E-News from the Valley! May 11, 2021

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This is sent on Tuesday - Items you would like to see in the E-News should be submitted to the district office by the Friday before

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Click here to go to the Genesee Valley District website.

Please click on the following links:

UNY Notes - these include notices From the Desk of Bishop Webb; Alerts; Announcements; Prayer requests; Death Notices;

Camp & Retreat info

Weekly Digest - this will be sent every Wednesday. It will include a listing of all of the new information available.

This will help reduce the amount of e-news announcements coming to your computers.

District Office is open by appt only.

Call Betsy at 585-340-9525

Please click here for guidelines to come into the office

Conference website classified page new item:

https://www.unyumc.org/news/classifieds

Need Methodist Hymnals in very good condition?

Contact Sandra at bureausgs56@gmail.com.

UMCOR Relief Kits Update

The need is high, UNY Mission Central HUB needs your help.

Due to the pandemic our donations are low and many UMCOR kits we have received are not made with the updated supplies, this is a cost not only to us but also the donator.

The storm season is coming up and we are not stocked to help communities when the need arises.

Any questions please call myself or your CDRC Mike Block

The links below bring you directly to our FB page, please share and our Conference website.

There are so many ways to help for all who want to serve this ministry.

CLICK HERE for current supply lists for kits

Thank you and God bless.

MaryBeth Ingalls

Upper New York Conference

Mission Volunteer Coordinator

7481 Henry Clay blvd Liverpool, N.Y. 13088

1-315-898-2064

1-315-372-0285

http://www.unyumc.org/mission/mission-central

https://www.facebook.com/UpperNewYorkMissionCentralHUB/

Social Holiness to offer 3-session study

All UNY clergy, active and retired, are invited to join members

of the Social Holiness Team for the 3-session study,

Kingdom Dreams, Violent Realities.

This study was produced by the General Board of Church & Society and aims to look gun violence facts & statistics as well as the church's response. This is not about taking away anyone's rights.

The discussions will be held at 9am on 3 consecutive weeks,

either Tuesdays (May 18, 25 & June 1) or

Thursdays (May 20, 27, & June 3).

It is possible to miss a discussion and pick up the following week. Meetings will be held by zoom and will last

about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Please email Heather Smith at peacewithjustice@unyumc.org

to RSVP or with questions.

FOR CERTIFIED SAFE SANCTUARIES TRAINERS ONLY:

Zoom Review of Revised Trainers Manual and Final Curriculum

2 training opportunities:

(both sessions will be the same, please only sign up for one)

Tuesday, May 18th, 7pm-9pm

Wednesday, May 26th, 7pm-9pm

Please only choose one training date as they will provide the same information.

The UNY Safe Sanctuaries Team would like to thank all of you for your patience during the transition in this time of covid. As many of you know, we have now hosted three conference-wide online trainings. We feel we are ready to roll it out to you trainers to begin training this new curriculum in your local churches and districts.

The Trainers’ Manual has been reformatted to accommodate virtual training.
The curriculum has been finalized, taking into account many of your suggestions.
With the assistance of 20 trainers, the SS Team has presented this training in the last 3 months (3 times) to approximately 200 participants. It has received great feedback from participants.

Communities are beginning to open up. Our churches are opening up, but we still need to be safe. As the conference Safe Sanctuaries Chairs, we recommend this training to be done via an online platform such as Zoom. However, if you wish to do a small group gathering of vaccinated individuals in person, PLEASE use THE NEW training manual to avoid sharing and touching props as used in the past. And just like anything else we do, please practice social distancing and wear a mask.

We want to allow SS trainers to be together again and begin offering this training to your District and/or local church.

We look forward to seeing you all in May. Thank you for your time and passion for keeping the children, youth, and vulnerable adults safe in our churches and our communities.

If you have questions, send an email to Safesanctuaries@unyumc.org

Pastor Christine Mitchell and Arlene Schmidt, CLM.

Co-Chairs of the UNYAC Safe Sanctuaries Conference

Reminder regarding New York State required annual training for sexual harassment prevention

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.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy

Each New York State employer is required to have a sexual harassment prevention policy in place. The employer’s sexual harassment prevention policy must be provided to the employee at the time of hire and during each annual training. The policy can be provided electronically as long as the employee is able to print the policy for their records.

It is recommended you obtain a signed acknowledgment from the employee affirming they have received and read the employer’s sexual harassment prevention policy.

Click here for a prior news article on the sexual harassment prevention policy requirements.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

New York State Law requires that employers of one or more employees must conduct sexual harassment prevention training for all employees on an annual basis. The employer can decide the timing of the annual training (calendar year, anniversary date, or any other date) as long as it is completed annually. Employers are encouraged to track completion of training through attendance sheets, certificates of completion, or some other manner for audit purposes.

Free Training Available

The New York City Commission on Human Rights has developed a free online training that will satisfy both the New York State and New York City anti-sexual harassment training requirements. New York City's free online training is available here.

Please note that Safe Sanctuaries training does not exempt churches from the New York State sexual harassment prevention training requirements.

Click here for a previous news article with a helpful FAQ on this topic.

Click here for a previous news article on additional training options.

If you have questions on this topic,

please contact Tracy Rickett, Human Resources Generalist, at tracyrickett@unyumc.org or (315) 898-2017.

Genesee Valley District

of the Upper New York Conference

of the United Methodist Church

Peter Lagueras, District Lay Leader

Rev. Ted Anderson & Rev. David Underwood, District Associates

Betsy O'Flynn, District Adminstrative Assistant

Rev. Vonda J. Fossitt, District Superintendent

MAILING: 1050 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14607

PHYSICAL: 1040 East Ave, 2nd Floor, Rochester, NY 14607

(585) 340-9525 * GeneseeValleyDistrict@unyumc.org