#BeUMC
“I am United Methodist because of our focus on grace and social justice,” said Rev. Shane Russo, pastor of Niles First UMC. “If we focus on loving each other like God loves us, and reaching out to people who are hurting who are marginalized who are broken, then we are living the Gospel message.”
He is one of many lay and clergy persons in the East Ohio Conference who have shared how their lives have been transformed through The United Methodist Church. E-mail Brett Hetherington to schedule a time to record your one- to two-minute story.
View #BeUMC stories & the EOC #BeUMC website.
Our EOC podcast, Storyboard: Faith Witness Transformation, explores what it means to #BeUMC.
Episode 40 is titled “Belonging & Inclusion: Becoming a Listening Church”. This episode features a conversation with Rev. Luke Edwards about the Listening Church resource that guides church leaders on the importance of listening to God, congregants and community members so that churches can become more engaged and effective witnesses in the communities they serve.
For questions about Communications ministries such as the #BeUMC campaign, live-streaming, licensing, social media and more, please e-mail Rick Wolcott, executive director of Communications, or visit the Communications pages of the Conference website.
Bishop’s Office
Farewell Service for Bishop Tracy S. Malone
On Saturday, August 3 laity and clergy from across the East Ohio Conference showed their love and appreciation for Bishop Tracy S. Malone during The Celebration of Ministry and Farewell Service for her at Faith UMC in North Canton. The service featured speakers, music, presentation of a gift, the bishop and her family serving communion, and a message from Bishop Malone.
“This was God’s doing and God’s gift to each of us these last eight years. My assignment here was a significant first for me and also a significant first for the East Ohio Conference. You are the first conference that I served as a newly consecrated bishop – and in the history of this East Ohio Conference I am your first female bishop. We have made history together. God knew what God was doing. To God be the glory for always doing something new,” Malone said.
The Celebration of Ministry and Farewell Service for Bishop Tracy S. Malone was recorded and the link to the video will be included in the article that will be posted to the EOC website this week. Bishop Malone will begin her new assignment as resident bishop of the Indiana Conference on September 1. Bishop Hee-Soo Jung will begin his ministry as the new resident bishop of the East Ohio Conference on that date. A service of welcome for him and his family will be held in October.
Strategic Ministries
August 6 is Deadline to Register for The Listening Church Workshops
In a culture where not being heard is a major reason for church flight and church/community disconnect, The Listening Church workshop can be transformative for our local churches, the people already within them, and the people they hope to reach with the Good News of Christ. The Listening Church guides church leaders through a community assessment process rooted in contemplative practices that will aid churches in better understanding their communities and becoming spiritual homes to their neighbors. Listening is a crucial part of any ministry, and this training will help prepare leaders for wherever God is leading them.
Rev. Luke Edwards, associate director of Church Development for the Western North Carolina Conference of The UMC, and others will lead a 2.5-hour workshop at six local churches in the East Ohio Conference August 13-15.
- Tues., Aug. 13 @ 9:00 a.m. in Canton
- Tues., Aug. 13 @ 2:00 p.m. in Old Washington
- Wed., Aug. 14 @ 9:00 a.m. in North Olmsted
- Wed., Aug. 14 @ 2:00 p.m. in Bucyrus
- Thurs., Aug. 15 @ 9:00 a.m. in Poland
- Thurs., Aug. 15 @ 2:00 p.m. in Mentor
Clergy and laity are invited to attend the workshop that is most convenient for them to be introduced to the concepts and skills of being a Listening Church. Following the workshop there will be monthly Zoom calls to help deepen and utilize the trainings.
The registration deadline has been extended to August 6. You must register online by that date to participate in the free workshop. If you have questions about The Listening Church, please e-mail Rev. Beth Ortiz, director of Strategic Ministries, or e-mail Rev. Kathy Dickriede, director of Missions & Community Engagement.
Register for these trainings by August 6 on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.
Download The Listening Church flyer.
For questions about Strategic Ministries opportunities, please e-mail the Rev. Beth Ortiz, Connectional Ministries office Strategic Ministries director, or visit the Strategic Ministries pages on the Conference website.
Missions & Community Engagement
Rejoice Worship Concert – August 11
All are invited to the third annual praise concert at St. Helena Heritage Park in Canal Fulton on Sunday, August 11 from noon to 7:00 p.m. Four bands will perform and there will be a short message given by Pastor Mike Ward of Crosspoint UMC. No registration is required to attend. Please e-mail Pastor Mike Ward if you have any questions about the event.
How to Develop an Effective Green Team Online Course – August 12-16
You are invited to participate in the BeADisciple online course, “How to Develop an Effective Green Team”. This micro-course is for anyone who has been asked, or who feels a call, to start, strengthen, or lead a green team in addressing creation justice, even if you fear not being “enough” to effectively lead such an effort. You will gain skill and confidence to be able to start, strengthen, and lead a green team effectively in addressing creation justice – caring for God’s creation and addressing the consequent justice issues. Cost is $45 and clergy will earn 0.5 CEU.
August 14 Deadline to Register for EarthKeepers Training
If you’d like to act on the call to care for God’s creation, the Global Ministries’ EarthKeepers program can help you make a lasting difference. EarthKeepers is a training program that equips laity and clergy to launch and grow environmental projects in your community. When you become an EarthKeeper, you receive training in project planning, community organizing, ecotheology, and anti-racism. You also connect with a whole community of United Methodists who are passionate about caring for the earth and will receive ongoing project support and technical guidance as you carry out your project.
EarthKeepers training is scheduled for October 3-6 in Baltimore, Maryland and St. Paul, Minnesota. All participants plan a project during the training. August 14 is the last day to register. If you have any questions about EarthKeepers, please e-mail Rev. Kathy Dickriede.
Learn more and register for EarthKeepers Training.
Get Involved in All in Community Ministry Opportunities
Clery and laity are invited to make a difference in our mission fields in the East Ohio Conference through participation in the ministry of All In Community, a modern-day, Biblical response to the impact and aftermath of mass incarceration. Learn about these ministry opportunities by clicking the link below and make plans now to participate in one or all of them:
- August 21 or August 28 – online Lunch, Learn, and Live Well workshop
- August 26 – online Ministry Monday
- September 24-27 – Micah 6:8 Love Your Neighbor Tour to Montgomery, Alabama
- September 14 – Leadership Lab at West Ohio Conference Area Center
- October 3 – Clergy Resilience Retreat at Wedgewood UMC in Akron
- October 22 – Clergy Resilience Retreat at Bexley UMC in Columbus
- October 15 – Trauma Resilience Worship Arts workshop at Bexley UMC in Columbus
- November 6 – Trauma Resilience Worship Arts workshop at Wedgewood UMC in Akron
Learn more about and register for All In Community Events.
Community Engagement Cohort Begins September 11
Community Engagement cohort participants will learn the scriptural foundation for community partnerships, discover the framework for community partnerships to create systemic change, and be accountable to develop a unique plan of action for community partnership and ministry in their local context. The cohort will meet online via Zoom from 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. on September 11 & 25, October 9 & 23, and November 6 & 20. The cohort will be led by Rev. Kathy Dickriede and Rev. David Hull-Frye and ideally each participating faith community would be represented by its pastor and a lay member of the church. There is no cost for participating but you are asked to register online in advance.
Learn more and register on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.
Bridges Out Of Poverty Cohort Begins September 11
Bridges Out of Poverty offers a new way to view the issue of poverty through the Triple Lens approach of individual, community, and structural/policy. Participants will review poverty research, examine a theory of change, and analyze poverty through the prism of the hidden rules of class, resources, family structure, and language. This online cohort is for community leaders to learn to empower, lead, and facilitate the Bridges movement in their community. The cohort will meet online on the first and third Wednesdays of the month starting on September 11 and concluding March 26, 2025.
Learn more and register on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.
OPEN M Breakfast – September 11
OPEN M (EOC Advance Fund 9102) invites you to the Open Your Heart breakfast September 11 from 7:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn. Meet supporters, partners, and friends of OPEN M and celebrate its mission of transforming lives and communities. Rev. Kathy Dickriede is reserving a table for eight. If you want to attend for free, e-mail Melanie Thomas in the Connectional Ministries office.
Learn more and register to attend the OPEN M breakfast.
UMVIM Team Leader Training – September 22
Enjoy a day of fellowship and conversation to learn best practices for leading a mission team locally, nationally, or internationally. Led by Rev. Kathy Dickriede, Missions & Community Engagement director. This 1:00 – 6:00 p.m. training at Macedonia UMC is free, but you do need to register by September 18.
Learn more and register on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.
Poverty Simulation – November 13
Poverty is a reality for many individuals and families. But unless you’ve experienced poverty, it’s difficult to truly understand. The Community Action Poverty Simulation is an interactive, immersive experience that helps participants better understand poverty. You must register online in advance for this free simulation at Thrive 10:10 in Girard from 9:00 a.m. to noon on November 13.
Learn more and register on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.
For questions about Missions & Community Engagement ministries and opportunities, please e-mail the Rev. Kathy Dickriede, Connectional Ministries office Missions & Community Engagement director, or visit the Missions & Community Engagement pages of the Conference website.
Multicultural Ministries
Anti-Racism Cohorts Begin August 22
This cohort will be a time for honesty and authenticity, vulnerability and courage as we spend time learning, being accountable, coaching, and creating a safe space for intentional learning and sharing. It will be a time of discovering how to do the anti-racism work of re-telling our stories, building relationships and connection, and repairing and reinvesting with people in our past and current world. Cohorts will operate under a covenant of confidentiality and are open to laity and clergy. The fall cohort will focus on the book Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm: The American Methodist Church and the Struggle with White Supremacy by John Elford.
The first meeting will be in-person on Thursday, August 22 from 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Ohio East Area Center (8800 Cleveland Ave NW, North Canton OH 44720). This first meeting will be for relationship building and conversation. Other meetings will be online on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month from September through November. The cohort will conclude with an in-person experience to be decided by the group at the end. A winter cohort will take place in February-April 2025, registration and details TBD.
The cost to participate in the cohort is $50, which includes the Intercultural Development Inventory, lunch during the first meeting, and a repair and reinvest project to be determined by the cohort. If you have any questions about the cohort, please e-mail Will Fenton-Jones, Multicultural Ministries director, or e-mail Rev. Kathy Dickriede, Missions & Community Engagement director. The deadline to register is August 18.
Register on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.
All Conference Book Read: Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm
During Annual Conference in June the East Ohio Conference Anti-Racism Task Force announced an all-conference read of Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm: The American Methodist Church and the Struggle with White Supremacy by John Elford, a United Methodist pastor with a background in history.
“In order for the church to be all God calls us to be, we must reckon with our history of causing harm and suffering, with the full history of our racist past,” Elford writes in his book. “There is freedom and liberation in knowing what really happened in our history.”
The Anti-Racism Task Force presented three pillars to guide the Conference in our work of anti-racism. Retelling, the first pillar, focuses on the storytelling of our history: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Join us in starting this journey into our collective past and into the histories that we each carry. Over the next several months you are invited to read on your own or in community together. The General Commission on Religion and Race has also produced a book study that is available at no cost here.
Discuss Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm with Author John Elford – September 21
Join the East Ohio Conference Anti-Racism Team in welcoming John Elford, the author of Our Hearts Were Strangely Lukewarm: The American Methodist Church and the Struggle with White Supremacy on Saturday, September 21 at First UMC in Ashland. Individuals and churches are encouraged to attend as part of the all-Conference book read. Participants do not have to have read the book to attend!
Our time together from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. that day will consist of fellowship, plenary sessions with John Elford, table discussion, and a panel discussion. Lunch and light refreshments throughout the day will be provided. The suggested donation is $10 per person. All funds raised beyond the cost of the event will be used for the third pillar in our anti-racism work strategy: repair and reinvestment.
Register on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.
For questions about Multicultural Ministries opportunities, please e-mail Will Fenton-Jones, Connectional Ministries office Multicultural Ministries director, or visit the Multicultural Ministries pages of the Conference website.
Camps & Retreat Ministries
It’s Always Time to Think About Retreats
Whether it’s fall, winter or spring, it’s time to make your retreat plans. Retreats offer encounters that can change the lives of individuals and the group in amazing ways. So, why not take your youth group, Bible study group, United Women in Faith or any other group to which you belong on a retreat?
At our East Ohio retreat facilities of Aldersgate, Asbury, and Wanake our goal is to provide comfortable settings and quality programs through which people can experience Christ’s love for them and all creation and share that love with others. Relax, enjoy the surroundings and get back in touch with God. We can provide accommodations year-round for a small intimate setting or a large group gathering. Our retreat staff looks forward to hosting your next gathering. Call the Camps & Retreat Ministries office at (330) 499-3972 ext. 139 to ask questions and to make your reservation.
Learn more about EOC Retreat ministries.
For questions about Camps & Retreat Ministries opportunities, please e-mail the Rev. Gary Jones, Connectional Ministries office Camps & Retreat Ministries / Spiritual Formation & Christian Education director, or visit the Camps & Retreat Ministries pages of the Conference website.
Events: August 5 – August 18
Click to view East Ohio Conference Calendar.
- Saturday, August 10
Free Community Meal in Lakewood
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.)
Celebrations of Life
Please pray for the families of:
- Charles D. Beatty, retired Local Pastor, died July 22.
View obituaries.
To submit the obituary of an EOC clergy, clergy spouse, or surviving spouse, family should contact Melissa McGee, executive secretary to the Bishop, by phone at (330) 499-3972 ext. 112 or via e-mail.
Classifieds
Details of listings may be found here.
Positions Available
- Organist or Pianist – Lisbon First UMC
- Director of Music – Rocky River UMC
- Choir Director – Ontario UMC
- Director of Children’s & Family Ministries – Church of the Saviour UMC
- Sunday School Teacher – Boardman UMC in Youngstown
- Secretary – North Industry UMC in Canton
- Office Manager – North Canton Faith UMC
- Director of Children and Family Ministries – Bay UMC in Bay Village
- Organist/Pianist – Gay Street UMC in Mount Vernon
To submit a classified ad please e-mail swilliams@eocumc.com.
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Deadline for submission is Thursday, August 15, 2024. Send articles to eoccommunications@eocumc.com.
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