Northern Flow Weekly Newsletter June 16, 2022

The Current

June 16, 2022

Bishop Webb to Offer Virtual Conversation with Laity

June 21st

Upper New York (UNY) Area Resident Bishop, Mark J. Webb, had planned on in-person meetings with UNY laity this month, but these meetings had to be canceled due to expressed concerns, related to the COVID pandemic.

To create an opportunity for these conversations to be held, Bishop Webb will be hosting a live webinar on Vimeo on Tuesday June 21 at 6:30 p.m.

During this webinar, Bishop Webb will address recent denominational developments and discuss the importance of keeping focused on the mission of the Church. The webinar will include a time for questions and answers.

Individuals are invited to send questions in advance, along with their name and church, for Bishop Webb to address by emailing them to news@unyumc.org by June 17th. An opportunity to submit questions during the webinar will be available through a chat function.

Click here on June 21st to join this webinar.

United Methodist Night at the Ballpark, Thursday July 28th 2022

Now in it's 43rd year! Opponent is the Omaha (Nebraska) Storm Chasers, a farm team of the Kansas City Royals

At last year's game, due to not having a parking lot tailgate party with complimentary grilled hot dogs and coneys, we chose Dollar Thursday night, where several stadium stands have $1 dogs, coneys and Coke products, and so, because of the on-going Covid variants, we chose Dollar Thursday night AGAIN!

And we will lead the stadium in the singing of the National Anthem from Home Plate, and also have someone through out the ceremonial First Pitch!

Also like our 2021 game, we will hold a block of tickets on the 200 Level (so we have seats versus a bench, cup-holders, and no need to climb the extra stairs to the 300 Level! NEW this year though - THIRD BASE side tickets, so no bright setting sunshine in our faces!

To purchase tickets, please contact Steve Ranous at UMMSteve@twcny.rr.com

Flyer

Rock Charitable Fund Accepting Proposals from Non-Profit Organizations for 2022 Grant Support

Second Lieutenant Marjorie J Rock, U.S. Army Nurse Corps retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1970 and made St. Lawrence County her home.

The Rock Charitable Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation is now accepting application for 2022 grant support from qualified charitable organizations, houses of worship, cemeteries, or governmental entities that serve St. Lawrence County residents.

Grant funding is available to organizations whose missions and efforts align with the fund's charitable purposes, which are:

for the maintenance and preservation of places of legitimate historical significance in the county
to benefit or assist veterans of the United State Military with their medical or recreational needs who live in St. Lawrence County.

All organizations applying for funding must do so through the Community Foundations online Grant Lifecycle Manager, which may be accessed at nnycf.org/grants. A grant information session is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. - Thursday June 9th via Zoom. Visit bit.ly/rockinfosession to register for the session today.

Requests for funding will not be considered for work that begins before December 21, 2022. Successful applicants will have up to three (3) years to complete their project or program. Applications and guidelines for the Rock Charitable Fund may be accessed through the Foundation's Grant Lifecycle Manager portal. However, applicants are strongly encourage to contact the Community Foundation to discuss requested amounts and project details before submitting grant proposals.

Complete grant proposals must be submitted online by 5:00 p.m. Friday September 5th 2022. Grant decisions will be made in December 2022. The Community Foundation will notify all applicants of the status of their proposal by Friday January 13th 2023. Contact Kraig Everard, Community Foundation director of stewardship and programs, with any application or grant questions at kraig@nnycf.org or 315-782-7110.

*Article taken from Watertown Daily Times May 20, 2022

Webinars Available

Do you have someone new who is now a trustee or a member of your SPRC? Here are some resources to help them learn.

New materials and webinar recordings room April 26 and 28, 2022 were developed for churches in the Southern Tier Region, which consists of the Cornerstone, Mountain View, Binghamton, and Oneonta Districts. District Superintendents the Rev. Suzanne Block, the Rev. Dr. Jeff McDowell, and the Rev. Nancy Adams led the sessions.

One webinar was related to church trustees with included resources and the other webinar was related to staff-parish-relations committees with included resources.

Click here to watch these helpful recordings and access the useful resources.

In Person Conference Postponed

to October 6-8 to be held Remotely

The Sessions Committee of the Upper New York Conference gathered by Zoom on the morning of Thursday, April 21 to discuss growing concerns about the uptick in COVID-19 cases in Upstate New York and throughout the United States.

Members of the Committee shared both their own perspectives and what they have been hearing from others regarding the comfort level of gathering more than a thousand United Methodist from across Upper New York at Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena. In the end, while there was a great sense of loss about not being able to gather in-person for the third year in a row, the Committee overwhelmingly agreed that the top priority had to be the health and safety of the individuals that would be asked to attend. The decision was made to institute a backup plan that has been in place since the Committee started planning for an in-person Annual Conference gathering.

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.

Postponing Annual Conference creates a new set of logistical concerns to address and the decisions about those concerns will be shared once they are made. In the meantime, anyone who has already registered for the planned in-person Annual Conference gathering will receive full refunds. 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.

“We know that there will be many different reactions to the news of Annual Conference being postponed and moved to a virtual event,” said the Rev. Joellyn Tuttle, Chair of the Sessions Committee. “Many will be disappointed; many will be relieved; and many more will be some combination of the two. Ultimately, this decision puts the health of the members of the Annual Conference first and that felt right to the Committee. Our first desire was to do no harm, and we are confident that we can pull together an excellent virtual event in October.”

Trip to Holy Land 2023

The clergy team of Syracuse United Methodist Ministries (Revs. Andy Anderson, B.J. Norrix, Jee Hae Song, and Alicia Wood) invite you to join them on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Feb. 14 – Feb. 24, 2023.

You will explore, learn, and fellowship as you visit Caesarea, the Sea of Galilee, Cana, Nazareth, Samaria, Jacob's Well, the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and much more. The cost of the trip starts at $3,448, leaving from JFK, New York. There is also an option to extend your trip through Jordan for an additional cost.

You are encouraged to register immediately with only $100. Register by July 14 ($50 off), August 14 ($25 off). Brochures with more details and registration forms are available. Please contact:

Pastors B.J.: bjnorrix@gmail.com, 315-726-2815 (cell);

Andy: andmcand@hotmail.com, 917-723-0901 (cell);

Alicia: pastoraliciawood@gmail.com, 315-450-1632 (cell); or

Jee Hae: jeehaesong611@gmail.com, 404-825-8025 (cell), for a brochure, online registration link, if you have any questions, or need more information.

Click here for more information.

Job Opportunities for Upper New York Conference

The Upper New York Conference has job openings, please click here for more information.

Tending the Soul Training

Tending the Soul, a training program in Missional Spiritual Direction and Congregational Formation, will be starting a new cohort in November 2022. The program is designed for lay and clergy. Perhaps more than any other time in our recent past, the ability to listen deeply for God, to remain centered and non-anxious, and to hold sacred space for others is an essential tool in ministry (both within your local congregation and the greater community).

Click here for more information and a brochure with all details on the program and how to apply.

Any questions can be directed to the Rev. Nancy Dibelius (nancyd@unyumc.org).

Stewardship with

Rev. Susan Ranous

June 15, 2022

RELATIONSHIP OF STEWARDSHIP TO DISCIPLESHIP #3

I’ve been talking the last couple of weeks about the relationship of stewardship to discipleship, talking about the mission statements of churches, church windows and doors and reaching outside our buildings.

How often do our mission states talk about our core values? We are loving, Bible-based, welcoming, diverse, open-minded. None of that is bad, of course, but it is not our mission. They hopefully describe our church but those words don’t explain what God is calling your church to do and to be.

In working with some churches, I’ve taken the time to ask some questions, like:

What does the community think about when they think about your church?

Does the community even know you’re here?

If I were to ask you what is your church about, what would you say?

Most importantly, I think, is the question, what is God calling your church to do? To be?

So…what is your church called to be by God?

a. Does your mission statement reflect that?
b. Does everyone know?
c. If everyone were asked what the mission state is, could they answer?

So, from our conversations about mission statements, I hope you’re able to take these things away with you?

1. Your mission statement needs to have an action/an outcome. In other words, is there a so that what???
2. People need to know what your mission is, and be part of articulating it as well.
3. People don’t respond, either through prayer, mission or giving, if they don’t know it, don’t embrace it and don’t share it!

So, what is God calling your church to be? How is that happening? What is the outcome that God wants to see from your church?

When your disciples are able to talk about their discipleship, then they are also stewards, and everything will work together to fulfill God’s mission for your church.

Safe Sanctuaries Training Schedule for 2022

Attached is a flyer for all upcoming Upper New York Safe Sanctuaries Zoom training session for the year, along with registration links and dates.

We will continue to send reminders prior to registration by an individual bases but we wanted to make sure all dates were available to the conference, districts and churches.

You will notice that the dates are strategic as we want to make it available prior to summer VBS programs, Fall Sunday school start up and a couple others in between. We have also set two Training of Trainer dates which we will ask those who wish to become a trainer in their local church and/or their districts to join.

If you or anyone has any questions please direct them to the Safe Sanctuaries team via our email safesanctuaries@unyumc.org .