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REVIEW
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Can success be used to define ministry?
While clergy live in the world, it is often difficult for them
not to become trapped in worldly ideals of success, which
should not be applied to the ministry, according to the
majority of clergy who responded to a recent informal e-mail
survey.
How clergy define and achieve success was an underlying theme
of the Sept. 12 Conference Table Meeting at Lake Gibson United
Methodist Church in Lakeland.
More than 70 Florida Conference clergy surveyed shared how
they define success, whether or not they feel they have to
compete with other clergy to be successful, and how the
expectations of laity play a role in their ministry.
Full Story
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Much More Than Pumpkins |
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Photo by
Karen Jachens |
LAKELAND -
There's more to this season's local church pumpkin
patches, like this one at Sanlando United Methodist Church
in Orlando, than pumpkins.
In a random survey of Florida Conference churches nearly
40 responded they were coordinating a pumpkin patch to
raise money, but more so to reach out to their
communities. Pumpkin patches offered fall festivals, story
telling for children from local schools and day-care
centers, celebrations and field trip destinations. One
couple was married in a patch; another became engaged in
one. Once patch included a blessing of the animals.
Several reported reaching between 500 and 1,000 children
through their patch activities and having a number of
people who visited their patches attending worship
services.
One church reported holding a one-day patch and giving the
pumpkins away at no charge to show neighbors the church
and God loves them.
One church has a held a pumpkin patch for 15 years;
another reported making a profit of $23,000 last year. The
majority said their proceeds will go toward youth
ministries or scholarships to send youth to summer camp. |
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Conference edition of "Review" goes electronic
Florida Conference Communications Director Michael Wacht said Dec.
19 will be the last issue of the Florida Annual Conference Edition
of the United Methodist Review. He said the biweekly newspaper will
become an electronic news service to reach more readers and save
thousands of dollars in newspaper print, postage and staffing
resources.
Subscribers to the news service will receive the same kind of news
that has been provided through the printed paper, but in a different
format. Articles will be e-mailed to subscribers and posted to a
separate Web site on a daily basis at no charge.
"What this does is allow us to reach more people," Wacht said.
"People can forward the news on to other church members, friends,
family, coworkers and conferences. It has the potential to reach so
many people…It's a better way to communicate."
Full Story
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Conference Table examines cooperative parish ministry
In a time when congregations are asking more and more from their
churches, cooperative parish ministry could be a way for several
churches to work together to accomplish goals that alone would be
difficult to achieve.
The Rev. David Herman, chairman of the Florida Conference task force
on cooperative parish ministry and district superintendent of the
Sarasota District, will define and explore options related to that
kind of ministry at the Nov. 12 Conference Table meeting at St.
Mark's United Methodist Church in Ocala from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
All clergy and laity are invited to attend.
Full Story
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Church shifts location and spirit
 The
Rev. Michael Moore once promised the congregation at Good Shepherd
United Methodist Church he would kiss a potbelly pig if more than
100 people attended the worship service-and he did.
Those days are behind Moore. The church regularly has about 300
people in its worship service on Sunday in its new building, located
on 22-acres on the other side of town. Things are definitely looking
up for the congregation, which once struggled with a meager
membership of 19.
Although the church was small, members decided three years ago to
step out in faith and fight for their church's survival. The
congregation decided it needed to relocate.
Full Story
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Two congregations grieve differently as churches come to end
When the time comes for a church to close, it's never easy.
It doesn't matter if members have been expecting it to happen; it is
still a shock to realize the thread that has woven throughout
significant life moments will no longer exist.
Two churches in the Florida Conference are going through the painful
process of closing, but experiencing that reality differently.
Full Story
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I HAVE
NEWS
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