Annual Conference 2017: Dates and deadlines approaching

The twenty-fourth session of the Dakotas Annual Conference will take place on June 8-10. 2017 at the Bismarck Event Center.  Here are some some dates and deadlines you will want to pay attention to:

Annual conference registration is open - click here to register. Fees for the 2017 conference session will remain the same as last year. The cost will be $85 for all delegates and retirees ($110 after May 19) and $5 @ day for those visiting. Fees do not include meals and some special events. You can select a variety of meal options when you register online.

Nominate someone for an award.  Several awards will be announced at annual conference including the Denman Award for Evangelism, One Matters Award, Francis Asbury Award and the Streams of Justice Award.  Award nominations are being accepted through March 29.  Click here for details.

All proposals for petitions and resolutions for the 2017 Dakotas Annual Conference Session must be submitted electronically to Rev. Rebecca Trefz, by March 30, 2017.  Items should be created using the Petitions and Resolutions form.  If you have questions about resolutions and petitions, you may contact Rebecca by e-mail or phone 605-990-7791.  The Dakotas Conference Petitions and Resolution Committee will review submissions before being placed on the agenda for consideration at the 24th Session of the Dakotas Annual Conference. Click here to download a template form.

Youth Worker Academy

Who: Kenda Creasy Dean
What: Training for all Youth Workers in our conference
When: April 28-30, 2017
Where: Lake Poinsett Camp

Kenda Creasy Dean is an ordained elder in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference (United Methodist) and professor of youth, church, and culture at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she works closely with the Institute for Youth Ministry. A graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary, she served as pastor in suburban Washington DC and as a campus minister at the  University of Maryland-College Park before coming to Princeton Seminary. She is currently appointed as the coordinating pastor of Kingston United Methodist Church in Kingston, New Jersey. For more information, contact Pastor Jeff Lathrop here via e-mail, or phone at (605) 352-8604.

Download a detailed schedule here.

Register online here.

Youth cohort ministry training April 1st

For the 10 churches invited to be part of the Youth Ministry Cohort will meet for their fourth and final  training with Stephanie Caro April 1st, 2017 from 9:30 am-3:30 pm CDT at Wesley Acres Camp. 

For more information and registration click here.

Summer youth mission opportunity

Sioux Falls First UMC invites all youth grades 6-12 to a weeklong summer mission opportunity serving various agencies in Sioux Falls, S.D. Intentional Ministry Promoting Active Community Transformation (IMPACT) will take place June 18-23, 2017.  Registration is now open.

Contact Andrea Johnson at (605) 336-3652. 

Click here for more information from Sioux Falls First UMC.

Online quilt auction for hunger projects

The Dakotas Conference will hold an online quilt auction again this fall to support hunger projects. If your quilts are ready by early June you can send them with your pastor or lay persons to Annual Conference so the quilts can be displayed there for everyone to see first-hand.  All quilts brought to Annual Conference will then be transported to the Mitchell Conference Office for the fall auction. Fill out a form so we have the necessary information about each quilt.

For more information, contact JoAnn Schlimgen via e-mail here.

Myth or Fact Workshops

In case you missed them last fall, they’re coming back for an encore tour. Conference Treasurer Jeff Pospisil, Dakotas UM Foundation Director Sheri Meister, and Pastor Bob Ruedebusch will be bringing their Myth or Fact workshop to Watertown and Bismarck in April. This workshop is open to church treasurers and finance committee members as well as anyone interested in giving and stewardship. The Saturday workshops will run from 9:00am – 1:00pm CDT and lunch is provided.

• April 22nd in Watertown, SD at Cornerstone UMC, and
• April 29th in Bismarck, ND at Legacy UMC.

Please email the Foundation office or call (605) 990-7790 so we know how to plan for lunch.

Sponsored by the Dakotas Council of Finance & Administration, Dakotas United Methodist Foundation, and Sioux Falls First United Methodist Church.