News

Nigeria mission team unloads sea container

Experience the unloading of the sea container filled with items given at last year's Thanksgiving Ingathering.  The mission team that was in Nigeria this summer emptied it on their first day and distributed the contributions. To download the video: 1. Click here to go to the Conference video archive for the report 2. Follow the download instructions that appear below the video box ...

Bishop Trimble to be on KCCI newscast

Bishop Julius Calvin Trimble will be interviewed this evening (September 1) during the 6 pm newscast.  Interviewed by Katie Ward, who grew in Bloomfield and attended the United Methodist Church there, the Bishop speaks about the "You Can Make the World a Better Place...Be Encouraged." effort that collected 250 pounds of pop tops for the Ronald McDonald House, new underwear for Women at the Well, cell phones that were repurposed into 911 phones for women in safehaven shelters,...

Worldmaking Worship Session 1

Worldmaking Worship Session I: Stories September 17-18, 2010 American Martyrs Retreat Center, Cedar Falls, Iowa www.WorldmakingWorship.com   Register now! Registration deadline: September 3, 2010.   Nutshell: How did Jesus teach? Parables. Stories. Imagination. Shining fresh light on the ancient Scriptures.   How does our western culture teach? Lecture. Facts. Worksheets.    How does the Good News Story get "told" at your local...

Colfax Flood Situation, August 2010

COLFAX FLOOD SITUATION On Wednesday, August 11, 2010, at 4:30 am, the residents of Colfax, Iowa received a telephone call to evacuate.  The voluntary evacuation was issued because the Skunk River was beginning to flood Colfax.  “By about 6 o’clock,” the Rev. Cindy Finn, Pastor of the Colfax First United Methodist Church, recalls, “the water had come up Division Street and was coming into the west side of Colfax. People were leaving their homes as quickly as...

Colfax flooding update

(Click to see a photo gallery of the flooding in Colfax) On Wednesday, August 11, 2010, at 4:30 am, the residents of Colfax, Iowa received a telephone call to evacuate. The voluntary evacuation was issued because the Skunk River was beginning to flood Colfax.  “By about 6 o’clock,” the Rev. Cindy Finn, Pastor of the Colfax First United Methodist Church, recalls, “the water had come up Division Street and was coming into the west side of Colfax. People were...

Bishop issues invitation to help with flood recovery

Bishop Julius C. Trimble and other Conference leaders visited the flood-affected community of Colfax, Iowa on Wednesday, August 18, 2010. The group was guided by Rev. Cindy Finn, Pastor of the Colfax First United Methodist Church. “This is a community that’s a close-knit community,” Bishop Trimble observed. “The people have rallied around each other.” Issuing a call to help with flood recovery the Bishop said, “I’m hoping that United...

Virgin Healthmiles Walking Program

The IAC Wellness Program Invites You to Join   The Virgin Healthmiles Pedometer Program   For Conference Health Insurance Plan Participants   What is Virgin Healthmiles?  It is a digital pedometer (a device you wear that counts the number of steps you take) that has the electronic capability to connect to a computer.    How Does it Work?  The computer software is web-based that can be down-loaded to any personal computer.  If you do not have...

Block by Block and UMC Churches Receive Governors Volunteer Awards

The recipients of the 27th Annual Governor’s Volunteers Awards for 2010 have been announced and the first celebration was held in Storm Lake.  The Governor’s Volunteer Awards are given to honor the amount of community service time given by individuals and organizations throughout the state.    As Marcia Hughes, Community Relations Supervisor for Cedar Rapids Community Schools stated “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is extra. ...

Urban Plunge

Several Iowa UMC churches have taken the Urban Plunge in Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City and Sioux Falls.  Below is a list of the recent churches that have participated.  To date, over 2,500 people from over 200 churches have participated in a Plunge.   They spent a weekend in the inner-city visiting 9 different faith-based organizations that are working among the poor.  They will hung out with homeless guys on the streets late at night; fed the homeless; went to jail;...

Iowa State Fair Volunteers Needed

  Calling all Iowa State Fair Fans!  Non-Stop Fun!  August 12-22, 2010   The Iowa State Fair will be here before we know it and once again the Iowa United Methodist Church will have a presence in the air-conditioned Varied Industries Building.  We are looking for a few more volunteers.    In return for your time volunteering, we will provide free admission into the Iowa State Fair for the day you work.    If you are interested in...

Brief news summary of the 2010 annual conference session

“Radical Hospitality: Offering God’s Love” was the theme of the 167th yearly gathering of the Iowa Annual Conference. Former Bishop Rueben Job, Bishop Arthur Kulah of the Nigeria area and Rev. Doug Ruffle, director of the Office of Congregational Development of the Greater New Jersey Conference were guest preachers and speakers. The Conference, which was live streamed in its entirety, was an experience of “worshipful work” from beginning to...

Special offerings raise over $26,000

Four special offerings were received during the 2010 session of the Iowa Annual Conference. Together they tallied more than $26,576.72.   An offering of $5,958.69, gathered during the opening worship service, supported the Central Conference Pension Initiative. “The Central Conference Pension Initiative (CCPI) is a long-term solution to providing retirement financial security for dedicated clergy and surviving spouses in central conferences, those conferences outside the...

2011 budget lower by nearly 2 percent

On Tuesday, June 8, 2010, members of the Iowa Annual Conference session approved a budget that is 1.93 percent lower that the 2010 budget. The total approved expenses for 2011 will be $15,938,274, which compares to an approved amount of $16,251,151 for 2010. When an amount included in the 2011 budget, $946,262, needed to fund a pension liability brought on by the downturn of the economy is excluded, the 2011 budget is actually 7.75 percent lower than the 2010 budget.   The...

Hundreds join in noontime march for peace

(Click here to see video of the Bishop's statement) More than 300 members of the 2010 Annual Conference session, during the noontime break, heard Bishop Julius Calvin Trimble say that a witness for peace and justice “is in the script.” Bishop Trimble and Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie led the marchers as they made their way from Hy-Vee Hall to Nollen Plaza.   “If you read the Bible, both the Old and New testaments,” Bishop Trimble said, “if you read our...

Health insurance plan changes for 2011

Beginning in 2011 the Iowa Annual Conference will offer only health insurance option for active clergy. Offering just the “high deductible” plan will mean that the anticipated premium increase will be decreased by as much as 8 percent. (Currently a choice of either a “high deductible” plan or a PPO plan is available.)   A Health Savings Account (HSA) is part of the “high deductible” plan. An annual total of $2000 will be deposited in each HSA...

Pies save lives

Miranda Walters bakes pies.  Miranda Walters sells pies.  Miranda Walters helps save lives half a world away.   The teenage baker from First United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls inspired the gathered members of the 2010 Iowa Annual Conference session to follow her lead and support the efforts of Imagine No Malaria by contributing by making contributions to purchase bed nets.    Miranda was one of four persons who participated in Bishop Julius Calvin...

Episcopal Address: follow Jesus into the world

“Our primary call is to follow Jesus into the world bring healing, hope and transformation from a church empowered by the Holy Spirit.” So began Bishop Julius Calvin Trimble’s episcopal address to the 2010 session of the Iowa Annual Conference.   After a video introduction based on the call to action of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, Bishop Trimble recalled the story of the Great Commission (Matthew 28.16-20), saying, “It is not the great suggestion...

Conference treasurer's report

REPORT TO THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE DR. CHARLES W. SMITH CONFERENCE TREASURER AND STATISTICIAN 2010 IOWA ANNUAL CONFERENCE   Bishop Trimble, lay and clergy members of the Iowa Annual Conference the year 2009 has been an interesting voyage for those of us working with the financial and administrative affairs of the conference. Since we last met the economy has been like a horror story, keeping everyone guessing as to what is next. However, we no longer need to guess at the impact...

Conference supports call for continuing prayer for comprehensive immigration reform

Members of the 2010 Iowa Annual Conference session supported a resolution calling for “continuing intercessory prayer for comprehensive immigration reform…that is fair and just.” The substitute statement recognized that “God calls for love and justice for everyone.”   The originally-proposed resolution, entitled, “Call to Action: Responding to Arizona SB-1070," noted that “We are called through our baptism to stand against evil,...

Lay Leader's address to the 2010 Conference Session

(click here to see the video of the address)          “The thing I want and hope for is that I will not fail Christ in anything, that I will have the courage now and always to show the greatness of Christ in my life here on earth.”  Several years ago I chose these words from Paul’s letter to the Philippians as my life verse.  This has become my reason for being, the measure of how I want to live my life.  And from it,...