By Deb Gilson*

For the first time in many years, a celebration was held to honor those individuals who recently completed the Certified Lay Ministry program. A certified lay minister is an individual who is called and equipped to conduct public worship, care for the congregation, assist in program leadership, develop new and existing faith communities, preach the Word, lead small groups or establish community outreach ministries as a part of a ministry team under the supervision of a clergyperson.

The certified lay minister honorees at the Crosspoint UMC-hosted celebration included Connie Johnson, Eddie Courtney and Laurie Peach. Other honorees who were unable to attend and will be recognized in the future include Jeff Pellin, Edie Boles and Jennie Foertch.

In addition to the mentioned honorees and their families, individuals from the East Ohio Conference attended the event including Bishop Hee-Soo Jung and Rev. Im-Hyon Jung, Cabinet members, Conference staff, district directors, clergy and several of the Certified Lay Ministries course trainers.

I am honored to be director of Lay Servant Ministries in East Ohio and to have led the celebration ceremony, which included a welcome, a devotional by Faith Formation & Lay Ministries Director Julie Carter, a time of prayer led by Bishop Jung and special music from my husband Steve and me.

Each new certified lay minister spoke about their personal call to ministry, and their personal reflections about the Certified Lay Academy. Several of the candidates shared their learning experiences as well as the bond which has been created between all individuals in the Academy. A special thank-you was given to all the clergy instructors and information was shared about how each participant will use his or her spiritual giftedness in their ministry. Connie Johnson demonstrated her giftedness by sharing several of her poems, which were also printed in a booklet and passed out at the East Ohio Annual Conference.

Bishop Jung, Rev. Ed Fashbaugh and I presented each of the certified lay ministers with a certificate of completion and a gift. As no celebration is complete without refreshments and fellowship, a special thank-you goes out to Rev. Peg Welch, who hosted the event at the church she currently serves and fed all of us homemade lasagna.

Plans are underway for the next Certified Lay Minister Academy, with information to be released once details are finalized. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a certified lay minister, please e-mail Deb Gilson or e-mail Julie Carter.

Learn more about Lay Servant Ministries.
View Lay Servant Ministries training opportunities.

*Deb Gilson is director of Lay Servant Ministries for the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church.