eVoice 03.04.2010
News
Trustees Chair offers Camp Sumatanga update
Chile Earthquake: North Alabama Conference missionary and Methodist Bishop in Chile report on damage; UMCOR Sends Aid to Chile
North Alabama pastor finds calling in coaching
Chile Earthquake Disaster (Updated)
Retired pastor Rev. Woodfin Grove publishes first book at age 91
- ‘Wesley’ may be coming to a theater near you
- UMCOR helps Haitians stay in U.S.
- Chilean Methodists pray for guidance
- Pastors debate value of Lenten sacrifices
- Chile faces long road to recovery
- Innovative churches worship despite blizzard
- mission respects many cultures
- Chilean pastor: ‘Trust in the Lord’
- Methodists in Chile assess quake toll
Nominate a Leader for a Conference Award
2010 Denman Evangelism Award
Nominations due March 15
This year those eligible for this prestigious award are pastors and lay persons who have exhibited leadership in evangelism and who have shown skill in developing leadership in evangelism. Neither the size of the local church, the age or gender of the nominee, nor the length of their service will limit eligibility.
The North Alabama Conference selection team will be giving emphasis to those nominees who are developing effective leadership in evangelism in accord with our conference priority. What is important is leadership in evangelism: not only who they have brought to Christ, but who they trained and mentored to bring others to Christ. How have they trained evangelism teams -- reach-out teams; caller teams; etc.? How have they motivated other people to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ?
You may submit your nominations of a lay and/or clergy person by using an online form OR by downloading a printable form, filling it out and mailing in your nominations.
Click here for more information
Louise Branscomb Barrier Breaker Award
Nominations due April 7
In 1990 the United Methodist Women of the North Alabama Conference established the Louise Branscomb Barrier Breaker Award as a way for the Conference to annually recognize a United Methodist willing to risk and stand up for the rights of women and ethnic minority persons. Each year the Conference Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW) continues to recognize these "barrier breakers" through this award.
North Alabama United Methodists are invited to nominate those who exhibit these characteristics each spring.
Click here for more information.
Upcoming Events
VIM Mission Team Leader Training
Start Date 3/6/2010This is a training designed to help those who are going to lead their first mission trip abroad. Logistics such as travel and planning will be covered, as well as a discussion about cross-cultural ministry. This course is needed if you wish to lead an UMVIM mission team through any United Methodist Church.
Contact Rev. Matt Lacey for more info at mlacey@northalabamaumc.org
Closing Service for Bessemer First UMC
Historic First United Methodist Church of Bessemer, Al. Will be having its closing service Sunday, March 7, 2010.
All former members, pastors, associate pastors, families and friends are invited to join in this service at 10:30 a.m. Marking the end of 123 years of ministry in the city of Bessemer. This church has touched thousands of people throughout the state and nation. The Reverend Dr. Gordon McKinney will be joined by several former members recounting the history and heritage of this great church.
"Youth Ministry" Leaders Training
What is the status of your "Youth Ministry"? Whether you are just beginning or have a successful ministry, Youth Minister, Russell Bernard, will provide tips to help your ministry reach youth and connect with Jesus Christ in 21st Century terms.
This will be an excellent opportunity to gain insights from an innovative and out-of-the-box minister who believes that we should not compromise the Gospel but we must engage the culture to reach our youth.
Russell Bernard has a passion for discipling youth and assisting them to make sense of their relationship with Christ through their context. He has both initiated and grown youth ministries. As a result of this success and experience, he is finishing his first book entitled, Doing Effective Youth Ministry. Below is an abbreviated bio:
- Served as Minister to Teens for The Empowerment Temple AME Church, Baltimore, MD, growing the youth service to over 150 young people in attendance.
- Served as Pastor of Students and Young Professionals for The Fountain Ministries, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where over 80 students received Christ and joined the ministry in the first year.
- Wrote articles for The American Bible Society's Student Magazine "Elementz of LIfe", www.elementzoflife.com.
- Prepared national curriculum on youth leader training for The Urban Youth Workers Institute "Reload", www.reloadtour.org .
Basic Lay Speaking Ministries Workshop: Equipping
Please Join Us As The Northwest District Presents An Exciting And Brand New
Basic Lay Speaking Ministries Workshop: Equipping
Learn About Leading, Caring And Communicating
Open To All United Methodist Laity Throughout The North Alabama Conference
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Registration: 8:00 Am – 8:30 am
Workshop: 8:30 Am – 4:30 pm
Cost $30: Includes All Materials, Lunch And Breaks
Presenters Include:
Rev. Greg Reynolds
Rev. Mike Stonbraker
Rev. John Yeates
Dr. Wendy Sellers
Multiple Guest Panelists
Please Register By Monday, March 8, 2010
Download the Registration Form below: Registration_Form_BASIC_LSM_HMM4TWXC.pdf
Denman Evangelism Award Deadline
Deadline for nominations for the Denman Evangelism Award is March 15, 2010. One clergy and one lay person will be selected to receive the Harry Denman Evangelism Award. The awards will be presented to the individuals who have shown effective leadership in evangelism.
Click here to submit nominations online or download and print application forms.
New Church Leadership Institute
Curious about church planting? Want to know more about planting a new church or satellite? This is an event for pastors and key leaders who are curious and want to explore some possibilities. No strings attached. This event will be led by Jim Griffith, founder of Griffith Coaching Network and veteran of five new church plants. Jim is the coach for our North Alabama new churches.
Health and Spirituality
Dr. John Simmons M.D. will lead a session on sprituality and healing for people who have terminal or chronic illness and their families. During these sessions issues such as grief, death and dying, curing or caring, health or illness will be discussed. We will use music, poetry, and personal stories to work through these four areas. We will review the evidence of the impact on health of such rituals as prayer, meditation, relaxation, etc. We will likely learn and practice some of these rituals.
Spirituality and Healing
A Retreat Model
1- Who am I?
During this session we explore the awe and wonder of being human and our place here and in the whole Cosmos.
2- The Dark Night.
Here we look at the meaning of suffering (and other dark night experiences). We address the question of how God is revealed during such experiences.
3- What is my purpose in life?
We look at how to be creative in health and in Illness by addressing such questions as how can I be creative; what will I leave behind; etc.?
4- Is life fair?
What is just about my illness? What is just about the world? What is my role in creating justice?
UTE-Ultimate Training Event- Training in Youth Ministry
Over 20 Seminars Available For Volunteers & Staff
Registration opens at 8 am
Cost: $20 per participant; $15 per participant for groups of five (5) or more
Light Breakfast Included
Lunch Included
Music by Justin McLendon
.7 CEU's upon completion
Group Hotel Rate Available
The Ultimate Training Event is a one-day conference sponsored by your AWF Conference focused on providing training in youth ministry on March 20, 2010 at Christ United Methodist Church in Mobile, AL. This year, our keynote speaker will be Jason Gant. Jason Gant is Director of Student Ministries at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, one of the fastest growing churches in America, and he is the author of a book focused on equipping volunteer youth leaders in the smaller church setting.
Free Resources From Group and Youth Specialties - Each participant will recieve free resources from Group Publishing and Youth Specialties. There will also be several giveaways of resources from these and other companies. Along with Jason, youth ministers across our conference will be leading seminars throughout the day on all aspects of youth ministry from planning foreign mission trips to recruiting volunteers and from great youth game ideas to developing your speaking skills for youth talks. Churches are encouraged to send youth staff and volunteers to this invaluable day of training.
Hotel Information:
Hampton Inn. A rate of $89/night/any type room (including two queens). Contact Information for booking: 251-776-5866. Reference the discount code: UTE. Rooms are held until 2 weeks prior to the event (March 6th). After March 6 rooms are subject to availability.
Schedule:
8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Registration/9 a.m. - 10 a.m. Opening Session/ 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Elective Workshop One /11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Elective Workshop Two/ 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. Lunch & Games /1 p.m. - 2 p.m. Elective Workshop Three/ 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Elective Workshop Four/ 3:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. Break/ 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. Closing Session
Key Note Speaker:
Jason Gant is Director of Student Ministries at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, one of the fastest growing churches in America. He also leads a worship service, called Vibe, designed to reach young adults and families of teens. He is passionate about student leadership, creative worship expression, and reaching young people with the power of Christ. Jason just released his first book (a ministry guide between Resurrection and Abingdon press designed to encourage and equip volunteer youth ministry leaders in the smaller church setting). Jason is married to Scharme and they have two daughters. Jason tweets as jasongant and you can connect with him on facebook or his blog at jasongant.org
Revitalization Boot Camp - Basic Training
This Boot Camp is for Pastors and Leadership Teams from existing churches who need a plan to increase people, impact, finances, mission, ministry and discipleship. It is for those who are committed enough to spend a Saturday and Sunday away from their church in order to help their church. This event will be led by Jim Griffith, founder of Griffith Coaching Network and veteran of five new church plants. Jim is the coach for our North Alabama new churches.
North Alabama Clergy Spouses - Babies First Benefit Luncheon 2010
Fellowship Hall
980 Hughes Road
Madison, Alabama 35758
Lunch and Program - Noon-1:30 p.m.
Individual Reservations $15
Sponsorship (Table for 8) $120
Make checks payable to the North Alabama Conference of the UMC
Reference Babies First Luncheon in the memo line, and
give checks to your clergy spouse or mail to:
Pat Bell
2116 Southwood Road
Birmingham AL 35216
Reservation deadline is March 19, 2010.
Your name tag will be waiting for you at the door.
For more information about Babies First, visit www.umch.net
Click for Flier: ClergySpouseLuncheon_ITF55FXN.pdf
Louise Branscomb Barrier Breaker Award Nomination Deadline
North Alabama Conference COSROW
Go to www.northalabamaumc.org/branscombaward for more details and to download the nomination form.
2010 Ebony Exploration
A weekend retreat for African-American senior high youth to discover, explore,and celebrate ministry as a vocation—Grades 9-12.... How Will You Holla Back?
During this time together, the youth, along with 20-25 Adult Mentors, will worship God through the ministry of education and exploration of various ministries within The United Methodist Church. The weekend will be grounded in spirit-filled worship, rich opportunities for small group sessions, fellowship and mentoring sessions for youth to discover, explore and celebrate a call to ministry. There will also be a resource fair with United Methodist-related seminaries and general agency representatives on-site.
Criteria for Participants:
- Participants must be serious about exploring ordained and/or lay ministry as a Christian vocation.
- Participants must be dedicated to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, weekend covenant groups, communal and private worship and a spirit of learning, listening, and sharing for the weekend.
- Participants must have shown potential to serve as a leader in their local church and live an active Christian life that exhibits the fruit of the Spirit among adults and their peers.
- Participants must be active members of a local church in The United Methodist Church.
- Participants must be current 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th graders.
Scholarships for North Alabama students
To work toward our Conference priorities of empowering a new generation and effective leadership, the North Alabama Conference Ethnic Ministries team will provide 10 youth from North Alabama with 100% sponsorship (including registration, meals & transportation) to the Ebony Exploration 2010 event. Please have interested youth submit a self-written one to two paragraph essay stating why they would like to be apart of the Ebony Exploration 2010 trip. All submissions need to be submitted by March 22, 2010, to nhillman@northalabamaumc.org. Pleases include full contact information with the essay.The 10 students whose submissions are chosen will be notified March 24, 2010.
Students not awarded scholarships are also encouraged to attend this event! The registration cost is $90.
For information on registration contact Nacole Hillman at nhillman@northalabamaumc.org (205) 226-7963 0r 800-239-7950
Download Travel and Health Form needed for Registration.
Download Flier: Ebony_Exploration_Retreat_Flyer(2010)_T5KM5IDY.pdf
ROOTS! - Retreat for Young Adults
Behold Ministries is excited to announce our first annual retreat especially for the young adult and college aged population.
We have a passion to see young adults come together to grow deeper in Christ, stronger in righteousness and further in outreach! Therefore, we are inviting college ministries both large and small to join together to enjoy a weekend of truth, worship, restoration and community.
At ROOTS you can expect to find biblically based teachings, prayerfully led worship and plenty of opportunity to build community both within your ministry and with other college ministries across the state.
Cost $75 per person (t-shirt included if registered by March 15). Registration in now open at www.roots.beholdministries.com . Spaces are limited so register early!
For more information visit: www.roots.beholdministries.com
Sounds of Sumatanga
11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Come join friends for a day of fun by the lake at Camp Sumatanga!
Entertainment – Arts & Crafts – Food
Admission is $5 – Ages 4 and up
Proceeds benefit Camp Sumatanga
Also don't miss...
“An Evening in the Assembly Hall”
April 16, 2010
7 PM – 10 PM
Pool Camp Assembly Hall
Remember those wonderful evenings in the Assembly Hall during Summer Camp? You can have that experience again on the Friday evening before Sounds of Sumatanga. We’ll gather from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. for games, singing, folk-dancing, story-telling by Nina Reeves, and entertainment by surprise guests. We’ll close the evening with a time of reflection and devotion and immediately afterward we’ll have a fire at the fire ring. You can support Sumatanga by staying overnight and being there early for Saturday’s events.
A Day with Wesley (for High school students)
Here's something just for your Senior High group!
Let your students experience what campus ministries have to offer.
Come to The University of Alabama Wesley Foundation on April 17, 2010, for The A-Day game.
Your Senior High Students will go to the game and have a worship service with current UA Wesley Foundation students. Lunch and Dinner will be provided. There will be live music entertainment as everyone eats and enjoys themselves!
If your senior high group is interested please RSVP by emailing either :
Paul Asbury: pwasbury@crimson.ua.edu Or Mack Savage: zmsavage@crimson.ua.edu
Look for more details in the coming weeks!