April 9, 2015
Dear Reader,
Our Conference has done wonderful things to support the United Methodist Imagine No Malaria Campaign. We are past the half-way point to our $350,000 goal and churches continue to work toward local goals and include the fight to end death from malaria in their ministry.
Thank you for everything you are doing! It is making a difference.
April 25 is World Malaria Day. It’s another chance to join with others across the globe in the battle to save lives. The Imagine No Malaria team is offering resources to help you. They have developed a #BringChange campaign that you can use to encourage your church, and reach out through social media to invite the community to participate. Get stickers, donation boxes, and graphics to promote an event. And register it online to get more buzz out. On World Malaria Day, give generously, and share the message with the social media tag #BringChange!
Greg Nelson, Director of Communications
CONFERENCE NEWS
Legislative Assembly prepares to meet
While the 47th Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference session may still be over two months away, some people will be hard at work preparing this weekend. The members of the Legislative Assembly are already reading proposals for Annual Conference and getting ready to provide the first review.
Legislative Assembly is a representative sub-committee of the Annual Conference members that meets in advance to review and perfect legislative items. They will begin meeting on Sunday, April 12 at 2:00 p.m. and continue meeting through Monday, April 13. The assembly will make recommendations to the full Annual Conference session which meets June 11-13 in Salem Oregon. Annual Conference makes final decisions about all items.
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The 2014 Legislative Assembly
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On Sunday, petition sponsors will be offered a time to speak to the assembly. Then assembly members will discuss, debate, revise, and vote on their recommendations to the Annual Conference. The assembly meeting is an open process and guests are welcome to observe. The assembly is being held at Portland’s First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson, Portland, Oregon. Watch for pictures and updates on the conference’s Facebook page. You can also download a flyer with more information about legislative assembly and its schedule, and view or download the legislation that will be reviewed.
AROUND THE CONFERENCE
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Jeff and Paige Lowery
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Functional Monkeys CD
now available
After a successful uinding campaign to cover production costs, The Functional Monkeys CD to raise money for the Imagine No Malaria campaign is available for purchase and download. Get all the details, and watch a video, on the Greater NW Imagine No Malaria website.
AROUND THE GLOBE
Seminary leaders speak out on racism
When leaders of the 13 United Methodist seminaries in the United States met recently in Atlanta, they knew that events in Ferguson, Missouri and other cities needed to be part of their discussion. They took their lead from an open letter from another group of academic leaders titled, "Black Lives Matter".
They penned an open letter reaffirming their belief that black lives matter and challenging the church and academy to resist the evil of racism.
They end their letter saying, “We all share a renewed commitment to a more effective deployment of our graduates who are students of color, a greater diversification of our administrations, faculties, and student bodies, and a re-imagining of curricula that enables us to better address structural and systemic issues that have given rise to some of the current racial tensions.” Read the whole letter on Huffington Post.com
Cubans helping Cubans
In a new video, Greg Forrester, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Disaster Response executive, shares about a recent trip to Cuba, where he visited the ongoing work of rebuilding churches and homes devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. So far, more than 60 of 100 homes and 21 churches have been rebuilt or restored by Cuban volunteers with the support of UMCOR. Watch the video now to learn more.
Judicial Council to meet April 15-18
The Judicial Council of The United Methodist Church will meet April 15-18 in Columbus, Ohio. The court's docket includes decision requests on sexuality resolutions and reduced salary of an African bishop, with an oral hearing about committees on investigation. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story.
New top leader named for communications agency
Daniel Krause, a former corporate communications executive who is also a candidate for ordination, will take the helm of United Methodist Communications on June 8. Krause brings more than 11 years of management experience at Frontier Airlines, where he was most recently vice president of marketing and customer experience.
Since 2013, Krause has attended United Methodist Iliff School of Theology in Denver and is currently an elder candidate in the Rocky Mountain Conference. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story.
RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Mother’s Day offers chance to Imagine No Malaria
Mother’s day is a natural time to remember that pregnant women and children are especially at risk from malaria. If your church is still looking for a way to reach your Imagine No Malaria goal, Mother’s Day might be the time to get started.
There are resources to get your church started. Read about Grandmothers Against Malaria and download the Mother’s Day toolkit for bulletin inserts, giving cards, worship resources and more!
RETREAT and CAMPING CONNECTION
‘Will Work for Lunch’ at Collins Retreat Center
The Alton L. Collins Retreat Center has created a new opportunity for folks who love to hang out at Collins ... or who love to commune with nature ... or who love to work with their hands ... or who love to garden ... or who love to eat good food ... or who love to be in service to others! Any or all of those passions can be fed (literally) with a new program called, "Will Work For Lunch." In exchange for a morning or afternoon of volunteer work on any of a number of different projects at the retreat center, participants can sit down at noon in the lovely dining room to be served a delicious meal. There is a designated day each month, but it moves around to accommodate those who may have conflicts with one particular day. Visit the Collins website to download a flyer with all the dates and details, as well as a link for online registration, which enables the Center to match up volunteers with projects that suit their interests and skills.
COMMENTARY
By Patrick Scriven
… But it isn’t just church marketing that is to blame. As people living in a consumer culture, we are often guilty of looking to the church to deliver things we need to do for ourselves. …
