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.
This discernment has led the group to a deeper understanding of how they value each other in the work of ministry, realizing that the work in which each one of the circuit members engages has been enhanced by their connection to one another.
In Mark 4, Jesus tells the first parable — the sower of seeds. The idea of each ministry as soil and how clergy and laity alike strive to be the best ground on which ministry is planted has inspired the name change.
The new name of Circuit 5 Dallas County is Circuit LOAM, celebrating the goal of being the richest soil in which any ministry is planted. The name is also an acronym for the collective objective to always be Living Out Amazing Ministries.
As Circuit LOAM continues to support each other's ministries in Dallas County and beyond, their name is the motivator and the declaration of what the group strives to do in service to God's call to the county, the Conference, and beyond.
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Elizabeth Bell
Adel United Methodist Church
