News

Will our congregation need to take a vote on this plan after January 1, 2022?  This plan does not require a congregational vote. It does make space for congregational leadership and clergy leadership to make decisions together about hosting same gender weddings in the church space. If this is not a pressing ministry decision of your congregation, no decision needs to be made at this time. We encourage every local church to do the ministry God is calling you to do, with the neighbors and people...

PREAMBLE Even before Iowa became a state on December 28, 1846, the Methodist movement was established in what would soon become the Iowa Territory. In Between the Rivers: A History of the United Methodist Church in Iowa, author Rev. John Nye tells the story of the rise of Methodism that began for early pioneers in “1833 when Baron Randle of the Illinois Conference crossed the Mississippi River to the cluster of cabins that was to become Dubuque, and preached to whoever would listen.”i From the ...

Rev. Bill Poland Director of New Communities of Faith and Director of Connectional Ministries I begin by saying that I love God and I love you. I love you because, I do not believe there is any way to love God without loving you. I certainly don’t believe I can follow Jesus without loving you.  Wesleyan heritage emphasizes the practical nature of theology that defines holiness as going on to be perfected in love, our love of God and one another.  Theologically, I define myself as a practical ...

Rev. Dr. Lanette Plambeck Assistant to the Bishop and Director of Clergy & Leadership Excellence While majoring in Religious Studies and Political Science at Morningside, I was given the opportunity to intern at churches, nonprofits and public agencies connected in some way to The United Methodist Church. Unexpectedly, this former Presbyterian found my sense of Spiritual Home as a Wesleyan as I was discipled into a faith of personal piety and social holiness. Three decades later I remain because...

Rev. Dr. Moody Colorado District Superintendent of the Pictured Rocks District “Here I Stand and Testify” If you think that this world is a moody world, wait till you hear about the moody District Superintendent (DS). Bullied and laughed at in school in the Philippines for a strange name, I knew from childhood that life was not going to be easy for me. Fact is, my Dad was an enlisted soldier during World World II under General Douglas McArthur, who commanded the US Armed Forces in the Far East. ...

Rev. Doug Cue District Superintendent of the Golden Valley District I have served local churches for 36 years. Three of those years was in the Kansas East Conference, the remainder has been here in Iowa. The past 28 months has been in the role of the Golden Valley District Superintendent. I have served multi point charges, rural settings, large churches, and provided interim leadership. I have always practiced, emphasized, and modeled authentic relationship. I don’t build barriers…I build ...

Rev. Melissa Drake District Superintendent of the Aldersgate District Growing up as a Southwest Iowa farm kid during the 80’s and the early 90’s, we were told by everyone – our teachers, the governor, our parents – that with our good Iowa education and our farm-kid work ethic, we could grow up to go anywhere and be successful at everything. So, along with most of my generation born out of the farm crisis, I wanted to go anywhere but here; to do anything but this. Seminary took me to Madison, New...

Rev. Dr. Heecheon Jeon District Superintendent of the Riverview Park District I would like to begin with my deepest respect and gratitude for leaders like you for your faithfulness and resilience in such a time as this. We are living in a critical time as the United Methodist Church. While we acknowledge the theological divisions on human sexuality in our worldwide denomination, I truly believe that we may come together as the body of Christ to live out the same mission of Jesus Christ for the ...

Rev. Dr. Jaye Johnson Director of Congregational Excellence I believe we are stronger united than we are divided and in a future filled with hope for the church. In other words, I believe our best days are not behind us! As the Director of Congregational Excellence of the Iowa Annual Conference, my purpose is to make God’s hope for the world real by preparing churches to multiply – that is, to reach new people for Christ! To that end, I work with congregations of all sizes, shapes, and ...

Rev. Ron Carlson Dean of the Appointive Cabinet & Superintendent Camp Clear Lake District As Dean of the 2021-2022 Appointive Cabinet, I have been asked several times about who really makes up our team. Folks are wanting to know who we are, not by name and location per se, but who we are in our theological understandings, how we are providing ministry and support in what is now five Districts, and where we stand on possible separation as a denomination. As a result of the wonderings that are ...