Having trouble viewing this email?

Click here

National United Methodist Rural Advocates

April 2017 In This Issue:

JOHN DAY, OREGON

PART-TIME CLERGY

FROM THE CHAIR

UMRA? WHERE?

ANNUAL MEETING

NETworX

PRAYERS

IGNITE! UPDATE

SHARE YOUR STORIES

MEMBERSHIP

WE ARE ... A New Way of Ministry

THE UNITED in John Day, Oregon
METHODIST A Trinity of Pastors
RURAL
ADVOCATES
John Day, Oregon is a town of about 1700
You would not ignore a nestled in between the southern tip of the
community more than seven Blue Mountains and Strawberry Mountain
times larger than New York City. Range in eastern Oregon. It is thought to be
Yet the rural population in the
United States, with over 60
million people, is often
overlooked because they are not
all living in the same area.
Whether your church is urban or
rural church, large or small, the
UMRA invites you to join our
association of clergy and laity in
reaching out to meet the needs
of people from rural
communities, their churches and
their pastors.
We provide advocacy at General
Conference and Annual
Conferences to affect rule
changes that enable churches to
better minister in their
communities, provide
educational opportunities for the
leaders of rural churches to
better serve their church bodies,
and support church leaders in
personal growth and ministry.
OFFICERS
Chair - Randy Wall -
RandyLWall@aol.com
Vice Chair - Alan Bolte
pastor@umcgrmn.org
Secretary - Sue Grace
smgrlg51@yahoo.com
named after a rascal traveler named John
Day who was traveling through on a westward
journey. People often confuse our town with
the John Day Dam on the Columbia River. No
connection but perhaps J.D. stopped there,
too.
With the discovery of gold in 1862, the towns
in Grant County grew with miners, Chinese,
and other curious seekers. In time the
Methodist Church began to established
churches in Prairie City, Canyon City and
John Day. Circuit riders first brought the word
to the people.
Presently the Canyon City church is still
standing though not in use. Several people
had hoped to rebuild it but were
unsuccessful. The Prairie City Church was
closed in 2010 and is now a Community
Center for special events. That leaves the
John Day Church.
Spring of 2015 brought many changes to our
church. We knew the current pastor would be
leaving and we were prepared to settle for a
3/4 pastor....even 1/ 2 but the Bishop had
other plans. If the church was to continue, it
would have to be lay lead. This was hard for
many people. For all the years the Methodist
Church had existed in Grant County there had
been a minister. Enter the three of us who
 stepped up and said, "We'll do it!" There were
Spiritual Dir - Peggy Jeffries probably a few that thought... "but you aren't
peggyx15@yahoo.com
ministers."

Comm Dir - Michele Holloway We are known as

Shermayne,
michele.holloway@yahoo.com
Becky, and
Advocacy Dir - Mollie Stewart Sherry. All
members of the
gulfsideum@att.net John Day
UMC. At times we
Membership - Carl Ellis
may be called Los
ckellis70@gmail.com Amigos or Las
Tres
Treasurer - Judy Hill Senoritas. And
our treasurer, when we want something, will
judyh@plainstel.com
refer to us as "pushy women."

Visit our webpage @ (L to R: Becky, Sherry, Shermayne)

http://www.umruraladvocates.org
/

The first challenge came in August when the Canyon Creek Complex Fire
exploded burning over 70,000 acres and destroying 43 homes and
outbuildings. The community came together with the churches as well as many
social agencies offering support. The support from many of our sister United
Methodist churches was incredible. The charred trees are still visible but the
grateful county residents have rebuilt many of their homes or relocated and
moved on with their lives.

There has been a lot of guidance and support from many people as well as
other churches. We really appreciate the support and fellowship of the High
Desert Colloquy. We have partnered with the local Episcopal Church for many
things....special services and a women's monthly breakfast. As our
representative, Becky is involved in the John Day Ministerial Association. The
first week of April this group will host a Spring Roundup. With open minds and
doors, churches will have an opportunity to share their programs with the
community and invite those seeking a church family. Lots of activities are
planned with a guest minister from Texas. The John Day church will have an
active part in this exciting adventure.

Three women leading a church....you might wonder if that is possible??? First

and foremost, the wellbeing and survival of our church is the number one
priority. We rotate the Sunday morning worship services and special study
groups. Becky is our tech guru. Shermayne is our interior designer. Sherry is
the writer and continues to publish the newsletter; plus many, many other
responsibilities. Each of us has found our own niche in the life of the church.

Our congregation.....we can't say enough about their love, support and
encouragement. Amen. Amen and Amen.

A member of the church was asked when she thought we'd finally be getting a
minister. Her reply, "I already have three!"

Another member remarked at one of the early council meetings, "Something is

happening here; I can feel it and it feels good!"

The outreach of this church thru the Helping Hands Food Pantry, Thrift Shop,
and church Needy Fund has touched many lives in our community. Just
recently, our church received a generous donation and a big thank you from
an individual who had received assistance over the years. "Pay It Forward"
has become a part of so many people's lives and organizations and it was
wonderful as well as emotional to see this church at the receiving end.

How has all of this affected the three of us........

Becky Carey: What initially seemed like a burden to me quickly became such a
blessing in my life. I soon found myself praying and thinking about these folks
all through my days and often waking with thoughts of them. The love, caring
and support of each one of them is what makes the John Day United
Methodist Church a church of the people. It is once again their church, serving
God and serving the community.

Sherry Feiger: When I retired 8 years ago from teaching, I wasn't ready. But
through subbing and volunteering at school, I made the transition. And now
there is a new road to travel. Sometimes I think Webster has the definition all
wrong! Retirement: "the act of retiring; the state of being retired; the period
after you have stopped your job or profession." One of these days I will
consider those thoughts. But when one door closes, another always opens.
Involvement in the church has always been a part of my life. I just never
imagined it would be this way. I can tell you our God is persistent but patient.
When he calls, answer. Your life will never be the same!!

Shermayne Boethin: One beautiful Sunday June morning, you could see the
 anxious faces of our congregation. We had asked for a change in ministers but
had just learned there would be no replacement. We were left with a dilemma.
Our Lay Leader, Sherry Feiger, and SPRC chairman, Becky Carey,
approached me with the idea that we take over the duties of pastor. Heppner
UMC had been doing this for some time. We decided to check it out. The year
before I had witnessed, during Annual Conference, the closing of the Prairie
City UMC. This had been my family's home church since the early 1900's.
Even though I had been hesitant for being responsible for our church, I just
couldn't watch another church close. My motto became, "Not On My Watch!"
God and our congregation needed us to step up. And we are so glad we did.
John Day, Oregon is approx. 270 miles east of Salem and is
surrounded on three sides by the Umatilla and Malheur
National Forests.

PART-TIME CLERGY
From Duke Divinity School
A move to part-time clergy sparks innovation in
congregations
Although church leaders often worry that switching
from full-time to part-time clergy will lead to
decline, congregations across the country are finding
new vitality by reimagining the roles of clergy and
laypeople.
TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2017

Editor's note: Research for this story was funded by The BTS Center, a

Maine-based think tank focused on 21st-century faith communities. It

included visits to nearly two dozen vital mainline congregations that have

shifted from full- to part-time clergy.

Adjusting to life without a full-time pastor has become a pressing challenge for

thousands of congregations in mainline Protestant denominations across the

country.
 Shrinking attendance and ever-leaner budgets have forced churches to pare

back the pastorate, and many wonder how effective ministry can happen when

clergy are working just 30, 20 or 10 hours a week for the church.

Relearning how to do effective congregational ministry with part-time clergy is

no easy task, and denominational officers have no easy answers. The

traditional model for mainline churches relies on full-time clergy, and it can be

difficult to envision a thriving congregation with a part-time pastor.

"It's the white, old-line that is having to make the adjustment," said E. Brooks

Holifield, professor emeritus of American church history at Emory University

and the author of "God's Ambassadors: A History of the Christian Clergy in

America."

"The transition is being felt most deeply by churches that had an expectation of

a full-time clergyperson who devoted all of his or her time to the church. In

other groups and other traditions, that expectation was not always there."

More and more congregations are likely to face this issue. According to the

National Congregations Study, nearly 40 percent of mainline Protestant

congregations had no full-time paid clergy in 2012.

For entire article from Faith and Leadership, click here.

Easter Resurrection
from Randy Wall, UMRA Chair
I have been thinking of Cathy lately. We have re-connected after having little
contact for many years. It was not that we were avoiding each other, but
simply that I had moved to other places and was no longer her pastor
anymore. When Cathy and I talked on the phone a few weeks ago, she
reminded me that it had been 32 years since I officiated at her wedding to
Glenn. The reason that Cathy and I re-connected is that she wanted me to
officiate at the wedding of her daughter this summer. Unfortunately, her
daughter is not involved in a church now.
 I first met Cathy, not at church, but through her grandparents, Hubert and
Zula. They were members of the church I had the privilege to serve during my
seminary days. Cathy lived just down the road from her grandparents and
would often stop by after school or on weekends. Hubert was facing a battle
with cancer in those days. Whether I visited with Hubert in the hospital or at
home, Zula would often be there by his side holding his hand. One day, I got
the phone call that Hubert gained the victory in Christ and lost the battle to
cancer. I remember well trying to juggle the duties of student and pastor as I
prepared for his funeral and for my classes. A short time after Hubert's funeral,
Easter came that year. Like many churches, large and small, we had an
Easter sunrise service in the cemetery of that rural church. Among the people
there that morning was Cathy. While other ladies came in pants and jackets in
the cool of Easter morning, Cathy was dressed in her Easter best. It was the
first time she attended worship at that church, but it would not be her last.
Easter is resurrection day. It is at the heart of what faith in Christ is all about.
While the marketers do their best to gloss over Christmas as the birthday of
Christ Jesus, Easter is bigger than the Easter bunny and a Spring festival. In
communities across our land, the people called United Methodists will gather
in small numbers and large numbers to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. I am as certain as the sky is blue that in valleys and vales across our
land there will be present on Easter people like Cathy who are looking for
something more in their life. When they cross the threshold of our churches, I
hope they find smiling faces and warm spirits in people who reflect the risen,
living Christ. The Lord is risen, he is risen indeed.

RURAL ADVOCATES IN OUR MIDST... BUT

WHERE?
Is There a Group Near You?
As one of the nearly 800 people who receive this newsletter, are you a part
of a conference UMRA group? If the answer is no, that's not surprising. Even
though there are members of the national organization that span East Coast to
West, there are only five UMRA chapters in the US and they are mainly in the
Midwest and South.
With so few active groups it is vital that we, who are members of the
National UMRA, begin to work to bring the message of Rural Advocates into
our Annual Conferences. It is the hope of the Board that over the next few
newsletters we will be able to provide best practices for beginning a Rural
Advocates group in every Annual Conference.
The United Methodist Rural Advocates are vital to the life, health, ministry,
and outreach of rural communities and churches. Check the webpage
www.umruraladvocates.org for our Statement of Values.
 Current UMRA chapters and who to contact:

West Ohio - Deb Ketcham- revdsk@frontier.com

West Michigan - Geri Litchfield - pastorgerilitchfield@gmail.com

Mississippi - Rex Wilburn - rwilburn62285@gmail.com

Great Plains (formerly Kansas Area) - Ron Williams- ronaldj7@cox.net

Western North Carolina - Jackie Taylor - pastorjackie1@bellsouth.net or

Keys Pendleton - kspbbd@yahoo.com

UMRA BOARD MEETS THIS MONTH IN OHIO

ANNUAL GATHERING
The officers and other board members will be meeting in Columbus, Ohio from
April 25th to 28th. If you have any questions or concerns or other items of
interest you would like for the board to discuss, please send this information
along to Randy Wall or Alan Bolte. Their email addresses are listed on the left
above.

We value your input and want to do our best to address your needs.

NETworX INFORMATION
Submitted by Debbie S. Rice, Ph.D., MSW
Director of NETworX USA
NETworX-Securing Well-being Together
NETworX is a Wesleyan informed faith-based ministry with the poor,
recognized by the 2016 General Conference and now operating 17 sites in
four states in the USA. Due to the advocacy of the National UMRA Board,
during the 2016 General Conference, a resolution passed stating:
Therefore, be it resolved that General Conference encourages bishops,
annual conferences, and agencies to support local groups of United Methodist
congregations to work or be in ministry with the poor and to consider NETworX
initiatives.

Measurable outcomes, measured at six-month intervals throughout NETworX

participation, include:

Increase in income to at or above 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines,

 Decrease in use of public assistance,
Decrease in revolving debt from credit cards, rent-to-own, or predatory
lending,
Increase in assets,
Increase in safe, supportive, and nurturing relationships, and
Increase in perception of overall quality of life.

If you are interested in hearing more, contact Alan Rice, a member of the
UMRA Executive Committee at 336-239-1526 or visit www.NETworXUSA.org

PRAYERS
by Peggy Jeffries
I am profoundly sorry for being quiet for so long. We were surprised by my
spouse's church asking him to leave in June, when we had anticipated his
retirement the end of the year. That meant getting the packing done much
more quickly than I expected. The biggest problem has been finding a moving
company that would actually come up to us in
the middle of nowhere, and move us while storing
our stuff for 3 months until our apartment complex is
ready to be inhabited. The first estimate I got was for
$17,000. Seriously!! I have since found some that
are much more reasonable, and in the line of where I
thought it would be. But with the mover issue, the
packing with boxes everywhere, the person who
cleaned the house and was going to help me pack
and took care of my cats when we were gone has died. My chiropractor is still
fighting cancer and I've had to go to another one. And, and, and.....

I find myself relating to God as introduced at the beginning of Genesis. All

was chaos.
Nothing seemed to make sense. Nothing seemed to be
coming together. And God felt a need to bring order out of
the chaos. God needed a place to stand, and water to
drink, and the sun to shine, and the stars to twinkle. It
wasn't going to happen on its own, soGod got started
bringing it into being. And day by day, piece by piece the
chaos gave way to order. The sun and moon and stars came into being.
There was water and land, vegetation, fish and animals, and even people
made in God's image. And it was good. What is missing is how to stay sane
when the chaos is happening, and before it all works out. I just keep looking to
September and thinking, even though we will have boxes to unpack, we will
finally be where we're going. And after all the days/weeks/months of working
to bring order out of chaos, I, like God, will look forward to a time of Sabbath.
 Creator God, things don't always go as we expected or anticipated. Curves
are thrown, chaos ensues, legalities, rules, and bureaucratic nonsense
confuse and confound. In the midst of our chaos and confusion we look to
you, not only to help bring order, but also to keep our heads above water when
we feel we are drowning. The hymn says, "Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord
hear me, I implore you." And we know that even in the depths of whatever we
are experiencing you are there, walking with us, lifting us up when we are too
tired to keep going on our own power. Go with us, O God. Go before us to lift
up the valleys, bring down the mountains, and make the paths
straight........Amen.

Lay Academy
The Foundations for Ministry online course helps Certified Lay Ministers,
first time pastors, and District Superintendent Assignment persons develop best practices for
serving the local church in sermon writing, developing relationships with their congregation,
building mission and vision.
This course is a blend of academic learning with practical on the job training. It allows the
student to learn through both academic and hands on experience.
This class is also appropriate for pastors moving to new congregations.
The course focuses on a different aspect of ministry each month with all work and discussion
forums taking place online, including monthly meetings.
Class dates: August 14, 2017 - May 12, 2018
Registration deadline: August 7, 2017
For more information: Visit the LARCM web site or contact us.

IGNITE! INITIATIVE
Help Us Reach Our Goal
from Rev. Peggy Paige, Vice President UMRA

Our goal for our Ignite! Initiative:

$75,000
Estimated pledge to date: $54,465
Gifts received to date: $36,367

We would like to thank everyone who has participated to date and would invite
those who have not to consider a gift this Advent/Christmas.
It is easy to give by visiting our website: www.umruraladavocates.org
(IGNITE).
We are seeking gifts to support and train rural ministry leaders and churches
by:
1) Hosting Webinars and podcast
2) Providing scholarships to rural trainings, consultations & conferences
3) Connecting rural ministry leaders
4) Offering seed grants for new Program Development
For more information and how you can donate, go
to: www.umruraladvocates.org/ignite.
Or you may make a check out to West Ohio Council on Development with
Memo: UMRA Ignite! and mail it to:

Ignite! Initiative
West Ohio Conference
Council on Development
32 Wesley Blvd.
Worthington, OH 43085

SHARE YOUR STORIES

We Want To Hear From You
Are there ministries and outreach in your churches that you want others to
know about? We celebrate the truth that rural/town and country churches are
vital and active within their communities and we want to share that information
around the country. Do you have a story of joy or hope that you would like to
have shared here? There are others who could greatly benefit from what has
worked for you and even what hasn't worked but that has allowed you to grow.
Send stories to Michele Holloway at chele101953@gmail.com and your
stories will be published in upcoming editions of this eCommunication.
This newsletter is published every other month: February, April, June,
August, October, and December. Please send all submissions to the
above email address no later than the 25th of the month prior to
publication.

UMRA MEMBERSHIP
Memberships are available in the following categories:

Limited Income (What you can afford.)

Student $10.00
Basic One-Year $30.00
Church One-Year $40.00

Two Easy Steps to Membership

1. Please fill out membership form:

http://form.jotform.us/form/51087588857170
2. Pay Membership Dues through PayPal

For more information or membership, contact:

Email: ckellis70@gmail.com
Carl Ellis
590 120th Street
Fort Scott, KS 66701 785-445-2595

A Note from Carl K. Ellis

Membership Secretary

Five Reasons to Join UMRA

5. Network and collaborate with other rural groups and agencies around issues of concern for
the rural church and rural places.

4. Utilize technologies which will help us build relationships, share information and resources,
and connect rural leaders.

3. Discover and learn about sustainable, effective, replicable, generative ministries.

2. Be part of an organization which creates and advocates for General Conference legislation
that has had a positive effect on the rural church; such as NOW (Nurture, Outreach, Witness)
leadership format, development of "Born Again in Every Place," and the Certified Lay
Minister. An Organization which will continue to create and advocate for General Conference
legislation that may affect ministry in town and churches and their communities.

1. Together we can make a difference as we advocate for the work of Jesus Christ in rural and
town and country communities.

UMRA membership provides not only voice and vote in the organization, but also includes a
subscription to the UMRA E NEWSLETTER.

Michele Holloway, Editor

chele101953@gmail.com
971.225.8402

Advocating for the work of Jesus Christ in rural communities.

STAY CONNECTED