AC DAILY
Friday, June 10, 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.
Bishop encourages newly ordained
to plow through 'messy middle'
With the steady hand of its guide, Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. said, an ox will be content to plow an entire field in straight rows.
But if a farmer turns his head too far to the left or right, the ox will follow astray. Look backward, the bishop added, and the beast will plow in circles.
"Plowing is hard work, y'all -- it takes commitment," Bishop Saenz said in his ordination sermon Friday night. "Keep your hand on the plow and don't look back."
Titled "Plowing Through the Messy Middle," the bishop told the newly ordained that they face a muck of church meetings, disagreements and mundane pastoral tasks.
"You're gonna have good days and you're gonna have bad days," the bishop said. "Guess what? Sometimes they're the same day."
The bishop encouraged them to keep their hand on the plow, their eyes on Jesus and to "keep plowing."
The service included energetic African-based music from the UMOJA Choir from New Life Ministry, part of Omaha Saint Paul Benson UMC; and a separate trio.
The two-hour service included the baptism of William Hendricks Rossow, son of the Rev. Alex Rossow, ordained as an elder that night, and his wife, Gena.
The new class of provisional elders are Mandy Barkhaus, Peter Choi, Ally Drummond, Wesley Gately, Beth Graverholt, Hyunsook Kim, Cameron Miller, Andrea Murdock, Susan Murithi and Sketer Makena Riungu.
Allyson Drummond and Jenifer Schultz were commissioned as provisional deacons.
Maddie Johnson and Nicholas Kaufmann-Mamisashvili were commissioned as deacons in full connection.
Ordained as elders in full connection were Bailey Amtower, Leandra Esler, Rebekah Flores, Young Je Kim, Soonil Park, Alex Rossow, Stephanie Seth, Darlene Sheffer and Ray Stone.
Young Je Kim was recognized for completing the process to transfer from the Korean Methodist Church.
Tony Dawson and Ivan Milosi were welcomed as elders after transfer from the Desert Southwest Conference and South Congo Conference, respectively.
Justice ministries making
strides in conference
Progress in justice ministries in the Great Plains Conference were saluted by the Rev. Sarah Marsh, mercy and justice coordinator, Friday afternoon.
"Over many years, your mercy and justice team has felt the Holy Spirit leading towards a vision of a Great Plains Conference where justice is as normal as mercy," she said.
With two national partners, the Direct Action & Research Training Center and Western Organization of Research Centers, the conference entered the Doing Justice Initiative in 2020, scheduled to continue through 2026.
Two groups -- Johnson County's Good Faith Network and Wyandotte County's Churches United for Justice -- have already been researching and establishing priorities for their respective areas.
The Lancaster County-based Doing Justice Lincoln is preparing for a launch and hiring staff, and an as-yet-unnamed Sedgwick County-based group is hiring staff and preparing to do groundwork.
Conference approves 12 churches
for disaffiliation, 9 for closure
The Great Plains Annual Conference voted to allow 12 churches to disaffiliate Friday afternoon.
"I'm so proud of our lack of drama in the Great Plains," treasurer and administrative director Scott Brewer said.
Disaffiliating churches:
- In Kansas: Bethlehem, Enterprise, Nickerson Fairview, Jarbalo, Logan, Louisville, Minneola, Neutral, Stull, Wilsey, Goddard.
- In Nebraska: Pierce.
Additional churches are anticipated to disaffiliate during a Sept. 10 special session of annual conference
Nine churches were given approval for closure:
- In Kansas: Angola, Wichita Cedar Chapel, Chetopa, Randolph Fancy Creek, Fowler, Linwood, Moline, Eskridge.
- In Nebraska: Stanton.
Conference approves record
5% salary increase for clergy
The conference approved the recommendation of the personnel committee for a 5% raise in minimum salary for clergy in 2023.
The new minimum salaries will be:
- Full elders and deacons -- $48,582
- Provisional deacons and elders -- $45,949
- Associate members -- $43,316
- Licensed local pastors -- $40,683
Williamston receives standing ovation,
endorsement in campaign for bishop
With a lengthy, cheer-filled standing ovation Friday morning, the Great Plains Conference endorsed the Rev. Delores "Dee" Williamston's candidacy for bishop.
Jurisdictional conferences, which had been delayed after the postponements of General Conference, have now been scheduled for November. The South Central Jurisdiction, which includes the Great Plains, will meet in November in Houston. The Rev. Adam Hamilton, chair of the Great Plains delegation, said that two bishops likely would be elected for the jurisdiction at that time.
Williamston has been the congregational excellence director and assistant to the bishop since July 2021. She previously served as superintendent of the Salina and Hutchinson districts.
One resolution receives
approval during plenary session
Of the three resolutions brought to the conference, only one received a vote.
It was for the conference to provide matching funds from its reserves to provide matching grants for Great Plains churches for capital maintenance programs.
Another resolution, for the conference to evaluate alternative insurance arrangements for small churches, was referred to conference trustees.
The third resolution, for the conference to endorse and urge members to vote yes in Kansas' "Value Them Both" anti-abortion initiative, was voted off the agenda on Thursday morning.
United Women in Faith's
luncheon is first with new name
Lisa Maupin began the luncheon for United Women in Faith by rattling off the 27 different names the organization, most recently known as United Methodist Women, has had over its 150-year history.
Maupin, both conference lay leader and chair of the UWF nominations committee for the South Central Jurisdiction, said the new name opens up the possibilities of joining with other denominations to strengthen the organization.
"We are committed in our growth to not leaving anyone behind," she said in the lunch, at The Water's Edge UMC in Gretna. "Faith, action and sisterhood will continue to be our calling cards."
Churches receive recognition
for their 150th anniversaries
Forty Great Plains Conference churches received recognition for reaching their landmark 150th anniversaries.
From Nebraska: Albion, Bruning, Central City, Central City Archer Zion, Waco Ebenezer, Grainfield, Harvard, Hastings First, Juniata, Kearney First, Oshkosh Lewellen, Lexington, Looking Glass, McCool Junction, Meadow Grove, Oakdale, Omaha Dietz Memorial, Ong, St. Paul, Sutton Federated, Wahoo and Wood River.
From Kansas: Alida, Bronson, Caney, Cawker City, Dennis, Downs, Independence, Liberty, Lyons, Minneapolis, New Albany, Newton First, Nickerson Fairview, Osborne, Rossville and Russell Trinity.
Walkers earn right to 'Boogie with
the Bishop' on conference stage
Great Plains Conference clergy, retirees and staff who walked a required number of steps during the spring got to "Boogie with the Bishop" Friday morning.
The lights dimmed in the ballroom, the music was cranked up and glowsticks were brought out in celebration, with Bishop Ruben Saenz and his wife, Mayê, on center stage.
Peggy Mihoover, conference benefits officer, said 65 people earned the right to boogie on stage, although some did not take advantage of the perk.
Great Plains laity, clergy, staff
receive awards during conference
Great Plains Conference laity, clergy and staff received recognition during the Thursday and Friday plenary sessions.
Ronda Kingwood, founding pastor of Wichita Heart of Christ UMC, was the recipient of the first Move the Chains Award, named in memory of the Rev. Nathan Stanton, congregational excellence director. "Move the chains," football-speak for advancement, was a shorthand between Stanton and Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr. about progression in ministry.
Kingwood's new church start was one of many that received guidance from Stanton.
"Nathan was not only excited about what her ministry was, but who she is," said the Rev. Dennis Ackerman, chair of New Church Development.
Todd Seifert, communications director, was surprised with the Epi Award from United Methodist Communications. He was one of five communicators in the denomination to receive the award. Epi is the shortened form of the Greek word Epikoinonía and it is the language of the New Testament. The word simply means communication.
Denman Awards for Evangelism, through the Foundation for Evangelism, were presented to Wayne Bird, Leawood UMC; Jean Sexton, Neodesha UMC; and Amaris Towle, Wesley-KU campus ministry.
The Rev. Jim Reed, retired Kansas State University campus minister, was given the Francis Asbury Award, which "recognizes United Methodist individuals who have made a significant contribution to fostering United Methodist ministries in higher education at the local, district or annual conference level," from the General Board of Higher Education Ministries, announced Thursday.
