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International Reconciliation Ministries to be a pilot for UNY’s new Mission Congregation Process

February 27, 2018 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The Mission Congregation Process of Upper New York (UNY) Conference is a new effort to connect existing United Methodist churches in partnerships with New Faith Communities and churches that are actively making new disciples with immigrant and refugee populations throughout upper New York. These partnerships can include any of the following:  relationship building, praying for one another, worship and spiritual development together, VIM trips to do needed work on buildings, donations of money or resources to support the ministry.

The purpose of the Mission Congregation Process is two-fold:  To assist in developing and implementing strategies to help a New Faith Community or church that is making disciples with new people to become a fully self-sustaining community of faith; And, to provide an opportunity for all UNY United Methodists to be engaged in significant relationships and ministry with the poor in ways that are mutually beneficial.

The appointive cabinet will identify the Mission Congregations, and then work with the Communications Team to get the word out to the Annual Conference about opportunities for partnership. To begin, the International Reconciliation Ministries in Albany has been identified as a pilot program for this new process.

The Rev. David Masland, UNY Director of New Faith Communities, said “International Reconciliation Ministry has been one of our UM New Faith Communities since 2014.  They are consistently welcoming new people of all ages into worship, Bible study, and service.  In many ways, they are stronger than most of our existing churches!  However, they are constantly held back by their financial challenges. Our vision is to give other churches the chance to know them, partner with them, learn from them, and help them to become financially self-sustaining.”

Editor’s Note: Stay tuned for an in-depth article about International Reconciliation Ministry and the specific needs they have.