News from us [link removed] May 4, 2021
The Call to Motherhood
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Stories of fostering and adoption are traumatic by their very nature. The reason a child is separated from his or her natural born parents comes out of tragedy. In some cases the root cause of that tragedy was occurring the child’s entire life, perhaps before the child was born or even conceived. As a people who believe every child is a child of God and deserving to be raised in a home that meets some minimum standard of care and safety, the separation of a child from parents can become necessary, and sometimes permanently so.

There isn’t a person among us who doesn’t believe these children deserve to be raised not only in a safe, but also loving and supportive home. But few people are willing to make the whole-life commitment required to be the person to provide that home.

[link removed] Read the stories of three Missouri Conference clergywomen who stepped up to be the mothers of children who desperately needed someone →
Upcoming Events
[link removed] Awards Night
Join us at 7 p.m. on May 19 for a virtual celebration of the 2021 MOAC Award recipients. [link removed] Learn More →
Upcoming Events
[link removed] May 18 - MOAC 2021 Budget and Redistricting Proposal Q-and-A
[link removed] May 27 - Pre-Conference Briefing
[link removed] June 11 - Boundaries Training
See the full event calendar at [link removed] www.moumethodist.org/events

Featured Resource
[link removed] Grieving Together Webinar Recording
Did you miss our webinar on grief ministry last week? Catch the recording and all the related resources, now available in our resource library. [link removed] View it here →
More Resources
[link removed] Episode 22: Breaking Bonds with Brandon Murphy
Amid a pandemic, the idea of starting a recovery program for people struggling with addiction in Jackson, Missouri, seems crazy, but that’s exactly what the leaders at Breaking Bonds Ministry and New McKendree UMC did. Hear about it in this episode of the Learn + Lead podcast.
[link removed] Name the Elephant: Coping With the Biggest Risk to our Mission In a time of uncertainty, we can maximize our mission’s impact when we lean in and embrace risk. Nationally known speaker, Melanie Lockwood Herman, Esq., teaches how to identify, reflect on and take action on some of the biggest risks to your mission – from the fracture of the denomination to the aging and shrinking of church membership. Thanks to the generosity of the Missouri United Methodist Foundation, all Missouri United Methodist Churches are considered affiliates under the Foundation’s membership in the [link removed] Nonprofit Risk Management Center, giving our churches access to the center’s [link removed] resources.
[link removed] Boundary Training for PPRCs This series is designed as three 45-60 minute training sessions or they can be combined for a 3-hour training session for church leaders. Based on the book, [link removed] Saying No to Say Yes: Everyday Boundaries and Pastoral Excellence by David Olsen and Nancy G. Devor, it is great for use with lay leadership and paid and unpaid church staff.
See the full resource library at [link removed] www.moumethodist.org/resourcelibrary

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Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
3601 Amron Court, Columbia, MO 65202 | Phone 573-441-1770 | www.moumethodist.org