 Dr. Steve DeNeff, pastor at College Wesleyan Church, graciously allowed me to miss my scheduled visit on April 27 so that Sherry and I could welcome our newest granddaughter in Michigan that weekend. Yesterday, I was able to worship with the congregation at College Wesleyan and was able to worship alongside Dr. David Smith, one of our district circuit riders.  Rev. Jordan Rife led the congregation in heart-felt worship. Rev. Ethan Linder brought a challenging message from Acts 2:42-47 that emphasized the role that welcoming people to our table has in discipleship. This service concluded with communion, as they do each week between Easter and Pentecost. I’m grateful for Dr. DeNeff and his team who invest deeply in the Marion community and globally, including the Senda de Vida partnership in Mexico City.  Dr. Sherry and her parents were worshiping together at The River where she serves as treasurer. I arrived in time for the prayer of blessing that Pastor Matthew Trexler offered over the mothers who were honored yesterday. Following the service, Sherry and I had lunch with her mother and father. We have been blessed to have them living near us for the past seven years, especially on special occasions like Mother’s Day.  Dr. G is an amazing person, exceptional accountant, and now an esteemed university professor, but she’s most proud of her four incredible children. It was fun to hear their calls and video chats this weekend as her children took time to honor her. Happy Mother’s Day, Sherry! Last week’s calendar included a congregational meeting with the remaining members at Silver Lake Wesleyan Church on Monday. Rev. Duane Seitz has faithfully served this struggling congregation for the past 8 years. In fact, he has the longest tenure of any pastor in the 100 year history of the church. Pastor Seitz announced his resignation earlier this spring and the DBA agreed to close this chapter of our ministry in Silver Lake.  Pastor Duncan Prior leads the nearby Wesleyan church in Laketon and he thoughtfully came to the congregational meeting to assure the nine members present that he is available for pastoral care. The Laketon Wesleyan leadership team will have the opportunity to explore expanded ministry in Silver Lake in the coming year. Pastor Seitz and I met for lunch on Tuesday for next steps as Silver Lake moves toward their final service in June. It was a special treat to have Faith Strand, Assistant Pastor at Muncie Rising Hope, stop by our table. She’s one of our youngest pastors and Rev. Seitz is one of our elder statesman. Pastor Faith led us in prayer for God’s grace in this season of transition for Pastor Duane. It was an anointed moment to hear these two generations connect with their shared passion of ministry.  Coaching conversations last week included Rev. Michael Hewitt (Muncie Rising Hope), Rev. Matthew Trexler (Marion The River), Rev. Alan Downing (Frankfort Connecting Point), Rev. Calimerio Rodriguez (Frankfort Temple de Poder), and Rev. Scott Ferguson (McCordsville Harvest). Once again, I was blessed to hear powerful stories of God at work in so many ways. Dr. Chris Williams, Assistant DS and pastor at Lakeview Wesleyan Church, led a monthly leadership cohort on Thursdays in Marion. I was glad to join them for this last session of the conference year as Dr. Williams shared a helpful lesson on best practices for board leadership.  The cohort members each shared praise reports, including Easter highlights, and then shared prayer concerns. (Dr. Griffin and Dr. Thurmon were unable to attend due to out of town commitments.) All of them expressed appreciation for the value of this experience and they plan to begin meeting again in August. Rev. Noah Farmer passed along word that they had another special Mother’s Day at Gas City Eastview Wesleyan Church. One especially meaningful moment came with a gentleman who had lost his wife last year. Tom hadn’t been part of a church for more than 30 years but came to Eastview on Easter Sunday and committed his life to follow Christ. Pastor Noah had the privilege of baptizing him yesterday. Praise the Lord for changed lives!  Many of you will know of the Lilly Endowment’s grant-making that primarily supports Indiana-based organizations. You may also know that they direct significant funding toward religious groups. Since 2020, the Lilly Endowment has contributed over $1 billion to a diverse array of Christian initiatives across the nation, including Christian colleges, seminaries, and pastoral care programs.  In March, the Crossroads District was invited by the Lilly Endowment to submit our application for a research grant to assess how we could more effectively serve our Wesleyan congregations here in Indiana. We were delighted to receive word on Friday that the grant application has been approved and we will receive $50,000 to fund this research project. Speaking of research projects, many of you will be interested in this link to the Pew Research’s Religious Landscape Study. Here’s the direct link to the results from the state of Indiana including the finding that 47% of Hoosiers seldom or never attend public worship: https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/state/indiana/ Upon successful completion of our research phase, we have the opportunity to apply for an initial implementation grant of up to $400,000. There’s also a matching fund possibility for up to another $400,000. Our delegates will be hearing more about this project at district conference.  Fairmount Camp has opened registration for this year’s exciting summer youth camps. This year, Fairmount Camp will offer separate camps for middle school students (June 9-13) and high school students (June 16-20). For more information or to register, check out their website: https://www.fairmountcamp.org/teen-camp.html Save the Dates and join us at Lakeview Wesleyan Church in Marion:
Keep on making a difference in the cause that counts for eternity! Your servant in Christ, Mark Gorveatte Crossroads District Superintendent Comments are closed.
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