PUBLISHED BY THE WEST VIRGINIA CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
VOL 2 / NUMBER 2
Randall Reid-Smith Commissioner, WV Division of Culture and History; Dr. Lawrence F. Sherwood, Jr.; Dr. Robert S. Conte, Chairman of Archives and History Commission. View more photos at flickr.com/wvumc. PHOTO COURTESY DEWAYNE LOWTHER
HISTORY HERO
The Rev. Dr. Lawrence Sherwood, Jr., was recently honored as a History Hero at the Cultural Center in Charleston, W. Va. He was nominated by the West Virginia Annual Conference Commission on Archives and History. Sherwood serves on the Conference Commission on Archives and History and was a charter member of the conference historical society. He has also served
as vice president of the National Association of Methodist Historical Societies. His publications include History of West Virginia Methodism (1964), as well as his latest book, The Tours of Bishop Francis Asbury in West Virginia, 1776-1815 (2011). Copies cost $14.95 and can be ordered from the Rev. Ginnie Lowther, 802 Roseland Avenue, Williamstown, WV, 26187.
MARCH 2014
CALENDAR March 5 7-8 9-12 14-15 14-16 21
April 3-6 4-5 4-5 5 12 15 18 20 25-27 26-5/3
May 1-3 2-4 16-17 17-18 31
First Day of Lent Covenant Council Board of Ordained Ministry Meeting Residency Retreat Course of Study Hunger Grant Applications Due UMW Spiritual Growth Retreat Incarnation Spiritual Growth Retreat Growing Your Church Workshop Sexual Ethics Training Bishop’s Confirmation Rally Virginia Higgins Grant Applications Due Harry Denman Evangelism Award Nominations Due* Good Friday (Conference Center Closed) Easter Sunday Course of Study Pastoral Ministry Licensing School Pastoral Ministry Licensing School UMW Mission Encounter Residency Retreat Bishop’s Motorcycle Ride Bishop’s Confirmation Rally
For more information and the full calendar visit wvumc.org/calendar. Email submissions to wvumc@wvumc.org. • *Visit wvumc.org/evangelism for information and to download nomination forms for the Harry Denman Evangelism Award. Call Karen Thaxton at 1-800-788-3746, ext. 24 if you need a copy mailed to you.
Special Sundays The West Virginia Conference raises awareness and funds for causes that show our faith in action through 20 special Sundays each year. March 30 One Great Hour of Sharing April 6 United Methodist Foundation Sunday 27 Golden Cross Sunday For more information on all Special Sundays, visit bit.ly/ SpecialSundays.
WE REMEMBER Rev. Charles Lewis Frum, retired clergy and father of Rev. John Frum Alice Palmer, mother of Rev. Michael Palmer (PTLP; Northern District)
Rev. Wilbur R. Hardin Rev. Newton Poling For more information or to signup for email alerts, please visit wvumc.org/info/WeRemember.
APPOINTMENTS 2014 It is the intention of Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball to appoint the following clergy, effective July 1, 2014: Rev. Jenny Williams to Avery United Methodist Church (Morgantown, Mon Valley) Rev. Joseph Hill to Cross Roads United Methodist Church (Huntington, Western) Rev. Corbet May to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church (Craigsville, Greenbrier) Rev. Ellis Conley to Forrest-Burdette United Methodist Church (Hurricane, Midland South) Rev. Melissa Shortridge to the Cabinet, where she will serve as superintendent of the Greenbrier District.
About the Virginia Higgins Grant Virginia Higgins grant funds are designed to encourage United Methodist involvement in Health and Welfare Ministries, especially in the areas of child care, aging, health care, and people with handicapping conditions. Ebenezer Community Outreach Center in Huntington, W.Va. Grants are also used the funds to take 35 children on fun & educational field awarded to or- trips. Photo courtesy EBENEZER OUTREACH CENTER ganizations, institutions, and programs related to the West Virginia Conference and other units of the general United Methodist Church through residential or non-residential ministries, including, but not limited to, domestic violence, health care and homelessness. For more information download the grant guidelines and application at wvumc.org/health-welfare. Applications are due annually by April 15.
MARCH 2014
VIM coordinator gets to work
The Rev. Larry Anderson prepares a floor for new classrooms at Living Hope High School in Bungoma, Kenya. Photo courtesy SANDY BINOTTO
The new coordinator of Volunteers in Mission for the West Virginia Conference (WV VIM), Sandy Binotto, went straight to work when she began her duties January 1. “I just returned from Bungoma, Kenya, January 17 where I led a WV VIM team in mission with Living Hope High School,” she said in an introductory letter to the West Virginia Conference released January 22. Binotto succeeds the Rev. Tom Clark, who retired Dec. 31, 2013. Binotto has served with Volunteers in Mission (VIM) since 1989 in many capacities - as VIM coordinator in the Baltimore-Washington Conference, as a mission team participant and leader on many VIM trips, and as an individual volunteer in Bosnia and Puerto Rico. A certified United Methodist Commission on Relief (UMCOR) Emergency Response Team (ERT) trainer, Binotto said she looks forward to coordinating her efforts with the Revs. Dan and Sue Lowther, who coordinate disaster response in the West Virginia Conference. “When there is a need in our conference, we (WV VIM) will be there to help,” she said. In the next few months, Binotto will work closely with the conference communications staff and the global ministries team to create a new web presence and develop other resources. In the meantime, you can keep up with VIM’s work via their Facebook group and at wvumc.org/VIM. Contributions to the ministry of VIM in the West Virginia Annual Conference are always welcome! Please make checks out to “Conference Treasurer” and write UMVIM #804 in the memo line of your check. Mail them to PO Box 2469, Charleston WV 25329. Churches, if you take up an offering please use a remittance form when sending your checks to the conference treasurer’s office.
MARCH 2014
Polar Plunge Clergy in the Potomac Highlands District jumped in the (not so cold) water of Mt. Storm Lake Feb. 1. It was all for a good cause - Imagine No Malaria. As of press time, they’ve raised $3,000 dollars to help save lives in Africa. Conference Update: To date, the West Virginia Conference has raised $122,109.62. That number includes a $40,000 matching gift by the United Methodist Foundation of West Virginia. Want to help? Learn more at wvumc.org/ info/inm.