Dear Susanna,
I was pleased to hear that Matthew Leffler will be serving as our interim pastor for the next few months. It will be nice to have a familiar face in the pulpit. When they made the announcement at church they said something about 40% part time pastor. So what will his responsibilities be while serving in the role at YUMC? What should we call him now that he is our interim pastor? He was always Matthew to me.
Curious Cierra
Dear Curious,I agree. Pastor Matthew will be a wonderful match for us. He will help lead us through the next few months as we transition into a new full time pastor in December or January. He will take care of planning the weekly services, preaching the sermons, serving communion, etc. We need to remember that he does have a full time job already with the conference UMC as the Associate Director of Leadership Development and the Board of Ordained Ministry Registrar. So he will not keep regular office hours at the church, but he will be available to meet with people by appointment. Here is his contact information.
Matthew J Leffler
C) 260-443-6196
Matthew will also be meeting with the Leadership Council and assisting them with the Discernment Process. Several of the other duties formerly held by the pastor will be carried out by members of our congregation. We need more volunteers to help out during the next few months. Please let Amy or Gayle know if there is something you would like to help with.
He prefers to go by Matthew or Pastor Matthew if you are more comfortable with a title. Matt is the name his son uses.
Love & Prayers,
Susanna
Dear Susanna,
We have had the informational meeting for the discernment process and the cottage meetings. What is the next step?
Fred
Dear Fred,
The Leadership Council (LC) met recently to discuss the feedback that they have heard. One thing that came up loud and clear was a strong desire to stay together as a church, and not let our differing opinions create another division during these difficult times. So despite the outcome of the discernment process, remember that we are a church family.
The LC believes it would be beneficial to hold one additional large group informational meeting on September 25th at 6:00 pm at the church to review what we have heard so far, and answer additional questions. This will be an important meeting for all to attend.
It was necessary to go ahead and schedule a meeting for the vote on Wednesday, September 28th at YUMC. According to the guidelines from the North Indiana Conference of the UMC a person must be a member to vote and must be present. If this motion passes by a two-thirds majority of those present, then we would ask to disaffiliate from the UMC at an upcoming charge conference. From there we will need to research and align with a denomination that best represents our beliefs or become an independent church. If it does not pass, we will remain UMC. I know this is a lot to take in. Please be in continuous prayer for our church family to make the right decision.
Love & Prayers,
Susanna
"Dear Susanna" is a feature of the YUMC monthly newsletter. Susanna Wesley never preached a sermon, published a book, or founded a church, yet Susanna Wesley is known as the Mother of Methodism. The example of faith and religious reverence she set for her children John and Charles inspired them to become powerful spiritual leaders, and to launch the Methodist movement.
