An occasional briefing on timely items of interest to Minnesota United Methodists
02/13/09
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Please:
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CONTENTS:
Rethink Church to reach today’s seekers
Pray for Minnesota soldiers & families
Submit an action item to conference session
Nominate an award winner
Call for art submissions
An academy for active laypeople
Seeing our children in the face of a stranger
Immigration reform campaign
Free online courses
Worship Resources
UMCOR Updates
Mission service opportunity
Upcoming Events
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Rethink Church to reach today’s seekers
What if “church” were a verb? What if people met God through your church’s Monday-through-Saturday activity in the world? Those who are not part of a church—particularly young adults—are interested in making a difference and in a God who cares about the world. It’s time to Rethink Church. Learn more about Rethink Church, the successor to Igniting Ministry, on May 2, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at First UMC, 601 Veda Dr., Redwood Falls. National trainers will introduce the concept, spark your imaginations, and help you start an action plan. Learn more at rethinkchurch.org. Register at training.rethinkchurch.org. The fee is only $40 per church group—it may be the most affordable of this year’s Rethink Church events in Minnesota. Registration deadline is April 24. Larger groups from churches will not only save money, they stand the best chance of effectively leading their church. Bishop Dyck says that Rethink Church “is a challenge not only to believe, but to act and to live.” Questions? Contact Victoria Rebeck at (612) 230-6132.

Pray for Minnesota soldiers and their families
Chaplain John Morris asks Minnesota United Methodists to pray for the 1,100 soldiers and their families of the 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota Army National Guard, who are deploying now to serve in Iraq. The 34th Infantry Division will spend two months of training in Ft. Lewis, Wash., and then head to Iraq until February 2010. Pray for the families since this is an anxious and uncertain time--as well as a hectic one as they tie up loose ends in order to prepare for the deployment. Please pray also for Chaplains Morris, Behling, Rittmaster, and Lotzer and chaplain assistants MSG Johnson, SFC Jacobs, SGT Thorson, and SPC Groeneweg. And remember the soldiers to give up so much to serve their country. Follow the deployment here.

Submit an action item to conference session
If you have a proposal for action by the churches of the Minnesota Annual Conference toward reaching new people or cultivating spiritual vitality, submit it by March 1. Download the 2009 Conference Legislation form.

Nominate an award winner
Nominate lay and clergy United Methodists by April 15 for recognition in the following areas: Denman Evangelism Award, Francis Asbury Award Form for Fostering United Methodist Ministries in Higher Education, Jeanne Audrey Powers Award for Ecumenism, or Rural Church Award. The winners will be announced at annual conference session in St. Cloud in May. Download the forms by visiting “Conference Session.”

Call for art submissions for conference session
Beginning June 2009, Minnesota United Methodists will discover ways to reach new people and cultivate spiritual vitality by exploring the idea “Who is my neighbor?” The Sessions Action Team seeks original art by Minnesota UMs for use in worship, print, projection, and display at 2009 conference session. Encourage your church members to contribute an artwork, poem, prayer, or audio-visual work that reflects on the Good Samaritan parable (Luke 10:25-37). Use one of the one-hour Good Samaritan study sessions to get the creative juices flowing. Study sessions are available for adults, children, youth, and intergenerational groups. Then begin creating! Download the study sessions and the artwork submission form from “Forms and Documents.” (Or visit “Conference Session.”)

An academy for active laypeople
Theological education is not just for clergy. Active lay people also grow when they dig deeper into faith, theology, and church leadership. The Academy for Vital Christianity, offered by United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in partnership with the Minnesota Annual Conference, engages those who seek to develop their minds and faith without committing to a seminary degree. The next term of classes includes Bible 101 (applying faith and reason), Transforming Conflict (recognizing and managing destructive behaviors), and Essentials of Christian Education (leading a soundly organized faith formation program). Visit the academy web page.

Free online courses for UMs

• What Is Web Ministry: This self-directed, five-part online course provides foundational information and the biblical and theological basis for developing a web ministry for your local church.
• Four Areas of Focus: Discover how the UMC is focusing on four key areas of ministry. Take “Four Areas of Focus” (FAF101), a free, self-directed online course that explores emerging UM ministries in leadership development, church growth, ministry with the poor, and global health.

These are great for individual learning and as a foundation for group discussion. To learn more and register for these and other on-line courses for United Methodists, visit the UM Communications training web site.

Seeing our children in the face of a stranger
If we truly believed that everyone was our sister or brother, and the world was full of children who could be ours sons and daughters, our hearts would burst with grief over our world of bitter tears and stunning injustice, observes Brent Olson. But not caring isn’t a Christian option. He and his wife became interested in Ethiopia after they welcomed a grandchild from that nation. How do you offer genuine compassion in a world of overwhelming need? Read Olson’s article “The face of a stranger” under More News.

Immigration reform campaign
Leaders from diverse American faith communities are collaborating on a “Prayer, Renewal, and Action on Immigration” campaign. They aim to engage and educate people of faith on the immigration reform debate and will include over 100 prayer vigils across the country. The coalition will also present its platform on immigration, which has been signed by over 500 U.S. congregations. UM Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the Desert Southwest Conference said, “As the suffering of immigrants and their families grows every day, we as people of faith long to bring healing to them and this land. As with people of all faiths, United Methodists stand with our immigrant brothers and sisters.” Learn more at the coalition web site.

Worship Resources

• This week’s global prayer cycle: Pray for Christian sisters and brothers in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Netherlands this week. Read more about life and faith in these lands by visiting the World Council of Churches prayer cycle.
• What’s the point of worship? Do you have a theology of worship? Can you describe it? What are the theological foundations for your church’s worship, preaching, and music planning each week? Read Dan Dick’s reflections and join the lively conversation.

UMCOR Updates

• Palm Sunday fronds for the environment and labor: University of Minnesota, UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation are partnering on the Eco-Palm Project. Every year, churches purchase palm fronds to celebrate Palm Sunday. The Eco-Palm Project helps to sustain forestry, protect local jobs, and preserve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers. It ensures that palm harvesters in Guatemala and Mexico are earning a fair income for their labor. Place your order by March 2 at www.ecopalms.org or contact Josh Gamble at (612) 624-7418. Learn more and download a bulletin insert. 
• Warming refugees in Afghanistan: Janat Gul, a refugee living in Pakistan for many years, was happy to return to his village of Khak-e-Jabar, Afghanistan. But after the year’s first major snowfall, he and his family worried about how they would survive the cold winter. UMCOR helped the family by providing warm winter blankets made possible with funding support from U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. Warm blankets were distributed to 3,900 families in Khak-e-Jabar. As Gul stood in the cold waiting to receive his blankets, he said, “Thank you for all your help that you do in Khak-e-Jabar. Thank you that you give us two blankets!” Support this effort by giving to Afghanistan Emergency, UMCOR Advance #602225.
• World-changing chocolate: During Valentine’s Day week in the U.S., consumers are expected to spend more than $345 million on chocolate, benefiting large confection companies. When you buy fair-trade chocolate (any time of year) through UMCOR’s partner Equal Exchange, small-scale farmers in Latin America, Asia, and Africa benefit from a portion of your purchase and earn fair living wages. Buy fair-trade chocolate for a loved one (or yourself!) and at the same time help UMCOR meet its 100-Ton goal. The challenge ends on World Fair Trade Day, May 9. Download UMCOR’s 100-Ton Challenge poster and encourage your congregation to participate. By doing so, you help farmers earn fair living wages, send their children to school and empower their communities. Consider providing the chocolate (and fair-trade coffee) at church fellowship times. You can also give to UMCOR-SA&D, Advance #982188.
• Gaza humanitarian crisis: As the political turmoil in the Gaza strip continues, the humanitarian aid situation has deteriorated. More than 1,100 deaths have been reported, over 4,000 people are injured and about 20,000 people are displaced. UMCOR will provide food parcels, locally available medicine and psychosocial support to those most vulnerable, especially children who are trauma-stricken as the situation allows. Give to Middle East Emergency, UMCOR Advance #601740.

To support these ministries, write a check to your church and put the UMCOR Advance number on the check memo and the offering envelope. Visit UMCOR for information, including downloadable bulletin inserts, on the many UMCOR ministries. And please pray for those who are hungry, displaced, sick, or in poverty because of natural and human-made disasters, and for the workers who minister to them.

Mission service opportunity
Volunteers are sought to aid recovery from an ice storm that devastated Western Kentucky and northwest Tennessee, said Bill Carr, Memphis Conference coordinator of disaster response. Needed immediately are specialized heavy equipment early response teams (ERT), Volunteer in Mission teams able to move brush and downed limbs to the roadside, and Stephen Ministers who can offer victims a listening ear. Beginning Feb. 16, learn more by calling (877) 552-7337.

Upcoming Events

• Basic and Advanced Lay Speaking Course, Feb. 28: Meets 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Advent UMC, 3945 Lexington Ave. S., Eagan. Cost is $10, which includes break refreshments and materials. Bring a bag lunch, Bible, notebook, pen, open mind, a sharing spirit, and a searching heart. Register online by Feb. 23 .
• One Great Hour of Sharing, March 22: UM Committee on Relief (UMCOR) receives no shared ministry (apportionment) funds. Support necessary administrative work of UMCOR by giving generously to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. This enables 100 percent of donations to specific UMCOR projects to benefit those projects. Order your One Great Hour of Sharing resources today. Call 1 (888) 346-3862 (toll free) or visit the Special Sunday web site. The first 1000 churches to order One Great Hour of Sharing resources receive a 2009 UMCOR wall calendar. Be the change you want to see.
• Good $ense Budget workshop, March 26: the Minnesota UM Foundation is sponsoring this workshop at Rosemount UMC, 14770 Canada Ave. W, Rosemount, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., led by Dr. Richard Towner. Participants learn a biblical and practical approach to earning, giving, saving, spending, and getting out of debt. All church members, regardless of their financial situation, will learn practical information from the course. Contact Val Walker at (612) 230-3337 for more information. Groups of five or more from the same church may register at a discounted rate. To receive the discount, contact Loren Bergstedt or (612) 230-6125.

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Our Gospel Imperatives: Reach New People and Cultivate Spiritual Vitality
(the Great Commission and the Great Commandment)
Copyright 2009 Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
Minnesota Annual Conference congregations have permission to duplicate the contents herein. UMNS (umns.umc.org) material must include United Methodist News Service credit line.
Find previous issues of Northern Bytes under the More News.

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