April 14, 2009
Iowa Conference News
Camps and Retreats – Local Churches
An Unparalleled Faith Shaping Partnership
Below is an excerpt from an article written by Kevin Witt, director of Camp and Retreat Ministries at the General Board of Discipleship. Kevin is concerned that intentional links form between powerful camping experiences and the on-going nurture of a deeply caring faith community.
Here are some of his suggestions.
1. “Energetically encourage children, youth and adults to participate in Christian camps and retreats and create ways to be aware of who attends from your church and your community.
2. Develop on-going strategies for welcoming those who return and provide opportunities to hear about the highlights of their experience. Show that you care by celebrating what is important to them.
3. Be intentional about incorporating meaningful aspects of the camp-retreat experience into the local church setting, in order to build on the seeds of faith that are planted. This may be a song which the congregation can learn, symbols of the experience in the worship setting, sermon or study topics, testimonies and stories, the chance to use new leadership skills in the local church community, etc.
4. Perhaps the most beneficial step a congregational leader could make is to participate in camp/retreat events yourself and develop partnerships with Camp/Retreat Center Staff. The connections you will make with the participants themselves can have life-long implications. Rarely will you have the
opportunity to develop the depth of relationships with persons from your congregation and beyond. Living together in Christian community for an extended period of time at a camp or retreat opens so many doors.
5. See Camp and Retreat Ministry as an important extension of your own congregation’s ministry. Get involved and support it with your prayers, your presence, your service and your gifts. Watch lives change before your eyes as they become open to the moving of the Spirit in their midst in these special settings.”
For more information on this year's camping opportunities, click here.
Michael Card Concert in Ames
Christian songwriter, singer, and author Michael Card in Concert
Sunday, May 31 - 7:00 pm - Ames Middle School – Ames, Iowa
This fund-raising concert is sponsored by the First United Methodist Church in Ames. Proceeds will support the Appalachia Service Project and the 49 youth and adults who are traveling from Ames to Tennessee this summer to roof homes, hang doors, dig ditches…and the list goes on and on. These volunteers will be the hands and feet of Christ to people in struggling mountain communities.
Click HERE for ticket sales and contact information!
Confirmation Tours
The Conference Center accomodates one Saturday tour per month for groups interested in touring the building and learning more about our heritage. In May, we will be providing that tour on Saturday, May 23rd at 10:00 a.m. If your group is interested in participating, contact Darci Hartman at 515.974.8907.
TRAX Youth Ministry Essentials Training Rescheduled
TRAX is a new conference-sponsored training for youth ministry leaders in your congregation. The workshops focus on the essentials for youth ministry and are perfect for every volunteer or staff person with youth ministry responsibilities. There are four workshops (modules) in the TRAX program, and modules may be taken in any order.
Our next TRAX event is QUAD: Youth Ministry through a UMC Lens, to be held at Shueyville UMC on Saturday, May 9 from 9 AM - 3 PM. This module focuses on using the Bible with youth, helping youth to think through difficult topics, basic information about the United Methodist structure and history, other related topics. The cost is just $25 per person and includes lunch and a youth ministry book.
For more information on this module or on TRAX in general, please visit us on the web at http://www.maketyme.org. Additional training dates will be announced soon.
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
THE IOWA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH BUILDING FUND TRUST
is offering one year investments with a current rate of: 3.10%*
This investment is open to all United Methodist Individuals, Churches and Agencies by downloading or requesting our offering circular and application from www.iumcbft.org
Investments are used to provide loans to United Methodist Churches in Iowa
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; rate shown is for week of 4/13/09
United Methodist and Other News
Medical UMVIM Team Consultation
May 1-3, 2009 at Church of the Dunes UMC, Grand Haven, MI
It’s All about Community Based Primary Health Care (CBPHC)
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Shobha R. Arole, Associate Director, Comprehensive Rural Health Project, Jamkhed, India www.jamkhed.org will be joining us for this exciting weekend! Teams and individuals will learn how medical UMVIM teams can incorporate components of Community Based Primary Health Care when they go to serve! She will be one of the featured plenary speakers on Friday evening and the plenary speaker on Saturday morning. Dr. Shobha will have other parts to play throughout the weekend including a workshop on Community Assessment. This is a rare opportunity to interact with Shobha and we hope you will take advantage of it!
Anyone interested in United Methodist Missions, medical UMVIM teams, and/or the new Mission Focus areas of the General Church should attend this event! We will be focusing on one of the areas – Global Health – and how medical UMVIM teams can fit into the goal of taking at least one component of Community Based Primary Health Care to leave behind in whatever community or clinic they serve. Dr. Cherian Thomas, General Board of Global Ministries will lead us through the new plan for the Global Health Initiative. Landon Taylor, coordinator of Individual Volunteer program for Mission Volunteers will lead a workshop on the need for health professionals as Individual Volunteers and where they might serve for two months or longer. Dr. Roger Boe, veteran participant in our consultations will address two topics, MRSA, (Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus) and Maternal and Child Health. Other workshop topics include Spiritual Formation, Dental Teams, Appropriate Technologies for Overseas, Pharmacy Information, Nutrition program at Kissy UMC Hospital, and Anesthesiology in the Developing World.
Information and Registration forms < http://www.gbgm-umc.org/northcentralvim/rxconnexion.html> or write Lorna Jost, Coordinator, UMVIM-NCJ, < umvim-ncj@brookings.net> for them. Questions related to the Host Church or area should be directed to Bronwen Kram bmkram@comcast.net . Click here for flyer. Registration Due by April 15, 2009!
Sponsored by:
· West Michigan Annual Conference
· Church of the Dunes United Methodist Church, Grand Haven, MI
· Rx ConneXion Steering Committee (UMVIM-NCJ) : dedicated to sending forth medical teams equipped to make a real difference in the health and lives of the people we touch.
New! UM Spanish Portal
United Methodist News Service has a site for Hispanic-Latino ministries and events. It is the UM Spanish Portal. A purpose of the site is to report about the work and the development of ministries with Hispanic-Latinos throughout the UMC conferences.
Through Noticias en Español, we are ready to divulge to all the connection the wonderful things your conference is doing with Hispanic Ministries. This will inform and encourage others in their work.
mid-week update is a ministry of the Communications Ministry Team
of the Iowa Annual Conference
