STORM PREPAREDNESS
As we brace for the anticipated landfall of Hurricane Irene this weekend, our prayers continue to be with each and every one of you. And in an effort to "prepare for the worst, but hope for the best," we are sharing with you a series of storm preparedness checklists prepared in conjunction with Sovereign Insurance Company to help you and your congregations ready for impending weather.
This storm can and will affect all of us differently, and the checklists below are designed to help you prepare your church and home for wind, flooding, and hurricane weather. Please feel free to use both checklists in your storm preparedness arsenal.
Please stay tuned to this website, the conference website, your e-mail, and our Facebook page for additional weather-related updates.
If you can and would like to help (before and after), please contact Disaster Response Team Director. Reverend Derrick Doherty at disasterresponse@GNJUMC.org.
Thank you!
PREPAREDNESS CHECKLISTS
Updated Church Conference Schedule
Friends, please find an updated church conference schedule below reflecting conference and 1-on-1 reschedule requests.
Areas highlighted in green indicate reschedules. Areas highlighted in yellow indicate location of church conferences for those pastors with multiple churches.
2011 Multi-Cultural Celebration
2011 Multi-Cultural Celebration
Date: Saturday, October 22, 2011
Time: 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Place: St. John's United Methodist Church
2000 Florence Avenue, Hazlet, NJ 07730
Click here for flyer.
Click here for brochure.
The Multi-Ethnic Coordinating Committee of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference is inviting everyone to the annual multi-cultural celebration on October 22, 2011 Saturday (from 4PM to 7PM) at the St. John's United Methodist Church, 2000 Florence Avenue, Hazlet, New Jersey. The purpose of this annual celebration is to celebrate our diverse cultural heritage and gather together for worship, fellowship and cultural festivity. Why an annual multi-cultural celebration?
For the past two years, the yearly multi-cultural celebration has been well attended by all of you representing many nations, many languages and an array of talents from local groups and congregations. Last year, the celebration brought hundreds from over 35 different nations together for worship and talent show festivity (Relay Magazine, December, 2010). The annual celebration is also well participated by both laity and clergy, as each person has a different gift to offer.
This year's celebration will be meaningful for everyone as it will bring us together once again to experience the blessings of diversity. Worship with inclusive participation is being developed where representations from different age groups, cultural ethnicities and from all races are sought. The planning team is looking for verse readers from different languages and a sign language interpreter. The festivities will not be complete without native food from different continents, nations, and cultures from all races. Anyone can bring a tray dish of any of these kinds: meat, chicken or fish, vegetable, or side dish (rice or pasta) that can feed at least 50 people. Dessert and drinks will be provided.
The cultural presentations will follow from the different nations/continents and from all races. Presentations must be culturally oriented and not more than five minutes long. For further information, please access the multi cultural celebration brochure from the conference web site and send in your church's registration to the conference office as identified in the brochure. To add color to the festivity, we also encourage everyone to wear their native dress and/or national costume.
It is our goal to have inclusive participation from all local churches in the conference. We hope and pray that our gathering together will enhance our awareness of the rich diversity we have at our conference, not only of the many countries & nations we represent, but also of the many gifts and graces we have as United Methodists, here at the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference.
- Judy Colorado, Team Leader, The Multi Ethnic Coordinating Committee
Bishop's Songfest 2011
Songfest 2011 Is Coming!
Do you like to sing? Do you like to hear and participate in the great songs of the Christian Church, new and old? Then the Bishop's Songfest is for you!
A great festival of Christian music will be held in Ocean Grove's Great Auditorium on Sunday afternoon, September 18th, at 4:00 PM. Hymn singing, music of praise, a gospel choir, and the Songfest Choir under the direction of Dr. Tony Godlefski will all be celebrating in song. We'll cap the afternoon with a rousing rendition of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, and everyone who wants to sing this glorious piece will be invited onto the stage of the Great Auditorium to perform it. Please mark your calendar, and come join our Bishop and the entire GNJAC leadership team as we praise the Lord in song and celebration!
The Songfest Choir
Choral singers, your attention, please! The Songfest Choir will be singing three anthems that afternoon (in addition to the Hallelujah Chorus):
· Ralph Vaughn Williams: "O How Amiable";
· Joseph Martin: "Jesus Is My Song of Grace"; and
· Phillip Kern: "Behold That Star".
If your choir wishes to participate, please call Songfest Producer Rev. Rich Hendrickson to receive your copies of the music. The conference will be providing music, so if your choir participates, you'll be set with three anthems for your church's upcoming singing season! (Individual singers will be able to receive music at the rehearsals.) All other participating choirs are asked to please participate in the Songfest Choir as well.
There will be Songfest Choir rehearsals on September 10th and 17th at 10 AM at Montgomery United Methodist Church, 117 Sunset Road, Belle Mead, NJ 08502. Also, a dress rehearsal for the Songfest Choir will take place at 3:00 PM on September 18th. Please watch this space for further rehearsal details.
Please contact Songfest Musical Director, Rev. Tony Godlefski, with thoughts or questions: PastorTony@MontgomeryUMC.org.
Let's sing!
2011 Church Conference Schedule - AVAILABLE NOW!
Church conference season is right around the corner, and the time to start preparing is now!
The district office has prepared a schedule for your upcoming 1-on-1 meetings and church conferences (see below). We ask that you review the dates scheduled for yourself and for your church, and humbly request that you advertise/pass along the information as needed. We have done our best to accommodate everyone's schedules, and we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding when reviewing your scheduled conferences.
A church conference form checklist is also provided below.
IMPORTANT! I-9s Needed!
In April of this year, Bishop Devadhar, along with Rev. Steven Bechtold (Chair of BOOM) and John Bishop (Chair of the CF&A), sent a letter to all pastors in the Greater NJ Conference regarding a new federal law requiring local churches to verify employment eligibility for all persons hired after November 26, 1986. The United States Dept. of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been particularly active in auditing local churches for evidence of violations. Fines and penalties for violations present significant risks to the ministry of local churches and the United Methodist Church as a whole.
In this vein, we urge Raritan Valley District pastors, treasurers, and SPRC chairs to review I-9 Forms for all of their employees, and make certain they are correct and up-to-date. Having done so, we ask that ALL district pastors mail an updated I-9 Form to the district office as soon as possible:105 Diamond Hill Rd., Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922. (Even if you have submitted an I-9 Form for yourself in the past, we request that you do so again to help us ensure our files are kept as up-to-date as possible.)
Copies of Bishop's letter and of the IRS I-9 Form are available for download below.
I-9 Mailing
Fund Balance Report/Local Church Audit
The General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) defines the Local Church Audit as "an independent evaluation of the financial reports and records and the internal controls of the local church by a qualified person or persons for the purpose of reasonably verifying the reliability of financial reporting, determining whether assets are being safeguarded, and whether the law, the Discipline, and policies and procedures are being complied with." (Local Church Audit Guide).
This audit is to be completed at the end of each year, and should be filled-out by an independent auditor. Upon completion, forms should be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to the district office.* Instructions on completing the Audit, how the information contained in the Audit is beneficial to the local church, as well as many FAQs can be found in the Local Church Audit Guide available for download below. A blank copy of the Local Church Audit/Fund Balance Report is also provided below.
*Reports were due on June 1, 2010. However, we ask that those churches who have not yet submitted their reports to please do so during Church Conference season (bring to your 1-on-1 meeting with the DS). Any questions? Please direct them to the district office by calling (908) 464-4324.
Audit Forms for Download
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Fund_Balance_Report__AKA_Local_Church_Audit__Rev._9-03-09_.doc |