Connect is a Missouri Conference college age spiritual life retreat, held at First UMC in Jefferson City, Friday/Saturday, Feb. 5-6. You can still come. Email bevboehmer@aol.com. Cost is $25, which includes snacks Friday night and three meals on Saturday. The event begins at 7 p.m. on Friday night with registration. The first session at 9 p.m. Bring you sleeping bag. The event concludes on Saturday with supper at 5 p.m.

iLead is a youth leadership conference. It is for adults working with youth and youth who are leaders. Michael Novelli will be teaching the method of "Storying" as a way of Bible Study. It is Feb. 12-13 at Wesley UMC in Jefferson City. We will continue to take registrations through Monday, Feb. 8. Cost is $25 for the first person and $20 for each additional person. Questions, check the web site: www.moumethodist.org/youthevents or contact bevboehmer@aol.com

Confimation with the Bishop will be held at three locations. It will be in Columbia and St. Louis on Feb. 19-20 and in Kansas City on Feb. 26-27. Check the registration and information about each site: www.moumethodist.org/youthevents. There will a Friday night worship at a Jewish Synagogue. Saturday we will learn about the Greek Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and worship with Bishop Schnase. All adults must be Conference Safe Sanctuaries certified. Overnight is in a United Methodist church. If you have questions, e-mail bevboehmer@aol.com.

Did you know every year across the U.S., 200,000 youths are tried, sentenced or incarcerated as adults and on any given day, and nearly 7,500 youths are locked up in adult jails, and 2,600 are locked up in adult prisons? Join theGeneral Board of Church and Society and The Conference Social Justice Team on Feb. 7th Day of Prayer for Criminal Justice Reform. For more information contact: bmefford@umc-gbcs.org

The Office of Creative Ministries has received thousands of Health Kits that need to be inspected and packed into Church World Service cartons. Volunteers are needed to verify the contents of each kit, remove extra packaging, and make the kits as compact as possible. Kits will then be placed in cartons sealed and loaded onto the Festival of Sharing trailer. Work will begin at 8 a.m. at Fairview UMC and continue till all kits are ready for shipment. Lunch will be provided for those working at lunch time. E-mail Terri Williams at festival@socket.net or call 573-474-3332 for information or to volunteer.

United Methodist New Service has just released a video of Haiti pictures taken by Paul Jefferies. The video is about ACTS, the organization that we United Methodist have been working through in Haiti. The video shows the Church World Service kit cartons like the ones we filled at the Festival of Sharing in October reaching Haiti. The cartons are likely the very cartons we packed in Sedalia. Watch the video at http://tinyurl.com/mchaiti23