by Alyssa Fisher, Director of Communications

The Laity Council of the California-Pacific Annual Conference held a retreat on Saturday, October 12, at First United Methodist Church of San Gabriel under the theme “Coming Together in Mission.” This retreat aimed to inspire lay leaders to flourish in their roles and explore opportunities for growth and leadership in the church.

Diane Gin, co-lay leader of the East District and secretary of the Cal-Pac Laity Council, reported that 28 participants attended the retreat, with representation from all four districts: 15 from the East District, five from the North District, four from the South District, and four from the West District.

Throughout the day, participants engaged in discussions on key topics, including:

• The current state of the conference and the importance of strong lay leadership.
• Personal and district-wide goals for leadership development.
• How churches can “Flourish” by nurturing and empowering laity for ministry, aligning with the 2024 conference theme.

The featured speakers were Erin Hawkins, Executive Director of Connectional Ministries, and Cathy Wilson, Associate Director of the Board of Ordained Ministry & Orders Executive Committee. The presentation was rooted in the idea that lay leaders are key to the conference’s vision to end spiritual and physical hunger. It started with a grounding exercise to consider examples of memorable lay ministries and ended with a vision practice to forecast possibilities.

Erin and Cathy then shared about the three lay leadership ministry paths: Discipleship (Certified Lay Servant, Certified Lay Speaker), Leadership (Certified Lay Minister), and Apostleship (Lay Person Assigned). Emphasizing the importance of these roles in the life of the church, they encouraged attendees to consider where their call to leadership might take them and how their leadership could help nourish others in their congregations.

The retreat also featured breakout groups, where attendees could share their vision, joys, and concerns for their churches. These discussions fostered a deeper connection between local and district lay leaders and set the foundation for future collaboration.

Diane further shared, “It was an informative and empowering day filled with much energy with opportunities towards personal growth as well as lay leadership growth within our churches.”

Looking ahead, the Laity Council will focus on creating plans to raise up flourishing laity and support leadership development across the conference through inspiration, education, and collaboration.