Executive Committee Meeting -  July 30, 2005

Present: Rev. Jeannette Bassinger-Ishii, Rev. Evy McDonald, Rev. Matt Curry, Rev. John Capen, Jim Schoonmaker, Deborah Moore,Lum Lee, Henry McCarter, Dave Garrity, Rev. Peggy Ann Sauerhoff

Meeting opened by Evy McDonald with devotions, including sharing of joys.

Discussion revolved around the formation of our new district, its organization and its purpose. Discussion included ideas about the purpose of the District Council on Ministries and how it will function in this new context.

Some suggestions regarding the purpose of the District Council On Ministries.

1) to help local churches make disciples of Jesus Christ.

2) to strengthen the connection.

3) to develop lay leadership for the New York Annual Conference.

4) to train people for effective ministry in their local churches.

5) to awaken the “sleeping giant”, as Billy Graham called it, which is the United Methodist Church.

Other ideas related to our work as a D.C.O,M.:

1) Lum Lee expressed concern for nurturing spirituality and promoting programs like “Walk to Emmaus” and “Wellspring” that can strengthen the spiritual life of the church.

2) Cluster-based activities to encourage participation and connectionalism.

3) Programs that celebrate ministry, such as gatherings for VIMs, or DISCIPLE graduates, or lay speakers, celebrations that can draw us together and help us to get to know one another better.

4) There is a need to discover what the resources are in this new district, not just for nominations purposes, but to ferret out gifts for programmatic and administrative ministries.

Brainstorming of first year possibilities:

1) Continue ministries that are already in place.

2) Take time to get acquainted across the new district.

3) Plan celebrations to generate future vision and help people to get acquainted. Use celebrations to help people realize that we are engaged in meaningful ministry:

“Lay Speaking changed my life.”

“Going to Mozambique changed my life.”

“DISCIPLE training changed my life.”

“Habitat for Humanity changed my life.”

Plan celebrations of who we are in mission, in our spiritual growth, as youth, etc. Look for the bubbling up of ideas from bringing together people interested in or gifted for similar ministry.

4) Try to put local congregations together to nurture a grassroots approach. Pair up a church with a successful ministry with a church or churches that can benefit from their knowledge and experience. Perhaps churches could be connected based on their interests or mission emphasis rather than geography.

Discussion of Existing and Future Programming:

1) Snow Camp was discussed. The exciting aspect of this program is that youth are being touched and changed by Jesus Christ. The challenge of this program, in our new context, involves the cultural and theological differences that exist between the eastern and western parts of our new district. Jim Schoonmaker will talk to Rev. Chris Yount about the Snow Camp ministry, including Snow Camps future plans, its relationship to the new district, the challenges of the new district, and the connection of Snow Camp to the new District Council on Ministries. Information about Snow Camp should be communicated across the district.

2) District Newsletter is needed. Someone is needed to coordinate information and edit the newsletter. Suggested that newsletter be a bulleted e-mail letter with click here instructions for further information. Should be user friendly and easily adapted to provide material for local church newsletters and bulletin inserts.

3) Prison Ministry: We were not sure of all that is going on in this area. Deborah Moore will talk to Danbury U. M. Church about their experience. She also shared about her work with the “Rising Hope” ministry. Peggy Ann Sauerhoff will try to get information about Kairos. Several members of Fishkill UMC are involved in this prison ministry. Information about prison ministries and people who are involved or might like to become involved should be e-mailed to Lum Lee.

4) Continue to pubicize mission opportunities related to Bolivia, Cambodia, and Mozambique. All have been adopted as conference missions but are closely connected to our district.

5) Lay Speaking ministries and the Delaware Hudson Lenten School of Religion were discussed. There was extended discussion over the differences between how Delaware Hudson and CT/NY have organized this training. History of the Lenten School was explained.

Is there a future for the Lenten School of Religion?

Jim Schoonmaker and Deborah Moore will supervise lay speaking in their respective parts of the district and are planning to continue the training procedures from both districts for now.

5) The United Methodist Build in Newburgh for Habitat for Humanity is off to a good start on its own.

6) District training for local church leaders continues to be important. Need to promote such training at charge conferences so that leaders know there is help and guidance available. Lum Lee will pursue planning this.

7) First United Methodist Church in Newburgh was highlighted as a mission focus for the district. It is a solid inner-city ministry reaching out to its community in challenging circumstances. Its building is a huge financial drain and needs much work. They are in need of financial resources. Jim Schoonmaker is pursuing planning a Christian concert to raise money for First U.M.C. on either Friday, Sept. 30 or Saturday, Oct. 1 at Grace U. M. Church in Newburgh. He will coordinate with Rev. McDonald. This should be advertised and supported district wide.

One goal for First United Methodist Church is to bring it up to code so they can resume having an afterschool program. We need to get an estimate on the dollars needed to meet this goal. In order to raise funds we need a clear sense of what is required.

8) The Bishop will be on the district for worship on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. It was agreed to hold the event at Mt. Kisco United Methodist Church. Rev. Matt Curry will coordinate this event with food.

Next Meeting: The District Council on Ministries will meet as a whole on Tuesday, Sept. 20 from 7:30 - 9 p.m. at Danbury United Methodist Church. Site needs to be cleared with the church in Danbury.

Many thanks to Rev. Bassinger-Ishii for her hospitality and for the lunch that was shared.

Respectfully Submitted,

Rev. Peggy Ann Sauerhoff

Secretary, NY/CT D.C.O.M.