MICHIGAN AREA

Detroit and West Michigan Conferences

                                                  

MISSIONS

United Methodist hurricane relief exceeds $62 million

    By Elliott Wright
     NEW YORK (UMNS) - More than $62 million was contributed in 2005 to the United Methodist Committee on Relief for hurricane relief and rehabilitation in the United States and wider Gulf of Mexico region.
     "Year-end receipts from the annual conferences – including over $2 million from Michigan – pushed the figure far, far beyond what we anticipated in the late fall," said Roland Fernandes, treasurer of the Board of Global Ministries, the denominational agency of which UMCOR is a part.
     UMCOR had received $62.37 million as of Dec. 31, including:

$770,860 from Detroit Conference

$1,298,483 from West Michigan conference.

    All of the money was or is being applied to relief and rehabilitation, primarily through the church's annual conferences affected by the strong series of hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast. Post-hurricane work in Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico and Nicaragua also was covered.
     "In April, our directors will make decisions about how the balance will be expended," said the Rev. Paul Dirdak, the executive in charge of UMCOR for the mission board. "Meanwhile, UMCOR has responded 100 percent to the emergency relief and rehabilitation start-up requests made by the annual conferences, with over $6 million expended to date. Our rehabilitation efforts will likely cover a four-year period."
     David Sadoo, international field staff for UMCOR, said the work in Mexico and Central America is an important part of the church's hurricane response. "We are assisting there with both relief and long-term rehabilitation."
     The Rev. R. Randy Day, top staff executive of the Board of Global Ministries, expressed appreciation to United Methodists and their friends for the outpouring of support for people and communities affected by the hurricanes.
     "United Methodists are such caring and generous people," he said. "How thankful we are that we can provide major assistance to the storm-ravaged areas."
     Dirdak said the cash contributions are only one measure of the enormous United Methodist response to the hurricane disasters. In addition, tons of supplies have been sent to UMCOR's Sager Brown materials depot in Baldwin, La., for distribution in the disaster zone. Thousands of church members are helping with cleanup and rebuilding as volunteers in mission.
     While most of the $62 million was contributed in response to Hurricane Katrina, some amounts were earmarked for relief following the later Hurricane Rita, and some came in response to 2005 storms prior to Katrina.
     Money reaches UMCOR in a variety of ways: telephone and Internet gifts, checks sent directly to the agency, and contributions made through local congregations and channeled by annual conferences to the church's General Council on Finance and Administration. The council serves as treasurer for relief and other designated giving through what is called the Advance for Christ and His Church.
     Wright is the public information officer of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Sing-Out raises $36,235 for hurricane relief

     Vicksburg, MI – Choirs, vocalists, musicians and members from 11 area United Methodist Churches gathered at Vicksburg United Methodist Church on Oct. 2 to participate in the 17th Annual Great Gospel Sing-Out. A capacity crowd was on hand for an afternoon of rousing gospel music, and fundraising to support the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). This year all monies raised were designated to UMCOR’s 2005 hurricane relief operations.
     Many of the participating churches raised money throughout the past year in support of the project. Thoe funds were added to the donations from audience members following each church’s performance. A total of $36,235.19 was raised this year – which brought the 17-year total for the Great Gospel Sing-Out to $321,195.42.
     Members of Vicksburg United Methodist Church founded the Great Gospel Sing-Out in 1989 to raise money for UMCOR’s hunger-fighting programs. Those church involved this year are: Centreville, Climax, Dowagiac: First, Galesburg, Edwardsburg: Hope, Kalamazoo: Oshtemo Community, Niles: Portage Prairie, Dowagiac: Silver Creek, Vicksburg, West Mendon, Kalamazoo: Westwood.


                                                  

PEOPLE

                                                  

TOOLS AND TRENDS

Go fish!

Jesus told us to fish for people…and podcasting technology gives us another tool

    Zach Oaster
    Introducing the latest in fishing technology… Podcasting! It might not get you out on the lake this spring, butpodcasting is definitely a newfangled way of casting out onto the net. A recent Detroit Free Press article set off a frenzy of calls and questions around my office at First UMC in Battle Creek this week. The article, "DOWNLOADING GOD: Churches use podcasts to spread the gospel; faithful turn up volume," featured the use of "podcasting" in churches, and its appeal to both local parishioners as well as those who might be located far away. So everyone calling my office wanted to know, what are the basics of podcasting, and why aren’t we doing it?
    Podcasting, the concept:
Many of our churches have been audio taping services for years. Podcasting simply takes that audio, "digitizes" it onto a computer (usually into the well known Mp3 format), and then uploads it to an internet hosting site. This hosting site can be your own church website (assuming your server can handle the files), or one of the many "host" sites that are dedicated to proliferating the world of podcasting.
    Once these audio files are online, they can be accessed from anywhere on the Internet, and downloaded for play on an individual’s home computer, or mobile Mp3 player. Local parishioners can take advantage of this service at no cost above their own home internet connection, and it makes an obvious availability to those outside your church’s normal group of Sunday attendees. Just think of it, a ministry tool that is free to the end user, super cheap to the church provider, and INTERNATIONAL in reach!
     Podcasting, the tools:
If your church already has the basics of a tape ministry, then you are already well on the road to podcasting. As with any recording based ministry, what comes in goes on the final product. Here are some basic steps to assure your recording sounds good: Mic everything! If a microphone isn’t picking it up, then it isn’t going on the recording.
    Check your levels. Become familiar with the VU meter/LED lights on your sound board, and make sure that you are sending the loudest possible signal to your recording device (usually around 0db), without pushing it into distortion.
    Listen with headphones to make sure that the audio going to the recording is the same as what you hear live in the room.
    Now that we’ve got the basics of recording out of the way, let’s examine the new tools you’ll need to jump into podcasting.
    First, you’ll need a digital recorder. A computer is the easiest form of digital recorder, because you can record, edit, and upload your podcast all from one location. This computer can be PC or Mac, and needs to be located nearby the sound system of your church. It is best to connect this computer to a high speed internet connection (DSL or Cable works fine), or to your internet enabled church LAN (network).
    You will need an input device to get quality audio from your sound system onto the computer. There are many quality USB/Firewire devices on the market that allow you to input "studio quality" audio from your sound board. Personally, I use a Tascam US-122 USB audio interface. It has balanced XLR audio inputs, and direct monitoring so I can plug my headphones in, and give a live listen to what is going into the computer. There are similar devices on the market from companies such as Presonus, M Audio, E-MU, MOTU and Digidesign for between $100 and $300. Don’t settle for using the "line-in" on your computer. It is not designed for quality recording, and the small investment in a quality input device will make your recordings sound 100% better.
    Finally, you will need software. BUT WAIT! If you have purchased a brand new audio input device, chances are good that it comes with free software that will work fine! Don’t spend money on software until you are sure you need it. Personally, I use Cool Edit Pro 2 to edit my sound files and prepare them for internet upload, but many programs exist that do the job just fine. If one doesn’t come free with your hardware purchase, check out your free-ware options on the internet before investing in something expensive.
    For those of you who simply cannot put a computer nearby your soundboard for whatever reason, you have another option. You can purchase a digital recorder such as a Marantz PMD670, which uses a digital flash card as its recording media. Once you finish recording on the digital deck, you can pop out the card, stick it into your computer (wherever it might be located), and copy the files over for editing and uploading (much like you would with photos from a digital camera). This process works fine, but creates more steps for your often volunteer church tech staff. The cost is comparable simply because although you eliminate the need for a computer audio input device, you still need a computer, and the digital recording deck costs around $700.
    Podcasting, getting it online:
    Once your service is recorded into the computer, and is edited and ready for export, you will need to save it to an Mp3 file. I suggest using a fixed bit rate of 128Kbps, encoding at 22K, and 16 bit mono or joint-stereo. This will create what most would consider a "radio quality" final product. Encoding at "CD quality" often just wastes space.
    And now, the most important step in podcasting… filling out the iD3 Tag information! Each Mp3 file contains an "iD3 Tag" which contains information about the author and content. Make sure you input this information, and include your church contact info as well. This step is easily performed from within your audio editing program, and is the only information that will permanently stick with the podcast file after it has been downloaded and passed around.
    There are many free online hosts for your podcast file. Maybe do some shopping around next time you are online. Just Google "podcast" and you’ll get a host of sites to start from. Of course, the easiest way to host your podcast is through your own website. Offering audio from your services on your own site gives both parishioners and internet wanderers a reason to return regularly, giving you yet another ministry opportunity.
    With minimal cost, and usually less than an hour of your time, you can turn your weekly services into digital content for all internet users. Podcasting is a fresh approach to an already successful ministry concept. Could transitioning our ministries to fit the new face of our congregations be any easier? Start casting on the net!
    About the author:
    Zach Oaster is a featured speaker at many Audio/Visual and church media conferences, and is the staff media specialist at First United Methodist Church in Battle Creek. He holds two degrees in TV/Radio Broadcasting and Video Production, and has extensive experience in the field. Zach is also a band leader and lead worshipper, and when not on the air as a radio DJ, specializes in modern church worship design and technology. Zach currently resides with his wife Lindsay in Lansing, Michigan.