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Weekly e-News
May 19, 2020

SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE
Remembering Friday 531: A Service of Prayer and Hope
Friday, May 29th at 7:00 PM

Nimmo United Methodist Church, in cooperation with Courthouse Community United Methodist Church, The Gathering at Scott Memorial United Methodist Church and Norfolk United Methodist Church will be hosting a virtual service to mark one year since the Virginia Beach municipal building shooting. The service will be viewed through the Crowdcast Link (https://www.crowdcast.io/e/remembering-friday-may) or through Nimmo's facebook page.

The District will be offering a series of online webinars to help churches during the COVID-19 pandemic (see below). If there is a topic that you are interested in or need to learn more about as we do ministry in this new normal, email Rev. Jason Stanley at jasonstanley@vaumc.org.

Dear Friends and Colleagues of Pastor Keith Moore,

Our minister of ten years, Pastor Keith Moore, will be retiring from the ministry and from Beech Grove next month. His last Sunday with us is June 21, and before he leaves, we need to say our farewell to him and to Janet. The Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) planned to do a reception in their honor, but with the threat of COVID-19 and the rules established by the CDC for “safe distancing,” this cannot happen. In talking with the District Superintendent and with Pastor Keith, the most we can do at this time is a “drive-by” farewell.

This event is planned for June 20, 2020 from 11:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. The plan during these two hours is for Pastor Keith and Janet to be outside near the parking area, and you may drive past and bid them farewell and much happiness as they begin this new phase of their lives.

Cars may be decorated or just plain, but please come help us express our gratitude for all they have done for our Beech Grove Family over these past years. There will be a basket available for cards if anyone desires to leave a personal expression of retirement best wishes. We may not exit our cars and congregate on the church grounds. If rulings change for what can be done on church property, we will let you know.

Please stay safe during this time, and thank you for helping us to give Pastor Keith and Janet
a fond farewell.

If you have questions or concerns, you may contact Minta Wood, 851-4123; Rebecca Hodges,
809-0909; or Bob Freiler, 619-1543.

Youth Leader Virtual Summits

Recognizing that we are in uncharted territory, the Elizabeth River District will be hosting Youth Leader Virtual Summits to provide support, collaboration, and training to youth ministry leaders (volunteer & paid), as well as those who volunteer in youth ministry.

The second session will be June 9 at 7 pm and will include a workshop facilitated by Rev. Jason Stanley on how to develop a long-term (range) plan for youth ministry. Click here to register.

Responding to COVID-19

Zoom Check-Ins: All clergy and laity are invited to a weekly check-in with DS Wayne Snead. Thursday's at 3 pm, those who are interested can join via Zoom using this link:https://zoom.us/j/9343602346

The time will be spent addressing questions or concerns as we navigate being in ministry during this season.

Please send any questions to Wayne at elizabethriverds@vaumc.org.

The District has created a page on the District website where we are collecting resources, links, blogs, etc. that may be helpful during this time. You can access the page using this link: https://elizabethriverumc.com/coronavirus-and-the-church/

Many of the vaumc.org emails have been hacked and/or spoofed. If you receive an email that is out of character, text or call that person. Do not reply or click on any links!

Counting Online Worshipers: The Cabinet has released an update on how to count online worshipers. Click here to read the update: http://doc.vaumc.org/Cabinet/OnlineWorshipAttendanceGuidelines.pdf

Each week the Wesley Community Service Center in Portsmouth is able to serve over 300 people with their weekly food distribution. Currently, due to the coronavirus there has been a decline in donations including canned goods. As a result they are serving less than half of what they normally serve. This is a vital ministry to those who live in the southside of Portsmouth who are living in food insecurity. If you are able and willing to support the Wesley Community Service with a food drive or by making a donation on their Go Fund Me page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/Help-the-Wesley-Center-with-COVID--19-Relief?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet) or by mailing a check to:

Wesley Community Service Center
P. O. Box 1396
Portsmouth VA 23705

Bishop Sharma D. Lewis is calling upon the Virginia Conference to be in prayer every day at 12 noon.

http://www.vaumc.org/ncfilerepository/BishopLewis/PrayatNoon.pdf?erid=1217673&trid=60640d40-081c-46d8-90d3-5f5052b4033c

During this time, let us hold in our prayers those doctors, nurses, health care professionals, and first responders who are on the frontlines of this pandemic. Let us hold in prayer those who are having make hard realignment and new business models. Let us be in prayer for those who recently lost their jobs due to this pandemic. Let us also hold in our prayers the most vulnerable among us.

2020

At this time, all District events through April have been canceled or postponed.

Annual Conference

For information about Annual Conference, or to access the hotel reservation link, go to the Virginia Conference website https://vaumc.org/AC2020

2021

The District Youth Retreat 2021 will be February 5-7, 2021 at the 4H Center in Wakefield. More information to come!

Conferences Postponed: The General Conference scheduled for this May has been postponed, possibly till May 2021. The Southeastern Jurdisicial Conference scheduled for July has been canceled. In addition, the Virginia Annual Conference has been postponed till September 18 -19, 2020. Information regarding the location of the September 2020 Annual Conference is forthcoming.

Read the latest edition of the Virginia Conference's e-Advocate here.

Resources from Va. Employment Commission
A Note from the Virginia Annual Conference’s Treasurer’s Office

We, at the Virginia Conference office, feel for you during this unprecedented time. We would like to present you with a few resources from the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) as reference materials if you or your employees are faced with difficult staffing decisions.

For Employers:
Even though churches are exempt from the Virginia State Unemployment tax, their employees are covered by the State Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA). Therefore, employees of our churches are eligible to apply for full and partial (with a significant reduction in hours) unemployment benefits. There is an employer’s handbook for your reference on The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) website. Please visit www.vec.virginia.gov.

For Employees:
Potentially eligible employees could be part-time (with a significant reduction of hours) or full time. Eligible employees should apply for benefits by contacting The Customer Contact Center of the Virginia Employment Commission either by phone at 1-866-832-2363 (available 8:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday- Friday) or online at www.vec.virginia.gov.

Visit the -new- Elizabeth River District website to see a complete listing of current job openings on the district. Click here to see the list.

LOCAL CHURCH NEWS

Glory Sightings: Do you have a glory sighting you would like to share with us? What has God been doing during this time in your community? Send a small write up along with some pictures to elizabethriverdistrict@vaumc.org.

The deadline for submissions to the e-Newsletter is every Thursday at 5pm. Email your information about your events and special programming to Denise Smith at elizabethriverdistrict@vaumc.org (Flyers in PDF or JPEG are preferred.)

2020

Resources from Va. Employment Commission A Note from the Virginia Annual Conference’s Treasurer’s Office

Resources from Va. Employment Commission
A Note from the Virginia Annual Conference’s Treasurer’s Office