2012 Annual Conference - South Carolina United Methodist Advocate

Transcription

g a
P u bl n d O v er
a ll
ic at i
on
of Comm
un
$2
tion
ca
• S.C. P
tors
res
ica
NER
ethodist As
so
WI N
Wr it
in
M
ted
cation • U
ss o
ni
sA
Annual Conference-July 2012
Season of
Kingdomtide
Easley Chapel
remembers
Pa g e 2 2
SMC students
give back
Pa g e 1 2
Second chance
after freak accident
Pa g e 1 1
--
Immerse Youth
Retreat
July 26-29
Annual Conference gets off to a rousing yet sacred start with traditional Native American drumming (above left). At top right, Bishop
Mary Virginia Taylor calls on the name of the Lord during Communion service. At bottom right, the Rev. Mollie Bame Reddic hoists the
Columbia College banner high during the processional. (Photos by Matt Brodie and Allison Trussell)
‘Invitation to a Changed Life’
S.C. United Methodists decide budget, elections, legislation at Annual Conference
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – Lifting up the life-changing,
awe-inspiring power of the Risen Savior,
Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor led the body in
the opening service of worship for Annual
Conference 2012.
“We have gathered together to hear God’s
message for an invitation to a changed life,”
Taylor told the crowd of more than 1,600
United Methodist clergy and laity from every
district in South Carolina. “So tell me, are
you ready to conference? Let’s do it!”
With the theme “Invitation to a Changed
Index
2-3, 6-7, SEJ Conference
3, Subcribe Box
4-5, Viewpoints
21, Ministries & Missions
31, Health
Life,” this year’s gathering balanced teaching
times by church consultant Gil Rendle on
navigating growth and change (see article
page 16) with the necessary business of The
United Methodist Church in South Carolina.
In four days, the conference passed a 2013
budget of $16.9 million, elected new conference officers (see page 15), approved three
new resolutions (see page 16), authorized the
expansion of the Redistricting Task Force
study to include the entire Annual Conference
organization, approved reports of
Connectional Ministries and Pensions &
Health Benefits, and much more.
26-30, Appointments
12, Education & Youth
24-25, District & Local News
30, History
32, Seniors
Business went so smoothly this year that
Annual Conference ended hours early – at
5:47 p.m. instead of the scheduled 9 or 10
p.m.
The most debate the body saw came at the
start of the conference, when discussion
ensued on whether to change the bar of the
conference to include certain colored seats on
the side and back of the room or just those
the seats in the back of the room, not the side.
Taylor reported that 1,622 Annual
Conference members were in attendance.
33, Obituaries
33, Resource Center
34, Upcoming Events
34, Classified Ads
35, International Bible School
See “AC2012,” Page 13
Scan this
QR code
with your
smartphone!
Page 2, Annual Conference-July 2012
The South Carolina United Methodist Advocate
Jurisdictional
Conference 2012
Hours/Location
Open Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
S.C. United Methodist Conference
Center
4908 Colonial Drive, Suite 207
Columbia, SC 29203
Deadlines are the 10th of each month.
Contacting Us
Telephone: 888-678-6272 or
803-786-9486
Fax: 803-735-8168
E-mail: [email protected]
Submissions
The Advocate encourages
readers to submit for publication
items of interest to South Carolina
United Methodists. There is no charge
for running items involving activities
or announcements. Items should
be submitted as far as possible
in advance of the event’s
date or the date of requested
publication. Since there is no charge
for these items, they appear in
the newspaper on a space-available
basis. Deadlines are the 10th of each
month for the following month’s
paper.
Advertising
Display ads, classified ads and inserts
july be ordered by contacting us at
888-678-6272 or 803-786-9486, ext.
338, or [email protected].
Deadlines are the 10th of each month
for the following month’s paper.
Subscriptions
The Advocate is delivered to mailboxes via U.S. mail every month prior to
the first Sunday of the month.
Subscriptions are $15/year for the
print and online version, and $8/year
for the online-only edition. To start
your subscription, visit
www.advocatesc.org, call with a
credit card to 888-678-6272 or
803-786-9486, ext. 335, or send
your check to Advocate, 4908
Colonial Drive, Columbia, SC
29203.
Photographs
Photographs may be submitted
to the newspaper for publication.
High-resolution digital images
are preferred. Photographs should be
in focus and should have proper
exposure. Color or black and
white photographs are accepted.
People in photographs should
be identified with names and
ages, and a contact person with
a phone number should be included
in the information.
Accuracy Policy
The Advocate strives to produce
error-free news reports. When mistakes occur, it is our policy to correct
them as soon as they are brought to
our attention. To request a correction,
call Jessica Connor at 888-678-6272
or 803-786-9486, ext. 338, or e-mail
[email protected]. In the event of
errors in advertisements, the
Advocate will be responsible only for
the space occupied by the actual
error. The publisher assumes no
financial responsibility for omissions.
Back Issues
The Advocate maintains copies of
back issues for sale for up to one
year, as long as the supply lasts.
When requesting by mail, back
copies are $2 each, to cover
postage and handling. To research or
review articles published more than
one year ago, bound copies of the
newspaper are available for
review at the Advocate office,
Wofford College in Spartanburg and
the South Caroliniana Library in
Columbia.
Bishops, other business on slate
for Jurisdictional Conference 2012
By Jessica Connor
Thirty-six delegates from across South
Carolina will join counterparts from 14
other annual conferences for the
Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference,
set for July 18-20 at Lake Junaluska
Conference and Retreat Center in Western
North Carolina.
Held every four years primarily to elect
bishops, Jurisdictional Conference also
has various other tasks, such as making
rules and regulations for the administration of the church’s work within the jurisdiction (including budgeting); establishing
and electing people to jurisdictional
boards; determining annual conference
boundaries; appointing a committee on
appeals; and promoting interests of the
church.
There are five jurisdictions in the U.S.;
the SEJ comprises 15 annual conferences
in the southeast (see sidebar this page for
a full list).
The S.C. Conference has selected Dr.
Tim McClendon, Columbia District
superintendent and conference parliamentarian, as their episcopal nominee,
McClendon has been a delegate to five
Bishop Taylor to be next SEJ College of Bishops president
S.C. Resident Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor has been tapped as the next president of the Southeastern Jurisdiction’s College of Bishops.
The SEJ College of Bishops is made up of all active and retired bishops who
currently serve, or have served, one of the episcopal areas of the SEJ.
Taylor is expected to take the helm at Jurisdictional Conference, set for July
18-20.
Full coverage of Jurisdictional Conference will run in the August Advocate.
For further information, visit www.sejumc.org/jurisdictional-conference.
General Conferences consecutively since
1996 and narrowly missed being elected
bishop at the 2008 Jurisdictional
Conference, garnering the second-most
votes in episcopal election. (Read more in
article, this page).
All 15 episcopal nominees (see page 67) will meet with delegates July 17, the
day before Jurisdictional Conference officially begins.
Newly elected bishops will be consecrated July 20 at 10 a.m.
Full coverage of Jurisdictional
Conference will run in the August
Advocate.
For further information, visit
www.sejumc.org/jurisdictional-confer
ence.
Annual Conferences
of the SEJ
Alabama/West Florida
Florida
Holston
Kentucky
Memphis
Mississippi
North Alabama
North Carolina
North Georgia
Red Bird Missionary
South Carolina
South Georgia
Tennessee
Virginia
Western North Carolina
South Carolina’s nominee: Dr. Tim McClendon
Members of the
South Carolina Annual
Conference officially
named Dr. Tim
McClendon their episcopal nominee at AC
2012 June 10-13.
McClendon, who
serves as Columbia
McClendon
District superintendent
and S.C. Conference parliamentarian, has
been a delegate to five General Conferences
consecutively since 1996. He narrowly
missed being elected bishop at the 2008
Jurisdictional Conference, garnering the second-most votes in episcopal election.
McClendon said he has three distinct
visions for The United Methodist Church that
he hopes to help the denomination achieve:
that the church be real, relevant and relational.
“We have to be real in a world of young
people and all of every age hoping, yearning
for meaning beyond themselves,”
McClendon said. “Inauthentic Christians and
tired thinking that longs for the good old days
has to be replaced with active engagement
with our culture as real people, no faking and
no presumptions – lots of love.”
He said the UMC must be relevant in a
world that sees Christianity and the institutional church as very irrelevant, and be relational in a world that seeks community.
“Christians and churches behind walls and
acronyms that are foreign to people won’t cut
it,” McClendon said. “We have to meet people where they are, and that has to include all
kinds of people.”
If elected bishop, McClendon said his priorities are to be accessible, be on-site and
offer forward-thinking leadership through
relationships with people, while understanding the pulse of the Annual Conference –
including its financial conditions and the
health of its local churches.
He said a good bishop must know the cultural landscape of the Annual Conference,
promote clergy and lay excellence by being
present in churches across an Annual
Conference, lead teaching days for laity and
clergy that promote faithful discipleship and
Wesleyan theology, be in the forefront of clergy recruitment, retain those who excel and
effectively make appointments so that local
churches thrive.
McClendon has served in a variety of settings, from a three-point charge to a county
seat church to a turn-around city church to
district superintendent. While senior pastor at
St. John’s UMC in Rock Hill, he received the
Denman Evangelism Award for his leadership
in receiving more than 1,200 members in
nine years. He has taught Disciple I 26 times,
as well as taught Disciple II, Disciple III,
Disciple IV, Christian Believer, and Jesus and
the Gospels numerous times each.
Known throughout the connection as an
expert on the Book of Discipline, McClendon
has been parliamentarian for the S.C.
Conference for the past 17 years. He has
advised bishops and helped faithfully guide
the proceedings of the Annual Conference.
McClendon was also vice-chair of the
2004 General Conference task force that formulated the Connectional Table. He was a
member of the GCOM/Connectional Table
Transition Team, and has served on the
Connectional Table for the past two quadrennia. He is also a member of the AC
Committee on Episcopacy and the
Southeastern Jurisdictional Committee on
Episcopacy.
Annual Conference-July 2012, Page 3
Jurisdictional Conference & You
By the Rev. Kathy James
Editor’s note: The following is an educational series in the Advocate designed
to help people understand how this year’s
General and Jurisdictional conferences
impact the local church.
As Annual Conference concludes, I
have a new image in my mind of the role
of bishops in our denomination.
The teacher for Annual Conference
was Gil Rendle, a United Methodist
leader who has studied our denomination,
organizations and shifts in the culture.
Rendle suggests that we in The United
Methodist Church, along with others, are
in a unique place in our history. We can
no longer continue to do better and more
efficiently the things we have done in the
past because those things are no longer
working. Instead, we need to really
embrace our mission and purpose and
begin to learn new ways to be the church
in a culture that has radically shifted
around us.
The image Rendle uses is that today’s
church is in the wilderness, much as the
Israelites were when they left Egypt. The
book of Exodus tells the story of an
enslaved people who are freed and then
wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
Rendle suggests that the time of wandering was essential for them to learn how to
Bishops of The United Methodist
Church provide spiritual leadership to
more than 11 million persons in a
broad range of settings on four continents, including North America,
Europe, Africa and Asia. Historically,
bishops preside over Annual and
Central conferences (regional areas of
the church). They help set the direction of the church and its mission
throughout the world.
What are their responsibilities?
A bishop serves as a general
superintendent for the church,
assigned to a geographical area. In
the United Methodist tradition, bishops
are not “ordained” as bishops, but are
clergy elected and consecrated to the
office of bishop. Bishops give general
Why bishops matter
trust God and how to be the community
of faith that God wanted them to be away
from Egypt.
The wilderness time was a time of the
people of God being formed in a new
way. It was a difficult and painful time
where God’s chosen people had to let go
of old habits and learn new practices for
being faithful in a new world. The biblical
story is a testament to the faithfulness of
the Israelites who, despite their grumbling
and uncertainty, were willing to follow
God into an unknown future. They knew
what they were leaving behind, but they
didn’t know where they were going.
Rendle suggests that today’s church is
in the wilderness. We know that the world
around us has changed. We know that the
way we have done things for decades is
no longer working. But we do not know
where we will end up, and we do not yet
know what we need to know to be faithful in new circumstances.
Our task at such a time, Rendle says, is
to do the next right thing before us. He
used the image of a child walking out to
the barn at night who was afraid. Given a
flashlight, the child was instructed to just
“walk to the end of the light” and eventually the barn would be visible.
The people of God who are United
Methodist are being called by God into
the wilderness, to let go of old habits and
learn new ways of being the people of
God. As we do this difficult work together, one of the things we must let go of is
the idea that we can figure out the whole
journey and the final destination. To be
faithful in the wilderness, we must discern
the next right thing to do. We must practice “walking to the end of the light” until
we can see more clearly the next phase of
the journey.
In the Annual Conference, the episcopal leader is the one who shines the light.
Bishops are charged by the Book of
Discipline with managing the spiritual
and temporal life of the church. They are
assigned to lead a specific geographic
area. Clergy and members of Pastor/StaffParish Relations Committees are aware of
the bishop at the time that pastoral
appointments are made. Persons who
attend Annual Conference see the bishop
preaching, ordaining new clergy and presiding over the business sessions. Apart
from such times, many United Methodist
laity may never see their bishop.
Just as a group of people walking in
the dark may be unable to see the person
holding the flashlight that guides their
way, the average United Methodist sitting
in the pew may not know who the bishop
is. And yet the sense of focus and direction that we share in common with other
United Methodist Christians is influenced
and shaped by the bishop.
The primary work of the 2012
If you have questions that you
wish to be addressed in this column,
email [email protected].
Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference in
July will be to elect five new episcopal
leaders for the Southeastern Jurisdiction.
This is not the only work to be done at
Jurisdictional Conference. Budgets are set
for Lake Junaluska and the work of the
Southeastern Jurisdictional agencies.
Persons from the southeast who will serve
on boards of directors for the general
agencies of the church are nominated and
elected at Jurisdictional Conference.
Retiring bishops are recognized. This
work is important even if it is secondary
to the episcopal election process.
If we are to be a church in the wilderness seeking new ways to be faithful to
the God who calls us and sends us out to
be a gift to the world, we need episcopal
leaders who will be bold in leading us
into an unknown future.
Bishops matter because they influence
the direction we are headed, and they help
us all stay together in the wilderness as
we learn how to do the next right and
good thing that God is calling us to do.
James is new director of Connectional
Ministries for the S.C. Conference and
delegate to the 2012 General and
Jurisdictional conferences.
About episcopal assignments
oversight to the worldly and spiritual
interests of the church. Bishops also
have the responsibility to see that the
rules and regulations developed by
General Conference are carried out.
Bishops are responsible for setting all
clergy appointments in the annual
(regional) conferences they serve.
Most bishops also serve on a general
agency board, often as the president.
The bishop is the presiding officer at
the annual conference session and
rules on points of law.
How are bishops selected?
Bishops are elected by the jurisdictional conferences in the United
States and by the central conferences
outside of the United States. “Any
clergy member of an annual confer-
Electronic Voting for SEJ 2012 Conference
The SEJ 2012 Jurisdictional Conference will use electronic handsets to
register votes quickly and accurately. This device will be used for balloting
during episcopal elections and any other business when requested by the
presiding bishop or at the suggestion of delegates.
By voting electronically, delegates will be able to reduce the amount of
time involved in making these important selections and increase the accuracy
of the balloting process.
– From SEJUMC.org
United States. New bishops may not
be assigned to the area where they
were a clergy member for at least four
years after their election. According to
Paragraph 407 of the 2004 Book of
Discipline, this restriction can be
ignored by a two-thirds vote of the
Jurisdictional Committee on
Episcopacy and a two-thirds vote of
the jurisdictional conference.
ence is eligible to be elected a bishop.
Nominations or endorsements of individuals are common, but not necessary for election....The number of
votes needed to elect a bishop is
determined by each jurisdictional conference but the church’s Book of
Discipline recommends that at least
60 percent of those present and voting be required to elect. Bishops are
consecrated at the jurisdictional conference and are expected to report for
work in their new areas September 1.”
How long can a bishop serve?
In the U.S., bishops normally serve
in one area for up to two terms, but
they can continue for a third with special approval of the jurisdictional conference. Bishops are elected for life
and serve until retirement.
– From SEJUMC.org, with
information courtesy of UMC.org
How are bishops assigned?
Bishops are assigned by their jurisdiction to serve a geographical area
for a four-year term. There are 50
episcopal areas in the United States
and 19 episcopal areas outside of the
Subscribe
Today
Scan this
QR code
with your
smartphone!
Name:
Mailing Address:
E-mail address:
Church Name:
Pastor:
City
This is a:
State
District:
New Subscription ($15)
One-Year Renewal ($13)
Two-Year Subscription ($24)
Subscribe online:
ZIP
The Advocate and
4908 Colonial Dr., Suite 207,
Columbia, SC 29203-6070
Please make checks payable to:
return to:
www.advocatesc.org •
$15/year print and online; $8/year online only
VIEWPOINTS
Jessica Connor, Editor
Feeling the love
There I was, standing in the Pee Dee Room Sunday afternoon at Annual
Conference, surrounded by a sea of Advocate supporters, all talking excitedly and
sharing stories.
It was the Advocate’s celebration reception, the afternoon when our board of
trustees marked 175 years of newspaper ministry with an Advocate birthday party,
complete with cake and plenty of friends.
What a beautiful thing!
Looking around the room, I saw a diverse mix of readers and supporters: men
and women, clergy and laity, retirees and younger people, whites and AfricanAmericans, board members and former trustees.
Moving around the room, I found myself engaged in conversation after conversation about what the Advocate has meant to them, personally, throughout the
years. Only two years into my position at the helm of this historic newspaper, and
a relatively “young-ish” person myself, it was humbling and inspiring to meet
older adults who been reading the Advocate since they sat at a grandparent’s knee,
a generation that still remembered when women were painfully absent from the
pulpit or when segregation ran rampant in our pews as well as our communities.
Now the Advocate prepares to embark on a new season of ministry, one that
tries hard to stay fresh and relevant as we cover today’s news – everything United
Methodists need to know in this state.
Always, we keep an eye on the Kingdom. Always, we do our best to let the
light of the Lord shine through our pages.
As you flip through this edition, reading over all the great things that happened
at this year’s Annual Conference, I hope you will also note some of the nonAnnual Conference articles: the new deaf ministry at Central United Methodist
Church in Spartanburg; the podcast started by a pastor at Buncombe Street; the
young boy who is doing his best to spread the Good News after a freak golfing
accident almost cost him his life.
These are the stories the Advocate has told since our early days – since that
very first newspaper launched June 24, 1837.
Here’s to another 175 years of doing the Lord’s work. Thanks for your support!
Letters Policy
We welcome letters to the editor. We urge brevity, as succinct writing often produces clarity. Letters
should be no more than 300 words. All letters are subject to editing as needed to meet standards of
grammar, space and interest. We will not publish anonymous letters, letters praising or criticizing businesses by name, endorsements of or letters from political candidates, fundraising appeals, or letters
containing inappropriate language or personal attacks. All letters will be verified, so you must include a
name, daytime phone number, church membership and hometown. Letters should be sent to The
Advocate, 4908 Colonial Drive, Columbia, SC 29203, faxed to 803-735-8168 or e-mailed to [email protected]. Deadlines are the 10th of each month.
Becoming More Vile
Signs of God’s truth in the world at-large
Ten more ways to make
Annual Conference more ‘vile’
By the Rev. Jonathan Tompkins
Editor’s Note: “Becoming More Vile” showcases God’s truth in the world-at
large.
My second annual attempt to write a satirical, lampoon-ish, Onion-esque column post-Annual Conference:
10. Hold Annual Conference at Williams Brice Stadium. Invite fans to come
and watch the on-field heroics and non-stop, bone-crunching action that is
#scac13!
9. Change Robert’s Rules of Order to the “Game of Thrones” rule: you win or
you die.
8. Jump on board the Internet Meme wagon and feature the World’s Most
Interesting Man touting our AC: “I don’t often go to Annual Conference, but
when I do, I go to Florence.”
7. Make Annual Conference Bingo a requirement for all delegates in order to
keep attention focused on important business. Instead of shouting “Bingo!” yell
out, “Perfection!”
6. Do away with any award ceremonies that don’t have to do with Bocce,
Mustache Monday or “Snarkiest Tweet.”
5. Change the way appointments are made: Under a banner reading, “Welcome
to Panem,” clergy up for appointment stand around a giant cornucopia of
weapons and supplies. The bishop announces “May the odds be ever in your
favor” and the Appointment Games begin!
4. Jazz up the retirement service video with clips of retirees competing against
each other in “So You Think You Can Dance?”
3. Battle of the Bands in the parking lot of the Civic Center, featuring clergy
playing “vile” songs of their generation on various stages (e.g. “Grunge God
Music,” “Hip Hop Hallelujahs,” “Hair Metal Mass,” “Disco Devotions,” “Jazz
Vespers,” “Beach Music Matins”).
2. For the ordination service, require clergy to wear the capes of their favorite
superhero in lieu of robes (I call Batman!).
And (still!) the number one way to make Annual Conference more vile:
1. Expect God to show up, shake us up and send us out to take what we do
there to the world at large, which is our parish (in other words, “submit to be
more vile,” as J-Dub put it).
Tompkins is associate pastor of First UMC, Myrtle Beach.
Letters to the Editor
4908 Colonial Drive, Suite 207, Columbia, SC 29203
888-678-6272 or 803-786-9486
[email protected] | www.advocatesc.org
Publisher
The S.C. United Methodist Advocate Trustees
Marilyn Murphy, chairperson; the Rev. Angela Nelson, vice chairperson;
the Rev. Steven King, secretary; Carmen Faulkner, treasurer;
Robert Bentley; the Rev. Audrey Boozer; the Rev. Jerry Gadsden;
the Rev. Keith Hunter; Rhonda Jones; Gladys Lemon; the Rev. Dean Lollis;
the Rev. Evelyn Middleton; Dr. Ralph Ostrom; the Rev. Rodney Powell; and Diane Wilson
Editors emeritus
J. Claude Evans, M. Eugene Mullikin, Maryneal Jones,
Willie S. Teague, Allison Askins, Karl F. Davie Burgdorf, Emily L. Cooper
Staff
Editor: Jessica Connor, [email protected]
Assistant Editor: Allison K. Trussell, [email protected]
Editorial Interns: Valarie Flowers
Our Mission
To communicate the message of the United Methodist Church and to connect United Methodists by
independently reporting news, engaging readers and providing a forum for dialogue.
Subscriptions
The individual subscription rate is $15/year for the print and online version ($13 for renewals) and
$8/year for the online-only edition. To subscribe or for information about discounted church plan rates,
call 888-678-6272, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.advocatesc.org.
The S.C. United Methodist Advocate (ISSN 1078-8166) continues the Southern Christian Advocate, authorized by the General Conference
of 1836. Publication began Annual Conference-July 24, 1837. The paper is published monthly by the S.C. United Methodist Advocate
Trustees. We cannot be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.Please direct all inquiries regarding commentary submissions to the editor,
4908 Colonial Drive, Suite 207, Columbia, SC 29203-6070. 803-786-9486/ FAX 803-735-8168. Periodicals postage paid at Columbia, S.C.
Postmaster: Send address changes to: S.C. United Methodist Advocate, 4908 Colonial Drive, Suite 207, Columbia, SC 29203.
Annual Conference-July 2012 • Volume 176 • No. 7
Quick action helped Beulah
On June 1, Beulah United Methodist
Church, Gilbert, bought 13.57 acres of
land on Hwy. 378. The church desires,
in a phased approach, to move its campus to the main road.
The property cost about half of what
people are asking for land on Hwy.
378. One of our members put a bid on
the land to ensure that we would be
able to get it; but if we could get the
district approval and have a charge
conference in time for June 1, we could
buy the land directly and save the cost
of two closing fees. I called our district
superintendent on Monday, May 7.
We wish to thank the Rev. Timothy
McClendon for expediting our addition
to the District Board of Building and
Location’s agenda that Monday, May
14. This allowed us to have a called
charge conference on May 25. We also
wish to thank L.W. Smith III and Mike
Hutchins from the district board for
taking their time to come out and
inspect the land so quickly.
Because of their quick action, our
church saved a lot of money. Once
again, we wish to thank them and the
District Board for their help in expediting this matter.
Rev. Bob Dunn, pastor
Beulah UMC, Gilbert
‘I’m Summer and Proud’
– a poem
I’m sunflowers nodding
I’m pumpkins that loll,
I’m cardinals hopping
a vine covered wall.
I’m sleek suntanned bodies
lounging on beaches;
I’m picnics and cook-outs,
strawberries, peaches.
I’m slow drone of crickets,
See “Letters,” Page 5
LETTERS: On Advocate length, political correctness, ‘Medgod,’ more
From Page 4
and quick, cleansing stormsJune, July, AugustGod’s latest art-forms.
I’m a very hot item
I’ll shout it out loud.
I’m the best of the seasons
I’m Summer and proud!
Charlotte Partin, member
St. John UMC, Sumter
Too long
Do we really need an Advocate that
is 32 pages in length?
I think we all know what has happened to Methodism in South Carolina.
There is no good reason to try to make
us look “real good” when the reality is
that “we aren’t what we used to be.”
Rev. Phil Jones
Retired pastor
New ‘god?’
Unbelievable! New god revealed!
While talking to a supervisor at
Medco (our Methodist medicine
shoppe) I was informed that Medco
never makes mistakes.
Bless our hearts, our Christian God
has changed His mind a few times over
the millennia, but Medgod has no need.
It’s always perfect.
A great word of appreciation to our
United Methodist Church for choosing
Medco, a good choice for an additional
god. We can be at peace tonight for we
are in safer hands.
Rev. Paul H. Rogers
Retired pastor
Be ‘Godly correct,’ not
politically correct
In response to the Rev. Wiley B.
Cooper and the Rev. John W. Culp’s
comments in the June Advocate: I am
appalled at the comments made concerning our church.
I personally do not believe that gay
persons should be clergy, lay leaders or
hold positions of influence within the
church. However, that is not saying
they cannot attend church. You are
right that Jesus died on the cross for the
sins of all. However, you neglected to
mention that those persons must confess their sins and ask God for forgiveness. That applies to all persons, not
just gay people. Gay persons don’t
believe they are doing anything wrong
and therefore will never confess of that
sin, even though it is an abomination to
God, and as a minister, you know that!
If a person is a known sex offender
and applies to the church to be a youth
leader, we would not allow such a thing
to take place. Do we throw him or her
out of the church? No, but we do not
allow that person to be in a position of
leadership within our church. Do we
allow them to come to church?
Absolutely. If they never confess their
sins to God and ask forgiveness, will
that person be saved and enter heaven?
According to God’s word, no.
We give in to the pressures of the
BROTHERS RETURN – Five brothers, all members of Bethesda UMC, Lake
City, left their community years ago in search of a better quality of life. But all
five have returned to their roots, moving back to their community and now giving freely of their time and resources to the church and community that nurtured them. The church said theirs is the kind of giving and service that keeps
the community and church flourishing. From left are Daniel, Zack, Eddie, Sam
and George Cooper. (Submitted photo)
“politically correct” and not to “Godly
correct.” We are taking God out of
everything. I guess you would like to
take Him out of the church too?
We cannot say we love God, but live
our lives the way we want to. God does
Volunteers sought for newly forming conference
Rapid Response and Refugee and Immigrant Team
In his parable about the Kingdom of
God in Matthew 25, Jesus said, “When
did we see you a stranger and invite you
in….’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell
you, whatever you did for one of the
least of these brothers and sisters of
mine, you did for me.’”
The ministry of welcoming the
stranger is a focal point in the Rapid
Response and Refugee and Immigrant
Team, a newly forming team within the
South Carolina Annual Conference.
This team seeks to respond to the
many issues that immigrants and
refugees face when resettling. The teams
not only seeks to respond to immigrant
issues, but also to advocate for immigrant rights, support the DREAM Act
and DREAM students, support refugees
and assist Lutheran Family Services in
resettling refugees in the state.
“It is my hope that as the South
Conference Rapid Response and
Refugee and Immigrant Team we can
come together in order to work as team,
many individuals gathered together in
God’s name in order to faithfully serve
God and God’s people,” said the Rev.
Emily Scales Sutton. “We need a team
of passionate individuals who are willing to work on immigrant issues and
help United Methodists in South
Carolina care for and help
resettle refugees. I hope you will prayerfully consider being a part of this important work of the church.”
To join the team, call Sutton at 803445-910 or email [email protected].
REACHING OUT – Ladies of the
Camp Creek UMW, Lancaster, collected gifts to stock the “Bingo Buck”
store for residents to shop with the
“bucks” they win playing bingo.
Prizes were sent to White Oak
Nursing Home for the residents.
(Submitted photo)
Church library to close; contents offered free
HARTSVILLE – Trustees at St. Luke
United Methodist Church have decided to
close its 1,000-plus-item church library
because of insufficient usage and to make
room for other purposes.
The library will close by July 20.
The library of books, audios and visuals has been kept current with an up-todate card catalog, and they also have preschool through ministerial references.
Contents of the library are a free gift to
whoever wants them.
Anyone interested in the library materials should contact Sheila Haney at 843332-6468.
have requirements. The Methodist
Church turns no one away, but we do
need to stick to God’s rules and not the
rules of man.
Gail Owens, member
Bramlett UMC, Gray Court
Foundation
for Evangelism
president resigns
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – Rev. Neil
Blair has stepped down as president of The
Foundation for Evangelism.
At the midyear meeting May 17-19,
foundation board of trustees accepted
Blair’s resignation. Blair has served in this
position since August 2011 and remained
with the foundation until June 15.
A committee has been appointed by
Board Chair Mary Brooke Casad to select
an interim president. A search committee
formed by the board will conduct interviews for a new president.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to
serve The Foundation for Evangelism in
this important role at such a pivotal point
in its history,” Blair said.
Casad said the trustees are grateful for
Blair’s leadership.
“In his short tenure, he’s led the trustees
and staff in some bold new directions
which will impact the Foundation’s future
significantly,” Casad said. ”We give thanks
for his many talents and commitment to
Christ; our prayers go with him.”
Correction
In the article “ERT Holds Training to
Keep Members at Top of Disaster
Field” (June Advocate) the church New
Beginnings UMC in Boiling Springs
was misnamed. We apologize for this
error and strive to set the record
straight.
Jurisdictional
Conference 2012
Excepting Dr. Tim McClendon, who
would likely be appointed out of state if
elected, one of these souls could be South
Carolina’s next bishop. Bishops will be
elected at Jurisdictional Conference July
18-20 and reported on in the August
Advocate:
Rev. Robert Beckum
South Georgia Conference
www.robertbeckum.com
Beckum has
served as a clergy
member of the South
Georgia Annual
Conference for 34
years, being ordained
as a deacon in 1978
and an elder in 1982.
He graduated summa
Beckum
cum laude from
Georgia Southern College in 1976 and
received his Master of Divinity from
Candler School of Theology at Emory
University in 1980.
He was appointed as senior pastor of
St. Luke United Methodist Church in
Columbus, Ga., in June 2011. St. Luke is a
congregation of 3,500 members with an
extensive missional outreach and a weekday educational program for 1,100 children and youth. Prior to his current
appointment, he served as the Senior Vice
President for Development and Church
Relations at Magnolia Manor (the South
Georgia Conference’s Ministry for Older
Adults). Beckum has served as the chair
of the South Georgia Annual Conference
Board of Ordained Ministry, chair of the
Conference Council on Ministries, chair of
the Conference Personnel Committee, a
member of the Conference Visioning
Team and a member of the Conference
Leadership Forum. He has served as a
trustee of Magnolia Manor, Andrew
College and The Methodist Home for
Children and Youth. He has previously
served three times as a South Georgia clergy delegate to General and Jurisdictional
conferences (1996, 2004 and 2008).
Dr. Larry Bryars
Alabama-West Florida Conference
www.larrybryars.com
Since 2004, Bryars
has served as senior
pastor of Shalimar
UMC in Shalimar,
Fla. He has been
elected a delegate to
four General
Conferences in 2012,
2008, 2004 and
Bryars
reserve in 2000. He
has been elected to five Jurisdictional
Conferences in 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000
and reserve in 1996.
He served as superintendent of the
Montgomery-Prattville District through
2004. His present appointment in Shalimar
has seen a more than 50 percent increase
in worship attendance.
Meet the jurisdiction’s
Bryars received his bachelor’s degree
from the University of South Alabama, a
Master of Divinity from Asbury
Theological Seminary and a Doctorate of
Ministry from The Theological School at
Drew University. He was ordained a deacon in 1979 and an elder in 1981. Present
positions include the AWF CORE team
and Chair of the Board of Ordained
Ministry. He has also served as vice chair
of the BOM, and the chair of the area of
local pastors on the BOM. He co-founded
the Huntingdon/Birmingham-Southern
Course of Study School where he was also
an instructor. He has served on the board
for the Wesley Foundations at Auburn
University and Alabama State University.
Bryars is in a second term as a trustee
of Huntingdon College in Montgomery,
Ala., and is also on the Clergy Advisory
Board of Birmingham-Southern College,
both United Methodist colleges. He also
taught in the Teaching Parish Program of
Candler School of Theology for 10 years
as an adjunct professor.
Ken Carter
Western North Carolina Conference
www.revkencarter.org
Carter serves as
superintendent of the
Waynesville District
of the Western North
Carolina Conference,
which includes 69
churches in the seven
westernmost counties
of the state, all within
Carter
Appalachia.
Prior to this he served as senior pastor
of Providence UMC in Charlotte for eight
years. His ministry at Providence was
highlighted in Diana Butler Bass’
Christianity For The Rest of Us. His earlier appointments included a four-point
charge, a church staff position in evangelism and missions, a new church plant and
a large regional church. He has an interest
in shared leadership, the living tradition of
Wesleyan Christianity and the missional
church, and the practices of stewardship
and strategic planning. The churches he
has served have been among the highest in
the annual conference in profession of
faith reports. They have also dramatically
reduced indebtedness, successfully
embraced cross-racial appointments at the
senior and associate pastor level, begun
new worship services, fully supported the
connectional practice of apportionments,
increased membership, and established
significant international ministries.
Within the Western North Carolina
Conference, he has chaired the Board of
Ordained Ministry, the Committee on the
Episcopacy, and the Bishop’s Task Force
on Spiritual Formation. He currently
serves on the Transition Team, restructuring from 15 to eight districts. He has been
elected to five jurisdictional conferences
and three general conferences. Within the
denomination, Carter serves on the
General Board of Higher Education and
Ministry, the Committee on Faith and
Order, and the Ministry Study
Commission.
Young Jin Cho
Virginia Conference
www.youngjincho.org
Young Jin Cho was
born in South Korea
and graduated from
the Methodist
Theological Seminary
in Seoul, Korea,
where he received a
Th.B. and a Th.M. He
came to the United
Cho
States in 1979 and
continued his studies at Wesley
Theological Seminary in Washington,
D.C. (M. Div. and D. Min.). He was
ordained in the East Annual Conference of
the Korean Methodist Church in 1977 and
transferred to the Virginia Conference in
1983. He was the senior pastor of the
Korean United Methodist Church of
Greater Washington in McLean, Va., for
22 years and now serves as superintendent
of the Arlington District.
In his ministry as district superintendent, Cho has continued to focus on
Christ’s vision for the Arlington District.
After prayerful discernment, his ministry
has been concentrated on three areas:
developing new faith communities, revitalizing existing churches by transforming
clergy leadership and strengthening connectionalism. For the past seven years the
Arlington District has started more than
ten new faith communities and introduced
many training events for the clergy
and laity to strengthen spiritual foundation of ministry.
Cho has served as president of the
Korean Wesley Foundation, president of
Partner’s Church Association for the
renewal of the Korean UMC, president of
the board of Durihana Inc. (mission organization helping N. Korean refugees), the
Virginia Conference Board of Ordained
Ministry, Board of Discipleship, the
Commission on Ethnic Minority Local
Church Concerns, 250 Task Force which
developed “All Things New” plan, and a
General Conference delegate (2008).
Randy Cooper
Memphis Conference
www.randycooper.org
Currently pastor of
Martin First UMC in
Martin, Tenn., Cooper
has been a delegate to
three Jurisdictional
Conferences and one
General Conference.
He is the chair of the
2012 Memphis
Cooper
Conference delegation. In 2008, Randy was the lead clergy
delegate from the Memphis Conference
and the Memphis Conference-endorsed
nominee for the episcopacy. He speaks of
his second candidacy as “a form of obedience within the church.”
Ordained a deacon in 1976 and an elder
in 1981, Cooper has served in ministry for
nearly 34 years with rural and small town
UMCs in Kentucky and Tennessee. Those
years include serving as pastor of the West
Delhi Presbyterian Church in upstate New
York from 1978 to 1980 while a United
Methodist deacon.
Cooper has held several leadership
positions with the Memphis Conference.
For eight years, he has served as chair of
the Order of Elders and has held a seat on
the Board of Ordained Ministry. He sits on
the boards of the Interfaith Campus
Ministry of the University of Tennessee at
Martin, and We Care Ministries in Martin.
He serves on the board for the conference’s Reelfoot Rural Ministries, a ministry to the rural poor in west Tennessee.
He also was an early endorser of the
Ekklesia Project.
He received his bachelor’s degree in
religion from Lambuth College in
Jackson, Tenn., in 1975. His Master of
Divinity from Union Theological
Seminary in New York City in 1979
included a year studying the New
Testament at the University of Aberdeen
in Scotland. He obtained a Doctor of
Ministry degree from Memphis
Theological Seminary in Memphis in
1994.
David Graves
Holston Conference
www.davidgraves4bishop.com
Graves is serving
in his third year as the
superintendent for the
Kingsport District of
the Holston
Conference. In 2011,
God provided him
with new ministry
opportunities as dean Graves
of the Cabinet and
starting a new congregation, LifeSpring
UMC, which meets on Saturday nights in
a local elementary school. He has been an
ordained pastor in the UMC for more than
23 years and previously served as senior
pastor of Ooltewah UMC, a large membership church in Chattanooga, Tenn., for
11 years.
Graves graduated from the University
of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a bachelor’s
degree in business administration and
Candler School of Theology with a Master
of Divinity.
Fueling Graves’ daily life and ministry
is a passion for sharing Jesus, seeing people that others do not see, joining God in
transforming lives and changing the world
one person at a time. He is an avid student
of leadership. As district superintendent,
he has empowered both clergy and laity
with leadership tools for effective and vital
ministry primarily through the development of a district strategy implemented in
Jurisdictional
Conference 2012
episcopal candidates
2009. These tools have resulted in revitalizing several churches and they have experienced growth in both professions of faith
and worship attendance.
Jonathan Holston
North Georgia Conference
www.jonathanholston.org
An elder in the
North Georgia Annual
Conference, Holston
holds a Master of
Divinity in Biblical
Studies, The
Interdenominational
Theological Center,
Gammon Theological Holston
Seminar, Atlanta. He
also has a bachelor’s degree in religion
from the University of Georgia.
Holston currently serves as senior pastor at St. James UMC, Atlanta. He was
superintendent of the Atlanta-DecaturOxford District 1997-2005.
Conference leadership roles include
Conference Board of Ordained Ministry,
Council on Finance and Administration,
Conference Board of Church
Development, Conference Housing and
Homeless Council, Wesley Community
Centers board, Wesley Woods Inc. board,
Honduras Outreach board, Simpsonwood
board, Glisson Retreat Center board,
Conference Vision Forum, North Georgia
Loan Guarantee Committee, Wesleyan
College board, and more.
General Church leadership includes
General Board of Global Ministries (2008Present), General Council on Finance and
Administration (2000-2008), Connectional
Funding Task Force (1996-2000),
Financial Administration Legislative
Committee, Chairperson (2008), United
Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR) (2008-Present), University
Senate, Black College Fund
Representative (2000-2008), Intentional
Growth Center (SEJ), Hinton Rural Life
Center (SEJ) and the United Methodist
Development Fund (2008-Present).
He has been a delegate to General
Conference since 2000 and to
Jurisdictional Conference since 1996.
Sharma Lewis
Black Clergy Women
(sponsoring caucus)
www.slewis2012.org
Lewis serves as the
superintendent of the
Atlanta-DecaturOxford District in the
North Georgia
Conference.
A second-career
minister, Lewis has a
distinguished record
Lewis
of service in the
North Georgia Conference beginning with
her first appointment in 1999 as the associate (and subsequently senior associate)
pastor of the 8,000-member Ben Hill
UMC in Atlanta.
In 2004, she was appointed as the first
African-American and first female senior
pastor of Powers Ferry UMC, a crossracial congregation in Marietta, Ga. In
2007, she was appointed to serve as senior
pastor of Wesley Chapel in McDonough,
Ga., a sprawling semi-suburban area about
30 miles from Atlanta. During her threeyear tenure, more than 600 new and
restored members were added to Wesley
Chapel, and worship attendance doubled.
She has served as chair of the Ethnic
Local Church Concerns Committee, chair
of the District Superintendency Committee
(Griffin District, North Georgia
Conference), the Conference Board of
Ordained Ministry, Bishop’s Task Force,
reserve delegate to SEJ Jurisdictional
Conference (2008), delegate to the World
Methodist Conference (2011), and member of Black Clergywomen of The United
Methodist Church.
A graduate of Mercer University (bachelor’s degree in biology, 1985), the
University of West Georgia (master’s
degree in biology, 1988) and Gammon
Theological Seminary at the
Interdenominational Theological Center
(Master of Divinity, 1999), Lewis worked
as a research biologist and chemist prior to
surrendering to God’s call upon her life.
Bill McAlilly
Mississippi Conference
www.billmcalilly.com
McAlilly has been
a delegate to five
Jurisdictional and
four General conferences and led the
2012 Mississippi delegation.
McAlilly has
served in a wide variMcAlilly
ety of ministry settings all leading to congregational growth,
from a small congregation in the
Mississippi Delta, to a new church start in
the suburbs of Memphis, to a new congregation in Madison, Miss., where the membership grew from 550 to 1,200 during his
six-year ministry.
In 2006, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward
appointed McAlilly to the Seashore
District to lead in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.
He serves as a member of the Holy
Conferencing Task Force leading toward
General Conference 2012 and was a contributor to the book, “The Gift of Unity,”
edited by Bishop Scott Jones.
He was instrumental in designing the
Residency in Ministry for Provisional
members in the Mississippi Conference
and has taught Course of Study in
Mississippi and at Candler School of
Theology. He has served on the Board of
Ordained Ministry, chaired the Conference
Relations Committee and the Evangelism
Committee and most recently has led New
Church Development.
He was educated at Millsaps College
where he received the Pendergrass Medal
for Preaching and earned a Master of
Divinity from Candler School of
Theology, Emory University.
Tim McClendon
South Carolina
Conference
www.timmcclendon.org
(See page 2)
McClendon
Deborah McLeod
Florida Conference
www.revdebbiemcleod.com
McLeod is senior
pastor of the 2,500member Mandarin
UMC in Jacksonville,
Fla. In her 28th year
of ministry since
ordination, she has
served the Florida
Annual Conference
McLeod
as pastor of four
churches. At age 36 she was elected chair
of the Florida Conference Board of
Ordained Ministry, and at age 42, she was
appointed District Superintendent by
Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker. She served
seven years as DS, at two adjacent districts
during the restructure of the Florida
Conference. McLeod chaired the
Transition Taskforce for the restructure.
A four-time delegate to General and
Jurisdictional conferences, in 2004 she
served as chair of the Structure
Subcommittee of General Administration.
Currently chair of the Personnel
Committee of the CT, she has served in
various leadership roles for the CT, including Budget Process Team, Finance Chair
and Advisory and Planning Group. She
served on the Call to Action Steering
Committee in 2009, and the Council of
Bishop’s Task Force on Fair Process in
2003.
McLeod received her call to ministry at
age 10 when, late for school, she decided
to enjoy the walk and pray. She earned her
Master of Divinity from The Divinity
School, Duke University, in 1985.
Ivelisse Quinones
MARCHA (sponsoring caucus)
www.ivelissequinones.org
Quinones is currently associate pastor
at St. Luke UMC and
lead pastor for the
Hispanic ministry
within the local
church. From 20032006 she was director
for Hispanic
Quinones
Ministries in the
South Georgia Conference, identifying
and recruiting new pastors and supervising
15 Hispanic ministries throughout South
Georgia.
She holds a D.Min. in Congregational
Development, Drew School of Theology;
Master of Divinity, Candler School of
Theology, Emory University; Master in
Marketing, World University, Puerto Rico;
and BBA major management, minor
accounting, University of Puerto Rico.
She has been a member of the National
Hispanic Caucus, MARCHA, since 1992.
From 2000-2003, she was chair of The
Commission of Religion and Race and cochair of the ELCC in Wisconsin. From
1998-2002, she was a member of the
General Commission on Religion and
Race of the UMC.
H. Gray Southern
North Carolina Conference
www.graysouthern.com
Southern holds a
Doctor of Ministry
2008, Columbia
Theological
Seminary; a Master of
Divinity 1980, Yale
University Divinity
School; and a bachelor’s degree from
Southern
University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill in psychology and
religion.
He has served as Durham District
Superintendent since 2007. He has been
on the General Board of Pensions and
Health Benefits since 2008 and was a
member of the 2008 and 2012 General
and Jurisdictional Conference delegations.
Conference service includes a range of
roles in children and youth ministry, missions, ordained ministry, health/benefits,
administration and community service.
Debbie Wallace-Padgett
Kentucky Conference
www.debbiewallace-padgett.com
Wallace-Padgett,
lead pastor for the
past eight years of St.
Luke UMC,
Lexington, is a graduate of Berea College
(bachelor’s degree in
physical education),
Scarritt College and
Wallace-Padgett
Graduate School
(master’s degree in Christian education),
Lexington Theological Seminary (Master
of Divinity) and Asbury Theological
Seminary (Doctor of Ministry).
During her tenure, St. Luke has grown
in membership and worship attendance
and launched a multi-cultural worship
service. Her service to the church includes
six years as superintendent of the
Prestonsburg District, with two years as
dean of the Cabinet. She has served in a
variety of roles in the conference, as well
as on Jurisdictional and General
Conference levels.
50 years of rebuilding lives
Alston Wilkes Society works statewide to create productive citizens in the name of the Lord
By Jessica Connor
John Smith knows more than his share
about bad decisions.
More than a decade ago, Smith (not his
real name) was a law enforcement officer
and had just gotten out of the military.
“But I made a wrong choice,” he said,
winding up in prison on a drug charge.
Smith was incarcerated for about 10
years, then moved to South Carolina,
where he entered the adult re-entry facility
of Alston Wilkes Society. For three full
months, he worked with counselors and
other Alston Wilkes partners, deepening
his skills and training, assessing his education and teaming up for job placement.
“They really got me on my feet,”
Smith said.
Ultimately, thanks to the strong foundation he received from Alston Wilkes
and his drive to make something of himself, Smith turned his life around. Today,
he travels the state speaking to troubled
youth at churches and other venues about
bad decisions and how to stick to the
proper path in life. He has a passion to try
to deter these from what he had to experience. And he credits Alston Wilkes
Society, an advance special ministry of
the United Methodist Church, with sparking that fire within him.
“A lot of organizations talk the talk, but
they actually walk the walk by proven testimonies of people who go through the
various programs,” Smith said, calling
Alston Wilkes “a great organization in
rebuilding lives.”
He said what the group does “really
works.”
“They have a genuine care about helping people and giving people a second
chance to be productive citizens within
the community,” Smith said.
And today, 50 years after Alston
Wilkes Society began, thousands upon
thousands of former offenders can say the
same.
This year, Alston Wilkes marks its
golden anniversary. While the group started to help men get back on their feet after
being released from prison, today the
society helps offenders, former offenders,
the homeless, at-risk youth, veterans and
their families get the tools they need to
become productive citizens.
“It’s turning lives around one by one,”
said Anne Walker, executive director of
Alston Wilkes since 1987. “It’s showing
them they’re not alone. They’re getting a
helping hand.”
Surprised by success
Alston Wilkes helps those most at-risk
rebuild their lives through rehabilitation
and prevention services. They offer residential re-entry centers in Charleston,
Columbia and Florence; community services statewide; veterans’ homes in
Columbia and Greenville; a group care
intensive services home in Columbia; and
youth services across the state.
With their residential re-entry centers,
they have a contract with the Federal
Bureau of Prisons to work with offenders
completing federal sentences and provide
a range of services of from counseling to
job placement and more.
“We have a 90 percent success rate
April Morales does case management with a client. Dr. Anne Walker, executive
director of Alston Wilkes since 1987, said the group works diligently every day to
turn lives around one by one. (Photos by Erin Roberts)
Lynne Lovett does employment counseling with a client in the Charleston residential re-entry center. Alston Wilkes marks its golden anniversary this year.
with our federal programs,” Walker said.
Services run the gamut: They provide
food, connect people with housing, help
them get proper identification and transportation, like a bus ticket; help them get
jobs and form relationships with people
willing to hire offenders; and reconnect
with their faith.
“We’re really straight up with them,
tell it straight: cut your hair, cover tattoos,
cover your cleavage, no short skirts. We
don’t play,” Walker said. “Every day is a
challenge, every day an opportunity to
help somebody.”
The society started in 1962 thanks to
the passion of the late United Methodist
pastor the Rev. Eli Alston Wilkes. Wilkes
was appointed at the time to the
Columbia-based homeless ministry Oliver
Gospel Mission, and he became concerned about men who were getting
released from prison.
“He wanted them to get on their feet as
quickly as possible so they could become
taxpayers, not tax burdens,” Walker
explained.
Wilkes started what was then called the
South Carolina Therapeutic Association to
do just that. But just a year and a half
later, Wilkes died. A core of committed
volunteers ran the organization for a
while, renaming it Alston Wilkes Society:
people like the Rev. Eben Taylor, Rhett
Jackson and Howard McClain.
A year or so later Parker Evatt, who
was then an engineer with the highway
department, learned about the group.
Evatt was a member at College Place
United Methodist Church, and Taylor was
his pastor.
“Eben said to me, ‘There’s a meeting
at the prison; you should go visit the
Alston Wilkes Society,’” Evatt recalled.
Evatt went to a meeting and realized
the group was struggling.
“I said, ‘I can help get members,’ so I
went back to my church and got four
Sunday school classes and men and
women of the church and 15 individuals
to join,” Evatt said.
Soon enough, he found himself being
hired as the group’s executive director – a
position he initially thought he didn’t
want. But the people behind the group –
people like the Rev. Fred Reese – knew
they had found their man in Evatt.
“I said, ‘Fred, what part of ‘no’ don’t
you understand,” Evatt said, chuckling at
the memory. “He just laughed. And five
weeks later I accepted the job.”
Evatt stayed 21 years, and in 1987 he
became the South Carolina Commissioner
of Corrections.
“The first day I came home from work,
I said, ‘Honey, I don’t know what I’ve
done; it’s just going to be a tremendous
challenge. I just don’t know if the people
are going to respond to this,” Evatt said.
“But I was absolutely shocked at the
response I got statewide.”
Walker, who had been the organization’s first female caseworker, was named
director soon in 1987 and has served ever
since.
As Jesus did
While some things have changed at
Alston Wilkes Society over the years –
more staff, more money to do things,
more people to serve – its core values
about personal service have not.
“Volunteers don’t take the just-released
inmates home with them (like they did in
the 1960s), but they do all they can to
help them rebuild their lives,” Walker
said. “They take it personally.”
“Our whole goal is what Jesus is proclaiming in the entirety of his ministry…
to reach out and deal with the people in
their infirmities and their needs in the particular time that they lived. He showed us
how and taught us how,” said Dr. James
Adams, retired United Methodist pastor
who serves as president of the Alston
Wilkes board. “Our role at Alston Wilkes
is to emulate that as much as possible.”
Even though logically they know they
cannot save everybody, still they try.
“The majority of the people we deal
with don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle in their life put together,” Walker said.
“You’ve heard it takes a village to raise a
child. Well, it takes a village to get a person back to being able to function in life.”
“They are people who are otherwise
left behind in so many ways,” Adams
said.
Walker said many offenders don’t have
a birth certificate or a state identification
card when they are released, and unless
they have an extraordinarily strong family
support system, they flounder upon
release and return to their old ways
because they have no other way to survive.
“How in the world do we expect people in such a short period of time to get it
together?” she asked. “It takes time. If
people don’t have housing, jobs, these
things in place, then they are more likely
to commit a crime.”
On the horizon
With more people in prison now than
ever before – not to mention societal
problems that do more to cause than
assuage homelessness, addiction and troubled youth – the people who make up
Alston Wilkes know the need for their
group will likely always be present.
“More people are hurting,” Evatt said.
“There’s a need there.”
Walker said today Alston Wilkes
employs 110 people and has a budget of
about $6 million, serving more than 7,000
people annually.
Adams said their group is always in a
transition stage to identify the needs of the
community and respond to them the best
way they can, always with Jesus at their
helm.
At the end, it’s all about working with
groups and individuals, from mayors and
county councils to civic leaders, to make
communities betters places for the citizens.
For her part, Walker hopes to help
Alston Wilkes Society mark its 75-year
anniversary.
“This is my ministry,” she said. “It’s all
about relationships, and we’re in the relationship business.”
Alston Wilkes Society will celebrate
their anniversary with a celebration Nov.
15 at Seawell’s in Columbia. For more
about Alston Wilkes and upcoming ways it
will mark 50 years of service to society,
visit www.alstonwilkessociety.org.
New life for an old space
Once-faltering local church leases space
to advance special ministry in mutual ‘win-win’
By Jessica Connor
COLUMBIA – A smooth slick of dust
once coated the tables, chairs and shelves
on the bottom floor of the church’s education building.
Books lay open, pens marking the very
pages that had last been read six, seven,
maybe 10 years prior. Colorful lessons
were gray with disuse, all activity frozen
in time.
“It was the saddest thing I’ve ever
seen, like a nuclear bomb had hit,” said
the Rev. Daniel Burbage, pastor of St.
Mark United Methodist Church,
Columbia.
But today, thanks to a revitalizing
spark of mission and ministry to its community, St. Mark is finding new life. The
church’s most recent bold move – renovating and then leasing a full floor of its
space to the United Methodist advance
special ministry Interfaith Community
Services – means St. Mark is beginning
to bustle with activity and growth.
Members are excited, and the community
now sees vehicles parked outside
throughout the week, people coming and
going.
“With no cars, people would think this
place was dead,” said Burbage, who lives
down the street with his wife and two
young children. “Now when people walk
by, they see activity and life. It’s a good
thing.”
Since the fall, when Interfaith’s staff
moved in, members say they see a huge
change.
“It’s vibrant now, and very rewarding
to see,” said member Beth Barry, who
was born into the church in the 1950s and
remembers being a child during its prime.
“It gives us hope for the future and what’s
in store for us.”
Finding its feet
Situated in the Earlewood community
of Columbia, St. Mark was once a 500member-strong church with a large sanctuary, massive education building and
active youth program in its 1950s heyday.
But the church saw tremendous decline
after the economic downturn and urban
flight of the 1960s and 1970s. After the
millennium, St. Mark had 30 in worship
on Sundays – 40 if they were lucky. Most
of its members commuted in from suburbs like Irmo, and the church was disconnected from the very community outside its doors. While mission oriented,
they interacted little with their Earlewood
neighbors, many of whom were extremely low-income and lived in Section 8
housing just blocks away.
“It was not good,” said Burbage, who
arrived at St. Mark in 2006 as a supply
pastor while still in seminary; now he is a
full elder.
But the Earlewood community was
starting to find its feet shortly before the
time Burbage arrived. A host of younger,
more affluent couples had rediscovered
the community and were fixing up older
houses or building new ones nearby.
Burbage and his wife were among them.
Slowly, the community’s revitalization
began to impact St. Mark. Members
looked around and realized that, while
once they were a hub for youth ministry,
now they had three children in worship,
no vacation Bible school and no children’s sermon.
“It was very depressing,” Barry said.
Soon after Burbage came as pastor,
members had had enough of their “identity crisis” and decided to seize upon their
history and natural passion for children’s
ministry as a way to find their new path.
They soon reinstituted and expanded the
reach of a fall festival for neighborhood
and church children.
“I think that’s when the church’s eyes
were opened,” Burbage said. “They said,
‘Wow, there’s kids out here! We can do
this! We can help.’”
As church members got to know the
neighborhood families, they realized how
deep the impact of poverty ran. They
started noticing how many of the children
ran around without shoes – simply
because they had none. Many were astonished one night to see two children fighting over some leftover chicken fingers
and macaroni and cheese.
Inspired to realize they could possibly
make a difference, they decided to organize a VBS targeted to the Earlewood
neighborhood. Instead of a traditional
weeklong VBS, they did a month-long
one held only on Wednesday nights. The
church rationalized the longer time period
would allow for a longer time of bonding.
As the reach into the community continued, the church started growing. Their
worship attendance doubled, with many
new members joining their ranks. They
began a clothing collection for children
living in a nearby low-income apartment
complex. Reaching out through
Earlewood’s Facebook page and the
active neighborhood association, the
church offered up its space, and
Alcoholics Anonymous, dog training and
community meetings soon began.
A natural fit
And as their growth continued, members grew increasingly dissatisfied with
so much wasted space on campus. They
fixed up the sanctuary and fellowship
hall, and cleaned up the unused bottom
two floors of the education building. But
those floors were still empty and virtually
unused. Talk circled about using the very
bottom floor for something – or someone.
One of St. Mark’s newer members,
Trahern Cook, was very much in favor of
this.
“I think everyone felt sort of like,
‘Let’s breathe some new life into it,’”
Cook said.
Burbage meanwhile had been named
District Mission Secretary for the conference Board of Global Ministries, and he
was beginning to know all of the advance
special ministries in the Columbia area.
As his passion for this outreach and these
ministries grew, he began to think how
St. Mark could help.
With the help of the Rev. Michael
Henderson, Burbage soon came to know
Marga McKee, executive director of
St. Mark UMC, Columbia, is leasing a full floor of its space to the United
Methodist advance special ministry Interfaith Community Services. St. Mark pastor the Rev. Daniel Burbage and Interfaith Executive Director Marga McKee
(above) say the partnership has helped both of them.
Interfaith Community Services, a group
that shares a lot of the same core outreach
goals as St. Mark.
Interfaith needed a new home and
more affordable rent. And St. Mark had
the space.
“It seemed natural to put them together,” Henderson said, noting the spacesharing not only helps Interfaith and St.
Mark with practical needs, but also further strengthens the connection.
Thanks to a $7,000 Columbia District
conference congregational development
grant, St. Mark was able to renovate the
bottom floor for Interfaith.
In the fall, Interfaith moved in.
A model for other
small churches, ministries
McKee said renting space from St.
Mark has been “a very good thing” for
Interfaith Community Services.
Interfaith started in the 1960s as a collaboration of six big downtown Columbia
churches to start an urban service center,
helping people from the homeless to the
mentally ill. Through various programs,
they help at-risk families get a helping
hand out of poverty. But like most nonprofits, they struggle with funding. They
also need to be in constant connection
with the community so they can evolve.
McKee said moving to St. Mark puts
them directly in a community that can
benefit from its services. Already, they
are linking up with a nearby apartment
complex that has a lot of single mothers
living in poverty who need help with
services like childcare, nutrition, job
placement and more – all things Interfaith
can provide.
“We’ve all agreed Interfaith
Community Services needs to be a part of
the community, and this is giving us the
opportunity,” said the Rev. Diana
Westerkam, retired United Methodist pastor who is president of the Interfaith
board.
Westerkam said the move is a big help
to Interfaith, but she also knows it is help-
ing St. Mark, too. She thinks the opening
of St. Mark’s unused space to a ministry
can be a model for other small churches
in similar circumstances.
“Churches are dwindling and they do
have these spaces that can be used,”
Westerkam said. “I think lots of churches
could benefit from such a partnership.”
McKee said she hopes this partnership
has “started a movement.”
“With all the advance specials we
have, there is no reason we shouldn’t be
teaming up and partnering with a local
United Methodist Church,” McKee said.
‘The perfect storm’
For their part, St, Mark members are
extremely pleased with the partnership.
Cook said it is good for St. Mark on
many levels: it’s an outreach that fulfills
their mission, it gives those receiving
services from Interfaith the opportunity to
get to know St. Mark, and it speaks well
for the church to the community.
“It’s part of giving,” Cook said.
“Instead of ‘Here’s our space, let’s be
protective about it,’ it’s more like, ‘Let’s
share it, open it to the community to do
something positive. Let the community
know we’re there.’”
Barry said it has been “so fulfilling”
for the congregation to watch their church
get new life and to help be an active part
of that life.
“It’s just been great for both of us – the
perfect storm,” she said.
For Burbage, the “win-win” exemplifies how churches and ministries can
grow in this new day as they fulfill
Christ’s call.
“The church needs to figure out the
needs in the community, and when they
can do that, they can be in ministry,”
Burbage said. “The church is more than a
building, but the key is finding the connection. We mission to children; Interfaith
Community Services ministers to families.
“God has a way of bringing things
together.”
‘The deaf will hear…’
New ministry reaches out to hearing impaired in the Upstate
By Jessica Connor
Worship Interpreted for the
Deaf and Hearing Impaired
SPARTANBURG – One Upstate church
is embarking on a new ministry to more
fully include the hearing impaired in worship.
Since late January, Central United
Methodist Church, Spartanburg, has been
reaching out to the large deaf community
in their area. They have hired a sign language interpreter who translates every
word of the weekly worship service, and
they also have a magnetic loop so people
who have hearing aids can instantly be
connected to the service through a Tswitch.
Home to the S.C. School for the Deaf
and the Blind, the Spartanburg area has a
thriving and active deaf community.
But, said Central pastor the Rev. Alex
Stevenson, “We are the only United
Methodist church in the area that does this
– everyone else is Baptist, and we thought
the deaf community would appreciate
some options.”
A personal connection
Stevenson knows firsthand how difficult it is for the hearing impaired to fully
participate in worship. His wife is hearing
impaired, and his daughter lost her hearing in the first grade. While they can
follow along by looking at a printed sermon, having a sign language interpreter
makes for an infinitely better church
experience.
“It’s a lot easier, especially in Sunday
school classes, for her to participate,”
Stevenson said of his daughter, Mary, a
rising senior at Winthrop University who
attends Central most weekends. “She can
read lips well, but when there is a conversation going on, it’s hard to catch everybody. Having an interpreter to sign it all
Every Sunday at 11 a.m.
Central UMC
233 North Church St., Spartanburg
All are welcome
www.centralumcspartanburg.org
Sign language interpreter Joshua Holmes translates the message for the deaf
and hearing impaired at Central UMC, Spartanburg.
helps her follow along, be more involved
and engaged.”
Mary said she is really excited that the
church is starting to reach out to the deaf
community.
“An interpreter helps me by making
sure that I have all the information I need
concerning what’s going on,” she said. “I
have worshipped where there wasn’t an
interpreter, and it was a little more difficult because I wasn’t able to get all the
information that everyone else got.”
Reaching out
Central is now heavily focused on
spreading the word throughout the
Upstate about their new Deaf Ministry.
They received a grant from the UMC’s
Spartanburg District Congregational
Development, which is paying for one
year of interpreters, along with advertising
to let the deaf community know about
their new ministry. They are reaching out
through local newspapers, their website,
signage on the busy thoroughfare outside
their church, and the ever-effective word
of mouth.
“We just want to do all we can to let
people in our neck of the woods know
there is a United Methodist church that is
ready to receive and welcome and include
deaf and hearing impaired people,”
Stevenson said.
John Simmons, member of the Deaf
Ministry committee, said he thinks having
a sign language interpreter makes for a
much more meaningful worship experience for the hearing impaired, plus it
means those who might not have heard
the Gospel through traditional methods
now have an opportunity.
“There is nobody who should be
excluded from the Jesus message and the
Jesus ministry and the healing,” Simmons
said.
Grier Diangikes, a member of the committee who has taught the hearing
impaired, feels the word of God should be
accessible in any language – English,
Spanish, French or sign.
“I’ve always felt anywhere someone
wanted to come to hear God speak, they
should be entitled to an interpreter,”
Diangikes said. “We do it in schools, we
mainstream students, and churches are
made to make it easy for everyone to
worship.”
For more information about Central’s
Deaf Ministry, see box this page, or call
864-582-7263.
i-Relate leads race/culture training session for S.C. United Methodists
By Valarie Flowers
COLUMBIA – Race, identity, culture and diversity were
all topics of discussion at the “Building God’s Beloved
Community” training session led for South Carolina by
The United Methodist Church’s Commission on
Religion and Race on May 31 and June 1.
The cross-racial, cross-cultural training session featured speakers from i-Relate, a leadership institute of the
California-Pacific Annual Conference.
The event aimed to train and educate various conference leaders in developing relationships across and
within racial and cultural communities; it was designed
for congregational specialists, the Advocacy team of
Conference Connectional Ministries, the bishop and
extended cabinet, and members of the conference
Featured speaker the Rev. Sun Hee Kim discusses
the social constructs of race. (Photo by Valarie Flowers)
Ministry Advisory Team.
The training is an offshoot of a resolution passed by
the Annual Conference in 2010 on combating the sin of
racism. Among other things, that resolution tasked the
office of Connectional Ministries to design a training
event on combating the sin of racism in the local
church, and report about this at Annual Conference
2012.
“All cultures value respect,” the Rev. Sun Hee Kim,
consultant for i-Relate and featured speaker, told the
crowd at the event.
Kim and other organizers helped those attending the
training gain valuable information and tools to increase
competency regarding racial and cultural issues.
They hope the attendees will now be better able to
spread that information to their local congregations.
United Methodist pastor arrested in Upstate sting
By Jessica Connor
SIMPSONVILLE – A South Carolina
United Methodist pastor has been arrested and charged in a prostitution sting.
Dr. Michael Wolfe, senior pastor of
Advent United Methodist Church,
Simpsonville, reportedly stopped to help
a woman he thought was a stranded
motorist June 1 in the Interstate Highway
85/Augusta Road area. He was one of 14
people arrested that night in a prostitution
sting and a total of 48 arrested over the
weekend, according to a WYFF4 news
report.
Wolfe has not been removed from his
appointment at Advent though, as
required by the United Methodist Book of
Discipline, as of June 7 he has been suspended from all clergy responsibilities
until the matter is resolved.
Per the conference’s official statement
on Wolfe’s suspension, “This is in keeping with the procedures outlined in The
United Methodist Book of Discipline,
2008. This action has been taken for the
well being of all parties. We will be in
prayer for all those affected by this unfortunate event.”
Several church members have told the
Advocate they believe charges will be
dropped. He was charged with prostitution first offense.
Wolfe recently helped lead the largescale Stop Hunger Now service day hosted by Advent for the Greenville District.
A historian and theologian who has
taught at colleges and universities, he is
also the author of the Advocate’s history
book, “In the World, Not of the World.”
Alex’s mulligan
Young teen survives near-death experience in freak accident,
now committed to spreading word about God’s second chances
Alex Bowers (top) celebrates Easter at Mount Horeb UMC with his family; it was
his first trip to his church since the accident. At bottom from left are father James,
brother Austin and mother Melanie.
Alex’s life.
“Dr. Webb had a gut feeling to do surgery immediately and not wait,” Bowers
said; three other doctors had suggested the
family wait two weeks for the swelling to
go down, then consider surgery. “After the
surgery, the first thing she said was, ‘If you
had taken him home he would have been
dead in 24 hours.’”
It turned out infection had already
begun to set in, and the surgery saved
Alex’s life.
But in addition to healing young Alex,
Kersey and the Bowers family had another
fervent prayer. “In the hospital, we prayed
that God would become more famous
through this, that through this, we would
speak what God has done,” Kersey said.
And indeed, that is what has happened.
After Alex’s recovery, word quickly
began to spread in the community about
the boy’s miraculous recovery. Instead of
dying, Alex lived – and even continues to
play golf. He was playing just weeks after
his injury. And on June 4, he played his
first full 18 holes since the accident.
“God didn’t cause this, but God is using
this for His advantage,” Alex told the congregation June 3.
Praising a God of second chances, Alex
preached the message with Kersey about
no longer taking things for granted. Just the
fact that he was able to celebrate his 13th
birthday weeks after the accident was a
miracle. Alex called upon the congregation
to always be willing to extend a second
chance to others, just like God does for us.
Alex and Kersey are calling the accident
“Alex’s mulligan.” In golf, Kersey
explained, a mulligan is a “do-over.”
“In a friendly match, if your first golf
shot is not very good, a friend might say
you can have a mulligan, a do-over,”
Kersey said, noting it is critical we remember that God gives us second chances
through His grace all the time.
To help people remember Alex’s mulligan, they passed out thousands of golf tees
at the end all four Mount Horeb services
that weekend, with the words “This is your
mulligan” and “Mark 10:27” printed on
them. That verse of Scripture reads: “Jesus
looked at them and said, ‘With man this is
impossible, but not with God; all things are
possible with God.’”
Kersey compared what happened to
Alex with what happened to Lazarus in
John 11:40. “In the Lazarus story, Jesus
knew Lazarus was going to die, but he
basically said, ‘Watch what I can do with
this.’ He said, ‘Did I not tell you that if you
believe, you will see the glory of God?’”
Kersey said. “In Alex’s story, God didn’t
cause me to hit him in the head with a golf
ball, it was a freak accident. But God says,
‘Watch what I can do with this.’”
mellow, prophetic words are designed
instruct and inspire older adults for
their unique role in God’s kingdom.
Marvin Cropsey, managing editor of
United Methodist Quadrennial
Resources, will bring excitement, wit
and enthusiasm to Bible study, sharing
insights from the new Common English
Bible.
Dr. Jane Marie Thibault, spiritual
and accolades. Verhey will teach “The
Christian Art of Dying.”
Ed Kilbourne, an all-time favorite,
will entertain his audience with funloving music and wit.
For more information or to register
for the Festival of Wisdom and Grace
at Lake Junaluska, visit www.lakejunaluska.com/wisdom-and-grace or call
800-222-4930.
By Jessica Connor
LEXINGTON – On March 5, 12-yearold Alex Bowers was playing golf in a
high school fundraiser at Lexington
Country Club with his pastor, his family
and others from his home church of Mount
Horeb United Methodist.
In an instant, his life was forever
changed. After hitting his tee shot from the
front tee, Alex was making his way back to
the golf cart, not noticing that the Rev. Jeff
Kersey was already mid-swing. Alex tried
to get down. But unfortunately, it wasn’t
quick enough. Kersey’s ball slammed fullspeed into Alex’s head above the right eye,
knocking the boy unconscious.
Within minutes, as medical help was
frantically called to the scene, Alex remembers waking up hearing prayers lifted for
him by family and friends. He was transported to the hospital, where he spent the
next four days, also undergoing emergency
neurosurgery to save his life. He has been
recovering at home ever since.
By all accounts, his friends, family and
pastor said, it was a miracle.
On June 3, Alex stood up before hundreds of worshippers at Mount Horeb
UMC and gave his testimony: how God is
the God of miracles, how with God anything is possible, how he won’t stop until
everyone knows the sky is the limit to
God’s power.
Alex’s injury was extraordinary. It is
said people have a one in 1,000 chance of
being hit by a ball on a golf course and one
in a million that a person would survive an
injury like his.
“It was almost like an out-of-body experience. Did this actually happen to us? You
cannot even put into words how grateful
you are because you are never expecting
something that traumatic to happen to your
child,” said his mother, Melanie Bowers.
“Even Alex has said, ‘Sometimes I wonder
if that was really me.’”
But from the start, Alex’s family trusted
God to be in control of the situation.
“It’s one thing to trust God or thank God
after He gets you through the trial, but another thing to trust God in the storm, and from
the beginning, they trusted God through the
storm,” Kersey said of the family.
“I knew, having worked in medicine a
long time, the only way he was going to
make it through his injury was if we let go
and gave it to God,” Bowers said.
Bowers said it was God’s intervention
through Dr. Sharon Webb, a neurosurgeon
at Palmetto Health Richland, that saved
Forever connected, forever changed: Alex Bowers and the Rev Jeff Kersey share
a smile at Lexington Country Club, where the accident happened. (Photos by
Melanie Bowers)
Junaluska to host Festival of Wisdom and Grace this summer
By Sandra Gerhardt
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – Joy and
celebration will abound at the 2012
Festival of Wisdom and Grace, set for
July 30 to Aug. 2 at Lake Junaluska
Conference and Retreat Center.
Bishop Willam Wesley Morris is the
preacher for the event, titled “From
Transition to Transformation.” Morris’
director and mentor of several fellows
of the Academy of Older Adult
Ministries, will share a practical model
for transforming pain and suffering into
a gift to others through the power of
Christ.
The professional track will present
Dr. Allen Verhey, Ph.D. in Religious
Studies (Christian Ethics) from Yale
University, among many other degrees
Education & Youth
VBS continues across S.C.
UMCs roll out a summer of Christian learning for children, adults
United Methodist churches across
South Carolina are reaching out in the
spirit of education, holding a wide range
of vacation Bible school sessions for
youth and adults. Here are several sent to
the Advocate. VBS news is welcome; see
box this page.
The Estill/Blackswamp Charge,
Walterboro District, will hold an “Under
the Sea” VBS July 24-27 from 6-8 p.m.
at Mount Carmel UMC, with a family
fun day finale July 28 beginning at 10
a.m. (don’t miss the big water slide). The
VBS will do the service on Sunday, July
29, at Furman UMC at 11 a.m.
The Fairfield Circuit, Columbia
Send us your VBS news!
Is your church holding a special
vacation Bible school in July or
August? Send us your information
by June 10, and we’ll be happy to
get it in the July edition.
Also, we welcome a couple photos from your VBS this year. Email
high-resolution photos to [email protected], or mail a hard
copy to Advocate, 4908 Colonial
Drive, Columbia, SC 29203.
Photos should be “action shots” of
the children engaged in learning or
ministry – please avoid posed photos of people standing in a group.
HONORED – Columbia District Church Women United recently honored
youth church leaders. Here, four of the young women honored attend
Rehoboth UMC, Columbia. From left are Courtney Boyce Johnson, Natalie
Cobb Henderson, Tiffany Pearl Jones and Liz Miller.
SMC helps two ministries
Last fall when the United Way of
Spartanburg promoted their new website designed to help the community
learn of volunteer opportunities, they
awarded $1,000 to the business or
school that had the most participants
to “like” the new site.
With leadership from the Kappa
Sigma Alpha (service fraternity) student board, Spartanburg Methodist
College won the opportunity to help
ARCH Ministries and Spartanburg
Bethlehem Center with a donation of
$500 each.
ARCH Ministries needed mulch for
their playground. They used the
money to purchase it, and about a
dozen students and staff met on a
warm April day to spread a truckload
of mulch on the playground.
The Bethlehem Center needed landscaping, but rain prevented outdoor
work.
The check was presented to the
Bethlehem Center and students helped
around the facility despite the rain.
“I am so thankful for the hard work
of the KSA board that made these
donations possible and that our students were able to reach out to these
vital ministries in the Spartanburg
District,” said Chaplain Candice
Sloan.
Kevin Witt, Josh Montgomery, and
Brittany Tadlock shovel mulch to
spread on the ARCH playground.
Champ Squires and Michael Neely
pack items for Bethlehem families.
District, will hold VBS July 22-26 at
Bethel UMC beginning at 6 p.m. each
night. VBS will feature classes and activities for children, youth and adults. A
closing program and snacks will be held
in the fellowship hall on July 26.
Jeremiah UMC, Hemingway, will
hold VBS June 25-29 from 6-8 p.m.
Grace UMC, Charleston, held a
“Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don’t
Do Anything” VBS this year – where
children are heroes of God. Students ages
4 to fifth grade “set sail” evenings June
11-15 aboard the HMS Steadfast for an
action-packed and fun-filled Bible adventure at the church. Through interactive
lessons easy to apply to their lives today,
they celebrated biblical adventures that
helped them discover the truth about true
heroes. The theme verse is “I can do all
things through Christ because he gives
me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
North Charleston UMC, North
Charleston, will hold VBS July 16-20
from 2-5 p.m. Children ages 4 to fifth
grade are welcome. This year’s theme is
“Sky! Everything is Possible with God.”
Registration is going on now.
Wesley UMC, Beaufort, will hold
VBS July 9-13 from 5-8 p.m. for children and adults. Angela MitchellStephens is the VBS director.
CONFIRMATION – Bethel UMC, of the Pelion Charge in the Orangeburg
District, had eight young people confirmed in worship on Pentecost Sunday.
Since January, these young people and a parent/guardian have participated
in 18 two-hour classes using “Credo” confirmation materials and have completed at least 12 hours of service in the church and community. Mentors
were also assigned to each of them and will continue to encourage them as
they grow in their faith. Those confirmed (from left) are Chris Corley, Steven
Collins, Mariah Brunner, Hayley Jackson, Patience Forsythe, Jarret Brawn,
Thomas Mallard and Noah Weakley. Rev. Kathryn Scarborough serves as
pastor at Bethel.
AC2012: Redistricting study expanded, other reports approved
From Page 1
Opening worship
In her opening sermon, Taylor pulled
from Luke 5, when Jesus called his first
disciples. She described how the men
were awestruck after their nets – previously empty – were filled with fish after
Jesus instructed them to let them out in
deeper water. Likewise, when the leper
was healed later in that chapter, people
again were utterly amazed at the lifechanging possibilities offered in Jesus.
“Always, my friends, He always leaves
us awestruck. When we see what God is
able to do, it’s incredible, and all we can
do is drop our jaws and be awestruck,”
Taylor preached. “Jesus changes our lives
at those very times when we see and witness all He can do.”
As we focus on a changed life, Taylor
said, we soon begin to see evidence in our
behavior.
The first is generosity. Levi, once a
selfish and ruthless tax collector, became
a generous party-giver after he came to
know Jesus, Taylor said. Likewise today,
the Greenville District was so inspired by
Christ that they held a mass hunger-relief
event that drew 1,500 people and packed
285,000 meals in one single day.
Second, we see evidence of a changed
life through the way we celebrate our
faith. Clapping her hands, stomping and
twirling in a wide circle, Taylor shouted a
gleeful “Wooooo!” to show how the love
just spills over when our love for Christ
reigns supreme.
“A changed life is a life that celebrates
and has joy, and my goodness, people
ought to be able to see it in us!” she
exclaimed.
Finally, a changed life is one that needs
to include everybody.
“God’s love, God’s forgiveness, God’s
salvation are available to everybody,”
Taylor told the crowd. “The ugliest word
in the English language is exclusive.”
During the offering, as a way to
demonstrate God’s open love, Taylor
encouraged all who felt led to come to the
altar and pray. A crowd of people did just
that, flocking to the front for a chance to
kneel and lift their souls in prayer to the
Lord.
“God is in this place once again, so
keep your hearts and your ears open for
the ways that God’s calling you, the ways
that God through Jesus is inviting you to a
new and changed life: a life that is generous, a life that is inclusive, a life that
makes a difference for His sake and His
alone,” Taylor said.
Business begins
Business began in earnest on Day Two
of four-day event, with officer elections
(see page 15) and informational reports
presented. Business ended before the dinner break on Day Three, with ordination
rounding out the gathering on the final
day (see page 14).
Redistricting study expanded
The Rev. Paul Harmon brought the
report of the District Study Task Force,
which has been working for almost a year
to gather information about the conference’s districts and explore whether they
are appropriate in size and number for this
state. Harmon said their work is not only
incomplete, but needs to be expanded.
“We have been attempting to pour new
wine into old wine skins, and these old
wine skins have stretched with fermentational changes over the last 40 years,”
Harmon said, asking the body to allow
the task force to continue with their work
another year and dig deeper, authorizing
them to study the organization of the
entire Annual Conference and receive
$5,000 to complete their work and present
a report to the 2013 Annual Conference.
The request was supported.
Connectional Ministries
The Rev. Willie Teague and Cynthia
Williams presented the Connectional
Ministries report to the body, noting that
the Judicial Council found a few defects
in the new Conference Connectional
Ministries structure. They will submit the
revised plan to the Judicial Council by
July 13.
“United Methodists of South Carolina
have an opportunity to embrace all of
God’s people with a spirit of celebration
of our gifts, graces and talents,” Williams
said, urging fellow United Methodists to
be brave as they navigate the new structure and other coming changes in the
denomination. “As believers thinking
together, praying together and being in
holy conversation together, we can fulfill
God’s plan.”
Pensions and Health Benefits
Herman Lightsey presented the report
for Pensions and Health Benefits, which
was approved.
Lightsey said the major change in their
report was that active premiums will
increase 1 percent for the year 2013. The
consumer-driven health plan will continue
for 2013 as an option, and the board
expects to bring a recommendation to the
body next year about whether part-time
clergy would receive mandatory coverage
in 2014.
The board is also looking at several
options for retiree healthcare, Lightsey
said: consumer driven plans funded
through health reimbursement accounts
(HRAs); market based plans enrolled
through conference but funded through
HRAs; and moving retirees to market
insurance exchanges authorized through
the Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act.
Lightsey and the Rev. David Anderson
addressed delinquent direct billing payments, noting that they collect 95 to 96
percent of the amount billed, which is
good percentage wise, but is still a lot of
money in terms of dollars. They are working on ways to improve collection, including ACH payments and other methods.
Next year’s Annual Conference will be
June 9-12, 2013, at the Florence Civic
Center.
For more information about Annual
Conference 2012, as well as to view more
photos than were printed in the Advocate,
visit the conference website at
www.umcsc.org. Available are audio from
teaching time sessions, order forms for
videos of the event, photos and appointments. For questions about other available
media, or for a copy of the memorial or
retirement DVD, etc., contact Director of
Communications Matt Brodie at
[email protected] or 803-786-9486,
ext. 265.
Dr. Charles Johnson brings a message inspired by Revelation 14:12-13.
‘Their deeds follow them’
(Photo by Matt Brodie)
Memorial service honors 32 who passed on
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – They lived, they
changed lives and they called others
to join with them in living that life.
So preached Dr. Charles Johnson,
lifting up 32 brothers and sisters
called to be “spokespersons to the
masters.”
“They were given the charge to
call persons to repentance and to
know God’s grace and mercy,”
preached Johnson in his memorial
service sermon at Annual
Conference. “They were serving
because they accepted Jesus Christ as
their Lord and personal savior, and
they wanted others to do the same.
The word was like fire set up in their
bones, and they could not help but
share it.”
Bringing a message inspired by
Revelation 14:12-13, Johnson urged
those gathered at the service to
remember the deeds of these departed
souls even as they mourn their loss
from the earthly world.
“They were not seeking any glory
or status among us,” Johnson said.
“Instead, these sisters and brothers
were convinced that God had called
them and convinced them.”
Johnson also implored the crowd
gathered for the service to allow the
memory of these departed souls to
affirm their faith in God and the
Kingdom that awaits those who
believe in Christ.
“We are never ever alone; we are
encouraged to observe the commandments of God and to hold fast to the
faith of Jesus,” Johnson said. “When
we run this Christian race, we must
endure until the very end.”
In her opening remarks, Bishop
Mary Virginia Taylor praised those
who served faithfully and now serve
the triumph with Christ.
“Let us rejoice in God’s presence
with us in death as in life among
those who mourn as with those who
now see Christ face-to-face,” Taylor
said.
Shaw Thompson sang “Beside
Still Waters,” a transcription of 23rd
Psalm.
Active clergy who have died since
the last annual conference are Marian
Ruthe Woodle Dyer and Sandra
Hardin Hatchell. Retired clergy are
Lemuel Corydon “Brother” Carter,
George Summers Duffie Jr., Donald
Franklin Funderburk, Vincent Francis
Halter Jr., John Gerald Hipp, Joseph
McAllister Sr., John Winifred
Robinson and Oscar Allan Rogers Jr.
Williams Brant Mills is a retired diaconal minister who has died since the
last annual conference.
Clergy spouses who have died in
the past year are Nancy Lois Reese
Cleasby, Patricia Campbell Cribb,
Barbara Huggins Dean and Margarete
“Margie” Gibson Williams. Surviving
spouses who have died are Virginia
Piper Claytor, Ellen V. Richburg
Croker, Dorothy Jones Crouch,
Beulah Maye “Billie” Chapman
Davis, Nadeen Williams Dickert,
Vera Allison Garris, Vivian Ethridge
Gregg, Margaret Ormond Hardin,
Roberta Clark Horne, Margaret
Miller Jenkins, Ruby Louise Jones,
Blanche Allen Mirse, Gertrude
O’Neal Patrick, Eugenia Cleo
Wescoat Sandlin, Carrie Louise
Singletary and Lillian Lewis Wilson.
Others who have died in the past
year are G. Walter “Walt” Forrester.
Annual Conference members pinned
onto remembrance banners the
names of those passed on. (Photo by
Allison Trussell)
2012 Annual
Conference
‘Help people see Jesus’
Service commissions, ordains 35 for United Methodist ministry
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – With all your hearts
believe. And in that believing, proclaim
with exuberance, excitement and energy
so that all may know the risen Savior for
themselves.
That was the message brought by
Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor in an ordination service that commissioned and
ordained 35 United Methodists as provisional or full deacons and elders June
13.
In lifting up the group, Taylor said
that has she has gotten to know each of
them, she finds herself quite hopeful
about the future. Many of those being
ordained will serve the church until at
least the year 2050, she said – 100 years
after the year that she was born.
“Your ministry will not only shape
the church during the first half of this
century, but you will also through your
years be mentoring those who will lead
the church into he next century and
beyond,” Taylor said.
As they continue in their years of
ministry, Taylor acknowledged that it is
sometimes natural to be like Thomas,
who loved and was a follower of Jesus,
but also had his doubts about the resurrection and therefore about the future.
She recounted the story of an atheist
fishing in Scotland who didn’t believe in
God until his boat was ferociously
The Rev. Jeri Katherine Warden Sipes is commissioned as a provisional elder.
attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In
that moment, the atheist instantly
believed.
“Many people are in the company of
Thomas,” Taylor said. “Some refuse to
believe in God no matter how compelling the evidence might be to the rest
of us. Even in the face of this magnificent creation in which we live, some
people refuse to believe there is a creator of it all. But my friends, in those
times when we are hard pressed, in
those occasions when we wonder
whether we will be or we will not be,
The Rev. Brian Arant receives his stole from his
father, the Rev. Jim Arant, after being ordained.
we often find God.”
All too often, that is what congregations are seeking when they come to
church. They want to believe. They
want to see God, know Jesus, be transformed.
“Throughout your ministry, one of
the most important things you will do is
help people see Jesus,” Taylor said.
Hymns including “To God be the
Glory,” “Spirit of the Living God,” “We
Fall Down” and “My Jesus, I Love
Thee” rounded out a service that included Scripture readings and the laying of
The Rev. Millie Nelson is ordained as a full elder.
hands on the ordinands.
The following was elected as an associate member for service within the
annual conference: James Edward Elder.
The following was commissioned as
a provisional deacon: Angela Reneé
Johnson.
The following were commissioned as
provisional elders: Heather Stewart
Baird, Joshua Lee Blackwelder,
Benjamin Olsen Burt, Daniel Walker
Chamblee, Michael Terrance Fleming,
Mallory Jean Forte, Andrew Charles
Martin, Henry Lee Ravenel Sr., David
Jeffrey Roper, Redonia McKnight
Thomas, Jeri Katherine Warden Sipes,
Suzanne Byrum Walker, Charles Bryson
Williams Jr., Thurmond Williams and
Andrew Roy Wolfe.
The following was ordained as a deacon: Angela Halter Marshall.
The following were ordained as elders: Brian James Arant, Edward Rossiter
Chellis, Joseph Christopher Greene,
Linda McDaniels Guthrie, Jerry
Harrison Jr., Willis Everette Haselden
IV, Kathy Priest Hudson, Tarnishia
Vanarda Jenkins-Jackson, Stewart Dean
Lollis, Genova McFadden, Millie
Nelson, Luke MoonTaeg Rhyee, Terry
Abner Roof, Murray Arthur Snow, Julie
Dawn Songer Belman, Emily Scales
Sutton and Keith Robert Taylor.
The Mass Choir of the Pee Dee provided special music.
Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor lays hands on the Rev.
Ross Chellis during his ordination.
Annual Conference passes $16.9M budget
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – With no debate, discussion
or fanfare whatsoever, S.C. Annual
Conference members passed their 2013
budget in near-record time June 12.
The budget passed so quickly that an
inspired Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor led
the crowd in singing The Doxology:
“Praise God, from whom all blessings
flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.”
(Photos by Matt Brodie)
The 2013 budget of $16,893,882 is 1.8
percent less than the 2012 budget. The
final budget is slightly less than the budget
presented in pre-conference materials only
because General Conference apportioned
funds changed slightly during action at the
global gathering in May.
Of the $16.9 million, $4,161,524 is for
General Conference apportioned funds
(World Service, Episcopal Fund, General
Conference Administration, Ministerial
Education, Interdenominational
Cooperation, Black College Fund and
Africa University) and Southeastern
Jurisdictional mission/ministry funds.
The rest, $12,732,358, is for South
Carolina: conference benevolences, retiree
health/transition/contingency, district
superintendent salaries, equitable compensation, district administration, conference
administration, camps and retreat ministries, congregational development, senior
college scholarships, Spartanburg
Methodist College, campus ministry and
Methodist homes resident assistance.
The Rev. Ed McDowell, chair of the
conference Council on Finance and
Administration, said the board evaluated
each budget line in crafting the 2013
budget, and began the process of develop-
ing a multi-year budget to help guide the
future.
“We celebrate that we had a good year
and I think the church ought to say
‘Amen!’” McDowell said to a thunderous
“amen” from the body during his informational report the second day of Annual
Conference. “We hope 2011 was the
beginning of a slight improvement in our
economic picture. However, we realize
there will still be some challenges and
vicissitudes. Although we have faced
many hardships, our communities are
intact; they are still persevering, achieving
and continuing to achieve.”
2012 Annual
Conference
Love and a sense of humor
Retirees offer insight, advice to newly ordained during clergy retirement service
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – Calling it a time of worship and celebration, Bishop Mary
Virginia Taylor led a service of retirement
that recognized 29 clergy members for
their years of Christian leadership.
“My brothers and sisters in Christ, you
came to us from congregations where the
spirit of the Lord was on you, and you
were charged to preach to the brokenhearted, visit the captive, anoint those
who were bruised, and clearly these
things you have done,” Taylor prayed
before the body.
The men and women ending their long
careers as United Methodist pastors were
lifted up in a video collage on the floor of
the Annual Conference. Many pastors
reflected on favorite moments, offering
nuggets of ministerial insight for the
newly ordained as they close one chapter
of their lives and enter another.
With perspectives on everything from
love and forgiveness to keeping a sense of
humor, the pastors offered up their hardearned wisdom before the throng gathered to honor them.
The Rev. Howard Donald Addis
recounted favorite times of propping his
feet upon kitchen tables as he visited people and heard their stories. Addis said a
sense of humor, honesty, openness and
just “being there” when needed is sometimes the best thing a pastor can offer
their flock.
“I think a lot of poor preaching can be
Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor leads the passing of the mantle from a member of the
retiring class (represented by the Rev. George McClenan, standing) to a member
of the entering class of elders (represented by the Rev. Ross Chellis). (Photo by
Matt Brodie)
forgiven if you’re there when mama died
or when someone loses their job or when
they’re in the hospital,” Addis said.
The Rev. Bill Bynum urged people to
“forgive, love and just keep forgiving.
Forgiveness goes a long, long way.”
The Rev. John Bauknight advised pastors to be themselves and stay true to their
calling as a Christian pastor.
“Allow Christ to shine through you,”
Bauknight said. “I’ve found in most
churches, people just want to have someone to love and who loves them.”
The Rev. Pat McCain encouraged fellow pastors to try new things and always
be willing to let go of their own agendas.
Radcliffe elected as new
conference secretary
New chancellor; McClendon remains as parliamentarian
By Allison Trussell
FLORENCE – The Rev. Karen H.
Radcliffe has been elected new conference secretary for the S.C. Annual
Conference.
Radcliffe’s election came during one
of the first items of business for the
2012 Annual Conference, the election
of quadrennium officers.
The Rev. Tim Rogers, former conference secretary, will return to the
local church as pastor of Mount Hebron
United Methodist Church, Columbia.
Other elections include Kay Gaffney
Crowe as conference chancellor and the
Rev. Tim McClendon, Columbia
District superintendent, re-elected for
another term as conference parliamentarian.
Assistant secretaries elected were the
Revs. Dean Lollis, James Lane and
Jeri-Katherine Warden Sipes.
There were no nominations from the
floor. All were elected to four-year
terms, which began at the close of this
session of Annual Conference.
Also re-elected during Annual
Conference was Tony Prestipino as
conference treasurer and statistician.
His election came during the informational report of the conference Council
on Finance and Administration.
The Rev. Tim Rogers, former conference secretary, receives an appreciation plaque from Bishop Mary Virginia
Taylor and Rev. Ken Nelson during
AC2012. (Photo by Matt Brodie)
“Listen-listen-listen, love-love-love
and pray-pray-pray!” she said, grinning
broadly.
The Rev. Lloyd White urged pastors to
constantly be encouraging ministry and
mission, especially in ways that may not
be tied to what is already being done at
church, such as a mother who feels a call
to go to the hospital and help crack
babies, or another who wants to feed the
homeless.
“People call me and say, ‘Preacher,
look what I’m doing now; look where the
Lord’s leading me now,’” White said,
pointing out that challenging church
members can inspire their next step in
their faith walk.
And Dr. Charles Johnson, retiring
Greenville District superintendent,
reminded the crowd to continue to be
faithful in our responsibility to God’s call
on our lives.
“God is not finished with us yet,”
Johnson said.
As the service wrapped to a close,
Taylor led the passing of the mantle from
a member of the retiring class (represented by the Rev. George McClenan) to a
member of the entering class of elders
(represented by the Rev. Ross Chellis).
She reminded the body that in the Bible,
the mantle – symbolic of submission to
God – fell upon Elijah, and the spirit of
God rested upon him.
The 29 retiring pastors are Howard
Donald Addis, John Michael Bauknight,
William Harleston Bynum, John Scott
Cloninger Jr., Kenneth Roy Colton, James
Leonard Correll Jr., Frederick Donald
Davis, Jimmy Wayne Dillard, Lowry
Tresslar Drennen, Roger Charles Goupil,
Lawrence Foy Hays Jr., Arthur Hardin
Holt, Charles Luther Johnson Sr., William
Alford Jones, Patrick Hamilton Kelley,
Roye Lynn Kulik, William Morgan Lewis
Jr., Patricia Caldwell McCain, George
Alfred McClenan, William Terry
Mitchell, Roger Wayne Pearce, Cyrus
Dawsey Rogers, Bobbie Opal Taylor,
Willie Senn Teague, Elizabeth Ann
Thompson, Jack Christopher Washington,
Lloyd Earl White, William Thomas
Wicker and David Walker Williamson.
Ware is new Lay Leader
Rawlings, Love also elected
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – South Carolina United
Methodists have elected a new lay leader:
Barbara Ware.
Ware, former Greenville District lay
leader, replaces Joe Heyward, who stepped
down after eight years of service.
“As a lifelong member of the UMC, I
am honored to have an opportunity to give
back to a church that shaped my life so
much,” Ware told the Advocate.
Joining Ware in leadership of conference laity are newly elected Lay Secretary
Jenny Rawlings and Associate Conference
Lay Leader Donald Love.
Several new district officers were also
elected: David Braddon, Charleston;
Dennis Sullen, Florence; Becky Green,
Marion; Greg Riley, Orangeburg; Anna
Feagan, Rock Hill; and Pamela
Goodwine-Glover, Walterboro.
In his lay leader report before the body,
Heyward noted that South Carolina “must
continue to take church growth seriously.”
Sometimes, he said, “What we have
learned on the inside of the church we fail
to take on the outside of the church.”
After elections of the new officers,
Heyward gave parting remarks, thanking
conference laity for what has been an
“enjoyable ride” during the past eight
years.
“No matter what happens, no matter
how bad it seems today, life goes on and it
will be better tomorrow,” Heyward shared.
Barbara Ware
greets the
body as newly
elected
Conference
Lay Leader;
Heyward, in
back, steps
down after
eight years of
service. (Photo
by Matt Brodie)
2012 Annual
Conference
Behave like a movement
Gil Rendle helps S.C. Conference embrace change for better disciple-making
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – Bringing a message on how to stop
behaving like an institution and start behaving like a true
Christian movement, church consultant Gil Rendle
implored the S.C. Conference to embrace their wilderness so they can move into a more effective place of disciple-making.
Rendle, senior consultant with the Texas Methodist
Foundation who helps denominations and large churches
navigate issues of change and leadership, led four teaching times during Annual Conference.
“Talk is anything but cheap; conversation is the currency of change,” Rendle said in his opening lesson.
Rendle said people need better things to talk about;
they need to stop talking about church and start talking
about God.
He noted that the face of the mission field has
changed drastically since 1965 – the last time The United
Methodist Church saw an increase in members. Since
then, the UMC has gone from 11 million to 7 million
members.
“The church that I was born into no longer exists, the
culture I was born into no longer exists and we have
been going through a very dramatic change since then,”
Rendle said, pointing out that membership, average
attendance, baptisms and professions of faith have all
gone down, yet budgets, amount of giving, net value of
assets and debt have all gone up.
“Right now, you and I are living off more and more
money given by fewer and fewer people who are getting
“It’s time to stop behaving like an institution and start
behaving like a movement,” church consultant Gil
Rendle reminded the body during one of his four
teacing times during AC2012. (Photo by Allison Trussell)
older and older,” Rendle told the crowd. “Do you have
some sense that what we’re doing is unsustainable? We
can’t keep doing what we’re doing.”
To get to our new reality, first, we need to look around
and figure out where we are, Rendle said: we’re in a missionary kind of place.
“But before we can announce the good news of the
people of Jesus Christ, we have to learn the language of
the people we are now living with; we have to be multilingual, even if all the languages are English,” Rendle
said. “We need to realize how to pay attention more to
the mission than ourselves.”
Next, Rendle said, we need to figure out how to not
only live within but also fully embrace the wilderness
that is our current existence.
“We have to learn how to wander,” Rendle said, noting that the Israelites did not know where they were
going, yet still went. “Not knowing where you’re going
and still being willing to take the trip is faithfulness. It
takes a tremendous amount of courage and trust and a
willingness to wander.”
“Wander” is really just another word for “learning,”
Rendle said, requiring little action but understanding. We
need to learn how to re-invent after all the old rules have
disappeared, how to relate with one another and do
God’s work after all the familiar structures have been
taken away.
“It’s time to stop behaving like an institution and start
behaving like a movement,” Rendle reminded the body.
We’re not here to strengthen ourselves as an organization, but rather to make disciples for Christ, and the
sooner we can get away from who we were and understand who we are now, the sooner we can make those
disciples most effectively.
“Instead of what color to paint the sanctuary, we
should ask who are we painting the sanctuary for,”
Rendle said.
Rendle is the author of five books, a contributor to
four books and the author of numerous articles and
monographs. For more on his ministry, visit www.tmfin
stitute.org/about-tmfs-leadership-ministry/staff.
AC2012 passes resolutions on smoking, outsourcing, Alston Wilkes
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – South Carolina United
Methodists have passed legislation
encouraging tobacco-free places of worship, celebrating 50 years of service
from one Advance Special Ministry and
opposing the outsourcing of jobs to
employ cheap foreign labor without benefits.
Passed June 12 during Annual
Conference, the legislative issues passed
in very little time and with very little
debate. The Committee on Resolutions
& Appeals concurred with all of the resolutions, reported Betty Walker.
• The outsourcing resolution, proposed by the Rev. Bob Huggins, maintains that the S.C. Conference “stands in
strong opposition to the companies that
are outsourcing jobs and are headquartered in the United States and that the
South Carolina Conference does business with,” and that the bishop contact
CEOs and boards of directors of all
companies with which the S.C.
Conference does business “to state our
opposition and to encourage policy
changes.”
• The 50-year recognition resolution
congratulates the Alston Wilkes Society,
an Advance Special Ministry of The
United Methodist Church, for long-time
service helping its clients (offenders, former offenders, the homeless, veterans,
at-risk youth and their families) rebuild
their lives for a safer community.
• The tobacco-free places of worship
resolution, sponsored by the Advocacy
Area of Conference Connectional
Ministries, maintains that the S.C.
Conference will work with Mothers
Eliminating Secondhand Smoke to promote smoke-free policies in UMCs;
encourage congregations to adopt tobacco-use policies prohibiting tobacco use
other than during sacred ceremonies,
such as Native American sacred cere-
monies; and urge conference leadership
to develop policies supporting stricter
regulation of tobacco, an increase in
tobacco prevention programs, the ban of
flavored tobacco products and work to
stop tobacco advertising.
Billy Martin, a member of Enoree
UMC in the Spartanburg District, spoke
against the resolution.
“I think the energy, focus and
resources of the conference are being
hijacked by popular and secular causes,”
Martin said from the floor. “What’s next,
a resolution on obesity? We all need to
look around. They’ll be condemning
fried chicken at church socials.”
The Rev. Amiri Hooker, convener for
the Advocacy Area, said the resolution
intends to encourage members to begin a
tobacco and secondhand smoke education process, “not tie anyone’s hand or,
heaven forbid, stop anyone from eating
fried chicken,” Hooker said.
Moments later, the resolution passed.
ize the conveyance of that property. The
resolution directed that any remaining
funds would be distributed to Kairos
Prison Ministries and the conference
Committee on Congregational
Development.
During a brief discussion, both the
Rev. Tim McClendon, Columbia District
superintendent and presenter of the resolution, and Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor
assured members that churches, and not
an outside entity, make the decision to
discontinue.
The resolution was approved.
A resolution to discontinue Orrville
UMC, Anderson District, was also presented to the conference and approved.
Marshall Memorial UMC has agreed to
minister to the members of Orrville.
“It’s always a sad day when we dis-
“What’s next, a resolution on obesity?
We all need to look around. They’ll be
condemning fried chicken at church
socials,” Billy Martin said during
debate about the tobacco-free resolution. (Photo by Allison Trussell)
Body celebrates two discontinued churches, changes charge lines
By Allison Trussell
FLORENCE – Annual Conference celebrated the life and ministry of two
churches during the final business session.
Last year, the 2011 session approved
the discontinuance of Sharon United
Methodist Church, Anderson District.
This year’s session was asked to author-
continue a church,” McClendon said.
“But we celebrate the ministries that
have gone on before.”
McClendon also presented nine
charge line changes within the Anderson,
Charleston, Columbia, Orangeburg,
Rock Hill and Spartanburg districts.
Changes included creating four station
churches and nine charges. All were
approved by the conference.
2012 Annual
Conference
Cannon speaks to African-American clergywomen on changing lives
FLORENCE – How do we change lives
one sister at a time?
That was the question posed by Dr.
Katie Geneva Cannon during the AfricanAmerican Clergywomen’s Luncheon
June 11 at Annual Conference.
There has always been a remnant of
black women who tell it like it is, she
said, recalling her time at the
Interdenominational Theological Center,
Gammon Theological Seminary.
In 1972, Cannon took a class with Dr.
Isaac Rufus Clark, well known as a serious and demanding preaching professor.
After he told her women did not belong
in his class, she strove to prove him
wrong. But when she flunked the first
exam, she began having second thoughts.
Vivian McFadden, now a retired member of the S.C. Annual Conference, found
her devastated and told her “If you can’t
do the work, get out.” And that was the
wake-up call for Cannon.
“We should be grateful for these
women in our lives,” she said – those
women challenge us, encourage us to
reach beyond ourselves.
Cannon returned to Clark’s class with
a fresh attitude and aced the remainder of
her exams. Later Clark, after he changed
his opinion of women in the pulpit, designated Cannon to carry the mantle of
teaching homiletics in his style.
Cannon became the first AfricanAmerican woman ordained in the United
Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1974, and
the first African-American woman to earn
a doctor of philosophy degree from
Union Theological Seminary in 1983.
Cannon is currently the Annie Scales
Rogers Professor of Christian Ethics at
Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond,
Va., and was the recipient of the 2011
American Academy of Religion
Excellence in Teaching Award.
During her talk at the AfricanAmerican Clergywomen’s Luncheon,
Cannon told the crowd that clergy and
laity often talk about the idea of changing
lives. But rarely do they talk about how to
actually do that. We must learn to recognize and read the “invisible transcript,”
she said.
We begin with ourselves, she told the
crowd. If healing is needed in individual
lives, we must deal with that before we
can help others.
Step 2 is to do your homework: “The
God we serve doesn’t recognize the
‘Matthew effect,’” she said – the idea that
certain people are rewarded regardless of
their deeds.
Third, Cannon noted that every profession or area has its own language, and
religion is no different. We must know
how our understanding of God contributes or takes away from discipleship.
She cited the recent case of megachurch
pastor Creflo Dollar, who was accused by
his 15-year-old daughter of abuse.
SOUTH CAROLINA HELPS ‘IMAGINE NO MALARIA’ – South Carolina
United Methodists dig deep into their pockets and purses during Annual
Conference June 10-13, offering up a grand total of $43,281.68 to help eradicate malaria through the UMC’s Imagine No Malaria initiative. Malaria kills a
child in Africa every 45 seconds, and the UMC has set a goal of eradicating
malaria in Africa by 2015. Instead of spreading offerings from the three
Annual Conference worship services among three separate ministries, this
year the conference decided that all funds will go to the single cause of ending malaria. Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor said the decision was putting “our
faith into action to help to end these preventable deaths.” In the offering during ordination, the Rev. Jeffery Salley said malaria is preventable, treatable
and beatable. “Let us not only Imagine No Malaria; let us join in together and
make this vision become a reality,” he said. (Photo by Matt Brodie)
She told the body that Charleston is
the eighth fastest-growing city in the
U.S.
“Did you ever think you’d hear
‘fastest-growing city’ and ‘South
Carolina’ in the same sentence?” White
said.
With these growing and shifting populations, she said, the question of how
to change to meet their needs becomes
increasingly important for The United
Methodist Church.
“Congregations must look within
ourselves and outside ourselves,” White
said. “Is the man Jesus Christ not worthy of presenting to your community in
such a way that people are called into
that faith community and into a life
with Christ?”
White closed her remarks with a special word of appreciation for Bishop
Mary Virginia Taylor for her leadership.
How do we
change lives one
sister at a time?
That was the
question posed
by Dr. Katie
Geneva Cannon
during the
AfricanAmerican
Clergywomen’s
Luncheon June
11 at Annual
Conference.
(Photo by Allison
Trussell)
Cabinet responds to growing population
during its own transitional period
Citing a “period of transition” ahead,
the Rev. Sara White gave the report of
the Cabinet to the body of Annual
Conference.
White noted several shifts in the
composition of the Extended Cabinet:
the Rev. Tim Rogers is stepping down
as conference secretary; the Rev. Willie
Teague is retiring as Connectional
Ministries director; Joe Heyward steps
down after eight years as Conference
Lay Leader; two new district superintendents are coming on the Cabinet as
Greenville District Superintendent
Charles Johnson retires and Walterboro
District Superintendent Ernest
Etheredge returns to the local church;
and three other district superintendents
are switching districts.
Amid these changes are ever-present
shifts in the state’s demographics,
White noted.
Regardless of whether he is guilty or
innocent, there are people who believe
because they were abused as children that
abuse is the only way to raise children,
Cannon said.
“If it was wrong then, then it’s wrong
now!” Cannon said. “If you don’t know
another way, then pray about it!”
This is true of racism, sexism, ageism,
all of the –isms. “God doesn’t make
ugly,” Cannon said, so why do we continue to treat people as if they are?
The fourth step is to think with our
hearts, and not overlook the least, last and
lost who are visible at our doorstep. Once
we see those who need help, we should
promote strategic options.
“Now is the time to figure out how to
accomplish what needs to be done,” she
said; waiting until the day before an election to work won’t get your candidate
elected.
She said pastors need to come up with
new ways of worship. However, unless
they have a strong personal devotional
life, they cannot expect others to.
The last step Cannon outlined was rereflection and strategic actions: “We must
prevent ourselves from being shut out of
the holy of holies, in order to assure the
inclusion of women from a variety of
backgrounds as integral to the mission, so
that we don’t fall into riddled myths and
patterns of power we abhor.”
A SUNDAE ON EPWORTH – The Rev. John Holler and Mitzie Schafer, of
Epworth Children’s Home, Columbia, draw names of winning churches for
Epworth’s “A Sundae on Epworth” contest. Three lucky winners get the opportunity for Holler to lead worship and preach, plus bring their famous peanutbutter ice cream for a social after for the entire congregation. The winners are
Carol Stackhouse Hall, Wesley UMC in Hartsville; Debra Williams, Shiloh
UMC in Chesterfield; and David Lupo, Hibben UMC in Mount Pleasant. (Photo
by Allison Trussell)
2012 Annual
Conference
Tapping into our ‘apps’ from God
Wesley Fellowship inaugural gathering draws large crowd for insight from John Ed Mathison on reclaiming the church
FLORENCE – Comparing directives from
God to smartphone applications, Dr. John
Ed Mathison brought a word to nearly 200
South Carolina pastors about returning to
the basic truths in Jesus Christ.
Speaking at the inaugural gathering of
the Wesley Fellowship June 11, Mathison
told the crowd that of the 500,000 smartphone apps on the market, every one of
them is worthless unless you actually do
something with it. Like the word of God,
unless you do something about it, apply it
to your life, touch it, “Nothing happens,”
he said.
But when you “tap those apps,”
Mathison said, the amazing happens. Jesus
transforms. The church begins to revitalize. New ministry is born.
The Wesley Fellowship is a new renewal movement in South Carolina begun by
a group of UM clergy to reclaim and
renew the church for the future. They
gathered at St. Paul UMC, Florence, and
learn needed insight from the man who
grew Frazer Memorial UMC in
Montgomery, Ala., from a 400-member
church into one that is 8,800 members
strong and has the largest Sunday school
attendance in the nation.
The number one app we should have is
“the man,” Mathison told the crowd: Jesus
Christ.
“He said, ‘I am the way, the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father but
“There is renewal through lifting up Jesus Christ,” says Dr. John Ed Mathison,
speaking at the inaugural gathering of the Wesley Fellowship. The group is a new
renewal movement in South Carolina begun by a group of UM clergy to reclaim
and renew the church for the future.
through me,’” Mathison said, noting that
Jesus makes it all come together.
“There is renewal through lifting up
Jesus Christ,” Mathison said.
He reminded the clergy that John
Wesley did not urge early circuit riders to
spread God’s word and offer them church.
“Wesley told them, ‘Offer them
Christ,’” Mathison said.
Another top “app” is the proclamation
of Christ’s message. That message – that
20 local pastors licensed at AC2012
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – Reminding them they are
never alone as they go to the places they
are sent, Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor
authorized the licensing of 20 local pastors
during Annual Conference.
“You go with the support and endorsement of all of this Annual Conference and
the endorsement of every lay leader across
this Annual Conference,” Taylor told the
pastors as they knelt at the altar. “There are
a lot of people who are placing their trust
in you.”
Joe Heyward prayed with the body for
each of the local pastors, noting his fervent
desire that they always walk with the Lord
and learn what it means to live and die in
His sight.
“Let them use their life that you might
work through them,” Heyward prayed,
Licensed as local pastors were Patricia
Bundrick Amick, Yon Taek Bae, Scottie
Ray Bramlett, Henry Mat Brewington,
Anne Gregory Bridgers, James Derrick
Cattenhead, Donna Stone Eidson, Rebecca
Lewis Forrest, Deborah Copley Gibson,
Matthew Elliott Greer, Elizabeth McKay
Timms Hudson, Charles Brian Humphries,
Ann deRosset Kovan, Kevin Bruce
Lindley, Otis Dewitt Livingston, Louis
Otto Perez, Walter Edward Strawther,
Charles Lionel Wilbanks, Lashelia Mack
Wyatt and David Owen Ussery.
Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor authorized 20 local pastors to preach and teach
God’s word. (Photo by Matt Brodie)
Jesus is alive – can solve any problem,
transform any life.
Recounting the tale of an extremely
intelligent man who found himself in the
middle of his life with a gambling and
severe alcohol addiction, Mathison shared
that the man eventually ended up in
church one Sunday. The man realized
Jesus was the answer, and just like that –
Mathison clapped his hands loudly – the
man was fixed. He never had a craving for
alcohol or gambling again. He was a man
transformed.
All of these things happen not in some
big esoteric, distant manner but hands-on,
Mathison said: in the local church and in
personal relationships.
The Rev. Bob Howell, senior pastor of
Bethany UMC, Summerville, and the
founder of the Wesley Fellowship, said
much the same in his introduction of
Mathison.
“The church will never be renewed
from top down but from congregations,”
Howell said, speaking of a great yearning
that exists in all of us for new vitality not
only in the denomination, but in all of
Christianity.
Howell said the inaugural meeting of
the Wesley Fellowship drew twice the
crowd expected and received great feedback. Organizers are planning the next
meeting now. Watch future editions of the
Advocate for information.
2012 Annual
Conference
The body receives commuion during Annual Conference.
Sewee’s future explored during
Camps and Retreat report
By Jessica Connor
FLORENCE – What to do about
Sewee?
That was the question posed by leadership of the S.C. United Methodist
Camps and Retreat Ministry during
Annual Conference.
Board Chair the Rev. Smoke Kanipe
and Executive Director Arthur Spriggs
stood before the body, explaining the
board has come up with three possible
options for the 40-acre Sewee Coastal
Retreat Center, which is on pause as a
ministry-led operation. Sewee sits on the
Intracoastal Waterway between
Charleston and Myrtle Beach, considered a “great location,” but it needs a lot
of work to bring it where it needs to be
as a viable adult retreat center.
Currently, Sewee is being leased by
Clemson University while the board
decides what to do with it.
Spriggs said the options include
spending about $8 million to develop
Sewee into a year-round retreat center
and multifunctional facility; trading the
Sewee property for another property that
would work better for the conference’s
needs; or selling the property outright
and focusing fully on the board’s primary operation, Asbury Hills. Kanipe
noted Asbury Hills summer camp registrations are up 15 percent over last year,
and the camp celebrated its 50th
anniversary last week.
After discussion from the body about
doing what we can to preserve Sewee,
Kanipe reminded Annual Conference
that it is the board’s utmost desire to help
the conference be good stewards about
Sewee.
“It’s easy for us all to raise our hands
to say, ‘If it’s there, we’ll go as a group,’
but the real question is are you all going
to help for us to pay for it?” Kanipe said.
The board will continue their hard
look at Sewee as a retreat facility over
the next year and report back at Annual
Conference 2013.
175 years of newspaper ministry
A large crowd of United
Methodists show their support for the Advocate June
10 as the newspaper celebrated 175 years of ministry
in South Carolina. The
Advocate was authorized by
the 1836 General
Conference and launched its
first paper June 24, 1837, as
the Southern Christian
Advocate. To mark its big
milestone, the Advocate
threw an anniversary reception during Annual
Conference, complete with
cake, remarks, mingling and
sales of its brand new history book, “In the World, Not
of the World.” Here,
Advocate Board Chair
Marilyn Murphy smiles during the reception. (Photo by
Allison Trussell)
Flo Johnson speaks on the floor.
Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor does a celebration dance to show how we should
all be excited and exuberant about
Jesus.
Frances Hill
leads song
in celebration of the
40th
anniversary
of the
merger of
of the white
and AfricanAmerican
conferences.
Photos by Matt Brodie
and Allison Trussell
A flutist with
Keepers of
the Word
plays a traditional Native
American
tune during
the opening
of Annual
Conference.
The Rev. Rusty Taylor plays guitar for
the body.
The Revs. James
Grubb, Brad Gray,
Russell Freeman
and Jonathan
Tompkins sport
some new facial
hair in honor of
Mustache Monday
at Annual
Conference.
2012 Annual
Conference
Conference honors exemplary work of churches, individuals
By Allison Trussell
FLORENCE – United Methodist churches and individuals were honored for their
missional, evangelistic and connectional
service to South Carolina during the conference’s annual awards service June 12.
The Denman Evangelism Award
A national award given annually to one
clergyperson and one layperson for “responsible evangelism in the local church,” this
year’s recipients are the Rev. Robert Lee and
Michael Cheatham. Lee is the pastor of the
Bethel-Duncan Chapel Charge, Harleyville.
Cheatham is the lay leader at Faith UMC,
Greer, and leader in lay speaking ministries.
BOM scholarships
The Board of Ordained Ministry offers
several types of scholarships to deserving
theological students.
The Dennie Smith Scholarship was created to assist “any young man or woman …
who intend(ed) to devote their lives to the
ministry in the Methodist Church.” Two of
these scholarships were awarded this year:
Brian Edward Preveaux, a student at Hood
Theological Seminary and pastor of Kings
Mountain Chapel-St. Paul Charge, York; and
Martha Ann Nichols, a student at Duke
Divinity School.
The S.C. Conference Seminary Students
Scholarship was established in 1991 to assist
students from South Carolina. This year’s
recipients are William Wallace Culp, a member of Lee Road UMC, Taylors, and a student at Wesley Theological Seminary;
Rhonda Penelope Jones, a student at the
Interdenominational Theological Center,
Gammon Theological Seminary, and a
member of Buckhead UMC, Ruffin; and
Elizabeth Adams Murray, a student at Duke
Divinity School and a member of Whaley
Street UMC, Columbia.
The Bessie Bellamy Parker Memorial
Scholarship was created in honor of Rev.
Parker, the first woman to be ordained in the
former 1785 S.C. Conference. This year the
award went to Bette Ann Hedden, a student
at Candler School of Theology and a member of Advent UMC, Simpsonville.
Students in Mission
Students in Mission encourages young
people to learn about the mission of the
church by working as summer missionaries
at various sites across South Carolina.
This year’s SIM workers going to Camp
Providence, Anderson, are Dustin Simon,
Winthrop University, Aldersgate UMC,
Rock Hill; Pamela Cooper, University of
South Carolina Upstate, Jeremiah UMC,
Hemingway; and Victoria Spurlock,
Winthrop University, Korean American
Presbyterian Church.
SIM workers going to La Puerta de
Espernaza are Salina Reinhardt, Columbia
College, Foreman Memorial Church; and
Nolan Moore, The Citadel, Wesley UMC,
Charleston. Three workers will go to Rural
Mission, John’s Island: Deontez Wimbley,
Claflin University, Trinity UMC,
Orangeburg; Alyssa David, York Technical
College, Augusta Road UMC, Pelzer; and
Michael Cheatham receives the
Denman Evangelism Award. (Photos by
Allison Trussell)
Jennifer Hall, Lander University, Cayce
UMC, Cayce.
Herbert Hucks Award
While celebrating the future of the
church, the conference also took time to celebrate the past.
Six churches received the Herbert Hucks
Award, given to churches that work on
behalf of our connectional ministry of memory: Pisgah UMC, Aynor, which received its
sixth consecutive award; Broad Street UMC,
Clinton; Mountain View UMC, Taylors;
Tabernacle UMC, Lancaster; St. James
UMC, Burgess Community, Myrtle Beach;
and Campobello UMC, Spartanburg District.
Also honored was the Rev. Roger M.
Gramling, author of “John Wesley and the
Beginnings of Methodism,” who was the
recipient of the 2012 Herbert Hucks
Publication Award.
Archives and History awards
The Commission on Archives and
History also gives awards to churches celebrating centennial and bicentennial years.
One church was recognized for its bicentennial celebration: Friendship UMC,
Florence. Nine churches were recognized as
centennial churches: Lawrence Chapel
UMC, Clemson; Lewis Memorial UMC,
Newberry; Lowell Street UMC, Greenwood;
Bethel UMC, Ruby; New Providence UMC,
Darlington; Aynor UMC, Aynor; Main Street
UMC, Bamberg; El Bethel UMC,
Spartanburg; and Chesnee UMC, Chesnee.
UMM James Award
The United Methodist Men presented
three men with the James Award, given by
the Southeastern Jurisdictional UMM to
those who “have given selflessly of themselves doing good works that glorify God
and the Lord Jesus.”
The three honorees were Dr. Charles
Johnson, Greenville District superintendent;
Dr. Tim McClendon, Columbia District
superintendent; and Dr. Joseph E. Heyward,
conference lay leader.
UMVIM awards
The Michael C. Watson Volunteer in
Mission Award is given to a clergyperson
and layperson who have offered extraordinary volunteer mission service in the S.C.
Conference.
The Rev. Alfonza Jones, pastor of Greater
St Paul UMC, Cross, was recognized for his
mission work within the Cross community.
Lee McMillan, a member of Salem
UMC, Irmo, and the assistant treasurer for
Mount Zion UMC, Bishopville, receives
its Bishop’s Five-Star Award.
the S.C. Annual Conference, was recognized
for her international mission work and her
work within UM Volunteers in Mission.
Scouting awards
The Bishop’s Award of Excellence is
given to scout troops within the UMC who
have created a faith-based environment for
their children. Scout units who received the
2012 Bishop’s Award of Excellence are Boy
Scout Troop 750, Stallsville UMC,
Summerville; Cub Scout Pack 397, Asbury
Memorial UMC, Columbia; Girl Scout
Daisy Troop 2323, Red Bank UMC,
Lexington; Girl Scout Brownie Troop 2378,
Red Bank UMC, Lexington; Girl Scout
Troop 2316, Red Bank UMC, Lexington;
Cub Scout Pack 518, Red Bank UMC,
Lexington; Boy Scout Troop 518, Red Bank
UMC, Lexington; Cub Scout Pack 190,
Trinity UMC, Orangeburg; Boy Scout Pack
190, Trinity UMC, Orangeburg; Cub Scout
Pack 67, Zion UMC; and Boy Scout Troop
94, Pendleton UMC, Pendleton.
Bridgebuilders award
This year’s winner of the Barbara
Boultinghouse Bridgebuilders Award is Dr.
Steven Morgan, pastor of St. Mark UMC,
Seneca, for his active role in building positive relationships between Christians and
Muslims following the Sept. 11, 2001 World
Trade Center attacks.
The Bridgebuilders Award is given to the
one person or organization who has “built
bridges of understanding by promoting the
equity and inclusiveness of all persons, without regard to race, gender, age, handicap or
Girl Scout Daisy Troop 2323, Red Bank
UMC, Lexington, receives a scouting
award.
economic condition.”
Salkehatchie
Representatives from Salkehatchie
Summer Service presented this year’s T-shirt
to the bishop as the conference recognized
the good works the ministry does.
Bishop’s Five-Star Awards
Thirty UMCs received the Bishop’s FiveStar Award of Excellence, given to churches
who have increased membership, attendance
and ministry and who have paid their apportionments in full or by a 25 percent increase
over the previous year.
Churches receiving the 2012 Bishop’s
Five-Star Award of Excellence were Antioch
UMC, Easley; Asbury UMC, Lynchburg;
Bethel UMC, Columbia; Bethel UMC,
Wando; Bluffton UMC, Bluffton; Boone
UMC, Summerville; Chapin UMC, Chapin;
Cherokee Springs UMC, Spartanburg;
Ebenezer UMC, Longs; Greater St. Paul
UMC, Cross; Grove Hall UMC,
Summerville; India Hook UMC, Rock Hill;
Landrum UMC, Landrum; Lebanon UMC,
Eastover, Little River UMC, Little River;
Mount Beulah, Sumter; Mountain View
UMC, Greer; Mount Zion UMC,
Bishopville; New Hope UMC, Sumter; St.
Mark UMC, Seneca; St. John UMC,
Lynchburg; St. Luke UMC, Walhalla; St.
Mark UMC, Greenwood; Suber-Marshall
Memorial UMC, Columbia; Surfside UMC,
Surfside Beach; Trenton UMC, Trenton;
Wampee UMC, Little River; Wesley UMC,
Hartsville; Wesley UMC, Moncks Corner;
and Wightman UMC, Prosperity.
A BIG HIT – The Advocate sells copies of its hardcover history book, “In the
World, Not of the World: 175 Years of the South Carolina United Methodist
Advocate,” during Annual Conference. By the close of conference, the newspaper had sold every one of its books and was taking orders for the next print
run. The book costs $25. To sign up for the book, visit www.advocatesc.org.
Here, Advocate Board Member the Rev. Audrey Boozer buys a book from
Lomax Murphy at the Advocate’s AC2012 booth. (Photo by Allison Trussell)
Ministries & Missions
Volunteers pitch in to renovate Camp Providence
By Aggie Hennessy
ANDERSON – Thirty-eight faithful volunteers from 14 area churches gathered to
participate in a United Methodist
Volunteers in Mission “Change the
World” Work Day at Camp Providence
on May 19.
The Rev. Joyce Murphy, of New Hope
UMC, Anderson, opened the day with
prayer, and with the support of UMVIM,
the volunteers set off to make Camp
Providence ready for the upcoming camp
sessions.
Volunteers were assigned to team leaders armed with mulch rakes, carpentry or
electrical tools, concrete mixer and mortar, or paint and paintbrushes – all with a
mission to spruce up Camp Providence.
The first session of camp began June
11, and the camp needed a fresh face to
be ready for all of the eager children who
would enjoy and learn during their week
at camp. Children participate in water
activities, sports and art classes, plus
Christian interaction and learning. The
camp is open to disadvantaged children of
all faiths.
Volunteers (right) unload and spread
mulch in the children’s play area.
Gadson to lead Tri-District UMW
Spiritual Growth Retreat
Every year the United
Methodist Women of
the Florence, Marion and
Hartsville districts gather
seeking spiritual renewal,
fellowship and fun.
This year’s event will be
Sept. 7-9 at Springmaid
Beach, Myrtle Beach.
Gadson
The Rev. Telley Gadson,
pastor of St. Mark UMC in Sumter, will be this
year’s retreat leader.
The daughter of the Hon. Herbert Gadson
and Rural Mission’s Linda Dingle Gadson, she
received her bachelor’s degree from the
University of South Carolina in 1995 and her
Master of Divinity from Candler School of
AU CELEBRATES 20 YEARS
– Jim Salley lifts up Africa
University as it celebrates its
20th anniversary. “Not bad for
an institution that was not
supposed to happen,” Salley
told the crowd, noting that AU
is “in the DNA of the South
Carolina Annual Conference.”
The first gift to start the university was given by a South
Carolina couple: Jonas and
the late Odette Kennedy of
Bennettsville. Salley said 382
people representing 19 countries on the continent of Africa
graduated during a commencement ceremony at AU
June 9. That makes a total of
4,682 lives that have been
transformed at AU, he said.
Theology in 1999.
Gadson is an ordained elder in the South
Carolina Conference. Known for sensitivity and
a winning smile as her hallmark, she leads by
example and believes that everyone has a place
in the building of God’s Kingdom. She models
her life after the African American spiritual: “If
I can help somebody as I travel along the way,
then my living will not be in vain”
The theme for this year’s retreat is “A
Passion for Leadership,” based on Romans
12:8. The retreat’s song leader will be Pam
Muise, of Surfside Beach. The musician will be
Rick Dusenbury, of Conway.
Registration forms are available in each district’s Newsletter and from the district presidents.
(Photo by Allison Trussell)
Aldersgate Special Needs Ministry Sunday set for Aug. 12
Supporters of Aldersgate Special
Needs Ministry are gearing up for their
Special Sunday, set for Aug. 12 in churches across South Carolina.
Aldersgate is a ministry established
and supported by the S.C. Conference of
The United Methodist Church to provide
homes for adults with special needs,
where residents live in a loving Christian
environment overseen by a dedicated professional staff.
The homes provide life skills training
and work experiences along with daily
living skills, cooking, laundry, self-help,
social and recreational experiences and
Sunday connections to worshipping communities. Aldersgate exists to provide the
highest quality of life with the greatest
level of independence within the context
of a faith-based residential setting for
adults with special needs.
At present, two homes are in operation
with rooms for six residents in each. The
Columbia Builders Care Home for
women is located on Sims Avenue in
Columbia. It is fully occupied by six
women with an additional waiting list.
Aldersgate at The Oaks, the home for
men, is located on the campus of The
Oaks, the United Methodist retirement
home in Orangeburg. It has four residents
and two available rooms.
The S.C. Conference gives support by
designating an Aldersgate Special Needs
Ministry offering to be taken each year on
the second Sunday in August or an alternative Sunday chosen by each church.
Churches, Sunday school classes, study
groups, mission groups and individuals
give additional support with regular and
special gifts.
As there is a growing need for homes
in South Carolina, the board of directors
has a vision to expand Aldersgate to meet
Thirty seconds on Facebook can mean
$1,000 for Killingsworth.
Killingsworth, an Advance Special
Ministry of the UMC, is a home that
helps women in crisis rebuild their lives.
Roughly 19 women live there for the cost
of just $15 a day and stay about seven
months on average, learning life skills
and getting spiritual, career and other
counseling in a safe, Christian environment.
Through a unique opportunity with
Sun Printing of Columbia, anyone who
“likes” Sun Printing’s Facebook page and
types in “Killingsworth” casts a vote for
the ministry, which is competing against
several other ministries for the grand
prize of $1,000.
To help, go to
www.facebook.com/SunPrintingInc and
click “like.” Then type in the word
“Killingsworth: on their page.
You can do this once a day every day
through the end of June.
Help Killingsworth get $1,000 through Facebook
this need. They are asking for help to
make this vision become a reality with
your prayers and your gifts to build and
maintain additional homes and to provide
a residents’ assistance fund. Gifts of property, money or other assets, as well as
professional expertise, are welcome.
Ways you can help: Pray for the success of this needed ministry. Donate
money or property. Adopt Aldersgate as
an ongoing mission project for your
church group. Celebrate Aldersgate
Special Needs Ministry Sunday with an
offering in your church.
Bulletin inserts are available by calling
803-786-9486, ext. 313. For more information, visit www.umcsc.org and click on
“Ministries,” then “Aldersgate.”
In celebration of its 100th anniversary,
Cayce UMC is making a centennial cookbook. We are seeking
recipes from current and past members, clergy and staff.
If you would like to be a part of this historic book of recipes,
please send your recipes and information
to [email protected], or mail it to
Cayce UMC, 1600 Twelfth Street, Cayce SC 29033
We will be collecting recipes and church stories
through August 1, 2012.
Standing in the shadows of veterans
Easley Chapel remembers fallen heroes during Memorial Day service
Easley Chapel UMC, Easley, held its annual Memorial Day Service to honor
veterans and fallen heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this nation. With a
theme of “Standing in the Shadows of Veterans,” the service featured Anderson
District Superintendent the Rev. Susan Leonard-Ray as guest speaker, as well as
an extensive lineup: Lynn Robinson as worship leader; flag bearers and a grand
marshall; VFW and Ladies Auxiliary, Post 6734; American Legion Posts 11, 52
and 236, ROTC, Palmetto State Law Enforcement Officers’ Association, several
performances by the VFW Choir; “Taps” played by SPC James Breazeale III;
memorial remarks; prayer; reflections; and much more. The Easley Charge children sang “God Bless America” and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Here are scenes
from the service:
Veterans
salute
during the
service.
Veterans turn to the Lord during
opening prayer, led by SP/4 Harvey
Craig.
The VFW Choir, Post 6734, performs a rousing song during the service.
Hearts are stirred during “”Taps,” played by
SPC James Breazeale III.
Words of wisdom from
Rev. Susan Leonard-Ray
Easley Chapel pastor the Rev.
Velma Haywood introduces
Anderson District Superintendent
the Rev. Susan Leonard-Ray.
Anderson District Superintendent
the Rev. Susan Leonard-Ray
preaches on stepping outside of
our comfort zone to spread the
truth of the Gospel.
The Easley Charge children sing “God Bless America.” (Photos by Jessica Connor)
Praising those who stepped up and
laid their lives down in the ultimate
sacrifice, Anderson District
Superintendent the Rev. Susan
Leonard-Ray brought a message of
hope and reaching out during the
Memorial Day Service May 27, which
was also Pentecost Sunday.
Leonard-Ray preached on how
God was giving the church a gift during Pentecost – the excitement, energy and passion of the Holy Spirit.
She urged those gathered to step
out of their comfort zones and
embrace a prophetic challenge.
“Sometimes we get comfortable in
how we do things,” Leonard-Ray told
the crowd. “We forget we’re to be a
saving society and instead become a
society of the saved.”
She said we live in a world that is
ever more unaware of the truth in the
Gospel, and sometimes we need to
speak a hard word of truth, justice,
assurance and forgiveness.
Leave A Legacy To Change Lives
The South Carolina United Methodist Foundation
P. O. Box 5087, Columbia, SC 29250-5087
[email protected]
The 2011 Edition of
United Methodist Ministers in South Carolina
Is Offered for Sale by Subscription
(On a First Come, First Served Basis)
By the
Committee on The Conference Journal
$25.00
The 2011 edition of United Methodist Ministers in South Carolina will be offered in a case
bound edition that includes over 300 pages of photographs and brief biographies of
Conference Ministers. The 2011 edition also includes an historical sketch titled, “God,
What a Ride!” United Methodism in South Carolina, 1986-2011 written by the Reverend
Dr. A. V. Huff.
Payment Must Accompany Order
Send Orders to The Secretary of the Annual Conference
Columbia, South Carolina 29203
(Make Checks Payable to The South Carolina Annual Conference)
---------------------------------------------
Conference Secretary
South Carolina Annual Conference of the UMC
Columbia, South Carolina 29203
Enclosed is my check for $ _______, made payable to the South Carolina Annual
Conference for _____ copy(ies) of United Methodist Ministers In South Carolina 2011.
If anyone prefers to pick up a book at the United Methodist Center (after the books
arrive), the cost will be $20.00.
Your Name_____________________________________________
Mailing Address ________________________________________
City ___________________ State _____ Zip Code _______-_____
e-mail:_____________________ phone:______________________
UMW Jurisdiction Conference
South Carolina’s Eaddy, Cooper elected to leadership positions in UMW
Thirty-four United Methodist
Women from the S.C. Conference –
most from the mission team – traveled
to Birmingham, Ala., June 1-2 for the
UMW’s Jurisdiction Conference.
Two from South Carolina’s Florence
District were elected to leadership positions in the UMW.
Janice Eaddy, of Lake City, was
elected as treasurer of the Southeastern
Jurisdiction UMW. Michelline Cooper,
of Hemingway, was named to the board
of directors of the National UMW. (As
of General Conference, the UMW are
now an independent entity, no longer
the Women’s Division.)
At the meeting, the women held
elections and a business meeting, plus
enjoyed plenty of fellowship. The
Triumphant Quartet provided entertainment
A keynote speech by Bishop Violet
Fisher, “Add a Leaf to the Table,”
encouraged all present to foster inclusivity: everyone should be welcomed.
Robin Dease serves as communion
celebrant at regional school.
Janice Eaddy, of Lake City, was elected as treasurer of the Southeastern
Jurisdiction UMW. Michelline Cooper, of Hemingway, was named to the board of
directors of the National UMW.
All study leaders
and most of the
conference team
pause for a smile
at regional school.
Cathy Ford shows off the new electronic voting machines used at SEJ.
Photos courtesy of
Linda DuRant
Linda
DuRant,
Bishop Violet
Fisher and
Frances Hill
enjoy some
“girl time.”
Sue Owens, study leader, plays her role
in the “lies” study on immigration in the
Bible.
Anderson District
District & Local News
St. John’s UMC, Anderson, will
hold a patriotic concert July 1, 2012.
The Chancel Choir will present
“Breathes There a Man,” the third in
the series of centennial concerts celebrating 100 years in the sanctuary.
Greenville District
A dedication service was held June 3
for the Lake Chapel at Asbury Hills,
Greenville. The Rev. Charles Johnson,
Greenville District superintendent, was
the keynote speaker. The outdoor
chapel will provide summer campers
and retreat groups a gathering place for
worship and fellowship large enough to
accommodate 220 people.
Columbia District
The Lake Junaluska Singers performed June 17 at Mount Hebron
UMC, West Columbia.
Bethel UMC, Winnsboro, will celebrate Homecoming July 15 with morning service with a meal following. The
Rev. Kathy Griffin will be delivering
the message.
Gilbert UMC, Gilbert, sponsored a
Community Prayer Walk May 20 at
part of the GBGM Change the World
weekend. Cindy Sligh and Gale
Hunnicutt organized the event. Eleven
people participated.
The Spirit Singers will kick off their
summer tour with a performance at
Mill Creek UMC, Columbia, June 23
at 12:30 p.m.
United Methodists who are part of
the Richland County Domestic
Violence Coordinating Council are
inviting their brothers and sisters across
the region to attend the group’s sixth
back to school bash for the children in
the community. Designed for youth
Flemming at 803-714-7504 or Evelyn
Colter-Sims at 803-422-9275.
Marion District
SERVANTS FOR ALL GOD’S CHILDREN – A day of service was sponsored
by the Mission Committee of Mount Carmel UMC, Charleston, May 19. The
day was enriched by a variety of services, which included an Eastside
Community Spring Feeding picnic lunch, free clothing, a voter registration
area, Alzheimer’s informational materials and the mowing and trimming of
several lots. Special items were also donated to help stock the Charleston
Housing Authority Abraham’s Closet with suitable attire for residents seeking
employment. The church connected with others in the community and delivered a “great day of service” to approximately 200 people of various backgrounds on the east side of Charleston.
ages 8 and up, the bash will be Aug. 1
from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Richland
County School District One,
Teleconference Center, 1310 Lyon St.,
Columbia. The program consists of
education and inspiration for youth and
their families. Parents are encouraged
to participate. Admission is free and
open to the public, and the council
attempts to provide refreshments and
give school supplies. The theme for this
year’s workshop is “Choices, Not
Chance, Determine One’s Destiny.” For
more information, call Deborah
First UMC, Conway, hosted the
Jubilation Ringers of Church of the
Messiah United Methodist of
Westerville, Ohio, on June 3. A youth
handbell choir of 15 ringers, the ensemble was touring the east coast and made
a stop in Myrtle Beach.
Also, the Music Committee of First
UMC sponsored an art show in the
commons area during the month of
June. Church member and photographer Betty Owen displayed some of her
artistic photographs of landscapes and
landmarks. Owen has an undergraduate
degree in photography and is a graphic
artist/publication specialist with the
Horry County School District. The
Music Committee plans to feature other
church artists in subsequent months.
The Idea Exchange
Editor’s note: This new feature in the Advocate is a
place where churches can share what works for them
so other churches with a similar need may benefit from
the United Methodist connection. What works for you?
We’d love to hear. Send your ideas to
[email protected].
The Adult Ministry at Jericho United Methodist
Church, Cottageville, started off with a bang. We have
implemented many activities and fundraisers for the
year. The ministry meets every quarter. We plan a fellowship of togetherness at one of the members’ home
at least every quarter. We come together to laugh, talk,
eat and watch a movie and enjoy each other’s company.
This is what God requires of us to have more fellow-
Take it and run with it!
Jericho Adult Ministry
ship with each other.
In February, we attended a Tyler Perry play, “The
Haves and the Have Nots,” at the North Charleston
Coliseum. It was a night of fun and laughter. After the
play, we dined at Ryan’s in Summerville. We had a
total of 15 adults for that outing. Also, on March 31,
the Adult Ministry sponsored a car wash, which was
another opportunity of fun and fellowship.
In July, National Ice Cream Month, we will sponsor
an Ice Cream Social July 22 from 2-3 p.m. The Adult
Ministry will be serving ice cream to members of
Jericho and the surrounding community. As God has
blessed us, this is our way of blessing others by giving
back to the community.
On Aug. 25, the Adult Ministry will present a gospel
play. In September, the ministry will travel to Atlanta
for a sightseeing tour and a weekend of fellowship.
We have much more in store as the year progresses.
We want to thank God for this ministry, which is so
spiritually enriching. Finally, we thank our pastor, Rev.
Jerry Harrison, for his encouraging words and prayers.
We will continue to pray for God’s strength, power,
grace and mercy to achieve what he wants us to do in
order to uplift his name and bring his Kingdom to
earth. We must always remember who is on our side
because ”one plus God is always a majority.”
– Submitted by Christine Lynah Golden, chair, and
Jacqueline Ford, assistant chair
St. John UMC establishes new food bank
LAMAR – Isaiah 58:10 states that if you
pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall
your light rise in the darkness and your
gloom be as the noon day. In that spirit,
St. John United Methodist Church of the
Oates Community in Lamar, pastored by
the Rev. Amiri Hooker, decided to
become an advocate for “the least” and
establish a food bank.
The church started the food bank
because members saw the need; times can
seem dark and dreary, and many are at
risk because of the nation’s economic
woes. Distribution of food items began
May 22.
Church members are enthusiastic about
the food bank, and the first distribution
was a success, Hooker said.
“We feel blessed to be able to offer
assistance and help to brighten the day for
those who may seem neglected or overlooked,” Hooker said. “We pray that we
may continue to shine a light for those
God has commanded us to serve.”
COLUMBIA – Wesley United Methodist
Church, Columbia, will be offering a
sweetgrass basket class on Saturday, July
21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the James S.
Gadsden Building, 1725 Gervais Street,
Columbia.
St. John began operating
its food bank (right) May 22.
Wesley UMC to offer sweetgrass basket class for community
Cost for the class is $25. All materials
will be provided. For registration: 803-7831836 or marygrahamgrant@gmail.
SEEDS OF HOPE – A worker from
Joseph Fields Farm gathers produce for sale outside John Wesley
UMC, Charleston, through Seeds of
Hope. Seeds of Hope helps local
farmers stay afloat by providing a
place where they can sell produce
directly to customers. Sponsored by
S.C. Christian Action Council, the
ministry was started by a UMC.
District & Local News
Washington St. Jammers breathe island flair into historical church
COLUMBIA – There is nothing unusual about hearing
music and singing in a church. And at Washington Street
United Methodist Church, music is an integral part of
each Sunday morning service.
Music breathes life and vitality into the worship experience and allows the congregation to become active participants.
Washington Street is fortunate to have an E.M.
Skinner pipe organ with its thundering presence brought
to life each week by organist Lewis Shirer. The organ,
combined with a choir under the direction of Angela
Powers, produce what many members feel is an unforgettable musical ministry each Sunday morning.
Washington Street’s soaring ceilings, arched wooden
doors, stained glass and ancient gravesites tell a story
about a place steeped in Methodist tradition. But if you
happen to visit on a Tuesday evening and take a walk
down the hallway that passes in front of the fellowship
hall, you would hear something different, something
unexpected in this traditional church, something with a
Caribbean flair. If you close your eyes you might even
be able to imagine a warm ocean breeze against your
The Washington Street Jammers administer their
special “musical therapy” throughout the Midlands
and beyond.
face and your body would probably began to sway in
time to the smooth beat emanating from within.
The Washington Street Jammers steel drum band,
under the direction of Dr. Chris Lee, have been calling
Washington Street UMC their home for the last three
years. Every Tuesday night, they practice to hone their
skills for their next performance. The band members
include Evelyn Middleton, associate minister of
Washington Street, along with about 10 other members
from the church and several students from both a middle
and high school steel drum program Lee also directs.
The Jammers have been actively performing in the
local community for the past two years and have been
well received wherever they have played. The band has
been in several parades including the Okra Strut in Irmo,
Poultry Festival in Batesburg-Leesville, Come See Me
Parade in Rock Hill and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in
Columbia, where the Jammers were voted best musical
group each of the last two years. The Jammers played at
Washington Street May 20, and traveled to Charleston to
perform in a Caribbean Festival parade on June 16.
There is something magical about the sound produced
from steel drums, its drummers say; people cannot seem
to stand still when they listen, and they are always smiling. The Washington Street Jammers stand ready to
administer their special “musical therapy” throughout the
Midlands and beyond.
‘Give My Regards to Broadway,’ meet me at St. John UMC
LAMAR – While the physical location of St. John
United Methodist Church in the Oates community
might appear dark and country at night to town
dwellers, the area was lit up like New York City on
May 12, when the church presented what has been
described as a “stellar performance.”
The performance, titled “An Evening of Broadway
Entertainment,” was also their annual spring banquet.
The production was a compilation of the music and
drama departments of Mayo High School for Math,
Science and Technology of Darlington.
Since the completion of its multi-purpose building
nine years ago, the church has annually staged banquet
programs as part of outreach to celebrate that accomplishment.
“The events have always been an inclusive, entertaining and informative activity for the community;
however, this year’s presentation was an ambitious
attempt to present the voices of African-American
Broadway productions that are indicative of universal
St. John UMC, Lamar, hosted a New York City-style
evening of Broadway May 12.
themes relative to all people,” said the Rev. Amiri
Hooker, St. John pastor. “The presentations were done
not as characters but through characterizations of dialogue and music.”
Paulette Lunn, drama coach at Mayo who is a member of St. John, and Cole Davis, the school’s music
Busy times come to Zion UMC
ANDERSON – Zion United Methodist
Church has had a busy several months
filled with plenty of laughter, life and celebration.
On Feb. 11, the church hosted its annual Zion Tea Party. This year’s theme was
“Garden Party.” They had a strong turnout
who got to hear the encouraging words of
Lou Souders.
As February continued, Zion got to
welcome lay speakers from the entire district for a Lay Speaking Academy hosted
by Zion UMC.
In March, Zion took its confirmand
group to Lake Junaluska for the weekend.
The following weekend, the Boy Scouts
hosted their Spring Camp Out at Saddlers
Creek. On that trip, leaders from Zion
were able to teach several young boys to
fish. By the end of that same month,
church members were gearing up for their
Chili Cook-off and Silent Auction, which
was a lot of fun and a big success.
In April, Zion held its annual Easter
Egg Hunt. The trustees coordinated a
church clean up day, and the United
Methodist Women participated in a
Rainbow Tea hosted by Bethel UMC. On
April 22, Zion celebrated its 125th church
anniversary with a special worship service
and meal. Three former pastors came to
celebrate the day with them. The also held
a pulpit exchange with Bethel UMC April
29.
On Mother’s Day, the church celebrated those women in the Zion community
who had beat cancer: Sharon Barnette,
Barbara Edwards, Barbara Horton, Jane
Pierce, Chris Williams, Darleen Brandon,
Helen Edwards, Patti Monnen, Chris
Sabo, Miriam Williams, Cynthia Clamp,
Willa Handlin, Ruth Merrick and Renee
Volrath.
On May 20, Zion welcomed 10 new
confirmands into professing membership
along with 19 additional members. A special welcome went to Josh Allen, Ethan
Barnette, Emily Claypool, Cady Cole,
Drew Cole, Cameron Geram, Cody
Hudson, Natalie Ramirez, Barrett Volrath,
Meghan Williams, Darleen Brandon,
George Brandon, Jamie Cole, Cathy Cole,
Cherry Graham, Jim Graham, Derek
Horton, Beth Horton, Bailey Horton,
Brooke Horton, Amanda Hughes, Kay
Hughes, Julie King, Jim Myers, Tina
Myers, Doug Palmer, Kathy Palmer,
Hank Wilkinson, and Diane Wilkinson.
Dr. Shawn Armstrong serves as Zion
UMC pastor.
director, collaborated to present five suites from five
Broadway productions that included monologues and
an appropriate thematic musical selection. The five
suite collections were “For Colored Girls,” “Fences,”
“The Amen Corner,” “A Raisin in the Sun” and “Color
Purple.”
Special guests presented a dramatic interpretation, a
ballet performance and what Hooker called “a Bible
thumpin’, junk talking’ advisor that Madea lovers could
enjoy.”
The church had a packed house that expressed their
appreciation and deemed the presentation a rousing
success. In addition, many are making requests as to
what the show should include next year.
“We were pleased with the production because of
the talent and hard work the participants and sponsors
displayed and the acceptance by the church and community for more ‘diverse’ entertainment that serve as
testimony to the struggles and joys of God’s people,”
Hooker said.
On May 20,
Zion welcomed 10
new confirmands into
professing
membership
along with
19 additional
members.
Rebuilding Lives for a Safer Community
An Advance Special Ministry of the United Methodist Church that provides
offenders, former offenders, the homeless, at-risk youth, veterans and their
families the tools they need to become productive citizens.
Celebrating 50 Years in 2012!
Your help is needed as a volunteer or member. Contact us today.
www.alstonwilkessociety.org • 803.799.2490
B
2012 Ministerial Appointments
y authority of The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church I hereby fix these appointments for the South Carolina Annual Conference
for the 2012-2013 conference year. As commissioned, licensed, consecrated or ordained members of the covenant of ministry, let us offer ourselves
without reserve to the responsibilities and opportunities of these appointments.
Resident Bishop
South Carolina Annual Conference
June 13, 2012
AF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Affiliate Member
AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Associate Member
DM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Diaconal Minister
DR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Retired Diaconal Minister
FD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Deacon in Full Connection
FE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Elder in Full Connection
FL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Full-time Local Pastor
OD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Deacon Member of other annual conference
Anderson District
(49 charges, 74 churches)
Susan Leonard-Ray, DS 3
ABBEVILLE:
Bells – Kevin B. Lindley (FL) 1
Grace – Jason G. Wilson 3
Main Street – Randy M. Taylor 7
Sharon-Smyrna – Frederick J. Shepard (PE) 2
ANDERSON:
Anderson Circuit – Wade A. Wyatt Sr. (PL)
(Mount Pleasant, Mount Sinai, Emmanuel)
Anderson Cooperative Parish – Kurt L. Stutler
(OF)(346.2) (1/2) 2
North Anderson Charge – Kurt L. Stutler (OF)(346.2)
(1/2) 2
SY (Carol Burdette) 2
(John Wesley, Toxaway, Sandy Springs)
Bethel-Homeland Park Charge – Scottie R. Bramlett
(PL) 1
Marshall Memorial-Ebenezer Charge – Charles N.
Brookshire (PL) 1
New Hope – Joyce G. Murphy 4
St. John’s – Dan L. Batson 3
Thompson Centennial-Bethlehem – Henry Ravenel Sr.
(PE) 8
Trinity – Paul D. Frey 6
Zion – Shawn G. Armstrong 2
BELTON:
Latimer Memorial – D. Jeffery Roper (PE) 4
Union Grove – Amy D. Bratton 1
CALHOUN FALLS:
Calhoun Falls – Franklin D. McCoy (RSY) 3
CENTRAL:
Mount Zion – Kurt A. McPherson (PE) 5
CLEMSON:
Clemson – Keith D. Ray II 3
Associate – Patrick H. Kelley (RSY) 1
Campus Minister – C. Lane Glaze 12
Lawrence Chapel – Peggy J. Garland 2
DUE WEST:
Gilgal-Shiloh – William H. Bynum (RSY) 1
EASLEY:
Arial-Tabor – Roger M. Gwinn (PL) 9
Bethesda – Stephen P. Taylor 1
Easley Charge – Velma M. Haywood 5
(Easley Chapel, John Wesley)
Fairview-St. Paul – L. Daniel Mason (PL) 2
First Church – Rodney K. Powell 1
Minister of Programs – Ronald E. Bentley (FD) 6
St. Andrew – Cynthia C. Taylor 1
Zion – SY (Steven L. Shugart) 1
HONEA PATH:
Chiquola-Donalds – W. Terry Mitchell (RSY) 1
Trinity – Gayle M. Summey 1
IVA:
Bethel-Ruhamah – Joe D. Durham (PL) 2
Brenda W. Durham (PL) 2
LIBERTY:
Liberty – Jonathan W. Donnald (FL) 1
PENDLETON:
Pendleton – Ben L. Barnett 7
Pendleton Charge – Calvin L. Smith 6
(Bethel, Central)
PICKENS:
Grace – James McCoy-Bruce 1
Mount Bethel-Porter’s Chapel – Richard W. Waldrep 1
PIEDMONT:
Shiloh – Perry D. Evatt 3
SALEM:
Salem – J. Timothy Whited (PL) 6
SENECA:
Ann Hope- Friendship – Joyce S. Hendry (FL) 3
New Harmony-Robinson Chapel – Lorenza Bell II
(PL) 1
St. Mark – Steven D. Morgan 12
Minister of Congregational Care – Jeffrey W. Childress
(FD) 8
STARR:
Starr Charge – Robert E. Eubanks (RSY) 1
(Hebron, Starr)
TOWNVILLE:
Dickson Memorial – Paul M. Cheezem Sr. 3
WALHALLA:
St. Luke – Richard H. Reams (PE) 3
WESTMINSTER:
Double Springs- Rock Springs – Ronald J. Massey (PL) 8
Hopewell-Zion Charge– Earl H. Gunsallus (RLOE) 8
Westminster-Chicopee – Joseph E. Allinder (RSY) 1
Pastor of Congregational Care – Edward L. Mainous
(RSY) 18
ABBREVIATION KEY
OE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Elder Member of other annual conference
OF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Full Member of other denomination
OP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Probationary Member of other annual conference
OA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Associate Member of other annual conference
PD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Probationary Deacon
PE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Probationary Elder
PL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Part-time Local Pastor
PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Probationary Member
WILLIAMSTON:
Fairfield– Carleathea M. Benson (PL) 3
Grace-Pelzer – Marguerite “Kempie” Shepard 2
Williamston Charge – Clara M. Gary (PL) 3
(New Golden Grove, Moores Chapel, St. James)
APPOINTMENTS TO EXTENSION MINISTRIES
Within the Connection:
Leonard-Ray, Susan. – District Superintendent, Anderson
District 3
Approved by United Methodist Endorsing Agency:
Shugart, Steven L. – Senior Army Chaplain, SC National
Guard, First Easley CC 3
Other Valid Ministries:
Wolfe, Paige Matthews (PD) – Emory University Hospital,
Resident Chaplain 2
ATTEND SCHOOL – None
APPOINTED IN OTHER ANNUAL CONFERENCES
Walley, Erin (PD) – Minister of Christian Education, First
UMC, Glen Ellyn, IL 3
LEAVE OF ABSENCE – None
FAMILY LEAVE – None
SABBATICAL LEAVE – None
INCAPACITY LEAVE
Mitchell, Paul 3
Petry, Scott 2
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Ashmore, E. Warren
Bowling Jr., Ralph T.
Bynum, William H.
Carlisle, Robert N.
Claytor, Robert B.
Cleasby, Bruce
Cox, H. Michael
Ethridge, Bobbie R. (FD)
Eubanks, Robert L.
Farley, William B.
Ferguson, Clifford, F.
Ford, Julian R.
Franklin, E. Herbert
Freeman, John M.
Hartsell, Franklin D.
Holroyd, Thomas W.
Keller, A. LeRoy ˙
Kelley, Patrick H.
Lewis, Sinclair E.
McAuley, Robert E.
McCoy Sr., Franklin DeWitt
Mainous, Edward L.
Marsh, Ed C.
Marsh, Eileen C.
Medlin, Anthony Steele
Mitchell, W. Terry
Murphy, A. Wesley
Nicholson, Joseph R.
Norris, Robert J.
Owens, George C.
Padgett, Clarence D.
Patterson, Stanley B.
Pearce, Roger Wayne
Pridgen, Joseph W.
Quarles, Calvin (RL)
Ray, Jack E.
Shattuck Sr., Leslie J. (RL)
Stillwell, Robert E.
Stout, Phillip E.
Thompson, Leon E.
Thompson, Morris C.
Vandiver, Michael L.
Woodham, Scott
Retired Missionaries: None
DIACONAL MINISTRY
Diaconal Ministers:
Brashear, Carolyn Elaine – Program Director, Director of
Christian Education, Trinity CC 15
Retired Diaconal Ministers:
Fuhr, Ann Barton – Lawrence Chapel CC 10
DEACONESSES
Active:
Edens, Mary Lou – Deaconess for Local Mission, Tracey
Jackson Program of G.I.F.T., Main Street, Abbeville
CC 11
Retired: None
RA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Retired Associate Member
RD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Retired Deacon in Full Connection
RE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Retired Full Elder
RL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Retired Local Pastor
RP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Retired Provisional Member
RSY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Retired PE, AM, or Full Member supplying a charge
SY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Supply
TBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .To Be Supplied
Charleston District
Patricia J. Parrish, DS 5
BONNEAU:
Berkeley Circuit – J. Peter Belec (RSY) 1
(Berea, Eccles)
Ebenezer-Hood’s Chapel – William H. Tanner (FL) 4
CHARLESTON:
Aldersgate – S. Aaron Meadows 3
Asbury-St. James – Timothy G. Shaw (PL) 7
Bethany – Michael C. Walker 2
Bethel – John L. Warren Jr. 3
Centenary – SY (Lorenzo Moses) 9
Charleston Korean – Yon Taek Bae (FL) 2
Cherokee Place – Ellen A. Younker (RSY) 3
Cokesbury – Megan L. Gray 1
Epworth – Benjamin O. Burt (PE) 1
Grace – Richard A. Broomall 3
Associate – Katherine A. Brock (PD) 2
John Wesley – Gary D. Phillips 5
Associate – Kathy P. Hudson 1
Midland Park – Leonard C. Ripley III (FL) 3
Mount Carmel – Carlton J. McClam Sr. 3
New Francis Brown – Harold G. Gordon 7
North Charleston – Wendy Hudson-Jacoby (OE)(346.1)
2
Old Bethel – Timothy J. Bowman 7
St. Andrews Parish – William B. Gray 1
St. Mark – Scarlett T. Hester 4
Trinity – Daniel Flessas 3
Washington – William M. Wrighten (PL) 2
Wesley – Anna G. Miller 1
CROSS:
Cross – Barbara L. Reid 2
(Jerusalem, Zion)
Friendship – SY (Reggie Rowell) 3
Greater St. Paul – Alfonza Jones Sr. (FL) 5
EDISTO ISLAND:
Edisto Island-Wesley Memorial – J. Scott Efird 3
FOLLY BEACH:
Folly Beach-St. John’s – Stephen A. Williams (FL) 1
GOOSE CREEK:
Goose Creek – Frances Debra Dowdle (AM) 13
St. James – A. Judson King 1
HOLLYWOOD:
Ravenel – R. Glenn Davis Sr. (RSY) 8
Wesley – Keith Hunter 4
HUGER:
St. Thomas Charge – Steven L. Love 3
Associate – JoAnn Garrett (PL) 3
(New Hope, Stewart Chapel, Zion)
ISLE OF PALMS:
First – David C. Surrett 7
JAMESTOWN:
Jamestown – David N. Phillips (PL) 4
(Mount Zion, New Hope, St. James)
JOHNS ISLAND:
Johns Island Parish – Angelin J. Simmons 11
Associate – Tony B. Richardson Sr. (PL) 2
(Bethlehem, New Webster, St. James)
Wesley – Cathy D. Mitchell 2
LADSON:
Wesley – Julius L. McDowell 4
McCLELLANVILLE:
Sewee Santee Charge – James O. Harper (RSY) 6
(McClellanville, Ocean Grove, Wren’s Chapel)
MONCKS CORNER:
Centenary – Darlene M. Richardson (PL) 3
Joshua – Mae Frances Taylor 7
Moncks Corner – T. Lee Bryant Jr. 4
Smyrna – Larry W. Rodeffer (RSY) 2
MOUNT PLEASANT:
Hibben – James C. Hunter 6
Kathryn O. Hunter 6
Point Hope – Walter J. Cantwell (PE) 2
PINOPOLIS:
Pinopolis – James A. Grubb 3
Wesley – Lee C. Bines 7
RIDGEVILLE:
Lebanon Charge – Kenneth C. Burr (FL) 2
(Lebanon, Spring Hill)
New Hope – Randall W. Horres (FL) 4
ST. STEPHEN:
All Saints Charge – Tarnishia Jenkins-Jackson 1
(Cordesville, New Light)
Bethel – Cindy S. Shaw (PL) 3
Mount Nebo – Shirley Williams Dingle (FL) 11
St. Stephen Charge – Bonnie F. Miller (PL) 6
(Rehoboth, St. Stephen)
Jehovah – Mary A. Snowden (PL) 4
SUMMERVILLE:
New Church Start-Ashley Ridge – Jennifer L. Williams 4
Bethany – Robert J. Howell Jr. 15
Associate – Mark E. Fentress (OE)(346.1) 7
Associate – Adriane M. McGee 4
Associate – Stephen P. Simoneaux Jr. (PE) 2
Boone Hill – Kelli W. Taylor 3
Enoch Chapel-Grove Hall
(Enoch Chapel) – Victoria Richardson (PL) 8
(Grove Hall) – Virginia B. Stafford (PL) 9
Knightsville – Edgar B. Reynolds III 7
Stallsville – David D. James 7
Summerville Parish – James R. Cannion 4
(Murray, Wesley)
Hawkins, Lisa C. – Director, Charleston Wesley
Foundation, Centenary, Charleston CC 12
Parrish, Patricia J. – District Superintendent, Charleston
District 5
Grant, George Henry – Director of Research in Faith and
Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Bethel CC 13
Moses, Lorenzo – Chief Chaplain, Ralph H. Johnson VA
Medical Center, Centenary CC 19
Rowell, Eldridge – Chaplain, Medical University of South
Carolina, Friendship CC 5
Jeffries, Nicholas A. (FD) – Camp Chestnut Ridge, Program Director, Efland, NC, Bethlehem-Prospect CC 6
White Jr., Charles L. – National Director of Field
Operations, NAACP, Wesley, Hollywood CC 13
APPOINTED TO ATTEND SCHOOL – None
APPOINTED IN OTHER ANNUAL CONFERENCES – None
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Ratledge, Jacki Sue 2
Teagan, Deborah Luther 3
FAMILY LEAVE
Smith, David S. 2
INCAPACITY LEAVE
Taylor, Marvin 3
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Alewine, James Edwin
Anderson, William F. (RL)
Belec, J. Peter
Blackwell, Theodore E. (RL)
Blocker, R. Richard
Boone Jr., John D.
Brinson Sr., Barry F. (RL)
Brisbon, David A.
Busch, George P.
Cash, H. Carroll (RL)
Clendaniel, Donald
Cubie, James (RL)
Davis, Gloria R.
Davis, R. Glenn, Sr. (RA)
Derrick, Barbara A.
Edwards, Annette C.
Fender, Genevieve M. (RL)
Fowler, F. Barney
Gibbs, Sr., Joe (RL)
Graham, J. Arthur
Harper, James O.
Hendricks, J. Kirkwood
Holler, Adlai C.
Hughes, Elizabeth C.
Hughes, Jessie Clark
Ivey, Ruth Ann (FD)
Jefferson, Ethel Gethers
Johnson, Franklin H.
Knight, Norman Lee (RA)
Kulik, Roye Lynn
Locklair, Josephine M.
McFadden, Vivian
Mills, F. David
Myers, John David
Nix, A. Robert
Rodeffer, Larry William
Rogers-Berry, Richard
Seignious, Richard E.
Stanton, Talmadge
Stockman, Roy M.
Sumter, Wendell W. (RL)
Tanner, Robert W.
Wilson Jr., Harlan E.
Wilson, Rufus L. (RL)
Younker, Ellen A.
DIACONAL MINISTRY
Diaconal Ministers: None
Retired Diaconal Ministers: None
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired: None
Columbia District
(57 charges; 66 churches)
William Timothy McClendon, DS 7
BLYTHEWOOD:
Trinity – Catherine Jamieson-Ogg 12
Upper Richland Charge – Charles L. Wilbanks (PL) 1
(Beulah, Oak Grove)
Zion – Debbie H. Miller (PL) 6
CHAPIN:
Chapin – Joseph D. Flowers 12
COLUMBIA:
Asbury Memorial – Stephen M. McCormick 3
Ashland – William M. Bruce 1
Bethel – Henry M. Davis IV 4
Bluff Road – Leatha W. Brown 5
College Place – Tiffany D. Knowlin 5
Columbia Korean – Luke MoonTaeg Rhyee 4
Epworth Memorial – Susan D. Culler 1
Fair Lawn – Scott M. Bratton 1
Francis Burns – Ernest C. Etheredge 1
Grace – Rebecca M. Wilkins 2
Greene Street – Kenneth R. Colton (RSY) 1
I. DeQuincey Newman – Joseph A. Wilson II (FL) 10
Journey – George A. Ashford 6
Lebanon – Mark F. Williams (PE) 3
Main Street – Joe Cal Watson 11
Mill Creek-McLeod – Sharon L. Long (PL) 2
North Columbia Charge – John Jordan (PL) 1
(Mount Pleasant, St. Luke, St. John)
Northeast – David W. Day 3
Rehoboth – Douglas O. Benton Jr. (OA)(346.1) 2
Shandon – Michael L. Guffee Sr. 15
Associate – Joshua T. McClendon 1
Associate – Julie S. Belman 4
Minister of Music and Arts – Donald E. Huss Jr. (OD) 2
St. James – Neal “Lex” McDonald (HL/PL) (359.2) 2
St. Mark – W. Robert Borom (RSY) 1
Suber Marshall Memorial – Phil H. Reynolds (PL) 3
Trenholm Road – R. Wayne Horne 6
Associate – Mollie L. Bame 7
Director of Music – Sarah T. Fletcher (FD) 4
Virginia Wingard Memorial – John W. Culp 8
Washington Street – William R. Childs 3
Wesley – John B. Dicks Sr. 7
Wesley Memorial – Jeri Katherine Warden-Sipes (PE) 3
Whaley Street – Reginald D. Wilson Jr. (PL) 1
Windsor – Anthony S. Rowell 6
ELGIN:
West Kershaw – Joanne Lockard-Hawkins (FL) 3
(Ebenezer, Salem, Smyrna)
GILBERT:
Beulah – Robert E. Dunn 5
Gilbert – Linda B. Dunn 5
(Gilbert, Rehoboth)
Pond Branch – Michael S. Bingham 3
Shiloh – Christopher Greene 1
IRMO:
Salem – D. Mitch Houston 7
Shady Grove – Robert M. Vincent 3
Union – William H. Phillips 10
Associate – Mallory J. Forte (PE) 1
LEXINGTON:
Boiling Springs – Robert D. Reeves 7
Faith – W. Donald Britt (RSY) 8
Lexington – Kenneth D. Owens 3
Associate – Miyoung Paik 14
Director of Christian Education – Ruth H. Arant (FD)
24
Mount Horeb – Jeffrey G. Kersey 19
Associate – Brian T. Rainwater (OE)(346.1) 10
Associate – Faye J. Stephens 4
Red Bank – W. Russell Freeman 2
WEST COLUMBIA-CAYCE:
Brookland – J. Wayne Smith 3
Cayce – Joseph R. James Jr. 1
Mount Hebron – Timothy J. Rogers 1
Associate – Mandy T. Young 5
Minister of Counseling – Kenneth W. Barwick 30
Platt Springs – Rebecca J. Shirley 3
Shiloh – Matthew D. Rucker (RSY) 1
Trinity – Phil C. Lavender 3
New Church Start-West Columbia Hispanic Ministry
Mission Congregation – Sonia Ely Brum (1/2) 1
WINNSBORO:
Fairfield Circuit – Terry A. Roof 3
(Bethel, Cedar Creek, Monticello)
First, Winnsboro – J. Bart Sistare III 4
Gordon Memorial-Greenbrier – Walter C. Ballenger III 6
Anderson, David L. – Executive Assistant Pension and
Benefits (Conference Benefits Officer), Main Street
CC 8
Arant, James S. (FD) – Congregational Specialist,
Greenwood & Orangeburg districts, Lexington CC 24
Brum, Sonia Ely – Congregational Specialist, Hispanic
Coordinator & Columbia District, Mount Hebron CC
(1/2) 10
Gramling, Roger M. – President, S.C. United Methodist
Foundation, Ashland CC 28
Henry-Crowe, Susan – Dean of the Chapel & Religious
Life, Emory University, Wesley CC 22
Holler, John E. – President and CEO Epworth Children’s
Home, Trenholm Road CC 7
James, Katherine L. (FD) – Director, S.C. Conference
Connectional Ministries, Cayce CC 1
McClendon, W. Timothy – District Superintendent,
Columbia District, Washington Street CC 7
Moseley, Diane A. – Executive Director of Killingsworth,
Lexington CC 37
Nelson, Kenneth L. – Congregational Specialist, AfricanAmerican Ministries & Hartsville District, Francis
Burns CC 6
Radcliffe, Karen H. – Coordinator of Clergy Services,
Lexington CC 1
Taylor, J. Russell (OE)(346.1) – Director of
Congregational Development 8
Wall, Tom H. – Director, Wesley Foundation, USC,
Washington St. CC 23
Chong, Yu Fong – Chaplain, Agape Senior Community,
Ashland CC 8
Collier, Elizabeth Jane – Coordinator Chaplain, Center for
Spiritualcare, Alexian Brothers Med. Ctr., Elk Grove
Village, IL, Union CC 9
Dixon, Walter – Chaplain, Presbyterian Hospital, New
York, Asbury Memorial CC 5
Evans, John D. (RSY) – Pastoral Counseling, Licensed
Marriage and Family Therapist, Columbia,
Washington Street CC 18
Middleton, Nichole – Chaplain, Federal Bureau of
Prisons, Bennettsville, SC, Trenholm Road CC 3
Williams, Robert T. – Chaplain, U.S. Navy, Virginia
Wingard Memorial CC 26
Kennerly, Kenneth R. – Counselor V.A. Medical Center
Addiction Treatment Unit, Columbia, Trinity, West
Columbia CC 33
Compton, Dawn McGahee (FD) – Minister to Children,
Timberlake UMC, Lynchburg, VA, Ashland CC 2
Fowler, Vivia L. (FD) – Dean and Vice President of
Academic Affairs, Wesleyan College, Macon, GA,
Main Street CC 5
APPOINTED IN OTHER METHODIST DENOMINATIONS –
None
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Lee, Young In “David” 3
TRANSITIONAL LEAVE – None
INCAPACITY LEAVE
Pope, Lewis Carroll – Fair Lawn CC 10
Dodds, Roger – Mount Pleasant CC 7
White, Toni L. – 3
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Adams, James C.
Aiken, Clyde M.
Alexander, Robert E.
Alley, Joseph W.
Barnes Jr., Rudolph C. (RL)
Bauknight, Bill
Bauknight, John M.
Bell, Michael C.
Bigelow, Archie R.
Borom, W. Robert
Branch, Charles S.
Britt, W. Donald
Brooks, Boyce F.
Buff Jr., L.H.
Buie, Franklin B.
Bynum Jr., F. Bundy
Carlson, W. Paul
Clary, Carl D.
Colton, Kenneth R.
Cooper, Wiley
Cothran, Lee J.
Cox, Albert L.
Culp, Karin B.
DeDonato, David M.
Dunn, Charles L.
Edwards, Charlie A.
Ellis Jr., Edgar H.
Evans, John D.
Evans, William F.
Frazier, Joseph
Gadsden, James S.
Griffin, M. Kathryn
Gunn, James H.
Harmon, Samuel K.
Hays Jr., Lawrence F.
Holmes, Eugene C.
Hutchins, Charles A. (FD)
Jones, Phil M.
Jones, Thom C.
Kinnett, William R.
Knowles-Tuell, James
Laney, Sterling S.
Lare, Marvin I.
Lazar, Julian
Linder, Alice D.
Long, Happy W. L.
Massey, Reese
Matthews, Carolyn
McEachern, Theodore B.
McKeown, Robert E.
McWilliams, Edward L.
Middleton, Evelyn C.
Miller Jr., Noble F.
Montes, Grace Lovell
Moore II, Raymond L.
Morris, Franklin D.
Nates, James H.
Nelson, Jerry P.
Nichols Jr., George H.
Pearson, John C.
Pfeiffer, Charles G.
Reese Jr., Fred M.
Ruth, E. Devon
Spears, R. Wright
Simmons, Colin E.
Steil, W. Edwin
Summers, Thomas A.
Teague, Willie S.
Walter, Ted H.
Washington, Jack C.
Watson, J. Austin
Way, Robert B.
Westerkam, Diana C.
Williams, J. Tom
Williams Jr., Thomas M.
DIACONAL MINISTRY
Diaconal Ministers:
Brandes, Laurie G. – Minister of Christian Education,
Epworth Memorial UMC, Asbury Memorial CC 20
Carter, R. Fletcher – Virginia Wingard CC
Quackenbush, Lillian – College Place CC
Walker, Cheryl – Wesley CC
Watson, Carol Hart – Main Street CC
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired: None
Florence District
John Wesley Hipp, DS 1
CADES:
Bethesda – Robert L. Shuler 7
Cades-Cameron – Gusta Ger Ganes (PL) 3
Faith – Donald E. McAllister Sr. (FL) 6
Hebron-Cades – Tommy Tucker (PL) (3/4) 2
(Hebron, Pergamos, Bethesda)
COWARD:
St. Paul-Coward – John M. Altman (PL) 8
FLORENCE:
Central – William F. Malambri III 1
Joshua L. Blackwelder (PE) 1
Cumberland – Anthony Hodge 1
Highland Park – Michael B. Henderson 1
Liberty-Friendship – John Henry “Jack” Vickers III 1
Mars Bluff – Darren J. McClam (PL) 3
(Mount Zion, Bowers Chapel)
Pisgah – James Michael Arant 3
Quinby-Bethsaida – Gerald L. Truluck (FL) 8
St. Paul – G. Dane Moorehead 7
Salem – Joyce M. Chiles 2
Tabernacle-Dawsey – Angela Marie Etheredge-Manly
(FL) 1
Wesley – Ernest W. Frierson (PL) 2
GABLE:
Lewis Chapel-Zoar – Karen E. Starr 1
GREELEYVILLE:
Greeleyville-Lane – Harry R. Stullenbarger (RSY) 9
Greeleyville Parish – Richard McClary (PL) 6
(Wilson Chapel, Long Branch)
Mount Vernon – C. Nicholas Lyerly (PL) 4
HEMINGWAY:
Ebenezer-Old Johnsonville – TBS
First – Milton L. McGuirt (RSY) 5
Good Hope – Carolyn R. Malphrus 2
JOHNSONVILLE:
Johnsonville – Hasford John Cribb Jr. (RL) 1
Johnsonville Circuit – Richard C. Jayroe (PL) 15
(Brown’s Chapel, Trinity, Vox Memorial)
JORDAN:
Jordan – Carl F. Ritter II 5
(Jordan, Union, Bethlehem)
KINGSTREE:
Elijah – Kay A. Best 3
Friendship – Warren Murdock Sr. 1
Jeremiah-Mount Seal – Geneva G. Stafford 9
Jerusalem-St. Luke – SY (Whittaker V. Middleton) 1
Kennedyville – Lindora F. James (PL) 4
Kingstree – Joe L. Blackwelder 3
Kingstree Circuit – James D. Marchant (PL) 3
(Millwood, Cedar Swamp, Beulah)
Kingstree East – William S. James (AM) 3
(Asbury, Bethel)
Mount Zion – J. Jeannetté Cooper 1
St. Mary – Larry McCray (PL) 4
St. Michael – Samuel B. Cooper (RSY) 3
St. Paul – James Charles Lane 5
LAKE CITY:
Lake City – Samuel Earle Marcengill 2
Lake City Circuit – William H.D. Bowser Jr. 6
(St. John, St. Luke, Ninevah)
Lake Point – Jerry L. Dicks (PL) 6
Mount Beulah – William T. Dargan 2
Wesley Chapel – Jerry Louis Gadsden 7
LYNCHBURG:
Lynchburg Charge – Jimmy M. Ridenhour (FL) 20
(Lynchburg, St Luke, Trinity)
Lynchburg Parish – Blondell S. Miller (FL) 3
Associate – Cheryl G. Johnson (PL) 2
(Warren Chapel, New Haven,
St. Paul-Wisacky, St. Paul-Elliott)
MANNING:
Manning – David D. Marcy 1
MORRISVILLE:
St. Paul – Gracie L. Singletary (PL) 1
NEW ZION :
New Zion – Gregg S. Varner (FL) 3
(New Zion, Trinity)
OLANTA:
Nazareth– David W. Canine (PL) 3
PAMPLICO:
Bethlehem – O. Julius Hadden 3
Pamplico – Miriam G. Hadden 1
(Pamplico, Prospect)
PINEWOOD:
Pinewood – Randall Lynn Haase (OE)(346.1) 2
(Pinewood, Paxville, Andrews Chapel)
SCRANTON:
Scranton-St. John – Frances S. Connell (FL) 3
(Scranton, St John)
SHILOH:
Shiloh – Pattie E. Gordon 3
(Asbury, St. John)
SUMMERTON:
Summerton – Randall Eugene Bowers (FL) 4
TIMMONSVILLE:
Mount Zion – James Derrick Cattenhead (PL) 1
St. Luke – Jimmie W. Duncan (PL)(1/4) 25
Timmonsville-Salem – Thomas R. Bailey 3
TRIO:
Trio – Carl E. Collier (FL) 2
(Trio, Earle, Sutton)
TURBEVILLE:
Turbeville – John Patrick Bolin 4
(Pine Grove, Shiloh)
UNION:
Union-Elim Charge – Michael Written (PE) 1
(Union, Elim)
Etheredge-Manly, Angela Marie (FL) – Director,
Francis Marion Wesley Foundation 1
Hipp, John Wesley – District Superintendent,
Florence District 1
Morrison, David Todd – Chaplain, United States Army,
Highland Park CC 4
Other Valid Ministries: None
INCAPACITY LEAVE – None
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers
Adams, Gary B. (RA)
Bailey, Donald R.
Barr, Willie Joe (RL)
Bradley, James M.
Bragdon, Dannye O.
Brown, Jonathan (RA)
Brown, Matthew C.
Brunson, Ashley C.
Cooper, Samuel B.
Cousar, George Raymond (RA)
Cox, G. W. Farrell
Cribb, Hasford John (RL)
Gibbons, W. Murray
Graham, Iverson
Graham, L. Junior (RA)
Kaney, Ralph S.
McClam, Louis J.
McClenan, George A.
McFadden, Roosevelt M.
McGuirt, Milton L.
McLeod, Edward C. (RL)
Mills III, Grady W. (RD)
Moore, Hurd (RL)
Pietila, Thomas C.
Poston, Joseph A (RA)
Sellers, John A. (RA)
Stullenbarger, Harry R.
Thomas, John Pinckney (RL)
Wagnon III, Leon L.
Watson, Jerry M.
Williams, G. DeVere (RA)
Wilson, Willie
Retired Missionaries None
DIACONAL MINISTRY
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired: None
Greenville District
Mary V. Teasley, DS 1
EASLEY:
North Easley Charge – William N. Harper 1
(Dacusville, Antioch)
FORK SHOALS:
Lebanon – Patricia Diane Boyer (PL) 3
Pisgah-Oak Hill – Matthew E. Greer (PL) 1
FOUNTAIN INN:
Trinity – Laura L. Canine 1
GRAY COURT:
Bramlett-Owings – Renee K. Garrison 5
Dials-Shiloh – Forest D. Mixon 13
Gray Court-Trinity – Fred Treaster (RSY) 3
Green Pond – Robert P. Keely (FL) 1
GREENVILLE:
Aldersgate – Nelson L. Stokes 1
Associate – Michelle D. Cockcroft (PE) 1
Berea Friendship – David A. Brown 3
Bethel (West Greenville) – Laura H. Whitt (PL) 4
Buncombe Street – Jerry E. Temple 6
Associate – Joseph D. Cate 2
Minister of Education – Gayle Jordan Quay (OD)
(331.8) 16
Minister of Adult Ministries – William Grover Putnam
(FD) 12
Director of Social Ministries and Mission Outreach –
Jerry M. Hill (FL) 13
Christ – Larry G. Smith (PL) 12
Disciples – Debra Griffis-Woodberry 7
Associate – Jon P. Ward (1/4) (PL) 1
Dunean-Brandon – Andria S. Cantrell (PL) 5
East Greenville – Christopher Lee Thompson (FL) 2
(Wesley Chapel, Allen View)
Esperanza Mission Congregation – Enrique R. Gordon
(FL) 4
Francis Asbury – Donna Lollis (FL) 2
Greenville Parish – Brenda R. Washington (PL) 4
(Minus Chapel, New Beginnings Mission)
John Wesley – Robin Dease 5
Laurens Road – Laura R. Bratton (PE) 2
McBee Chapel-St. John – SY (Charles T. Owens) 14
Monaghan – George H. Donigian (OE)(346.1) 1
Northside – Donald R. Brown (FD/FL) 1
Piedmont Park – Paul David Wilmer (PL) 2
Salem – Christine M. Matthews 6
South Greenville – Cassandra P. Jackson 6
(Bethlehem, Laurel Creek)
St. Mark – Rance Sprayberry (RL) 5
St. Matthew – Steven Brown 1
St. Paul – Murray A. Snow 3
Trinity – Carol D. Allison 1
GREER:
Jackson Grove – John Rush (RSY) 5
Covenant – Darren C. Hook 6
Associate – Linda M. Guthrie 4
Faith – Laura Bessent-Price (PL) 2
Few’s Chapel – Joseph L. Cole (RL) 2
Grace-Zoar – Robert L. Cox 1
Greer Circuit – Audrey Boozer 1
(Bethel, St. Paul)
Greenville Korean Mission – Chang-Hoon Jeong
(OE)(346.1) (1/2) 7
Liberty Hill-Woods Chapel – C. Davon Harrelson (FL) 3
Memorial – Joe L. Curtis 1
Mountain View – Judith A. Alford 3
Sharon – Matthew L. Yon 5
Slater – Joel Andrew Watson (PL) 3
Victor – Leslie E. Gardner (PL) 10
MAULDIN:
Mauldin – Clarence E. Kanipe Jr. 6
PIEDMONT:
Augusta Road – Christopher M. Lollis 2
Piedmont – Justin M. Gilreath (FL) 7
SIMPSONVILLE:
Advent – Michael C. Wolfe 3
Associate – Robert I. Goulart (PL) 1
Bethel-Ebenezer – Nellie C. Cloninger 2
Hopewell – Christopher E. Arries 4
Simpsonville – Joel L. Jones 1
Director of Children’s Ministries – Deana Gentry
(FD) (1/2) 3
Minister of Education and Volunteer Ministries –
Patricia Gannaway (FD) 11
TAYLORS:
Lee Road – Douglas W. Gilliland 1
St. Mark-St. Matthew – Janice Frederick-Watts 5
TRAVELERS REST:
North Greenville – Keith Taylor 5
Travelers Rest – George W. Scott 3
WOODRUFF:
Emma Gray – Brenda T. Curtis (FL) 1
Grace – SY (Lynn G. Pennington) 1
Childers, R. Clayton – Program Director, Annual
Conference Relations GBCS, Emma Gray CC 12
Dawsey, James M. – Professor, Emory and Henry
College, Oak Hill CC 5
Joens, Cathy Louise W. (FD) – Congregational Specialist,
Anderson & Greenville districts, Covenant CC 4
McCutcheon, Edward – Director, Wesley Foundation,
Furman University 4
Teasley, Mary V. – District Superintendent, Greenville
District 1
Gillespie, Steven D. – Staff Counselor and Coordinator,
Middle Tennessee Pastoral Counseling Center,
Memorial CC 16
Hayhurst, Michael – United States Air Force Chaplain 3
McCoy-Bruce, Ashley N. – Upstate Gleaning
Coordinator – Society of St. Andrew (1/2) 3
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Matthews, Mary Katherine Brown – Mauldin CC 7
Treece, Cameron Y – 2
INCAPACITY LEAVE
James, Jerry 4
Pearce, Pricilla F. (PE) 3
Summey Jr., Charles E. 1
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Addis, Howard D.
Bedenbaugh, Eugene H.
Brown, Barry L.
Callahan, John P.
Cavin, Donald E.
Cloninger, John Scott
Cole, Joseph L. (RL)
Elliott, Nicholas
Elliott Jr., Richard F.
Errington, Joseph R.
Fortier, Robert A. (RL) ˙
Gilliam Jr., James O.
Goewey, Harry
Griffeth, James Ellis
Hall Jr., Robert A.
Haton, Donald S.
Hicks, Granville A.
Huff Jr., A.V.
Hunter III, James E.
Joens, Janet C.
Johnson Sr., Charles L.
Lee, Dennis
Leppard, James F.
McAlister, J. Richard
McKinney, E. Donald
McNeill, William W.
Miller, John Teague
Patterson, James F.
Pittman, Clarence O.
Riser, George M.
Rogers, Cyrus (Cy) D.
Rush, John
Scott, Gareth
Shaw, Charles S.
Smith, Woodrow M.
Sprayberry, Rance (RL)
Stanley, Dwaine C. (RL) ˙
Stoehr, Lorna Lee Curtis
Strait, George E.
Sullivan, Patricia A. (FD)
Thomas Jr., Van B.
Thompson, Elizabeth A.
Treaster, Fred
Waddell, Bobby G.
Watson, John H. (RL)
Whitaker Jr., George W.
Wood, Patricia S.
Wright, Alfred T. (AM)
DIACONAL MINISTRY
Orr Jr., Freeman R.
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired: None
Greenwood District
(57 charges; 84 churches
James L. Friday, DS 1
BATESBURG:
St. John’s – Steven M. King 3
BELVEDERE:
Belvedere – Alice Loving Deal 1
CLINTON:
Broad Street – Kitty Cooper Holtzclaw 3
EDGEFIELD:
Edgefield – Barry Webb Cannon 1
GRANITEVILLE:
St. John-Warrenville – Alan N. Quarles (FL) 5
GREENWOOD:
Aldersgate – George T. Thomas, Jr. (FL) 8
Bethlehem – James Ray Davis (RSY) 2
Branch Hill-Martha’s Chapel – Alexander Thomas (PL) 3
Cokesbury-Hodges – R.T. Bowling III 4
Ebenezer – SY (Mary Jane Shoemaker) 1
Greenwood-Ninety Six Charge – LaSheila Wyatt
(PL) 1
(Mays, Trinity)
Lowell Street – Mary Jane Shoemaker 1
Lupo Memorial– Paul H. Rogers (RSY) 1
Main Street – Phillip Carlisle Thrailkill 1
Mathews-Harris – J. William Harris (OF) 5
Mount Carmel – SY (Myra E. Taylor) 5
Mount Lebanon-Kinards – Danial A. Wiley 7
Panola – William Johnathan Payne (OF) 1
Rehoboth – Keith D. Sweat (PL) 5
St. Mark – Barrett T. Alewine 7
Associate – S. Dean Lollis 3
Tranquil – Louis M. Mims 7
Troy – N. Keith Polk Jr. (RSY) 7
JOANNA:
Epworth-Springdale – John Gerald Pickens (RSY) 3
JOHNSTON:
Johnston-Harmony – Steven Paul Keck 3
KINARDS:
Hopewell-Sharon Charge – TBS
LANGLEY:
Langley-Bath-Capers Chapel – John McKinley
Williams III 1
LAURENS:
Central-Sandy Springs – Billy Ray Osborne (RL) 14
First – Alice Elaine MacKeil (FD/FL) 2
Laurens Charge – Shirley P. Gordon (PL) 2
(Mount Carmel)
St. James – Charlie H. Short 16
LEESVILLE:
Leesville – Sandra Lynn Smith King 3
McCORMICK:
McCormick – Athon M. Arant Sr. 4
Plum Branch Charge – Phillip L. Bostrom 4
(Republican, St. Paul)
NEWBERRY:
Central – Tresco E. Shannon 1
Epting Memorial-Lebanon Charge – Fred Vance
Buchanan Jr. 2
Lewis Memorial – James Counts Jr. (PL) 3
O’Neal Street-Ebenezer Charge – Richard C. Goldie (PL) 3
Trinity-New Chapel Charge – Hugh J. Bickley (RSY) 11
NINETY SIX:
Cambridge – Daniel R. Smyth (FL) 3
St. Paul – Philip E. Chandler 5
NORTH AUGUSTA:
Grace – James D. Dennis 3
Associate – Ryan Greasor Spurrier (PE) 2
POMARIA:
Mount Pleasant – Mat Brewington (FL) 1
Pomaria Charge – Kathy L. Carr (PL) 1
(Caper’s Chapel, New Hope)
PROSPERITY:
Wightman – Michael A. Turner 6
Zion – David Carroll Taylor 1
RIDGE SPRING
Ridge Spring Charge – SY (John E. Kneece) 18
(Ridge Spring, Spann)
SALUDA:
Bethany-Zoar – Kenneth Freeman (OF) 1
Bethlehem-Gassaway – William Hightower (PL) 5
Butler-Shiloh – Lee Cothran (RSY) 8
Emory-Nazareth – Frank Copeland 4
St. Paul – Judy Correll Hames 1
TRENTON:
Trenton-McKendree – Cheryl Dyke Toothe 3
VAUCLUSE:
Vaucluse-Pentecost – Clifford C. Binion (PL) 2
WARE SHOALS:
Mount Bethel-King’s Chapel – Heather S. Baird (PE) 3
Ware Shoals-Harmony– Tina A. Thomas 6
WATERLOO:
Waterloo – Blaine S. Hudson (RSY) 6
Soule Chapel – SY (J. William Quarles) 1
Copeland, Jennifer E. – Director, Wesley Foundation,
Duke University, Broad Street CC 13
Friday, James L. – District Superintendent, Greenwood
District 1
Wray, Carol Peppers – Chaplain, Wesley Commons,
Main Street CC 13
Bostrom, Katherine – Ark Hospice (1/2) 1
Crooks, Marion Brabham – Director, Canterbury
Counseling Center, Central, Newberry CC 7
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Byrd, Thomas C. 1
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Anderson, Vernon O.
Ballard Jr., Paul McKinney
Bennett, Hazel (FD)
Bickley, Hugh
Bradley, Dan
Campbell, J. Taylor
Canaday, DeArmond
Charles, Ada A.
Crooks Jr., Marion B.
Cunningham, Ben
Curry, Eugene L.
Davis, James Ray
Dudley, Charles G.
Eaddy, A. Eugene
Epps, John L.
Gamble, D. Lamar
Griffith, John P.
Grigsby, James A.
Hudson, Blaine S.
Jenkins, Larry A.
Lupo, C.J.
Lusk, T. Joseph
Medley, James D.
Morton Jr., Ted R.
Osborne, Billy Ray (RL)
Palmer, Bruce H.
Peurifoy, Harvey O.
Pickens, John Gerald
Polk Jr., N. Keith
Rogers, Paul H.
Rogers, Sheila D.
Rogers III, William F.
Stephens Jr., Herbert
Swett, N. McDonald (RL)
Templeton, David T.
Vines, William Joseph
Wiggins, Elwood Holler
Younginer Jr., John M.
DIACONAL MINISTRY
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired: None
Hartsville District
Lillian Hymes Washington, DS 8
BETHUNE:
Bethune – Barbara Rogers Segars (PL) 8
(Bethel, Sandy Grove)
BISHOPVILLE:
Bethlehem – Henry Allen Altman 3
Bishopville Circuit – Calvin Burdell Washington (PE) 4
(New Haven, Springhill)
Hebron – Christine MacDonald Wechsler (RSY) 3
Mechanicsville – Kenneth Neal Carter 6
Mount Zion – Angela Ford Nelson (PL) 2
St. Matthew Circuit – Kimberly Norbeck Evans (FL) 2
(Ashland, Concord, St. Matthew)
CAMDEN:
Camden First – Ellis White Jr. 5
East Camden – Constance Nelson Barnes 4
(Emmanuel, St. Matthew)
Good Hope Wesley Chapel – Thurmond Williams (PE) 3
Lyttleton Street – Steve Allen Patterson 2
St. Paul – Franklin R. Garrett 7
West Camden – Debra Anderson-Joe (PL) 4
(Rockspring, St. Peter)
CHERAW:
Cheraw Parish – Redonia McKnight Thomas (PE) 1
(Bethel, Mount Zion, Wesley)
First Church – Paul Ariel Wood Jr. 5
Mount Olivet-Pleasant Grove – Billy Lee Lynch Jr. 3
Wilkes Chapel-Bethesda – Elizabeth Ashley Lowder
(PL) 1
CHESTERFIELD:
Chesterfield Parish – Deloris Tart Inman (PL) 1
(Mount Tabor, Wesley Chapel)
Shiloh – Debra A. Armstrong 2
St. Paul – Emmanuel Bruce Adams 1
Zoar – Lawrence Allen Watson 3
DARLINGTON:
Indian Branch-Twitty – Philip N. Watry (RSY) 2
New Providence – Alfred Valentine Griffin Jr. 1
Pine Grove-Epworth – John Melvin Bell (FL) 3
Shiloh – Judith A. Knox (PE) 3
St. James – Morris Waymer Jr. 3
St. John-Wesley Chapel – Amiri Bernard Hooker 6
Trinity – Thomas Harmon Norrell 3
West Darlington – Taylor F. Coates (PL) 2
(Bethel, Wesley Memorial)
HARTSVILLE:
Bethlehem-Prospect – Patricia G. Warden (OE)(346.1) 7
Centenary-Kingsville – James Elliott Moore 6
Kellybell-Sandy Bluff – Raymond Frank Cook Jr. (PL) 11
Mount Beulah-New Hope – Brenda J. Thomas (PL) 2
New Market-Tabernacle – Myrna Kay Westfall (FL) 3
St. Luke – James Michael Smith 1
Minister of Youth & Programming – Shelly Anne
Holder (FD) 7
Minister of Music – Margaret Hutcherson Vance (FD) 7
Wesley – Frances McMahon Elrod 3
JEFFERSON:
Jefferson – Stephen Ray Jordan 4
(Fork Creek, Jefferson)
Jefferson Parish – Robert Lee Malachi 4
(Hopewell, Mount Elon, Sandy Grove, Wesley Chapel)
LAMAR:
Lamar – Melvin Wilbur Flail Jr. 12
Lamar Circuit – William Edward Herlong (PL) 11
(Elim, Newman Swamp, Zion)
Lamar-Ebenezer – Fadetra Deonka Harrington (PE) 1
(Ebenezer, John Wesley, Sandy Grove)
LUGOFF:
Lugoff Parish – Sharon Spann Gamble (PL) 3
(Mount Joshua, Mount Prospect, Shiloh)
St. John’s – John Walter Mims 5
Unity – Augustus Rodgers 6
LYDIA:
Wesley Chapel – Valerie Knox Mireb 3
McBEE:
McBee Charge – Charles Gary Compton (RSY) 8
(Hebron, McBee)
Union – Steven M. Todd 3
OSWEGO:
Bethel – Curtis Wells 3
Oswego Circuit – Bobby Shaw 7
(Clark, Mount Moriah, St. Mark)
PAGELAND:
Oro – Annie Hair Sistrunk 1
Pageland – Nena Ruth Reynolds (RSY) 4
Salem – Allen Nesmith (FL) 5
Zion-Zoar Charge – Robin Audrey Griffeth 2
REMBERT:
Rembert-St. John – Patricia Bundrick Amick (PL) 1
(Beulah, McLeod Chapel, St. John)
RUBY:
Ruby – Jerry Cal McManus Sr. (PL) 12
(Bethel, Ebenezer, Friendship, Mount Croghan)
SUMTER:
Aldersgate – Washington Belangia V 3
Dalzell – Wanda Diane Altman (FL) 3
Emmanuel-Mt. Zion – Doris Regina Bright (FL) 2
North Sumter – Lawrence Cantey Jr. (PL) 2
(Antioch, Shepherd)
St. James – Mary Louise Johnson 2
St. John – Joseph Robert Huggins (FL) 4
St. Mark – Telley Lynette Gadson 14
St. Mark’s – George Ronald Gain (AM) 1
Trinity – James Kevin Gorry 3
Minister of Education – Angela Halter Marshall (FD) 3
Nelson, Millie – Congregational Specialist Florence &
Marion districts, St. Matthew, Camden CC 3
Washington, Lillian Hymes – District Superintendent,
Hartsville District 8
Wood, Mary Kay (FD) – Hartsville District
Coordinator of Holistic Ministry 1
Approved by United Methodist Endorsing Agency: None
Ross, Rosetta Everna – Associate Professor of Religioius
Studies, Spelman College, St. Mark CC 19
APPOINTED TO ATTEND SCHOOL
Turner, Emily Dawn – Garrett University, Chicago, IL 3
INCAPACITY LEAVE
Bowman, Charles Lee (FL) – Oro CC 4
Orr, Patricia Pepper – Bethlehem, Hartsville CC 6
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Ammons, Gene Sarvis
Ballard, Paul McKinney
Beckom, Terry Martin
Boatwright Sr., Donald W. (Bud)
Brown, Larry Richard (RL)
Compton, Charles Gary (RL)
Davidson, Edward Laney
Dean, Dewey Levan
Griffith, Frank J.
Lawson, Willie
LeMaster, E. Edwin
McDowell Sr., Edward Homer
Parsons, Barbee Olis
Reece Jr., Earnest J.
Reynolds, Nena R.
Rivers Sr., Lindsey Eugene (RL)
Scoggins, Eugene King
Thackston, Thomas Reginald
Thomas Jr., Eddie (RA)
Thomas Jr., Theodore Brandon (RA)
Thompson, Robert (RL)
Townsend Sr., David Kenneth
Watry, Philip N.
Wechsler, Christine MacDonald
Wright, Virgil G.
DIACONAL MINISTRY
DEACONESSES
Active:
Smith, Selena Ruth – Fire Prevention Educator,
Sumter, SC Fire Department 1
Retired: None
Marion District
Richard H. Knight, DS 3
ANDREWS:
Trinity – Ben M. Gafford 1
AYNOR:
Aynor – Robert A. Adams 5
Pisgah – Jane A. Pearce 1
Rehoboth-Zoan – John P. Watts (AM) 7
BENNETTSVILLE:
Bennettsville First – Frederick S. McDaniel 1
Bennettsville Circuit – Shawn Weeks 4
(Aaron Temple, Ebenezer, Level Green)
Bennettsville Parish – Ebbie S. Abraham (FL) 2
(Old Galilee, Shiloh, Smyrna)
Christ-Antioch – Wade H. Everett 1
Marlboro Charge – Rebecca L. Forrest (FL) 1
(Bethel, Boykin, Ebenezer)
Marlboro Circuit – Daniel M. Hall (PL) 5
(New Hope, Oak Grove, Pleasant Hill)
Shiloh-Smyrna – David E. Reed (PL) 14
St. Michael – Ardell Washington (PL) 6
Trinity – Jeffery Salley 3
BLENHEIM:
Blenheim Circuit – SY
Manning Chapel – (T. Michael Summerlin) 2
Parnassus – (Alexander J. Stoops Jr.) 5
CLIO:
Asbury-Clio – Willie Lawson (RSY) 3
Trinity (Clio)-Berea (McColl) – Emily H. Davis (FL) 1
CONWAY:
Antioch-Poplar – George E. Olive (PL) 6
Brown Swamp-New El Bethel – Neal Y. Woods 3
Centenary – Troy L. Metzner (FL) 5
Conway First – Kyle D. Randle 1
Joseph B. Bethea-Salem – Stanley E. Weber Jr. (FL) 7
Trinity – Sandra Stevens-Poirel 3
Union – Scott A. Johnson 5
DILLON:
Dillon Parish – Barry S. McFadden 3
(Beulah, St. Luke, St. Stephen)
Little Rock Parish – Ronald I. McCall (FL) 16
(Bowling Green, McCoy Chapel, New Holly)
Main Street – Michael E. Rouse 8
Oakland – SY (T. Michael Summerlin) 2
GEORGETOWN:
Duncan Memorial – Dora R. Gafford 1
Herbert Memorial – Marie E. Nuckles 2
Oak Grove-Sampit – John M. Williams Jr. (RSY) 3
Wayne-Bethel – Daniel W. Chamblee (PE) 4
LAKE VIEW:
Lake View Charge – Louis O. Perez (PL) 1
(Hopewell, Lake View, Union)
Hopewell – Jim Hyatt (RSY) 3
LATTA:
Latta Charge – Walter Tart (RL) 9
(Andrew Chapel, St. Phillips)
Latta-Mount Andrew – Jerry L. Phillips Jr. 7
LITTLE RIVER:
Little River – Stuart R. Smith 7
LORIS:
Camp Swamp – Carl N. Harris (RSY) 2
Ebenezer-Wampee – Jo Anna M. Fallaw 4
Minister of Discipleship – Sarah W. Branyon (PD) 1
Loris First – Grady W. Corder (PE) 2
MARION:
Centenary-Central – Virgil M. Seaber (RLOE) 12
Marion First – Joe N. Long Jr. 9
Marion Parish – James Elbert Williams (PL) 1
(Bethel, Pleasant Grove, Springville)
Shiloh – Alvin M. Shifflett (OF)(346.2) 11
McCOLL:
Main Street – Pine Grove – Ann Dease Everett 1
MULLINS:
Center-Nichols-Tranquil – William F. Heustess 8
Macedonia-Pleasant Hill – Thurmond K. Thomas 6
Mullins Charge – Anthony Alford (PL) 3
(Beulah, Shiloh)
MURRELLS INLET:
Belin Memorial – Boyd McIver Alexander Jr. 8
Associate- Maurice E. Nason Jr. 6
Brookgreen – Charles Thomas (FL) 4
(Brown Chapel, Heaven Gate, St. James)
MYRTLE BEACH:
Christ- Jeffrey B. Dunn 15
Myrtle Beach First – Kenneth B. Timmerman 11
Associate – Jonathan E. Tompkins 4
Socastee – Ray K. Smith 10
NICHOLS:
Floyds – Ann deRosset Kovan (PL) 1
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH:
Trinity – Michael D. Ritter Sr. 1
PAWLEY’S ISLAND:
St. Paul’s Waccamaw – C. Nels Ledwell 7
SURFSIDE BEACH:
Surfside – Scott H. Wachter 5
Associate – Lisa Kim Eanes 6
TATUM:
Tatum Parish – Samuel O. Clardy (RSY) 7
(Ebenezer-Hebron)
Knight, Richard H. – District Superintendent, Marion
District 3
Approved by United Methodist Endorsing Agency: None
Heustess, Kathy T (FD) – Executive Director, Coastal
Samaritan Counseling Center, Myrtle Beach, Myrtle
Beach First CC 10
INCAPACITY LEAVE
Daniel, Edmond (FL) – Trinity, North Myrtle Beach CC 8
George III, Samuel B. – Belin Memorial CC 6
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Adams, Quay W.
Brittain, Thomas N.
Clardy, Samuel O. (RA)
Clemons, Robert B.
Crews, Rowan
Dyer, Cynthia H.
Felder, William H.
Fenner, Jack L.
Gardner, Carlos O.
Gilmer, Clifford R.
Hall, James L.
Harris, Carl N.
Harris, Gene A. (RL)
Hemingway, John T. (RL)
Hucks, F. Levon
Hughes, William Steve (RL)
Hyatt, James L.
Inabinet, Charles R.
Jennings, Charles T. (RA)
Jones, William A. (RL)
Land, Kenneth S.
Lawson, Willie
Lewis, Harold P.
McIver, Leslie H. (RD)
Newton, J. Leon
Norris, Gene A.
Osborne, Jean O. (RD)
Reynolds, Daniel T. (RA)
Rogers, Thomas G.
Tart, Walter (RL)
Timmons, W. Gordon
Wicker, William T. (RL)
Williams Jr., John M.
Williams, Seth W. (RP)
Williamson, Needham R.
DIACONAL MINISTRY
Leave of Absence:
Holt, Kimberly S. (DM) – Conway First CC 9
Carter, R. Fletcher
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired: None
Orangeburg District
Frederick N. Yebuah, DS 1
AIKEN:
Charles Wesley – SY (Paul Rideout) 1
St. John’s – George K. Howle 8
Associate – Ray Litts 1
Associate – James T. Bennett III (RL)(1/2) 2
Trinity – Larry R. Parker Sr. 1
Wesley – Walter E. Strawther (PL) 1
BAMBERG:
Bamberg Circuit – Thomas Ray Sims (PL) 8
(Bethel, Mount Zion)
Claflin – Bobby Gordon (PL) 3
Main Street – Washington W. Belangia IV (RSY) 3
Mount Carmel – Walter H. McKelvey (OE)(346.1) 2
Trinity-Pleasant Hill Charge – Carol Rexroad Cannon 3
Robert T. Cannon (3/4) 3
BARNWELL:
Barnwell Charge – Michael J. Hood 3
(Barnwell, Siloam)
BOWMAN:
Bowman Charge – Marie E. Ray 2
(Ebenezer, White House, Wightman)
New Covenant – Leonard Huggins 8
Pineville-St. Stephen – James Phillip Smith 5
BRANCHVILLE:
Branchville – William M. Burke (RSY) 1
CAMERON:
Cameron – Roger C. Goupil (RSY) 6
(Cameron, Jericho, Shady Grove)
COPE:
Canaan – Walter Harley (PL) 1
Edisto Charge – Lois J. Helms 1
(St. John, Union, Wesley Grove)
Edisto Fork – Hayes T. Gainey 15
DENMARK:
Bethel Park – Rebecca J. Hughley 1
Franklin-Orange Grove – Roberta C. Josey 1
ELLOREE:
Elloree – Michael Terrance Fleming (FL) 6
(Elloree, Jerusalem)
EUTAWVILLE:
Eutawville – Craig Davis 1
Silas – Mark A. Williams (PL) 7
Target-Gerizim Charge – SY (Barry A. Allen) 2
HOLLY HILL:
Holly Hill – Millard Cooper Stonestreet (RSY) 6
JACKSON:
Jackson – Eugene A. Aiken (FL) 3
(Bethel, Wesley Chapel)
LIVINGSTON:
Livingston-Pine Hill – Brandon L. Fulmer (FL) 2
NEESES:
Rocky Swamp Mission Congregation – SY (Z. Tracy
Pender) 3
NEW ELLENTON:
St. Paul – Jacqueline Connelly 1
NORTH:
Orange Circuit – Jack Williamson Gibson (FL) 4
(Ebenezer, North, St. John’s)
St. Mark – Thomas J. Bowman Sr. 1
Trinity-Limestone – Robert Walker 1
NORWAY:
New Beginning – Arthur Rose Jr. (OF)(346.2) (1/2) 5
Norway – Thurmond O. Flowers (FL) 1
(Lebanon, St. John’s)
OLAR:
Olar – Edward J. Stiltz (RSY) 16
(Kearse, Mizpah, Salem)
ORANGEBURG:
New Light – Norman A. Brown 9
North Orangeburg – Eddie Calvin Williams 11
Orangeburg Circuit – Joanne Walker-Brown 5
(Bethlehem, Mount Nebo, St. John)
Orangeburg Parish – Frank V. James 3
(Cedar Grove, Forest Chapel, St. Stephen)
St. Andrews – Karl David Caughman 1
St. Paul’s – Gary A. Peterson 1
Trinity – Larry D. McCutcheon 9
PELION:
Pelion – Patricia P. Mayfield 1
Assistant – Kathryn W. Scarborough (PL) 3
(Bethel, Pelion, Sharon)
PROVIDENCE:
Providence – Terry C. Martin 1
ROWESVILLE:
Rowesville Charge – Curtis L. Felkel Jr. (PL) 7
(Bethel, Cattle Creek, New Hope)
Rowesville Parish – Wyatt C. Minton III 1
(Central, Prospect, Mayes Chapel)
ST MATTHEWS:
Calhoun Charge – Robbie V. Hall (FL) 2
(Andrew Chapel, Wesley Chapel)
St. Matthews Charge – Mark A. Altman (PL) (3/4) 4
(East Bethel, West Bethel, Mount Zion)
St. Paul – Suzanne B. Walker (PE) 1
SALLEY:
Clinton – SY (Grayson L. Blackwell Sr.) 1
SANDY RUN:
Beulah – Bruce E. Rucker (FL) 1
SPRINGFIELD:
Springfield Charge – Otis DeWitt Livingston (FL) 3
(Neeses, Salley, Springfield)
SWANSEA:
Calvary-Oak Grove – Deborah C. Gibson (PL) 1
WAGENER:
Wagener-Swansea – Scott W. Smoak (PE) 2
WILLISTON:
Williston – Cynthia Raski Fuller (RSY) 7
Assistant – Thomas S. Summers (RSY) 7
(Blackville, Williston)
McGee, James R. – President/CEO, The Oaks, Clinton
CC 8
McFadden, Genova – Orangeburg Wesley Foundation,
Campus Minister 3
Middleton, Whittaker V. – Vice President for
Advancement, Claflin University 1
Yebuah, Frederick N. – District Superintendent,
Orangeburg District 1
Collingwood, Robert B. – Coordinator of Pastoral Care,
VA Hospital, St. Louis, MO, Main Street, CC 24
Williams, Edwina Juliette (FD) – Trinity CC 12
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Allen, Barry A. 6
Ponds, Grady Bernard 2
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Belangia IV, Washington W.
Chewning, J. Boyd
Clyburn, Robert B.
Cowart, William G.
Davis, Gerald Edwin
Dill, Elizabeth C. (FD)
Evans, John Wesley
Farmer, Zach R.
Gilliam, Thomas C.
Heape, Ernest M.
James, Robert E.
Key, Willie J. (RA)
Lewis Jr., William Morgan (RL)
Mack, James (RL)
Manigo Jr., George F.
Mullikin, M. Eugene
Nesmith, Harry V. (RL)
Parker, Jere Keith
Pettit, Ronald A.
Phelps, Kenneth W.
Poole, Jack A.
Preer, John C.
Rucker, Matthew D.
Shrawder, Kermit O.
Stapleton, John Mason
Stiltz, Edward James
Stonestreet, Millard Cooper
Summers, Thomas S. (RA)
Watson, George W.
Williamson, David
DIACONAL MINISTRY
Williams, Geneva B.
DEACONESSES
Active:
Williams, Geneva B. – Associate Chaplain/Director of
Religious Life-Power Hour, Claflin University, Trinity
CC 12
Retired: None
Rock Hill District
Sara Ann White, DS 7
CHESTER:
Bethel-Armenia – Allen D. Wolfe 1
Chester Circuit – C. Bryson Williams (PE) 1
(Capers Chapel, New Hope)
Wesley Memorial – Arthur D. Vick Jr. (PL) 3
CLOVER:
Clover Parish – Marvin Lamont Caldwell 9
(Clover Chapel, Green Pond, Mount Harmony)
First, Clover – Thomas B. Wilkes III 2
Associate – Drew C. Martin (PE) 2
FORT LAWN:
Fort Lawn-Van Wyck Charge – Karen J. Richmond
(PL) 1
FORT MILL:
Belair-Osceola Charge – Harry Kyle Gindhart 1
Grace Community – Randall Aabye Madsen 7
Philadelphia – William Kevin Cooley 7
Pleasant Hill – Joel William McMakin 1
St. John’s – Carlton W. Hunsucker 3
Director of Music – Carrie Ann Wright (OD)(331.8) 6
GREAT FALLS:
Mount Dearborn-Heath Chapel – David Owens
Ussery (PL) 1
HICKORY GROVE:
Hickory Grove Charge – Larry Richard Hyder 6
(Canaan, Mount Vernon)
KERSHAW:
Kershaw Charge – Hope R. Avins (PE) 2
(Damascus, Kershaw, Hanging Rock)
LAKE WYLIE:
Good Samaritan – Jason D. Everson (PE) 4
LANCASTER:
Bethel – SY (Pat McCain) 1
Camp Creek-Bethesda – Michael E. Catoe (PL) 2
Church of the Good Shepherd – Mary E. Green 2
First Church – Charles Phillips 1
Grace – Brian Humphries (FL) 1
Hopewell – David C. Inman 2
Lynnwood – Elizabeth McKay Timms Hudson (PL) 1
St. Luke-Salem – William H. McCown III 1
Tabernacle – Heather B. Humphries 1
Trinity – Pat McCain (RSY) 1
Zion – James E. Elder (AM) 4
RICHBURG:
Mount Prospect-Ebenezer – G. Douglas Chambers
(PL) 5
Richburg-Pleasant Grove – Linda Tedder Jenkins (PL)
13
ROCK HILL:
Adnah – David D. McManus Jr. (PE) 2
Aldersgate – Pamela G. Ledbetter 3
Antioch – Timothy S. Thompson (OF)(346.2) 2
Bethel-Philadelphia – Emily Scales Sutton 1
Catawba-El Bethel – Beth Drennen 1
Cornerstone-Epworth – Irvin Plowden Jr. (FL) 2
Friendship-Heath Memorial – J. Michael Morris 5
India Hook – Stephen Douglas Gaither 5
Mount Holly – Kim M. Strong 2
Rock Hill Central Charge – Jackie R. Carter-Harris (FL) 4
(Mount Olive, New Hope)
Rock Hill South Charge – Ronnie Lee Jeffcoat (PE)
(1/2) 2
(Bethel, Harmony)
St. John’s – Debra Quilling Smith 3
Associate – W. Everette Haselden IV 3
Spiritual Director – Miriam Mick (FD) 8
Woodland – G. Eddie Usher 1
Minister of Youth & College – Karen T. Kluever (FD) 5
Minister of Music – Marsha R. Bentley (FD) 5
SHARON:
Western York Charge – SY (Monica Tilley) 2
(Sharon, New Zion, Shady Grove)
YORK:
Kings Mountain Chapel-St. Paul – Brian E. Preveaux
(FL) 2
Trinity – Eugene L. Feagin III 7
York-St. James Charge – Sheila LaMar Elliott 1
(Hopewell, St. James, Wesley)
Howell Jr., Richard Reber – Director, Wesley
Foundation, Winthrop University, St. John’s Rock
Hill CC 1
Richardson-Frick, Kristen – Program Officer, Rural
Church Division, Duke Endowment, Philadelphia
CC 1
White, Sara Ann – District Superintendent, Rock Hill
District 7
None
Smith, Jonathan Edward – Director, Portage County
Pastoral Counseling Service, Kent OH 1
INCAPACITY LEAVE
Ashworth, Mary Susan – St. John’s, Rock Hill CC 7
Hall, April Lee – St. John’s, Fort Mill CC 16
Taylor, Debra W. – Bethel-Armenia CC 1
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Blackmon, Charles
Correll, James L.
Cross, William Kelly
Fuller, Walter Gene
Gibson, John Richard
Hook, Samuel Scott
Hopper, Robert C.
Hovis, Doris N. (RL)
Jenkins, Larry Alfred
Massey Jr., Reese Martin
McCain, Pat
Phillips Sr., Jerry L.
Rumford, John R. (RL)
Smith Jr., Franklin Oscar
Steele Jr., Thomas Fant
Watson, James Bert
DIACONAL MINISTRY
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired: None
Spartanburg District
Paul Wesley Harmon, DS 3
BLACKSBURG:
Blacksburg Charge – Don Boshell (FL) 5
(St. John, Sardis)
BOILING SPRINGS:
New Beginnings – Thomas Wesley Smith 5
BUFFALO:
Buffalo – Kevin F. Dalton 9
CHESNEE:
Chesnee – Frances Lee Roper (FL) 5
Friends in Christ – Hal Bruce Johnson (PL) 6
COWPENS:
Cowpens Charge – John David Howle (FL) 1
(Salem, St. Mark, St. Andrews)
CROSS ANCHOR:
Cross Anchor Charge – SY (Brian P. Williams) 1
(Hebron, Cross Anchor Yarborough)
Golightly-Tabernacle – Louis D. Jamison (RSY) 6
DUNCAN:
Duncan-Startex-Loree – Richard D. Lewis (FL) 2
ENOREE:
Trinity-Enoree-Patterson Chapel – Burton L. Ott 5
GAFFNEY:
Mesopotamia-Asbury – Angelia P. Price (RSY) 4
Buford Street – Linda J. McNatt 1
Dunton – Lillie K. Davis (PL) 3
Limestone Street – James Ronald Singleton (1/2) 9
Trinity – SY (Alester McKinney) 29
GRAMLING:
Gramling – Benjamin Wade Herlong Sr. 5
INMAN:
Aldersgate – Gary B. Byrd (RSY) 3
Inman – Ronald Lee Leonard Sr. 9
JONESVILLE:
Jonesville-New Hope – James W. Ivey (RSY) 5
Kelton Charge – Glenn Williams Ribelin Sr. (FL) 1
(Bethlehem, Foster’s Chapel)
LANDRUM:
Jacksons Grove – Michael E. Bowers (3/4) 10
Landrum – Jane D. Jenkins 9
LOCKHART:
Lockhart-Wesley Chapel – Donna Stone Eidson
(FL) 1
LYMAN:
Lyman – Christopher Brian Gilmer 3
PACOLET:
Pacolet-White Stone – Donald G. Upson (PL)(3/4) 1
Karen L. Upson (PL)(1/4) 1
PACOLET MILLS:
Montgomery Memorial – Kelly Lee Gallamore 4
ROEBUCK:
Walnut Grove – Chris B. Snelgrove (FL) 6
SPARTANBURG:
Ben Avon-Roebuck – Jones Lester Brewer (FL) 6
Bethel – David E. Nichols 7
Associate – David B. Smith 11
Cannon’s Camp Ground – Paul McLaughlin Kinnett 1
Central – Scott Alexander Stevenson 2
Minister of Christian Education – Karen Lail Jones
(FD) 4
Cherokee Springs-Liberty – Brian James Arant 3
Church of the Covenant – William Danford Blair 3
El Bethel – Jack Austell Caldwell (RL) 7
Fairmont – SY (William Thompson) 1
Foothills Charge – Ronald Dewey Towery (FL) 2
(Campobello, Liberty, Fingerville)
Gravely Memorial – Scott Stephen Gilmer (PE) 5
Reidville Road – Samuel S. Warwick 2
Silver Hill Memorial – Edward H. McDowell Jr. 6
Skylyn-Arcadia – James B. Carter (FL) 8
Spartanburg Parish – Rufus Horace White (PL) 2
(Allen Chapel, Florence Chapel, Pleasant View)
St. James – Robert Christopher Barrett 1
St. Luke-Beaumont – F. Edward Traxler Jr. (FL) 2
St. Paul – Frank E. Lybrand 6
Trinity – Adlai Stephen Holler 4
UNION:
Bogansville – Donald E. Alexander Jr. (FL) 1
Union Charge – Merritt R. Wentz (FL) 1
(Bethel, Duncan Acres)
Grace – David Derrick Bauknight 1
Sardis-Unity – Robert Lee Allen 1
WELLFORD:
Immanuel – Fred Walls Parker (PL) 4
WHITMIRE:
Whitmire-Carlisle – Amie P. Shaver (PL) 1
Harmon, Paul Wesley – District Superintendent,
Spartanburg District 3
Pace Jr., Phillip Lynwood – Chaplain, Oxford College,
Emory University, St. James CC 4
Sloan, Candice Yeary – Chaplain & Director of Church
Relations, Spartanburg Methodist College, St. James
CC 11
Bennett, Traci S. (FD) – Chaplain, Piedmont Hospice,
Montgomery Memorial CC 5
Franklin Jr., E. Herbert – Chaplain, United States Army,
Bethel (Spartanburg) CC 11
Rawlinson, Carol McGinty – Pastoral Counselor,
Counseling Center Roswell UMC, Roswell GA,
Central CC 4
INCAPACITY LEAVE
Swofford, Cynthia L. – Inman CC 6
FAMILY LEAVE
Barrett, Mary Elise – St. James CC 6
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Anderson, Thurman W.
Barnes, Larry A.
Barrett, Charles D.
Bobo, Kenneth G.
Bowling, Douglas A.
Brown, Joe K.
Brown, Will Rogers
Byrd, Gary B.
Caldwell, Jack A. (RL)
Clyburn Jr., David A.
Coble, William K.
Covington, James W.
Culp, Dorothy N.
Culp, Wayne A.
Dillard, Jimmy W.
Duncan, Jason C. (RL)
Ervin, David F. (RA)
Fields, George D.
Fisher, A. Mickey
Methodism Revisited
In 1747, John Wesley published a
book titled “Primitive Physic: or An
Easy and Natural method of Curing
Most Diseases.”
Wesley’s desire to be an effective servant in such a different capacity often led
to sharp criticism of his unprofessional
ability to offer medical advice to the
public. In several articles in local newspapers, Wesley was scrutinized on several occasions, even though some are mistakes by the publisher.
Wesley was often encouraged to stick
to his religious convictions.
A letter written in The Gazetteer and
New Daily Advertiser (December 25,
1775), p. 1”
Reverend Sir,
Happening to look into your pamphlet, called “PRIMITIVE PHYSIC,”
one of the first remedies that I cast my
eye upon was, “To one poisoned, give
ONE OR TWO DRAMS of distilled
verdigris.”
Every one who has the least acquaintance with the powers of medicine, will,
I believe, be equally startled with myself
at reading such a prescription. I could
scarce believe my eye-sight for some
time, nor can at present by any means
account for the ignorance and presumption of a man who deals out as an antidote one of the most active poisons in
nature in such an enormous dose, and
this in such an undetermined quantity, as
if the exact dose were immaterial. – But
not to prejudice the reader by my own
opinion, who have no connection with,
nor much knowledge of any branch of
medicine, let us see what Dr. Lewes says
concerning verdigris. Verdigris (says he)
is rarely or never given internally. Some
recommend it indeed in the dose of a
GRAIN OR TWO, as an emetic, which
operates almost as soon as received into
the stomach, and which may therefore be
of use, where poisonous substances have
been taken, to procure their immediate
Gavalas, Anthony N.
Graves, Charles A.
Griffin, Betty S. (RD)
Hill Jr., Thomas H. (RL)
Holt, Arthur
Hood, James F.
Hope, Donald J.
Hopper, Richard D.
Ivey, James W.
Jamison, Louis D.
Johnston, James W.
Kyllonen, Mitchell W.
LeMaster Jr., James E.
Long, Allen E.
Monson, Robert C.
O’Dell, Donald R.
Price, Angelia P. (RA)
Rickenbacker, Luther H.
Ropp Jr., John Wesley
Rowell, Mary E.
Rush, James P.
Senn, C. Allen
Skinner Jr., Talmage B.
Smith, Dwight Moody
Strother, Robert G.
Teague, Charles P.
Tillerson, Elbert S. (RL)
White, Lloyd E.
Wilkes, Molly F. (RA)
Wilkes Jr., Thomas B.
Wofford, Robert M.
DIACONAL MINISTRY
Miller, Mary Lou
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired:
Miller, Mary Lou
WESLEY COMES
TO LIFE – Methodism’s founder John
Wesley (aka retired
United Methodist
pastor the Rev.
Thom Jones) shares
a fun moment with
Bishop Mary Virginia
Taylor during Annual
Conference. (Photo
by Matt Brodie)
rejection.
Thus you see, Sir, Dr. Lewes calls the
giving of verdigris, even in the one hundred and twentieth part of your dose,
highly imprudent; nay, it is very probable
that your dose of two drams would effectually poison 20 or 30 people, or operate
very sensibly on every man, woman, and
child, in one of your largest congregations. Far be it from me to suppose that
you had any bad design in publishing
this prescription.
A person is poisoned by eating muscles; get Mr. Wesley’s book and see what
he recommends; the first remedy for one
poisoned is one or two drams of distilled
verdigris, as it is an antidote, and recommended by him, be sure to get enough of
it; if, or rather when, the patient dies, his
death is laid to the muscles, and under
the sanction of your name, verdigris is
given again when the same occasion
offers.
I leave it to your own judgment, to
find out by what method you can recall
these firebrands and death, that you have
scattered so plentifully through the land.
But I hope you will be speedy and not
wait for the interposition of the censors
of the College of Physicians, who, as
guardians of the public health, have a
right to and I doubt not will, if necessary,
Walterboro District
Thomas J. Pearson Jr., DS 1
ALLENDALE:
Allendale – Thomas R. Smith (PL) 3
(Gillette, Swallow Savannah)
Central Circuit – Joseph Abram Jr. 11
(New Hope, Simpson, Union)
BEAUFORT:
Beaufort Circuit – SY (Tracy Paulette Colleton-Glover) 2
(Bethel, John’s Chapel)
Carteret Street – B. Susan Ulmer 7
Associate – Andrew Roy Wolfe (PE) 1
Fisher Chapel-St. Stephen – Rufus Snowden (AM) 1
Waters Edge – Melton A. Arant Jr. 7
Port Royal – Anne Gregory Bridgers (PL) 1
Wesley – James Albert Ross (PL) 3
COTTAGEVILLE:
Cottageville Charge – Sidney W. Mims III (PL) 6
(Cottageville, Rehoboth)
Jericho – Jerry Harrison, Jr. 5
Macedonia-Wesley Grove – Paul Yvone Thomas (PL) 5
DORCHESTER:
Dorchester Circuit – Ronald L. Brewer (PL) 3
(Salem, Zion)
Dorchester Parish – Mark D. Mitchell (PL) 16
(Oak Grove, St. John)
EHRHARDT:
Ehrhardt – Lewis Christopher King III (PL) 9
(Wesley Chapel, St. James, Zion, Lodge)
Ebenezer-Rizer’s Chapel – Ollie Mae Boyd (PL) 2
Friendship-St. Luke – Vivian Remona Linguard (PL) 4
HAMPTON:
Estill-Black Swamp – James W. Lewis Sr. (PL) 2
(Estill, Furman, Mount Carmel, St. John)
Fairfax – David L. Fields (PL) 2
(Bellinger Chapel, Brunson)
Hampton-Varnville Charge – Edward Rossiter Chellis 3
Toby-Mount Nebo Charge – Muriel L. Scott (PL) 3
HARLEYVILLE:
Bethel-Duncan Chapel – Robert E. Lee (AM) 16
(Bethel, Duncan Chapel)
interfere in a case which calls so loudly
for immediate redress.
ANTIDOTE
Distilled Wesley’s reply to Antidote
[1] (28 Dec. 1775).
“To the Printer of the Gazetteer.” The
Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser (1
Jan. 1776), 2.
Dec. 28, 1775.
Between twenty and thirty editions of
the Primitive Physic (or, a rational and
easy Method of curing most Diseases)
have been published either in England or
Ireland. In one or more of these editions
stand these words: “Give one or more
drams of distilled verdigris.” —I thank
the gentleman who takes notice of this,
though he might have done it in a more
obliging manner.
Could he possibly have been ignorant
(had he not been willingly so) that this is
a mere blunder of the printer? That I
wrote grains, not drams? However, it is
highly proper to advertise the public of
this; and I beg every one that has the
book would take the trouble of altering
that word with his pen.
Yours, &c. J. Wesley.
To the Rev. Mr. Wesley (1 Jan. 1776)
The Gazetteer and New Daily
First Church – Jeremy L. Howell 4
Harleyville Parish – Davie Demetrius Sanders Jr. (PE) 3
(Jerusalem, Morris Chapel, St. Daniel)
HILTON HEAD:
Bluffton – Joseph A. McDonald 3
Church of the Palms – Peter Kent Berntson (FL) 2
St. Andrew By-The-Sea – Neil M. Yongue 6
Associate – Daniel Burbage 1
RIDGELAND:
Hardeeville-St. Luke Charge – Richard M. Smith 7
(Hardeeville, St. Luke)
St. Paul-Tillman Charge – Bruce A. Sayre 3
(St. Paul, Tillman)
RIDGEVILLE:
Canaan-Sand Hill – Mack C. McClam 5
Associate Minister of Congregational Care – Paige
C. Roper (PL) 3
New Hope-St. Paul Charge – Willie F. Dicks Jr. 3
Ridgeville Charge – H. Jack Bailey (RSY) 2
(Cypress, Mount Tabor, Trinity)
RUFFIN:
Adnah-Williams Charge – Frederick Ronald Davis
(RSY) 1
Bells Parish – James Bernard Grant (PL) 6
(Red Root, Sykes Savannah)
Mount Pleasant – SY (Kendrick Williams) 1
Ruffin Circuit – Wayne R. Major 3
(Bethel, St. John, Tabor)
Ruffin Parish – Valarie Owens-Bartley (OF)(346.1) 2
(Buckhead, Hickory Hill)
Smoaks Circuit – Kevin Paul Stroop (OE) 1
(Green Pond, Little Swamp, Trinity)
Springtown – Albert Middleton 6
ST. GEORGE:
Grover Charge – Peter Michael Lack (PL) 2
(Grover, Providence)
Indian Field – John Preston Grimsley 2
New Grace – Leonard Huggins Jr. 1
St. George – Michael S. Leonhardt 2
St. George Parish – Otis Scott Jr. 2
Associate – SY (Sheri Yvette White) 1
(St. Mark, Shady Grove, Trinity)
WALTERBORO:
Bethel – Theron Walker Smith Jr. 4
Bethel-Red Bank Charge – Jimmy Washington (FL) 3
Colleton Circuit – Curtis J. Young (PL) 8
Advertiser (Thursday, January 4, 1776),
2. Instead of making such an apology
as the public had a right to expect, from
the nature and extreme danger of the
blunder contained in your Primitive
Physic, relative to taking so destructive a
quantity of distilled verdigris in the case
of poison; I cannot help considering your
answer as a most crafty piece of evasion,
and only worthy of an unfeeling Quack,
regardless of, and sporting with the
health and lives of his fellow creatures.
In the true stile of such a person, you
begin your answer by mentioning what
you call your Primitive Physic’s having
passed through between twenty and thirty editions.
Had you not been lost to shame, as
well as humanity, on this occasion, it
must have occurred to you, that this circumstance must be an exaggeration of
your fault, as a book, which has been
greedily bought by the ignorant, in the
nature and principles of medicine, for
whom it is declaredly intended, ought to
have been corrected with the utmost
care; but it seems as if you designed to
balance the number of its editions in
exultation, against the most evident and
most dreadful consequences.
The weak attempt to throw blame
upon the printer is as uncandid as it
appears improbable. The words, drams
and grains, are so unlike, that it is almost
impossible to mistake the one for the
other; at least, it argues an unpardonable
carelessness, to have suffered so dangerous an error to have appeared not only in
one, but as yourself owns, perhaps in
more, which probably means in most of
the editions.
However, is it a debt required of you
by the public, to point out THAT edition
of your work which may be used WITHOUT the hazard of losing their lives, by
following yours or your printer’s prescriptions.
Jan. 1, 1776 Yours, &c. FLY-FLAP
(Bethel, Heaven Gate, Trinity)
Hendersonville Charge – Debra M. Barnett (FL) 2
(Ebenezer, Ritter; Ebenezer, Yemassee; Salem)
New Life – Dwight Arnold Nelson 4
Walterboro Charge – Timothy Eugene Soucy (PL) 3
(Mount Carmel, Peniel, Sandy Dam)
Walterboro Parish – Major Brown III 7
(Cumberland, Isaiah)
Pearson Jr., Thomas J. – District Superintendent,
Walterboro District 1
Byrd, Lara Caulder – Chaplain, United States Navy,
Carteret Street CC 1
Quarles, Alice J. – North Carolina Conference, Trinity,
Jacksonville CC (1/4) 12
RETIREMENT
Retired Ministers:
Bailey, Harold Jack
Barnes, Benjamin B.
Branan Jr., Roger Leo
Cox, David W.
David, Frederick R.
Geddis, Roosevelt
Gilliard, Arthur M.
Goff Jr., Mack
Graham Jr., Hoyt
Thomas, J. Herbert
Wilson, Clark Thomas (RA)
DIACONAL MINISTRY
DEACONESSES
Active: None
Retired: None
Other News
Attendees sought for UMC
Healthy Families, Healthy Planet
trainings on maternal mortality
engage their local communities.
All costs to be paid
The trainings will take place Sept.
How should the church respond to
the tragedy of maternal mortality?
The United Methodist Church’s
Healthy Families, Healthy Planet initiative is seeking advocates to participate
in two trainings this fall to address this
question.
Selected participants will build advocacy skills and strategize ways to
26-28 in Columbus, Ohio, and Oct. 31
to Nov. 2 in Fort Worth, Texas.
All costs (transportation, lodging,
meals, materials, etc.) will be covered
by the project.
For more information and to download the application, visit umchealthyfamilies.org or email Katey Zeh, project coordinator, at [email protected].
Applications are due by July 15.
UM GOLF TOURNEY HELPS –
Johnston UMC, Johnston, held
their inaugural golf tournament
June 1 at Pine Ridge Country
Club in Edgefield. All 18 holes
and greens were sponsored by
local merchants. Seventeen
four-man teams participated.
The winning team received a
cash prize and trophy. Prizes
were also given for longest drive
and closest to the pin. Each
player had a chance to win a car
if they got a hole in one (though
no one achieved that distinction). A net profit of $4,243 was
shared equally with the
Johnston UMC Mission Fund
and the Johnston Food Bank.
To Your Health
By the Rev. Sandra King
If you have been paying any attention whatsoever to the
news this spring, you know that the summer of 2012 promises to be the Year of the Bug.
The warmer winter that we enjoyed was also kind to a
variety of insects, and you are sure to feel the bite if you
spend any time at all outdoors. From rocking on the front
porch to lounging by the pool, you will more than likely
provide more than one meal for these hungry critters this
summer.
Even so, there are steps that you can take to minimize
the number of biting insects in your yard and to decrease
the frequency of being bitten. Biting insects like mosquitoes lay their eggs in still water, where they hatch and grow
until they, too, are mature enough to fly and bite – a
process that takes about 7-10 days.
This means that one of the most effective means of
reducing the number of mosquitoes and other biting insects
is to remove any sources of standing water in your yard.
Clean out your gutters, turn buckets and other containers
that may collect water upside down to store, remove old
tires and change the water in the dog’s bowl and in the
kids’ wading pool twice a week to break the insect growth
cycle.
It only takes about one tablespoon of water to make an
excellent breeding spot for insects. If you have a pond or
other water receptacle that cannot be emptied regularly,
purchase mosquito “donuts” to place in your pond to
chemically stop the cycle.
No matter what you do to destroy the insect breeding
spots in and around your yard, there will always be biting
bugs around. Burning citronella candles and rubbing dryer
sheets or Avon Skin-so-soft lotion on your clothes and skin
may help deter the insects temporarily, but they will not
stop them from biting.
The only really effective repellent for mosquitoes, black
flies, and other biting insects is a product containing DEET.
The Center for Disease Control recommends using lotions
containing no more than 10 percent DEET on children and
lotions or sprays containing no more than 35 percent
DEET on adults to repel pests and keep them from feasting
on your blood. It is imperative that you follow the directions carefully when using any product containing DEET
and avoid re-applying too frequently. As soon as you are
away from the threat of being bitten, wash the lotion or
spray off with warm, soapy water.
Other measures to protect against insects (including no-
see-ums) include wearing light-colored, loose-fitting clothing when outside; avoiding use of perfumes, hair sprays
and scented soaps/body washes/shampoos/lotions; and limiting outdoor exposure during the early morning and early
evening hours. Because most biting insects are tiny, keeping a fan blowing when you are on the porch or at the pool
will keep them from getting close enough to bite.
If you are bitten, apply an antihistamine cream containing diphenhydramine HCL (like Benadryl) to the site of the
bite to reduce itching and swelling. If you experience rapid
heartbeat, difficulty breathing or the feeling that your throat
is closing, seek medical help immediately as this may be a
life-threatening allergic reaction to the bite. If you develop
a severe headache and fever, check with your healthcare
provider to make sure you haven’t contracted one of the
serious diseases spread by mosquitoes or other insects.
Now that you know what to do, get out and survey your
yard for potential insect breeding spots and clean them up.
Arm yourself with a good insect repellant and get outdoors
– it’s a beautiful day!
King serves as minister at Leesville United Methodist
Church in Leesville. She is a registered nurse with a master’s degree in health nursing.
Golf tourney to help nonprofit foundation help the community
BLYTHEWOOD – The Burns
Community Development Foundation is
gearing up for its annual golf tournament.
This year’s tournament is set for Sept.
17 at Cobblestone Park, 280 University
Club Parkway, Blythewood.
The Burns Community Development
Foundation is a nonprofit organization
created to assist with projects in the community. Since its existence, the foundation
has participated in several activities,
including mentoring third-grade students
at J.P. Thomas Elementary School since
2009 and donating books for reading
development in conjunction with a Stop
and Read Literacy program.
Sponsorships and individual golfer registrations are available.
The format for the tournament will be
a four-person captain’s choice.
Registration fee is $75 per person, and
single participants are encouraged to
attend.
Registration will begin at 11:30 a.m.
with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. All golfers
will receive refreshments, gift bags and
dinner. An awards ceremony and
acknowledgement of all sponsors will follow at the end of the tournament.
Make checks payable to: Burns
Community Development Foundation and
mail to P.O. Box 2505, Columbia, SC
29201. Four levels of sponsorships are
available: Platinum $1,000, Gold $500,
Bronze $300 and Silver $100.
Confirmation is needed by Aug. 15.
Ready to Yah-Yah?
Seniors
Annual older adults event set for Aug. 8 in Spartanburg
SPARTANBURG – Older adults in the
Spartanburg District will head to St.
James United Methodist Church,
Spartanburg, Aug. 8 for the annual
older adults event, Yah-Yah Fun Day.
Yah-Yah Fun Day is an interdenominational program that features music,
worship and fellowship.
This year’s theme is “The Young at
Heart.” Special musical guests The
Miller-Rowe Consort will perform.
Sue Owens, author of three devotional books, will be the featured
speaker.
The event will conclude with food
and fellowship, and lunch will be
catered by Mutt’s Barbeque.
The deadline for registration is July
30 and is limited to the first 300 persons.
For more information about Yah-Yah
Fun Day, call Bernice Lewis at 864583-0358.
TRUSTEE EMERITUS – On
June 10, trustees of Ashland
UMC, Columbia, honored
Hugh Westbury by naming him
Trustee Emeritus. Westbury
has worked tirelessly at the
church since serving as a missioner when the church was
organized in the mid-1970s.
He has served in numerous
capacities, often as a trustee,
but even when not an official
trustee, he has done the work
of one. He knows all things
structural about the church and
has climbed to the top of
everything at Ashland on his
ladder and changed light bulbs
in every fixture countless
times. Westbury was presented with a plaque, picture of the
church, gold ladder and gold
light bulb because, as the
church said, he set the “gold
standard” for what it means to
be a true servant of God. Here,
Tom Wilkinson, chair of
trustees, stands with Westbury.
Where Friendships & Traditional Values Meet
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Custom-built, all-brick patio homes
Spacious studio, one & two bedroom apartments
Basic utilities, property taxes, and insurance
Weekly housekeeping, linen, and laundry service
Home and lawn maintenance
Restaurant-style dining with flexible meal plans
Full daily calendar of recreation, social
& cultural activities
2100 Twin Church Road, Florence, SC
843-664-0700
Patio Home – Independent Living Apartments – Assisted Living Suites –
Alzheimer’s Care Center
www.methodist-manor.com
SUBSCRIBE! SEE BOX, PAGE 3
Charles R. Alford Sr.
BENNETTSVILLE – Charles R. Alford
Sr., brother of the Rev. Lee C. Bines, died
May 19, 2012. Rev. Bines is the pastor of
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Pinopolis.
Funeral services were held May 26 at
the Berea Baptist Convention Center, with
burial in the New Pee Dee Baptist Church
Cemetery.
Mr. Alford is survived by his wife,
Geraldine Alford, and three children.
Margaret Jane
Bodenhamer Barnes
ANDERSON – Margaret Jane
Bodenhamer Barnes, mother of Jean
Stutler, died June 3, 2012. Mrs. Stutler is
the wife of the Rev. Kurt Stutler, pastor of
the Anderson Cooperative Parish and the
North Anderson Charge.
Funeral services were held June 7 at
First Baptist Church, Anderson, with
entombment in Forest Lawn Memorial
Park Mausoleum.
Memorials may be made to First
Baptist Church, 307 S. Manning St.,
Anderson, SC 29624.
Mrs. Barnes is survived by her daughter and son.
Rev. Vincent Francis Halter Jr.
LAKE WATEREE – The Rev. Vincent
Francis Halter Jr., retired member of the
S.C. Annual Conference of the United
Methodist Church and father of the Rev.
Angela Halter Marshall, died May 22,
2012. Rev. Marshall is the minister of
Obituaries
education at Trinity
UMC, Sumter.
Prior to his retirement in 2002, Rev.
Halter served the
Rembert-St. John
Charge. He continued
serving the charge for
several years as a
Halter
retired supply.
A memorial service was held May 25
at Aldersgate UMC, Sumter.
Memorials may be made to Kairos
Prison Ministry of South Carolina, P.O.
Box 6211, Columbia, SC 29260; or the
Walter M. Crowe Animal Shelter, 460 S.
Fair St., Camden, SC 29020.
Rev. Halter is survived by his wife,
Nancy Tindall Halter, two daughters and
son.
Blanche Allen Mirse
COLUMBIA – Blanche Allen Mirse,
widow of the Rev. Ralph T. Mirse, died
May 8, 2012.
Trenholm Road United Methodist
Church, with burial in Greenlawn
Memorial Park.
Mrs. Mirse is survived by her two
daughters and son.
Louie Augustus Pittman Jr.
MARION – Louie Augustus Pittman Jr.,
brother of Libby Rush, died June 7, 2012.
Mrs. Rush is the wife of the Rev. Jim
Rush, retired member serving the Jackson
Grove United Methodist Church, Greer.
Resource Center
From the Resource Center:
DARK AND DISTURBING STORIES
FROM THE BIBLE (DVD1019YO=)
Author: Becker, Mary
Grace/Miller, Susan
Martins.
13 segments, 2-5
min./book/2010.
Dark and
Disturbing draws
youth into Bible
events that will
have them asking, “Is that really in the
Bible? Youth face moral and ethical
issues that, they may be surprised to find,
were just as relevant in Bible times as
they are today. This series gets youth to
dig into issues including the lure of popularity, arrogance, murder and violence,
suicide, and pain and suffering. (Youth)
SHOCKING AND SCANDALOUS
STORIES FROM THE BIBLE
(DVD1018YO=)
Author: Becker, Mary Grace/Miller,
Susan Martins.
13 segments, 2-4 min./book/2010.
Shocking and Scandalous takes the
previous DVD a step further, getting youth
to dig into issues including dating, dilemmas, dysfunctional stepfamily relationships, hate crimes, illicit sex and alcohol
abuse. (Youth)
THE OPEN TABLE: AN INVITATION
TO KNOW GOD VOL 1
(DVD1020CL=)
Author: Miller,
Donald.
5 sessions, 10 min.
each./leader’s
guide/participant’s
guide/2008.
“The Open
Table: An Invitation
to Know God” is simply that
– an open invitation for discussion about
some of life’s greatest questions: What is
Christianity? Who is Jesus and how
should this affect our lives? Donald Miller
invites you to join him in a conversation
infused with humor, truth, history and,
above all, honesty. Whether you have
never opened a Bible or if you grew up
Obituary policy:
The Advocate prints death notices of
clergy and their immediate families and
laypersons who have served on conference boards and agencies or who work
for the S.C. Conference of the United
Methodist Church.
Richardson Funeral Home, with burial in
Palmetto Memorial Gardens.
Memorials may be made to Zion
Southern Methodist Church, c/o Danny
Foxworth, 3429 Zion Road, Mullins, SC
29574.
Mr. Pittman is survived by his wife,
Gloria Gibson Pittman, son and two stepsons.
Mary Saxson
FAIRFAX – Mary Elizabeth Bowers
Saxson, sister of M. Frances Black, died
May 17, 2012. Mrs. Black is the secretary
for the Orangeburg District.
the Greater Cherry Grove Christian
Church, Hampton, with burial in the
church cemetery.
Mrs. Saxson is survived by her three
daughters.
Ruth M. Schmitt
WADSWORTH, Ohio – Ruth M.
Schmitt, mother of the Rev. Alice
MacKeil, died June 5, 2012. Rev.
MacKeil is the pastor of First United
Methodist Church, Laurens.
Cox Funeral Home, with burial June 11 in
Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery.
reciting the Lord’s Prayer, the table is
open to you! (Adult)
THE OPEN TABLE: AN INVITATION
TO WALK WITH GOD VOL 2
(DVD1021CL=)
Author: Miller, Donald.
5 sessions, 10 min. each/leader’s
guide/participant’s guide/2010.
We all know relationships take effort
and time and intentionality. Like crops
from the soil, our souls and our relationships need nurturing in order to bear fruit.
Donald Miller and his friends have created
a guide to cultivating and nurturing your
soul in such a way that something can
grow, something that will sustain you:
namely, a relationship with God. This second installment of The Open Table series
invites you not only to know God but to
walk with him. (Adult)
The S.C. Conference Resource Center
is your connection to VHS tapes, DVDs
and seasonal musicals. They are here to
serve your church family. To reserve
resources, call 888-678-6272 or visit
www.umcsc.org/resourcecenter.
S.C. Christian Action Council to award racial healing grants
The South Carolina Christian Action
Council announces a small grants program to recognize and foster racial healing among the state’s faith communities.
A United Methodist or other faith
community interested in applying for a
$500 grant should submit an application
by 5 p.m. on July 20, describing how it
will collaborate with a partner community
of faith to advance racial healing.
The SCCAC will award up to five
grants of $500 each. Successful applicants must complete activity or activities
funded by the grant by Feb. 28, 2013.
The SCCAC will consider proposals
for any activities with potential to successfully foster, facilitate, and sustain
racial healing. A successful proposal will
be one that persuasively describes how
two local communities of faith will come
together in one or more face-to-face experiences that will advance racial healing
among participants.
All grant funds must be used solely to
support activities described in the proposal. For more information, email bkneece
@sccouncil.net or call 803-786-7115.
Mrs. Schmitt is survived by her two
daughters and son.
Dr. George Wightman
Whitaker Jr.
LEXINGTON – Dr.
George Wightman
Whitaker Jr., a retired
member of the S.C.
Annual Conference
of the United
Methodist Church,
died June 6, 2012.
Prior to his retireWhitaker
ment in 1986, Dr.
Whitaker served the Timmonsville-Salem,
Charleston-Aldersgate, Kingstree,
Trenholm Road, Clemson, SpartanburgCentral and Greenville-Trinity charges.
He was also the Charleston District superintendent from 1968-1974.
A memorial service was held June 9 at
Mount Hebron UMC, West Columbia,
with a later inurnment in Williston.
Memorials may be made to Lake
Junaluska Assembly Inc., The Office of
Development and the Foundation, P.O.
Box 67, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745; to
Wofford College, 429 N. Church St.,
Spartanburg, SC 29303; or to Hospice.
Dr. Whitaker is survived by his son and
two daughters.
Did you know that you
can make a gift and
receive guaranteed
income for life?
That’s exactly what dozens
of people have done since 1982
through Charitable Gift
Annuities with the South
Carolina United Methodist
Foundation.
Current One-Life Rates
For Selected Ages*
Age
Age
Age
Age
Age
Age
60
65
70
75
80
85
4.4%
4.7%
5.1%
5.8%
6.8%
7.8%
Two-Life Rates Available
Upon Request
* Rates are subject to change.
Gift Annuities with the
Foundation provide guaranteed
lifetime income at an attractive
rate, immediate tax benefits for
your charitable contribution,
and a way to leave a legacy for
the future.
-----------------------The South Carolina
United Methodist Foundation, Inc.
P. O. Box 5087
Columbia, SC 29250-5087
Send me information about a
Charitable Gift Annuity with
the Foundation.
Name _____________________
Address ___________________
City ______________________
State ___________ Zip _______
June
June 21-24 – SURGE into Missions
Youth Retreat III, Lake Junaluska,
N.C. www.myp.lakejunaluska.com
Upcoming Events
the Revs. Earnest Frierson,
Kenneth L. Nelson, George
Ashford and James Friday. For
more information, contact Edd
Cunningham, [email protected].
Farewell, Rev. Friday
June 24-28 – SURGE into Missions
Youth Retreat IV - Lake
Junaluska, N.C. www.myp.lakejunaluska.com
July 15-19 – Youth and Young Adults In
Mission, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
www.lakejunaluska.com/youth-inmissions
June 24-29 – Music and Worship Arts
Week, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
www.lakejunaluska.com/mwaw
July 18-20 – SEJ Jurisdictional
Conference, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
www.lakejunaluska.com/sej-jurisdictional
June 24-29 – Annual Train-the-Trainer,
Shalom International Resource
Center, Ocean Grove, N.J. For
more information,
[email protected] or
973.408.3848
July 19-22 – SURGE into Missions
Youth Retreat IX, Lake Junaluska,
N.C. www.myp.lakejunaluska.
com
July 26-29 – S.C. Immerse Youth
Retreat, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
www.lakejunaluska.com/scimmerse
June 28-July 1 – SURGE into Missions
Youth Retreat V, Lake Junaluska,
NC. www.myp.lakejunaluska.com
June 29-July 1 – 2012 Native American
Tribal Social Justice Issues
Conference, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
Richard Twiss will headline the
event.
July 27-29 – UMW School of Christian
Mission, Spartanburg Methodist
College, Spartanburg
July 30-Aug. 2 – Festival of Wisdom
and Grace, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
www.lakejunaluska.com/wisdomand-grace
July
July 3-5 –Lake Junaluska
Independence Day Celebrations,
Lake Junaluska, N.C. www.lakejunaluska.com/july4th
July 4 – Independence Day, UM Center
closed.
July 5-8 –SURGE into Missions Youth
Retreat VI, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
www.myp.lakejunaluska.com
July 8 – Colleton Spiritularies and the
Colleton County Chosen One’s, 4
p.m. Tickets are $5. Contact Mary
Ellison, 843-893-2510.
July 8-12 –SURGE into Missions Youth
Retreat VII, Lake Junaluska, N.C.
www.myp.lakejunaluska.com
July 8-12 –Soulfeast, Lake Junaluska,
N.C. www.lakejunaluska.com/
soulfeast
August
Hundreds from across the Florence District crammed into St. Paul UMC,
Florence (above), to bid a hearty farewell and thanks to the Rev. James
Friday (below), who will shift from being Florence District superintendent to
Greenwood District superintendent July 1. In appreciation for his four years of
dedicated service, United Methodists across the district held a special
Sending Forth worship service and love offering May 20. The Rev. John Hipp
will be the new Florence District superintendent. Friday will replace the Rev.
Mary Teasley in Greenwood; she will be the new Greenville District superintendent. “He has been wonderful to work with,” said Cynthia Williams, who
organized the service. “Our relationship exemplifies lay and clergy partnerships, and we will meet in our daily prayers.” (Submitted photos)
July 9-12 – SEJ Historical Society
Annual Meeting, UMW’s ScarrittBennett Center, Nashville.
July 12-15 – SURGE into Missions
Youth Retreat VIII, Lake
Junaluska, N.C. www.myp.lake
junaluska.com
July 14 – Florence District UMM Annual
Retreat, Wesley Chapel UMC,
Lake City. Speakers will include
Aug. 2-5 – UMW School of Christian
Mission
August 30 – Racial Healing for Our
Time luncheon, Noon, First
Christian Church, Columbia. First
recipients of the S.C Christian
Action Council Healing for Our
Time grants will be announced.
$20 per registrant. Info:
[email protected] or 803786-7115.
October
Oct. 3-6 – “Growing Healthy
Communities,” 20th Anniversary
Summit, Shalom International
Resource Center, Los Angeles.
[email protected] or 973-4083848
Classified Advertising
8 8 8 - 6 7 8 - 6 2 7 2 • 8 0 3 - 7 8 6 - 9 4 8 6 • [email protected]
Church Furnishings
• Steeples
• Baptistries
• Pews
• Refinishing & Upholstering Pews
• Stained Glass
Superior Church Furnishings
1•800•975•2129
Pew Upholstering – Reversible Cushions
New Pews – Pew Refinishing
Audio/Video Systems
www.churchinteriors.com
High Point, North Carolina
1-800-289-7397
Church Furnishings
FREE ESTIMATES
NEW
Steeple cleaning service
New Pews • Pew Upholstering • Pew Refinishing •
Pulpit Furniture • Carpet • Steeples/Baptistries • Chime
Systems • Stained Glass • Classroom Furniture • Office
Furniture • Social Hall Furniture • Budget & Project
Analysis • Project Management
Nu-Idea
Church Furnishings
Sumter, South Carolina
1-800-922-0424
www.nu-idea.com
“Serving South Carolina’s churches since 1921”
Moving?
Don’t forget
to send us
your new address!
International Bible School Lessons
By the Rev. Wyatt Minton
III
Minton is senior pastor of
the Cheraw Parish, Cheraw.
July 1
Samuel Administers Justice
Lesson Scripture: 1 Samuel 7:3 11, 15 17
Background Scripture: 1 Samuel 7:3 17
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 7:3 – “Direct your
heart to the Lord, and serve him
only, and he will deliver you…”
The people had strayed from God
because concern for the harvest of crops
was a daily issue. While Yahweh showed
power and control over history the question in the hearts and minds of the people
was could Yahweh win over the “gods”
who controlled the cycles of nature? The
religion of Baal taught worshipers to control the gods, while Israel’s faith stressed
serving God in gratitude for God’s benevolence. Yahweh would not be controlled
by magic; either God would be trusted or
betrayed, obeyed or disobeyed. However,
in all things God’s will is sovereign.
Samuel speaks to an assembly of people who are in a desperate plight. The tribal confederacy has been handed a devastating defeat, the main sanctuary of Shiloh
has been burned to the ground, and the
Ark of the Covenant was taken by the
Philistines. The shock and despair of these
events has over whelmed the most devout
of the Israelites, they cry out for God’s
protection.
The people searched their hearts contritely to renew their commitment to God.
Samuel is instrumental in this period of
transition and provides the needed and
necessary leadership for a people seeking
security and protection. Israel’s military
defeat is not Yahweh’s lost, faith in God
has very little to do with political organizations. God has the power to discipline with
disaster and bless with victory at the same
time. In the dark hour of Philistine dominance the people are lead to religious
renewal.
If God works through negative circumstances and situations to bring the chosen
people into a renewed covenant, what
makes the suffering of the believers different from the nonbeliever?
July 8
David Embodies God’s Justice
Lesson Scripture: 2 Samuel 23: 1 7; 1
Chronicles 18:14
Background Scripture: 2 Samuel 22: 1
23:7; 1 Chronicles 18:14
Key Verse: 1 Chronicles 18:14 – “So
David reigned over all Israel; and he
administered justice and equity to all
his people.”
Our passages look at the reign of King
David as an example of God’s justice in
the world. However, the life of David was
complicated and very contradictory. If
David were to participate in today’s political exercises he would be hard pressed to
“prove that his heart is with God.” His
self-righteous encounter with Nathan the
prophet has to be one of the most dramatic
encounters in all of human history.
David’s life rises to the highest peaks of
human aspiration and falls to the lowest
pits of human anguish. Despite all David’s
faults God was able and willing to work
through him. David was not allowed to
build the temple, however he was still
“elected by grace” to be the ancestor to the
Savior of the world. David was not spared
the consequences of his personal failures,
however he still believed in the love and
goodness of God.
This is a testimony to the practicality of
the faith in God, as recorded in the Old
Testament. David had to reckon the
demands of national leadership, family
conflicts and personal desires with the
God he sought to serve daily. What makes
David great is that his obedience to God
insists that even the king answer for his
sins, however not all of Israel’s kings
could accept the words of a prophet.
David is idealized and honored more
than any other king because he typifies the
ideal combination of power and goodness,
not perfection. Perfection will not be
found in the human arena of morality;
however we should attempt daily to measure our efforts. How we treat others, how
we ignore the pain of others make very
visible in our lives whether or not we
embody God’s justice.
July 15
Solomon Judges with Wisdom
and Justice
Lesson Scripture: 1 Kings 3: 16 28: 2
Chronicles 9:8
Background Scripture: 1 Kings 3; 2
Chronicles 9:8
Key Verse: 1 Kings 3:28 – “All Israel
heard of the judgment that the king
had rendered; and they stood in awe
of the king, because they perceived
that the wisdom of God was in him,
to execute justice.”
King Solomon shows interest in a local
family matter, between two socially
deviant persons. Burdened with the
demands of the nation he summons two
prostitutes to tell their story and provokes
their help in solving the problem.
Discerning a mother’s love over the convincing argument of another Solomon
shows wisdom beyond human understanding.
Our world is filled with “sound bites,”
or quick-witted statements that, seemly, set
circumstances straight for all time. Sadly,
the problems we face are much larger than
the words repeated through our mass
media. With the power of the “pied piper”
masses of people seem to be willingly led
by morsels of truth only to ignore the need
for “true justice” for everyone. Common
sense is needed as much as compassion,
discernment is needed as much as accepting the truth that all people are of scared
worth.
Divine wisdom gives us more than success in this world, it leads us to fear God
and acknowledge our dependence on God.
This dependence on God should lead us to
care for others and search for the truths
that will help all persons live in peace.
Living in peace with others is the most
difficult task before people in the world
today. Our inability to compromise and
assist others has compounded the dilemmas of our community and threatens to
consume us all.
July 22
A King Acts on a Widow’s
Behalf
July 29
Jehoshaphat Makes Judicial
Reforms
Special, long-term concern is shown to
a poor widow by Elisha. The prophet
gives particular attention to this woman
because her decease husband was once a
member of the company of prophets. The
widow is blessed with an increase in oil,
the restoration of her son from death and
is given a warning to avoid famine.
However, upon her return she finds that
the land has been lost. The king restores
her abandon land and awards her all revenue earned from the land during the period she was absent.
The justice of God as seen in the life of
this widow is more than being in the right
company or place at the best or “blessed”
time. The justice of God is the availability
of willing community who will help others even if their circumstances seem to get
worst. However, as a community of faith
we not always lead to help persons who
willing follow instructions or work to
improve their situations. The justice of
God is seen in the many ways that even
the undeserving are assisted and blessed
beyond measure, simply because someone
else gave up “their right to be right.”
Jesus gave up his righteousness for sinners to be apart of a community where
sickness and death will cease to control
human activity. Even believers are hard
pressed to trust in God’s “availably”
because the community of faith seems to
be growing smaller. However, we are each
and everyone accounted for under the
umbrella of God’s care. And it always
behooves each of us to carefully, care for
each other.
Jehoshapha realizes that the nation had
strayed from God and needed redirection
back to God. Jehoshaphat delegated persons to assist him in leading the people.
The King warns the judges that they
should be unafraid, fair and impartial and
that they are accountable to God for the
way in which they judge others.
Obedience to God is a day-to-day activity that over time gets blurred and even
distorted. Neither Israel nor Judah followed God’s law completely or closely.
Only every now and then did the leaders
and the people come close to what God
calls the community of faith to be. Despite
human unfaithfulness God demonstrates
that God will remain faithful. Even when
outward circumstances are spinning out of
control God waits for us to return to faith
in God’s will and way.
I believe the problem facing the community of faith is how much of the past do
we keep and how much of the “new age”
do we adopt. Reform that leads us into the
“glory days” of the past requires we idealize persons, or ideals that carry unseen or
unspoken negatives. Running head long
into new understandings and changing
boundaries require that “hard fast traditions” be compromised or totally removed.
The human faith factor is the only part of
the problem that cannot be left out, nor
will it change.
All communities of faith will not
embrace all reforms or traditions, even if
these are necessary and positive for the
vast majority; however we are always
called to accept each other.
Lesson Scripture: 2 Kings 8: 1 6
Background Scripture: 2 Kings 4: 1 37;
8: 1 6
Key Verse: 2 Kings 8:6 – “So the king
appointed an official for her, saying,
“Restore all that was hers, together
with all the revenue of the fields
from the day that she left the land
until now.”
Lesson Scripture: 2 Chronicles 19: 4 11
Background Scripture: 2 Chronicles 18:
28 19: 11
Key Verse: 2 Chronicles 19: 6 – “And
said to the judges, “Consider what
you are doing, for you judge not on
behalf of human beings but on the
Lord’s behalf; he is with you in giving judgment.”
LIKE US.
FOLLOW US.
VISIT US.
Connect with the Advocate and the S.C. Conference online.
facebook.com/advocatesc
facebook.com/SCUMC
@advocatesc
@UMCSC
AdvocateSC.org
UMCSC.org
Sunday Scripture Podcast
By Jessica Connor
Pastor’s new audio initiative encourages Christian conversation
Like a weekend getaway in the middle of
a crazy season, a new United Methodist
audio initiative is sweeping the state while
generating diverse conversation about
Scripture.
It’s called Sunday Scripture Podcast, a
weekly 15-minute show that is the brainchild
of the Rev. Joe Cate, associate pastor at
Buncombe Street United Methodist Church,
Greenville. Cate thought a weekly podcast
would be a great way to generate strong dialogue about the lectionary Scripture used in
worship each Sunday. Cate enlisted help
from other United Methodist pastors across
the state, launching the podcast March 14.
“I want to make the message of the
weekly Scripture accessible to people that
are attending church or on the perimeter of
church,” Cate said, noting the podcast is an
outreach tool to help bridge the gap between
the church-eager and the church-apathetic.
Cate is the host, and several pastors join
him each week. The pastors are intentionally
diverse to keep the conversation fresh and
lively: younger and older, men and women,
different theological perspectives.
Participating pastors include the Revs. Laura
Bratton, Brad Gray, Megan Gray, James
Ellis Griffeth, Dean Lollis, Will Malambri,
Mollie Bame Reddic, Thomas Smith,
Jonathan Tompkins, Sara White and more.
Not only does the
podcast help laity,
Cate said, but also,
“It’s fun to talk to
other ministers about
texts because we can
come up with great
ideas together that
anyone can use as a
resource for their sermons.”
“The podcast is
kind of an electronic
version of a coffeehouse conversation
with a group of pastors discussing
Scripture,” said
Tompkins, associate
pastor at First UMC,
Myrtle Beach. “It
allows me to hear
differing points of
view, other than my
own, from people
throughout our conference who I would
normally not be able
to sit down with over
a cup of coffee.”
They also keep
the conversation at a
level that will appeal
to both the worship
novice and the seasoned. For example,
in the first episode,
Cate explains what a
lectionary is for those
who don’t know.
“My true purpose
is for those who have
very little to do with
church for whatever
reason to hear the
same message of
hope and grace that we hear,” Cate said.
As of the Advocate’s press time, the show
was averaging 325 listeners each week and
growing.
Predictable structure,
unpredictable dialogue
In the pilot, Cate said the goal of the
weekly podcast is simple: “We want to give
you 15 minutes in the middle of your busy
week to slow down and recalibrate your
mind and spirit using Scripture passages,
main points and images that are relevant in
your life.”
Every week, the show covers three basic
segments. The first segment analyzes a
Scripture passage that is appropriate for the
week, illuminating the main point with a
The Rev. Joe
Cate, associate
pastor at
Buncombe
Street UMC,
Greenville,
works on an
upcoming
Sunday
Scripture
Podcast, a new
weekly 15minute show to
generate dialogue about
Scripture.
real-life example. In the pilot, Cate compares
the Israelites’ journey in Numbers 21 to a
road trip to Disney World he took with his
young children.
The second segment highlights a verse
from the sermon text to help establish a basic
theme for the week. In the April 18 podcast
Malambri, pastor at St. James UMC,
Spartanburg, explores Acts 3 in the Common
English Bible translation, specifically the
blame being put on leaders. “God didn’t kill
Jesus; it was those persons who turned
against him and chose instead a murderer to
be released rather than of the son of God,”
Malambri reminds listeners in the segment.
“He wants the blame to be on those leaders
and that we might also recognize the blame
comes back to us; anyone who would not
proclaim Jesus as the messiah and live under
his reign would be to blame.”
The third segment contains an image
from everyday life that will help listeners
identify and remember a theme of the week.
In the April 11 podcast, an illustration from
The Masters helps develop the point. The
April 18 podcast uses an image of toddlers to
help us understand our behavior as adults.
Getting the message out
Cate is spreading the word about the podcast in a variety of ways: regular church
announcements, Facebook, Twitter,
Textweek.com and an email distribution list.
Listeners and contributors also share the
show on their social media sites. All of the
ways they communicate give followers a
direct link to the show on iTunes and a website.
“In a society that increasingly spends
more time online and on-the-go, I think this
is an important way to reach out to folks
beyond our church walls,” Tomkins said,
encouraging people to tune in.
To listen to the podcasts, visit the religious
podcast section of iTunes or sundayscripture.tumblr.com. To sign up for the weekly
email reminder, write to [email protected] and put SUBSCRIBE in
the subject line. You will then receive an
email each week with a direct link to a website and a direct link to iTunes.

2012 Annual Conference - South Carolina United Methodist Advocate

Transcription

Similar documents

IUMC Fall Fest Poster

The District Weekly - Village United Methodist Church

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor

Daily aDvocate - South Carolina United Methodist Advocate

General Conference preserves archives and

April/May 2016 - New Life United Methodist Church

The Tower News - firstumcbc.org

Calendar of Events - Perrysville United Methodist Church

facebook 15 can challenge gains momentum - 208-436-3932