Mohawk District E-newsletter for Churches and Pastors March 17, 2021

Good Friday Digital Worship Experience Coming Soon The District Leadership Team of the Mohawk District is providing a free digital Good Friday Worship Experience that can be used by all District Churches. It will be available sometime after March 18. Watch this space to find the link to use with your church or to have for your own worship time. District E-newsletters To subscribe to the news- letter, send us your email address. To submit news for this publication, send it a minimum of eight days in advance to: mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org  To catch up on past e-newsletters visit the Conference website at: http://www.unyumc.org/district/mohawk District Prayer Focus Week of March 21 New Harvest/Nueva Cosecha Alfredo Gonzalez North Western UMC Click here for a copy of the 2020-21 Prayer Calendar

Prayers Around the District Prayers for the family of Elizabeth Harter, former licensed local pastor and lay pastor. Elizabeth died March 2, 2021. Prior to her passing, she served Cedar Lake UMC from 2004 to 2010 and Paines Hollow UMC from 2008 to 2010. Click here to read the obituary. Healing prayers are needed for Pastor Mark & Mrs. Dawn Hediger (Middleville/Salisbury Center/Stratford) who are ill with COVID symptoms. Healing prayers for Heidi Bradseth, spouse of Rev. Anthony Bradseth (Dolgeville, Oppenheim, St. Johnsville), who is in the midst of a long recovery following surgery.

Mission of Sharing God's Word and Financial Gifts with Those in Need Read a heartwarming account of God's work through mission. Certified Lay Speaker Dave Dudgeon says, "I took the Word with me in the form of 50 New Testament Bibles and 100 copies of the Gospel of John..... The mission of that church is to bring people to Christ..."

Find Dave's Story Here

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Information on Proof of Claim Filing and Boy Scouts (BSA) On recommendation of our conference chancellor, many of our churches last fall filed a “proof of claim” with the bankruptcy court to protect their rights to indemnification from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in the event abuse claims against churches who may have sponsored BSA Troops are asserted.      If your church did file a proof of claim, you may have recently received a document entitled “Notice of Hearing to Consider Approval of Disclosure Statement.” The Notice advises all the parties in the bankruptcy case that the BSA is ready to propose a plan to emerge from bankruptcy and that details will be forthcoming as they are available.   The Notice is for informational purposes only and requires no action on the part of your church. There is nothing for you to do at this time. You do not need to file any document with the bankruptcy court, nor do you have to be available for the hearing.    The conference’s attorneys are following the BSA bankruptcy case and will advise you of any significant developments in the case.

Holy Week Worship Opportunities Is you church offering any unique virtual opportunities or outdoor worship experiences during Holy Week/Easter? Send us your info and you could have your church's worship listed here!

COVID-19 Funeral Assistance - Applications Accepted in April Our UNY Director of Missional Engagement, Mike Block, has received this information from the Executive Director of New York Disaster Interfaith Services. https://www.fema.gov/disasters/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance FEMA is dedicated to helping ease some of the financial stress and burden caused by COVID-19. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 provides FEMA $2 billion to reimburse individuals and households for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred between Jan. 20 and Dec. 31, 2020. FEMA is working to set up a dedicated toll-free phone number that can be used to apply for funeral assistance. More information will soon be available at: https://www.fema.gov/disasters/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance

Direct bill arrearage policy delayed enforcement extended through Dec. 31, 2021 - Action Needed By Susan Latessa, Director of Human Resources/Benefits In 2020, the Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits (CBOPHB) had approved delayed enforcement of the direct bill arrearage policy through December 31, 2020. Understanding the continued struggle faced by many congregations, the Board has approved to extend that delay through Dec. 31, 2021. If your church is still able to pay their direct bills, they should. If a church is experiencing financial hardship as a result of reduced giving during this time, the church is asked to notify their District Superintendent as well as the Benefits office (Susan Latessa) to discuss their situation. The Upper New York Conference will work with churches on a case-by-case basis.

Safe Sanctuaries Zoom Training The Upper New York Annual Conference Team will be hosting our standard Basic Safe Sanctuaries training via Zoom 9 AM to 12:30 PM, Saturday, March 27.

This training is brought to you and paid for by your Upper New York Ministry Shares and is required for anyone working with children, youth and vulnerable adults as stated by the Minimum Standards. The training will follow the reformatted ZOOM curriculum developed by the Upper New York Annual Conference Safe Sanctuaries Team. You must REGISTER for the training.  Registration link: https://uny-ss-basic.eventbrite.com  For questions, please contact: safesanctuaries@unyumc.org

Reminder -- Local Church Annual Audits are Now Overdue--Keep Sending them In The Local Church Annual Audit was due March 15, 2021, to the Mohawk District Office: 105 Genesee St., New Hartford, NY 13413, mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org. Also the following reports were due in February 2021. Churches may still send them to the Mohawk District Office: mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org, or 105 Genesee St., New Hartford, NY 13413. Let us know if you need help. Report of the Trustees Report of the Finance Committee End-of-Year Financial Report (any format) 2021 Church Budget (any format)

2020 Local Church Annual Audit (click here)

Annual Conference 2021 The 12th Session will take place virtually June 17-19, 2021. The Upper New York Conference is working with Good News TV Media Ministry to provide a positive virtual experience. Who will attend: All clergy and laity representatives to the Annual Conference Session When is Annual Conference: June 17-19, 2021 Where will Annual Conference Take Place: Virtually

Click Here to Get Retreat Info

A Word on Course of Study for Part-time Local Pastors

Dear Local Pastors,  Appalachian Local Pastors' School-Memphis-Tennessee-Holsten is offering special SUMMER 2021 sessions of COS 324 Preaching Jul. 30-31 & Aug. 13-14, 2021, via zoom, and COS 321 Gospels Jul. 16-17 & Aug. 6-7, 2021, via zoom. Register in March or April as space is limited. Use the regular COS Registration form found on www.alpsumc.org but write COS 324 SUMMER-Dr. Minger or COS 321 Summer-Dr. Sisson on the registration form beside the course list. Course assignments and syllabus will be mailed upon registration. The registration cut off for Gospels is June 1. Please send your COS course registration forms to approve as soon as possible for these COS summer session courses or for other COS courses in 2021. ALPS is offering all 20 COS courses this year. Registration forms are on the ALPS-MTH website: www.alpsumc.org  Upon registering, contact alpsmthcos@gmail.com to request the course syllabus for COS 324 or COS 321 as these are not on the ALPS-MTH website.

COS 324 Course Announcement

Lay Servant Courses - Open to All The following courses are available to keep certification current or become certified as Lay Servant or Lay Speaker.   Basic Course: Basic Lay Servant  6-9 p.m., Mondays, April 12, 19, 26 and 6-9 p.m., Thursday, April 29. ZOOM: Course Fee: $15 To register or for more info., contact Arlene at adschmidt@nycap.rr.com.   Advanced Course: Leading Prayer 6-9 p.m., Wednesdays April 14, 21, May 5: Saturday May 1: 9-1 pm ZOOM: Course Fee: $15 To register or for more info., contact Arlene at adschmidt@nycap.rr.com. To view the brochure, click here.    Advanced Course: Lay Pastoral Care 7-9 p.m., Wednesdays, Apr. 28th, May 5th, 12th, & 19th Zoom: Course Fee $15   Click here for the registration brochure. Reg. extended to Apr. 1. Imagine No Racism 2-5 p.m., Thursdays, Apr. 22nd, 29th, May 6th, 13th, & 20th Zoom: Course Fee $15   Click here for the registration brochure. Reg. extended to Apr. 1.

UMC Clergy Education Offering Courses for Credit in Mar./Apr. 2021 Mar. 23 - More Than a Sermon: Tips to Becoming a More Effective Pastor Quincy Brown. Click here to register or for information. Apr. 14 - Developing Effective Communication to Grow Your Church Kevin Slimp. Click here to register or for information. Apr. 20 - Ways to Enhance Online Discipleship in Your Church Rachel Gilmore. Click here to register or for information. Apr. 22 - Great "out of the box" Ideas for Local Churches Anne Bosarge. Click here to register or for information.

The Mohawk District Office staff will be available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, generally. Call the District 315-797-1777, or send email to: mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org.

Mohawk District Office 105 Genesee Street New Hartford, NY 13413 mohawkdistrict@unyumc.org 315-797-1777 Regular Hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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