WI Conference Weekly ENews - March 15, 2023

Conference News  l  Denominational News  l  Local News  l   Mission News  l  Events  Resources  l  Classifieds

Visioning Retreat at Black River Falls UMC

How, as a church, do we re-invent ourselves for the future? 

The Visioning Retreat was held at BRFUMC on Feb. 24 – 25^th. Rev. Scott Carlson, Director of Congregational Development, led a workshop presenting insights and instruction for a relaunch. We were re-introduced to an age old concept of moving outside of our church buildings to create new relationships for the purpose of sharing the message of Jesus Christ.

Scott introduced us to the concept of “Splash Events” to let people know the church is here. Examples of this type of ministry included Vacation Bible School in an apartment complex, meeting unchurched children and parents on their turf rather than in the church building where basically kids from other churches go from one VBS to another throughout the summer.

After the Splash Event, a series of preplanned follow-up events are done to further relationships. With this example, a series of parents’ nights out was done. Of the 20 parents that came to the Splash event, 15 eventually joined the church! Another example of a Splash Event was a car show, followed by monthly free oil changes on the church grounds. The purpose is to get to know people, the 80% unchurched, and show them that the church is relational and relevant.

Scott emphasized the need for developing prayer teams and opportunities for prayer and discernment for the direction God wants our church to go. Scott helped us to see a new new/old way of discipling and gave us hope.  We are an excited group! Praise God!

Wisconsin Annual Conference Harmony Choir First Rehearsal
March 20th, 11am, Columbus UMC

Harmony Choir will begin rehearsals on Monday, March 20th at 11am. The Harmony Choir will be singing at the Ordination Service this June at Annual Conference. The first choir concert is planned for this 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
     - Executive Director: Rev. David Kim (kdavidkim@naver.com 253-335-7480)
     - Music Director: Rev. Sangwook Park (hodiecond11@gmail.com 847-344-3667)
More information

2023 Ingathering Updates- New Items Needed & Updated Drop Off Sites List

The conference Mission Motivation Committee is working with Midwest Mission Distribution Center to collect items for Personal Dignity Kits and Home Care Kits. Midwest Mission distributes these items 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.  Although we are focusing on these two kits, we appreciate any items found at midwestmission.org.  All items should be NEW – and all kits should have only the items requested. View kit details

Urgent needs include the following:

• Shampoo (in bulk), 12-19 oz. 
• 100-150 oz. EMPTY liquid laundry detergent containers. We can use containers of any size up to 150 oz. (we are collecting full or empty liquid laundry detergent containers) 
• Sewing machines, electric and treadles (they don't have to be new; we accept sewing machines that need a little tuning up; we cannot accept the computerized ones. 
• Medical equipment -folding walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, canes, walking boots, slings 
• Blankets- new or gently used for disaster response  
• Non electric tools specifically shovels, brooms, rakes

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. 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.  

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.

2023 Ingathering Drop Sites List
2023 Ingathering Bulletin Insert
Ingathering Update 3-6-2023

Nominate A Local Church Leader For The WI Conference Perry Saito Award

Social Justice is one of the main priorities of United Methodists worldwide.  Clergy and laity leaders commit their gifts of time, energy, passion, and dedication to mercy, justice, equity, compassion, and equality in a wide variety of acts of Christian service.  If you know of a church leader who is a champion of social justice, please nominate them for the Wisconsin Conference Perry Saito award. The Perry Saito Award is given by the Wisconsin Board of Church and Society to individuals who demonstrate their loyalty to Christ through faith and work to further justice and peace through the UMC. There will be two recipients- one layperson and one clergyperson. This award is sponsored by the Wisconsin Board of Church & Society (historically sponsored by the Methodist Federation for Social Action - MFSA).

Please submit your clergy and/or laity nominees to Dan Dick dan@peoplesumc.org.
Learn about Rev. Perry Saito

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

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 

March Is Women's History Month
Resource UMC

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women will be publishing eight blog articles that highlight The United Methodist Church’s newly elected women bishops. The first three profiles are of Louisiana Bishop Delores Williamston, California-Pacific Bishop Dottie Escobedo-Frank and Iowa Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai.
Read stories

UMCOR Sunday Is This Sunday!
ResourceUMC

For more than 80 years, the generosity of United Methodists to UMCOR has ensured that resources are available to those in need in times of crisis. Gifts on UMCOR Sunday preserve the promise that 100% of contributions to specific UMCOR projects or missionaries will go toward that project, not to administrative costs. Use these multilingual resources for worship, promotion and engagement to explore the impact we make through connectional efforts.
Access pastors and leaders kit

Native American Ministries Sunday Is April 23
ResourceUMC

Find downloadable resources to teach your congregation why United Methodists recognize and celebrate Native American Ministries Sunday locally and globally. Invite congregants to give generously, knowing that half of the gifts remain in the conference to support CONAM ministries, create programs, resources, educate and support seminary scholarships for United Methodist Native Americans. Core resources are available in multiple languages. 
Access pastors and leaders kit

First Shipment of Relief Heads to Turkey
Midwest Mission Distribution Center

"Coincidences" seem to be a common occurrence around Midwest Mission, where the right items seem to show up at the right time in the right way. We call these "coincidences", "God Moments." Moments where it seems God has perfectly orchestrated materials or situations or people in His perfect timing. We recently experienced a "God Moment" at Midwest Mission within the devastation in Turkey and Syria. 

We watched as the earthquakes devastated the two countries, and waited to see if we would be called on to send disaster relief.

When a disaster strikes, we do not automatically begin sending items... we wait for a call from a partner. This is because we never want to cause more chaos in their crisis, and we never want to assume what they need.

After the earthquake, David Fowler, a Springfield Rotarian and Executive Director of Computer Banc, brought to our attention a donation they had received and they wanted to get to Turkey. Baja Bridges, an organization out of California, donated roughly $500,000 worth of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), a totally self-contained complete meal designed for Military use. Rotary knew these meals would be a great solution for those who were in desperate need of food and nutrients, and they knew Midwest Mission would be a great avenue for these meals to go through. Read more

Free Webinar: Unrelated Business Income Tax
UMC Support

The world of unrelated business income tax for a ministry can feel like a walk on a tightrope. Do you occasionally rent your parking lot, or do you have a coffeehouse like “Hebrews” or “Faithful Blend”? This webinar is for you. If you have income from nontraditional avenues– register today! Come hear the experts at UMC Support walk you through the ins and outs of UBIT – no tightrope required.

March 28, 2023, 11:00 AM CT
Register now