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November 14, 2017
 

Willamette University, Salem,
on a beautiful Fall afternoon

Driving Bishop Elaine

On a recent Friday the Bishop was in Salem for meetings at Willamette University and she had most of the day free and asked me to give her a tour of the Cascadia District. We met up and began our journey.
 
As we headed over the Marion Street Bridge to see the West Salem UMC I told her that parts of the district would not be included in our tour. I pointed out that to get to Bend would be 2 ½ hours and John Day another 3 hours. I also said that the coast would not be included as it would be almost 2 hours to Tillamook then on up the coast to Astoria for another couple of hours if we hit the traffic just right.
 
She had looked at the map, but the size and distances did not register until I told her the scope of what it means to travel from Astoria to John Day to Bend to Jefferson and back to Salem. She didn’t have a good sense of how much of the state of Oregon makes up our district. You can look at the map but only when you begin to talk about times and distances do you get a real sense of the size. My tour took her out to Monmouth, then on up the western side of the valley to McMinnville then over to Tualatin, across to Canby and on south through the eastern side of the valley. We spent six hours touring and discussing the areas, towns, regions and communities.
 
The Bishop is curious about each church, its ministries and the areas that they find themselves in. She wants to know about ministry possibilities and she is now keenly aware that our region is vast, diverse and complex. We had good conversation about the reality of our situations and about the near future and the changes that will need to come. We discussed ideas and options about how ministry might look in this district.
 
This was an opportunity to share with her about all the wonderful ways you are engaging people in life and ministry. It was a chance to talk about what is and what might be. It was also a time for her and me to have a realistic conversation about our district. In the next 5-10 years things will look a lot different. That’s the reality we are facing. We can approach this in one of two ways. We can ignore what is happening and then react when it happens. Or we can be strategic about facing what is happening and trying to prepare for what is coming.
 
The Bishop talks about being in a fog about the future – you can’t see very far ahead because the mists cover most of what is out there, but you can see a few feet in front of you. We need to do our best to be the best we can be in those few, clear feet and to be prepared to alter course when the fog shifts, or we encounter something unforeseen.
 
I wish I could tell you that everything will be wonderful. I cannot. Some serious, even painful changes will have to come. But know that both the Bishop and I are willing to do whatever we can to make those changes happen in ways that are true to our United Methodist heritage and God’s vision for us all.
 
The Bishop wanted me to thank you for your faithful ministry and your discipleship lived out in all the wonderful ways you engage your communities. You are faithful disciples of Jesus Christ working to transform the world!
 
Peace,


 
Pastor Tim


I love deadlines . . .

Photo by Simon Bleasdale.
Used by permission under license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Don't Let These Deadlines Fly By!

This Thursday, Nov. 16th - Health Insurance Election for 2018 for all those covered by the Conference Group Health Insurance.  If you don't make your choice, a choice will be made for you!  Questions?  Contact Lisa Pronovost in the Conference Office, lisa@umoi.org or (503) 226-7931, ext. 224. 

 

Monday, December 4th - Appointment Advisory Forms due in to the District Office.  This year the appointment advisory forms 1) have a new name -- they used to be called appointment preference forms, 2) are due earlier -- by Dec. 4th rather than in early January, and 3) are required only for those appointments which have been in place for 4 years or longer.  Forms were sent out by the episcopal office via e-mail yesterday.  If you have questions, contact Tim (tim@umoi.org) or Linda (linda@umoi.org)

Friday, December 15th - Due Date for Annual Disclosure Form and online test re: Clergy Sexual Ethics Policy.  All clergy and everyone serving in an appointed or assigned ministry is required annually to complete the Disclosure Form and take a test on the Sexual Ethics Policy.  The materials were sent out last Thursday.  If you know that you are required to do these tasks, and didn't get the information by e-mail or letter, contact Linda in the district office, linda@umoi.org or (503) 581-3969


Newsletter Changes

With the month of November, we are trying out some changes in our district newsletter:

  • We'll publish 2 times a month: on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday.
  • You'll hear more from District Superintendent Tim Overton-Harris and District Lay Leader Paula Sadler.
  • We'll have only one to two primary articles an issue

We'll keep the Upcoming Events, Prayer Calendar and Resource Section in the right hand column.  Those will be content-dense spaces with lots of links to take you to more information.  

We know you have a lot of information coming at you, and it is difficult to keep up.  We hope coming to you less often will make you more likely to read the news we have to share.  Other sources of information are the UM Connector e-mail newsletter which comes out weekly on Thursdays, and the Conference and District webpages.  And you can always drop us an e-mail or call!  We love to hear from you.

The next Cascadia e-newsletter will come out on Tuesday, Nov. 28th, which will be after Thanksgiving!  We hope you have a wonderful celebration with family, friends, and congregation, remembering all we have to be grateful for and honoring the One who provides all the blessings.

In Christ,

Linda signature

Linda Grund-Clampit
Cascadia District Administrative Assistant and Newsletter Editor

P.S. - November 28th is also Giving Tuesday!  The theme this year is "Connect Your Passion with God's Mission." Enjoy the passion of the disciples in the video below which highlights one opportunity to give : Global Mission Fellows, young people in mission through the UMC around the world, "the hidden power of the church!"

YouTube video - Support GMFs on Giving Tuesday
 
 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

This week in the
Cascadia District

Nov. 15
Dallas UMC charge conference

Nov. 16

Deadline for Conference Health Insurance participants to make 2018 coverage elections

Nov. 18

Inter-Cultural Workshop - Woodburn cancelled - rescheduled for January 13, 2018

Nov. 19

Stayton FUMC charge conference

West Salem UMC charge conference

McMinnville Cooperative Ministries charge conference

Looking Ahead

Nov. 21

Grand Ronde UMC charge conference

Christ's Church: Monmouth charge conference

Nov. 23

Thanksgiving - District Office closed

Nov. 26

Clarkes UMC charge conference

Nov, 28

Giving Tuesday

Dec. 3

UMC Global Migration Sunday

Dec. 4

Deadline for Appointment Advisory Forms in to District Office

Dec. 15

Deadline for Clergy Sexual Ethics Policy online test and Annual Disclosure Form

 


Prayer Calendar

Nov. 12-18

Marquam UMC
Pastor Rand Sargent
Lay Leader David Saunders

Nov. 19-25

McMinnville Cooperative Ministries
Pastor Brennen Guillory
Lay Leader Renae Williams

Nov. 26-Dec. 2

McCabe Chapel UMC
Pastor Ken Johnson
Lay Leader Bob Harris

See the full prayer calendar

Resources

Guidance for Church Officers

As you elect new local church officers and committee members at the fall charge conferences, be sure that you provide people with guidance on how to do their jobs.  They will thank you and so will your church!

The Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation 2017-2020 series provides a booklet with guidance for just about every type of leadership or ministry within the local church, from the administrative teams of Church Council, SPRC, Trustees and Finance, to ministries by age-level or gender, to program ministries such as missions, evangelism, and Christian education.  Individual booklets are just $3.99 each and are available in hard copy, digital download, and eReader versions.

Find them at www.Cokesbury.com by searching "Guidelines." Feel free to contact me in the district office if you can't find the one you are looking for -- Linda, linda@umoi.org


Contact us

DS Tim Overton-Harris
tim@umoi.org

District Lay Leader
Paula Sadler

jpcsadler@aol.com

District Administrative Assistant
Linda Grund-Clampit

linda@umoi.org
503-581-3969

Check out the Cascadia District webpage:
www.umoi.org/cascadia

Find us on Facebook

Cascadia District Office of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference
680 State Street, Suite 200, Salem, Oregon, 97301 ~ (503) 581-3969 ~ Cascadia@umoi.org