2020 Appointments

Bishop Tracy S. Malone announces the following 2020 clergy appointments and/or changes of status, effective 7/1/20 unless otherwise noted.

Districts: (CN) Canal · (FL) Firelands · (MO) Mid-Ohio · (MV) Mahoning Valley · (NC) North Coast · (OV) Ohio Valley · (SH) Southern Hills · (TR) Three Rivers · (TW) Tuscarawas · (WR) Western Reserve

Pastor	Appointment	District	Effective
Sean O’Neil	Gageville UMC	WR

Visit the 2020 Appointments and Changes of Status page of the Conference website to read the Cabinet’s Core Values for Making Appointments and to see the lists of appointments, retirements, and those who are concluding their ministry.

A Video Message from Bishop Malone

“It is by the power of God’s Holy Spirit and by God’s grace alone that we have been sustained in our faith and able to remain steadfast in our hope as we have had to traverse the agony of two deadly pandemics: COVID-19 and racism. They both have caused death, destruction, and disruption in our lives and in the world. It is in perilous times like these that we rely on the Word of God, the power of prayer and the strength of community,” said Bishop Malone.

In her video message, Bishop Malone:

• offers news about Annual Conference 2020 which will now be held virtually in late September,
• acknowledges the resiliency of congregations worshipping virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic,
• reminds leaders to follow the Guidelines for the Phased-in Reopening of Church Buildings as they make plans for when they will again begin to worship in-person,
• celebrates the Teach • Reach • Bless campaign to build a dorm for female students at Africa University,
• calls the Conference to join the Council of Bishops in asking for United Methodists around the world to “pray for all persons of color who suffer at the hands of injustice and oppression and pray for the Church as we take a stand against racism,” and
• fixes the 2020 clergy appointments, which can be viewed here.

Click the image above to view and download Bishop Malone’s message in its entirety.

Multicultural Vitality

EOC Laity and Clergy Support the Anti-Racism Commitment Signed by Bishop Tracy S. Malone and the Extended Cabinet
More than 700 East Ohio Conference laity and clergy have signed a Covenant to Resist Racism to show their support for the May 28 Anti-Racism Commitment signed by Bishop Tracy S. Malone and the Extended Cabinet “as an act of repentance for our silence in the face of the racially motivated brutality that is pervasive throughout the nation.”

The Covenant to Resist Racism signed by the clergy and laity of East Ohio states, in part: “As baptized Christian disciples who ‘accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves,’ we reject the sin of white supremacy and white privilege; we denounce police brutality and racial profiling against people of color; and, we demand full protection of the civil rights for all of God’s children.”

Just Mercy
East Ohio Conference Deacons, clergy who have answered their calls to justice and compassion, are partnering with Will Jones and the Multicultural Vitality office to invite you to watch the film Just Mercy. During the month of June, the film is being streamed free on multiple platforms and can be accessed here. Learn more about the film by reading the Rev. Bruce Batchelor-Glader’s online Message in the Movies review.

How about inviting five people to join you in watching the movie, and then asking each of them to invite five different people to watch the movie with them? Follow-up watching the movie by talking about it. Deacons and other clergy have agreed to facilitate district conversations to take place later this summer. The dates of the Zoom conversations will be publicized in the June 29 E-News and in the July district newsletters. Let’s have these tough conversations so that we can really be the Body of Christ and be agents of change. E-mail the Rev. Linda McCowen, chair of the Order of Deacons, for more information, and stay current on Multicultural Vitality ministries by visiting the Multicultural Ministries Facebook page.

Camps & Retreat Ministries

Take a Family/Household Get-away to Camp
Each of our East Ohio camp sites is offering opportunities for families/households to camp overnight together. To learn more about what each camp is offering and to register for the Family/Household Camp, visit us online: Camp Aldersgate; Camp Asbury; and Camp Wanake.

Congregational Vitality

RE Learning Cohort Webinars – June 24, July 1, and July 8
You and a team from your church are invited to explore, lead, and implement a shift to a new way of being and doing together you begin to have conversations and develop a strategy to RElate, REcommit, and RElaunch your church.

The webinars are scheduled for 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Wed., June 24, Wed., July 1 and Wed., July 8. RE will walk you through RElating in this virtual world with both new and existing people, REcommitting yourself to the mission and the communities we are called to reach, and RElaunching the church. The free leadership event features Kay Kotan leading church teams through three webinars, team coaching with a Conference coach, and six months of church coaching with a Conference coach.

Learn more and register to attend.

Young People’s Ministries

Youth Annual Conference 2020 Goes Virtual
On Sunday, June 14 Conference Council on Youth Ministries (CCYM) held its first-ever virtual Youth Annual Conference (YAC). The decision was made to meet virtually out of an abundance of care for youth and adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shane Claiborne, Egypt Speaks and Tribe Collective delivered the same powerful messages and passionate worship to laptops, smart phones and iPads that they would have shared from the stage if YAC had been able to be held in-person.

“I believe that even if we’re not in the same room, God is here among us and the Spirit will move,” said EOC Director of Young People’s Ministries Kaye Wolfinger at the beginning of the broadcast. “Stay hopeful friends. The world is crazy, but God is bigger.”

View the virtual YAC 2020.

Missions

East Ohio United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM)
Have you joined the East Ohio UMVIM Facebook page? If you haven’t yet joined, do it now so that you can be part of upcoming Facebook Live conversations with bold and courageous East Ohio UMVIM who will share exciting information about our mission partners around the world and inspire you to want to be one of God’s agents of transformation here in our Conference and across the globe.

DisAbility Awareness

COVID-19 and the DisAbilities Community – June 16 @ 3:00 p.m.
The General Commission on Religion & Race (GCORR) will preview a discussion on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the DisAbilities community. Rev. Debbie Hills, chair of the DisAbilities Ministries Committee, will moderate the discussion, which features Disability Activist Dawn Gibson, Deaf UMC Clergy Candidate Esther Choi, and American Sign Language Interpreter Leo Yates. View the conversation on the GCORR Facebook page.

Credit Union

Recreational Vehicles: The Fun Starts Here
The United Methodist Financial Credit Union offers a variety of lending options to fuel your summer fun. From campers to motorcycles to boats, we’ve got you covered. To get into your new summer excursion, call Christine Fairhurst in the North Canton office at (800) 831-3972 ext. 104 or Terry Laws in the Cincinnati office at (800) 373-1059 ext. 15.

Visa Credit Cards with UMFCU
In need of home improvements? Take our Visa with you to the store. Going on a road trip? Use our Visa while you travel this summer. Spending money going back to school? Rack up rewards points while purchasing the essentials. Attending family get-togethers? Free up your on-hand cash and use our Visa to purchase your backyard fun. Find our Visa application online by visiting www.umethodist.com or call Sharon Scheks in the North Canton office at (800) 831-3972 ext. 150.

Media Center

The Media Center is featuring following resources from our Evangelism section:

• Get Their Name; Grow Your Church by Building New Relationships in practical terms how to change the habits of leaders and entire congregations, so that invitation is natural, constant, systemic, genuine, and easy. 
• Just Walk Across The Room teaches us to “live in 3-D” – developing friendships, discovering stories, and discerning the appropriate next steps.
• Prayerwalking Your Community gives you everything you need to start a Prayerwalking Ministry or conduct a widespread Prayerwalk of your community.  
• Plugged In; Connecting Students to the Heart of God’s Biblical Practices will show them how they can be “plugged in” every step of the way–and the amazing difference it will make.

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 at www.rqmweb.com/eocumc.

Message in the Movies

Whose Streets?
The people in this movie are the folks who live in the same neighborhood as Michael Brown and they come together after his death to take a stand against the oppressive forces that would not only invade their streets but stoke violence and hatred. In one harrowing sequence, armored vehicles roll down the block and a person with a bullhorn tells the gathered throng to go back to their homes. “This is my home!” is the reply.

We see people gather and organize for peaceful non-violent protest. (There is no narrator and individuals are identified only by first names.) As days turn into weeks and require persistent resistance, we slowly observe leaders being formed out of humble beginnings. Slogans begin to evolve, including “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!” (remembered as the last words of Michael Brown) and the call and response “Whose Streets? Our Streets!”

Read entire review.

Classifieds

Details of listings may be found here.

Positions Available

• Executive Director  – Canton Calvary Mission
• Custodian – Christ UMC in Alliance
• Administrative Assistant  – Canton Calvary Mission

To submit a classified ad please e-mail swilliams@eocumc.com.

To Subscribe

To subscribe to E-News and all East Ohio Conference news updates, enter your email address in the “Follow News via Email” widget on the right sidebar. Information from this E-News may be copied and used in your local church. The next scheduled edition of the E-News is Monday, June 29, 2020.

Deadline for submission is Thursday, June 25. Send articles to swilliams@eocumc.com.