news stories
Facing a church closure—First Palmyra UMC members reminisce
April 23, 2019 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Editor’s Note: Every year, 8-15 churches across the Upper New York Conference close their doors for good. Here is the story of one church that will be closing effective July 1, 2019. Have you experienced a recent church closure? We’d love to help you preserve the memory of your church. Send your story to news@unyumc.org. Palmyra, New York has a rich history of Methodism. This area …more
New York State Employers required to provide sexual harassment prevention training
April 23, 2019 / By Tracy Rickett, UNY Human Resources Generalist / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
New York State employers must provide employees with sexual harassment prevention training upon hire and on an annual basis. For this year, the training must be completed by all current employees and new hires by October 9, 2019. Once the initial training is complete, the employer can decide the timing of the annual training (calendar year, anniversary date, or any other date). Employers are encouraged to track completion of training through …more
UNY Conference members help with disaster relief in Danville, VA
April 23, 2019 / By Laura Alexander, Lansing UMC
From April 7 to April 13, a team from Lansing UMC traveled to Danville, VA for Hurricane Recovery. In September 2018, the Dan River crested at 22’, and again in October crested a record 30’. Team leader Steve Alexander was in contact with Disaster Coordinators from North Carolina, who referred Steve to Pastor Bob Pihlcrantz, the VA UMC Disaster Response Coordinator. He said that the Danville area was in need. Pastor Lisa Nordan …more
Outward! ’19 gathers your from around Upper New York
April 16, 2019 / By Kristian J. Snyder
Hundreds of youth and adults from across Upper New York came together in Liverpool for OUTWARD! ’19, held April 5-7 at the Liverpool Holiday Inn. There were over 250 youth and adults who joined the Conference Council on Youth Ministry members who planned and organized the event. There were a total of 25 youth groups, from all 12 districts, in attendance. This year, we again provided opportunities for youth groups to do hands-on …more
Children with special needs have an eggcellent time at Easter event
April 16, 2019 / By The Rev. Todd Goddard
Our Easter Egg Hunt for Children with Special Needs and Their Families this morning was a great success! About 40 volunteers planted eggs filled with candy, toys, slips of paper for prizes, and money. About 40 families attended and had a wonderful time, as volunteers guided children throughout the church and front yard to fill a bag full of eggs. Children with special needs often are left out of community Easter egg …more
A unique ministry: Common Good Radio
April 10, 2019 / By Rev. Della Ludwig
Editor's Note: This is the first article in our series about unique ministries. If your church have a unique ministry that you would like to share, send us your story at news@unyumc.org. “You’re listening to Common Good Radio for all God’s children,” chimes in another year of award-winning programming from Common Good Radio (CGR). This all-volunteer 24/7 digital …more
CLT and DLTs gather to learn about teams
April 10, 2019 / By Stephen J. Hustedt / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Conference Leadership Team (CLT) gathered with the District Leadership Teams (DLTs) for their spring meeting on April 6 at the United Methodist Center. The morning started with inspiring worship capped off with an exercise acknowledging the barriers to ministry by writing the barriers on a piece of paper. Those gathered then dropped the pieces of paper into bowls of water where the pieces of paper dissolved as the members of …more
Offerings to be collected at the 2019 UNY Annual Conference
April 9, 2019 / By Upper New York Communications
The 2019 Upper New York Annual Conference will be held on June 5-8 at the Oncenter in Syracuse. The following five offerings will be collected at this year's Annual Conference: The offering collected at Opening Worship will go to the Upper New York Mission Central HUB—a place located at the UNY Methodist Center for local churches to actively engage in outreach and disaster response ministries. From training the …more
Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball to speak at the UNY Annual Conference Service of Commissioning and Ordination
April 5, 2019 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
At this year’s session of the Upper New York Annual Conference, to be held June 5-8 at the Oncenter in Syracuse, Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, the Resident Bishop of the West Virginia Conference, will be the speaker for the Service of Commissioning and Ordination. This service will take place Saturday June 8 at 2 p.m. Upper New York Area Resident Bishop, Mark J. Webb, feels blessed that Bishop Steiner …more
Peace with Justice Grant Application Deadline Approaching
April 2, 2019 / By Heather Smith, Peace with Justice Coordinator
The deadline to apply for the next round of grants is April 30, 2019. Find the current Peace with Justice Grant application here. The Social Holiness Team looks forward to hearing what ministries may be emerging around our annual conference! In 2018, the Social Holiness Team approved three $2000 grants. Brown Memorial Church in Syracuse - They seek to address issues of poverty with a Teen Life Skills program during which young people were …more