I have on the shelf in my office an old leather-bound book
that contains minutes of the first annual conferences of Methodist preachers in America. In the year 1795, the minutes list 313
preachers serving 48,121 Whites and 12,170 "Colored."
Now, of course, we no longer divide up people quite that way,
but still have an multi-racial, multi-ethnic denomination. Two years ago, a million-member church group from the Ivory Coast united with
the United Methodist Church, making us yet more diverse. There are
about 9 million members in the U.S.A.
We hope to make all sorts of people welcome! That's why our
motto is to "Open our hearts, open our minds, and open our doors."
God blesses us each time we open ourselves up to what the Spirit can
do among us, whether through hearts, minds or action.
Our pastor at Columbus United Methodist Church is Jim Cotter, who has been in the United Methodist ministry for 20 years.
Jim grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, where he also went to the university. He got his Masters of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology in 1984. He enjoys all facets of ministry, especially music and the arts in worship.
It is important to Jim to be in touch with his own humanity and his own need for God, and through that to help people find better ways to love themselves, God and each other.
Jim believes that the church exists to help people act out the way of Jesus: to live the way that Jesus lived and taught us to live. Jim believes that if we truly want to follow Jesus we need to live with kindness and truth-telling, with a desire for justice, and compassion for those in tough situations. We are to find ways to get beyond the letter of the law and get to its Spirit. We are also to find ways to deal with conflict on the basis of principle and the benefit of all.
Jim's wife of 19 years, Marianne, is the pastor at the Marshall United Methodist Church. They have two sons, Samuel, age 18 and Carl, age 14.