August 24, 2010
Iowa Conference News
Colfax Flood Status
On Wednesday, August 11, 2010, at 4:30 am, the residents of Colfax, Iowa received a telephone call to evacuate. The voluntary evacuation was issued because the Skunk River was beginning to flood Colfax.
“By about 6 o’clock,” the Rev. Cindy Finn, Pastor of the Colfax First United Methodist Church, recalls, “the water had come up Division Street and was coming into the west side of Colfax. People were leaving their homes as quickly as possible. They didn’t have time to take belongings with them. They didn’t have time to take things out of their homes. They were only able to take themselves.”
“By Friday, August 13, the waters from Ames had come into Colfax and even more water came in over the levee. People who not had water ever before in their houses had water on that day.”
Click here to read more and view photos by Dr. Arthur McClanahan
Thank You Note
Mobile United Methodist Missionaries Property Open House
Saturday, August 28, 2010, 1:00 – 8:00 pm
Kirkville, on County T67 off us highway 63, behind Kirkville UMC.
Come and tour the grounds and buildings including the office
Come and stay as long as you like & meet other MUMMS supporters.
At 5:00 pm, there will be a hot dog roast for everyone to enjoy with great fellowship. Bring your lawn chairs.
UMVIM Team Leadership Training
October 16, 2010 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm,
Walnut Hills UMC,12321Hickman Road, Urbandale, IA 50323-1810.
A light lunch will be served for a free-will offering. UMVIM Training Manual cost is $25.00. Registration appreciated by October 11, 2010. Contact: Dan Houston and/or Jean Houston, 515- 432-1226 for registration form and information. Address: 1530 Quill Ave, Madrid IA 50156.
Registration Form is Attached above.
All Persons Applying For Ordination And Commissioning Please Note The Following Changes:
1. Send Medical Form to: Kae Tritle, 3011 Pinecrest Rd, Iowa City, IA 52245 (NEW address)
2. Send materials for the Registrar to: Patty LaGree, Director of Ministerial Services, 2301 Rittenhouse St., Des Moines, IA 50321.
Registration begins for 12th annual Iowa Latino Conference, hosted by UI
This fall, the University of Iowa will host the Strengthening and Valuing Latino Communities in Iowa Conference, which will focus on immigrant justice, education, undocumented students, health, violence prevention and Latino culture and identity. The conference will take place Oct. 15-16 in Iowa City.
Coordinated by a statewide planning committee and the UI School of Social Work in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the conference aims to explore the changing demographics and dynamics of Latino communities in Iowa, and to strengthen the responsiveness of policy makers, business leaders and community organizations. Celebrating its 12th year, the event has become a cherished gathering of Latinos and non-Latinos as a place to emphasize strengths of Latino culture and to provide networking opportunities for Latino leaders in Iowa.
Registration is under way for this year’s conference, themed “Latinos in Movement! Through Activism, Education and the Arts,” or “¡Latinos en Movimiento! A Través del Activismo, la Educación y el Arte.” Registration details and a schedule are available at http://www.iowalatinoconference.org, and continuing education certificates will be available for participants.
This year's events include:
--The Latino Youth Leadership Summit, Friday, Oct. 15, Iowa Memorial Union. Features 20 workshops on five tracks: education/careers, advocacy/immigration, health, arts/culture and personal/interpersonal. The summit serves more than 200 Latino junior and senior high school students from Iowa each year.
--The Latino Institute for Professional Development, Friday, Oct. 15, University Conference Center (UCC). Features 12 workshops on topics such as serving undocumented students, immigrant rights, cultural competency, employment discrimination and domestic violence.
--“Celebremos!: An Evening of Latino Performance Arts,” 7 p.m Friday, Oct. 15, Second Floor Ballroom, Iowa Memorial Union. Celebrated UI choreographers Eloy Barragan and Armando Duarte will present performance pieces. The evening also features performances by the National Ballet of Mexico, InterDance, ACE experiment, the Omeyocan Dance Company and the Latin American music group Calle Sur.
--The Statewide Latino Conference, Saturday, Oct. 16, Iowa City West High School. A full-day event including 21 workshops presented by educators, advocates, scholars and business leaders as well as special presentations and performances by members of the UI Department of Dance, local dance companies and the National Ballet of Mexico. The Iowa Commission on Latino Affairs will present awards to state leaders during the lunch hour. Saturday conference events will be interpreted for Spanish and English speakers.
At 9:00 am on Saturday, Oct. 16th at West High School, the keynote address will be presented by William Perez, associate professor of education at Claremont Graduate University and author of the acclaimed book, “We ARE American: Undocumented Students Pursuing the American Dream.” Perez’s research focuses on the social and psychological development of immigrant youth. He also studies the academic achievement and higher education access of Latino students. Perez is active in the national movement with and on behalf of undocumented students gaining access to higher education.
Worldmaking Worship: Sept 17-18 in Cedar Falls
Sept 17-18 will be a great weekend of creativity and passionate worship. Friday and Saturday at American Martyrs Retreat Center in Cedar Falls.
To support and inspire worship leaders, the Iowa Conference is offering a series of robust Friday-Saturday retreat events in 2010-1012 for clergy and laity.
Directed by worship leaders Richard and Trish Bruxvoort-Colligan, the series is designed with an emphasis in holistic, multi-sensory and experiential worship, liturgy as spiritual formation, and making use of the arts and artists of the community.
Six Worldmaking Worship events will be held at three different locations across the state to be accessible to all. Worship teams are encouraged to attend together.
If you have a passion for worship, or wish to cultivate such, Worldmaking Worship is for you.
See www.WorldmakingWorship.com for complete information.
Register now at the www.iaumc.org website!
United Methodist and Other News
Did you mention the Gulf Oil Spill in your Sermon?
“The Center for the Study of Information and Religion (CSIR), Kent State University, is conducting research regarding how clergy members around the country addressed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident in the Gulf of Mexico in their sermons. Findings will be presented at the 4th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture in December 2010. The conference theme is “Living on the Edge”.
CSIR invites and encourages clergy members who mentioned the Gulf oil spill in one or more sermons to take an online and anonymous survey that consists of 16 questions and should take less than 30 minutes to complete. To participate, please send an email message to Dr. Daniel Roland at droland1@kent.edu indicating your willingness to participate in the research project. You will receive a reply that includes a link to the survey website and the necessary password.
CSIR is a research center hosted by the School of Library and Information Science (www.slis.kent.edu <http://www.slis.kent.edu> ). For more information CSIR, please visit our website at http://csir.slis.kent.edu/”
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West Ohio has invited the rest of the Jurisdiction to join them at Widewater Camp for a Jurisdiction-wide Disaster Response Academy on Oct 3-6, 2010!
You will be able to pick from 4 major training classes:
Track I (Basic Early Response Team (ERT) - 2 day class)
Track II (ERT, Train the Trainer - 2 day class)
Track III (Connecting Neighbors Leadership - 2 day class)
Track IV (Caring for Children-3 day class)
For those opting for Tracks I - III above, choose another class on Wednesday:
-UMCOR Basic Disaster Ministry
-On-Site Management & Volunteer Management
-Earth Stewardship and Disaster Response
-Conference Disaster Leadership Seminar
Please click on the link below to make your payment. Once you have registered your intent to attend, please fill out the class registration form found on the West Ohio Webpage.
Mail the completed form and your check to the UMVIM-NCJ office (UMVIM-NCJ, 928 4th St #2, Brookings, SD 57006) OR if you paid online, you may email your completed form to umvim-ncj@brookings.net.
This Academy is directed at any United Methodist in the North Central Jurisdiction that would like to be involved in the Disaster Response Ministry of their conference - whether helping through Early Response Teams, nurturing neighborhoods, providing quality child care after a disaster occurs, and more!
Details on what each class covers and the event schedule can be found on the West Ohio Website. If you have questions, do not hesitate to write or call the UMVIM-NCJ office!
Thank you for your interest in this vital ministry of the United Methodist Church!
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United Methodist Rural Fellowship, United Methodism’s advocate for town and country ministry, will hold its annual legislative consultation November 9-12, in Tampa, FL.
Laity and clergy are invited to the working consultation to draft legislation in support of town and country ministry for the up-coming 2012 General Conference.
Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk will host the three-day event, which also includes a fund-raising auction and a general business meeting. Cost for double occupancy, four meals, and snacks is $365. (Commuter cost is $250.)
More information is available at www.umrf.org. Registration may be done online at lyle@hintoncenter.org or by contacting Hinton Rural Life Center, POB 27, Hayesville, NC 28904.
Pakistan Floods Threaten Millions of Children
For some 3.5 million children, Pakistan’s worst floods in 80 years could have deadly consequences.
That’s the United Nations’ estimate of how many are at risk for diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and other water-borne diseases.
In response, relief workers like Matt Capobianco, director of emergency programs for GlobalMedic, are on the front lines of the disaster, trying to provide clean drinking water to those displaced by the floodwaters.
For more information, click here.
Church growth often requires starting small
ROSCOE, Ill. (UMNS) — Several recent studies support the idea that growing congregations tend to offer more small groups than churches that are losing members. Roscoe United Methodist Church started forming small groups more intentionally about a decade ago, said the Rev. Don Dexheimer, the church's outreach coordinator. Since then, the church has doubled its membership to 1,100 people. “I can’t tell you that all the growth has come because of small groups," he said. "I can tell you that the small groups have been a significant factor.” Click here for more of this story.
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Discipleship board plans to start 650 churches
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Board of Discipleship has set a goal to start 650 churches in the U.S. in partnership with annual (regional) conferences by the end of 2012. The agency plans to train 1,000 new church planters to reach its goal. The agency’s board of directors, meeting Aug. 4-7, recognized the planting of 125 churches this year. More information about starting United Methodist congregations is available here.
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mid-week update is a ministry of the Communications Ministry Team
of the Iowa Annual Conference
