Ohio Episcopal Area Task Team

Benefits Sub-Team Update
Since September 2025, staff and volunteer leaders from East Ohio and West Ohio have been working together to understand in detail the benefits offered by each conference, who is eligible, how benefits are funded, where programs differ and where they are already aligned.

One message can be shared with confidence today: retirement benefits earned through the Pre-82 Pension and Retirement Security (PSR) Plan, the Ministerial Pension Plan (MPP), and the Clergy Retirement Security Program (CRSP) remain secure. The MPP and CRSP are denominational retirement programs governed by provisions established by General Conference and are not subject to modification through the Conference unification process. Likewise, benefits already earned through the Pre-82 PSR Plan cannot be reduced. While the Pre-82 PSR contribution rate may be increased through future action, it cannot be decreased. Clergy and retirees can be confident that pension/retirement benefits already earned and currently being paid will not be reduced by this work. Additional information about both legacy and current pension and retirement programs will be provided in the next communication focused specifically on pension and retirement benefits.

Read the entire Benefits sub-team update.

Ohio Episcopal Area Ministries

We’re Coming Your Way. Can We Talk?
Beginning Tuesday, October 20, Ohio Episcopal Area executive directors are heading around Ohio, and we’d love the chance to sit down with clergy and laity along the way. Leading these conversations are Rev. Beth Ortiz, executive director of Discipleship Ministries; Rev. Karen Cook, executive director of Connectional Ministries; Rev. Ed Fashbaugh, executive director of Leadership Wellness and Renewal; and Rev. Donnetta Peaks, executive director of the Office of Ministry.

Our purpose is simple: we want to meet you and hear what you’re experiencing. Where are you seeing hope and possibility in your church or community? What’s challenging right now? What are you trying to figure out? What could we do to come alongside you?

This is also a chance to get to know one another. We’ll share a little about our offices and work, but the conversation will be shaped by what you want to share, ask and talk about. These are conversations, not presentations or training sessions. We’ll grab some coffee, spend 90 minutes or less together, and listen to what you have to say.

We have eight locations confirmed across Ohio, with more being added, plus two evening Zoom conversations for those who can’t join us in person. The first 25 people who register at each in-person location will receive a $15 gas card.

View the dates and times of conversations and register on the EOC website.

Communications

Facebook for Businesses
As Facebook continues to evolve as a platform, Meta One, a new subscription-based model for business pages, has been rolled out. As most churches with a Facebook presence operate business pages, you will begin to see the effects in the coming months. Though the program offers some benefits such as verification, impersonation protection and customer support, it comes with limited link-sharing capabilities. Facebook business pages – such as church pages – will be limited to two external links per month. After that pages will need to purchase a tiered membership to share more links. Links to internal offerings such as Facebook streams (Facebook Live church services, for example) will not be impacted by this program.

Previously our daily posts on EOC Facebook have included clickable links to ministry resources. Moving forward when we need to point you to a resource, we will direct you to visit the East Ohio website, or to a pinned post that features the current E-News where you will find the relevant links you need. We will continue to make sure we provide you with the best resources we can through our Facebook channel.

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.

Financial & Administrative Services

2027 Healthcare Options
Open enrollment for selecting your 2027 healthcare plan opens Wednesday, October 28 and closes Thursday, November 12, 2026.

For your planning, you should know that available medical/behavioral health/Rx plans have been simplified from the six offered in 2026 to four in 2027.

Learn more and view the plan options.

For questions about Financial & Administrative Services ministries and opportunities, please e-mail Vera Milanovic, executive director of Financial & Administrative Services, or visit the Financial & Administrative Services pages of the Conference website.

Bishop’s Office

Bishop Jung to Lead Holy Land Pilgrimage – November 14-23
Bishop Hee-Soo Jung invites you to The Holy Land, the Holy People Trip to Israel scheduled for November 14 – 23, 2026. The tour will be led by The Society for Biblical Studies (SBC), an ecumenical, interfaith and inclusive organization.

SBC seeks to renew the mission of the Church through this contextual experience grounded in biblical faith. You are invited to participate in a ministry of reconciliation, to reach out across geographic, religious, ethnic and cultural boundaries to new horizons of mission.

Christians travel to the Holy Land to walk where Jesus walked. But Jesus also proclaimed, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” On this journey walk in the places where Jesus lived and taught while walking alongside people pursuing peace in Israel and Palestine today.

Choose one of two tracks for The Holy Land, The Holy People tour: a 10-day survey of the Bible with contemporary studies track ($4,273/each leaving from NYC) or a 10-day fact finding, advocacy, peacemaking in the Holy Lands track ($3,514/each leaving from NYC).

Financial scholarships are available, with priority given to young clergy and seminary students. E-mail Multicultural Ministries Director Will Fenton-Jones for more information.

Learn more and register for the Holy Land trip.

Bishop’s Missional Appeal
All clergy, laity, congregations, and ministry settings across the Ohio Episcopal Area are invited to participate in the Bishop’s Missional Appeal for the Scranton Memorial Mission Center and Church.

This center will honor the memory, sacrifice, and missionary vision of William and Mary Scranton while inspiring future generations for mission in Korea and around the world. A central part of this history is East Gate Methodist Church, founded through the ministry of Dr. William B. Scranton. For Korean Methodists, this church has long been cherished as one of the sacred birthplaces of Korean Methodism and as a living testimony to the Ohio–Korea mission connection.

In recent years, the original site of East Gate Methodist Church was returned to the City of Seoul as part of a public project to preserve and restore the historic Seoul City Wall near the East Gate. While this project honors an important part of Korea’s cultural heritage, it also resulted in the loss of a sacred Methodist site connected to the Scranton legacy and the earliest history of Korean Methodism. The Seoul Annual Conference of the Korean Methodist Church has taken up the holy work of rebuilding nearby. Land has been purchased, and the Scranton Memorial Mission Center and Church are now being developed. The cost of the project is valued at approximately $16 million.

Support the Bishop’s Missional Appeal.

Five Strategic Pillars

The Five Pillars listed below emerged from conversations Bishop Hee-Soo Jung has had during his visits to more than 250 congregations across the Ohio Episcopal Area. In those conversations clergy and laity shared deep and faithful longings to grow in discipleship, to reach new people for Christ, to pass on the faith to the next generation, and to live in meaningful relationship and mission with their communities and the wider world.

The Five Pillars are not a program or a set of guarantees. Rather, they offer a shared vision and spiritual framework to guide our life together as “One Ohio” – rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, shaped by trust, and attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Pillar 1: Building Relationships
Pillar 2: Shared Mission
Pillar 3: Discipleship
Pillar 4: Multiplication
Pillar 5: Emerging Leaders

Learn more about the Five Pillars.

Discipleship Ministries

Training on Simplified Church Governance – January
An important training session on the Simplified Governance model will be offered from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 19 and again from 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 23. This online workshop is designed to strengthen governance and enhance ministry effectiveness across our conferences and within your local church. Training participants will gain a clear and comprehensive understanding of this model, which emphasizes mission-driven leadership to help your congregation faithfully live out its ministry in today’s world. The training will provide a strong foundation for discerning whether this structure can support your church in becoming the community God is calling you to be.

Register by January 12 on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.

For questions about Discipleship Ministries opportunities, please e-mail the Rev. Beth Ortiz, Discipleship Ministries executive director, or visit the Discipleship Ministries pages on the Conference website.

Leadership Wellness and Renewal

What Almost Dying Taught Me About Living
A message from Executive Director of Leadership Wellness and Renewal Rev. Ed Fashbaugh:

“My bio linked below says in big capital words, ‘HE ALMOST DIED.’ Well, here’s the story … In September 2021, my wife Amy and I both came down with COVID. While Amy began getting better, I kept getting worse. Late one night, my oxygen level dropped dangerously low, and Amy rushed me to the hospital. I wouldn’t come home again for 100 days.

“I spent 62 of those days on a ventilator, followed by another 38 days of rehabilitation, learning how to do things I never imagined I would have to learn again, including how to stand and walk. On December 28, 2021, I finally came home. What happened during those 100 days, and what I began learning afterward, changed the way I understood my body, wellness, ministry and the gift of simply being alive. It eventually led me to become certified as a health and wellness coach and helped shape the work I am doing today in Leadership Wellness and Renewal.”

Learn more about Rev. Ed Fashbaugh.
Read Ed’s story in its entirety on the Between Sundays Substack.
View the Leadership Wellness and Renewal page of the EOC website.

For questions about Leadership Wellness and Renewal ministry opportunities, please e-mail Executive Director Rev. Ed Fashbaugh, or visit the Leadership Wellness and Renewal page of the Conference website.

Mission Engagement

Green Church Grant Applications Due – October 31
Let us help your church do its part to care for God’s creation. East Ohio Green Church mini grants provide limited funding for “green” projects such as recycling or composting programs, native plants for a pollinator garden, an Earth Day event or installing energy-efficient light bulbs. To receive funding, churches must sign the Green Church Pledge and complete a sustainability audit – both of which will be provided. Each grant will provide $100 – $750 for a green project in 2027. Recipients will be asked to submit a grant report. If you have questions about Green Church grants, please e-mail Mariellyn Grace, director of Missions Engagement. As part of the new Ignite Ohio grants, applications must be received by October 31.

Apply for an EOC Green Church grant.

Non-Profit Partners Summit – November 5
The United Methodist Foundation of West Ohio (UMFWO) is pleased to host, for the fifth year, a non-profit partners summit Thursday, November 5, at the West Ohio Conference Center in Worthington. The Summit is intended to benefit nonprofit organizations with ties to the United Methodist Church, such as Foundation non-profit partners, EOC Advance Specials and UM-affiliated organizations. A small block of discounted rooms for November 4 is available at the Sheraton Worthington. If you have questions about the Summit, please e-mail Maddy DeWitt.

Learn more and register for the Summit.

Nehemiah Mission Fundraiser – November 15
The Nehemiah Mission (EOC Fund 9136) is hosting its Rebuilding Hope Autumn Harvest fundraiser on Sunday, November 15 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the historic Nicholson House in Lakewood. Donations help support transitional housing of international newcomers, the weekly Bread on Bridge meal, the Matilde Davila emergency pantry and other programs of the Nehemiah Mission. 

Support the Nehemiah Mission fundraiser.

#GivingTuesday – December 1
The Board of Missions is once again encouraging United Methodists to support EOC mission and ministry Advance partners on #GivingTuesday, December 1. Donations made online that day will receive a Board of Missions match, with a maximum match per Advance of $500. The match is made possible by our generous donors to Undesignated Missions Fund 9001. In 2025, 25 Advances received over $9,000 in matching donations.

If you have any questions about the #GivingTuesday match, please e-mail Melanie Thomas, Connectional Ministries administrative assistant. Schedule your donation in advance by selecting “once, on a future date” then inputting “December 1” on the donation page of your preferred Advance partner.

View EOC Advance Mission partners.

For questions about Mission Engagement ministries and opportunities, please e-mail Mariellyn Grace, Connectional Ministries office Mission Engagement director, or visit the Mission Engagement pages of the Conference website.

Engagement with Children, Youth & Young Adults

Children’s Ministry Connections – October 15
If you are engaged in children’s ministry, you are invited to participate in monthly one-hour online conversations beginning Thursday, October 15 at noon. The conversations will continue the third Thursday of every month. You are welcome to participate every month, occasionally or simply when there is something you would like to bring to the group. The hope is that this feels less like another meeting on your calendar and more like a table we can gather around when we need one another.

The purpose of the monthly virtual gatherings is to:

• hear what each of us is noticing in our local churches and communities,
• share resources, experiments, questions and things we are learning,
• support one another through the challenges of ministry,
• identify emerging needs and opportunities across the connection, and
• build relationships with colleagues doing similar work.

If you have questions about the Children’s Ministry Connection, please e-mail Ann Marie Carley, director of Engagement with Children, Youth, and Young Adults.

Register for the Children’s Ministry Connections call.

Project Feed – November 8
Youth from across Ohio are invited to participate in Project Feed on Sunday, November 8 to pack meals for families experiencing food insecurity. Be a part of the youth movement to make the world a little better, one meal at a time.

Project Feed will take place Sunday, November 8 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at First UMC in Kent. Be sure to register in advance because space is limited. The cost for the event is $10 for youth grades 5-12 and the registration deadline is November 4. There is no cost for adult leaders. If you have questions about Project Feed, please e-mail Rick Stout, Project Feed coordinator, or e-mail Tim Beck, associate director of Engagement with Youth.

Register on the Events Registration page of the EOC website.

For questions about Young People’s Ministries opportunities, please e-mail Ann Marie Carley, director of Engagement with Children, Youth, and Young Adults in the Connectional Ministries office. You may also e-mail Tim Beck, associate director of Engagement with Youth, or visit the Engagement with Children, Youth, and Young Adults pages of the Conference website.

Higher Education

Exploration – November 6-8
Always searching, never lost. Join adults 18 and older for EXPLORATION 2026, November 6-8 in Orlando, FL for a transformative weekend of worship, discernment, community and practical workshops. Discover where God may be calling you, connect with mentors and peers and take your next faithful step with confidence.

Learn more and register today.

For questions about Higher Education ministry opportunities, please e-mail Rev. Ann Marie Carley, Connectional Ministries Office Engagement with Children, Youth and Young Adults director, or visit the Higher Education pages of the Conference website.

Faith Formation & Lay Ministries

Laity Sunday – October 18
On Sunday, October 18, United Methodist congregations will observe Laity Sunday – a joyful opportunity to honor the faith, leadership, service and witness of laypeople in the church and in the world. Laity Sunday reminds us that ministry belongs to the whole people of God. It happens when someone welcomes a visitor, teaches a child, prays with a neighbor, prepares a meal, sings in worship, visits a person who is homebound, advocates for justice, offers encouragement at work or shares the love of Christ through everyday acts of compassion. In every generation and every setting, God calls ordinary people to take part in extraordinary grace.

The 2026 theme, “Together by Grace: Be Grounded in Love,” invites us to remember where faithful service begins. We do not lead from our own strength alone. We are rooted in God’s steadfast love, nourished by grace and joined to one another in Christ. From those who serve quietly behind the scenes to those who lead visibly in worship and mission, every gift helps the church grow and bless the world.

Laity Sunday is an invitation to renewed discipleship. It gives congregations a chance to see ministry with fresh eyes and to celebrate the many ways people live their baptismal calling at home, at church, in the workplace, at school, and throughout the community. It also creates space for people who have not yet found their place to ask, “How might God use my gifts?”

See ideas for participating in Laity Sunday.
Download Laity Sunday resources.

Fall Mini-Mester Four-Week Learning Experience
There is still time to register for the final four Mini-Mester classes. These short-term learning opportunities offer space to grow in faith, deepen your understanding and gain practical insights for ministry and everyday life. Whether you have participated in earlier classes or are joining for the first time, you are welcome. The final four classes are:

• Spiritual Direction and Companionship — explore the sacred practice of listening, discernment and walking alongside others on their spiritual journeys.
• Cultural Competencies — strengthen your ability to listen, learn and engage thoughtfully across cultural differences.
• Enneagram — discover a useful framework for greater self-awareness, healthier relationships and personal growth.
• Learning to Fail — consider how setbacks can become opportunities for resilience, wisdom, creativity and faithful growth.

Learn more about the Fall Mini-Mesters.
Register for the Fall Mini-Mesters.

The Expanding Connection Book Club – October 20
You are invited to join friends from around the Ohio Episcopal Area at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20 for an online conversation about the book The Talk by Darrin Bell. The powerful and personal work invites honest reflection on race, family, memory and the conversations that shape our lives. Come ready to engage with courage and compassion as we create space for meaningful dialogue, deeper understanding and connection across differences.

If you have questions about the book club, please e-mail Julie Carter, director of Faith Formation & Lay Ministries.

Learn more and register for the book club.

For questions about Faith Formation and Lay Ministries opportunities, please e-mail Julie Carter, Connectional Ministries office Faith Formation & Lay Ministries director, or visit the Faith Formation pages of the Conference website.

South Forest District

Cadiz Water Distribution Effort
Pastor Kevin Daugherty shares this report about the recent water crisis in Cadiz:

“Over the past several months, our community has come together to help meet the water needs of residents of the Village of Cadiz. Based on our rough estimates, approximately 4,500 gallons of water have been distributed to those in need. During this effort, we have had approximately 120 volunteer hours contributed by between 10–15 volunteers who gave their time to help organize, move, distribute and deliver water.

“The impact of this effort has extended beyond individual residents. We have also been able to provide water and assistance to the Humane Society, helping ensure that animals in our community were not forgotten during this time. One of the most encouraging parts of this effort has been seeing different parts of our community come together. Members of the local high school football team volunteered their time to lend a hand, helping with the physical work involved in moving and distributing the water. Their willingness to serve is a wonderful example of young people stepping up to help their community. This effort has truly been a community-wide response. What began as a need for water became an opportunity for neighbors, volunteers, local organizations and young people to work together and care for one another.

“We are deeply grateful to everyone who donated water or funds, volunteered their time, helped with transportation and distribution or simply encouraged the effort. Every gallon distributed and every hour volunteered represents people caring for their neighbors.”

Events: October 5 – October 18

Click to view East Ohio Conference Calendar.

• October 8-10
  Church of the Saviour UMC Fall Flea Market

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:

• Debra J. Speer, retired Elder, died September 20.

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

• Adult Choir Director – Asbury UMC in Delaware
• Bell Choir Director – Asbury UMC in Delaware
• Organist/Accompanist – Asbury UMC in Delaware
• Children, Youth, & Family Coordinator – Jefferson UMC
• Executive Director – The Nehemiah Mission of Cleveland

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, October 19.

Thursday, October 15 is the submission deadline for the next E-News. Send articles to eoccommunications@eocumc.com.