In his December 7 letter, Bishop Thomas Bickerton shared his plans for moving forward with a Conference-wide Initiative to Dismantle Racism.  He reported on groundwork that has been laid to date, and his goals for the days that lie before us, including the creation of a Pathway to Anti-Racism Team and strategic task forces.    
    Bishop Bickerton asks "that we pray unceasingly for our Conference. We will walk even more boldly into a new and necessary beginning that includes a dismantling of unjust systems and practices that perpetuate systemic racism within NYAC churches and among our structural leadership.  
    "We are in the process of implementing an anti-racism stance that will undoubtedly strike at the heart of not just how we operate, but who we are and what we show the world we believe. We can no longer sit comfortably in the face of injustice and oppression. I pray that we all respond with grace, a spirit of Christian love, and reconciliation."

Read the Bishop's entire letter here.

Hosted by Adam Hamilton, this on-demand webinar series features four episodes: 1) Worship, Music, & Ritual - Reimagining Advent Church Services; 2) How Will Our Children Cope? Family Resources for Celebrating Christmas; 3) Preaching in Grief - Bringing Hope to this Year of Loss and Insecurity; and 4) Incarnation - Be Inspired by the Names of Christ.   NOTE: NYAC's own Raymond Trapp is one of the featured speakers! Laity Celebration Postponed Our Laity Celebration has been postponed until Saturday, January 16, 2021  10AM - 2PM   We will be studying the book Black & White: Disrupting Racism One Friendship at a Time, by Teesha Hadra & John Hambrick.  We no longer have copies available at the Conference Center for purchase, but you may order a copy from one of these vendors: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com, etc.  You may register here.  Note: because this will be a virtual event, there will be no registration fee. If you have questions, you may contact Roena Littlejohn at 203-331-9653 or Roena.Littlejohn@nyac-umc.com. You will receive a link to join the meeting a few days prior to the event. "And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.?" Colossians 3:14 (CEB) Don’t miss Bishop Thomas Bickerton’s address to the Laity at this special event!

    To keep missionaries in service it takes faithful givers like you who not only give, but also pray for your missionaries and the communities they serve.  On behalf of the entire missionary community of over 300 folks, thank you so much for the blessing of your time and resources to God’s mission.  Thank you for the support that you have generously given to sustain United Methodist Missionaries and ministries.  
    The United Methodist Missionary Association has put together a thank you video with the help of missionaries serving from everywhere to everywhere, even during this time of pandemic.  You can access the video here on vimeo.
    As always, I am available to connect any missionary to any individual or congregation that has interest in a particular part of the world, or ministry.
Thank you so much!

Jill Wilson
860-690-1853

    In Bishop Bickerton's 2020 Advent Message, he says "...some of the grim realities in this season are the long lines of persons waiting in food lines.  One food bank recently reported that 40% of the persons waiting for food had never been to a feeding ministry before.
    "As a result, I am initiating a special Bishop’s Advent Offering for Feeding Ministries across the New York Annual Conference.  Thanks to the hard work of Tom Vencuss, the inventory of our food banks and feeding ministries is up to date.  The need is great and your offerings, initiated among your people, will go directly to those immediate needs throughout our Annual Conference.  I urge you to be generous and sacrificial as the needs are undeniable at this time.  Please send your coordinated contributions to NYAC with the notation ATTN: Fran Collins, Food Relief Ministry." 

Another way to raise funds is to gather a team of 5 walkers and get sponsors for our 5x5x5 Walk. Most of our teams will be walking on Saturday, but if Sunday works better for your team, that will be fine.  For more information, and to register a team, please click here. PPE Update Person Protective Equipment & Supplies are still available. Please remember that PPE is still available to local churches through our Conference Missions office. Contact Trudy Creary (receptionist@nyac.com) or Tom Vencuss (tvencuss@nyac.com) for more information.

In conversation with Glorymar Rivera, Director of Rehace, and Rev Stephanie Gottschalk, Director of Bahamas Methodist Habitat, given the current status of COVID, both programs have decided to postpone volunteer efforts until at least May (Rehace) and March (Bahamas). Both Glorymar and Stephanie will continue to monitor the situations and provide us with updates. For more information regarding Puerto Rico volunteer efforts please contact Tymera Jackson (tjackson@nyac.com) at the NYAC Missions Office; for the Bahamas contact Stephanie at methodisthabitat@gmail.com.  

Amplify Media is excited to announce our new Cokesbury Kids channel, a dedicated space for children’s inspirational programming. In addition to the great videos and studies from Cokesbury, this channel also has programs from our partners Yippee TV and 1517 Media. Simply follow the Cokesbury Kids logo from any page on Amplify Media to easily find everything you need for Sunday School and in-home entertainment. Cokesbury Kids is automatically part of every Amplify subscription. By visiting the channel, kids will find Live TV – a curated selection of trustworthy streaming shows for children – to watch as well as on-demand worship videos, studies, and kids television. WATCH NOW>>>

What's Happening in Your District? Catskill Hudson                                                    Connecticut Long Island East                                                   Long Island West Metropolitan                                                          New York-Connecticut NYAC Mission Statement We strive to share God’s love by creating safe places where all are accepted and welcomed, connecting the needs of people to the presence of God, and transforming the world through Christ. Learn more