|
Northern Flow/Mohawk
Weekly Newsletter
| |
Contacting Northern Flow/Mohawk District Office
If you are trying to reach the district office please use the following information:
DS Rev. Weeden mikeweeden@unyumc.org
Email tammymcadam@unyumc.org
Phone 315-535-5149
Mailing Address PO Box 208 Gouverneur NY 13642
Office Hours Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
If you would like to sign up for our weekly newsletter or would like to have something posted please email me. Articles need to be sent in by Wednesday by 3:00 p.m..
| |
|
ACStats Updates for 2024 Reporting Year
The Upper New York Conference is working on some changes to ACStats lines for the 2024 reporting year in an attempt to make things a little clearer. We will post these changes to the Conference website by the end of the year for your review. We will also follow up with an update in the January 8 Weekly Digest.
Here is some additional information related to ACStats:
· Program opens on January 2
· Default password: ACStats2024!
See below for information related to new username options for the 2024 Stats reporting year.
| |
|
AC2025 theme and logo revealed:
"Believe... and See the Glory of God"
We are thrilled to unveil the theme and logo for the 2025 Upper New York Annual Conference: "Believe... and see the Glory of God." This powerful theme, rooted in scripture, draws inspiration from John 11:1-45, Luke 1:47, and Philippians 4:13. It serves as a profound reminder to trust in God's promises, celebrate God’s faithfulness, and find strength in God’s unwavering presence.
The logo captures the essence of this theme, reflecting the glory, hope, and faith that arise when we choose to believe. As we prepare for AC2025, let this message inspire us to walk boldly in faith and witness the wonders of God’s work in our lives.
Annual Conference is planned for May 22-24, 2025 at the OnCenter in downtown Syracuse. Registration opens in March.
| |
|
A Free Gift for Lent 2025: Rest and Renewal Small Group Study
This Lent, UNY is excited to offer you Rest for the Lenten Soul: A Journey of Trust and Renewal, a completely free 6-week study designed to help individuals and small groups discover the sacred rhythm of rest.
Created through our Compelling Preaching Initiative, this study invites churches to pause, reflect, and embrace the renewal only God can provide this Lent. This free resource offers everything you need for a meaningful Lenten study.
What you’ll receive:
- Weekly Themes: Dive into scriptures and devotions focused on preparation, wilderness, renewal, abiding, trust, and resting at the cross.
- Practical Guidance: Engage in reflection, group discussion, and journaling prompts designed to deepen your connection to God.
-
A Companion Journal: While the study is free, we encourage participants to explore the God’s People: Rest. Work. Play. Journal, available on Amazon.com, to enhance their experience.
Join us in embracing rest and trust as we walk with Christ this Lent.
Details at a Glance:
- Suggested Dates: March 9 – April 19, 2025
- Audience: Ideal for individuals, small groups, or entire congregations.
| |
|
A New Opportunity!
Join Pastor Phil on this devotional journey!
Purchase book at chalicepress.com
The last Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Phil will offer a ZOOM Check-In for those interested in participating. 1/29, 2/26, 3/26, 4/30, 5/28, 6/25, 7/30, 8/27, 9/24, 10/29, 11/26, 12/17
Sign up with Diane P. – at luv2garden5@gmail.com
Embark on a transformative journey with Awakened: A 52-Week Progressive Christian Devotional, a devotional guiding readers through 13 powerful themes like renewal, diversity, and mental health. Fusing scripture, progressive Christian insights, and engaging discussions, each week nurtures a faith that unites intellect and emotion.
When progressive Christians awaken to the realization of how our faith interact with the world, we may struggle to figure out where to start—there is so much work to do! We must also nurture healthier faith communities and culture that unite the head and the heart. Awakened is a unique devotional structured around 13 themes with four weeks on each theme. Themes include renewal, diversity, eco-spirituality, mental health, LGBTQ+ inclusion, science, and more. Each devotional includes scripture, a reflection on the theme from a progressive Christian perspective, questions for personal reflection or group discussion, and a spiritual practice.
Themes and their seasons:
- Renewal—January, New Year
- Diversity—February, Black History Month
- Biblical Women—March, Women’s History Month
- Eco-Spirituality—April, Earth Day/Arbor Day
- Mental Health—May, Mental Health Awareness Month
- LGBTQ+ Affirmation—June, Pride Month
- Reign of God—July, US Independence Day
- Questioning—Late Summer/Early Fall
- Faith in Science—Late Summer/Early Fall
- Embracing Change—Fall
- Rethinking Beliefs—Fall
- Gratitude—November, Thanksgiving
- Christmas—December, Christmas
BONUS: Each devotion has a companion video digging into themes in greater detail, leading you through that week’s spiritual practice. If you read the devotion on Sunday and watch the video on Wednesday, you’ll have two points during the week at which you are specifically focusing on your spiritual journey. Access the videos by scanning this QR Code or on the back cover of the book with your phone.
| |
|
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION OR WESLEY COVENANT PRAYER?
I wrote my last blog the day after Christmas, and I am writing this one two days after the new year. As promised, I wanted to revisit The Wesley Covenant Prayer.
But before that, I wanted to talk about New Year’s Resolutions…you know that thing we do, listing the things that we’ll accomplish in the new year. I don’t know about you, but, for me, these are usually things I wasn’t able to accomplish in the prior year, so with the coming of a new year, everything would change, and I’d be able to do it.
I looked up New Year Resolution Statistics and found that 23% quit in the first week; only 36% make it past the first month; and only 9% successfully keep their resolutions. So I guess that means that the likelihood that I’ll be successful in something that I haven’t been successful in before is…well…pretty low. Should I be surprised.
I don’t think so. I started wondering if I’m unsuccessful because my New Year’s Resolutions are often all about me: what I need, what I want, what I think I should do, I, I, I.
And that leads me to The Wesley Covenant Prayer. The first lines of that prayer say: “I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee.” This is a completely different slant. No longer all about me, me, me, but about God (thine, thou, thee).
An article on this prayer in UMC Discipleship by Steve Manskar says that this prayer “informed (Wesley’s) theology and preaching. He expected the people called “Methodists” to pray this prayer at the beginning of each new year as a way of remembering and renewing their baptismal covenant.”[1]
Baptism isn’t something that is done and then forgotten; baptism leads us into a life of faith. This Covenant Prayer also isn’t something we just say at the beginning of a new year and then forget. The article by Steve Manskar goes on to say “It tells us that being a Christian is more a way of life than a system of beliefs. The Covenant Prayer describes the Jesus way of self-giving and self-emptying love. This way of living and loving is possible only in a community centered in the life and mission of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.”[2]
Whereas a New Year’s Resolution is all about me, the Covenant Prayer is all about Jesus and how we fit in.
So what does Jesus want for you and with you in the new year?
Feel free to contact me at sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org
[1] “The Wesley Covenant Prayer and the Baptismal Covenant” by Steve Manskar (umcdiscipleship.org, January 2018)
[2] Ibid
| |
|
If at any time through out the year, your church has a change in leadership please contact the district office as soon as that change is made.
This includes SPRC Chairs, treasurers, etc..
Please include all contact information including a valid email address.
Thank you!
You can send the information to tammymcadam@unyumc.org
| |
|
CONFERENCE NEWS & INFORMATION
Stay up to date with all the news coming from the conference office. Subscribe to the Weekly Digest here.
| |
Certified Lay Servants
Did you know you are able to take Lay Servant Courses online through Be A Disciple? They offer courses you can take that you can get credit for with your district. All you need to do is let the office know along with proof of completion and it will go in your record! For more information please click here
| |
|
Canton United Methodist Church
41 Court Street in Canton, NY
All you can eat pancake breakfast on Saturday, February 8th from
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The cost is $7.00 per person.
The breakfast includes: pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, homemade donut balls, maple syrup, juice, and your choice of
either coffee or tea.
Please come out and enjoy a delicious breakfast with family and friends.
| |
|
Heuvelton United Methodist Church
44 Lisbon Street
Heuvelton NY
Free Will Dinner
Thursday, January 23 at 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Chicken and Biscuits
Mashed potatoes
Applesauce and veggies
Dessert and drinks
Our hope is to get folks out to eat with us and socialize. But if you can’t stay, we will have a limited number of take outs.
Any donations will help our food pantry and other ministries.
| | | | |
