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New South Conference News

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Click on the link to access the October 2012 Newsletter of the New South Conference of the Free Methodist Church:  New South Conference October News.

Police, Fire Chaplain Becomes Elder

Arthur Lee Twombly was in his late 50s when he responded to God calling him to pursue ministry.

“It’s never too late. If God’s got a use for us, He’ll use us,” said Twombly, 67, a retired engineer who serves as the fire and police chaplain for the city of Shively, Ky., a Louisville suburb.

Bishop David Roller ordained Twombly as a Free Methodist elder May 18 during the New South Annual Conference.

Twombly trained for ministry through the Appalachian Local Pastors School in Barbourville, Ky. He has served as an associate pastor in both the United Methodist Church and the Free Methodist Church — most recently at the Breckenridge Chapel FMC in St. Matthews, Ky.

He said the Free Methodist Chaplains Association and denominational doctrine caused him to switch to Free Methodism.

“Praise be that the Free Methodist Church recognized my calling to the chaplaincy and my service there,” Twombly said during an interview at the reception following the ordination service. “I’ve just found these people to be wonderful and accepting.”

Twombly, a Navy veteran, is not completely finished with engineering. A couple of days after his ordination, he traveled to England as a consultant for the International Maritime Organization.

But Twombly’s passion is his role as a chaplain.

“There is just a lot of pain in the world and a lot of people who need God’s presence who may not recognize who or what God is,” Twombly said.

He said chaplains are called to “look deep into people’s needs and hurts and provide for those needs and show God’s love that way. That’s how we represent God so often in an unchurched world.”

by Jeff Finley

Newsletter for Eagle Ridge Retreat Center - July 2012

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Eagle's Eye May 2012 Newsletter

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Lee Twombly Ordained Elder in Free Methodist Church

Chaplain A. Lee Twombly was ordained an Elder in the Free Methodist Church at the New South Annual Conference.  The conference was held in Wilmore, Kentucky, on May 18 and 19, 2012.  Bishop David Roller and Superintendent Ron Balzer presided over the ordination service.

Rev. Twombly was formerly member and associate pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church in Shively, Kentucky.  At the time of his ordination he was a member of Breckenridge Chapel Free Methodist Church in St. Matthews, Kentucky.

Rev. Twombly has served as chaplain for Shively Police and Fire Departments since 2004.  He is awaiting endorsement by the Free Methodist Church as a chaplain.  When he receives this endorsement he shall be appointed to the Shively chaplaincy by the bishop.

Rev. Twombly was mentored in the ordination process by Dr. John Wesley Slider, pastor of Breckenridge Chapel.

Paul Jung Certified as a Conference Ministerial Candidate in the Free Methodist Church

Paul Jung was certified as a Conference Ministerial Candidate in the Free Methodist Church at the New South Annual Conference.  The conference was held in Wilmore, Kentucky, on May 18 and 19, 2012.  The Elders of the conference voted to welcome Mr. Jung into this new status as he works toward ordination.  Bishop David Roller presided over the session in which Mr. Jung was certified.

Paul Jung has served as a pastor of United Methodist churches – most recently Pleasure Ridge Park United Methodist Church.  He transferred his membership to Breckenridge Chapel, Free Methodist Church, in St. Matthews.

As he continues in his path toward ordination, Mr. Jung is being mentored by Dr. John Wesley Slider, pastor of Breckenridge Chapel.  Mr. Jung has been appointed as associate pastor at Breckenridge Chapel.  He is currently serving as an interim pastor for young adults at a Korean United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mr. Jung will continue to develop his ministry for refugees from Southwest Asia who live in the Newburg area of Louisville, Kentucky.  The New South Conference is providing support and encouragement for this developing ministry.

Eagle's Eye Newsletter for April 2012

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New South Conference Newsletter for April 2012

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New South Conference Preparation

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We write in anticipation of our New South annual conference, scheduled for May 18 and 19, at the Wilmore Free Methodist church. We hope you have set these days aside to join with the rest of the New South family for the sake of worship and fellowship, as well as the business of the church.  As you have surely noticed, the schedule of our annual conference has changed through the years. Annual Conference used to be a time of pretty intense meetings, debates, discussions, committee work, and other business-related interactions. Conference also used to be much longer than it now is – sometimes lasting up to a week – to accommodate all that business.

Due to many factors – not the least of which the increasingly busy schedules and lives of conference participants – we’ve had to do much more committee work ahead of time in order to shorten annual conference that delegates may attend. On one hand, this is good in that it allows the committees elected by the conference time to deal more thoroughly with business matters.  On the other hand, it can also unfortunately create the feeling that conference is merely a formality to “rubber stamp” business already done with little time allotted for important matters people wish to discuss.

This year, we’d like to try to remedy this situation by making adequate time for all the business of the church. We need your help to do this.  If you have issues or concerns that you would like to discuss in the general session of annual conference, would you please submit the topic and rationale to the Conference Board of Administration (CBOA) before Thursday, March 29. This will allow the CBOA to review the requests and adequately prepare thoughtful answers and also allow sufficient time for conference business. In some cases, a member of the CBOA will contact the inquirer to follow up and possibly bring answers or to ask clarifying questions prior to conference. In other instances, the topic will be brought forth at conference for general discussion.

We, like you, don’t want important topics brought up ten minutes before adjournment. It is still true that any member of Conference has the right to bring any motion at any time in an orderly manner, while the Conference is in session. Your help in this matter will allow conference organizers to plan more efficiently.

Many thanks for all your hard work for the sake of the Kingdom. It’s a joy to serve alongside you in these days.

Blessings to you,

The New South Conference District Superintendent and District Leaders (Ron Balzer, Al Buckta, Scott Clark, Daryl Diddle, Tim Huff)