Iowa Annual Conference

For the past several weeks, our clergy and laity have been working tirelessly to provide vital worship, pastoral care, and hope for our local churches in the Iowa Annual Conference. Many of our clergy, church staff, and worship teams are utterly exhausted in mind, body, and spirit. Therefore, Bishop Laurie is requiring those teams to find three days back-to-back between now and Pentecost Sunday, May 31, to experience rest, renewal, and sabbath. That means no work on those three days. To make it through the long haul, caring for your spirit is essential. We need you.

The cabinet has prepared a complete worship service so clergy, church staff, and worship leaders will have no responsibilities in that worship service, other than to be blessed.

May 2020 — Eastertide Message of Hope

Presented by the Episcopal Office of The Iowa Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church

This worship service has been planned for your inspiration and encouragement while providing a moment of rest for our local church leaders in this season of COVID-19. Please use it during the month of May.

For the past several weeks, our clergy and laity have been working tirelessly to provide vital worship, pastoral care, and hope for our local churches in the Iowa Annual Conference. Many of our clergy, church staff, and worship teams are utterly exhausted in mind, body, and spirit. Therefore, Bishop Laurie is requiring those teams to find three days back-to-back between now and Pentecost Sunday, May 31, to experience rest, renewal, and sabbath. That means no work on those three days. To make it through the long haul, caring for your spirit is essential. We need you.

The cabinet has prepared a complete worship service so clergy, church staff, and worship leaders will have no responsibilities in that worship service, other than to be blessed.

May 2020 — Eastertide Message of Hope

Presented by the Episcopal Office of The Iowa Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church

This worship service has been planned for your inspiration and encouragement while providing a moment of rest for our local church leaders in this season of COVID-19. Please use it during the month of May.

For the past several weeks, our clergy and laity have been working tirelessly to provide vital worship, pastoral care, and hope for our local churches in the Iowa Annual Conference. Many of our clergy, church staff, and worship teams are utterly exhausted in mind, body, and spirit. Therefore, Bishop Laurie is requiring those teams to find three days back-to-back between now and Pentecost Sunday, May 31, to experience rest, renewal, and sabbath. That means no work on those three days. To make it through the long haul, caring for your spirit is essential. We need you.

The cabinet has prepared a complete worship service so clergy, church staff, and worship leaders will have no responsibilities in that worship service, other than to be blessed.

May 2020 — Eastertide Message of Hope

Presented by the Episcopal Office of The Iowa Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church

This worship service has been planned for your inspiration and encouragement while providing a moment of rest for our local church leaders in this season of COVID-19. Please use it during the month of May.

April 28, 2020 episode of Caring Connections with Bishop Laurie Haller

Are you a youth group leader or Sunday School teacher? Wondering how to stay connected with the kids and youth? Are you looking for ways to encourage them in faith when you can’t meet face-to-face? Have some thoughts or ideas to share with others on this topic? Our guest is Kelsie DeReus, Director of Youth and Connectional Mission at First United Methodist Church in Marion, IA.“ None of us were trained for this, but I think back to Paul, when he wrote the letters to the various cities and he would often express his yearning to be with them, but despite not being able to be with them he could still encourage them on in the faith,” DeReus said “That’s where we are at in youth ministry right now. While we yearn to be with our students, to disciple them, we simply cannot.” During this webinar DeReus will be discussing the strategy for ministry that some of their student leaders, Tyler Hungate, and she put together not only to stay connected, but to encourage them on in this time. DeReus has been with Marion church for about 2 ½ years. She and her family are very passionate about youth ministry, discipleship, and shaping leaders. She is the proud parent of 4-year-old, Brinley, and 2-year-old, Daxton, who like to call their youth students their friends, and often have Jesus dance parties with them. The host for this Good Idea Webinar is Rev. Dr. Jaye Johnson, Director of Congregational Excellence for the Iowa Annual Conference. The Good Idea Webinars are a joint effort of the Office of Congregational Excellence, Office of Leadership and Clergy Excellence, the cabinet, lay leaders Lynn Calvert and Angela Hansen-Abbas and the Communications team.

Are you part of a small church? Have you felt like the resources and ideas offered to deal with Covid-19 are not possible for you? Do you have some ideas that have worked for your small church you would like to share with others? Small membership and rural churches have faced unique challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak. During this webinar, we’ll talk about how they can utilize their strengths to overcome these challenges and lead in unique and creative ways. Our guest is Rev. Allen Stanton is the Executive Director of the Turner Center at Martin Methodist College. Before coming to Martin Methodist College, he served as the pastor of a small United Methodist Congregation in North Carolina. Prior to serving in the local church, he served as the Rural Church Fellow at the Institute for Emerging Issues, a non-partisan public-policy think tank at N.C. State University. At the Turner Center, Allen focuses on how rural churches can become leaders in economic and community development and building strong community partnerships. Allen has written for a variety of publications, including Practical Matters, Faith and Leadership, and Ministry Matters. He is currently completing his first book, Reclaiming Rural, for publication in late 2020. Our host is Rev. Melissa Drake, currently Associate Director of Congregational Excellence of the Iowa Annual Conference. The Good Idea Webinars are a joint effort of the Office of Congregational Excellence, Office of Leadership and Clergy Excellence, the cabinet, lay leaders Lynn Calvert and Angela Hansen-Abbas and the Communications team.