March 17, 2010
Iowa Conference News
Peace With Justice Scholarship Essay Contest
The Peace with Justice Essay contest is open to students who are high school juniors or seniors during the current school year and who live in Iowa or attend an Iowa high school. They need not be members of an United Methodist Church nor any other religious body.
This years topic is “How I can help build a world with peace and justice.“ Essays should be no longer than 1500 words. Entries should include writer’s name, school, and a short bio perhaps of activities that have moved people towards peace with justice.
Entries can be mailed to Paul Linn, 1120 Briar Ridge, West Des Moines, Iowa, 50265 or e-mailed to pjlinn@msn.com before April 16, 2010. E-mail is preferred.
Three scholarships of $500 each will be given by the Iowa Conference Board of Church & society of the United Methodist Church. Awards will be presented Saturday evening, June 5th at Polk County Convention Center in Des Moines during Annual Conference.
Thank You Note
Click here to read this week’s Thank You Note from United Church of Faith in Keota.
PAUMACS Certification Institute
Our Certification Institute is being held July 18 – 23, 2010. The registration fee for the 201 Institute is $315.00*. This includes course materials, a continental breakfast Monday through Friday, a couple of lunches and dinners (Sunday & Thursday). Travel, room, additional meals and any other incidentals are the responsibility of each participant Arrangements have been made with Emory University for air-conditioned dormitory rooms at $38.00* for singles, per day and $30.00* per person, per day for doubles.
*These rates are as of November 2009.
Please see the brochure for more details.
The Academy for New Ministry Development
will be having their next session on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at Marion First UMC located at 1298 7th Avenue. Their phone number is
(319) 377-4856. For a map and directions, check out their website at www.fumcmarion.org. An agenda of the event is provided below.
We would like to invite all pastors and church leaders to attend the dinner, worship and presentation given by the host (teaching) church and Pastor Mike Morgan. This is a great opportunity for you to bring a team of people and experience what is happening at another church so that it stirs the discussion and fans the flames for your own congregation. We ask that anyone not currently part of the Academy for New Ministry Development pay for their own dinner ($9/person). To register, please contact Barb Mann as soon as possible at barb.mann@iaumc.org. Thank you.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Dinner provided by host church
6:00 pm – 6:20 pm Worship at host church
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Host church presentation
7:30 pm – 8:00 pm Q & A
Chad Jennings, Chair
Academy for New Ministry Development
FREED-UP FINANCIAL LIVING COURSE
FACILIATORS’ TRAINING
On Saturday, April 10th, Good$ense Ministries’ Freed-Up Financial Living curriculum will be offered for those wishing to serve as facilitators for the course in their church or community. This is a resource that will equip you in offering your people a Biblical approach to earning, giving, spending and debt.
Kevin Gowdy from the Iowa United Methodist Foundation will provide the training. He received his training in December of 2009 from the Willow Creek Association’s Good$ense Ministry Team.
You will be trained to lead this six-week course through personal involvement with the process and walking through the DVD and course book lessons.
The class will be held at First United Methodist Church of Cedar Falls, IA, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Foundation is charging only for the materials (which includes the six session DVD teaching tool and a participant’s guide) and the lunch. The cost is $45. For each additional participant from your church or parish the cost is $20 for the lunch and participant’s guide.
Register by e-mailing foundationadmin@iaumc.org . Just put “Freed-Up” in the subject line and in the e-mail include your name, address, church and e-mail. If registering more than one person from your church or parish, you may add everyone’s name in one e-mail. You’ll receive pre-course materials with your confirmation and instructions on payment options.
Registrations must be in by April 3, 2010.
The Freed-Up course that you will be learning to facilitate, has helped thousands of people in discovering effective tools and developing skills that help control personal finances. After completing the course, participants walk away with:
- A clear understanding of biblical financial principles
- Simple steps to apply those principles in day-to-day decision making
- A personalized spending plan in hand, knowledge on how to implement it and motivation to follow through
How to Get More Members
(Moving Members to Missionaries), with Jim Griffith
30% of all people are drawn into church via the “attraction model” – which leaves 70% who will never cross the threshold of your church doors no matter how fantastic your worship or music or youth ministries may be. So how will you reach this 70%? The answer requires finding ways to go to them.
That’s exactly the focus of one of the best training experiences you and your church can participate in, here in Iowa, in 2010. Jim Griffith, nationally known coach and trainer for new and turnaround churches, will lead us in the “How to Get More Members” (Moving Members to Missionaries) event, April 17-18, at the Iowa Conference Center, in Des Moines.
Here’s just some of what you will receive:
- You will be among a vital “can do” learning community of churches and church leaders who are ready to reach out in Christ to their communities.
- You will learn practical, hands-on skills and strategies necessary for your church to reach out to unserved/underserved populations within your mission field.
- You will participate with a team of folks from your church (pastor and at least three lay persons) so that together when you get home, you’ll be ready to “hit the ground running”.
- You will be able to participate because of the low cost – through your apportionment support, holding the registration fee down to only $300/church.
- You will be provided ongoing coaching after the workshop, to help you implement what you learned and get results.
- You will laugh. You will be inspired. You will come away ready to do ministry in a whole new exciting way.
This is a “first come, first serve” event, limited to the first 20 churches (already about half full). Be certain to get your registration in as soon as possible. Upon registration, information will be sent you to make a block of hotel rooms already reserved for you, at a reduced rate.
For more information, see the attached flyer or contact Scott Hibben, your Leadership Development Minister for evangelism and new ministry, at scott.hibben@iaumc.org /
515-974-8926.
United Methodist and Other News
YFU Teenagers from Around the World Eager to Meet American Families
It's spring time and most US students are looking forward to getting out of school. However, in over 60 other countries, YFU international students are confirming arrangements to come to the US to study for the 2010-2011 school year. While they prepare for this life changing experience, many thoughts cross their minds: Where in the US will I live? Who will be my family? Will I be accepted into my community? To help answer these questions we rely on the generosity of thousands of YFU host families and volunteers across the country.
Our host families come from in all shapes and sizes, nationalities, occupations, and religious backgrounds and live in cities, towns, and rural areas. What makes each exchange experience unique is that no family is like any other. Join us in welcoming this year's exchange students by becoming a YFU Host Family today. Continue reading for more stories from our international community and do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to host!
For more information and to fill out a host family Application visit www.YFU-USA.org, call 1.800.872.0200 or e-mail admissions@yfu.org.
UMCOR Update on Haiti Relief
Note of interest: In 2007, a VIM group from Iowa worked with the Bahamas Methodist Habitat for 2 weeks in Eleuthera. BMH was one of the first organizations to fly in relief supplies after the earthquake and have made a tremendous impact in ongoing help to the Haitian people.
UMCOR has begun implementation of a five-year work plan that contemplates three phases of assistance to Haiti: emergency, recovery and rehabilitation.
This week’s highlights include:
- Following the earthquake in Haiti many Haitians requiring medical care were evacuated to the US. Evacuees and those accompanying them have been granted humanitarian parole for 12 months, which may be extended. UMCOR Refugee Ministries is working with resettlement affiliates in Atlanta, Tampa, Philadelphia, New York and Boston to identify and offer temporary housing for those released from medical facilities.
- Bahamas Methodist Habitat, a US-based nonprofit organization, has been using its mission aircraft transportation services to support relief efforts in Haiti. Working with UMCOR Sager Brown, Bahamas Methodist Habitat transported health kits into Haiti.
- Anthony Jones, Emergency Consultant for UMCOR Haiti is attending UN cluster meetings and reports that farmers in the high impact quake zone have lost an estimated $50 million in homes, seeds, tools and equipment. According to Jones, “the reports provided by farmers indicate a clear picture of serious deterioration:
- The quality of meals has deteriorated – families have less to eat at meals or they are eating less frequently
- While few reported losing livestock in the quake 30% have sold livestock since then.
- 65% rural and 50% in urban communities reported being in debt
mid-week update is a ministry of the Communications Ministry Team
of the Iowa Annual Conference
