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Finger Lakes District welcomes DS McDowell

September 21, 2014 / By Beth DiCocco / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Casowasco Camp & Retreat Center in Moravia was the setting of the Welcome Service for new Finger Lakes District Superintendent, the Rev. Jeff McDowell.

"Why did I hold it here?" Rev. McDowell asked.

He answered that it was because he first met God there as a camper years before (and it was also where he met his wife, Barbara).

"That's why I came here today," he said.

He suggested several reasons why folks may have chosen to attend, but said whatever their individual reasons, everyone was truly attending the Sept. 21, 2014 service for the same purpose:

"We are here to worship the God of the universe, who set the universe in its place."

Upper New York Resident Bishop Mark J. Webb talked about the process of naming district superintendents, and what qualities he looks for in a DS.

"I look for a person of deep spirituality, someone who loves Jesus with all that they are and all that they have, someone who gets the mission of the Church ... someone who has proved to be an effective and fruitful leader in their ministry, who has earned the respect of their colleagues and the laity ... someone who is committed to equipping others to be who God has called them to be," the bishop said.

"It is my joy and honor to say God has raised up a leader like that for the Finger Lakes District for this time, and that person is the Rev. Jeff McDowell.”

The bishop asked Rev. McDowell's wife and son Evan to join him, and for the Cabinet to lay hands on them as part of the Covenant Service.

Among those presenting Rev. McDowell with the signs of district superintendency were members of the most recent church he pastored, Centenary UMC in Bath:

The Bible, presented by Jesse Pruitt, a member of Centenary UMC; the water, presented by Barbara McDowell; the bread and cup, presented by Loreen Jorgensen, Phyllis Jorgensen and Pam Anstee, of the Clyde UMC; the towel and basin, presented by the Rev. Dr. Cathy Hall Stengel, pastor at theRush UMC and former Mountain View DS; the stole, presented by Paxton Surprenant, a member of Centenary UMC; The Book of Discipline, presented by Shaef Habeeb, district lay leader; and the globe, presented by Don and Grace Snyder, from Centenary UMC.

The Power of Praise was the theme of this service and of Rev. McDowell's sermon.

"To praise God we must put aside our selfish differences, step out of our normal beliefs and attitudes and biases, and focus only on God. In the Church, out of the Church, in our families, in our lives, praise – real praise – has the power to raise us out of the miry clay, set our feet upon the solid rock of faith in Jesus Christ, and focus solely on Him, our Lord and Savior."

And the praise during the Welcome Service took many forms, from the traditional hymn "How Great Thou Art" led by Pastor John Aukema, of the New Hope and Scott UMCs, to a poem titled Today I Dance by Valerie Pruitt, who writes poetry as Marina Dawn.

Before she read the text of her work, Pruitt asked everyone to join her in dancing, marching and twirling in praise.

Yvonne King, who became close friends with Rev. McDowell when he was her pastor at the Centenary UMC in Bath, told a story of their two families taking a canoe trip when their children were small. The three canoes overturned, and one of the McDowells' sons was stranded on a small island. They formed a human chain, and King urged Rev. McDowell, who was visibly shaken, to walk out into the water.

"You walked into the cold water and grabbed my hand, your son's life was at stake, and that made you step into the water even feeling frozen with fear; you stepped out in faith," King said. " ... You're going to be meeting some stuff that will freeze you in your tracks; think of that moment, and walk on. Draw on the spirit of the living God to bring you through. Don't let fear paralyze you."

King led the anointing song Bind Us Together, and again people were on their feet.

Stepping into the water came up before that as well, when Rev. McDowell talked about the offering at the service, which was received to support camperships.

Rev. McDowell had pledged to donate $15 toward camperships for each youth younger than 18 who attended the Welcome Service ($30 for those who had never been to Casowasco before). To supplement that pledge, he called on the Finger Lakes District to raise $5,000 for camperships.

Pointing to the successful "ice bucket challenge" for ALS, if they succeed, Rev. McDowell said, he will ask Bishop Webb to "go jump in the lake."

"Why go to all that trouble (with ice buckets) when we have a lake right here?" he asked.

In his sermon, Rev. McDowell also asked people to figuratively brave the waters and commit fully to their faith; he quoted Dr. Bob Moorehead's book Words Aptly Spoken:

"I am part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure."

To see more photos from the Welcome Service, visit our Facebook page.