Mark your Calendars

Save the Dates!!

Small Group Church Conferences

Saturday: October 22nd; November 5th;November 12th

Sunday: Oct 30th; Nov 6th; Nov 13th; 

Weeknights: Oct 27th; Nov 1st; Nov 2nd; Nov 10th; Nov 16th

Bishop Webb's Retirement Open House

Saturday, November 19, 2022

1:00pm - 4:00pm

UNY Conference Office

NEW! Thoughts from our District Superintendent:

don’t wait

we more churches than we have pastors to serve those churches

As has previously been mentioned…we are rapidly moving toward a time much like the early days of the Methodist movement in the USA. We do not have enough pastors to pastor our churches. Certainly we have more systems and policies in place than we had 250 years ago…still…it is always a better thing to move forward on our own than to have to wait until the systems and policies step in. 

So…it might be time for less than full time churches to seek out other less than full time churches with whom to share ministry. Churches could still be their own unique community of faith...while getting to know other churches with whom they might share a pastor. Won’t it be better to reach out and get to know another church or 2 or 3…before the appointment season arrives and “imposes” what works in the system…but what might not work in the individual churches?

There is work to do here.  If we ask to be joined with another church or 2 in a 2 or 3 point appointment…what time will worship be in each of the churches? How will the finances be shared? How will our PPRCs work together? Can we get use to sharing our pastor?

There is more work here than this… but it would be far better to work out some of these things before May or June. There are no garuntees…but the system would appreciate help in putting churches into charges which have already gotten to know each other and genuinely look forward to working together with the same pastor. 

So…whether full time or part time… it might be time for each church to reach out to its neighbor UMCs to get to know each other…to explore worship, bible study, and future possibilities. In this process we could employ the L3 culture…loving, learning, leading. It would be great to get to know each other as we explore God’s love together. I would be outstanding to learn and grow together. It would be a joy in the system if we led the way. 

don’t wait!    Don’t wait!   DON’T WAIT!

Blessings,

Ted Anderson

District Superintendent

         NEW!   The Conference Archives needs your help!

We are inundated with boxes of church records to sort/save.

Please do YOUR part. Sort your records BEFORE you send to us. 

If your church is merging, your records go to the NEW entity. 

If your church is closing, there is a prescribed list of records to send

to the Archives. 

If your church is disaffiliating, there is a prescribed list to send. 

Please do no send anything else!

·        To know what the Discipline says about what to keep, click the link below.

o   https://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-discipline-2549-disposition-of-property-of-a-closed-local-church 

·        This link tells how long to keep some records.

o  http://s3.amazonaws.com/gcah.org/Resources/Guidelines_Publications/Closed-Local-Church-Records-Guidelines-2017.pdf

·        Another link is more specific about what to keep and how long. You may skip over the first few pages for in depth information.

o  http://s3.amazonaws.com/gcah.org/Resources/Guidelines_Publications/Local-ChurchSched-2017.pdf

·        Several years ago, the CAH created a video you can watch to see “What to Toss and What to Keep”. You can also find it on the UNY Archives and History website

o  https://vimeo.com/303744535/ab78413ba8

One of the actions CAH recommends: If the item is not on the required list, see if some other group would like it, such as the local historical society. Be especially careful that you send all baptism, membership, marriage, and confirmation records. We constantly get requests to locate these records. Sadly, we often strike out. This includes digital (thumb drive-saved) records!

YOU CAN ALSO HELP: We have no paid staff. We are a small, dedicated group of volunteers working a limited number of hours. 

We meet the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 1-4:00. 

Other Tuesday hours can be arranged.

The Conference Archives are at the Conference Center in Liverpool. 

Please volunteer. 

Call Susan Slenker, Volunteers Coordinator, at 315-516-5289. 

Thanks!

NEW!  Drop Off Dates for Red Bird Mission

Greetings.  

The Red Bird Mission project is underway and we are gearing up for a busy two months.  The Mission was spared from the flooding this past summer but they donated a lot of their supplies to the communities that were affected by the flooding.

The goal this year is to fill two 26-foot trucks with, hopefully, over 2,500 shoeboxes filled with items for women, men, girls and boys.  We are also looking for new blankets, new sheet sets, backpacks, and school supplies. 

A list of items needed can be found on the Endwell UMC web page under Mission.

We are very flexible with the pickups as long as we can do them during the week of November 7th and the week of November 14. We are setting aside

the week of November 21 as a catch up week, going to New Milford UMC in PA. on Friday November 25. We are hoping to load the two 26 foot trucks on Saturday, November 26 for the trip to the mission starting Monday,

November 28.

Wednesday, November 9

First Oneonta UMC

Calvary UMC

Pine Grove UMC, Albany

Monday, November 14

Spencerport UMC.            Lyons UMC,           Rush UMC

Honeoye Falls UMC,   Dansville UMC

Tuesday, November 15

Ripley UMC

Asbury UMC, Getzville

Wednesday, November 16

Adams UMC,           Christ UMC, Morovia

Watertown UMC,         Cortland First on Rt 222

Week of November 21. Conference Center

We are asking that all pickup sites provide us with a contact name and phone number so our crew can call when there are within a half hour of your site. We would also appreciate it if you can have some help available to help load the trucks. 

If you need any other information please contact me at: dave3836country@gmail.com or at 607-743-8955

Your help in this mission is greatly appreciated.

Dave

NEW! The Church Wellness Checkup Information

We believe a Vital Congregation is the body of Christ making and

engaging grace-filled

Christ Followers, who put faith into action.

A Vital Congregation…

Worships with passion

Nurtures and grows disciples

Engages in mission and outreach to their community

Gives generously to the mission and ministries of the church

The Church Wellness Checkup is a tool to help your congregation

become more faithful in

partnering with God in bringing the Kingdom of God to fruition.

CLICK HERE for a Flyer