Doyon�s spiritual journey enriches her new Conference position
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Written: 12/19/2007 3:02:14 PM
At the end of Ordination a few years ago, Evie Doyon, a member of Northfield United Parish in Northfield, Vt., found herself answering the bishop�s altar call.
�I felt called to some kind of ministry,� she said, admitting she didn�t know what shape that ministry would take. She resigned from her position as lead programmer for the Vermont�s Social Welfare Department Health Eligibility Program to pursue that call.
�It�s not work I�ve been doing, but the work God has been doing within me,� she said about her call, saying the call required her to be �more attentive, more focused on where God is calling me and how I can be best in God�s service.�
It�s only fitting that Doyon shares this experience of being open to what God is asking. She will bring that experience to her work as the new Faith Development Coordinator when she takes over the position Jan. 2.
�I firmly believe that the work of faith development and spiritual formation is God�s work through the Holy Spirit, and my job is to help point in that direction,� she said. �The work of spiritual formation is some of the hardest work that a person can ever do. Because it�s God work within us, we don�t control it. It�s just grace and work you can�t describe that brings us into a closer being with Christ.
�It�s important to realize it�s not just clergy who are invited to do the hard work [of spiritual formation],� she said. �Sometime, we think that clergy are the more holy people and that lay folk will go on with their ordinary lives, but that�s not what it�s about.
�I don�t think there is a huge distinction when it comes to faith development or spiritual formation between clergy and laity,� she said. �We have all been given gifts, special gifts for ministry�it can be a ministry that�s clearly defined as in ordained ministry, or it can be in the ministry of our daily lives and the people we touch.�
A ministry of touching people�s lives is one Doyon feels deeply. She looks forward to meeting and inviting people into deeper relationships with Jesus Christ. �The United Methodist Church is at a point of needing renewal at the individual levels�not just for our churches in Vermont and New York, but in the church as the Body of Christ.�
While she admits she doesn�t have any concrete plans, she will spend her first few months listening to congregations to learn what they need. She also plans to continue the work of the Rev. Meredith Vanderminden, her predecessor. Under Vanderminden, she said, �about 60 people have gone through [training] and they�re a tremendous resource. I hope to take advantage of all of these people who have completed the training [either within] their own congregations or where they might be led.�
Doyon said that she expects her role to evolve. �I�ll start with getting to know the congregations we have and getting a sense of where they are. I�m hoping that the clergy and lay leaders will be open to identifying if there�s a hunger [for spiritual development]. I will help them and work with them to identify ways that the hunger can be met.
�I not only want to listen to the congregations but also to listen for God�s direction in this,� she said, adding that she considers part of her work to be spiritual direction at the congregational level.
�I also hope to focus some energy on ways to engage more men, especially lay men, in spiritual formation, and will be looking for folks who might be interested in creating some retreats designed for men,� she said.
Active in her local church, the Green Mountain District and Troy Conference, Doyon is currently the Green Mountain District Lay Leader and President of United Methodist Women. Last summer, she attended local pastor licensing school offered in the Wyoming Annual Conference, and she continues to work with the Green Mountain Board of Ordained Ministry to determine if she is being called to ordained ministry.
Doyon has a B.A. in German Studies from Randolph Macon Women�s College in Ashland, Va., and a Master�s of Education in Student Affairs Administration from the University of Vermont. She and husband, Robert �Bob� Doyon have a son, John, currently a junior at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va.