Early Bird and Special Room Discounts
expire on August 27
- Details in this Issue -
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July 2019 Volume 20, Issue 4
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President's Message
| Andrew Kissell
Mercy! Impeded by a Plank
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Andrew Kissell
President |
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Good Morning,
Greg Arnold
, a speaker at the upcoming 2019 Spiritual Advance, goes to where younger men are with a
Live Bold
approach to ministry. All too often, we insist that younger men come to us at monthly dinner or breakfast meetings, featuring talking heads on topics mostly familiar to and popular with... older men.
Odell Horne, a workshop leader and speaker at the 2019 Spiritual Advance, is surprised at how presumptuous older men can be at starting a conversation about politics with younger men.
Pastor Harold White, our speaker at the recent Elizabeth River District UMM breakfast, and I both consider these practices as potentially "elitist"- that is, a barrier to relationship building.
Pastor Carey Nieuwhof says that too often we are "known for how deeply we judge, not for how deeply we love."
(Love Not Judge)
We're attempting to remove a speck from y"our" eye while impeded by a plank!
Rick Warren reminds us in his recent devotion
The Many Facets of Mercy
, "When you share your faith, do it with gentleness and respect, just like Jesus." Jesus' half-brother, James, reinforces that "mercy triumphs over judgment." (James 2:13b)
Finally, our brother the Rev. Dr. Kevin Watson, author of The Class Meeting about Wesley Small Groups and the featured speaker at the 2019 Spiritual Advance, teaches us that we need transformation much more than information. God's grace will help us on the journey!
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
All this is to say we set up big roadblocks by not listening first and by not seeking first to understand. Yes, it's important to discern and use good judgment in decision making, but it's even more vital to be gentle.
I love you brothers!
Andrew
Andrew Kissell, President
757-839-0790
Editor's note:
At Annual Conference, our President was elected as a delegate to the 2020 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference. He will also serve as an alternate at General Conference in May 2020. If you have any questions or comments, please contact him as your representative.
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2019 Spiritual Advance | September 27-28 in Virginia Beach
Registration Now Open | Register Today for the Best Rates
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Now is the time to register for the 2019 Spiritual Advance on September 27-28 at Baylake UMC in Virginia Beach. Save money and take advantage of discounted rates before early registration ends on August 27! Come listen, learn, and be renewed to share God's grace in your community.
Speakers
The Rev. Dr. Kevin Watson, Assistant Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, is author of The Class Meeting: Reclaiming
a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Group Experience.
Odell Horne
is the
YoungER Men's Ministry
Representative for the North Georgia Conference to the Southeast Jurisdiction's team that is working to develop best practices in reaching younger men for Jesus Christ.
Greg Arnold
is deployed staff at the General Commission on United Methodist Men (GCUMM) and an advocate for Men's Ministry. The mission of the GCUMM is to help men grow in Christ so that others may know Christ.
Hotels
Reserve your hotel rooms now at the special Spiritual Advance rate of $109/night. Registration deadline is August 27, 2019. Extend your stay and enjoy the 2019 Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach.
1570 North M
ilitary Highway
Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Phone: 757-213-2231
1500 North Military Highway
Norfolk, VA 23502
Phone: 757-466-8000
Note: Select the dates 09/27/2019 - 09/29/2019 to book the special rate.
Golf Tournament
or contact Steve Shaefer at 757-285-8047. For more information, please download the
printable flyer
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Brick Memorial Prayer Garden Relocated to St.Mark's in Hampton
Men's Ministry Spotlight | York River District UMM
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Need a place to pause, reflect, and experience God's peace? Visit
the Brick Memorial Prayer Garden at St. Mark's UMC, 99 E. Mercury Blvd., in Hampton
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The York River District UMMen built a memorial garden of brick payers as a fundraising project to
support Heart Haven's Morrison Home in Newport News, which opened in 2009. When Morrison Home closed in September 2018, the York River District UMM moved the brick pavers to a new memorial garden at St. Mark's UMC. The opportunity to remember and honor loved ones with a brick paving stone continues today.
Thank you to the men of York River District and St. Mark's UMC for demonstrating how to work together to share God's love and peace.
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Adopt a Bushel and Feed a Nation | Society of St. Andrew
Help Others and Make a Difference in Your Community
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Don't you love to get a good bargain?
How many of you enjoy helping others and making a difference in our community?
You can go to the local grocery store and pick up potatoes for about 80 cents a pound, buy a few bags, and deliver them to the local food bank or pantry. This will help, but what if there was a way to do more with your money and make a bigger impact?
We have an opportunity to share 100 pounds of potatoes with the local food bank for only $9. That's right, $9 will provide 100 pounds of potatoes, and that turns into about 300 servings of food for the hungry. We also have the opportunity to do this exact same thing with all of the fruits and vegetables in the Adopt a Bushel and Feed A Nation bag.
VAUMM can make a huge impact with the hungry here in Virginia
by partnering with the Society of St. Andrew.
Click here
to order a free packet of materials on Adopt a Bushel and Feed a Nation. Print a
flyer
for your church.
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Annual Conference Booth Report | Building Relationships
Men Building God's Kingdom Through Christian Fellowship
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Wow! What a great experience we had at Annual Conference 2019. From set up on Wednesday evening through tear down late Friday night, we greeted over 100 United Methodists. Many highlighted their church name on our big board of UMM chartered fellowships. The UMM charter links men's fellowships around the world.
The focus this year was on building relationships with delegates from many unchartered churches, who stopped by and heard encouraging words about ministry to men. The Virginia Conference UMM is seeking a relationship with all men's groups on the conference. Whether your men's group is chartered or simply a gathering of Christian men joining together for fellowship, Bible study, prayer, mission, scouting, or even... work, the Virginia Conference United Methodist Men wants to support your group.
Our goal is simple: more men coming to Christ! All churches on the Virginia Conference should take advantage of the opportunities we can bring to any group.
To join us in a relationship, contact any of our cabinet members, your district representative, or any of our mission advocates.
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New UMM Store Opens | Special Offers Every Month
Sales Support VA Conference UMM Advocate Ministries
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19 different styles available.
Sizes from Small to 3X.
Wearables with your church name available.
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The Wesleyan Covenant
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John Wesley |
"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,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen."
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