May 27, 2025

Annual Conference

Annual Conference Hosted at the College of Wooster
Clergy Executive Session is Wednesday, June 11 from 2:00 – 5:45 p.m. in McGaw Chapel. Annual Conference begins at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 12 and concludes at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 14.

AC worship services will be in McGaw Chapel, which has unpadded wood pews. You are welcome to bring your own seat cushion each day.
AC business sessions will be in the Scot Center on the indoor track and courts of the Gault Recreation Center. The seats and chair backs of the metal frame, non-folding chairs will both be padded.

Learn about AC 2025 & Clergy Executive Session.

Livestream
The Thursday, June 12 through Saturday, June 14 services and sessions of Annual Conference 2025 can be viewed via livestream on the AC 2025 website.

View the livestream of AC 2025.

AC 2025 Video Resources
In the dropdown menu of the Resources tab on the AC 2025 website you will find AC 2025 video resources. This is a showcase containing the video archives from each service and session of AC 2025 as well as videos highlighting ministries in the East Ohio Conference and across The United Methodist Church. You are invited to view, download, and share each video.

Visit the AC 2025 video resources page.

Registration is Closed for Clergy Executive Session and AC 2025
Registration opened April 1 and closed May 16. Anyone can attend the sessions and services of Annual Conference but only those AC members who registered by May 16 will receive a voting device upon check-in.

Worship Services in McGaw Chapel
Thursday, June 12
Opening Worship Service at 9:00 a.m. with guest preacher Bishop Seong-Bok Kim, resident bishop of the Seoul Annual Conference of the Korean Methodist Church

Friday, June 13
Service of Commemoration and Holy Communion at 9:00 a.m. with Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, resident bishop of the Ohio Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church preaching

Saturday, June 14
Service of Licensing, Commissioning, Ordination, and Retirement at 9:00 a.m. with guest preacher Bishop Jonathan Keaton, a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church

Business Sessions in Scot Center’s Gault Recreation Center
Wednesday, June 11
2:00 – 5:45 p.m. (Clergy Executive Session)

Thursday, June 12
12:30 – 4:30 p.m.
7:30 – 9:00 p.m. (Laity Session)

Friday, June 13
12:30 – 4:30 p.m.
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 14
12:30 – 4:30 p.m.

How Do I Receive a Pre-Conference Workbook?
Those who requested the print copy of the Pre-Conference Workbook during online registration will receive it at check-in. The same version of the Pre-Conference Workbook was posted on the AC 2025 website in a digital format during the last week in April. You can download and print a copy of the Pre-Conference Workbook before AC.

What You Need to Know for Check-In This Year
Check-in for Clergy Executive Session and Annual Conference will be in the lobby on the main floor of the Scot Center building overlooking the indoor track and courts of the Gault Recreation Center two levels below. Check-in times are:

Wednesday, June 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 11 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 12 from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m
Thursday, June 12 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m
Friday, June 13 from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m

Check-in for those staying in a residence hall room during Annual Conference are asked to check into their room before heading to receive AC check-in materials. You are also asked to leave your vehicle in your residence hall parking lot and to walk or take the shuttle to the Scot Center. Residence hall check-in times are:

Wednesday, June 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 12 from 7:00 to 8:45 a.m
Thursday, June 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m
Friday, June 13 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m

What You Need to Know About Receiving Meal Cards for AC 2025

If you registered to stay in a residence hall during AC, your room keycard will have your meal plan meals loaded on it. This means you will use your room keycard to unlock your room and to swipe in the Lowry Center to show that you have pre-paid for meal plan meals.
If you purchased the meal plan but are not staying in a residence hall, you will need to pick-up your meal card at the meals check-in table in the lobby of the Scot Center. NOTE: this is a different table than the AC check-in tables, but is located in the same area.

The following meals are part of the AC 2025 meal plan:

Thursday, June 12 – lunch
Friday, June 13 – breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Saturday, June 14 – breakfast, and lunch

Parking
Parking is free at all lots on the College of Wooster campus. You can find a parking map in the dropdown menu of the Resources tab on the AC 2025 website.

View and download the campus parking map.

Shuttle
The Annual Conference Program/Hospitality Committee is providing golf carts, to assist those with mobility issues in navigating across campus.

Volunteers Needed for Annual Conference 2025
The Annual Conference Program/Hospitality Committee is looking for individuals to be volunteers on the College of Wooster campus during AC 2025. There are many positions to fill, and opportunities for all.

Please e-mail Joy Snyder, South Forest District administrator, to learn about available opportunities to assist.

Annual Conference Offering
The offering will be collected during the 2:30 p.m. business session on Thursday, June 12. Attendees will be able to give their offering in the plates that will be passed in the plenary hall or by scanning a QR code connected to the Donate page of the East Ohio Conference website. This year’s Annual Conference offering will benefit:

Mary Scranton Memorial Mission Center
United Methodist Committee on Relief Global Migration
Bishop’s Discretionary Fund

Donate to the AC 2025 offering.

Constitutional Amendments
General Conference 2020/2024 approved several proposed amendments to the Constitution of TheUnited Methodist Church. To amend the Constitution, legislation approved by General Conference must receive approval by a 2/3-majority of aggregate votes cast by members of all annual conferences around the globe. Annual Conferences in 2025 will vote on Constitutional amendments with a separate ballot on each of the four proposed amendments.

The bishop and Conference secretary from all 127 United Methodist annual conferences in Africa, Europe, the Philippians, and the United States will send the voting results from their Annual Conference to the Council of Bishops no later than October 31, 2025. The Council of Bishops will tally all votes, certify any amendment ratifications, and announce results in early November.

Learn more about all proposed Constitutional amendments.

Resolutions
Three resolutions were submitted by the March 15 deadline.

Resolution 2025-01 – United Methodist Immigration Ministries of Ohio: Forming an Ohio Site of the Immigration Law and Justice Network
Resolution 2025-02 – Identifying and Opposing Apartheid in the Holy Land
Resolution 2025-03 – What Are We Called to Do?

Childcare Scholarship Application
Parents of children aged infant to 10-years old may apply for a childcare scholarship through the Connectional Ministries office. Please e-mail Melanie Thomas, administrative assistant, to apply for a scholarship. The deadline to register is Monday, June 2.

Apply for a childcare scholarship.

Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School (VBS) will use the new Cokesbury curriculum “Road Trip: On the Go with God” to take children aged Pre-K through 5^th grade on an adventure during Annual Conference. VBS will be hosted at Westminster Presbyterian Church (353 E. Pine Street, Wooster) during business sessions on Thursday, June 12 and Friday, June 13, and during worship and business sessions on Saturday, June 14. The last day to register for VBS is Saturday, May 31.

Register for VBS.

Midwest Mission Collection Truck on Campus – June 12-13
The collection truck for Midwest Mission, an EOC Advance partner (Fund 9944), will be parked in lot #29 off University Street during Annual Conference. Staff will be present to receive donations on:

Thursday, June 12 from 12:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Friday, June 13 from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Learn about needed items and assembling home care and personal dignity kits.
Download the AC 2025 Midwest Mission truck flyer.

Ministry Fair
Forty ministry fair tables will be set up on the main floor of the Scot Center on Thursday from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Ministries were invited to staff a table in the ministry fair. All spots are filled.

View the list of ministry fair participants.

Appointments

Bishop Hee-Soo Jung announces the following clergy appointments and/or changes of status which, unless otherwise noted, are effective July 1, 2025.

2025 Appointments
Pastor	Appointment	District	Effective
William Baker	LaPorte & Cornerstone UMCs	West Plains
Janice Bye	Hopewell UMC & Shippensburg University (Susquehanna Conference of The UMC)
Nichole Fewell	Strongsville UMC Director of Communications & Digital Ministries	Northern Waters
Anne Fisher	Greentown & Uniontown UMCs	Central Valley
Kyle Gould	OhioGuidestone, Behavorial Health Specialist	West Plains
Jeri Johnson	Greentown & Uniontown UMCs	Central Valley
Ken Kelley	Nova UMC	West Plains
Christopher Liberati	Mt. Vernon Gay Street & Green Valley UMCs	West Plains
Scott Racut	Madison Park, Madison Chapel & Perry UMCs	Northern Waters
Darla Schnegg	Tiltonsville, Brilliant, Martins Ferry & Rayland UMCs	South Forest
Amy Shaw	Greentown & Uniontown UMCs	Central Valley
Jan Walsh	Mt. Tabor UMC	Central Valley
Hannah Weisbrod	Harbor and Bridge Community Center, Projects Coordinator	Northern Waters

View the complete list of 2025 Appointments and Changes of Status, including retirees and those concluding their ministry.

#BeUMC

Storyboard: Faith Witness Transformation
Episode 59: “Discover … Missions”

Storyboard: Faith Witness Transformation is a podcast highlighting ministries across the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church that are transforming lives locally, nationally, and globally. Produced twice-a-month by EOC Communications, each podcast episode focuses on one of the core values of the #BeUMC campaign: Disciple Making; Belonging & Inclusion; Influence, Connection & Impact; and Experience of God through The United Methodist Church.

Episode 59 “Making Disciples through Discover … Missions” features a roundtable discussion about faith-building opportunities through United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) Discover … Missions.

“Discover … Mission is set up as an intentional cultural immersion for young people to serve with and learn from young adults in the host country,” offered the Rev. Dr. Tammy Kuntz, North Central Jurisdiction UMVIM coordinator.

“When you talk about relationship building it may be through music, it may be through a faith-based service. Relationship building is hard to put a frame around, it means different things for different people, and different experiences make that picture look a little bit different,” said Jody Pratt, Michigan Conference VIM coordinator.

A Discover … Mission trip leaves for Peru December 30.

Listen to previous Storyboard podcast episodes.
View clergy and laity sharing their #BeUMC stories.

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

Rev. Donnetta Peaks Appointed Executive Director of the East Ohio and West Ohio Offices of Ministry
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung, resident bishop of the Ohio Episcopal Area, intends to appoint the Rev. Donnetta Peaks as executive director of the Office of Ministry for both the East Ohio and West Ohio Conferences of The United Methodist Church.

“Rev. Donnetta Peaks is a Spirit-filled leader committed to assisting every person who is exploring the call of ministry in their life. In this new executive director role, Donnetta will expand across Ohio the ministries she has nurtured the past several years such as the Candidacy Summit, Crucible, and the School of Ministry,” said Bishop Jung.

Rev. Peaks said she is grateful for this opportunity and is inspired by the dedication of clergy and laity in Ohio to recruit, equip and encourage people in exploring their call to ministry.

“I look forward to embarking together on a journey of service, prayerfully rested and ready for the harvest ahead. As we labor in faith, let us remember Galatians 6:9: ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ May our collective efforts bring forth abundant blessings in our communities and beyond,” she said.

Rev. Peaks will begin her role as executive director of the Office of Ministry for both East and West Ohio later this summer.

Strategic Ministries

Healthy Pastor/Church Transitions
The itinerant system of The United Methodist Church ensures that every year some clergy across the East Ohio Conference will receive a change of appointment. The Healthy Church Transitions page of the Conference website has new resources for churches and new resources for pastors to assist all in achieving a health transition this July.

View the resources on the Healthy Transitions page of the EOC website.

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

DisAbility Awareness Sunday is June 15
The Ohio Disability and Ministry Collaborative of the East Ohio and West Ohio Conferences of The United Methodist Church invites you to celebrate DisAbility Awareness Sunday on June 15. This year’s recognition will be paired with Peace and Justice Sunday. On this special day, we invite you to incorporate a special activity, prayer, or sermon into your church’s worship service to educate about the importance of inclusion of all people. If your congregation is unable to celebrate DisAbility Awareness Sunday on June 15, we encourage you to select another Sunday to recognize this important ministry.

Please take a moment to learn about DisAbility Awareness ministries, view resources, and find contact information to schedule a speaker for your church on the East Ohio Conference website. To highlight how your church chose to celebrate DisAbility Awareness Sunday, please e-mail Zachary Holler or e-mail Rose Darling to share your story.

View the DisAbility Awareness page of the EOC website.
View DisAbility Awareness Sunday Resources.
Support DisAbility Awareness Sunday, Fund 9212.

The Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland Needs You This Summer
The Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland (Health & Well-Being Partner Fund 9136) is looking for youth groups, individuals, or small teams of adults to complete mission service projects on the west side of Cleveland this summer.

Tuesday is project day each week, and lunch will be provided at 2:00 p.m. on those days. Individuals and/or teams are needed to:

finish installing smoke detectors in dorm rooms.
repair and seal a parking lot.
sweep gravel on the education wing roof.
paint the ramp and picnic tables.
expand the patio and install gas grill.
complete cleanup of wood and debris in the yard.
problem solve an electrical issue.
repair plaster, paint, and more.

Volunteer at Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland.

Cooks and Servers Needed for Bread on Bridge Ministry
Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland is also looking for cooks and servers from noon – 4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays for its Bread on Bridge ministry. Volunteer groups will plan, purchase, and prepare a meal for about 100 people from the community. This is another great opportunity for families, youth groups, and churches to get involved in missions over the summer.

Volunteer at Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland.
Learn more about the Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland.
Support Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland, Fund 9136.

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.

DisAbility Awareness

View the DisAbility Awareness page of the EOC website.
View DisAbility Awareness Sunday Resources.
Support DisAbility Awareness Sunday, Fund 9212.

Disaster Response

Early Response Team (ERT) Training – May 31
On May 31 at Independence UMC EOC disaster response leaders Bob Catchpole and Tom King will present a training offering best practices for responding as a volunteer in disaster situations. Topics covered in the training will include interacting with survivors, helping survivors recover belongings, tarping roofs, and safely removing debris. To receive credentials as a certified United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) ERT volunteer for three years you must complete the training class and a required background check. The cost of the 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. training on May 31 is $25. The last day to register is May 28.

Register on the Events Registration page of the Conference website.
Download the event flyer to share.
Learn more about East Ohio Conference Disaster Response.

Camps & Retreat Ministries

There’s Still Space for You at Summer Camp 2025
The Summer Camp season begins soon, but there is still time for you to register to attend Camp Aldersgate, Camp Asbury, or Camp Wanake.

If you have questions about camp and/or would like to request a brochure, please e-mail the Camps office or call us at (330) 499-3972 ext. 139.

Learn about and register for Summer Camp.

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.

Spiritual Formation & Christian Education

Spiritual Formation Network Gatherings – June 3
If you are involved in spiritual formation and Christian education, you are invited to join your friends and colleagues online for devotions, support, question-asking and -answering, and sharing ideas. Our next online gathering is Tuesday, June 3 at whichever time (9:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m.) is convenient for you. Invite your friends involved in spiritual formation and Christian education ministries to join you and us for this time together.

We will continue to meet on the first Tuesday of the month thereafter at 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. so that you can join whichever time works best for you that day. July 1 is the day we will meet in July. To receive the online link, please e-mail Rev. Gary Jones, Camps & Retreat Ministries / Spiritual Formation & Christian Education director in the Connectional Ministries office.

For questions about Spiritual Formation & Christian Education ministries opportunities, please e-mail the Rev. Gary Jones, Connectional Ministries office Camps & Retreat Ministries / Spiritual Formation & Christian Education director, or visit the Spiritual Formation & Christian Education pages of the Conference website.

Clergy

All-Ohio School of Ministry – September 18-20
Clergy leaders from East and West Ohio Conferences are invited to attend the All-Ohio School of Ministry, scheduled for September 18–20, 2025, at Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky, Ohio.

Centered on the theme “Reimagining Connection: All-Ohio School of Ministry on Beloved Community,” this gathering offers a unique opportunity for leaders to boldly imagine the next chapter of United Methodism in Ohio. Through meaningful dialogue, renewed connection, and shared vision, we will explore what it means to be a church for the future. Rev. Dr. Javier A. Viera, president of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, is the featured speaker. A highly respected voice in theological education, justice-centered ministry, and inclusive leadership, Dr. Viera will guide us in rethinking the Church’s role in building a more just and compassionate world.

The School of Ministry will also include:

inspiring sessions focused on the future of the Church in Ohio.
interactive networking and fellowship opportunities.
dedicated time for members of the Fellowship of Local Pastors and Associate Members, as well as the Orders of Deacons and Elders, to learn from one another and deepen understanding of ministry needs across the state.
together, we will envision the future of United Methodist witness in Ohio – rooted in beloved community, shared purpose, and profound spiritual formation.

Events: May 27 – June 8

Click to view East Ohio Conference Calendar.

Sunday, June 1
Cory UMC 150th Anniversary Celebration

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:

Duane C. Hetzer, retired Elder, died April 6.

View obituaries.

To submit the obituary of an EOC clergy, a clergy spouse, a child of a clergy person, or a 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

Parish Bookkeeper – Cooperative Parish
Director of Music – Ontario UMC
Assistant Teacher – Play and Prep Preschool in Solon UMC

Items Available/Wanted

57 robes available – Westbrook Park UMC in Canton

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

To Subscribe

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Thursday, June 5, 2025 is the submission deadline for the next E-News. Send articles to eoccommunications@eocumc.com.