Pastor Serves As Heart Of Congregation

The Rev. Judy Van Hoose is an associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Springdale. She was ordained in 1997 and has been at First United Methodist Church for 10 years.
The Rev. Judy Van Hoose is an associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Springdale. She was ordained in 1997 and has been at First United Methodist Church for 10 years.

through, say, a job loss, (Van Hoose) holds their hand and walks with them through that,” Freeman said. “She shows them God is there.”

Van Hoose trained for religious education, she said, but she embraced care because “I was meant to be here, right now.”

“God is not the cause of thisa year ago. Now her mother’s house was for sale …

“People need to feel that somebody really cares,” Van Hoose said. “To acknowledge what they’re feeling and tell them what they need to hear to go on.”

Another woman with troubles stopped. “She asked me to pray for her,” Van Hoose said. “And I prayed with her.

“She came. I was here. It was good.”

“She has such a caring heart, a sweet spirit,” church member Dyann Sutton said of Van Hoose. “She’s always ready to listen when you have anything to say.”

“That’s showing God’s love,” Van Hoose explained, “letting them know there’s a safe place.

“If someone is goingSPRINGDALE - She’s the heart of our congregation.”

The Rev. David Freeman, executive pastor of First United Methodist Church in Springdale, gave that description of co-pastor the Rev. Judy Van Hoose, minister of congregational care.

“She has such compassion and warmth that people are drawn to her,” Freeman said.

Van Hoose was ordained in 1997 and has served the Springdale congregation since 2003.

‘HOW ARE YOU DOING?’

A woman stopped recently at the pastor’s church off ce, Van Hoose said. “I asked her how she was doing,” Van Hoose said. “She said, ‘Thank you for asking,’ and it all came out. Her mom had died about… whatever it is,” Van Hoose said. “I let them know God is there with them.

“It’s easy to blame God when things happen,” she continued. “But God brings his love, his mercy and his grace - his unconditional love - and forgiveness.”

Van Hoose said she finds particular peace officiating celebrations of life for members - “to honor someone in life, and in the life thereafter.”

“I want to lift them up and share who they were,” she said, “so family and friends fi nd comfort, peace and maybe even joy.”

Sutton felt Van Hoose’s comfort and peace fi rst-hand. Her son Ryan and husband Wayne died within two years of each other. Van Hoose visited daily during both men’s hospital stays, Sutton said.

“She was so kind,” Sutton recalled. “Every prayer she prayed touched you. She said what you needed to hear andwhat needed to be said.”

“Judy is known for her caring, really caring, ” Freeman said. “It’s not just a job. She really cares.

“She’s also deeply committed to Jesus,” he continued. “She has a deep faith. And through whatever a person has going on - difficulty, crisis and even joy - she wants them to experience God’s grace and helps them to see that and share that.” ANSWERING GOD’S CALL

“I come from a long, long line of Methodist clergy, since the mid-1800s,” Van Hoose said. “But it skipped a bunch of generations.”

And Van Hoose didn’t follow the traditional path to ministry.

“I know God was calling me into his service since I was a little kid,” she said. “But I didn’t hear his call until my 30s.

“The ’60s were just a real diff erent time, and I was just not ready,” she continued. “I was running away rather than embracing. But I was running more from the institutional church than from God.

Van Hoose said she took a “long vacation” (10 or 12 years) from church, then returned as a young parent to baptize her son.

“Then it was ‘full speed, ahead,’” she said. She taught Sunday school and did almost any lay job at the First United Methodist Church in Arlington, Texas. “And it just grew and grew.”

Van Hoose rememberedan event at Mount Sequoyah Retreat and Conference Center in Fayetteville. “A friend said, ‘I think God is calling you to ministry.’ I needed that voice from a friend.”

So she finished her bachelor’s degree at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth and graduated from Texas Christian University divinity school. She worked for the Methodist conference office in Fort Worth, and later for Mount Sequoyah.

In the midst of school, work and teenagers, Van Hoose and her husband divorced, something she said “needed to happen.”

Van Hoose’s experiences give her a lot of empathy and understanding for single parents who are working, shesaid. “It’s hard being a single parent,” she said. “I mean, it’s Sunday morning, and you got the kids here, and you’re here. That’s monumental!” CARING MINISTRIES

“Her spirit and energy level are unmatched,” Freeman continued his praise of Van Hoose.

In addition to the personal counsel Van Hoose shares, she organizes the “caring” ministries of the 3,200-member church, with more than 100 members serving at a time.

These groups include lay members trained in caregiving; a hospital visitation team; a support group for those working with Alzheimer’s patients; and grief and divorce support when needed.

Van Hoose also serves as the director of the church’s foundation, working with a committee and congregants for planned giving. Van Hoose serves as the president of the Springdale Rotary Club, president of clinical pastoral education at Northwest Medical Center and is director of the community advocate committee of the Schmeiding Center for Senior Health and Education of Northwest Arkansas. “I’m really honored to do those things,” she said.

She is married to former Springdale mayor Jerre Van Hoose.

“At a time when she could be looking at retirement, she’s not ready to slow down,” Freeman said. “She’s ramping up and moving on.”

Religion, Pages 6 on 03/09/2013

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