It’s August, friends of the Shenandoah River District. I pray all is well with you all. I have some exciting news to share with you all. On October 4, 2026, we will be hosting another trial sermon day for any Certified Lay Servants who want to be Certified Lay Speakers in our District. The requirements are that you have taken the allotted classes. If you aren’t sure you have taken them all, just let me know, and I can help you find out. We are looking to have these trial sermons at least twice a year. Stay tuned for more information next month about the location of the trial sermons.
Our Lay Servant Training Day is coming up really soon on September 26, which is a Saturday from 9 AM until 4 PM. The location will be Strasburg UMC, in Strasburg, VA. We are so grateful and blessed to be back at that location
Registration opened up Saturday, August 15th. Click here to register . We have more great news to share! This time we are offering the Basic Course for free. Books and reading materials that are needed are listed when you register for these classes. We have a great Keynote Speaker, Rev. Dr. Jason Stanley, and he will also be teaching Leading Worship. We will also have a Preaching Class taught by Rev. Tommy Stelzl and a Class on Aging in the 21st Century taught by Rev. Denise Childers. Pastors, we would love your help in encouraging the youth and the young adults to take the Basic course.
As we prepare for our Spring Lay Training Day, we want to hear from you—laity and clergy!
Are there any required classes you are still missing? What advanced class would you like us to offer that we don’t currently have available?
We are here to listen and to help in any way we can. Your input will help us plan classes that meet the needs and interests of our district.
Again, we invite you to visit the VAUMC website for more information about Lay Servant Training. There, you can find some great information about what a Lay Servant is and some classes offered at the Conference level.
Another place to share with you all is BeADisciple.com. You can take Lay Servant Trainings online, and there are a lot of classes to choose from on there. We are here for you, and we want to support you in your journey to become a Certified Lay Servant or Certified Lay Speaker.
Just FYI, It’s not too early to be filling out your Lay Servant Reports for Charge/District Conference; it will be here before you know it.
Until next month, friends, I pray this month is a blessed time on your journey. God Bless.
Raini Newman