Monday, July 03, 2000

The congregation gathered to hear the morning message Sunday – an encouraging message that was a bit different from the usual.

Members and political leaders from around the county and state took their place in Christ United Methodist Church pews in Ironton for the first-ever Leadership Sunday.

It was a day set aside to honor elected city, county, state and other officials and a day to hear about the various job opportunities that have already begun reviving the area.

Among those in attendance were city council members from Ironton and Coal Grove, Mayors Bob Cleary and Tom McKnight, state Sen. Mike Shoemaker, state Rep. Bill Ogg, County Commissioner Paul Herrell, Ironton School Board members, staff from local government agencies and a special appearance by Congressman Ted Strickland.

"Many of our folks have families who have lost jobs here in the community and through this, there’s a lot of discouragement," pastor Ron Brown said. "I felt that if we could pull these leaders together, we could cipher some of this out and provide encouragement to our people and our families."

He said Leadership Sunday was not only about bringing healing together for both leaders and citizens but also about honoring those involved in our government who have provided freedom and make day-to-day decisions, Brown said.

"We are so thankful for those who have provided us with our freedom. I appreciate these men and women who have served for our community," he said. "As busy as our lives are, we often take for granted the individual service that many leaders provide for us. We want to express our thanks and appreciation of their service."

The VFW Post 8850 and Ladies Auxiliary marched in to present a flag to the church. During the service, Mayor Bob Cleary proclaimed Sunday, July 2, as Leadership Sunday.

"The city made the proclamation to honor this church for the organization of the first Leadership Sunday," Cleary said. "We wanted to honor this church for their dedication and efforts to keep God in the community."

Strickland said he was encouraged by CUMC’s efforts.

"Despite the area’s recent job losses, I feel the future will bring great things if we continue lifting our prayers to heaven," Strickland said. "This area has suffered so much and I believe that God will answer our prayers. This service is was really encouraging."

Brown said leadership from Ironton to Columbus does care, even if some think they are not around.

"Political leaders know people are struggling," he said. "I’m really thankful we were afforded the opportunity to have these leaders among our midst this morning. We knew that if we could pull our leaders together, we could see a spirit and attitude of unity and encouragement. We saw all of that during the service. We saw citizens, veterans, and government leaders pull together in unity and encouragement during the service."