Vol. 6 • No. 17 
September 5, 2007
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In This Issue of The Link
 Conference News
South Georgia Group Makes Visit to East Africa
South Georgia United Methodists Help Purchase Vehicle for East Africa Annual Conference
Warwick UMC Featured in UMNS Story and Video
Weaving a Web of Connections: Using Internet Technology for Effective Ministry
UMW Annual Meeting - October 20
South GA Pastor forms Roll Tide Club to support Epworth By The Sea
Methodist Home for Children and Youth Special Offering - September 16
Still Time to Register for the Charles Wesley Festival at Epworth By The Sea
Don't forget to register!
Connection News
United Methodists help lead Katrina response
Churches rebuild, recreate ministries in Louisiana
New hymnal proposed for United Methodist Church
Campus ministry offers church presence at college
Resources
Tips for starting a health ministry 
Worship in the Intersection
To Screen or Not To Screen
Music Resources for World Communion Sunday - October 7
New UMCOR Church Bulletin Insert
Old Conference Journals Available
Mark Your Calendar
All Upcoming Events
Safe Sanctuaries Training Dates

CONFERENCE NEWS

South Georgia Group Makes Visit to East Africa
Bishop B. Michael Watson, Benjamin Lee Watson (the Bishop's son), the Revs. Marshall Howell, Frances Howell, Jimmy Cason, Denise Walton, Larry Rollins and Jimmy Towson traveled to Uganda last month for a mission trip. The group was accompanied by Dr. Caroline Njuki, Assistant General Secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries, and representatives from a church in the Virginia Conference.

Of the trip Bishop Watson said, “It was a God inspired experience of mutual ministry and exchange between us and our brothers and sisters in the East Africa Annual Conference.  We rejoice that members of our team were able to worship and serve in northern Uganda and Burundi, share $45,000.00 in the funding for the new vehicle, meet with conference leaders in the Episcopal Office, participate in the Leaders Conference for Reconciliation, officially open Humble United Methodist School, lay a foundation stone for a new girl's dormitory, meet with countless children, youth, and adults, share clothing, monies and other items, and strengthen the already strong relations between South Georgian and East African United Methodist laity and clergy.”

Click here to read more about the trip as well as background information on our partnership with East Africa.

South Georgia United Methodists Help Purchase Vehicle for East Africa Annual Conference
The East Africa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church has received two vehicles, a generous donation from the South Georgia Annual Conference and the General Board of Global Ministries. The two vehicles, one for the Episcopal Office and another for the Missionaries working in the conference, were handed over by the Bishop Mike Watson of South Georgia, and Dr. Caroline Njuki, the Assistant Secretary General, Africa Office, General Board of Global Ministries, respectively. South Georgia United Methodists helped fund the purchase of the vehicles through a special offering at the 2007 Annual Conference.

Warwick UMC Featured in UMNS Story and Video: Worshippers make Boat Church their port of call
(UMNS) As boaters pull up to a dock on Lake Blackshear, the Rev. Dorsia Atkinson Jr. checks a tool bag he'll use as part of his sermon and the minnow buckets that will serve as collection plates. "You come in your bathing suit, come in your T-shirt, come in your shorts, come in your flip-flops, and you're not worried about looking like someone should look to be at church," says Atkinson. He's describing the Boat Church ministry of Warwick United Methodist Church. For the past six years, he has led outdoor Boat Church services on Sunday mornings on a vacant lot beside the lake. Worshippers sit in lawn chairs by the water or listen from their boats. More>> Click here to watch the video.

Weaving a Web of Connections: Using the Internet for Effective Ministry
Do you want to develop or expand a Web presence for your local church, district or conference organization? Are you interested in the latest Internet technology for ministry? Then join local church, district, and conference volunteers, staff, webmasters/servants, communicators, editors, and pastors for this exciting training event co-sponsored by United Methodist Communications and the Alabama-West Florida Conference Office of Communications. The event is set for October 12-13 in Gulf Breeze, FL. Click here to download a flyer or click here for more information. For questions contact Kelly Roberson at 888-266-7642 or kelly@sgaumc.com.

UMW Annual Meeting - October 20
Meeting under the theme Rekindle the Flame: Rise! Shine! Glorify God!, the South Georgia Conference United Methodist Women will gather October 20 at Douglas First UMC for their 2007 Annual Meeting. The speaker for the event will be Dr. Jan Love, Dean of Candler School of Theology. Dr. Love formerly served as the Deputy General Secretary of Women's Division and is now the first woman and layperson to be selected Dean of Candler. The daughter of a United Methodist clergyperson, she has been involved in missions since an early age. Come hear her inspiring message and be a part of this special day! Click here to download the brochure.

South GA Pastor forms Roll Tide Club to support Epworth By The Sea
Rev. Juance Wilson, pastor of Emory Chapel UMC, is rising to the challenge in support or Epworth By The Sea's Square Foot Club and is asking fellow University of Alabama fans to join him. The Square Foot Club was brought about following a 13 acre land acquisition at the entrance of Epworth By The Sea. To help offset the cost of this acquisition, Dr. Charles Adams, superintendent of Epworth, issued a challenge for every South Georgia United Methodist to purchase at least one square foot of land at $10. Rev. Wilson has taken this challenge one step further and, in conjunction with Epworth By The Sea, has formed the Roll Tide Club.He is challenging all South Georgia United Methodist University of Alabama fans to give at least 10 square feet at $10 each. For more information on how you can be a part of the Roll Tide Club, click here or contact Rev. Juance Wilson at rev357@tds.net or 877-882-6454 or Dr. Charles Adams at cadams@epworthbythesea.org or 912-638-8688.

Methodist Home for Children and Youth Special Offering - Sept. 16
Once each year South Georgia United Methodists are asked to give a day's wages to help The Methodist Home for Children and Youth.  A typical day at work quickly becomes a labor of love for “the smallest of these.”  This year you are asked to take a Work Day Offering on September 16, 2007. Click here for a flyer to use to promote the offering in your church.

Still Time to Register for the Charles Wesley Festival at Epworth By The Sea
If you haven't already registered for the Charles Wesley Festival September 27 - 29 at Epworth By The Sea make your plans today. Come & sing Wesley hymns at the Service of Commemoration conducted by Bishop B. Michael Watson; attend a poetry workshop and presentation of "Sweet Singer" by S T Kimbrough; and hear Wesley history lectures by Rev. Dave Hanson. Visit www.epworthbythesea.org for an agenda or to register online.  

Don't forget to register!
KidzQuest - September 14-16
Safe Sanctuaries Training - September 22
Comprehensive School for Clergy Leadership - September 24-25
Charles Wesley Festival - September 27-29
Regional Web Ministry Training Event - October 12-13
Safe Sanctuaries Training - October 13
UMW Annual Meeting - October 20
Safe Sanctuaries Training - November 3
Discover God's Call Retreat - November 9-11
SEJ Multicultural Event - December 13-15


CONNECTION NEWS

United Methodists help lead Katrina response: 60,000 Helped at Two-Year Mark
(UMNS) United Methodists have helped more than 60,000 people rebuild 25,000 homes in the Gulf Coast in the two years since Hurricane Katrina headlined one of the most active hurricane seasons in recorded history. A new report issued by the United Methodist Committee on Relief shows the church has taken a leading role in repairing and restoring broken homes and assisting those who lost everything in the storms.

UMCOR also manages the national case management consortium sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency. As of mid-August, more than 164,000 individuals had received services from Katrina Aid Today.

Meanwhile, a recent USA Today analysis comparing recovery work by faith-based groups reported that UMCOR's home improvement efforts outpaced any other religious charity working in region. The article reported that 56,656 United Methodist volunteers have provided services on 15,643 of the total 53,226 homes improved. United Methodists represented the third largest contingent of volunteer workers in the region, according to the article "Faith rebuilds house and soul." More>>

Churches rebuild, recreate ministries in Louisiana
(UMNS) Forty-seven United Methodist churches in the Greater New Orleans area and three churches in Cameron Parish stand at different stages of recovery and ministry nearly two years after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina devastated the coastline of Louisiana. While not all of the 50 church buildings in the Louisiana United Methodist Conference Mission Zone were damaged, "without a doubt, all of the congregations' ministries were affected," said the Rev. Martha Orphe, director of the mission zone. After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, the Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference created the mission zone to focus on special needs and ministries. Orphe said United Methodist churches are ministering to people with every imaginable need. "We are highly concerned about depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome and the need for emotional, physical and spiritual healing. As the church, we give hope and tangible services to a hurting people." More>>

New hymnal proposed for United Methodist Church
(UMNS) The United Methodist Church could have a new hymnal by 2013 under plans endorsed by the denomination's Board of Discipleship. Directors of the board, meeting August 22-25, voted to ask the 2008 General Conference to form a hymnal creation committee next year to begin developing a new hymnal. If the committee's work is approved by the denomination's top legislative body in 2012, the new resource would replace The United Methodist Hymnal published in 1989. It would be the second official revision since the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren and Methodist churches in 1968, not including new songbooks for specific racial/ethnic or language communities. More>>

Campus ministry offers church presence at college
(UMNS) College campuses are marketplaces of ideas, and students need The United Methodist Church as their "storefront," says one campus minister. Diverse audiences vie for students' attention today, including different church denominations and faith groups, according to the Rev. Leigh S. Martin, chaplain at United Methodist-related Reinhardt College in Waleska, Ga. "You have so many voices reaching for our students, and it can be overwhelming and confusing for all of them," she said. "Students are confused enough trying to find their purpose and passion in call on their life. This is a big decision time for them." Martin was among five campus ministers who discussed the scope and depth of campus ministries during an Aug. 24 presentation to the board of directors of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry. More>>


RESOURCES

Tips for starting a health ministry 
(GBGM) Starting a health ministry can be as simple as cultivating a healthy environment at church to support positive lifestyle choices, says the Rev. Pam Harris, M.D., a physician and United Methodist clergywoman. Find out what people want, present it in a non-threatening way, make it fun and provide support, advises Harris, associate medical director of Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care and minister of health at Leawood (Kan.) United Methodist Church. She will be among the speakers at the third annual National Congregational Health Ministries Conference Sept. 23-26 in Wichita, Kansas. Read more tips from Harris and learn more about the conference in a new Web-exclusive feature at Interpreter On-Line by clicking here.

Worship in the Intersection
(GBOD) The Rev. Kevin Armstrong, senior pastor of North UMC in Indianapolis, recently spoke to the General Board of Discipleship's board of directors at the August 2007 meeting in Nashville. He spoke about conflict in the church that results when opposites meet in disagreement. Conflict can result from many opposites meeting in church life, but some of them include: conservative/liberal, homosexual/ heterosexual, joy/lament, contemporary/traditional, young/old, black/white, urban/rural, large/small, clergy/laity, citizen/immigrant, rich/poor, inner city/suburb, judgment/grace, head/heart, and so many others. This article discusses those conflicts and an alternative approach. Click here to read.

To Screen or Not To Screen
(GBOD) Research shows that a majority of United Methodist churches now use screens and projection to provide at least the lyrics of hymns and songs in worship. Most also still have hymnals in the pews. In some churches screens remain a hot item of contention – should we use them or not? And why or why not? This article looks at both sides. Click here to read.

Music Resources for World Communion Sunday - October 7
(GBOD) Click here to view a page of free World Communion music resources for choirs, congregations, or solos.

New UMCOR Church Bulletin Insert
 (UMCOR) Respond to UMCOR Sager Brown's, the United Methodist supply depot, urgent plea to replenish their flood bucket supply. The Atlantic hurricane season is still underway and is a continual threat to those in its path. Many Midwest communities continue to be affected by increased flooding, that has caused substantial loss of property. Use this church bulletin insert to learn more about how UMCOR is able to respond effectively to disasters that happen across our country. Download and print the latest UMCOR church bulletin insert here.

Old Conference Journals Available
Mr. Benny Puckett has Conference Journals dating back to 1948 - 1980 that he would love to give away. You can contact Mr. Puckett at 478-788-7721 or e-mail Rev. John Irwin for more information.  

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

All Upcoming Events
Keep up with what's going on in the South Georgia Conference!
KidzQuest - September 14-16
Methodist Home for Children and Youth Work Day Offering - September 16
Safe Sanctuaries Training - September 22
Comprehensive School for Clergy Leadership - September 24-25
Charles Wesley Festival - September 27-29
Regional Web Ministry Training Event - October 12-13
Safe Sanctuaries Training - October 13
UMW Annual Meeting - October 20
Safe Sanctuaries Training - November 3
Discover God's Call Retreat - November 9-11
Wesleyan College Sunday - November 11
SEJ Multicultural Event - December 13-15

Safe Sanctuaries Trainings
The following Safe Sanctuaries training dates have been set. Click here for more information on Safe Sanctuaries.
Saturday, September 22, 2007at Pine Forest UMC in Dublin
Saturday, October 13, 2007 at Albany First UMC in Albany
Saturday, November 3, 2007 at Cordele UMC in Cordele
Saturday, January 26, 2008 at Pittman Park UMC in Statesboro
Saturday, February 16, 2008 at Waycross First UMC in Waycross