Meet the Deacons: Rev. Amy Beth Jones
August 21, 2019 / By Rev. Amy Beth Jones
I work for Family Promise, a national non-profit agency that serves families experiencing homelessness. At Family Promise, our mission is to help homeless and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. Family Promise is best known for the emergency shelter program that rotates through houses of worship the community, but we are so much more than an emergency shelter program. We provide prevention and stabilization services to families …more
Meet the DLTs: Derek Hansen
August 20, 2019 / By Derek Hansen
My name is Derek Hansen. I’m the pastor at Adirondack Community Church in Lake Placid, and I have been serving on the Adirondack District Leadership Team since 2017. In my 10 years of pastoral ministry, I have also served under appointment at Rochester: Aldersgate, Adams Basin, Glens Falls: Christ Church, and Hudson Falls. My wife, Becky, and I have been married for 10 years and we have three children - Liam (7), …more
Meet the DLTs: Rev. Dr. Meredith Vanderminden
August 14, 2019 / By Rev. Dr. Meredith Vanderminden
I have been an elder in the United Methodist Church for 20 years, and though my call has evolved through the years, the heart of it remains the same: to bring people, in all of their wonderful diversity, into a closer relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. My participation with Adirondack District Leadership Team allows me to follow that call not only in the church I serve, Christ Church …more
Meet the DLTs: Adirondack District
August 7, 2019 / By Carrie Boyer / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) / 1 Comment
My name is Carrie Boyer. I’ve been a member of the Adirondack District Leadership Team since 2016. I also serve as the Minister of Administration for the District. It is helpful for me to serve on the team, as it allows me to bring information back to the District. I also have an “ear to the ground,” as communications “point” person for District, so I …more
Meet the Deacons: Introduction
August 5, 2019 / By Rev. Nancy Dibelius, Assistant Director of Vital Congregations for Spiritual Life / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) / 1 Comment
Did you know that in the United Methodist Church, deacons are ordained? The Upper New York Conference is blessed to have many ordained deacons serving throughout our churches and communities. Over the weeks ahead, we will share stories of deacons who serve in the Upper NY Conference and the unique giftedness to which God has called them in the Meet the UNY Deacons blog series. The history of deacons becoming …more
Meet the DLTs: Rev. Anna Blinn Cole & Pastor Rich Howard
July 23, 2019 / By
In this vlog, Pastor Rich Howard dives deep into the Bible trying to find a warranty for a church that is no longer vital. The Rev. Anna Blinn Cole steps in and references Mark 5: 38-42 where a crowd fears a resting girl is no longer alive, yet Jesus shows them she is merely sleeping. Rev. Blinn Cole compares a church to this resting girl and explains just like the girl, …more
Meet the DLTs: Rev. David Pritchard
July 16, 2019 / By Rev. David Pritchard
I am David Pritchard, Pastor of Sherburne UMC (www.sumconline.org; FB Page @SherbChurch), going into my second year of ministry in Sherburne. I have been on the District Leadership Team for about as long as my appointment to Sherburne and am very grateful for the opportunity to serve God in this way. At Sherburne, we are focused on making disciples who communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ through …more
Meet the DLTs: Rev. Paul Winkelman
July 9, 2019 / By Rev. Paul Winkelman / 3 Comments
I am originally from Northern Illinois, and I remember attending a United Methodist Church there before moving to New York at the age of 10. After accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior, I began to see the world differently. My desire to love, to help, and to serve was amplified. Through living the gospel of Jesus Christ, through seeing people being brought to Christ, and through watching the church transform …more
Meet the DLTs: The Oneonta DLT
July 1, 2019 / By Rev. Rachel Morse
We keep saying this in the Oneonta District as we practice “invitation without incentive’.” Discipleship promises possibility; we must become the transformation we wish to see in the world. When we explored what discipleship means to us, the word that resonated most was transformation. Being disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of ourselves and the world. This is part of the generative discipleship system which …more
Meet the DLTs: Rev. Steven Taylor
June 28, 2019 / By Rev. Steven Taylor / 1 Comment
My name is Steven Taylor, and I’m serving in my 16th year as a pastor in the UMC. I grew up in the UMC, was baptized as an infant, but made a significant commitment to Jesus at my confirmation when I was 12. Since then, I went to college to be a professional environmental engineer, which I was for 10 years. I got to travel the country and the …more