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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR JUNE-JULY 2025

6/16/2025

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Dreaming New Dreams Together!

​Do you dream when you sleep? Did you know that not all folks are dreamers? I should probably add that not all folks are AWARE that they dream. This means that while their brain activity might indicate that they are dreaming, they have no recollection of their being a dream. Sometimes dreams can be recounted moment by moment. For the most part, it seems that dreams are experienced somewhere in the middle ground. Somewhere between remembering and not knowing, experiencing physical responses to the dream and wondering why in the world we would dream THAT!

Regardless of your dreaming pattern, we need your expertise! We're moving into a "dream" phase of life with OUMC. Our CAT summary has placed us in a space that can really move us forward, knowing the thoughts of those connected to OUMC. It's time to dream not only what 
could be (don't let "reality" hold those dreams back) but how we can carry those things out and to seek who might have similar dreams to team up with us. Both in the life of OUMC and in how we serve Oakland and Riverside, it is our dreams which will carry us forward.

Please continue to be in prayer for this process as we prepare to gather the end of June with Ryan Chistenson, Assistant Director of Iowa Conference Congregational Excellence Team. Ryan, along Jaye Johnson, Director of Iowa Conference Congregational Excellence Team and Iowa Conference Parish Development, has a passion for revitalizing and empowering the local church to be the best they can be in their little space in God's earthly kingdom. Please take time to be a part of this process as move together in the direction of God's Dream that we are called to carry out for OUMC and Riverside.
We truly are better together! Let's dream!
Be Blessed, Be a Blessing, and take someone with you on the journey!
Pastor Kim
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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR MAY 2025

5/1/2025

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What Now?

Easter is over! What we often think of as the culmination of the Christian faith. All
the self reflection of Lent, the pageantry of Palm Sunday, the ups and downs of Holy
Week and the Alleluias of Easter Sunday. Wow! It's a lot! Often, we don't know where to
go from here.

What if...we continued? Continued the self reflection of Lent. Continued the pageantry
of Palm Sunday. Continued the ups and down and Alleluias? What if.

I invite you to contemplate what that means in your own faith life? How can you
carry on with digging deeper? Is it with personal devotion? Maybe studying the Word
with someone you feel comfortable with, or maybe as a challenge, someone you don't
know that well. Perhaps you step to lead in a way that only God's Call could give you
the courage. The possibilities are endless!

How will we carry the Easter Alleluia with us throughout the coming summer? Will
the community of faith known as OUMC find ways to be an instrument of peace? Will we
find new ways to show the passion we have for living out our faith. How will we find the
time and the funds to be folks the Riverside community see as ready to step in at any
moment for any need. Whether that be community betterment, community celebrations
or to lend a helping hand to those who are struggling in a myriad of possible ways.

Whatever we do, either on our own or together, let's remember to give God the glory!
Let's remember to keep telling The Story to each other, who may know it well, and to
those who have never heard. Keep listening to the story as others tell of God's mighty
works in the world.

Together we can make a difference in Riverside and beyond. Keep that ALLELUIA! in
your heart and share your thoughts on "how do we move forward from here," with me.
I'd love to hear your dreams and about how God is calling you to serve and who we
might invite on that journey with you. No dream is too small or too large when God is in
the midst!

He is risen! Alleluia! We are a Resurrection people, so we have work to do!

Blessings!


Pastor Kim
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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR APRIL 2025

4/3/2025

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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR MARCH 2025

3/3/2025

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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR FEBRUARY 2025

3/3/2025

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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR JANUARY 2025

3/3/2025

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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR DECEMBER 2024

1/8/2025

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​Where Is My Pastor and Why?
     You are not the first, nor will you be the last, to ask that question! For the most part, pastors tend to be part of the hurry up and wait crowd; working on 'all the things', so that they are ready for unexpected moments in their days. Each denomination or nondenominational community of faith have their own guidelines for how a pastor is to spend time. There are daily activities, as well as weekly, monthly and annual activities. This makes it hard to put things in a nice, neat package with a bow, but we'll see if we can at least get Iowa United Methodist things in a box.

     As an Iowa United Methodist clergyperson comes before the Staff, Pastor, Parish Committee for the first time, along with the District Superintendent, there is an expectation shared that the pastor will be first appointed to the community and next to the church. In OUMC's case, that would include the Riverside Church Association community. This expectation might include eating in local establishments; shopping at local businesses; hanging out at libraries, museums, and theaters; participation in a civic organization; attending school events, as able; making oneself available for community activities and celebrations; just to name a few. Each appointment will have its own community vibe.

     Each community of faith is unique in their pastoral needs, as well as each pastor being unique in their gifts and talents. How those come together is driven by expectations of the church, but also by the amount of time a pastor is appointed to that church. Quarter time (10-12 hours/week), half-time (20-25 hours/week), three quarter-time (30-35 hours/week), and full-time ( 40-50 hours/week) appointments are the standard in the Iowa Conference. At OUMC this covers activities like sermon/worship prep; worship & special services; community engagement; emails, mail, phone calls and texts; engagements with local church boards, teams and committees; media/technology; church finances; education according to needs of church or pastor's gifts/graces/passions -which can be anything from a book to a conference; Circuit ministry (Pastor Kim is Circuit Leader for the Pott County and Friends Circuit); clergy gatherings at local, regional and conference levels; Confirmation; Annual Conference attendance; spiritual formation of self and others; visitation of those who request visitation and prayers for all; funerals; weddings; fulfilling the Conference requirement of being active in one Conference Board or Agency and one District Committee (Pastor Kim is Chair of Conference Parish Development and Registrar for District Committee on Ministry); counseling; and other duties as requested, as the saying goes. This is the reason for a salary versus hourly pay schedule. Some weeks might be smashed and others might be a bit boring (which you never say out loud), but it all evens out over time.

     In the United Methodist tradition, the Iowa Conference also sets the benefits package the pastor will receive, often based on appointment status, years in pastoral ministry, and other such details. Beyond the financial benefits, the Iowa Conference pastoral benefits package includes, after one year of service, and scheduled around required activities; four weeks of vacation, including four Sundays; two weeks of continuing education/spiritual retreat, including two Sundays; two weeks of sick leave, including two Sundays, with more available at the agreement of leadership; bereavement time; up to three months leave every four years for spiritual renewal; and upon local church and Conference approval, a sabbatical of longer time is able to be granted.

     This is not an all-inclusive list, as just when a pastor thinks they have it nailed down, there is a shift in the landscape or a crisis. I encourage you to reach out to myself or a member of the SP PRC with any questions concerning the activities of a given day or time period of your pastor. May all ministry be done to the glory of God!
Be blessed, be a blessing, and take someone on the journey with you.  Pastor Kim
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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR NOVEMBER 2024

1/8/2025

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Reflections from Pastor Kim

Dear Pastor,
     I've been in the church my whole life. I'm not sure there is anything I don't know.
Sincerely, The Rest of Us
So, let's pretend we DID know everything, Proverbs still advises us to seek guidance, to figure out what all that knowledge means and what to do with it. We just chatted on Sunday, September 18th about how even though we long for perfection, in this lifetime we will never quite reach that goal.

What does that mean when it comes to knowledge? There is a phrase that is worded something like 'knowledge is power.' Think on this for a bit. We can know all there is to know, but have we comprehended what we know? Do we understand the things we cram into our brain, or do we just "know" them? Perhaps that's where we all come up short?

I know I am certainly guilty of thinking, "Well, I know that!" Know what? Every. Single. Time. I. Say. That. I. Am. Proven. Wrong. Sheesh! See, when I get to thinking I've got the world by the tail and can lay out a plan to solve the problems of that world, God goes, "Hey, Kim! Hold up there a second. What about. .. " UHG! I detest that God knows me better than I know myself!

Remember, God knows our laying down and our rising up. God knows our faults that we won't acknowledge and the gifts we won't acknowledge, as well. God is there before our crazy thoughts take hold, and when our pride and our prejudice take over our common sense. God is front and center in walking with us, even when we choose not to seek understanding and God's will, but our own understanding.

Unfortunately, the church many of UIS grew up in does not look the same as it did in the fledgling years of our faith lives, but God is still here. The years that very near the whole community was in church on Sunday morning or at every activity. That doesn't make the church today or tomorrow wrong, it just makes it different, but God is still here. Our communities look different, our lives look different, the expectations of schools and community events looks different. We've also been trying to erect healthy boundaries and expectations, both of ourselves and of others. So much is different! God is still here!

​Yet, so much is still the same! God is still here!
“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.”
Proverbs 1:5
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Revelations 1:8
Do not give up! Different is not bad , it's just different! Together we can seek God's Will for Oakland UMC, the community of Oakland arid the surrounding communities. We don't know it all, but together maybe we can learn to understand God's plan for us today and tomorrow. Let hope rise eternal in our hearts, our homes, arid our communities. To God be the glory, for God is still here!
“Be blessed, be a blessing, and take someone with you on the journey!  Pastor Kim
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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR OCTOBER 2024

10/2/2024

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As we move into fall and come to the end of a summer long series and "Who Are We" I offer this reflection from Rev. Cheryl Harris, which are compiled in a book called "Seasons of Welcome."  The writings of this book remind us of the importance of gathering around tables and sharing ourselves with others.  I hope this is a blessing to you, as it has been to me.
​
Be blessed, be a blessing, and take someone with you on the journey!  Pastor Kim
Setting the Table 
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow your­self to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment. 

Consider the patterns of your life knit throughout your being -all the layers of lived experience that make you who you are, and how each person has their own unique and sacred patterned life story. 
Psalms 139:13-14 
For it was you who formed my inward parts; 
you knit me together in my mother's womb. 
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 
Wonderful are your works; 
that I know very well.
Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization. 
- Mahatma Gandhi
​Food for Thought 
As I have grown in my relationship to God through the years, I have come to think of God in many ways - God our Shepherd, God our Deliverer, God our Hope, God our Provider, God our Gardener are just a few examples. The image of God that is living with me in this season, where the mornings turn cooler and the night temperatures call for cozy sweaters, is God our Master Knitter. Yeah, we don't hear God talked about too often as the knitter. But I'm here to tell you - God knits. Perhaps God is not a knitter of sweaters, but God is a knitter.
 
Though I'm not a knitter, I know a bit about knitting - I have witnessed it, and received it as a gift. Knitting is a slow process. It takes concentration to make sure the right strands go in the right places to produce the pattern that will lead to a recognizable whole. The best knitters weave something beautiful out of even the most ordinary materials. And knitting holds worth and value, not only because of the expertise and patterns of the work, but that sweater, scarf, mittens your grandparent knit for you are lovely and valuable because of the hands that made it. We are the work of God's hands. God creates our very essence, our inner being. Job says it this way: "you knitted me with skin and flesh and knitted me together with bones and sinews." (Job 10:11) 

Psalm 139 says it another way, our creator knitted us together long before we took our first breath. We are a unique creation filled with wonder and awe. Unlike anything else in God's creation, humans are God's special handiwork. We are the Imago Dei - made in the image of God. Each of us endowed with a special composition, fearfully and wonderfully made. 

God weaves together something lovely out of even the most standard materials. In God's expansive creation, we have Moseses, Rahabs, Nathans, Lydias, Jameses, Marys, Cheryls, all imago dei, all designed with the purpose to fulfill God's call. 

As God's uniquely created wonders, it is not our call to nitpick what we perceive as flaws in ourselves or one another. It is not for us to identify the stitches that do not meet our standards and require conformity to our ideas of what is good. No! We are called to love who God loves; accept who God accepts and to celebrate the differences God creates. 

It sounds simple to say that we should love ourselves and others with a grace that values whait is both different and beautiful, but it really challenges our perspective. Our society is so critical, and we can be so critical of ourselves and others that we can lose sight of the gift of simply loving ourselves and others for our uniquenesses. This invitation to see ourselves as the master­fully knitted creations of a loving God, is a change in perspective we a II deeply need. 

We are called to welcome the vast variety of knitted patterns -human garments -not made lby human hands, and to celebrate the full spectrum of humanity lavishly, lovingly, inclusively, unequivocally. Proudly display your garment -your patterns -knitted lovingly by God without assimilation, or adjustment. 
Remember that God the Master Knitter loves variety and diversity! Remember that God the Master Knitter loves you! 

God is intimately and actively involved in the world - in the church, in our lives -stitching, altering, repairing and transforming so that we fully value all the garments of God's good creation -all the gifts. Gifts that are intricate and complex. Gifts that are beautiful and amazing. Gifts that were fashioned by the hands of our Creator. To God be the glory for the great things God has made! 
​
This week, try creating something new. Maybe try knitting if that is something you have an interest in. Notice, within your new creation, all of the different pieces that make it beautiful and unique. 
As the air is cooling down, go for a walk outside and take notice of all the variety and diversity our God has.
Blessing 
Creating God, you have knit your grace into our lives and our very being. Help us to see and recognize the patterns of goodness you have imparted within us and one another, and to honor them, humbly, as holy and precious. Amen.
​ 
A little Table Talk for your table ... 
What are some characteristics that are knit into who you are, or are a part of your lived experience that have contributed to your being who you are? 
Sometimes we celebrate differences easily, and other times we can become very judgmental and critical of the unique ways folks express themselves. How have you experienced this in your own life? 
What are some unique qualities you celebrate in yourself? In others? Though we are all patterned differently from one another, we are all beloved by God.
 
Try taking it to the Kids Table ... 
Ask your kiddos if they have ever noticed the patterns in knit sweaters or knit caps or mittens. The strands of yarn, when knitted in particular ways, produce the varying patterns. Find some patterns or designs in the clothes they wear. 

Help your kiddos learn to make friendship bracelets with strands of thread or beads. These can each have a unique pattern or design. Have them share these bracelets with friends -they will be special, not only because they are beautiful and unique, but because have been hand crafted. 
​
Talk with your child about what makes them special, and about how they are loved by God. Let them know that you love them too!
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THE PASTOR'S CORNER FOR SEPTEMBER 2024

10/2/2024

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Here we are on the cusp of fall! The morning air is cooler and even when the day is extra warm it is for less time than in the midst of summer. I can hear football practice as Dash, Booker and I spend a bit of time outside in the late afternoon and I count six red leaves on my maple tree. I've also spent much desk time preparing for a new program year in my office both at home and the church the last few weeks. All a sure sign that our schedules are changing from the feeling of summer freedom, to a more regimented schedule of school, games, community and church.
 

At OUMC we'll spend each Sunday during worship on one of our five membership vows. Do you remember what they are? We remember them each time we respond during the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, but otherwise we don't pay much attention to them. 

Here's the deal though, when we say we will support Oakland UMC and the greater Church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness, it is a vow. A vow of commitment to the Body of Christ, both here and beyond. How much do we really know about what those vows ask of us as a people of faith? How can we truly live them out in real time and in real places, not just within the walls of our building for an hour on Sunday morning? How does God call us through these vows and how do we support new and long-time members alike with our commitment. 

I would raise a caution flag just slightly when we think of membership and the church. In our faith in Christ as Savior, we all make up the Body of Christ; all members of the Body. Membership in a brick and mortar facility is a human construct. Though there is little doubt that God blesses the spaces our ministry is based in, membership in those spaces is not a requirement for participation in the ministry God has called each of us to join in, both individually and corporately, nor is it a requirement of Salvation. 
​

I hope you will join us, either online or in person, throughout September as we explore our vows and how working together, we glorify God not just in the vows we take, but in how we live them out together. Come home this fall! Home to a community of believers who welcome you in whatever place you are in your faith journey; who welcome you just as you are.

We'll save you a seat!


See you soon! 
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OAKLAND IOWA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

​200 N Main St - PO #4, Oakland, IA  51560

​Phone:  (712) 482-5530

Church email: [email protected]

​
​Web site: www.oaklandiaumc.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/oakiamethchurch


Church Office Hours:  T - F   9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.


Pastor:  Kim Dewey

​Email: [email protected] 

Phone: 
 712-887-0263
Pastor Kim observes Sabbath each Monday.  In the case of an emergency,

please do not hesitate to contact her by call or text, and she will respond as

soon as possible.
​

All non-emergency calls, texts, and emails will be responded to the next day. 

Thank you for your thoughtfulness in assisting Pastor Kim with self-care in this

way.  it is greatly appreciated!


Organist:  Marilyn Hackett

​Lay Leader: Merlin Jones 712-482-3687

​Secretary:  Martha Isaacson 712-482-5530
​
​
​Custodian:  Trevor & Megan Jefferson