Ingathering at Annual Conference 2023

Each year at our Annual Conference, churches are asked to donate items for people in need or people suffering from disasters. This year the conference Mission Motivation Committee is again working with Midwest Mission Distribution Center to collect items for the Personal Dignity Kits and Home Care Kits. Midwest Mission distributes the kits locally, nationally and internationally to those in need during times of crisis. All supplies are given free of charge regardless of gender, race or religion.

Kits and items that make up those kits, should be brought to Annual Conference at the KI Center in Green Bay. The Midwest Mission truck will be there for collection on June 9th & 10th. If you are not able to make it to Green Bay this year you can bring donations to one of the Ingathering 2023 drop off sites. Monetary donations can be brought to Annual Conference or mailed to The Wisconsin Conference, 750 Windsor Street, Suite 104, Sun Prairie, WI 53590 - please note Ingathering 2023 in the memo. To process donations efficiently and get them where needed quickly, we ask for a list of the items donated. You can help the person who delivers the items -and save everyone some time- by filling out the Donation Form ahead of time.  All items should be NEW – and all kits should have only the items requested. Thanks! View kit details

Volunteers are needed to check in and load donations at Annual Conference in Green Bay anytime during our drop off hours: Friday, June 9th 10am-4pm and Saturday, June 10th 8am-2pm. Contact bonnieclement05@gmail.com to help.

Award Descriptions:

• Thelma W. Gregg Award
  • One recipient lay Sponsored by Board of Global Ministries (BGM) The Thelma W. Gregg Award is given to someone who has demonstrated Christian commitment in tireless promotion of the missionary outreach of the Church. The award gift to be designated to an Advance project by the recipient. 
  • Contact: Mary Balson, Click to Email
  • Thelma Gregg Memorial Fund Award Nomination Form
• Harry Denman Award
  • ​Three recipients (clergy, laity, and youth)
  • Sponsored by Connectional Table Resource Team
  • Harry Denman Awards are given to lay, clergy and youth who are nominated by United Methodists in Wisconsin for their outstanding ministry in the area of evangelism. Harry Denman, in whose memory the award is named, was a lay UM whose personal witness and invitation may have brought more people to Christ and his Church than any other person in the last century. The award is made possible by the Foundation of Evangelism, which was founded in 1949 by Dr. Denman.
  • Contact: Becky Mueller, Click here to email
  • Harry Denman Evangelism Award Nomination Form
• Love in Action Award
  • One recipient lay or clergy
  • Sponsored by Disaster Response Team of the Board of Global Ministries (BGM) The Love in Action Award is presented by the Disaster Response Committee to recognize outstanding commitment to and passion for God's mission through disaster response and relief.
  • Contact: Bud Budzinski, Click here to email
• Perry Saito Award
  •  Two recipients one layperson and one clergyperson 
  • Sponsored by the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA)
  • The Perry Saito Award is given by the Wisconsin Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) to individuals who demonstrate their loyalty to Christ through faith and work to further justice and peace through the UMC. Rev. Perry Saito lived and taught nonviolence and respect for all of life. Saito’s Christian faith and commitment to peace and justice was shaped by experiences in Japanese internment camps in California during World War II. The international peace group called Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) sponsored Perry to get out of the relocation/internment camp in 1943 and hired him as a race relations secretary. He was a leading figure in justice and reconciliation ministries regarding peace, poverty, and people’s rights. Perry worked for the Meth odist church as an MYF camp counselor during this time as well. He entered the Methodist ministry and served at Chicago: St. Paul’s and Christian Fellowship (Japanese). After transferring to Wisconsin, he served at Beloit: First, Stevens Point: St. Paul’s Director of Wesley Foundation, Eau Claire: Lake Street, Supt. NC District, Wauwatosa: Wauwatosa Avenue, and Neenah: First.
  • Contact: Dan Dick, Click here to email
• Francis Asbury Award
  • One recipient clergy or lay
  • Sponsored by Board of Higher Education and Student Ministry (BHESM) The Francis Asbury Award is given to a person who has been instrumental in supporting, strengthening, and promoting the church's work in higher education ministries (in schools, colleges, campus ministries, scholarships, Black College Fund, Africa University) and offers outstanding leadership to help bring awareness to the significance of the church's higher education ministries.
  • Contact: Liz Alexander, Click here to email
• Lois C. Olsen "Ministry of Memory" Award
  • One recipient clergy or lay
  • Sponsored by Wisconsin Conference UMC Commission on Archives and History
  • The Lois C Olsen Ministry of Memory Award is presented at Annual Conference each year to recognize and encourage excellence in archival and historical work in our local churches and our Annual Conference. Lois was the driving force behind the collection of so many local church histories, records, and stories from our Wisconsin Conference. The award named in her honor is meant to identify and inspire those Wisconsin United Methodists, especially at the level of the local church, who through their efforts have made significant contributions to the preservation of the records and stories that define us as a fai th community.
  • Contact: Lynn Lubkeman, Click here to email