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Save the Date for Regional Meetings
with Bishop Héctor
Starting Jan. 1, 2023, Bishop Héctor Burgos, who prefers to be addressed as Bishop Héctor, will be the new bishop of the Upper New York (UNY) Conference. Bishop Héctor is eager to meet laity and clergy throughout the Conference and has scheduled dates for regional meetings. The meetings will be as follows:
The clergy meetings will be from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The laity meeting (and clergy unable to attend the earlier time) will be from 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
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Report your church statistics on ACStats beginning Jan. 3, 2023. Please share this news with those in each church who work on statistical reporting.
After Jan. 3 Report your Church Statistics on ACStats
Annual Church Statistics (ACStats) is the one-stop location for United Methodist data that tracks membership, expenses, and income. It's designed to help churches submit year-end statistics to the Upper New York (UNY) Conference digitally in a way that's cost-effective.
This user-friendly platform replaces Ezra as the method of reporting your church statistics.
March 17, 2023, is the deadline to complete the 2022 statistical report for your church; however, you cannot enter any data to the 2022 statistics tables until Jan. 3, 2023.
In the meantime, you may familiarize yourselves with the new ACStats platform by reviewing the user's guide for local churches. Translated reports are available in Spanish and Korean.
Click here to learn more.
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BSA Affiliation Agreement
Troops and local congregations seeking to continue or start a relationship will need to complete a new “BSA Affiliation Agreement” and “Facilities Use & Indemnity Agreement.” Click here to download the BSA Affiliation Agreement. Click here to download the Facilities Use & Indemnity Agreement.
All UNY local congregations seeking to be in relationship with a local troop should use these and only these forms.
In most areas, the affiliation agreements and facility use agreements are being implemented and the implementation is going well. There are BSA Councils that are not cooperating in a few Conferences and as the BSA learns of these, they reach out to those Councils to address issues.
If you are encountering such issues, please contact Jeffrey Hunt jeff.hunt@scouting.org of BSA, who oversees the BSA Councils across the United States.
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Save the Date for March Special Session
The Upper New York Conference’s March 2023 Special Session of Annual Conference to consider disaffiliation requests will take place remotely on March 25 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Registration will open on Feb. 1, 2023, and close on
March 10, 2023.
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Local Church Financial Training
Offered via Zoom
Rev. Susan Ranous, Director of Christian Stewardship and Deacon specializing in Stewardship, Church Finances and Clergy Tax is offering a t raining from 10:00 a.m. to Noon on Saturday, Jan. 7th. via zoom.
If you're interested in participating, please contact Carrie Boyer in the Adirondack District Office, here, or call her at (518) 608-1246. The Zoom link will be sent as the date nears.
Workshop description:
- Are you new to the financial areas of the local church?
- Maybe you’ve been a treasurer or financial secretary or finance chair?
- Do you need some help to understand what you have to do and how to do it?
This workshop will give you the basic knowledge needed to understand what is needed and how to do the various financial tasks.
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Adirondack District Offering Lay Servant Courses via Zoom
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Breast Cancer & Beyond Support Group (BCBSG)
Group Leader: Linda Fredenburg
Group Purpose is to:
- Create an accepting and compassionate environment
- Exchange information and emotional support between group participants
- Build group cohesiveness, and enable members to meaningfully connect with one another
Benefits of Support Groups:
- A sense of community
- Attending the group addresses unwanted aloneness, irrespective of what is discussed.
- The group functions to reduce social isolation and to provide real social support.
1) Regaining control
2) Hope
3) Stress Reduction
4) Normalizing personal responses
When: Group Meeting Dates Mondays 6;30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Place: First United Methodist Church
236 Mullin Street
Watertown NY 13601
For more information please feel free to call Linda by email at Lindafredenburg@gmail.com or phone at 315-778-7290
Linda's Story:
My name is Linda Fredenburg and I am a breast cancer survivor. I have a human services degree and was a licensed alcohol and drug counselor. I was diagnosed with breast cancer and am now Cancer free! I found lack of support in the Watertown area so I decided a support group was needed. So I leapt in and I am starting this group. I pray you will come and join us in a safe and loving environment. I will be working with the Walker Cancer Center and the doctor's and nurses there.
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ANNUAL CAMPAIGNS
Stewardship with Rev. Susan Ranous
December 23, 2022
CHRISTMAS
It’s that time of year when we’re concentrating on the celebration of the birth of Jesus! Sometimes churches don’t receive an offering on Christmas Eve. I’ve heard one explanation that it’s not appropriate to ask guests to give to the church on Christmas Eve.
I don’t agree. If you’ve read some of my blogs, you know that I’ve said offer to the church and generosity should have very little to do with the need of the church to receive and pay its bills but have everything to do with the need of people to give. Giving is a spiritual discipline.
If we deprive folks from giving because they’re guests, what does that say about how we care for them. Celebrating Christmas isn’t about the Christmas Cantata, or the Children’s Christmas Pageant (although both of those things are wonderful!) What it should be about is worshiping God and celebrating Emmanuel – God With Us. And the greatest gift is Jesus, generosity is part of worshiping God.
Let’s celebrate the birth of Jesus and what it means for us as disciples. What does it mean for us as we celebrate?
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Please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or susanranous@unyumc.org if you’d like to talk about mission and money in your local church. I have some great ideas to help you understand where you are and were you’re going!
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Grant Announcement
The Upper New York Mission Central HUB is excited to announce the “Everyday Disaster Grant” to benefit local churches in the Upper New York Conference that are working in their community to fight everyday (socio-economic) disasters. These disasters might include, but are not limited to, food insecurity, addiction, racial injustice, violence, or lack of affordable housing.
This funding opportunity is intended to connect, build relationships, and celebrate the impactful outreaches that are happening throughout the Upper New York Conference and are playing a vital role in creating disciples that transform the world. We can't wait to hear the difference you are making in your community!
The grant application will be open from 11/1/22 – 12/31/22. Grant recipients will be announced in February 2023. Please send all questions to Kristina Clark, Director of Upper New York Mission Central HUB, at kristinaclark@unyumc.org
The grant application is now open and can be viewed here: https://www.unyumc.org/mission/mission-funding-opportunities
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Wesley Heritage Tour 2024
Join Pastor Brett Johnson on the trip of a lifetime to visit John and Charles Wesley’s homeland of England. We will be visiting sites of great importance to United Methodists, including the Wesleys’ hometown of Epworth, Oxford, Bristol, and worship in the Wesley Chapel in London.
We will also be stopping at Stonehenge and Stratford-on-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, and St Paul’s Cathedral. Tour dates are July 13-22, 2024. Please use the following link to register: https://portal.myfaithjourneys.com/ and use group code 24002.
Contact Rev. Brett Johnson, pastor.brett.johnson@gmail.com, with any questions.
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Northern Flow District Office Hours
Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
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Northern Flow District
93 East Main Street - Physical Address - Second Floor
PO Box 208 - Mailing Address
Gouverneur, NY 13642
Phone: (315) 535-5149 FAX: (315) 535-5151
Upper New York Annual Conference
7481 Henry Clay Blvd,
Liverpool, NY 13088
Phone: (315) 898-2000 Fax: (315) 898-2027
Bishop's Office
7481 Henry Clay Blvd,
Liverpool, NY 13088
Phone: (315) 898-2020 Fax: (315) 898-2150
The Media Resource Center of UNYAC
Visit the website at
http://www.unyumc.org/resources/media-resource-center
Our mission is to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."
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