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“Continuing in the Spirit”

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“Continuing in the Spirit” “Continuing in the Spirit” The History of Collegiate United Methodist Church/Wesley Foundation 1991-2011 Cover—It is a photo of Shirley Held’s weaving of a stained glass window. The weaving hangs in the Gathering Space at CUMC/WF. 2 “Continuing in the Spirit” The History of Collegiate United Methodist Church and Wesley Foundation, 1991-2011 Table of Contents Welcome – Rev. Scott Grotewold Preface and Acknowledgements – Dorothy Schwieder Part I Wesley Foundation pg. 60 CUMC/WF Pastors: Rev. Jim Shirbroun Rev. Scott Grotewold pg. 7 Part VI Rev. Melissa Warren pg. 9 Activities and Programs Rev. Jim Shirbroun pg. 8 Music Programs pg. 65 Rev. Kathye Harrington-Taber pg. 10 Dee Dreeszen Vignettes Soup Supper pg. 68 Former Pastors: Deborah Blaedel Dr. David Stout pg. 6 United Methodist Women pg. 71 Rev. Jim Stiles pg. 6 Bertlyn Johnson and Ruth Provow Rev. George White pg. 7 The Academy & Grow With Us pg. 73 Rev. Cindy McCalmont pg. 8 Carolyn Cornette Rev. Linda Butler pg. 9 Intergenerational Mission Trips pg. 74 Rev. Julie Wehner pg. 10 and Apple Pies Patty King Part II Vignettes pg. 75 Staff at CUMC/WF, 1991-2010 pg. 11 Epilogue Part III Culture of the Call Award pg. 78 Cluster Histories Afterword Congregational Care pg. 14 Dorothy Schwieder pg. 80 Lucy Futrell and Dorothy Schwieder Part VII Vignettes pg. 18 Our Members Serve the UMC pg. 81 Christian Education pg. 19 District and Conference Tim Gossett and Dianna Nelson Maureen Wilt Vignettes pg. 20, 24 Our Members Become Pastors pg. 83 Reaching and Receiving pg. 26 Maureen Wilt Bev Shirbroun Vignettes pg. 29 Part VII Worship Ministries pg. 30 Endowment Fund pg. 84 Stephani Scherbart and Carolyn Cornette Shane Jacobson Sending to Serve pg. 34 Budgets pg. 86 Carolyn Cornette Rev. Scott Grotewold Vignettes pg. 42 Part VIII Part IV Appendix Building Programs and Our Places of Worship Wesley Foundation Activities pg. 87 Building Programs pg. 44 Rev. Jim Shirbroun Rev. Scott Grotewold Decorations and Art Work pg. 57 Dick and Mary Young Library pg. 58 Marilyn Green Vignettes pg. 59 Part V 3 Welcome When I was in seminary, one week’s assignment was to read through the history of the Old Testament—in chronological order of events. (There was a text that assisted in that task.) One day, I remember being struck by an incident in the life of King David as recounted in 2 Samuel 24:1. God is angry at Israel (again!) and demands that David take a census of the people of Israel. But then – a couple of pages later – the author of the book of I Chronicles gives his version of the very same census (21:1). Here, it says, “Satan . incited David to count the people of Israel.” Not only that, but Chronicles seems to inflate the numbers of just about everything. Now, was it God or Satan who incited David to take the census? These authors seem to disagree. What’s behind the disagreement? Probably a number of things, but here are a couple: Chronicles was written some time later than Samuel (fifty to perhaps 250 years later), so there’s evidently some revisionist history at work. Also, 2 Samuel records the leadership of David, king of Israel (the northern kingdom), while the newer history tends to favor Judah (the southern kingdom). Which is to say: history can be remembered and interpreted differently, depending on who’s telling it. I also noticed in my study of the Bible that there were occasions when huge spans of time went by – perhaps a hundred years or more – without any events being recorded. Since the Bible tells of the movement of God through the people of Israel, does that suggest that there were hundreds of years when God’s Spirit simply did not move among the people? Hardly! It just suggests the prioritizing of those who scribed the history. And so we present this latest installment of the history of the people known as Collegiate United Methodist Church/Wesley Foundation of Ames, Iowa. It, too, is a subjective history by persons trying their best to be objective in its telling. Even contemporaries may remember or interpret some details differently. Certain events over the last twenty years are given more emphasis than others, and no doubt some things that should have been remembered have been left out altogether. Perhaps in another fifty or 250 years, the story will be told in a completely different way. Yet one undeniable truth remains: through it all, God’s Spirit has been moving among us and continues to inspire and lead us as we seek to be faithful disciples transforming the world. Rev. Scott Grotewold 4 Preface and Acknowledgements This history of Collegiate United Methodist Church/Wesley Foundation is the fourth in a series of histories, published beginning in 1976. The first, The Story of Collegiate United Methodist Church and its Wesley Foundation, covers the first sixty years: 1916 to 1976. It documents the first building programs, describes the origins and development of programs and activities within the church and includes biographies of early pastors. The first volume is particularly valuable, given that it describes the origins of programs, like Koinonia, that are still ongoing at CUMC/WF. The second history, Faithful to the Spirit, 1976-1986, documents the next ten years of Collegiate/Wesley Foundation’s history, and the third, Reflections on the Journey, 1986-1991, essentially covers events at CUMC/WF between 1986 and 1991. In 2011, we celebrate our ninety-fifth year as a congregation and as Wesley Foundation. The Church History Committee presents this fourth volume to continue the story of CUMC/WF’s membership and activities. As with the second and third histories, we hope this volume both builds on and usefully extends earlier works. We have continued traditions started with the first history, but we have also added a few new twists. CUMC/WF’s recent institutional history is told in many excellent historical accounts. These include the church building projects, the five cluster histories, the soup supper, and Wesley Foundation. But we felt there should be material of a more personal nature, as well, whether spiritual, inspirational, or even humorous. You will find these vignettes scattered throughout the book. And since history is a continuous story, we have taken the liberty of occasionally reaching back to the years before 1991 for our material. As with all publications, Continuing in the Spirit will have omissions and mistakes; we hope these lapses will be excused. The Committee wishes to thank the many people who have contributed mightily to this history. Dozens of church members have researched topics, scanned past Communicators, and interviewed other members to compile the material you see here. Our senior pastor, Scott Grotewold, has done yeoman committee duty with his tremendous institutional memory and extraordinary knowledge and understanding of CUMC/WF’s congregation. We also owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Natalie Rekemeyer, CUMC/WF’s Administrative Assistant, who handled the desktop publishing for this history and took the majority of individual photos. Her knowledge of computer programs, her patience, and her willingness to help with any part of the project is greatly appreciated. In short, her knowledge was indispensible to the project. We regret we were not able to include the names of additional members who have served on committees, acted as sponsors, sung in choirs, taught classes and contributed in the thousand different ways that make our church the strong, vibrant institution it is. How does one acknowledge a debt to everyone who contributed to and preserved an institution and its members, and made the stuff of mem- ories that can be resurrected later in telling our story? In the end, humbled, we can only express a sim- ple but deeply felt “thank you.” Ruth Points, CUMC/WF historian for many years, wrote in 1986 that she hoped members who read the second church history, Faithful to the Spirit, would feel “the energy, the enthusiasm, the vigor and vitality of members of CUMC/WF.” Our hope is the same in 2011. The Church History Committee Deborah Blaedel, Carolyn Cornette, Roger Coulson, Rev. Scott Grotewold, James Okey, Maureen Wilt, and Dorothy Schwieder, editor Dorothy Schwieder, Editor 5 Ordained Clergy Past & Present Ordained Ministers at Collegiate UMC/WF 1991-2010 David Stout (Senior Minister of CUMC and Director of WF,1983-1992) (The Rev. Dr. David Stout’s biography appeared in a previous edition of the CUMC/WF history. The following is an addendum to that biography) In 1992, after nine years at Collegiate/Wesley, Dr. David Stout was appointed as Senior Pastor of the West Des Moines United Methodist Church, where he served for six years. In 1998, Bishop Charles Jordan asked him to serve on the Cabinet as a Conference Superintendent assigned to the Des Moines District, which was his position until he retired in 2004. In Dr. Stout’s retirement, Bishop Gregory Palmer asked him to assume three successive interim appoint- ments to congregations faced with special situations: Des Moines First UMC (2004-2005), Marshalltown First UMC (2005-2006), and Indianola First UMC (2007). During this time he also served as adjunct professor of Homiletics (preaching) at the United Methodist seminary in Kansas City, the St. Paul School of Theology. Now fully retired and still living in West Des Moines (since leaving C/W in 1992), David and spouse Betty (formerly the Director of Christian Education at C/W) spend spring through fall at Stouthaven, their home on Lake Ponderosa near Montezuma, Iowa. Between 2007-2010, the Stouts have traveled in Peru, Bolivia, Tanzania, China, and Tibet.
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