E-News from GUMC

The Laity Summit will take place on Saturday, March 20, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT virtually. This is for Lay Servants, Speakers, Ministers, Leaders and for anyone discerning a call to leadership. It will be a one-stop virtual leadership event for church and community leadership.

Conference Director of Lay Servant Ministries Mary Feit, Conference Lay Leader Lisa Maupin, Gateway District Lay Leader Kathy Pierce, and Conference Coordinator of Lay Leadership Shane Warta have been planning this gathering since the first Laity Summit back in March was complete.

The planning team is aiming for laity and registrants to experience learning and resources for lay leadership. The overall theme for the gathering is “Building a New Normal.” The keynote speaker is Rev. Dr. Junius Dotson, General Secretary for Discipleship Ministries. There will be worship, workshops and networking.

The first 200 people that are registered by Feb. 20, will receive a participant box filled with useful resources, Dotson’s “Soul Reset” book and giveaways for an increased virtual experience. They will be mailed directly to the registrant.

Registration is here.

Visit the webpage here.

If you have questions about Great Plains 2021 Laity Summit contact: 

• Conference Lay Leader, Lisa Maupin - lisamaupin45@gmail.com 
• Conference Director of Lay Servant Ministries, Mary Feit - marykfeit@windstream.net 
• Gateway District Lay Leader, Kathy Pierce - kpierce@nctc.net 
• Coordinator of Lay Leadership, Shane Warta - swarta@greatplainsumc.org 

Using resources from Discipleship Ministries, we will be doing a series titled, "Rend Your Hearts: Claiming the Promise". Each week we will examine what God has in store for us. 

You might be asking why we need Lent. After all, we’ve been through the “lentiest Lent that has ever lented,” as someone said last year. And, in fact, all of 2020 was about as Lenten as we can imagine. Sackcloth and ashes-worthy, tearing of the garments and repenting in the dust; yeah, been there, done that, still wearing what’s left of the t-shirt. And self-reflection? What else were you going to do during the months’ long pandemic and lock-down? Physical distancing brought out a lot of introspection, don’t you think? Yeah, maybe we can give Lent a miss this year.

Except, maybe there is more to Lent than the suffering that we’ve endured. Maybe there is more than the reflection and analysis that we are prone to doing. Certainly, these are tools and techniques, practices that we have used and continue to use to achieve the ends that Lent calls us to claim. But as always, it is the end and not the means that defines the season for followers of Jesus.

Lent doesn’t have to be a somber time; but to be effective, it needs to be intense. It needs to be taken seriously and rigorously, and we can bring our full selves to the table. It is worth the strenuous effort, however, as we are enabled to embrace the fullness of the promise of Resurrection and live as disciples of Jesus Christ; disciples who make disciples. So, despite feeling as though we have been in a yearlong season of Lent, we need the season; we need the observance to open us to all God has in store for us. Rend your hearts, so together we can claim the promise.