August 6, 2020
Wanderings from Wendy
As I begin this work as your DS, I am mindful that my ministry has been more fruitful when I have a regular practice of setting goals.
The practice includes not only setting goals, but revisiting them and reflecting on what I did not did not do and why, evaluating the goals and making adjustments and creating new goals. I do not necessarily measure success by level of achievement, although it does feel great when a goal is fully and successfully accomplished.
I find that goals keep me grounded and focused in my work, especially when I spend time in prayer and listen for God’s voice. They also help me to be forward thinking and create space for a pro-active approach to my work. In this time when everything feels like a challenge and we are constantly reacting to new realities, I pray that by taking time to establish goals, we will all feel grounded in what God is calling us to do now and next.
Here are my goals for this year:
Professional:
- Get to know Clergy/Lay Assigned and Ministry Settings
- One-to One Meetings with all who are under appointment or are lay assigned.
- Worship Services, Fall charge conferences and/or meeting with leadership teams of each Cascadia congregation 2020-2021
- Reviewing Clergy Goals
- Reviewing each Ministry Setting’s Mission Statement/Vision/Goals
- Develop a Missional Strategy for the District 2020-2021
- I anticipate looking at regions for this work and understanding the various contexts of ministry within Cascadia District
- I anticipate consulting with a Cascadia District Task Force for this work.
- Continued growth in Intercultural Competency
- District Discussions
- 4 week, 5 class study on Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- Read How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Continue to read novels by people of color and watch movies from other cultures (See my list under "Resources" in this newsletter)
- Support Cascadia Local Church Ministries and Conference Ministries by distributing my tithing.
Personal:
- Survive year one as a DS without getting totally exhausted and burned-out
- Take my vacation
- Create 24-48 hours off each week
- Set boundaries on when I do and do not look at email.
- Work on wholeness of mind, body and spirit.
- Devotional time to include weekly lectionary reflection and prayer walks
- Outdoor activities: biking, kayaking and hikes/walks. Need to look at cross-county skiing again or learn to like snowshoeing
- Strength Training
As I meet with the Cascadia District clergy and lay assigned pastors, I am asking them to set professional and personal goals. And i'll be asking that of the Cascadia District congregations as well. Let's all support each other in being grounded in what God is calling us to do now and next.
As I pray for you, please pray for me.
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Grace & Peace,
Wendy
Rev. Wendy Woodworth
Cascadia District Superintendent
wendy@umoi.org
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Cascadia District Opportunities to Connect with Wendy and One Another
As we continue to be the church and do ministry in these challenging times, DS Wendy has continued the opportunity for virtual gatherings of laity and clergy. These gatherings are an opportunity to get to know one another better, address challenges you are facing and celebrate what is going well. She also shares updates from the OR-ID.Conference and Greater NW Area.
The final gatherings for the summer are:
Tuesday August 11
Clergy, LLP and Lay Assigned Gathering: at 9:00 am -- Let’s have Coffee/Tea Together
Laity Gathering at 7:00 pm
Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference Session 2020
September 16, 2020
The regular 2020 session of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference will meet remotely online Wednesday, September 16 2020 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Pacific Time.
The Session will focus on the essential business of the Annual Conference as determined by Bishop Stanovsky in consultation with Conference Leadership.
Voting members will participate via Zoom. Others may watch the proceedings via livestream. More information will be coming!
Registration for members is open now. (Visitors do not need to register.) The deadline to complete registration is September 1st. Pre-conference reports will be available about August 15th.
Find the information you need at www.umoi.org/ac
AND, the AC Sessions Worship team has a request:
How have you been engaging in this important work of LOVE since the onset of this pandemic? We’d love to see pictures and short videos (about 10-15 seconds) of you and your church in action, carrying out the work of love in your communities by fighting COVID-19, dismantling racism, and re-imagining life together.
Selected picture and video submissions will be used in the Opening Worship of the Zoom Annual Conferences in September. Please email your submissions with “AC2020 Worship” in the subject line to: photos@greaternw.org by August 15th!
2020 Online Laity Session - September 23
The Oregon-Idaho Board of Laity has a tradition of offering a program and participatory workshops as part of the Annual Conference Session. With the shortened online AC Session this year, the Board of Laity is planning a separate online event a week later, Wednesday, September 23rd from 6 to 8 p.m. Pacific Time. More details and a registration link will be available soon.
The Board of Lay Ministry is asking churches to share their stories, especially ministries that are primarily led by lay people. Following the Annual Conference theme of “What Does Love Require?” the coordinating team is looking for stories of how churches are fighting COVID-19, dismantling racism and Reimagining Life Together. The church’s story would need to be told in a video of three minutes or less that will be shared with the whole laity session.
Laity interested in telling their stories must contact their district lay leader no later than August 20. The planning team will then select the stories that best represent the diversity of the Conference’s ministries, geography and sizes of churches. Churches that are selected will be notified promptly and will have about a week to compile a video. Conference staff is available to provide helpful hints on making a good video with limited resources.
The Cascadia District Lay Leader is Paula Sadler. She would love to hear from you at jpcsadler@aol.com. Send in your story ideas to her no later than August 20th.
One-to-One Meetings Follow-up
During her one-to-one meetings this summer with pastors of Cascadia District churches and other Cascadia District-related clergy, DS Wendy has been discussing setting goals.
This is reminder that a copy of your professional/ministerial and personal goals are to be sent via e-mail to Wendy (wendy@umoi.org) and Linda (linda@umoi.org) within two weeks after your one-to-one meeting with Wendy.
Thank you!
How Can We Help You?
The Cascadia District Church Extension Society and DS Wendy Woodworth are wondering in what areas our local churches need help in order to continue being church in these days. How can we best resource our district congregations to continue worshiping and connecting in ministry and fellowship?
We have prepared a survey will be going for local church leadership and pastors asking for your input. We need your help to find the best way forward!
Also of interest to local church leaders as we try to stay connected, is the article "Churches Weigh Options to Reach Seniors" from United Methodist News Service. Churches featured in this story are connecting via land lines to Zoom to FaceBook to in person. Some intriguing ideas here!
Reimagining Life Together Plans
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A reminder: the Bishop has okayed local congregations to operate within the guidelines of Phase 2 of our Greater NW Area re-opening plan if you have a Phase 2 plan which has been approved by the DS.
Many Cascadia District congregations have submitted Phase 2 plans and have had them approved or are working with the DS to finalize them.
If your church has not yet submitted a Phase 2 plan, you may do so by emailing it to DS Wendy at wendy@umoi.org. Wendy will be on vacation from August 15-30. If you have not yet submitted a plan and you want to have it reviewed prior to August 15, please submit it Wendy by August 10. Plans received after August 10 will be reviewed in early September.
In Phase 2 communal worship may happen in a variety of online or virtual ways, but indoor in-person worship is not allowed. Outdoor or drive-up communal worship may be allowed under certain conditions with an approved plan.
To see the full guidance regarding re-opening our church buildings, refer to the Reimagining Life Together document at greaternw.org/reimagining-life-together/ . Direct questions to DS Wendy Woodworth at wendy@umoi.org.
Online Continuing Education Opportunities for Clergy
Since 2018, United Methodist clergy and other church leaders have taken one-hour continuing education classes at clergyeducation.com. In addition to admission into live sessions, registrants receive a video recording of the webinar and a certificate representing 1-hour CEU credit. The cost for each session is $25. What a deal!
See the latest promotional e-mail by clicking here.
Visit ClergyEducation.com to see the latest list of upcoming webinars. In addition to live webinars, recordings of previous webinars are available in the"Recorded Courses" section.
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How Are We Helping?
In So Many Ways!
Continue to support your local church financially.
Our buildings are closed, but the church is open and still doing ministry! Your tithes and donations are critical to continuing that work
The money in this fund will be distributed through local churches to the need they see across our episcopal area (Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Alaska), like the Grocery Gift Card Grants
This fund will assist vulnerable communities in the United States and around the world It is Advance #3022612. You can give through your local church by putting the advance number in the memo line of your check or give online.
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