In this
issue:
- Bishops issue statement on
immigration
- Bridges to the Future updates
- Congregational readiness for visioning and
planning
- Worship and planning calendars
- Interpreter Enrollment Forms
- Combat veteran benefit enrollment
information\
- Second of five conversations on Fruitful
Practices
- Spiritual Spendover
- Area Archives and History Event
- Student Forum
- Summer Institute
- Saint Luke's CPE program accepting
applications
- Bishop's Roundup for Hunger
General News
Bishops issue statement on immigration
Kansas
Area Bishop Scott Jones and the bishops of the Kansas congregations
of the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America have written a letter to Kansas legislators on the
immigration issue. The statement is available on the conference
website at http://www.kansaseast.org/page.asp?PKValue=836
Bridges to the Future Capital Campaign
Update:
- Pledges have reached the $2.1 million mark on our way toward
reaching $5.3 million!
- The Conference United Methodist Women have given a conference
pledge of $3,000 to Camp Chippewa and have challenged each unit to
make an additional pledge of $1/unit member (sending all unit
pledges to the UMW Conference Treasurer)
- 99% of all churches in the conference have either received
presentations or are scheduled to receive them in the next 6
weeks!
Bridges to the Future Timeline for churches:
- March 30th---All presentations received by churches
- April 30th ---All pledges sent to the Campaign office
- June 5th--Celebration of pledges at Annual Conference.
Do you have questions or concerns about Bridges to the
Future?
Contact the Bridges to the Future Campaign
office at:
Bridgestothefuture@kansaseast.org
Call Campaign Director Laura Murphy or Campaign Coordinator at
913-393-4201
Congregational readiness for visioning and
planning
A new article from Robert Leventhal of the
Alban Institute talks about visioning and planning with local
churches. The article was featured in the February Alban Institute
e-newsletter.
?Before I agree to work with a planning team, I determine if the
leadership is ready for the test. Congregations are different. Some
are doing great and don't need to do developmental planning now.
Others lack a readiness to plan. I have developed some
characteristics of successful planning teams for leaders to
consider. If a congregation does not have enough of these assets,
they may need to set more modest goals. They may not be a candidate
for serious planning. Even if they feel they are ready, many still
struggle with key issues related to readiness. Look for signs of
readiness for planning. Have a mental checklist: Do we have board
approval? Is the clergy on board? Do we have planning chairs? Do we
have a budget??
Read the whole article online at http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=5688.
Worship and Music Planning Calendars,
2008-2010
The General Board of Discipleship is pleased
to make available as a free download planning calendars for worship,
music, and other congregational leaders. These calendars are for
2008, 2009, and 2010 and contain the Revised Common Lectionary
citations for every Sunday and major day of the church year, as well
as United Methodist observances and special days and holidays from
the secular and civil calendars. Download it at: http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=6337
Interpreter enrollment forms
Please make sure
to complete and return your Interpreter magazine enrollment form.
For your convenience, the following ways are available for
completing the enrollment process:
New benefit for combat veterans
Rev. Rick
McKinnie, supervisory chaplain at the Colmery-O?Neil Veteran?s
Affairs Hospital, Pastoral Care Department in Topeka and member of
the Kansas East Annual Conference, shares the following information
of interest to combat veterans who served after Nov. 11, 1998.
The VA has made the decision to immediately implement the
enhanced enrollment opportunity benefit provision of the NDAA for
veterans who served in a theater of combat operations (commonly
referred to as combat veterans or OEF/OIF veterans) after November
11, 1998. The following business rules are applicable for veterans
eligible for the enhanced benefit of enrollment in Priority Group 6,
unless eligible for a higher Priority Group placement and resultant
cost-free care for medical services that are potentially related to
their service in the theater of operations:
- Currently enrolled combat veterans will have their enhanced
enrollment period automatically extended to 5 years from their
most recent date of discharge.
- New enrollees discharged from active duty on or after January
28, 2003 are eligible for this enhanced enrollment health benefit
for 5 years after their date of their most recent discharge from
active duty.
- Combat Veterans who never enrolled and were discharged from
active duty between November 11, 1998 and January 27, 2003 may
apply for this enhanced enrollment opportunity through until
January 27, 2011.
NOTE: Combat veterans who applied for enrollment after January
16, 2003, but were not accepted for enrollment based on the
application being outside the previous post-discharge two year
window will be automatically reviewed and notified of the enrollment
decision under this new authority.
To assist combat veterans in determining veterans? eligibility
for health benefits under this new authority, an interactive health
benefits calculator can be found on VA?s internet site www.va.gov/healtheligibility.
The veteran or user simply enters the combat veteran?s enrollment
status (enrolled or not enrolled) and their most recent service
separation date into the form, and the calculator returns the new
end date for the veteran?s enhanced enrollment date or whether this
new provision has any impact.
The calculator will be helpful to veterans to cut through the
complexity of determining health benefits eligibility under the
provisions of this new law. Questions may be directed to the
Eligibility Office at your local VA Medical Center.
Upcoming
Events
Second of ?Five Conversations? March 9
The
second of ?Five Conversations About Fruitful Practices,? sponsored
by the Topeka District Council on Ministries, will be Sunday, March
9, at 3 p.m. at Highland Park UMC in Topeka. Rev. Nanette Roberts,
senior pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Olathe, will speak
about ?Passionate Worship.?
Rev. Roberts? church reaches more than 1,000 worshipers each week
through four different worship services. You won?t want to miss her
reflections on Bishop Robert Schnase?s book, ?Five Practices of
Fruitful Congregations.? A ?world caf?? discussion about worship
will follow Rev. Robert?s presentation.
More than 200 Topeka district pastors and leaders participated in
the first conversation, ?Radical Hospitality,? which featured Rev.
Adam Hamilton. Pastors and at least two laypersons from each
congregation may register for the March 9 event online athttps://umcdata.com/EventReg/regEventList.cfm?webcat=10
or by e-mailing topdist@kansaseast.org.
Your registration helps to plan adequate seating and
refreshments.
Registration link:
Spiritual Spendover
Spiritual Spendover is an
overnight opportunity for mid-high youth from all over the Kansas
East Conference to join together for spiritual learning and fun.
This year?s event is April 4 and 5 at Manhattan First UMC, 612
Poyntz Ave.
Registration opens at 6 p.m. Friday and pick-up is at 5 p.m.
Saturday. Supper is not provided either evening. For a registration
form and Health Waiver, go to http://kesite.brickriver.com/page.asp?PKValue=530.
Area Archives and History event
The Kansas
Area Archives and History Commission is sponsoring a workshop for
church historians on April 12 at Hutchinson First UMC, 101 E. First
in Hutchinson. The theme is Discovering and Nurturing our Roots.
Registration is $25 per person. Registration deadline is April 4. A
flier and registration form are available for download from the
conference website. http://www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2165
Student Forum 2008
The United Methodist
Student Movement?s annual Student Forum 2008 will be May 22-25 at
American University, a United Methodist-related university in
Washington, D.C. The theme is ?Be the Change: The Fruit of Love.?
Registration deadline for the event is April 18. Kansas students
interested in going as part of a group should contact Kurt Cooper
(umcmesu@yahoo.com), campus
minister at Emporia State University, by April 11 so travel
arrangements can be made. To register for the event, go to the
Student Forum website: www.umsm.org/studentforum.
Mark your calendars for Summer
Institute
Plans are well underway for this summer?s
Institute. Institute will be June 16-21 and July 21-26. Institute is
a leadership and spiritual development experience for youth
completing 8th through 12th grades. Check out the iBelieve 2008
promotional video now on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WA7MnvyPTU
Saint Luke?s CPE program taking
applications
Saint Luke's Hospital CPE Program announces
openings for this summer's fulltime program (May 27 - August 14,
2008) , Residency Program beginning August 25, 2008-August 31, 2009
and fall Extended part time program beginning September 24th, 2008 -
April 25, 2009.
Tuition Scholarships are available to applicants with expressed
need for financial assistance for any of our programs; in addition,
our Residency programs offer a stipend of $28,500.00 annually. Our
program will waive the Application Fee of $25.00 for any member of
the Kansas East Conference. Applications need simply to indicate you
read about our program in the Kansas East News.
Each program provides 400 credit hours of CPE through the
Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. For more
information or application material please go on-line to http://www.saint-lukes.org/
and click on Allied Health Education and then to Clinical Pastoral
Education.
Other inquiries may be made directly to the Director of Pastoral
Education, Rev. Stephen W. Overall, at (816) 932-2840 or to Mrs.
Tessha Miller, Administrative Assistant of the Spiritual Wellness
Department of Saint Luke's Hospital at (816)
932-2180.
Bishop?s Round-up November
15
Mark your calendars now. The 2008 Bishop's Round-Up
for Hunger will be Saturday November 15 at the Douglas County Fair
Grounds in Lawrence.
Food donations brought to the Bishop?s Round-up are essential to
conference agencies and the hungry they serve. These agencies are
feeling the pinch this year as the 2007 contributions of food
brought to Round-up were reduced by 25 percent.
A help center director shared the memory of a family that came
into the center just before closing. The family had three or four
children. The family was given the number of bags of groceries for a
family that size, and the normal paper work was filled out. There
were some cans of Spaghetti-Os in the groceries. As the family was
leaving, the father noticed a tray of plastic spoons on the counter.
He asked if he could have some of them, and was told, "Sure."
As the director left the agency, he happened to glance to the
right, and there was the family eating the Spaghetti-Os with the
plastic spoons right out of the can. The director says nothing in
his memory illustrates the purpose of the agency more than that
memory.
Learn more about Bishop?s Round-up: http://kesite.brickriver.com/page.asp?PKValue=967
February 2008
Signs of Life Retreat
Feb. 22-23
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2139
Global Mission Experience
Feb. 23
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=1827
Safe and Sacred Spaces Worker Training in
Wellsville
Feb. 23
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2141
Safe and Sacred Spaces Worker Training in
Caney
Feb. 23
http://www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2167
Safe and Sacred Spaces Worker Training in
Topeka
Feb. 24
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2171
March 2008
Disaster Response Training
March 1
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2039
Safe and Sacred Spaces Worker Training in
Leawood
March 1
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2065
Social Principles Workshop
March 1
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2161
One Great Hour of Sharing
March 2
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2088
Sexual Ethics Quadrennial Training Update in
Wichita
March 4
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=1810
Sexual Ethics Quadrennial Training Update in
Chanute
March 6
http://www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=1807
2008 Confirmation Retreat
March 8-9
www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2122
Turnaside and See
March 9
http://www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2170
Topeka District Leadership Event: Conversation Two on
Five Fruitful Practices
March 9
http://www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2136
VIM Team Leader Training/Disaster Response
Orientation
March 15
http://www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2040
Safe and Sacred Spaces Training - Council Grove
UMC
March 25
http://www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2190
Lay Speaking Seminar
March 28-29
http://www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=1825