Spring District Conference is scheduled for Saturday, April 22 at 11:00 a.m., hosted by Mt. Tabor UMC in East Canton.

Cara will be on vacation

March 18 - 25

Cara's Weekly Calendar

March 6: Sabbath

March 7: District Strategizing

March 8: District Strategizing

March 9: dCOM Meeting - Navarre Otterbein UMC

March 10: District Strategizing

March 12: Worship on the District

Lay Servant Ministry

Lay Servant Ministry is a leadership development program in the United Methodist Church focused on equipping and empowering lay persons who have responded to the call of God to serve in mission and ministry.

These lay persons are called to live out their own discipleship as servants in leadership through the ministries of leading, caring and communication.



The UMC has established three categories for laypersons in the area of lay servant ministries to develop, prepare and engage principled Christian leaders for the mission of making disciples for the transformation of the world.

• Certified Lay Servant
• Certified Lay Speaker
• Certified Lay Minister

Certified Lay Servants who wish to develop their skills further may chose a track to become Certified as Lay Speakers (those who are called specifically to pulpit supply) or as Certified Lay Ministers (those who are called to long-term, intentional ministry as part of a ministry team.

A Certified Lay Servant serves the local congregation or charge and:

1. Provides program leadership, assistance, and support to the pastor.
2. Leads meetings for prayer, training, study, and discussion.
3. Plans, conducts or assists in leading services of worship, preaches the Word, or gives addresses.
4. Provides congregational and community leadership and fosters caring ministries.
5. Assists in the distribution of the elements of Holy Communion
6. Teaches the Scriptures, doctrine, organization, and ministries of the United Methodist Church.

A Certified Lay Speaker serves by preaching the Word when requested by the pastor, district superintendent or committee on Lay Servant Ministries in accordance and compliance with Para 341.1 of the Book of Discipline. The role of a Certified Lay Speaker is a specific calling for the ministry of pulpit supply in congregations other than their own.

Being called to ministry is a serious endeavor. It takes a disciple to make a disciple. Thus, we must do all we can to prepare ourselves and others to serve. For additional information on the Lay Servant Ministry program in our District please email the District’s Lay Servant Director, Eddie Courtney at [email protected]. Please include the words Lay Servant Ministries in your subject line. 

Basic and Advanced Classes for this Spring (late April, early May) will be announced soon

East Ohio Ministry Micro Grants Application

East Ohio Ministry Micro Grants are sponsored by the Board of Congregational Development and Connectional Ministries Office: Strategic Ministries. The grants are for Fresh Expressions, small groups, and/or new ministry that seek to reach those not within the current church community. The deadline to apply is April 3^rd by the end of the day and awardees will be announced by April 21. These micro grants, which may be awarded to $2000 as determined by Board of Congregational Development, must be spent in totality by Dec 31^st, 2023.  

Contact Rev Beth Ortiz, Connectional Ministries Office Director of Strategic Ministries, at [email protected], to submit your application or with questions. 

Requirements: Must be a ministry of a local United Methodist Church in East Ohio.

Must be a new ministry (either under 2 months old or not yet begun) that seeks to reach those not yet in the church. Church/charge cannot be currently receiving any other conference level grant funding (this does not refer to coaching, trainings or other such support). Church/charge cannot receive more than one microgrant per 12 months and cannot receive a microgrant for the same ministry more than once.

Must have at least one lay involved in the planning/implementation. Funds must be spent for this ministry within 6 months or returned. A report must be submitted within 6 months (details about reporting will be supplied to awardees with the payment dispersal in early Dec 2022). 

Please note: Application for funds does not guarantee funds.  

BSA & The UMC

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) bankruptcy agreement with The United Methodist Church was approved by the court and is now under further review along with the BSA reorganization plan. Currently, BSA is ahead of projections this year for recruiting new troops and has decided not to extend all previous charters beyond December 31, 2022, for two reasons:

1. in most areas, the affiliation agreements and facility use agreements are being implemented and the implementation is going well.
2. BSA wants to assure the court that it is emerging from bankruptcy and its business plan is working as evidenced by new scouts and organizational agreements.

If you have questions about the BSA Affiliation Agreement or about the Facilities Use Agreement, please e-mail Steven Scheid, the scouting executive for United Methodist Men. If your local BSA Council is not complying with the new BSA organizational agreement, please e-mail Jeffrey Hunt, who oversees the BSA Councils across the United States.

View the BSA & The UMC resource on the Conference website.

DISAFFILIATION PATHWAY: Following consultation between Bishop Malone and EOC leadership, churches and clergy wishing to separate from the denomination must follow the disaffiliation pathway found in ¶ 2553 of The Book of Discipline of The UMC. View the EOC Disaffiliation Pathway resource.

Global Ministries

How does your congregation care for God’s creation? Do you regularly conduct an energy audit to minimize wasted electricity and water in your church building, reuse resources that would otherwise be tossed in a landfill, encourage biking to church by installing a bike rack in the parking lot or teach sustainable gardening practices through community gardening? Have you found a creative new way to be good stewards of our natural resources? We want to hear your story and celebrate the impact your ministry has on God’s world. Contact Kate Colbow, Conference Secretary to Global Ministries via email to share how your congregation cares for creation. 

Safe Sanctuaries

Join in on this online course that covers the basics of Safe Sanctuaries. Rev Gary Jones walks participants through the what is it, the why we do it, and common elements. This is a great course for churches reviewing or creating their policies, for ministry team leads, and for anyone working with vulnerable persons in your faith community.    

Enroll anytime at https://eocumc.myabsorb.com/#/online-courses/409157e8-86de-49c2-b36a-306010758353

The Seran Foundation is part of the Stark Community Foundation. Students can apply through the foundation’s General Scholarship Application. This can be done by going to the Stark Community Foundation’s website (https://www.starkcf.org/for-grantees/for-students/scholarship-opportunities) and clicking on the Menu tab at the top right. Scroll down to Grants and under For Students click on Scholarship Opportunities. Finally click on Begin Your Application. Your application allows you to apply for the Seran Foundation grant as well as others for which you may be eligible. 

The deadline for applications is April 1.  

The Chester A. and Ethel J. Seran Scholarship Foundation was established many years ago to help college students toward their bachelor or associate degrees. The assistance is in the form of grants and not loans. The grants are renewable each year as long as students are in good academic standing with their college or university. The Scholarship Selection Committee restricts the grants to no more than 4 years.  



If you have any questions or need additional assistance, you can call the Stark Community Foundation at 234-458-2905. You can also contact Steve Moore, Chairperson of the Seran Foundation with any specific questions about this particular foundation.  

Dover First United Methodist Church is seeking qualified applicants for the part-time position of church financial secretary. Click here for the job description. Resumes or questions can be sent to Pastor Wesley George via email.

Otterbein (Navarre) UMC is seeking applicants for Youth Director Position (grades 9 - 12) and Assistant Youth Leader Position (grades 6 – 8). If you are interested in either of these or have questions, please contact the church at 330-484-2776.

Otterbein (Navarre) UMC has a variety of Sunday School & Bible Study books available. Click here to access the entire list. If interested, please contact Doris Brown by email.