October 2026

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GRANTS

Links to the 2027 mission and capital grants were emailed district-wide earlier this week. The instructions and application forms can also be found on the district website: https://www.missionriversdistrict.org/grants

Charge Conference Dates

Charge Conference Season started October 4th! Find your Charge Conference Dates HERE!

District Conference

This year's annual Mission Rivers District Conference will be held virtually on Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 12:30 PM.

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ecoHwixDRSOuKCtgLAJJ4g#/registration

Call for Nominations for District Lay Members at Large

We are currently accepting nominations for District Lay Members at Large to Annual Conference 2027 which will be held June 16-19, 2027 in Harrisonburg, VA.

Please note that you cannot serve as a Church Lay Member to Annual Conference and a District Lay Member to Annual Conference at the same time. These are two separate positions. 

The deadline to submit this nomination form is Wednesday, November 4, 2026.  

Please note that to be elected as an at-large member, a person must have been a member of The United Methodist Church for the 2 years preceding their election and shall have been an active participant in The United Methodist Church for at least 4 years preceding their election. This requirement may be waived for youth and young adult nominees. Reminder: only 2027 Annual Conference members are eligible to be considered for General and Jurisdictional conferences in 2028. APPLY

Here are a couple of upcoming highlights. Visit the clergy events page on our website for the full list.

Clergy Appreciation: Lunch by the River, 10/15

Join us at Merroir for an outdoor waterside and fireside lunch. The District will arrange for a $25 credit toward the cost of your meal. Space is limited. Register here.

Poetry for Preachers workshop, 10/26

You don’t want to miss this one! UCC pastor and writer Laura Martin will lead us in an interactive workshop retreat, exploring poetry as a resource for ministry and for our own spirituality. Poetry lovers and those who don’t “get” poetry are all welcome. (.5 CEU available) Register here.

All Mission Rivers District Clergy—actively appointed, on leave, serving in extension settings, and retired—are invited and encouraged to join us! For questions, contact Rev. Deborah Lewis. 

It’s Pastor Appreciation Month!

October is the month we dedicate to appreciating our pastors (though we hope you do so all year round). Here are a few ideas you might try this year:

1. Pray for your pastor and love on them – treat them like they are your family because they are your brother or sister in Christ!
2. If they are still in seminary or taking classes while also serving as active clergy, consider a meal sign-up to have healthy “to go” meals packed for them on days they have classes or clinicals.
3. Prepare a gift book with gifts cards and suggestions for use such as:    
          
   a.  Coffee with the pastor: Attach a coffee shop gift card and an invitation from donor to have coffee with them.
   b.  Gift card for the local movie theater.
   c.  Gift card they can use for one of their hobby activities (art class, gym, parks admission, concert series, pickleball lessons, yoga class…).
   d.  Tickets to a local event such as an annual Oyster Roast.
   e.  Guide of local area seasonal events.

We have more ideas here on the website. Let us know how we can advise and support your congregation as you support and appreciate your pastor. 

—District Lay Leader Deb Beutel & Director of Clergy Support Deborah Lewis 

Mark your calendars for the following events! Look for more information to come!

• October 15: Retired Clergy Breakfast (CLERGY)
• October 15: Lunch by the River (CLERGY)
• October 21: PPR Training
• October 24: UMVIM Leader Training
• October 26: Poetry for Preachers Worshop (CLERGY)
• October 27: Retired Clergy Breakfast (CLERGY)
• November 14: District Conference VIRTUAL
• April 17: District Training

Retired Clergy Breakfast

The DS would like to invite retired clergy on the Mission Rivers District to be her guest for breakfast. We have scheduled it for two different locations. Lindsey will be there from 8:30am - 10:00am. Come for the whole time or just drop in for a few minutes - she'd love to see you!

Wednesday, October 14 in Fredericksburg (date change): 

Homemade 

7019 Harrison Rd Ste 109, Fredericksburg, VA 22407

Tuesday, October 27 in Yorktown:

Shorty's Diner, Yorktown

6500 George Washington Memorial Hwy, Yorktown (across from District office)

Date Change: Upcoming Opportunity to meet with the DS

If you would like to chat with DS Lindsey Baynham Freeman, she will be working remotely around the district and is available at the following location/date in October and December:

Kilmarnock UMC (Kilmarnock) Thursday, Oct. 22  

New Date! Lower UMC (Hartfield) Tuesday, Dec. 8       

Please contact the district office at missionriversdistrict@vaumc.org to make an appointment.

A tax message from GCFA

The IRS recently issued new rules for group tax exemption rulings—the first major update in more than four decades. These changes don’t affect day-to-day operations or tax-exempt status for United Methodist churches, but they do require the General Council on Finance and Administration of the United Methodist Church to send this annual notice to all UMC churches with the included link to an IRS document that explains our tax-exempt status. Churches (and other core UMC entities like conferences and general agencies) that need to prove their tax-exempt status can still rely on letters from GCFA documenting their inclusion in the UMC group ruling. They can request a new letter at umgroupruling.org.

2027 Honduras Mountain Medical Team

One more non-medical person and three medical professionals (MDs, NPs, or RNs) are needed to complete a Friends of Barnabas Foundation team going to Honduras. The team is scheduled for February 6-13, 2027. Prayerfully consider becoming a member of this group, sponsored by Main Street UMC in Suffolk and Warwick Memorial UMC in Newport News, as it provides medical/dental/eye care to five mountain villages. God may be calling you to this very mission. The experience is both rewarding and life changing.

The travel contribution of $2,250 covers all costs for transportation, meals, lodging, and insurance. For more information or to volunteer, please contact co-leader Carlos Liceaga at 757- 768-2223 or Carlos.Liceaga@gmail.com.

PPR Training Offered Virtually October 21

We have scheduled a virtual SPPRC Training with DS Lindsey Baynham Freeman on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 from 6:30pm - 8:00pm. This will be especially helpful for new chairs and new SPPRC committee members for 2027. 

Sign up for SPPRC Training

This will be the standard SPPRC Training that has traditionally been held on District Training Day. This fall we are offering it virtually instead. Note that this is not training for the new clergy payroll process.

In Person Lay Servant Training October 3 - CANCELLED

Mission Rivers is pleased to offer this in person Lay Servant training opportunity. Participants are expected to obtain their own course materials and complete the assigned reading according to the schedule provided by the instructor prior to the training day. CANCELLED

VAUMC News

Find links and information from the Virginia Conference and the UMC below:

• 2026 Conference Grants cycle now open
• Apply to Youth Service Fund missional grant
• Register now for Hatching Faith Oct. 13 Information Session
• AI & Ministry Survey: What We Heard From You
• Clergy Payroll Information
• Accountable Reimbursement Information

Ministry Toolbox Articles

Practical articles to help you in ministry.

• Simple Ways to Say Thank You for Pastor Appreciation Month
• Nominations 101
• How to evaluate worship and church events
• RetirePath Virginia: A Retirement Requirement