an entire year. If you remember:
  • When tornadoes hit Mississippi, UMCOR was there.
  • When fire ravaged thousands fo homes, UMCOR was there.
  • Whey Syrian refugees needed help, UMCOR was there.
  • When a typhoon in the Philippines displaced tens of thousands of people, UMCOR was there.
  • When an earthquake and a tsunami decimated villages in Japan, UMCOR was there.
They were there because of One Great Hour of Sharing. This event covers the operating costs of UMCOR, which allows UMCOR to be where it needs to be, when it needs to be there, for as long as it needs to be there. And it allows UMCOR to funnel earmarked donations directly to the designated project.
Visit the One Great Hour of Sharing pastor's toolkit. Download the resources and share them with your congregation.
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Black History Month: UMW offers resources
An online flipbook charting a racial justice timeline is one of several resources for Black History Month available through United Methodist Women. Dorothy Ravenhorst also recalls adopting the organization’s Charter for Racial Justice in Virginia in 1965.
Racial Justice Timeline
<iframe frameborder='0'  width='240' height='210'  title='Racial Justice Timeline: June 2015 Update' src='http://online.fliphtml5.com/eiek/eamp/#p=1' type='text/html' allowfullscreen='true' scrolling='no' marginwidth='0' marginheight='0'></iframe>See timeline
LENT
Dorothy Ravenhorst and the Charter for Racial Justice
Ash Wednesday by Dorothy Ravenhorst

Protest march against the segregation of U.S. schools.
In this season of Lent, we are reflecting on the 150-year legacy of United Methodist Women. Each of our Lenten reflections is part of our ongoing legacy of putting faith, hope and love into action.
Black History Month is a part of American history that was purposely omitted from our school history books and lessons. We are obligated to right history’s wrongs by sharing the stories of African-American survivors, heroes and white allies. Below is Dorothy Ravenhorst’s memory of integration in Virginia and her conference’s decision on the Charter for Racial Justice during the years after Brown vs. Board of Education. We can learn from members like Mrs. Ravenhorst how to emulate ally behavior and responsibilities for present day social justice issues.
During the time that the Charter for Racial Justice was being created, our very own Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS) members in Virginia were divided about whether or not "separate but equal" schools were really equal; about whether or not blacks deserved the same rights as whites or whether schools should be integrated. In 1952, the U.S. Supreme Court had cases that challenged racial segregation in public schools. There were five cases in total. The Supreme Court consolidated the cases under one — Oliver Brown et al vs. the Board of Education. When the justices ruled in favor of desegregating our nation’s public schools, many in Virginia decided to take the matter into their own hands.
In 1954 U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd promoted the “Southern Manifesto.” He was able to get more than one hundred southern congressmen to sign. And on February 25, 1956, Virginia adopted a group of laws called Massive Resistance. Its intent was to prevent the integration of public schools. So, white families who didn’t want their children to go to school with black children were given grants to go to private schools. Many public schools closed, leaving black children without a place to go for education. This went on for several years, and nearly a generation of black children went without proper primary and secondary education.
The Charter for Racial Justice
It was during this turbulent time in May 1965 that our conference president, Margaret (Peg) Tyrrell decided to bring the Charter for Racial Justice forward to our Virginia annual meeting. She took a great risk trying to get it adopted at this time when so many were divided about segregation and integrated schools in Virginia.
Although I learned later that the conference officers had previously adopted the charter, I believe the general membership did not have an inkling beforehand that there was such a thing as the Charter for Racial Justice — much less that it would be presented for vote. Understanding this, Peg Tyrrell, being not only courageous but smart, wanted to present the Charter herself. Knowing that the presiding officer could not speak for or against an issue on the floor, Peg stepped down, handing her duties to the vice president in order to present the charter herself and argue for its passage.
There were over 1,300 present at the meeting, including guests and visitors, but only 439 voting delegates. Peg made a persuasive and passionate presentation using her best theology (as well as her dramatic skills!) and the vice president was able to handle the hub-bub that followed as members asked what it would mean to their family, their schools, their churches. After much discussion, the vote was taken and it carried by more than two-thirds.
As a white woman with three children in public schools and two in college at the time, I remember being so proud to be a member of the WSCS that had made such a bold step toward racial justice despite resistance. And I was so proud of our conference president Peg Tyrrell who led us on the right side of history. After that, I felt I could stand on Peg’s shoulders and fight for what I believed in.
To help continue the legacy of United Methodist Women, please donate to our Legacy Fund.
Posted or updated: 2/7/2016 11:00:00 PM
Read story
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Suicide prevention workshop
set for April 21
A seminar for faith community leaders in dealing with suicide issues, presented by Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska, has been scheduled for Thursday, April 21, at the Country Inn & Suites, 5353 N. 27th St., Lincoln.
Included in the seminar will be a three-hour section on Building Pastoral Resiliency, including workplace distress, the trauma inherent in pastoral care and key competencies; a 90-minute session on identifying signs of suicide in a method called Question, Persuade and Refer, or QPR; and a 90-minute session in the power of healing language in acknowledging cultural diversity.
The workshop will be led by Donald Beulau, co-chair of the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition; Terri Marti, LOSS team coordinator for Lincoln and Lancaster County; and Cynthia Surrounded, a forensic psychologist with Nebraska Wesleyan University.
The seminar will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The cost is $48.47 if registered by March 31 and $59.02 for April 1 and later. Registration can be taken online at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/hope-for-tomorrow-tickets-21785807938, by mailing Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska, 2012 S. 13th St., Lincoln NE 68502; or by calling 402-476-3391.
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Middle East discussion at 3
Great Plains locations

A presentation on peace in the Middle East will be made in three stops in the Great Plains next week.
“Seeking Justice for Both Sides – Peace in Palestine and Israel and What We Can Do” will be at
7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28 at Urban Abbey, 1026 Jackson St., Omaha.
6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 29, at United Methodist Campus Ministries, 1305 Merchant St., Emporia.
7 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, at Nunemaker Center, 1506 Engel Road, Lawrence.
Each presentation is scheduled for 90 minutes.
The presentation will be given by Rabbi Joseph Berman, government affairs liaison for Jewish Voice Peace in Washington, D.C.; and Bshara Nassar, founder and executive director of the Nakba Museum Project of Memory and Hope, a newly formed project to tell the Palestinian story to a mass audience. Read more about the speakers on the flier.
These events are organized through the Holy Land Task Force, Peace with Justice Ministries and the Mercy & Justice Team of the Great Plains Conference of The United Methodist Church.
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Understanding Islam is topic of March 13 seminar
A seminar in understanding the Islamic faith will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 13, at the First United Methodist Church, 2710 14th St., Columbus, Nebraska.
The seminar will be presented by Abdul Raheem Yaseer, assistant director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Yaseer and his family escaped from Communist rule in Kabul, Afghanistan, for Pakistan in 1987 and arrived in the Omaha area in 1988. He has taught English and literature at Kabul University in Afghanistan, served as director of the U.S. Peace Corps Training Program in Afghanistan, and taught language and cross-culture to Peace Corps trainees in Colorado and Afghanistan.
Download flier.
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Peace With Justice Sunday scheduled for May 22

Churches across our conference are supporting Peace with Justice Ministries through the yearly Peace with Justice Sunday as well as through varied actions to build bridges between diverse groups of people and to advocate for peace and justice. This year, the Peace with Justice Sunday falls on May 22 but can also be celebrated on a different Sunday. More information will be forthcoming as the time draws closer.
God calls us to not be fearful but to trust him. Peacemaking involves risks. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says: “There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace has to be dared. It is a great venture. It can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security.”
To read the newest edition of Voices to the Capitol, go towww.greatplainsumc.org/peacewithjustice or like facebook.com/peacewithjusticeministriesgp.
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Valentine’s Day wedding held at Pittsburg First UMC

First UMC, in Pittsburg, Kansas, had a first on the first Sunday in Lent by having a Valentine wedding at the close of the worship service.
Carolyn Brooker, 82, and Richard Weathers, 84, both retired professors of Pittsburg State University, were united in marriage by senior pastor, the Rev. Mark Chambers. The couple have known each other for 50 years, and they, along with their deceased spouses, were all close friends. Carolyn's first husband taught with Richard.
About five weeks ago, the couple asked Chambers about getting married on Valentine's Day after the worship service. "What a great time to show love during Lent, and it will also be Valentine's Day," Chambers replied.
A reception was held after worship with a traditional wedding cake. Congratulations to the newlyweds.
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Churches provide nearly $39,000 in Chabadza support in 2015
The Rev. Mark Conard, coordinator of the Chabadza Partnership for the Great Plains Conference, has reported that a total of $38,938.42 was provided in financial support in 2015 by congregations in the conference for counterparts in the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference.
At the former Kansas West Annual Conference's 2010 session, a resolution establishing a partnership between the former conference and the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference was adopted. The idea for the partnership had been percolating since a partnership was developed between the clergy of the Hutchinson District and the clergy of the Mutare District several years ago. United Methodists in Kansas have a long relationship with Zimbabwe that predates both the former Kansas West Conference and the creation of the United Methodist Church in 1968. The Chabadza Covenant is named for the Shona word "Chabadza," which roughly translates to people in relationship working alongside each other for mutual benefit. Chabadza is given only to people whom you know, and it is given because when one person succeeds, both people succeed.
Here are the 2015 Chabadza Honor Congregations:
  • Alden
  • Arkansas City First
  • Belleville
  • Caldwell
  • Conway Springs
  • Corbin
  • Ellsworth
  • Great Bend Trinity
  • Hutchinson Faith
  • Hutchinson First
  • Hutchinson Tenth Avenue
  • Maize
  • Marion Eastmoor
  • McPherson
  • Milton
  • Minneola
  • Murdock
  • Newton First
  • Newton Salem
  • Pratt
  • Pretty Prairie
  • South Hutchinson
  • Stafford
  • Sterling
  • Wichita Aldersgate
  • Wichita Asbury
  • Wichita First
  • Wichita Pleasant Valley
  • Wichita Woodland
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Newsletters
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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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