Lisa Elliott Diehl
Marketing and Communications director

News

New mileage reimbursement rate
The IRS has set new mileage reimbursement rates, effective July 1.

The rates are as follows:

• Business Travel 58.5 cents per mile
• Move / Medical 27 cents per mile
• Charitable volunteer 14 cents per mile

Additional information on mileage can be found at www.kansaseast.org/gridpage.asp?pkvalue=109.

Healthy Congregations grants available to Kansas UM churches
The Healthy Congregations Grants RFP makes one-time grants of up to $5,000 available to Kansas United Methodist churches to stimulate the development of comprehensive ministries of health and wellness. Projects funded will emphasize wellness, prevention, volunteer care-giving, social support, and congregational health education and awareness. Examples of such ministries include parish nursing and health promotion projects. Grant funding is not intended for projects focused on a single disease, disability or health issue.

The Health Fund hopes that these one-time grants, added to local church resources, will mobilize strong volunteer efforts to address many facets of health, healing and wholeness in congregations and communities throughout Kansas.

Learn more at www.healthfund.org/hcgrants.php.

Volunteer counselors needed at Camp Chippewa
Counselors for camps are needed at Camp Chippewa during July, specifically July 14-18 and July 21-25.

There are many children going to camp for the first time in July, which will necessitate more volunteers to help those two weeks.

Contact Brenda Davids at brenda@campchippewa.org for more information or to volunteer.

Transforming power for leaders
For those who long for transformation and change in churches and organizations, the book, “Transforming Power: Stories from Transformational Leaders for Encouragement and Inspiration,” offers a collection of stories from leaders who have lived through personal or institutional upheavals and survived.

Author Hugh Ballou writes, "In the best sense, transformational leaders equip and create community. …They share responsibility, promote creativity, define goals, delegate effectively, coach, celebrate accomplishments, provide knowledge, value individuals and model leadership. …God has inspired leaders with a unique vision."

Find out more at www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=533825&ep_id=100.

Tony Ikenberry update
Missionary Tony Ikenberry sent a newsletter update about his ministry in Bangladesh.
http://kesite.brickriver.com/page.asp?PKValue=416#ikenberry.

Slavery doesn’t always require chains
A hallmark of globalization is the idolatry of competition that can motivate, innovate and stimulate the production of goods and services to meet human needs but also breeds captives and keepers, according to Neal Christie of the General Board of Church & Society. Globalization succeeds in large part because of its ability to blind us to the relationship between slave and free.

Read more www.umc-gbcs.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=frLJK2PKLqF&b=4311897&ct=5636245&tr=y&auid=3786495.

Featured Events

Sermon Planning Retreat
Mount St. Scholastica monastery in Atchison is hosting a sermon planning retreat Aug. 24-27. This will be a self-directed planning session with opportunities to share ideas, pray and relax together, and to discern future preaching texts.
For costs and more information, go to http://kesite.brickriver.com/event_detail.asp?TableName=oEvent_Calendar_EUXQLB&PrimaryKey=oEvent_Calendar_EUXQLB_ID&PKValue=2326.

Large Church Initiative Senior Pastor's Retreat
The 2008 “Large Church Initiative Senior Pastor's Retreat” will be Sept. 14-19 in Nathrop, Colo. Jim Powell and Don Cummings invite you to Colorado in September for a unique and powerful week of retreat and renewal co-sponsored by the Large Church Initiative and the General Board of Discipleship.

Download a flier at www.kansaseast.org/event_detail.asp?PKValue=2318.

Leadership Institute 2008
The Leadership Institute will be Oct. 2-3 at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood. Now in its 10th year, the Institute is a powerful source of creative ideas, hope and renewal for mainline church leaders from around the country.

Institute participants will hear leadership defined in all-new sessions by Resurrection senior pastor Rev. Adam Hamilton and Jim Wallis, Sojourners CEO and author.

More than 80 workshops about specific areas of church life will be offered.

For more information, an event schedule and a registration form, go to www.cor.org/catalyst/leadership-institute.

SCJ Congress of the Deaf
The United Methodist Congress of the Deaf – South Central Jurisdiction Conference will be Oct. 3-5 in San Antonio, Texas. For more information and registration forms, go to www.umcd.org/SCJ2008.htm.