[RMC News] WAYE; YA Interview; Indian Lecture; Paup to GBGM; New Vision; Lay Speaking; Brentwood to GC; Rural Ministry; Politics; Pew Study

Roe, Ben Ben at RMCUMC.com
Fri Mar 14 16:17:31 CDT 2008 

Contents
	WAYE Registration Deadline is Monday, March 17
	Radio Free Utah Interviews RMC Young Adult
	Modern Indian Identity Lecture at Boulder First
	Bishop Paup to lead Board of Global Ministries
	The New Vision To Be Mailed
	Lay Speaker Training
	Brentwood Pastors To Represent Special Ministries at General Conference
	RMC Clergy to Study Pastoral Care in Rural Ministry Settings
	Politics and the Pulpit 2008
	Pew study raises questions for Methodist leaders


WAYE Registration Deadline is Monday, March 17
Margaret Gillikin, associate pastor of First UMC, Casper, reminds all who want to attend the Wyoming Annual Youth Event March 29-30 that the Registration Deadline is a postmark on this coming Monday, March 17th.  Find out more here:  http://rmcumc.org/MI/Youth/waye.htm


Radio Free Utah Interviews RMC Young Adult
Gheeta Smith, young adult member of the Annual Conference session, the Conference Council on Young Adult Ministries and the Conference Mission/Vision/Values has been asked to give an interview about her trip to South Africa in early 2007, Monday, March 17.  It will in the time slot of 7-8:30 pm on the Jambo Africa show on KRCL 90.9 FM, "Radio Free Utah."  If you are not in range of KRCL, you may hear it streamed live via http://krcl.org/listenlive.htm


Modern Indian Identity Lecture at Boulder First
March 19, 2008  7:30pm
Grammy winner Robert Mirabal of Taos Pueblo will lecture on Modern Indian Idenity at First UMC Boulder, 1421 Spruce St.  Admission and
parking are free and everyone is invited. The event is sponsored by the Center for the American West, RMC Native Ministries, First
Church Boulder, and alterNative Voices.  More information here www.centerwest.org and here: www.altrNativeVoices.org


Bishop Paup to lead Board of Global Ministries
United Methodist Bishop Edward Paup has been elected to lead the church's Board of Global Ministries, which oversees global missions and is the denomination's largest agency. 

The election came March 11 during the board's spring meeting. He will assume the post of general secretary on Sept. 1. Until that time, Bishop Felton May will continue as the interim top executive. 

Paup, 62, is bishop of the Seattle area, which includes the Pacific Northwest Annual (regional) Conference and Alaska Missionary Conference, and is president of the Western Jurisdiction College of Bishops. He said he will tender his resignation from the episcopacy, effective Aug. 31, when the United Methodist Council of Bishops meets in April. 

Read the complete United Methodist News Service story here: http://tinyurl.com/2c4sbu  and see Bishop Paup's video announcement here:  http://www.pnwumc.org/


The New Vision To Be Mailed
The current issue of The New Vision is being mailed soon.  We had a couple packages returned "unclaimed" last time, so please remember to pick them up if the Post Office leaves you a package notification.

We hope you will find this issue meaningful as you celebrate the coming Easter season.  In it are stories of "The Least of These":  a report of the many projects of Volunteers in Mission; a story about a food and clothing ministry of the Englewood church; a personal testimony about the life-changing effects of helping people; a story about Denver Urban Ministry's food pantry; and a story about a ministry to Iraq by a grandmother in Rock Springs.  These are all stories of how churches and people in our Conference are being in ministry to the world around us.

We would greatly appreciate your feedback about this publication:  how do you use it?  in what ways does it help tell the story of UM ministry? in what ways does it help people feel connected to other UMs and other people?  Any additional comments are welcome:  send them to Stuart at rmcumc.com, CommChair at rmcumc.com, and please copy Ben at rmcumc.com.


Lay Speaker Training
Metropolitan/Mile High Sub-district training for Spring:
Friday, April 11th and Saturday April 12th at Northglenn United Methodist Church, 
**Lay Speaking Basic Course - Dennis Beedle, Dist. Director Metro/Mile High Lay Speaking Ministries, 
**Advance courses are; Lay Speakers Tell Stories - Sandra Beedle, Dist. Director Metro/Mile High Lay Speaking Ministries, ,  for 2007 Lay Speakers Leading in Prayer - Cliff Pike, Certified Lay Speaker.
 
You may also go to the Lay Speaking Ministries web site  http://www.rmcbolm.org/TrainingEvents.htm


Brentwood Pastors To Represent Special Ministries at General Conference
Pat Bruns and Tan Nguyen, pastors of Brentwood UMC, Denver, have been asked to represent special ministries of our denomination at our United Methodist General Conference.  Tan will be part of a team advocating for the continuing development of our United Methodist ministries with Asian Americans.  Pat will be part of a team emphasizing the need for United Methodists to expand their outreach to Latino/Hispanic Americans.   Brentwood is a multi-cultural and multi-lingual faith community.  Brentwood is one church, with one budget that reaches out in many ways and in three languages:  English, Spanish and Vietnamese.


RMC Clergy to Study Pastoral Care in Rural Ministry Settings
Kansas City, MO-Reverend Johnny Arrington of Meeker was chosen as one of seven outstanding and rural pastors in the United States, including United Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Baptist, who will serve as consultants to a rural ministry project on pastoral care.

The Louisville Institute also awarded Drs. Jeanne Hoeft, RMC extension minister, and Shannon Jung, both of Saint Paul School of Theology, and Dr. Joretta Marshall, of Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth also a RMC extension minister, a pastoral leadership grant to pursue researching and writing a textbook on "Practicing Care in Rural Congregations and Communities." 

"The goal of the project," said Dr. Hoeft, the lead author of the group, "is to explore what pastoral care means in the emerging reality of rural America. Communities and congregations are changing so rapidly there that we want to explore the best ways their churches can do ministry. Rural communities present unique challenges and a unique wisdom to the church."

This past fall the team went to Puebla, Mexico, to meet with the United Methodist Rural Chaplains Association. They also met with participants in the Town and Country Consultation at Saint Paul, as well as with denominational officials, rural pastors, and seminary professors at the Rural Church Network which met at the Community of Christ headquarters in Independence, MO. 

This past weekend marked the first of three meetings of the group designed to mine the richness of the pastors' experience and share those insights in a textbook to be published by Fortress Press. With a small grant from the Wabash Center, the team also hopes to develop a website to share insights and questions about doing pastoral care in rural settings. 


Extension Minister Susan Crow Graduates
Susan C. Crow, President and CEO of Appalachia Service Project (ASP), the 39-year-old non-profit Christian home repair ministry based in Johnson City, Tenn., recently graduated from the NeighborWorks® Achieving Excellence in Community Development program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.  

Crow is one of 47 leaders to graduate from this third session of Achieving Excellence - the prestigious and highly selective 18-month training program offered by NeighborWorks® America through the Kennedy School of Government for seasoned executive directors and senior level staff in community organizations that focus on affordable housing, community revitalization, or economic development.   Crow is an elder in the Rocky Mountain Conference appointed to Appalachia Service Project as an extension minister.  Read the full press release here:  http://rmcumc.org/Community/YaBB.pl?num=1205527737/0#0


Politics and the Pulpit 2008
A Guide to the Internal Revenue Code Restrictions on the Political Activity of Religious Organizations
During every election cycle, many religious congregations find themselves wondering what role, if any, they can play in the political process. Can a minister, rabbi, imam or other member of the clergy endorse a candidate from the pulpit or speak on political issues of interest to voters? Is a church or other house of worship legally permitted to register voters or distribute voter guides? Answers to these and many other questions are contained here.

This guide sets out in plain English the rules governing political activity that apply to nonprofit organizations (including churches and other religious groups) that are exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The 2008 edition of the guide updates versions previously published by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in 2004 and 2002.
http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=280


Pew study raises questions for Methodist leaders
Mirroring most other mainline U.S. denominations, United Methodists are generally older, whiter and wealthier in a nation that is increasingly populated with young adults, people of color and families with modest incomes.

The United Methodist Church also is losing more members than it's gaining, with its parishioners increasingly moving to evangelical Protestant churches or choosing not to affiliate with another religious group at all.

That portrait of United Methodism was presented in a landmark study of religion in America released Feb. 25 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, the study found that U.S. religion is increasingly diverse and fluid--"a vibrant marketplace where individuals pick and choose religions that meet their needs," leaving religious groups to compete for members.  Read the full UMNS story: http://tinyurl.com/392o4t 


Ben Roe
Information Administrator
Rocky Mountain Conference, The United Methodist Church
ben at rmcumc.com  303-325-7046  800-536-3736x146 
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