News.NET
November 4, 2011- Vol. 4, Issue 72 |
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Angels in Adoption award announced |
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Denise and Mark Strimple |
You don't have to gaze to the heavens in search of angels. Some walk among us. Look no farther than Bethel, a village of about 2,700 people in Clermont County. There, Denise and Mark Strimple and fellow congregants of Bethel United Methodist Church provide an inspiring example of compassion. They have taken on the task of fostering and adopting children whose parents are unable to care for them. [more] |
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New Director of Discipleship Resources to join West Ohio Conference staff |
 On November 7, the West Ohio Connectional Ministries staff will welcome RaNae Street into the newly-created position of "Director of Discipleship Resources." The responsibilities of this position include teaming with conference staff, district superintendents, pastors, leaders and congregations to help provide resources and training for effective discipleship for all ages to accomplish the transformation of the world. [more] |
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Prayer Evangelism workshop by Terry Teykl this Sunday. | |
 The Evangelical Fellowship of West Ohio is sponsoring a workshop on Prayer Evangelism by Terry Teykl on November 6th from 3-6:00 pm at Marysville UMC. This is an event that you will want to attend with as many others from your congregation as possible. Several of us heard Terry at Annual Conference this past June and were moved to stop talking about evangelism and to make it a priority. We have designed this opportunity to share this outstanding speaker with as many of our conference as possible. There is no registration cost or reservations required. A free will offering will be taken. We hope to see you there!
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2012 West Ohio Health Insurance rates announced |
The Board of Pensions and Health Benefits officially set health insurance rates for the upcoming year at its meeting in October. The 2012 West Ohio insurance rates reflect cost savings for churches and comprehensive coverage for retired and active employees. The new plans are being outlined in detail at several previously announced regional meetings. The final two meetings are November 8 in Bowling Green and November 9 in Worthington and we strongly encourge attendance if you haven't had a chance to attend the earlier ones. Your Board of Pensions and Health Benefits and our partner experts have worked very hard to fine tune plans which support our shared mission. [Click here for meeting locations, rates and highlights of 2012 plan] |
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Haiti VIM changes minimum age | |
 The Haiti Response Plan has made two recent changes which are important for people to know: changed minimum age of VIM participants and has changed minimum team size and amount of funds to be raised for matching funds from UMCOR.
This policy change is effective immediately, and is posted on this Schedule a Team page. [more]
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United Methodist Student Day: November 27, 2011 | |
 United Methodist Student Day is coming soon. Your participation in this Special Sunday is important to so many United Methodist students who struggle to meet the financial obligations of higher education. Your gifts provide scholarships and loans for United Methodist students who might not be able to pursue higher education without your support. When you give to United Methodist Student Day, you support students who are finding new ways to serve God in the world. Your contributions are needed more than ever.
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MTSO scholarships available |  The Harding Scholarship Competition is now open to new Fall 2012 students. The nation's most capable students compete each year for the Harding Scholarship, which offers full tuition plus a $10,000 annual stipend. The Harding is available to Fall 2012 students with a 3.6 undergraduate GPA. The competition is open to all denominations and all master's degree programs.
Students with a 3.0 GPA are also eligible to compete for the Premier Scholarships. MTSO offers nearly fifty full tuition scholarships, as well as many partial awards. |
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United Methodist Church? There's an app for that |  Mobile device users can easily access information about The United Methodist Church on the go with a new free United Methodist application. Developed by United Methodist Communications and Music City Networks, the app is now available for free download for iPad and iPhone. It should be available for Android smartphone users by the end of next week. The application enables mobile access to daily devotions, news, videos, photos, social media sites and a searchable index of United Methodist churches by geographic area. [more] |
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United Methodist initiatives find homes |  Life changed dramatically for Antigua Stewart when she learned a local church was offering her its parsonage to live in until she got back on her feet. United Methodist churches, conferences and the Board of Pension and Health Benefits are finding creative ways to help people find homes - and stability - one family at a time. [more] |
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National observance of Children's Sabbath Celebrations |  Sponsored by the Children's Defense Fund, the National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Celebration is a way for faith communities to celebrate children as sacred gifts of God. It also provides the opportunity for congregations to renew and live out their moral responsibility to care, protect and advocate for all children. Congregations are encouraged to celebrate the importance of children any chosen Sunday throughout the year. [more] |
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Ministry with the marginalized | | Young clergy, age 35 and under, from the Northeast Jurisdiction are invited to gather in New York from Monday - Wednesday, January 23-25 to discuss social justice ministries to eradicate poverty. Participants in the gathering, "Ministry with the Marginalized," will explore how to apply the United Methodist Social Principles to move beyond basic charity to address deep-rooted causes of poverty. The General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) is sponsoring the gathering at 475 Riverside Dr., New York, NY., headquarters of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM). [more] |
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New dates of note | | Nov. 19...Early Response Team Training, Georgetown UMC; this ERT team training will teach you how to assist survivors of natural disasters in their time of need. |
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Passages | |
Rev. Lenn E. Geiger (retired 2000), died on October 8, 2011. Messages of condolence may be sent to his wife Lynda at 2228 Aberdeen Street, Marion, OH 43302.
Rev. Robert L. SImmons (retired 1985), died on October 4, 2011. Messages of condolence may be sent to his daughter Nancy Gonzalez, 4142 Radcliff Lane, Cincinnati, OH 45241. |
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