WI Conference Weekly ENews - July 6, 2022

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2022 Annual Conference Summary & Highlights

Below is a summary for you to share with your congregations. Please click on the blue links for more information:
Annual Conference Summary E-Newsletter
Read A Complete Summary Of Annual Conference 2022
Youtube Playlist- Annual Conference 2022

New District Superintendent Contact Information 

Beginning July 1, 2022, we have 3 new District Superintendents! We welcome them to their new roles and want to let you know how you can get in contact with them.

District Superintendent Contact Information:

North Central DS – Tsuker Yang – tyang@wisconsinumc.org 
North East DS – Park Hunter – phunter@wisconsinumc.org 
North West DS – Barbara Certa-Werner – bcertawerner@wisconsinumc.org 
South East DS – Ebenezor Insor – einsor@wisconsinumc.org 
South West DS – Amanda Stein – astein@wisconsinumc.org

Join Rev. Forrest Wells for The Exodus Experience
11 Day Journey in Egypt, incl Luxor, Cairo, Sinai
April 11- 21, 2023

You are invited to travel to Egypt for an 11 excursion to gain an overview of modern biblical scholarship, including the rudiments of archaeology, and its importance for clergy and lay people. You will gain an overview of the geographical setting of the Bible and become familiar with the nature of Christianity in the Holy Land and the work of the church today. You will have the opportunity to explore liberation motifs in the Bible and to become acquainted with the models of missionary approaches to the Middle East in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is a 4 or 5 day elective add on to the end of the trip to see more places in such as The Wonders of Jordan or to travel out of Egypt to Galilee and Jerusalem. 
Learn more

UM Religion and Race Racial Justice Prayer & Action Challenge- Week 3: Healing

The third week of the Racial Justice Prayer & Action Challenge has begun. This week's theme is healing and the scripture inspiring this week's prayers is Isaiah 58:12 (NRSV):
 

"Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations
of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in."

As a reminder, there are a few things you can do to participate:

• Sign up as a participant on the Racial Justice Prayer & Action Challenge web page. It's not too late!
• Share the prayers posted daily on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
• Use the downloadable prayers and litanies in your church services.
• Join our private Facebook group for participants and swap ideas and encouragement.
• Use our hashtag (#prayforracialjustice) when posting or sharing content related to the challenge.

Thank you for your support and we hope that you'll continue to join us in this time of prayer and action. Join The Racial Justice Prayer & Action Challenge

The United Methodist Church Releases 2021 State of The Church Report

Nashville, Tenn.: The United Methodist Church has released the 2021 State of the Church Report, which centers around the theme of claiming our identity. Beginning with Jesus' question to Peter in Matthew 16, "Who do you say that I am?" the question is posed to the UMC, "Who do we say that we are?" as the church seeks to affirm the basis of their identity in faith and service to Christ.

“This State of the Church Report is about how The United Methodist Church over the past year has sought to better define its missional and theological identity,” said Bishop Christian Alsted, chair of the Connectional Table. “We have done this at a very sensitive time in the life of our church and in the context of a global pandemic, multiple postponements of General Conference and our decades-long struggle over our understanding of human sexuality and how to be in ministry to all people.”
Read more

New Era for Church and Boy Scouts of America

The United Methodist Church will continue to partner with the Boy Scouts of America but in a new relationship that should lighten the load for local churches.

That’s a message that denomination leaders are working to get across after a difficult two years that has included the BSA’s child sex abuse-related bankruptcy proceeding and the pandemic.

“We think that Scouting is important ministry,” said Bishop John Schol, during a June 16 webinar for United Methodists interested in the denomination’s future with Scouting. “We want to do everything we can to grow Scouting through The United Methodist Church.”

But Schol and other United Methodist leaders are just as emphatic that The United Methodist Church’s partnership with the BSA is entering a new era.
Read more

Share Your Story!

We are called to share the good news in all the ways we can. Sharing your stories is way for us to be in community together. Every church has a story to tell and we want to hear about them and what is happening in the life of your church.  We want to hear from churches around our conference so if you have a story that you would like included in an upcoming ENews please use the link below and fill out the form.  We would love to have pictures to accompany the story! Submit story here

Share Your Event!

We're looking for events that celebrate local church communities across the state. Help us spread the word about your upcoming event by sharing it with us here!  Please be sure that your submission provides complete details. Subject to our editorial review, we will add your event to our Events Calendar and share it in the weekly Enews. Submit your event here 

Health Care Mission Trip to Satipo, Peru
March 3 - 13, 2023

Jody Pratt from the Michigan Conference of the UMC and Steve Blake from the Wisconsin Conference of the UMC will colead
a health care mission in the City of Satipo, in the Junin Region of Peru. This is a return mission to sites that were visited during October, 2021. We plan to have the team assemble in Lima Peru on March 3rd. Our team orientation meetings will be held on March 4th. The team will fly to Satipo on March 5th and return to Lima on March 12th. Five clinics will be scheduled in Satipo and the surrounding area during our time there. We will see patients, conduct sessions for children, and distribute reading
glasses and bras.

The cost is $1,500.00 plus round trip airfare to Lima. The round trip fare is to be arranged and paid for by participants. The $1,500 cost will cover all internal travel and food and lodging from March 3rd through March 14th. 

The application deadline is October 1, 2022. Questions may be directed to Jody Pratt at prattgji09@gmail.com or Steve Blake a spblake@charter.net. Application requests should be sent to Jody at prattgji09@gmail.com. Read more

United Women In Faith
Study Grant Applications Being Accepted

NEW YORK — July 12 is the deadline for women to apply for a travel and study grant from United Women in Faith. The Theressa Hoover Community Service and Global Citizenship Award offers funds to travel to another country to explore and study. Priority will be given to projects addressing climate justice and the criminalization of communities of color.
Read press release

Covid-19 City Wide Vigil
July 17, 2:00-6:00pm, Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition is leading the efforts for a city-wide COVID-19 vigil in collaboration with the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, MICAH, Pastors United, the NAACP Milwaukee, and Wisconsin Council of Churches. The vigil will be held in Washington Park on Sunday, July 17th from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The vigil will be an opportunity for solidarity, unity, and resilience as we reflect on the effects this pandemic has had on our families and community.

The event will have the following: prayers, poetry, choirs, informational resources, commemoration tables, activities for families and children such as horseback riding and games, food trucks, and many local and state officials will be in attendance. 

As the nation approaches 2.5 years of living in a pandemic, we have surpassed the grim national milestone of over 1 million lives lost to COVID, and nearly 15,000 people have died in Wisconsin. This pandemic has highlighted health and social inequities as well as reasons that some fellow citizens remain averse to vaccinations. Let's come together as one community as we look to a brighter future. 

COVID-19 is real, the loved ones we have lost are a reality. If you have any questions please email MMWC.

Status and Role of Women
Agency Unveils E-newsletter

CHICAGO — The United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women has introduced "Wisdom Talks," an e-newsletter that communicates information to facilitate the advancement of women at all levels of the life and mission of The United Methodist Church. The agency has also released a video celebrating its 50th anniversary.
View resource
Watch video

UMKR (United Methodists for Kairos Response) & MFSA (Methodist Federation for Social Action) Webinar: Influencing Our Elected Leaders
Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 10:30 am Pacific, 1:30 pm Eastern

Advocating with government leaders for justice in Israel/Palestine can seem like a daunting task, but we do have the power to enact political change. The United Methodist Book of Resolutions states: “The attempt to influence...public policy at all levels of government is often the most effective means...to keep before humanity the ideal of a society in which power and order are made to serve the ends of justice and freedom for all people.” (UMC Book of Resolutions, #5012) 

In our July webinar, we will learn valuable tools to connect with decision makers in government and methods to maximize our impact, along with our movement's top current issues, campaigns, and messaging. The U.S. Congress will be on recess in the month of August, a key time for constituents to meet with legislators, in both face-to-face and virtual meetings. And, with congressional elections coming up this fall, many incumbent and new candidates will be speaking at town hall meetings before November. Legislators often say they don’t hear enough from constituents who are advocating for Palestinian rights and freedom. Working together - and with our many justice partners - we can change that!

Join us to hear from three seasoned activists who will share their years of practical experience in political advocacy. Register here: https://Palestine.events/13July2022