News

Speakers announced for Annual Conference worship services

By Lisa Diehl, Kansas Area communications director Rev. Portia Cavitt, an elder in the Nebraska Annual Conference, will preach at the Opening Worship Service June 6. She is a strong advocate for children, education, justice and community involvement. A native of Little Rock, Ark., Cavitt was raised in St. Louis, Mo. She is a graduate of Wilberforce University with a bachelor of arts in Liberal Studies, and the Interdenominational Theological Center (Turner Theological Seminary) with a master...

UMCOR official, Church Health Center founder named keynote speakers for 2012 Annual Conference

By Lisa Diehl, Kansas Area communications director Rev. Cynthia Harvey, deputy general secretary of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and the General Board of Global Ministries, will be one of two keynote speakers at the Kansas East Annual Conference June 6-9 at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. The conference theme is The Church United: Working for Wellness. Harvey will speak Friday morning and preach at the Ordination and Commissioning Service June 8 at 7:30...

Rendle shares context for team's recommendation

Rev. Dr. Gil Rendle, senior consultant with the Texas Methodist Foundation and consultant to the Nebraska-Kansas Episcopal Area Transition Team, set the stage for the Nebraska-Kansas Episcopal Area Transition Team’s report in his second plenary at the 2011 Kansas East Annual Conference. Rendle was the featured speaker at the conference June 8-11. “A reasonable place for me to begin is with the Council of Bishops’ Call to Action,” he said. “The Call to Action is...

Bishop offers essentials of effective spiritual leadership

Five new elders were ordained, one associate member was recognized, and nine were commissioned into ministry in the United Methodist Church at the Kansas East Annual Conference June 10 at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. Sue Barham was commissioned for the work of a deacon. Kyle Butler, Hyun-Jin Cho, Andrew Hargrove, Cathryn Love, Kenneth Mestemacher, Nicole Schwartz, Blair Thompson and Robert Walters were commissioned for the work of an elder. Pauline Clugston was recognized as an...

End of life brings assurance of heaven

The ministries of 25 clergy and clergy spouses were celebrated during the Memorial Service at the 2011 Kansas East Annual Conference. Pastor Karla Woodward, an associate pastor at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, was the featured preacher. Woodward is assigned to the Silver Link ministry with older adults at Church of the Resurrection. Clergy who were honored during the Memorial Service include Walter Brant, Paul Deever, Dwight Dussair, Richard Johnson, Wendell Johnson, Clyde...

344 years of service celebrated

The Kansas East Conference celebrated 344 years of service completed by 11 people who were retiring from ministry. Charles Benton, June Caler, Earl Detweiler, Don Foster, Harvey Foyle, Nancy Gammill, Bill Hemmen Jr., Piet Knetsch, Jim Stigall, Francis Stockton and Camille Sutton participated in the service. Lee Domann, extension ministry, Norma Patterson, associate at Olathe Grace, and Dan Waters, Bonner Springs United Methodist Church, also retired from the conference at this session. Bishop...

Challenges have faith groups asking same questions

Rev. Dr. Gil Rendle, senior consultant with the Texas Methodist Foundation and consultant to the Nebraska-Kansas Episcopal Area Transition Team, said he works with several other faith groups, but what struck him is that the conversation is the same across all the faiths. Rendle was the featured plenary speaker for the Kansas East Annual Conference June 8-11 at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. “The world we now live in goes beyond our reach,” Rendle said. “We are...

Journey toward vitality requires measures

Congregations in the Kansas East Conference have been on a journey, Bishop Scott Jones said in his State of the Conference message June 8 at the 2011 session of the Kansas West Annual Conference. “We could go back decades and recount where we have been,” Jones said. Jones lifted up the four questions he asked the conference in 2005: •    How can we strengthen our existing congregations? •    How can we start more and stronger...

Transition team endorses 'bold' option

The Kansas East Conference members of the Nebraska-Kansas Episcopal Area Transition Team presented the team’s proposal to create one new annual conference for Nebraska, Kansas East and Kansas West. “After hearing Gil [Rendle’s] words, I think we all understand that we are now in a time of great transition,” said Rev. David Livingston, team member and pastor at St. Paul’s Lenexa United Methodist Church. “The question before us today is not whether we will...

Transition Team seeks help with big questions

The Kansas East members of the Nebraska-Kansas Episcopal Area Transition Team asked conference members to help answer three big questions with which the team has been wrestling. The questions were presented during the transition team’s report to the Kansas East Annual Conference June 10. “We’ve been telling you in the past that the day was coming when the South Central Jurisdiction would assign only 10 bishops to the annual conferences in this jurisdiction,” said Bishop...

Church is uniquely placed to eradicate poverty

LEAWOOD - When Rudy Rasmus and his wife, Juanita, arrived at St. John’s United Methodist Church in downtown Houston in 1992, their mission was really clear. “We had to step over our mission to get into the room,” Rasmus told the Kansas East Conference June 11. “We’re in downtown Houston, surrounded by a homeless community. The mission for us was right at the front door. Instead of repeatedly stepping over our mission to get into the sanctuary, we invited our...

Ordination speaker focuses on paths to justice

LEAWOOD - Ten were ordained and six commissioned for ministry at the 2010 Kansas East Annual Conference Service of Ordination and Commissioning June 11. Rev. Diana Chapel was ordained a deacon and elected to full membership in the conference. As a deacon with full membership, Chapel will serve as a bridge between the church and the world, preparing people within the church to live out their faith in the world. Revs. Stephen Cady, Barbara Clinger, DeFisher, Kara Eidson, Josh Gooding, Caren...

2010 Annual Conference business wrap-up

Conference votes to send letter to senator The Kansas East Conference voted to send a letter to Sen. Sam Brownback supporting federal funding for international family planning efforts. The vote followed a report from Katey Zeh, who is on staff at the General Board of Church and Society. Brownback, who opposes funding for family planning, heads the committee that will be considering funding for international family planning, Zeh said. She had letters with her that conference members could sign...

Conference charged to love, offer kindness

LEAWOOD - Luke 10 served as the inspiration for Pastor Rudy Rasmus’ final words to members of the 2010 Kansas East Annual Conference. Before dissecting the parable of the Good Samaritan, Rasmus talked about Jesus’ teaching style. “My father-in-law had a training method that drove my wife crazy when she was a child,” Rasmus said. Her father would explain the task to her, and show her exactly how to do it. Then he would send her to do the task, and come check on...

Task Force shares resources to end poverty

LEAWOOD - A year ago, the Kansas Area Poverty Task Force was appointed by Bishop Scott Jones. June 11 they shared a list of resources and a testimonial from someone enrolled in a program to end poverty in Harvey County with the Kansas East Annual Conference. Judy Nickelson, task force member, said the group has defined poverty as a lack of access to resources, not only financial, but also educational, spiritual and any others that help to achieve health. Wanda Pumphrey and Jenica Hinshaw...

Testimonies highlight the need for Bridges ministries

LEAWOOD - Rev. Gary Beach and Mary Lou Reece, president of Reece Construction Company and wife of Bishop Scott Jones, shared the principles of building a good bridge, for roads and for growing the church into the future in the 2010 Bridges to the Future capital campaign report. “We’ve raised $1,743,364.40 for Bridges to the Future during the worst recession in recent history,” Beach said. “We are a people of faith. We’re a part of God’s construction...

Bible, Wesleys offer templates for poverty ministries

LEAWOOD - United Methodists today can learn much from the Wesley’s focus on poverty and from Old Testament references to the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt. Rev. Dr. Pamela Couture, a former member of the Saint Paul School of Theology faculty and new chairperson in Church and Community at Emmanuel College, was one of two plenary speakers to address issues around poverty at the 2010 Kansas East Annual Conference. Couture worked for eight years with the United Methodist Council...

Churches urged to care for IRS issues

LEAWOOD - Some congregations in the Kansas East Annual Conference have some work to do to comply with new Internal Revenue Service rulings regarding separately incorporated charitable foundations, preschools and day cares. Rev. Gary Beach, director of connectional ministries and administrative services and conference treasurer, explained the 2006 ruling that may affect a number of churches in the conference. About 18 churches received a letter from the General Council on Finance and...

Deep, trusting relationships key to changing world

LEAWOOD - Fourteen pastors’ ministries were celebrated at the 2010 Retirement Service at the Kansas East Annual Conference. Revs. Howard and Lois Johnson gave the dialog sermon. The Johnsons sermon focused on developing deep and trusting relationships. The first story they shared was about an accident they had seen on I-70. They didn’t look particularly closely at who was involved because they assumed they didn’t know anyone who was in it. They found out later that they...

Progress mixed on conference goals

LEAWOOD - In his annual address to the conference, Bishop Scott Jones spoke of the times in his ministry when he was frustrated by not having ways to measure the value and the fruitfulness of what he was doing.   “What's our mission and how do we know how well we're doing?” he asked. That question should be on the agenda of every administrative council meeting in every local church, on the agenda of the Leadership Team of the Kansas East Conference, and on the agenda of...