Lay Leadership
Our lay (non-ordained) leaders are the true backbone of our ministries here at Hedding. Here’s what they do:
The Lay Leadership Team
Meets weekly from July through October. The purpose is to discern who God might be calling into leadership in our church family.
Over the summer, we pray for each and every person in our church family. We give thanks for their gifts, their generosity of time and talent, and the many ways that we see God at work in them and through them in our community. We also pray for their needs as we are aware of them: healing where there has been illness or injury, comfort for those in mourning, and struggles in their families that might be weighing on them.
As the leaves begin to change color outside, our prayers begin to shift into leadership discernment. What gifts have we seen that might be a nudge from God to ask particular people into different leadership roles in the church family? What people do we sense already have too much on their plate or might be ready for a change in how they lead? What new kinds of leaders do we need as our church grows and changes? Do we need to form new teams with these new leaders?
These are the teams that we have created and the purpose for each of them!
Operations Team
A combination of three previous committees: Church Council, The Finance Team, and The Trustees, The Operations Team functions as an Administrative Council for Hedding UMC. They oversee everything from making sure that our facilities are being well cared for, to creating our annual budget, and setting and maintaining the vision of our church family (feeding the community – body and soul).
Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC)
The church’s Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) is established by the Methodist Book of Discipline “to assist the pastor (s) and staff in assessing their gifts, maintaining health holistically and work-life balance, and setting priorities for leadership and service.”
Mission Team
This team, led by our Outreach Coordinator, Phyllis Azotea, helps our church family create and sustain all of the amazing mission and outreach ministries that we offer to our neighbors who are struggling. Together they create new ways of serving as well as perpetually tweaking and managing all of the ministries that we’ve been offering for many years.
UMCOR HUB + Disaster Relief
Disaster Relief in Vermont – in the wake of the 2023 flooding in Barre and surrounding areas, our church stepped up to be a hub for UMCOR to deliver supplies which we then helped to distribute. Further flooding in 2024 solidified the fact that we needed a team to help us respond in times of disaster in our community while at the same time Hedding was tapped by the New England Annual Conference to be an official UMCOR Hub for Vermont.
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) was originally founded in 1940 in response to displaced and vulnerable populations in the wake of World War II, UMCOR assists the most vulnerable people affected by crisis or chronic need without regard to their race, religion or status. UMCOR’s work is carried out by providing relief and assistance in response to natural and human-made disasters and supporting programs in the areas of migration, health, food security and environmental sustainability.
This team will help our church prepare for and respond to natural disasters in our area as well as creating more opportunities for our church family to help others around our state, nation, and world when we are able to do so.
Social Action Team
Educates and Coordinates Opportunities For Social Justice Work
Discipleship Ministries Team
Creates and Supports Programming to Deepen Faith
Worship Team
Creates and Supports Worship for our church family.
Hospitality Team
Creates a Welcoming Atmosphere on Sundays and Beyond
Visitation Team
Visits With Those Who Are Sick and Homebound
The Arts & Events Team
Plans Fun and Fellowship Opportunities
Tech Team
Makes sure our worship and office technology is fully functioning.
Safety and Medical Support Team
Creates and implements procedures to help us be a safe place for everyone.
Hedding Church
40 Washington Street
Barre, VT 05641
(802) 476-8156 heddingchurchinbarre@gmail.com
Sunday Morning Worship at 10AM