This year’s annual Iowa conference of the United Methodist Church, marked the first to present awards of outstanding achievement in three separate categories, to nominate United Methodist Churches across the state. The awards ranged from outstanding pastor, outstanding lay leader, and outstanding congregation, with the nominations being judged on how closely they fit the Iowa UMC’s vision of loving boldly, serving joyfully, and leading courageously.
“It’s not just a friendly church, it’s a church where you can come find friends and make friends,” said Pastor Vicki Fisher, whose Mount Vernon congregation was the first to be named most outstanding in the state of Iowa.
Pastor Fisher says they do not know who nominated them, but she can list some reasons that the UMC Parish Development Council decided on their church to win this year’s most outstanding congregation award.
“In the past three years we’ve had three different ministry candidates come out of this church. Two of them are currently serving as pastors, and one is heading to college in the fall, thinking about the ministry pretty strongly,” said Fisher, who adds that it’s sometimes unusual to have such committed youth in the church. The church itself has a fairly young congregation, and Fisher mentions that their intergenerational approach is thanks, in part, to one individual in particular.
“The last Sunday of the month, we started a thing called Our Family Sunday, and that became a really important part of ministry at the church,” said Mandy Moellering, who is the Christian education coordinator at UMC Mount Vernon. Moellering works with the church’s youth, kids aged anywhere from nursery level to graduating high school seniors. She says that those in her role do not normally get to connect with members of the church who don’t have children in Sunday School, like older or single adults. “Family doesn’t necessarily mean this nuclear family that has kids who go to Sunday school, it means family, as in the church family,” adds Moellering.
Our Family Sundays offer church goers of every generation a chance to participate in group activities with the Sunday school, giving everyone a chance to feel more connected with one another. “It ended up being a churchwide event, and we love it so much.”
In addition to being connected with its congregation, Pastor Fisher says the church’s willingness to help those in the outlying community is another of its strengths. “We have quarterly fundraising drives to support the food pantry. Last year we raised over $14,000,” said Fisher.
The UMC of Mount Vernon’s partnership with the Southeast Linn Community Center has been a vital asset to the food insecure, something that has stood out to Moellerin as she starts her third year with the church. “Southeast Linn is going to say, ‘we need 40 hams instead of 24 hams,’ and we’ll say, ‘okay,’ because we know that someone is going to find that service opportunity to be available to them.”
The importance of showing up to help when it is needed, is also reflected in Mount Vernon’s congregational care coordinator: Julie Baty. “She takes care of a lot. Folks who are going through hard times, or folks who are going through life transitions, she will call on them with flowers or with treats,” said Fisher.
Baty has been working with the church for 18 years now. First as a Sunday school superintendent, then as a Christian Education director, and for the past 10 years now as a care coordinator. “My background is social work, and I just always felt like my calling was more in congregational care,” said Baty, who pays special care visits to the elderly and housebound members of the church, or anyone she thinks could use some extra encouragement. “My philosophy is that everyone in the congregation could use care, because we’re all dealing with something.”
The collaboration between the congregation, staff, and pastor, have all created a stronger community for churchgoers to enjoy. “I think that was just recognized at the conference level, that here’s a church that has stuck with things and are thriving, not just surviving,” explains Baty.
The United Methodist Church of Mount Vernon will display their award for the congregation to see, but more importantly, will continue to serve its community for years to come.