E-news: Appointment Announcements, One Great Hour of Sharing

One Great Hour of Sharing is April 3.

Join United Methodists everywhere by participating in this special offering that supports UMCOR's vital work. Your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing lay the foundation for UMCOR to seek justice and mercy for suffering people everywhere.

This video can be streamed or downloaded for use during your worship service or other ministry setting. There's also a bulletin insert available for churches to use.

One Great Hour of Sharing. April 3, 2011

Gifts to this offering underwrite UMCOR's "costs of doing business." That helps them keep a promise that 100 percent of every other gift made to a specific UMCOR project can be spent on that project - not on home office costs.

Pacific Emergency: How to give

WV Conference churches who receive offerings via checks in the offering plate should follow these instructions from the Conference Treasurer's Office.

You can also give and designate your gift to your local church on UMCOR's website.

There's also a bulletin insert and powerpoint slide for use in worship services.

Worship: a Way of Life

On the quad @wvumc this week, Rev. Cathy Townley says that worship "is not really for the local church."

Instead, she believes in missional worship, which is "a relevant, outwardly-focused service that puts the church in the context of its missional field."

Want to learn more about how your church can create missional worship? Sign-up today for Ambassadors for Christ: Commission Possible II, and you'll learn from Cathy first-hand. Other speakers include Rev. Tyrone Gordon and Dr. Paul Borden.

A group of four from your church can sign up for $100; individual registration is only $30. Read more about the event and register here.

The Shout-out: now on wvumc.org/news

We've gotten tons of submissions and ideas for stories. Thank you for such a terrific response!

We hope you'll get in the habit of reading regular updates on the the conference website. This week, we highlight the 30 hour famine, a hunger-awareness exercise for youth; and a couple of backpack ministries that are helping kids avoid hunger on the weekends.

Submit your stories and ideas to wvumc.stories@gmail.com

Annual Conference Forms

You can find forms and other information on Annual Conference 2011 at wvumc.org/conference. We'll update it as information becomes available. Right now you can download forms for the ministry fair and special meals.

C.O.M.E. Dates

The 2011 Celebration of Mission Events will be April 30 or May 1, depending on your district. Click here for more information on the C.O.M.E. in your district.

In 2010 more than $98,000 was raised for Conference mission projects and church & community workers.

Appointment Announcements

It is the intention of Bishop Ernest Lyght to appoint the following pastors to the churches below effective July 1, 2011.