Vol. 15 No. 8 November 2017

Transcription

1 Vol. 15 No. 8 November 2017 From the DS Holy Ground to Quicksand Exodus 3:3-5 speaks of Moses before God as holy ground. We, too, are standing on holy ground, God s church/the body of Christ. I believe Greg Rentsch s Call to Laity is a call for all of us to not abandon holy ground for quicksand. Will you join God s mission to holy ground participants for church and community? Let s work together so that we will not sink into quicksand of inaction too busy for what really matters, let someone else do it or apathy. His call to act is for all of us. I commend his article below. Board of Laity Strategic Vision Greg Rentsch, Conference Lay Leader The mission of the Board of Laity is to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world which is what Jesus Christ commanded us in Matthew 28: The purpose of the Board of Laity is to prepare and encourage all people in a life of Christian discipleship. The Board of Laity is focused on 1.) helping churches with vision, Christian formation and outreach 2.) partnering in ministry with clergy and supporting vitality and discipleship across the conference and especially in the local church by aligning with the 4 Areas of Focus. This focus has manifested into objectives and key results of vision, Christian formation and outreach. This month we will look at vision. Vision Partner with Congregational Vitality to equip local churches to conduct strategic planning to lean into the mission and vision of the church. 1.) Assemble a strategic planning task force Rick Hatton (chair), Rick Bohan, John Wilson 2.) Determine the goals of the task force (examples below) Conduct strategic planning workshops to equip local churches to lean into the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ and shape their future activities in their community and local church Conduct at least one workshop within each region in the EOC each year By 2020, achieve 100% participation of the local churches in strategic planning Collect, summarize and disseminate information collected via the strategic planning Collect, summarize and disseminate activities churches focused on because of the strategic planning Collect, summarize and disseminate stories of churches that reshaped their future to encourage others 3.) Achieve the agreed upon goals Encourage Lay Members to Annual Conference to take the energy and vision from the Annual Conference to drive change at the local church. Blessings, Benita

2 Page 2 District Superintendent s Tentative Calendar 1-2 Office 3 Out of the office 4 Charge Conference, Uhrichsville Grace, 2 PM Charge Conference, New Cumberland, 4 PM 5 Church visit Charge Conference, Easton Chapel, 2 PM Charge Conference, Canton Korean, 4 PM 6-9 Office 6 Charge Conference, Church of the Lakes, 6:30 PM 7 Charge Conference, Simpson, 7 PM 9 Charge Conference, Massillon Epworth, 7 PM 10 Out of the office 11 Charge Conference, Mineral City, 11 AM Charge Conference, James S. Thomas, 2 PM 12 Centennial Celebration, Crossroads Charge Conference, Newcomers Chapel, 2 PM Charge Conference, Louisville Christ, 4 PM Clergy Fall for All Retreat, The Carlisle Inn at Sugarcreek 15 Charge Conference, North Canton Faith, 7 PM Cabinet, EOC Area Center 16 Charge Conference, Alliance Christ, 7 PM 18 CCOM, EOC Area Center, 9 AM Charge Conference, Union Hill, 2 PM 19 Church visit Office Office closed for Thanksgiving 26 Church visit 27-1 Out of the office Tuscarawas Ties Official Publication of the Tuscarawas District East Ohio Conference The United Methodist Church Tuscarawas District Office 3500 Cleveland Avenue NW, Canton, OH Phone: (330) Fax: (330) tuscdistoffice@gmail.com Website: Send articles to Stephanie Williams, Editor tuscdistoffice@gmail.com The Tuscarawas Ties is published monthly. Newsletter deadline is the 20th of the month. If you would like to be added to our ing list, please send your name and to tuscdistoffice@gmail.com. Please send copies of your church newsletter to: 3500 Cleveland Avenue NW, Canton, OH Send items for the Tuscarawas District website to Stephanie Williams, tuscdistoffice@gmail.com. Passing on to life triumphant Winifred Hickson, surviving spouse of George Hickson, retired elder, on August 31, Leslie M. Hamilton, spouse of Rev. Glenn Hamilton, on September 6, Julian B. Huffman, retired local pastor, on September 5, Vernice M. Densmore, surviving spouse of Gordon Densmore, on September 7, Marilyn Goetz French, spouse of W. Maynard French, retired elder, on September 10, Sophie Albrecht, surviving spouse of Joseph Albrecht, on September 14, Rev. Don L. Sprague, retired associate, on September 30, August A. Lange, retired local pastor, on October 1, Carolyn Clemence, surviving spouse of Rev. Robert H. Clemence, on October 6, Special Dates November 1, All Saints Day November 3, World Communion Day November 5, All Saints Sunday November 11, Veterans Day November 19, Bible Sunday November 19-26, National Bible Week November 26, United Methodist Student Day New at the Media Center The Media Center recently acquired the following resources: Fail; What to do When Things Go Wrong examines the life of the weeping prophet and how he persevered and trusted God during extremely trying times. Make a Difference; Following Your Passion and Finding Your Place to Serve highlights opportunities and outcomes of making a difference in this world. Embracing Exile; Living Faithfully as God s Unique People in the World discovers what faithfulness looks like even when the surrounding culture does not affirm Christ as Lord. Five Means of Grace; Experience God s Love the Wesleyan Way will consider how each of the five means of grace help us as communities of faith to pray more deeply and live more missionally as followers of Jesus Christ. Call the Media Center at (800) x 139 or send an to sarnold@eocumc.com. Browse the resource catalog at Like Us on Facebook The Tuscarawas District is now on Facebook. If you or your church is on Facebook, please like the district s page at TuscarawasDistrict1/ to receive current events, news and more!

3 Page 3 Conversation on A Way Forward The Commission on a Way Forward was proposed by the Council of Bishops and approved by the 2016 General Conference to do a complete examination, and possible revision, of every paragraph of The Book of Discipline concerning human sexuality, and explore options that help to maintain and strengthen the unity of the church. On September 16, nearly 100 clergy and laity from across the East Ohio Conference participated in a pilot Conversation on a Way Forward that provided opportunities for intentional, meaningful dialogue to discern together how we might strengthen and maintain the unity of The United Methodist Church, and find a way forward through the present impasse related to human sexuality. We are here today because we honor and acknowledge that we all hold different views on how we interpret the scriptures as it relates to human sexuality, said Bishop Tracy S. Malone. We are here acknowledging that we have different ways of how we are engaged in relationships and in ministry with our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer brothers and sisters in Christ, the beloved community, the beloved children of God. We are called to be the Church. We are called to be those who embody the love and the grace of God. Following worship and time spent together framing the conversation, participants gathered in their assigned small groups for facilitated dialogue. Each group reflected on the following four questions that were crafted by the Council of Bishops for discussion by United Methodists across the denomination: In our diverse and global existence, what is the shared mission of the Church? Is there a proactive way to live together in our differences that doesn t presume that we will solve our differences? If so, what would it be? What might be a form of unity that would empower us living together? What is our witness and what can be our witness to the world in relation to our differences? All clergy and laity in the East Ohio Conference are invited, and encouraged, to participate. November 14, 6:00 PM - Western Reserve February 3, 10:00 AM - Thoburn February 4, 2:00 PM - Willard First February 5, 6:00 PM - Lakewood March 3, 9:00 AM - Church of the Lakes Registration is required for each conversation location. Register here. UMPIP Reminder When setting up or changing enrollment in UMPIP, a Before-Tax and After-Tax Contributions Agreement must be completed and sent directly to the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits. The agreement can be found at eocumc.com/pensions/index.html. ERT Basic Training Class The East Ohio Conference United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) is hosting an ERT Basic Training Class on Saturday, November 4, 2017, at Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland (6515 Bridge Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44102). The class will run from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Learn best practices for responding to disaster situations. Training includes how to interact with survivors, help survivors recover belongings, tarp roofs and safely remove debris. Background checks are a requirement for credentialing. The cost is $35.00 and includes lunch, class materials and the required background check. The registration deadline is October 26, and can be done online at For questions and more information, please contact Mike Williams at mike.kandminsurance@gmail.com. Charge Conferences Charge Conference forms are available online at eocumc.com/tuscarawas under Forms (Church and Miscellaneous). Below is an overview of the forms that need to be completed for Charge Conference. If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Williams at the District Office. Church Conference Omnibus (Leadership Directory is included with the Omnibus) 2018 Pastor Compensation Form 2018 Pension/Disability Calculations (if applicable) 2018 Housing Allowance/Exclusion Form Lay Servant Annual Report (if applicable) Parsonage Inspection Form (if applicable) All forms are due to the District Office one week prior to the scheduled charge conference. Fall-for-All Clergy Retreat The 2017 Fall-for-All Clergy Retreat will be held November at The Carlisle Inn at Sugarcreek. All clergy are invited from students to retirees (Elders, Deacons, Licensed Local Pastors). The theme is The Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblically Faithful Services and will be presented by Rev. Dr. Constance Cherry, Professor of Worship and Pastoral Ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University. For questions or more information, contact Brian Oglesbee at brianoglesbee55@gmail.com or (330)

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7 Page 7 SAVE THE DATE! March 9-11, 2018 More info in the December/January Tuscarawas Ties

8 Page 8 For further information visit the Tuscarawas County Anti-Drug Coalition website at East Ohio Conference Media Center If you are looking for informative, entertaining curriculum for small group studies, Sunday school and even worship services, be sure to check out the East Ohio Conference Media Center. The Media Center offers an extensive collection of videos for worship, Sunday school, and small group curriculum produced by top authors such as Adam Hamilton, Philip Yancey and Max Lucado among many others. The Media Center staff is available to consult with you to find the right media resources for your program and/or group. Some of the items available to East Ohio members include VBS kits, DVDs, LCD projectors and screens. All videos in the Media Center are licensed for church use. Any church in Ohio may join the Media Center for a once-a-year, affordable membership fee and resources may be reserved up to a year in advance. They may be picked up and returned either in person at the Area Center, or sent to you via mail. For more information on the Media Center, please contact Susan Arnold at sarnold@eocumc.com, by calling ext. 139 or visiting our website:

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