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WHAT’s UP FOR TODAY


8:15 a.m. —


CONAM Service of Repentance


We will begin our day in an important service that recognizes the harm inflicted by the church on Native American peoples, celebrates their contributions, and calls to ongoing ministries with Native peoples.


9 a.m. — Second Plenary


Get your workbook out and have your pen ready. It may be Friday, but we’re here to do some worshipful work.


11:30 a.m. —


Preacher’s Aid Society For 144 years Preacher’s Aid Society has assisted clergy families in need. In 2015 the Preacher’s Aid Society provided $28,290 in financial assistance to 17 clergy families. Preacher’s Aid Society will hold its annual meeting in Boyer Hall, Room138.


11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Box Lunches


The Awards Luncheon will be held in Larsen Student Union at 11:30 a.m.


Communion Services will gather on the lawn at 12:15 p.m.


Learning Opportunity Workshops will be offered at various locations beginning at 11:30 a.m.


Wesley Seminary alumni and current students are invited to gather in Jordan Hollinger lounge in the Science Building.


2 p.m. — Third Plenary


Refreshed and renewed, we return to an afternoon of holy conferencing.


4:30, 5:15,


and 6 p.m. Dinner 5 p.m. —


Reconciling Ministries


will celebrate Holy Communion in Hostetter Chapel. Bishop Neil Irons will be the celebrant.


7 p.m. — Celebration of Ministry


Tonight we will honor the ministry of 28 retiring clergy with a combined total of 688 years of service.


Susquehanna Daily LINK - June 10, 2016


Annual Conference mission opportunity


Mission Central will be collecting pairs of new or gently-used shoes again at Annual Conference. Please place them in the Mission Central truck, which will be parked out in front of Boyer Hall.


This is a collection-only event — they will not be processed at conference like last year.


OVER COFFEE By Skip Spangler Susquehanna Daily LINK Editor


The ground hogs were becoming a nuisance. One dug itself a new home by our front door, crawled onto the table sitting in front of our living room bay window, and looked in on us. Another dug its home by the church kitchen door, where it could be seen munching on the flowers. As soon as we would move one critter on, another would move in from the six-acre woods next door.


Something had to be done. Then one Friday, a surveying crew marked the lot’s boundaries. On Monday a crew began clearing the trees, and by the time six acres of brush and timber was being ground into mulch, the ground hogs were gone. We began to wonder who might take


their place. I thought a restaurant would be nice. We could park, worship, and walk to dinner. A retired site developer predicted a motel. Some folks foresaw an office building; others see a small shopping center. Whatever it turns out to be, negotiations for acquiring the new space will start with a listing price of five and a half million dollars. In my economy, that’s way too much to pay for 6.36 acres of tree


stumps, ground hog holes, and a pile of old tires, unless, of course, I knew there was a treasure to be found there.


Business is like that, and so is the kingdom of heaven, which Jesus said is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Matthew 13:47) God works that way. Peter left his business for the treasure of


a life following Jesus, and learning to fish for souls. Paul wrote off his reputation and career for the treasure of gaining Christ and being found in him. At great cost, both traveled the world to create new churches in new places. Paul would write that he was jailed, hurt in riots, endured long days, sleepless nights, and gone hungry. In it all, Paul said, The Holy Spirit has been with us, and our love has been real. We have spoken the truth, and God’s power has worked in us. (2 Corinthians 6:6-7) Out of it all, Peter wrote, God has made us a people who joyfully tell the wonderful things God has done. (1 Peter 2:1-9)


Seeing the treasure, someone will pay millions for a field full of tree stumps. What will you give to create a new space to make disciples of Jesus Christ?


Act of Repentance Service


By Rev. Larry Siikanen, Co-Chair, Committee on Native American Ministries (CoNAM)


There will be an Act of Repentance service at 8:15 this morning.


The purpose of this service is to repent for actions that


the United Methodist


Church, its predecessors, and members have participated in against the indigenous peoples of this country. It is also a service in which we, as The Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church, want to promise that we will never again stand by and allow this to happen to any group of people just because they are different from us. We understand that you yourself may never have mistreated Native Peoples and in fact may be very supportive of Native Peoples. This is not a service to fix blame, it is a service to repent for what has been done and move forward in positive directions. The


service Centering will have an Act of using the four directions


and colors of the Medicine Wheel. The Medicine Wheel is a symbol for native peoples that reminds them that everything is related to each other because we are all formed by the same Creator. There will also be a monologue between a native person and a non-native person. The chairperson of the Northeastern Jurisdiction Committee


on Native


American Ministries, Cyndi Kent, will share a message with us.


The service will end with a ribbon- tying ceremony. We will also have some special guests with us for this service. Otto


and the Northern Barbara Cheyenne


Braidedhair Nation


of will be with us. Both Otto and Barbara are Check us out on our Social Media Network


descendants of people who were killed at the Sand Creek Massacre. The massacre is important in the history of the United Methodist Church. This Massacre took place in Colorado. The governor at the time of the attack and the colonel who led the attack were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The colonel had served as a minister before moving to Colorado Barbara Braidedhair also had ancestors who attended Carlisle Indian School. One ancestor in particular was named Beth Redneck. When Beth was four years old, in 1916, she was taken from her family in Montana. The family was told that she was being sent to Carlisle Indian School. Beth was never heard from again. She is not listed as dying at Carlisle, but we know hundreds of children died there, and there are only 91 marked graves. Barbara and Otto will be going to the cemetery at the site of Carlisle Indian School while they are with us. This is the first time that anyone in Barbara’s family has been able to go to Carlisle. David Halaas will


also be with us


for Annual Conference. David is an expert on the Sand Creek Massacre. For more information about the Sand Creek Massacre, visit our table in Brubaker and talk to our guests. You can also check it out at http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ na-sandcreek.html There will also be a short-term mission


team (VIM) going to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana to work on weatherizing houses in one of the poorest areas of the reservation. We will be working in a little community called Birney, Montana, which is also the town in which Barbara Braidedhair grew up. Barbara and Otto are helping us coordinate this trip.


Joe Castillo


“Epic Stories in a new Light”


during


Joe Castillo will be presenting this


evening’s Celebration


of Ministry Service and during our Saturday Morning Bible Study. A native of Mexico City, Joe Castillo grew up in a bi-lingual home, surrounded by art and the


cosmopolitan culture of an


international city. In his teenage years he developed a passion for using art to tell stories. He created his own comic book series and regularly combined one art form with another. Moving to Florida, he attended Ringling School of Art, and graduated from Florida Bible College. He started his career by founding The Advertising Library, an agency in Knoxville, Tennessee. After 20 years in advertising and public speaking, he created the ‘live art’ experience he calls “SandStory.” Castillo is an artist,


speaker,


and storyteller with a passion for promoting the visual arts as a way of touching the heart. His artwork continues to sell worldwide. He is the author of three books and countless articles, performed in 45 states and 26 countries, and continues to write, innovate, and inspire wherever he goes.


Joe and his wife, Cindy, have four


grown children, six grandchildren, and call Atlanta, Georgia, home. If you wouild like to see some of Castillo’s unique art expression, go to sandstory.com


LIVE STREAMING


The 2016 Susquehanna Annual Conference is broadcast LIVE via susumc.org


Verify the streaming schedule at tinyurl.com/susumcAC2016


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