Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:30 –5:00 Phone 276-628-4421 / Fax 276-628-2947 Email-abdist@holston.org www.abingdondistrictumc.org

Resident Bishop: Mary Virginia Taylor District Superintendent: Sandra Johnson Administrative Assistant: TBD

Abingdon Advocate July / August 2017

In this Edition:

1. Welcome of New Pastors

2. Holston Conference Strategy

Team Survey due 8-15-17

3. Clergy Picnic 8-03-17

4. Advance Specials 2017

5. District Charge Conference September 24 2017

6. Plasterco Scholarship Recipients

7. UMVIM Training 11-04-17

8. Administrative Professionals Event

9. Printed Materials -On-Line

10. At Large Nominations form - Annual Conference 2018

11. 2018 Health Kits - 2017 Update

12. Administrative Assistant Job Opening

Abingdon District Conference will be held on Sunday, September

24th, at 3:00 pm. Location to be announced soon. Following District Conference we will

celebrate Cindy’s service to the Abingdon District.

IMPORTANT NEWS FROM THE HOLSTON CONFERENCE STRATEGY TEAM

The Holston Conference Strategy Team, (“HCST”) is excited to be in mission with you to explore innovative and contemporary ways to bring people into a transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. As you may know, our Conference has adopted a Comprehensive Strategic Plan to make sig-nificant changes that will help us all to be more fruitful in mission and ministry for the Kingdom of God. One of the key components of this plan is to redefine the location and boundaries of our Districts while consolidating them from 12 to 9 Districts. We need your help in making sure the Bishop and the Cabinet have a complete understanding of the factors that make your district area unique as they determine the actual boundaries. We have therefore prepared a Survey for you to complete before the deadline of August 15, 2017. We are preparing this Survey to make certain that everyone in Holston Conference receives this opportunity to provide input into this decision-making process. This is just the first step in the process of implementing the Comprehensive Conference Strategy Plan and we hope that you will participate in future activities as well. To keep up with develop-ments of the Plan, please follow updates on http://Strategy.Holston.org, and follow us on Facebook Holston Conference Strategy Team Finally, we ask for your prayers for guidance and clarity of discernment as we all move together into a new future that God has prepared for Holston Conference. Your Holston Conference Strategy Team Visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LMW3RCD

Job Opening Announcement

Full-Time Administrative Assistant

The Abingdon District Office of the United Methodist Church seeks a full-time administrative assistant. The ideal candidate has mature faith, excellent written and oral communication skills, and proficiency with computer and other office equipment. To apply, send a résumé to Reverend Sandra Johnson at abdist@holston.org and cc to Rick Guthrie at rguthriedds@hotmail.com or mail a résumé to Abingdon District, P.O. Box 263, Abingdon, VA 24212.

A complete job description can be found on our website at www.abingdondistrictumc.org / Click on “News and Forms”

or visit http://abingdondistrictumc.org/#/news-forms/aa-job-description

On Line Orders can now be placed for Handbook / Directories and 2018

Calendars by visiting:

http://printedmaterials.holston.org

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Thanks to all the many

Health Kit Helpers !

A BIG “THANKS” for a job well done to the following Abingdon District Churches for their contributions of

Health Kits for Liberia. 780 Kits were collected!! Goal was 400

Way to go, Abingdon! 63 of 87 Churches participated

Abingdon Addilynn Memorial Aldersgate Anderson Street

Beech Grove Blackwell’s Chapel Byars Cobbs Carvosso

Charles Wesley Chilhowie Cleveland Crabtree

Damascus Davis Memorial Doe Valley Ebenezer

Emory First , Bristol First ,Marion First, Mountain City

Grace Hunt Memorial John Wesley Laurel Springs

Laurel Lebanon Memorial Lebanon (Chilhowie) Lebanon (Glade)

Madam Russell Mahanaim Mary’s Chapel McCready

Meadowview Mountain View (Abingdon) Mountain View (Chilhowie)

Mt Carmel Pleasant View Quarry Reynolds Memorial

Rich Valley Ridgedale Roberts Chapel Seven Mile Ford

Shady Grove Shouns South Bristol St John

St Luke Three Springs Trinity Union

Valley View Virginia Avenue Wallace Washington Chapel

Weaver Wesley Chapel (Mountain City) Wesley (Saltville)

Willis Chapel Wrights Chapel Wyndale

Zion Zion Hill

Whether 1, 41, or 101 -every kit makes a difference!

Congratulations to the following persons recently awarded a

Plasterco Scholarship for the Fall of 2017:

Autumn Jade Spence

Henry Avery Smith

William Arthur Tuell

Emily Elizabeth Vaught

Hannah Thayer

Lauren Ann Rhea

CEU Workshop Opportunity

September 9-10 Presented by Rev. Clayton Smith

Pastor of Generosity, Church of the Resurrection

To learn more visit Foundation.holston.org

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The Abingdon and Big

Stonp

Be a “Five Star Church” for 2015

ADVANCE SPECIALS Please visit the website - www.holston.org -

keywords “2017 Advance Specials “ to download a brochure explaining all the Holston Conference special projects. How do I become a Five Star Church?

Give at least $25.00 to four Advance Specials and pay your Conference tithe at 100%.

Reminder to Mark your Calendars…….

District Charge Conference will be on Sunday, September 24th, 2017 at 3:00 pm. Location to

be announced at a later date . Following District Conference we will celebrate Cindy’s

service to the Abingdon District.

Abingdon District Welcomes New Pastors and New Appointments for 2017/2018—

Effective 7-01-2017

Rev. Brandon Berg –First UMC, Bristol

Rev. Cynthia Frye—Weaver

Rev. Caroline Hawthorne - St Luke / Hunt Memorial

Rev. Mark Asbury- Rich Valley / Bethany

CAN YOU HELP?

Small church needing 15 Slightly Used United Methodist Hymnals—1989 or newer. If you can help, please contact Rev. Mark Asbury at 276-477-3835

2017 Holston Annual Conference

Many resources are available at ac.holston.org from the 2017 Annual

Conference held June 11-14 at Lake Junaluska. Take a look!

Holston Conference Announcement:

Orders are now being taken for 2017 Handbook / Directories and 2018 Calendars. Visit http://printedmaterials.holston.org to

place a credit card order.

An order form is also available on this site to download when paying by check and mailing the order.

Mail orders to:

P.O. Box 850 Alcoa, Tennessee 37701

Abingdon District Clergy Picnic

Thursday, August 3rd, 2017

Whitetop Creek Park (Shelter) -310 Sportsway Dr. Bristol, TN

37620

Meal at 6:00 pm.

Chicken will be provided. (Hot Dogs for the kids)

Bring your favorite side dishes and desserts and plan to join us for

an evening of food, games and fellowship!

Feel free to bring yard games to share.

Vegetarian? Let us know........

Please R.S.V.P. to this email by Thursday, July 27th for a head

count - include number of adults and children. (Or call 276-628-

4421)

Aldersgate UMC has a used approximately 14' artificial Chrismon Tree for sale along with the storage containers, the stand, and several strings of white lights. Price:$100 -If interested please call Sue Perry at (423)878-5254.

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Thank You Holston!

We wanted to provide you with an important update. Because of your generosity Holston has now given $262,500 to Appalachia Service Project for their Sevier County Rebuild Project. This total includes our starting gift of $125,000 and the sponsorship of the walls of the first 25 homes that ASP will build. This money came from your churches, individual donors, matched gifts from the conference and many others. Thank you for all you’ve done!

Still wanting to be involved? Financial gifts can be made directly to ASP by sending money to 4523 Bristol Highway John-son City, TN 37601 attn: Sevier County Rebuild Project OR to the Holston Conference Office attn: Wildfire Recovery.

Wanting to do some physical work? ASP has said “We have several sites that we want to start building on, but there is still debris, ash, old foundations, etc in the way. Do you know of any one that has access to equipment and/or could operate this equipment for us? The other issue is a lot of those sites are steep, which makes it more difficult. But we're also looking for anyone that wants to come volunteer as well! For the rest of the summer we'll have things like siding, soffit, insulation, painting, and building decks to do. Anyone interested can call Luke at: (423) 268-0240.”

OR Contact Volunteer East TN at https://www.volunteeretn.org/ or email phopple+partner@volunteeretn.org. They will match your skills and availability to the current Sevier County/ASP needs.

Thank you for all you’ve done so far! Please continue your prayers for these families and volunteers!

UMVIM Training

November 4, 2017

Time: 10:00 am—3:00 pm

Who Should Attend: UMVIM Team Leaders needing this training and any persons interested in leading a mission

team on a trip.

Phone: 865-719-4304 or 865-719-3230

Location : Trinity Center Fellowship Hall—320 Robertsville RD., Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Price: $26.00 per person

Contact Maxine or Bob Schultz

More information? Visit:

http://holston.org/events/2017/nov/04/2017-umvim-leader-training/

Garden Ministry

Madam Russell UMC and the Widow’s Garden

Over 200 years ago, when Methodism was first spreading in the United States, a minister by the name of Francis Asbury would travel through this region, stopping in what is now Saltville to stay at the house of Madam Russell. While there, Asbury, a father of American Methodism, would be fed by food from Madam Russell’s garden – the very soil that the “Widow’s Garden” sits on today. From the same soil that was used years ago to feed the Chris-tian witness in this area now once again comes food that is helping Madam Russell UMC witness to Christ today. The Widow’s Garden and a replica of Madam Russell’s cabin.

The Widow’s Garden and a replica of Madam Russell’s cabin pictured above.

Congratulations to Rev. Gary Crum and Rev. Catherine Sandefur -Pictured with Rev. Sandra Johnson, DS –

Gary and Catherine recently retired at Annual Conference 2017—both will remain in their present appointments in the Abingdon District.

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HOLSTON ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS CONFERENCE & RETREAT

September 27-29, 2017 Hilton Garden Inn | Gatlinburg, TN

We are pleased to announce that our 2017 HAP Retreat will take place in Gatlinburg at the Hilton Garden Inn from September 27 - 29.

We will have an exciting group of speakers this year:

Carla Testerman (Health and Wellness) Chris Luper (Communications & Social Media) & Lauri Jo Cranford (Healthy Boundaries)

A panel of experts, including Charles Maynard and Gatlinburg firefighters, on personal safety and emergency measures during a local disaster.

We hope you can join us for this wonderful time of education, relaxation, and fellowship. 0.5 CEUs are available from Wesley Leadership Institute for attending the full event. Don’t delay - registration deadline is a only a few short weeks away: August

A Note from Troy Henderson regarding the Abingdon District “Stop Hunger Now” Event in April of 2017

We are delighted to announce that the meals from your meal packaging event on 4/29/2017 have been shipped in a container totaling 285,120 meals from our Lynchburg, VA warehouse. The meals will be received by our in-country partner ORPHANetwork in Nicaragua.

ORPHANetwork's mission is to equip orphans and at-risk children in developing countries to fully realize their God-given potential. They serve abandoned, abused, and at-risk children in Nicaragua through local churches, school sys-tems, and orphanages. ORPHANetwork supports 155 feeding programs throughout Nicaragua. Through these pro-grams, nearly 18,000 children are nourished each weekday. The communities served are some of the poorest in Nica-ragua and the feeding programs prevent children from becoming social orphans. By guaranteeing one nutritious meal to these children each weekday, the probability they can continue living with their families increases significantly. The programs also serve the community holistically by drawing the children to school, monitoring their health, teaching health and hygiene, working with pregnant mothers on pre-natal and infant health, providing a space for families to work together and connecting them to the local church. ORPHANetwork additionally supports six orphanages, which are home to more than 300 children. www.orphanetwork.org

Visit www.riseagainsthunger.org for more information on how you can support Rise Against Hunger and continue your involvement in the fight against hunger. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/riseagainsthunger for updates, videos and photos from the field. Thank you for volunteering with Rise Against Hunger. We appreciate your dedication and commitment to the vision of a world without hunger. Troy Henson Program Manager Rise Against Hunger Lynchburg, VA thenson@stophungernow.org

A note of thanks from Cindy:

It is with much prayer and thought that I have made a decision to continue my education in nursing. I have been accepted at Virginia Highlands Community College in the Medical Assistant program beginning in August. And, since this educational opportunity has presented itself, I am very excited to be able to embark on a new journey at this time.

I am very thankful for the love, support, and encouragement of the Abingdon District for the last 5 ½ years. The Administrative Assistant position is very busy and challenging, but extremely rewarding. I have been blessed to work with Reverend Sandra Johnson. Sandra is not only an outstanding District Superintendent, but she is also my friend. Sandra and Leon are very dear to my heart and a model of dedication to God and each other.

I will always cherish my time in this position- and I will be praying that our churches will remain strong and grow beyond measure! Please keep me in your prayers during this transition.

Blessings, Cindy Fleenor

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Nomination Form

District At-Large Member of Holston Annual Conference –Abingdon District

Lake Junaluska, NC

June 10-13, 2018

Name__________________________________Church__________________________________________

Address___________________________________City____________________Zip____________________

Phone (Home/Cell)_________________________Email__________________________________________

____Youth (14-17) ____Young Adult (Under 35) ____Adult ____Senior Adult

_____Male _____Female

Ethnicity:

__African American __Asian __Caucasian __Hispanic __Native American __Other

Leadership positions held in local church, district and conference:

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is this nominee willing to serve: ___ ______

Signature of Nominee’s Pastor: (required)_________________________________________________________

Return by August 31st, 2017

Abingdon District Office

P O Box 263

Abingdon, VA 24212

OR

Email: abdist@holston.org / Fax –276-628-2947

This form is also available on our website at: www.abingdondistrictumc.org