UMC Valley Ridge District News: October 14, 2022

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Valley Ridge District

Virginia Conference

United Methodist Church

Newsletter

October 14, 2022

Valley Ridge District UMVIM Team

On Sunday, October 16 the first Valley Ridge District United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) team will embark from various locations in our district and travel to Plymouth, North Carolina. For the next week, they will work with Carolina Rebuilding Ministries to repair and renovate homes to make them safe and dry for families in need. Please keep these servants of God in your prayers as they enter the mission field. Watch our social media pages for team updates.

Members of the team come from churches in the Valley Ridge District including Calvary (Stuart's Draft) Cave Spring (Roanoke) Central (Staunton); Greene Memorial (Roanoke) Newport-Mt. Olivet (Newport) People United in Christ (Buena Vista) Saint Johns (Staunton) and Sherando (Waynesboro).

The Commissioning of the Valley Ridge District Mission Team

Report of the Called District Conference

On October 10, 2022 the Valley Ridge District voted at its Called District Conference to adopt the Simplified Accountable Structure (SAS) for its leadership. Beginning in January 2023, we will have three bodies of governance:

The District Leadership Board will be elected at District Conference on November 13 and along with the District Boards of Church Location and Building (DBCLB) and District Committee on Ordained Ministry (DCOM) previously elected at Annual Conference, will function in the SAS model for District Stewardship, Strategic Planning, and Clergy Leadership Building.

Looking Ahead to District Conference

The Valley Ridge District Conference will take place by Zoom on Sunday, November 13 at 3 PM. Click on the link below to find all the information you need for District Conference:

Registration and who should attend
Nomination forms for District At-Large Lay Members to Annual Conference
Submit your name to be considered for the District Leadership Board
Book of Reports
and more

CLICK HERE for District Conference Information

Reach out to your Valley Ridge District Office for assistance with any of these District Conference related matters.

Valley Ridge

District

UMCOR

Cleaning Kit

collections

UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) connects the United Methodist Church, its people, and congregations to partner together in humanitarian relief during disasters and minister to persons in need. You are invited to be a part of this connectional mission work!

WHEN: Saturday, November 5 from 10 AM - Noon

WHERE: Christ UMC, 1512 Churchville Ave, Staunton

Southview UMC, 3539 Peters Creek Rd, Roanoke

WHAT: UMCOR Cleaning Kits (Flood Buckets) content and packing guidelines can be found HERE. Only fully completed kits, please.

If delivery is an issue consider partnering with a nearby church to transport the kits to the nearest collection site OR contact your area district office.

Continue to pray for those affected by recent natural disasters. Donate money for Disaster Relief through your local church OR directly to UMCOR. Find out how to send money HERE.

Read the VAUMC Response to Hurricane Ian

A message from Rev. Dr. Dale White, Valley Ridge District Director of Congregational Excellence

Recently, Doug Forrester handed me the book Don’t Look Back: Methodist Hope for What Comes Next by Will Willimon. I learned in my 30 years in Navy Chaplaincy that when something is important to your boss, it should be important to you. So I read the book, I’m glad I did. I encourage my fellow clergy, and laity, to read this book and soak it up.

I’m not one for spoiler alerts, so I won’t reveal the ending, but Bishop Willimon challenges us as Methodists not to look back. Instead, he does challenge us to rethink how we do business in a number of ways. I’ll share some quotes to whet your appetites, and encourage you read the book and think strategically about applying his recommendations in your local churches.

Hope in a Savior who Defeats our Hopelessness! Amidst membership decline and denominational issues, we are called to use the means of grace to give us hope. He says: “The church historically defined sloth as a sin of hopelessness. Sloth is not lazily lying too long in a bath; it’s the arrogant failure to use the available means of God-given grace. Sloth is the passive-aggressive unwillingness to be loved by God and to be called to do God’s work.”

We don’t want to go back! One of his more powerful observations in the book was this quote: “Studies indicated that when people in the past left our church for another [denomination], our transfers out were more active than the new members we received. Folks who were looking for increased church engagement tended to leave us; those who wanted a respite from their more demanding, usually more evangelical congregation, found the UMC a comfortable, moderate place to rest. Unknowingly, we gave them a theology that rationalized disengagement from the church.” Who would want to go back to that?

Hope for congregations! Willimon argues that the future of our denomination rests in congregations. “As a Methodist congregation, you are the sign that the risen Christ has determined not to reign in the Kingdom of Heaven without us. He assembles us in order to send us forth. Your congregation is his strategy for accomplishing his salvation in the world….Fearful? Mourning? Jesus will gather you up, breathe upon you, and send you out on his errands way.”

Methodists moving out in mission! Willimon argues that our ultimate main purpose is mission. “From the first, Wesley’s Methodist was a “go to” rather than a “come to us” movement. Methodists–made for mission– were proactive, intrusive, and extroverted: we’ll come to you.” “Don’t let the current Methodist crisis of decline and fragmentation go to waste: see our present problems as a catalyst for joining Christ in mission.”

Willimon does a great job of laying out our current situation, dissecting how we got here, and giving a clear and hope filled way ahead for where we can go from here. Published in September 2022 and available at many booksellers, it is fresh and current. I highly recommend the book for all church leaders.

Blessings, Dale White

Reminder regarding recording

Annual Conference Lay Members in EVC

Hold off reporting, in EVC, any changes to your Annual Conference Lay Member(s) In the coming months, all local churches will be electing lay members to represent churches at the 2023 Virginia Annual Conference (s). As part of the Charge

Conference process, the names of elected lay members are added to the EVC database. In light of the upcoming Special Annual Conference on October 29, 2022, local churches should not update the EVC information for 2023 AC members until November 1, 2022. This will ensure that EVC records are current and correct for the October 29 Annual Conference.

And more news...

Truck or Treat Events

What can we say... so many of our Valley Ridge District churches are planning community events this Halloween season - too many to list individually. If your church is hosting a Truck or Treat type event we wish you wonderful weather and lots of happy children! If you are looking for an event to attend, check out the listing of churches on our webpage and find one near you.

Remember to think about ways to connect with the families who attend these events and invited them to your worship services and church activities. Use these types of contact as a way to begin new relationships-one of the first steps to disciple-making.

Saturday, October 15: 53rd Lord's Acre Day sponsored by Mint Spring UMC at the Mint Spring Ruritan Building (1912 Lee Jackson Hwy Staunton) 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.-Handmade crafts, Baked Goods and Take-out BBQ Chicken and BBQ Beef Dinner -$15; Meats and Potato Salad sold separately; Can pre-order online at https://bit.ly/MintSpringUMC or purchase at the door (while quantities last).

Greenville UMC, 126 Main St. in Greenville invites you to Back To Church Sunday (BTCS) with Rev. M.J. Kim on October 16 at 10 AM. BTCS is designed to reach out to those who do not know Jesus as their Savior and to those who have been separated from Him for a long time. Rev. M.J. is a dynamic and effective speaker. Greenville UMC will appreciate your prayers for this special event, which they hope to bring many to Jesus, our Lord, and Savior.

Raleigh Court UMC, 1706 Grandin Rd, Roanoke is hosting a Christmas Craft Bazaar on November 5 from 10 AM to 2 PM and invites Crafters and Vendors to join them! They are in search of energetic, awesome, creative people to participate! Vendor tables will be available for $25.00 each; proceeds will support their youth ministry. Please contact Eric Anderson [email protected] to reserve your space.

Lyndhurst UMC, 2835 Lyndhurst Rd in Waynesboro, announces a free FLU vaccination clinic on November 10, together with their monthly food pantry drive-thru. DRIVE-THRU from 5-6 PM and receive a flu shot—Free to all in the community, with or without food pantry delivery. Call for more information contact them at 540-943-8057; message them on FACEBOOK or email: [email protected].

Newport- Mt. Olivet UMC, 311 Blue Grass Trail, Newport invites you to their Christmas Bazaar on November 19 from 9 AM-2 PM. Baked goods, jewelry, ornaments and wreaths, soup and cake mixes, silk floral arrangements, Newport apparel, attic treasures, the new 2023 Newport Community Calendars, hotdogs, drinks and more will be available!

Cherryvale UMC, 709 Cherry Hill Dr. in Staunton is hosting a Cherry Berry Christmas Shoppe on December 3, 2022. Arts and Craft vendors are invited to participate and can sign up at the link HERE. Donations of Christmas and holiday items are also needed. All donations should in full working order (no chips, dings, stains, broken tree limbs, or missing parts please). Drop off donations at the church on Wednesday mornings from 9 AM until noon or call the church 540-885-0098 to make arrangements.

Valley Ridge District churches have several job openings. Find them on our website HERE. To remove a out- of-date listing or to post a new opening please contact [email protected]

We look forward to the last session in the Valley Ridge District Social Media/Website Development series designed to help churches better connect with their congregations, communities, and each other. Register to receive the course material and Zoom link.

October 27 at 1:00 PM - Website Development Training

The October issue of the Dollar and Sense Newsletter can be found HERE, The Virginia Conference Treasurer's office provides updates about 2023 Apportionments, VUMPI enrollment, and a Fraud Alert in this issue.

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. Established as a worldwide recognition time in 1992, the call to honor the contributions of pastoral leaders can be traced back to Paul, who advised congregations to give “double honor” to those who managed the affairs of the church well, “especially those whose work is preaching and teaching” (1 Timothy 5:17, NIV). Some suggestions on how you can show appreciation for your pastor can be found HERE.

UMFS Offering: supporting high-risk children

United Methodist Family Services (UMFS) is grateful for the faithful support of local churches in the Valley Ridge district. Your generous gifts help children in foster care, children struggling with mental health challenges, and special education students get the support they need to thrive.

Your support through the UMFS December offering will help children get the help they need to achieve a brighter future. You can access UMFS bulletin inserts, short videos, images, and more at www.UMFS.org/church. Please contact Jill Gaynor ([email protected] or 804-254-9463) with any questions. Thank you for your support!

As COVID-19 and influenza infections fluctuate in our communities, local churches continue to evaluate and take appropriate action. Keeping people safe is good leadership; caring for your neighbor is good discipleship.