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SW District E-alert, October 14, 2015For our Calendar of Events and the Fine Print about this publication, please scroll to the end of this email."Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." -- Emily Bronte, Novelist and Poet, 1818-1848October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Click here for more than 10 ways to appreciate your pastor!Reminder! Request from DS Bumkoo Chung. Many of the smaller churches on our District run into difficulty when it is time to do the yearly church audit. They just don’t have the person-power or the expertise. Therefore, the need for volunteers to perform church audits is great. If you would be interested in volunteering to help perform an audit for a smaller SW Church, please email your name and phone number to DRA Chris McLaughlin at swdistrict@. If you are a church who would need such assistance, please also email Chris. New! November 20, LUMINA’s Annual Celebration, "Raising Lazarus," 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, Lititz United Methodist Church, 201 East Market Street, Lititz (please RSVP by November 13). Come and meet those who have benefited from LUMINA ministries and programs while enjoying a hearty supper, featuring a baked potato bar and desserts. Learn how LUMINA’s governance and operations have changed this past year. You can also support LUMINA by donating on-line at the event through the Extraordinary Give. This year LUMINA is participating in the Extraordinary Give on November 20, Lancaster County’s largest 24 hours of giving. You can donate on behalf of LUMINA (even if you don’t attend the celebration) at on November 20 between 12:01 AM and 11:59 PM. There is a $25 minimum by credit card. Part of your donation will be matched by the stretch pool offered by local sponsors. For more info or to RSVP for the Annual Celebration, contact LUMINA at (717) 394-8412 or office@Reminder! The registration deadline for Adjourned Session has been extended to October 26. Click here to register. The Adjourned Session will be held November 14, 2015 at the Macungie campus of Bethany UMC, 3801 Brookside Road, Macungie, PA 18062.Save the Date! The 2016 Faith-Sharing Event will be held on March 19 at New Hanover UMC, Gilbertsville, PA. Featured speaker: Rev. Romal Tune. Click here for more info! Have You Registered? October 28, Bishop Johnson on the SW District. This event is for both clergy and laity. It will be held at St. Mark’s UMC, 37 E. Main Street, Mt. Joy (parking behind the church).The clergy’s time with Bishop Johnson will begin at 4:30 pm (registration starts at 4:00).A dinner for both clergy and laity will begin at 6:00 pm. The laity’s time with the Bishop will begin at 7:00 pm. Although the event will be free, registration for the meal is required. A free-will offering will be taken for the meal. To register for the meal, click here. This event is mandatory for all appointed clergy. Please email DRA Chris McLaughlin at swdistrict@ if you need to make a request to the DS to be excused. Reminder! November 6 at 10:00 am, Open Enrollment Meeting for 2016 Eastern PA Conference Health Insurance, Hempfield UMC, 3050 Marietta Ave, Lancaster, PA 17601. This meeting is for all active participants (clergy and lay church employees). Retirees should not attend this meeting. This year is not a passive enrollment. Members will need to enroll in a specific plan or they will have no coverage. This meeting will not only provide information about the plans, but afford an opportunity to sit with the consultant and receive assistance in signing up for coverage. The presentation will take 1.5 hours. There will be one hour following the presentation for individual assistance signing up. Jo Fielding?, Executive Director, Board of Pension and Health Benefits, will be present along with the consultant. This event is free, but registration is required: click here. If you need assistance registering, please contact Madeline Gonzales- Lopez, Benefits Support Associate of The Eastern PA Conference, The United Methodist Church, Phone: (800) 828-9093 – Ext. 7001; mglopez@ Reminder! January 12-14, 2016, Bishop’s Midwinter Retreat for all Clergy and Spouses. All clergy and spouses are encouraged to take this opportunity to get away, relax, and refresh. The retreat this year will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 2400 Willow Street Pike, Lancaster, PA. The guest speaker is retired Chaplain (Brigadier General) Charles R. “Ray” Bailey. He will share from his experiences and talk about ways to reach outside our walls to share the Good News! Chaplain Bailey was ordained as an Elder in June 1981 by the United Methodist Church and served churches in Ft. Worth, Corsicana, and Mineral Wells, Texas before entering active duty in June 1982 as a United States Army chaplain. The registration deadline is December 7, 2015 due to hotel requirements. SPRC Chairs and Pastors have all received letters from the Bishop (via email) regarding this event. For more information and to register, click here. Reminder! Christmas Card Project. The Conference Prison Ministry and Restorative Justice Team encourages you to help share God’s love this holiday season with those who are incarcerated by writing a brief caring/encouraging note inside a Christmas card. These cards will be collected and delivered to inmates at a number of correctional facilities in Eastern PA.?The drop-off site for the cards will be the District Office, which is in the Bird-in-Hand UMC, 2620 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand, PA. The deadline to have your cards to the District Office is November 9. There are very specific directions to follow when sending these cards, so please read carefully the related documents found on the Conference website.ClassifiedsAvailable: Medical equipment that is in excellent condition to donate to a Christian Organization. One is a mobile x-ray machine that is certified and 2015 PA inspected. It works off a 110 outlet and weighs around 100 lb or less. It comes will all the accessories. It would be perfect in the mission field or in any areas where you need to transport equipment with you. Item two is an ultrasound machine that was used very, very little. If interested, or have a lead where this equipment could be used in ministry, please contact Pastor Steve Rodgers,?steve@?or 626-2710.Calendar of Events For a schedule of Sexual Ethics Workshops, click hereFor information about the Changing Racism training, click hereOctober 27Women in Professional Ministry Luncheon,11:30 amGypsy Kitchen, Lancaster Theological SeminaryOctober 28Bishop Johnson on the SW District, Mt. Joy: St. Mark’sNovember 6Open Enrollment Meeting, 10:00 am, Hempfield UMCNovember 7Planting the Seeds of Ministry, Hopewell UMCKeynote speaker: Rev. Mike SlaughterAccess a message from Rev. Slaughter by clicking hereNovember 14Adjourned Session of Annual ConferenceLocation: Macungie campus of Bethany UMC, 3801Brookside Road, Macungie, PA 180622016January 8-10Pen-Del Youth Rally, Ocean City, MDJanuary 12-14Midwinter Retreat for Clergy and SpousesMarch 5Tools for Ministry, Lititz UMCMay 10-20General Conference, Portland, OregonJune 5 (Tentative)District Conference, Location TBDJune 16-18, 2016Annual Conference, The Marriott, Lancaster CityJuly 10-15, 2016Northeast Jurisdictional Conference, The Marriott, Lancaster City The Fine Print?Editorial Policy of the Southwest District E-Alert.?The Southwest District E-alert is published on an as-needed basis on Wednesdays. Articles will appear once as New information; thereafter, they will be Reminders or Calendar Items. Spaghetti dinners, fundraisers, concerts, VBSs, bazaars, etc. are included only on the Local Church and ConneXion Events page. ?The E-Alert is sent to Pastors and Church Offices on the Southwest District and to lay people who have requested having their names added to the distribution list. Please feel free to copy any article for your church’s bulletin or newsletter. To unsubscribe, please send an email to swdistrict@?with the word “Unsubscribe” in the subject line. Appointed clergy may not unsubscribe.?All articles and announcements should be sent to District Resource Assistant Chris McLaughlin at?swdistrict@?by 3:00 Tuesday afternoon for consideration. Articles should be in the body of an email or an attached Word document (please no PDFs). Submissions made by telephone will?not?be accepted. Articles may be edited for clarity and space. All decisions regarding publication are made by the District Office.Past SW E-alerts are available on the SW District page of the Conference website: click here.? ................
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