Wednesday, July 20, 2016

The Great Plains Conference of The United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 20 July 2016

The Great Plains Conference of The United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Download the printable version of the July 20 issue of GPconnect.
In this edition:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
MERCY AND JUSTICE
SOUTH CENTRAL JURISDICTION
OTHER
Rev. Ruben Saenz Jr. assigned as new Great Plains bishop

A leader in the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church has been chosen as the second bishop of the Great Plains Conference.
The Rev. Dr. Ruben Saenz Jr., who had been director of connectional ministries and executive director of the Mission Vitality Center in the recently created Rio Texas Conference, was chosen on the third ballot during the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Wichita on Thursday, July 14. His assignment was announced late Friday, July 15.
He succeeds Bishop Scott Jones, who was announced as the new leader of the Texas Conference, based in Houston.
View a welcome video featuring Bishop Saenz. (English) (Spanish)
Read the full story.
Ruben Saenz Jr. assigned to the Great Plains Conference
An official with the Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church has been named as the new bishop of the Great Plains Conference.
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. was announced late Friday night, at the closing of the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Wichita as the bishop to succeed Scott J. Jones, who served in Kansas since 2004 and in Nebraska since 2012. Bishops have a traditional term limit of 12 years. Jones was named as the new bishop of the Texas Conference, based in Houston.

Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. gives a thumbs-up sign in response to a loud cheer after he
was announced as the new bishop for the Great Plains Conference on July 15, 2106,
in Wichita. Photo by Eugenio Hernandez
A Texas native, Saenz will be consecrated in services Saturday – his 55th birthday.
Saenz was elected on the third ballot on Thursday during the jurisdictional conference. He was the first of three new bishops to be elected. He eventually was joined by James "Jimmy" Nunn and Robert "Bob" Farr. A roar of cheers filled the banquet hall when Saenz's name was read as the new bishop of the Great Plains. Besides the voting delegation, dozens of United Methodists attended the conference and were present when assignments were announced.
Saenz and his wife, Maye, took time to greet the Great Plains contingent that gathered at the back of the hall.
Speaking at a news conference after his election Thursday, Saenz said he didn’t set out to be an episcopal leader, but over the years, people have talked to him about the possibility of putting his gifts to use as a bishop.
“I think of it as drops in a sponge,” he said. “The first 100 drops are insignificant but after a while, it gets heavy and saturated. It was the affirmation of many people I’ve been associated with over the years.
“It has been a long season of discernment.”
Saenz said he didn’t want to be elected just because he is Hispanic but because delegates discerned that he would serve effectively as an episcopal leader.
“We are leaders for all peoples,” he said.
Saenz is considered the key point person to the bishop and the cabinet of the Rio Texas Conference, based in San Antonio, in designing and implementing ministries to fulfill the conference’s mission. He serves in the role of director of connectional ministries and executive director of the Mission Vitality Center in Rio Texas.
A native of Rio Grande City, Texas, Saenz earned a bachelor's of science degree in secondary education from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and was a high school teacher and coach in Rio Grande City for six years until he began working full time at a small business that he and his wife started in 1984.
In 1993, they sold their business and moved to Dallas, where he began studies at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. When he earned his master of theology degree at Perkins, he was presented with the Perkins Faculty Award for the student who best exemplified the goals and mission of the school. In 2009, he received his doctor of ministry degree from Perkins.
During his pastoral career, Saenz served churches in Dallas, El Paso and Edinburg, Texas.
In those congregations, he addressed the issues of generational, social and systemic poverty that plague the region. In El Paso, Saenz led the congregation to create and implement the Levantate – Get Up computer literacy program, targeting single mothers who were unemployed because of factory shutdowns so they could enter the job market at a sustainable wage level.
Saenz and his wife, Maye, have four children, Aaron (Iris), Christina (Matthew), Ruben III, and Isaac, and are expecting their first grandchild later this year.
A consecration service for the new bishops will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. CT Saturday, July 16, at First United Methodist Church in Wichita. The ceremony can be watched live on the Great Plains Conference’s website.
Contact David Burke, communications coordinator, at dburke@greatplainsumc.org. - See more at: http://www.greatplainsumc.org/newsdetail/ruben-saenz-jr-assigned-to-the-great-plains-conference
More South Central Jurisdictional Conference news appears later in this week's newsletter.
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Support Bishop Saenz by participating in 100 days of prayerUnited Methodists across the Great Plains Conference are encouraged to lend a hand to Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. as he begins his ministry in Kansas and Nebraska by participating in 100 days of prayer, beginningSept. 1.
The Rev. Nathan Stanton, coordinator of New Church Development, and Corey Godbey, coordinator of Hispanic Ministry, assembled the prayers for transition, family, relationships, vision, wisdom, leadership, self-care, renewal, hope and boldness are broken down in 10-day increments.
Download the prayer card.
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Date, location announced for
Rev. Cynthia Meyer's church trial
Bishop Scott J. Jones of the Great Plains Conference has announed that a location has been selected for the church trial for the Rev. Cynthia Meyer.
The church trial, scheduled to begin Aug. 24, will be conducted at the Brown Grand Theatre, 310 W. Sixth St. in Concordia, Kansas.
Learn more about the case.
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Kansas church leaving UMC
A United Methodist Church that opened four years ago in Park City, Kansas, is leaving the conference and the denomination.
About 70 members at The United Methodist Church at Park City, located just north of Wichita, were told of the church’s plans by its pastor and minister of worship, Ben Walker, at its services July 17.
“God completely, clearly told us this was the direction to take,” Walker told the congregation at the storefront church. “We’re trying to figure out what our identity is.”
Walker said the church was to be known as The Church @ Park City. It will move from its current location by the end of the month. He told the congregation that tentative plans had been made to move the worship services to the Park City Public Library.
The new church will be nondenominational and independent, Walker said. It will continue its ministries, including backpacks for youth returning to school this fall.
“We are still going to be a presence in the community,” he said.
The church’s founding pastor, Rob Schmutz, turned in his credentials last year after the annual conference session following passage of what was known as Petition 7, which asked the General Conference to reconsider its stance on a variety of issues associated with same-sex marriage and self-avowed, practicing homosexuals serving as clergy. Walker said the Park City church members had become increasingly frustrated with the direction of the United Methodist Church.
“It has to do with leadership in general,” he said. “It has to do with leadership as a whole. … In the UMC, they have a law that’s not being followed.”
The church has been in constant contact with the Great Plains Conference with its intentions, Walker said.
“Our intention wasn’t to form this alliance and then leave,” he said.
The Rev. Mitch Reece, superintendent of the Wichita East District, attended the services and led the congregation in prayer.
“This has been a grieving process for me as well,” Reece said before the prayer. “This church has been a real light in this community and will continue to be a light.”
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Bishop’s Response Teams: Responding to CrisisThe Bishop’s Response Team is called into a situation of crisis or trauma within a congregation in order to promote the possibility of healing for the congregation and the individuals involved. The qualifications are that you be a compassionate lay person or clergy, are willing to travel to the place of need and can maintain confidentiality. Mental health and counseling experience and education are helpful, but not necessary.
  • A response team can be a valuable resource to the complainant and/or the local congregation or organization where the accused was employed. The response team can be vital in providing support to move forward in healing and to provide education to help understand the nature of abuse by faith leaders.
  • Through training, participants will understand the role of power and vulnerability in boundary violations and sexual misconduct. The process will include information on debriefing following trauma and what to expect from all involved in response situations. We will include segments on listening and how to help move individuals, congregations and staff through a healthy grief and healing process.
  • The next basic training for the Bishop’s Response team is Friday-Saturday, Aug. 12-13, at First UMC, 740 W 11th St., Concordia, Kansas. Training begins at 6 p.m. Friday and will conclude by 4 p.m.Saturday. Register now or visit the Bishop’s Response Team training page on the conference website.
  • There is no cost to attend unless you prefer a single motel room. The cost for lodging and lunch on Saturday is covered by the Board of Ordained Ministry. There will be a fall training for all who have completed the Basic Training, with the date and location still to be determined.
If you need additional information, please contact the Rev. Nancy Lambert, director of Clergy Excellence, by email at nlambert@greatplainsumc.org or call 402-464-5994, ext 126.
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Continuing education for our clergy in the Great Plains
Preaching RocksPreaching Rocks is a workshop academy for sharpening skills in public speaking to effectively present the good news of Jesus Christ. Persons who can benefit from Preaching Rocks include:
  • Those who are new to the preaching experience.
  • Those who are aware that their preaching isn’t to the level they would like it to be.
  • Those who want to become the best preacher possible (which hopefully is every pastor).
The leader for Preaching Rocks is the Rev. Dr. Lew Kaye-Skinner. Lew, who has been teaching public speaking since the mid-1990s. He directs the Writing Center at Bryan College of Health Sciences in Lincoln, Nebraska, and teaches courses in public speaking, communications, writing and religion. He is an elder in the Great Plains Conference and has been practicing public speaking since childhood.
This preaching academy will rely on group learning, consultation and support for one another to increase individual skills in preaching and worship leadership. Each participant will be asked to complete a preliminary skills assessment and to invite members of their congregation and their district superintendent also to complete the assessment.
Preaching Rocks group gatherings will be held every other month, beginning Sept. 16-17, at Grace UMC (1832 W Ninth St.) in Hastings, Nebraska. Individual conferences will be via Skype, GoToMeeting or Google Hangouts.
View complete details and the link to register at greatplainsumc.org/preachingrocks.
Leading Out of DramaDoes your church have drama? Most do, at some time or other. The question is whether or not the drama consumes the energy of everyone and takes over the mission of the church, or if people respond in ways to defuse it to a manageable level.
Lay people and clergy can benefit from a workshop called "Leading Out of Drama." Leading Out of Drama will help leaders transform the interpersonal and group dynamics that sabotage morale, engagement and productivity by helping to identify drama behaviors in self and others and increase self-awareness. This means that conflicts can be defused early on, leading to positive change.
Two Leading Out of Drama workshops are being offered this fall. Each consists of two one-day retreats.
  • Sept. 26 and Nov. 3, at First-Faith UMC in Grand Island, Nebraska, led by the Rev. Adam Barlow-Thompson
  • Sept. 20 and Nov. 1, at Chapel Hill UMC in Wichita, Kansas, led by the Rev. Phyllis Provost-Saas.
You can find the full information, including cost and registration link at greatplainsumc.org/leadingoutofdrama.
Experiencing ExcellenceExperiencing Excellence, led by the Rev. Adam Barlow-Thompson, is an opportunity to receive an overview of the Process Communication Model (PCM). The assessment participants complete helps the individuals gain valuable self-awareness which can lead to greater missional effectiveness in the local church with further training and practice in PCM. This training is for clergy and lay members of local churches.
Three Experiencing Excellence trainings will be offered (you only register for one):
  • Sept. 6 at First UMC (946 Vermont St.), Lawrence, Kansas
  • Oct. 11 at First UMC (2123 Forest Ave.), Great Bend, Kansas
  • Oct. 12 at First UMC (2710 14th St.), Columbus, Nebraska
More information and the registration link can be found at greatplainsumc.org/experiencingexcellence.
Enhancing Emotional IntelligenceEmotional Intelligence (EI) refers to a distinct combination of emotional and social skills and competencies that influence our overall capability to cope effectively with the demands and pressures of work and life. Professionals who have chosen to utilize it in their personal development report increased work and life satisfaction. The good news is that emotional intelligence can be grown.
EI is invaluable to a leader’s success as it enhances both personal and professional satisfaction. The EI assessment will provide participants with insight into their leadership strengths and potential areas for development.
In order to learn more about Emotional Intelligence, a webinar is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 23. Facilitators will share how understanding one’s emotional intelligence can lead to greater joy in work and life and greater effectiveness as a leader.
The Great Plains Conference is offering Emotional Intelligence to clergy at a reduced cost as an investment in the gifts and talents of pastors. Clergy who register for Emotional Intelligence will participate in a 360 assessment, which provides opportunity for others to give their feedback about the pastor. Following this there will be one to three feedback sessions for the pastor and at least one SPRC member to meet with one of the facilitators. An action plan will be developed, identifying areas for development. Additionally, there will be a one-day skill-building session for clergy and SPRC members to attend.
More information can be found at greatplainsumc.org/emotionalintelligence.
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United Methodists rev engines
to learn about area churches
A group of motorists who enjoy learning more about the churches in their area gathered July 9 for the third-annual United Motoring Christians Ride.
The group of 37 people, including five pastors, traveled from the United Methodist Church in Martell, Nebraska, to sister churches in Roca, Cheney, Eagle, Elmwood-St. Paul, Unadilla and Palmyra.
Each stop included a brief tour of the church and a time to get acquainted with others who are part of the United Methodist connection.
See more photos from the event.
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Unity allows us to share in the work, satisfaction of ministry
Being a Christian is a lot of work. But by working together, United Methodists, indeed all followers of Jesus, can enjoy the satisfaction that comes with our united ministry.
Read more about this in the latest Lay Servant Ministry blog by David Wasserfallen of the Five Rivers District in Kansas.
Learn about upcoming training opportunities.
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Livestream tonight provides insight into how to assist refugees

Our ministry with refugees continues to take shape as we look at how churches can make a difference in the lives of these individuals. We invite churches who are already welcoming refugees and others who are still discerning how to respond to this ministry to our webinar at 6 p.m.Wednesday, July 20.
The webinar can be accessed by going to www.greatplainsumc.org/livestream.
Lacey Studnicka, who works with Lutheran Family Services, will be leading this webinar. She assists in connecting churches with refugee families and in coordinating other volunteer possibilities across Nebraska and Kansas. Some of you will have met her at our annual conference session in Topeka.
Over the summer, we are inviting all who feel called to gather supplies for new refugee families who will be arriving. The list of items needed (the document called “The Whole Nine Yards”) can be obtained from the Rev. Hollie Tapley at htapley@greatplainsumc.org or on the Lutheran Family Service website: www.lfsneb.org.
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ERT training set; Eureka needs volunteers
Early Response Team (ERT) training is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 13, at Calvary United Methodist Church in Iola, Kansas. Registration is now available on the conference website. All ERTs must be Safe Gatherings certified in order to deploy and receive a badge.
Eureka Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, July 30. All trained and Safe Gatherings-certified ERTs are needed as we concentrate on the first location where the EF3 tornado made its path. We are in need of chainsaws, bucket lifts, bull dozers, trailers and ATVs to cover the large area. All volunteers will need to bring a sack lunch and a chair. If you have tent canopies, those would be very much appreciated as everything in this area was destroyed, so there is no shade. This is a rural area that backs up to a creek so there is a possibility of snakes in the area.
Insect spray and tick repellant is needed, as is a hat, sunscreen, long pants, sturdy boots and gloves.
Please let the Rev. Hollie Tapley, conference disaster response coordinator, know of your willingness to serve on this day by sending an email to htapley@greatplainsumc.org.
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Scholarships available to attend conference about climate change
"A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion,” said Mahatma Gandhi. That is why each year the Interfaith Peace Conferences at Lake Junaluska are happening.
Current global climate models fail to take into consideration the evaporation taking place on small islands, says a new study. One of the speakers at this year’s conference, United Methodist Bishop Ciriaco Francisco of the Philippines, is familiar with life on a threatened island.
For information and registration, go to lakejunaluska.com/peace or to https://www.facebook.com/LakeJunaluskaPeaceConference
For information about the scholarships available through the Great Plains Conference, contact Andrea Paret, Great Plains Peace with Justice Coordinator, at amparet08@yahoo.com.
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South Central Jurisdictional Conference wrap-up
The South Central Jurisdictional Conference convened July 13-16 in Wichita to elect three new bishops, assign episcopal leaders to the 12 annual conferences within its boundaries and to discuss other matters pertinent to the United Methodists living within the eight represented states.
Here is a list of stories compiled by our communications team throughout the conference:
Some of the following videos are available for viewing and/or download at www.greatplainsumc.org/2016southcentraljurisdictionalconference. Others will be available within the next week:
Thursday’s episcopal address by Bishop Mike Lowry of the Central Texas Conference.
Thursday’s election of Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., who has been assigned to the Great Plains.
Friday night’s Mission 21 conference boundaries realignment proposal.
Friday night’s motion and prayer regarding a Judicial Council decision sought after the election of an openly gay bishop in the Western Jurisdiction.
Saturday’s consecration service from First United Methodist Church in Wichita.
Please check the web page mentioned above to see when links are active for viewing and/or download.
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Dorchester team helps refurbish Nativity set for Epworth Village
Eight youths and two adults recently helped provide some preservation work on a life-size Nativity set during a one-day mission trip to Epworth Village.
The team from Dorchester United Methodist Church in Dorchester, Nebraska, recently traveled to York to assist with scraping and painting for the village that serves as a home for children in south-central Nebraska.
Learn more about Epworth Village.
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Opinion

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Newsletters
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Classifieds
To view these and other classifieds, go to greatplainsumc.org/classifieds.
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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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