The Rev. Sherry Parker leaves Dundee after 5 years
The Rev. Sherry Parker, pastor of Dundee United Methodist Church and active community member, is leaving after five years. She has been assigned to Trinity United Methodist Church in Chesaning by the bishop.

Sunday, July 21 will be the Rev. Parker’s final day of leading worship in Dundee. The congregation has planned an open house in her honor on Saturday, July 20 from 4-7 p.m.; the community is invited to attend.

It is the Methodist tradition that pastors remain in a church only five to seven years, and then they are moved. That is designed to help the congregation take a more active role in the church, and not become too dependent upon a particular pastor.

“It’s an appointed system and the bishop has the final decision. We’re not surprised that Pastor Sherry is being reassigned,” said Tari Wyse, spokesperson for the congregation. “Pastor Sherry has lots of gifts and talents and we were blessed with our five years. We benefited greatly, and many congregations could be blessed by her gifts and talents.”

She added, “Yes, we’d like to have her forever. She’s very contemporary and a lot of churches are thirsting for that. One of Pastor Sherry’s main talents is empowering people and supporting lay leaders. If you have a question and come to her, her question is always, ‘How can I help you go forward with that?’ She welcomes new ideas and supports education and new programs.”

The Rev. Parker is well known for her excellent preaching skills.

People in the congregation have been encouraged to develop their strengths, and the Rev. Parker has helped them discover their own gifts and develop them. Many congregation members have mentioned the addition of new, meaningful Bible studies and discussions that have helped them grow deeper in their faith.

“It’s been an awesome five years. Chesaning is getting a jewel,” added Mrs. Wyse.

In addition to being pastor for the Dundee church, the Rev. Parker also has been the chair of the Dundee Interfaith Council of Churches for the last three years, and serves on the Dundee Housing Commission, which oversees Rawson Place, the senior housing complex. She has served on many ad hoc committees at Dundee Community Schools and been active in the community in many ways, including helping pass the recent millage for the fire department.

The Rev. Parker also has gotten to know the community intimately through one of her favorite leisure time activities— walking. She has walked Dundee’s streets and sidewalks every day, and has spent time talking with the people she has met on the way.

“I tell people I’m leaving my heart— and 60 pounds— here,” laughed the Rev. Parker.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘This town is changing and I don’t like it.’ Well, what do you like about it? Once you know that, you’re responsible for carrying it out. I think most of us have been affected by the automatic garage door opener. A lot of people don’t talk to their neighbors. If we want to keep this a close, supportive community, we need to talk to each other. Get out and talk to your neighbors. Practice hospitality.

“My joy is to walk down the street, and have a conversation with someone,” said the Rev. Parker.

She said she was hopeful for the new Kiwanis group, a community service organization, and is amazed at the continued generosity of the community toward the Dundee Caring and Sharing food closet.

Although she will miss Dundee, she is looking forward to the challenge of her assignment in Chesaning. The community is about the same size, but the church has 440 members— about twice the size of the Dundee church. She will be preaching at three services a week, and plans to develop a stronger Sunday school program there.

The Dundee church was the Rev. Parker’s first full-time pastoral assignment. She had been a part-time pastor while teaching and attending seminary.

“I’ve really enjoyed this community,” said the Rev. Parker. “What I most love about this church is its love of children, and its commitment to Bible study. The elected lay leadership has gone through the Disciple Bible Program, and the commitment to study has grown here— it is a foundation of the church leadership.”

She added, “The members of this church are leaders in the community— the food bank is housed here and our people are the main coordinators. The food bank helps supplement the food of a lot of underemployed people in the community, especially a lot of single moms.

“We also host the Jaycees so they don’t have to pay for a space for meetings; we have hosted Boy Scout and Girl Scout activities; the school has its MEAP test retakes here. When the Petersburg factory Hayes-Lemmerz closed, they used our fellowship hall so the workers could talk with the unemployment people. We also see the Dundee Day Care and Humpty Dumpty Nursery School as a ministry— we charge them only enough to cover their portion of the building’s expenses, to keep the costs down for parents in the community,” said the Rev. Parker.

She said that the average Sunday worship service attendance has increased slightly from 90 to 123, but that the real boom has been in Sunday school attendance.

“We are seeing a shift in this community to younger families,” said the Rev. Parker.

Being a pastor requires her to wear many hats. She has to be able to understand things like the sewer and water lines being installed across church property, money matters, insurance, outstanding loans; how to communicate with people; conflict resolution; grief counseling and private fundraising. Pastors also have to be visionary, and see how their congregation can grow personally, and help benefit the community as a whole.

She said, “I would like to see the community be more open to the diversity that’s already here.”

She is proud of the congregation and its accomplishments and growth over the last five years.
“One neat thing we did was to establish a visiting ministry for shut-ins and nursing home people. We have committed members who visit people once a month, and send monthly letters and cards to our older members who are now out-of-state; that keeps them feeling connected to the congregation,” said the Rev. Parker.

Before becoming a minister, the Rev. Parker was a teacher. She taught high school English, history, journalism, and alternative education for disaffected youth.

“I was a good teacher and I loved teaching,” said the Rev. Parker. “But the more involved I got in church, the more I wanted to know about what pastors know. In the Methodist Church, lay people can be signed up as lay pastors. I taught and served part-time in Gladwin, and started to feel I could do more. I was so busy I had no social life. I felt that if I became a pastor I could do so much more, following God.”

Her district supervisor asked her when she was going to seminary. She did, near Columbus, Ohio, commuting the entire time. She served in Hartland and Ann Arbor, doing the contemporary services there, and finally became a full-time pastor in Dundee.

The Rev. Parker found no struggles with the Dundee congregation over her being a woman. Dundee’s church had been served by a woman prior to the Rev. Parker’s arrival. She said more than 50% of the students currently in the seminary are women, and the trend in the ministry is for more of them to be women in the future.

“I also have the certainty of what I’m called to do,” said the Rev. Parker.

“When the bishop asked me to go to Chesaning, I was able to say, ‘This congregation is stable’ and it doesn’t hinge on me,” said the Rev. Parker.

“My favorite part of the job is pastoral care. You get to be with people in the most wonderful and most tragic times of their lives. What a privilege. When I’m doing pastoral care, I’m the spiritual representative of the church. I have served a lot of people of the community in this way, and not just church members,” she said.

In addition to walking, the Rev. Parker also enjoys bead work, and is a very accomplished quilter. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family, and recharges her spirit by going on prayer retreats by herself. She also does annual sermon-planning with a pastor friend in Ohio, who is a pastor in a different denomination.

While at Dundee, the Rev. Parker also has begun working on her Doctorate of Ministry degree, which she will finish next May.

“I am thankful to this church for giving me the space and time to do that,” said the Rev. Parker. It has involved taking more classes, and doing her dissertation work. She said the Rev. Michael Clemmer of Azalia United Methodist Church has been helping her work on her dissertation, which is called, “Metaphors of God and Finding the Sacred in Common Occurrences and Everyday Life.” It includes 12 separately written pieces and reaction from participations in a survey she conducted last year, as well as some qualitative analysis. It also includes theological, Biblical and sociological topics. She said she was inspired by her walking tours of Dundee for the theme of her dissertation.

“I will miss Dundee and the people have been very kind, sending me cards and letters” said the Rev. Parker.

The Rev. Sherry Parker leaves Dundee after 5 years The Rev. Sherry Parker, pastor of Dundee United Methodist Church and active community member, is leaving after five years. She has been assigned to Trinity United Methodist Church in Chesaning by the bishop.

Sunday, July 21 will be the Rev. Parker’s final day of leading worship in Dundee. The congregation has planned an open house in her honor on Saturday, July 20 from 4-7 p.m.; the community is invited to attend.

It is the Methodist tradition that pastors remain in a church only five to seven years, and then they are moved. That is designed to help the congregation take a more active role in the church, and not become too dependent upon a particular pastor.

The Rev. Parker is well known for her excellent preaching skills.

“It’s been an awesome five years. Chesaning is getting a jewel,” added Mrs. Wyse.

The Rev. Parker also has gotten to know the community intimately through one of her favorite leisure time activities— walking. She has walked Dundee’s streets and sidewalks every day, and has spent time talking with the people she has met on the way.

“I tell people I’m leaving my heart— and 60 pounds— here,” laughed the Rev. Parker.

“My joy is to walk down the street, and have a conversation with someone,” said the Rev. Parker.

She said she was hopeful for the new Kiwanis group, a community service organization, and is amazed at the continued generosity of the community toward the Dundee Caring and Sharing food closet.

The Dundee church was the Rev. Parker’s first full-time pastoral assignment. She had been a part-time pastor while teaching and attending seminary.

She added, “The members of this church are leaders in the community— the food bank is housed here and our people are the main coordinators. The food bank helps supplement the food of a lot of underemployed people in the community, especially a lot of single moms.

She said that the average Sunday worship service attendance has increased slightly from 90 to 123, but that the real boom has been in Sunday school attendance.

“We are seeing a shift in this community to younger families,” said the Rev. Parker.

She said, “I would like to see the community be more open to the diversity that’s already here.”

Before becoming a minister, the Rev. Parker was a teacher. She taught high school English, history, journalism, and alternative education for disaffected youth.

Her district supervisor asked her when she was going to seminary. She did, near Columbus, Ohio, commuting the entire time. She served in Hartland and Ann Arbor, doing the contemporary services there, and finally became a full-time pastor in Dundee.

“I also have the certainty of what I’m called to do,” said the Rev. Parker.

“When the bishop asked me to go to Chesaning, I was able to say, ‘This congregation is stable’ and it doesn’t hinge on me,” said the Rev. Parker.

While at Dundee, the Rev. Parker also has begun working on her Doctorate of Ministry degree, which she will finish next May.

“I will miss Dundee and the people have been very kind, sending me cards and letters” said the Rev. Parker.

The Rev. Sherry Parker leaves Dundee after 5 years
The Rev. Sherry Parker, pastor of Dundee United Methodist Church and active community member, is leaving after five years. She has been assigned to Trinity United Methodist Church in Chesaning by the bishop.