Wednesday, September 14, 2016

The Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 14 September 2016

The Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church in Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Download the printable version of the Sept. 14 issue of GPconnect.
In this edition:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
MERCY AND JUSTICE
ADMINISTRATION
OTHER
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Celebration service planned for Bishop SaenzThe Great Plains Conference will host a Celebration of Assignment service for Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd., in Lincoln.
This setting will provide for a worship-filled experience and will be followed by an opportunity to welcome our new bishop and his wife, Maye, to the Great Plains. A light lunch will be served during the fellowship time following the service.
Hotel rooms are available at a discounted rate at the Fairfield Inn and Suites (8455 Andermatt Drive, 402-325-6400) at $89 per night and the Holiday Inn Express and Suites (8801 Amber Hill Court, 402-423-1176) at $76 per night. Make sure to state the “United Methodist Conference” group to receive the rate.
The worship service will be broadcast via livestream on the conference’s website,www.greatplainsumc.org/livestream.
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Support our new bishop 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, beginning Sept. 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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Great Plains crews follow floods
The bad news continued for Mulvane, Kansas, last week.
Two weeks after floods severely damaged the south central Kansas community, more rain returned Thursday and Friday nights.
But crews from the Great Plains Conference were in force to help, getting wet items to higher ground and preventing even more rain from soaking into basements.
Read more about their efforts here.
Floods return to Mulvane, and so do Great Plains crews
The Rev. Lora Andrews, pastor of Grace UMC in WInfield, and a crew of interns from
Southwestern College helps assemble a blockade to keep water from returning
to the Prices' basement. Photo by David Burke
Just when Lancie Price of Mulvane, Kansas, thought the worst of the flood damage to her home was over, more water poured in on Sept. 8.
Price, whose house is behind the Mulvane High School football stadium and in front of a creek, already suffered the worst damage after an Aug. 19 downpour.
“We don’t have anything down there. Everything’s been gutted except for the hot water heaters,” said Price, who had returned to her house with her husband and 9- and 7-year-old daughters last week.
“We had a lot of tools downstairs,” she said of the flood’s return, “but as we started seeing the water rising we got our tools up and got the fans up and dehumidifiers upstairs.”
Preventing a third act was on the mind of disaster relief crews from the Great Plains Conference on Sept. 9. In an idea conceived by Wichita volunteer David Rayson and pulled off by Southwestern College students who arrived with the Rev. Lora Andrews, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Winfield, V-shaped frames covered by tarps were erected above the window wells of the house. That could prevent a recurrence of the flooding in the Prices’ basement, with a chance of more rain arriving that night.
Price contacted the American Red Cross, who put her in touch with the Rev. Hollie Tapley, conference disaster response coordinator. Tapley summoned help to the Prices’ house, and gave comfort to the part-time school substitute teacher, down to an emotional hug.
“If it hadn’t been for Hollie and her white horse, good Lord,” Price said. “She came out and did an assessment of the house and has been so much help. It’s been amazing.”
Crews that included the Rev. Mitch Reece, Wichita East district superintendent, went up and down First Street in Wichita, among the Prices’ neighbors, to see what help they needed.
Contact David Burke, communications coordinator, at dburke@greatplainsumc.org.
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New ministry connects campus, community
A University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior is working toward a ministry that will connect UNL students and the community for a neighborhood food pantry, after-school program and worship services in the community.
“People told me I was crazy,” said Beth Menhusen, a Mankato, Kansas, native who is starting seminary classes through Illiff School of Theology in Denver.
The result is ConnectioN Point, which has taken home in a former United Methodist Church building.
Read more about ConnectioN Point and its founder here.
New ministry aims to make 'ConnectioN' between college students, community
Beth Menhusen almost didn’t attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s campus ministry worship service that Monday evening. It wasn’t a case of “senioritis,” although the student from Mankato, Kansas, didn’t feel very well.
But something energized her to make the effort, so she found her way to the student union and the room in the corner where students gathered to sing praise songs and listen to a brief message. Little did she know that she would leave with a notion that a vision of hers to help students and others in the community near her residence would be fulfilled.
Menhusen lives near the East Campus at UNL, a neighborhood that is among the lowest in terms of household income in Nebraska’s capital city. She would pass by the then-shuttered former Faith United Methodist Church building near the intersection of 33rd and Starr streets and think about the mercy and justice ministries that could be conducted out of such a facility. Faith was closed not because of any structural issues but because of dwindling attendance as it merged with two other congregations to become New Hope United Methodist Church.
Still, Menhusen didn’t know if there was any way for her vision to come to fruition.
“People told me I was crazy,” she said.
But that Monday evening visit to the campus ministry gathering came at just the right time and at just the right place. The campus minister, Pastor Michelle Chesnut, was leading worship along with a special guest who helped with the music that night: Blue River District Superintendent Bill Ritter.
Ritter was the guy who held the keys to that former Faith UMC building that had captured Menhusen’s imagination.
“She shared with me her vision of a mission location at the former Faith UMC,” Ritter said. “I was so impressed that this young Christian looked at this location and saw the opportunity to serve God. Beth definitely understood that the calling and purpose of United Methodist churches is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.”
Ritter said he knew the building could be put to use, but he needed to be certain that the mission focus of such a ministry was more than just a dream, so he asked Menhusen to put together a detailed proposal. It included:
A vision statement: “We envision an inclusive church that engages students and community members, connecting them with God’s unconditional love and turning faith into action.”
A mission statement: “Our mission is to be a welcoming and inclusive church body with a focus on campus ministry. We will encourage college students to experience a relationship with God through worship, study, fellowship, and support. Through the church, we will provide these college students and other congregants with opportunities to reach out to the larger community in love and service.”The document also included core values, a statement of the need in the neighborhood and a solution, complete with a proposed calendar of how the facility would be used, by hour, for each day of the week – from a food pantry for struggling UNL students, to an after-school mentoring and tutoring program for children at two elementary schools, to a clothing closet for professional dress to help people look appropriate for job interviews, to worship settings for college students and neighborhood residents alike.
“My goal is to get college students involved,” said Menhusen, who earned a degree in nutrition and dietetics, and who is now starting seminary classes through Illiff School of Theology based in Denver. That involvement means providing some help to college students when needed and then using the skills those students have to help the surrounding community.
It’s an opportunity that resonates with Chesnut, who is starting her second year as campus minister at UNL.
“The goal is to connect college students with the surrounding community with a unified passion for outreach,” Chesnut said. She explained that partnerships are important in these early days for ConnectioN Point. The new ministry has partnered with a Lutheran campus ministry to expand the “Open Shelf” food pantry for UNL students, faculty and staff who need it. ConnectioN Point is working with a Presbyterian church on an after-school program for children on Wednesday afternoons.
“We’re connecting the spokes, not reinventing the wheel,” Menhusen said of the ministries starting at ConnectioN Point.
But first, a building that had been sitting without activity since 2012 had to be revitalized. And that’s where two churches with ties to the project – Christ UMC and Saint Paul United Methodist Church – stepped up. Menhusen is a pastoral intern at Christ UMC, and Chestnut is based out of Saint Paul.
“This is part of our DNA at Christ Church, to be involved in outreach, so we’re excited to have the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ,” said the Rev. Richard Randolph, who is lead pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Lincoln and a pastor with a long history of leadership in mercy and justice ministries.
Randolph and Menhusen also met during a campus ministry worship service, when Randolph was filling in for Chesnut. During a conversation following the service, Menhusen described her idea for ConnectioN Point. Initially Randolph thought that Christ Church might be able to help with volunteers. However, as the pair continued to talk, they developed a vision in which Menhusen could gain some experience in a more traditional ministry setting as a pastoral intern at Christ Church, while leading the launch of ConnectioN Point.
A small army of volunteers from both churches, as well as Trinity UMC in south Lincoln, cleaned the building, made repairs where necessary, and hauled out loads of trash and materials that wouldn’t be put to use in the new outreach center.
Tom Lamberson, Missions Committee chair at Saint Paul UMC, said volunteers helped with the overall cleanup effort, both inside and out.
“I think I was in charge of rose bushes,” he said. “I have the scratches to prove it!”
On a more serious note, Lamberson said ConnectioN Point provides a new opportunity to reach out to people who need to know about the love of Christ.
“Campus ministry is important, and the opportunity to use the building there gives us a chance to expand it,” Lamberson said. “These kinds of ministries are important not just for the congregation but from the United Methodist Church’s perspective.”
Menhusen already has seen a positive reaction from the community. She shared a story of when volunteers were helping build shelves for the food pantry.
“A woman was walking across our parking lot, and I approached her,” Menhusen said. “She said, ‘I always wanted to see something happening here.’”
Menhusen gave her a tour of the building. By the end of their discussion, the woman had learned about a cookout scheduled for late August to introduce the facility and its ministries to the neighborhood. The woman told Menhusen that she liked to cook and offered to bring a dish to share.
One point of coincidence was the woman was just returning from registering her child for kindergarten, a child that may benefit from the after-school program planned for ConnectioN Point.
“We’re happy to have a place like this where we can do outreach ministry,” Menhusen said. “I’m really excited about the possibilities.”
To get the word out about the new ministries, Menhusen and others spoke to neighborhood associations, visited with resident assistants at UNL dormitories and spoke to leaders at the Center for Civic Engagement on the college campus.
The message is that while this is a new ministry opportunity, the goal is for ConnectioN Point to provide services long into the future.
“The hope is to stay here and share a purpose in the neighborhood and on the campus,” Chesnut said. “This all came together in such a special way. There’s no other way to explain it other than God has His hands on all of this.”
Ritter said the new ministry is being helped for now by the Blue River District, which is providing the rent, insurance and utilities for the former Faith UMC building. One concern is that New Hope UMC may seek to sell the building at some point, but use of it has been secured through May 15, 2017, in part to see how well the new ministry takes hold in the neighborhood.
“My vision is to make this a district-wide mission opportunity with all churches of the district providing volunteers and using our district mission shares to support this ministry,” Ritter said. “I wish we had the funds to purchase the building because I believe we have great things we can be doing for Christ in this area. The ministry of the Faith United Methodist Church has not ended, it is just beginning a new chapter that is yet to be written.”
Randolph said ConnectioN Point could serve as an example for living out faith in Jesus in the 21st century.
“I truly think this is the best, most interesting time to be in ministry in 500 years,” Randolph said. “We all know about the problem of numerical declines experienced by The United Methodist Church as well as other denominations. But problems can also provide opportunities to be creative and explore new forms of ministry, to re-examine what it means to be a church. I believe that ConnectioN Point is a model for this creative re-thinking of Christian discipleship.”
Contact Todd Seifert, Great Plains Conference communications director, at tseifert@greatplainsumc.org. Follow him on Twitter, @ToddSeifert.
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Great Preaching dates set for 2016-'17
The third-annual Great Preaching for the Great Plains studio will be conducted in three, two-day sessions at a location to be determined in Topeka.
The studio will challenge clergy to refresh their preaching styles and content, leading to more effective preaching.
“Preaching is one of the most visible skills of a clergyperson,” said the Rev. Nancy Lambert, director of clergy excellence and assistant to the bishop. “Each of us can improve our preaching no matter how many sermons we have already delivered.”
The sessions will be:
• “Where is the Bible in My Sermon?” Oct. 24-25
• “Where is God in My Sermon?” Jan. 30-31
• “What is the Human Condition in the Sermon?” March 27-28
Each retreat will last from 1 p.m. Monday through 3 p.m. Tuesday.Monday sessions are 1-5 p.m. and 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday sessions will be9-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3 p.m.
Each studio is limited to 30 participants. The cost to participate in Great Preaching for the Great Plains is $200, which includes meals for all sessions. Motel rooms (double occupancy) for those needing are included. The purchase of required books is the responsibility of the participant.
Instructors will be Dr. Alyce McKenzie and Dr. O. Wesley Allen, both from the Perkins School of Theology. The Great Preaching for the Great Plains Studio is in conjunction with The Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at Southern Methodist University.
It is expected that each participant will complete all reading assignments and incorporate insights into sermons that are recorded and made available to the professors and facilitators. More information and registration can be found at greatplainsumc.org/greatpreachingforthegreatplains, or contact Lambert atnlambert@greatplainsumc.org.
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Thursday is deadline for Culture of Call grants
Grants will be awarded from $500 - $2,000 for churches, campus ministries, and United Methodist organizations in the Great Plains 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 second deadline to apply is Sept. 15, 2016 (the early deadline wasApril 15). Learn more including FAQs and information on applying atgreatplainsumc.org/cocgrant.
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Nebraska UM Foundation giving Ministry Grants
The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation awards a limited number of small grants to Nebraska churches and affiliated agencies of the Great Plains United Methodist Conference.
Through these awards of grant dollars, The Foundation seeks to enhance and expand your ministries. The ultimate goal of these awards is to provide assistance, whether it be a one-time grant or a grant that will help a ministry become self-sustaining.
These grants are made only for programs and activities and include operating expenses and supplies necessary for those programs or activities. They are not made for building repair, replacement, or expansion.
The application deadline is Sept. 30, 2016. For application materials and more information, please visit www.numf.org/churches/grants.html.
Please review the criteria, information and application carefully before applying, and allow enough time to gather the necessary information.
If you have questions about the application process or would like to talk to The Foundation about how you can help fund these types of grants, please call 1-877-495-5545.
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Beyond Conference set for Jan. 27-28The Beyond Conference, for anyone working in children's ministry (paid or volunteer) who would like to connect with other children's ministers, share resources and develop new ideas, is scheduled for Jan. 27-28 at Mount Sequoyah in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Sponsored by the Arkansas Conference Council on Children's Ministry of the United Methodist Church, this conference is open to all churches.
The 2017 featured speaker is the Rev. Melissa Cooper, an expert in Intergenerational ministry for the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, and works at the Life Enrichment Center.
For more information, go to http://mountsequoyah.org/portfolio/beyond-childrens-ministry-conference.
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Social Justice seed money deadline is Sept. 30
The Great Plains Mercy & Justice Team encourages congregations to engage in outreach projects working on changing unjust structures. God invites all to the table and wants all to have an abundant life. God asks us to speak up and advocate for those most vulnerable among us, for those denied opportunities to develop their God-given potential. Our scriptures and our United Methodist Social Principles guide us in this work.
In our Social Creed, ‘”we commit ourselves to the rights of men, women, children, youth, young adults, the aging and people with disabilities; to improvement of the quality of life; to the rights and dignity of all persons.” And the missional priorities of our Conference include “Transforming service to the world. We will connect congregations to the needs of the world and offer them strategies and opportunities to address both immediate and systemic needs.”
Social Justice Seed Money Grants focus on systemic injustices. They are given up to $1,000 for projects that address the root causes of injustice.
The deadline for seed money for 2016-17 projects is Sept. 30. Information is available here.
Read about what other churches have been doing below.
A flier with more information and the online application can be found atwww.greatplainsumc.org/justiceandadvocacy.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Louise Niemann (lou_niemann@hotmail.com) or Andrea Paret (amparet08@yahoo.com).
Mental Health Summit in Topeka, organized through Topeka JUMP. The Mental Health Summit was a pivotal step in the process of engaging community stakeholders on mental health recovery support through employment.
Woodland UMC in Wichita reaches out to middle school students to engage in The 11th Hour Program (Studying and practicing compassion and the Golden Rule while learning to play the guitar)
Christ UMC in Schuyler, Nebraska, builds community partnerships and promotes accessibility to books.
Trinity UMC in Grand Island uses seed money for “peace pole”: Church members visited all classrooms in the neighborhood school to teach about peace and invited students and their families to their Neighborhood Night Out with a celebration and dedication of a Peace Pole (with peace written in 19 languages).[Andrea Paret, Peace With Justice coordinator]
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Small Wonders conference to focus on young-adult ministries
Registration is open for the annual Small Wonders conference, which aims to help churches with fewer than 100 people in average worship attendance better live out the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
This year’s event will focus on presentations and conversations about young-adult ministry. Join us Oct. 7-8 at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. The two days will be filled with worship, workshops and brainstorming about how to best participate in ministry to young adults in small churches in rural, urban and suburban settings. Young adults will be among our leadership for the conference.
The Peterson Brothers – from Assaria, Kansas – will perform their farm parodies of pop songs and talk about their faith. Learn more about the Peterson Brothers. And check out some of their parodies.
For more information on workshops, hotel options and registration, please go to www.greatplainsumc.org/smallwonders.
Contact the Rev. Micki McCorkle, coordinator of small-membership church ministries, at mmcorckle@greatplainsumc.org
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Epworth Village plans gala fundraiser
Epworth Village, a United Methodist ministry that works with children in York, Nebraska, is hosting a fundraiser program and auction to benefit the youth home, its school and other aspects of the ministry there.
The Harvest of Blessings is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Holthus Convention Center, 3130 Holen Ave., in York. Following a fellowship time, the dinner will be served at 6:15 p.m. The evening includes an inspirational program as well as silent and live auctions.
Download a flier.
The cost is $40 per person, $160 for a table of four and $320 for a table of eight. To make reservations or for more information, call 402-362-3353or send an email to ecampbell@epworthvillage.org.
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One more opportunity to help 3 mission partnerships
A push to raise funds for three of our mission partners is coming to a close, but you still have a couple of weeks to pool resources and make a difference.
The Great Plains is raising money to help build a new Zimbabwe East Conference office; help pay for renovations to the Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, Texas; and help raise funds for a salaries endowment for the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference.
While funds have been raised for these three through our annual conference session in June, we came short of our goals for all three partners.
Go to a special page on the conference site to see and download videos and bulletin inserts, as well as to see how to donate.
Donations should be sent to the conference office in Topeka, 4201 SW 15th St., PO Box 4187, Topeka, KS 66604, and postmarked by Friday, Sept. 16.
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GCFA provides interpretation of insurance letter sent to churches
Moses Kumar, general secretary and treasurer for the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA), recently notified churches that they received a letter from the president of United Methodist Insurance (UMI) that concerned changes made by the 2016 General Conference to Paragraph 2533 of The Book of Discipline. The letter has been interpreted, mistakenly GCFA believes, to imply that a certain standard of insurance was mandated by the legislation adopted by the General Conference and that a specific insurance carrier is to be required in the future. Neither is the case.
What the legislation did provide was that at least annually the local board of trustees review the local church’s insurance coverage, both in terms of type of policies and coverage limits – and compare that coverage with recommendations made by GCFA, which has as one of its responsibilities the protection of the assets of the various parts of our denomination. It also requires that the local church trustees report annually that such a review has occurred and, should there be a difference between the local church coverage and the GCFA recommendations, what steps are planned to move to the recommended insurance coverage.
Furthermore, while GCFA believes that UMI, an insurance company wholly owned by GCFA on behalf of our connection, can provide appropriate levels and types of insurance at competitive rates, this legislation did not mandate use of any insurance company.
Read the specific language of the pertinent section of The Book of Discipline, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2017.
Total Number of Pages: 1
Suggested Title: Adequate Insurance Coverage
Discipline Paragraph Number: 2533.2
General Church Budget Implications: None
Global Implications: None
Amend ¶ 2533.2 as follows:
The board of trustees shall review annually compare the existence and adequacy of the property, liability, and crime church’s insurance coverages to an insurance schedule annually published by the General Council on Finance and Administrationon church-owned property, buildings, and equipment. The board of trustees shall also review annually the adequacy of personnel insurance.
The purpose of these this reviews is to ensure that the church, its properties, and its personnel are properly protected against risks. The board shall include in its report to the charge conference (¶2550.7) the results of its review and any recommendations needed to timely bring the church into
compliance with the published schedule it deems necessary.
August 31, 2015
/s/ A. Moses Rathan Kumar
General Secretary, GCFA
615-369-2340
slambert@gcfa.org
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Clarks UMC celebrates 150th anniversary
The Clarks United Methodist Church in Clarks, Nebraska, celebrated 150 years of ministry in that community.
Pastor Janice Farrell led worship, with Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. preaching. In his message he included some of the history of the congregation and encouraged the congregation to continue the tradition of offering God's love through Jesus Christ to the community of Clarks and beyond. The service concluded with communion presided by the bishop and assisted by Pastor Janice.
Former members of the congregation came back to celebrate the occasion, as well as members of the Pierce Chapel and Fullerton congregations who are in alliance with the Clarks congregation. Also in attendance were some of the former pastors of the Clarks UMC.
Following the worship service, a dinner and program were conducted at a facility owned by a member of the congregation. The program included a short history of the congregation, special music by a former member of the congregation, and recognition of and brief comments by former pastors in attendance.
Also in attendance was a descendant of the family that extended hospitality so that classes and services were held when the circuit rider came through Clarks.
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Hope in Action set in western KansasHow did the northwest Kansas town of Quinter grow by 30 residents when the rest of the area saw its towns’ populations dwindle? Find out in a rural revitalization event, “Hope in Action,” from 3-7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Quinter United Methodist Church.
Find out more about the program.
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Little River thanks all for SplashLittle River, Kansas, United Methodist Church and the Little River Chamber of Commerce would like to thank everyone who came to Splash Out Hunger.
The event included more than 100 people who participated and collected more than 505 pounds of food for the Rice County Food Bank.
While this was an event sponsored and organized by the chamber and the United Methodist Church, it was a community event that involved volunteers from individuals and other organizations. These included partners and volunteers from the Little River and Windom Lions Clubs, the Little River High School Booster Club, Catholic Church, Congregational Church, UCC Church and the fire department.
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Across the ConnectionBelow is a list of stories from United Methodist News Service and other sources on topics United Methodists may find of interest:
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Newsletters -------
Opinion
In Layman’s Terms: Todd Seifert, conference communications director, shares some reflections on the Christ-like qualities of “Star Trek” on the show’s 50th anniversary.
Krusing the Capitol: Populism Vs. Establishment (Part 1)
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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.
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