Journeying with the Beloved Community

NYAC Family: I write to thank you for your support, participation, prayers and for the experience of community at the celebration of our 214th Session of the New York Annual Conference. Thank you for responding so well to new approaches to the experience of Annual Conference. I have received multiple notes of appreciation and compliments. All of the glory goes to God. It is with great expectation that I look forward to what God has in store for us next year! On our journey toward becoming...

Collections at 2013 Annual Conference Announced

We thank everyone who contributed to Imagine No Malaria!, the Ministerial Education Fund and the Black Collge Fund at annual conference. Listed below are the totals of offerings collected: Wednesday: Collection at Laity Session for Imagine No Malaria!: $1,167.00 Wednesday: Ministerial Educational Fund Collection: $4,585.32 Thursday: Black College Fund: $4,235.36 Saturday: Imagine No Malaria!: $40,401.17 (revised #) ...

The Church in China: One pastor's journey

 Editor’s Note: A delegation of United Methodist bishops and mission staff visited China in April to strengthen existing ties with the Protestant church there. This second part of a UMNS series — The Church in China — focuses on the decades-long faith of one pastor. By Linda Bloom*, NANJING, China (UMNS) The Rev. Bao Jiayuan looks over stacks of newly printed Bible pages at the Amity Printing Co. in Nanjing, China. During China’s Cultural...

Africa U. celebrates 19th graduation ceremony

By Sharai Muonwa*,  United Methodist News Service Graduates of the 2013 ceremony at Africa University wave their caps in the air in celebration. Photo courtesy of Africa University MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS)—Speaking to the 450 new graduates, Daniel Sherrard, provost of Earth University, San José, Costa Rica, told the 19th graduating class of United Methodist-related Africa University that the solution to the world’s problems lay in their capable...

Furor over block to gay clergy candidate

 By Heather Hahn* Mary Ann Kaiser Photo courtesy of Reconciling Ministries Network.  View in Photo Gallery Members of the Southwest Texas Annual Conference, who met June 6-9 in Corpus Christi, faced the question of whether a lesbian can be a certified candidate for ordained United Methodist ministry. More than 200 United Methodists and other Christians took to Twitter on the afternoon of Friday, June 7, to protest Mary Ann Kaiser’s removal from the ordination process....

The Church in China: A growth in size, faith

 Editor’s Note: A delegation of United Methodist bishops and mission staff visited China in April to strengthen existing ties with the Protestant church there. This first part of a UMNS series — The Church in China — focuses on the growth and growing pains of Christianity in recent decades. By Linda Bloom* United Methodist Bishop Hope Morgan Ward (left) tours the grounds of the Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs with Xu Wen Zhen in...

UMTV: Care for Caregiving Youth

  Download: QuickTime (MP4) | Windows Media (WMV) INTRO: ...

Preliminary 2014 Apportionments Announced

Preliminary apportionments for 2014 have been calculated using data that was recently submitted by churches via the statistical tables and are based on the preliminary 2014 budget. Final 2014 apportionments will be recalculated using the final 2014 budget approved at annual conference. Click here to view the preliminary 2014 apportionments>>  We ask that you review the apportionments as they appear now. If anything appears to be incorrect please let us know. You can contact Sam...

A Letter from Bishop McLee - Recent Tragic Events

Beloved NYAC Family, The paradox that sometimes unfolds in nature has resulted in a tornado that has brought devastation to the state of Oklahoma. In the aftermath of the recent tornado, we are called to pray for the victims, the first responders and for the city of Moore, Oklahoma. In the New York area we have experienced similar natural catastrophes and we can testify that prayer is helpful. I invite you to pray. News accounts reveal the loss of the lives of children and adults and a...

Church & Society Promotes May 26th Peace with Justice Offering

This year’s Peace with Justice Sunday Special Offering (PwJ) will be officially observed on May 26. However, congregations are encouraged to celebrate Peace with Justice Sunday on whatever date works best for them. The PwJ offering supports programs that address burning social advocacy concerns at home and around the world. While PwJ Sunday was designated primarily as a day to take the special offering, the Board of Church and Society (CBCS) encourages local churches to use this as an...

United Methodists invest in Sandy recovery

By Linda Bloom, Reported on UMConnections.org  Bishop John Schol joins Bishop Hope Morgan Ward at the Board of Global Ministries meeting. Schol updated board directors on the Greater New Jersey Conference’s Hurricane Sandy recovery plans. UMNS Photos by Cassandra Zampini. United Methodists in New York were counting on the regional shipments of 15,000 flood buckets that they distributed to Hurricane Sandy survivors last fall. But they didn’t expect the more than...

A Letter from Our Bishop

May 6, 2013 Beloved New York Annual Conference: Many of you may have read the recently published article in The New York Times that centered on same sex marriage and The United Methodist Church. The confidentiality requirements of the complaint process prevent me from discussing the case in detail. However, as is the case on many issues confronting the church today, there are multiple perspectives associated with human sexuality. There is also a multiplicity of other concerns that we are...

Confirmands Invited to Ordination

May 2, 2013 Dear Pastor: I am grateful for the accomplishments of your confirmands! This preparation is just the beginning of their Christian journey. I pray that they will continue to experience the joy of the journey as they deepen their commitment to Jesus Christ. As you know, this year’s Annual Conference will be held June 5 to June 8 at Hofstra University. I am inviting all confirmands to be my special guests on Saturday, June 8. Details are listed below: What to expect on...

Conferences exceeded 100% giving to Africa U

Twenty-seven annual conferences paid 100 percent of their 2012 asking for Africa University; four of them exceeded their goal. Your support of The Africa University Fundhelps defray the overhead costs at Africa University. Wisconsin Conference paid a whopping 169.31 percent and Greater New Jersey Conference paid 104.69 percent. Iowa Conference paid 100.57 percent and Louisiana Conference paid 100.03 percent. Other conferences paying 100 percent to Africa University are East Ohio, Illinois...

How old is too old to join the clergy?

A UMNS Report By Heather Hahn* The Texas Annual (regional) Conference has proposed changing its minimum standards for clergy to discourage people over 45 from becoming candidates for ordained ministry. The conference’s board of ordained ministry is seeking feedback through September this year and does not plan to make any final decision on its standards until October.  A UMNS photo illustration by Kathleen Barry. But the possible changes have already sparked debate across the...

Women making history: Sandra Steiner Ball

In 1987, Congress designated the month of March that year as “Women’s History Month.” The annual observance continues to this day. United Methodist News Service invited several women, both lay and clergy, in The United Methodist Church to share their stories. Here is the response from West Virginia Area Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, elected to the episcopacy in 2012. Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball, then a clergy delegate from the Peninsula-Delaware Annual (regional) Conference,...

United Methodists mourn Bob Edgar

By Kathy Gilbert* The Rev. Bob Edgar. Photo courtesy of Common Cause. The Rev. Bob Edgar, a United Methodist pastor and a “tireless defender of the poor and an advocate for justice,” died unexpectedly April 23 of a heart attack at his home in the Washington area. He was 69. Edgar, who was top executive of Common Cause, is the former top executive of the National Council of Churches and a former six-term member of Congress from Pennsylvania. He was president of United...

It is Well With the Souls of West, TX

by Vance Morton*      “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.”   The words of the Horatio G. Spaffords great hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” (No.377 in your United Methodist Hymnal if you’re playing along at home) have been sung countless times by countless worshipers in countless churches over the years. There is...

In split decision, church's top court rules on W PA/E Africa dispute

 United Methodist Bishop Daniel Wandabula of the East Africa Conference. A UMNS file photo by Annette Spence. SEATTLE — A 10-year financial dispute between the Western Pennsylvania Annual (Regional) Conference and the East Africa Annual Conference that wound up before The United Methodist Church’s top court has ended with a split decision that likely will not please everyone. The Judicial Council agreed with only one of Western Pennsylvania’s three questions...

GBGM Day of Service: Helping in Sandy Recovery

View the accompanying photo gallery at: nyac.com/galleries/slideshow/128 New York, NY, April 17—Directors and staff of the General Board of Global Ministries concluded their semiannual board of directors meeting last Saturday and climbed aboard two buses, one headed to New Jersey, the other to Long Island, NY, to bring a sign of hope and solidarity to Superstorm Sandy survivors. Dressed in jeans, sneakers, and the brightly colored tee-shirts typically worn by volunteers with...