Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019
Dear Reader,
The Brene Browns, Sheryl Sandbergs, Melinda Gates and Oprah Winfreys of our world talk - rightly - about the need to amplify the voices and work of our female colleagues in the work place. The more we amplify our ideas, the more ingrained they become in workplace culture.
So, I'm using this week's introduction to the UM Connector to amplify the work of Rev. Laura Jaquith Bartlett, our Conference Secretary, who moves mountains to complete our Conference Journal every year.
She set a deadline of having our digital files for the 2019 Conference Journal ready for me to put on our website and create our print-on-demand book (see article below) of Aug. 1. She handed the work over to me on July 30. Many other Conferences lag behind us when it comes to putting their journal together simply because, as one of my colleagues said, "We don't have a Laura."
And I'm sure you know by the "Rev" at the beginning of her name, being our Conference Secretary isn't the only work she does. So thank you, Laura (especially for posing for the photo below when I know you would have rather hidden under a rock).
With grace and gratitude,
Kristen Caldwell, interim communications director
CONFERENCE NEWS
Conference Journal available for print on demand
|
Get your hands on a paperback copy of the 2019 Conference Journal by ordering your own print-on-demand copy.
The 2019 Journal is available for purchase, at a discounted rate, through Lulu.com (linked here in the text).
The Oregon-Idaho Conference Journal features details on church structure, legislation, finances, and history -- as well as clergy, laity and institutional directories.
Please contact your District Administrative Assistants if you're having any trouble accessing and ordering your copy of the Journal through Lulu.com.
Awe and Wonder: We Make the Road by Walking
|
PREFACE: Bishop Elaine invited people to join her in reading and praying their way through We Make the Road by Walking, A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation – beginning last December with Chapter 14. If you haven’t begun, this is a great time to start at Chapter 1. If you have been journeying with McLaren since January, this is a fresh reminder of the purpose of the book study – to revive our connection and love for the beauty and life God called into being at Creation and to join Jesus in his quest for aliveness.
By Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky
The heavens are telling the glory of God. ———
Life is not boring! When I become bored, or so busy I don’t notice the abundance of life that hums everywhere, I know it’s time to stop, look, and listen.
Last month Clint and I were camped at the Coal Banks Landing and Campground on the Missouri River in north-central Montana. We went out of our way to get there by driving many miles on a dirt road to cross the Missouri River on the FREE! two-car cable ferry at Virgelle. On a mid-summer weeknight following region-wide thunderstorms, the campground was mostly empty.
The sunset that evening with a full moon rising, crickets chirping and a silent, relentless river flowing … flowing … flowing. About 3 AM, I imposed on Clint to accompany me to the outhouse. After fumbling with zippers, shoes, and flashlights, we finally emerged from our tent and started the long walk to our destination.
We were not on a mission of wonder. Our purpose was mundane. But we were swept into the wonder of the universe. The moon had set. The vast spray of the Milky Way pierced the remote darkness above, and the stars were shooting across and falling out of the sky at a giddy rate. It was the height of the Perseid Meteor Shower, and the heavens were telling the glory of God!
Read more of Bishop Elaine's week 40 Crossover to New Life reflection on the Greater NW Area website.
|
|
|
|
AROUND THE GNW AREA
PNW: Fowler United Methodist Church embraces African refugee congregation
as reported in the Spokesman-Review, Sept. 5
When Sue Robinson, lay minister at Fowler United Methodist Church, prayed for God to send children to their Sunday school; she said she couldn’t have possibly predicted how her prayer would be answered.
Likewise, when Marie Mwange prayed in a refugee camp in Uganda, and heard God tell her she would preach in a place her family had never been, she couldn’t have imagined it would be in a small aging church in Spokane, Washington.
But like the old hymn says, “God moves in a mysterious way.”
Mwange and her husband, Myani, had fled to Uganda from their native Democratic Republic of Congo to escape the violence that engulfed the war-torn nation.
Read more of this story in the Spokesman-Review newspaper out of Spokane, Wash.
Alaska Conference: Many Doors - Jewel Lake Parish
|
This new incarnation of JLP began in February of 1971. That first month, we opened our doors to provide space for community programs. Beginning with a scout troop, we have continued to open our doors. Today groups as diverse as Twelve Step programs and the Society for Creative Anachronism make use of our facilities, along with a scout group, quilters, and a Korean Presbyterian congregation.
Read more of this story on the Alaska Conference website.
AROUND THE GLOBE
African bishops oppose separation plans
|
Bishops in Africa have resolved not to support any proposed legislations or plans that may result in a split or dissolution of The United Methodist Church.
In a statement at the close of the Africa College of Bishops retreat Sept 2-6, the bishops said the church would continue in Africa after the 2020 General Conference.
“We do not support any legislation that calls for the dissolution of The United Methodist Church. We uphold our values as a connectional and worldwide church committed to ‘making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world’,” the bishops’ statement said.
President of the Africa College of Bishops, John K. Yambasu of Sierra Leone, said the bishops would not allow others to set the agenda for the church in Africa.
Read more of this story from United Methodist News Service.
Young people march for change in Angola
 |
Nearly a thousand young United Methodists took to the streets of Luanda recently to march against different ills that afflict the Angolan society.
Members of the church’s youth organization spoke out about domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, prostitution and other social justice issues.
“As young Methodists, we dream of being able to change history and revolutionize our present context,” said Artur Manuel, the group’s general youth director.
“We believe it is possible to build a new Angola where difference through trust, faithfulness, work and faith in God prevails.”
Read more of this story from United Methodist News Service.
Filipino Bishops back church unity
|
The Philippines Central Conference College of Bishops has signed a resolution “intensely” opposing dissolution of The United Methodist Church.
The bishops’ resolution recommended restructuring that would allow for regional autonomy to deal with divisive issues like homosexuality.
“From the beginning of the church in the New Testament, division and schism in the church are to be avoided and unity must be achieved and maintained,” the resolution reads.
Meeting Aug. 31 at United Methodist headquarters in Manila, the bishops agreed to submit the petition to General Conference.
Read more of this story from United Methodist News Service.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES
|
|
Attend Reconciling Ministries October gathering
The Oregon-Idaho Reconciling United Methodists will be holding "A Conversation about the future of the UMC" on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church (Cedar MIll -- 12755 NW Dogwood St., Portland, OR 97229).
Rev. Taylor Gould of LaGrande will be leading the discussion. There will be a potluck luncheon.
Email Bonnie Parr Philipson revbonnie@hotmail.com or call 503-547-3822.
Pre-retirement seminar scheduled in October
Presenters from Wespath, the Social Security Administration, Ernst and Young, and the Oregon-Idaho Conference benefits staff will be available during a pre-retirement seminar for clergy and laity participants in the retirement plans offered by Wespath. Spouses are also welcome to attend and learn how retirement can work for them. There is no fee for the seminar, but advance registration is required so that Wespath can prepare individualized projection information for those attending.
The seminar will be held in Portland on Tuesday, October 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (exact location TBD). Lunch will be provided for those attending.
Register online to reserve your seat.
If you have questions, contact Meg Kau at meg@umoi.org or Rev. Dan Wilson-Fey at dan@umoi.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
