Bishop Julius C. Trimble, along with the Indiana Conference staff, is pleased to announce that the Rev. Cynthia Garver will serve as the Disaster Response Coordinator effective Monday, October 29, 2018.
Ordained a Deacon in 2006, Garver has served in both extension and local church ministry. A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology, and master’s degree in Religious Education from United Theological Seminary, her education has given her a keen understanding of both natural disasters and ministry. She is also a trained Early Response Team (ERT) member.
Garver credits an early opportunity to serve as her starting point into disaster response ministry. Her first experience was in her teens as she worked with flood cleanup through Red Bird Mission in Kentucky.
“The devastation and hurting people around me impacted my heart for life. I was empowered to help them, even as an unskilled teen,” said Garver. “I now value this opportunity to do the same for Indiana United Methodists who want to respond constructively to disasters out of the compassion God has stirred in their hearts.”
Garver’s vast experience includes organizing and leading mission trips, developing innovative forms of youth outreach, creating activity programs for Assisted Living residents, and farming with behaviorally challenged clients. She has a passion for challenging congregations to live beyond their walls whether it’s weatherizing homes, cleaning up after a tornado, or packing and delivering flood buckets for UMCOR relief.
A native of upstate New York, Garver currently calls Muncie, Indiana home. She presently serves alongside her husband, William, at Corinth UMC. Prior to serving in Indiana, Garver served the former North Central New York Conference as a Diaconal Youth Minister in both New York and Ohio.
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