Please keep these pastors, their families and the Church families in your prayers throughout the coming weeks.
June 6
South Dayton & Wesley UMCs
Pastor Wes Tessey, his wife Bernie and their family.
June 13
East Otto UMC
Missy Ulinger, her husband Timothy and their family.
June 20
Edwards Chapel & Watts Flats UMCs
Pastor Warren VanDewark, his wife Diane and their family.
We give thanks for the availability of COVID-19 vaccine in our area. May we continue to show respect for others by practicing good hygiene, wearing masks & social distancing.
To download the 2020-2021 District Prayer Calendar, click here.
Remember: District office mailing address is
PO Box 842
Jamestown, NY, 14702
Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb and the Upper New York Conference announce one ad interim appointments, four appointments, and one retirement pending approval of clergy session. View the full list of changes here.
GNTV will be hosting one final training session to help those attending this year's Annual Conference on June 16 beginning at 10 am. This training will be different than the previous pre-Conference trainings in that it focuses purely on the technical components of Annual Conference and you will use your actual personal ID number that will be sent to you from GNTV prior to the training.
This will be great practice to become accustomed to the format of Annual Conference, which begins on June 17. Click here at 10 am on June 16 to join the training.
If you attended an earlier pre-Conference training you will receive your ID to login approximately one week prior to the start of Annual Conference.
If you need help logging in once your receive your ID, contact the GNTV helpline by calling/texting 478-245-4042 or call toll-free 833-259-3505.
If you'd like to review the briefings given by Conference leaders during the May trainings, click here. Video briefings from the Conference Board of Pensions and Health Benefits, the Trustees, Equitable Compensation, and the Conference Council on Finance and Administration are available.
Safe Sanctuaries Zoom Training June 12
The Upper New York Annual Conference Team will be hosting our standard Basic Safe Sanctuaries training via ZOOM from 9 AM to 12:30 PM Saturday, June 12th .
This training is brought to you and paid for by your Upper New York Ministry Shares. This basic training is required for anyone working with children, youth and vulnerable adults as stated by the Minimum Standards. This training is a must no matter if you are meeting in-person or online.
If you have already taken this training you DO NOT need to take it again.
The training will follow the reformatted ZOOM curriculum developed by the Upper New York Annual Conference Safe Sanctuaries Team, educating those involved in ministries who work with children, youth and vulnerable adults on risks and prevention strategies related to abuse.
There will be a link to the handout that should be printed and available to you for the training.
You must REGISTER for the training. If you register and are no longer able to attend we ask that you let us know as soon as possible so we can fill your spot with someone else who is waiting to take the training.
The training will be facilitated by Safe Sanctuaries Certified Trainers.
If there are any questions please contact one of the co-chairs of the committee at safesanctuaries@unyumc.org
For more information on Safe Sanctuaries, and on background checks, click here.
The June issue 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. The stories that are featured in this particular Bridge can also be accessed from the Annual Conference section of the Upper New York (UNY) Conference website for easy copying and pasting for those who wish to electronically distribute news featured in the Bridge. Click here to access the UNY Conference Annual Conference section.
This issue focuses on what you need to know to be prepared for the 12th session of the UNY Annual Conference to be held virtually, June 17-19, 2021.
UNY United Methodist Historical Society meeting, 7:15 pm
June 14
Flag Day
June 16
LAST CHANCE! Pre-Conference Training Session
Click here at 10 am on June 16 to join the training.
June 17-19
12th Session of the Upper New York Annual Conference
June 20
Father's Day
Summer Begins
Historical Society Meeting
Learn how chaplains played an important role in the Civil War by attending a June 12 Zoom meeting of the UNY United Methodist Historical Society.
The Rev. Dr. Nancy Hale, pastor at Canton United Methodist Church and a Civil War reneactor, will be the presenter at 7:15 pm. Click here for more information and ways to connect to the session, by Zoom or telephone.
Updated COVID-19 Guidelines
On Wednesday May 19, New York adopted the CDC's updated guidance on masks and social distancing and many business capacity restrictions have been lifted.
What does this mean for Upper New York local churches? Keeping the safety of unvaccinated individuals in mind, UNY has answered many Frequently Asked Questions regarding these new guidelines as they relate to seating, singing, asking about vaccination status, and more. Click here for the latest COVID-19 FAQs.
LSM Classes Open to All
Please note the class facilitator and/or contact person and contact him/her with any questions. All classes listed at advanced LSM classes.
Spiritual Gifts
June 14 & 21, 6-9 pm; June 26, 9 am - 1 pm; and July 1, 6-9 pm
Click here for the June/July issue of the Media Resource Center newsletter!
Mission u 2021
Registration Available
There’s far more than here than meets the eye and we hope you’ll join us this summer for the 2021 Mission u! Hosted by the Upper New York United Methodist Women and United Methodist Church, this virtual study program will be presented Thursday evening, July 22, through Saturday afternoon, July 24.
The program will feature group worship and plenary sessions and the participant’s choice of three different study options. A special mission presentation will be offered by Hope House in Utica, N.Y.
Registration is $25, with a special fee of $15 for first-timers. Scholarships are available and the fee should not be an obstacle. Register by July 5; classes filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Mission u is a transformative education program that offers studies on several different topics and is open to everyone—not just women.
It's not too early to begin planning for your congregation's response to the annual Upper New York Conference collection drive for Red Bird Mission. Please share the attached letter from David Alexander, Coordinator and member of Endwell UMC.
If your church is willing to serve as a collection point for our District as Ripley UMC has done in past years, please email David, Dalexander4@stny.rr.com
The Upper New York Camp and Retreat Ministry Area is excited to welcome back campers and guests for summer programs at all five of our sites. Safety precautions (including limiting capacity) will be in place to ensure the safety of all, as life-long memories are made in our fun and supportive environments.
Click here for more information on the programs being offered this summer, which is also where you will find the link to register. We can’t wait to see you this summer!
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Upper New York Assistant Director of Vital Congregations for Spiritual Life, the Rev. Nancy Dibelius, has been providing videos of helpful spiritual practices to help deepen people’s relationship to God during this difficult time.
For 2021, Rev. Dibelius is zeroing in on spiritual disciplines. She explains that spiritual disciplines are a way to get away with Jesus, walk with Jesus, and learn from Jesus.
Two weeks ago, Rev. Dibeluis introduced the spiritual discipline of prayer by describing the centrality of prayer both in modern times and in Jesus’s time. Click here to watch that video. Last week, Rev. Dibelius focused on our petitions to God; click here to watch that video.
This week, Nancy’s video examines how to listen deeply for God in our lives. Click here to watch the video.
Explore the latest digital ministry resources, all created with local churches in mind.
This month, the People of God campaign is celebrating our commitment to strengthening our faith. Share this inspiring message with your congregation by downloading resources for social media, worship, websites and more, available in English and Spanish.
United Methodist Communications is offering Outreach Social free for one year to the first 250 United Methodist churches that sign up. This service provides over 3,000 graphics, a scheduler and reporting. You can even set up automated posts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for the entire year in a matter of minutes!
The Leveraging Communication online training course includes on-demand workshops and Q&A sessions facilitated by leaders in innovative church communications. You will learn to leverage a variety of communication tools, such as social media, digital ministry and news writing, to share your church’s story.
Whether your church is meeting in-person, online or both, Zoom is the perfect tool for expanding connections with your community. Local churches who are new to Zoom or who already have a month-to-month Zoom plan can be a part of United Methodist Communications’ group Zoom Enterprise-level web conferencing license through April 19, 2022!
Where was America's first annual conference held? Ask The UMC!
A FB Foyer
Not only are we well into the 21st century, but we're more than a year into a global pandemic. That means the first place people see your church might be on Facebook and not the front door.
