Our Interim Pastor: Retired Bishop S. Clifton Ives

We have just learned that Retired Bishop S. Clifton Ives will be serving as the part time interim pastor during our upcoming four-week maternity/paternity leave. Bishop Ives (who prefers to be called "Cliff") resides in North Deering with his wife, Jane Ives.

Cliff was born in Farmington, Maine and graduated from Univeristy of Maine in 1960. He earned his M.Div and D.Min degrees from Boston Univiersity School of Theology. Rev. Ives was ordained in the Maine Annual Conference, and served UM churches in Cape Elizabeth, Bangor, Waterville and Westbrook. He also served as district superintendent, and was then elected to the episcopacy and assigned to the West Virginia area. More background information, including his passion for world missions, can be found online at Wikipedia.

Pastors Jamie and Gwyneth have worked some with Cliff and Jane in supporting the community marriage policy initiated in the Portland area recently. Although the information is a bit outdated, you can read more about similar work they were involved in while serving in the West Virginia Conference at http://www.gbgm-umc.org/wvacme/ives.htm

Cliff's primary roles while serving the four weeks as our interim pastor will be preaching and providing pastoral care for any needs that arise. We will provide contact information and other pertinent details shortly. We send our thanks to Cliff and Jane, as well as District Superintendent Mike Davis and our own members of the Staff Parish Relations Committee for all the work to bring this transition about; we are truly gracious. We welcome you into our family, Cliff and Jane!