Dear friends of the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota conferences.
It is with mixed feelings that I received the re-retirement of Rev. Jeff Hagaman as Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call. I am pleased though, that Rev. Jeff has agreed to be the lead Conference Deacon, serving the eastern Nebraska Conference. I want to thank Rev. Jeff for all he has done for the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences and his warm welcome and support of my call as Conference Minister. I am so glad to continue working with him.
The position of ACM for Search and Call will not be immediately replaced as the conferences are in the process of discerning the restoration of dedicated ACM’s for each conference as originally agreed in its covenantal agreement with the Tri Conference Ministries. Until then, I will be the primary contact, working with Conference Deacons, for Search and Call and Committees on Ministries for Nebraska and South Dakota Conferences. Rev Kendy Miller and Rev Corey Larson will be the primary conference contact for the Iowa Conference.
I welcome everyone to please feel free to reach out to me, via email, with your questions, concerns, and feedback.
Join me in congratulating Rev. Jeff on his re-retirement and expressing gratitude for all he has done for Iowa Nebraska South Dakota. Below, I am pleased to share Rev. Jeff Hagaman’s retirement reflection as ACM Search and Call. ~ Rev. Roberto
Ephesians 4: 1-6 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.
Sometimes, in my work in and with the church, I did feel like a prisoner for the Lord. My sense of faith has been manifested in doing what I could for the advancement of companionship in Christ. I was committed to being helpful. That feeling of being kept in the faith became stronger than keeping the faith. That is when I knew it was time to retire. Early in my retirement I had become practiced at telling friends and associates ”no” when requests were made of my time. I wanted to be as certain as I could be that I would be a good steward of the time I had been given. The only thing to roust me out of retirement was a call. I noticed a notice about a new opportunity for Conference Deacons in the Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences. I spoke to Interim Conference Minister Phil Hart about this new position and felt like it was an opportunity speaking to me. I signed on and enjoyed getting to know the congregations around me. Phil wondered if I would consider trying the work of Associate Conference Minister for Search and Call for the conferences. It was double the hours and seemed to speak to my sense of creativity, as there is much more searching than calling for churches in transition between called ministers. I do want to be helpful. I have enjoyed my time trying to find new ways to enhance community-based ministries, with or without a called settled pastor in the pulpit. And the workload for a fairly newly retired guy has been more than I want. So, I am re-retiring myself back to being a Deacon. You can still contact me, if you think I can help and I can redirect your question to the right staff person to help. The Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences’ staff are great. I am happy to continue to be a part of this staff only now with less time required. I still feel a part of the one body, one spirit, just as we are all called to share in one hope.
Rev. Jeff Hagaman
Conference Deacon
Iowa Nebraska South Dakota Conferences of the UCC
402 826 1187