February 9, 2017
Dear Reader,
With one voice the bishops of the Western Jurisdiction are speaking out in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation.
United Methodist Women in North Carolina are speaking out against discrimination.
You and your church can learn to reach out to gender-nonconforming young people.
And is your church a home for boomers? We’re now the largest group in the church.
All this, and more, in today’s UM Connector.
Greg Nelson, Director of Communications
CONFERENCE NEWS
Western Bishops Speak out on Standing Rock
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Yesterday, the Bishops of the Western Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump expressing opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline and continuing support for the Standing Rock Sioux Nation.
A similar letter was sent in October to then President Barack Obama as the Army Corps of Engineers prepared to provide a required easement under Lake Oahe for the completion of the pipeline. In December, President Obama ordered a full environmental impact statement and asked the corps to propose alternate routes.
This letter from the WJ Bishops was sent a day after the Army Corps of Engineers gave notice that they would be granting the requested easement without any environment study. This change of course follows an executive order on the matter signed by President Trump during his first week in office.
Read the full letter from the Western Jurisdiction Bishops.
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AROUND THE CONFERENCE
Called to Love! training offered
Two sessions of the Called to Love! training will be offered in March. March 4 in Junction City, Oregon and March 12 in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
You and your church can help save lives! Come and find out how your warm welcome and acceptance can make all the difference to gender-nonconforming young people, adults and their families.
This practical workshop is being offered by our annual conference to help us focus our ministries with those who all too often experience rejection. “Called to Love!” will help you and your church be better informed and resource you to be more hospitable.
Are you wanting to learn more about gender to help your church be more welcoming?
Are you feeling called to open your heart and draw the circle just a bit wider?
Do you want to help provide a healthier and safer environment in your ministry setting?
Then this workshop is for you!! Register now and bring your pastor and other church leaders. Leaders for this event will be Revs. Jim and Bonnie Parr Philipson, retired Oregon-Idaho clergy.
Get details on the Junction City training. Get details on the Idaho Falls training.
Ethics training cancelled
The Keeping our Sacred Covenant workshops scheduled for March, 2017 has been cancelled. This was a new quadrennial training for the clergy requirement to attend one “Sexual Ethics, Abuse Prevention, and Healthy Boundaries” training each quadrennium. Other opportunities to fulfill this requirement, including on-line training, will be offered by the Board of Ordained Ministry during the quadrennium.
The 2017 version of the required annual online test of the Conference Clergy Sexual Ethics policy will be sent out in April. For more information contact Janet Ferrell at BOM@umoi.org.
Clear appointment openings
A list of churches that are open for appointment can be found on the Greater NW Area website. As appointments are announced and the appointment process unfolds, new clear openings will be added to the list. See the latest.
AROUND THE GLOBE
In the wake of ISIS
Rev. Paul Jeffrey and Iraqi children
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MOSUL, Iraq (UMNS) — Many residents took to the streets to celebrate when half the city was liberated from the control of the Islamic State, yet some Christians no longer see a future there. The Rev. Paul Jeffrey, a United Methodist missionary who went to Mosul as part of a 10-day reporting trip to war-weary Iraq, has the story for United Methodist News Service.
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Oregon-Idaho sends three to
Young Clergy Leadership Forum
This year's Young Clergy Forum welcomed 50 United Methodist leaders from across the connection for opportunities of shared ministry and fellowship. Shane Claiborne was the featured speaker. Ric Shewell, Adam Briddell and Adam Jenkins received conference young adult funds to attend. Read more on the Church and Society website.
Conferences to consider 5 constitutional amendments
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Annual conference voters will decide whether five amendments will become part of The United Methodist Church’s constitution. Read more in this United Methodist News Service story. (The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference will be June 14-17, 2017)
UMW members protest North Carolina law
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UMNS) — United Methodist Women staged a protest at Marshall Park in Charlotte this week to demand repeal of House Bill 2, popularly referred to as the “bathroom bill,” which mandates that people use the restroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificates. The bill also bans cities from raising minimum wage above the state minimums and eliminates state protections against racial and other forms of discrimination. Read more on the UMW website.
Online library open to global scholars
GENEVA (UMNS) — An online library of Methodist and Wesleyan resources is now available to scholars across the world through a joint project of the Methodist e-Academy and the Global Digital Library for Theology and Ecumenism. Read more on UMC.ORG.
RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Understanding Lent
Need some help explaining the meaning of Lent? Use the article Lent 101, prepared by The Upper Room, as a helpful way to talk about ashes, prayer and fasting, and about preparing for Easter Sunday. The article also includes 10 ideas for spiritual practices that offer promise for experiencing a meaningful Lenten season. Get Lent 101 at www.upperroom.org/lent101.
Guidelines booklets for church leaders
Get tools to help your church’s lay leaders. Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation 2017-2020 provides help in 26 ministry areas, including church leadership, as well as areas focused on nurture, outreach and witness. The booklets get new lay leaders off to a good start and serve as a reference resource for all lay leaders. The guidelines are available from the Cokesbury online store. Supplemental downloads are available from the Discipleship Ministries at www.ministryguidelines.org.
When Volunteers Aren't Working Out
Churches often put up with ineffective volunteers because they don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, says Lory Beth Huffman, a pastor in Western North Carolina. She describes how to help volunteers succeed, but also how to remove a dysfunctional volunteer with grace and honesty when necessary for the sake of fruitfulness in God's Kingdom. Read more on the Church Leadership website.
Resources to connect with Boomers
From Rev. Steve Ross, Director of Vital Church Project:
We who work with a variety of congregations frequently hear of their yearning for ways to connect with “young people.” While there is a lot to recommend doing the work that it takes for a congregation to engage with different generations, that desire for young folks very often ignores the fact that our congregations have generally struggled even to connect with their own generation. We live in a place where the majority of Baby Boomers (the primary generation now found in our churches) have no church, or even spiritual community. Those people are entering a stage of life where they have more time for community and more interest in spirituality than ever. Maybe you should be asking how you could be more effective in reaching the people with whom you share a lot of life experience. Here are some resources that could help you:
Webinars:
View one of several archived webinars on the Discipleship Ministries website
Books:
Boomer Spirituality: Seven Values for the Second Half of Life
By Craig Kennet Miller – Print and Kindle version available.
Boomer Spirituality: Study Guide
Seven lessons that are great for Bible Studies, leadership groups, and for Lenten study groups.
IN REMEMBRANCE
Jeanie Stoppel
October 19, 1930 – January 23, 2017
Retired pastor Jeanie Stoppel, died January 23, 2017. She is survived by her husband Ernest.
Pastor Stoppel served at the Reedsport, Vale and Cherry Park Churches in the Oregon-Idaho Conference. She retired in 2001.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, February 12, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church, 1090 Berntzen Road, Eugene, OR 97402. (541) 688-9271.
Friends may contact Ernest Stoppel at PO Box 275, Elmira, OR, 97437 for condolences or more information.
Elaine Stanovsky, Bishop
Dan Wilson-Fey, Conference Treasurer and Benefits Officer
