WI Conference Weekly ENews - October 5, 2022

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VIM at Lake Lucerne Camp
September 2022

Volunteers in Mission at Lake Lucerne Camp was held September 25th-30th with 30+ participants. A combined total of 690 hours of labor at $15.50 per hour resulted in a $10,695 in kind contribution. In addition, $6,019.78 was given as a monetary contribution to cover lodging, food and materials.

Clean up from the storms this summer included clearing downed trees with chainsaws and wood chipping and wood splitting. Also on the to do list were painting the Ridgewood Retreat Center and installing a new door there, staining picnic tables, benches and a wood box, cleaning Pine cottage and the Youth Building, wiring the garage in the director’s house, sorting through years of records and organizing them, painting the Ridgewood grill, bringing in the beach equipment, repairs in the showers, water sealing benches at the firepit and some gardening.

The weather was perfect for getting all the outdoor work done, although there was frost on the ground as the last couple of days started. Most of the time the sun was out and temps hovered in the 50’s and 60’s. Morning and evening devotions were led by participants and were deemed especially insightful this year.  Prayer partners were revealed on Thursday prior to Communion. Special thanks to Tanner, Jack and Rebecca, the Lucerne staff, for helping it to be another successful week! 

Join Resurrection UMC in Sharing Micah 6:8 with the Community Through The BE Campaign

Resurrection UMC in Kansas City has launched The BE Campaign which is built around Micah 6:8, "Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God." The Campaign encourages and calls people to “Be Just, Kind and Humble.” They have created logos churches can use for creating their own campaign signs and t-shirts.

Click here to see a photo of the signs and t-shirts. Click here to watch a TV spot. You can see all of the resources that are available at this time at becampaign.org. Please share this information with the churches in your district, and direct them to the website becampaign.org for details and resources. 

WUMF- You're Invited To The Foundation's Saturday Stewardship "Spook"-tacular, Saturday, October 22nd

Stewardship doesn’t have to be scary. Attend the Foundation’s Fall Stewardship seminar to get the resources your leaders need. Come in-person at Hudson United Methodist Church or take part virtually via Zoom Webinar. Workshops include:

• Offering with No Plate
• ABC’s of Financially Healthy Churches
• Say What? Invitational Language & Messaging

Register by October 7 and receive a free copy of the book, A Better Offering, by Donald A Smith.  For a full agenda, workshop descriptions, and to register, visit www.wumf.org. Questions? Contact Rev. Jason Mahnke, Director of Programming and Campaigns, at jason@wumf.org. 

We're Hiring! Now Seeking an Executive Administrative Assistant to The Wisconsin Resident Bishop Episcopal Office

The Wisconsin Conference of The United Methodist Church announces a search for an Executive Administrative Assistant, providing administrative support to the Resident Bishop of the Wisconsin Conference and the Episcopal Office staff. This role is responsible for collaborating with internal and external partners to schedule and offer meeting support appropriately and is responsible for coordinating travel appropriately. Must be proficient at: formatting and writing documents, developing, and distributing meeting materials, facilitating travel arrangements, and creating and maintaining expense reports and budgets.
View full job description

To apply, click here or email a cover letter and resume to jobs@gcfa.org 

Join Rev. Forrest Wells for The Exodus Experience

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

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 

Proud to be UMC Videos Released

Church of the Resurrection has released a series of videos I recorded describing why I am proud to be part of the United Methodist Church and why Resurrection, the largest United Methodist Church in the United States, plans to stay in the UMC.

Videos can be viewed at proudtobeumc.com or the #ProudtobeUMC YouTube Channel.

This series of videos is intended to help churches and individuals seeking to discern whether to leave The United Methodist Church. Topics cover: who we are as United Methodists, how we read the Bible, our commitment to and faith in Christ and the historic essentials of the Christian faith, our love of scripture while also believing it is important to rightly interpret scripture, our denominational divisions of human sexuality, and the future of the UMC. 

If these videos would be helpful for your church or other churches in your annual conference, please share them. In addition to the videos, Church of the Resurrection created a website with other resources and a place where churches can commit to stay in the UMC and connect with other churches. That website is proudtobeumc.com. -Resurrection Pastor Adam Hamilton

Youth 2023, Daytona Beach, Florida
July 25- 28, 2023

Youth 2023 is a powerful 4-day conference where thousands of youths gather together for discipleship, fellowship and life-changing fun. You and your students will enjoy amazing beach views while participating in awesome live worship and interactive discipleship experiences. There will be daily teachings from thought provoking speakers and the chance to participate in mission and service opportunities!
Learn more and register today

Bishops Push Back Against Recruitment Tactics

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM News) — As churches weigh disaffiliation, bishops are trying to set the record straight on misinformation being spread about The United Methodist Church’s future. They also are working toward building a church where traditionalists, centrists and progressives will all feel they belong. Meanwhile, a recent church court decision could have an impact on disaffiliation lawsuits in civil court. Heather Hahn reports.
Read story
UM News: Church court makes impact

United Methodist Communications
New Video Series "The Recap: What United Methodist Need to Know"

Nashville, Tennessee – A new video series called The Recap: What United Methodists Need to Know launched this week to help United Methodists better understand what is happening in the church, find inspiration in stories of ministry and learn how the denomination is transforming the world. The videos produced by United Methodist Communications (UMCom) provide essential updates in a short, easily digestible, and engaging format.
Learn more

Ways to Help Following Hurricane Ian

As we learn of the devastation left following hurricane Ian, many may be wondering how to help. Midwest Mission and UMCOR have reached out to us with ways you can help. Please pass this information along to your congregations. Please continue to keep those affected in your prayers. 
Midwest Mission: 
Midwest Mission is located just outside Chatham, IL is working to provide disaster relief to those affected by Hurricane Ian. “Our Cleaning Kit supplies have been depleted. After sending relief to 14 US disasters this year, including the most recent flooding in Kentucky and St. Louis, we need help replenishing so we can get supplies to our partners who are ready to deploy the requested supplies,” says Executive Director Chantel Corrie.

UMCOR: 
While authorities have not yet given the all-clear to enter affected areas, UMCOR and its local partners have been hard at work preparing for storm response and recovery. Reminder: do not self-deploy to an active disaster area. 
Supplies are headed to Florida and initial solidarity grants have been issued to both the Florida and South Carolina Annual Conferences to address immediate needs. 
Cleaning supply kits are needed. Churches interested in providing cleaning kits can find information about kit components and assembly instructions here. We encourage churches to coordinate their shipments with their local affiliate warehouses. 
Read more

Convergence Weekly
New Fall Summits

Convergence Weekly presents two new fall summits: Centering the Silenced Summit, November 14-18, and Preaching Advent Summit, October 17-20, 2022.
Centering the Silenced: Even in progressive faith spaces, we have historically silenced the voices of humans who are not part of the dominant culture. This summit will flip the script and only feature such voices. We will ask each of these important voices what they believe is the single greatest social and liberative challenge facing us at this time, and, more importantly, what is the church's responsibility in the conversation?

Preaching Advent: How do we preach hope, peace, joy, and love in these hot mess times? Listen in as a dozen of the nation’s most prophetic preachers reflect on the upcoming Advent season and how they will approach the familiar lectionary texts in our perpetually unprecedented times. Through the creative voices of our speakers, we will highlight preaching approaches for each of the 4 weeks of Advent – Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.

Register for Centering the Silenced / Register for Preaching Advent 

The Upper Room
Walking Fundraiser Began Oct. 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A wellness walk fundraiser is planned for Oct. 1 through Nov. 12, with the proceeds going to Emmaus Ministries. Emmaus is dedicated to strengthening disciples for the renewal of the church. Cost to register for the walk is $29. Participants are asked to walk 7 miles, which is the distance between Jerusalem and Emmaus. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to two disciples walking to Emmaus — an encounter described in Luke.
Read press release
Register

Children's Books by Latine Authors to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

The United States’ National Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15 and lasts until October 15. During this month-long observance, we take time to honor the contributions, history, and culture of Americans whose ancestors are from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. 

One way to celebrate this year is to take a look at this list of stories by Latine and Hispanic authors and illustrators, and choose a few books to read with the children in your life! These books depict traditional and new stories, biographies and unique characters, and celebrate family, community, and culture.
Read more

Religion & Race
Action Fund Grants Available 

WASHINGTON — The United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race has announced a new cycle of the CORR Action Fund grant program to support creative initiatives that will transform The United Methodist Church and the world. The 2022-2023 grant program will provide up to $10,000 to fund projects that increase intercultural competency and support vital conversations about race, cultural diversity and systemic equity leading to action. Applications are now open, with a deadline on Nov. 15.
Read more
Apply for grant