News

Kansas West finance council proposes apportionment formula change

The Council on Finance and Administration is proposing a change to the Kansas West Conference’s apportionment formula, moving from an expense-based formula to an income-based formula for 2013. The proposed formula is 10 percent of the local church’s operating income. The church’s operating income is taken from line 67 of the Local Church Report to Annual Conference statistical report, Table III. Calculations will be made based on the most recent year’s information...

Resolution to require local churches to adopt sexual-ethics policies for staff, volunteers

The Kansas West Conference’s Sexual Ethics Committee is bringing a resolution to the 2012 Annual Conference session that will require local churches to adopt a policy for the protection of children, youth and developmentally disabled adults. The resolution calls for local-church policies to require all paid staff and volunteers who work with children, youth and developmentally disabled dependent adults be conference-trained and certified in observing appropriate boundaries. The policies...

Achievements to be recognized at Annual Conference

By Bev Weber, special contributor Looking toward the 2012 Annual Conference, it is a good time to plan new ways to be in ministry by taking inventory of what has been done during the past year. This includes ways that congregations and individuals have been in connection with others as they strive to be vital congregations through inspiring worship, mission and outreach, equipped and empowered lay leadership, inspired clergy leadership and strong small-group study. These ministries will be...

United Methodist Church facing changes

By Susan Cooper, Communications associate director Rev. Gil Rendle shared his thoughts on The United Methodist Church’s need for change at the 2011 Kansas West Annual Conference May 25. Rendle, a consultant for Clergy and Congregational Excellence for the Texas Methodist Foundation, has been working with the Nebraska-Kansas Area Episcopal Transition Team. “We need to start a conversation about the future,” Rendle said. “We’re facing into incredible...

Support, concern expressed on reconfiguration of conferences

By Susan Cooper, Communications associate director On May 25 in Hutchinson, members of the Nebraska-Kansas Episcopal Area Transition Team presented their case in favor of combining the Kansas and Nebraska conferences. The conferences will begin sharing one bishop in 2012 due to a General Conference decision to eliminate bishops in four U.S. jurisdictions. “We’re trying to make the best of that situation,” said team member Dixie Brewster. Bishop Scott Jones told the assembly...

Journey toward vitality requires measures

By Lisa Elliott Diehl, Communications director Congregations in the Kansas West Conference have been on a journey, Bishop Scott Jones said in his State of the Conference message May 26 at the 2011 session of the Kansas West Annual Conference. “We could go back decades and recount where we have been,” Jones said. Jones lifted up the four questions he asked the conference in 2005: How can we strengthen our existing congregations? How can we start more and stronger...

Delegates elected, resolutions approved at 2011 Annual Conference

The 2011 Kansas West Annual Conference met May 25-27 at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson with the theme, “Worth it! Risk-Taking Mission.” Delegates Dixie Brewster and Penney Schwab were elected lay delegates to the 2012 General Conference and the 2012 Jurisdictional Conference. Rev. Mark Conard and Rev. Amy Lippoldt were elected clergy delegates. The delegations were completed with the elections of Jill Foss and Tyler Ward for laity and Rev. Cheryl Bell and Rev. Nathan...

Area hires Tyler Associates to conduct study

The Kansas Area United Methodist Church has hired Tyler Associates to conduct a feasibility study for a capital campaign to support new church development and student ministries in the Kansas East and Kansas West annual conferences. The annual conferences adopted strategic ministry plans in May and June that call for raising more than $14 million to support new church starts, campus ministry infrastructure and camp site improvements. "After the excitement of approving the strategic plans at...

Fill the bag

The Hospitality Committee of the Sessions Planning Committee has issued an invitation to all local churches to participate in the “Fill the Bag” project for Annual Conference 2006. Small gift bags will be presented to dignitaries and members of other agencies and institutions who will be guests at Annual Conference. Items to fill small gift bags, such as wheat weavings, hand-made crosses, Kansas-collected honey, hand-made bookmarks, etc., will be collected at Church of the Cross in Salina. The...

PowerPoint presentations deadline

PowerPoint presentations for Annual Conference are due May 1. Send a CD of the presentation, a hard copy and script with the slide changes marked to Lisa Elliott Diehl, 9440 E. Boston Suite 110, Wichita KS 67207....

Rural fellowship banquet

The United Methodist Rural Fellowship banquet will be at 5 p.m. May 25 at the Bicentennial Center in Salina. Julia Kuhn Wallace will be the speaker. She is director of Small Membership Church and Shared Ministries with the General Board of Discipleship. The founding director of the Virginia Conference Consultation Ministry with Smaller Churches (ConCERT), Wallace is a Certified Christian Educator in the Virginia Conference, a “Healthy Congregations” facilitator and a Qualified Facilitator and...