news stories
From the Advocate: IRM reconnects refugees, immigrants back to worship
March 1, 2016 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Click below to read the full Advocate online.When the Rev. Ewart Morris – pastor at the Valley Falls and Albany: Emmaus United Methodist churches – arrived at the Emmaus UMC in 2012, he felt called to establish multiethnic worship at the church. As he searched and prayed about it, he met the Rev. Bizimana John Rusingizwa, who shared his idea for International Reconciliation Ministries (IRM). “The vision for this …more
From the Advocate: Processing the steps for a New Faith Community
March 1, 2016 / By the Rev. Dave Masland
Click below to read the full Advocate online. Anyone in a United Methodist Church in Upper New York can plant a new faith community and should feel free to do so! Having said that, the New Faith Community teams of the Conference are working to provide seven processes to help support the people who feel called to plant. The graphic below describes these in loose chronological order. Planters can choose …more
From the Advocate: Ladles of love: Warming bellies, warming spirits
March 1, 2016 / By Laurel O’Connor
Click below to read the full Advocate online.Early in spring 2015, a small group came to Pastor Ben O’Connor and me, his wife, with a specific request. They asked if we could lead a Bible study in the Syracuse area that was more of a “dinner-church-meets-Bible-study” model that didn’t fit the “normal church” mold. Open Table CNY was born as a group …more
From the Advocate: Hispanic/Latino church planters ‘connect like family’
March 1, 2016 / By Jose Rodriguez
Click below to read the full Advocate online.I am a church planter who helps Hispanic pastors start new churches on American soil. Before coming to the United States to work with Hispanic church planters, I spent 12 years starting new churches in Cuba. Church planters in Cuba never work in isolation. Established congregations are expected to be continually planting new faith communities. When I came to the U.S., I …more
From the Advocate: One church, many locations
March 1, 2016 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Click below to read the full Advocate online.The Rev. Bill Vallet, lead pastor at the Pennsylvania Avenue United Methodist Church (PAUMC) in Pine City, first heard the term “multi-site” at a church growth workshop 10 years ago in California. He learned that a church with a healthy DNA can take that DNA and transplant it in another location. The seed was planted, and Rev. Vallet set to work. …more
From the Advocate: Creating new places for new people
March 1, 2016 / By Upper New York Area Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Click below to read the Advocate online.Charles Cardwell McCabe was a church planter in the Methodist Episcopal Church. McCabe rode trains all over the land in an attempt to start new churches and raise funds that others might join in the effort. On one trip in the spring of 1881, McCabe read a newspaper article that described a recent meeting in Chicago of the Free Thinker’s Society. The …more
2016 Mission u dates announced
February 26, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
This year, Mission u - formerly the School of Christian Mission - will continue its annual emphasis on"learning together for the transformation of the world." The 2016 studies include "The Bible and Human Sexuality," "Latin America: People and Faith," and "Climate Justice." The Upper New York Conference's Mission u will be held on the following dates: July 15-17 at Cazenovia College July 21-23 at the Asbury Camp & Retreat …more
UNY Conference names new IT manager
February 26, 2016 / By
The Upper New York Conference is pleased to announce that Doug Thomas will now serve as the Conference's IT Manager. Thomas will be responsible for the overall planning, organizing, budgeting, and execution of all information technology-related functions for the Conference and its associated offices and ministries. He joined the staff on Feb. 22. and can be reached at DougThomas@unyumc.org. Thomas' background includes IT management, database administration, and …more
Conference announces revised 2016 spending plan
February 24, 2016 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Upper New York Conference Leadership Team (CLT) and the Conference Council on Finance & Administration (CF&A) released a letter earlier this week detailing changes to the Conference’s 2016 spending plan. According to the letter, “the guiding principle in making these decisions was, ‘What cuts will have the least direct impact on the ministry of the local church?’” Click here to read the …more
Four Corners UMC forms union with two churches for joint Bible study, other activities
February 23, 2016 / By Marilyn Anderson
The Four Corners United Methodist Church is one of three Native American churches in the Upper New York Conference. It is a growing church led by Pastor Dave Rood, and is located on the Cattaraugus Territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians, which is 30 miles south of Buffalo in Erie County. Recently Pastor Rood and Pastor Chris Klimecko, serving at the Gowanda UMC, brought together three Upper New York churches …more