News

Jeffcoat hired as new Great Plains Area Board of Ordained Ministry registrar

Rev. Karen Jeffcoat Great Plains Bishop Scott Jones, in consultation with the area boards of ordained ministry, recently announced the selection of Rev. Karen Jeffcoat as registrar for the Great Plains Area Board of Ordained Ministry (BOM). She succeeds Rev. Micki McCorkle, who has been appointed to serve as small-membership church coordinator for the Great Plains Area. An ordained elder in the Kansas East...

Coupons lead to ministry opportunities at Cunningham UMC

By Jerred Haydock, special contributor Most of us dread going to the grocery store at some point because of the huge expense to feed our families. Most of us at some point have experienced a tight budget and hungry mouths. Tiffany Schnittker of Cunningham United Methodist Church, who has experienced a tight budget, said, “As a mother of five, I know how much of our income has to go towards purchasing just our basic needs, and sometimes there just isn’t enough.” Schnittker...

Dentist hired to staff UMMAM’s Dodge City clinic

Newly hired dentist Dr. David Andersen with staff members at the United Methodist Mexican American Ministries Dental Clinic in Dodge City. (photo by Stephanie Waggoner) United Methodist Mexican American Ministries (UMMAM) has hired David Andersen DDS to staff the Dodge City Dental Clinic located at 2011 Central Avenue. “My favorite part of dentistry is helping people get rid of pain and...

Pastor uses basketball prowess to raise funds to fight malaria

By Lisa Diehl, Kansas communications director The opportunity to play basketball brought a young boy to church more than 40 years ago. Today, the man, a pastor in the Kansas West Conference, is using those skills to save lives in Africa. Rev. Kip Ryherd, left, with Mirranda, who helped at Ryherd’s free-throw challenge that raised money for Imagine No Malaria. (photo by Julie Ryherd) Rev. Kip Ryherd,...

Russell Trinity thrift store honored

By Rev. John Thompson, special contributor The Trinity Community Thrift Store and its dedicated volunteers were honored Feb. 7 at the Russell Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet. Fourteen store volunteers accepted the Non-Profit Organization of the Year Award.  From left, radio station KRSL general manager Larry Calvery and Kyla Reinhardt, director of the Russell Chamber of Commerce, with volunteers of the Russell Trinity...

Join Hands on the Great Plains

In April, the congregations of the Great Plains Episcopal Area are invited to join together in service celebrating the coming together of The United Methodist Church across Nebraska and Kansas. The month-long effort culminates with Youth Service weekend April 27-28. The Hands on the Great Plains: Taking it to the Streets event calls upon congregations to seek partnerships with other community organizations to make a real difference in their communities. In mid-February, short planning videos...

Transition Into Ministry board announces 2013 class

The Transition Into Ministry (TIM) Board has announced the selection of Andrea Beyer, Kansas East Conference, Bill Gepford, Kansas East Conference, and Emily Cannon, Nebraska Conference, as the 2013 class of TIM associates. Beyer and Gepford recently were approved for commissioning and provisional membership by the Kansas East Board of Ordained Ministry. Cannon is an elder candidate approved for License as a Local Pastor in the Nebraska Conference. Each will receive an appointment to an...

Who should be recognized?

By Rev. Patrick Broz, special contributor Each year at Annual Conference, the Kansas West Conference Board of Discipleship offers churches as well as individual clergy, laity and youth an opportunity to celebrate the success and recognition of achievement. Churches that have focused on their vitality are encouraged to apply for a Discipling Church Award. Discipling churches are those that meet criteria in the areas of Christian education, evangelism, leadership development, spiritual...

Center to run two Vacation Bible School teams in June

The Center for Small Membership Churches will have two teams to help small-membership churches with Vacation Bible School this summer. Bringing the Vacation Bible School program to small-membership churches can help increase attendance and encourage children to attend more often as well. High-school seniors and college-age students are needed to lead the VBS program. Being a program leader can be a rewarding experience in many ways, traveling to different churches in Kansas and helping teach...

E.C. Tyree clinic expanding services

By Susan Cooper, Kansas communications associate director, and Toska Lee, special contributor A new addition to the E.C. Tyree Health and Dental Clinic at Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Wichita will facilitate offering more services to more people—potentially, 9,000 people. A 1,200-square-foot addition of the E.C. Tyree Clinic at Saint Mark UMC in Wichita has allowed the clinic to add two medical-examination rooms...

GraceMed to operate new school-based clinics

GraceMed Health Clinic is one of four Wichita-area organizations receiving grants to establish school-based clinics, along with the Derby and Wichita school districts and Sedgwick County. The GraceMed grant will initiate the construction of a new clinic at South High School in Wichita. The Derby School District grant will be used for a clinic at Oaklawn Elementary School. The Wichita School District received funds for a clinic at Jardine Middle School, and the Sedgwick County grant will go...

Kansas West among 20 conferences paying 100% General Church apportionments

The General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) reported that 20 annual conferences paid 100 percent of their United Methodist General Church apportioned funds in 2012. Overall, apportionment payouts reached 90 percent, the highest payout level the General Church has reached since 2001. “It is truly a blessing that we had this increase for 2012. But more importantly, the people of The United Methodist Church have come together in a way that affirms the ministries of the...

Southwestern raises $1,260 for Imagine No Malaria

Fans raised $1,260 in donations for the Imagine No Malaria campaign at the Southwestern vs. Bethel basketball doubleheader Jan. 12 in Stewart Field House on the Southwestern College campus in Winfield. Imagine No Malaria is a project of the United Methodist Church to educate and protect those most vulnerable to malaria and help treat those affected by it. “The work of fighting malaria in our little corner of the world has been a team effort,” said Rev. Ashlee Alley, campus...

Great Plains delegation participates in Imagine No Malaria net distribution

By Ashley Gish, special contributor A small delegation from Kansas and Nebraska travelled in December to Zimbabwe to observe the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference and to take part in a launch celebration for the next phase of the Chimanimani District’s Imagine No Malaria activities. Immediately following the celebration, the Great Plains delegation had the honor of assisting a handful of local families hang mosquito bed nets in their homes. Families had received the mosquito nets from a...

Imagine how you can make a difference

By Bev Weber, special contributor When found out I would be a part of the Imagine No Malaria net distribution in Zimbabwe, I immediately wondered how it might make a difference in my life, as it had in others I’m close to in the Kansas West Conference. Imagine No Malaria is the United Methodist campaign to end preventable deaths by malaria in Africa through prevention, treatment and education. Six people from Kansas and...

Kansas West among 20 conferences paying 100% General Church apportionments

The General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) reported that 20 annual conferences paid 100 percent of their United Methodist General Church apportioned funds in 2012. Overall, apportionment payouts reached 90 percent, the highest payout level the General Church has reached since 2001. “It is truly a blessing that we had this increase for 2012. But more importantly, the people of The United Methodist Church have come together in a way that affirms the ministries of the...

Staff positions announced for Great Plains Area

Bishop Scott Jones recently announced a number of appointments and staff assignments for the Great Plains Area. Effective July 1, 2013, Rev. Nancy Lambert will be the area director of Clergy Excellence and assistant to the bishop. She will serve as the staff leader for the Nebraska Conference in Lincoln. At that time, Rev. Carol Roettmer Brewer will become the associate director of Clergy Excellence for the Great Plains Area. She plans to retire in 2014. The Great Plains Council on Finance...

Bishop makes 360 free throws to help end malaria deaths

By Lisa Diehl, Kansas communications director Great Plains Area Bishop Scott Jones made 360 of 1,000 free-throw attempts in an hour and 40 minutes Feb. 23 to raise funds to end deaths as the result of malaria on the continent of Africa. Great Plains Area Bishop Scott Jones shoots free throws at Wichita Calvary UMC for a Shoot for No Malaria fundraiser. (photo by Lisa Diehl) ...

Youthville continues to serve children, youth

By Matt Johnson, special contributor Youthville, a United Methodist agency, received notice from the Department for Children and Families, formerly known as SRS, that services involving reintegration, case management and adoption for the Wichita region will be transferred to St. Francis Community Services (SFCS). Youthville will no longer provide these specific services effective July 1, 2013. This notice was a shock to the Youthville staff and many others.   Youthville, however, is...

Transition team presents draft organization plan

By Lisa Diehl, Kansas communications director The Great Plains Transition Team presented a draft plan of organization for the new annual conference to clergy at the 2013 Joint Called Clergy Session Jan. 16. “It’s a work in process,” said Rev. Gary Brooks, team member and Wichita East District superintendent. “The draft posted online last week is our best guess of where we need to be headed right now.” ...