Lay Servant Ministries

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Lay Servant Ministries is the premier lay leadership development program available within the United Methodist connection. Lay Servants grow as disciples of Jesus Christ who then go and make other disciples 3 through their leadership and witness. 4 5 Lay Servants serve within their local church and beyond in ways that inspire other laity to deepen their 6 commitment to Christ and yield more effective discipleship, including the interpretation of Scripture, 7 doctrine, organization, and ministries of the church. They lead, assist, and support the programs of the 8 church; assume leadership roles; lead prayer meetings; facilitate small groups and Bible studies; teach 9 Sunday School; conduct congregational and community life; and foster caregiving ministries. They are 10 leaders who serve through leading, caring, and communicating ministries in their local church and beyond. 11 As we move forward in 2022, we look back at the continued challenges of 2021 and witness the hand of

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 our awesome God through it all. The pandemic continued but some districts were able to bring back some “in-person” classes. The number of courses offered in 2021 increased a bit. One of the positive results of this pandemic is that Districts continue offering Lay Servant courses via Zoom. Some courses are being offered in-person, some by Zoom, and others are being offered as hybrid (offered in-person and via Zoom at the same time). This continues to be a blessing within our Conference and beyond! We fully expect that offering courses by Zoom will continue to be a common practice in the Conference. God is Good!

19 20 21 As of Feb. 2, 2022, Upper New York Annual Conference has over 500 active Lay Servants, 46 Lay Speakers and 103 Certified Lay Ministers.

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Among these numbers are five newly affirmed Lay Speakers: • Cornerstone District: Cora Martin, Tim Hadley, Laura Lindquist • Albany District: Bruce France, Theodore Vickery, Jr.

We also affirmed 12 new Certified Lay Ministers: • Adirondack District: Lee Ackley, Sharyl Backus, Karen Butters, Carla Snyder • Albany District: Rita Pickett • Crossroads District: Michael Ingersoll, Judy Lieber-Butler, Shirley Pease • Mohawk District: Deborah Brewer, Brenda Brucker, Jacqueline Kim • Niagara Frontier District: Rodney Stringham

In 2021, there were over 40 courses offered across our Conference with over 350 Lay Servants in attendance. These Lay Servants are equipped and empowered to serve as disciples of Jesus Christ through a myriad of ministries including: VIM, Small Group Leaders, Trustees, SPRC members, Sunday School Teachers, Visitation Coordinators, Prayer Leaders, Pulpit Fill, … and the list goes on. We also had a few participants from other Conferences in our courses.

The UNY Conference Lay Servant Ministry Team also approved three new Alternate Advanced courses that may be used as credit for 10-hour advanced courses. They are:

42 43 44 45 46 • Transforming Congregation Leadership to Transform Live (Phase 1 and Phase 2) • Stretch Out Your Hand – Exploring Healing Prayer

We are dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ committed to serving in whatever ways we are called in the Upper New York Conference. Praise be to God!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 District Directors: • Adirondack – Bruce Hazard • Albany – Nancy Goddard • Binghamton – Mel Patterson and Don Birtch • Cornerstone – Cora Martin and Warren Vandewark • Crossroads – Darlene Dennis and Robert Mueller • Finger Lakes – Jennie Young-Walczyk • Genesee Valley – Deb Clyde • Mohawk – Ken Guilfoyle • Mountain View – Sue Silhan and Ernest Warren • Niagara Frontier – Tracy Hagler • Northern Flow – Donna Fitchett • Oneonta – Cathy Honrath

I have been serving as Conference Director of Lay Servant Ministries for about 18 months now. I would not be able to do all that I do without the wonderful team beside me. Thank you to the awesome District Directors for your dedication and hard work.

I don’t think any of us expected the pandemic to last two years, but God has continued to work in and through us during all of it. He has shown us new ways to minister and new ways to teach those in leadership.

May God continue to inspire the Laity in our Conference. May God continue to work in us. May God continue to lead us in our time of waiting and expectation. May God fill you with peace and comfort as we continue to move forward to healing – physically, emotionally and spiritually. May God be with us all as we continue in ministry together.

Respectfully Submitted, Linda M. Barczykowski Conference Director of Lay Servant Ministries