EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Rev. Dr. William S. Shillady
Board of Director’s Meeting
June 18, 2010

I have been reading a series of articles at a Duke Divinity School sponsored website entitled, “Faith and Leadership: Where Christian Leaders Reflect, Connect and Learn.”  This leadership forum and program has been funded by the Lilly Endowment and Duke has taken a key role in the establishment of this site designed to help Christian clergy transition from being pastors of churches to leaders of institutions as well as creative entrepreneurs in faith.

The site provides forums and articles and Duke has established training programs to assist leaders at the helm of Christian organizations that support local congregations.  Their training program began when Duke was approached by a class of newly elected Bishops in the United Methodist church to help them find new levels of skills and leadership for the challenges they faced.

To be a leader of a Christian institution like our City Society, or a church related college, or a new judicatory position means that one will face a complex and morally consequential task, to live and work at the intersections of prophetic witness and practical leadership. Leaders of denominational offices, seminaries, church-related colleges and other institutions need to be skilled in basic leadership and management practices and must also place all of their work under the light of God’s abundant presence in and for the world.  Duke Divinity School in this new Faith and Leadership program aims to cultivate thriving communities by building capacity for “traditioned innovation”, transformative leadership and vibrant institutions.

“Traditioned Innovation” is defined as a way of thinking and being that holds the past and future in tension, not in opposition, and is key to the growth and vitality of Christian institutions. “Traditioned innovation” is an inner-biblical way of thinking theologically about the texture of human life in the context of God’s gracious and redemptive self-disclosure.

One of the best articles, which I hope you enjoy as much as I have, is about jazz music.  I copy it for you because we are moving more toward this model I believe.  As we move forward with some of our City Society ideas of selling property and investing in ministry rather than capital projects, there will be tension.  Handled well, it will create beautiful music.

This is the article by Ross Kane:

“You have to hang on that tension note — that’s what makes the solo interesting.” My saxophone teacher told me this, years ago when I was learning jazz improvisation; little did I know then this would become a lesson for ministry.

Despite the church’s expressed commitment to creating a peaceable community through reconciliation, in daily life we often sidestep tension and conflict. “It’s probably easier to move to something else and not address that comment,” thinks a pastor in a tension-filled meeting. “I’d rather not talk to the pastor about the way we’re doing our music these days,” thinks one parishioner. Often Christians see conflict and tension as problems to be forgotten or hastily avoided.

For the jazz musician, however, without the tension there is no groove. The sense of movement in a jazz solo depends upon the building up of harmonic tension followed by release. In jazz, the idea is not to reduce the tension or eliminate it, but rather to negotiate it and let the tension and resolution work together to create something beautiful.

What makes jazz so instructive is that a chord is rarely resolved the same way twice. As each soloist in the band plays over the same chord progression, the particularities of each round means every tension is resolved slightly differently. The jazz musician constantly has to find new ways of resolving tension.

Despite popular notions of improvisation as performance in which anything goes, jazz artists are schooled within a wide tradition of music ranging from Louis Armstrong to John Coltrane. The musicians learn the same tunes called standards, practicing each one so many times they become second nature. The musical tradition and chord structure provide a framework for what pianist Herbie Hancock calls “controlled freedom” and theologian Jeremy Begbie calls “liberating constraint.” The band has one sound because they are drawing from the same tradition and playing from the same chords, even as each musician improvises.

The tension and resolution of a jazz solo also occurs as part of a band. For example, a saxophone soloist may not know ahead of time how the pianist will play a particular chord, and the way he plays that chord will then affect the notes the saxophonist chooses. Then the drummer might pick up the sax’s notes and rhythm, playing them back to the band. The members of the band have to listen to one another, exchange ideas and find mutual inspiration to negotiate tension toward a fruitful musical resolution.

Like jazz musicians, we in the church are rooted within a common tradition and so are able to enter into tension and respond to it with creativity and imagination. Working through conflict proves our commitment to one another, as we rediscover our mutual identity in each other and within the community of Christ.

In the process of living through tension and conflict, we are taken outside ourselves, discovering we are not self-sufficient. Each individual’s sense of what is best for the congregation has to be negotiated with others in that community. Tension becomes a means of dispossessing our narcissistic attempts to be self-sufficient. By working through tension we learn to see other people not simply as competitors, but as part of a life inherently interconnected with others.

This process of tension and resolution in turn forms us: We learn to see others not through rivalry and self-defense but through mutuality and self-giving love. As musicians in a jazz band improvise, they find ways of resolving musical tension together as a band. One member cannot control the process, but the resolution is negotiated by everyone involved. Like the jazz musicians, our tensions are never resolved the same way twice, we do not necessarily know how other members of the “band” — our church community — will express conflict, but we have to listen to one another in order to move toward resolution.

This does not mean we should seek conflict or that all tension eventually will resolve itself. We need not look far into the church’s history for examples of how tension — racial, theological and socioeconomic — has served as a means of destruction within our communities. But if we are truly in community, there will be tension; jazz shows that when this tension is faced openly and honestly, it can be harnessed to form a deeper community — or, God willing, a hipper groove.         Posted September 1, 2009Faith and Leadership Website

So, I think as we try to seek innovative ways to live into the future in our faith, in our fiduciary responsibilities, and in our leadership of the urban witness of our church, we will recognize that there will be a healthy tension and even conflict.  Some may not want to give up the days of the past.  Some congregations will still be in the 1960’s mindset, while others may be ready to jump into the future and throw the baby out with the bathwater.   We may have some tension with others within the United Methodist connection.  But we should not avoid seeking a new future to avoid the tension.  For with that tension, we can find a new tune and melody as we go forth in ministry.

May we be faithful, courageous and imaginative as we live in the dynamic tension of the past, the present and the future.  This is not the first or the last time we will be challenged to face the brutal facts and also be people of hope.

Today, we welcome our new board members who were elected at the Annual meeting on May 13,2010.

Rev. Richard Allen, Mamaroneck; Rev. Ariel Ferrari, First Church, Greenwich; Mr. Joonki Kim, layperson from Manhattan Korean Institute; Rev. Arturo Maine, Hispanic Coordinator for the Annual Conference,  Ms. Renata Smith, lay leader of the conference and a member of the New Rochelle United Methodist Church.

A draft directory is in your packet so we want you to correct any mistakes.

ANNUAL MEETING

The members of the Society gathered in our annual meeting in the Sockman Room at the Interchurch Center on Thursday, May 13^th, 2010.   It was a grand night of music, food, fellowship, and an outstanding message by Thomas G. Kemper.   His sharing of his personal journey and work as a mission coordinator for Methodist Church in Germany helped us to understand his passion for mission.  His personal journey included work in an urban mission program in San Paolo, Brazil, where he ministered with the poor and homeless.  His theology of collaboration will bode well for our society.  I hope to meet with Mr. Kemper a few times this summer to begin the process of collaboration for an urban witness.

The highlights of his talk included the following themes:  People need to discover their own empowerment.  Ministry with the poor is to have justice and mercy.  The Board is looking for collaboration to meet the concerns of poverty.   He hopes that the Board can collaborate with the City Society against poverty.  NYC is a global city.

Our attendance was 257 which is 80 less than last year. There were 53 churches present as compared to 57 last year.   However, folks remarked that the room was better suited for that number and that there was major positive feedback concerning the venue and the format.

The orchestra of classical and jazz music presented by the Broken Builder’s congregation was exceptional.  The gathering time in the hallway with punch and appetizers was a new way of helping people connect with one another.

I want to express great thanks to Leticia Saa Johnson for all the last minute coordination of this event and the reservations.   Those present seemed to appreciate the buffet style of the dinner and the dessert being on the table speeded things up.

Our donations from the dinner:

*Please note in 2007 Rev. Bernard, the speaker, gave us a $10,000 check.

However, I want the board to be aware that the dinner was still underwritten by our budget.

The cost of the dinner in 2009 created a loss of $5,251.  The building did not charge us in 2009 for the air conditioning or the guard services.  This year, the dinner loss was $5,853.  However, this included $2,125 in building related costs for the guards and the air which were not billed last year.

We specifically charged $75 for the tickets in an attempt to not lose as much money.  The cost per person for the food and food service workers was $73.  With less people in attendance the other building related costs were not covered.

The cost of our program also included free meals for the orchestra and program participants.   We contributed a $350 gift to the Urban Ministry work in San Paolo, Brazil, the program to which Mr. Kemper referred, in lieu of a personal honorarium.

The executive committee will need to evaluate if this is cost effective promotion of our work.  Or is there a different way to present the Annual meeting?

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Our report was well received at Annual Conference this year.  Our display table was popular.  According to those who stopped by, we had the best candy.  We have already begun to receive donations since we included a donation envelope in the brochures on the table.  I appreciate April for her creative work in the display boards.  And I tried to be present at the table as much as possible to share our story on an individual basis.  I was able to share the City Society story with many who came to our display table.

On Saturday of Annual Conference, the Bishop’s dream of having 5,000 United Methodists attend the Annual Conference was fulfilled.  Momentum Day was a huge success.  We gave away practically all the literature we took with us to the AC.  The fun circus and energy filled atmosphere empowered our Bishop to do 120 pushups on stage.   The number of people who came by our display on Saturday must have been at least 1,000.  In Taek Rhim and his wife, Sung Hea stopped by and immediately helped us tremendously with the flow of people and information.  Stella Law was also a willing volunteer.

April Callender and Aisha Campbell presented information about Olmsted Center and the camp this summer.  Sheila Pfeiffer, a trained retreat program leader, in cooperation with Five Points will be attempting to increase our retreat revenues and also provide income for herself with three retreat programs this fall and winter.    I thank them for taking a Saturday to make the journey to Hofstra.  Trudy Grove and April were also present on Friday for our presentation to the AC.

Wendell Harris represented us in the Legislative Section and the AC report which was adopted unanimously in the legislative section.    Considering the last two years there were two negative votes, this means we have moved forward in our relationship with the San Pablo and People’s congregations.

We were given 15 minutes to present to the entire Annual Conference. Wendell Harris, president, was introduced by Bishop Park.  Wendell gave a wonderful introduction to the new directions of the Society and asked for the Bishop and Cabinet to include us in more strategic planning in the future.  We do not wish to simply be funding programs without also have input into those programs before they are finalized.

I attempted to highlight some of our new initiatives and spoke of our move to fiscal stability.   April shared the work of our children’s program and highlighted the major work of the Nomads at Olmsted Center.

Overall, we received excellent response to this presentation.

We also announced our scholarship winners at Annual Conference.  The scholarship committee met on May 28^th and we immediately notified our winners, so that a majority was present at AC.  We will try to do this going forward.

They are:

Full time seminarians –

Lori Hartman $3,750
New York Theological School
St Mark’s, Manhattan

Juyeon Lee $3,000
Drew Theological School
United Church of Westville

Hannah Peck $3,750
Yale Divinity School
Christ Church, Manhattan

Part Time Seminarians

Victoria Kittoe up to $2,750
New York Theological School
Ghana Church, Bronx

Lynda Duhaney up to $2,750
New York Theological School
Bushwick Parish, Brooklyn

Paul Fleck up to $2,750
Yale Divinity School
First and Summerfield, New Haven

Our College Scholarship Winners

Natalie Alvarez-Plaud $1,500
Hofstra University
Co-op City, the Bronx

Kohei Timothy Ando-Mizunno $1,500
Elizabethtown College
North Shore United Methodist Church, LIE

Vincent J. Burke $1,500
Penn State University
Metropolitan Community

Karina Feliz $2,500
Nyack College
First Church of Corona

Catherine Jordan $1,500
Drew University
King’s Highway, Brooklyn

Seung Kwon (Joseph) Yang $1,500
Wesleyan University
Korean United Methodist Church in NY

CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR

In our contract of sale of this property, $30,000 was held in escrow because of the new landlord-tenant relationship of St. Gregorious Orthodox Church and the Church of Our Saviour Day School.  If the school does not vacate the property by June 30, 2010, we are being penalized $200 per day.  The parties are finalizing a lease.   We have asked them to extend the date that the school must vacate since they have not finalized their lease.   We hope, after July 1, 2010 or upon the consummation of a lease that we will receive the funds from escrow.

GRACE CHURCH APARTMENTS

REEL has agreed to a contract for the replacement of the apartment roof for $176,000 by Kay Waterproofing.  Phipps has good experience with this company.  This will be paid for by the Grace Housing Fund remaining balance which the Board had voted to set aside as a capital project reserve.

There is a plan for a cell tower with Metro PCS when the roof is complete.  We unfortunately are in the process of having to re-negotiate the lease because Metro PCS changed lawyers after we thought we had a done deal.  This would generate about $36,000 a year in lease fees.

MADISON AVENUE

A letter of understanding was reached to allow Artimus Developers to explore government funding and subsidies for this project.   They have until September 30, 2010 to present us with a financing plan for the possible development of a 14 story building with senior housing, church facilities, affordable rental apartments, and commercial space.

ST. STEPHEN’S

The restoration work has proceeded well at St. Stephen’s.  I have been to every construction meeting, but one.  The project won a $25,000 grant from the New York Landmarks Sacred Sites Fund.  This was the maximum amount given by the group.  To date with change orders, the contract is at $350,000.  There are some structural issues on future change orders, but I do believe we will be able to bring things in under our budget of $425,000.

NOMADS

I had the chance to meet the Nomads group working at Olmsted Center.  April will share more details, but it was a hard working group.  I took them out for a meal and thanked them on your behalf.  Don Kirby spent most of the time at the Camp with them.  We thank Don for all his hard work as well.

EASTER APPEAL

The Easter appeal for Camp Olmsted and the Summer task force funding raised $6,580 from 75 donors.  Last year was $7,300 but we are still receiving donations.  This appeal replaced the summer mailing.  The spring is a much more effective time for a mailing to our donor list.

The following is a comparison chart of the appeal this year compared to the summer of the last few years.  We are still 23% higher than 2008 and 2007.

Easter Appeal (formerly the summer appeal)

FINALLY

As we approach the summer, I look forward to participating in Camp Olmsted’s summer program.  I have been invited to come and provide worship, which I will plan to do for each session.   I look forward to Field Day again for our summer camp programs at our churches here in the city.

I will also be visiting a number of the summer camps funded by the Summer Task force money as well as some of the mission projects we support through our budget.

I have been invited by United States Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand to attend a Capitol Hill Summit of Faith-Based Leaders on Tuesday, July 13^th, 2010 in Washington, DC.  This is her first faith-based summit of faith leaders representing African-American communities across the Great State of New York.

Our budget and evaluation committee will meet over the summer.  Our administrative committee will need to begin to prepare a budget.

Have a good summer if we do not see you at the June 18^th meeting.

United Methodist City Society Board of Directors Report
Friday, June 18, 2010
Prepared by Ms. April Callender, Associate Executive Director

Olmsted Center

Retreat Program

The retreat program at Olmsted Center served 356 people representing 15 groups during the period of March through June 2010. Retreat participants included 7 Methodist Church groups (170 participants), 3 groups from other denominations (37 participants), 1 not for profit group (20 participants) and 4 family groups (129 participants).  In addition there were two school groups with 266 participants. Although our usage for the year is down overall, these figures represent a significant increase over this period from last year (232 participants).

As you know in 2008, Five Points Mission partnered with the volunteer group the NOMADS (which stands for Nomads on a Mission in Divine Service) and began the renovation of the kitchen in the Dining Hall.  Through their volunteer efforts and with the generous support of the Park Avenue United Methodist Church Trust Fund we have doubled the size of the kitchen and purchased upgraded appliances. The result is a more spacious and energy efficient work space that will better serve our clients and cut down on our long term costs. The NOMADS completed their work on this project earlier this month and the kitchen should be fully operational when the first campers arrive at Olmsted on June 28^th.

You are all invited to Managers Day at Olmsted which will take place on Saturday, July 24^th from 12noon – 3pm. During this annual event you will be given the opportunity to tour our facilities and enjoy a hearty lunch with campers and staff. If you are interested in attending please contact me or Carla Maisonet.

Summer Camp Program

At this writing there are 102 children registered for summer camp, which is comparable to where we were in terms of registration this time last year. Once again, many of these children are registered for more than one session so out of the 240 camper slots available we have campers in 130 of the slots.

We have filled almost all of the positions at camp.  There are still openings for two female counselors. On Monday our staff will be starting their one week mandatory orientation session prior to the start of camp.  This orientation includes sessions on meal planning, first aid, child development, child abuse and appropriate discipline.

This year over 70% of the families registering for camp are applying for scholarships so raising funds to assist families with the camp fees has been a priority. Once again we have received funding from the American Camp Association and the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies for camper scholarships. In addition to these scholarships, the President of the Five Points Mission Board, Mr. Spencer Disher, helped to secure an additional 6 camper scholarships from the Jack and Jill of America Foundation (Westchester Chapter) and the Beta Zeta Foundation.

You will also see in your board package a special appeal for scholarship funds in memory of Janet Hayes.  She was a former President of Five Points Mission and Camp Olmsted had a special place in her heart.

Lastly, on April 8^th we held our sixth annual Camp Scholarship Benefit at Park Avenue United Methodist Church. As you know this event helps us raise funds for camper scholarships. This year the honorees were James W. Perkins, Esq. and the Tremont United Methodist Church After-school Program in the Bronx.  We raised $6,000 for the camp program. Thank you to our honorees and all the Board members that supported this event.

Children’s Program

As we have highlighted in previous meetings, UMCS has contracted with ActKnowledge; a research and evaluation agency based at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Through this relationship we hope to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the centers in the UMCS Children’s program.

In May program staff persons at our centers were asked to have the parents of their students complete surveys to help us assess their satisfaction with the program. The completed surveys will be sent to Actknowledge for analysis. In addition Actknowledge staff will be conducting both in person and telephone interviews with the directors of each of the programs receiving funding for the City Society to find out if they are satisfied with the level and quality of technical assistance being offered by UMCS staff.

Staff continues to make site visits to programs and this is the time of year for closing programs and special events. While this was a good year overall for the Children’s Program in terms of the level of program assistance we were able to provide and the type of information we were able to share with the directors, many of our centers continue to struggle with financial issues and leadership challenges.  There are at least four centers that are about to have transitions in leadership and we are concerned about how these transitions will affect program operation and management in the fall.

Summer Task Force

The funding for the Summer Task Force for 2010 is $30,000.  We received applications from 20 churches.  UMCS staff and members of the Child Care Committee reviewed the applications in May and made funding awards at our meeting in June.

The final award amounts are as follows:

• Asbury United Methodist Church $1,100
• Brooks Memorial United Methodist Church $1,200
• Butler Memorial United Methodist Church $1,500
• Chinese Methodist Center $1,700
• 82^nd street Academy/Community UMC $1,600
• Embury United Methodist Church $1,000
• Epworth United Methodist Church $1,900
• Faith United Methodist Church (Staten island) $1,000
• Fourth Avenue United Methodist Church $   900
• Freeport United Methodist Church $1,400
• John Wesley United Methodist Church $1,200
• Jubilee Cluster United Methodist Church $1,100
• Kings Highway United Methodist Church $1,000
• Salem United Methodist Church $1,900
• St. Johns United Methodist Church $1,200
• St. Mark’s United Methodist Church $1,200
• St. Paul’s United Methodist Church $1,100
• Summerfield United Methodist Church $1,000
• Tremont United Methodist Church $1,700
• Wakefield Grace United Methodist Church  $1,100

In addition to the grant awards listed above the City Society will also be providing tickets to a New York Liberty Summer Camp event in July and purchasing copies of a vacation bible school curriculum from Scripture Union.   We would like to thank the Budget and Evaluation Committee for their continued support of this program.

Head Start

Both of our centers are fully enrolled and are meeting the daily attendance requirement set by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS).

In late March ACS released a concept paper “Early Learn NYC” on the proposed reconfiguration of Child Care services (Head Start, Day Care, and Family Day Care) in New York City.  This paper outlines best practices for child care in New York City and requires that all centers operate programs that are consistent with those practices. Among those practices outlined in the proposal – full day service for children, minimum training levels for teachers and enhanced screening of children.

To ensure that all programs will follow these practices ACS is going to require that all existing child care centers which receive funding through that agency re-apply for the contracts to operate their centers (essentially voiding existing contracts).

We are directly affected by this “Early Learn” concept because:

1)    we will need to submit a new proposal and application for the operation of our centers (even though we are in the midst of a new contract);

2)    currently both of our centers operate half day sessions and would now have to move towards full day service (which would have an impact on our staffing plan and staff hours); and

3)    these new practices do not allow for the existence of centers comprised of less than three classrooms(which would lead to the closure of our center in Long Island City).

Initially the RFP for the Early Learn Initiative was to be released in June with an early August due date.  The latest information is that the RFP will be released in July with a late September/early October due date.

Our director, Mamie Anguiano, and I have been attending information sessions and workshops on the implementation of Early learn NYC. She is working on revised program and staffing plans which would meet the guidelines of Early learn NYC.  I have reached out to Federation for help in securing a consultant who can assist us with the proposal.

On May 7^th staff and parents met to work on the DASAT (Delegate Agency Self Assessment Tool).  During this meeting staff and parents break up into teams to discuss our program operations in different categories such as program design, governance, facilities, parent involvement, etc. Parents and staff outlined the strengths and weaknesses of the program and came together as a group to discuss them.

Thank You!

Our Annual Dinner was a huge success!

Download the 2009 Annual Report [PDF]
Download the Dinner Program [PDF]

[[Show as slideshow]] ]]> http://umcitysociety.org/?feed=rss2&p=290 0 http://umcitysociety.org/?p=264 http://umcitysociety.org/?p=264#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:22:20 +0000 bthooper http://umcitysociety.org/?p=264 Dear Friend of the City Society,

The Easter lilies will soon adorn many church altars.    The flowers of Easter represent new life and new beginnings for us, illustrating the Easter message – as the dark night of the soul ends and new life begins with the dawn of resurrection light.

Every year, I love to sing this beautiful song that reminds me of the seeds of love and hope that we plant in the hearts and lives of the children who come to Camp Olmsted for the summer program run by Five Points Mission:

In the bulb there is a flower, in the seed an apple tree, in cocoons, a hidden promise: Butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter, there’s a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

Together, through the work of the City Society, we are planting seeds.

Our young campers come from many different backgrounds and many different regions of our New York urban area. About 40% have never been to a sleep away camp, and some have never been outside New York City. Camp Olmsted can be a transformative life experience for all the children, as they learn about the beauty and power of nature at the base of Storm King Mountain, in Cornwall-on-Hudson. Summer camp is a place for kids to explore new things and showcase their talents.

For first-timers, camp also opens their minds to a completely different world outside of their everyday life. For 6 year-old James*, a first-time camper from Queens, a summer at Camp Olmsted would broaden his horizons beyond what he was used to at home. His mother had attended Camp Olmsted when she was a child and now she wanted to give her son the opportunity to have the same joyful time and growth experience that she had.

Like many 6 year-olds, James had a very colorful imagination and was eager to participate in all of the activities. Most of all, he enjoyed searching for new insects and frog hunting at camp. And with his newly discovered love of nature, James was always excited to go hiking on the nature trails.

Hiking up Storm King Mountain was a highlight of James’ camp experience. Younger campers usually don’t get the opportunity to hike to the top of the mountain because it is a difficult climb. But James would have it no other way — he was determined to make it to the top.

James and his 3 other group mates were the youngest campers in recent memory to make it all the way to the top of Storm King Mountain and they received certificates for their accomplishment. The climb gave James the confidence to try new things – you might even say that reaching the top of the mountain gave him a whole new view of life.

It was through this new found confidence that James began to excel in many things. He discovered that he was an excellent soccer player and he achieved a record time as he climbed the rock wall at the ropes course. James discovered swimming and found out that he loves art and music too.

According to recent studies children are playing outside less. Children in the USA average just 30 minutes a week of unregulated time outdoors, says Oliver Pergams, a conservation scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. At the same time, he says, the amount of media time for all ages has surged from 1,539 hours spent on TV, movies, video games and the Internet in 1988 to 2,226 last year. That’s six hours a day. Studies have shown that this over-exposure of electronic media has negative physical and psychological effects, including obesity, depression and attention problems.

Outdoor activities reduce attention deficit and hyperactivity symptoms in children, according to a 2004 study by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And our camp helps to plant the seeds of creativity, play, and love for the outdoors for the nearly 300 campers who come each summer.

Please become a “planting partner” once again, so that we can offer more scholarships for children to learn to love the fields and the mountains of Camp Olmsted. Your donation will transform the lives of children and plant the seeds of love, creativity, and hope in them.

I thank you for your past support of this wonderful program and ask that you send your most generous contribution to the City Society today.

Sincerely,

William S. Shillady Executive Director

*We’ve changed the child’s name to protect his privacy.

Each year we provide almost $500,000 in support to local churches and programs throughout the New York Annual conference New York City regions that include helpful and creative programs for children, responding with resources to congregations in need and helping to be a supportive partner with pastors who lead our congregations.   Our financial support of many churches can be found in capital repairs, programmatic and operational support.

Two of the City Society programs we want to highlight are the Scholarships for Urban Ministry and the Summer Day Camp Program Task Force.   We want you to be aware of these programs so that you can find fitting candidates for ministry who might apply for the scholarships and our summer camp program might benefit your local congregation.

The City Society provides scholarships to those persons preparing to enter urban ministry.  Eligible applicants include those persons who are attending or entering seminary and/or those persons seeking advanced training in a particular area of service.  Every year between 8 and 12 scholarships ranging from $500-$2,500 each are awarded. Applications will be available starting in February and will be due in May. For more information or to receive an application package please visit our website at www.umcitysociety.org or contact Reverend William Shillady at bshillady@umcitysociety.org or (212) 870-3084 ext 2.  You will soon be able to download the application from our website.

The City Society also provides grants for local churches that operate summer day camp and vacation bible school programs.  These funds are awarded through an application process and grants range from $250.00 – $1,500.00 and are based on program length and number of children/youth served. Applications are available starting in February and are due in early May. For further information or to receive an application package please visit our website at www.umcitysociety.org or contact Ms. Aisha Campbell at acampbell@umcitysociety.org or (212) 870-3084 ext.6

Also, do you know a child who would benefit from two weeks at camp?

The City Society, through its subsidiary Five Points Mission, operates Camp Olmsted a sleep away camp located in Cornwall on Hudson, NY.

The Olmsted sleep-away camp program serves boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 13 years over four twelve day sessions which start at the end of June and end in late August. During our two week program sessions campers enjoy swimming, hiking, art, dance, drama, reading, science classes, sports and ropes challenge course activities. They learn how to cook in kiddie’s kitchen, they put on dramatic performances and most importantly they make friends that last a lifetime. For more information on the Camp Olmsted program please visit the Five Points Mission website at www.campolmsted.org or contact Ms. April Callender at acallender@umcitysociety.org or (212)870-3084 ext.3.

The City Society has a unique history in caring for children and women.  Our earliest predecessor mission program was formed by Methodist women of lower Manhattan who wanted to care for the newly arrived immigrants to our shores in 1838.  They provided Sunday Schools and a variety of training programs for children and their mothers.   We today continue this historic tradition through our camp and our summer program.  We hope you will support us with your prayers and financial support so that we can continue to care for all of God’s children.

Dr. Shillady previously served as pastor of Park Avenue United Church and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organization.

Read more about Dr. Shillady