Dear Members and Friends, 

We have exciting news to share with you! 

As the newsletters have established, we seized an opportunity to join the Martinsburg Cooperative Parish. This will greatly enhance our Pastor resources. Last December, the Church Finance Committee requested a part time pastor. This was approved by the Council. The United Methodist Conference took the request for a Part-Time Minister and delivered to us 2.5 ministers through a 3 church parish: two full-time pastors and one part-time pastor. This is a great opportunity to add resources to the Pastoral role. 

The Council fully supports this opportunity to break the "Single Minister Model” we have been living with from the United Methodist conference. 

The structure for the 2.5 Pastors being assigned to the Martinsburg Cooperative Parish is outlined as follows: 

1. Trinity, St. Luke's, and Otterbein will share 2 Full Time and 1 Part Time pastors.

2. The appointment duration will be for this year only.

3. If successful, we will continue in this model.

4. The Pastor Group will share duties across the three churches.

5. The individual Churches will continue to operate and govern independently.

6. Pastoral compensation package is about half of last year. It is consistent with our budget and will go to the parish to fund the pastor group. 

The unknown items that exist in the Parish Model, are left up to the individual churches to work out: 

1. Are there any synergies in doing activities together, sharing resources, etc.?

2. Does the parish model work and should it be continued? 

In the Church, we rely on the pastor for many things. Preaching on Sundays, pastoral care, leading discipleship activities, special services, leading learning, cultivating leaders within the church, and many more. Having a bigger pool of pastoral talent will surely help us expand the opportunities for these. We think it is a great opportunity to expand our resources, especially while we learn to do more with less in these times. 

The following are the pastors that have been chosen for the Parish.

1. Pastor Mike Cantley

2. Pastor John Mayden, Jr.

3. Pastor Carol Rhan 

The Parish is NOT joining these churches in a "United Methodist consolidation." The Parish is NOT a trap. The Parish is NOT permanent. The Parish is voted on by the Council to address budgeting challenges and find a path to get us up on our feet out of COVID. Just as we voted to try it, we can vote to end it. 

Joining the Martinsburg Cooperative Parish is an OPPORTUNITY. 

The Martinsburg Cooperative Parish is an opportunity to break the mold and expand resources. The Parish is an opportunity to have excitement across three churches feeding each other with excitement. The Parish is an opportunity to think outside the box in how we serve Martinsburg as Churches serving Christ. How we can pull resources to accomplish bigger jobs in bringing people to Christ. The parish is an opportunity to get outside of the walls of our church, break down the walls built within the structure of our denomination, get out and do something. It's an opportunity to breathe new life into the church. I feel that God wants us to get up, recognize the place we are in, look at the resources we have, and get to work spreading the word of Christ. 

• COVID Guidelines have changed. Regarding masks, we encourage you to do what's comfortable for you and for what your family needs. The CDC and the WV governor's office no longer require mask usage for fully vaccinated individuals. We will provide a separate area for you or your family in church if your situation is best supported by continuing to wear a mask. Please let us know at each church if we can support you by seating you in a separate area. 

We do hope to start Sunday School as soon as we can work out the details. 

• Service hours will be 9:00 am at Otterbein, 10:00 am at Trinity, 11:00 am at St. Lukes. 

The cooperative Parish is new to me. I am very excited about this change and look forward to the opportunity to have a team of pastors. Join us in rallying to welcome the new pastor group. We hope to see you! 

In Christ's service. 

Jason Roach,

Chairperson Church Council