Student Pastor of Missions Summary of Work Report

First United Methodist Church of Seattle

Student Pastor of Missions Summary of Work Report 

September 2022 – June 2023

Jackie Celin

Introduction

This past academic year, I had the privilege to serve my home church, First United Methodist Church of Seattle (First Church), as the Student Pastor of Missions while I completed my second full year of Seminary. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve First Church in this role and have greatly enjoyed my time working with our Pastors, our Staff, and our Congregants. This was my first opportunity to put my Seminary learnings into practice and to learn more about the role of a pastor in our local congregations.

I am thankful to Pastor Jeremy and SPRC for trying something new by creating this student pastor position that was focused primarily on our community outreach missions work. I am also thankful to both Pastor Jeremy and Pastor Doug for all the guidance they have provided me throughout the year. It has been a blessing to work alongside them and learn from them. I’m also grateful for the First Church staff; Melinda, Elisabeth, Jonathyn, Duuna, and Sione for the opportunities we had to collaborate together on different projects, events, and tasks.

I offer my thanks also to all of you on the four outreach missions teams that I had the privilege of working with, to the chairs that I coordinated closely with, and to all of you in the congregation as you have continued to support me on my journey towards ordination as a Deacon. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance, prayers, and encouragement of the First Church faith community. 

For my last reflection, I am providing a summary below of my main tasks of work in this role over the past academic year, my key take-aways, and my personal next steps.

Main Tasks of Work

• Served as Staff Liaison to our four outreach Missions teams, offering support for newsletter communications, worship announcements, incorporation of Missions elements in worship, scheduling coordination, and A/V set-up for Missions events.
• Prepared Monthly Missions Moments in Worship.
• Prepared Monthly Missions Reflections for our E-news.
• Coordinated with Staff related to Missions events and needs.
• Prepared Special Projects to shape the congregation’s enthusiasm for Missions.

Our current four outreach Congregational Missions teams are; Urban Outreach that is concerned with homelessness and hunger in Seattle, Global Missions that provides volunteer service opportunities regionally, domestically, and internationally, Church & Society that engages in social justice advocacy, and the Climate Justice Working Group, a new lay-led initiative that invites congregants to respond to our climate crisis both at an individual and faith community level.

A large part of my work in this role was to provide staff and student pastoral support to the work of these committees. I invite you to read more about the work of each committee in our Annual Report. Below are a few highlights of the ways I was involved in that work or supported the work of these committees. This included attending monthly meetings of each committee to learn about upcoming events, provide guidance and/or feedback, help with scheduling, coordinate their needs with other staff members, and offer cross-collaboration for items related to or of interest to other committees.

Urban Outreach

• Collaborated with the Washington State Department of Health for several pop-up vaccine clinics at Shared Breakfast to offer Flu, Covid, and M-Pox vaccines.
• Prepared the Thanksgiving Offering Letter.
• Attended a Meal Planning Coalition Meeting with other Food Service programs in Seattle.
• Coordinated a TV donation from church members for the Blaine Center.
• Researched grant opportunities for the Shared Breakfast ministry program.
• Supported the work of the committee as they:
  • Arranged a tour of the Blaine Center with William Price, the Blaine Center Housing Case Manager, after worship in November.
  • Coordinated schedules for shared use of Fellowship Hall post-pandemic.
  • Coordinated Urban Outreach on-going operational items.

Global Missions

• Connected the team with a previous regional partner, Neighborhood House.
• Attended Food Lifeline Service Event in February and led discussion at reflection meet-up afterwards on potential future service opportunities.
• Organized the consecration of our Nogales mission team during the worship service.
• Supported the work of the Committee as they:
  • Planned the U.S./Mexico Border UMVIM trip to Nogales, AZ with partner churches.
  • Planned a Supply Kit drive and kit compilation for Neighborhood House in December.
  • Prepared the Special Offering communications for UMCOR Sunday in March and Native American Ministries Sunday in May.
  • Prepared a Lunch and Learn event in June to share their experiences from the U.S./Mexico Border UMVIM trip to Nogales.

Church & Society / Social Justice

• Attended the Faith Action Network’s (FAN) Annual Dinner Celebration in November (virtually).
• Attended FAN’s Interfaith Advocacy Days event in February.
• Supported the work of the committee as they prepared:
  • October Gun Violence Prevention Meaningful Movies Project Event.
  • February Criminal Justice Reform Meaningful Movies Project Event.
  • October Environmental 101 Lunch and Learn by Em, co-sponsored with Climate Justice Working Group and the Adult Spirituality Committee.

Climate Justice Working Group

• Coordinated the April Earth Day guest preacher, Dr. John Cobb.
• Attended Third Act’s National Day of Action Rally in March.
• Supported the work of the committee as they prepared:
  • October and April Adult Spirituality Climate Focus Classes.
  • Earth Pledges.
  • Worship elements for the Climate Justice Focus in April.
  • Earth Bill Endorsement Proposal for Church Council.

Monthly Missions Moments In Worship 

Each month, I prepared a separate Missions Moment in Worship that discussed possible ways for congregants to become involved in upcoming opportunities. These were sometimes given by me, another congregant, or a special guest. I worked to arrange a variety of topics and a variety of speakers so that the work of different committees could be highlighted each month.

Having an opportunity to speak about Missions within our worship service helps us center the work on God and reminds us why we are called to do this work in the world. It offers welcoming and hospitality as it extends an invitation to participate to everyone. Missions Moments also incorporate the important element of Testimony into our worship services that could also encompass more than just our outreach work of Missions. Below is a summary of our Missions Moments and their focus over this past year:

• October: A focus on remembering how we are all created in the image and likeness of God and called to be Stewards of the Earth and all creation. (Climate Justice and All Missions Teams)
• November: Special guests; Susanna as one of the new co-chairs of the Urban Outreach Committee and William Price, Housing Case Manager of the Blaine Center. (Urban Outreach)
• December: Special guest; Arturo Martinez-Guijosa of Neighborhood House who talked about Project Scope that would receive the Supply Kits that were put together. (Global Missions)
• January: Congregational guest, Erin Elaine, provided an update on her Earth Pledge. (Climate Justice)
• February: A reflection on experiencing FAN Interfaith Advocacy Days for the first time. (Church & Society)
• March: A focus on UMCOR and our denominational agency, the General Board of Global Ministries. (Global Missions)
• April: Our Climate Justice Working Group arranged congregants to discuss their earth pledges each week as part of our Climate Justice focus month. (Climate Justice)
• May: An invitation to participate in our Offering of Letters Campaign was provided each week in worship throughout most of May. (Church & Society and Special Project)
• June: A reflection on “What is the Mission of the Church and how does it relate to the Church’s work of Missions?” (All Missions Teams)

Monthly Missions Reflections in E-news

Each month, I was also excited for the opportunity to write a Missions reflection to help shape the congregation’s enthusiasm around our outreach missions and to encourage more engagement in the work. Having the opportunity to reflect on the work as it relates to scripture is a true gift. 

I believe it is vital that the work we do out in the world is actively communicated, not only because it lets everyone know what we as a congregation are doing, but because it also reminds us of our task as Christians to seek justice for the vulnerable, the marginalized, and the oppressed. And, it offers a continual invitation so that people can easily engage when they are ready or feel called. Below are the scriptures and topics of the Missions reflections this past academic year.

• October (Genesis 1:26): Reflects on what it means to be stewards of the earth and all creation as we examined the different ways we are called to engage in the work of Missions in our churches; developing educational awareness of social issues, engaging in advocacy for change, and participating in acts of service out in the world to alleviate suffering.
• November (Matthew 25:37-40, Thanksgiving Letter): Discusses our call to care for the hungry, the thirsty, and those that are strangers as we recognize how many people in our own community live without secure housing each night.
• December (James 2:14-17): Reminds us of our responsibility as Christians to put our faith into action by giving back of ourselves, not only in the Christmas Season, but throughout the year.
• January (Romans 12:2): Encourages us to think about setting new rhythms in our spiritual life, leading us to transformations of ourselves that can then lead to transformations of the world.
• February (Amos 5:24): Provides a summary of our experience at FAN’s Interfaith Advocacy Day event as we recognize the many ways that God calls us to the work of seeking justice in society.
• March (UMCOR focus): Expresses the many different opportunities available for people to engage in the service work of UMCOR.
• April (Micah 4:3): Examines what it means in our modern-day world to actually turn our Swords into Plowshares.
• May (John 14:26): Considers how First Church has engaged in acts of mercy in our past and present as suggested by the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. 

Special Projects

The following are a few special projects I was also able to complete in my role this year: 

• Wrote a Missions related devotional for the Christmastide Season (the 12 days of Christmas).

• Coordinated an Offering of Letters Campaign through Bread for the World.  
• Preached on Thanksgiving Sunday.
• Choreographed a liturgical youth dance for UMCOR Sunday.

Key Take-Aways:

1. The work of our Missions teams wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and passion of its team members. I am grateful for all the effort they each put into making our Missions programs effective and for their willingness to share their gifts of time and talent to make it happen.

2. The future of our new committee structure offers new opportunities for collaborations across missions teams, and also collaboration across other areas like worship, adult spirituality, and children and youth involvement.

3. It is important to remember the theological basis for our work and to leave space for continued exploration and reflection of this.

4. The work we do in the church is relational, whether within our faith community or outside its walls. It is important to dedicate time and energy to the continued development of our partnerships to effectively do the work of our outreach Missions. This might involve existing partnerships, new partnerships, or strengthening our ecumenical and interfaith collaboration.

5. We are still navigating the other side of the pandemic. This creates challenges, but also new opportunities. We shouldn’t forget lessons we learned from the pandemic and the new ways of operating, but we should also allow ourselves opportunities to come up with ideas for what might be next.

My Next Steps

I hope to complete my Seminary education this next academic year, expecting to graduate in May of 2024. Recently, my District Committee on Ministry recommended me to the Board of Ordained Ministry for Provisional Interviews in March of 2024. I plan to continue to serve First Church as a Lay Member over this next academic year.