Enon UMC Lay Leader/Member
Kathy Ranft is our Lay Leader. What, you might ask, does a Lay Leader/Lay Member do? The formal description and listed responsibilities for a Lay Leader come from the United Methodist Book of Discipline, paragraph 251.1. However, these responsibilities are lived out with a great deal of variation among local churches.
In a nutshell, an effective Lay Leader functions as the primary representative of, and role model for, Christian discipleship and faith lived out in the church and in daily life for the people of a congregation. The Lay Leader works with the Pastor to fulfill the mission and vision of the congregation. The Lay Leader serves on the Leadership Team of Enon UMC’s simplified administrative board model (launched in January 2024). The Lay Leader also keeps the laity informed of training opportunities within our Western Lakes District and West Ohio Conference and is encouraged to become a Certified Lay Servant.
Kathy is also our Lay Member to Annual Conference. The duties of this role are listed in paragraph 251.2 of the Book of Discipline. In short, the Lay Leader links the local church and community. The Lay Member to Annual Conference, along with the Pastor, interprets the actions of each annual conference session and reports that information back to the local church. These two leadership positions, whether combined or kept separate, are elected annually at the local church conference.
Message from Our Lay Leader/
Lay Member to Annual Conference
Hello friends,
God calls us to a life of servanthood as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The theme of the June 2023 West Ohio Conference was “Committed, Connected, Community” based on the scripture from Hebrews 10:23-25.
Committed to God, Connected to one another and in Community with all God’s children. What does that mean or look like to you?
This time of annual conference allowed me the space to continue thinking about how I can be part of bringing the larger community together. What small (or large) part is God calling me to do? The theme for the 2024 West Ohio Annual Conference is “God is Able” and draws inspiration from Ephesians 3:20-21, promising a gathering that celebrates the limitless power of God. I love that reminder of God’s limitless power as together we move into a new year of what I hope to be a year of transformational discipleship.
As our Conference Co Lay-Leader, Mitchell Harper encouraged us to do – “…Make a commitment to create connected community with intentionality. Let’s worship, pray and sing together – yes! BUT also eat together, laugh and cry together. Serve, teach, listen and grow together. Challenge each other. Let’s just not be the community folks need – let’s be IN community alongside folks IN need. Don’t just feed the hungry. Eat WITH the hungry. Commit to learning alongside folks. If we as a church cannot be vulnerable and transparent, we cannot be trusted members of the community. If we show up trying to fix folks, we aren’t ready for genuine connectedness and collaboration.”
I invite you to join me in being more committed to our community this year!
Yours in service,
Kathy
Back to Fanning the Flame
Enon UMC is part of the Western Lakes District of the West Ohio Conference of the UMC
Page current as of 2/4/2024