March 3, 2009
Iowa Conference News
Recruiting & Training Boards for Ministries
The Rev. Dr. Mearle Griffith, of the United Methodist Association, will lead an educational training event for the Iowa Conference Committee on Community and Institutional Ministries. This training event will be Saturday, March 21st, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the United Methodist Conference Center in Des Moines. All existing ministries and any new or developing, ministries are invited to take part. Please contact Marilee Taber (marilee.taber@iaumc.org) to make reservations by Monday, March16th. To obtain more details for this event contact Lewis Flanigan (lsfz@yahoo.com).
The Iowa United Methodist Foundation is offering the Current Investment Rates* Effective: 3/2/09
Fixed Rate Fund
Available for Churches and Agencies minimum deposit $2,500
3 Months 2.01%
6 Months 2.42%
1 Year 2.88%
2 Year 3.54%
3 Year 3.65%
4 Year 3.95%
5 Year 4.05%
Iowa United Methodist Church Building Fund Trust
Available for Individuals, Churches and Agencies in even $1,000 increments
1 Year 3.00%
Please contact us for more information:
Iowa United Methodist Foundation
2301 Rittenhouse Street
Des Moines, IA 50321
515-974-8927
* Please note rates may change without notice
Na Gode (Thanks) To Iowans
To all Iowa United Methodists who contributed to the Iowa Nigeria Partnership in any way in 2008, we say NA GODE (thanks in the Hausa language). In spite of the economic downturn and the natural disasters in our state, $143,000 (yes! that much) was given for projects ranging from purchasing bikes to funding literacy programs, from providing student tuition grants to offering teacher’s stipends, assisting the agricultural programs with funds to purchase chickens, giving A3 seeds for planting to reduce malaria suffering, purchasing treadle sewing machines, constructing a staff house on the Junior Secondary School campus…all of these mission outreach ministries benefited from your generosity. This does not include the hundreds of kits for Nigeria prepared for the InGathering.
Personally I used to think that when I wrote stories to tell about Nigerian Church work, their wants and needs that no one read them and that my writing was in vain. But I’m a believer that YOU DO READ and that YOU DO RESPOND! For 20 years the Iowa Conference has been partnering with the Nigerian Church. Bishop Kulah sends words of thanks on behalf of our friends there. If you keep reading, I’ll keep writing and together let’s continue our support to spread God’s word in a country a half a world away! Consider supporting one project in Nigeria during 2009, our celebration year!
Beverly Nolte
INP Chairperson
Does Your Church Need a New Loan or to Refinance an Existing One?
The Iowa United Methodist Church Building Fund Trust makes loans to local churches for the purposes of building new buildings, renovation or additions to existing facilities, repairs, purchasing land or even buying a parsonage. The Trust also has refinancing options for high-interest loans.
Please contact us for more information:
Iowa United Methodist Church Building Fund Trust
churchloan@iaumc.org
2301 Rittenhouse Street
Des Moines, IA 50321
515-974-8927
Univ. of Dubuque Theological Seminary Second Annual Mission Conference
Mission is essential to our Christian lives. Whether one is serving in a remote African village or talking about the Good News with neighbors down the street, we are called to share the Word of God with our actions and our voices.
But how do churches and individuals in Middle America express this important
calling in meaningful and appropriate ways?
This Second Annual Mission Conference, sponsored by the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, was designed to answer that question. Our guest speakers, Rev. Hunter Farrell of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Rev. Phil Thrailkill of the United Methodist Church, have dedicated their lives to making mission accessible and understandable. The events, lectures, and conversations you will encounter here are not so much about mission as they are about how to be actively engaged in mission wherever you live. Pastors, elders, committee members, and church leaders will find a wealth of information available about how to make mission matter in our churches and communities. You are invited to be a part of this event. Register today and join us for
a mission conference that is sure to change our attitudes and energize our efforts!
Registration deadline is March 4th. Click here for registration form!
United Methodist and Other News
Youth Volunteers Needed in Louisiana
On September 1, 2008, Hurricane Gustav ripped through South Louisiana, and Terrebonne Parish experienced the eye of the storm. As a strong Category 2 hurricane, Gustav's winds raged at 115 miles per hour, pushing a 12-foot storm surge into coastal Louisiana. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Ike, the third most destructive hurricane in U.S. history, came ashore in Louisiana. Ike's 9-foot storm surge inundated hundreds of miles of coastline and thousands of homes in South Louisiana, re-flooding several homes that had already been damaged by Katrina, Rita, and Gustav. Together, these storms have devastated South Louisiana, leaving thousands in need of help.
Terrebonne Parish Restoration Project was created to provide an opportunity for teens age fourteen and older to participate in the home repair and restoration of those affected by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Youth volunteers will work to repair roofs, floors, siding, and everything in between. Through their efforts, multiple homes in the Terrebonne area will be restored this summer.
TARP invites you to the home of Cajun culture and the heart of America's wetland, where homes and lives must now be rebuilt. Youth volunteers who commit one week of their summer to serve with TARP will have the opportunity to apply their faith in life-changing ways by sharing Christ's love through their words and actions. Volunteers will be immersed in a cross-cultural setting and encouraged to build new relationships across generations, among people from other racial groups, and with those from other denominations. They will truly experience the richness and diversity of God's kingdom.
After each day's work is done, volunteers will experience a true Louisiana-style celebration, followed by a time for reflection and worship. Designed with the hope of transforming hearts and minds, the TARP experience will not only change the lives of hurricane victims, but also the lives of those who serve.
TARP volunteers will be hosted in the Terrebonne area and will work at one of several work sites recommended by Louisiana Conference Disaster Response, Inc. TARP will run for seven weeks this summer, beginning June 14, 2009. The cost is $225 per participant and includes all meals and drinks, lodging, shower access, and construction materials.
TARP is now accepting applications from interested youth groups. For more information, please visit www.thebluetarp.com.
mid-week update is a ministry of the Communications Ministry Team
of the Iowa Annual Conference
