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VOL. 13, NO. 22

UMAMN

For more information on the Appalachian Ministry Network, contact:

• Sharon Leatherman, Executive Coordinator
• UM Appalachian Ministry Network
• P.O. Box 2231
• Hagerstown, MD 21741-2231
• Phone and fax: 301-791-7355;

To support the Appalachian Ministry Network directly, contributions may be made to Advance Specials:

• Appalachia Hunger and Poverty, #982039-0
• Appalachian Regional Ministries, #982041-0

Appalachian churches need trained clergy leaders

BY DAVID E. BOHNERT UMCONNECTION CORRESPONDENT

Empty pulpits and a lack of trained people to fill them was just one of the issues addressed at a recent meeting of the United Methodist Appalachian Ministry Network.

The Network advocates for public policy, interprets issues and concerns and provides opportunities for the sharing of concerns, needs and resources, said Sharon Leatherman, a member of Williamsport UMC, and the executive coordinator who is based in Hagerstown.

United Methodist district superintendents in Appalachia sought ways during the meeting to deal with pulpit vacancies in many of the 9,500 churches in the region. Appalachia stretches along the Appalachian mountain range from Mississippi to southern New York, with a population of more than 22 million people.

There are 120 districts in Appalachia, Leatherman said. They include 2,815 churches with membership under 50; 2,346 churches with 50-100 members; and 2,777 churches with membership from 101-250 members.

District superintendents often place local pastors, lay speakers and other people, some without United Methodist backgrounds, in these small-membership church pulpits.

The question is how models could be created to provide educational opportunities for these people to get the theological doctrine necessary for effective ministry, Leatherman said.

The Network meets twice a year. Membership includes representatives from each of the 23 conferences, people in mission, and the general church agencies including the general boards of Global Ministries, Church and Society, Discipleship and Higher Education and Ministry, as well as a representative from each college of bishops of the North Central, Northeast and Southeast Jurisdictions, United Methodist Men and United Methodist Women, Leatherman said.

The Network also meets with all the bishops and council directors of the Appalachian region at least once each quadrennium to share issues and concerns. As a Network, we come together and listen to the needs of people and find ways to meet those needs, Leatherman said.

The Network advocates with policy-making bodies for Appalachia in the areas of social, political and environmental issues such as mountaintop removal mining and the chip mill industry in the southern forests, Leatherman said.

The Network interprets the needs of the church through a data base on children and poverty pulled county by county from materials provided by the Kids Count Network of the Childrens Defense Fund.

Plans are underway to prepare a ministry directory for each conference, Leatherman said. The directory will enable people who want to start Appalachian ministries to find other ministries already in operation and build on those models. Scholarships for specialized training for leaders in the region are available. A project will develop experiential learning opportunities for cooperative parish development for district and conference leaders, she added.

We work closely in partnership with 19 denominations in the Commission on Religion in Appalachia, Leatherman said. The goal of CORA is economic transformation in the region through leadership development, dismantling racism, technical assistance, volunteer site referrals, public policy and advocacy, and grants to community based groups, she said.

The United Methodist Appalachian Ministry Network has existed for 30 years. The Network is vital for the networking opportunities because people feel that they are not supported otherwise, and that the region needs to have a voice in order to continue to lift up the oppression that exists in the region and affects their lives.

Meeting the needs of the people of Appalachia is all about economics and helping people understand that economics is all about value, Leatherman said. She added that tax structures and globalization are issues that must be addressed in order to lift the people of Appalachia from economic oppression. The Appalachian Ministry Network is working with CORA to that end.