WOC logo
                                                                                                           NewsNET September 30, 2014 - Vol 7, Issue 38
Important Notice:  During the first weekend in October, the West Ohio Conference websites will be offline for upgrades and maintenance. The sites will be offline from Friday, October 3 at 6 p.m.to Monday, October 6 at 7 a.m.

  

Join Our Mailing List!

 

Publications
 
UM Agency heads meet with White House staff
Meeting around the Roosevelt table in the West Wing of the White House complex, staff of the Obama administration and the heads of the agencies of The United Methodist Church exchanged views and discussed how the many resources of the church support important humanitarian initiatives to improve the lives of children at risk, prevent sexual violence on campus, and address global humanitarian concerns. In a two-way exchange lasting more than an hour, the group agreed that the grassroots capacity of the church, along with its ability to mobilize community leaders nationally, can strengthen shared initiatives. The group also received a briefing on the administration's efforts to contain the fighters known as ISIL who have seized parts of Iraq and Syria. The conversation ranged from the concern of the church leaders for the humanitarian crisis created by the conflict, to the persecution of Christians in the region and their forced displacement from traditional homelands. Read more 

This Veterans Day, honor a vet and save a life
Did you know that in WWII malaria caused General MacArthur to say, "This will be a long war, for every division I have facing the enemy, I must count on a second division in the hospital for treatment and a third convalescing from this debilitating disease." In nearly every war Americans have gone into battle knowing they faced two enemies, one on the battlefield, the other "the peril behind the lines", malaria.  

As  our West Ohio INM Field Coordinator, Dave Boling, has traveled the conference, he's found there's at least one veteran's malaria story in almost every congregation. Do you know the one in yours? Find them, listen to them and honor them this Veteran's Day with a life saving gift to Imagine No Malaria. Read the story and download Veterans Day resources like the poster above.
Connectional Table to host human sexuality live stream

The Connectional Table's Human Sexuality Task Force is hosting a live stream event on Saturday, November 1. The panelists participating include members of the Council of Bishops who contributed to the book Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church. Confirmed participants include Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, Bishop Michael J. Lowry, Bishop John K. Yambasu and Bishop Rosemarie Wenner.  Details

United Methodist Men collect Love Packages
Tim Holly of Faith Community United Methodist Church, Xenia, loads packages for distribution.

Love Packages is a ministry aimed at putting Christian literature and bibles into the hands of people around the world. An ongoing mission project of the West Ohio United Methodist Men (UMM), Love Packages accepts donations of Bibles and other educational materials. Says UMM member, Leo Scholl,"we wish to extend many thank-you's to all who donated, collected, helped store and haul packages during the recent Festival of Sharing." Churches can provide a year-round collection barrel in their church, then contact Wayne Thomas, 937-409-1175 for a pickup.

Church's domestic violence response predates NFL news

United Methodists have been confronting family violence long before the NFL's response to players' assault charges was making headlines.  "Faith can either be a resource or a roadblock to ending violence," said Jane Fredricksen, executive director of FaithTrust Institute. "A victim of violence may experience a crisis of faith questioning 'Why did God let this happen to me?'" Fredicksen said. Read more 

Easy steps to improve background images for PowerPoint

Every Sunday, you put song lyrics, passages of Scripture and sermon notes on the screen. It is a great way to convey information you used to print, but have you considered also using visual metaphors that reinforce and extend the on-screen text with title and background images? It's not that hard to make them yourself. This article will walk you through editing your images and making them rock as backgrounds!  Learn more

The five most difficult questions for pastors

In some professions, questions about love and life just come with the territory. Hairdressers and cab drivers spend a lot of time listening. So do United Methodist pastors, who often get questions after worship on a Sunday morning, from a phone call on a Tuesday afternoon, or across the table at a church dinner. Some queries are straightforward, but others are far more difficult to address. Read more

Wesley book study

The Wesley Book Study is representative of a partnership between Ashland Theological Seminary (ATS) and the East Ohio Conference (EOC) of The United Methodist Church. United Methodists from across the North Central Jurisdiction are invited to immerse themselves as leaders and participants in serious examination of the lives and works of John and Charles Wesley. The administrators of the project are Paul Chilcote, PhD, Dean of ATS and Gloria Brown, PhD, Director of Racial-Ethnic Ministries for the EOC. The project will begin on October 1, 2014 and end with a retreat on the Ashland campus in April 2015. Study sessions may be held online (Angel hosted by Ashland) or face-to-face. Details

Churches embrace breakthrough prayer at retreat
The second Breakthrough Prayer Lab  (BTPL) Training Retreat, sponsored by the West Ohio Conference, was hosted on September 26-27 at Mohican State Park. Eight churches (their clergy plus 3-5 unpaid leaders) attended this training, as well as eight "breakthrough prayer coaches" who were present to help them form a breakthrough prayer initiative and strategy plan to take home and implement...and who will follow up with each church over the next six  months to guide them with implementation. Read more  View the photo gallery
 

 

Upcoming EventsUpcomingEvents

 
Passages


 Let us remember in prayer those grieving the loss of their loved one, and remember in thanksgiving the life of:

 

Rev. Joanne S. Kernitz, retired elder, who died on September 23. Rev. Kernitz is survived by her husband, Charles; two sons, Andy (Diane) Kernitz of Oreland, Pennsylvania, Bill (Gale) Kernitz of Morrow, Ohio; four grandchildren, Sara Rose, Julia, Harry, Elle; and many friends and co-workers. 

Rev. Kernitz served United Methodist churches in Pennsylvania before transferring to the West Ohio Conference in 1986. In West Ohio she served at Simpson Chapel United Methodist Church (Rio Grande, 1986) and St. Paul United Methodist Church (Springfield, 1989). A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 25 in the Chapel at Otterbein Senior Lifestyle Choices, 585 N. State Route 741, Lebanon, Ohio 45036. Visitation with the family will precede the service at 1:30 p.m. Expressions of condolence may be sent to Mr. Charles Kernitz, 4203 Meadowlark Court., Lebanon, Ohio 45036-8176
 
Deadline for News.NET articles is noon on Thursday. Articles are published based on available space and relevance.  
All articles are subject to editing.
Please submit article requests to