Adirondack and Albany District Newsletter

Send us your news, events and classifieds: carrieboyer@unyumc.org

Thursday, May 9, 2024

District Office hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays; 8 AM to 5:30 PM except Thursdays, 8 AM to 2:30 PM. Call Carrie Boyer @ (518) 608-1246 or send an email to carrieboyer@unyumc.org

Please send all emails to carrieboyer@unyumc.org

The District phone is (518) 608-1246 and our mailing address is PO Box 511, Newtonville, NY 12128.

Our District Superintendent, the Rev. Debbie Earthrowl can be reached at (518) 391-3215 and debbieearthrowl@unyumc.org

New Newsletter Format

We have combined the Adirondack and Albany newsletters. In order to shorten the body of the newsletter, there are three links to Local Church News:

Events/Announcements: Click here

Meals and Sales: Click here

Classifieds: Click here

Don't Miss Any Important News/Announcements from the Conference Office!

To ensure that you don't miss any important information,

please consider subscribing to the following:

Click here to subscribe to UNY Notes.

Click here to subscribe to the Weekly Digest

Click here to view the Weekly Digest published May 8.

Prayer concerns

Rev. Bob and Pastor Joy Lowenthal would love prayers for thier son Ben who will be starting Hospice this week after a life of many miracles and thanksgivings. He will be with family at their home. Cards of care and concern can be sent to the Lowenthals at 84 Lona Lane, Rensselaer, NY 12144.

Please keep Pastor Bruce Hazard, his wife Elizabeth and their family in your prayers. Bruce's brother Wayne died Tuesday in South Carolina after an illness. To read Wayne's obituary, click here. Cards of condolence can be sent to Bruce at 14 Pine Rd., South Glens Falls, NY 12803.

Please keep Roger Waldron, retired local pastor and husband of Pastor Debby Waldron (West Fort Ann UMC) in your prayers. Roger had emergency surgery on Monday. He is still hospitalized, but is improving.

Bishop Burgos Núñez

announces clergy appointments

After the prayerful discernment of the Upper New York Cabinet, Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez announces the following appointments. All appointments, unless otherwise noted, are effective July 1, 2024.

To view appointments, click here.

Annual Conference registration is closed. Next time to register is at the Conference on May 30

The deadline to register for the 2024 Annual Conference Session was Wednesday, April 24. All payments need to be received by tomorrow, May 10, in order for the registration to be complete/active. To pay by credit card over the phone, contact Trina Obrist at the UNY Conference Center at (315) 898-2006. Registration refunds will not be offered after May 10.

The next opportunity to register will be at the start of Annual Conference on Thursday, May 30. Registration opens at 8:30 AM (Worship begins at 10 AM.) Meal arrangements are made in advance with the venue and can only be guaranteed for the first 50 people who register late and on-site. All late registrants will be charged an additional $50 fee.

You can now view the pre-conference journal. Click here You can also purchase a hard copy if you prefer. Click here.

Annual Conference general information

Webinars scheduled for Annual Conference Briefings

Annual Conference is just a few short weeks away. To better prepare for this time of holy conferencing, plan on attending a virtual Pre-Conference Briefing to discuss Annual Conference action items. Anyone attending should have read the 2024 Upper New York Pre-Conference Workbook in advance.

Mark your calendar to attend one of the briefings on Thursday, May 16 from 6:30-8 p.m. or Saturday, May 18 from 10-11:30 a.m. Representatives from the Conference Board on Pension and Health Benefits, Council on Finance and Administration, Equitable Compensation, Trustees, Nominations, and more will be available to answer your questions.

A separate webinar to discuss the Child Victims Act recommendation is planned for Monday, May 20 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

For the Pre-conference workbook, Click here

Zoom links for all webinars will be shared in the May 15 Weekly Digest. Click here to subscribe to the Weekly Digest or click here to read archived issues

Pastor Anna Migera Chacha from Tanzania Speaking in NYS. She can come to your church, as well!

Pastor Anna Migera reconnected with old friends at The Community United Methodist Church of Chestertown on May 5. She presented a slideshow of her initiative, Living For Others. Pastor Anna then delivered the message with the theme of love and praise. The communion service was followed by a potluck luncheon. The morning was such a special celebration!

Pastor Anna started the NGO Living for Others in 2023 to address the poverty in her local community. Her friends and supporters from the southern Adirondack area have invited her to come for the month of May and share her story with churches and community groups. Please feel free to attend an event where she will be speaking.

-- Saturday, May 11– Potluck dinner and presentation, Cobleskill UMC, 6 PM

-- Sunday, May 12 – Cobleskill UMC, 10:30 AM

-- Sunday, May 19 – Ballston Spa UMC, 10 AM

-- Sunday, May 19 – Potluck dinner and presentation, Saratoga Springs, 5 PM

-- Sunday, May 26 – East Greenbush UMC, 9:30 AM

Anna is a gifted presenter who will be available to share stories and photos of her work to churches, community organizations and interested groups of any size. There are still many weekdays that are open.

If you would like to invite Anna to join your church or a small group to share her story and ministry of love to the people in northwest Tanzania, please contact:

Rev. Roy Hansen, roy777hansen@gmail.com or

(607) 742-9649.

Webinar explores Practical Guide to AI for church leaders

United Methodist Communications MyCom webinar, "The Practical Guide to AI for Church Leaders" was offered in April. If you missed it, no worries ― you can catch up now. Look for the prompts given in the webinar and the links to the featured AI tools within the YouTube description. WATCH

Making technology a ministry for church seniors

Senior adults in your congregation may not be resistant to technology, but they may need more assistance in using it. Explore new ways to connect with this group and potentially even turn it into your church’s new ministry from United Methodist Communications. READ

Happy birthday, Church!

We celebrate Pentecost on May 19, which is 50 days after Easter. Check out this new video to learn more about the holy event that led to the birth of the Christian church.

Click here

2024 General Conference

Click here for a recap of legislation passed at General Conference.

Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez recaps General Conference in a video address to the UNY Conference. Click here

District Superintendent Rev. Debbie Earthrowl posts a daily devotional on Facebook

Click here to view today's devotion.

Debbie shares her devotion live on Facebook every morning.

MAY 9, 2024

An Important Purpose

Steven Thompson (Iowa, USA)

Link to Today's Devotional

READING FOR THE DAY

2 Kings 5:1-14

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I trust that God has an important purpose for my life.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Faithful God, thank you for the ways you work in and through our lives. Help us to focus on how you might use us this very day. Amen.

Clouds on the Sacandaga

The tree branches against a cloud filled sky made an attractive image. As I look at this image the branches make me think of fingers reaching for the clouds. A yearning to break free from the ground and soar above the clouds.

It is amazing how a cloud filled sky can stimulate one’s imagination and be a source of delight on a pleasant Spring Day. They also help to regulate the temperature of the earth and aid in predicting changes in weather.

They are a part of the ecology of earth that make it suitable for life as we know it. They are one more part of the complex system that we are a part of. Increasingly, we have become aware that our actions can cause damage to the delicate balance of our ecosystem. Fortunately, we also have the capability of acting in ways that can repair that damage.

I believe that God has given us the capability to be great care takers of our world and preserve it for future generations. The question is whether we can look beyond those things which divide us to harness our collective capabilities to save our world.

Today’s photo was taken from the Batchellerville Bridge that that crosses the Great Sacandaga Lake in the Adirondacks on May 8, 2024.

I have done more than 1,400 Daily Photo Devotions, most of which can be seen on my blog at Blog Posts – Daily Photo Devotions (wordpress.com).

Shalom,

David E. Smith, Pastor

Mayfield & Northampton at Fish House United Methodist Churches

Phone or Text: 518-572-4051

Email: revdavid76@gmail.com

You can find this and other devotions in my blog at www.adirondacksights.wordpress.com. You can also find more of my pictures on my web site www.revdavidimages.com.