Communique 269 - Jan. 21,
2009
News
We celebrate a new president
Bishop Scott
Jones shares his thoughts on the inauguration of Barack Obama as our
country’s new president at www.kansaseast.org/bishop_column_recent.asp.
Group in Tecumseh gears up for
disasters
Lessons learned after recent disasters—from
tornadoes in Kansas to hurricanes in Louisiana—have led to the
formation of a Community Emergency Response Team in Tecumseh.
The home base for Tecumseh's CERT program since its inception in
2007 is Tecumseh United Methodist Church, 334 S.E. Tecumseh Road,
which also will serve as an emergency shelter for area residents
after disasters.
The church received funding for its work in the Tecumseh CERT
program from the United Methodist Church's Healthy Congregations in
Action pilot program.
Read more at http://cjonline.com/stories/011709/loc_378220122.shtml.
Kansas East Conference insurance booklet available
online
The 2009 Insurance Coverage Booklet is now
available on the conference website at http://ke.brickriver.com/files/oFiles_Library_XZXLCZ/2009CoverageBooklet1_XJKS3ARX.pdf.
Insurance premiums increase for international mission
trips
The cost for international trip insurance has
increased from $6.50 to $11 per person per day effective Jan. 1,
2009. This increase should be taken into account when planning
international mission trips.
For more information and to download forms, go to www.kansaseast.org/gridpage.asp?pkvalue=170.
UMCom offers free course on Web
ministry
United Methodist Communications has a new, free
online course, “What Is Web Ministry?” The five-part, self-directed
course is designed to provide foundational information and the
biblical and theological basis for developing a Web ministry for the
local church. This is the first in a new Web Ministry series of
online courses that will prepare you to create and maintain a
dynamic Web ministry.
To learn more or to register for this online course, go to http://web.umcom.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=13149.
Fair-trade is more than coffee and
chocolate
If buying a bag of coffee or a chocolate bar
can help fight poverty around the world, it only makes sense that
United Methodists would want to get involved.
“No matter how difficult times may be, we in this country need to
remember that we are truly blessed,” said June Kim, executive
director of UMCOR’s World Hunger program. “Responsibility comes with
those blessings, and the buying choices we make have a huge impact
overseas.”
The Lenten season offers another way to help. U.S. congregations
spend about $28 million a year on palms for Palm Sunday. Farmers in
Central American rainforests are typically paid by volume, and up to
half of the branches they cut are later discarded.
A fair-trade program called Eco-Palms offers a higher price for
cutting fewer palms, and churches like Beach Lake UMC in
northeastern Pennsylvania are willing to pay more to support that
idea. Beach Lake’s pastor, the Rev Mark Terwilliger, heard about
Eco-Palms in 2007—chamaedorea palm fronds harvested through
sustainable agriculture and sold to churches for Palm Sunday.
Find out more at www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=4725.
Classified ads online
Classified ads are
posted on the conference website, including:
Resident manager, Forest Park
Conference and Retreat Center
See all the current classifieds in the News & Events section
at www.kansaseast.org/classifieds_find.asp.
Featured
events
St. Paul’s UMC to host Tex Sample workshop, Feb.
21-22
Dr. Tex Sample, professor emeritus at Saint Paul
School of Theology, will give a series of presentations entitled
“The Craft of Discipleship” Feb. 21-22 at St. Paul’s UMC, 7740
Lackman in Lenexa.
The cost for the workshop is $25 and includes meals.
Get more information at http://kesite.brickriver.com/event_detail.asp?TableName=oEvent_Calendar_EUXQLB&PrimaryKey=oEvent_Calendar_EUXQLB_ID&PKValue=2663.
Sharing Christian faith event, Feb.
28
Festival of Living Faith: Sharing the Christian Faith
in Today's World will be Feb. 28 at Lowman UMC, 15th and Gage in
Topeka.
The speakers will be Dr. Eddie Fox, world director of evanglism
for the World Methodist Council, and Dr. George Morris, professor of
evangelism for the World Methodist Council.
Download a registration flier at www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2294
Caring for Creation, March 27-29
Caring for
Creation is a conference designed to educate, network and inspire
faith communities to develop and sustain stewardship programs that
protect and celebrate God's creation. The conference will be March
27-29 at Mount Sequoyah Retreat Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
Registration is $60 prior to March 7, and the registration
deadline is March 13.
Get more information from the list of upcoming events at www.mountsequoyah.org/www.mountsequoyah.org/Programs_%26_Events.html
or call 800-760-8126.