WI Conference Weekly ENews - June 8, 2022- Surprise, there is Enews this week!

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Where To Find Annual Conference Updates & Some Friendly Reminders

Annual Conference will be taking place from June 10-13, 2022 in Green Bay. Please check the Annual Conference Website for updates. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter for more information. 

For those members who choose to attend Annual Conference in-person, out of mutual respect and for the safety of the most vulnerable among us, the Covid Task Team and Bishop Jung have made a decision for masks to be worn during plenary sessions, in worship, and in the meal area when you are not eating. Thank you for your willingness and care for us as the body of Christ.
Annual Conference Website
Annual Conference Schedule
Annual Conference Materials

A Word from Pastor Jenny at Sun Prairie UMC Addressing Gun Violence

Pastor Jenny Arneson has written a helpful article containing sample letters that could be used or modified to fit you or your congregations style and sent to state and federal legislators to address concerns regarding gun violence. Pastor Jenny writes, "The book of Esther in the Old Testament is a wonderful story of the strength, bravery and dignity of Queen Esther to go directly to the King with her requests, which ended up saving the lives of her Jewish people. Esther did not keep silent. 

As we continue to grieve the loss of more innocent lives to gun violence in recent weeks and in the wake of the elementary school shooting last week in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 children and two of their teachers dead, many others injured and waves of others traumatized, now is our time as people of faith to put action with our prayers. As people of faith, we are people of prayer. Prayer is always where we need to start because prayer will lead us in a better direction and to a better day. Prayer leads to influencing our words and our actions. Prayer will also lead us to do the good that is ours to do." Read more

Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation Stewardship News Now Available

Hello and happy summer! The monthly stewardship newsletter from the Wisconsin United Methodist Foundation is now on our website. You are welcome to use this article in your Church Newsletter or Bulletin Insert. Please contact wumf@wumf.org if you'd prefer a Word document. To view this newsletter, please click here. If you know someone who would benefit from our stewardship services, please feel free to forward them. 

UM Communications: Spread Peace On June 12 

Get your church ready for Peace with Justice Sunday with resources from the pastor and leader kit. This kit has everything you need to empower your congregation to give generously. From promotional to devotional, we have ready-to-use resources for you to download and share today. These core resources are available in multiple languages.
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Church Court Modifies Ruling On Bishop Elections

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — The United Methodist Church’s top court has modified an earlier ruling to say that newly elected U.S. bishops will take office on Jan. 1, 2023. The Judicial Council previously ruled that the Council of Bishops could call U.S. jurisdictional conferences this year to elect and assign new bishops. Heather Hahn reports.
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UM Publishing House: 'Fiesta Jubilosa' Aids Bilingual Worship

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Songs and prayers in Spanish and English to aid bilingual worship are offered in the new "Fiesta Jubilosa" ("Joyful Fiesta"). The resource is published by The United Methodist Publishing House, which is distributing 5,000 copies at no charge to bilingual churches in the denomination. The general editor of "Fiesta Jubilosa" is Raquel Mora Martinez.
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Lodi UMC Buys 180 Books for Children's Hospital

Members of Lodi United Methodist Church and their friends and customers at the church hosted Glorious Garden Festival and raised a fund that was enough to buy 180 books for patients at the American Family Children's Hospital in Madison. This mission engaged a partnership with Scholastic for a book fair event where each purchase of two books allowed a free donation of one extra book.

Mary Jeanne Hecht, Child Life Assistant at AFCH, shares, “Thank you so very much for your incredible donation of books for patients and families at American Family Children's Hospital. There is such an amazing assortment of books for all ages. It is evident you gave thoughtful consideration to the diversity of our patient population as well. Thank you for the bottom of our hearts! Books bring much needed diversion and entertainment to children during hospital stays and beyond. We appreciate all your hard work and generosity. Thank you for thinking of AFCH."

Lodi UMC Creates Memorial In Wake Of Uvalde, TX Shooting

Lodi UMC created a memorial in the wake of the shooting in Uvalde, TX. It was placed in the church lawn by the street so people could find it easily and take moments to remember and pray. The memorial was also shared across social media platforms. Lodi UMC has created a webpage dedicated to provide prayers, songs, statements, and sample letters to legislators: https://lodiumc.org/2022/05/29/prayer-and-action-faced-with/

Turtle Lake: Parkview UMC 
In Gathering Collection Leads to Pies In The Face

The people of Parkview UMC rose to the challenge set by the lay and clergy delegates to Annual Conference. If the church could bring in or raise the money for 10 home cleaning buckets and 20 personal care kits for the Annual Conference In Gathering, then Pastor Adam and Wayne Graunke would let the children and youth of the church pie them in the face. The congregation generously met the goal! Following worship on June 5th, Pastor Adam and Wayne learned first-hand just how much children love to smash whipped cream in the face and hair of others!

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 

United Methodists enrich health care in Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe (UM News) — Two United Methodists are making their mark on health care in Africa as leading cardiothoracic and pediatric orthopedic surgeons. Dr. Kudzai Kanyepi and Dr. Tongai Chitsamatanga are members of Chisipiti United Methodist Church in Harare, and Chitsamatanga spent six years at United Methodist-related Mutambara Mission Hospital. Kudzai Chingwe has the story.
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Leadership Center For Social Justice: Congregational Pastors Invited To Apply To Inaugural Leadership For Social Justice Program

(ST PAUL, MINN. - Monday, May 9, 2022)—Thanks to generous funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities’ new Leadership Center for Social Justice—led by Director Rev. Dr. Ry O. Siggelkow—is excited to invite congregational pastors from Minnesota and adjoining states to apply for the inaugural Leadership for Social Justice Program. The program officially launches September 2022.
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General Council on Finance and Administration: Webinar On Protecting Ministry From Malware

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The General Council on Finance and Administration, The United Methodist Church’s support agency, will offer a free webinar titled, “Church Tech Talk: Tools to Protect Your Ministry in the Digital Age.” The webinar is set for 1:30 p.m. U.S. Central time, June 15, and aims to help churches protect their technology and data from intrusion. 
To Register

Live UMCom Training Event Set For June 30 On Facebook

Social Media Day is an excellent opportunity to embrace the power of social media and consider how it can help to open your church doors to those beyond your surrounding community. United Methodist Communications is here to lend a hand. We are in motion on a training opportunity set to take place as a Facebook Live event at noon (U.S. Central time) on June 30. More details to come.
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