WPAUMC e-news for May 5, 2010

National Day of Prayer is Thursday, May 6. In Wisconsin, a federal judge who declared it unconstitutional is drawing criticism. President Obama, whose administration is appealing the ruling, has urged Americans to pray and give thanks for the nation’s blessings. The judge has delayed enforcement of her ruling pending the appeal. Read more from the AP.

Night of Prayer, Worship in Johnstown: The Day of Prayer will be marked by Celebrate One, a night of interdenominational worship and prayer at the Pasquerilla Center downtown, according to an article on the Our Town website. Randy Bain, pastor of Oakland UMC, was on the organizing committee.
Register Online for Annual Conference! A new online registration system for annual conference was launched this week. Clergy, laity, youth, guests, vendors and visitors can use it. One person can register a group. Learn more. Paper registration is still available, but you are encouraged to use the online system. There’s help via e-mail and you can go back at another time and change something if you need to. Click here for registration instructions. Once you’ve used the system, please take the survey to let us know what you think.
Mother’s Day Project: Women in Haiti and other countries are giving birth in far from ideal conditions. Layette kits and birthing kits provide necessary resources for mothers and infants and are in great demand as Haitians begin to rebuild their lives. This Mother’s Day, help new mothers welcome their babies by assembling layette kits and birthing kits for UMCOR. Or donate toward the purchase of these supplies to UMCOR’s Material Resources Ministry, UMCOR Advance #901440.
Imagine No Malaria: Western PA got big play on the Imagine No Malaria website today with Wright’s UMC and Edwards Chapel youth pictured in costumes for an IMN skit written by Twila Hummel. It’s available online for others to use. The site also has a link to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Sunday feature on Bishop Bickerton’s global health work. (The Bishop got face time on KVUE-TV in Austin, TX on World Malaria Day.)
Change the World: Read a wrap-up story on Western PA Change the World activities. Check out the photos from the Erie Alliance projects or other locations in our photo galleries.
Help Promote Camping Ministries: This month’s Interlink newspaper will carry a special insert with a poster to hang in your church to promote Christian camping. For many, camping is a life-changing experience. To see the poster now, or print copies to post in other places, click here.
Worship Planning: May is a busy month for worship planners, and the General Board of Discipleship offers help and resources throughout the month. Check the GBOD worship homepage www.gbod.org/worship . Click on Planning Calendar at the right end of the upper red bar.
UM Women Connect at Assembly: Western PA was well-represented at the UMW Assembly from April 29-May 2. To see some great pictures of Western PA’s contingent, click here. The quadrennial event drew 6,500 to St. Louis for worship, education, advocacy and celebration. Many more watched portions live on the Internet. Click here to read more or watch the video.
Do You Have What It Takes? Do you have what it takes to plant a new church? Do you feel God calling you to start a new community of faith here in Western Pennsylvania? If you believe you are experiencing the potential call to the ministry of new church starts, you’re invited to take a short assessment at Path 1’s website www.path1.org Once you have received your results from Path 1, send them along with your name and contact information to ncs@wpaumc.org
Southeast Floods: Help,Buckets Needed: More than 13.5 inches of rain fell during 48 hours in Nashville beginning May 1. Floods left much of the downtown under water, and thousands of homes and cars were damaged beyond repair. A call has been issued for trained Emergency Response Teams and cleaning buckets are needed in many areas. There are now 60 at our Mission Barn. The supply is building up since all 485 on hand were sent to New England last month. Recipes for cleaning (flood) buckets and an instruction video are on the Mission Barn webpage.
VIM Trip to Israel/Palestine: Deadline is May 15 to join an Oct. 10-13 Conference-sponsored Volunteers in Mission team to Israel/Palestine that will include four days work helping with the olive harvest. Team leader will be Tina Whitehead. Cost is $2900. Contact diane.miller@wpaumc.org for details.
Bishops Pick Weaver for GC2012 Address: Bishop Peter Weaver, a native of Western PA serving as leader of the Boston Area, has been elected to give the Episcopal Address for the Council of Bishops at the 2012 General Conference in Tampa, FL. The Bishops voted this week at their meeting in Columbus, OH.
Any Prophets Among Us? Who would choose the role these days when differing opinions or ideas are met with incivility, innuendo or outright assault, asks Howard Friend in an Alban Institute article. The issue, he says, is not whether there will be broad and ardently held differences of opinion, but how those differences will be expressed. The church can model an alternative to the destructive attack mode, but often does not. Read more.
Are Your Wireless Mics OK? Carl White from Marion Center sent a reminder that by June 12, all users of wireless devices in the 698 to 806 MHZ range must "re-tune or discontinue" use or face heavy fines. Click here for details and a list of affected equipment.
Faith and Finance: Sojourners offers a downloadable 4-session discussion guide called Faith and Finance: Christians and the Economic Crisis. It can be used for small groups or individuals. It’s $9.95 in .pdf format. Check it out.
Avoid 5 New(er) High-Tech Scams: UM Communications recommends this piece on the USAA website to help you avoid Internet scams.
Prayer Goes High-Tech: A press release this week announced the launch of PrayerSteward (a/k/a Promise2Pray), a new application for iPhone and iPod Touch users. It has tools to record prayer promises, share them and get reminders. Learn more.
In the News: The Valley News Dispatch gave major play to the celebration of 200 years of ministry at Trinity UMC in Brackenridge. Read article by Rex Rutkowski.
Praying for Parking: Church-goers in downtown Chicago are praying for parking privileges on Sundays since a private company took over the city meters, says the Chicago Tribune. It’s an age-old issue for urban churches. Read more.
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