We are in a time that is different than we have known before. This does not mean before was not good, however it means we must learn new ways of having Lay Servant classes. In the Great West District, we had a class scheduled and what happened? Covid-19 hit and we were not able to hold this class in the traditional face-to-face way. I was so fortunate to have Rev. Bonnie McCord scheduled to lead this class. She called me and we discussed what we were going to do instead. She was being moved to another district and the people scheduled to take this class really wanted her to teach it before she left.
We decided to have a class by Zoom. Now Rev. Bonnie jumped in and worked with her CLS co-leader and planned her presentation. We reached out to all the people who had originally signed up and to any others interested. We had 12 to 15 register and changed it from a weekend class to a 5 day workshop, 2 hours a day. The leaders said they had a very successful class. Positives from this were that people were willing to change and we were able to reach more people than usual. One thing Rev. Bonnie recommended was to hold a trial run to see how it would go by Zoom. She was glad they did as they were able to take care of any problems that came up before they actually held the class.
This shows us that we can do things in new safe ways. We just need to work together and be willing to change. Another change to the Great West District Lay Servant program will be a change in directors as I am resigning from the director position. I want to say a big thank you to all who have been involved in this program in the last 20 years. Thank you to my class leaders, both pastors and lay servants. Thank you to all the class participants. Thank you to Christie, our Great West Administrative Assistant. Thank you to all the District Superintendents over the years. Without all of you, the Great West Lay Servant Program would not have been so successful.
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