Mohawk District E-newsletter for Churches and Pastors December 12, 2018

Advent Blessings Mohawk District Share this Mohawk District E-Newsletter as a resource to help the work of promoting the missions, ministries and events of the Mohawk District. Utilize it with your church's staff, teams and organizations. Anyone can subscribe to have the E-news sent right to your own inbox. Just send us your email address. If you want to include news in this publication, send it a minimum of eight days in advance to: mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org   To catch up on the latest, past e-newsletters are conveniently archived on the Conference website at: http://www.unyumc.org/district/mohawk Prayer Focus Week of December 16 Herkimer UMC and Jordanville Federated Church Pastor Joelle Faulks and Rev. Scott Hocking Click here for a copy of the Prayer Calendar Prayers are needed for Pastor Cory Jones , Whitesboro: Trinity, as he recovers from surgery. +++++++++ Holiday Schedule: District Office will be closed for Christmas and New Year's Holidays Dec. 21 through Jan. 1.

Advent Devotion – Make Room for Peace by Joe Iovino, United Methodist Communications Christmas is busy! There is so much to do! The decorating needs to be done. We need to prepare for the arrival of guests. You may be expected to attend the company Christmas party with your spouse. The  kids’ pageants at the church  are coming up. Shopping and baking still needs to get done. We wonder every year how we’re going to fit it all in. But it’s not this way only at Christmas time. Some of us   click to read the full devotion

Give an Invaluable Gift-- It's Absolutely Free! You're not the only one who is super busy and stressed out this Advent Season. Chances are your Pastor is too--with extra worship services and perceived pressure to minister to the higher than usual volume of worshippers in church at Christmastime. Be a gift to your pastor today and throughout the year by lifting her or him in prayer! Click here for suggestions.

Scholarships for UMEIT:USA The Council of Bishops is offering six scholarships at $300 partial scholarships for young adults (age 21-35) attending UMEIT and NWCU for the first time. The 2019 United Methodist Ecumenical and Interreligious Training (UMEIT:USA) and the National Workshop on Christian Unity (NWCU) occur parallel to each other. The next session is April 1-4, 2019, in St. Louis, Missouri. Find a registration link here.

UMCOR Early Response Team (ERT) training 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Jan. 19, 2019 UNY Conference Center 7481 Henry Clay Blvd. Liverpool, NY 13088 Learn how to provide a caring Christian presence in the aftermath of disaster. The training equips you to help individuals clean up communities impacted by floods, fire, hurricane, tornadoes, etc. to carry out damage assessment, debris removal, tarp placement, and to help prevent further damage. Team members should be in good physical health. This training credentials applicants over age 18 to enter disaster zones. This 8-hour course is facilitated by Donna & Roger Cullen, unyvim@unyumc.org The fee is $25. Write check to "UNYAC" with "VIM-ERT" on memo line. Mail check to UNYVIM, 9 Fox Hollow, Ionia, NY 14475. Registration closes January 11.  Find a registration form here .

Clergy Tax Webinar Clergy face some unique challenges when it comes to things like social security payments, estimated tax payments, housing allowances or exclusions and reimbursed expenses. Your corner tax preparer may not understand the unique situation of clergy. Join Rev. Don Joiner, certified financial planner, to get help navigating the preparation of taxes under the new tax laws as well as to plan for a sound financial future. It's free to attend: 11 a.m., Feb. 11, 2019. Click to register .

2018 Ministry Share Deadline is Tuesday, January 8 , 2019. Any 2018 ministry share payments received after that date will be reflected in 2019 listed as Prior Year Ministry Share Payments on your monthly statement.

The Special Session of General Conference is Feb. 23-26, 2019, in St. Louis, Missouri. Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb has created a series of videos that can help prepare you for what will be taking place at General Conference. The videos review the report created by the Commission on a Way Forward that will be presented at General Conference. Use them for group discussions or more information. Each video can be downloaded.   In addition to Bishop Webb's videos, the Upper New York Conference compiled other resources to help you prepare for Special Session, including Bishop Webb's Way Forward PowerPoint Presentation, an overview of the three church plans, and more.

Find Special Session Resources

All Pastors are Invited to Connect Through Mohawk District P astor A rea C onnect Groups MV East PAC - 5 p.m., Dec. 17, Herkimer UMC West PAC - 10 a.m., Jan. 3, Verona Parsonage, 5690 E. Main, Verona, NY 

Find Your PAC Group

Safe Sanctuaries Training will be offered from 1:15 to 4:30 PM, Saturday, Dec. 16 at North Main Street UMC, 316 N. Main St., Gloversville, NY 12078.   Please register for the training by emailing to the lead facilitator, Joyce Royal, at jrroyal@aol.com When responding please identify the church you attend.

Save the Date! Upper New York Local Pastor's Licensing School May 5-11, 2019 Location: TBA

Church Leaders/SPRC Take Note There are changes that will affect Upper New York churches and employees in the new year. Effective Dec. 31, New York State's hourly minimum wage rate is increasing to $11.10. All employers in the Upper New York Conference must pay non-exempt employees minimum wage regardless of how many people they employ. Click here to read more about the wage increase.   Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, New York State (NYS) Paid Family Leave is increasing to 55% benefit and 10 weeks for eligible employees. Click here to learn more about the updates and changes.   Due to a new law, every employer in New York State is required to establish and distribute a sexual harassment prevention policy. The policy can be distributed in writing or electronically. Employers are encouraged to have employees acknowledge receipt of the policy, and to post a copy of the policy where employees can easily access it.  Every employer is also required to provide employees with sexual harassment prevention training by October 9, 2019. This is an annual requirement as part of the new regulations. Additional resources for sexual harassment training will be shared once information has been gathered. Click here for details on NY State's Sexual Harassment regulations. If you have any questions regarding New York state's sexual harassment requirements, please contact Tracy Rickett, Upper New York Conference's Human Resources Generalist, at 315-898-2017 or TracyRickett@unyumc.org .

Our Community Center Opens at North Western UMC Our Community Center offers coffee, light lunch, games, conversation, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fridays. New suggestions welcome. People with disabilities can access the Center. Located within North Western UMC, 9925 State Route 46, Westernville, NY 13486. Click here for a flyer.

New Faith Communities Learning Opportunities Launchpad 2019 - A two-day Bootcamp for anyone planting a New Faith Community in Upper N,Y Feb. 1- 2, 2019. Cost is $99 for leader, $25 for each additional team member, plus hotel cost and supper/breakfast. Lunch is included. To register, click here for a form. Registration and payment due by Jan. 25 th to Anne Hutchins. See the form for instructions.

Christmas Cookie Sale (Order by Dec. 16) Pick up Dec. 21, 4-6; Dec. 22, Noon-2 p.m. Floyd UMC Route 365, Floyd, NY Cookies $10/pound; Pumpkin Logs $7/$7.50  Call 315-865-8344  Having a tough time this holiday season? Depressed Anonymous Mondays at 5:30 p.m. First UMC 127 N. Prospect St. Herkimer, NY Enter off back parking lot. For information, Greg at 203-536-5514

Mohawk District Office 105 Genesee Street New Hartford, NY 13413 mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org 315-797-1777 Please use back entrance (full glass door) for Mohawk District **Office Hours: Generally Tues., Wed., Thurs., 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, Other times by appointment.

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