Iowa Annual Conference

Rev. Beth Odor and Rev. Robyn Plocher invite Iowa United Methodists to participate in the Ministry with the Poor mission project for the 2019 session of the Iowa Annual Conference.

Holy Week and Easter message from Bishop Laurie Haller, Iowa Annual Conference

Lana Brandt, Deb Robinson and Judy Holliman grew up together attending Hamburg United Methodist Church. They have been helping provide meals and checking in on others in the community during the flooding in March 2019. When they were teenagers, their pastor's wife was instrumental in teaching them to love their neighbor. "This is our community and our town and our home," Brandt said. "She taught us that we are our brother's keepers, and I think that's what we're doing without thinking about it."

Gary Barrett remembers several of the floods that have hit Hamburg. He's a member of the Hamburg United Methodist Church and knows that this is in God's hands. "I believe the good Lord's with us," he said. "If we don't have that hope and don't have that faith what's the use? I trust in the Lord and I think we'll get through it."

Judy Crain is a Hamburg, Iowa, resident and has been a leader in the response to flooding in March 2019. Crain has worked with others to organize the donations that have been flowing in faster than the water. "We have been receiving pick-up loads from Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, all over - we're even getting Amazon packages in the mail," she said.

Greg Warden is a member of the Hamburg United Methodist Church and speaks about his experience during the March 2019 flooding. Warden works in agriculture selling seed and chemicals to local farmers. "Probably going to be a lot of acres that won't get planted this spring, and that's a lot of our business," he said.