News from the connection
Back-to-school Resources Available on GBOD Website
NASHVILLE, Tenn. August 5, 2014 /GBOD/ – A collection of back-to-school resources to help congregations and families prepare for the new school year – from prayers and litanies to articles about bullying – are now available at the General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) website.
The resources for youth, children and adults were compiled by staff members at GBOD to help church leaders plan for the back-to-school season. “Our back-to-school collection of resources reflects how GBOD is serving the needs of families and church leaders,” said Steve Horswill-Johnston, Executive Director of Communications & Brand Strategy at GBOD. “The fall often represents a return to a routine, when we rededicate ourselves not only to school, but to our church and family. We hope these resources will be utilized by church leaders in their work with their communities.” In addition to individual families, Christian educators and others in the church who need to prepare curriculum and communicate with church members about preparing for this busy season will find the collection helpful. The collection is available online here. It includes:
A backpack checklist from Pockets magazine that encourages students to take prayer, patience and a heart of encouragement with them as they begin a new school year.
An excerpt from Craig Kennett Miller’s book, iKids: Parenting in the Digital Age, which looks at the generation that is emerging in the midst of the digital revolution.
Special back-to-school litanies for students of all ages.
A list of ideas for back-to-school ministries from United Methodist Communications.
Numerous resources about bullying, including an excerpt from an article about bullies from Devozine, a magazine for teens and by teens, and a sermon entitled Jesus vs. Bullying, preached by Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar, bishop of the New England Annual Conference, when he served as bishop in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference.
Special prayers for the first day of school, teachers, test taking and more from Pockets magazine.
Stewardship nuggets to help families and children remember those who are less fortunate.
An excerpt from Devozine magazine to help students deal with the issues and problems they encounter in the “School of Hard Knocks”.
How congregations can make the connection between worship and back-to-school time.
A Blessing of the Backpacks and the school year.
Resources to help adult small groups reform and rejuvenate??Items in the collection can be easily downloaded from the new GBOD website.
Church responds to international emergency of Ebola
By Kathy L. Gilbert
August 8, 2014 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
Photo: Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS. An educational poster about the dangers of the Ebola virus hangs in the community center at the Jaiama Bongor Chiefdom, outside Bo, Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa an international health emergency.
With the Ebola outbreak in West Africa declared an international health emergency, United Methodist church leaders in Liberia are educating people about prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Above all they are reminding Liberians that Jesus Christ is a healer.
“Fear has gripped the nation,” the Rev. George Wilson, United Methodist communicator with the Liberia Annual Conference, told United Methodist News Service.
The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa an international health emergency. This breakout is the worst in the four-decade history of tracking the disease, the U.N. health agency said.
United Methodist Communications, the denomination’s communication agency in Nashville, Tennessee, is sending a $10,000 crisis communications grant to the United Methodist Liberia Annual (regional) Conference to help get out messages through printed fliers, banners and radio. A second $10,000 grant will go to Sierra Leone. United Methodist Communications also has reached out to church leaders in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire.
“This crisis illustrates the strategic importance of communications. The lack of clear information at the outset of the crisis is now compounding the tragedy as misinformation and fear increase,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of United Methodist Communications.
