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 Valley Ridge District of the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church

The Valley Ridge District connects members of 138 United Methodist Churches in Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Giles, Highland, Montgomery, Roanoke, Rockbridge, and Rockingham Counties and the cities and towns of Buena Vista, Clifton Forge, Covington, Lexington, Roanoke, Salem, Staunton, and Waynesboro with the Virginia Annual Conference, the United Methodist Church, and the World in ministry to others on behalf of Christ.

The clergy and laity of the Valley Ridge District are supervised by a Conference-appointed District Superintendent. The Virginia Conference comprises eight districts serving over 1,100 local United Methodist congregations across most of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Virginia Conference Bishop:  Sue Haupert-Johnson

District Superintendent:  J. Douglas Forrester

Fishersville Office

Address: 26 Orr Drive, Fishersville, VA 22939

Phone: 540-932-1055 

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday 7:30 AM - 3:30 PM Friday 7:30 - noon

Roanoke Office

Address: 402 Second Street, SW, Roanoke, VA 24011

Phone: 540-989-3335 

Office Hours:  Monday - Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM 

                          

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From the District Office

The Beginning and the End

Posted: 5 July, 2023 by J. Douglas Forrester

It had been a long week, and I was driving home from my fourth out-of-town disaffiliation meeting in four nights, meetings attended by members from seven small congregations on the Valley Ridge District. My next presentation would be three days later for a circuit of three churches located two hours from my home. As I drove, the smoke from the Canadian wildfires mingled with the quickly approaching dusk to transform the typically serene, pastoral vistas into something resembling a dystopian landscape. I felt like I had eaten every meal for a week in my car.

When a District Superintendent gives the one of the presentations which are necessary to begin the disaffiliation process in the Virginia Conference, we explain to those gathered that the congregation must begin their work with thirty days of prayer and discernment. There are no exceptions to this rule, no matter what objections we hear: We’ve been praying about this for years, preacher! Why do we have to do it some more?