A message from Bishop Sherer-Simpson concerning One Great Hour of Sharing on March 14

I want to thank each and every one of you who have been so generous in opening your heart and your pocketbook to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. As of March 9, $224,152 has been donated to the United Methodist Committee on Relief's Haiti Emergency Fund from the people of the United Methodist Churches in Nebraska. Plus, you've given another $8,922 for UMCOR health kit materials and $8,027 for shipping costs. And when we called upon you to make health kits, it resulted in more than 12,000 of them being sent to the Sager Brown Depot in Louisiana. That means that you have given more than $390,000 to help the people of Haiti.
    
To date, UMCOR has received over $13 million in donations. One hundred percent of that amount will go directly to aid those in need. I rejoice in this tremendous response. But we must continue to remember the people of Haiti who are still suffering and also the people of Chile who were hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake earlier this week. That is 800 times more powerful than the one in Haiti. This is truly a time of great need.

On Sunday, March 14, churches in Nebraska and around the world will take a Special Offering for One Great Hour of Sharing. Please be generous in your giving. Gifts to this offering underwrite UMCOR's "costs of doing business" and helps keep the promise that 100 percent of every gift to a specific UMCOR project will be spent on that project. Without this offering so much of what UMCOR does to bring hope and healing to the world could not happen.

If you would prefer, you can donate to One Hour of Great Sharing right now. Just click on the link provided for you below. You can also read more about what UMCOR is doing in Haiti through the generosity of the gifts we United Methodists have given.
 
God's blessing,

Ann

Ann Brookshire Sherer-Simpson
Resident Bishop
Nebraska Area United Methodist Church
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UMCOR Emergency Advance for Chile earthquake relief

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is responding to the needs of people affected by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile early on Saturday, Feb. 27.

They are working with numerous partners in Chile to respond with resources and support. Those partners include: Iglesia Metodista de Chile (IMECH), Ministerio Social Methodista (MISOM) and Equipo Metodista de Accion Humanitaria (EMAH).

Bishop Joel N. Martinez, interim general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries said, "I call on our generous United Methodist constituents to join in the response to the Chile Emergency Advance to strengthen UMCOR's ability to be fully present with resources."

Financial support can be made to Chile Emergency Advance # 3021178. Click on the link below to donate now. At this point, it is not anticipated that relief supply kits will be needed.

Gifts can also be made by check to UMCOR and mailed to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. For local church and Annual Conference credit, place your gift in the offering plate on Sundays. Please indicate in the memo line of the check that it is for the Chile Emergency.

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March-April edition of the "Nebraska Messenger" available online

The March-April 2010 edition of the "Nebraska Messenger" is now available on the Nebraska Conference Web site. Click on the link below to view the PDF. 
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Attendees at the November 2009 Rethink Church event discovered new tools and new ideas to apply to their own local congregations. Rethink Church campaign materials are helping local churches see themselves as vital centers of ministry in their communities, not just a building on a street corner somewhere in town.

Register now for Rethink Church at Springfield First UMC, March 19-20

Rethink Church, a conference on welcoming and evangelism, will be held on March 19 and 20 at Springfield First United Methodist Church, in Springfield, Neb. Workshop leaders Kathryn Witte and Lisa Maupin will bring fresh materials they acquired from recent trainings with United Methodist Communications in Nashville. Special guest Barbara Nissen will also join the training team. This event is the spring Laity Convocation for the Nebraska Conference, but don't let the name fool you--this conference is for pastors and laity working together to create spiritual excitement in their congregations.

Training-of-Trainers
Friday, March 19, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., will be a training day for individuals who plan to commit to presenting the Rethink Church program to congregations in their district. Each participant will be certified as a Communications Ministry Trainer 1 and will be asked to teach Rethink Church at least twice in 2010. See the attached Training-of-Trainers document. Only those people who plan to teach the material should register for the Friday day workshop.

Congregation Workshop
On Friday evening at 5 p.m. registration will begin for Rethink Church for congregations. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., followed by a panel discussion and entertainment.

Saturday will begin with worship at 9 a.m., and include a full day of topics, such as Welcoming as a Lifestyle; Identity; Unique Characteristics of Seekers Ages 18-34; Discover/Design/Do; Children and Young People's Ministry, and more. The afternoon will include breakout sessions.

Registration is $40 for an individual, $125 for groups of four to seven attending from the same congregation and $200 for eight or more attending from the same congregation. Groups of 20 or more are asked to contact Kathryn Witte at kwitte@umcneb.org to receive special pricing and to ensure that enough materials are available. Payment is due on the day of the event; make checks payable to "Conference Treasurer."

Register online via the link below, use the registration form included in the Training-of-Trainers document, or fill out the attached registration form and mail it to the Nebraska UM Conference Center, attn: Rethink Church Registration, 3333 Landmark Cir., Lincoln, NE 68504. The registration deadline is Tuesday, March 16.
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Dr. Marcia McFee

Register now for Marcia McFee workshop at Lincoln Trinity UMC on April 16-17

Dr. Marcia McFee, author, worship designer and leader, professor, preacher and artist, will be presenting a workshop on creating dynamic worship for all churches, at Lincoln Trinity United Methodist Church, 7130 Kentwell Lane, on April 16 and 17.

The evening of Friday, April 16, will feature worship and discussion with McFee, from 7-9 p.m. Saturday's events will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m.; there will be four sessions throughout the day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Among the session topics are "Creating Worship with Deep Soul" and "The Rhythms of Liturgy and Life." The workshop will conclude at 3:30 p.m. The complete schedule is attached below.

McFee will be leading worship at Trinity UMC on Sunday, April 18, at 10:30 a.m., the general public is invited to attend.

The cost for an individual to attend is $45; for teams of three or more the cost is $30. Lunch will be served. Register online at www.trinitylincoln.org/worship/ or call Lincoln Trinity UMC at 402-435-2946. Registration is limited.


McFee is committed to teaching the nuts and bolts of worship in an interactive, fun and inspiring way that enables anyone to return home and create a spirit-filled encounter with God for their church service. She has provided worship design and leadership at numerous national and regional gatherings, and also specializes in designing and leading conference worship. Most recently, she designed and led 22 worship services over a 10-day period for the international quadrennial General Conference of The United Methodist Church. To learn more about her, visit her Web site, www.marciamcfee.com.


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United Methodists invited to "Change the World" the weekend of April 24-25

What if...on one weekend all around the world, United Methodists came together to work with their local communities? What if...as we serve people locally, we unite globally to eliminate a preventable, treatable disease that kills one child every 30 seconds?

On April 24-25, United Methodists around the world are invited to participate in "Change the World," a weekend event that coincides with World Malaria Day on Sunday, April 25. Congregations are invited to schedule a community-based workday and to use World Malaria Day sermon starters on Sunday (see link below). A special offering is encouraged to support the fight against malaria.

The Rev. Mike Slaughter, senior pastor at Ginghamsburg UMC in Tipp City, Ohio, has written a book called "Change the World: Recovering the Mission and Message of Jesus." He emphasizes, "As The United Methodist Church, we have worried too much about getting numbers into our churches instead of getting the people in our churches out into the world in relative ways. Even our smallest churches can have incredible impact when they leave their four walls to serve the needs of their neighbors, alongside of their neighbors."

To get involved, plan a work project in your community on April 24, or find a project near you by visiting www.rethinkchurch.org/changetheworld. If you already have an event planned, be sure to register your project on this site as well. There are also a plethora of resources available to help you promote your event. 
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The Rev. Jason Kennedy (far left) and members of the Bellevue St. James West UMC worship team lift up their voices to the Lord during a Sunday morning worship service.

Bellevue St. James West UMC takes another leap of faith

St. James West United Methodist Church is the new church plant that could. Now in its third full year, the second worship site to St. James UMC in Bellevue, Neb., has already gone through some trying times.  After being led to its official launch in September 2006 by then Associate Pastor Russ Tompkins, the worship site witnessed a major transition in leadership. Tompkins was reappointed as the new senior pastor at St. James, and the new worship site was already in need of its second pastor.  

The Rev. Jason Kennedy, fresh out of seminary, was appointed to St. James. Primarily attending to the West worship site, this was his first taste of formal ministry.  The hope was that Kennedy could continue the dream of the new plant and lead it further into its growth and spirituality. Although attendance had reached a plateau with averages in the mid-70s, there was much energy and passion still bubbling in the hearts of the West worshipers.  

In 2008, just six months into his appointment, Kennedy called together 12 leaders to form the West Leadership Team. Using the L3 model, the team arrived at a refreshed and more developed sense of identity and purpose. Shortly after, the team launched several community mixers, social events and changes to the worship format.

Their efforts, passion, and prayers paid off.  After six months of distributing a seemingly infinite amount of door hangers, serving soupy ice cream at ice cream socials, and the endless retelling of St. James West's story, God began to move in their midst.  New Sunday school classes were added, children's sermons became crowded and visitors came from all over. As of February of this year, the worship average is over 100 and membership has grown by 30. Giving has also increased significantly. The community is engaged and enthused.  

The excitement continues to build at St. James West, and worshipers cannot wait until the day comes when their rented space in a Seventh Day Adventist Church is too small to hold their increasing numbers.  Members of both St. James East and West someday plan to build a permanent community center in West Bellevue to house the West campus.  

"We still have bigger dreams, and when things start moving like this, we can clearly see that God is a dreamer too!" said Kennedy in a recent Sunday greeting.  

Members of both St. James East and West are thankful for the chance to serve the Bellevue community, and they greatly appreciate the gracious support from the Nebraska Annual Conference to start a new journey toward building the kingdom.  

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The communion set from East Avenue UMC in York, Neb. The church closed in 2007, but its communion set has found a new home in Sudan.

Communion set from York East Avenue UMC finds new home in Sudan

Though it's a somber occasion when a church closes its doors for good, there are always opportunities for something positive to grow--the church is more than a building after all. And nothing could illustrate this more clearly than a communion set from the East Avenue UMC in York, Neb.

After East Avenue closed its doors in 2007, the set was sent to the Nebraska United Methodist Conference Center for safe storage. Its story could be stuck here, an indefinite pause amid boxes of copier paper and office supplies, but the Holy Spirit keeps moving.

Meanwhile, a group of 15-20 families, driven from their homes by civil war in the Nuba Mountain region in central Sudan more than a decade ago, came to the Swift and Co., meatpacking plant in Grand Island within the last six years, where they became part of Grand Island Trinity UMC, leading their own worship service in Arabic and Moro, a Nuban tribal language. But they never forgot their homeland.

Last year, the Rev. Jay Vetter, senior pastor at Trinity UMC, sent out a request for a communion set that could be donated to a church in Sudan. And the Conference responded, sending the East Avenue communion set with Daneila Durna, organizing pastor of the Nuba worshipping community at Trinity, who recently returned to Sudan for a visit.

The set, which otherwise would be unused in storage, is now serving Christ Church in Ersalya, which has 15 smaller outpost congregations connected to it, according to Vetter.

"They seem quite excited to have it," said Vetter. "Probably its most important significance is that it connects them to the whole church--The Body of Christ--in a symbolic way. They know that other Christians care about them."

The Rev. Nita Hinds-Park, Nebraska Conference director of congregational development, said the story of the communion set is a great representation of the global church.

"One of our conference's Six Signs of Discipleship is connectional joy," she said. "I can't think of a finer example of the connectional ministry we have as United Methodists, than the giving from a closed church to a new congregation located on the other side of the globe."
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Confirmation Day 2010 began with worship, including baptismal renewal, Holy Communion and a blessing from Bishop Ann B. Sherer-Simpson. Here, Sherer-Simpson calls the confirmands forth to receive their special blessing.

Confirmation Day 2010 an enriching experience for all

By Rev. Pauletta Lehn, Nebraska Wesleyan University campus minister

On Saturday, Feb. 20, 158 confirmands from across the state participated in Confirmation Day 2010, a connectional opportunity offered by the Nebraska Conference and Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU). Among the factors that made the experience "really neat," as one participant put it, was the collaborative leadership, diverse music and a bunny.

Standing in front of the baptismal font during worship, the Rev. Jesse Foster, making his debut with youth as the new Conference director of Christian leadership development, talked about first feeling called to serve when he was a child.

Representing Nebraska United Methodist Camps, Derek Bergman of Camp Fontanelle spoke of finding God while in fellowship around a campfire, as he stood holding the now famous bunny, an inhabitant of Camp Fontanelle.

Director of Risk-taking Mission and Justice Ministries Carol Windrum and Erin Outson, a recent NWU graduate who is currently interning with the General Board of Church and Society in Washington, D.C., had the crowd jumping around while learning about charity and justice and putting faith into action.

"I've enjoyed learning more about our heritage and getting to know people from other Nebraska churches," noted an adult youth worker on the evaluation. Balloons and the Holy Spirit, paint and baptismal renewal, and a faith-inspired scavenger hunt at NWU were among the fun activities of the day. Each confirmand added their mark to a colorful baptismal bowl, symbolizing the layers of diverse gifts and calls in the church (view a photo of the bowl, attached below). There was also an opportunity for youth and adults to share confirmation experiences or local church traditions that have been transformative, effective or inspirational in their own lives.

Overall, the Confirmation Day tradition proves to be an enriching, collaborative experience that celebrates our connection to one another and blesses all of us on our faith journeys.
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