WPAUMC e-news for August 25, 2010

 Here’s your e-news for August 25! See you in September?

 
The Great Escape for Clergy: The Great Escape will be October 12-14 at Antiochian Village near Ligonier. Speaker Tracy Radosevic of Wesley Seminary will be focus on Biblical Story Telling. The theme is The Word Made Flesh: Telling the Ancient Stories of the Bible in a Digital Age. Conference Evangelist Roy Gearhart will lead opening worship. Register by calling Antiochian Village.
 
Blood Pressure Rising? High blood pressure is dangerous and one of the most common health problems among Western PA clergy, according to Highmark. Learn more and find tips to control it in the monthly health info sheet on our Health as Wholeness Ministry web pages.
 
Considering a Health Ministry?  If you’re thinking about starting a health ministry in your church, learn the background and basics in a training event at Grace UMC in Indiana on Saturday, Sept. 18. Joy Burt Conti and Barbara Lewis of our Health as Wholeness Ministry team will lead the session. Both have extensive experience with health ministry. Learn more.
 
African-American Clergy Health Event: An opportunity for African-American clergy to evaluate their health and well-being is slated for Sept. 27-28 at the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center. With the theme “Wanting to Heal and Be Healed” (John 5:1-9), the self-care covenant workshop encourages pastors to care for themselves in order to bring healing to others. The program is coordinated by the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
 
Learn to Teach, Teach to Learn: Oakland UMC in Johnstown will host a lab school experience on Oct. 30 to help Christian educators improve their teaching skills and exchange ideas. Click here for details or to download a brochure.
 
Children Helping Children: The United Methodist Children’s Fund for Christian Mission uses teaching activities to help children learn about missions, practice care of others, develop habits of discipleship and practice generosity. Projects for 2010 are in the Ukraine, South Sudan, New Mexico and Alaska. To learn more about the projects and activities you can use with children, go to www.gbod.org/children.
 
Imagine No Malaria Tip of the Week: Dance! Check out the Connellsville Courier story about Mt. Pleasant UMC youth group’s Crazy Hat dance to save lives.
 
Saving Lives in Sierra Leone: Check out the newspaper photo of Bishop Bickerton and the First Lady of Sierra Leone in the homepage feature area of www.wpaumc.org.
 
FairCare -- Know Someone Who Needs It? There are still more than a thousand spots available in Pennsylvania's new health plan for uninsured adults with pre-existing conditions.  The state Insurance Department received more than 1,000requests to join it’s Fair Care plan the first day of it took applications, but it’s slowed down considerably since then. Learn more and pass on the info.
 
September is National Hunger Action Month! The Society of St. Andrew has resources available to help congregations become more aware of the needs of the poor and hungry. The resources offered by the hunger-relief ministry include a prayer calendar, litany, bulletin insert, sample sermons and hunger fact sheets. They are available here.
 
Looking for Grant Money for Hunger, Poverty Ministry? Check out the United Methodist Appalachian Ministry Network website Hunger and Poverty page, for details about support for ministries that address the root causes of hunger and poverty. Click the button on the bottom left of the page to download an application.
 
Shared Ministry Grants: The Conference Commission on the Small Membership Church is offering Shared Ministry Grants of up to $500 to shared (cooperative) ministries in Western Pennsylvania that include at least one UMC congregation.  Grants may be used as seed money for new or expanded ministries.  Deadline for submitting an application is September 29, 2010.  For more info and an application, contact Michael Long at pastormelong@comcast.net. 
 
Partnersteps Training: The Commission on the Small Membership Church will conduct Partnersteps Training on September 25 at Sheffield UMC, October 30 at Waynesburg: Washington Street UMC and November 13 at Madison UMC.  Find details and register through the Conference website by using the links above. The training is worth .5 CEUS and fulfills the requirements for receiving a Shared Ministry Grant.
 
Help Give Bibles to Seekers! For less than the cost of a matinee movie ticket or a few gallons of gas, you can put the New Testament in the hands of a spiritual seeker who responds to the UMC’s advertisements. Beginning in October, UM Communications will offer the Rethink Church Edition Common English Bible (New Testament) at no cost to seekers who request it when they visit the Rethink Church website. You can help.  Learn more.  Churches may  order their own copies at $5 each to give away to church visitors or at Rethink Church events in their communities.
 
Reframing Hope: In a new book from Alban, Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry for a New Generation, author Carol Howard Merritt talks about what ministry in, with and by a new generation might look like – not necessarily starting all over, but looking what we have, sorting out the best parts and re-framing it. Click here to learn more or watch a video. Read the first chapter FREE.
 
Children’s Sabbath Resources Focus on Children in Poverty: The National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths manual is a multi-faith resource for houses of worship to use as they address the realities faced by children in our nation and lift up children through worship and prayer.  This year’s manual, “Blessed to Be a Blessing: Lifting Up the Next Generation,” focuses on how faith communities can address child poverty. It can be used year-round. Click to download.
 
It’s a Hit! This week’s Baseball and Theology seminar, followed by “field trip” to PNC Park for participants and friends, was a big hit. Unfortunately the Pirates didn’t bring home a winner. Check out the photo gallery.
 
Teens and Church: Think teens don’t go to church to rebel against their parents? If you follow that logic, churches should be filled with teenagers, writes Shane Raygor on his Faith Experience Blog. Read 5 Reasons Teens Are Avoiding church.
 
New in the Media Resource Center: The 2011 Youth Ministry Video Kit with Max Lucado in Made to Make a Difference, Francis Chan in Courage, and Doug Fields of Simply Youth Ministry in The Truth About Sex.  Click here for descriptions and samples of each series.
 
Lost in Woonsocket Screening: The UM Center in Cranberry Twp. will host a special screening of the documentary Lost in Woonsocket from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 4. The film tells a story of hope, kindness, and human frailty through the lives of two homeless persons trying to recover from addiction to alcohol. It’s available in the Media Resource Center.
 
The Science of Spirituality: More than half of adult Americans report they have had a spiritual experience that changed their lives. Now, scientists from universities like Harvard, Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins are using new technologies to analyze the brains of people who claim they have touched the spiritual — from Christians who speak in tongues to Buddhist monks to people who claim to have had near-death experiences. Click to hear and read from NPR’s Is This Your Brain on God?
 
Get in the Swing! You can enjoy a day on the Grove City Country Club golf course, spend time with the Bishop, and save lives through Imagine No Malaria on Monday, Sept 13 at our annual Bishop’s Cup golf outing. Call the Rev. Beth Nelson at 800-886-3382, ext. 228 or click here to register. Bad golfers and non-United Methodists welcome.
 
Obituaries: Charles H. Kennedy, a New Brighton community, business and local church leader who reached thousands of people locally and across the nation with his “Positive Thought of the Day” e-mail message died on August 20. Read his obituary.
 
Classifieds: Check out the website classifieds for job openings and other things.
 
Upcoming Events:
UMC-Lutheran Joint Worship, 4 p.m., Sunday Aug. 29, New Castle.
 
 
            
United Methodist Center, PO Box 5002, Cranberry TWP., PA 16066-0002 | Ph. 724-776-2300 | 800-886-3382