News Stories from November 2017
Bishop Webb sends letter on Council of Bishops time with the Commission on a Way Forward
November 9, 2017 / By UNY Communications
Note: On Nov. 9, Bishop Mark J. Webb sent the following letter to the Upper New York Conference. Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! A press release from the Council of Bishops regarding our meeting this week and specifically our work with the preliminary report from the Commission on a Way Forward is available here. I encourage you to read this release in …more
CLT and DLTs share time of love, learning, and leading
November 7, 2017 / By Stephen J. Hustedt / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
On Saturday, Oct. 28, the Conference Leadership Team (CLT) hosted the District Leadership Teams (DLTs) from all 12 Districts in the Upper New York Conference at the United Methodist Center in Liverpool. The day followed the Loving, Learning, Leading (L3) meeting model that the CLT has been using for their monthly meetings. Following a greeting and gathering time, the day started with a passionate time of worship, word, and communion. Upper New …more
My Trip to the Holy Land: Spending time with a family in Palestine
November 7, 2017 / By Theresa Eggleston
I couldn’t eat another bite of fresh falafel. I sat back in my chair and my belly expanded with delicious homemade Mediterranean food. The owner of our tour guide services had invited our group over for dinner in his home. It was the night before we left and my heart felt a joyful heaviness. During our time in the Holy Land we had learned about the injustice of …more
Church livestreams God’s word
November 7, 2017 / By Kathleen Christiansen
After some members of the Lycoming United Methodist Church became too ill to attend Sunday Worship, Pastor Brandin Greco came up with an idea in September 2016. About the same time, Facebook Live, the social media platform’s livestreaming, was growing in popularity. Pastor Greco thought his church could use this technology for something good. “A lot of people put down things like Facebook and cellphones,” he said. …more
Come and retreat at one of the UNY Camp & Retreat Centers
November 7, 2017 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Did you know that Camp & Retreat Centers throughout UNY offer much more than summer camping opportunities for youth and children? In fact, these centers are open year-round and offer retreat and event opportunities for adults, youth, families, clergy, and ministry leaders. These centers offer exceptional hospitality, home cooked meals, great accommodations, and wonderful relaxation and recreation options. Your group can select from a variety of meeting and gathering …more
Track data, gain insight, and help your church with VitalSigns
November 7, 2017 / By Kathleen Christiansen
The VitalSigns Dashboard is a tool that allows churches to track church growth indicators, such as weekly worship attendance, professions of faith, small group participation, missional participation, and financial giving. It is a deeper level of insight, support, and accountability that tracks and trends vital information in an easy-to-understand dashboard. VitalSigns provides both a real-time pulse and long-term perspective on what’s going on in congregations, Districts, and Conferences. …more
Strengthening Camp and Retreat Centers
November 7, 2017 / By Pam Harris, Director, Run River Enterprises
My work through an Extension Ministry appointment is to serve as a consultant to faith-based camp and retreat centers. In 19 years of working with camp and retreat ministries, our organization has worked with nearly 300 sites of ministry in almost 200 organizations. We have worked with nearly all denominations, in most US states, and three Canadian provinces. Some projects result in strategic, long-range plans, which guide the ministry into the future they …more
2017 UNY Conference Journal Vol. 2 now available for purchase
November 6, 2017 / By
The 2017 Upper New York Conference Journal Vol. 2, is now available. This volume of the journal contains all business from the 8th session of the Upper New York Annual Conference, held June 1-3, 2017. There are two ways to receive the Journal Vol. 2: Click here to purchase a hard copy from online publisher Lulu.com OR Click here to view online or to download a free PDF version If you order …more