WI Conference Weekly ENews - March 1, 2023

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Equitable Compensation Grant Cycle Application Available For Spring 2023

Equitable Compensation Grants are available for churches and charges served by a full-time pastor that are experiencing financial hardship. There will be two rounds of Equitable Compensation Grants this year, each totaling $20,000. Churches may apply for only one grant per year. The deadline for the first round of applications is April 14, 2023. The second round of applications will be due September 15, 2023. The maximum award to a church/charge for first time recipients is $4,000.
Open application

Introducing The Wisconsin Annual Conference Harmony Choir

The Wisconsin Annual Conference Harmony Choir comes from Bishop Jung's vision and long-time dream for unity through praising God together. Our goal is to help the Wisconsin Annual Conference's worship and spiritual renewal and enrichment of Pastors and Churches in the conference through music. We pursue celebrating cultural and ethnic diversity among us. We welcome all pastors (including retired pastors) and/or pastor's spouses to join us. Rev. Sangwook Park, who graduated from the Univ. of Oklahoma with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting, will lead this choir with passion and love.

The Harmony Choir will be singing at the Ordination Service this June at Annual Conference. We are planning to have the first concert in Fall. Rehearsals will be once a month, on Monday after the third Sunday at 11:00 am. The first in-person rehearsal will be on March 20th at 11 am at Columbus UMC, 222 S Dickason Blvd, Columbus, WI53925.

If you have any questions or interest in joining us, please, feel free to contact us through the following: The WAC Harmony Choir: wac.harmonychoir@gmail.com
 
Contacts:
     - Executive Director: Rev. David Kim (kdavidkim@naver.com 253-335-7480)
     - Music Director: Rev. Sangwook Park (hodiecond11@gmail.com 847-344-3667)
More information

Racial Ethnic Clergy Summit 2023

Bishop Jung hosted a gathering of close to 70 racial-ethnic clergy from the Wisconsin Conference to share stories and experiences of serving in cross-racial, cross-cultural appointments and of living in Wisconsin. The Summit began with Bishop Jung leading a Bible study on Acts 15:1-40, which included reflections about his own experiences early in his ministry in Wisconsin. Other presenters were Mary Council Austin (Where I Came From), Tsuker Yang (Where I Intend to Go), Pyung Ahn Peace Kim (Where the World Calls Me), Amanda Stein (Group Exercise for Visioning and Mentoring), Ebenezer Insor (Better Together in our Leadership Journey), and concluded with an open conversation with Bishop Jung. 

This event was deeply appreciated by all who attended. Several clergy responded with their affirmations of the time together: “I valued meeting and building relationships with other clergy members from similar racial and ethnic backgrounds which provided a sense of community and support, and helped attendees feel less isolated. We developed an understanding of different cultures, worldviews, and communication styles that are incredibly valuable for clergy members who work with diverse congregations.” “I valued the time to get connected and acquainted with each other, along with the safe and comfortable collegiality environment to name our concerns and share our passions.” Several participants valued “the open conversation with Bishop Jung.” Another expressed that they valued “sharing and discussing the issues that come from the similar ministerial experience, understanding together deeper issues, dreaming and visioning together for the future, showing God's kingdom in action.”

New Enews Submission Form For Articles In The WI Conference Weekly Enews

A new Enews submission form, located in the 'Quick Links' box on the WI Conference homepage, is for everyone, staff as well as the general public, to use to submit an article for ENews. You may use this form to create a news article to be published, if approved, in the Wisconsin Conference weekly ENews. We do reserve the right to edit submitted information for grammar, clarity and context. This is a tool to help streamline the content we put in the ENews. The submission deadline is Tuesday at 1:00pm for the current week's ENews. Please contact Lisa Wink, Communications Director, at lwink@wisconsinumc.org or Carly Ochoa, Communications Assistant, at cochoa@wisconsinumc.org with any questions.

Submit an article for ENews

Make Plans To Participate In Ingathering 2023!

Each year at our Annual Conference, churches are asked to donate items for people in need or people suffering from disasters. This year the conference Mission Motivation Committee is again working with Midwest Mission Distribution Center to collect items for the Personal Dignity Kits and Home Care Kits. Midwest Mission distributes the kits locally, nationally and internationally to those in need during times of crisis. All supplies are given free of charge regardless of gender, race or religion.

Kits and items that make up those kits, should be brought to Annual Conference at the KI Center in Green Bay. The Midwest Mission truck will be there for collection on June 9th & 10th. If you are not able to make it to Green Bay this year you can bring donations to one of the Ingathering 2023 drop off sites. Monetary donations can be brought to Annual Conference or mailed to The Wisconsin Conference, 750 Windsor Street, Suite 104, Sun Prairie, WI 53590 - please note Ingathering 2023 in the memo. To process donations efficiently and get them where needed quickly, we ask for a list of the items donated. You can help the person who delivers the items -and save everyone some time- by filling out the Donation Form ahead of time.  All items should be NEW – and all kits should have only the items requested. Thanks! View kit details

Volunteers are needed to check in and load donations at Annual Conference in Green Bay anytime during our drop off hours: Friday, June 9th 10am-4pm and Saturday, June 10th 8am-2pm. Contact bonnieclement05@gmail.com to help.

Bishop Jung To Present At Garrett Seminary
Friday, March 31, 10am- 4pm, 2121 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL 60201

Bishop Jung will present "Heart Strangely Warmed and Awakened: Spirituality, Solidarity, and Belongingness" at the Garret Seminary Chapel in Evanston, IL on Friday, March 31st.
 
Everyone is invited (clergy, lay, and seeking/interested) to collectively and individually reflect upon their spirituality in the midst of AAPI hatred. Bishop Jung will lead meditation and other spiritual practices.
 
Please register using this QRcode
Registration Deadline: March 24th
Event Cost: Free! Lunch and refreshments provided
Learn more and register

Mission Motivation Workshop 2023

Twenty-five folks with an interest in missions at the local church and beyond gathered via zoom for the Saturday, February 25th presentation "Building Local Church Missions: Staking Your Claim!" Ranging from Viroqua to Oshkosh and Spooner to Bristol, the participants were welcomed by Wisconsin Conference Mission Motivation chair Mary Balson. NE District Mission Secretary, Vernita Green, shared ways to build a local church mission committee following the three commandments of team building. NW District Mission Secretary offered tips for building a missions budget, using the church budget, "noisy cans" and other fund raisers. SE District Mission Secretary, Mary Beth Byrne, provided a plethora of information for promoting missions within the local church. Each presentation emphasized the importance of building relationships and truly claiming the privilege of mission work.
Read more

"Taking the Church to the Next Level"
Accountable Leadership Board Workshop
April 22  /  10am - 3pm  /  Sun Prairie UMC  /  In-person or Zoom

You are invited to an interactive workshop for church leaders (especially churches using the Accountable Leadership Board model) to intentionally take the church to the next level of effectiveness.

The workshop will be led by Rev. Dr. Joseph Bishman. Dr. Bishman served 3 churches and served as District Superintendent in the W. Ohio Conference in his 41 years of ministry. Bishop Ough gave him permission to establish in his district a consultation model and a leadership team with the task of making new disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Led by Dr. Bishman, the leadership team trained numerous pastors and leaders, which led to the development of a simplified church administration model led by an Accountable Leadership Board. 

Registration deadline: April 14 at noon. 
Registration fee: $30 per person, In-person or Online.
More information

Meet The New Conference Board Of Laity (CBOL) Leadership 

We are excited that Barbara Hill has chosen to become the NW District Director of Lay Servant Ministries. As such, she will be a member of the Conference Board of Laity. The members of the Conference Board of Laity enable laity to have full and equal partnerships with clergy and within the Conference, work with the Circuits to grow lay leadership and provide lay opportunities for growth. If you are interested in taking classes or teaching classes to help individuals reach their goals in become a Certified Lay Speaker or a Certified Lay Servant please go to www.wisconsinumc.org/laity and look under the Laity tab for more information.
CLICK HERE to view more CBOL Leadership

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 

Bickerton Plans Midterm State Of The Church Address
Council of Bishops

WASHINGTON — Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton, president of the Council of Bishops, will deliver a midterm State of The United Methodist Church address at 1 p.m. U.S. Eastern time on March 2. The video presentation will launch on the official United Methodist denominational website at UMC.org/Renew and be shared on Facebook.com/UnitedMethodistChurch. The news comes on the heels of Bickerton's Ash Wednesday message in which he encouraged United Methodists to use the Lenten season "to pray that God will create within us a clean heart and a renewed spirit."
Read press release
Read Lenten message

MFSA Racial Audit Webinar
Monday, February 27, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. ET

The Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA), an independent intersectional justice organization with ties to the United Methodist Church, will be holding a webinar to share the results of a three-year organizational racial audit that the organization has conducted to find the places where it has been complicit with white-supremacy and make recommendations for improvement. The webinar will begin the process of working with those recommendations to live into these anti-racist commitments.
 
The audit includes research and study of the organization's history and connections to other organizations, recognizes past patterns and themes, and ultimately offers a set of recommendations. As the audit report states, ”MFSA seeks to understand more clearly the patterns of white dominance and seeks to begin transforming our organizational structure and culture to be anti-racist.”
Read press release

'The Recap' rounds up latest news around the connection
United Methodist Communications

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The latest episode of "The Recap" looks at how United Methodists are taking action to address gun violence and racial injustice. Other stories include five diverse congregations coming together for worship and fellowship, and an update on an African agricultural initiative named in honor of late Sierra Leone Bishop John Yambasu. "The Recap" is a video series from United Methodist Communications providing a snapshot of stories from throughout the United Methodist connection.
Watch latest episode

An Item for "Some Day" is Needed by Someone "Today"
Midwest Mission Distribution Center

As part of Midwest Mission’s area of health, we send medical supplies and equipment in most of our international shipments. There is a great need in developing countries for supplies we take for granted in our country.  We have access to wheelchairs, crutches, and canes. We can borrow them from a friend, or purchase them from our doctor. Orthopedic supplies are a part of our everyday health care.

But for others? This is a luxury. 

According to the Wheelchair Foundation, over 110 million people in the world need a wheelchair, but do not have one. Less than 10% of people who require a wheelchair in developing countries have access to one.*
Read more

Agency Seeks Ethnic Panel Volunteers
United Methodist Communications

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — United Methodist Communications is seeking pastors and lay leaders with marketing and/or communication responsibilities to join an upcoming Asian leader panel. Panelists will be invited to take part in online surveys and focus groups throughout the year to share their experiences, build relationships and help grow The United Methodist Church. Those interested are invited to take a brief survey.
Take survey

Upcoming Still in Mission Episode, March 2 
Thursday, March 2, 2023, 7 p.m. (ET)

Still in Mission Episode #52 will be held on Thursday, March 2, 2023, 7 p.m. (ET). Register online here. Featured in this episode are:
 

• Joy Prim, welfare case officer for migrant workers, Mission for Migrant Workers in Hong Kong, SAR, P.R. of China. 
• Satomi McCurley, church and community ministry coordinator, Asian Rural Institute in Japan 
• Edwin Campomanes, assistant to the president for institutional development, National Evangelical Primitive Methodist Church of Guatemala
• Grace Rogers, fundraising & outreach coordinator, Florida Justice for our Neighbors in the United States.