Well, Im really back on the road and trying to remind myself that not too long ago I missed being on the road. Ive been reminded that God has a strange sense of humor and can use everything that happens in our lives. I have been challenged to reflect theologically upon this entire process limitations, pain, and even, at times, a sense of despair or desperation. One night the pain was so intense all I wanted was for someone to come in and carry out me out and do whatever needed to be done. I just wanted someone to take care of me and make the pain go away.

For me that quickly translated into grasping onto my consult with a neurosurgery and spine medical group would lead to a magical surgery that would make me all better. I was nothing short of disappointed when, back in October, the doctor told me that he was not recommending surgery. In my feeling of desperation that was the only option that I could see that made any sense.

Fortunately, he was more knowledgeable than I about conditions of the back and since he was not feeling my particular pain and desperation he was able to see more clearly and offer other options ones that didnt make sense to me at the time but ones that have proven to be wise. God challenged me to reflect upon other times when we find ourselves in a situation where we think that there is only one answer. During that time of reflection I thought about churches and pastors who, at that point, were preparing their appointment update forms. I reflected upon the temptation for some to think that the only thing that will work, that will fix things, is for there to be a change of appointment.

One of the things I wasnt thinking about was that surgery would not have been a magic pill but a process that required a recovery period. It would also likely require relearning the way I sit and walk and do daily activities since my body has gotten into the habit of doing those things in certain ways that initially may cause less pain, but which ultimately may cause more damage.

A change of appointment or some of the other magical ideas that are proposed to fix whats wrong in the church are often similar. An appointment change requires a time of getting to know a new person and a new congregation and then discovering that the new arrangement is not perfect either, but requires love, commitment, communication, and above all lots of prayer as the new pastor and new congregation really get to know each other.

Some of our churches remember the glory days of the 1950s or another era when Sunday Schools were large, sanctuaries were full and there was great organ music and inspiring preaching. Some churches are convinced that if we will just send them that 1950s pastor again then everything will automatically become wonderful. The major problem with this perception is that we are no longer living in the 1950s. We can spend a lot of time lamenting how some of these changes have affected our churches, or we can realize that for life to be present there has to be change. If we are to be about the work of the Kingdom of God then we have to accept the challenge to grow into the changes and what they mean for us and how we do church.

I have been in several meetings and conversations lately where some people have been looking for the magical pill to revitalize our churches, provide more income, and more people in the pews on Sunday. In other conversations, there has been an honest realization that there are no simple answers but that we need to think outside of the box and look at a variety of possibilities. More and more we are talking about possibilities like mutual ministry teams with several people providing a portion of the pastoral and ministry leadership in one church or among several churches. We are talking about multi-site churches where worship may take place in one church building and other events in a different one. We are talking about churches forming partnerships with other churches to share some resources or provide encouragement and support. We are talking about how we can be the church of Jesus Christ in the communities where we live and are called to serve. We have been talking about the changing complexion of pastors in our Conference and District changes in terms of those providing full time pastoral leadership and those who are bi-vocational. There are many possibilities.

There are many many questions and quite frankly, there is not a one size fits all answer, nor even a quick fix in many of these areas. I would ask all of you to be in prayer around many of these areas and be willing to be part of the conversation. I seek your prayers for me and for the cabinet as we are now in the appointment season. I pray that in our local churches we may be willing to step back from what may appear to be the one solution to whatever situation is presenting itself and be open to Gods leading in directions that we may not have considered. Among us are many wonderful gifts, incredible ideas, amazing creativity and unlimited potential. This can be a frustrating time or it can be a time of great opportunity for all of us as we remember that the God we worship and serve is the God we call Emmanuel God with us. Our God is the one who makes all things new as some of us have sung recently.

FYI The Doctors are now recommending micro surgery for my back and I have an appointment with the surgeon on Feb. 9th. Ill keep you posted as I learn more.

Blessings,

Beverly

Mid Maine District on Facebook

At the suggestion/request of several pastors, we have set up a Mid Maine District Wall and Group on Facebook. (Actually, our fantastic District Administrative Assistant, Lori has set up the page.) If you are on Facebook, be sure to friend us if you havent already. Most of you know more about this than I do, but you can go to the discussion tab of the wall and start a discussion about any of the topics I raised in my reflection above. We can talk about how to be creative and how to share resources and ideas or anything else youd like to discuss in this manner.

District Ministry Days

At our January District Ministry Day we participated in a process and learning event around listening sessions. Out of our discussion about some of the things that we are doing well on the District and some of the things we could do better came many ideas. This was another of the meetings where we were raising the need for creative thinking. Specifically we wondered about how we could help each other by sharing talents, ideas, and other resources. We talked about how to better connect with the bivocational pastors and part time pastors in our district. One possibility that was discussed was having an occasional District Ministry Day on a Saturday or at some other time when those of you who have other jobs could meet with us. In the spirit of connectionalism and collegiality we wondered about those Full time pastors who do not participate in District Ministry Days and why being together is not a high priority. (We do know that there are a few who have classes on Thursdays).

At our March District Ministry Day we will be talking more about these issues and others. Please plan to be present

Ministry Days are currently Thursdays at Mechuwana. We gather at 9 for fellowship. Share in worship together at 9:30 followed by a program of continuing education or sharing resources in important ways. Many of us stay for lunch and Local Pastors gather afterwards for a time of theological reflection.

Upcoming dates: February 11th, March 11th, and May 6th. We have a date of April 8th scheduled but will likely cancel this particular one.

Save the Date!!

Bishops Day on the District Saturday, April 10th More information will follow about this, but it will likely include a time for clergy with Bishop Weaver and a time for clergy and laity together with the Bishop. The theme will relate to mission. Bishop Weaver comes to each district once every year for a time to be together in this way. All pastors are expected to attend, so please mark your calendars now. Be prepared to invite the lay persons of your churches to come.

Annual Conference Thursday, June 17th through Saturday, June 19th.

District Leadership Academy and District Business Meeting: The District Ministry Team has just started to work on this but the likely dates are either Saturday October 16th or 23rd. More information to follow.

Statistical Reports Deadline approaches.

Remember that statistical reports for all churches are due by February 14th. If you have not started to work on them please dont delay this is not a last minute project. Statistical reports are to be filed on line and everyone should have received the appropriate information and password etc. If you have any questions at all, please call the district office and Lori will be glad to help you through the process.

FYI District Superintendents do statistical reports as well we call them a District Overview and they help us learn some important things that are helpful as we make plans for ministry in the district and beyond.

The State of the District Some gleanings from Statistical reports

FYI District Superintendents do statistical reports as well we call them a District Overview and they help us learn some important things that are helpful as we make plans for ministry in the district and beyond.

There are 70 churches in Mid Maine one less than last year with the closing of the Livermore Church and 59 charges. There are 11 two-point charges. Twenty-one of the appointments in this district are full time. They are served by 15 Elders, 4 Provisional Elders and 2 Local Pastors. There are a total of 18 Active Elders serving in this District 3 of them less than Full Time. There are 23 half time appointments, 12 quarter time appointments and 2 less than quarter time. There are 13 Part time Local Pastors, 1 Full member of another denomination, 11 retired Elders, Local Pastors, or members of another denomination, and 9 Superintendent Supply pastors. Our churches are pastored by 46 men and 54 women.

We are primarily a district of small membership and small attendance churches but also churches of great hearts for mission, and love for Christ. Seven churches report an average worship attendance of 100 or higher. Another 15 report attendance between 50 and 100. 48 of our churches (more than half) have an average worship attendance of less than 50 and 16 of those have attendance under 25.

More than half (35) of all appointments (43 churches) are served by persons who have been in the appointment for 4 years or less. Another 2 involve pastors who have been in one church for 6 years but have also started to serve an additional church in the past year.

All of this means that we need to find ways to be creative as we think about how we do church. We need to find ways for Elders and Local Pastors to be in partnership, for churches to have relationships with each other, for us to remember that we are a UNITED church a connectional denomination not an UNTIED one as my typing sometimes produces.

All things are possible with God. Do we believe it? Lets start acting as if we do and God will show us the ways the many ways to be in ministry together.

Mission Shares :

For the last couple of weeks we have all been focused on the devastating earthquake that has wreaked havoc in Haiti. We have watched the recovery efforts and seen the heart breaking pictures. Together we have also mourned the death of two of our own relief workers. At the same time, we have known that UMCOR was already there and will be there for many years to come.

Why is that the opening paragraph in a section about Mission Shares? Hopefully you all know the answer to that. Every penny that we send to UMCOR for Haiti relief will go directly for Haiti relief because all administrative costs related to UMCOR have already been paid by our Mission Shares.

Thank you to all of you who have worked so hard and faithfully on paying as much of your mission shares as was possible for you. Thank you to the many churches that were able to participate at 100%. Everywhere I go I hear about how bad the economy is and that is true and yet Do you know that together our churches in Mid Maine paid 78.97% of our mission shares. That is half of a percent more than we were able to pay last year. Six of the eight districts in our conference paid a higher percentage of mission shares in 2009 than in 2008.

Thank you and congratulations to the 45 churches that have managed to pay 100% of their mission shares for 2009:

Sheepscott Community; East Monmouth; Brown Memorial, Clinton; East Pittston; Oakland; Round Pond; Minot; Aldersgate, Rockland; Lisbon Falls; New Sharon; Belfast; Peoples Union; Brunswick; Fairfield; Highland Ave Gardiner; Rumford; Calvary, Lewiston; Livermore; Wilton; Pleasant Street, Waterville; First, Boothbay Harbor; North Pownal; West Cumberland; Bolsters Mills; Broad Cove Cushing; Strong; Bethel; Trinity, Farmington; Searsport; Vassalboro; Bradley Memorial, Fryeburg; North Searsport; Mercer; Wayne; New Harbor; Salem; Belgrade Lakes; North Anson; Southport; East Boothbay; Bartlett Memorial, North Jay; Fairfield Center; Friendship; Readfield; North Vienna

An additional 4 churches while not paying 100% participated at more than 80%

Green St, Augusta; Randolph; Winthrop; John Street, Camden

There are 7 other churches that participated at a significantly higher level than in 2008. Congratulations and thanks to:

Eaton Memorial, Livermore Falls; Cox Memorial, Hallowell; Thomaston Federated; Skowhegan; Unity Union; North Woolwich; Church of Good Fellowship, Naples.

Hospitality Award

The Igniting Ministry Team at United Methodist Communications has recognized Belfast United Methodist Church and Pleasant Street United Methodist in Waterville as official Welcoming Congregations for 2009. Our denomination recognizes hospitality as a vital ministry. Embracing newcomers and providing opportunities for discipleship in our congregations is a lifestyle.

This is part of a four year certification program designed to create an enduring welcoming lifestyle. Congratulations to Belfast and Waterville. If youd like to know how you can be recognized as a welcoming congregation, visit the Igniting Ministries Website.