Mohawk District E-newsletter for Churches and Pastors
July 15, 2020
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The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8 (ESV)
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DS on Renewal Leave:
Regional Superintendency
Ready to Assist
While Superintendent Rev. Abel
Roy is on Renewal Leave until September 15, there is coverage. Contact the Office, mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org,
315-797-1777, for questions
or to receive help.
July 1 began a new Upper
New York (UNY) Regional Superintendency Plan. The
current 12 Districts will be maintained. Each District is
part of one of three Regions.
This allows leadership and collaboration opportunities be-
tween Districts within each
Region. Every District has a
primary Superintendent.
To subscribe to the news-
letter, send us your email
address. To submit news
for this publication, send
it a minimum of eight
days in advance to:
District E-newsletters
To catch up on the latest,
past e-newsletters
are conveniently archived
on the Conference website at:
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District Prayer Focus
Week of July 19
Bernhards Bay UMC
and
Vienna UMC
Prayers Needed for
Healing - Diane Loan
Diane Loan, spouse of retired local pastor Frank Loan,
recently suffered a stroke.
She is in rehabilitation.
the 2020-21 Prayer Calendar
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From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., today, Wednesday, July 15, Tabernacle Baptist Church, 13 Clark Place, Utica, along with the NYS and Oneida County Departments of Health, The (Refugee) Center and Chobani will host a public "pop-up" COVID-19 test site. This is for EVERYONE! Fliers in other languages are available at:
No appointment is neces-sary. There will be giveaways &
we are told the wait to get test results should be only about 24 hours. While Oneida County’s published numbers are not so
high, in some groups, many
people are sick, and many have been exposed to the virus.
Please help us get the word out and get people to the test site!
This is for people of all ages with or without symptoms. Social distancing, mask-wearing, and sanitizing will abound!
Rev. Debbie Kelsey, Pastor
Tabernacle Baptist Church
Utica, NY
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Register now for fall HealthFlex Exchange ZOOM workshops
The Upper New York Conference Benefits Office will host multiple HealthFlex Exchange ZOOM workshops this fall. Participants will receive information about the plans and tools to help with plan choices. Starting for January 1, 2021, all eligible,
under 65
participants must choose their health, vision, and dental plans through the HealthFlex Exchange.
In the HeathFlex Exchange, participants are given a monthly allowance,
called a Premium Credit, with which to “shop” for their medical, dental, and vision plans. Premium Credits vary based on coverage tier (participant only, participant +1, and family).
Also, depending on the plan you elect, you will have the opportunity to contribute to either a Health Savings Account (HSA), Dependent Care
Account (DCA), or Medical Reimbursement Account (MRA). Two of the
plans come with Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) which include employer contributions.
HealthFlex Exchange offers a broad range of plan designs, including:
·
Six medical/pharmacy plans(Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois), most of which include a health savings account (HSA) or health reimbursement account (HRA) to help offset out-of-pocket expenses
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Three dental plans (Cigna)
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Three vision plans (Vision Service Plan)
All Six Medical Plans will still include:
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Preventative/wellness services covered at 100%, with no deductible.
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The same network providers and the same prescription drug formularies.
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All plans include vision exam core
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All plans include a deductible which must be met before insurance pays.
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Wellness programs, such as VirginPulse, Health Coaching, Employee
Assistance Program, MDLIve tele-medicine, Weight Watchers and others
Choosing your health plan is a big decision
. Wespath provides training and decision-support tools, like ALEX Benefits Counselor, to compare options.
****The HealthFlex Exchange is for ALL participants and/or dependents that are eligible for Conference health benefits AND are under 65.
Advance registration for the workshop a must. Deadline for registration is one week prior to the workshop you are signing up to attend.
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Red Bird Mission Collection
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The need at Red Bird Missionary Conference in Kentucky is even greater this year. The goal for 2020 is to transport at least 3,600 shoe boxes and other supplies to the Red Bird Mission the first week of December. We are asking participating churches to drop off their filled shoe boxes to one of two locations: the Upper New York Conference Center, located at 7481 Henry Clay Boulevard in Liverpool or the Endwell United Methodist Church, located at 3301 Watson Boulevard in Endwell between November 2nd and November 24th.
Click here
to read a letter about this year's efforts.
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Discover, Develop, Deploy Christ-Following Leaders
The Leadership Teams of each Upper New York Region have begun a new initiative called,
Discover, Develop, Deploy Christ-Following Leaders
.
The UNY Conference Operational Team, Leadership Team, and The Conference Communications Team created a fun model to measure progress as we journey toward reaching these goals - the model resembles a car dashboard.
Currently, the needle for churches that have a Disciple Making Plan/Pathway in place is set at 19% as of July 1, 2020. Because the Conference is just beginning this dashboard approach, the needles for the number of new disciples and Christ-Following Cabinet aim to reach the following goals by June 30, 2025:
- 100 percent of churches to have Disciple-Making Pathways/Plans (DMPs)
- To increase the number of new disciples made each year to 3,600 by June 30, 2025
- To discover 2,700 new potential Christ-following transformational lay and clergy leaders, to develop at least 1,800 of them in learning cohorts, and to deploy at least 900 of them as co-leaders in 450 or more churches
- And to have 50 percent of the churches in Upper New York to be considered highly vital by June 30, 2025
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Transformational leaders are both set at 0. The percentage of highly vital congregations is currently at 11 percent.
Click here
for an article that outlines this plan, provides factsheets for each of the four measurement criteria, and includes quick and easy forms for churches to fill out when they have a new disciple and/or when they identify a potential Christ-Following Transformational Leader.
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Paycheck Protection Program Continues - All Churches Should Apply
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed an extension for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application process to Aug. 8, 2020. This extension will allow any local church that has not yet applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to do so over the next five weeks. There is still more than $130 billion dollars in available funds remaining in the PPP. Any local church would qualify for a PPP loan as long as they have paid staff that are issued a W-2 at the end of the year. A church can request up to 2.5 times their average monthly salary in a PPP. A church would then have up to 24 weeks to spend the funds on qualifying expenses that would then get forgiven and converted to a grant after completing the appropriate forgiveness forms with your financial institution that issued the PPP loan.
The PPP is a blessing to local churches to help bridge the financial hardship caused from COVID-19. If your local church has seen a decrease in your monthly giving, do not have a large reserve to draw from and are struggling to meet your monthly obligations then, a PPP could help.
Click here
for additional information on the PPP program. If you need further assistance applying for the PPP, please contact Bob Flask, Conference Treasurer, at
bobflask@unyumc.org
.
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Paycheck Protection Program Continues - All Churches Should Apply
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed an extension for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) application process to Aug. 8, 2020. This extension will allow any local church that has not yet applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to do so over the next five weeks. There is still more than $130 billion dollars in available funds remaining in the PPP. Any local church would qualify for a PPP loan as long as they have paid staff that are issued a W-2 at the end of the year. A church can request up to 2.5 times their average monthly salary in a PPP. A church would then have up to 24 weeks to spend the funds on qualifying expenses that would then get forgiven and converted to a grant after completing the appropriate forgiveness forms with your financial institution that issued the PPP loan.
The PPP is a blessing to local churches to help bridge the financial hardship caused from COVID-19. If your local church has seen a decrease in your monthly giving, do not have a large reserve to draw from and are struggling to meet your monthly obligations then, a PPP could help.
Click here
for additional information on the PPP program. If you need further assistance applying for the PPP, please contact Bob Flask, Conference Treasurer, at
bobflask@unyumc.org
.
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Churches Continue to Fulfill
Requirements for Reopening
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For those who have not done so, please care for these tasks.
1.
The Upper New York Annual Conference has asked
every local church
on the district, whether it has decided to offer in-person worship at this time or not, to
complete a survey indicating its compliance
with the New York State requirements. This was due by
June 26th
. The District will contact churches who don't respond.
Click
here
to complete this form and indicate your congregation's compliance.
2
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Churches are required to make a plan and follow the guidelines as they begin to reopen. Your plan must be available when you are asked to provide it.
Churches must also complete the REQUIRED
Affirmation
NYS needs before you reopen for in-person activities/worship.
Find an overview of UNY Conference reopening guidelines
here
and some frequently asked questions on reopening
here
.
The New York State Guidelines are available online
here
.
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Background Check Reminder
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Remember Upper New York Safe Sanctuaries minimum standards require background checks every two years for those working with children, youth and vulnerable adults.
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Our insurance company, Brotherhood Insurance, partners with three companies to provide background screenings for their policyholders. They are:
- Safe Hiring Solutions
- C 4 Operations
- Protect My Ministry
Please visit the Brotherhood web site link above to review the detailed information.
Each offers many choices for the type of information for which you are looking.
You are still able to use Trusted Employees that was a partner with our former insurance company, Church Mutual, but you will not be receiving the Church Mutual discount so your rates will be higher.
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United Methodist Women Reading Program
While UMW District gatherings are not taking place, I want to encourage each UMW Unit to participate in the UMW Reading Program.
Reading Program books are divided into five categories (Education for Mission, Leadership Development, Nurturing for Community, Social Action and Spiritual Growth) and are available for people of all ages and reading levels. Access a description of the program and book lists for the current year and the previous 5 years at:
You may choose to purchase books from Amazon or Cokesbury or other resources. You may also check for the availability of the books through your local library (some libraries are offering curbside pick up of books at their site).
If there is anyone who you think would like to have this information, please contact me and I will also share the info with them.
If you would be interested in participating in a "zoom" book discussion group, let me know.
Praying that you are safe, healthy and content.
Ella Alsheimer
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The UNY Conference Commission on Religion and Race has released a statement about the recent acts of racial violence and the subsequent demonstrations. CCORR explains that these recent deaths represent more than a few bad apples among us--they are the result of a white supremacist system that dehumanizes people of color.
Click here
to read the full statement, including steps to take to help address the challenges before us.
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Resources for Responding to Systemic Racism
We must be prepared to minister to those that are hurting and to adequately address the issues that are confronting our nation.
Discipleship Ministries
has collected resources to help churches address the topics of racism, systemic oppression, violence and more.
Click
to view the resources.
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Mohawk District Office Staff is Available to District Churches
Please note that the Mohawk District is working offsite. However, if you
have an in-person need for assistance from your District Office , let us
know and we will see what is possible.
The Mohawk District Office staff
will be available via phone and email
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays/Wednesdays and Thursdays
generally.
Call the District 315-797-1777, or
In-person assistance may be available by appointment.
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Mohawk District Office
105 Genesee Street
New Hartford, NY 13413
315-797-1777
Please connect through email and telephone.
The office building is temporarily closed.
Office Hours:
Tues., Wed., Thurs., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m,
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