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.

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 the Rev. Harold Wheat.

 

"I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countrie s." (Zech. 10:9) According to God's will Christendom is a scattered people, scattered like seed "into all the kingdoms of the earth." (Deut. 28:25) (Bonhoeffer, 1954:18)

 

Gracious God, a scattering of your United Methodist people is being considered. By you, by us, or by those who oppose your church unaware of what they are doing, it's not yet clear. Leaning into the passing winds, we pause to recognize your transcendent grace and reaffirm our trust in your guiding Spirit. With the first followers of The Way of Christ we pray, "grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand to heal." (Acts 4:29-30) In whatever relational field we find ourselves, bless us to be healthy vessels of your love and grace so that we may be a blessing to those you send into our lives. We pray in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

 

Works Cited:

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Trans. John Doberstein, (Harper & Row, NY; 1954).

 

Scripture not re-quoted from Life Together is taken from the New Revised Standard Version copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the national Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Click here to read about the authors of these prayers.

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 6, 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.

If you need help with your church's login - this should be your church's GCFA number for both Username & Password - please call or email the District office. If you don't have access to a computer, Cathy is available to help with data entry but you must call to schedule.

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

The February Issue I 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 outlines the new Regional Superintendency Plan for Upper New York, effective July 1, 2020.

 

The Bridge is a communications tool designed for local churches to stay connected to each other and to the ministries taking place around the Upper New York Conference and The United Methodist Church. The newest volume will be listed at the top of the webpage, with older volumes below. The Bridge is designed to be handed out in worship, as a church bulletin insert, or as a standalone item. If you have questions or are unable to make copies, please contact [email protected].

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 . 

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.

Licensed Local Pastors - Are you are planning on attending COS for the Spring Weekend 2020 (March 27-28 & April 24-25) at the Conference Center? If you are, please fill out your registration form and get it to the District office to have the DS sign it so it can be forwarded to the Registrar. The deadline for registration is Friday, February 14. This is the date that Wesley Theological Seminary must receive the registration, NOT the date to get the form to the District office for Suzanne's signature.  

Please, DO NOT WAIT to the last minute to register. When a class is filled, Wesley closes the registration for that class and there is no wiggle room.

 

The courses being offered for this session are:

There is no reason to wait to the last minute because you don't need to send money with your registration. So, please sign up now!!

Online registration ( www.unyumc.org) will open February 28 and close May 1. Fees that cover meals and other amenities for Annual Conference are:

Active Clergy - $185

Lay Member -- $185

Retired Clergy - $95

Clergy on medical leave - $95

Equalization Member (at-large & District-appointed) - $95

Youth Equalization Member - $10 - NEW THIS YEAR

Clergy Spouse (more than one day) - $185

Visitor/Vendor (one day) - $65

Youth Visitor - $10

If you are interested in serving as an Equalization Member to Annual Conference, please click here for the Youth application and here for the Young Adult/Adult application.

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.

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.