Monday Evening: Registration will begin at 5 p.m. Our opening session will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will include some amazing local entertainment, coffee and desserts.
Tuesday: We’ll have a light breakfast available beginning at 8:30 a.m. and begin our first session at 9 a.m. The speakers for the day will include D’Esta Love from Pepperdine University, Jennifer Thweat-Bates, a NYC resident and doctoral student from Princeton Theological Seminary, Pepperdine professor Regan Schaffer, and Charme Robarts, the Involvement Minister from the Skillman Church of Christ in Dallas. We will also have times of meditation and worship, and a specific opportunity for women from similar ministry areas to meet and share experiences. Tuesday evening will be a special time in which we invite women from our local congregations to join us. We want them to have the opportunity to meet the conference participants, and for the conference participants to get to know some of the locals! Dinner will be provided.
Wednesday: Again we’ll have a light breakfast available beginning at 8:30 a.m. and begin our first session at 9 a.m. Debbie Pauls, the Minister of Involvement at the Stamford Church of Christ in Connecticut and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker will lead two sessions for us focusing on self-care and mindfulness. The morning will include a session in which we experiment with some gentle yoga combined with Christian spirituality (so wear comfortable clothes!). This will be led by Vicenta Jacobs, a member of the Culver Palms Church of Christ and dedicated yogini, as well as a long time student of Christian spirituality and spiritual disciplines. Lunch will be provided on Wednesday and we will conclude our time together with a session led by storyteller Jan Hughes. Jan will help us to look at our own stories to discover what God is doing in our lives. We will conclude the conference at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
We have set aside a section of the conference to be especially appropriate for women in our local congregations – women who are not involved in professional ministry, but are listening for God’s call on their lives nevertheless. Please join us for a time of fellowship and edification on Tuesday evening, May 13. The schedule for the evening is printed below.
You may register for the evening by emailing us at wmn2008@gmail.com and paying the $15 registration fee though our paypal account. Or you may register by contacting the Manhattan Church of Christ office (212.737.4900).
Schedule for Tuesday Evening, May 13
4:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Snacks and Welcome
Vocational Discernment: What if I Don’t Hear God’s Call?
Regan Schaffer, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
Dinner Together
Living as a Hospitable Presence: The Vocation of all Believers
Charme Robarts, Skillman Church of Christ, Dallas, Texas
Storyteller Jan Hughes, Fieldsburg, PA
We also need congregational volunteers to help with the conference. If you are available to help any time Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday (May 12 – 14), please contact the Manhattan Church of Christ office (212.737.4900) or email wmn2008@gmail.com. Thanks!
(we have extended the early registration deadline by 2 weeks to allow you a little more time to get your registration in and make plans to join us)
Early Registration with housing = $150
Early Registration without housing = $50
Early Registration with housing Plus = $300
Late Registration with housing = $175
Late Registration without housing = $75
Late Registration with housing Plus = $325
You will not find a better deal for a hotel in Manhattan than the one we have arranged with the Hotel Belleclaire. The newly renovated hotel is just 1.5 miles from the Manhattan Church of Christ building, which is an easy walk, bus ride or taxi ride. If you stay with our group in the five shared suites, you will not have to pay the usual New York City and State hotel sales taxes of 13.375% and $3.50 occupancy fee per room, per night, because Manhattan church is a non-profit organization. And perhaps most importantly, the Lilly Foundation is generously subsidizing the conference through a grant to Pepperdine University, further cutting the hotel fees almost in half.
Housing at Hotel Belleclaire for two-bedroom suite with three full beds = $379/night
With 6 people in a suite, cost is roughly $63 per person per night = $189 for three nights
Food for one dinner ($15) + one lunch ($10) + breakfast and snacks for two days ($10) + materials and housing for speakers ($15) = $50
So housing $189 + food and materials $50 = $239
Then, subtracting the Lilly grant subsidy, $239 minus $89 = $150 per person!
Registration with housing Plus = $300 because you are in effect paying the fee of two people in order to have one person, yourself, in the bed instead of two
The conference sessions will be at the Manhattan Church of Christ, 48
East 80th Street, New York, NY 10075. Click here
<http://manhattanchurch.org/location.asp> for directions and parking
information.
Conference participants will be staying at the Hotel Belleclaire, 250
West 77th St. at Broadway, New York, NY 10024. Click here
<http://hotelbelleclaire.com/directions.php> for directions. Call
1-877-HOTELBC for information about parking near the hotel.
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The closest airport to the Manhattan Church of Christ is LaGuardia Airport. There are a variety of ground transportation options from LaGuardia to Manhattan, including bus, shuttle and taxi, all of which you can find right in front of the terminals. If you are able to carry your suitcase on a public bus like a local, you can get to the hotel or church building on public transportation in about an hour for $2. If you would rather pay for the convenience of a taxi, you can get a yellow cab at the airport taxi stand for about $25 to the hotel or church. Up to four adults can share a taxi to the same location for the same price. Depending on traffic, you can probably reach the church or the hotel from LGA in about half an hour. Signs to the taxi stand or the public bus are pretty clear. (More extensive directions for using public transportation will be posted in a document for downloading and printing soon.)
John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport are good options as well, however they are a little farther away therefore ground transportation will be more expensive. Taxis from JFK to anywhere in Manhattan charge a standard flat fare of $45 plus tolls and tip. Taxis from Newark to Manhattan charge $50-75 depending on the destination. For $15, the Newark Liberty Airport Express bus will take you to midtown Manhattan, where you can take the subway or a taxi a short ride the rest of the way. The same is true for JFK with the New York Airport Express bus. Newark and JFK also have AirTrains which take passengers from the airport to a subway station. From Newark to NY Penn Station in midtown is about $12, and from JFK to connect with the A or E trains in Queens is $5.
Using public transportation and taxis is part of the experience of visiting NYC. Check back later for more detailed instructions on how to navigate the city. For any questions regarding transportation and tourism, feel free to email us at wmn2008@gmail.com.
There are two ways to register for the 2008 Women in Ministry Conference.
You may register online. Email the following information to wmn2008@gmail.com:
– your name
– a brief description of your place of ministry and ministry focus
– your registration option
– who you would like to room with
Click HERE to pay your registration fee with your credit card or paypal account. Please carefully review the registration options so that you know the exact amount to pay.
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Alternately, you may register by mail. Send your check and registration information to
Women in Ministry Conference
Manhattan Church of Christ
48 E. 80th Street
New York, NY 10075
Please send your questions to our conference email address: wmn2008@gmail.com. We will do our best to answer your questions.
Amy Bost Henegar (Manhattan Church of Christ)
Robyn Shores Foster (Manhattan Church of Christ)
Malissa Endsley (Bronx Fellowship of Christ)
Jennifer Thweat-Bates (Christ’s Church for Brooklyn)
Debbie Pauls (Stamford Church of Christ)
Amy Root (Princeton Seminary Field Education Student — Manhattan Church of Christ)
Sight Seeing Suggestions for Monday, May 12, 2008
DOWNTOWN/LOWER MANHATTAN:
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Immigration Museum
Both attractions are on islands in New York Harbor and must be reached by ferry from Battery Park on the southern tip of Manhattan.
Subway: Take 1 to South Ferry, 4/5 to Bowling Green, or R/W to Whitehall St.
Ferries run every half hour starting at 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Last return ferry leaves Liberty at 5 p.m. and Ellis Island at 5:15 p.m.
Security opens at 9 a.m. Allow 3-4 hours for whole experience.
Admission: $12 adults, $10 seniors 62+ (covers ferry ride, islands are free)
Once you are on the ferry, you can get off at Liberty for a while, get back on the next ferry to the Ellis Island, get off for a while, and get on the next ferry back to Battery Park. Since September 11, 2001, Liberty’s crown has been closed to the public. The highest you can go up is in the pedestal for which you need a timed reserved ticket from www.statuecruises.com. The pedestal pass does not cost extra, but must be reserved because they sell out. The view of Manhattan and the harbor from both islands is lovely without going up into the pedestal.
Ground Zero/World Trade Center site/St. Paul’s Chapel
The World Trade Center site is bounded by Church, Liberty, West and Vesey streets in lower Manhattan. It can be viewed at any time of day or night from the surrounding sidewalk and from the PATH train station below the street level. Prepare yourself because it can be overwhelming to imagine that within this gap used to stand six buildings, two of which were more than twice as tall as any nearby buildings.
If you want to learn more, you can take a tour from a guide with a September 11 connection (survivor, family member, recovery worker) through the Tribute WTC Visitor Center www.tributewtc.org at 120 Liberty St. at 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm and 3 pm. Arrive one hour before desired tour time to buy your $10 ticket. Tour is 1 hr, 15 min.
Subway: E to World Trade Center, R/W to Cortlandt St, 2/3/4/5/J/M/Z to Fulton St., A/C to Broadway-Nassau
Adjacent to Ground Zero is St. Paul’s Chapel, an Episcopal church that was home to an extraordinary eight-month volunteer relief effort after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. “Unwavering Spirit,” a free interactive exhibit, honors that ministry. Built in 1766, the church is Manhattan’s oldest public building in continuous use. George Washington attended church there. See www.saintpaulschapel.org.
St. Paul’s Chapel: 209 Broadway b/w Fulton and Vesey; (212) 233-4164
Chapel Exhibit Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Free Concert Series: Mondays from 1-2 p.m.
Prayers for Peace: Daily at 12:30 p.m.
SoHo/Greenwich Village/Chinatown
You can spend hours wandering around the shops, galleries and restaurants of these colorful neighborhoods. Great people watching! Just walk around and see what you can find. SoHo is known for its shopping and art galleries now; it used to be home to warehouses and manufacturing, which were then taken over by starving artists. Then, because the artists had made the neighborhood cool, it became too chic for them to afford to live there anymore. This happens over and over in NYC neighborhoods. A good place to get off the subway in SoHo is Prince St. (N/R/W) Greenwich Village is the home to New York University (NYU), which is centered around Washington Square Park. You can always catch some impromptu performance art, protest or religious proselytizing there, often all going on at the same time. Again, the Village was home to hippie culture, but now it is too expensive for real hippies to live there! Take the N/R/W to 8th St-NYU or the A/C/E/B/D/F/V to West 4th St. Obviously, Chinatown is home to Chinese immigrants, stores and restaurants. Subway: N/R/W/Q/6 to Canal St
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MIDTOWN MANHATTAN:
Fifth Avenue/Rockefeller Center/St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Rockefeller Center is the famous complex of buildings that includes Radio City Music Hall; an outdoor ice skating rink; studios for the Today Show, Saturday Night Live, and Conan O’Brian; interesting outdoor and indoor sculptures; and lots of shopping. The 19 buildings are between 48th and 51st Streets and Fifth and Seventh Avenues. The centerpiece is the 70-story GE Building, with the Top of the Rock observation deck on the 67-70th floors, open 8 a.m.-11 p.m.
Top of the Rock Admission: $20 adults, $18 seniors 62+
Directly across Fifth Avenue is the Saks Fifth Avenue department store and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Other famous Fifth Avenue stores are Tiffany’s and FAO Schwarz.
Subway: B/D/F/V to 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center station.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Ave (between 33rd/34th Streets); 212-736-3100
Open daily 9:30 am-midnight. Admission: $19 adults, $17 seniors 62+
Advance tickets can be purchased at www.esbnyc.com for a $2 service charge. This saves you some time waiting in line at the building. However, you still have to go through security line before you go up.
From the 86th floor observatory on a clear day, you can see four states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. This is the best way to get a perspective on how massive and dense this city really is. Once you are up top, you can stay as long as you like. It’s nice to go before sunset and watch the sun go down over the city as the lights come on. It’s also a nice place to pray for the city of New York.
Subway: B/D/F/V/N/R/Q/W to 34th St-Herald Square or 6 to 33rd St.
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street, between 5th and 6th Aves; (212) 708-9400
Monday hours: 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Admission: $20 for adults, $16 for seniors, $12 for students with ID
Examples of the famous works here are Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Monet’s Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond. Renoir, Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, Warhol and Pollack are also well represented. Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory is not currently on view. The wonderful thing about the modern art museum is that these famous trailblazing older works are alongside current works that always provoke thought.
Subway: E/V to 5th Ave-53rd St, N/R/W to 5th Ave-59th St, B/D/E to 7th Ave.
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UPPER WEST SIDE/UPPER EAST SIDE:
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West b/w West 77th and 81st Streets; (212) 769-5100
Open Daily: 10 a.m.–5:45 p.m.
Admission fee is suggested: $15 for adults, $11 for seniors/students but you can pay what you want – even just a quarter!
This is the place featured in the movie, Night at the Museum, with all the dinosaur bones and a cool planetarium.
Subway: B/C to 81st St.-Museum of Natural History, but also walking distance from Manhattan Church of Christ and Hotel Belleclaire.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue, at 88th Street; (212) 423-3500
Monday Hours: 10 a.m.–5:45 p.m.
Admission: $18 adults, $15 seniors/students with ID
This is the famous round building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Note: Thannhauser and Kandinsky galleries are temporarily closed due to restoration, and the exterior is also being renovated, so it doesn’t look very impressive right now.
Subway: 4/5/6 to 86th St, and walking distance from Manhattan Church of Christ.
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Please feel free to contact Malissa Endsley of the conference planning committee if you have any questions, get lost, etc. She’ll help you get there!
Cell: 917-691-7438 or email: malissa.endsley@gmail.com
GROUND TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS
from JOHN F. KENNEDY AIRPORT
to Manhattan Church of Christ or Hotel Belleclaire
When you arrive Monday, you can either go directly to the Hotel Belleclaire (250 West 77th St. at Broadway) or to the Manhattan Church of Christ (48 East 80th St., between Madison and Park Aves.), where we will store your luggage until you are ready to go to the hotel.
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TAXI
Cost: A standard flat fare of $45 plus bridge toll and tip. Up to four people can ride together for one fare, so this is cost-effective for groups.
Time: About 40 minutes, but could be longer depending on traffic, time of day.
How: Follow the signs to the taxi stand and wait for attendant to put you in next yellow cab. Tell your driver the address for the church (48 East 80th Street, b/w Madison and Park) or the Hotel Belleclaire (250 West 77th St. at Broadway).
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SUPER SHUTTLE
Cost: The website www.supershuttle.com estimates the ride from JFK Airport to the Hotel Belleclaire or the Manhattan Church of Christ will cost $21 for the first person and $12 for each additional person. This is only cost-effective if you are alone or a pair. Three-four people can share a faster cab for same or less cost.
Time: At least 45 minutes, but possibly much longer, depending on other passengers’ destinations, traffic, time of day.
How: Make a reservation online or at ground transportation desk upon arrival. (See above for church and hotel addresses.)
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AIRTRAIN/SUBWAY
Cost: $7 with MetroCard. This is cost-effective for individuals or groups.
Time: About one hour, 15 minutes.
How: Follow these directions from JFK to Manhattan Church of Christ:
• In airport terminal, follow the signs to the Airtrain. Take the Airtrain to Jamaica Station. (You will pay when you get off the Airtrain.)
• Buy a $7 MetroCard from the vending machine. ($5 will be debited when you exit Airtrain and $2 when you enter subway). If you plan to take public transportation during your whole trip, consider buying a $20 card instead.
• Jamaica Station has trains for the Long Island Railroad and the NYC subway. Go past the LIRR platforms and follow signs downstairs to the subway.
• Take the Manhattan-bound/World Trade Center-bound E train about seven stops to the Lexington Ave/53rd St station.
• Get off the E train and follow signs to transfer to the uptown 6 train.
• After three stops, get off at 77th St. Go upstairs to street level.
• Walk up Lexington Ave. three blocks to 80th St. Turn left/west on 80th St.
• Walk 1-1/2 blocks to the church building (48 East 80th St.) It will be on the left after you have crossed Park Ave.
• If no one is in the lobby, press the button to the left of the front door and you will be buzzed in. Come to the offices on the second floor.
How: Follow these directions from JFK to Hotel Belleclaire:
• In airport terminal, follow the signs to the Airtrain. Take the Airtrain to Jamaica Station. (You will pay when you get off the Airtrain.)
• Buy a $7 MetroCard from the vending machine. ($5 will be debited when you exit Airtrain and $2 when you enter subway). If you plan to take public transportation during your whole trip, consider buying a $20 card instead.
• Jamaica Station has trains for the Long Island Railroad and the NYC subway. Go past the LIRR platforms and follow signs downstairs to the subway.
• Take the Manhattan-bound/World Trade Center-bound E train about eleven stops to the 42nd St-Port Authority Bus Terminal station.
• Get off the E train and follow the signs to transfer to the uptown/Bronx-bound 1 train. You’ll have a bit of a walk between the two trains’ platforms.
• After five stops on the 1 train, get off at 79th St. Go upstairs to street level.
• Walk down Broadway two blocks to 77th St.
• The Hotel Belleclaire is near the corner of Broadway and 77th St.
