Northern Flow Weekly Newsletter January 26, 2023

The Current

January 26, 2023

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:

Feb. 9, 2023 – Lakes Region–Leroy UMC
Feb. 16, 2023 -Northeast Region–New Hartford
March 1, 2023 – Lakes Region–Auburn UMC
March 2, 2023 – Northeast Region–Plattsburgh UMC
March 15, 2023 – Southern Tier Region—Olean: Christ
March 16, 2023 – Southern Tier Region—Central Endicott

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.

If you would like onsite childcare for Feb. 16, we ask that you let us know right away and no later than Noon, Feb. 2, so we can explore securing the necessary Safe Sanctuaries-trained childcare providers. Please express your interest in childcare by 2-2-23. Call 315-797-1777 or email: mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org

LEARNING AND GROWING OPPORTUNITY

A DISCIPLE’S HEART: GROWING IN LOVE AND GRACE

A Book Study and Discussion Group

by James Harnish with Justin Larosa

Discipleship in the Methodist tradition affirms that there is always more work for God to do in the human heart. Our focus in this study circle is the ongoing transformation of the heart that happens as the love of God that came to us in Jesus takes up residence in us, enabling us to become agents of God’s transforming love at work in the world.

Thursday, February 2^nd @ 7:00-8:30 PM

Thursday, February 16^th @ 7:00-8:30 PM

Thursday, March 2^nd @ 7:00-8:30 PM

Thursday, March 16^th @ 7:00-8:30 PM

Thursday, March 30^th@ 7:00-8:30 PM

Thursday, April 13^th @ 7:00-8:30 PM

All Sessions will be held on Zoom. Please email one of the facilitators to register. There will be no registration fee, but participants (lay or clergy) need to purchase their own book.

Facilitators

Wendy Zepp: wzepp@stny.rr.com

Ann Welch Wood: awelchwood@hotmail.com

A Disciple’s Heart Daily Workbook: Growing in Love and Grace by James Harnish with Justin Larosa here

"Engage New People Grant" Available

The Upper New York New Faith Communities' Team is excited to announce the “Engage New People Grant” to benefit local churches in the Upper New York Conference that are working to Engage New People not already in their church/ministry. New Faith Communities Conference-wide purpose is to reach people outside the Church in new and contextual ways.

Grants will be available up to $2,500 to help local churches and ministries. Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis in 2023. Churches and ministries may apply for up to $2,500 during one calendar year. Please expect 60 days to review your application.

Click here to apply for the “Engage New People Grant.”

Upon completing the application, the New Faith Communities' team will reach out to the pastor/lead planter of the church and/or contact person listed to confirm your submission.

Equalization Members Needed for 2023

Please CLICK the application button below to find the 2023 Northern Flow District Equalization Member Application for Annual Conference.

Please read the application carefully as it has changed from last year. This year there will be three (3) sessions that our EQ Members will need to attend. There will be two (2) virtual sessions - Saturday March 25th and Saturday October 14th - in addition to an IN PERSON session to be held June 1 - 3, 2023 at the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse.

Applications are to be received in the district office no later than

Wednesday February 1^st, 2023.

Each session will have a separate registration process and cost associated with it. There will be NO COST for the March 25th session.

Thank you to all of you in advance for volunteering your time and energy in serving as an Northern Flow District Lay Equalization Representative.

Any questions please contact the office.

Application

Reminder for Churches Certificates of Insurance

If your church is seeking certificates of insurance for disability insurance coverage (DB 120.1) and/or workers’ compensation insurance coverage (C105.2), the following information will be helpful to you.

Requests for DB 120.1

Certificates of insurance for disability insurance coverage (DB 102.1) are issued by the disability insurance carrier, Guardian. The following information will be needed from you to request the certificate of insurance. You can email either Tracy Rickett, HR Generalist, at t tracyrickett@unyumc.org or Suzannah Emerson at SEmerson@WalshDuffield.com with the following information. Please allow at least 5 business days for your request to be processed.

NAME OF INSURED CHURCH:

MAILING ADDRESS OF INSURED CHURCH:

EMAIL ADDRESS TO WHERE DB 120.1 CERTIFICATE SHOULD BE SENT:

NAME OF ENTITY REQUESTING PROOF OF INSURANCE (Typically the Dept of Health):

ADDRESS OF ENTITY REQUESTING PROOF OF INSURANCE:

Requests for C 105.2

Certificates of insurance for workers’ compensation insurance coverage (C105.2) can be obtained by contacting American Church Group of NY. They will assist each church in obtaining the documentation needed. Contact them at 800-326-7200; 717-763-5517 (fax) or UMCservice.NY@AmericanChurchGroup.com.

If you have questions on certificates of insurance, please contact Tracy Rickett, Human Resources Generalist, at (315) 898-2017 or tracyrickett@unyumc.org.

Links

SAFE SANCTUARIES TRAINING SCHEDULE

Schedule

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.

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.

ANNUAL CAMPAIGNS

Stewardship with Rev. Susan Ranous

January 19, 2023

FINANCIAL PLANS #1

Are you like me? Do you like lists? I like to joke that sometimes I have a list of lists. When I was getting ready to go to college, I prepared a list of the various lists that I would need to create to be ready…list of books, of clothes, of groceries, of items for the room, etc. etc. Each week, when I get in the office, I sit down with my calendar and with my list from the prior week and create a list for the upcoming week… of appointments, of tasks, etc. Some of the tasks are “repeaters”, but some are new. As new work comes it, I add it to the current week’s list. Each item gets crossed out as it gets done. For me, that plan works; it forces me to go through, in my mind, everything I have to consider for the upcoming week and allows me to plan what time I have available and how to do what I need to do in the time I have.

Of course, not everyone is a list person. But all of us should do planning of some kind for various reasons. One of the plans we should put in place are financial plans. You’ve probably heard some of the statistics: most Americans live paycheck to paycheck and many have no savings.

For the same reason that I create a list: I can’t keep everything memorized in my head; we have to have a written plan, because we can’t keep our financial lives in our head either!

For a personal financial plan, it should:

Prioritize savings for the future
Focus on reducing existing debt
Divide the rest of your income into your expense categories, like housing, food, clothing, transportation.

Do all of this, keeping God in mind.

This same idea could help your church too! Churches should have financial plans as well. Many churches, both pre-COVID and post-COVID are in the mindset that they have financial problems. I still hold the firm belief that no church has financial problems; the money issues that they have are symptoms of the real problems. A financial plan would help you and the church leadership focus on what those real problems are. Next week, I will talk about how to start financial planning for the church.

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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!

Charge Conference Forms Due Dates

Due November 1st.: NOW PAST DUE

Pastor's Appointment Advisory Form (https://uny.umcprofile.org)

S/PPRC Appointment Advisory Form (https://uny.umcprofile.org)

Pastor-S/PPRC Covenant Forms (https://uny.umcprofile.org)

*These need to be printed and mailed to the district office*

Due December 1st.: UPDATE ONLINE - DO NOT PRINT A COPY

Church Profile (https://uny.umcprofile.org)

Pastor's Profile (https://uny.umcprofile.org)

Due February 15th. 2023

Report of Trustees

Report of Finance Committee

2022 Year End Financial Report

2023 Church Budget - Your church format

2022 Statistical Reports (https://stats.gcfa.org/)

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.