AROUND THE CORNER
Next Issue June 9, 2022
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District & Conference Offices Will be Closed on Monday, May 30th in Observance of Memorial Day |
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Let Us Pray For Buffalo & Texas For Healing! |
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From the Desk of Bishop Webb: Texas School Shooting |
Upper New York Area Resident Bishop, Mark J. Webb, sent a note to the Upper New York Conference on May 25 as a response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24.
He asked for prayers for the families and victims, for the parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, aunts, and uncles, who had their precious loved ones, their children, violently taken away from them. He asked for prayers for the families of the teachers murdered and healing prayers for those injured and in critical condition.
Bishop Webb also stated how our society and systems must change. He asked for everyone to call out injustice and sin by showing people another way – the way of following Jesus.
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United Methodist Church Bishops Call for Action to Stop Mass Shootings |
The Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church President, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton, today urged clergy and laity to go on offense to stop mass shootings like the one that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas.
Click here to read Bishop Bickerton’s full statement. here.
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Important Information to Share |
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Pastors & Their Churches to Pray for Month of May |
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Lord send your spirit in this place.
Lord, listen to your children praying,
Send us love, send us pow'r, send us grace.
-- Ken Medema--
May 1 Olean: Christ UMC- Rev. Chad Sayers, his wife Jessica and their sons Isaiah & Micah.
May 8 Olean: Trinity & River’s Edge UMCs. Pastor Dawn Quesenberry, her husband Mike and their family.
May 15 Panama UMC. Rev. Steve Taylor, his wife Stacy and their family.
May 22 Ripley & South Ripley UMCs. Pastor Becky Ward and her family.
May 29 Sheridan UMC. David Watson, his wife MaryEllen and their family.
June 5 Olean: Christ UMC- Deacon Carrie Wolfe, her husband Aaron and their son Maxwell.
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Do You Have An Events For The Newsletter? |
If your church is hosting events, dinners, VBS and you would like it put in the Around The Corner Newsletter. Please send me the particulars of the event. Please include the Date, Time, Name of your Church or Place it is being held, Address where event is happening, Contact info if needed, a Small Blurb on the event. Please do make sure I receive the information by the Tuesday of the week that the Newsletter will be sent. The Newsletter is sent every other week (the next newsletter date is always found at the top the newsletter)
Send your information to:
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If you are in need of UMC Hymnals (these are the red hymnals) please contact the Cornerstone District office. You can call the office at 716-665-2423 or email me at cornerstonedistrict@unyumc.org. Please note that these are located in Jamestown.
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At this stage of the pandemic, the impact of COVID across the Conference varies by county. To determine how your church can continue to keep participants safe, please consult the CDC website for recommendations.
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Laity Gatherings with Bishop Webb |
June 12, 2022 @ 3:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. at LeRoy UMC
6/13/22
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Death Notice: Rev. Vonda J. Fossitt- UPDATED INFO
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Please continue to keep family and friends of the Rev. Vonda J. Fossitt in your prayers. Rev. Fossitt, 56, died on May 11. A Celebration of Life and Resurrection is planned for May 26 at New Light UMC, located at 2009 Dewey Ave. in Rochester, NY. The wake begins at 11 a.m. followed by a service at 12 p.m. Clergy are invited to robe in white stoles and process together. The memorial service will be livestreamed on the Conference website. To read DS Vonda's obituary, click here.
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Cornerstone District Lay Servant Training School
This is In Person at East Randolph UMC
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The Lay Servant Ministry Team is offering courses this June. Please register soon! The deadline for registration is June 10th.
Click here for brochure and registration form.
Courses being offered are:
- Called to Preach
- Leading Missional Small Groups
- The Basic Course
Classes being held:
Friday, June 24th 5pm-9pm
Saturday, June 25th 8am-5pm
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"We Believe" 12 Step Christ-Centered Support Group
Kidder Memorial UMC
will be hosting a weekly "We Believe" 12 step, Christ-centered support group beginning Thursday, April 21.
WHEN: Beginning Thursday, April 21st
WHERE: Kidder Memorial UMC
385 South Main
Jamestown, NY 14701
TIME: 6pm
CONTACTS: Scott Robert-716-490-8844 OR
Pastor Tom LeBeau-716-488-1680
What Is "We Believe"?
"We Believe" is a Christ-centered support group for individuals struggling with addiction or brokenness. It is built upon the conviction that the Gospel of Jesus Christ holds both the promise and power for freedom and new life. It is one group of the Addiction Response Ministry (ARM) of Chautauqua County. ARM exists to help individuals and their families in their recovery journey.
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2022 Annual Conference Postponed Until Oct. 6-8 |
Annual Conference has been postponed until Oct. 6th-8th, 2022 and will be virtual.
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Public Prayer- Advanced Lay Servant Course Being Offered by Zoom |
Rev. Nancy Dibelius is offering the Advanced Lay Servant Course (Required Lay Speaker Course) “Public Prayer” for a second time on Wednesdays, June 8, 15, 22, 29, July 6, 2022 from 6:30-8:30 pm via Zoom. “Praying in public can be daunting, but prayer is something one learns. This course on praying in public will help participants grown in confidence and skill in public prayer and enrich their personal prayer life.” (2021 Lay Servant Ministries Catalog, p. 24). Participants must purchase Shaping the Prayers of the People: The Art of Intercession by Samuel Wells and Abigail Kocher. ISBN: 978-0-8028-7097-1. Contact Nancy Goddard @ bngoddard@davespc.net for a registration form.
6/7/22
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Who Helps Your Pastor Prioritize Wellness? |
Pastors have a lot of responsibilities that go far beyond preparing for worship. They are on call to congregants who need support; they perform weddings and funerals; they have meetings throughout the week with different ministry teams at their church.
The COVID-19 pandemic placed more demands on these pastors—for many, they had to recreate the way they did worship to digital platforms.
We want to know how congregants are helping their pastors renew and replenish their souls and we’d like to share these stories with the entire Upper New York Conference.
By sharing these stories, our hope is that others throughout the Conference will be inspired to help their pastors prioritize wellness during these difficult times.
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Pastors Facing Stress and Slow Burn Burnout |
The life of a pastor is stressful under any circumstances, but the past few years have brought unprecedented challenges. Across the United States, a pandemic that emptied churches, hurricanes and tornadoes, denominational uncertainty, and racial issues have all made a mark.
Click here to read more about how stress is impacting Methodist pastors across the country.
Acknowledging the stress that is affecting pastors, the Upper New York Conference has created a wellness initiative to learn more about UNY pastors’ spiritual needs and to create resources to help them prioritize self-care. Continue following all UNY Conference news platforms for information about this initiative that will be released in the coming weeks.
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IN PERSON ANNUAL CONFERENCE POSTPONED
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Annual Conference will be postponed to Oct. 6-8, and it will be a virtual gathering. The plan is to use the same technology that was used at the 2021 virtual Annual Conference gathering, which was relatively well received.
The processing of refunds will start immediately but could take a couple of weeks to complete. If you made a hotel reservation, you should contact the hotel directly to cancel
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Grants Available for Projects
It is the desire of the UNY Conference United Women in Faith (formerly UMW) to offer grants to non-profit community and faith-based organizations that follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and address the needs of women, children and youth within the boundaries of our conference.
Exp. 6.15.22
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Giving Opportunity in Response to the War in Ukraineservices
Individuals can give directly to the Ukrainian people through local church offerings by writing a check to the Upper New York Conference with Advance #14053A in the memo line of the checks. These checks can either be placed in an offering plate or sent directly to the Conference office at 7481 Henry Clay Blvd., Liverpool, NY 13088.
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Let Us Continue to Keep the Ukrainian People In Our Thoughts & Prayers |
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Reminder: Sexual Harassment Training Is Mandatory |
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. This includes all those employed by the local church.
There is a free on-line training that is available to all. A certificate of completion is provided when the training is complete.
PLEASE NOTE:
Safe Sanctuaries training does not exempt churches from the NYS sexual harassment prevention training requirement.
If you have questions on this topic, please contact Tracy Rickett, Human Resources Generalist, at tracyrickett@unyumc.org or (315) 898-2017.
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Disaffiliating from the UNY Conference
and the UMC
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During the Upper New York (UNY) Annual Conference held virtually in June of 2021, the body passed Resolution UNYAC2021.7 which created a Study Commission to examine the readiness in the UNYUMC for the Implementation of the Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation.
Last fall, the UNY Study Commission issued surveys to clergy and congregations in the UNY Conference about the Protocol. Despite there only being a 30 percent response rate, some congregations and clergy did report that if the Protocol passes, they will leave the United Methodist Church. Click here to read the survey report.
Earlier this month, the Global Methodist Church announced that it will launch on May 1, 2022. Click here to read the announcement.
Given these changes, the Conference Board of Trustees anticipated there would be congregations who might now desire to explore disaffiliation.
Click here to read an article that outlines the disaffiliation process.
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Upcoming Upper NY Safe Sanctuary Zoom Training Sessions.
Click here for flyer and more information on these upcoming trainings
For more information on Safe Sanctuaries, and on background checks, click here.
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Tending the Soul
2022-2024 A Two-year Training Program for Lay and Clergy
Exp.11.14.22
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The “Connect with Us” Academy for Continuing Education 2022 Course Schedule including
A Course Series: Refreshing My Preaching Ministry
exp.6.30.22
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Bishop Webb announces clergy appointments
View the full list of changes here.
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Media Resource Center
Click here for tips on ordering through our website.
Media Resource Center
315-898-2027
7481 Henry Clay Blvd.
Liverpool, NY 13088
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Lay Servant Courses Offered Around the Conference
Click here to find out when, where and how you can sign up for a lay servant course that you need or are interested in taking. This link connects you to all the Districts in UNY Conference that are offering courses. Just click and start exploring your options!
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Cornerstone District Office
PO Box 687
Bath, NY 14810
716-665-2423
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