news stories
UNY local churches support the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota
November 16, 2022 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Rev. Penny Brink, currently serving South Glenn Falls UMC, created a personal mission in 2014, to help support residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the second poorest nation in the Northern Hemisphere, second to Haiti. Rev. Brink said, “The mission started as a required trip for my ordination journey and has continued since 2014. I wrote an article published in the Lakota Times in 2015. What is …more
Rev. Nicholas suggests steps to address systemic racism
November 14, 2022 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
“Not well at all.” This was the answer that the Rev. George Nicholas, pastor at Lincoln Memorial Church, gave when asked how his congregation is healing six months after the May 14, 2022, racially motivated shooting that took place at the Tops supermarket less than one mile away from the church. Rev. Nicholas explained, “In this congregation, we have some Tops employees and people who were there at the …more
Northeastern Jurisdiction elects only one bishop and assigns seven
November 8, 2022 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Editor's Note: On Nov. 16, 2022, the Northeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops and Committee on the Episcopacy announced retired Bishop Peggy A. Johnson will serve as Interim Bishop for the New England Annual Conference beginning Jan. 1, 2023, through Aug. 31, 2024. Click here to read more. There were two bishop elections on the docket for the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference that took place Nov. 2-4, 2022, in College Park, MD. On Nov. 2, the Rev. …more
Revised Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Poster
November 8, 2022 / By Tracy Rickett, Human Resources Generalist
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a revised version of its poster, entitled “Know Your Rights”. A copy of the revised poster can be located here. The law requires an employer to post a notice describing the Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination based on race, color, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, religion, age (40 and older), equal pay, …more
NEJ delegates share pain and witness on the sin of racism
November 8, 2022 / By Erik Alsgaard, Baltimore-Washington Conference
The Thursday (Nov. 3, 2022) afternoon plenary session of the NEJ dug deep into sharing the pain, anger, and sin of racism. For about two hours, delegates shared their thoughts and feelings in response not only to the “Call to Action” report given earlier that day, but also to the Episcopal Address given Wednesday by Bishop John Schol of the Greater New Jersey Area. Lay delegates from the New England …more
From the Desk of Bishop Webb: Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference
November 7, 2022 / By Bishop Mark J. Webb
The following note was sent to the Upper New Conference on Nov. 7, 2022 on behalf of Bishop Webb. Dear Friends in Christ, Last week, Jurisdictional Conferences gathered throughout the United States to engage in holy conferencing and to complete the important work of discerning and electing bishops of The United Methodist Church. The Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, of which Upper New York is a part, met in College Park, Maryland Nov. …more
UNY delegates meet their new bishop, Hector Burgos
November 4, 2022 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
“I was almost asleep, but I was so excited;” this was the Rev. Hector Burgos’ response when he found out, after 2 a.m., on Friday Nov. 4, 2022, at the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference, that he was assigned as bishop to the Upper New York (UNY) Conference and would be starting Jan. 1, 2023. Rev. Burgos was just elected as bishop of the Northeastern Jurisdiction on the third ballot during the afternoon …more
Bishop Mark J. Webb’s retirement celebrated at the NEJ Conference
November 4, 2022 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Bishop Webb will be retiring from the Upper New York Conference on Dec. 31, 2022. There will be an open-house style celebration and farewell gathering at the UNY Conference Center at 7481 Henry Clay Blvd. in Liverpool on Saturday Nov. 19 from 1-4 p.m. All are welcome and you can come and go as you please. The tentative schedule is as follows: 1 p.m. Gathering begins – open-house-style fellowship …more
GCSRW celebrates 50 years of ministry with launch of new resource
November 1, 2022 / By UNY Communications
The General Commission on the Status and Role of Women is marking its 50th anniversary with the release of the Welcoming a Woman Pastor learning module. The self-paced, online resource guides local churches through the onboarding, orientation and set-up process when introducing a female pastor appointed to serve their congregation. “Despite women being ordained in our denomination for more than 50 years, many continue to find the orientation to a …more
The Buffalo 10 Scholarship—just the beginning
November 1, 2022 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Buffalo is the seventh most segregated city in the country for Black Americans, based on as 2020 study conducted by the Brookings Institute. Eighty-five percent of Black Buffalonians live on the East side of the city, where the racially motivated mass murder took place at the Tops grocery store on May 14, 2022. The East Side of Buffalo has been racially segregated for over 70 years and this neighborhood has been plagued with poverty …more