Media Resource Center Newsletter
October 2019
Welcome to the Upper New York Media Resource Center
If you've never used the Media Resource Center before, I invite you to give us a try. Funded by your Shared Ministry dollars, we can supply you with small group discussion materials, Bible studies, children and youth curriculum, adult curriculum, and a myriad of subjects such as stewardship, evangelism, social issues and VBS materials, just to name a few. Our quick and easy online ordering is just a click away. You can add things to a "shopping cart", then once submitted, you'll receive an email with your invoice attached. We send your order through the USPS and we'll supply the mail back envelopes and label with instructions on mailing. Your only cost is the postage to return it. Please feel free to search our online catalog below.

If I can assist you in any way, please don't hesitate to give me a call at 315-898-2027 or email me at [email protected].
Archival Storage for Local Churches
Managing Records of the Annual Conference and Local Church


The General Commission on Archives and History makes these guidelines available to facilitate the planning and creation of retention schedules for your annual conference and local church. They are available in two versions: pdf for formatted viewing and printing on line and as an MS Word document. Both versions can be downloaded and printed out. To read the PDF version you will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader version 5 or later. If you don't have it you can download it for free at  www.adobe.com .

T here is also a small set of Guidelines suggesting the type of records which should be kept from   closed local churches.  These Guidelines are also available in   Word version . 
 
I n addition we are now offering basic guidelines for  managing and preserving electronic records.   This is still a developing area. The guidelines are meant to offer some information on basic management of your electronic records while offering some thoughts for the long-term preservation of the same. And remember recommendations in the Records Guidelines apply to all records regardless of format.

Follow the link here f or our  retention schedules for the annual conference  and the  local church .
What's New in the Media Center?
Almost Christmas: A Wesleyan Advent Experience - In 1741, John Wesley preached his famous sermon titled "The Almost Christian" in which he encouraged people to follow Christ wholeheartedly. We should not be satisfied with being almost Christian but rather strive towards being altogether a Christian.

In Almost Christmas: A Wesleyan Advent Experience , author and pastor Magrey deVega leads a group of authors to explore how we can make the same commitment to Christ during Advent, connecting our Wesleyan heritage with the traditional Advent themes of love, hope, joy, and peace.

In this book, perfect for Advent, deVega and the other authors break down the barriers that prevent us from experiencing an "altogether" love, hope, joy, and peace in Christ in our lives and in the world around us. They demonstrate the promises God offers to us that makes those longings a reality, inviting us to claim those promises for ourselves this Advent and celebrate an altogether Christmas.

The four-session DVD features Magrey deVega guiding participants through the study. The video sessions are approximately 10-12 minutes in length and, when combined with the four book chapters, make an ideal four-week group study. All videos sessions are closed captioned.

Sessions include:
1. Altogether Peace (13:23)
2. Altogether Hope (11:55)
3. Altogether Love (11:15)
4. Altogether Joy (13:06)

Click here f or preview. Go to our online catalog to order K333= , then choose the component(s) you wish to borrow to add to your shopping cart.
How Happiness Happens - In a world searching for happiness, bestselling author Max Lucado provides a personal plan for a life filled with lasting and fulfilling joy, supported by Jesus' teaching and modern research.

In this video Bible study, bestselling author Max Lucado looks at several "one another" statements in the Bible that reveal how the happiest people on earth aren't those who have the most but who are willing to give the most away. Although the world can be a disappointing place, we can be God's representative to bring about a cascade of kindness! While we cannot solve every problem, we can bring smiles to a few faces and in this way, we might even initiate a quiet revolution of joy.

Sessions include:
1. Accept One Another (18:30)
2. Bear with One Another (19:00)
3. Serve One Another (19:00)
4. Forgive One Another (19:00)
5. Carry One Another's Burdens (18:30)
6. Love One Another (18:30)

Click here for a preview of the series, Dialogues On . Go to our Online Catalog to order Dialogues on Race , K335=, then choose the component(s) you wish to borrow to add to your shopping cart.
Passion Play - by Rob Fuquay
Jesus’ Passion story is presented each Lent in countless churches every year. But one play presented by the inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau, in Bavaria, Germany, may be one of the longest-running performance of all. Staged every ten years since 1634, the play makes an impact not only on the villagers who portray the characters but on all who see it as well. In The Passion Play, Rob Fuquay follows the biblical story of the Passion and shows how this amazing play has been used both as a ritual of praise and later as a weapon through its anti-Semitic past. The book makes a perfect six-week Lenten group study when paired with the Leader Guide and the DVD, which was filmed on location in Germany and contains behind-the-scenes footage of the production.

The six-session DVD features Rob Fuquay guiding participants through the study. The video sessions are approximately 6–8 minutes in length and, when combined with the six book chapters, make an ideal six-week group study. All videos sessions are closed captioned.

1. The Power of a Vow (7:55)
2. The Importance of Community (7:28)
3. The Role of Ritual (6:09)
4. Living the Story (7:42)
5. Telling a Better Story (8:47)
6. The Power of the Cross (8:20)

Click here to preview. Go to our online catalog to order K331= , then choose the component(s) you wish to borrow to add to your shopping cart.
Light of the World by Amy-Jill Levine
In Light of the World: A Beginner's Guide to Advent, author, professor, and biblical scholar Amy-Jill Levine explores the biblical texts surrounding the story of the birth of Jesus. Join her as she traces the Christmas narrative through the stories of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary, the journey to Bethlehem, and the visit from the Magi. These stories open conversations around connections of the Gospel stories to the Old Testament, the role of women in first-century Jewish culture, the importance of Mary's visitation and the revolutionary implications of Mary's Magnificat, the census and the stable, and the star of Bethlehem and the flight to Egypt.

The book provides a rich and challenging learning experience for small groups and individual readers alike. As part of a larger four-week study that is perfect for Advent, a DVD and a comprehensive leader guide are also available.

Sessions include:
  1. The Meaning of Memory (9:54)
  2. The Promise of Potential (13:12)
  3. The Journey to Joy (9:47)
  4. The Gifst of the Gentiles (13:04)

Click here to preview . Go to our online catalog to order K326= , then choose the component(s) you wish to borrow to add to your shopping cart.
Online Course: Creating Safe Spaces for Children and Youth Ministries
Who is supervising the shower schedule for your youth group’s summer mission trip? How many adults are overseeing the costume changes for the Christmas Pageant? I know you have two adults with your Sunday School’s 4-year-old class, but what happens when someone needs a bathroom break? How do you get your teenagers to stop going down the street for coffee during Sunday School hour? And are those teenagers still running your VBS games? What is your plan for the day when you get falsely accused of improper conduct with children or youth?

Whether your congregation calls it a Safe Sanctuary, Church or Gathering policy – or a Policy for Protection, or Prevention of Abuse, or any of a dozen other names – this document is your best preparation for reducing the risk in those situations and more!

In this two-week online workshop, you’ll learn why you should have and follow an up-to-date policy, what the policy includes generally and specifically, where to go for help when needed – and what your next steps should be, including writing (or editing) a policy, if needed.

Through readings, discussion questions, and an optional Zoom meeting, you will hear how Children & Youth Ministers, volunteers, pastors, administrators, and others, are reducing their risk of abuse or false accusations of abuse.

Participants should expect to spend an hour a day online in reading and responding, which will earn a completion certificate. Joy Thornburgh Melton’s book,  Safe Sanctuaries: Reducing the Risk of Abuse in the Church for Children and Youth , is recommended.

This course is eligible for 1 CEU. Click here for more information.
Calendar - October 2019
  • October 6 - World Communion Sunday
  • October 18-20 - Children's Sabbath
If you have any suggestions for our format of the Media Resource Center newsletter or have ideas that we may include in the future, I'd love to hear from you. Just drop me a line at [email protected] .
Upper New York Conference | 315-898-2027 | [email protected] | www.unyumc.org