2010 Annual Meeting

As communicators, we often serve as a bridge between people of one culture and those of another. In our work, we are often asked to interpret and clarify complex organizational structures, theological concepts and even "insider" language as we share our stories with those outside our walls.

 

It seems fitting, then, as we look at ways to bridge the gap between the many different cultures in our denomination, our communities and our world that we meet in San Francisco, Calif., home of the towering Golden Gate Bridge. The United Methodist Association of Communicators Annual Meeting will be held at the Hotel Whitcomb, on the edge of the Mission District of San Francisco, Oct. 19 through 22.

 

Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr. of the California-Nevada Annual Conference will welcome us with worship mid-morning Tuesday, sending us out to engage in a Rethink Church project in the neighborhood later that day. At dinner that evening, the Rev. Eric Law of the Kaleidoscope Institute in Los Angeles will deliver the keynote address, looking at the power shifts as amateurs have equal access to media outlets as professionals and how that shift effects the work we do.

 

We have wonderful workshops planned. Wayne Rhodes of the General Board of Church and Society will offer a workshop on advocacy and communications. Other workshops include a look at communicating multi-culturally, Safe sanctuaries and communications, video conferencing and local church marketing strategies.

 

This year, we will be meeting concurrently with the United Methodist Information Technology Association (UMITA) and are working together on a couple of workshops and panels that look at the cross-cultural communications between those on the communications side of the web and those on the IT side.

 

The awards competition will open on July 1 and close Sept. 1, so take a look at the entry categories and get your work organized.