2012 March Forums

Sundays, March 4, 11, 18 and 25, 10am - 11am

March 4 - "General Conference 2012: The Basics and Beyond"

The once every four years gathering of The United Methodist Church's top legislative body, the General Conference, will be meeting April 24 - May 4 in Tampa, Florida. Nearly 1,000 voting delegates from the U.S., Africa, the Philippines and Europe, half clergy and half lay, will be gathering to make major decisions about our official beliefs, social statements, ministerial orders, mission, stucture and denominational budget for the next 4 years.

This forum will provide an introduction to the why, what and who of General Conference, and highlights of issues of particular concern to Wisconsin United Methodists. Leading the forum will be Steve Zekoff, one of three clergy delegates from our annual conference. He is a veteran of the last four General Conferences where he served on the on-site staff in four different roles with the General Council on Finance and Administration (twice), the Business Manager's Office and the GC Secretary's Office, which provided him intimate experiences of the workings of the General Conference.

March 11 - "Forgiveness, the Path to Peace"

Based on material from David Carlson and Carole Boston Weatherford as well as others, Judy Loveless will talk about how forgiveness can be a pathway to peace.  We will begin by exploring Matthew 5:3-12 (the "Beatitudes") and then move on to recalling memories of 9/11 - personal emotions, our National response and asking ourselves, "What would Jesus do?"  Small group discussion will help each individual to explore empathy, compassion and forgiveness in our personal lives.

March 18 - "Bread for the World"

Bread for the World (BFW) is this month's Simple Gifts recipient. Outreach Team members will describe the 2012 advocacy goals of BFW and how people can help encourage support for nutrition programs that enable children to grow and learn, equip farmers in Africa and elsewhere to grow more food, and support low-income workers as they create a better future for their families.

March 25 - "United Methodist Camps"

United Methodist Camps aren't just for children. Erin Kruger, Camp Assistant at Pine Lake and Lake Lucerne Camps, will be here to talk and answer questions about youth, adult, and family camps. This forum will be especially helpful for parents thinking about enrolling their children this summer. For those parents in Becky's class, Erin will be available for questions following the forum and again after the 11 am service.