AC DAILY
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Here is the daily update for the Great Plains Annual Conference session from the La Vista Conference Center in La Vista, Nebraska. Share your photos with us on social media using the hashtags #gpac2022 or #gpfun.
Departed clergy scattered seeds of ministry that will live for generations
The seeds of ministry sown by late pastors in the Great Plains Conference will bloom for generations, the Rev. Hyemi Jones said.
"We will continue to witness and harvest their crops," Jones, pastor of Monticello UMC in Kansas, said in her sermon during Thursday night's memorial service.
"God willing, we may get to harvest their crops," Jones added, "or generations after us."
The impact of pastors' ministry extends far beyond the business of the church, she said.
"God's kingdom is not based on yearly reports," Jones said. "God's kingdom is based on eternal reports."
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. offered comfort to the families, both at the La Vista Conference Center and online.
"They all touched our hearts," the bishop said. "We are here tonight because their lives mattered."
Clergy honored in the memorial service were Rev. Kolawole Akinnigbagbe, Rev. Jean Alnor, Rev. Mary Browne, Rev. Jerry Calvert, Rev. Juanita Catlin, Rev. Dr. Bob Cousins, Rev. Wendell Davis, Rev. John Stanford Decker, Pastor Glen Duderstadt, Rev. Lurena Dunn, Dr. Robert Embree, Rev. Leroy Foreman, Rev. William Glaser, Rev. Raymond Grant Jr., Rev. Robert Harper, Rev. Stuart Herrick, Rev. Paul Irwin, Pastor Glenn Krebs, Rev. Nancy Leonard, Rev. Ron Lowry, Rev. Gerald Manley, Rev. Ed Marley, Rev. Bruce Marshall, Rev. John Martyn, Rev. Wini Munson, Rev. Dick Near, Rev. John Rhoads, Rev. Nathan Stanton, Rev. Donald Swender, Rev. Elly Tabor Eakins, Rev. Dick Turner, Rev. Hugo Westphal Jr.
Clergy spouses remembered were Lucille Andrews, Caroline Aten, Donna Bowne, Hazel Burgess, Jane Ellis Hett, Mary Fowler, Margaret Ganzel, Maudie Hess, Marjorie Houchin, Pat Houston, Marilyn Hutchinson, Kay Inman, Jeanette Kilgore, Marie Kilmer-Buehler, Betty Krebs, Joyce Malin, Conchita Marcelo, Ann Marley, Miriam Miller, Joan Molzahn, Lucy Munden, Muriel Rayson, Iola Schroeder, Pearl Simison, Faith Wendland, Michelle Wharton and Orpha Wretling.
Clergy children memorialized were Sean Gooding, Riley McDougal, Rachel McQuitty and Annie Stockton.
Conference celebrates
ministries of 39 retirees
The hundreds of years of ministry by 39 retiring clergy members was celebrated with a dinner Thursday night.
This year’s retirees are Dennis Ackerman, Daniel Albers, James Bendorf, Doug Birdsong, Brian Blackburn, Jennifer Bryan, Marjorie Cox, Sandra Cox, Alan Davis, Douglas Delp, Bruce Draper, Melissa Finlaw Draper, Bruce Emmert, Eric Ford, Douglas Hasty, Howard Johnson, Lois Johnson, Todd Karges, Michael Keating, Paul Jung Ku Lee, Teri Lucas, Rod Lyon, Bonnie McCord, Martha McDougal, James “Mic” McGuire, Jamie McClennan, Sharon Quinn, Chuck Rager, Gayla Rapp, Wayne Reynolds, Gary Roechellen, Cheryl Somers-Ingersol, Susanna Southard, Jan Todd, Kathy Uldrich, Angela Washington, Marta Wheeler, William Williams Jr. and Cynthia Wilson.
Experts: Five P's for creating
a better discipleship pathway
Creating disciples means going the extra mile, two experts told the conference plenary session Thursday afternoon.
Alex and Hannah Absalom told the conference of "Five Practices That Will Refresh Your Disciple-making Pathway," and it was brought to you by the letter "P."
The first priority is prayers, they said. Then throwing parties. Becoming a person of peace. Having a profound conversation. Feeling the presence of God.
The British-born couple, now living in California, told several personal stories about disciple-making transformations they had made among friends and neighbors.
"It's about learning and obeying and putting into practice," Hannah Absalom said.
This won't be the last the conference hears from the Absaloms, Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. said, asking them to lead continued online training in discipleship for clergy and laity.
Pastors get satisfaction from
involvement in justice ministries
Two Kansas City-area pastors who ended up leading justice ministry work in their respective counties were featured at the mercy and justice luncheon on Thursday.
Rev. Andy Frazier, pastor of Bonner Springs UMC, said the pandemic prompted him to "feel a conviction that I had to start saying yes to things."
That led to him to agree to co-chair Churches United for Justice, an ecumenical group of houses of worship in Wyandotte County.
"The Holy Spirit was constantly trying to hook me into doing the danged thing over and over again," he said.
Ali Haynes, pastor of Overland Park Indian Heights UMC, is one of the leaders of Good Faith Network, a sister organization in adjacent Johnson County.
"The network builds a collective voice so large it can't be ignored," she said.
Bishop says conference ready for
whatever challenges that lie ahead
Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. congratulated the members of the Great Plains Conference for their work during the years of pandemic and challenged them to prevail during changes coming to The United Methodist Church during his Episcopal address Thursday morning.
The bishop said United Methodists are "experiencing incertitude" with the launch of the Global Methodist Church on May 1.
"While I firmly and sincerely believe there is more than enough theological space and need in the Great Plains Conference for traditionalists, centrists and progressives, regrettably 12 congregations have voted to separate from the conference and denomination at this annual conference, bringing the total number of disaffiliating churches to 20," the bishop said. "To date there are at least 20 more seeking separation with another 29 still discerning whether to remain United Methodists."
A called, online special session Sept. 11 will address the remaining disaffiliations.
The bishop said he was certain the results of the changes will be positive.
"We're going to be doing amazing things for Jesus Christ," he said, "not only in our churches but around the world."
Laity ready to continue momentum
following pandemic, lay leader says
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Conference lay leader Lisa Maupin says laity have emerged from the "chaos, darkness and so many unknowns" of the pandemic and are ready to serve.
"We are here, we are mightier, and we are ready to reimagine leadership," Maupin said during the laity report Thursday morning.
Maupin, who works in event planning for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said she can trace all of her organizational and leadership abilities to the church.
"I am a better person, in my work and in my community, because of the church," she said.
Missouri bishop inspires
in opening worship sermon
With stories of jigsaw puzzles and refurbishing a classic muscle car, Missouri Bishop Bob Farr reminded the Great Plains Conference of the resiliency of The United Methodist Church in a sermon opening the 2022 annual conference on Wednesday.
"A lot of folks said we'd be be dead by now," Bishop Farr said. "But we're not."
Bishop Farr challenged the conference to reach out further in their communities.
"We're not seeing all of the people," he said, "We're only seeing some."
For the opening service, Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. wore a robe made in Kenya and given to him by the Rev. Dr. Anne Gatobu, former Kansas City District superintendent.
