July 16, 2015

Dear Reader,

Have you been traveling this summer? So have Charles and John Wesley, or at least their “flat Wesley” versions. Learn more in this United Methodist Television video!

And if your travels will land you with a new phone number, address, or email address please let your district office know as soon as possible, data is being collected for the conference journal this month.

Greg Nelson, Director of Communications

CONFERENCE NEWS

Being Prepared

Twenty-one people, from all four districts of the Oregon-Idaho Conference, gathered to explore what the role of The United Methodist Church is in a disaster, and to learn skills for being part of the that response.

Early Response Teams and Volunteer in Mission are two programs the church has for responding to those in crisis. Both were part of the training provided in a partnership between the Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Conference and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) at Tigard United Methodist Church on Saturday.

If you couldn’t make it to the training but want to learn more about Emergency Response Teams and Volunteer in Mission, contact Dan Moseler (djmoseler@gmail.com) or Becky Platt (beckyplatt1@peoplepc.com).

AROUND THE CONFERENCE

Employment

Organist – Salem, Oregon. Trinity United Methodist is seeking an organist.
Bilingual Pastor – San Juan Puerto Rico. Union Church of San Juan, PR is seeking a bilingual pastor to serve a mainline church to serve English-speaking residents.

Learn more about these and other positions at www.umoi.org/classifieds.

AROUND THE GLOBE

United Methodists achieve milestones despite differences

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Different viewpoints over societal changes have led some to question whether the unity of The United Methodist Church will hold when its top legislative body meets in May 2016. But the lens of history shows that significant General Conference actions occur despite serious disagreements, says the Rev. Alfred T. Day III, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History. Read more of this United Methodist News Service story

Youth 2015 provides resources for future growth

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — Nearly 4,500 United Methodist young people attended Youth 2015 in Orlando, Florida, and their experiences will provide youth ministry video resources for years to come. Many youth expressed either hearing or confirming a call to ministry because of the gathering, and others requested to be baptized when they returned home. United Methodist Discipleship Ministries organized the event. Read more on the Discipleship resources website.

UMCMarket.org gets upgrade

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — The General Council on Finance and Administration, the denomination's finance agency, has relaunched the online shopping portal UMCMarket, using more advanced technology and faster delivery of donations. The site allows online shoppers to donate a percentage of what they spend back to their church or to the United Methodist ministry of their choice. Read the press release and visit UMCMarket.org to learn more.

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Ministry WITH The Poor* - Experiential Training

The Church for All People in Columbus, Ohio will host the 2015 Diversity Conference. The event will provide an opportunity to explore how multicultural ministry can take church community to the next level. Learn more on the event web page and by watching this video. The conference will be October 24-26, 2015.

Webinars help local church leaders
develop skills and understand roles

[This article had bad link to the website last week, so we are repeating it.]

The Leadership Ministries division of Discipleship Ministries has created a series of webinars to help local church leaders understand their roles and be effective in the church. There is no charge for the webinars. They are supported by World Service Fund giving.

Webinars coming in the next few weeks include: “Lay Leaders: What’s my job?,” "Children, Race and Reconciliation," " Planning an Annual Campaign," "Leadership development," " After School Programs," " Children’s Ministry," and more! Archives of past programs are also available. Learn more and register for upcoming webinars on the Discipleship Ministries website .

RETREAT and CAMPING CONNECTION

Sawtooth Camp Starts Season

Staff at Sawtooth Camp in Idaho report that summer is off to a great start with many groups experiencing the magic of Sawtoooth Camp.

The season started when 83 volunteers spent Memorial Day weekend at camp. Many large and small tasks were completed and their success was celebrated at each meal. Thanks have been offered to everyone for building, cleaning, cutting, digging and painting. Boy Scouts from Meridian and a mission team from Pocatello UMC joined in the preparations. Forty members of the Hupfer family traveled fron several states to visit their little cabins that were moved from Emma creek to Sawtooth camp last fall. The camp looked spectacular for the start of the season.