Happy Anniversary!

May 31 is a day of multiple anniversaries in the Peak family. Unfortunately I don't have any digital pictures at hand for any of these events. If I find some later on, I'll post them. In the meantime, just use your mind's eye to join us in these celebrations.

5 years ago: on May 31, 2003 Rebecca and I were ordained Elders in the United Methodist Church. The ordination took place at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.

10 years ago: on May 31, 1998 Rebecca and I were ordained Deacons in the United Methodist Church. Although the definition of "Deacon" has since changed, at the time it was a first-step towards full ordination in the UMC. The ordination took place at the Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia, Mo.

17 years ago: on May 31, 1991 my father Lloyd S. Peak retired after more than 25 years of teaching chemistry and pysical science at MiraCosta College in Carlsbad, Calif.

Please join us in celebrating these special milestones in our lives!

A New Appointment

Some of you are familiar with the United Methodist system of church government, while others can’t make “heads nor tails” of it. (And even some of us United Methodists can’t always make sense of it!) So please bear with me as I share the following, keeping in mind that I am attempting to address a diverse audience.

Unlike many churches where pastors are “hired and fired” by the individual congregations, in the United Methodist Church (UMC) pastors are appointed to their churches (a.k.a. “appointments”) by their regional Bishop. Each spring, pastors wait to hear if they will remain in their current appointment, or if they will be invited to move to a different appointment. When a pastor is invited to move, the new appointment takes effect July 1 of that year. “Moving Week”—when pastors move from their old appointment to their new one—is usually the 3rd or 4th week in June.

My wife Rebecca has been pastor of Palmyra UMC for the past four years. In April Rebecca was asked if she would consider serving Park UMC in Hannibal. I, on the other hand, was asked to continue serving at Monroe City & Mt. Vernon UM churches. Currently we live in the Palmyra UMC parsonage, approximately 20 miles away from Monroe City. If we accepted this appointment, we would be moving to the Park UMC parsonage in Hannibal, approximately 17 miles from Monroe City.

After much prayer and discernment, Rebecca and I said “yes” to this new appointment. So now the fun begins! Even though we will only be moving about 15 miles away from where we live now, we will be busy from now to the end of June. In a few weeks, our house will be full of boxes. The movers will come sometime during the last week of June, and then we’ll have the challenge of getting settled into a new house.

I’ll keep all of you posted as things progress. In a future post I will give our new address and phone number. Fortunately our email addresses and cell phone numbers will remain the same. So please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this move.

A Charge Realignment

Tomorrow is the big day! On Sunday July 1, 2007 the Palmyra/Mt. Vernon and Monroe City Charges will be realigned.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the lingo of the United Methodist Church (UMC):
A charge is the ministry setting (e.g., a church, a circuit of churches, a service agency, a mission organizaion) where a pastor is appointed to serve.
Alignment is how that ministry setting is configured/set-up.

In June 2004, Rebecca was appointed to the Palmyra/Mt. Vernon Charge, and I was appointed to the Monroe City Charge. During the past three years, Rebecca has been the pastor of the Palmyra and Mt. Vernon UMC's. I have been the pastor of the Monroe City UMC, and have supervised a lay minister who preaches at Florida UMC.

With the realignment of these charges, Rebecca will become the pastor of Palmyra UMC only. I, on the other hand, will become the pastor of Mt. Vernon UMC, and will continue with my same duties at Monroe City and Florida. In other words, instead of preaching at two churches each Sunday, Rebecca will only be preaching at one. And for me, instead of preaching at only one church, I will now be preaching at two churches every Sunday. Since we are a husband-and-wife clergy couple, you could say that this charge realignment is "all in the family".

Charge realignments like this are made to ensure the best possible pastoral support for each congregation. As communities and congregations change, adjustments and realignments are made accordingly.

Please pray for us as we begin this new chapter in our ministry.