A monthly publication of

The SouthWest District of The United Methodist Church

Rev. Susan Landry

District Superintendent February 2021
All about Love
Ah—it’s a slow month. February is cold, the New Year glitz has worn off, Spring hasn’t sprung,
and some people are at their peak of SADD.

February is underappreciated. (I know, I know, it’s cold, the New Year glitz has worn off, and
Spring hasn’t sprung.) But, what about Love? February 14 is Valentine’s Day. February 7 is the
Super Bowl—apparently people love appetizers and aged quarterbacks, in tandem. Last and
BEST, February is Black History Month

As I learn more about the pain that people have experienced, right
here in our own country, particularly pain due to injustice, I find
myself longing for a return to love, to understanding, which requires
truth. We know that there is a “…still more excellent way” for us
all—but we haven’t gotten there, yet. I’m not sure we are listening
so we can learn how to get there. My conclusion—I need to listen
more, so I can learn more and consider how I might love more. Paul wrote famously in the “Love
Chapter”, I Corinthians 13, describing what love is and what it isn’t. If we listen more,
maybe we would sound less like noisy gongs or clanging symbols. If we learn more, maybe,
faith, hope and love might abide—not just for me, or for you, but for EVERY one. If faith, hope
and love abide in us, then surely all lives will matter to us. And here is the truth—we haven’t
gotten there. Until black lives matter (too), all lives can’t matter.

I love this quote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an
inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one
directly, affects all indirectly.”—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

If it really is all about love, let’s listen and learn, so we can love.

With you in Christ,

Susan
 Churches in the SouthWest District
Lead the Conference in
2020 Apportionment Payments!

Thanks to the faithfulness of the churches in the district, the SouthWest District led the
Conference in collection of 2020 apportionments by paying 94.97%! We are especially grateful
to the churches below that paid 100%:

Aldora Friendship Manchester First

Allen Lee Fuller’s Chapel Marvin
Andrews Chapel Godfrey Merrill Chapel
Antioch Green Mount Milner
Arbor Chapel Greenville Mountville
Ayres Memorial Griffin First Mt Gilead
Barnesville First Haralson Mt Olive
Barrow Chapel Harmony, Franklin Mt Zion, Smarr
Bethany Harmony, LaGrange Mt. Zion Campground
Bethel Hartford New Hope, Fayette Co.
Big Springs Haven Chapel New Hope, Monticello
Brooks Heard Wesley Newnan Chapel
Burns Highland Newnan First
Calvary Hillcrest Peachtree City
Caney Head Hillsboro Pine Mountain
Carmel Hogansville Pleasant Grove
Christ Hollonville Pomona
Clark Hopewell, Forsyth Prospect
Cokes Chapel Hopewell, Tyrone Providence
Concord Hopewell, Whitesville Raleigh
Cornerstone Inman Red Oak
County Line Jackson First Robert’s Chapel
Culloden Jenkinsburg Rocky Mount
Ebenezer, Barnesville John Wesley Roe Chapel
Ebenezer, Fayetteville Juliette Roopville
Ebenezer, Forsyth Keeney Memorial Rust Chapel
Fairview Korean Church, LaGrange Searcy Memorial
Faith Creek Kynette Senoia
Faith LaGrange First Smith Chapel, Pine Mt.
Fayetteville First Leete Hill Smith, Newnan
Flovilla Long Cane St Mary
Forsyth First Louise St Paul
Free Liberty Lovejoy Stark
Freeman Memorial Luthersville Sunnyside
The Rock Warm Springs Wilson Chapel
Thomaston First Warren Temple Woodbury
Trinity on the Hill Wesley Yatesville
Trinity, Durand West Point First Zebulon
Turin White Plains
Unionville Williamson

In addition, we collected 97.22% of the District Work Fund. A big thank you to the following
churches that paid 100% of their DWF:

Aldora Godfrey Milner

Allen Lee Green Mount Monticello First
Andrews Chapel Greenville Moreland
Antioch Griffin First Mountville
Arbor Chapel Hanleiter Mt Carmel
Ayres Memorial Haralson Mt Gilead
Barnesville First Harmony, Franklin Mt Olive
Barrow Chapel Harmony LaGrange Mt Zion, Smarr
Bethany Hartford Mt Zion Campground
Bethel Haven Chapel New Hope, Fayette Co.
Big Springs Heard Wesley New Hope, Monticello
Brooks Highland Newnan Chapel
Burks Chapel Hillcrest Newnan First
Calvary Hillsboro North Fayette
Caney Head Hogansville Peachtree City
Carmel Hollonville Pine Mountain
Christ Hopewell, Forsyth Pleasant Grove
Clark Hopewell, Whitesville Pomona
Cokes Chapel Inman Prospect
Concord Jackson First Providence
Cornerstone Jenkinsburg Raleigh
County Line John Wesley Red Oak
Culloden Jones Hill Robert’s Chapel
Ebenezer, Barnesville Juliette Rocky Mount
Ebenezer, Fayetteville Keeney Memorial Roe Chapel
Ebenezer, Forsyth Kincaid Roopville
Fairview Korean Church, LaGrange Rust Chapel
Faith Creek Kynette Search Memorial
Faith LaGrange First Senoia
Fayetteville First Leete Hill Smith Chapel, Pine Mt
Flovilla Long Cane Smith, Newnan
Forsyth First Louise St Mary
Franklin Lovejoy St Paul
Free Liberty Luthersville Stark
Freeman Memorial Manchester First Sunnyside
Friendship Marvin The Rock
Fuller’s Chapel Merrill Chapel Thomaston First
Trinity on the Hill Warm Springs Williamson
Trinity, Durand Warren Temple Wilson Chapel
Turin Wesley Woodbury
Union Chapel West Point First Yatesville
Unionville White Plains

DCOM Meets with Local Pastors in February

The DCOM will be meeting, via Zoom, on February 11 and 23 for evaluations and license
renewals for all local pastors in the SouthWest District. Schedules have been emailed and all
paperwork is now due, including clergy evaluations forms, Local Pastor Annual Report form,
and a brief autobiographical statement.

Zoom invitations will be mailed several days prior to the meetings. If you have questions,
contact the District Office

Another Big THANK YOU to the

SouthWest District Stats Team

Rev. Skip Mitchell and his team did an outstanding job with End of Year Reports! Thanks to
their hard work and persistence, almost 100% of the SouthWest District churches had their
reports submitted and verified before the January 31 deadline. We are extremely grateful to
them! In addition to Skip, the team was comprised of:

Rev. B. J. Bowers Rev. Brenda Rhodes

Rev. Maria Gardiner Rev. Don Richards
Rev. Michael Jackson Rev. Chris Shurtz
Rev. Katie Mattox
The SouthWest District is in need of Youth Delegates for the 2021 Annual Conference. To
qualify, youth should be between the ages of 14-18, be an active member of a UMC in the
district, and be available to participate in Annual Conference (either in person or virtually), June
3-5, 2021. Applications are available on the Special Events and News page of the District
website (www.ngumc.org/southwest) or from the District Office. If Annual Conference is held
in-person, it will be in Athens and the district will pay for your hotel room.

Apply for the 2021 UM Credit Union Scholarship

 $1,000.00 awarded to one person from each of the United Methodist Conferences (Florida,
Alabama -West Florida, South Georgia, North Georgia)
 Application Open: January 1st-April 30th, 2021
 Previous Winners are ineligible to apply
 UMC FCU Members are eligible to apply . Applying online to become a UMC FCU member is
easy. Eligibility Requirements ( Be a Member of a UM Church, or Work for a UM Church or
Organization within the four (4) conferences listed above, Have a family member who is already
a member of UMC FCU)
 Application and essay information will GO LIVE on January 1st, 2021 on www.UMCFCU.com
website
 Don’t wait to apply (Applying early does not increase your chances of winning… it’s just good to
get things done as soon as possible)

2021 United Methodist Scholarships

The United Methodist Higher Education Foundation is accepting applications for the 2021-2022
academic year through March 1. Each year UMHEF awards more than $2 million in
scholarships to United Methodist students. Learn more at umhef.org/apply and apply today!
BASIC Lay Servant Class (via Zoom)
Choice of dates and times:
Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. February 20 - March 20
Instructors: David Knauft and Amanda Padovano

Mondays at 7:00 p.m. February 22 - March 22

Instructors: Kay Haugen and Mary Williams

Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. March 2 - March 30

Instructors: Jeanie Enyart and Jay Wansley

The cost of the class is $42 plus the cost of your book. The book is “Lay Servant Ministries
Participant's Book- Basic Course” by Sandy Zeigler Jackson and Brian Jackson. It is available new,
used and on Kindle from Amazon and new from Cokesbury.

The link to register online is not yet available. Please email Kay Haugen, District Director of Lay
Servant Ministries for Northeast District at kayshaugen@gmail.com to let her know you are
interested and the time that is most convenient for you. She will send you the link to register as
soon as it is available. The link will also be posted on the district and conference websites when
it is created.

Please check the SouthWest District website for information on Advanced Lay Servant classes
that will be coming soon.

UMW News

A steering committee, along with a nominations committee for the new Southwest District
UMW, has been very busy these last few months meeting per conference calls to get the two
former Griffin and LaGrange District bylaws combined, and putting together a slate of officers.

On Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 10:00am, the First

Southwest District Meeting/Event will be held. Election of
officers will take place at this meeting. Nominations are allowed
from the floor once the slate of officers is presented. However,
since the meeting is going to be held virtual. We will need the
members to make nominations from the floor prior to the
virtual meeting. A ‘Nominations from the Floor’ form with all
the details is available on the UMW page of the District website.
These are due by February 6. If you are interested in
participating in the virtual meeting on February 20, email
lgrumwcomm@outlook.com for the link.
United Methodist Men Training Opportunities:
Understanding Men's Ministry
Friday, March 12, 2021⋅6:30pm – 8:30pm
Saturday, March 13, 2021 - 8:30am – 2:30pm

Friday, September 21, 2021 - 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Saturday, September 22, 2021 - 8:30am – 2:30pm

Lead Like Jesus

Friday, April 8, 2021 - 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Saturday, April 9, 2021 - 8:00am – 11:30am

Friday, October 15, 2021 - 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Saturday, October 16, 2021 - 8:00am – 11:30am

For more information, or to register, please contact Louis Johnson at:

louis.johnson@ngcumm.org

What's Inside Our January 2021 Faith & Money Issue?

 Future Pastor Will Use Life’s Challenges to Share God’s Love
 Need Help Leaving a Legacy?
 Family Scholarship Helps Students in Need
 Wills Clinic Helps Liberty UMC Members With Their Estate Plan
 Reset Your Financial Aptitude and Attitude With the Clergy Financial Literacy Academy
 2021 Retirement Tax Planning Tips With James Russell Lipford Jr., CPA
 Loans Empower New Covenant UMC and Elizabeth Lee UMC to Change Lives
 Donor-Advised Fund Allows the Martins to be More Generous, Systematic, and
Intentional in Their Giving
 Tips for Ash Wednesday 2021

Ash Wednesday (which falls on February 17 this year) begins the 40-day season of Lent.
Discipleship Ministries offers considerations for your preparations for Ash Wednesday
2021. The suggestions begin with possible scenarios and practical ideas for imposing
ashes safely. We encourage you to take this information and work with your own worship
team to contextualize it for your community of faith.

GET TIPS

Ash Wednesday Guidance for 2021

As congregations consider safe ways to celebrate Ash Wednesday, a team from Candler
School of Theology has developed guidance to help.
The ecumenical team was convened by three United Methodists (two of them from
Candler). They produced a three-page guide to reduce health risks as Christians mark the
start of Lent. The guide draws on a range of experts, including the Centers for Disease
Control.
The guide is based on fulfilling the core purposes of Ash Wednesday, which include:

 To call the congregation to personal and corporate repentance

 To face our mortality
 To call baptized Christians to take up spiritual disciples to reaffirm our baptismal
commitments
United Methodist Connectional FCU Prepares for the Second
Round of the PPP

Our United Methodist Connectional Federal Credit Union has announced that the staff is
preparing to help United Methodist churches in the administration of the second round of
the Paycheck Protection Program. UMC FCU is awaiting notice from the Small Business
Administration and Treasury Department for when they can begin processing applications.
At that point, the Credit Union will open an online portal for ease of process and
communication. As you have questions, contact Jonathan Curtis
at jonathanc@unitedmethodistcu.com.

If your church plans to apply for this round of PPP Loans, some of the information needed
includes:

 Average monthly payroll for 2020 or 2019. (Your PPP funds will be this figure times
2.5.)
 Gross revenue for 2019 and 2020. Churches requesting a second draw will need to
show a 25% decrease in revenue in corresponding quarters over 2019 and 2020.
For example, 1st quarter 2019 to 1st quarter 2020. It is also possible to show a 25%
decrease in revenue for the whole year.
 For churches getting a second draw, a record of payroll expenditures compared
with the PPP funds received
 Employee records, specifically the number of employees.

Find more information about the second round of PPP Loans at www.sba.gov.
 Add Online Worship to Your Church's Information at NGUMC.org

The start of the new year is a good time to make sure your church's information is correct in the
"Church Search" at ngumc.org.

In 2021, your church has the added opportunity to include links to your online worship
service! The Church Search is one of the most visited pages on the Conference website.

To add an online worship link and change or correct information such as website or email
address, clergy or laity with charge conference access should follow the steps below.

 Log into Data Services

 Click the "Church Information Report" button on the main page. (It can also be found
under "Charge Conference")
 Enter the correct information

Happy Birthday to the following pastors in the SouthWest District who

are celebrating birthdays in February:

3 - Alpheia Murray 15 – Kory Trinrud 21 -Fede Apecena

8 - Bob Tobias 18 – Wilma Hastings 21 – David Williams
9 - Shannon Karafanda 19 – Debbie Lefevers 24 – Ashley Jenkins