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Gulf Central District Newsletter May 2010 |
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| May Birthdays | |
1: Valene Long
6: Catherine Fluck Price
11: Tim Ehrlich
21: Tom McCloskey
21: Howard Grimmenga
23: John Ekers
23: Sylvia Lange 28: Neal Long | |
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| May Anniversries | |
May 1:
John & Mary Ekers
May 2:
John & Sharon Powers
Brandon & Patti Wise
May 7:
Jack & Sharon Stephenson
Jim & Pam Rosenburg
May 15:
Charlie & Brandy Reeb
Gary & Sherry Eldred
May 18:
Bob & Patti Martin
May 19:
Kelly & Mary Beth Smith
May 20:
Chris & Toni Schmidt
May 23:
Doug & RayaSue Hallman
May 25:
Dave & Susan Clouse
May 29:
Jeffrey & Laura Ice
May 31:
David & Patricia Landers | |
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Greetings!
There will be three clergy retirements in the District this June.
Wayne Vaughan, pastor of St. James UMC in St. Petersburg, will retire this June with 40 years of service, seven at St. James. He and Carolyn will live in Wilmore, Kentucky where their son is a magistrate (county commissioner). They also have a daughter who lives in near by Nicholasville, Kentucky with her husband and two year old daughter.
Herb Lange has been serving in retirement as pastor of Friendship UMC of Clearwater for the past two years. He and Sylvia are re-retiring and will continue to live in Tarpon Springs. Herb served 39 years before retiring in 2002 after 14 years at First, Tarpon Springs. He and Sylvia also served many years as missionaries to Micronesia and Lithuania.
Neal Long has been serving in retirement as pastor of Manatee UMC for the past six years. He and Valene are re-retiring and will continue to live in Bradenton. Neal served 38 years before retiring in 2001 after seven years at Sun City Center UMC. He and Valene also served as missionaries to Argentina.
 Our prayers, gratitude, and best wishes go with these dedicated servants of God.
Blessings,
John |
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A Time for Change . . . Please be in prayer for the following churches and pastors during this season of change:
Palm Harbor - Dave Baldridge will be serving and Cliff Melvin will be going to Christ by the Sea, Vero Beach
St James in St Petersburg - Glenn Bosley-Mitchell will be serving and Wayne Vaughan will be retiring
Allendale - Skip Parvin will be serving and Lisa Degrenia will be going to Community - DeBary
Harvest - will be receiving an Associate, Sarah Campbell
Heritage - Brandon Wise is leaving for personal leave.
Friendship - Tamara Isidore will be serving and Herbert Lange will re-retire
Clearview - Daniel Bennett will be serving and Chris McNeill will be going to St. John's Miami Beach
Manatee - Susan Clouse will be serving Neal Long will be re- retiring
Gulfport - Gerry Partney will be serving Robert Roseberry will be going to Newberry. |
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Welcome New District Disaster Recovery Coordinator It is my joy to introduce to you Ron Luke, our new District Disaster Coordinator for the Gulf Central District. Ron is a member of Faith UMC in Bradenton and looking forward to leading and equipping our churches in Disaster Response. |
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Maggie Minute
Ministry Protection: Updated Payroll Information Requested by email Friday, April 23. Please complete survey by May 10th.
Annual Conference: This year for Annual Conference you can pre-order meals other than just the special banquets. Lunch and Dinner will be available on Thursday and Friday.
Child and Youth Protection: June 26 will be the first training event on the revised Child and Youth Protection policy. I encourage all pastors, Staff Parish Relations Committee Members, Youth and Children directors and worker, and any other interested parties to attend. The training event will be at St Paul UMC in Largo we will begin at 9 a.m. and finish at 12 noon. It is critically important for leaders in the church to be trained in this policy and take the information back to the rest of their congregation. Please pre-register by going to the Conference Webpage [Click Here]. |
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Pre-Annual Conference Training Event
Sunday, May 23 at East Lake UMC from 3-5 pm |
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ACCESS FLORIDA: Helping to End Childhood Hunger
An ACCESS training is being offered at St Luke's United Methodist Church in Orlando Friday, May 14 from 9:00-3:00 with two tracks - one for professional social workers and one for local church staff and volunteers.
This one-day workshop is for you if you are interested in learning how to become an ACCESS site, want to network with others who are already ACCESS sites, and/ or engage a panel of church members and staff who are partnering in creative ways across town, denominations, and faith communities to make a difference in their community.
 ACCESS (Automated Community Connection to Economic Self-Sufficiency) is one way for churches to help families find out if they can get help buying food, cash assistance, low or no cost health care, or help paying for Medicare premiums. The Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church is one of the partners in the Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger. Becoming an ACCESS site is one of the ways that churches can engage several of the points in the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger's Ten Point Plan. [Click Here] to see the plan. Please RSVP to Tammy Fisher at tfisher@flumc.org by May 7, 2010 Cost of lunch is $8 and can be paid at the church. *There is no charge for the training. |
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Gulf Oil Spill Response For the next two weeks. Allendale UMC in St. Petersburg will be accepting donations for the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary to help the animals victimized by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Donations Needed: Old but serviceable towels and sheets (clean, please), toothbrushes, Dawn Dishwashing Liquid, Pepto Bismol, kennels, paper towels, bottled water and Gatorade.
Thank you to Linda Townshend for bringing this need to our attention and coordinating our relief efforts. Thank you also for your prayers. This could be the greatest environmental disaster in US history to date.
Rev. Lisa Degrenia :: Allendale UMC :: (727) 527-6694 :: Allendale@tampabay.rr.com
==================================================== Passionate Appeal from Linda Townshend
I am sure everyone knows about the huge oil spill that is currently in the Gulf of Mexico. Although there will be a massive cleanup effort, it will be too late for many of God's innocent creatures. They are innocent and know nothing of the danger that lurks within the oil slicked waters.
The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary has sent out an SOS for help. If you could find it in your heart to help these creatures, they would appreciate donations in many ways. The Sanctuary will also dispatch donations north of here to the panhandle. (Please note information below if you would like to serve as a rescue volunteer.)
There will be great losses with sea birds, turtles and fish. If we can help save a few, then we will have helped in our own small way. Be blessed! Linda Townshend <><
Info on the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary :: http://www.seabirdsanctuary.com/
The sanctuary is the largest wild bird hospital in the U.S. based on the admission of over 8,000 injured birds each year. It is set up to immediately triage and stabilize fluids to oiled, malnourished, or injured birds. The birds would then need to be transported to a hazardous materials cleaning site. The Sanctuary has received thousand's of emails and calls from around the world from concerned groups and individuals.
The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and Avian Hospital's trained staff is on stand-by to assist with the Gulf Oil Spill Crisis, with over 300 volunteers on call if needed. It is asking for more volunteers to be on emergency call and donations to the avian hospital at 18328 Gulf Blvd., Indian Shores, Florida. Volunteers would need to receive hazardous materials training.
The Sanctuary staff and volunteers were a significant workforce in the disastrous Tampa Bay 1993 oil spill and has experienced avian care staff on standby to assist Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research. To report oiled wildlife affected by the Gulf oil spill please call the Wildlife reporting hotline at 1-866-557-1401. |
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Preparing Volunteer Teams For Haiti Leaders from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) have been in Haiti to meet with Methodist Church leaders, to plan for sending teams and to look at priority projects. The infrastructure in Haiti is still very fragile. Working through UMVIM is the best way to optimize the assistance your team will be able to give, to ensure you do not tax an already severely overtaxed system (considerations such as food, supplies, transportation, trash disposal, etc.) and to ensure the safety of your team. This is a very unique and challenging setting even for experienced mission teams.
Criteria for UMVIM teams are as follows:
1. Teams should be no more that 8-12 members.
2. The team leader should have previous experience working in Haiti.
3. Team leader must have UMVIM Team leader training (Next training May 14-15)
4. All team members must have the necessary immunizations recommended by the CDC.
5. Early Response Training (ERT) is not necessary but is helpful for team members.
UMCOR has three staff people who will be coordinating the work including a Volunteer Team Coordinator. They will be in place starting April 1. Workteams are expected to begin work Easter week 2010. Work teams can register at www.umvim.org. Going through UMVIM will mean meals and housing through the Methodist guest house in Port Au Prince; work projects, building supplies and logistics being prepared for your team; UMVIM insurance to cover your team; translators provided to work with your team. All teams will be asked to hire at least two Haitians to help with the work.
If you are planning a team and need to find someone with the team leader qualifications of having been on a mission trip to Haiti and having been through the VIM team leader training, please contact Marilyn Beecher or Florida Conference VIM. We may be able to match you up with someone who could co-lead a team - your local church team leader can still provide the coordination of your group and with on site supervision of the work while the "experienced" co-leader could assist with logistics.
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Peace with Justice Sunday - May 30, 2010 
Around the world people struggle with violence, injustice, pain and suffering. Our financial gifts on Peace with Justice Sunday on May 30, 2010, or any other date you choose, give the United Methodist Church a voice in advocating for those who struggle. Please do all you can to help your United Methodist Church work for peace with justice in Christ's name. For a helpful powerpoint, [click here]. For free resources, call 888-346-3862. For further information, free resources and to donate on line: www.umcgiving.org/PWJS. 50% of this offering stays in the Conference. |
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2010 Annual Conference on June 10-12, 2010 "Transforming the World by Eradicating Extreme Poverty"
At the Lakeland Convention Center
 Special Offering will be divided 80% to the Methodist Church in Haiti and 20% Florida Impact for the Partnership to end Childhood Hunger [Details Here]
Pastors and Lay Members to Annual Conference should have received first mailing of information in March - if not please go to the Conference Website to obtain the information. The mailing is posted in its entirety (10 pages) or pages can be printed individually, depending on what information you need.
Annual Conference Workbook will be mailed the end of April. Workbooks for Pastors and Church Lay Members will be sent to the Church address - please watch for them. District Lay Members to Annual Conference will receive Workbooks at their home address.
Gulf Central Pre-Annual Conference Orientation will be Sunday, May 23 at East Lake UMC from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. All Lay & Clergy Members are encouraged to attend. In addition to other key information related to Annual Conference, a complete review of the proposed Annual Conference Budget will be presented.
Pre-Conference Workshops will be Wednesday, June 9 from 2:00p.m.- 8:30p.m.
A brochure with workshop details is available [here]. -Your Church Can Have Relationships with Churches in Angola, Cuba, & Haiti (2p & 4p)
-Cultivating a Culture of Peace Making (7p)
-Discipleship by Design (2p & 4p)
-Reality of Poverty in the U.S. and World Shared on Film (7p)
-Toward a New Hispanic/Latino Congregational Excellence. (Offered in Spanish) (7p)
-Making Prayer a Priority (2p & 4p)
-Discerning Opportunities for Salty Service in the Global Community (2p & 4p)
-Discerning Opportunities for Salty Service in your Local Community (2p & 4p)
-Transformed Leaders for Transforming Congregations (2p & 4p)
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2nd Annual Celebrate Jesus Golf Classic
June 9, 2010, Imperial Lakes Golf & Country Club, Lakeland, FL
8:00 a.m. check-in; 8:30 a.m. shotgun; Cost is $85/player  All proceeds to benefit Celebrate Jesus, Inc. Our Vision is to Awaken Passion and Equip People to Share the Gospel and Reach Neighbors for Jesus Christ. 2010 Mission: July 17-24 - Gulf Central Mission 2011 Mission: June 18-25 - Lakeland Area Mission
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Advocates for Small Church Ministries
2010 AC Breakfast: Rise, shine and join us!
Thursday, June 10, 2010 from 7:00 - 8:30 a.m.
Hollingsworth A - The Lakeland Center
Cost: $13.00 per person
Please RSVP to Heidi Leab at HLeab@flumc.org or by calling 800-282-8011 or 863-688-5563 ext. 192 by Tuesday, June 1, 2010. You can also register and pay online by simply going to www.flumc.org and clicking on the Annual Conference logo, click on Group Meals, go to Small Membership Churches and click on the link. This online registration system accepts payment by Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express thru the PayPal system. You do not need a PayPal account to use this feature. This is a secure website and will provide a secure way for you to pay for this event. If you choose to mail in your payment by check, please make checks payable to the Florida Conference Treasurer and mail to: Small Church Breakfast/Heidi, 1140 McDonald Street, Lakeland, FL 33801. |
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Clergywomen's Luncheon at Annual Conference
Thursday, June 10, 2010 from 12:00 noon - 1:30 pmThe Lakeland Center - Sikes Hall H (Doors open at 11:30) Cost: $16.00 [Click Here] to register. Reservation deadline: Tuesday, June 1, 2010 On The Menu. . . A Meal of Solidarity
Stand in solidarity with the majority of the world's population. Our diet is vastly different than much of the world. Half the world's population lives on $2 a day or less. Meal options are few, and portions are small. As an act of solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world, we encourage you to join us in eating a meal of similar portion size and content - black beans and rice. While this seems meager by American standards, it represents diets in the broad middle of the world's population. Please join us in experiencing what life is like for the other half of the world. A portion of the cost of this meal will go toward the Annual Conference Offering to Haiti and End Childhood Hunger. |
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Mission Trip: Managua, Nicaragua
Please help us spread the word on this great mission trip opportunity.
January 1-8, 2011
· Team will be divided into three sub-groups: a medical team, a building team, and a
team whose emphasis will be determined by the skills and interests of its members.
· The main community we will be serving lives in the Managua City dump. For more
information on this community visit: www.forwardedge.org · Ages 14 and older, Spanish is not required. · While persons with many different kinds of skills are needed and welcome, we are especially in need of persons with medical training (doctors, pharmacists, nurses,
EMT, paramedic, etc.) $695 covers 7 days of food, lodging, transportation in Nicaragua, project materials, on-site facilitator, interpreters, security, and complete logistical coordination. This is a great first mission trip; wonderful food and accommodations. Additional costs for airfare and passport usually bring the total cost to around $1200. The team is fundraising aggressively to offset expenses. June 10, 2010 Deadline to commit to the trip September 10, 2010 Application and liability release form due October 10, 2010 $347.50 due, if not covered by fundraising November 10, 2010 $347.50 due, if not covered by fundraising December 10, 2010 Trip/Travel insurance secured Coordinated by Bob and Kathleen Grainger of Allendale UMC and Forward Edge International. For more information or to register, contact them at (727) 527-6694 or rgrainger@tampabay.rr.com. |
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From Walter L. Dry, Sr. and Family
To all of our Brothers & Sisters in Christ:
On behalf of the entire Dry Family across the globe I would like to thank everyone for your beautiful cards of sympathy, your prayers and the special love of comfort that was shown to me and my family, due to the loss of my son, Walter L. Dry, Jr.
We feel the presence of the Lord and we continue to draw strength and hope as we trust in him to be our comforter. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" ~Psalm 23:6. Again many, many, many thanks.
In the name of His Son, Jesus Christ,
Walter L. Dry, Sr. & Family |
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Classifieds
Director of Discipleship and Outreach: Christ United Methodist Church, located in downtown St. Petersburg, FL is seeking a Director of Discipleship & Outreach Ministries. This position will assist the pastor in leading the people of Christ UMC to fulfill its mission through ministries of spiritual formation that foster spiritual growth and community impact. The director is responsible for development and coordination of all aspects of spiritual formation related to the church's discipleship and outreach ministries. Well qualified candidates should have a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree. Candidates seeking Ordination in the United Methodist Church are eligible. Send Resume to: searchcom@christchurchstpete.org.
Church Administrator (full time): Crystal River United Methodist Church is seeking a Church Administrator. This position requires a bachelor degree in a business discipline or equivalent years of experience in a related field. The job responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Coordinating pastor and church schedules, provide oversight for administration of church business including all office activities and volunteer staff, maintain office files system, coordinate and attend meetings as directed by Senior Pastor. Oversee coordination of maintenance of church properties, and church programs (food pantry, etc.), and supervise staff. Qualifications include; proficiency in a variety of computer software programs (Windows, Publisher, Front Page and Shelby, etc.). Excellent leadership, written and oral communication, plus a proven ability to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships at various levels is required. All candidates must submit to background checks.
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 Missional Vital Signs The purpose of the MVS is to help congregations stay focused on the five practices of fruitful congregations and to track an indication of their effectiveness for each of these practices. For complete information, click the icon.
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From the church mouse:
G-od
O-ffers us His
O-utstanding
D-evotion to
M-ake us
O-bedient and
R-eady for a
N-ew day with Him.
I-nspire others please, and
N-ever forget
G-od loves you! |
District Calendar
May 8: UMM Training, Riviera UMC, St. Petersburg, 8:30a
May 10: Clergy Meeting, St. Paul UMC, Largo, 10a-2p
May 14-15: UMVIM Team Leader Training, Riverside Retreat
May 22: UMM Training, Riviera UMC, St. Petersburg, 8:30a
May 23: Annual Conference Training, East Lake UMC, 3-5p
May 31: Memorial Day - Conference & District offices closed
Jun 9: Celebrate Jesus Golf Classic, Lakeland
Jun 9: Pre Conference Classes - Lakeland
Jun 10-12: Annual Conference, Lakeland
Jun 26: Child & Youth Protection Policy Training
Jun 29: Moving Day
Jul 5: Conference and District offices closed
Jul 17-24: Celebrate Jesus Mission Event
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