Elizabeth River District
Men's Ministry E-News
June 6,2019
Good evening all,

Please join in prayer with men across the Virginia Conference for Bishop Lewis who had surgery at 3:00 pm today. The Board of Discipleship has organized a prayer vigil which is ongoing until 6:00 pm on Friday, June 7, for Bishop Lewis. If you would like to sign up to pray, please visit the  Bishop Lewis Prayer Vigil  website. Continued prayers for our Bishop are needed after the prayer vigil ends!


Love In Christ,

David Collins
ERDMM Team Leader
Volunteers needed from all Elizabeth River District churches to help with clean out!

The men & women of the Elizabeth River District have been involved in an ongoing project to help clean out the closed Park Place United Methodist Church in Norfolk. This coming Wednesday, June 12, we will have another work day beginning at 9:00 am . The project began with cleaning out closets & drawers & now the focus is getting the building cleaned out for sale. There will be a separate group of guys there who will be doing heavy lifting; the volunteers needed for Wednesday will not be doing heavy lifting.

Please prayerfully consider helping on Wednesday. If you can attend, please call me at (757) 434-9393 so we'll know that you are coming.

Sincerely,

David Collins
ERDMM Team Leader

Calling all fishermen ...

avid anglers & first timers!

The men of St. Andrew's UMC are sponsoring an adventurous half-day fishing trip on Saturday, June 8.

The experience is reasonably prices at $20 for kids & $38 for adults. The fishing trip will leave from Dockside Fishing Center at 7:00 am & return at noon. The center is located at 3311 Shore Drive in Virginia Beach. This trip is open to everyone!

You can register by contacting Jeff Fopma, (757) 427-2122. We hope to see you there!
The men of St. Andrew's UMC in Virginia Beach invite all men of our district to join them for breakfast every Tuesday morning. What started out as the men from St. Andrew's meeting for breakfast has grown to other men joining them & they now are inviting you to join them! Stop by the Village Inn every Tuesday from 6:00 am to 7:00 am for good Christian fellowship before work or your daily activities. Hope to see you there!
Village Inn
313 Independence Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
All God's Children Camp is a month away. Children, ages 7 to 12, with an incarcerated mother or father, spend a week at camp, participating in activities such as boating, swimming, hiking, archery, music, Bible study, and conflict resolution.

Our staff has been working hard through the winter to give our campers a wonderful experience of nature, outdoor activities, arts and crafts and learning that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. I am so pleased that our mentor participation has increased for 2019! So much so that our Camp Occohannock week is full! 
 
However, there are about 40 more spots that need to be filled for the other two weeks. Please consider joining us at Camp Chanco on the James located near the Richmond area! We would love to have you! The dates are June 16 - 21 or August 11 - 16 . Please contact Lori Smith for more information or for ways to get involved! Lori can be reached at (571) 245-9591 or  lttlelori@gmail.com .

Lori Smith
Director, All God's Children Camp
The Virginia Conference of 
The United Methodist Church
Male counselors needed for Camp Rainbow Connection!
Camp Rainbow Connection has two week long camps each summer. The dates this year are June 22 - 28 and July 27 - August 2 . Camp is held at Richard Bland College near Petersburg. Donations for camp scholarships are welcomed & may be sent in as soon as possible. Checks should be written to Camp Rainbow Connection and sent to Stacy Roberts, Camp Rainbow Connection Coordinator, P. O. Box 5606, Glen Allen, VA 23058.

If anyone is interested in being a counselor, please notify Ron Rumsey at (757) 692-9922 or Stacy at stacyroberts@vaumc.org . Male counselors are especially needed!
Annual Men's Breakfast is July 13
Mark your calendar for our annual District Men's Breakfast at St. Andrew's UMC in Virginia Beach. All men & ladies are welcome & encouraged to attend!

The breakfast begins @8:00 am & a love offering will be taken. Please contact Robert Caldwell prior to Wednesday, July 10, with the number of men attending from your church. Robert can be reached at (757) 420-7293.

Our guest speaker will be Rev. Harold White, Pastor of New Mission UMC on the Eastern Shore. Rev. White will be speaking on the topic of "A Transformative Environment!"

Please take some time to advertise our breakfast in your church. Below is a flyer to assist you in your promotion . We are hoping to have a great turnout again this year!
Dear God, once again we pause to give thanks to You for the lives we live and for the joy we have in the knowledge of Your infinite grace and love for us as shown to us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, we seek to carry out Your will in reaching out to the men of The Elizabeth River District. To provide them with the tools and opportunities they need to grow Your Heavenly Kingdom within their churches and communities. We pray that the desires of our hearts will be guided by the desires of Your heart.

Dear God, we lift up our upcoming family fishing event, our summer breakfast and speaker, Pastor White. We pray also for the conference Spiritual Advance in September – for the planning and final details that need to be put into place. We also pray for the Virginia Conference Annual Conference in just a few short weeks. For the work of the conference and for the selection of delegates to the 2020 General Conference – that they might be individuals who seek the guidance of Holy Spirit in determining the future direction of the United Methodist Church. Be with each one as they are in prayer for Your wisdom and direction.

Finally, we continue to life up our Bishop and pray for her full recovery and return to the office to which You had her appointed. We continue to lift our prayers in the sweetest name we know, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Johnnie Draughon
ERD Men's Ministry Prayer Advocate
Heart Havens/VA Conference UMM
2nd Annual Golf Tournament!
You are invited to participate in our second annual Heart Havens/VA Conference UMM Golf Tournament. This tournament is being sponsored by the Virginia Conference United Methodist Men and will support the ministries of Heart Havens, Inc.

The tourney begins with a shotgun start at 10:00 AM on Friday, September 27, 2019, at Honey Bee Golf Course. All women and men players are welcome to come and enjoy an afternoon of great golf, fun, & fellowship! Cost is $60 per individual or $200 per team.

Heart Havens empowers adults with a developmental disability to live full and vibrant lives with as much independence as possible. This non-profit ministry began in 1996 as an outreach of the Virginia Conference United Methodist Church’s Commission on Disabilities and has strong ties to the United Methodist Men.

You can register below or by contacting Steve Schaefer, (757) 285-8047.
Spiritual Advance is September 27 - 28, 2019!
Please mark your calendar now for the 2019 Spiritual Advance at Baylake UMC in Virginia Beach on September 27-28, 2019 . Our Resident Bishop Sharma Lewis and Rev. Dr. Kevin Watson of Emory University will be speaking on “Transforming Grace” . Please invite and encourage your friends to join you at the 2019 Spiritual Advance. Registration information will be available next summer. Watch for an offer to bring a friend and receive a prepaid registration and church Challenge. Word of mouth is the best way to promote the event and you are the ambassadors!
Our next Men's Ministry team meeting is June 9, 2019, at Community UMC in Virginia Beach at 4:00 pm, room 206. If you are interested in Men's Ministry, you are welcome to attend. If you have any questions, contact David Collins, Team Leader, (757) 434-9393.