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| Communique 219 January 9, 2008 |
This newsletter was sent on: 1/9/2008 |
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News of the Kansas
East Conference
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#219 - January 9, 2008
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Dear Friends of the Kansas East Conference,
With the start of a new year comes a
new opportunity for young persons to apply for one of the Conference
Merit Scholarships that are presented each year at Annual
Conference. The deadline for applications has been set at March 1
so it is important that pastors and laity make youth aware of this
opportunity soon.
Guidelines and
applications for the scholarships are available on our website at http://www.kansaseast.org/page.asp?pkvalue=642.
Scroll down the page until you find "Conference Merit
Scholarships" and download the documents there. But while you're
on that page also take note of other opportunities available thru the UMC
and its agencies or through UM colleges.
Gary Beach
Director of Connectional Ministries
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Global mission experience: Disaster Response
At the Global Mission Experience scheduled for Saturday,
February 23 at the Countryside UMC in Topeka, you will have the choice of two
workshops related to disaster response. One will feature Julie Pohl, Volunteer in Mission/Disaster
Response Coordinator for the Kansas East Conference, updating folk on the
state of recovery on the Gulf coast following hurricanes Katrina and Rita
and what still needs to be done to assist in the recovery.
A second workshop will feature Steve Burnett, Assistant
VIM/DR Coordinator, and the Rev. Gene McIntosh, formerly pastor of the
Greensburg UMC at the time of last spring's tornado there. They
will report on the needs within Kansas
in response to tornadoes, floods, and ice storms and how you and your
congregation can continue to assist in the recovery from these
devastating natural disasters."
Why is it important to pledge to "Bridges to the
Future" now?
 Local church pledges provide a sign of support for
the capital campaign when we seek funding from other sources. This month,
we are preparing our requests for funding from foundations both in the
state and nationally. One thing foundations look at when giving grants is
what other financial support is being offered to the projects they are
considering giving a grant. When the local church, individual
pastors and conference leaders give their pledge it looks favorable to
the foundations.
The extended cabinet, the campaign's district steering
committee chairpersons, and many pastors in each district have made their
pledges. This coupled with several church and individual pledges has
paved the way for giving for others. As the campaign director, I want to
encourage you and your church to join them. All pledges are
encouraged to be seeded in prayerful consideration and returned in a
timely manner to offer support to other pledges.
If you are in need of a pledge card, please contact the campaign
office at 913-393-4201 or LMurphy@kansaseast.org.
Read more at www.kansaseast.org/news_detail.asp?pkvalue=433.
New staff member joins Area Communications Office
 Britt Bradley has recently been hired as the new
Electronic Media Specialist for the Kansas Area Marketing and
Communications Office. She was born and raised in Wichita, KS,
and has been a member of Pleasant Valley UMC for ten years. Britt
is a recent graduate of the University
of Kansas where she
double-majored in Film Studies and Psychology.
"I first wanted to go into film and video because
people connect with the medium so well," she says. "I
wanted to bring light to issues and causes that deserve more attention
and support. I'm excited about this job and feel like God has given
me a fantastic opportunity to help spread His love."
Innovation Funding Grants Available
The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund announces a special allocation
of $500,000 for Innovation Funding grants in 2008. The funding is
designed to attract and support new approaches to oral health, access to
health care, and healthy lifestyles in Kansas. Through the inaugural
Innovation Funding program in 2007, 17 grants totaling over $743,000 were
awarded.
Applying for an Innovation Funding grant is a two-step process. An
initial letter of intent must be submitted to the Health Fund by April
7. Those subsequently invited to submit a full proposal will be
notified by May 26. The invited proposals are due by July 7.
Full details of the Innovation Funding Grants Request for Letters of
Intent and the online Letter of Intent form are available on the Health
Fund website, www.healthfund.org.
A webcast/teleconference will be offered in February to review Innovation
Funding guidelines and answer questions. For participation
information and to pre-register, please see the Request for Letters of Intent on
our website.
Please feel free to forward this message to others who may have an
interest in this opportunity to improve the health of Kansans.
If you have questions, contact Virginia Elliott, Vice-President for
Programs velliott@healthfund.org
or Kim Moore, President kmoore@healthfund.org , 800-369-7191 or 620-662-8586.
United Methodists respond to situation in Kenya
Bishop Felton E. May, interim general secretary of the General Board of
Global Ministries, has issued a statement on the upheaval in Kenya. The
statement reports on the safety of mission personnel and reviews the
history and work of the church in Kenya, as well as addresses
matters of peace. The United Methodist Church
has a very long mission involvement in Kenya.
The statement can be found online at http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/pr.cfm?articleid=4790&CFID=124265&CFTOKEN=99269875.
John Calhoun, United Methodist missionary, provides a first-hand report on the situation in Kenya (as
of Jan. 7). He returned to Nairobi from Atlanta late last
week.
2008 Legislative Alerts begin
The 2008 edition of Legislative Alerts began publication
Jan. 7. Produced by Robert Harder, these alerts provide updates on
anticipated action and legislation before the Kansas Legislature.
This first edition for 2008 includes contact information for
state and national legislators, including Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Archived editions are available on the Kansas East website
in the e-Newsletter Archive or under
"Newsletters" on the homepage of Kansas East site. If you are
interested in receiving these alerts in your e-mail, contact Harder at rharder6@cox.net.
 GBOD
releases
"Celebrating
the Offering," by Melvin Amerson and
James Amerson, is a new release from the General Board of Discipleship.
The authors say, "Churches grow in generosity when stewardship is
preached, taught, embraced and celebrated. For the celebration to occur,
a process of transformation needs to take place." This
transformation is at the heart of their book, "Celebrating the
Offering." For more information or to order call 800-972-0433 or go
to http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=498554
Music Copyright information
There is a
dispute ongoing between legal experts and the music publishing Primary-Wave-Publishing-Profile Nov-07  industry
over copyright. The two links to articles found below provide information
on the debate that is occurring. Once a final legal determination is
made, the General Board of Discipleship will issue a new article on music
copyrights.
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Feb. 12
The annual United Methodist Women's Legislative Event will
be 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at First United Methodist
Church, Sixth and Topeka Boulevard,
in Topeka.
Download the schedule and registration form and a description of the workshops.
The Kansas East and Kansas West conference United Methodist
Women are offering scholarships to young women ages 15-21 to attend the
annual Legislative Event, Feb. 12, 2008.
Scholarships cover registration, meals,
workshops and a travel stipend. Send a short essay of why you want to
attend this event and what you would do with the knowledge you receive by
Jan. 15, 2008 to:
Yvonne Sudduth, 204 E Third St, PO Box 73, Wetmore
KS 66550.
Feb. 22-23
"Signs of
Life" is a retreat for people 16 to 25 who are thinking about
life in full-time ministry. We're looking for people with questions
and people with passion. We're looking for people with ears to hear
and whose hearts want to serve. We're looking for you!
SCJ Caring for
Creation Conference
March 7-9
So often the word "green" is thrown around in reference to the
environment. This coming spring, Mount Sequoyah
Conference Center is not just using the word,
but doing something about it.
March 7-9, 2008,
Mount Sequoyah
is holding the first annual SCJ Caring for Creation Conference in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
This conference is not only to make people aware of environmental issues
and offer creative solutions, but it is also to help them recognize and
fulfill their responsibility for stewardship in creation and how
environmental care is a natural part of being a Disciple of Christ.
The keynote
speaker will be Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth, author of Serve God, Save the
Planet: A Christian Call to Action. Early discount registration deadline
February 1.
Thanks to a
generous donation from a local hotel, Mount Sequoyah
has received new furniture for more than 200 guest rooms at the retreat
site. Cherry wood headboards, desks, armoires, and side-tables inhabit
every room of the newly renovated Sequoyah cottage and will soon be added
to most of the other facilities. Rooms that need it most are
receiving paint jobs and the center plans to install new carpet as funds
are available. Things are looking quite different now up on the mountain
with all of the updates. Over the next few months, many hours of hard
work will be put into each room for the comfort and enjoyment of every
guest.
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2007 Local Church Remitances
The deadline to submit apportionment payments for credit to 2007 was
Tuesday, January 8th.
On Thursday,
Januray 10th, the Finance office will mail out a preliminary
2007 Church Statement. These statements will also be available
through your church dashboard on the Kansas East website.
Please review these statements IMMEDIATELY and notify the Treasurer's
office of any corrections or changes to be posted by close of business
Wednesday, Januray 16th.
On Thursday,
January 17th, the Finance office will mail out a FINAL 2007 Church
Statement. On Friday, January 18th, the Finance office must remit the
final 2007 receipts for General
Church
apportionments, offerings, and other advance special gifts.
Local Church
Statistical Tables 1, 2 & 3
The data entry website, www.UMCData.com is now available for use to enter
2007 Statistical Table information. You may also acess this website by
going to www.kansaseast.org, click on "church
login," then click on "UMCData Login."
If you use the www.UMCData.com you will need to scroll down the list
of annual conference and select "Kansas East Conference."
At the login in
screeen for UMCData.com, enter your seven digit GCFA church number as the
login ID and your four digit KEC church number is the password. If
you do not remember these numbers, please contact your District Office or
the Treasurer's Office.
The Deadline for
submitting the Statistical Tables is Monday, January 28th.
2009 Budget
Request deadlines
2009 Budget
Requests from the following are due by February 29th:
- Human Resource Council
- Commission on New Church Development
- Board of Global Ministries
- Board of Church and Society
- Board of Discipleship
- Board of Trustees
- Council on Finance and Administration
- Committee on Communications
2009 budgets for
all other boards, committees, councils and agencies are due no later than
Friday, January, 29th. CFA's budget hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11th.
If anyone has
questions, please contact the Conference Treasurer at 877-972-9111
tollfree or 272-9111 local.
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January 2008
Kansas Area Professional Seminar
Jan. 15-17
Grand Prairie Hotel in Hutchinson
Amy Lippoldt, amylippoldt@woodlandumc.com
Human Relations
Day
Jan. 20
Martin Luther
King Holiday
Jan. 21
Conference office closed
Safe
and Sacred Spaces Worker Training
Feb. 4
Ash Wednesday
Flint Hills
District Leadership Event
Feb. 9
Parsons District
Event
Feb. 10
Topeka District
Leadership Event
First of Five
conversations on The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations
United Methodist
Women Legislative Event
Safe and Sacred
Spaces Worker Training
Signs of Life
Retreat
Feb. 22-23
Global Mission Experience
Safe and Sacred
Spaces Worker Training
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Send Communique submissions by 5 p.m. the Monday prior to
publication to Susan Cooper at scooper@kswestumc.org.
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Meet the Kansas Area
Marketing and Communications staff
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Lisa Elliott Diehl
Area Director
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Susan Cooper
Associate
Director
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Beverly
Fanestil
Secretary
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Britt Bradley
Electronic Media
Specialist
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Kansas East Conference - The United Methodist
Church | PO Box 4187 | Topeka | KS | 66604-0187
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