Photo: Alton Collins Retreat Center & Camp in Oregon. They are accepting volunteers, read more below. Courtesy, www.gocamping.org.
* UMVIM SITES IN OREGON/IDAHO CONFERENCE
Interested in serving stateside? The Oregon/Idaho conference has several great locations for volunteer teams. They are listed below. For more information, contact
Brenda St. Clair, the Oregon/Idaho UMVIM Coordinator at
jgbrndr@cabelone.net or at 208-520-7527.
CAMP SAWTOOTH/CAMP & RETREAT CENTER, P O Box 68, Fairfield, ID 83327, Dave Hargreaves,
SawtoothUMCamp@hughes.net .
Open in June-Sept only. New building projects and trail maintenance. S.A. Max 16 RV. S. A. Max 16, RV.
ALTON L. COLLINS RETREAT CENTER, Rev. Todd Bartlett,
director@relianceconnects.com , 32867 SE Highway 211, Eagle Creek, OR 97022 503/637-6411, toll-free 888/567-6411. Grounds, organic garden, and trail maintenance. Adults. limited RV parking.
CAMP LATGAWA / CAMP AND RETREAT CENTER, Eva LaBonty and Greg Clensy, Latgawa@gocamping.org, 13250 South Fork Little Butte Creek Rd., Eagle Point, OR 97524, 541/826-9699. Camp, building, and trail maintenance. S, A, RV.
CAMP MAGRUDER, Steve Rumage, Director, 17450 Old Pacific Hwy. Rockaway Beach, OR 97136. 503/ 355-2310; F: 503/355-8701. director@campmagruder.org
Carpentry, general maintenance, and grounds work. S, A, RV parking. Max 6-12.
SUTTLE LAKE CAMP & RETREAT CTR, - Jane Petke, 29551 SW Suttle Lake Rd., Sisters, OR 97759, 514/595-6663, F: 503/595-2818, suttle@gocamping.org.
Make a difference through carpentry, general maintenance, cutting wood, trail improvements, renovation of small cabins, and construction of wooden bunk beds.
J, S, A.
WALLOWA LAKE CAMP & RETREAT CTR, David and Ingrid Cook, 84522 Church Lane, Joseph, OR 97846. 541/432-1271.
wallowa@gocamping.org.
May-June or Sept-Oct : Construction of cedar deluxe yurt cabins.
Summer only: kitchen, maintenance, housekeeping volunteers.
A. Max 16.
* DESERT SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE LIFTS UP UMVIM MINISTRY AT ITS MISSION FESTIVAL
The Desert Southwest Conference held its first Conference Mission Festival November 7th and it was a huge success. Bishop Carcano was present and shared a Spirit-filled message and UMVIM was a focus of the festival. Pastor Mel Muchinsky of Cross in the Desert UMC lead the way in putting the event together and he and his team did an incredible job. Below, please find a report on the event.
REGISTRATION AND ATTENDANCE
Well, the Design Team wasn’t sure if the event would happen or not! Two weeks before November 7th, we only had a dozen people registered. As we came closer to the event, registrations started to come in and on Friday, November 6th we had a total of 128 signed up. Of these, 96 ordered lunches which were prepared by UMOM - New Day culinary school. There were several "walk ins" that morning, bring the total official count to 141. Worship service was attended by 160 people (all right, it was really 162 but let’s round things off).
WORKSHOPS
Eight workshops were presented and, although some people were disappointed with the three cancelled ones, they nevertheless attended the ones presented. Workshops were better attended at 12:30 pm then at 9;15 am - don’t know "why?" but maybe people were finally getting used to the schedule or maybe the "buzz" was that they were all well presented. Several people told me they were considering new mission projects because of these workshops.
Faith in action: volunteers in missionHeather Wilson, Western Jurisdiction UMVIM coordinator. The whys, how to’s and needs for VIM volunteers and churches.
"…as a fire by burning": mission motives and methods
Let by David Alberts, former Program Counselor for Missions in the Central Illinois Conference and current senior pastor at St. Matthew UMC in Mesa. Does your congregation need to catch a vision for missions and learn creative means for transforming good intentions into action? Here is real help based upon the vast mission resources available to United Methodists and the experiences of successful mission-centered churches.
Making new disciples for missions
Led by Glen Simpson and Relevance Young Adult Ministries, the official young adult ministry of the Desert Southwest Conference. Young adults gravitate to churches that are making an impact. Today’s generation of young adults are embracing service, social action and missions. In a survey conducted by Lifeway Christian Resources, 66% of young adult churchgoers vs. 47% of young adult non-churchgoers agreed that meeting the needs of others is an essential element to this generation.
Encouraging effective collaboration
Moderated by Candace Sherwood, Community Relations & Events Manager, UMOM New Day Centers. As resources grow scarcer and individual and community challenges more complex, Missions often need to join forces to make headway. Collaboration is more than a buzz word, it's a whole new way of getting work done. This workshop will demonstrate how collaboration offers the chance to access resources and leverage outcomes in ways to make Mission success possible.
General cross-cultural issues
Ministering with a different culture has its challenges! Whether your dealing with people in another culture as a volunteer or rubbing elbows with those right in your own congregation, this workshop will give insight how to establish relationships.
Providing job support as a mission project
Moderated by Lisa Armijo from Arizona Women’s Education and Employment. Started in 1981, AWEE has changed the lives of 60,000 individuals through life and career success planning, training and support. Techniques will be shared as to how churches can respond to people’s needs during this economic recession.
Rethinking church
Hosted by Stepehen J. Hustedt and the Desert Southwest Conference Communications Commission. What if church wasn’t a place you go? What if Church was a thing you do? This workshop will how to reach out to un-churched individuals between 18 and 35 with a secondary audience of 35-50. Research shows that young adults a looking for a church that does what it says it does and has a mission focus. What does this mean to how we tell our story as United Methodists?
Increasing global ministries missionary covenants
Facilitated by Judy Witt, DSC Secretary of Global Ministries. Special Sundays offerings, The Advance, as well as individual & church partnerships with missionaries/countries/specific projects are just some of the opportunities available. Can we help establish ten new covenant relationships in this quadrennium? Come and see!
TABLE DISPLAYS
We had 17 display table reservations but 22 showed up! I nice problem to have; we just made room for more. Besides the "regular" displays, we had some interesting and unique ones from local churches.
Association of Arizona food Banks
Desert Foothills UMC - Agua Prieta
Duet - Elaine Dinse/Meryl Ahart
Faithworks - Glen or Jan Allen
Fountain Hills UMC - Pam Novak
Give Ye Them to Eat - Hendersons
Global Ministries - Judy Witt
Habitat for Humanity
Hope for the Hopeless
In Mission Together - Mel Munchinsky
Justa Center - Scott Ritchey
NOMADS - Dick Bulkeley
Shepherd of the Hills UMC - Cleo Perry - quilts
Shoebox Ministry - Laura Borgeson
Sidewalk Ministry - Billie Fidlin
St. Matthew UMC - Bulgarian UMC - Andy or Kay Rountree
UMOM - New Day - Helping Hands - Candace Sherwood
United Methodist Women - Carla Whitmire
Wesley Center - Betty K. Mathis
WHEAT - Hand to Hand Project - Ada Davis
WORSHIP SERVICE
The service opened with the SON Worshipers from St. Matthew UMC providing prelude music. The congregation joined in with the singing of A New Hallelujah! The Band also sang Children of God and Thank you, Lord. The One Flock Choir sang Multiply Your Love. Two excellent talks were given by Bishop Minerva Carcaño and Heather Wilson, UMVIM Coordinator of the Western Jurisdiction. There certainly was the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the service, one would have thought all these individuals and groups sat down and planned the service because of its unity and theme but in fact they didn’t!
The Agua Prieta Liturgical Dance group had an excellent presentation both during the service and later on the Patio. Flags representing different countries throughout the world brought us closer together as a global community (these were loaned to us from Payson UMC). There was no registration fee charged for the event in order to make it accessible as much as possible to all who wanted to attend. To those who wanted a lunch, the cost was $10.00 but anyone could have brought their lunch with them or lunched off the hospitality table. An offering was taken which totaled about $1,300.00 which paid for all the costs of the event! What a blessing!
OVERHEARD COMMENTS
Why did we wait so long to have this?
(After the worship service) I just need to sit here for awhile and reflect on what I’ve seen and heard.
What an inspiring and uplifting worship service!
I’m disappointed that the workshop on immigration issues was cancelled.
What wonderful hospitality - the snack table has variety.
Can we keep the flags up in the sanctuary longer?
I just connected with another group - didn’t know we had so much in common.
We just got two good ideas for a mission project that will be introduced next January.
I haven’t seen some of these people for a long time - it’s great!
* INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEER TRAINING IN THE WESTERN JURISDICTION JANUARY 2010
If you feel called to serve as a couple or as an individual for 2 months to 3 years as a mission volunteer, then the Individual Volunteer ministry is for you! There are sites all over the nation and the world needing and wanting volunteers. For more information please contact Landon Taylor at
ltaylor@gbgm-umc.org and go to
http://www.individualvolunteers.info/.
There will be an Individual Volunteer Training event in Pacific Palisades, CA, January 25-27, 2010. Please contact Landon Taylor for an application and more details.
