Adirondack/Albany District Newsletter, April 26

Adirondack and Albany District Newsletter

Send us your news, events and classifieds: carrieboyer@unyumc.org

Friday, April 26, 2024

District Office hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays; 8 AM to 5:30 PM except Thursdays, 8 AM to 2:30 PM. Call Carrie Boyer @ (518) 608-1246 or send an email to carrieboyer@unyumc.org

Please send all emails to carrieboyer@unyumc.org

The District phone is (518) 608-1246 and our mailing address is PO Box 511, Newtonville, NY 12128.

Our District Superintendent, the Rev. Debbie Earthrowl can be reached at (518) 391-3215 and debbieearthrowl@unyumc.org

New Newsletter Format!

Beginning this week, we have combined the Adirondack and Albany newsletters. In order to shorten the body of the newsletter, each week there will be three links to Local Church News:

Events and Announcements: Click here

Meals and Sales: Click here

Classifieds: Click here

Any feedback is welcome. We can always change the way we do things. The goal is to make it easier on our readers to navigate the news.

God Bless,

Carrie Boyer

Administrative Assistant for the Districts

Don't Miss Any Important News/Announcements from the Conference Office!

To ensure that you don't miss any important information,

please consider subscribing to the following:

Click here to subscribe to UNY Notes.

Click here to subscribe to the Weekly Digest

Click here to view the Weekly Digest published April 24.

Stories include:

-- New episode of Spiritual Practices from Rev. Nancy Dibelius on Lectio Divinia

-- Commentary: A Future of Hope for Palestine-Israel?

-- Seeking Communities/Congregations providing hospitality to Immigrants being transported From Texas to Buffalo

-- Summer ministry ideas

Prayer request

Please keep Pastor Bruce Hazard and his family in your prayers. Bruce’s mother, Marion Clark Hazard, died on April 22 at the age of 95. Bruce serves as coordinating pastor for Porter Corners UMC and is the Director of Lay Servant Ministries for the Adirondack District. You can send cards of condolence to Bruce at his home, 14 Pine Rd., South Glens Falls, NY 12803. To read Marion's obituary, click here.

Bishop Burgos Núñez

announces clergy appointments

After the prayerful discernment of the Upper New York Cabinet, Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez announces the following appointments. All appointments, unless otherwise noted, are effective July 1, 2024.

In the Albany District: Pastor Becky Richards is appointed to Pawling Ave. UMC in Troy in addition to her current appointment at Trinity UMC in Albany.

View all appointments

Annual Conference registration is closed. Next time to register is at the Conference on May 30

The deadline to register for the 2024 Annual Conference Session was Wednesday, April 24. A reminder that all payments need to be received by May 10 in order for the registration to be complete/active. The next opportunity to register will be at the start of Annual Conference on May 30. All late registrants will be charged an additional $50 fee. Registration refunds will not be offered after May 10.

Annual Conference general information

United Methodists of UNY Sermon Bank Launches: Access Inspiring Messages for your worship

United Methodists of Upper New York are excited to announce the launch of the Sermon Bank. Designed to support congregations and preachers when their pastor is on vacation, sabbatical, on circuit, sick, or on leave, the Sermon Bank offers a valuable tool for maintaining continuity in worship. Each sermon is crafted to stand alone and seamlessly integrate into your church's existing worship life. Sermons can be easily downloaded from Vimeo for playback on your preferred equipment or watched directly online via the provided links. The UNY Sermon Bank is a resource provided by UNY's Compelling Preaching Initiative, designed to renew, restore, and inspire through the art of preaching. Explore the collection today and discover the inspiration for your next service.

Explore the collection

Stewardship with Rev. Susan Ranous

We are in the seventh week sharing about the VANCO stewardship booklet on the 11 Ways to support stewardship for your church. This week, we are discussing Memorials/Legacy Gifts. To view this article and to sign up to receive Rev. Susan Ranous's blog, click here. Rev. Ranous is the Conference Director of Christian Stewardship.

Follow the events happening at the 2024 General Conference

You can follow all General Conference events through UM News, this full schedule and by watching the live stream.

Follow the news

Watch the live stream

View the full schedule

(New) General Conference gives regionalization green light

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (UM News) — General Conference has now passed much of the legislation that aims to give The United Methodist Church’s different geographic regions equal standing in decision-making. In what outgoing Council of Bishops President Thomas J. Bickerton called “a historic day for our church,” delegates voted 586 to 164 for an amendment to the denomination’s constitution that will now go before annual conference voters for potential ratification. Heather Hahn reports.

Read story

Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez’s message for the 2024 General Conference

As we approached the 2024 General Conference of The United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bishop Héctor emphasized the significance of this pivotal moment for our denomination. Bishop Héctor urges all United Methodists of Upper New York to unite in prayer for the Conference, aspiring for unity, wisdom, and the reflection of Christ's inclusive love. Our commitment to our collective mission and values remains steadfast as we look forward to advancing together into a hopeful future.

View video

Read transcript

From Discipleship Ministries: What Local Church Leaders Need to Know about the Upcoming General Conference. Click here to read more.

General Conference Watch Party and Fellowship at First UMC, Schenectady - Monday, April 29 at 8 AM at First UMC Schenectady, 603 State St., Schenectady. Join us for the start of the second week of General Conference as we watch the opening worship and plenary session together, play games/do puzzles and generally connect during this pivotal event in the life of the UMC. We will discuss other potential watch events as the agenda solidifies. If you have questions, please contact Michele Cole, micheleacole@yahoo.com

Safe Sanctuaries Training

Click here to view flyer from the UNY Conference Safe Sanctuaries team. The 3.5 hour basic trainings will be held via ZOOM on Saturdays, May 4, Aug. 3 and Nov. 2. Training of Trainers will be held via ZOOM Saturday, Oct. 5. The flyer gives information on registration. For more information on Safe Sanctuaries, visit the Conference website. Click here.

Grape Island Still Life

Three seashells on the beach create an attractive image. To preserve this gift from the ocean on Grape Island which is part Boston Harbor Islands National Park visitors are prohibited from removing them and other items.

All part of an effort to preserve a valuable habitat and recreational asset.

As a person of Faith I believe that Creation is a gift from the Creator entrusted to our stewardship. Recent events have shown the folly of poor stewardship with Global warming affecting our weather and causing sea level rises threaten costal communities and island nations.

Today’s photo was taken on Grape Island in Boston Harbor on August 18, 2010.

I have done more than 1,400 Daily Photo Devotions, most of which can be seen on my blog at Blog Posts – Daily Photo Devotions (wordpress.com).

Shalom,

David E. Smith, Pastor

Mayfield & Northampton at Fish House United Methodist Churches

Phone or Text: 518-572-4051

Email: revdavid76@gmail.com

You can find this and other devotions in my blog at www.adirondacksights.wordpress.com. You can also find more of my pictures on my web site www.revdavidimages.com.