August 11, 2009
Iowa Conference News
Are You A “MISSION CONGREGATION”?
Action at this year’s (2009) Annual Conference included implementation guidelines for what Par. 260 of the 2008 Book of Discipline and Action Item #712 in the 2006 Conference Journal (pp. 347-354) calls “Mission Congregations”. These guidelines include the application process for congregations that believe they meet the specific criteria for what is a mission congregation, which includes their submitting an application of a prescribed Ministry Action Plan (MAP) to the mission congregation sub-committee, of the Conference Parish Development Committee.
If you believe your congregation meets these criteria and wish to submit a MAP application and/or if you have any related questions, please contact Scott Hibben, Iowa Conference Leadership Development Minister for evangelism and new ministry, at scott.hibben@iaumc.org / 515-974-8926 (office) or 515-783-4372 (cell).
All MAP applications are due to his office by September 17th.
2009 VIM Roundup at Okoboji
Click here for more information on this year’s VIM Roundup at Okoboji Camp & Retreat Center August 28-30.
The registration form is attached to this document with instructions on where to submit your registration. Deadline is August 17th!
UMC at the Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair begins this Thursday and our ministry is there again, thanks to the many volunteers who have offered their time and hospitality talents. Be sure to stop and say hello while you are in the Varied Industries Building. We are located in between aisles 3 and 4 in space #355. Our good neighbors to the East are the University of Northern Iowa.
The UMC is included on the new limited edition board game, created by the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation. Games can be purchased at the Fair for $35.00 and are available at all Foundation souvenir booths during the Fair. All proceeds help support Fairgrounds’ renovation projects and improvements. Look for the Choir Lady leading the Sing Along at the Church near the Finish Line on the game board! It might be a caricature of someone you know!
Watch our website for updates on United Methodist’s participating in various activities during the State Fair.
United Methodist and Other News
Service Opportunities:
Alaska Ice Storm Update: check www.umvimwj.blogspot.com for further updates. Volunteers will be responsible for their own travel expense and should plan on arriving in Fairbanks or Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada. Travel from these two locations is being provided, but must be coordinated beforehand. Coordination for travel from Dawson will handled by Rob, and will require an up to date Passport. Travel through Fairbanks will be done with Arlan DeYong at ajdeyong@gci.net. It might require folks to spend a night in a motel in Fairbanks. Ideally people would fly to Anchorage, rent an RV big enough to house the team and then drive to Eagle. That would provide a better housing arrangement but it would be much more expensive. Housing at this time is tents and temperatures can get a little cool so they need to bring sleeping bags rated to 0 degrees. They can check weather at www.acuweather.com or www.weatherunderground.com for the time they will be there. Food is being provided and showers are available in the school. Please bring your own hand tools. You might even want to bring some you could leave there after you are ready to return. I am sure the residents can put them to good use. This is a remote village and there is little shopping available, so it is imperative that the volunteers come prepared for their own needs for the duration of their stay. It is being recommended that a stay of two weeks is best. There will be the possible need for teams next year but what that will look like will not be clear until after September. Contact: heather Wilson, umvimwj@hotmail.com, 818.333.6730.
Dickinson, ND tornado recovery. An EF3 tornado hit Dickinson 3 weeks ago. Since Dickinson is completely picked we anticipate a blitz rebuild in the middle weeks of September, exact dates TBA. Over 400 homes were impacted--so there are lots of windows, doors, shingles and entire roofs to be replaced. No new home builds at this time. Novice builders will be paired with experts who can mentor. Housing will be the responsibility of the teams coming; most will need to return to another community, such as Bismarck. There really are no hotels available in Dickinson. AS with the floods in ND, UMC is handling case workers and Lutheran Disaster Services is handling scheduling of teams. Contact: Vol Hotline 1-800-366-9841, LDRvolunteer@lssnd.org.
LA UMC Conference Disaster Relief Ministry in Dulac, LA : We are currently building a new home for a very deserving couple in Dulac, LA. This is the first time a new home is being built by the UMC in Dulac. The project to date has received a great deal of assistance from churches in Georgia, especially the North GA Conference. We’ve also had construction and monetary assistance from churches and organizations in South Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, NY, Illinois, Nebraska & Maryland. Since the end of May, we have framed, sided, roofed, installed drywall, mudded and sanded. The interior is ready for paint and finishing. We are in desperate need of teams and some additional funds to complete this project. We very much want to get this home completed before ASAP, as this family has been without a decent, safe home for almost 4 years. We need ~$6,000 to complete the home. Contact Wayne Wooley, 404.354.1501 or email wayne.wooley@att.net.
Institute for the Support of Pastoral Ministries
United Theological Seminary announces the inauguration of the Institute for the Support of Pastoral Ministries with the Rev. Dr. Christie Cozad Neuger as its founding Director and the seminary’s Distinguished Senior Scholar in Pastoral Care. The mission of the Institute is to promote continuing growth in pastoral excellence by providing resources and support for ministers serving in both parish and specialized settings.
Director Neuger commented, “Evidence suggests that, even though seminaries do their best to prepare students for ministry, much of their learning (particularly in the practices of ministry) comes after ministers leave school. This “on the job” learning can be greatly enhanced by the structure and support offered by the programs the Institute will offer.”
The Institute’s first year of programming will focus on pastoral care and counseling, offering collegial supervision groups and short courses that enable participants to meet the requirements for membership in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors as “Pastoral Care Specialists.”
In future years the Institute will expand its offerings in pastoral care and counseling as well as add programs to support other practices of ministry such as preaching, teaching, and administration, or to address critical issues in ministry that may combine multiple practices (e.g., new church development, congregational re-development, leading through change).
Christie Cozad Neuger has served as a pastor, chaplain, pastoral counselor, and professor. An ordained United Methodist elder, she received her Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities and her Ph.D. from Claremont School of Theology.
Over the past twenty-two years, Dr. Neuger has been a professor of pastoral counseling at Princeton Theological Seminary, United Theological Seminary, and Brite Divinity School, where she remains a Distinguished Visiting Professor. She is a Diplomate in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and is an active member in the Society for Pastoral Theology. With her appointment as the Institute’s founding Director, United Seminary also has appointed her as its Distinguished Senior Scholar in Pastoral Care.
Commenting on the Institute’s creation, Richard Weis, Dean of the Seminary at United, remarked, “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Neuger back to United Seminary in this new and exciting venture. She is a national leader who has defined best practices in pastoral care and counseling. The need in our society for vital and creative leadership for vibrant communities of faith has never been greater. The Institute for the Support of Pastoral Ministries, under Dr. Neuger’s visionary leadership, will make new and important contributions to the support and continuing development of such leadership.”
For further information about the Institute’s first-year offerings and to register contact Dr. Christie Neuger (651.255.6150 or cneuger@unitedseminary.edu) or visit http://www.unitedseminary.edu/Institute.
Academy for Vital Christianity
In partnership with the Minnesota Conferences of the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church
United Theological Seminary is pleased to announce our fall 2009-2010 Academy classes.
For more information, including class descriptions and registration, click on the below links or see our Web site at www.unitedseminary.edu/CommunityPrograms/academy.asp.
mid-week update is a ministry of the Communications Ministry Team
of the Iowa Annual Conference
