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November 20, 2014
 
Dear Reader,

Are you looking for a way to experience Advent in a personal way? Our friends at Rethink Church have an opportunity for you. In the spirit of Advent Calendars, where every day holds something new, they are offering a journey to Christmas together to experience a different kind of season.
 
Go to www.rethinkchurch.org/Advent, beginning November 30 for something new to do, read or experience on a journey to Christmas.
 
Thanksgiving Blessings from everyone on the conference staff to you and yours. May you travel safely, and not eat too much.
 
Greg Nelson, Director of Communications
 
Notes: There will be no UM Connector next week and the conference office will be closed Wednesday – Friday.


CONFERENCE NEWS

Creating Cultures of Congregational Generosity

 

The CCCG stewardship learning opportunity for local churches has been rescheduled as a two-day workshop, January 23 and 24 at Christ Church in Portland.
 
The Greater Northwest Area, in conjunction with the Tuell Center, is offering this nationally renowned interactive stewardship seminar demonstrating how pastors and ministry leaders can unearth and energize congregational generosity by exploring the significant and necessary steps to creating lasting cultural change within a congregation. All of the workshop leaders have been trained by the Lake Institute and are certified to present this material.
 
Trainers include Bill Mullette-Bauer who would be happy to discuss if this is the right training for a team from your church. Contact Bill at bill@umoi.org.
 
Register online now! The registration deadline is January 7, 2015. Churches are encouraged to bring a team that includes the pastor, a church leader from the Finance Committee, one from the Governing Board, along with a member with an “entrepreneurial spirit.” A minimum of three people per team is required. Pastor must register for their church. Get more details at www.umoi.org/stewardship.

Assignment Announcement

District Superintendent Lowell Greathouse has announced the lay assignments of Patricia Nance and Cara Osmin to Heppner United Methodist Church in Heppner, Oregon. Nance and Osmin have recently attended Certified Lay Ministry training. Rev. Steve Wolff, pastor at LaGande, will serve as the Supervising Pastor and maintain regular contact as they provide leadership.


AROUND THE CONFERENCE

Recent Voices
on the web:

Filipino-American new faith community

Responding to the needs of a growing immigrant population in the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington metropolitan areas, a new Filipino-American faith community has been on the rise since the spring of 2014. This new movement seeks to provide inspiring and life giving ministries that cross state lines and cultural divides, giving primary focus on Filipino-American United Methodists who seek to live out their faith, culture and paradigm shifts.
 
Philippine UMC Bishop, Pedro Torio Jr. is scheduled to visit, pray for and dialogue with the growing community at a Vespers Celebration on November 30 at First United Methodist Church of Vancouver (www.vanfumc.org). The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and will include a community potluck dinner. Bishop Torio has expressed excitement in connecting current and potential Filipino immigrants coming from the Philippines to this new faith community. This movement is under the auspices of the Pacific Northwest and Oregon-Idaho Conferences. For more information contact, Rev. Mark Galang at (206)802.5781) or pastor@beacon-umc.org; or Rev. David Valera at (206)234-7824 or dvalera@pnwumc.org. First United Methodist is located at 401 East 33rd Street, Vancouver, Washington.

Revitalizing Clergymates Support System

Living as a pastoral family has unique challenges. In the past the Clergymates organization has helped meet some of these unique challenges with a variety of support activities offered to spouses of ordained or appointed clergy.
 
For the purposes of starting a conversation on how best to meet future clergymate needs, a group is currently seeking contact information for spouses of clergy in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference. A clergy spouse for their purposes include men and women, who themselves are not ordained or appointed, but who live the life of a pastor's spouse. This includes spouses of all categories of Elders and Deacons, Local Pastors and Lay Persons Assigned.
 
The contact information will be used to seek input on how to move forward in new and innovative ways to reach out to and support Clergymates. Email addresses would be most helpful for this first step as we are creating a survey that will most easily be distributed via email. Other points of contact such as physical address, phone/text numbers, Facebook contact or any other information that is the preferred mode of communication will also be helpful.
 
Please send information to Laura Thompson-Aue at thompsonaue@mac.com, 1737 Birch Street, Forest Grove 97116, or (503)357-0201, or through Facebook.


AROUND THE GLOBE

Church mourns Ebola death of Sierra Leone surgeon

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The United Methodist Sierra Leone Conference is in shock over the death of Dr. Martin Salia from Ebola. Salia, who was the chief medical officer and only surgeon at United Methodist Kissy Hospital in Sierra Leone, died after he was airlifted to the United States for treatment. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story.

Kassig family remembers
hostage son's desire to help

INDIANAPOLIS (UMNS) — The United Methodist parents of the latest hostage executed by the Islamic State group are remembering his dedication to assisting those who have suffered during Syria's civil war. "We are heartbroken to learn that our son, Abdul-Rahman Peter Kassig, has lost his life as a result of his love for the Syrian people and his desire to ease their suffering," said Ed and Paula Kassig, members of Epworth United Methodist Church. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story.

Bishop: Pray while waiting for grand jury ruling

COLUMBIA, Mo. (UMNS) — "A number of United Methodist churches in St. Louis and across the Missouri conference are planning prayer vigils on the day the grand jury decision is announced in the case of a highly-publicized fatal shooting by police in nearby Ferguson," writes Bishop Robert Schnase. He urges United Methodists to pray, call upon officials to let people voice their frustrations peacefully and support churches working to be available to the community as places of respite. Read the statement on the Missouri Conference Website.

Conference call provides Ebola update and response

A Friday, November 21, conference call hosted by the General Board of Church and Society (GBCS) will focus on Ebola. Anyone is welcome to join the call on Ebola that discusses the current situation, the broader implications for action and advocacy and what churches and individuals can do to be involved.
Speakers will include:

  • Jefferson Knight, Human Rights Monitor for the Liberia Conference of The United Methodist Church and Board Member of General Board of Church & Society
  • Stephanie Ahlschwede, Pastor of South Gate United Methodist Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary, General Board of Church & Society

The Rev. Cynthia Abrams, director of GBCS's Health & Wholeness Programs, and Kristin Kumpf, director of Grassroots Organizing at GBCS, will moderate the discussion. RSVP online to help organizers know who will be on the call and how many to expect.

New churches rise; overall vitality dips
MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. (UMNS) — Providence United Methodist Church had 140 people at its first worship service. Six years later, the church has a weekly worship attendance of about 1,000 — enough to fill a middle school gym from floor to bleachers twice each Sunday. Providence is among successful new church starts highlighted in a report presented to the Council of Bishops. Church starts are up, but the percentage of United Methodist churches considered highly vital has dipped. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story and download the Bishops' vitality report.

UMKR announces boycott of settlement goods

United Methodist Kairos Response (UMKR) has announced a global boycott of six product lines produced in illegal Israeli settlements of the West Bank. These are: Ahava cosmetics, Keter plastic products, Royalife linens, Ram Quality toys, SodaStream drink machines, and Smart-Fab disposable fabrics. These products are falsely labeled “Made in Israel” and sold in the United States by stores as diverse as Williams Sonoma, Home Depot, and Toys R Us, according to UMKR, which adds that they often carry the stores’ own brand names.
 
The boycott campaign follows the United Methodist denomination’s call on all nations to prohibit imports of settlement goods. This call was part of a resolution adopted by the church at its General Conference in 2012. It follows many years of United Methodist resolutions condemning Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. You can learn more on the Kairos Response website.

Tax break for clergy housing allowance stands

CHICAGO (UMNS) — A longstanding tax exemption for clergy housing allowances will stand, thanks to a 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling. United Methodist leaders welcomed the decision but warned the issue of constitutionality likely will resurface. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story.


RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Oregon-Idaho Group Sponsors Holy Land Trip

The Holy Land task force is inviting clergy and lay people to participate in a study trip to Palestine/Israel next spring. The study tour, being planned in conjunction with the Methodist Liaison office in Jerusalem, will be February 23 – March 6, 2015. Depending upon the number of participants, the estimated cost of the trip will be about $3,000, including airfare.  Some scholarship assistance for clergy is available.
 
As many United Methodists are aware, the 2012 General Conference passed a resolution supporting a boycott of products made in illegal Israeli settlements (built on expropriated Palestinian land). While resolutions calling for boycott of Israeli goods and divestment from companies who profit from the occupation were defeated, it is anticipated that these resolutions will again be brought to the floor at the 2016 General Conference in Portland.
 
The task force believes that the best way to make educated decisions about these issues is to visit Palestine/Israel and see first-hand the situation “on the ground.” The February trip will include visits to traditional “holy sites” in Israel and Palestine as well as the opportunity to meet with concerned peace activists on both sides of the wall. Register online or learn more at gocamping.org. For further information contact Dee Poujade at traveling.mimi@gmail.com.

Higher Education scholarships and loans are available to members of United Methodist churches

The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry’s Spring Loan Application period opens December 11, and the Scholarship Application period for 2015-2016 opens January 5 and closes March 5. Visit www.gbhem.org/loans-and-scholarships for more information!
 
There are also scholarships available from the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference, for general undergraduate education, graduate school, women pursuing education for a church-related vocation, and persons in seminary. See www.umoi.org/scholarships for more information.  The applications for the Undergraduate Leadership Award, Ethnic Minority Leadership Award, and Conference Merit Award for the 2015-2016 school year are on the website now.  They are due no later than April 6, 2015.

Grants Available to Spark
Creative Vital Congregation Growth

Grants totaling $200,000 are now available from Discipleship Ministries to encourage local churches, annual conferences and central conferences to experiment with innovative and creative approaches to growing vital congregations.

The grants seek to spur quantifiable growth in worship attendance, professions of faith, small groups, mission engagement and missional giving.

The experimental funds are being offered to help any local church, annual conference or central conference develop new projects or events to inspire vital congregation growth.

The grant application deadline is Jan. 30, 2015. To obtain a grant application, contact Jeffrey Campbell, Director of Annual Conference Relationships at Discipleship Ministries, at jcampbell@gbod.org. Read the full announcement on the Discipleship Resources website.


IN REMEMBRANCE

Sandra Zickefoose
May 4, 1947 – November 7, 2014

Sandra Zickefoose, wife of retired Pastor Michael Cowan died November 7, 2014. She is survived by her husband, Michael; son, Timothy Zickefoose; daughter, Jessica Arone; step daughter, Hannah Passman; and four grandchildren.
 
Reverend Cowan and Mrs. Zickefoose served Katonah in the New York Conference; Willamette, Hughes Memorial/Woodlawn and Aloha in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference. He retired in 2012.
 
A private memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. November 23, 2014 in Portland. A public memorial service will be held December 7 at 2:00 p.m. at the Riviera United Methodist Church in Redondo Beach, California.
 
Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to The August Wilson Red Door Project. Friends may contact Michael Cowan at 8056 SW 4th, Portland, OR  97219.

Grant Hagiya, Bishop
Belinda Denicola, Conference Treasurer & Benefits Officer


COMMENTARY

Seven Spells about Scripture that the Church should stop casting

by Patrick Scriven

... The way many Christians treat the Bible is a terrible stumbling block for good, sensible people; folks who simply can’t believe that God would ask them to deny so much of what they know and have experienced. ...


 


This week in the
Annual Conference

Friday, November 21

Saturday, November 22

UMW Leadership Development Days

Advanced Lay Preaching: Session Three

Sunday, November 23

UMW Leadership Development Days

Wednesday, November 26

Conference Office closed

Thursday, November 27

Thanksgiving Day
Conference Office closed

Friday, November 28

Conference Office closed

Sunday, November 30

United Methodist Student Day
1st Sunday of Advent


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Greater NW Area gocamping.orgConference Journal

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Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference Conference Office: 1505 SW 18th Avenue Portland, OR 97201
503-228-7931 ~ 800-593-7539 ~ 503-226-4158 (fax)