Washington Region

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Discipler Group Reminder

Just a reminder that Discipler Groups are not being held on Thursday, September 1. The groups will meet on September 6, 7, & 8. For more details on the groups, dates, inclement weather information, etc., please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/resources/disciplergroups. There was an error in the address for Jones Memorial UMC. It was listed as being in SW DC, but it is actually located in SE DC. Please make note of the updated address if you have to travel there next week.

Gateway Training
Our next featured Gateway training is Compensation training. This training will teach you how to complete the compensation form through Gateway. Someone will be available to answer any question you may have about your pastor’s compensation and filling the form out online. Only SPRC, Treasurers and Pastors should attend this training session.

Please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/gateway/gatewaytraining to register. Registration is free but required since many of our trainings are limited due to space constraints.

Charge Conference Forms Online
Charge Conference forms are now available online. You will need to log into Gateway to access the forms. Sample forms can be found at http://www.bwcumc.org/gateway/chargeconferencemain.

Bridges to Wholeness Global Forum
In preparation for the 2012 General Conference, conversations will be around the emphasis of a Global Church and “what it means to be a connectional church globally”. For more information and to register, please go to http://www.bwcumc.org/events/bridgestowholeness.

What Every Child Should Experience: A Guide for Leaders and Teachers in United Methodist Congregations
This is a guide for leaders and teachers of children in the area of faith formation. The resource contains a comprehensive guide to scripture significant for children as they develop cognitively and theologically. It also contains a chart of what children need and understand developmentally around the beliefs and concepts of God, Worship, the Bible, Home and Family, Everyday Life, Community, and Wesleyan Heritage. This is a new resource from GBOD available as a free downloadable PDF at http://www.gbod.org/atf/cf/%7B3482e846-598f-460a-b9a7-386734470eda%7D/WHATEVERYCHILDSHOULDEXPERIENCEUMC_2011.PDF

Dealing with Anonymous Critics
Vivian says she found this week’s ministry matters newsletter to have some interesting points on handling anonymous critics… If you are not subscribed, you might like to be! http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/article/entry/1639/dealing-with-anonymous-critics

To: ALL HEALTHFLEX PARTICIPANT (if you are enrolled in our medical plan, you are in HEALTHFLEX)
Re: HealthQuotient (HQ) online health risk questionnaire.
The HQ health risk questionnaire is a requirement of HealthFlex to avoid a higher deductible in 2012 plan year. All active participant and their enrolled spouses MUST take the HQ to avoid the higher deductible. If you did HQ prior to August 1, 2011, you must do it again during this timeframe to save (August 1 – September 30, 2011).

To get started: please go to http://www.gbophb.org/, click on “HealthFlex/WebMD” and enter your username and password. The click on “HealthQuotient” under Get Started.

PLEASE CALL WEBMD AT 1-866-302-5742 FOR HELP LOGGING IN OR WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT HQ.

PLEASE PASS ON THIS INFORMATION TO ALL LOCAL CHURCH LAY EMPLOYEES THAT ARE ENROLLED IN OUR MEDICAL PLAN.

Evan Young Installation Service
An offering will be collected at Evan Young’s Installation Service to benefit homeless efforts in the Greater Washington District. The service will be held on Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 3 p.m. at Colesville UMC. If you plan on attending, please send your RSVP to washregion@bwcumc.org.

Donations Accepted at Conference Mission Center
Stopping by the Conference Mission Center in the coming weeks for a training, event or meeting? We welcome you to bring donations of non-perishable food and personal items (toothbrushes, diapers, shampoo, etc.) to be contributed to the Mission Center Change the World Food Drive event on October 8. All donations to the drive will benefit local pantries and agencies in need. Please leave donations with the front desk staff.

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Important Dates

November 1 & 2 & 3, 2011 - Discipler Groups http://www.bwcumc.org/content/discipler-group-roster
November 15, 2011 9:30 a.m.- Discipler Group Make-Up Session, Conference Mission Center
November 15, 2011 - Visioning 2020 with Bishop Schol http://www.bwcumc.org/events/visioning2020
November 29 & 30, 2011 9-11 a.m. & 1-3 p.m. : Gateway Training on Statistical Reports - Conference Mission Center
December 1, 2011 - Evaluations Due
December 1 & 6 & 7, 2011 - Discipler Groups http://www.bwcumc.org/content/discipler-group-roster
December 20, 2011 9:30 a.m. - Discipler Group Make-Up Session, Conference Mission Center http://www.bwcumc.org/content/discipler-group-roster
January 28, 2012 - Washington Region Leadership Day - Conference Mission Center
April 19, 2012 9-12:30 - Pastor Transition Workshop - Conference Mission Center
April 21, 2012 - Prodigal Worship, Queens Chapel UMC, Beltsville, MD
May 12, 2012 9-12:30 Washington Region Transition Workshop for Pastors/SPRC, Conference Mission Center
May 30 - June 1, 2012 - Annual Conference - Marriott Waterfront Hotel, Baltimore

Did you know?

If you have questions about taxes, W-2 forms and I-9's, the best place to go to have those questions answered is the GCFA website. www.gcfa.org/ls_CTP/html We suggest you access the information from GCFA, then contact accounting professionals for any additional information.

It is important that you update your leadership in Gateway, especially for Annual Conference. All new leaders should be added to your church. To do this, log into Gateway and click on Committee Overview. Then click on Committee Participation and Update. Click on Local Church Leadership Committee. For more information abut make changes/updates, go to www.bwcumc.org/content/gateway-resources and click on the Introduction to Gateway Manual.

The current address of the Conference Mission Center does not always show up on GPS or MapQuest. We suggest you use the address for Maggie Moo's Ice Cream which is 8170 Maple Lawn Boulevard, Fulton, MD 20759. The Conference Mission Center is located in the parking lot behind Maggie Moo's.

If you send mail to our old address on Gateway Drive in Columbia, it will be returned to you. Please be mindful of our new address when sending timely information.

Your guide and district superintendent (and your RA) enjoy reading your newsletters. If you have them electronically, please feel free to pass them on to us via email.

That if you forget your Gateway user name and password and set up a new account in Gateway that your new account will not be connected to your church and you will not be able to access the forms you need on Gateway. To avoid this from happening, please contact Pam Mullay to obtain your user name and password for Gateway if you have forgotten it.

Clergy Compensation Reports are linked to medical and pension and if the reports are not submitted on time your 2011 medical and pension benefits can be affected.

That if you register anyone other than yourself on Gateway (aside from ROCK) for training, that person's name and email will take over your account and your name and email will disappear from Gateway. To avoid this each person must register for events individually unless stated that group registrations are allowed. We do this to allow for monitoring of CEU credits. If you have someone else register you then they will receive credit for the class in your place.