News Stories from March 2016
You have Health Care Reform tax forms, we have information
March 30, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Below is information on Health Care Reform related tax forms you may be receiving for the 2015 tax year: Section 6055 Reporting – Minimal Essential Coverage (IRS Form 1095-B) All HealthFlex participants will receive a letter and Form 1095-B from Businessolver on behalf of The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits. This form verifies the “individual mandate” for health coverage under Affordable Care Act provisions, which requires most U …more
Celebrate with Africa 360 in April
March 29, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
April is Africa 360 Month, with celebrations all month long throughout the Upper New York Conference that will help raise funds and awareness for Africa 360 – the Upper New York Conference’s holistic plan for health and education initiatives in Africa that benefits Imagine No Malaria and Africa University. “Hopefully, these ideas inspire other congregations to action,” said Laurel O’Connor, Upper New York’s Africa 360 …more
Connectional Table agrees on a new way forward
March 23, 2016 / By Steve Hustedt / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
As the Upper New York Conference Connectional Table gathered in Syracuse on March 19, there was an energy in the room. In part, it may have been the changing weather and that the following day would be the first day of spring. Mostly, there was a sense that people were ready to move forward in the shared mission of making disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world. Turnout was …more
UNY pastor produces videos with Peace with Justice grant
March 21, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Rev. Dana Horrell – an elder of the Upper New York Conference appointed to extension ministry as executive director at the Faithful Citizen, Inc. – has been producing a series of 3- to 5-minute long instructional videos that answer the question, “How can church leaders demonstrate sensitivity to people with racial and class differences?” The videos are designed for social ministry providers and new church planters in …more
CCYM to celebrate Day of Prayer at UP!WORD
March 18, 2016 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
On April 23, in the midst of UP!WORD – held April 22-24 at the Holiday Inn in Liverpool – the Conference Council on Youth Ministry (CCYM) has planned many moments of prayer for the 2016 General Conference session and The United Methodist Church in general to coincide with the Upper New York Conference’s Day of Prayer. Emily Lasher, the worship chair of CCYM, said the worship team has been …more
Bishop Webb pens Ministry Shares letters
March 16, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Editor’s note: Corrections have been made to the fact sheet that accompanied the letters sent to churches from Bishop Mark J. Webb. Please click here to review an updated version. The Upper New York Conference has faced some challenges reconciling the difference between the ministries agreed upon at the 2015 Annual Conference session and the funds received to make those ministries possible. As the final Ministry Shares figure for 2015 …more
Sharing lunches, communion in the streets of Syracuse
March 15, 2016 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
It’s 8 p.m. on a Thursday night at Wholely Grounds Café, located at The ROAD at West Genesee United Methodist Church in Syracuse – Peanut Butter Jelly Time, as they fondly call it. Members and volunteers are busily at work, smearing peanut butter and jelly on bread, counting bags of chips, granola bars, and fruit, and snapping open brown paper lunch bags that will soon be filled. …more
Saying goodbye to Nicaragua
March 15, 2016 / By the Rev. Alison Schmied
It’s early Sunday morning. We are on the old yellow school bus, driving toward the airport. Salsa-like Christian praise music plays over the radio, and we occasionally catch a word: Jesus, alleluia, gloria a Dios. This is the first leg of our return trip to the United States after a week at Project Chacocente, located near Masaya, Nicaragua. It is helpful that the journey …more
CRM names new director at Skye Farm
March 15, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Upper New York Camp & Retreat Ministries is excited to announce Ryan Siver has accepted the position of Director at the Skye Farm Camp & Retreat Center in Warrensburg. Siver began working for the Conference on March 14. “Ryan has a vast knowledge of Camp & Retreat Ministries, having grown up in the Iowa UMCRM and having worked seasonally at Aldersgate 10 years ago,” said Mike Huber, Director of UNY …more
Experts discuss human sexuality at Liverpool UMC
March 9, 2016 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
More than 150 people attended – and more than 300 live-streamed – the Upper New York Conference Human Sexuality Task Force’s forum on “Human Sexuality and Biblical Interpretation” March 5 at the Liverpool United Methodist Church. The event featured guest speakers the Rev. Dr. Bill T. Arnold, professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky, and the Rev. Dr. Althea Spencer-Miller, professor at Drew Theology School in New Jersey. &ldquo …more