Lesyle Haller, pastor of Louisville United Methodist Church, distributes communion. The first Sunday of each month is "communion Sunday."
Haller blesses the communion prior to distribution in the Louisville church.
At St. George United Methodist Church, were Pastor Haller also serves, the children are called forward during the services, prior to being sent to a "children's church."
Intinction is the method of distributing communion at the St. George United Methodist Church.Woman pastor finds acceptance in rural churches
By Paula Glover
ST. GEORGE – It is all about responding to God’s call. Pastor Leslye Hailer heard God’s call to the pastorate six years ago, and she is now a pastor for two United Methodist churches, one in Louisville and one in St. George.
She would tell any woman who might want to be a pastor to “go for it. If this is something God is calling you to do, he’s going to make it possible.”
Hailer responded to a conversation with her own pastor at a church in Manhattan. She had approached him, asking to do more with the youth, but at one point in the conversation, she recalled, he leaned back, and said “I think you’re being called to be a pastor.”
It took her husband, Marvin, and children, Jason, 30; Brandy McDonald, 24; and son Daniel, 21, a little time to adjust. “Marvin was a little bit worried, maybe he’d have to change somehow, but people have allowed him to be who he is,” Hailer said.
While the notion of a woman pastor is still foreign to some denominations, it isn’t uncommon in the United Methodist Church. In 1880, a woman was ordained as clergy in a Methodist denomination that later became part of the United Methodist Church, according to the denomination’s web site. But women clergy didn’t have equal rights until the General Conference voted in 1956 to grant full clergy rights to women. About 10,000 of the approximately 45,000 clergy in the United Methodist Church are women. The United Methodist Church was the first to ordain a women bishop, add the denomination has elected 21 women bishops and 16 remain active, with four retired and one deceased.
Hailer has received a warm welcome in her two churches.
“Leslye is a strength of this church,” said the church pianist for St. George, LeRoy Johnson. “She has a lot of wisdom, everybody is pleased with her. She’s like a missionary.”
“Leslye keeps us invigorated,” said Don Gardner, a member of the Louisville church since 1958.
The two churches are different in their membership, but Hailer is clearly fond of both groups. “The folks in Louisville are a hoot,” she said. The Louisville congregation is mainly elderly, with the youngest man, Albert Menhusen at age 75, being the person to ring the church bell. There are currently 25 members of the church, but about half don’t come to the church, due to age or disability.
Darrell Larson, a member since 1964, confessed to converting from Lutheranism when he married. “We feel there is a real need for a church in this community; it helps keep the community together,” he said. The United Methodist church is the only one in Louisville proper.
Fern Worthing, a member since 1955, praised the church for its “sense of community.” She grew up in the church, and used to come to Sunday School and recalled when there was a sandbox in the corner.
There was some remodeling done to the church, originally built in 1878, but the real change came in the early 1960s, when the ceiling was lowered and Gardner recalled “the whole community came to help.”
People still pull together. “Everyone does their little things to make it work right,” said Betty Schumacher, who is the treasurer. “Everyone has their niche.”
There is still a strong sense of community at St. George United Methodist, but with 100 members and around 30 at Sunday worship, there are some young people in the mix.
Winnie Sharp, who is the assistant communion steward and a member for 30 years, said “the young people add a lot to the church. We have a good fellowship here, we love each other like a family.”
Church historian Phyllis Berges has compiled a complete history of the church, tracing the roots back to the circuit riding Methodist ministers that the Methodist denomination is known for. In some sense, that time has returned, with pastors like Hailer serving more than one church.
In 1866, Jacob Boucher was pastor of the Louisville Circuit, which encompassed Louisville, Wamego, St. George, some schoolhouses and Westmorland. The cornerstone of the present church in St. George was laid in 1879, the same time frame when the Louisville church was completed.
Since the 1980s, the St. George church has hosted a food pantry, which is a community food pantry. The members of St. George also reach out to the community in various ways, through barbecues, pancake breakfasts, and hay rides; and their fellowship hall is used for various community meetings, from senior citizens to Boy Scouts. A pancake breakfast is planned for Nov. 21.
On Nov. 1, Hailer began using a more modern style worship aid – with the Sunday reading projected like a power point. She wants to begin a contemporary evening worship service. “Young people know technology,” she said. “It helps draw them in.”
She works to make the church friendly, emphasizing that it is acceptable to come to church “as you are,” regardless of tattoos and no need for fancy clothes. “It is very important that we be centered in Christ,” she said. “We are all sinners, saved by God’s grace, striving for perfection.”
Throughout her journey, she has felt accepted and her decision for the ministry honored. “MCC’s people were very supportive,” she said. “It was a wonderful place to go to school. I just haven’t experienced people who have rejected me.”
Her training as a minister continues, through a course of study geared for Methodists who are unable to attend seminary full time. She is a part-time minister for the two churches, and has maintained a full time job with K-State’s Conservation Seedling Program.
She visits the sick and homebound following both church services, and said the congregations at both churches have been positive about respecting her time.
“The congregations are is used to a part time pastor,” she said. “They are very self-reliant.”
By Paula Glover
ST. GEORGE – It is all about responding to God’s call. Pastor Leslye Hailer heard God’s call to the pastorate six years ago, and she is now a pastor for two United Methodist churches, one in Louisville and one in St. George.
She would tell any woman who might want to be a pastor to “go for it. If this is something God is calling you to do, he’s going to make it possible.”
Hailer responded to a conversation with her own pastor at a church in Manhattan. She had approached him, asking to do more with the youth, but at one point in the conversation, she recalled, he leaned back, and said “I think you’re being called to be a pastor.”
It took her husband, Marvin, and children, Jason, 30; Brandy McDonald, 24; and son Daniel, 21, a little time to adjust. “Marvin was a little bit worried, maybe he’d have to change somehow, but people have allowed him to be who he is,” Hailer said.
While the notion of a woman pastor is still foreign to some denominations, it isn’t uncommon in the United Methodist Church. In 1880, a woman was ordained as clergy in a Methodist denomination that later became part of the United Methodist Church, according to the denomination’s web site. But women clergy didn’t have equal rights until the General Conference voted in 1956 to grant full clergy rights to women. About 10,000 of the approximately 45,000 clergy in the United Methodist Church are women. The United Methodist Church was the first to ordain a women bishop, add the denomination has elected 21 women bishops and 16 remain active, with four retired and one deceased.
Hailer has received a warm welcome in her two churches.
“Leslye is a strength of this church,” said the church pianist for St. George, LeRoy Johnson. “She has a lot of wisdom, everybody is pleased with her. She’s like a missionary.”
“Leslye keeps us invigorated,” said Don Gardner, a member of the Louisville church since 1958.
The two churches are different in their membership, but Hailer is clearly fond of both groups. “The folks in Louisville are a hoot,” she said. The Louisville congregation is mainly elderly, with the youngest man, Albert Menhusen at age 75, being the person to ring the church bell. There are currently 25 members of the church, but about half don’t come to the church, due to age or disability.
Darrell Larson, a member since 1964, confessed to converting from Lutheranism when he married. “We feel there is a real need for a church in this community; it helps keep the community together,” he said. The United Methodist church is the only one in Louisville proper.
Fern Worthing, a member since 1955, praised the church for its “sense of community.” She grew up in the church, and used to come to Sunday School and recalled when there was a sandbox in the corner.
There was some remodeling done to the church, originally built in 1878, but the real change came in the early 1960s, when the ceiling was lowered and Gardner recalled “the whole community came to help.”
People still pull together. “Everyone does their little things to make it work right,” said Betty Schumacher, who is the treasurer. “Everyone has their niche.”
There is still a strong sense of community at St. George United Methodist, but with 100 members and around 30 at Sunday worship, there are some young people in the mix.
Winnie Sharp, who is the assistant communion steward and a member for 30 years, said “the young people add a lot to the church. We have a good fellowship here, we love each other like a family.”
Church historian Phyllis Berges has compiled a complete history of the church, tracing the roots back to the circuit riding Methodist ministers that the Methodist denomination is known for. In some sense, that time has returned, with pastors like Hailer serving more than one church.
In 1866, Jacob Boucher was pastor of the Louisville Circuit, which encompassed Louisville, Wamego, St. George, some schoolhouses and Westmorland. The cornerstone of the present church in St. George was laid in 1879, the same time frame when the Louisville church was completed.
Since the 1980s, the St. George church has hosted a food pantry, which is a community food pantry. The members of St. George also reach out to the community in various ways, through barbecues, pancake breakfasts, and hay rides; and their fellowship hall is used for various community meetings, from senior citizens to Boy Scouts. A pancake breakfast is planned for Nov. 21.
On Nov. 1, Hailer began using a more modern style worship aid – with the Sunday reading projected like a power point. She wants to begin a contemporary evening worship service. “Young people know technology,” she said. “It helps draw them in.”
She works to make the church friendly, emphasizing that it is acceptable to come to church “as you are,” regardless of tattoos and no need for fancy clothes. “It is very important that we be centered in Christ,” she said. “We are all sinners, saved by God’s grace, striving for perfection.”
Throughout her journey, she has felt accepted and her decision for the ministry honored. “MCC’s people were very supportive,” she said. “It was a wonderful place to go to school. I just haven’t experienced people who have rejected me.”
Her training as a minister continues, through a course of study geared for Methodists who are unable to attend seminary full time. She is a part-time minister for the two churches, and has maintained a full time job with K-State’s Conservation Seedling Program.
She visits the sick and homebound following both church services, and said the congregations at both churches have been positive about respecting her time.
“The congregations are is used to a part time pastor,” she said. “They are very self-reliant.”
Appeared in the Manhattan Mercury Nov. 6.
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