6:00 Meal

Welcome Members and Guests

Devotions—Marcee Binder 

Host Church Spotlight—Riley Cartwright 

Business
1. Minutes
2. Finance Report 
3. Announcements (handouts)
    • Parish Nursing-Linda Stotler 
    • PSU Campus Ministry-Linda Stotler
    • Wesley House-Ellie Foster
    • DCYM-Angela De Fisher
    • UMW-Connie Nehrbass
    • Disaster Response-Tom Reazin/Roy Thompson
4. Reports
    • Growth Opportunities-handout
    • 2010 Meetings Schedule
5. Action Items (vote required)
    • Budget
    • Nominations Report
    • Lay Speaker Scholarship Application

Focus-Ministry with the Poor-Lonnie Bailey and Roger Dressler

D.S. Comments-Janet Maxwell

Drawing for Door Prize-This month there will be two door prizes. (donated by L.D. Curran)

Challenge for Churches- Bring your Lay Leader

Closing Prayer
………………………….
Reminders: 
• Next DCOM meeting will be at 6pm on January 28, 2010 at High Prairie 
• Next DCOM Executive Committee will be December 7, 2009 at 10am and 
  January 11, 2010, from 9am until 1pm at the District Office.

Parsons District Office website:  www.gbgm-umc.org/parsonsdistrict 

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DCOM MEETINGS FOR 2010
 

January 28, 2010 6pm                                                                   High Prairie        
DCOM Exec January 11, 2010  (9am till 1pm-includes lunch)
Focus-Special Sundays
 

February 25, 2010 6pm                                                                 Erie                                                   
DCOM Exec February 1, 2009  10am to 11:30am  
Focus-Board of Laity-Fanning the Flame
 

March 25, 2010  6pm                                                                  Independence First                        
DCOM Exec March 1, 2010   10am to 11:30am  
Focus-Camping/Institute
 

April 22, 2010 6pm                                                                     Cherryvale 
DCOM Exec April 5, 2010  10am to 11:30am
Focus-Annual Conference  
 

May 20, 2010 6pm                                                                     Farlington               
DCOM Exec May 3, 2010  10am to 11:30am
Focus-UMW Assembly
 

June 17, 2010 6pm                                                                      Moline                       
DCOM Exec June 7, 2009 10am to 11:30am
 

September 23, 2010 6pm                                                            Altamont         
DCOM Exec September 2, 2010 10am to 11:30am
 

October 28, 2010 6pm                                                               Chanute First                
DCOM Exec October 4, 2010 10am to 11:30am
 

November 18, 2010 6pm                                                           Columbus
DCOM Exec November 1, 2010  10am to 11:30am

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 PARSONS DISTRICT COUNCIL on MINISTRIES
October 22, 2009
 First United Methodist Church
Pittsburg, KS 

Chairman Harry Disbrow welcomed thirty-four in attendance at the Parsons DCOM meeting held at the First United Methodist Church in Pittsburg, KS.    Associate Pastor Kathy Owsley blessed the delicious meal and Harry thanked the cooks of Pittsburg First.  Devotions were given by Connie Nehrbass, who used Scripture from Matthew (read by Judy Thompson) to focus on feeding the sheep.  She gave us five ways: 1) Use our hands – Do; 2) Use our ears – Listen; 3) Use our eyes – Watch; 4) Use our hearts - Feel; and 5) Use our feet – Move.

The host church spotlight was given by Helen Kriegsman.  The Pittsburg 1st UMC began meeting in 1879 in a house on Langdon Lane.  After a year they moved uptown and built at 8th and Locust.  In 1914 the present church building was built, and it was remodeled in 1944.  Later (around 1959) the educational building was added.  Among the accomplishments and/or ministries of Pittsburg 1st are: paying most of their apportionments; participating in the Heifer Project; supporting Wesley House (started with oil well money) and PSU Campus Ministry; sending youth to Appalachia for the past 26 years; the Wednesday evening Holy Rock Cafe; and the ABC group (Active Boomers for Christ) who do special projects. 

L. D. Curran moved, and Cheryl Martin seconded, that the minutes be approved as presented.  Motion carried.  The financial report was presented, and L. D. Curran moved, and Virginia Baker seconded, that the report be accepted. Motion carried. Written reports were presented from PSU Campus Ministry, Parish Nursing, Wesley House, and UMW. In addition, the following reports were made:
--PSU Campus Ministry – Linda Stotler thanked all for the good supply of paper products that were brought tonight.  She also asked that the encumbered $2500 be released at this time.  Dorothy Ricketts so moved, and Charlotte Coates seconded.  Motion carried. 
--Ellie Foster reported for Wesley House that the children’s summer food program has grown from 1500 sacks of food the first year to 5600 sacks this past summer.  Her grant request was denied this year, so she will need money to continue this program.  Meanwhile, she thanked everyone for their help and support.
-- Disaster Response – Tom Reazin joked that we haven’t had a major disaster since Russ left (Russell Anderson was disaster response coordinator until he was moved to a different district).  Tom reminded us that the disaster trailer needs tarps – our supply is depleted.  Tyro church sent one tonight – but we need more, preferable large (14 x 30). 

Harry called our attention to the growth opportunities listed for November.

The focus for this meeting was Healthy Congregations.  Linda Stotler, Parish Nurse, explained the new brochure, and the Healthy Congregations Covenant:  Level One is the covenant of participation and Level Two is the covenant of action.  Level One churches receive a $100 grant, and Level Two churches receive a $1000 grant for program support.  Then Linda turned the focus over to Charlotte Coates and Annette Clark of the Fredonia UMC, and they gave us an abridged version of their presentation they made during Bishop’s Week at Mt. Sequoyah.  Fredonia UMC is a really active Healthy Congregation, and this presentation gave us a lot of good ideas about becoming a Healthy Congregation. 

D. S. Janet (at the beginning of her time on the agenda) called on Lonnie Bailey for his comments.  He told us that Roger Dressler is focusing on extreme Southeast Kansas right now (McCune, Weir, Scammon, Columbus, etc.) and will be in the area the first and third weeks of November, and the first, third, and fifth weeks of December.   The other weeks he is working at Forest Park in Topeka.  This would be an excellent opportunity to do some mission work in our own district.  Go and help if possible.  Phone number for information is 785-331-8272.  Janet thanked Lonnie for being here, and shared that the needs within our district are great for food, clothing, school supplies.  We need to all do what we can.

Other comments from our D. S. Janet Maxwell:
--Following up on tonight’s focus, Janet thanked Linda, Charlotte and Annette for the excellent presentation.
--Upcoming events include:
 November 14 – Workshop for church historians at First UMC, Newton, KS
 January – Congress on Evangelism in New Orleans.  Scholarship available for someone under 40 years old.  Send possible names to Janet. 
 January 15-16 – Lay Speaker Seminar at Wesley UMC, Parsons, KS
--Janet is in the midst of annual church/charge conferences now.
--The district office email is working again at the moment.

Janet shared a story about church signs – there are two types.  The ones out on the highway that direct us to the churches.  Janet says some of these are not in very good shape and we should all check our local church signs for possible repair or replacement.  The second type is the “marquee” sign in front of our churches.  The one in Valeda recently listed all the info about their 100th anniversary of the building – the 148th anniversary of the congregation.  Well, a lady unknown to the church and community was back in this area for a high school reunion, saw the Valeda UMC sign, and attended the celebration.  She shared that when she was in the 5th grade, her mother was pastor of the church – sometime around 1942.  She was a great asset to the day’s festivities – all because of their church sign. 

L. D.’s door prize was won by Sally Lemmon, who was a guest tonight (from Kansas City, sister of Susan Brown), as was Eleanor Reazin, Tom’s mother.  The focus of the next meeting will be ministry to the poor, with Lonnie Bailey and Roger Dressler.  Harry’s challenge is to bring canned soup and boxes of crackers to donate to the local food pantry.

Prayer concerns included Lela Simpson’s sister-in-law Donna, who at the time of the meeting was undergoing surgery at Mt. Carmel Hospital due to the after effects of cancer treatments; Linda Stotler asked for prayer for her upcoming medical mission team trip to Mexico November 14-21; and Gilbert Ferguson is recovering at home from his heart bypass surgery.
Joys included Wayman Dunlap sharing that the American Legion is flying World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the World War II monument.

Chairman Harry closed the meeting with prayer.

      Submitted by Judy Thompson, Secretary

Attending:   Lonnie Bailey, Virginia Baker, Robert and Susan Brown, Ken Butts, Annette Clark, Charlotte Coates, Pauline Clugston, L.D. and Christine Curran, Harry Disbrow, Wayman Dunlap, Ellie Foster, Dean and Mary Alice Knewtson, Helen Kriegsman, Doris Lacey, Sally Lemmon, Donald and Cheryl Martin, Janet Maxwell, Mary E. Mitchell, Connie Nehrbass, Kathy Owsley, Janet  Postier, Tom Reazin, Elnora Reazin, Jane Reeves, Dorothy Ricketts, Harold and Lela Simpson, Linda Stotler, Roy and Judy Thompson

Next meeting – November 19, 2009 at Hamilton Chapel UMC, Parsons, KS

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DCOM Written Reports-November 19, 2009

PSU REPORT-Linda Stotler, PSU Campus Ministry
 
 
 

PARISH NURSING REPORT-Linda Stotler, Parish Nurse
 
 

WESLEY HOUSE REPORT-Ellie Foster, Director
 
 

DCYM REPORT-Angela DeFisher, District Youth Coordinator

UNITED METHODIST WOMEN – Connie Nehrbass, President
 
 

DISASTER RESPONSE-Russell Anderson, District Disaster Coordinator
 
 

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GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES 
 
 
 

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