District Conference Announcements: August 2016

This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song: Looking Ahead to District Conference

Rhonda Pittman Gingrich, Moderator

Wow! It is hard to believe almost a year has passed since I embraced the call to serve as Moderator of the Northern Plains District.  We will gather for the 150th “Big Meeting” of the Northern Plains District, August 5-7, 2016, at the West Des Moines Christian Church. Here are some important reminders.

An Invitation

I hope you—and many others—are planning to join us as we gather to re-member our chapter in God’s Story, our verse in God’s Song and look ahead to the future. Even if you can’t be with us for the entire weekend, please consider joining us for table fellowship, recognition of milestones in ministry and congregational life, worship, and the ice cream social on Friday evening; for the auction, table fellowship, the festival of story and song, and the anniversary celebration on Saturday evening; and/or joint worship with the West Des Moines Christian Church on Sunday morning. For more information about the schedule, workshops, and other activities taking place throughout District Conference, click here.  If you are planning to join us for any or all meals you must register as soon as possible. To register, click here.  I look forward to seeing you.

Mutual Hospitality

Each congregation is invited to bring 3 dozen cookies or bars—or another snack item (fruit tray, snack mix, cheese and cracker tray, etc.)—to be shared throughout the weekend. In light of our anniversary celebration, congregations are encouraged to consider whether there is a special cookie or bar that holds significance within your life together. If so, bring that cookie along with a brief paragraph telling the story of that cookie.

Service and Outreach Projects

The District Witness Commission invites conference-goers to participate in a variety of service/outreach projects. You can bring Church World Service Hygiene Kits or Clean-up Buckets (for more information http://cwskits.org/); diapers for Haiti; non-parishable food for the DMARC Food Pantry; backpacks for local children; contributions to support Northern Plains District Disaster Response efforts; or money for any of the above (checks should be made payable to Northern Plains District with a note in the memo line designating the specific project).

150 Random Acts of Kindness

In the months leading up to District Conference, the District Conference Program Planning Committee challenged congregations in the district to collectively engage in 150 random acts of kindness—or to put it another way, 150 acts of ministry—within your surrounding communities, and to take pictures of your efforts. (Just to be clear, that’s a combined 150 acts as a district, not 150 acts by each congregation?) Although we are celebrating a significant milestone in our life together, we don’t want to focus solely on the past. As God’s people we are part of a continuing story. What better way to celebrate that than to actually embody our identity as a “sent people” and to reach out in service to those in need. Please bring a copy of your pictures to District Conference for inclusion in a collage that will celebrate the ways we are still engaged in vital ministry in the upper Midwest.

Symbols of Your Ministry

The District Conference Planning Committee also invites each congregation to bring something that represents your congregational story to District Conference. The Northern Plains District is comprised of its congregations; without the congregations there wouldn’t be a district. These symbols will be brought forward during a processional as part of the opening worship service on Friday evening and used to create our worship center.  If you haven’t already identified your symbol, the possibilities are endless: an historical artifact, a piece of art, a symbol of a long-time and continuous ministry in which you are engaged, a symbol of new vitality.  Hopefully the selection of the item won’t be a unilateral decision made by the pastor or a small committee, but a decision made by the congregation as you reflect together about your story and the ways your story intersects with God’s story. We would also like each congregation to choose a representative to be part of the processional, bringing your item forward. There will be a rehearsal for the processional at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening; it would be helpful to have all congregational representatives participate.

Conference Books and Worshipful Work

When we gather, there will be work to be done. Conference Books will be mailed to all delegates before District Conference. Delegates, please take time to look through your conference book when it arrives. It will include: biographical sketches about those who have been called to serve during the coming year; the proposed 2017 budget; resources related to the decision we need to make regarding how we will call leadership in the future; reports from the District Board and Commissions; and reports from various other organizations, agencies, and individuals. It also includes an invitation to worshipful work, articulating a vision for the tone of our work as we gather in the presence of God and intentionally seek the mind of Christ in our discernment. Between now and District Conference, I invite you to join with me in a period of prayer and preparation for the work before us.