News & Publications

Join spring break mission trip to North Carolina

Pictured above, Hurricane Irene makes its landfall on Aug. 27, 2011 in Cape Lookout, NC. Photo courtesy NASA/NOAA The Jamesville Community Church (Crossroads District) is organizing a mission trip to the coast of North Carolina to help rebuild homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irene last August. The Rev. Mark Harrison, Jamesville pastor, will lead the trip during the spring break after Easter,...

Haiti Partnership VIM team begins trip today

A Volunteer in Mission (VIM) team from The Haiti Partnership is scheduled to leave for the island nation today, Feb. 9. The seven-member team, which is scheduled to return Feb. 18, will be working on a new church being built in the community of Torbeck, near Les Cayes on Haiti’s southern coast. This latest team includes four men from the Endwell United Methodist Church (Binghamton District), one man from Florida, and a father and son team from Wisconsin. The partnership also sent a...

Team members needed for two-week trip to Paraguay

The Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in East Aurora (Niagara Frontier District) will be leading a mission trip to Paraguay in July, and is seeking medical personnel and others to join its team. This trip is made possible through the Methodist church in Paraguay and its many missionaries. This particular trip will focus on the New Horizon Methodist School, which is located in a small community in a suburb of Asuncion. The team plans to leave on July 5 for Paraguay and return on or about...

Conference offers Safe Sanctuary training

The Church needs to be a place of trust and safety for children, youth and vulnerable adults. Yet even in church, that trust is sometimes violated. What are the challenges local churches face? How can safeguards best be put in place so that local ministries are Safe Sanctuaries for all involved? Those issues, among others, will be covered when the Upper New York Sexual Ethics Committee sponsors spring training sessions around the Upper New York Area for Safe Sanctuary chairpersons, committees,...

Corning church tackles compatibility between religion, science

Congregations of many different faiths will come together around the world for the seventh annual Evolution Weekend – an opportunity for churches to discuss the relationship between religion and science. This year's theme is "An Interfaith Discussion of Religion and Science." In the greater Elmira area, Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations will celebrate Evolution Weekend with emphasis on the compatibility between religion and science. The week of events begins with...

Glen Falls church, Boy Scouts mark 93 years together

The Boy Scouts of Troop 4 cross country skiing in 2009. The troop has been sponsored by Christ Church United Methodist Church in Glens Falls (Adirondack District) for 93 years. The church will celebrate Scout Sunday on Feb. 12. Submitted photo. When Christ Church United Methodist Church in Glens Falls began sponsoring Boy Scout Troop 4, it's likely that the grandparents of many of the...

Immigration workshop offers leadership training, resources

Church and community leaders from the Northeastern Jurisdictional will have an opportunity to discuss immigration-related issues at an immigration workshop sponsored by the National Federation of the Asian American United Methodists (NFFAAUM). On March 3, clergy, laity and community leaders will come together at the Myrtle Street United Methodist  Church in Pennsylvania for discussion, resources and training on the latest developments in the areas of immigration, deportation and migrant...

Old scam with a Christian twist

The Upper New York Annual Conference center recently received a new version of an old email scam that seeks to obtain recipients' banking information. We are alerting churches and members about this latest letter, and reminding everyone to take precautions when it comes to dealing with email from unknown sources. In this case, the email is a letter from a widow who claims her husband has left millions of dollars in a bank in the Ivory Coast and she wants to donate it to a Christian cause. The...

Deadline extended for US-2, Mission Interns applications

If you are between the ages of 20 to 30 and feel called to address the root causes of injustice so that the gospel is lived out alongside communities and organizations seeking peace and systemic transformation, there is still time to apply to become a United Methodist US-2 or Mission Intern. The General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) has announced that the application deadline for the positions has been extended to Feb. 19. US-2s serve in the United States for two years. Mission Interns...

Cokesbury announces new Sunday school program for children

Cokesbury has introduced a new Bible-based Sunday school curriculum for children titled Grow, Proclaim, Serve! that will be available beginning this fall. Grow, Proclaim, Serve! incorporates Bible stories, activities, crafts, media and games into a full faith experience for children. The curriculum is divided into age-appropriate programs for children from age 3 into the "tween" years. Programs are tailored for specific age groups or available as a "one-room" Sunday school...

Repair estimate arrives for historic church

According to Buffalo's WIVB TV station, the estimated repair bill for Albion's First United Methodist Church has come in: $420,000. The church was awarded a $50,000 Robert W. Wilson Sacred Sites Challenge Grant through New York Landmarks Conservancy to stabilize and restore roof trusses that were extensively altered in 1914 when the sanctuary was reconfigured to what is known as the Akron Plan – an architectural style popular in the late 19th-early 20th centuries that features an...

Having a 'Super' time at contemporary worship

On Sunday, an audience of over 100 million are expected to view Super Bowl XLVI when the National Football League championship kicks-off at 6:30 p.m. Although not held to specifically coincide with the Super Bowl, the Lansing United Methodist Church's contemporary worship service "The Fireplace" will embrace the sporting event with a "tongue-in-cheek Super Bowl party," said Laura Alexander, chair of The Fireplace Planning Team. On top of the worship band's play list for...

Program forges 'Pathways' for disadvantaged youth

Take a look into an Albany high school classroom, of every 100 black freshmen you see, odds are only 35 will graduate in four years. But a new ministry in the Capital Region is aiming to put urban minority youth on the path to work. "Pathways 2the Future,” created by The First Israel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Albany, with assistance from Syracuse University and the Albany United Methodist Society (AUMS), helps young adults find jobs, get their diploma or GED, or get...

CRM announces summer 2012 programs

The Upper New York Camp & Retreat Ministries (CRM) is excited to announce that the 2012 Summer Camp & Retreat programs are now available to view and open for early registration. Online registration is available immediately, and brochures are in the mail this week to past participants and campers as well as all Upper New York Annual Conference churches. To view programs, go to www.campsandretreats.org and select the site you are interested in. “We are excited about the high...

Churches must comply with new wage reporting law

The Upper New York Annual Conference Benefits Office is reminding churches they are required to comply with the recently enacted Wage Theft Prevention Act. Under the act, the New York State Department of Labor mandates specific information be provided to employees on each paystub; therefore, all employees must be provided a paystub for each paycheck they receive. It is also requires that employees be provided with a Wage Notice form. Wage Notices must be in the employee's primary language...

Episcopal candidacy forms due Wednesday

The UNYAC delegation to the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference reminds those who wish to be considered for nomination to the episcopacy that the application deadline is Feb. 1. All candidates must submit their Episcopal Candidacy Application forms to Bill Gottschalk-Fielding by 4:30 p.m. The delegation will review all submissions prayerfully. Selected individuals will be asked to meet with the delegation for a time of conversation on Saturday, March 24. Scott Johnson, UNY head of...

Do you have to renew your Advocate subscription?

With some exceptions, which are listed below, all those who wish to receive the Upper New York Area Advocate delivered to their home or workplace must renew their subscription now. For your $15 you will receive delivery of the monthly Advocate and any special issues produced during 2012. Unfortunately, due to mailing costs, those who do not renew their subscriptions will be dropped from our at- delivery list. Those who will continue to receive the Advocate at no charge are: Retired...

GC 2012 Advance Daily Christian Advocate released

The Advanced Edition of the 2012 General Conference Daily Christian Advocate (DCA) has been released. The DCA serves as the official journal of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church. It contains records of those who have been elected to serve as delegate, the legislation submitted, and the decisions made by the General Conference. The Advance Edition is the publication of legislation submitted for consideration by the delegates. The official written languages of the General...

Details announced for Up!Word '12 youth gathering

From April 20-22, the Holiday Inn in Liverpool will be the site of one of the year's largest gatherings of United Methodist youth as Up!Word '12 rolls into town. Hundred will be in attendance for this three-day conference-wide event that features worship services, workshops, fellowship, entertainment and many other activities. In 2011, over 75 churches from across the Upper New York Area were represented, and many of the youth - both speakers and attendees - gave personal testimonies...

Bike drive gearing up for spring collection cycle

Although winter cycling apparel includes an arsenal of warming layers, the summer season - and its definite lack of the phrase "sub zero" on riding wear - will be upon cyclists in just a few months. However, this is the season of giving when it comes to two-wheeled locomotion and one community has kicked their collection efforts into high gear with a Social Justice ministry that is also "green." The George F. Johnson Dream Center for Community Empowerment, a ministry of...