June 9, 2010
Iowa Conference News
Thank You Note
Click here to read this week’s Thank You Note
Are you FIT? Study shows high obesity rate for clergy
Pastors can never stop at one dessert. Refuse to sample a pie, cake or cookie during a local church potluck and you risk offending a parishioner. That’s some of the anecdotal evidence that Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell has collected as research director of the Clergy Health Initiative, a program of Duke Divinity School. She also has some hard facts: United Methodist clergy in the state have an “alarming” prevalence of obesity and its related chronic diseases. Job stress seems to play a key role.
Click here to read more
Celebrate United Methodist Student Day
United Methodist Student Day, one of the six church-wide Special Sundays of the denomination, furnishes scholarships and loans for students attending United Methodist-related and other accredited colleges and universities. United Methodist Student Day is celebrated the last Sunday of November.
More than 9,000 students applied for United Methodist scholarships in 2009, according to Angella Current-Felder, executive director of the Office of Loans & Scholarships at GBHEM. However, due to the lack of funds, all students were not able to receive scholarships.
90% of Student Day collections go to GBHEM’s scholarship programs, while 10% is for student loans. Each United Methodist-related college gets money from the offering for scholarships, and each participating annual conference gets 10% of Student Day receipts to award to their own merit scholars.
Imagine No Malaria - Get involved
Imagine No Malaria continues to build momentum after the its official launch on April 25, 2010. Churches across the country are getting involved.
Here are 3 ways churches can support Imagine No Malaria:
- Know: Learn about this issue and share the news with your church family
- Act: Plan activities that help send a net to save a life. Continued support of Nothing But Nets is a critical part of Imagine No Malaria.
A $10 donation can be made by sending a text message with the word ‘malaria’ to 27722. (data rates may apply)
- Pray: Please keep families in Africa in your prayers. God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
For more info, visit ImagineNoMalaria.org.
United Methodist and Other News
TRANSITION IN TENNESSEE
June will be a month of transition from cleanup to rebuilding after historic floods in Tennessee damaged or destroyed homes and businesses last month. For those who can’t afford the costs of recovery, though, the wait goes on.
“West of Nashville, all the way to the Mississippi River—that’s 150 miles—the people live isolated, devastated, and proud. The money people donate will help us get to them and serve them,” said UMCOR Disaster Response Consultant Christy Smith.
Read more about the hoped for transition from relief to recovery in Tennessee and about hardships that still lie ahead for those affected by the flooding. A church bulletin insert and a PowerPoint slide are available for your use. To learn how you can supply much needed cleaning buckets, please click here.
Your gift to US Domestic Disaster Response, UMCOR Advance #901670, helps the most vulnerable people affected by the May floods to rebuild their homes and their lives. Please give generously.
Inspire youth with a summer ‘staycation’
Turn the “staycation” concept on its ear by hosting one for middle and high school students at your church or a nearby recreation area.
Everyone likes to get away from it all. Teens are no different. Create an entertaining, more grown-up vacation Bible school. Give young people a chance to get away, live independently for a few days, have fun and be inspired.
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mid-week update is a ministry of the Communications Ministry Team
of the Iowa Annual Conference
