Wednesday, March 2, 2016

The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 2 February 2016

The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States "GPconnect" for Wednesday, 2 February 2016

Download the printable version of the March 2, issue of GPconnect.
In this edition:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLERGY EXCELLENCE
EQUIPPING DISCIPLES
MERCY AND JUSTICE
GENERAL CONFERENCE
ADMINISTRATION
OTHER NEWS
Family pays tribute to Julia Wilke, co-founder of Disciple Bible Study

Julia Kitchens Wilke, 83, died Feb. 25 at a hospital in Houston. She will be remembered as much more than the wife of Bishop Richard Wilke. Indeed, Julia Wilke is remembered as a person committed to making Jesus and the Bible accessible and understandable to as many people as possible. One part of her legacy is the Disciple Bible Study, which she helped write.
Read more about her life in our tribute story, which includes a link to her obituary.
Julia Wilke remembered as Disciple Bible Study co-founder, educator
Not content to simply be a United Methodist pastor’s wife, Julia Wilke was a partner with her husband, Richard, in the acclaimed Disciple Bible Study program as well as the Institute for Discipleship that bears their name at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas.

Julia Wilke, co-founder of the Disciple Bible Study program,
passed away Feb. 25 at the age of 83. Family photo
Julia Kitchens Wilke, 83, died Feb. 25 at a hospital in Houston. She is survived by her husband as well as four children, all of whom had entered some facet of ministry.
“She had a legacy of great acceptance of everyone she met, and she was also very committed to making Jesus and the Bible as accessible and as understandable as she could,” said her son, Steve, vice president for planning and new programs at Southwestern College and executive director of the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship at the college.
While Richard Wilke, a former United Methodist pastor and district superintendent, was bishop in the Arkansas Conference, the two began collaboration on the Disciple Bible Study program, which has been completed by millions of United Methodists around the world.
The 30th anniversary of Disciple will be celebrated this year at the Great Plains Annual Conference, as well as the South Central Jurisdictional Conference and General Conference, Steve Wilke said.
“She is truly a co-author of the Disciple Bible Series,” he said. “She was very influential in how it was set up, how it was established, what the basic principles of Disciple were. She did a lot of research and helped Dad with all the manual writing.
“Dad was clear that they did it all together,” Wilke said of his father. “Dad wrote the words, but Mom did all the background research. Mom was a very skilled Biblical archaeology person, self-taught.”
Known for its intense study of the scripture, Disciple began as a 34-week course during which participants read about three-fourths of the Bible.
Disciple was an innovator in that it used video in its lesson plans, bringing Biblical scholars into the churches and homes where the study was taught.
“The Bible studies before Disciple were more academic in focus so that you learned names and dates and such,” Steve Wilke said. “Disciple was more about how the Bible could transform your life. The Disciple Bible Study was designed to help you understand God better, yourself better and your relationship with God better.”
Steve Wilke said that Disciple made participants the focus of the study, rather than the instructors.
“At that time, the people who taught were the ones who learned most of the stuff. They wanted something where the participants did the bulk of the learning,” he said. “(The shift of focus) was very much in Mom’s desire.”
The roots of Disciple, Sarah Wilke said, came from Kansas, when her father was a United Methodist pastor.
"They were trying to get people to teach Sunday school at First (UMC) Wichita and people would say, ‘Ewh, I can’t teach Sunday school. I don’t know the Bible well enough,’” she recalled. “It was to make people feel comfortable and confident enough that they could teach and read and share the story. They did that and a whole lot more.”
The United Methodist Publishing House had set a goal of 20,000 copies of Disciple, Sarah Wilke said, and it and her parents were astonished when it hit the 1 million mark.
“They’ve always been overwhelmed,” said Sarah Wilke, the publisher and world editor of The Upper Room, based in Nashville, Tennessee. “There’s not a place I go where people don’t tell me stories of Disciple. It’s really kind of shocking to me, particularly in Asia, Europe, Africa.”
Another Wilke sibling, Susan Fuquay, edited the 34-week Disciple series down to a “Fast Track” version and has also created a version of the study for teenagers. The fourth Wilke child, Paul, is pastor at Woodlawn United Methodist Church in Derby, Kansas.
After meeting her husband while they were students at Southern Methodist University, where she obtained an elementary education degree, Julia Wilke joined him as he served in Scandia, Salina, Winfield and Wichita. Additionally, she served for 21 years, including a term as president, on the International Foundation for Ewha Womans University, a school in Seoul, South Korea, founded by a Methodist missionary.
A native of Texarkana, Texas, Julia Wilke was also one of the founders of the Pneuma (which comes from the word meaning “wind,” “breath” and “Holy Spirit”) Sunday School class at First UMC in Wichita, for participants in their 40s-60s.
“She probably had a bigger congregation than 80 percent of the churches that met on Sunday morning in that Sunday school class,” Steve Wilke said.
Steve Wilke said his mother wanted church to be a safe place and a fun place for children and adults.
“She wanted people to feel loved when they came to church, just as she wanted them to feel loved by God. She was one those who thought it was OK if the church got a little bit messy if kids were there, if it got a little loud because kids were there,” he said. “She would much rather the church be filled with folks wanting to be there than be a quiet museum. She wasn’t very interested in that.”
Read the obituary.
Obituaries
Julia K. Wilke
(July 28, 1932 - February 25, 2016)

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Julia Kitchens Wilke, 83, of Winfield, passed away Feb. 25, 2016, in Houston, Texas, following a stroke suffered during major surgery. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church of Winfield. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Miles Funeral Service. The family will be present from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Memorial gifts may be made to the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College, 100 College Ave., Winfield. Online condolences may be made at www.milesfuneralservice.com. Julia was born on July 28, 1932, in Texarkana, Texas, the daughter of Chester Kitchens, M.D., and wife Edith. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1953. Julia married Richard (Dick) B. Wilke on June 20, 1953, in Texarkana, Ark. The couple moved to New Haven, Conn., where Julia taught elementary school and Dick studied at Yale University Divinity School. She joined her husband in his native Kansas to begin his United Methodist ministry that took them to pastorates in Scandia, Salina, Winfield and Wichita. She was an active church volunteer and leader, singing in choirs and teaching both children’s and adult Sunday school classes. In 1984, Julia and Dick moved to Little Rock, Ark., where Dick served as bishop for 12 years. During that time, they co-wrote the Disciple Bible Study series, a curriculum that has been completed by millions around the world since its introduction in 1986. After retiring in 1996, Julia and Dick moved to Winfield, where Dick has served as bishop in residence at Southwestern College. In 2003, the college named its Institute for Discipleship in their honor. Julia was a member of PEO, and First UMC’s Kum-N-E-Wa Sunday school class and Wednesday morning Bible study. Survivors include her husband, Richard B. Wilke, Winfield; son Steve Wilke and wife Beth, Winfield, and children Krista (Ranby), Katie (Johnson), Joel and Julie; son Paul Wilke and wife Janelle, Derby, and children Michelle and Matthew; daughter Susan Fuquay and husband Rob, Indianapolis, Ind., and children Julie, Sarah and Anna; daughter Sarah Wilke and spouse Nancy Kruh, Nashville, Tenn.; sister Elizabeth Gordon, Hackettstown, N.J.; six great-grandchildren; sister-in-law Beverly Dockhorn and husband Robert; and niece Kate Gordon and husband Steve Cox.Learn more about Disciple Bible Study.
Contact David Burke, communications coordinator, via email at dburke@greatplainsumc.org.
Hesston United Methodist Church steps up after shootings

Photo courtesy KWCH TV-Wichita.
The Rev. Keith Schadel was already planning on a sermon about fear the morning of Feb. 28 at the Hesston United Methodist Church in Kansas. The subject, based on the first six verses of Psalm 139, didn’t change, but following the workplace shooting at the Excel plant in Hesston on Feb. 25, which left four dead (including the gunman) and 14 injured, Schadel said his sermon illustrations did. Specifically, Schadel said, he spoke of the apprehension he had when discussing an ecumenical church service that was to take place that night and the discussions that preceded it with pastors of other faiths that Friday.
Read more about what the church did to step up to help the community after the shootings.
Hesston church steps up after shootings
The Rev. Keith Schadel was already planning on a sermon about fear the morning of Feb. 28 at the Hesston United Methodist Church in Kansas.
The subject, based on the first six verses of Psalm 139, didn’t change, but following the workplace shooting at the Excel plant in Hesston on Feb. 25, which left four dead (including the gunman) and 14 injured, Schadel said his sermon illustrations did.
Specifically, Schadel said, he spoke of the apprehension he had when discussing an ecumenical church service that was to take place that night and the discussions that preceded it with pastors of other faiths that Friday.
Rev. Keith Schadel
He was asked to give one of the sermons for the service with pastors in Harvey County.
“I’m not unwilling, but I feel underqualified,” Schadel said he told his fellow pastors. “The whole group broke out laughing and said, ‘Who is qualified in a case like this?’”
Schadel did end up as one of the speakers at the Service of Sorrow and Hope, which drew hundreds to the Hesston High School gymnasium and was covered live by two Wichita TV stations. Darci Mann, the Hesston UMC youth and discipleship minister, was one of those who read scripture.
While Schadel’s original approach to fear in his Sunday morning sermon was more about the fear of going forth in discipleship, he said it became more about a fear of death.
“What I focused on was more my remark about feeling underqualified,” said Schadel, an elder in his third year at Hesston UMC. “We’re all underqualified. Life and death is bigger than any of us. But we know One who’s bigger than life or death. That was the emphasis.”
Schadel spoke about the heroism and kindness that he saw after the shootings, including an EMS team leader who looked strong and in control after the incident, counseling other workers and giving them hugs as they did their job.
“He was magnificent. He was perfect. I wished I had words something like his,” Schadel said. Following the EMS leader into another room, “I saw the look of fear on his face, and he looked up at me and asked, ‘Did I do OK?’”
On Saturday morning, when nearly 400 law enforcement personnel were in Hesston, Schadel witnessed a member of his congregation bring a cup of coffee to an FBI agent who was standing watch. The FBI agent, stereotypically stoic, broke into tears at the act of kindness, Schadel said.
The Hesston church, one of nine in the town and one of five non-Mennonite congregations, is the closest geographically to the Excel plant, Schadel said. He and the Rev. Hollie Tapley, Great Plains Conference Disaster Response coordinator, arrived at the scene shortly after the incident.
“Through Hollie, we established some relationships with first responders,” Schadel said. “There’s been some more of that since.”
Although none of his congregation where among those killed or injured, Schadel said the incident has prompted them to pause for reflection.
“We’re having to think about, talk about the way we live out our faithfulness in terms of our understanding of God and our sense of the sacredness of life and all of those questions,” he said.
On the practical side, Schadel said the church is progressing with its plans to put together a violence task force at the Hesston church.
“We’d been kind of dragging our feet,” Schadel said. “But I get the feeling the pace is about to pick up.”
Contact David Burke, communications coordinator, via email at dburke@greatplainsumc.org.
Active shooter training available
Would your congregation like to know what to do during an active-shooter situation? The Rev. Hollie Tapley, Great Plains Conference Disaster Response coordinator, offers training in how to respond should such a situation arise. To schedule a training session for your church, contact her at htapley@greatplainsumc.org.
Statement from the Great Plains Conference
The United Methodist Churches of the Great Plains Annual Conference, comprising both Kansas and Nebraska, join many people across the country in prayer for consolation and healing for the families traumatized by Thursday’s shooting at a manufacturing plant in Hesston, Kansas. According to police reports, a gunman wounded two people before proceeding to the factory, where he shot and killed three people and wounded as many as 15 others. A police officer confronted the man and was forced to shoot and kill him to prevent further injury. 

*Photo courtesy of KWCH's Facebook page.
We are in mourning for the people who lost their lives, including the gunman, and their families. We mourn for the small town of Hesston.
Violence such as this cannot be explained. No rationale provides merit to turning weapons on innocent people. And yet, we recognize that through tragedies such as this, God is present and can heal our weary souls. While our hearts are heavy now, we find joy in the words from the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:38-39:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Unfortunately, tragedies such as the one that has struck Hesston happen far too often in our society today. We as United Methodist Christians must remember our call to love our neighbors by doing what we can to prevent such violence and, when such incidents occur, to do what we can to be the hands and arms of Christ by comforting those who have been harmed or who have lost loved ones.
Please remember the people of Hesston in your prayers today and in the days ahead.
Thanks to all churches, individuals who participated in prayer vigil

The Great Plains Conference would like to thank the churches that notified us that they would take part in the 24-hour prayer vigil March 1 for General Conference and the United Methodist Church as a whole. While other churches and many more individuals may have helped out, here are the churches that we know of that took part:
  • Abilene (KS) First UMC
  • Basehor (KS) UMC
  • Colby (KS) UMC
  • Council Grove/Dunlap (KS) UMC
  • Great Plains Conference Appointive Cabinet
  • Great Plains Conference Mercy and Justice Team
  • Hemingford (NE) UMC
  • Hiawatha (KS) UMC
  • Imperial (NE) UMC
  • Independence (KS) First UMC
  • Juniata (NE) UMC
  • Lincoln Christ (NE) UMC
  • Lincoln Havelock (NE) UMC
  • Lincoln South Gate (NE) UMC
  • Lincoln Trinity (NE) UMC
  • Lyndon (NE) UMC
  • Medicine Lodge (KS) UMC
  • Newton Salem (KS) UMC
  • Peabody (KS) UMC
  • Pleasant Hill (KS) UMC
  • Rossville (KS) UMC
  • Salina (KS) First UMC
  • Springfield (NE) UMC
  • Susanna Wesley (KS) UMC
  • Tecumseh (KS) UMC
  • Topeka Countryside (KS) UMC
  • Waco (NE) UMC
  • Winfield (KS) First UMC
Child care supplies, workers needed for Annual Conference,June 1-4

Topeka-area churches have the opportunity to provide hospitality to our youngest United Methodists this summer through Annual Conference child care. If your church is willing to help out by providing supplies (such as bouncy seats, changing tables, toys, elementary games, child-sized tables and chairs, transportation, craft supplies, etc.), or by providing names and contact information of possible workers (workers will be paid $9 per hour, lead teachers $11 per hour), please contact the Rev. Kim Dickerson-Oard at kim@ehumc.org or 316-253-5718. We strive to provide high-quality child care for infants to fifth graders. All workers must be Safe Gatherings trained and preferably no younger than 18 years old.
Thank you all in advance for considering this important service to the conference!
Resolutions for the 2016 annual conference session due March 15
Resolutions for action by the Great Plains Conference may be submitted togpsecretary@greatplainsumc.org by following these important guidelines. They may also be mailed to Annual Conference Session, 3333 Landmark Circle, Lincoln, NE 68504. A strict deadline of March 15 is in place.
For more information about the annual conference session, visitgreatplainsumc.org/annualconference. You may also contact Dana Reinhardt at dreinhardt@greatplainsumc.org or call 402-464-5994 ext. 105.
Learn about self-care at Horizons of Faith event

First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, invites you to refresh your life with the Horizons of Faith event April 22-24 at the church, 7020 Cass St.
The event features speaker Wayne Muller, author of “Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight in our Busy Lives.” Muller will help participants explore self-care, how the human heart can contribute in a digital age, challenging technology and the status quo.
The overall theme for the Horizons of Faith event is “Why People Matter: How the Inefficient Human Story Brings Beauty, Truth and Sacred Wisdom to a Digital Age.”
Learn more by checking out the event’s website, where you also can register.
Pass the Torch scholarship application deadline set for April 1
The Pass the Torch Committee is ready to receive scholarship applications for the 2016-2017 academic year. These scholarships are for credentialed persons in the process of seminary education (full or part time) or Course of Study School (full or part time). The limit of scholarships is $1,000 a year for seminary students and $300 a year for Course of Study students.
This scholarship began under the auspices of the former Kansas West Conference, and it is being continued into the Great Plains Conference. There are no geographic restrictions.
The "Pass the Torch" scholarship information may be found on the conference website along with other scholarship opportunities.
The deadline for scholarship applications is April 1. Applications may be sent electronically to mark.conard@gmail.com or mailed to Mark Conard, 6508 N. Madison St., Hutchinson, KS 67502.
Download the application.
Great Plains Internships – next round of interviews by March 7

This summer there are several opportunities for young adults to spend a summer internships in hands-on ministry in the Great Plains Conference. If you are or know of a young adult (18 or older) who is interested about how God might use them to change the world this summer, would you share this information? Check out these opportunities on how you can make a difference, explore leadership and spend a ‘summer of service’ that you will remember for a lifetime! Go to greatplainsumc.org/internships for more information and to apply.
Learn about connecting your faith with social justice and practice leadership skills by visiting, researching and presenting key social justice topics throughout the Great Plains.
Lead Vacation Bible School, paint a house, visit the elderly in a new community every week, while experiencing life-changing, faith-deepening opportunities.
Experience the ministry of the local church by shadowing a pastor for 10 weeks this summer. The intern will have the opportunity to observe, reflect, and join in the pastoral ministry of the church as an apprentice.
Explore youth ministry in a local church by being mentored and assisting leadership of a youth ministry throughout the summer.
Church Planting
Dream, plant, and implement a project that will better a new community in places that may be ripe for a church plant.
Spend the summer guiding students in an intentional community and throughout camp creation. Students range from first grade through high school seniors. Choose to spend the summer at one of six camps.
Lay Servants might be the recipients of your service

As Christians – and, specifically, United Methodists – we are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. As lay servants, we respond to this call by looking to see how we can serve in this capacity. But while we learn, we also help teach others. See how the Lay Servant Ministry program provides an open table for learning about God’s will in our lives in the latest posting on the latest LSM blog, written by Kirk Pemberton, Lay Servant Ministry director for the Topeka District.
Also, check out new training opportunities listed along the right-hand side of the Lay Servant Ministry page.
Free online course helps educate about upcoming General Conference

“Exploring General Conference,” a free online course from United Methodist Communications, is designed to help participants learn more about the official decision-making body of The United Methodist Church and to explore many of the aspects of General Conference in anticipation of the 2016 session.
The course is comprised of five modules, which are designed to take about 30 minutes to complete. Throughout the course, students have the opportunity to engage in interactive activities to dig deeper into understanding aspects of General Conference.
Depending on the amount of additional exploration chosen, users may spend more time in each module, and return to any page, section or activity at any time during the course for review.
Although the course is free of cost, learners are awarded .25 ALLLM CEU upon completion.
Through the five modules, learners will develop an understanding of the following: the history of General Conference, its role and purpose; how delegates are elected to General Conference; delegates’ roles and responsibilities; how petitions, general church budget and other important matters are decided through General Conference; various social issues facing The United Methodist Church and the denomination’s stance on these issues; the highlights of the 2012 General Conference and what’s ahead for the 2016 General Conference.
Though General Conference is scheduled for May 10-20, the course is free and ongoing through June 30.
For more information, or to sign up for the course, go to http://www.umcom.org/learn/exploring-general-conference.
Webinar to address where we begin in welcoming refugees

A webinar is planned to introduce and invite churches in the Great Plains Annual Conference to become a “Welcome Place” for refugees who settle in our communities. Not sure where to begin or what to do? This webinar will get you started.
Gather your missions and/or outreach ministry teams together to watch together! The livestream will be 6 p.m. Thursday, March 10. Watch it bygoing to the conference's website the night of the event.
Speakers include: Andrea Paret, Great Plains Peace with Justice coordinator; a staff attorney with Justice for Our Neighbors-Nebraska; and the Rev. Hollie Tapley, conference Disaster Response coordinator.
Justice For Our Neighbors-Nebraska (JFON-NE) – a ministry that was started through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) – welcomes immigrants into our communities by providing free, high-quality immigration legal services, education and advocacy. JFON-NE prioritizes services for low-income immigrants with the greatest need: battered women, abandoned children and refugees fleeing persecution. JFON-NE has strong connections with several United Methodist churches and their volunteers. Last year, JFON-NE worked on 2,011 cases for people from 42 different countries.
JFON-NE is one of our Great Plains Mission Agencies.
For more information on this webinar and/or how to get your church involved in becoming a Welcome Place for Refugees, contact Rev. Tapley at htapley@greatplainsumc.org.
Help provide relief with One Great Hour of Sharing

In just more than one week, we will celebrate One Great Hour of Sharing. This is a crucial Sunday because it is the day we come together to empower our disaster relief arm of Global Ministries, United Methodist Committee on Relief, for an entire year. If you remember:
When tornadoes hit Mississippi, UMCOR was there.
When fire ravaged thousands fo homes, UMCOR was there.
Whey Syrian refugees needed help, UMCOR was there.
When a typhoon in the Philippines displaced tens of thousands of people, UMCOR was there.
When an earthquake and a tsunami decimated villages in Japan, UMCOR was there.
They were there because of One Great Hour of Sharing. This event covers the operating costs of UMCOR, which allows UMCOR to be where it needs to be, when it needs to be there, for as long as it needs to be there. And it allows UMCOR to funnel earmarked donations directly to the designated project.
Visit the One Great Hour of Sharing pastor's toolkit. Download the resources and share them with your congregation.
Partnership will strengthen support for people affected by HIV and AIDS

The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund and The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s HIV and AIDS Ministry have forged a partnership to collaborate on strategy and projects intended to reduce discrimination of persons infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
"Stigma continues to prevail around the globe, inhibiting persons from getting tested and treated," declared United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee (UMGAF) co-chairs, Linda Bales Todd and Donald E. Messer. "Too often the church fuels this stigma by moralistic judgments and shunning infected persons and their families. Welcoming AIDS ministries sponsored by the church are urgently needed."
Meeting at Hollywood UMC in Hollywood, California, a congregation that has an AIDS red ribbon prominently displayed on its bell tower, the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee (UMGAF) voted to find ways to form an alliance with the ELCA Strategy on HIV and AIDS, strengthening the efforts of both denominations.
ELCA AIDS Program Director, Ulysses Burley, challenged the UMGAF committee by pointing out that some 37.4 million people are infected worldwide, and that in the United States 44 percent of persons infected are African-American. "This epidemic," says Burley, "must be addressed by the church through programs of education, awareness, capacity building, and stigma reduction."
Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, ecumenical officer of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, noted that the ELCA is in full communion with United Methodists. She hailed the new agreement, saying, "If we are to champion global health and address diseases of poverty, then we must move beyond denominational silos to find ecumenical and interreligious approaches to ending AIDS in our lifetime."
Order business cards through conference office

If you are in need of business cards, send your name, church or agency affiliation, address, phone numbers, email and website to Roxie Delisi at rdelisi@greatplainsumc.org.
She will be placing a bulk order in the next few days, so now is a great time to place your order and receive your business cards quickly. The cost is approximately $35 for 500 cards.
An example – in this case, from Todd Seifert, conference communications director – accompanies this item so you can see the design of the cards.
Editorials and Blogs
Krusing the Capitol: 2016 Racism
  • In Layman's Terms: Longtime Duke professor and world-renowned theologian Stanley Hauerwas delivered his “Church Matters” lecture Feb. 29 in Lincoln, Nebraska. In it, he challenged the audience’s thinking about the church’s role in society and whether the church has done too much to adhere to the ways of the world. Communications Director Todd Seifert shares some thoughts from the professor’s lecture in his latest blog.
Newsletters
Classifieds
To view these and other classifieds, go to greatplainsumc.org/classifieds.
Press Clips
  • Congregations across the Great Plains Conference are making the news in their local newspapers.
  • View our newspaper clipping reports to see if there are stories, ideas and ministry happenings you can learn from to use in your own congregation. Press clips can be found at greatplainsumc.org/inthenews. You can see education partnership ideas at greatplainsumc.org/education.
Editorial Policy: The content, news, events and announcement information distributed in GPconnect is not sponsored or endorsed by the Great Plains Methodist Conference unless specifically stated.
To submit a letter to the editor, send it to info@greatplainsumc.org.

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The Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church of Wichita, Kansas, United States "In Memoriam: Julia Kitchens Wilke" for Tuesday, 1 March 2016

Julia Kitchens Wilke, 83, of Winfield, Kansas, the spouse of a clergy member of the Great Plains United Methodist Conference passed away Feb. 25, 2016, in Houston, Texas. Julia was born on July 28, 1932, in Texarkana, Texas, the daughter of Chester Kitchens, M.D., and wife Edith. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1953. Julia married Bishop Richard (Dick) B. Wilke on June 20, 1953, in Texarkana, Ark. She joined her husband in his native Kansas to begin his United Methodist ministry that took them to pastorates in Scandia, Wichita: Pleasant Valley, Salina: University, Winfield D.S. and Wichita: First. In 1984, Julia and Richard moved to Little Rock, Ark., where Dick served as bishop for 12 years. During that time, they co-wrote the Disciple Bible Study series, a curriculum that has been completed by millions around the world since its introduction in 1986. After retiring in 1996, Julia and Richard moved to Winfield, Kansas where Richard has served as bishop in residence at Southwestern College.
Survivors include her husband, Richard B. Wilke; sons Steve Wilke and Paul Wilke; daughters Susan Fuquay and Sarah Wilke.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Mar. 3, 2016 at First United Methodist Church, 1000 Millington St., Winfield, Kansas. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Miles Funeral Service, 4001 E. 9th Ave., Winfield, Kansas. The family will be present from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College, 100 College Ave., Winfield, Kansas 67156-2499. Online condolences may be made at www.milesfuneralservice.com.
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Episcopal Office: 9440 E Boston Suite 160 Wichita, KS 67207 316-686-0600
Topeka Office: 4201 SW 15th Street PO Box 4187 Topeka, KS 66604 785-272-9111
Wichita Office: 9440 E Boston Suite 110 Wichita, KS 67207 316-684-0266
Lincoln Office: 3333 Landmark Circle Lincoln, NE 68504-4760 402-464-5994
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