First Congregational Church, Lodi, Ohio
In attendance were John Hood, David Dake, David Kimberly, Jonathan Cheatham, Lollie Cheatham, Donna Edsall, Kyle Boone, Brian Egleston, Gary Eno, Rae Maurer, Tom Maurer, Matt Reed, Dayle Keefer, Wes Blood, Pat Street, Drake Williams, and a few others.
An informal social time began the meeting as we ate donuts and introduced ourselves.
The theme for the day was Ukrainian History and Christianity.
The Rev. Dr. Drake Williams, Pastor of Mission and Theology at Central Schwenkfelder Church in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, opened the event at 9:30 with a devotion on Luke 14:14-15, “Bless those who cannot repay.” He spoke of the need of the Ukrainian churches near the war area, and how faculty and students are assisting the war refugees, distributing food, meds, clothing, and shelter, and even going into the war area to rescue some of them. He has set up a “faculty development fund” for the Zaporizhzhya Bible Seminary located near the war zone where the faculty is aging and in need of training younger professors to replace them (website for the seminary: zbs.com.ua/en/home).
Drake Zoom-trains (and also on-site trains) young men and women located in many countries teaching them seminary biblical courses. From 10 to noon, Drake taught about the history of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Church was established by the Apostle Andrew. Presently the Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church and Putin are in a “holy war” with Zelensky and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
At lunch, we had a business meeting approving the minutes of the Spring Meeting. Jonathan Cheatham, treasurer, said we had $1400 in the treasury. We decided to give $700 to Drake Williams for his travel and for the Zaporizhzhya Biblical Seminary. In addition to an offering for the lunch, we collected an offering for the Zaporizhzhya Biblical Seminary.
We also will reserve $600 for two regional pastors to attend a cohort retreat led by Dave Kimberly, to help pay for their travel expenses.
Gary Eno gave an update on his health issues and his prison ministry. He goes back to work Monday, November 3, after five months of medical leave. His leg was amputated after an infection which occurred after radiation treatment for cancer. His leg prosthesis was due to arrive on Monday.
David Dake, our Mideast Area Pastor, reported that the next monthly gathering of pastors is Wednesday, December 11, starting at 10 a.m. in Lodi.
David Kimberly reported on his Barnabas Ministry. We are looking for someone else to handle the OA website.
Wes Blood reported on the Wellspring Ministry with foreign university students in
Toledo, and shared some testimonies of Muslims and others coming to Christ. He closed the business meeting with prayer.
David Dake will work with Kyle Boone on setting a date and details for the Winter Banquet to be held again in Lodi. Kyle will speak at the banquet about his doctrinal thesis dealing with ministering to youth in a small congregation that only has one or a few young people.
After the business meeting, we went to session two of the presentation, which was
Understanding Christianity in Ukraine and Russia. We saw a series of pictures of refugees being rescued from war-torn areas in the Ukraine.
The meeting closed with prayer at 2 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Donna Edsall, secretary.