National United Methodist Rural Advocates

December 2017 In This Issue:

AWARDS

PERFECT?

WEBINARS

PRAYERS

SCHOLARSHIPS

MEMBERSHIP

WE ARE ... THE STORY OF A SMALL CHURCH

THE UNITED
METHODIST
RURAL ADVOCATES
You would not ignore a community
more than seven times larger than
New York City. 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
Kirk UMC, Kirk, Colorado
by Judy Hill - National UMRA Treasurer
Our editor, Michele,
suggested I share the story of
a small membership rural
church. Although it would take
a lengthy book to really give
the highlights of the ministry of
this church, I will give you a
glimpse of Kirk United
Methodist Church.
Kirk, Colorado, is a diminishing-population agriculture
community on the Eastern Plains. The town was
named for a man named Newkirk and the history
shows the post office was established in 1887.
Businesses include the Farm Coop and grain
elevator, bank, meat processing plant, feed store,
grocery store along with the volunteer fire department
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
revahb@gmail.com
Secretary - Sue Grace
smgrlg51@yahoo.com
Spiritual Dir - Peggy Jeffries
peggyx15@yahoo.com
Comm Dir - Michele Holloway
michele.holloway@yahoo.com
Advocacy Dir - Mollie Stewart
gulfsideum@att.net
Membership - Carl Ellis
ckellis70@gmail.com
Treasurer - Judy Hill
judyh@plainstel.com
Visit our webpage @
http://www.umruraladvocates.org/
and the emergency medical service and ambulance
barn. The population varies but right now may be able
to stretch it to 60. The
Kirk UMC is one of two churches in town.
When my young family moved to the area of my
husband's roots in 1979, I connected with the church
and soon became involved in its ministry. The church
has experienced many models of clergy leadership
and several charge combinations. In nearly forty
years I've attended this church, we have had student
pastors, active and retired pastors, and local pastors.
Only one of those pastors, in the early 1980s, lived in
our parsonage full-time.
This year, our average worship attendance was 14.
This varies with more and even less, but with the
exception of big days, that is what our records show.
We have recently welcomed four new faithful people
who sought out a "Methodist Church."
Our local pastor serves three churches as she drives
90 miles to be with us at 8am, then on to the next
church at 9:30 and back to the third for worship at
11:15 am. If our pastor's health lets her continue, she
will keep this up until June of 2018.
Alas, she has been ill with two hospitalizations which
have caused her to miss many Sundays this year.
Faced with these challenges, our church could have
taken time off and waited to see what might happen
next, but that is not what is happening. In early
November, our pastor gave the bad news that, due to
health issues, she could not drive after dark. Which
meant we'd be on our own for Christmas Eve. This is
one of our most important services and has always
been a chance to share our ministry with the
community. Although our pastor will be unable to
attend, we have chosen to go forth with our
Christmas Eve service. A group met, chose our
theme, planned the service, and--weather permitting
(that is always a factor in the winter)--we will continue
this tradition.
Advent finds the church gathering to decorate the
church, lighting the Advent Candles by family units,
 serving a senior lunch for several communities,
inviting others to join in caroling and soup supper,
and also organizing the memorial celebration with
Hospice. Yes it takes all of us working together to
share the good news of the Birth of Jesus the Light of
the world and it is our mission to spread the light of
love.

RURAL AND SMALL CHURCH AWARDS

a request from the editor
In the last newsletter, rural church awards from the Rocky Mountain Conference were
shared. In response, I heard from a pastor whose church had also received the "One
Matters" award. "Thank you for the newsletter. I pastor Braman UMC in rural Oklahoma.
We also received the One Matters Award. Trish Harris, Pastor"
Knowing there are probably more rural churches out there that have received this award
and will receive it in the coming year at annual conference time, I would like to invite all
recipients to share with the UMRA community. Please send me the name of your church
and your pastor and I will share that joyous information here. Rejoice for we are making a
difference.

One Matters Award

"With the One Matters Discipleship Award, we want to lift up the importance of
discipleship and help interpret across the connection what zeros in professions of faith and
baptism mean and what moving away from the zeros means," said Jeff Campbell, Director
of Annual Conference Relationships at Discipleship Ministries. "Each "1" in those
categories represents a transformed life - a life that matters to God, and a life that should
matter to us."
More than 70 percent of the UMC congregations in the United States did not baptize
anyone age 13 or older in 2013, and 55 percent did not baptize anyone age 12 and under,
according to the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA). In addition, 50
percent of local churches did not have any professions of faith that year.
"Making disciples is much more than statistics; it is about lives changed by God's
grace," Thomas said. "We have an opportunity to help celebrate the fact that one life
matters ... and continue to help congregations identify ways to invite people into a
relationship with Jesus through the United Methodist Church."
Jeff Campbell, Director of Annual Relationships at Discipleship Ministries, said
conferences are invited to participate in the One Matters Discipleship Award.
"Each conference can nominate a church and share that church's story of how they are
turning things around, making disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the world,
Campbell said.
The award, which includes $1,000 and a One Matters Discipleship Award plaque, will
be presented to the pastor and lay leaders of a congregation which has done significant
work to make its zeros from previous years become positive numbers, Campbell said.
"The monetary award is designed to encourage continued growth in the area of
 discipleship," he said.

A PERFECT CHRISTMAS
from Randy Wall, UMRA Chair
A few years ago, my wife Ann received a free copy of the movie "A Christmas
Vacation". One of the things that stood out for me as we watched that movie is that
the main character, Clark Griswold, had the deep desire to have a "perfect family
Christmas" but things kept happening to mar that experience. The tree they cut to go
in their house was too big... the electric lights on the house would not work... and the
family that gathered at his home had their own version of "family feud".

I believe there are a lot of folks like Clark Griswold that search for a "perfect
Christmas"- the perfect meal that would make Martha Stewart proud... the perfect
home decorations that could be featured on HGTV... or the kind of family gathering
that could be portrayed in a Norman Rockwell painting. Unfortunately, the perfect
Christmas is sometimes as elusive as a three-dollar bill because sometimes the food
burns or gets cold... the dog knocks over the Christmas tree... or a family member is
sick or has gone to be with the Lord.

Perhaps "A perfect Christmas" is a figment of our imagination or the creation of

Hollywood. We certainly do not hear of a "perfect Christmas" as Luke tells us his
version of the story of the birth of Jesus. There was no room in the inn for Mary
(ready to deliver a baby) and her betrothed Joseph. I bet the stable where Mary gave
birth would not be shown to HGTV viewers. I think it safe to say that the aroma
from that stable was be a fragrance of pine trees or cookies. And how about the
shepherds who first heard the news about the Child/King? They probably did not
have the attire that would meet the satisfaction of a movie producer.

We cannot create "A perfect Christmas" because Christmas is not made by humans,
but it is made by God. You see, everything that we create at Christmas pales in
comparison to the perfect gift that God made at Christmas in the savior that was born
in the world, Jesus Christ. All the food that we eat at Christmas fills us for a day, but
Christ is food for our soul for a lifetime. All the decorations in our home will soon
make their way back to the attic or closet, but Christ fills our hearts all the time. All
the family that we hold so dear will not be with us always, but we have the good
news from Christ Jesus that "I am with you always, even to the close of the age." A
holy Advent and a joyous Christmas to one and all.

RURAL SEMINARS CONTINUE

by Carl Ellis, Membership Chair
 THE UNITED METHODIST RURAL ADVOCATES PRESENTS FOUR WORKSHOPS
TO HELP YOUR CHURCH GROW IN THE AREAS OF MISSION, LEADERSHIP,
VISION, AND EVANGELISM. WORKSHOP LEADERS ARE EFFECTIVE LEADERS,
UNDERSTAND THE SMALL MEMBERSHIP CHURCH, AND WILL HELP YOUR
LOCAL CHURCH LEADERS DEVELOP AND LEAD BOTH CHURCH AND
COMMUNITY

We encourage you to join us for these webinars. The UMRA Webinar Series is a great
opportunity to learn more about church growth for rural churches. For more information about
these webinars, click here.

PRAYERS
by Henry Van Dyke
The day of joy returns, Father in Heaven, and crowns another year with
peace and good will.
Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song
of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,
and the worship of the wisemen.
Close the doors of hate and open the doors of
love all over the world?
Let kindness come with every gift and good
desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil, by the blessing that Christ
brings, and teach us to be merry with clean
hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,

And the Christmas evening bring us to our bed with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus? sake.
Amen

IGNITE! INITIATIVE
Help Us Reach Our Goal
from Rev. Peggy Paige

Our goal for our Ignite! Initiative: $75,000

Estimated pledge to date: $54,465
Gifts received to date: $40,953

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

NETworX INFORMATION
Submitted by Debbie S. Rice, Ph.D., MSW
Director of NETworX USA
NETworX-Securing Well-being Together

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

RURAL ADVOCATES SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

by Judy Hill, Treasurer
The national organization, United Methodist Rural Advocates, is pleased to announce we
have a limited number of scholarships to offer for attending programs or trainings that can
enhance rural ministry. An applicant can be considered for a scholarship of up to the
lesser of $400 or one half of program/event fees, etc. It is through the UMRA IGNITE
fundraising campaign that these scholarships are being offered.

Please contact Treasurer Judy Hill to learn more. Contact information is listed below.

Judy Hill, Treasurer UMRA

3642 Road D
Joes, CO 80822
Email: judyh@plainstel.com
Cell Phone: 970-630-0320

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/51087588857170Â

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