{"id":3716,"date":"2013-03-20T13:12:17","date_gmt":"2013-03-20T20:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=3716"},"modified":"2013-03-20T13:12:40","modified_gmt":"2013-03-20T20:12:40","slug":"gbhem-board-discusses-young-clergy-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/gbhem-board-discusses-young-clergy-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"GBHEM Board Discusses Young Clergy Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rev. Forbes Matonga and Bishop Jim Dorff serve Holy Communion at GBHEM\u2019s spring Board meeting. Photo by Vicki Brown.<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Vicki Brown*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forming partnerships, sharing best practices, and creating or supporting pilot programs to test what works are all being discussed for the $7 million Young Clergy Initiative, members of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry\u2019s Board of Directors learned during a presentation at their March 13-15 meeting in Nashville, Tenn.<\/p>\n

The Board also affirmed strategic goals and priorities, voted to hold their spring 2014 meeting at Africa University, and approved a motion calling for making every effort to raise $10 million for the Karen Layman Gift of Hope Scholarship Fund by the end of the quadrennium.<\/p>\n

Since the Young Clergy Summit in August 2012, GBHEM staff have been gathering information about young clergy and recruitment programs, as well as working on short-term strategies which Board members and staff discussed and worked on during the March meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our conversations together, it became clear that trying to create a single program to address young clergy vocational discernment wasn\u2019t the best use of time and money or the most effective solution,\u201d said the Rev. James \u201cTrip\u201d Lowery, GBHEM\u2019s director of Young Adult Ministry and Discernment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne idea being considered is the identification of bright spots where communities are already successfully engaging young clergy vocational discernment and sharing those best practices with other communities. We don\u2019t want to create programs to copy because what works in New England may not work in North Texas,\u201d Lowery said. He stressed there is no firm plan yet and staff were seeking input from Board members.<\/p>\n

Board members cautioned that young clergy are needed as part of the whole body of Christ, not as saviors who can fix everything that is wrong with the UMC.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung clergy shouldn\u2019t be idealized,\u201d said the Rev. Amy Gearhart, senior pastor of Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Kim Ingram, director of Ministerial Services and Conference Secretary for the Western North Carolina Conference, said the work of the church is \u201creally about all of us working together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff talked about what they have learned so far about the young clergy in the UMC and the roadblocks they face:<\/p>\n