Along with the United Methodist Church's Native American Comprehensive Plan and the International Native American Caucus, United Methodists in the Greater NW Area are encouraged to wear orange and advocate for 'justice for our children' on October 6 and every day. Kristina Gonzalez, director of innovation for an inclusive church on the GNW Area Innovation & Vitality (IV) Team offers her thoughts and helpful resources. | Read more on the GNW News site.

In a post for 'Tales of COVID' clergy wellness series, Sue Magrath cautions us not to rush forward too soon. Given the grief and trauma the past 18 months have surfaced, holding space for processing and discernment might serve is better. | Read more on the GNW News site.

Fall often brings with it cooler temperatures and, for churches, stewardship campaigns as members set a ministry vision for the coming year. Rev. David Nieda with Faith Foundation Northwest (formerly Northwest UM Foundation) offers a few words of advice and four local church examples from the GNW of stewardship resources. | Read more on the Faith Foundation Northwest website.

While donors 65 and older comprise the largest slice of charitable giving in the United States, Cesie Delve Scheuermann dives into new reports, which shows giving is up among all generations, specifically news that three out of four millennials have donated to charitable organizations during the pandemic. | Read more of Cesie's blog on the Oregon-Idaho Conference website.

CWS is hosting a call for clergy and judicatory/regional/conference leaders to hear how faith communities can partner with CWS to welcome our Afghan allies and friends. This call will provide a programmatic update on our Afghan Assistance and Placement Program as well as an advocacy update from CWS Advocacy Team. Attendees will also hear from the Faith Community Organizing Team and CWS' Director of Community Sponsorship and Engagement about how congregations can get involved in welcoming Afghans to their communities.

Attendees will leave this session with action items and resources to equip your congregation as you engage in welcoming Afghans to your community. CWS is a ministry partner of The UMC's General Board of Global Ministries. The webinar will run from 1 to 2:30 p.m. EST. | Register here to attend the webinar.

Program preaches that real men respect women

An eight-week course offered to United Methodist men contradicts the sexist notions that can lead to violence and harmful attitudes about women. Domestic violence in the U.S. went up 8.1% after lockdowns were ordered during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. | Read more of this story from UM News Service. COVID-19 challenges congregations, families With churches and schools in Zimbabwe forced to close doors at various times during the pandemic, finances and livelihoods have suffered. Clergy and students are among those feeling the impact. Grieving families also are struggling to find closure amid restrictions on funerals and other gatherings. | Read more of this story from UM News Service. Leading Sierra Leone after tragedy After the sudden death of Bishop John K. Yambasu of the Sierra Leone Conference in August 2020, Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr, retired, was named interim bishop in October of 2020. He reflects on the past year of transitional leadership and said he sees his role as a caregiver and strives to prepare the conference for a new episcopal leader in 2022. | Read more from UM News Service. RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES World Communion Sunday pastor + leader kit On Oct. 3, United Methodists will join Christians around the globe to recognize oneness in Christ and celebrate World Communion Sunday. In The United Methodist Church, donations to the World Communion Special Sunday support scholarships to equip U.S. students of color and international students to transform the church and their communities as both laity and clergy. | Learn more from Resource UMC. Registration is open now for LEAD 2022 Registration for LEAD 2022, which will be held Jan. 23-26 in San Diego, is now open. Founded in the Desert Southwest Conference in 2011, LEAD creates space for Christian leaders to be vulnerable and courageous, connects them around their hopes for the future, and equips them to bring those hopes into reality. For the first time, LEAD is offering a Young Adult Cohort for up to 12 young adults ages 21-30 and two to three mentors. | Learn more on the UMC LEAD website.  New online leader training helps churches begin or expand Stephen Ministry Stephen Ministries St. Louis is now training caring ministry leaders through a live, interactive online training experience called the Bridge Leader’s Training Course (BLTC). This event fully trains Stephen Leaders—the pastors, church staff, and lay leaders who begin and lead Stephen Ministry in their congregation. The Bridge Leader’s Training Course is delivered via Zoom to cohorts of twenty people, led by two members of Stephen Ministries’ teaching faculty. The course consists of ten sessions held twice weekly for five weeks or once weekly for ten weeks. | Learn more about this training and register for the classes by visiting Stephen Ministries' website.