news stories
National gathering addresses sexual ethics
October 23, 2015 / By Jenn Meadows
"The mission of the church is affected by the health of the church," said Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett of the North Alabama Conference. "A church that is healthy has healthy boundaries." Exploring healthy boundaries were more than 200 bishops, conference leaders, pastors, and others attending Do No Harm, a sexual ethics summit in Chicago on Oct. 15-17. Included in the gathering were four individuals from the Upper New York Conference: The Rev. …more
Why it’s important that our neighbors want to be our neighbor
October 20, 2015 / By the Rev. Anne Bey Canfield
Our Upper New York Annual Conference was blessed the week of Oct. 12, when we had gifted evangelist and church planter the Rev. Jorge Acevedo in our Empire State. With humility and humor, Rev. Acevedo – who is the lead pastor at Grace United Methodist Church in Cape Coral, Fla. – reminded us that as a conference our primary purpose is to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of …more
Conference Leadership Team embraces role as custodians of the culture
October 20, 2015 / By Steve Hustedt / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
On Oct. 10, the Conference Leadership Team (CLT) gathered for its first meeting of the fall. This meeting followed an Annual Conference year spent discerning the purpose of the Conference. That discernment has brought about clarity and energy around tasks. As the team reviewed the work of the prior year, there was a feeling of excitement and anticipation. Together, the CLT built a model that defined the previous year’s …more
Oneonta District encourages Conference to ‘Revive and Connect’
October 16, 2015 / By Anna Buell
On Sept. 26, the Oneonta District held its first “Revive and Connect – Doing Big Things Together” event at the Cobleskill United Methodist Church, hosted by members of the Cobleskill and Warnerville United Methodist churches. The District Leadership Team developed the event as a celebration of God’s love and commitment and Jesus’s presence within the churches across the district as well as to show how …more
Update: What’s been happening with the FACT process?
October 16, 2015 / By Susan Ranous
I hope you have had the opportunity to read the full FACT report, which has been available on the Upper New York Conference website. As you may recall, five teams were created based on five basic categories of concerns that were identified in the FACT report. Those teams have been busy meeting over the last several months. Some work has been done by the FACT teams and others in our …more
Crossroads celebrates new district superintendent at Installation Service
October 14, 2015 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
"We need to ask God to get in our stick, we need to ask God to get in our Church, we need to ask God to get in our meetings, in our homes, in our work places, and we need to ask God to get in our lives,” said the Rev. Nola Anderson, Crossroads District Superintendent. Rev. Anderson delivered a sermon focusing on a theme of “sticks” …more
UNY Media Resource Center releases VBS survey results
October 13, 2015 / By Diane Miner
First, thank you to those who took the time to fill out the online survey with feedback on your Vacation Bible School (VBS) program this year. Below are the aggregated results from the survey along with some of my own suggestions. Survey participants were divided evenly between those who purchased and those who borrowed the program kits. Most churches tend to use either Group or Cokesbury for their program. I …more
UNY asked to fill shoe boxes for Red Bird Mission
October 9, 2015 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
When you think about filling shoeboxes around Thanksgiving, Samaritan’s Purse’s ministry probably comes to mind. But there is a stateside ministry that also needs your supplies: Red Bird Mission. The Red Bird Mission and Clinic in Beverly, Ky., has provided ministries in the Appalachian Mountains region since 1921. Today, the need remains critical in this isolated, rural, distressed area. Chronic poverty, lack of jobs, poor housing, and …more
Update: BCBS breech impacts UNY Healthflex members
October 9, 2015 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
On Sept. 9, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) informed HealthFlex that unauthorized users accessed the Excellus BCBS systems. Click here for more information about the information breech. Excellus is a member of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association that operates in upstate New York. At that time, we did not have any additional information regarding impact to HealthFlex participants. We have now been given the list …more
Resolution results in important addition to compensation form
October 6, 2015 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Upper New York Conference Board of Pension & Health Benefits has provided an update on the progress of undertaking Resolution UNYAC2015.12: Health Insurance for All Clergy and Local Pastors that was passed during the 2015 session of Annual Conference concerning UNY’s health insurance policies. Below is the action portion of the resolution: “Therefore, be it resolved that the Conference Board of Pension and Health Benefits (CBOPHB) explore …more