Note from Pastor Jana I started getting involved in the United Methodist Church when I was a high school student. My brother had been attending youth group there with friends and then worship. So, we all started going to Piedmont First United Methodist Church. When we started attending, there was an interim pastor. Then, in January, a new pastor arrived, Rev. Sam Powers. He held a confirmation class and as a sophomore in high school I participated. In confirmation, I learned about church in general and about the United Methodist Church. I loved everything I was learning. I loved how connectional we were as a denomination. I loved how worldwide our denomination was. I loved how the UMC believed people had brains and could use them to think for themselves. In other words, you could have a differing opinion and that was alright! I loved how mission focused the church was. I loved the United Methodist Church. So, in college, it made sense I would participate in the Wesley foundation, the United Methodist Church campus ministry. Because of our connection, I got involved in Project Transformation, which is a summer program that focuses on literacy for children and helps college age adults with discernment. Because of all of those experiences, I went on to work at Wesley United Methodist Church as the children’ and youth minister. However, God was not done there and kept tugging on my heart to go to seminary. So, I traveled with several other students and did a seminary tour through the Oklahoma Conference. We saw 10 of the 13 UM seminaries on that trip. When the time came, I found myself at Wesley Theological Seminary in DC. Of course, you know what happened there, I met Chase, got engaged and then graduated. The rest is history. During that time, I was commissioned by the church and then later ordained as an Elder. It is because of the United Methodist Church and all the experiences that are not listed that happened in between all of this. I served in missions, went to Annual Conference, attended General Conference, attended multiple conferences where connection happened because of the common connection of our church. Our church is of course more than the denomination, it’s the people that make the church. However, its because of our denomination that we have lived out certain experiences. I would love to hear why you love the United Methodist Church. Let’s share our stories. In Christ, Pastor Jana
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