UMconnect — 05/06/09

Sign up for Virgin HealthMiles

HealthFlex participants and spouses: What if you could earn up to $300 a year just for becoming more active? With Virgin HealthMiles (the new program from HealthFlex and the Center for Health), you can. Walking, running, jumping, riding... it all counts.

Sign up online by logging onto the HealthFlex/WebMD Web site at www.gbophb.org, receive your GoZone pedometer by mail, and you're on your way. You'll even get 1,000 HealthMiles just for signing up. This is the same Web site you already use to do your Health Quotient. Please note that if you haven't already changed your personal identification number (PIN) mailed to you in April, you will need to do so. If you have lost your new PIN, you need to contact the GBOPHB Health Team at 1-800-851-2201, press 1, then 0, to obtain a new number.

By enrolling in Virgin HealthMiles you will receive rewards. HealthMiles equal reward points. Earn them by tracking your daily activity, regularly taking health measurements and demonstrating improvement in your overall health and fitness levels. Exchange them for "HealthCash" to purchase gift cards at national retailers (e.g., Target and Best Buy) or to write a check to yourself or your favorite charity.

VERY IMPORTANT - Enrolling in Virgin HealthMiles in 2009 will be one of the requirements for Nebraska participants to obtain clergy and church discounts on your HealthFlex billing in 2010. Obtaining a certain participation level will not be required, but enrollment is necessary. Act now and enroll today!

Last call to register for Weaving a Web of Connections, deadline extended to May 13

In today's world, the use of internet technology is becoming an increasingly important tool for communicating with younger audiences.

If you are interested in using internet technology to bolster your ministry and communications efforts, join United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn., and the Nebraska Conference Office of Communications for "Weaving a Web of Connections."

Saturday, May 16, United Methodist Communications and the Nebraska Conference Office of Communications are teaming up to bring you a one-day, hands-on, technology training event. This regional event covers the basics of starting a Web ministry in a local church and district or conference organization.

The training will be held from 8 a.m.-5p.m., at the Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte. Registration for the event is $75 and includes continental breakfast, lunch, training materials, presentations and snacks. There will be a limited number of computers available, but if you have a laptop computer with wireless connectivity, you are invited to bring it with you on the day of training.

If you are unable to attend this training but are interested Web ministry, consider taking the free, self-directed online course, "What Is Web Ministry?" This is a five-part online course that provides foundational information and the biblical and theological basis for creating and maintaining a Web ministry for your local church, district or conference organization. As a self-directed course, there are no deadlines for completing assignments, which are provided as a way for you to make connections with other participants and to receive feedback on your ideas, vision and plans for a Web ministry. Course facilitators will monitor the discussion forums and "grade" assignments as well as provide direct feedback and assistance upon request.

For more information, please see the materials below or contact Kathryn Witte at 402-464-5994, ext. 113. The deadline for registration is May 13.

• Brochure
• Flyer
• Registration

Weaving a Web of Connections carpool

Dean Bower is attending the Weaving a Web of Connections workshop in North Platte on May 16 and is interested in carpooling. If you are interested in attending and would prefer to ride with others, give Dean a call at 402-578-4889 or e-mail GoGodGo@hotmail.com.

Whether you're in Omaha or located along I-80 on the way to the North Platte, he is willing to make some stops. He can take three comfortably and four if someone does not mind a middle rear seat in a full-size Buick. He plans to drive out Friday evening and stay over, returning after the event on Saturday.

	Bishop Earl Bledsoe from the North Texas Annual Conference facilitated the discussion during a session held at Saint Paul UMC in Lincoln, on April 25. The discussion helped to compile the Nebraska United Methodist Conference's response to the mandate for the South Central Jurisdiction to reduce the number of bishops from 11 to 10.

Episcopal area reduction

On Saturday, April 25, nearly 75 people gathered at Saint Paul UMC to discuss the reduction of one bishop from the South Central Jurisdiction. How the decision will be made is included in the attached material.

If you could not attend that meeting and would like to have input, please review the attached material. The discussion questions are on page two of the PDF called "Episcopal Area Reduction Discussion Guide."

Return your responses to info@umcneb.org or mail to Episcopal Area Reduction Discussion, P.O. Box 4553, Lincoln, NE 68504-0553.

Please have your responses e-mailed or in the mail by May 15.

• Episcopal Area Reduction Discussion Guide
• Episcopal Areas, Who Does What

Young adults are invited to the Young Adult Network Summit during Annual Conference Session 2009—Amplify!

The Young Adult Network Council, a new group related to the Leadership Team of The Common Table, is announcing its first event to be held during the 2009 Annual Conference Session in June, in Lincoln.

Scheduled for June 12-13, the Summit will include a networking reception on Friday evening. The Summit also includes break-out sessions on effective young adult ministries, an overview of the new Young Adult Network Plan and a local service activity. Registration for the Summit is free of charge and child care will be provided.

Please distribute the attached promotional card to all of the young adults in your congregation (young adults are ages 18-35, single or married), to the parents of young adults in your congregation, or any young adult you can get the card in the hands of.

Register under the Radical Hospitality Annual Conference 2009 button at www.umcneb.org. For more information, contact Victoria Hatterman at 402-477-6951 or amplifyyan@gmail.com.

Amplify is the name the Young Adult Network will be working with to promote its ministry. Amplify means young adults connecting, networking and learning, with a goal of developing each person's spiritual formation. Amplify will also enable young adults to learn leadership skills that will help them both in the church and in their personal lives.

• Young Adult Network Summit postcard

Conference giving demonstrates strong first quarter

Given the economic times, conference-wide stewardship demonstrates strong commitment to the United Methodist connection. Total giving remains strong for the first four months of the year. Ten churches have already reached the 100 percent goal for 2009.

As of April 30, 2009, Mission Shares received totaled $1,633,332 or 22.33 percent of the total 2009 Funding Plan. Last year at this time, Nebraska Conference churches had paid $1,668,811 or 23.51 percent of the total Funding Plan.

Conference Treasurer/Director of Administrative Services Director Robin Kilgore said in a recent e-mail letter to pastors, "Congratulations to you and your congregations on your gracious generosity."

Please share this good news and celebrate the support for the many United Methodist local, conference and global ministries.

Nebraska United Methodist Bike Ride for Hunger, a reason to be NUMB June 27-July 1

NUMB 2009 will be a 250+/- mile loop tour starting and ending in the historic cow town of Ogallala, Neb. The official start of NUMB 2009 is the Saturday evening Rider's Meeting, but for those arriving early to Ogallala, there will be an optional pre-NUMB loop ride on Saturday morning of about 50 miles. NUMB riders leave Ogallala on Sunday morning and head east on the route of the Oregon Trail on their way to an overnight stay in Brady. From Brady, riders will head north into the Sandhills and cattle country towards their destination of Stapleton. NUMB riders will then pedal back towards the Platte River valley to an overnight stay in North Platte. Riders will leave North Platte for the tour conclusion with a ride back to the starting point in Ogallala.

Registration information is available on the Web site at www.numbride.org. Thanks to Roger Cox for working on the Web site, and remember to keep checking for new updates.

A page for NUMB has been set up on Facebook, and it is located under nonprofit organizations. If you have trouble finding it, become a friend of reginabergman@hotmail.com. Get connected with other riders through the page!

• NUMB information and registration

The congregation with a joyful debt

For the past 13 years, the congregation of Saint Paul United Methodist Church has been putting a little bit more in the collection plate on Sunday. About $11 million has been collected for the "Building Fund," which went toward the building addition to the west and renovation of the sanctuary. Loans of $3 million and then $1.7 million were taken out as the project proceeded, and thanks to the generosity of a great many people, Saint Paul Church is now debt free in the middle of a national recession and nearly two years ahead of schedule.

"Our Debt of Thanksgiving" celebration will take place on Sunday, May 17, at 10 a.m. There will be a special video presentation, music and church members will join in tearing up a copy of the mortgage. The event will conclude with cake and a fellowship reception in the Bevins Family Life Center.

"We are joyful that we can celebrate the paying of our debt," said Senior Pastor Dr. David Lux. "We now have a new debt, our debt of thanksgiving. We owe it to God and to all the people who have given so graciously over these last 13 years, some of whom are no longer with us, to give ourselves with equal generosity in Christian ministry and service in thanksgiving for all who have shared with us."

Saint Paul Church, located on the block of M Street between 11th and 12th, made the decision 14 years ago to remain a downtown church and began the building addition on the west side of the block. The renovations consisted of a total revamp of the sanctuary in 2001, new classrooms, new office space, parking space of 57,000 square feet and the Bevins Family Life Center.

In addition to providing space for the church's ministry, the church has become an important site for many community groups and events, as well as a venue for many inspiring music and worship events. The new addition has been used by downtown groups and businesses such as the League of Women Voters for election debates, Downtown Lincoln Association, AA, Al Anon and the Meditation Center.

For more information about the "Our Debt of Thanksgiving" celebration, please contact Victoria Hatterman at 402-477-6951 or vhatterman@saintpaulumc.org.

New church start, Water's Edge, featured in Sunday "Omaha World Herald"

Pastor Craig Finnestad and the new church start known as the Water's Edge in Omaha is featured in this past Sunday's "Omaha World Herald."

"We had 29 individuals/families that filled out first time visitor cards on Sunday morning. It was crazy... I think we were more crowded than Easter," said Finnestad in an e-mail passing along the online link to the article.

Wesleyan Live announces courses for Nebraska clergy, laity and community members

This program offers continuing education courses for clergy, laity and community members. Courses are taught by Nebraska Wesleyan faculty in Lincoln and televised live across the state. The participants and professors are able to interact with each other throughout each telecast.

Course Location
The sessions are televised live from the Nebraska Education Telecommunications building in Lincoln. The possible transmittal sites, which will be determined according to registrations, include Ainsworth, Beatrice, Grand Island, Kearney, Lincoln, Norfolk, North Platte, Omaha and Scottsbluff. A minimum of six registrants is needed at each location.

Registration and Credit
The enrollment cost is $40 per person or $20 for retired clergy and retired clergy spouses.

Wesleyan Live, Fall 2009
"Theology, Ecology and the Great Plains Parish"
Tuesdays, 12 - 1 p.m.
Oct. 13, 2009 - Nov. 17, 2009

Wesleyan Live, Spring 2010
"Turning the Diamond: Religion from the Perspective of Research"
Tuesdays, 12 - 1 p.m.
Feb. 2, 2010 - March 9, 2010

To read more details on these courses and for more information, please see the flyer below.

• Wesleyan Live flyer and registration

Parsonage Connection brunch

What: The Parsonage Connection Annual Meeting and Brunch.
When: Saturday, June 13, 2009, from 8:30-10 a.m.
Where: The Green Gateau Restaurant, 330 S. 10th St. #110, Lincoln
Menu: To be announced. For more information, go to www.greengateau.com.

Attention all clergy spouses. You are invited to attend the Annual Parsonage Connection Brunch at the Green Gateau Restaurant. We are not mailing registrations out this year, but are asking that each person pay for their own meal at the time of the brunch. Dues can also be paid that day.

If you cannot attend the brunch, we ask that you mail your $5 annual dues to Pat Andersen, 401 West 20th Street, Schuyler, NE. If you have announcements you want shared in "The Happenings" newsletter (graduations, weddings, births, etc.), please e-mail them to fa53230@msn.com to be shared with the group. If you have questions, call 402-352-3400.

Director of Children's Ministries position at Kearney First United Methodist

There is an opening for the position of Director of Children's Ministries at Kearney First United Methodist Church beginning June 15. The position will be 20 hours per week, and salary will range from $12-18 per hour depending on qualifications. A degree or equivalent experience is preferred.

The application period will close May 15. To request a job description and application, call 308-237-3158.

The Employee Free Choice Act

The Rural Response Committee acknowledges that Nebraska United Methodists have differing views on public policy but wish to encourage learning more about the following issue and taking action.

The United Methodist General Board of Church and Society supports this legislation of the Employee Free Choice Act. The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church (paragraph 163. IV. The Economic Community, under B) Collective Bargaining state:

We support the right of public and private (including farm, government, intuitional, and domestic) employees and employers to organize for collective bargaining into unions and other groups of their own choosing. Further, we support the right of both parties to protection in so doing and their responsibility to bargain in good faith within the framework of the public interest. In order that the rights of all members of the society may be maintained and promoted, we support innovative bargaining procedures that include representatives of the public interest in negotiation and settlement of labor-management contracts, including some that may lead to form of judicial resolution of issues.

• The Employee Free Choice Act Matters to Rural Voters
  This article is written by Larry Weiss, Employee Free Choice Act Field Director, League of Rural Voters, 612-532-4246.

Disciple Bible Study Training

The Missouri River District is sponsoring Disciple Bible Study Training on Saturday, June 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This training is for any church that would like to:

- Start the Disciple Bible Study program.
- Have more people trained as Disciple Bible Study facilitators.
- Have current facilitators brush up on facilitating Disciple Bible Study.

The training will be held at Omaha's St. Andrew's United Methodist Church,
15050 W. Maple Road.

The training will be led by Director of Vital Faith Formation Diana Faust. Diana is a Certified Christian Educator. She has been involved with the Disciple Bible Study program since 1995, having facilitated classes of Disciple Bible Study as well as trained others to do the same.

The cost of the training is $75 which includes all training materials, snacks and lunch. The deadline to register is June 17. If you have any questions, contact Diana at dfaust@standrewsomaha.net or 402-431-8560, ext. 31.

• Registration

Emotional and spiritual care course for disaster-related training

The purpose of this advanced-level course is to enhance the skills of clergy, chaplains, mental health professionals and trained crisis responders to provide effective emotional and spiritual care (ESC) to meet the disaster-related needs of disaster responders and disaster affected families and individuals within disaster operations. This course builds on the crisis intervention principles taught in the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) courses: Group Crisis Intervention; Individual Crisis Intervention & Peer Support; and Pastoral Crisis Intervention.

By the end of the course the participant will be able to:

- Articulate the role of the ES caregiver from one's own faith tradition and the elements of ESC provided in a pluralistic environment.

- Clearly define the role and function of the emotional and spiritual caregiver within the incident command system and disaster relief operation.

- Identify the physical, psychological, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual impact of disaster

- Provide emotional and spiritual care to disaster survivors, first responders and relief workers through a multifaceted range of ESC interventions within a multi-phasic continuum of the post trauma/disaster aftermath.

- Assess one's own suitability to provide ESC within the trauma and disaster context.

- Identify a personal self-care plan for maintaining one's own emotional, physical and spiritual health during deployment.

• Registration packet

General Board of Discipleship announces changes in the delivery of resources

Discipleship Resources, a publishing arm of the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, is searching for ways to remain viable, while facing the reality that it must re-think its role as a publisher of church resources.

The publisher of practical helps and ministry solutions for the denomination, Discipleship Resources, is making some huge changes. "We are in a shift that is as large as the shift that happened when Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press," says George Donigian, editorial director of Discipleship Resources.

"Retail bookstores are going out of business, and people are buying more and more books through the Web. Because of these factors and a larger commitment to stewardship and the church's mission, GBOD is rethinking and re-creating its way of resourcing the church," Donigian said.

The publishing unit will continue print operations through the end of December 2009, but after that the imprint will resource the church through creative use of the Web and other delivery systems.

• Read more

Nebraska UMW endorses "Being Green for Good" workshop

The Nebraska United Methodist Women Social Action Committee encourages individuals, churches and organizations to adopt an environmentally "green" lifestyle.

The Being "Green" for Good conference will be hosted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Kimmel Education and Research Center in Nebraska City.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Kimmel Education and Research Center will host the Being "Green" for Good conference on Thursday, May 21. The conference is designed to help small business owners, community leaders, and entrepreneurs "grow profitability through sustainability" by learning more about how environmental and social responsibility impact the bottom line.

The conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a welcome and brief introduction of "Sustainability through Profitability: The Triple Bottom Line" by Dr. Connie Reimers-Hild.

• Read more

FOCUS 2009 promises to be a family affair

Early bird registration deadline is May 31

When Focus 2009 meets in Indianapolis, Ind., July 21-24, 2009, it will be the destination event for church leaders who work with children.

Sponsored by the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship (GBOD), the premiere event for people engaged in ministries with young children, Focus 2009 has something for everyone.

Focus 2009, held every four years, is the training event for local church staff and laity involved with children's ministries, including Sunday school teachers and weekday ministry staff, district and conference staff, coordinators of children's ministries and clergy.

• Read more

Calling all South Central Jurisdiction cookbooks

Billie Blair, United Methodist clergy and director of Tallgrass Spiritual Retreat Center near Matfield Green, Kan., is calling for all United Methodist cookbooks. The retreat center is dedicated primarily to serving women, offering time and space for rest, reflection and renewal in a rural setting. The Web site is www.tallgrassretreats.com.


Tallgrass is hosting its first-ever fund-raiser on June 13, and Pastor Blair is seeking donations of cookbooks created by churches in the South Central Jurisdiction. He plans to create a basket for the silent auction called "United Methodist Cooking: Best of the Midwest." You can read about the fund-raiser, a combination basket auction and concert (with Celia Whitler from Tennessee), at www.tallgrassretreats.com/TallgrassTreasures-TennesseeTunes.html.

If you are interested in participating, send your cookbook to the Rev. Billie Blair, pastor in the pasture, Tallgrass Spiritual Retreat Center, 1780 Thurman Creek Road, Matfield Green, KS 66862. You can contact Blair at 620-753-3465 or tallgrassretreats@wheatstate.com.

"Methodist Review" begins publication on May 1

"Methodist Review: A Journal of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies," a new open-access, peer-reviewed, electronic academic journal, begins publication on May 1.

The board of directors and the sponsors of The Methodist Review, Inc., are pleased to announce the launch of "Methodist Review: A Journal of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies." As an open access, peer-reviewed electronic academic journal, "Methodist Review" publishes scholarly articles in all areas and eras of Wesleyan and Methodist studies, including biblical, theological, ethical, philosophical, practical, historical, biographical, and social-scientific topics and methodologies. The journal's URL is: www.methodistreview.org.

• Read more

General Board of Church and Society (GBCS)

See what's new. Go to the GBCS Web site and read a message from General Secretary Jim Winkler and review other topics of interest to those wanting to be involved or increase their involvement in Risk-taking Mission and Justice Work.

Go to www.umc-gbcs.org and click on Faith in Action.