Guest presenters include:

Mount Zion UMC (Reddick) - Gospel Choir

Rev. Dr. Joseph W. Daniels, Emory UMC - Washington, DC

Rev. Dr. Vance P. Ross, Gordon Memorial UMC, Nashville, TN 

To register for the convocation, please go to the FLUMC website: www.flumc.org click on calendar, click on event brochures, find Black Church Convocation, click and follow the instructions. The cost of the convocation is $35.00 per person.

[Click here] for registration form and event flyer. 

Overnight lodging information and reservations: call 1-866-862-2677 

February 24-26, 2012, Life Enrichment Center 

The PAUMCS (Professional Association of United Methodist Church Secretaries) will hold their annual seminar in Fruitland Park, FL. This year's featured speakers are: Beanie Rankin from GCFA in Nashville and Mont Duncan from the Florida Conference office, according to registrar Louise Urquhart.

Beanie Rankin will be presenting information on Computer Etiquette, Membership and Statistics. Mont Duncan will present information entitled "Know Your Community." The Florida United Methodist Children's Home will be the entertainment on Fri., February 24.

Seminar activities will begin Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. and continue through Sunday morning worship. The cost for the entire weekend (workshops, materials, 2 nights' lodging, meals, and snacks) is $185 for a single room or $150 for a double room. Some scholarships may be available. Registration deadline is January 20, 2012. 

For more information about this event, [click here] for the brochure. 

Scholarship Application [click here].

Apportionment payments for 2011 must be received either at the Conference office or in the lock box at Regions Bank by January 13, 2012. This is not a postmarked by date, but is the last day by which monies must be received in the Conference or our bank lockbox to be included in 2011 apportionments receipts. Any payments received after that date will be applied to 2012 apportionments. Any payments received between January 1 and January 13 must be clearly marked as to which year they are to be applied. All apportionment payments should be accompanied by a completed Remittance Report.

The Remittance Report is located on our website at www.flumc.org:

• Click on the "Administration" tab
• Select "Financial Services" from the list
• Click on "2011 Apportionment Giving Report Forms"
• Select one of the two versions of the Giving Report listed at the bottom of the page

Complete the Remittance Form with the following information:

• Church Name
• GCFA Number
• Preparer contact information
• Allocation amounts for each fund

Any amounts due for Ministry Protection and Health and Benefits at the end of the year will continue to show as outstanding on your statement in 2012. To ensure proper processing of these payments and avoid errors payments should contain the following information on the check, check stub or statement:

• Church Name
• GCFA Number
• Invoice Number (include all letters and any 0's)
• Allocation amounts for each invoice

Also take note of the billing address for each of these types of payments.  The last 4 numbers after the zip code are different for each and very important to include to ensure your payment is processed properly.

To be included in the Florida Annual Conference "Report of 100% Churches", 100% of 2011 apportionments must be received by January 13, 2012, and all outstanding Ministry Protection and Health and Benefits obligations must be received by December 31, 2011.

Saturday, January 21, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Palm Harbor United Methodist Church

551 Belcher Road, Palm Harbor, FL 34683

Offered by the Conference Spiritual Formation Team - Cost: $25 (box lunch included) 

Don't miss this opportunity to learn about the traditional historical icons with modern day iconographer Jennie Gelles. She will give a historical preview of icon writing and explain the age old egg tempera and natural pigments method of creating icons. Lucy Wray will lead participants through various exercises of how to pray with icons as we look at this rich tradition of worshipping and praying. This workshop is very experiential and a must for those interested in our rich heritage dating back to the Orthodox church.   

Jennie Atty Gelles was born in Pennsylvania in 1953, the daughter of first generation American parents whose ancestors were from Lebanon. Jennie graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1975 with a degree in art education. After marrying Richard Gelles and moving to New York, she became a professional artist, accepting a variety of commissions in different media. From the time of her baptism as an infant in the Orthodox Christian Church, Jennie has been surrounded by icons. Her first formal training in the art of the icon was in 1982 at St. Vladimir Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, under Helena Nikkanen, who was a student of Leonid Ouspensky.  As a result of taking the course at St. Vladimir Seminary,  Jennie painted (wrote) several icons to present as gifts to the mission parish of St. Stephen the Protomartyr Orthodox Church in S. Plainfield, NJ, where she and Richard were members. While living in Florida she also wrote several icons, one of  which she donated to her then home parish of St. Andrew Orthodox Church in New Port Richey, Florida

Lucy Wray resides in Trinity, FL, and is a member of Palm Harbor UMC. She is a wife, mother of two and grandmother of twins. Lucy has a certificate in spiritual direction and is serving on the board of Shade and Fresh Water as Spiritual Director. She assists in leading clergy covenant retreats. She is also on the leadership team of the West FL/AL spiritual direction training program as a spiritual direction supervisor. Lucy completed the Two-Year Academy for Spiritual Formation in 2005 and is a member of the conference Spiritual Formation Team. She has served on various committees in her local church and most recently as chair of the SPRC.

January 30, 2012 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. USF Campus, Tampa

On your brand-new calendars, please mark this date, January 30, 2012,  and plan to attend this event. Mark Braverman will be speaking at the University of South Florida, Tampa, in Room 2708, Marshall Student Center, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. Come at 6:00 p.m. should you want an autographed copy of Braverman's book, Fatal Embrace.

Who is Mark Braverman? Mark Braverman's roots are in the Holy Land - his grandfather, a fifth generation Palestinian Jew, was born in Jerusalem, emigrating the U.S. as a young man. Growing up in the United States, Braverman was reared in the Jewish tradition, studying Bible, Hebrew literature, and Jewish history. Trained in clinical psychology and crisis management, Braverman devoted his professional career to working with groups and individuals undergoing traumatic stress. Returning to the Holy Land in 2006, he was transformed by witnessing the occupation of Palestine and by encounters with peace activists and civil society leaders from the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities.

Since then, Braverman has devoted himself full-time to the Israel/Palestine conflict. He is a co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of Tent of Nations North America, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Palestinian land rights and peaceful coexistence in historic Palestine. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions-USA, the advisory committee of Friends of Sabeel North America, and the advisory council of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace. He is a charter member of American Jews for a Just Peace. Visit markbraverman.org

Why should you attend and encourage others to do so? You should attend because you are a Christian and Christians care about their neighbors. Our neighbors in the Land of the Holy One are in crisis but our media does not share fully about that crisis. Mark, once a strong supporter of Israel's policies, will tell you why his views changed and why he is working so hard to find a just peace. Isn't that what we want as Christians?  Come and be informed!

For more information, contact Rev. Gene Watson or Rev. Lois Rogers-Watson at 

727-785-7157. 

Some of the best learning we can have as church leaders is a combination of inspiration and instruction.  We want to invite you to a "come and see" as well as a "come and learn" weekend at Grace Church, a multiple-site, United Methodist Church with four campuses in Southwest Florida (Cape Coral/Fort Myers area).  Grace Church has grown from 400 to 2800 in worship attendance, from one campus with two worship services to four campuses with thirteen weekly services.  Grace Church has one of the largest recovery ministries in America as well as a ministry to the poor and marginalized that models the Wesleyan ministry balance of acts of mercy and acts of piety in a contemporary setting.  Monthly, dozens of people in Lee County come to faith in Jesus through both the recovery and compassion ministries of Grace Church.

During this weekend, you and your team will experience and learn about the vision and strategy of Grace Church with a focus on recovery (Celebrate Recovery) and compassion outreach ministries (Third Saturday Outreach).  On Friday night, you will worship with 300-400 adults, youth, and children at Celebrate Recovery.  On Saturday morning, you will join 150 volunteers as they reach out to thousands of neighbors at our Third Saturday Outreach when we give away thousands of pounds of food and offer more than a dozen other ministries.  On Sunday morning, you will have an opportunity to worship at three of our four campuses.

I hope you will join us!

Jorge Acevedo

Lead Pastor

If you have children (ages birth through high school seniors), we hope you'll save the dates for the Clergy Kids Retreat! This event is hosted by the Warren Willis Camp and the Center for Clergy Excellence. It gives children of clergy a chance to receive ministry in a setting other than their parents' congregation, and build relationships with other clergy kids in a fun environment. Parents of children 3rd grade and younger will attend with their children, making it an opportunity for young clergy and spouses to connect and build a supportive community.

For more information, contact Joel Pancoast, Program Manager at Warren Willis United Methodist Camp, at joel.pancoast@warrenwilliscamp.org.

This is the 4th year that this event has been in existence. Since 2007, the Conference Connection on Youth Ministry (a conference level leadership team made up of students) has been producing leadership training events where students can gather and learn, experience and grow.

Why should you bring your students? Because together we can accomplish more than we can apart. And, really, where else can you get an all inclusive weekend event for just about $80/person? Our pricing will be gradually stepped up though! Don't miss out, secure your spot today! [click here] for details.