At Maria Stein Spiritual Retreat Center, 50 United Methodists are gathered together for spiritual and practical training on their journey to become licensed local pastors. This year's licensing school is a 5-day intensive study provided by the West Ohio Conference. Rev. Wade Giffin, Director of the Office of Ministry, and Rev. Amy Aspey, Director of Clergy Professional Development, have organized a week of study, teaching, worship, fellowship and spiritual retreat designed to mesh the practical aspects of pastoring with the spiritual practices necessary to be successful in fulfilling the call to pastoral ministry. The first training, led by West Ohio Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, was entitled "The Spiritual Life of the Spiritual Leader" during which Bishop Palmer used his experiences as a pastor and knowledge as a theologian to urge the intentional embrace of the peace of Christ in daily life and to keep nothing between one's soul and one's Savior.  Read more

25 West Ohio students will receive Next Generations Leadership scholarships for the 2014-15 academic year! Through your generous donations received during the United Methodist Student Day Offering as well as funding through the conference's Connectional Ministries area, scholarships are provided to qualified West Ohio undergrad students who are attending accredited institutions of higher education. The scholarships are awarded to support young students in their pursuit of God's calling in their lives, becoming strong leaders here and across the denomination. View the scholarship recipients! 

Last week at Camp Wesley was filled with wacky water games, zip-lining, service projects and, of course, God. Elementary campers at Wacky Water Week camp were soaked by firefighters from Huntsville Fire Department. Middle school campers at Challenge and Service camp went on a service project to Belle Center where they scraped and repainted an elderly woman's storage garage, mulched Belle Center United Methodist Church flowerbeds, and trimmed trees. High school campers at Adventure and Leadership camp experienced zip-lining and leading the younger campers in discussions and activities on loving others. It was an exciting week that modeled our camp theme of loving God and loving others exceptionally well.  Photo Galleries

Since January 2014, there have been 22 deaths from heroin overdose in Middletown, Ohio and 1,000 deaths in Butler County. Most of the overdoses are young adults between the ages of 15 and 25. The Gathering United Methodist Church, pastored by Rev. Carrie Jena, has become a place of hope for churches and city leaders to convene around these and other vital issues that affect the city. Last Monday night, 91 people gathered there, representing ten area churches and declared a Prayer War on Heroin to take back the city of Middletown from this and other destructive drugs. To see photos and learn more about the prayer war, visit the church's Facebook page.  

Sonoma (California) United Methodist Church, with about 100 families, faced the challenge of clarifying their identity recently as they prepared to receive a new pastor. Their goal was to show the new pastor the ministries they offered and what ministries people might be interested in starting. They found a novel way of doing it with Post-it notes. Members placed color-coded Post-it notes on organized posters which eventually covered the length of one wall in the church.  Learn more

Disciple Bible Study has been a life-changing study taken by millions worldwide. It is now in a dynamic new format called Disciple Fast Track that allows participants to encounter the Bible in less time. A limited number of church leaders (300) are invited to participate in the final year of testing. In order to be eligible to Lead a Disciple Fast Track Beta Group, you must enroll in a 1 to 3 hour, simple, self-paced online class through BeADisciple.com. If you are interested in this new opportunity, click here and watch this 2 minute video about Disciple Fast Track or visit this webpage. 

Karen Lynn Wright Hayes who died on July 9. She is survived by her husband, Rev. L. Stephen (Steve) Hayes, a retired elder with the West Ohio Conference; father Thomas Wright; sisters Jan (Greg) Barger; and Barbara (Arthur Riley) Wright; daughter Carrigan Jo; son Robert Thomas; daughter Katherine Jeanne; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and colleagues.  Karen and Steve served United Methodist Church communities across West Ohio including Amsden, Rehoboth, Bethlehem (Findlay), Cedarville, Selma, West Elkton, Asbury (North Hampton), New Madison, Trinity (Arcanum), and Jamestown before he retired in 2010.

Obituary. A memorial service for Karen will be held at 10:30 a.m. next Saturday (July 19) at Asbury United Methodist Church, 104 E. Clark Street, North Hampton, Ohio. Condolences may be sent to Rev. Steve Hayes, 1147 Ortego Drive, Fairborn, Ohio 45324