SPRING 2021 RETIREE NEWSLETTER

Keep scrolling to read about what Missouri Conference retirees have been up to so far in 2021! May these stories provide a bright spot in your day and invite you to connect with one another to continue sharing encouragement and hope.

Virtual Quadrennial Boundaries Training

Friday, June 11, 2021 9:00 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
Click here to register
 
There is little doubt that sexual misconduct in church and society is significant. One needs only to read the headlines to see the damage done by an abuse of power related to sexual misconduct within ministerial relationships. In 1996, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church made a commitment to focus on sexual misconduct and to address this brokenness and pain. The Missouri Annual Conference has also experienced this type of abuse and the Bishop, along with the Cabinet and the Board of Ordained Ministry, remain committed to naming this pain and working to prevent it within our churches.  This training offers clergy the opportunity to stand in opposition to the sin of sexual misconduct within the Church through education and discernment with colleagues.
 
Retired clergy not currently serving and lay church staff or lay leaders are not required to take the training but are strongly encouraged. Missouri believes in widening the circle of accountability and responsibility around healthy boundaries. The more people educated in boundaries training, the better. Click here to register.

Church Triumphant

Clergy and clergy spouses that have gone on to glory:

Joan Cooney, June 7, 2020
Marion Millsaps, Dec. 21, 1929 – Aug. 1, 2020
Kathryn Davis, Aug. 14, 1925 – Aug. 30, 2020
Rev. Royal Gunter, Dec. 15, 1939 – Oct. 6, 2020
Susan Fulbright, Oct. 13, 2020
Mary Lou Detweiler, July 29, 1929 – Oct. 16, 2020
Rev. Donald DuRall, March 23, 1933 – Oct. 21, 2020
Rev. Wesley Arington, Aug. 21, 1926 – Nov. 2, 2020
Rev. Wayne Kidwell, July 31, 1936 – Nov. 2, 2020
Rev. Jerry Reynolds, Dec. 26, 1933 – Nov. 2, 2020
Rev. Russell Branch, Jan. 11, 1943 – Nov. 8, 2020
Alma Richardson, June 16, 1939 – Nov. 13, 2020
Joan McMullen, Jan. 12, 1937 – Nov. 14, 2020
Rev. Jack DeWees, Jan. 21, 1950 – Nov. 19, 2020
Rev. Evelyn Ezell, April 9, 1924 – Nov. 23, 2020
Lucy Fowler, Oct. 22, 1926 – Nov. 25, 2020
Nancy Coleman, Dec. 14, 1953 – Dec. 3, 2020
Rev. Gretchen Williams, Nov. 7, 1933 – Dec. 4, 2020
Rev. Paul M. Hunt, Sept. 17, 1932 – Dec. 6, 2020
Coralie Lee, Oct. 7, 1928 – Dec. 6, 2020
Rev. Don Smith, May 27, 1944 – Dec. 10, 2020
Wilbur Noakes, Nov. 27, 1945 – Dec. 12, 2020
Rev. Treva Hall, Nov. 23, 1926 – Dec. 14, 2020
Barbara Cragg, Jan. 4, 1937 – Dec. 23, 2020
Terry Hopkins, July 27, 1940 – Dec. 23, 2020
Rev. Ted Matkin, Feb. 15, 1927 – Dec. 26, 2020
Rev. Donna Hoover, Nov. 26, 1940 – Dec. 30, 2020
Jerry Lambert, Dec. 11, 1945 – Dec. 30, 2020
Rev. Glenda Callicott, Sept. 24, 1957 – Jan. 18, 2021
Ida Mae Wilsey, June 29, 1934 – Jan. 27, 2021
Rev. Byron Gilbreath, July 23, 1928 – Jan. 29, 2021
Rev. James Woeltje, Sept. 30, 1938 – Jan. 29, 2021
Rev. James L. Smith, Sept. 21, 1941 – Feb. 2, 2021
Rev. Harvey “Pete” Grayum, Oct. 18, 1943 – Feb. 4, 2021
Rev. Lee Soxman, May 14, 1925 – Feb. 4, 2021
Rev. George Bohn, July 26, 1940 – Feb. 6, 2021
Joy Sparks, June 17, 1928 – Feb. 9, 2021
Rev. James Lyon, Jan. 4, 1942 – Feb. 24, 2021
Rev. William Bamman, Nov. 15, 1931 – March 10, 2021
Virginia Higdon Forsberg, Nov. 2, 1932 – March 26, 2021
Rev. Jack L. Martin, Aug. 27, 1947 – March 30, 2021
Rev. Aubry Jones, Feb. 22, 1933 – April 3, 2021
 

Gleanings From Around the Conference

Ann Rathert: Invitation to Zoom By Rev. Ann Rathert, [email protected], Milwaukee, Wisconsin | St. Louis-area clergy have gone to a Zoom format during this pandemic time. We meet each month on the second Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Read more →

Wesley & Joan Ummel: Sunday Morning Thoughts By Rev. Wesley Ummel, [email protected], Morrilton, Arkansas | I had an observation at church last Sunday. There is uncertainty about who is sitting near us because we are all wearing masks! Read more →

Michael K. White: Serving in Central Missouri By Mike and Linda White, [email protected], Keytesville, Missouri | Greetings in the Name of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Linda and I are still serving Huntsville UMC and living on Lake Nehai in North Central Missouri. Read more →

Eugene and Lettie Morse: Celebrating and Keeping Busy By Eugene and Lettie Morse, [email protected], St. Louis, Missouri | This past year was one like no other as we learned to adjust and adjust to the ever-changing impact of COVID-19. Read more →

Karen Blank-Ewell: Moving and Getting Outside By Karen Blank-Ewell, [email protected], Illinois | I’m in the final stages of moving from Lake Sara in Effingham, Illinois, down to Lake of Egypt, south of Marion, Illinois. Read more →

Roger Jespersen: Staying Active and Moving to Ballwin By Roger Jespersen, [email protected], Ballwin, Missouri | Hello, fellow retirees, Susan and I are back in our old home in Ballwin after 17 years in Southeast Missouri. Read more →

Janet Petty Kohler: Getting Settled in Georgia By Janet Kohler, [email protected], Villa Rica, Georgia | I have spent almost two years getting accustomed to living in Georgia. I am active in a small United Methodist Church here. Read more →

Larry Linville: Recovering and Writing Poems By Larry Linville, [email protected], Pleasant Valley, Missouri | Thelma had a stroke in January of 2020, and we have dealt with that and the complications of COVID-19 for over a year. She has improved slowly but still uses a walker or cane. Read more →

Clayton L. Smith: Celebrating Vaccination and Digital Connection By Clayton L. Smith, [email protected], Stilwell, Kansas | I am feeling more freedom over COVID isolation now that I have had my two vaccinations! We hope to be back in church on Easter Sunday! I even got a haircut and cut my facial hair! Read more →