news stories Tagged “Advocate”
From the Advocate: Camp Culture 101
May 4, 2016 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Aldersgate Camp & Retreat Center – The ring and hook game Walter Stacy, service manager at the Aldersgate Camp & Retreat Center from 1965-1980, remembered playing the ring and hook game as a child, probably on the farm in Phelps, where he spent some of his early teen years. Sometime in the late ’60s, he saw the game again, remembered how much fun it was when he was a …more
From the Advocate: Because of Camp & Retreat Ministry, I ...
May 4, 2016 / By Bishop Mark J. Webb
The history of Camp & Retreat Ministry of The United Methodist Church is rich and filled with testimonies of lives changed by the amazing grace of God offered to and working through people of all ages and stages of life. Amazing things happen at camp and retreat settings around the world. Because of Camp & Retreat Ministry, individuals have heard the good news of the Gospel and placed their faith …more
From the Advocate: Next Step sessions help participants love, grow, serve
March 1, 2016 / By Pastor Wayne Clemens
Click below to read the full Advocate online.As a new faith community of The United Methodist Church in the Upper New York Conference, one of CenterPoint Christian Fellowship’s greatest challenges has been the identification and development of potential leadership within this newly formed faith community. What began eight years ago as a dream and vision of a handful of faithful folks from various United Methodist churches in …more
From the Advocate: Legacy funds turn vision into reality
March 1, 2016 / By the Rev. Bill Gottschalk-Fielding
Click below to read the full Advocate online.A few years ago, while interviewing people for a Conference staff position, I asked an out-of-state candidate, “So what made you want to explore working for the Upper New York Conference?” I knew she had flown in from a much warmer climate, and I may have secretly wondered why anyone would trade a sunny beach for one of Upper New …more
From the Advocate: Man Church ‘existed for the season that God needed it to exist’
March 1, 2016 / By Drew Griffin
Click below to read the full Advocate online.So there I was, sitting at charge conference, when our then district superintendent, the Rev. Dave Masland, presented this idea about new faith communities. As I listened to him describe this concept, it occurred to me that this is exactly what I had started in Tioga Center. You see, about a year before, some young men in our community weighed heavily on …more
From the Advocate: New church finds its Destiny
March 1, 2016 / By Pastor Alicia Wood
Click below to read the full Advocate online.This past Advent season, my church and I were challenged and energized by the Rev. Adam Hamilton’s “Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It” Bible study. In chapter 6, Rev. Hamilton talks about how John Wesley preached in fields and marketplaces. We may grin as we hear this story of our founder. He was so bold and unusual! Then in …more
From the Advocate: Sophia sisters break bread at Panera as new faith community
March 1, 2016 / By Pastor Nancy O’Connor Raca
Click below to read the full Advocate online.As I write this, the weather outside is cold and snowy, but inside a suburban Panera Bread restaurant, several Rochester-area women are warm and welcome as they gather for coffee, hugs, and conversation on a Thursday evening. Welcome to Sophia Community, a new faith community that empowers women through the Gospel by creating a space for them to explore where God is …more
From the Advocate: IRM reconnects refugees, immigrants back to worship
March 1, 2016 / By Kathleen Rubino / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Click below to read the full Advocate online.When the Rev. Ewart Morris – pastor at the Valley Falls and Albany: Emmaus United Methodist churches – arrived at the Emmaus UMC in 2012, he felt called to establish multiethnic worship at the church. As he searched and prayed about it, he met the Rev. Bizimana John Rusingizwa, who shared his idea for International Reconciliation Ministries (IRM). “The vision for this …more
From the Advocate: Processing the steps for a New Faith Community
March 1, 2016 / By the Rev. Dave Masland
Click below to read the full Advocate online. Anyone in a United Methodist Church in Upper New York can plant a new faith community and should feel free to do so! Having said that, the New Faith Community teams of the Conference are working to provide seven processes to help support the people who feel called to plant. The graphic below describes these in loose chronological order. Planters can choose …more
From the Advocate: Ladles of love: Warming bellies, warming spirits
March 1, 2016 / By Laurel O’Connor
Click below to read the full Advocate online.Early in spring 2015, a small group came to Pastor Ben O’Connor and me, his wife, with a specific request. They asked if we could lead a Bible study in the Syracuse area that was more of a “dinner-church-meets-Bible-study” model that didn’t fit the “normal church” mold. Open Table CNY was born as a group …more