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Tuesday, October 27, 2015 
One day a pastor turned to her husband and said, "Our church looks like Hogwarts." Soon after, some magic started happening in the halls of Quincy (Massachusetts) Community United Methodist Church. Every October, church members transform the space into Hogwarts School from the Harry Potter series and give those in the community a unique chance to spend time with beloved characters from the books.
Haitian families uprooted by the 2010 earthquake, and largely unreached by earlier humanitarian efforts, are now getting new homes thanks to their own labors and assistance from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and its partners in Haiti.
Nearly six years after Haiti's catastrophic earthquake killed a quarter of a million people and displaced 1.5 million from their homes, UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and partner Church World Service (CWS), have been working in unreached communities to rehouse homeless families.  The agencies are centering their efforts on serving residents of camps for displaced persons in Boen and Ganthier, not far from the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Iowa News
First United Methodist Church in Mechanicsville is the home of the Mechanicsville Community Cupboard (MCC). The food pantry is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that provides confidential food assistance. Their facilities are open on the second and fourth Thursday evenings and fourth Saturday mornings of each month.

They strive to treat "all persons with dignity and respect" and to distribute "quality products and services."
Events in the Bible never made sense to Savannah Summers. The Bloomfield 16-year-old considered herself agnostic, so Sunday mornings didn't involve church.

Then she met the folks at Bloomfield United Methodist Church, whose pastor is fighting for souls with a different approach.

In November conference treasurer Terry Montgomery will be traveling the state holding a series of Town Hall Meetings where he will discuss many topics. This year, he will be joined by Conference's Director of Communication, Art McClanahan. The topics that will be discussed include: Apportionments, Conference Communications, Transparency and Accountability.

He looks forward to LISTENING to your opinion to help drive future efforts within the Conference. Plan to attend one of the many sessions throughout the state to listen, share, and discuss.

Town Hall Meeting Schedule:
Tuesday, Nov. 3: Ottumwa Ottumwa First UMC - 6:30 p.m. 
Thursday, Nov. 5: Eldridge Eldridge UMC - 6:30 p.m. 
Thursday, Nov. 12: Winterset Winterset First UMC - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14: Cedar Falls Wesley Foundation - 10:00 a.m. 
Saturday, Nov.14: Mason City Mason City First UMC - 3:00 p.m. 
Sunday, Nov. 15: Spirit Lake Okoboji UM Camp & Retreat Center - 2:00 p.m. 
Sunday, Nov. 15: Denison Denison First UMC - 6:30 p.m. 
Thursday, Nov. 19: Council Bluffs Broadway UMC - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 21: Marion Living Water UMC - 6:30 p.m. 
Sunday, Nov. 22: Burlington Burlington First UMC - 2:00 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 23: Des Moines Trinity UMC - 6:30 p.m. 
Tuesday, Nov. 24: Dubuque Grand View UMC - 6:30 p.m. 

These meetings will be very important opportunities to share and help guide several key decisions in the future. Everyone is invited to attend one of these sessions, please be sure to invite others since these meetings will be most successful if we can share and listen to the opinions of everyone in the Conference.

Iowa UMC Spiritual Formation 5 Day Academy a Wonderful Success with Participants from 7 states! The Iowa UMC Spiritual Formation Committee put on a 5 day Academy the first week of October and it really turned out to be a great Spirit-filled event. For five sunny days over 40 people came to attend the 'Pursuing Humor' 5 Day Academy at the American Martyrs Retreat Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa.   - See more at: http://www.iaumc.org/features/2578450#sthash.uMDHhr2N.dpuf
Leadership and Anxiety in the Church
November 5, 2015 
8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Plymouth Congregational Church
4126 Ingersoll Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50312
Registration $99

The Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center is pleased to host, nationally renowned expert in family systems theory and conflict resolution, Richard Blackburn, for a a one-day workshop,  Leadership and Anxiety in the Church.  The event will take place at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines on November 5, 2015. 
 
This seminar examines the challenges presented by the rising levels of anxiety in many churches today.  Participants will look at the role that self-differentiation leadership can play in calming anxiety.  Pastors, church leaders, pastor parish committees, and judicatory leaders will examine anxiety and ways to reduce it through the lens of the family systems theory.
 
Richard Blackburn is the executive director of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, where he has served since 1984. He is an ordained minister in the Mennonite Church and has led hundreds of workshops on conflict transformation and mediation skills. 
 
"Islam" November's extended learning opportunity through the School for Lay Ministry
Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015
Cornell College 
$75 
Registration begins at 8 am Saturday mornings; devotions start at 9:00 with classes beginning at 9:15. You will finish up at 5 pm. 

Rev. Franklin Livingston will lead this class with the goal of developing an overall understanding of the religion Islam and its followers, Muslims.  The objective is to engage the student in a thought process regarding reaching out and building up bridges with Muslims in their communities; and to develop an understanding to differentiate between Militant Islam and Peaceful Islam and its followers' orientation generally known as Muslims and Radical Muslims.  
Simpson Sunday: November 15th
On November 15th, we'd love to send a current student, faculty, or staff member to worship with your congregation.  All we ask is for a few minutes to share during announcements or a mission moment what is happening at Simpson College!  If you're within an hour's drive of Simpson College in Indianola, or have a congregant currently at Simpson as a student and would be willing to have us share in worship, please email Mara Bailey, Chaplain, at mara.bailey@simpson.edu to arrange a visit. This is a great way to raise awareness for the United Methodist Student Day offering typically taken up in November. 
The Iowa Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church
2301 Rittenhouse St. Des Moines, IA 50321
515.974.8900 | communications@iaumc.org