Parish History

A History of the Twin Rivers Cooperative Parish
Eight United Methodist churches came together in 1998 to form the Twin Rivers Cooperative Parish. This new form of organization allowed us to have the resources of a large church while maintaining the identity of each individual small church. We hoped to not only better serve our congregations, but to more effectively reach out to our local communities. The Illinois Great Rivers Conference appointed Rev. Sally Hamon and Rev. Charlie Sward as ordained ministers to the Twin Rivers Cooperative Parish. They served as pastors in our two largest churches and also guided the ministerial staff for our Parish. Six part-time ministers were hired to give each church its own pastor. There is some rotation of ministers within the churches at different times, and this staff works closely together as a team to cover the total ministerial duties of the Cooperative Parish. Combining as a Parish has allowed us to have an Office Manager, Resource Director, Director of Youth, Financial and Membership Secretary, Coordinator of Volunteers and Bulletins, and a Pastoral Mentor. Our Parish office provides the staff and equipment to give secretarial, administrative, and accounting support for all seven (one of the original eight churches is no longer in the Parish) churches. The benefits of our new, exciting cooperative approach have been many. We now have joint services on special occasions that bring together a vital, enthusiastic group rather than a handful of attendees. The fund raising events of one church are attended by people from the whole Parish. Our capacity for outreach has increased manyfold. In 1999, we had a Parish core group to lead vacation Bible schools in our churches during the summer. During that year, we also collected literally truckloads of beans and rice for the United Methodist relief drive for Haiti. In 2000, our Parish sponsored a family from Bosnia that has resettled in the Quad-Cities area, and has planned and implemented a summer free lunch program for children in the Carbon Cliff area.

A History of the Twin Rivers Cooperative Parish

Eight United Methodist churches came together in 1998 to form the Twin Rivers Cooperative Parish. This new form of organization allowed us to have the resources of a large church while maintaining the identity of each individual small church. We hoped to not only better serve our congregations, but to more effectively reach out to our local communities.

The Illinois Great Rivers Conference appointed Rev. Sally Hamon and Rev. Charlie Sward as ordained ministers to the Twin Rivers Cooperative Parish. They served as pastors in our two largest churches and also guided the ministerial staff for our Parish. Six part-time ministers were hired to give each church its own pastor. There is some rotation of ministers within the churches at different times, and this staff works closely together as a team to cover the total ministerial duties of the Cooperative Parish.

Combining as a Parish has allowed us to have an Office Manager, Resource Director, Director of Youth, Financial and Membership Secretary, Coordinator of Volunteers and Bulletins, and a Pastoral Mentor. Our Parish office provides the staff and equipment to give secretarial, administrative, and accounting support for all seven (one of the original eight churches is no longer in the Parish) churches.

The benefits of our new, exciting cooperative approach have been many. We now have joint services on special occasions that bring together a vital, enthusiastic group rather than a handful of attendees. The fund raising events of one church are attended by people from the whole Parish. Our capacity for outreach has increased manyfold. In 1999, we had a Parish core group to lead vacation Bible schools in our churches during the summer. During that year, we also collected literally truckloads of beans and rice for the United Methodist relief drive for Haiti. In 2000, our Parish sponsored a family from Bosnia that has resettled in the Quad-Cities area, and has planned and implemented a summer free lunch program for children in the Carbon Cliff area.

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