2008 Journal Cover Pages.pub - Wisconsin Conference United ...

2008 Wisconsin Conference JournalThe Hunger Task Force and Refugee Task Force are subcommittees of MissionMotivation and continue to work with districts and local churches to extend the missionwork of the Conference. The Refugee Task Force has assumed the additional role ofdealing with immigration issues.You can visit the Wisconsin Conference Board of Global Ministries web site, developedunder the auspices of Mission Motivation, at www.wisconsinumc.org/missions.3. Reconciling Ministries (Rosalind Driver Scott, Chair) provides funding assistance foreight ecumenical partnerships around the state. These programs reach out to personsin stressed urban areas, persons involved in migrant work, prison populations, andother conditions of need. This committee also supports the Community of Shalom,Shalom Zone, Inc. linked to Solomon Community Temple in Milwaukee. Members ofthe committee continue to maintain contact with each of the programs funded by thisagency.4. Conference Partnership is organized into two sub-committees: one to focus on ourpartner relationship with the Methodist Church of Cuba (Donna Veatch, Chair), theother to focus on our relationship with the Rio Grande Conference (Rosie Mayorga,Chair). The Cuba Partnership sent a group of people to Cuba in April, 2006. TheRio Grande Partnership works with our National Volunteers in Mission committee toorganize work camps there. Our Board will be reviewing our Partner Relationshipsin the coming year and will make recommendations to the 2008 annual conference forfuture relationships.5. Volunteers in Mission develops policy, selects work sites, and recruits leadership forshort-term mission projects at Conference, Jurisdictional, national, and internationalsites. VIM has established National VIM (Bruce Koch, Chair) and International VIM(Susan Gaul, Chair) divisions within the committee. VIM projects are largely selffundedand continue to grow in size and scope. In 2007 a total of 401 work campersprovided over 15,594 hours of volunteer labor for mission projects through the NationalVIM Committee. VIM also continues to train leaders for future work camps.6. The Wisconsin Conference Disaster Response Team (David Sharpe, Chair), hadseveral of our team members speak in congregations over the summer about ourministries.At the present time we are working with the Wisconsin VOAD (Voluntary OrganizationsAssisting in Disasters) in four regional Long Term Recovery Committees and train themfor the recovery effort from the August flooding in 14 Wisconsin counties with over$43 million in damages. That level of damage and other factors led to a PresidentialDeclaration that brought FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) resourcesto survivors. Local UM Congregations are still encouraged to assist survivors bysending Advance money to “Wisconsin Floods”. Three of our District Coordinatorsand another team leader are “staffing” these Long Term Recovery Committees andproviding UMCOR resources where appropriate.Reports of Boards and Agencies215