By Patrick Scriven

UPDATE: This Zoom offer for local churches is concluding on Monday, April 27. Please act now if your church needs access to Zoom.

In order to assist local churches during this difficult period, the Conferences of the Greater Northwest Area of The United Methodist Church are sponsoring two special initiatives.

The first offering is access to a Zoom Business hosting license at a heavily subsidized rate of $50. Local churches in Alaska, Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest Conferences can submit their request using this simple form.

“During the weeks ahead where we all may need to connect in different ways,” offered Rev. David Valera, Executive Director of Connectional Ministries for the PNW Conference. “We hope that Zoom will serve as a helpful tool for local churches to continue to meet in groups large and small, in worship and other forms of community”

The license churches can purchase will support gatherings of up to 300 persons.

The offer for a subsidized zoom account is now closed. If you would like to be added to the Greater NW Area zoom account at the full rate of $125 for a year, please contact Teri Tobey (ttobey@pnwumc.org) for further assistance.

In addition, the Alaska and Pacific Northwest Conferences have secured streaming permission for the entire CCLI catalog of songs churches in those conferences for the next year. Please note that those churches will still need to secure licensing for songs outside of the CCLI catalogue if they choose to use them online. Some churches have found success with pairing the CCLI license with OneLicense or Christian Copyright Solutions, both of which cover more hymns in the United Methodist Hymnal.”

UPDATE: We are happy to share that OneLicense is offering a free license good through April 15, 2020.

In both the Alaska and Pacific Northwest Conferences, the conference’s insurance coverage has included basic CCLI licensing for local churches for several years. Streaming is an add-on feature that costs between $63 and $93 per license per year depending on the size of the church.

Churches in the Oregon-Idaho Conference are currently responsible for their own CCLI licensing. They are encouraged to contact the company to discuss flexibility in streaming permissions and/or use songs in public domain.

Please be in touch with Regional Media Center Director Ian McKnight (imcknight@pnwumc.org) if you have questions about how to access and use your CCLI license. Each church in the Alaska and PNW Conference has an individual CCLI license number which they should be using whenever they reproduce music for congregational use, and now for streaming online.

As Regional Media Center Manager, Ian is also a great resource for answered copyright and licensing questions for churches in across the Greater Northwest Area.

Zoom Details

We will bill those who sign up for a Zoom account $50 with the option to renew at our full rate (approximately $120) in January of 2021. The same license is available on the Zoom.us site for $19.99 per month (over $250 per year after taxes). One subsidized license is available per local church. An additional scholarship is ready for churches in need.

Please note that we are offering one hosting license on our shared Greater NW account. If you need more than one hosting license, additional licenses would be $125 + Tax.

Patrick Scriven serves as Director of Communications and Young People’s Ministries for the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Compiled by Kathy Bryson and Larry Johnson

The local church is a place where people connect — with God, with each other and in the community. People naturally turn to the church in times of a crisis seeking meaning, peace, and healing. A church that is prepared can help mitigate the emotional and spiritual impact of a disaster and may be a place of hospitality and sanctuary in times of critical need. A plan can speed the immediate response and help lessen those feelings of confusion, loneliness, and isolation that are so common after disasters. 

Here are some suggestions to stay “Church Connected”:

Congregation Checks
Prepare a method of checking on the congregation of the church when a disaster strikes. i.e. developing a “telephone tree” or utilizing “prayer chains” communications. Develop an “Outreach Committee.” Update and make church directories available.

Check on shut-ins and most vulnerable church members first
Call, visit, reach out to family members to make contact with church members. Notify the local rescue squad if there is a call for concern or evacuation, giving all pertinent details. 

Companions
Arrange for people (volunteers) to serve as companions for vulnerable or disaster-affected people. Companions should be prepared to listen, run errands, make phone calls; anything to help church members feel more comfortable and ease the anxiety. If possible, arrange for persons with skills in signing for the hearing impaired, and translators for non-English speaking people. 

Make contingencies for providing services as soon as possible after the disaster 
Consider identifying an alternate location in case the church is damaged, perhaps including a reciprocal agreement with another church. Be open to alternative ways of holding service — videotape service, use website, and online capabilities.  Be prepared in the event that the pastor is affected by the disaster. 

Determine ways existing ministries can continue in the event the church is damaged
Develop a plan in case in-church ministries, such as child care, bible study, AA meetings, etc. need to be canceled. Identify and plan for ministries your church will engage in during a disaster, such as feeding, donations distribution, information center, etc.

Larry Johnson serves as Disaster Preparedness and Response Coordinator for the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. Along with her husband Dana, Kathy Bryson serves as Disaster Response Coordinator for the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference.