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Engaging communities in mission
Body & Soul: Healing the Trauma of Domestic Violence
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During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October the Eastern PA Conference Domestic Violence Committee will explore the physical, emotional and social impacts of trauma related to violence, primarily domestic and intimate-partner violence.
The October 21-22 training event on Zoom—Friday, 7-9 PM, and Saturday, 9 AM -12:30 PM—will feature presentations, discussions and workshops led by resource experts, advocates, and survivors, plus the offering of an original poem composed for the occasion. Attendees will explore trauma caused by violence that increasingly affects children and youth, survivors of disasters, residents of violence-prone communities, families of military veterans suffering with PTSD, and others.
“Every church should have a ministry of healing and a message of hope to respond to this crisis,” said the Rev. Jacqueline Hines, committee co-chair. Learn more.
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Transformational Leadership
Pathways facilitators trained in the 'Coach Approach'
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Cabinet members, lead EPA staff and assisting elders attended a three-day coaching course this week to learn the “Coach Approach” to supervising and working with clergy and congregations.
The Coach Approach recognizes that all people are creative, resourceful and whole. It comes alongside people to guide them, rather than direct their behavior.
Churches that engage in the new Pathways to Congregational Health and Fruitfulness initiative will benefit from this approach to planning and consultation used by coaches assigned to help them. It is a relational style that uses questions as its main tool for achieving fruitfulness and results.
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More things you should know... | |
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1. Disaster Response leader urges prayers, patience in response to Hurricane Ian
The Eastern PA Conference’s Disaster Response Coordinator asks for prayer but also patience as Hurricane Ian wreaks havoc and extensive damage in Florida and heads north to attack other states.
“Please keep all the people who are in the midst of this storm in your prayers,” writes Bob Simcox, who was contacted by Florida's Conference Disaster Response Coordinator Wednesday. Ian landed as a Category 4 hurricane and barreled across the gulf coast northward. More than 2 million Floridians are without power.
“Be ready to respond in the weeks and months to come, said Simcox.” But “please do not deploy teams to the area until the conference requests response teams for assistance.” Learn more.
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2. Bishops seek donations for Puerto Rico
Even as United Methodists prepare to respond to Hurricane Ian, the Council of Bishops urges churchgoers to not forget the needs in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona's devastation. The Council of Bishops is appealing for donations for Puerto Rico to support recovery efforts there, after receiving a letter from the Methodist Church in Puerto Rico. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is also assisting. Read press release. Read letter to see how to donate.
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3. Are you ready for World Communion Sunday, Oct. 2?
You can still prepare to celebrate World Communion Sunday, as we come together in a spirit of peace and recognize our unity in Christ. Find multilingual offertory talks, children’s messages, sermon starters, social graphics and more in the Pastor and Leader's Kit for this upcoming Special Sunday. The special offering supports diversity in higher education and ministry opportunities through scholarships. Get your kit today.
Also read "What does World Communion Sunday help us do?"
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4. Advent planning workshop for children, family ministries, Oct. 3
Elizabeth Christie, education director at Fritz UMC in Bethlehem, will offer EPA churches a free, interactive Advent planning workshop for children’s and family ministries on Monday, Oct. 3, from 7 to 8:30 PM via Zoom. “Let’s spend 90 minutes together and get Advent, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Epiphany planned and prepped!” said Christie. Register to attend this helpful online event. See and share the event flyer.
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5. Safe Sanctuaries training scheduled, Nov. 12
For those who missed the virtual Safe Sanctuaries training Sept. 10, a new one is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12, via Zoom. Save the date, and look for more information soon.
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6. Camp director shares wisdom about relating to youth
When Terry Bridges, Coordinator of Urban Ministries and pastor of Midtown Parish UMC, was looking for ideas to bolster his church’s new youth ministry program, he turned to someone who works with young people a lot: Jonathan Curtis, Director of Carson Simpson Farm Camp & Retreat Center in Hatboro.
Their 35-minute talk, video-recorded on Zoom, ranged from finding activities and lessons that can capture and retain the interest of youth, to finding pathways into candid conversations, to meeting the challenge of working with middle-schoolers. Learn more.
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7. CONAM to explore Doctrine of Discovery, Nov. 6 at Innabah
The Committee on Native American Ministries (CoNAM) will present a lecture and discussion on “The Doctrine of Discovery: Enabling Oppression and Exploitation,” led by CONAM member Ron Williams, on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 4 PM. The free fall event returns to Innabah Camp & Retreat Center in Spring City. It will include a light supper and a free-will blanket offering. Please register in advance. Attendees may earn Advanced Dismantling Racism course credit for this event. Learn more and register.
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8. Conference-wide weekly prayer meetings, via Zoom
Join EPA clergy and lay members who meet on Tuesdays for a half-hour of prayer at noon via Zoom. Since the COVID pandemic began in April 2020, the small group continues to meet weekly for inspirational prayer, brief conversation and spiritual nourishment. Use our Calendar for the Zoom link at Weekly Prayer Meeting.
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9. New worship series examines God's calling
“All Are Called,” the latest installment of the Greater New Jersey Conference’s “Breakthrough Worship” series, looks at how God calls each of us to a purpose in life. By looking at the story of David — who started out a shepherd and ended a successful king, with lots of bumps along the way — this series will help participants to learn what their God-given call is, and how to answer and live into it. View resource
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10. Canva graphics training opportunity returns
Join UM Communications, starting Oct. 18, for a four-week, online learning experience in using Canva, the popular, user-friendly graphic design program. Learn to create and publish attractive media that reaches and welcomes your community. The cost: $29.99. Registration closes Oct. 12. Register now.
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Carson Simpson Farm to host Worship Fest, Oct. 15
Carson Simpson Farm in Hatboro, EPA’s Philadelphia-area Camp & Retreat Center, will host a free, lively, half-day, outdoor worship festival on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 12 to 5 PM. Worship Fest will feature an outpouring of music and messages from a faith-fueled cadre of young, Christian performers known as Ripe Creatives, as well as other church worship groups. Learn more.
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Christmas Cards for People in Prison
EPA Christmas Cards for People in Prison program, through which we can help incarcerated persons experience God’s love, returns this year. Blank cards can be obtained online, by postal mail or picked up from convenient church locations. All signed cards must be returned by Nov. 2. Learn more.
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October Book Club explores On Vanishing, about dementia
The next Learning for Leaders book study, weekly on October 5, 12, 19, & 26, will be On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia and What It Means to Disappear, authored by the Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper, who has studied and ministered among people living with dementia. Harper will co-lead the study with the Rev. Karen Bartkowski, Pastoral Ministries Coordinator and Chaplain at Maris Grove Senior Living in Glen Mills. . Learn more and register.
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Courageous Dialogues begin Oct. 24
EPA Conference members will engage in Courageous Dialogues to share their stories with one another in multiple sessions at EPA Camp & Retreat Centers. The first dialogues will be held Oct. 24, Nov. 14 and Jan. 30, 2023—all Mondays. See the districts and locations for these initial dialogues, plus costs and a list of “Core Values for Courageous Dialogues.” Learn more and register.
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First UMC Phoenixville awarded $10,000 grant to aid Kitchen Ministry
First UMC Phoenixville received a $10,000 grant from Chester County to aid its “Kitchen Ministry” that serves area residents with monthly sit-down or pick-up meals. Volunteers also prepare and distribute casseroles with the help of Phoenixville Area Community Services. And they coordinate with churches and agencies to address other needs through the borough's Food Insecurity Team. First UMC also makes its licensed facilities available for others to use in their own food service ministries. Learn more.
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Holy Cross UMC celebrates bicentennial
Holy Cross UMC, with locations in Reading and Wyomissing, celebrated its 200th anniversary Sept. 24-25. The church hosted a community block party in its Reading campus parking lot on Saturday, where organizations that use its building shared information, activities and festive fare with the community.
Sunday’s bicentennial worship service, onsite and on Zoom, featured the bell choir, chancel choir and guest preacher the Rev. Dr. William Shillady. Shillady, who grew up in the church, was baptized there in 1956 and later returned as pastor recently retired after 43 years of service as a UM pastor, mostly in the New York Conference.
Learn more and see photos in the Reading Eagle newspaper’s Sept. 24 report and the church’s Facebook page.
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SEPT. 30 – 10/2: Latino Commission Pastor’s Retreat | Gretna Glen Camp & Retreat Center | Learn More
OCT. 1 & 15: By Water & the Spirit: Theology & Practice of Baptism | 9 AM – 11:30 AM | Zoom | Register by Sept. 23.
OCT. 3: Advent Preparation Workshop for Children’s & Family Ministries. Via Zoom. Learn more.
OCT. 5 - 26: “Learning for Leaders” October Book Club: On Vanishing | Wednesdays at 11 AM | October 5, 12, 19, 26 | Zoom | Register
OCT. 15: Advanced Sexual Ethics Workshop: Congregational Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, 9 AM – 12 noon, via Zoom. Register.
OCT. 15: United Women in Faith 9th Annual Celebration. Montgomery Square UMC North Wales. Learn more.
OCT. 21-22: Body and Soul: The Trauma of Domestic Violence. Learn more.
OCT. 24: Courageous Dialogues. Innabah Camp & Retreat Center (for South & East Districts combined). Register.
OCT. 24: Project Restoration Youth Day of Service. East District. Register.
OCT. 28-30: Dismantling Racism – Level I, via Zoom. Learn more.
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