Any young clergy in their first appointments interested in getting together online for conversation and support? If so, email Jenny Smith at jkbsmith@gmail.com. 

 Here's the transcript from our prayer gathering tonight. Thanks everybody! That was a great way to spend 30 minutes the week before Christmas.
http://www.scribblelive.com/Event/30_minutes_of_prayer?Page=0

UMC Young Clergy invites the wider church to engage in 30 minutes of prayer for all who will encounter the Christmas message this season. All are invited to gather here on Scribble Live on Thursday, December 17 from 9:00-9:30pm EST. 
 
The only guidelines:

• All typed comments should be directed towards God
• Be inclusive in our language
• Pray as you feel led!

Social Media:

We're looking for young clergy representatives from each conference. Once that network is in place, we'll move forward with our dreams and plans for a national gathering of UMC young clergy. Email umcyoungclergy@gmail.com if you're interested in finding out more!

Are you discerning a call into ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church? These blog posts are from people who are currently in the candidacy process or are serving the church in other ways. Enjoy!
If you're between 18-24 years old, we invite you to check out Exploration 2009 in Dallas this November. More info here.
 
Ben Simpson http://bensimpson.squarespace.com/

We wanted to share the statistics of how many visitors we had to the 40 Days of Prayer page from May 18 to June 25. 
 
An average of 550 people visited the first several days. The second week averaged 275. The third week averaged 175. The last two weeks averaged 100 visitors each day. 
 

Is your Annual Conference on Twitter? We've started a list in the Social Media Guide on the Online Community page. Email info@umcyoungclergy.com to add yours to the list.

How has the 40 days of prayer effort been for you? What's it been like to pray alongside hundreds of your brothers & sisters in Christ? We want to share your stories, ideas, comments, etc. Tell us here!
 

Our colleagues from Kansas West set up a booth at their Annual Conference. They got some great pictures! http://www.flickr.com/photos/jslater316/sets/72157618584141457/. 
Here's Andrew Conard's blog post on what they had at the booth and the positive outcome.

Young Clergy pray for UMC's future - Dallas Methodist Examiner
40 Days of Prayer Begins - UM Portal
UM Press Release