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July 28, 2015 
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Click on the headings of each of the stories in this issue to read more and get more information. 

In high school, Bishop Mary Ann Swenson argued against the proliferation of nuclear weapons as a student debater.

 

Fifty years later, Swenson, the ecumenical officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops, still warns against the danger of nuclear war, but as vice moderator of the World Council of Churches. In early August, she will lead a WCC delegation to Japan for the 70th anniversary commemorations of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

 

That danger is so great, she noted, that it "really threatens the survival of humanity if (a nuclear bomb) is ever used again."


A few years back, a French scholar named Didier Aubert travelled to Morristown, New Jersey, looking for old photos of immigrants. A librarian there suggested he also check the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History at Drew University in nearby Madison.

 

Aubert did, and while he didn't find what he was after, he stumbled onto thousands of black-and-white photos depicting Methodist missionaries, their work and their surroundings, dating to the early 20th century and taken around the world. 

Note: Retired United Methodist Bishop Will Willimon, himself a novelist, agreed to review "Go Set a Watchman" - set in the 1950s - with attention to its Methodist references.

 

One of the many strokes of genius of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" - our greatest American novel - is to make a child, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, narrator.  We see the South, that is,1930s Maycomb (Monroeville), Alabama, through a child's penetrating stare.  In Harper Lee's "new" novel "Go Set a Watchman" - written in the 1950s but  published just this week - 26-year-old Jean Louise returns home from her sojourn in New York to visit her aging father, lawyer Atticus Finch, hero of "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Iowa Conference News
Healthy, well-functioning bodies are often taken for granted-until something happens; an inconvenient infection, a gradual awareness of changing bodily functions or a sudden event-such as a car accident or an unexpected injury that leaves our physical body partially functioning.   Other aspects of our lives also affect our physical health-worry and stress, changes in our finances, relationships, family and work responsibilities, illness within our families, as well as the meaning and purpose of life as we experience it. These things all impact our well-being; our over-all sense of functioning well physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.
Change a Child's Story Wants to Hear From You! 
There are so many exciting projects getting started with "Change a Child's Story" and we want to know all about them. 




Please post your stories to the TELL US YOUR STORY page on our website. 

LEARN MORE

Watch the video of the Poverty to Opportunity task force presentation


GET INVOLVED

Get resources, make a pledge, visit the Change a Child's Story Facebook page

 

Events

POVERTY INC Des Moines Screening

July 30, 2015

6:30 pm

Des Moines Central Campus 

This award winning film provides an incredibly insightful and challenging assessment of the poverty alleviation industry, suggesting radical changes to the way that nonprofits and churches approach short and long term missions, charity/aid/relief efforts, and even foreign adoption. The film was produced by the creators of the Poverty Cure DVD series released 2 years ago by the Acton Institute. Anyone interested in gaining deep insight into the breakdown of the poverty alleviation efforts of the first world for the third world will gain incredible insight from this expos

 

You can learn more about the event at the Facebook Event Page or at the Poverty Inc website

 

Click HERE to reserve your FREE tickets. 

 

Domestic Violence Training: The Faith Communities Response sponsored by Faith Trust Institute and United Methodist Women

August 7-8, 2015

United Methodist Conference Center, Des Moines

Aug. 7 -- 1:00-5:00 with supper and a speaker after that.

Aug. 8 -- 9:00-5:00 with lunch served.

 

Help people take that first step toward hope and learn how to organize and lead others toward stopping domestic violence. Both clergy and laity are welcome.

 

A block of rooms has been reserved for this United Methodist Women's event at the Double Tree Hotel in Des Moines near the conference center. Please call them at 515-285-7777 if you need a hotel room. While there is no cost for the training itself, you will be responsible for your own lodging and transportation costs.

 

Contact Lynn Calvert [email protected] 319-541-8367.

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  AUGUST 15, 2015
The General Board of Higher Education, Division of Ordained Ministry (GBHEM) has partnered with Coaching4Clergy, operated by Rev. Dr. J. Val Hastings, MCC, in offering a leadership program centered on the development of coaching skills for effective congregational and clergy leadership.  The program will consist of sixteen clergy (i.e., Elders, Deacons, Licensed Local Pastors, Chaplains, Bishops, and Retired Clergy) with more than five years of full time ministerial experience.  Participants selected for this program will be prepared to meet the standards for the Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential conferred by the International Coach Federation (ICF).

The Office of Pastoral Care and Counseling offers confidential counseling and consultation to clergy and ministerial professionals of the Iowa Annual Conference. 

THE COMFORTING WHIRLWIND: GOD, JOB, AND THE SCALE OF CREATION  Begins September 8th, 2015; Continues 2nd Monday of each month at Ames First UMC

CLERGY RENEWAL GROUP  Begins September 14, 2015; Continues 3rd Monday of each month at Ames First UMC

EXPLORING THE ENNEAGRAM WITH REV. DAVID MORRIS - WORKSHOP  Monday, November 16, 2015



October 4-9, 2015 

American Martyrs Retreat Center

Cedar Falls, Iowa  50613

The Academy for Spiritual Formation is an experience of disciplined Christian community emphasizing holistic spirituality-nurturing body, mind, and spirit. 

 

The program is ecumenical in nature and meant for all those who hunger for a deeper relationship with God, including both lay and clergy persons.

 


Right Next Door Conference

October 16-17 2015
First UMC, Ankeny, IA
Women at the Well, a United Methodist congregation inside the walls of the women's prison in Mitchellville, Iowa, is partnering with Prison Congregations of America and the Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church to host a weekend of presentations and workshops designed to inspire, equip, and empower churches to connect with folks we might have missed. The Right Next Door conference will include presentations by noted speakers, including our keynote speaker, Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking. The conference will also include various workshops addressing prison ministry, advocacy, mental illness, domestic violence, addiction, how to reduce barriers in your home church, and more. For more information, a schedule of events, and to register, visit RightNextDoor2015.org.
Iowa Conference, UMC | (515) 283-1991
2301 Rittenhouse St | Des Moines, IA 50321