News Stories from April 2017
The Upper Room: Where the world meets to pray
April 26, 2017 / By UNY Communications
The Upper Room is a global ministry dedicated to supporting the spiritual formation of Christians seeking to know and experience God more fully. It is a part of Discipleship Ministries. Sherry Elliot, The Upper Room’s Executive Director of Interpretation and Development, said, “The Upper Room exists for the purpose of calling people to prayer and inviting The Church to practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer, scripture reading, …more
From the Desk of Bishop Mark J Webb: Together in prayer
April 26, 2017 / By Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb
Editor's Note: This letter was first published in the 2017 Issue 2 of the Advocate, which focuses on the power of prayer. Click here to access this issue. “Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; support the tottering knees. Have you any days of fasting and prayer? Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down.” “God does nothing but …more
Walworth United Methodist Church Listed On the National Register of Historic Places
April 25, 2017 / By Gene Bavis, Walworth Town Historian
A few years ago, while working on a list of historic sites for Wayne County, I discovered that the Town of Walworth had NO structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After attending a few preservation workshops and seminars, I invited Cynthia Howk of the Landmark Society of Western New York to speak to Walworth Historical Society and others who might be interested in learning about the …more
From the desk of Bishop Mark J. Webb: Judicial Council
April 25, 2017 / By Bishop Mark J. Webb
Editor’s Note: On the morning of April 25, Bishop Mark J. Webb sent the following letter to the members of the Upper New York Conference about the coming Judicial Council meeting that will address some matters around human sexuality and the called Special Session of General Conference in 2019 that will address the work of the Council of Bishops and the Commission on a Way Forward. April 25, 2017 Dear …more
Africa University celebrates 25th anniversary
April 17, 2017 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Africa University – the first and only fully accredited institution of higher learning established on the African continent by action of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church – recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The celebration included a dinner for alumni and friends at Amber Hotel in Mutare, Zimbabwe, the main celebration at Africa University’s graduation arena, and a celebration/worship service at AU’s …more
Apply now – UNY Conference hiring Custodian/Building Maintenance Technician
April 15, 2017 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Upper New York Conference is hiring a full-time Custodian/Building Maintenance Technician for the UNY Conference Center in Liverpool. Duties include extensive cleaning of bathroom, kitchen, and office areas; maintaining the custodial supply inventory; set up and tear down of tables for meetings; basic grounds maintenance; light carpentry; and more. Qualified candidates will have a high school diploma or equivalent, at least one year of experience in facilities maintenance …more
UNY wins at UMAC gathering
April 11, 2017 / By UNY Communications
The United Methodist Association of Communicators has announced their 2017 award winners, and the Upper New York Conference Communications Team won the following awards: The Weekly Digest The Upper New York Conference’s weekly e-newsletter, The Weekly Digest, came in 2nd place among conferences across the connection. UNYUMC.org The Upper New York Conference website came in 1st place for website content among conferences across the connection. Blog The Upper …more
Book review: Uprooting Racism—How White People Can Work for Racial Justice
April 10, 2017 / By Linda Hughes, CORR member
Have you ever thought of a racial joke as verbal abuse? Have you ever thought of interrupting a racial joke as public education? These are two premises that Paul Kivel brings out in his book Uprooting Racism – How White People Can Work for Racial Justice, in the chapter entitled “Jokes.” We have all been in the situation of being told a joke we are uncomfortable with. Sometimes …more
Updates to the Peace with Justice Grant Program
April 5, 2017 / By UNY Communications
The Social Holiness Team has recently re-evaluated our conference Peace with Justice Grant guidelines. This was necessary because folks have been utilizing the Peace with Justice Sunday funds to support wonderful ministries and opportunities. In 2016, the Social Holiness team was able to grant $21,500 to five projects, including: NYS Council of Churches Luncheon with speaker Labor-Religion Coalition of NYS Faith for Fair NY Conference NYS Council of Churches Protestant Chaplain Care …more
Teaching children to pray: A helpful script
April 4, 2017 / By Kerry Evans, Jamesville Community Church
Editor’s Note: The theme of our next issue of the Advocate, which will arrive at local churches and be accessible through our website the first week in April, is Together in Prayer. The issue features many stories of how prayer has made a difference from an individual-level, all the way to our Conference level. Like this story, some of the stories provide guidance on teaching children to pray. …more