News

March 15, 2019 – In a ruling with major implications for clergy across the United States, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued its decision holding that the clergy housing allowance exclusion in federal tax law is constitutional. This appeals court decision reverses the lower court’s decision in which the housing allowance exclusion was ruled unconstitutional. It is unknown at this time whether the case will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and if so, whether the Supreme Court will ...

Need a last-minute image for a Facebook post? Lack the time, tools or know-how to create your own?  Good news, United Methodist Communications has done the work for you! Browse through this collection of free seasonal and thematic graphics below.  They've gathered a collection of graphics for the most important seasons of the church.  Use these memes on Facebook and other social media outlets to promote your Holy Week and Easter services.    Download image (The image will be opened in a new ...

By Sam Hodges, UMNS, with additions from Iowa Conference Communications. Photos by Kathleen Barry, UMNS. Communication is a varied and vital part of any General Conference, and that’s emphatically true for the special called session of General Conference set for February 23-26 in St. Louis. The Daily Christian Advocate. Livestreaming. News reports, press conferences, podcasts, and language interpretation. These and other communication methods will help tell the story, and in some cases allow ...

Dear Friends,             At a meeting of the North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops last week, we spent time in prayer for the 2019 General Conference in St. Louis from February 23-26. Knowing that whatever decisions are made will impact United Methodists around the world, we want to offer the attached letter as encouragement and gift to the clergy and laity in our local churches.             Every day United Methodists are changing the world. Every day people hear the gospel for the ...

Wendy Lubkeman will become the Executive Secretary to the Cabinet.   In that role, she will provide a wide range of administrative support for the Appointive Cabinet.  “The Executive Secretary will meet with the Cabinet, take minutes, track the appointment process, manage the moving process, and coordinate the district administrative assistants,” said Dr. Harlan Gillespie, Assistant to the Bishop.  “Wendy will also closely collaborate with the Episcopal Office, Communications, and Administrative...

Ingathering continues tradition of compassion and connection By Arthur McClanahan   Thanksgiving Ingathering 2018 continued the tradition of making a difference both locally and globally.  Marking its 39th year, the five-site experience enabled Iowa’s United Methodist faith communities to “share from our abundance…acting justly and reflecting our desire to serve God.” Click here to watch a video report (2:44) Combining the enthusiasm and energy of youth with a faith-nurtured understanding that ...

The Communications Office is excited to announce a new feature to make this year's annual conference easier to navigate: the 2018 Iowa Annual Conference Sched App. The Sched App (short for schedule) contains everything you need to know about AC2018, from workshops and meal break events to worship times and offerings. You can even create your own agenda to quickly look up the things that are most important to you. Sched also has links to important documents like the Pre-Conference Manual, ...

The Communications Ministry Team of the Iowa Conference was recognized for its work during the awards gala of the 2018 gathering of the United Methodist Association of Communicators.  The event, held in Philadelphia, brought together denominational communicators from across the country as well as Nigerian Episcopal Area communicator, Rev. Ande Emmanuel.  (Ande was ordained as an Elder in the UMC during an Iowa Annual Conference session.)   Associate Director of Communications, Liz Winders, ...

Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the deaths yesterday of 26 children, women, and men at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Twenty others were wounded, many critically, in the largest mass shooting in Texas history. Children lost parents, multiple members of extended families were killed, and the 14-year-old daughter of the pastor died at the hands of shooter Devin Patrick Kelley. Four percent of the town’s population was killed in the shooting. In the midst of this senseless and ...

Iowa Conference Conversations podcast is now available on both iTunes and Google Play music.  “Thanks to the extraordinary work of Wil Ranney, ‘Conversations’ will be more widely available and something you can subscribe to,” said Dr. Arthur McClanahan, the Conference’s Director of Communications. Some 63 “Conversations” are posted, as of October 17, 2018.  The episodes range from brief three-minute dialogues to ten-minute interviews, to a few extended conversations and presentations.  Most ...

The Laity Address for the 2017 Annual Conference Session opened with the hymn O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing.   Conference Lay Leader Margaret Borgen told 2017 Annual Conference Session attendees in her address that John Wesley’s writing on being altogether Christian has relevance to the Conference Session goal of being difference makers.   “The Almost Christian sermon is a very long sermon in which Wesley ultimately asks rhetorically “What it is to be 'altogether a Christian?'” Borgen said. ...

By: Lynn Calvert, Iowa Conference UMW President It all started with an idea….a dream really. How to get women and youth of all ages to participate in an ACTION project, to understand that United Methodist Women are relevant at all ages, to learn from each other and appreciate all of God’s gifts to each of us.  To demonstrate Faith, Hope and Love in Action!! The plan became clear to offer an Intergenerational Mission Trip in 2017 for individuals in 6th grade and older.  On March 11, 2017, a ...

Iowa Conference communicators garner awards   The Communications Ministry Team of the Iowa Conference received  several awards at the 2017 gathering of the United Methodist Association of Communicators (UMAC).  Nods were given to electronic media and The Reporter during the event, held in New Orleans March 22-24.   Best in Class for digital publications was presented to Liz Winders and Dr. Art McClanahan for The Reporter.  It also received a first place certificate for the Division A, Category B...

IRMS Marks 31 years of service   Iowa Religious Media Services, an ecumenical resource cooperative, marked 31 yeas of service to communities of faith across Iowa during its annual meeting.  “Connecting the Dots” was the theme of the event held at the Iowa Conference Center on February 15.   Click to see an album of images from the IRMS gathering Bishop Laurie Haller was among the denominational leaders who signed the covenant of support for IRMS, which provides a “comprehensive, ecumenical ...

The Iowa Conference is home to 780 congregations, 170,000 members, and countless stories of all types of ministry. Roxanne Strike is here to tell those stories.   Roxanne joined the Iowa Conference’s Communications Team as the features writer and social media strategist late in 2016 and has been an invaluable team member ever since. While she’s relatively new to the Iowa Conference’s Communications Team, she’s anything but new to the United Methodist Church.   Click here to listen to the ...

“I think we saw this as a historic moment and a critical moment for the bishops to speak to the church and to the world and to our General Conference,” says Bishop Julius Trimble of the request that came from the plenary floor of the General Conference asking the Council of Bishops to offer a statement about leadership, unity, and the future of the church, following a great deal of debate over legislation on the issue of human sexuality. Click here to listen to the podcast with Bishop Trimble ...

“I am in Portland because I believe God has called me for this time,” asserts Lindsay Drake, who is a second reserve lay member of the Iowa delegation to the General Conference and one of the younger people at the conference. “We may be the minority here, but we are well represented and we all have a voice. I am encouraged by the number of young people that feel called to be here.” Young, Dedicated, and Ready to Serve One of the earliest events that she attended at this General Conference was ...

Share the exciting things that are happening in your congregation and the ways you’re making a difference in your community.  Send the video you’ve posted on YouTube on on a social media site and we’ll add them to the new Your Video Stories library.  You’ll inspire others and may just help them to discover new ways to have a terrific impact.   Here are a few topics/themes that you might want to consider in your video storytelling: Community service New ways to reach your community Missions New...

An expressed desire to be able to interact with Conference leaders and people in mission and being partners in ministry marked the conversation at the second of the fall 2015 “town hall” meetings.   A modest sized group of more than a dozen lay and clergy gathered at Eldridge United Methodist Church for the Thursday evening “town hall,” which was the second in the series of 10 scheduled for November. Conference Treasurer Terry Montgomery and Director of Communications Dr. Art McClanahan, lay and...