Dear saints and sinners of the Mountain View district: grace is yours again, do you believe it? I enjoy meeting with churches these days as more people are vaccinated, including me, and most churches are in compliance with the safety guidelines. Appointment making is moving along quickly behind the scenes and resources for churches are increasingly provided to you. Clergy must sign up for and attend an upcoming training session. Please pray for these churches which will be appointed new pastors on our district as God helps us: Addison, Bishopville, Elmira Oakwood, Elmira Westside, Whitesville, North Chemung, Breesport, Beaver Dams, Cohocton, North Cohocton, Odessa, Montour Falls, and Whitesville. You may ask where all these pastors will come from. Me too! I trust God to assist me in raising up more “laborers for the harvest” of souls. We will see more cooperative parishes, three point charges and churches merging together in areas to the glory of God. Please be open to these changes. We are not here to save your church, but to fulfill the great commission through your church. In Christ with you, I am...
Trusting in God.
Jeff McDowell
Calling All Pastors (and laity assigned to a church):
You are invited an In-Person clergy gathering / training on this district! Please consider which of these you will be attending. Registration information will come in a separate email to you. We will use health guidelines and keep the group numbers low.
A. New Beginnings in Elmira, 2:00 – 4:30 April 22
B. New Beginnings in Elmira, 6:00 - 8:30 April 22
C. Bath Centenary, 2:00 – 4:30 April 28
D. Bath Centenary, 6:00 – 8:30 April 28
E. Hornell UMC, 2:00 – 4:30 May 19
F. Hornell UMC, 6:00-8:30 May 19
Pastors and Laity that are assigned to a church please make sure you register for Annual Conference. Registration is now open. Registration closes June 1.
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Mountain View District Office
Open By Appointment Only
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At this time visits to the office are by appointment ONLY.
- You will be asked to fill out questionnaire
- Get your temperature taken
- Mask MUST be worn
- Socially Distancing
Office Hours are: Mon.-Thurs. 7am-2:15pm
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A Note From District Associate Rev. Mike Kelly |
Good Morning Friends of the Mountain View District
One of the things that I repeatedly hear as I travel throughout the district is that because of COVID their church is way down, “We can’t do anything because of COVID!” That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Not only can we, we need to. COVID is in our midst still, but that does not mean that we stop being the church. For that matter it probably means that we are needed more during these times. But for us to do such things we must be aware and cautionary.
The transmission rates in our district are listed as HIGH, with Steuben County leading the way with 129 new cases within the last 7 days, Schuyler, Chemung and Tioga are all on the increase. In the United States in the last 7 day there were 560,000 COVID related deaths. COVID is not gone, it is not time to let up on our plans to keep ourselves and our congregations safe. Dr. McDowell and I both encourage all of you to seek immunization. Yes of course, I am aware of the issue that some have faced after vaccination, but that is nothing compared to the risk of not being vaccinated.
We also must continue to follow the guidelines of the CDC, and the State and Local Health Departments. The recommendations still are to avoid large gatherings whether indoor our out. Currently indoors we are limited to 50% of our posted occupancy, with a maximum of 100 people and outdoor gatherings shall not exceed more than 200 people. Along with this we are to continue social distancing of six feet and wearing of masks. People may, if they are comfortable remove their masks while seated, but must maintain a six-foot distance or twelve feet while singing, such as choirs, unless there are appropriate barriers in place. While moving around wearing of masks are required. We shall continue to refrain from hand shaking and hugging. We should avoid sharing of objects, hymnals, bulletins, etc. And any attempt to offer fellowship times must be carefully handled, to include no shared food or beverage, or buffet style service.
With that being said, yes, we have restrictions, and yes, things are not as they used to be. But we ARE the church, and we must continue, despite or in spite of the pandemic, but do so with the abundance of caution.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, I have had regular contact with the Health Departments and will do my best to safely lead you in this somewhat challenging time. I leave you with this Scripture form the Epistle from Paul to the Romans in Chapter 12:12 - Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Reverend Michael Kelly
Mountain View District Associate
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Bishop Announces Clergy Appointments |
Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb and the Upper New York Conference announce appointments and retirements pending approval of clergy session. View the full list of changes here.
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April 1-June 1- Registration Open for Annual Conference- Details
April 18- Native American Ministries Sunday - DETAILS
April 18-24- UNY Local Pastor Licensing School (details below)
April 24-UMW Day Apart Meeting - Zoom 1pm
April 25-World Malaria Day
May 8- Pre-Conference Training-9am-11am
May 13- Pre-Conference Training 6pm-8pm
May 17-UMW Spring District Dinner-Watson Homestead
May 20- Pre-Conference Training 9am-11am
June 17-19- The Twelfth Session of Annual Conference will be held virtually
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Mens Overnight Retreat
at Camp Aldersgate
April 30th-May 1st
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The Conference United Methodist Men wish to invite men from your own districts to our annual Spring Retreat, which will be held at
WHEN: Friday April 30th- Saturday May 1st
TIME: 4pm Friday-3pm Saturday
To help us promote this annual event, there is a descriptive flier available on our www.unyumm.org website.
Any questions contact our Conference President Mark Jones at 315-749-3700
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Media Resource Center
Now Partially Open
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The Media Resource Center began lending and accepting back overdue resources on Aug. 1. Please check to see if you have any items taken out prior to March 2020. These items should be returned to us as soon as possible. With Pastors moving to other churches and Bible studies put on hold, we need to try to locate all resources and have them returned before they are forgotten.
If you need to readjust return dates, please contact Karen Campolieto, Media Resource Coordinator and Archives Assistant. The Media Center will not be available for personal pick-up, but you can mail materials until further notice as our offices are closed to the public.
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Launchpad is boot camp for anyone who is in the first year of planting a new faith community, or who is feeling called to plant a new faith community in the next couple of years. It provides the BEST practical, hands-on training for planters available in the UM Church. In these virtual sessions you will learn an amazing array of best practices that will enable you to build a solid foundation for your new faith community. Six sessions are Thurs. evenings, April 22 - June 10.
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Understanding Generation Z
and Connecting with Their Passions
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What are the unique characteristics of Generation Z — the young people coming of age today? Rock Jones, president of Ohio Wesleyan University, describes a generation of digital natives who are highly connected but also lonely and anxious. Dr. Jones describes Gen Zers’ life questions, the perspectives they bring to spiritual engagement, and ways church leaders can meet them where they are. |
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Safe Sanctuaries Zoom Training-April 17 |
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, April 17.
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.
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 Conference Committee Co-Chairs Arlene Schmidt and Pastor Christine Mitchell with the assistance of 8 co-trainers.
For more information on Safe Sanctuaries, and on background checks, click here.
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Can churches require proof of vaccination for visitors at worship or a church event? |
With vaccination eligibility available for so many now, a lot of New Yorker’s are starting to return to more regular participation in various activities as they are vaccinated. This includes going to church.
Accordingly, there are a lot of questions about if it is okay to require that visitors show proof of vaccination when attending church events, including weekly worship. Current legal guidance advises against requiring visitors to show proof of vaccination. Click here to learn why.
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Is Bishop Webb emailing me? |
Have you recently received emails from Bishop Webb, your pastor, or other leader asking for gift cards/money or perhaps informing you of an urgent request? Please be aware that these are phishing schemes—they are SPAM emails. Over the past year, there has been an increase in these types of emails world-wide, and, just like everyone else, we have seen an increase in Upper New York. Here are some identifiers of these types of emails:
- First and foremost, the Bishop or another leader would not request gift cards or money from you in an email.
- If the email says it is urgent or a favor is needed, not mentioning what and asks you not to call but to reply by email, it is likely a phishing email.
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Check the email address—if it is not a unyumc.org email (example bishopwebb@unyumc.org); it is SPAM!
If you get emails like these, simply delete them and/or mark it as SPAM.
Click here for a good five-minute video clip on what to look for in phishing emails.
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COVID-19 Information & Resources |
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The HUB at UNY Conference Center |
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MOUNTAIN VIEW DISTRICT OFFICE |
35 Wilkes Ave.
PO Box 706
Bath, NY 14810
607-962-8047
Office Hours
Mon.-Thurs. 7am-2:15pm
In Person by APPOINTMENT ONLY
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