Pastors in the United Methodist Church are appointed one year at a time. Clergy are members of the Annual Conference; not of the local church. And, they are “Itinerant Pastors”, serving for an average of 5-10 years at a local church.
Bishop Schol appointed Pastor Jim to our church during the 2014 Annual Conference
July first is the official start of a clergy appointment.
For many churches, the last Sunday is June is a difficult time where a congregation says “goodbye” to an outgoing pastor. For others, the first Sunday of July is a day of hope and celebration when the new appointees conduct their first worship service in their new church.
But in our case, July 1 was a time to “breathe a sigh of relief” because we are keeping our pastor for (at least) another year; Pastor Jim was re-appointed to our church! And so, on the 2nd Sunday in July, we thankfully welcomed Pastor Jim, Judy, Rebecca, and Lindsey back to PUMC.
And how else should true Methodists celebrate? Cake! (it was too early in the day for a full-blown covered dish dinner).
Welcome back to the Boltons!!!
