Sprouts, September 24, 2013

WESTERN DISTRICT CONFERENCE

SPROUTS

September 24, 2013

A weekly communication for:

WDC Churches and Pastors

WDC Executive Board, Commission, Committee and Task Force members

Any content may be used in bulletins and newsletters and forwarded to congregational leaders and members.

WDC Sprouts is also available at: www.mennowdc.org (Publications)

IN THIS ISSUE:

*WDC Financial Report

*Announcements

WDC Financial Report

by Phyllis Regier, WDC Business Manager

We are now entering the last third of the Western District fiscal year and historically this is when a large portion of our income is received. In fact almost 50% of the total contributions to WDC are received in the last 4 months of the year. Again this year we are hoping for a strong finish to the year with adequate contributions to cover our expenses.

We have endeavored to control expenses by reducing our staff by 2 FTE in the last 4 years. Resources, time and money have been saved by streamlining some of our office procedures. This has been done by using email and posting on our website instead of copying and mailing out reports and resources. We have also cut our newsletter mailings to 6 times a year instead of monthly.

There are however some areas where more money was needed to adequately serve our churches. One of those areas is seminary scholarships. In the past WDC has supported only full-time seminary students with scholarships. The Leadership Commission has now changed that policy to provide scholarships to all seminary students taking classes for credit and attending Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary or Eastern Mennonite Seminary. This year we are supporting 12 students attending AMBS and EMS instead of only 1 student last year. We feel this support is important for the future of our churches by helping to provide church leadership that is trained at our Anabaptist seminaries.

2014 Budget

In August at the WDC Annual Assembly the delegates passed the 2014 budget. Within the last few weeks all churches should have received the WDC 2014 narrative budget. This narrative can also be found on our website at: https://mennowdc.org/executive-board-commissions/ under the Stewardship Commission heading.

Please use this narrative however you can to inform your congregation about what Western District Conference is doing to provide guidance, resourcing and support for your congregational life.

WDC Announcements

1. Premier Performance! Humorist, Actor and Theologian Ted Swartz of Ted and Co. Theaterworks will present an all-new show! “A Peek into the Church’s Journey with Sexuality” – Friday, October 25, 7 pm at Krehbiel Auditorium, Bethel College, North Newton, KS. Ted will share the stage with Keith Graber Miller, Professor of Bible, Religion and Philosophy at Goshen College, who will speak on the topic of “Toward an Ethic of Sexuality”. Purchase tickets ($10) at Bethel College ticket office, 316-283-2500. All seats reserved.

2. WDC Reference Council – The Church and Homosexuality: A Conversation That Can Hold Us Together, October 26, 8:30 am – 5 pm at Faith Mennonite Church, Newton, KS. More information: https://mennowdc.org/calendar/

3. ATTENTION ALL CHURCH CHOIR DIRECTORS: The Choir Directors Roundtable that was postponed in September has been re-scheduled for Saturday, October 19 from 9:00 – 11:00 AM. You are invited to attend! Please RSVP to wdmusicworship@gmail.com or Kay Schroeder at 316-217-1272. Mojo’s coffee and scones will be provided! This event is sponsored by the WDC Music and Worship Task Force.

4. Successfully Concluded–The second annual meeting of the Camp Mennoscah Association took place without a hitch. We gathered, we met for business, we enjoyed music by the ever-talented Harders, we ate incredibly tasty pulled pork, and we played in the sand. And by “played in the sand,” we mean that we broke ground for our new bathhouses. Thank you to all the board members, the Harders, Mariah, Ken and Galen for helping everything run smoothly. We’ll see you at next year’s meeting!

5. Camp Mennoscah’s Scrapbooking Retreats–That’s right, friends, we’re planning TWO delightful weekends of cropping and fellowship. These retreats will occur on November 1-3 and November 15-17–as long as we have at least 10 folks for each retreat! We pretty absolutely certain that we’ll have enough folks for the retreats, so sign up for either one or both retreats. The registration form can be found at www.campmennoscah.org in the Retreats section. Get those memories ready!

6. 5Th Annual – The Great Pumpkin Race – Saturday, October 19 at First Mennonite Church, 102 S. Ash, Hillsboro, KS
§ 5K Fun Run – 9 am
§ 1/4 Mile Kids Race – 9:30 am
§ Race Awards, Medals, T-Shirts
§ Run in your Costumes: Prizes for Best Adult and Child Costumes
Race proceeds to benefit www.Mainstreetministries.net, a women & children’s home in downtown Hillsboro.
Registration info @ http://fmchillsboro.com/?page_id=510. Tweet us on Twitter @GPumpkinRace. LIKE us on FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-Pumpkin-Race-of-Hillsboro-KS/154243887950436

MC USA Announcements

1. Open House, November 15, at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind., is an opportunity for people interested in seminary study to meet faculty and students and learn more about study both on campus and at a distance and about financial aid. Visit www.ambs.edu/admissions/visitAMBS to register or call 800.964.2627.

2. Upcoming events at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary:

Open House for future students

November 15

Webinars