We have returned to some in person hours at the District Office. However, please call or email for an appointment to be sure we are in and to be admitted into the building. For assistance anytime, you may contact either Dr. Cynthia Davis at 901-270-5358 or msriverds19@gmail.com or Mrs. Vicki Dunagan at 731-694-4654 or msriveradmassistant@gmail.com. Also, for convenience, a drop box has been installed on the outside wall of our office building.
A Prayer from Rev. Dr. Cynthia Davis
Gracious God we come today as we do every day, standing in the need of mercy and grace. Thank you for every blessing, every ounce of divine favor, every bucket load of compassion and a deep well of unconditional love.
For some, this week has included sicknesses, surgeries, hospitalizations, procedures and death. Through it all, You have been a constant, calming Presence. For this, we are grateful.
For those who are struggling in body, mind and spirit, grant the gift of peace and healing. For those who don’t have enough: enough self-esteem, wisdom, faith, strength, confidence, employment, basic necessities, be Jehovah Jireh, our Provider.
We stand by faith on your promises to secure our journey. For it is in You that we place our trust.
Come Holy Spirit and fill us with manna from heaven until we want no more.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dr. Cynthia D. Davis
Mississippi River District Superintendent
P. O. Box 264
Alamo, TN 38001
msriverds19@gmail.com
Office: 731.696.4117
2021 Annual Conference - June 3 - 4
2021 Memphis Annual Conference
Voting Essentials: In the coming weeks, voting members of both conferences will receive voting codes as well as dates for GNTV training sessions. Please contact your district office if your email address has changed recently!
Annual Conference Offerings - Camp & Retreat Ministry
This year AC offerings will focus on Camp & Retreat Ministry. You may donate through your local church to be included in the AC Offering or use the links provided to make an individual donation.
Cedar Crest Camp and Beersheba Scholarships
Lakeshore Camp and Retreat Center
Options to Donate individually:
Click Here to make Donation through Conference
Click Here to Donate Directly to Lakeshore
Click Here to Donate Directly to Beersheba
Click Here to donate Directly to Cedar Crest Camp
Updates on Other Conferences:
General Conference postponed to 2022 due to the continued safety issues of COVID 19 as it relates to mass gatherings and travel. New dates are August 29 - Sept. 6, 2022
Click Here for more Details on General Conference
SEJ Conference (date TBA)
THRIVE 2021 - Leadership Training for Clergy & Laity - Sponsored by Red River District
May 16th at 3:00 p.m. - Zoom Format with breakout rooms
Click Here to Register & to Select Your Breakout Session
Choose from the following breakout sessions:
Difficult Dialogues 2.0
Thriving Online Worship and Social Media
Self Care: Embracing our Emotions and Feelings on our Spiritual Journey
Intentional Discipleship Systems (2 options)
English Session:
Facilitator: Scott Hughes, Executive Director of Congregational Vitality and Intentional Discipleship at Discipleship Ministries
Spanish Session:
Facilitator: Rev. David Martinez, Director of Specialized Theological Education at UMC General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
Sermon Series Preaching
3,000 Christmas Shoeboxes!!! How Many Can Your Church Fill?
This year the MS River District has been asked to join the entire Memphis Conference in helping with the Christmas Shoebox Project. The goal is to fill 3,000 boxes! The project will run for 5 weeks from June 1st - July 5th. A coordinator has been assigned to each county in the district.
Click Here for all the details!
Renfro Grant Applications
This is a Jurisdictional grant for church buildings particularly with a mission or outreach emphasis. The guidelines and the application may be accessed on the SEJ website at http://www.sejumc.org. Applications should be sent to the District office prior to August 1st as the D.S. signature is required. The District will then forward the application to the proper person to meet the August 1st deadline.
Lakeshore Now Accepting Summer Camp Registrations!
Lakeshore Summer Camps
Volunteers are also needed! For more information, contact Lakeshore at 731-584-6102.
Clergy Information: May Meeting CANCELLED!
Next Clergy Meeting: TBA
Local Pastors: Monthly coaching groups have been established and dates set! These sessions will focus on how to better navigate and serve your congregations as well as self-care. Please make every effort to attend your scheduled sessions.
Elders: Spiritual Direction is also being offered through the Clergy Coaching Network. Dr. Davis would like all Elders to have a Spiritual Director. If you don't currently have someone assigned to you, please contact Dr. Davis for assistance.
Zoom Gatherings for Certified Lay Ministers, Lay Servants, and Supply Pastors Serving Assignments in the MS River District
Next session: TBA (May Session Cancelled)
The login will be sent to you by email in advance of the meeting.
District Superintendent, Rev. Dr. Cynthia Davis will lead the sessions and looks forward to seeing you on Zoom! If you don't receive the login information, please contact the district office. These sessions are created especially for you and will be on topics relevant to your role and work.
Quarter & a Prayer District Initiative for 2021
Several ideas came from our conversation series on poverty including 'A Quarter & a Prayer'. We'll share dates for more conversation soon! For now...we hope each church will participate in the Quarter & A Prayer initiative.
Can one person make a difference? How about hundreds of people? If your answer is, "of course they can" then you can appreciate the power of being a connectional church. We are working to harness the power of our connection with a district initiative to make a dent in poverty in West Tennessee. It is easy to look around at the difference so many individual churches are making, so imagine the difference we can make working together. This is the power of being connectional. Exciting, right? But how can we fund this amazing endeavor? How about relying on the power of connection once again?
"A Quarter and a Prayer" is a program that can not only help fund our initiative, but also help to give it a strong spiritual base as well. The idea is for every church in our district to ask everyone who attends each Sunday to not only donate a quarter, but to also say a prayer for our mission. This allows us to involve literally our entire district in this endeavor both financially and spiritually. But what difference does a quarter make? When put within the power of connection, a lot! Just look at the math:
Churches in our district 113
Average attendance (let's say 40) x40
number in worship each Sunday 1130
.25 per person $ 282.50
times 52 weeks a year $ 14690
What could we do with $14690 a year? This does not even take into account that many will give more than a quarter a week. And how about over 1100 people praying for this each week? Powerful, right? So how about it? Is your church ready to help power our connection so that we can make a dent in poverty? It doesn't matter the size of the church, big or small, for this to be successful we need you all. If you would like a copy of the Quarter & a Prayer flyer to use in your congregation, just let us know.
TN and Memphis Conferences Join Together to Offer Lay Servant Training
Both Basic and Advanced Lay Servant classes have been completed. Additional Basic and Advanced classes will be offered later this year.
Susan Davidson, Director of Lay Servant Ministries at 731-414-6806 or susanandsissy@gmail.com
Local Church Events & Invitations:
May 18th, 6:30 p.m. - Alamo First will host a presentation focused on a Dementia Friendly Community sponsored by West TN Healthcare. Anyone with interest is invited and welcome. (In church sanctuary)
June 7th - 16th - Ross UMC and Lighthouse UMC will host Kaleidoscope Camp for kids ages 5 - 12. Call 731-285-1465 or contact Rev. James Luvene at 901-573-6226. (Adult and student volunteers are still needed.)
Memphis Conference COVID19 Resource Page for Clergy, Local Churches, and Laity
COVID19 Conference Resource Page
Denominational News, Helpful Ideas and Resources!
Memphis Conference Website
Newsletter for future Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference
Discipleship Ministries
Council of Bishops Statement on Racism
Resources for Responding to Systemic Racism
Subscribe here for Daily Prayers from Discipleship Ministries...Praying for Change
ResourceUMC
UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE
Bishop McAlilly's Blog
More Quick Links:
View Job Postings or List Available Positions in the Memphis Conf
Reelfoot Rural Ministries
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
Lakeshore
Project Transformation
Emergency Response Guide for churches
MS River District Directory
Find us on Facebook at Mississippi River District of the United Methodist Church
or CLICK HERE
To submit news or sign up additional folks to receive this online District Newsletter email: msriveradmassistant@gmail.com
MS River District Office Hours: Mon. - Thurs, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
1382 W. Church St., Alamo, TN (msriveradmassistant@gmail.com)
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