Rappahannock River District of the United Methodist Church Newsletter

February 10, 2022

Listening Posts Announced

Hello Rappahannock River District!

We invite you to participate in any of the upcoming bi-district District Initiative Listening Posts with District Superintendent Charles Ledlum-Bates.

These town hall-type meetings will be held virtually and will allow all members of the bi-district of the Rappahannock and York Districts to ask questions and express any concerns regarding this vital proposal. Click here to see the Bishop’s September 23, 2021 announcement on the District Initiative for your information.

Please help spread the word to any of your small groups, committees and other church contacts.

UPDATE: THE FEB. 13 MEETING IS CANCELED. PLEASE JOIN THE LAST ONE ON FEB. 20 AT 3:00PM.

Rappahannock River District:

Sunday, Feb. 20 at 3:00pm

The Zoom information is below:

York River District - Lisa Jones is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Bi-District Listening Post for the Rappahannock and York River Districts

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/99880382188

Meeting ID: 998 8038 2188

Passcode: 822187

One tap mobile

+13017158592,,99880382188# US (Washington DC)

8558801246,,99880382188# US Toll-free

Dial by your location

+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

855 880 1246 US Toll-free

Meeting ID: 998 8038 2188

Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acmK5lDsR5

When COVID-19 hit, many churches and leaders found themselves stuck in a chaos cycle. Our systems, rhythms, and communication got infinitely more complicated, and what worked before isn’t necessarily working anymore.

It’s time to rethink communication and leverage the greatest opportunities we’ve ever had to communicate in the church.

Join Phil Bowdle, a leading national voice in the area of church communications and author of “Rethink Communication: A Playbook to Clarify and Communicate Everything in Your Church”, on Saturday, March 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for this practical conversation on one of the most important issues facing the church today. You’ll walk away with a playbook of practical ideas, strategies, and resources that will spark engagement and more effective communication in your church.

This is a free, virtual event sponsored by the Conference Board of Communications. Learn more and register at: https://vaumc.org/rethink-communication/.

Questions may be sent to MadelineWhite@vaumc.org.

WarriorsHeartUSA.org

Sgt. Robert "Bob" Bauer, a member of Sleepy Hollow UMC, is the founder and president of WarriorsHeartUSA.org, a faith-based organization that operates in the National Capital Region.

Bauer has been working with the Virginia Conference Board of Church and Society. In 2018, this board submitted a resolution to the annual conference that passed. It resolved, in part, that the Virginia Conference encourage, endorse and strive to provide/identify and/or develop resources to encourage local congregations in providing open, safe, and welcoming spaces for active duty service members, veterans, and their families, to share their stories and find sanctuary within the faith community, without condemnation, judgment or the obligation of contribution or confession of faith.

This free course, Trauma REBOOT, is designed to address the soul wounds of trauma survivors, not just veterans. Trauma impacts us all, and we know that these past two years have affected our communities significantly, leaving many people reeling from the effects of this pandemic.

Trauma REBOOT helps people overcome trauma so they can embrace a brighter future.

Watch a video: Worth It – REBOOT Recovery.mp4

Contact Information and for more information about the free course:

Sgt. Robert Bauer (Retired, OPS) MA, JD

Founder/President

rbauerjd@gmail.com

(202) 768-9810

PO Box 4541

Falls Church, Va 22044

Visit www.warriorsheartusa.org

DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Stafford, VA, is seeking a full-time Director of Children’s Ministry to create and manage ministry teams to plan and implement children’s ministry experiences or environments; develop or identify appropriate curriculum for children’s ministries to help children develop the love of Christ; provide environments and experiences to reach out to children in our community (i.e., Vacation Bible School and other neighborhood-related events); provide a dynamic Sunday environment (concurrent with worship services) to teach children about the Bible and Christian faith; offer opportunities to partner with parents for children’s faith development; prepare and manage the Children’s Ministries budget; work with administrative staff to schedule/promote/market children’s ministry opportunities; identify current trends in children’s ministries and promote new ideas to expand the scope and capabilities of children’s ministry opportunities; work with Ministry Director Team to plan, support and create ministry opportunities for those in our church and in our community; and provide faith milestone opportunities such as Communion Class. For details, visit the Virginia Conference website at www.vaumc.org/jobs

2022 Lay Servant Academy Winter Training Day

Want to know more about Accountable Discipleship - Living in God's Household? This course provided practical guidelines needed for walking with Christ in the world. We spend time with John Wesley and his traditions about Accountable Discipleship. You are invited to take part in the course, Accountable Discipleship on Saturday, February 26th as part of Lay Servant Academy. Look deeper into the story of the Prodigal Son and that potential conversation between the two son on the "Morning After?". For more details or to register for another course go to, https://vaumc.org/laity-district-and-conference-training/ We hope to see you there!

The Winter training day is a virtual-only event and will take place on Saturday, February 26, from 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. There are opportunities for both full-day and half-day courses and several courses fulfill requirements toward Lay Servant Ministries. Leadership courses are taught by both clergy and laity who are actively involved in ministry. These courses serve to provide practical ideas and takeaways so that leaders are better equipped to shepherd their ministries more fully. Lay Servant Academy is also a day to come and be refreshed and renewed in leadership & discipleship. We welcome both clergy and laity to engage in these courses! If you have questions, you are welcome to reach out to Tianna Durbin, Director of Lay Servant Academy, at TiannaD@arcolachurch.org.

Click here for more information or to register at https://vaumc.org/laity-district-and-conference-training/

Are Virginia Conference boards and agencies in need of your gifts and graces?

Are you an encourager? A trailblazer? A mentor? A communicator?

Learn where your gifts are needed on one of the conference’s boards and agencies: https://vaumc.org/conferencenominations/.

Your gifts and graces through boards such as Missional Ministries and the Virginia United Methodist Pensions, Inc. (VUMPI) will help United Methodists across the Virginia Conference.

In this new year of 2022, pray on how God may be encouraging you to serve then download the nominations profile form at the link above, fill it out, and send it to your District Office to be considered by the Conference Nominations team for election to a board or agency.

RRD District Office: PO BOX 100, Ladysmith, VA 22501 or email to rappahannockriverdistrict@vaumc.org

All God's Children Camp Looking for Mentors this Summer!

All God's Children Camp is in need of mentors to volunteer a week of their time. We need your help to make it possible for kids to come enjoy a week of camp and engage in all that camp life has to offer while learning they truly are SOMEBODY! Please consider joining us. This is a great way for groups such as Sunday School groups, Sr. High youth groups or other small groups to be in mission together. So grab a group of your friends and join us as we help break the cycle of incarceration. For more information contact Lori Smith at lttlelori@gmail.com or 571-245-9591. Click the link below to go to our website for more camp details, mentor application and dates available for the summer.

www.vaumc.org/agcc/

Heart Havens’ month is February and we can't wait to celebrate

with you. The Virginia Conference has designated February as Heart Havens Month, one of six special offerings throughout the year. There are six Heart Havens homes across the Conference, where men and women with a developmental disability are empowered to be full members of the body of Christ, and active participants in their communities.

The theme for Heart Havens Month this year is "A New World." Please visit hearthavens.org to see our video and additional electronic resources to share. You can also find Heart Havens month posts on social media – sharing will help us spread our message of empowerment. Thank you for your continued support of Heart Havens!

Join us for An Evening with Heart Havens, a virtual event to get to know Heart Havens and our residents better. The virtual Heart Havens month event will be held on Tuesday, Feb 22 at 7pm and include an overview of Heart Havens, a chance to meet residents and a time for Q&A. Contact sara.becker@hearthavens.org if you have questions.

Information on how to join the Zoom event is below and attached.

Heart Havens is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84096118391?pwd=V0gyS0VERFJabDV6eUw0bkhXTjNCQT09

Meeting ID: 840 9611 8391

Passcode: 525876

One tap mobile

+13126266799,,84096118391#,,,,*525876# US (Chicago)

+19292056099,,84096118391#,,,,*525876# US (New York)

Dial by your location

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)