Around the Corner - February 13, 2020

JOYS & CONCERNS

Please include these prayer requests in your weekly church bulletin, in your prayers during your Sunday worship if you have a time of "pastoral prayer" and keep these pastors, their families and the Church families in your prayers throughout the week.

February 16

The Dunkirk First Church. Matt Slaven, his wife Rochelle and their son Ethan.

February 23

The East Randolph Church. Rev. Chuck Smith, his wife Kim and their family.

March 1

The Edwards Chapel and Watts Flats Churches. Pastor Warren VanDewark, his wife Diane and their family.

Please keep Pastor Christopher Rhodes in your prayers. Chris is hopitalized at Saint Vincent's Hospital in Erie, PA.

Also, pray for safe travel for DS Suzanne and 22 others who are on the Upper New York Wesley Heritage Tour with Bishop Mark Webb, February 11 through February 19.

The District office is closed February 13-17, 2020.

Regular office hours will resume

Tuesday, February 18.

THANK YOU!

To All Who Helped Make

the 6th Annual Learning Day a Success!

The 100+ people who participated in the event

Bemus Point UMC staff and volunteers for their hospitality
Worship leaders, including musicians Aron Cole and Amanda Hernes and Calli Wickes and Joe Wickes who provided technical support

Workshop leaders Bill Allen, Kristen Allen, Suzanne Block, Steve Crowell, Tim Phelps and Cate Stimson

District Leadership Team members Suzanne Allen, Susan Hardy, Rich Preston, Nettie Puleff, Dawn Quesenberry, Steve Taylor, Wes Tessey and Carrie Wolfe

If you didn't complete an evaluation at the event, it is available online at http://cornerstonedistrict.com/6th_annual_learning_day_evaluation_form or click here to download the form.

If you have ideas or suggestions for the 2021 Learning Day, please email [email protected], Attention DLT.

Special Dinner in Little Valley

Treat your Valentine to a Spaghetti and Meatball Dinner on Saturday, February 15, at Little Valley United Methodist Church, 109 Court St.

Dinner will be served from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and includes salad bar, roll, beverage and dessert. Homemade pies will be available for sale. Cost is a donation; proceeds will benefit the Little Valley Lions Club.

Message from Suzanne

The month of February reminds me that we are in the middle of winter. It is a struggle for me in this season of darkness. I am drawn to scripture, prayer as well as to the hymnal for times of reflection. The hymn, In the Bleak Midwinter, has a special place in my heart. Below are verses one and two:

1. In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

2. Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain; heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign. In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Yes, we are in the bleak midwinter. Snow falls and melts. The wind blows through the leafless trees. Temperatures fluctuate. Some days are gray. Some days have a brilliant blue sky with sunshine. Daylight is slowly increasing. Yet, in this season of winter the United Methodist church finds itself in a challenging time.

How do we move through the next days, weeks and months with General Conference 2020 three months away? Uncertainty, frustration, hurt, anxiety, change, brokenness, copious amounts of information and misinformation seem to be a part of our daily lives. The "what ifs" abound.

In this time of the bleak mid-winter we pray and we remember. We remember that Jesus is the center of all that we do and all that we are. We remember that we are beloved children of God. We remember that Jesus tells us not to worry. We remember we have work to do for the Kingdom. We remember the hope that comes with being a faithful follower of Jesus. We remember Jesus' words, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." --John 14:27

Cornerstone District, laity and clergy, we move through the next days, weeks and months by being the church. Keeping our focus on the mission of the church, making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Living in this hurting and divided world, remember all need to hear about the love of God found in Jesus. Remember there are people out there who need to hear they are beloved children of God. Remember the importance of building relationships wherever God places us. Remember to pray unceasingly, seeking God's will for us as a District, as a Conference, as The United Methodist Church.

Finally, from Ephesians 3:20, "To God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us, to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!"

With Grace and Hope,

Suzanne

Conference Leadership Team Prayer Initiative, Week Two

Pray,

Pray now,

Pray for the Others.

Love one another. The command echoes through Scripture and awakens us to life. Jesus intended for the world to verify the truth of his message by observing us in our love for one another and all God sends into our lives. (John 13:35, 17:22-23) In this season, there are momentous preparations being made for our United Methodist community to part, possibly to multiply in new ways. How we do that matters. Because praying is an expression of loving that is accessible to all, we, your Conference Leadership Team, call all who can sense the resonance of our voices to, "Pray with us!" Pray for the well being and faithfulness of those who think differently, whose path seems to diverge from your own. Pray for the ones with whom you are aligned, and for the ones who strive to lead in this poignantly sad and possibly exciting time. The world is watching how we treat one another.

Over the next 20 weeks, we will be sharing prayers designed to be used however the Spirit calls you to use them. If you are a worship leader and feel the urge to use them in worship, we encourage you to do so. If the Spirit places it on your heart to include these prayers in your daily devotions, publish them on your social media page, or jump off from their movement into your own inspiration, go with God and with our blessing. We will send a different prayer each week in hopes that as we pray together, our prayers will build a habit of caring that will see us through the difficult times to come.

This week's prayer is provided by Rev. Steven Taylor.

Almighty God, in Jesus' Name, we bow before you together in worship and praise because of Your love and grace in our lives. We hear the words of the angels who declared to your people, and to us, "Fear not!" In this season of unsettledness in the United Methodist Church, we confess that we bring unwanted, and sometimes hindering, sinful thoughts, actions, and fears with us to You, thinking that if we can just control a few more things or people, that we will move Your heart as we desire. Forgive us. Turn our hearts back to You and give us ears to hear again, "Fear not."

We know You are not done with any of us yet, even as You are allowing ground-shaking change to occur once again in Your Church. We grieve losses and celebrate what can be. Increase our trust in You and in the mission You have given us to be your hands and feet, and to reach a lost and broken world, those on every margin, and to confront every injustice. Remind us that the mission to make disciples for the transformation of the world won't change. Come, Holy Spirit, to guide every step and decision, heal our hearts, give us courage, and shine Your glory in us and around us to the world. Amen.

Click here to read about the authors of these prayers.

Opportunities for Prayer & Study

Thursday Bible Study (meets weekly), 8:30 a.m. at South Dayton Library, 17 Park St. Call Pattie Lukaszewski for more information, 716-296-1021

Jamestown Area Prayer Gathering, Thursday, February 13 & 20, 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Celoron UMC, 28 E. Livingston Ave.

Cornerstone District Prayer Gathering, Thursday, February 27, 12 noon to 1 p.m. at Christ UMC, 633 Linwood Ave., Olean.

The events listed are open to everyone! Please let the District office know if there are other opportunities for prayer & study in your church/area.

ONLY DAYS LEFT TO COMPLETE EZRA!

Please be mindful that the February 15 deadline to enter your church's 2019 statistics is fast approaching. Here is the link: https://ezra.gcfa.org/

A big Thank You to the churches who have submitted their statistics: Belfast, Brocton Tri-Church Parish, Camp Street, Charlotte Center, Chautauqua:Hurlbut, Cherry Creek-Leon, Conewango Valley, Dewittville-Hartfield, Dunkirk First, Falconer, Frewsburg:Wheeler Hill, Friends in Christ, Gerry, Hinsdale, Ischua, Kennedy First, Limestone, Machias, Olean:Christ, Olean:Trinity, Panama, Pleasant Valley, Ripley, South Dayton, South Ripley, Watts Flats, Wesley, West Valley:St. Paul's & Westfield First.

And to the churches who are in the process of completing their statistics: Ashville, Clymer, Cuba, Delevan, East Otto, East Randolph, Edwards Chapel, Forestville, Fredonia First, Frewsburg:Trinity, Friendship, Hamlet, Laona Emmanuel, Little Valley First, Magnolia and North Clymer - keep going !

Next week the deadline will be past and churches that have not entered their 2019 statistics will be listed. If you prefer not to be included on that list, please logon to ezra.gcfa.org TODAY!

Please remember to click on the Save box, especially after entering an explanation (in response to a yellow Warning). You must Save and Submit (button close to top of the screen) to complete the reports.

Questions/concerns about the reporting before you submit statistics should be addressed to Erica Wentworth, 315-898-2004 or [email protected].

Download the Latest Issue of the Bridge

The February Issue II of the Bridge is now available for download. It is available in both color and black & white formats. Click here to select the version you prefer and make copies as necessary.

This issue offers advice on how to prepare for General Conference 2020 this May.

NEW - Equalization Members Needed!

The 2020 session of the Upper New York Annual Conference is scheduled May 28-30 at The Oncenter in Syracuse, NY. Each year additional voting members to Annual Conference are needed to balance the number of non-clergy and clergy. To achieve this, each District is asked to select a predetermined number of extra non-clergy (Equalization Members) to vote on behalf of the District.

If you would like to serve in this capacity, please fill out the application and return it to the District office. DS Suzanne Block and District Lay Leader Rich Preston will review the applications and invite some to serve. All applicants will be notified following this process. Those invited to serve as equalization members may register upon receiving notification. Please do not register as a Cornerstone Equalization Member until you are notified.

Youth Equalization Members (ages 12 to 17) need to fill out an application in their own DISTRICT to be approved to attend. There is a Youth EQ designation on the online registration form (new this year). Youth EQ registration is $10; youth will be required to request housing as part of the registration process.

Registration will open February 28 and close May 1. The late registration fee is $75 this year.

Separate but pertaining to youth

Youth coordinators MUST register online with the regular registration form; they ALSO MUST email Betsy O'Flynn ([email protected]) to request housing in the Parkview. Request should include date of arrival, date of departure and a specific roommate request (if they have one). Housing requests MUST be made by the deadline or they will NOT be guaranteed a room.

This same applies to any Young Adult (ages 18 to 30) who wants to stay at Parkview: 1) Apply to serve as an EQ Member in your home District 2) Once you are notified, register online, then email Betsy O'Flynn ( [email protected] ) to request to be housed in Parkview.

Join UMM to Feed Our Vets

Upper New York United Methodist Men are sponsoring a mission to help hungry and homeless veterans. Churches are invited to join in this mission opportunity by collecting food at church. Please display a box from February 2-29 dedicated to Feed Our Vets.

Donations may be brought to 587 Main St., New York Mills, NY, between 8 and 9 a.m., Saturday, February 29 . To make other arrangements or for additional information, contact Mark Jones, 315-749-3700, or [email protected] . See the flyer about this tremendous mission and click here for a prayer for veterans .

INR Preaching Contest

The Upper New York Conference Commission on Religion and Race (CCORR) is welcoming submissions of sermons designed to call out and dismantle racism. A panel of judges will recognize the sermon that most effectively engages and motivates listeners to imagine and build a world free of racism. The Pastor, Lay Preacher, or Deacon preaching this sermon will be honored at Annual Conference. Excerpts of the sermon will be shared in a variety of ways. The individual who delivers the winning sermon will also be given collaborative access to our Conference staff to develop a promotional video for their church.

The deadline for sermon submission is February 29, 2020. Click here to learn what judges will be looking for in the videos and to find out how to submit the videos.

Get Ready to Embark: Destination God

OUTWARD! Youth Conference registration is open. Gather your youth and adult leaders and get ready to roll! This event takes place March 13-15 at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool and focuses on an outward expression of God's love. Youth groups will have an opportunity to get a taste for mission work by going on short excursions away from the hotel as well as have more opportunities to do things together and work toward creating a God-like community around them.

Cost is $70 per person and includes a T-shirt. Meals are on your own (not included). Overnight stay is $115 per room per night. Up to 5 people per room are allowed. A $10 charge for an additional roll-away bed applies, available on a first come, first served basis.

For more information/to register, click here.

Meet with UNY 2020 General Conference Delegates

The Upper New York (UNY) delegates, who are headed to General Conference from May 5-15, 2020, are welcoming small groups and individuals to come and speak with them on Saturday, March 14, at the UNY Conference Office in Liverpool, NY.

This is intended to be a day of listening for the UNY General Conference delegates. It's not a Question and Answer session; it's an opportunity for you to share your insights and concerns.

Individuals and small groups will be assigned to a 15-20 minute time slot.

If you would like to visit with the UNY 2020 General Conference Delegation, email Carmen Vianese, the head of the delegation, at [email protected] by March 7 and she will respond with your time slot.

Please Make Note of These Dates on Your Calendar!

Through February 15

The Ezra site ( www.ezra.gcfa.org) is open for entry of 2019 local church statistical data. Saturday, February 15, 2020 is the deadline for 2019 local church statistical data.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Report of the Trustees and Report of the Finance Committee are DUE in the District Office along with a Year-End Financial Report for 2019 (your church's format) and a 2020 Budget (your church's format)

Sunday, March 15, 2020

The 2019 Local Church Annual Financial Audit is DUE in the District Office.

April 19-25, 2020

Local Pastor Licensing School

Casowasco Camp & Retreat Center

Registration is now open! Click here to register for the 2020 UNY Local Pastors Licensing School. Or contact Rev. Caroline Simmons, [email protected].

May 28-30, 2020
11th Session of the Upper New York Annual Conference
The Oncenter, Syracuse, NY

Message from Mike Block, UNY Conference Disaster Response Coordinator

Did you know that the Upper New York Conference has a program to send people almost immediately into disaster areas to quickly, effectively and appropriately provide a caring, Christian presence to assist survivors in recovery? It's called ERT, which stands for Early Response Team . Early Responders are trained by UMCOR during an 8-hour session with all the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How answers to the typical questions willing volunteers ask when they feel called to provide help. What do we do? We listen to survivors, we hold trembling hands, we hand out bottles of water, and listen some more. We give hugs, we assure that people care and then we wash walls, remove wet carpet, wet wallboard, shovel mud, carry out ruined appliances, cover holes in roofs and make homes secure again. We don't do repairs - that happens later with rebuilding teams who often are the very same people on the Early Response Team.

If you'd like more information and/or training to become an Early Responder, please consider attending one of the upcoming Basic Early Response training event:

February 29 - North Chatham UMC, North Chatham, NY (near Albany). Follow this link for registration information: http://bit.ly/20ERTNChatham