UMconnect--06/10/08

2008 Spring Storm Relief Funds

Many communities in the state of Nebraska have experienced damage related to the 2008 spring storms. The United Methodist Church has a disaster relief fund available to assist persons facing unusual circumstances due to severe weather and those who may need spiritual assistance. If individuals or congregations wish to assist in this effort, financial contributions can be made through any United Methodist Church or sent to the Nebraska Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, made payable to Conference Treasurer, P.O. Box 4553, Lincoln, NE 68504. Please clearly mark the donation as "Nebraska 2008 Storm Relief"—Advance 781.

The Nebraska Conference has received confirmation that a $10,000 grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) will be available as well. All funds will be pooled together and distributed by local disaster relief committees working at United Methodist Churches across the state. For more information, contact Roger Gillming from the Bushnell-Kimball United Methodist Church at 308-235-2320 or roger.gillming@gmail.com.

• Disaster relief request form

Gretchen Peters is a grammy nominated songwriter and 2007 Folkwax artist of the year.

Mount Sequoyah UNplugged--Singer/Songwriter Retreat

The weekend retreat, sponsored by Mount Sequoyah Conference & Retreat Center, is scheduled for August 14-17 at the Conference Center in Fayetteville. The retreat will feature a workshop and showcase concert on Saturday by Gretchen Peters. Thursday evening a free Guitar Masters Concert will feature Jack Williams, Shane Adkins, and Kelly Mulhollan. Song Circles in the evenings will give everyone a chance to share their songs with other songwriters in the supportive and peaceful environment of the Mountain.


The event will also include workshops featuring:

Shane Adkins - 2005 International Fingerstyle Guitar Champion
Jack Williams - One of the best guitar players in America
Charles Gaby - Musician, songwriter, and Director of the Center for Creative Transformation at First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth.
Effron White - 2006 & 2007 Northwest Arkansas' Best Singer/Songwriter of the year
Emily Kaitz - Northwest Arkansas Music Hall of Fame Inductee
Kelly Mulhollan - Voted "Best Guitarist" in NWA
Donna Stjerna - Prolific songwriter with over 400 songs to her credit
Steve Smith - Award winning songwriter for Hannah Blaylock and Eden's Edge

The retreat is open to artists of all ages and skill levels. This is a great opportunity to learn from outstanding professionals. Details about the retreat and registration information are available online at http://www.mountsequoyah.org or call 800-760-8126.

South Central Jurisdiction Lay Speaking Ministries Conference--July 11-13 at Mt. Sequoyah

Below you can find the brochure/registration form for the South Central Jurisdiction Lay Speaking Ministries Conference, "Back to Basics with Wesley," July 11-13 at Mt. Sequoyah Retreat Center in Fayetteville, Ark. It will be a great weekend as we revisit our roots and examine some of the things that allowed the Methodist movement to be such a powerful influence in America. This experience will give Lay Speakers of the jurisdiction an opportunity to "experience the excitement," and hopefully be challenged, as Drs. Jim and Molly Davis Scott help us to look at our modern day United Methodist Church in light of our Wesleyan heritage.

As United Methodist Lay Speakers, we are supposed to know our Methodist heritage, "A United Methodist Lay Speaker is...well informed on and committed to the Scriptures and the doctrine, heritage, organization, and life of The United Methodist Church...."(The Book of Discipline). This weekend will help us fulfill that expectation.

• Registration/brochure

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

Wesleyan Live, Fall 2008
Christians Listening to Muslim Voices: Dialogue in the Midst of Conflict
Tuesdays, 12:00 -- 1:00 p.m.
October 14, 2008 -- November 18, 2008

"Interfaith Dialogue" - What is it? When do we engage in it? With whom can we be in dialogue? Does dialogue help us to avoid conflict(s)? If so, how do Christians and Muslims understand the role of religion in political processes? The course will feature guest speaker Shakil Ahmed, from the Muslim community in Omaha.

This course will be led by Dr. Paul Williams, Department of Religion, University of Nebraska at Omaha; and Dr. Fred Richart, UNO Campus Minister.

Save the date for Wesleyan Live, Spring 2009 Renewal the Wesleyan Way: How Our Unique Heritage Can Fuel a Modern-Day Revival
Tuesdays, 12:00 -- 1:00 p.m.
February 3, 2009 -- March 10, 2009

It's time for a revival! After decades of decline in America, the United Methodist Church stands on the brink of a period of opportunity for revival and renewal. How can we use the best of our heritage as a catalyst for our movement into our faithful, fruitful future? How can John Wesley's insights on servant leadership reignite and inspire the way we grow together? What practical, effective solutions can we implement to contribute to thriving ministry?

• Wesleyan Live Fall '08/Spring '09 flyer
• Wesleyan Live Spring '09 flyer

The Science of "Quiltology"—Hastings woman creates more than 200 quilts for Epworth boys

Jessie Garska has made more than 200 quilts for Epworth Village, Inc. in York and Grand Island. Epworth serves boys and their families dealing with severe, emotional and behavioral disorders. Garska is part of the "Quiltologists," a non-denominational quilting group that meets Monday afternoons from 1:30 to 4 p.m. and all day on Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at "The Annex" across from the First United Methodist Church in Hastings. Everyone is invited to come and help out. If interested, call the church at 402-463-6733.

• Read more

Breaking Ground in Residential Treatment—Epworth Village, Inc. begins construction on state-of-the-art RTC

The new Residential Treatment Center, yet to be named, is a 7,525 square-foot-facility. The 12-bedroom, six-bath structure makes it possible for staff to provide excellent supervision while maintaining a home-like atmosphere. The facility will serve approximately 24 to 30 youth a year. The public and media are invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony at the Epworth Village main campus at 2119 North Division Ave. in York on Thursday, May 29 at 2 p.m.

• Read more

Beloved Iowa-Nigeria Partnership volunteer, Ron Wilmot, dies

For seven years Ron Wilmot, a retired science teacher from Akron, Iowa, has traveled to Nigeria as an individual volunteer on behalf of the Iowa-Nigeria Partnership. Ron was instrumental in the construction of the Science Building on the Junior Secondary School campus in Jalingo.

On Monday, June 9, the group was unloading the sea container (loaded with InGathering kits) in Jalingo when Ron felt ill, was taken to the local government hospital where he suffered a heart attack and died. The news of his death quickly reached Iowa via satellite phone and was quickly conveyed to his wife, Meriele and family in Akron.

Ron had just traveled to Nigeria on May 18 accompanying Ronald Mangey, the recent Nigerian speaker on the Northwest District. He was planning to stay until August 2, working with rural villages to dig wells and install solar refrigerators and solar panels on the various mission sites. His wife, Meriele, was to leave with the Iowa team on June 13.

Ron wrote a weekly journal which is on the http://iaumc.org Web site (click on Missions and Iowa Nigeria Partnership). Last week, he and Ronald Mangey installed a satellite telephone for the Episcopal office in Jalingo. Loved by the Nigerians because he worked along side them getting dirty and sweaty to help them have a better life. He liked to attend rural and remote churches, coming unannounced and with fanfare.

The Nigerian United Methodists lost Bishop Mavula in January 2008 and now they are devastated with the death of their American friend, Ronald. Prayers are requested for both his Iowa family and his Nigerian friends. The daunting task now is bringing his remains back to Iowa. Ron died in a place he loved, surrounded by people he admired and respected while doing the Lord's work.

A memorial fund in his name is set up through the Conference Treasurer's office. Gifts may be sent through the local church or directly to the conference treasurer designated INP, 230, Ronald Wilmot.

Children and the Poor Committee is pleased to announce the endorsement of TeamMates Mentoring Program

In keeping with the Nebraska conference-wide three year emphases on Children and the Poor, including support of the Millennium Development Goals, the Children and the Poor committee is pleased to announce its endorsement of TeamMates Mentoring Program. The stated mission of TeamMates is to "positively impact the world by inspiring youth to reach their full potential through mentoring."

Tom and Nancy Osborne founded the TeamMates Mentoring Program in 1991 in an effort to provide support and encouragement to school-aged youth. The goal of the program is to see youth graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education. To reach this goal, youth meet one hour per week with a caring adult who serves as a mentor. Mentors are volunteers from the community who have dedicated themselves to making a difference in the life of a young person. Mentors give youth a sense of hope, purpose and vision. (From the TeamMates Mentoring Program Web site.)

The Children and the Poor committee decided that TeamMates would be a great resource for churches in our conference who are seeking ways to advocate and reach out to children and the poor. TeamMates fits well with the goals of this committee and is another excellent resource for churches who plan to complete the required activities to become "A Church for All God's Children." There will be more information and resources concerning TeamMates at our table at annual conference.

Women's Division Director Marilyn Zehring provides update of recent activities

When I returned from Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) and then Jurisdictional meetings, I was overwhelmed with personal matters and didn't get any reports sent. I know many of you enjoy these e-mails, so this will be a consolidation of a number of meetings into one narrative.

Both of the board meetings were spent in recapping the past quadrennium and making plans for the next quadrennium. During Women's Division, the directors were honored at a fellowship dinner and presented with charm bracelets−the charms were the emblem of UMW.

The most important happening at GBGM was the election of Bishop Paup (current Bishop of Washington and Alaska) as the new General Secretary. Having served on the selection committee, I was pleased at the positive reaction to his election. During the Commissioning Service, where I served as an usher, eight Regional Missionaries, 12 Deaconesses, seven Home Missioners, five Missionaries for Global Health, seven Church and Community Workers, and two National Plan for Hispanic and Latino Ministries Missionaries were commissioned.

At the GBGM meeting Ginghamsburg, Ohio UMC presented a check for over a million dollars to UMCOR as part of the $3,000,000.00 they have given to Project Sudan. When members of Columbus UMC were in Slidell in 2006 on a Volunteer In Mission trip, we shared sleeping space with volunteers from Ginghamsburg.

The South Central Jurisdiction (SC) Meeting was in Albuquerque the last week in March. We had the opportunity to tour McCurdy School, a mission school in Espanol. It was very impressive to see the caliber of students that could be found in this poverty-stricken area−there is over a 90 percent graduation rate and last year one of the girls received a Gates Merit Scholarship. I was so proud of the fact this is a United Methodist institution and that our Mission Giving helps to make this education available.

Women with Nebraska ties were very prominent at the meeting. Ann Craig was the Bible Study leader. Rachael Bachenburg, assisted by sister Ruth Lagerstrom, was in charge of the worship and worship setting. Racquel Martinez was the pianist. Also, Bishop Martinez helped with communion. Mary Ellen Kilmer was a teller for the election. Speakers were Women's Division President Kyung Za Yim and Deputy General Secretary Harriett Olson. The main business of this meeting is to elect eight Women's Division directors from the SC Jurisdiction for the next quadrennium. There were three nominees from each conference for a total of 45. I was very fortunate to be elected the third person (Bishop Martinez laughingly told me it was his vote that got me elected).

I was selected to represent the SC Jurisdiction on the Special Nominations Committee for Women's Divivion. It is a one-time committee, and we met last weekend at Alma Matthews in New York City. It was an intensive time as our task was to select the Women's Division officers, committee chairs and make committee assignments as well as the 30 women who will serve on GBGM for the next quadrennium. We had to make sure the leadership was racial, ethnic, geographical, and age inclusive. We also used those criteria to fill the committees.

Harriett Olson and Andris Salter were the staff that met with us, but strictly as consultants−this election was completely director driven. The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed Greenwich Village as we walked to the restaurants. After breakfast on Saturday, Rita Aerni and I walked through the Chelsea Outdoor Market. The Magnolia Bakery, made famous by "Sex and the City," is across the street from Alma Matthews, and we went there twice. For the first time in a year, my plane trips both ways were on time!

Thank you for your support and prayers the past four years. I hope you will continue your prayers during the next quadrennium, not only for me, but for the work of United Methodist Women and the General Board of Global Ministries.

Shalom,
Marilyn Zehring