DECEMBER 3, 2018

EOC News

Clergy

Rev. Cindy Patterson Appointed Board of Ministry Administrative Coordinator

Bishop Tracy S. Malone appointed the Rev. Cindy Patterson as Board of Ministry Administrative Coordinator, effective January 1, 2019.

“Rev. Cindy Patterson brings to this new position an in-depth understanding of the role and work of the Board of Ministry and experience in serving on the Board of Ministry.  Cindy’s strong administrative and people skills, and her proven track record in developing systems, will help to facilitate and strengthen the Board’s work,” Malone said.

Created by an action of Annual Conference 2018 that did not increase the apportioned budget, the part-time Board of Ministry Administrative Coordinator will work with the Board creating systems to support the culture of call and excellence in the lifelong journey of ministry in East Ohio.

Read the release in its entirety.

Migration Sunday, January 6
Welcome the Strangers Among Us
The Order of Deacons and Bishop Tracy S. Malone invite and encourage the pastors, congregations, and faith communities of the East Ohio Conference to join them in participating in the inaugural EOC Migration Sunday on January 6, 2019 by preaching and teaching that day about the social justice issue of migration.

“A Deacon’s call to Word, service, compassion and justice means appointments are often beyond the local church,” said the Rev. Beverly Wrobel, chair of the EOC Order of Deacons and associate pastor of Mentor UMC (Western Reserve District).  “In our vocations, Deacons are bridge builders between the church and the world.”

The importance of welcoming the strangers among us was at the heart of the Council of Bishops’ challenge in 2017 to recognize Global Migration Sunday.  The Order of Deacons of the East Ohio Conference felt the need, heard the challenge, and answered God’s call.

“There are 65 million people displaced in the world today. More than 21 million people have been granted official refugee status by the United Nations. I celebrate the Order of Deacon’s commitment to provide leadership and to collaborate with others in planning a Migration Sunday to provide an opportunity to pray about the global migration crisis and to encourage pastors and congregations to discern ways to be in ministry with migrant communities,” Malone said.

Learn more about Migration Sunday and ways your church can participate.

Congregational Vitality

Healthy Congregations Workshop
January 7-8, 2019 @ North Canton Faith UMC

The Healthy Congregations Workshop uses the insights of family systems theory to help church leaders and all members become more effective stewards of their congregation’s health. The workshop is designed to equip leaders to respond to anxiety in ways that prevent destructive conflict and help the church stay focused on its unique mission and purpose.

Led by Bill Blank of the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, the workshop is co-sponsored by the East Ohio Conference office of Congregational Vitality and Faith UMC in North Canton.  Join us January 7 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and January 8 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Learn more and register.   E-mail vitality@eocumc.com with any questions.

Communications

Micro-Trainings Offered
United Methodist Communications offers free 15- to 20-minute online micro-training courses that will equip you with communication practices that you can start applying to your congregations today.  These “burst of knowledge” trainings come with professional instruction and are available at any time, so you can fit them into your busy schedule.

Current training courses include Facebook Outreach, Sharing Your Church through Pictures, and Sharing Your Church through Video.  Learn more and enroll in a course.

Financial and Administrative Services

2018 Apportionments Must Be Received by January 4
To meet the goal of paying apportionments at 100%, local church payments must be received at our lockbox on or before January 4, 2019, as referenced in the Annual Conference Journal.  Payments received in the lockbox after January 4, 2019 – regardless of the postmark on the envelope – will be counted as having been received in 2019.   Please plan accordingly.  There will be no exceptions to this rule.

Pastoral Care and Counseling

Bi-weekly Resources
In the December 3 edition: We turn our attention to cultural and natural tragedies, the church’s responses, and the darkness of Advent waiting for the Light.

  • A Way Forward: Video: Concerns About A Way Forward 2019 General Conference
  • Addressing Issue of Immigration
  • Churches Balanced Safety and Maintaining Piety
  • Advent after the Storms, and the Boundary between Darkness and Light
  • True Spiritual Practice: Shine Your Light
  • Advent Reflection: Waiting in Darkness
  • Holiday Depression, Anxiety and Stress
  • Spiritual Enrichment Groups
  • Listings of our Spiritual Directors

Contact Us
If you have any questions or issues you would like for us to address or would like to get email alerts when new resources have been posted please contact Howard Humphress at hkhumphress@gmail.com or use our quick contact form.

Media Center

The Media Center recently acquired the following resources:

  • Jesus Among Secular Gods; The Questions of Culture and the Invitation of Christ challenges the popular and trending philosophies of the day, skillfully pointing out the fallacies in their claims and presenting compelling evidence for absolute truth as found in Jesus and revealed in Scripture.
  • What Christians Ought to Believe offers a systematic explanation of the core tenets of the Christian faith—a solid introduction to foundational doctrines including those of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and church.
  • The Story of Christmas brings the story of Jesus’ birth in a stable alive for children while they laugh, wonder, and rejoice as they learn of God’s love for the world in the gift of baby Jesus.
  • The Case for Christmas searches out the true identity of the child in the manger. If Jesus really was God in the flesh, then there ought to be credible evidence.
  • It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way offers fresh biblical insight to get you through painful situations, and life-giving perspectives for living in between Eden and eternity.

To reserve these or other resources, call the Media Center at (800) 831-3972 x139 or send an e-mail to sarnold@eocumc.com. Browse the resource catalog here.

Message in the Movies

Message in the Movies banner (colorful film strip


Boy Erased Jared Eamons (Hedges) is the son of a Baptist preacher (Russell Crowe) and heads off to college with genuine confusion about his homosexual urges. He is sent off to the Love in Action treatment program (accompanied by his mother (Kidman), who stays at a nearby hotel). The program is led by Victor Sykes (Joel Edgerton) – a character based on John Smid – who uses theology and peer pressure to intimidate change. The film focuses on Jared’s struggle but also caringly includes his parents’ conflicted love for their son.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post is more sexually explicit but also more emotionally involving, centered in Chloë Grace Moritz’s nuanced performance as Cameron (possibly her best role to date), who is sent off to a conversion therapy camp after being seen making out with another girl on prom night. Cameron is fairly upfront about her sexual identity, but respectfully submits to the program out of her Christian convictions. She makes friends with two other residents: Jane Fonda (Lane) and Adam Red Eagle (Forrest Goodluck). The camp is run by a brother/sister team (John Gallagher Jr. and Jennifer Ehle) in somewhat of a good cop/bad cop routine and it soon becomes clear that things are not working out very well for anyone.

Read entire review

Credit Union

MobiMoney
MobiMoney gives you, our members, the ability to turn off your United Methodist Financial Credit Union debit card, view pending transactions, and receive immediate transaction alerts. During this busy shopping season, this app is a benefit you will want on your side.   Learn more about MobiMoney and download for FREE today!

Office Holiday Events
The Credit Union office in North Canton will be closed for Holiday events during the following dates and times:

December 11 from Noon – 4:00 p.m.
December 14 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Area Center

Christmas Party –  Friday, December 14
The Episcopal office, Financial and Administrative Services office, Communications office, Connectional Ministries office, and the East Ohio United Methodist Foundation office will be closed this day.

The Credit Union office will be open before (8:30 – 11:00 a.m.) and after (1:30 – 4:00 p.m.) the Christmas party.  Please use the exterior door on the south side of the building, closest to the Credit Union, as all other doors will be locked on December 14.

Events: December 3 – December 16

Click to view East Ohio Conference Calendar.

To submit your event to the East Ohio calendar use this form.
(The East Ohio Conference only accepts East Ohio United Methodist local church, conference and general UM events for listing on the Conference calendar.)

Obituaries

Please pray for the families of:

             John P. Benson, retired elder, died November 19.

Classifieds

Details of listings may be found here. 

Positions Available

  • Director of Youth Ministry – UMC of Uniontown
  • Director of the Tots Learning Center – First UMC of Ravenna
  • Minister for Congregational Care – New Philadelphia UMC
  • Worship Coordinator – New Philadelphia UMC
  • Part-time Administrative Assistant – New Philadelphia UMC
  • Part-time Director of Christian Education/Spiritual Formation – Huron UMC
  • Part-time Media Director – Willoughby UMC
  • Part-time Director of Teen Ministry – Medina UMC
  • Part-Time Church Secretary – Rittman UMC
  • Part-time Bookkeeper – Painesville UMC
  • Church Administrator – Willoughby UMC
  • Child Care Coordinator – Willoughby UMC
  • Financial Accountant – Willoughby UMC
  • Part-time Custodian – Smithville UMC
  • Pianist – Andover UMC
  • Professional Archivist – The Archives of Ohio United Methodism
  • Director of Youth Ministries – Rocky River UMC
  • Part-time Music and Worship Director – United Methodist Church of Macedonia

To submit a classified ad please email swilliams@eocumc.com

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The next scheduled edition of the E-News is Monday, December 17, 2018.  Deadline for submission is Wednesday, December 12. Send articles to swilliams@eocumc.com.