Albany District and Conference News
September 9, 2021
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"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
-- Nelson Mandela
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Please Note! Carrie is on vacation next week, so the next newsletter will be published on Sept. 23. |
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Please share with us how your church is making disciples for the transformation of the world!
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Step by step process for developing an Intentional Discipleship Plan
The Northern Flow District has created training resources for congregations and persons to walk through a “step-by-step” process for developing an Intentional Discipleship Plan.
Click here for steps 1 and 2 of the training; follow the guidance of the video trainers, use the provided PowerPoints and the resources (links) to enable your church and team to develop and implement your congregation’s Intentional Discipleship Plan.
Additional training steps will be provided over time. Imagine what God will do as more and more churches develop their process for Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World!
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Please pray for Kathy Maker and family, as her husband Archie died on Aug. 28. Archie had served as a local pastor at the Tomhannock United Methodist Church in Pittstown. He volunteered and preached at the Capital City Rescue Mission in Albany.To view the obituary, click here. A service was held last week at Newtonville UMC. Cards of condolence can be sent to Kathy at 19 Sunset Ct., Cohoes 12047.
The Rev. Erik Smith is now residing at Kingsway Manor, Room 139, 323 Kings Rd., Schenectady, NY 12304. Cards and prayers would be appreciated.
Please also pray for:
Rev. Dr. Camillus Mourice, who is having a lot of pain and problems with his knees, and also for his wife Clementine Mourice, who has health issues.
Pastor Brenda Tompkins and husband Rob, as Rob continues to battle with cancer. Cards can be sent to 148 S. Second Ave., Mechanicville, NY 12118.
Rev. Judy Humphrey-Fox and her husband Tim.
If you'd like prayer for yourself or others, or you'd like to share a joy, please be in touch with Carrie (518) 608-1246 or albanydistrict@unyumc.org
Please know that we will need to contact folks to be sure they feel comfortable with us publishing their information.
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Dismantling Racism resource:
A Day of Remembrance of our Children—Oct. 6, 2021
The UMC is leading a sustained and coordinated effort to actively engage in the ministry of dismantling racism and promoting racial justice. The Upper New York (UNY) Conference Communications team has been regularly sharing worship, advocacy, and educational resources every week to help with this important campaign.
For the next five weeks, the UNY Conference Communications team is teaming up with the Conference Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM) to share educational and worship resources leading up to October 6, “A Day of Remembrance for Our Children.” On that day in 1879, General Richard Pratt took children from First Nations and opened the boarding school in Carlisle, PA. The United Methodist Church went on to support at least 12 Indian Boarding Schools and has never accepted responsibility for its role in supporting these schools, which severed these children’s connections to their families and cruelly punished them, many to the point of death.
For this first week, we remind members of the UNY Conference of the Act of Repentance that United Methodists have committed to as a result of a 2012 General Conference resolution.
Click here to read an article about the Act of Repentance and what work needs to be done to continue developing nurturing relationships with indigenous individuals and apologizing for our Church’s participation in cruel treatment toward Native individuals.
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UNY Committee on Native American Ministries:
We need your voice
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As church conference time returns, we wish to remind you to appoint a local church representative to Native American Ministries. Designating an individual to be mindful of native needs, share information with your church, and celebrate Native American Ministries Sunday is vital to help us serve native peoples in our Conference and beyond. As a representative, you receive links to timely issues, action items and resources for celebrating the special Sunday.
It has been a particularly challenging time for our Native American brothers and sisters. Heartbreaking losses due to the pandemic and the revelation of countless graves in boarding schools has caused much sadness. The legacy of boarding schools continues to traumatize many. The road to Repentance and healing is a long one. You continue to walk the road with us when you designate a local church representative at church conference.
Sharon Schmit, chair
UNY Committee on Native American Ministries
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Spiritual discipline of fasting |
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.
This week, Rev. Dibelius discusses the spiritual discipline of fasting; click here to watch this video.
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"Because We Care” Article # 1:
Our Family in Palestine-Beit Ummar
For more than 30 years, United Methodists from Upper New York (and the WNY and NCNY Annual Conferences that preceded it) have been “Getting off the Bus” to meet Palestinian families when we have been on Holy Land tours. This is the work of the Upper New York (UNY) Conference Task Force on Peace with Justice in Palestine/Israel. Sharing meals and hearing stories built relationships that have continued and grown over the years and now we want to share “Our Family in Palestine” with churches in UNY, so you can hear their “Cry for Hope” and we can help you carry out the “Because We Care” resolution passed at the UNY Annual Conference in 2021.
Task Force member Dianne Roe from Corning First United Methodist Church spent 14 years in Palestine with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). Her work was supported by the NCNY Annual Conference. In 2002 she was living in the village of Beit Ummar where she was a neighbor to the alAlami family. Eleven-year-old Muhammad alAlami was killed by Israeli soldiers in late July 2021. Dianne sketched his portrait and wrote a moving reflection.
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Sept. 16 #StillinMission Zoom conversation with missionaries
Despite the pandemic, United Methodist missionaries remain deeply engaged in their work around the world. Normally, several missionaries “itinerate” every year to visit churches and individuals that help support their ministries. However, COVID-19 has prevented most from traveling.
Just like church services, there are opportunities to hear from missionaries, virtually, and this is one of them. These are known as the #StillinMission Zoom meetings.
Hear how ministries are going from one of four United Methodist missionaries on Thursday Sept. 16 at 12 p.m. for #StillinMission meeting #35.
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Bishop’s Retreat postponed until Sept. 2022
The Bishop’s Retreat has been postponed until Sept. 27-29, 2022. It will have the same theme, “Sharing our Faith Boldly,” and will still be held at the Radisson Hotel in Corning. Registration for the 2022 Bishop’s Retreat will open after the completion of the 2022 Annual Conference.
Click here for more information as it becomes available.
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What's New from the Lewis Center |
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How parents help children grow in faith
New research on how parents pass faith to their children provides strong evidence that talking with children about faith in the context of daily life is powerfully important. Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff reports on this and other findings in Handing Down the Faith by Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk.
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5 essential qualities of effective evangelism
Priscilla Pope-Levison’s new book, "Models of Evangelism," studies eight influential approaches to evangelism, everything from visitation and revivalism to social media. She finds that regardless of the method deployed, five qualities are essential to effective evangelism — hospitality, relationships, integrity, sharing the Christian message, and rootedness in the church.
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The Academy of Artful Leadership Small Group Learning with Regional Associate
Rich Weihing
To help you grow as a disciple and to help your congregation into greater vitality, Rich is partnering with The Academy of Artful Leadership to share two learning/coaching opportunities for pastors and laity, beginning in late September: Tuesdays from 1 PM to 2:30 PM and Wednesdays from 7 PM to 8:30 PM.
Updates from Rich: The Tuesday afternoon group is filling up, but there are still several openings; the Wednesday evening group has plenty of openings. Laity are strongly encouraged to attend – it may be especially helpful for a pastor and church member to attend together. Limited financial aid may be available to laity. Registration is open to all districts.
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Church conference schedule |
The church conference schedule is now available. The scheduling is for all in-person Church Conferences this year. Of course, COVID spread could change some of those plans, and we will be mindful of that. Our District Superintendent Debbie Earthrowl is looking forward to being with all of you, and to sharing and dreaming about ministry with our communities near and far!
Please note that this year's conferences are church conferences, not charge conferences, meaning all church members have a vote. Please also note that at this time, only those attending in person can vote. Those participating via ZOOM cannot vote. If that changes, we will let you know.
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Reminder: Sexual Harassment training mandatory |
This is a reminder that New York State employers must adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy and provide training on sexual harassment prevention to their employees on an annual basis. This includes all those employed by the local church.
There is a free on-line training that is available to all. A certificate of completion is provided when the training is complete.
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Men's Retreat: No More Excuses - Time to be Men of God |
A day of ministry for men snared in slavery to pornography. 9 AM to 4 PM Saturday, Sept. 25 at 250 Lake Hill Rd., Burnt Hills. Cost: $20 (lunch included). Bring your bible. Questions? Contact Rev. David Martin @ hopeumctroy@gmail.com
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(Update) Weekend men's retreat
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"Faith in Action," a UMM weekend retreat takes place Oct. 1-2 at Camp Casowasco. To register, click here. Keynote speaker: Pastor Steve McKnight of the Wesley UMC in Rochester.
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Webinar: More than Allies |
There is a free webinar at 7 PM Central time (8 PM Eastern time) on September 16 focusing on the question, “How are we called to participate in God’s freedom work in the world?” See a description here: .
The Rev. Dr. Tex Sample invites Bob Zellner, a white civil rights pioneer and layperson from Montgomery, Alabama – a son and grandson of Methodist pastors – to share stories and insights from his work during the Civil Rights movement. Bob’s life inspired the new Barry Alexander Brown motion picture, Son of the South.
This may help you to better understand this forgotten part of lay history and how laity might work as allies and spiritual accomplices in the struggle for God’s good life for all.
Brought to you by Discipleship Ministries.
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Transforming Church Conflict & Creating Space for Authentic Community
What Is This?: A two-retreat series on Transforming Conflict for United Methodist Clergy and Servant Leaders of the Upper New York Conference
Session One – October 6 & 7 (W/Th)
Session Two – October 27 & 28 (W/Th)
All at Casowasco Camp & Retreat Center
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Safe Sanctuaries ZOOM training
The Upper New York Annual Conference Team will host a standard Basic Safe Sanctuaries training via ZOOM from 9 AM to 12:30 PM Saturday, September 25.
For more information on Safe Sanctuaries, and on background checks, click here.
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Red Bird Mission collection |
The Mission team at Endwell United Methodist Church is again coordinating the collection and delivery of shoeboxes for the Red Bid Mission, located in Beverly, Kentucky.
If your church is willing to be a collection point, please contact Carrie in the District Office, (518) 608-1246. Calvary UMC, 15 Ridge Place,Latham is a collection point. Read their letter here.
South Glens Falls UMC, 15 Maplewood Parkway, is also a collection point. Deliver shoeboxes any time between 8:30 AM and 12:30 PM Monday through Thursday. Call (518) 793-1152 for more information.
Please deliver your boxes by Nov. 1, as that is the day that pick-up is scheduled to begin.
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Pre-retirement seminar
scheduled for Oct. 1
There will be an in-person pre-retirement seminar held in October to highlight and explain the benefits available through The United Methodist Church to retiring clergy. This seminar is intended to assist persons in their later years of ministry understand the current pension plan, health insurance options, Social Security, and moving assistance available.
Online registration is required, as we will provide clergy-specific retirement projections, and also schedule personal consultations.
The seminar will be held at the United Methodist Center in Liverpool on Friday, Oct. 1 from 9:45 a.m. until 2 p.m. Click here for more information and to register. The deadline to register is Sept. 17.
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2021-2022 Forms available |
The 2021-2022 Church/Charge Conference and Annual Forms are now available to download. All information can be found by clicking here.
On this page, you will find links to various reports, including Report of Pastor, the Safe Sanctuary Compliance Report, the 2022 Clergy Compensation Form, and more. If you have any issues accessing this page, please click here for help.
As mentioned in previous correspondence to pastors and SPRC chairs, the 2022 clergy compensation information can be found here: 2022 Pastor Compensation.
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New Opportunity to Grow with Your Online/Digital Discipleship!
Your district superintendent has purchased a one-year membership for your continuing education on Digital Discipleship! This subscription is available to your church teams and volunteers who want to learn how to make the most of your online ministry.
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Engaging in small group ministry on Facebook
Upper New York Conference’s very own Lori Jagow (Pendleton Center UMC Online Minister) shared with Resource UMC many ways that you can engage your parishioners in small groups using Facebook.
In her article, Lori mentions some of the following ways to engage with your Facebook community:
- Comment on posts made by followers.
- Host weekly Facebook Live sessions with Q&A. Avoid one-way communication. Remember, people are on social media to be social.
- Put out a weekly schedule of programming.
- Share photos, blogs and pose questions to the group in a post.
- Ask for prayer requests.
Lori also discusses how to set up a Facebook group and livestreaming of small group meetings.
Click here to read Lori’s helpful digital ministries article.
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From the Conference Center |
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Handbook of spiritual practices |
Click here for a handbook of spiritual practices, written by the Rev. Nancy Dibelius. It was originally conceived as a supplement to the Conference spiritual direction training program, but Nancy is hopeful that it will find a broader use throughout the Conference. It provides history, Christian heritage, and basic how-to for a broad range of spiritual practices. To view it, click here.
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2021 UNY directory available
The 2021 Upper New York Conference directory is now available to view or download or view online and a hard copy is available to purchase. Click here to view/download. Click here to purchase a hard copy for $6.28.
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Revised CDC guidelines
affecting local churches
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued revised guidelines for indoor gatherings due to the rising number of coronavirus cases as a result of the Delta variant. The CDC is recommending masks be worn indoors by all individuals regardless of vaccination status in areas of high concentration. Click here to read the UNY Church COVID guidelines and to determine your county’s level of transmission.
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Not sure many know we are a 24/7 operation at the Mission Central HUB located at the Upper NY conference. There are so many behind the scenes operations in a constant movement to make this ministry achieve its goal: “To help folks in need when a Natural Disaster strikes.” We also enable volunteers of all ages to come into the HUB and be part of the ripple of things to keep this ministry going. Not only are we in need of donations toward UMCOR kits, disaster response and general operations we are in need of small groups to help verify kits and small jobs at the HUB.
To learn more about Mission Central HUB, click here.
Its a fun very helpful way to help people in need when a natural disaster strikes.
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UMCOR supports Afghans in need
Thousands of Afghans are seeking to flee violence and a fear of persecution. Roland Fernandes, general secretary of Global Ministries and UMCOR, expressed his sympathy for the Afghan people, stating: “The situation in Afghanistan is uncertain and unfolding. It is a tragedy of epic proportions. We pray especially for all of those left behind who now live with fear and for the many communities across Afghanistan also facing extended drought and hunger.”
In addition to prayer, UMCOR has outlined different ways you can help support their efforts in Afghanistan. Click here to read more.
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Response to Haiti after earthquake |
United Methodists are reaching out with their prayers and pocketbooks after the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
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News Links From the Conference
If you want to keep in the know of what is happening in the Upper New York Conference and the United Methodist Church please consider these links.
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Start the day with Debbie
Our District Superintendent Debbie Earthrowl shares a devotion via Facebook Live at 7:30 AM every Monday through Saturday. The devotions are also posted on her Facebook page and our District Facebook page, so you can tune in at any time. I personally find this an inspirational way to start my day. I trust you will, as well. To view, click here:
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Blessings to all,
Carrie B
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Don't miss out on news articles that have run in the past. There are many resources you may be interested in. |
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Albany District
of the Upper New York Conference
Rev. Deborah (Debbie) Earthrowl
District Superintendent
Ellen Mall-John
Albany District Lay Leader and District Associate
Carrie Boyer
Minister of Administration
Our office is located in the Newtonville UMC
568 Loudon Rd., Latham, NY 12110
Mailing Address:
PO Box 511, Newtonville, NY 12128
(518) 608-1246
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