News

Submitted by Eric Wylie, Director of Media and Technology, Lovely Lane United Methodist Church - Cedar Rapids, Iowa The Cedar Rapids Metro Circuit churches held a citywide worship service on Sunday, July 2, bringing together 7 worshipping communities.  Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai opened the service with prayer for the over 200 area United Methodists gathered at Sinclair Auditorium on the campus of Coe College in Cedar Rapids. In part, the bishop's Independence Day weekend prayer stated, "We ...

Circuit 4 of the Riverview Park District has been brainstorming ideas on how to get their churches introduced and working with each other.  "Pastor Dani Musselman has been leading our circuit to find ways that we could be in ministry with one another and she came up with the idea to do devotions during Holy Week as a way of introducing the circuit churches to one another," said Pastor Nate Nims of Grace United Methodist Church in Des Moines. Musselman, who is the pastor of Centennial United ...

The Circuit 5 Dallas County covenant group, comprised of Joshua Steward, Catherine Stokes, Ron Yarnell, William Deskin, Sandra Cannon, Beth Mary Harbaugh, Nancy Hanaman, and Elizabeth Bell has changed the name of their Circuit group. Since last June, this core group has been meeting to strengthen one another's ministry and to fulfill the expectations of our Circuit Covenant. As the group has grown together, they have been discerning their own unique identity as a group of pastors and laity. ...

The Bishop and Cabinet decided at their February 15, 2022 meeting that it is not an appropriate time for a large group of people (75 or more) to gather at the Conference Center for a full-day meeting. Therefore, the Bishop’s Circuit Leaders Gathering scheduled for March 19, is being rescheduled for September 24, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. The virtual Town Hall meeting will continue as planned from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. on March 19, 2022. “We were looking forward to hearing directly from...

Bishop's Operational Team Report Script Barrie Tritle: This Pandemic year has brought us all challenges we never imagined and has called us all to focus on being adaptive in our ministry and to truly become inventive in how we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Adaptive issues which the conference faces, have been the focus of our team since our inception.  Looking back to the 2017 Dream Team report to the Annual Conference we find an outline and explanation for the need of the conference ...

As Circuit Ministry training continues every month in the Iowa Conference, enthusiasm and ministry are growing alongside it.   “From clergy and laity, I see enthusiasm for elements of the circuit that they've been looking for in their professional and personal lives,” said Transitional Superintendent Rev. Paul Wilcox.   Circuit Ministry at its core has two elements: Leadership Development and Missional Accountability, which are elements that “meet and feed the vocational part of us, the ...

As the Iowa Annual Conference transitions from eight districts to five, the districts will be renamed to honor the legacy of the Iowa United Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren Camp and Retreat Centers. The discernment of the new district names began in March 2020, and a small task force was officially named by the Bishop in March 2021. The new district names will be in effect on July 1, 2021. Central District will become the Riverview Park District Northeast District will become the ...

Circuit ministry is new to Iowa, but one circuit in the Northeast District has been meeting for over three years. These churches have without fail reported an increase in worship energy and numbers. In part one of our Circuit Ministry Testimonial Series, hear what life is like in our first and oldest circuit located in Delaware County. Pastor Phil Rogers, Manchester United Methodist Church in the DELCO Circuit Pastor Keith Pitts, Delhi and Buck Creek United Methodist Churches, DELCO ...

On January 23, 2021, the Circuit Transition Team hosted the third set of circuit development meetings for the leaders of the pilots.     The Purpose of Circuit Ministry is to develop a circuit of missionally effective clergy and laity leading together in partnership through:  Leadership Multiplication  Missional Accountability & Oversight  “We’re listening to our circuit pilots and making adjustments with our training as we go and getting positive feedback from those who originally expressed ...

Epiphany Address Transcript: WATCHING OVER ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE   January 4, 2021, Bishop Laurie Haller Epiphany Address  Iowa Annual Conference Bishop Laurie Haller:   Good evening, friends. Grace and peace in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am deeply grateful that you have chosen to participate in this time of reflection and celebration of where we have been as United Methodists in Iowa and how God is leading us into a future with hope. This is a very tender time in the life ...

All clergy and laypersons in the Iowa Conference are invited to Bishop Laurie’s Epiphany Address: Watching Over One Another in Love, Livestreamed on Monday evening, January 4, 2021, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. The address will be recorded for future viewing.   The address is based upon the Gospel Lesson for the Epiphany of Jesus Christ, Matthew 2:1-12. She intends to offer both a word of hope for the New Year and share reports on the formation of Circuit Ministry, church finances, a process for ...

The Iowa Annual Conference’s newest set of Lay and Clergy Circuit Leaders began their first round of training on September 26, 2020. And currently, all nine of the newly formed circuits have started meeting together. The Appointive Cabinet formed the Circuit Transition Team to facilitate the formation and implementation of Circuit Ministry in the Iowa Annual Conference. The team members are Jaye Johnson, Director of Congregational Excellence; Ryan Christenson, Associate Director of ...

On September 26, a Circuit Clergy Leader and Circuit Lay Leader Training will be the first step to engage more fully in our mission to inspire, equip, and connect our communities of faith to cultivate world-changing disciples of Jesus Christ.    This training begins the circuit ministry development, rolling out for all Iowa Annual Conference of The United Methodist churches (IAUMC) in 2021. Each circuit is made up of 10-12 churches and will be co-led by this circuit team of two.     “We heard ...

August 21, 2020 To the saints of God in the Iowa Annual Conference, Grace and peace in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Where did the summer go? It’s getting toward the end of August, and our children and youth have already begun or are about to return to school in a variety of configurations due to COVID-19. After the conclusion of our Iowa Annual Conference Clergy and Laity Sessions, the Legislative Session, two Orders services, and several town hall meetings, we have all needed ...