A pillar of faith, Methodist Pastor Cathy Morris who embodies selfless community service and unadulterated pastoral work, makes a glorious exit
A pillar of faith, Methodist Pastor Cathy Morris who embodies selfless community service and unadulterated pastoral work, makes a glorious exit
By Ben Edokpayi, Staff Reporter
Dixon- Calif: On June 26nd the city of Dixon will witness a truly profound and celestial ceremony when Seattle native Reverend Cathy Morris will hang up her anointed Cassock Robe and transfer her call to Minister to a new Pastor after service for God and the local community through the Dixon United Methodist Church.
https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/person-detail/2468621
As a born Methodist whose Mom served as a Deaconess (Ordained by the Leader of the Methodist Church of Nigeria and former President World Methodist Council of Churches) at the Methodist Church Laity, Benin City, it was certainly a divine blessing on Flag Day to spend some time with the leader of one of the oldest churches in Dixon, once located in the Silveyville area before it moved to its present location at 209 North Jefferson Street, across from the rail tracks.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Flag-Day
As she looks forward to her last service on June 26 with a mix of apprehension and a sense of accomplishment this reporter wanted to know what her last sermon will focus on.
“I will definitely express sorrow in leaving Dixon. There is definitely a sadness in moving away from a job that I have loved for 35 years. The last sermon will be a message of hope and support for the ongoing ministry, “ she told the Dixon Tribune.
Apart from her ministry, a highlight of her community service was in 2017 when Cathy Morris was picked as the town’s Citizen of the Year.
“It was once said, ‘If you want to touch the past, touch a rock. If you want to touch the present, touch a flower. If you want to touch the present, touch a flower. If you want to touch the future, touch a life,” said Barbara Beckworth at the 2017 ceremony, a year after a remarkable event in my life, a separation.
Added Beckworth “[Morris] has been immersed in the welfare of our community and has been a positive influence, touching many lives in the city of Dixon for the greater part of 30 years.”
On the award, Pastor Morris recalled the whole event and how it was announced at Dixon’s Olde Vet Hall as a life changing moment.
“It was quite a surprise. I had no idea I was nominated. I had mentioned to Carole Pruitt that I never expected to be nominated because I considered myself a regular part of the community. I was late for the ceremony because I was at a Talent Show on the same night as the award. The talent show went longer than expected. Was nervous when I arrived at the venue late midway through the ceremony and it was not only when the MC picked up the Mike that I realized they’re were talking about me as the 2017 Citizen of the year. It was a pleasant surprise,” the anointed woman of God recalled with joy in her eyes. Wendi Hendershot of Stitching Solutions was handed Dixon Ambassador of the year as well.
A member of the Safe Schools Task Force, Pastor Morris’ many positive impacts on the community includes collaboration with the Dixon Unified School District to prevent drug and alcohol abuse amongst Dixon Students and was “instrumental in the reformation of the Dixon Teen Center, where she has served on the center’s board of directors.”
On how the once in our lifetime pandemic impacted her ministry, here is what she said “the pandemic changed everything,” she emphasized and added “Unfortunately it happened in 2020 a few weeks before Easter, a crucial time on the Christian Calendar. Suddenly we were told in-person worship was not possible so we switched to audio-visual alternatives. A few weeks later we we’re able to move to small gatherings to create a worship atmosphere. At first it was pre-recorded on Saturday’s and then we moved to live-streaming on Sunday’s outdoors because indoor singing was not logistically possible. We introduced a daily devotional video as well during the weeks of the shutdown. The congregation of 250 found it spiritually meaningful.”
She was happy to point out that the Coronavirus did not adversely affect giving from her diverse congregation which includes a Nigerian-American couple Shola and Femi. “People were faithful in their giving. Support remained steady. Only adverse effect of the Coronavirus was on the Building fund raiser,” she said.
There has been turbulence between American Methodists and the vision and philosophy of John Wesley, the English founder of the Methodist Church who established the first Methodist Church in America on Feb. 28, 1784. Hilary Clinton is perhaps America’s most important Methodist.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-private-faith-of-hillary-clinton
Born in 1703 and Educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford, Wesley was elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1726 and ordained as an Anglican priest two years later.
More on Wesley from the Encyclopedia Britannica “At Oxford, he led the “Holy Club”, a society formed for the purpose of the study and the pursuit of a devout Christian life; it had been founded by his brother Charles and counted George Whitefield among its members. After an unsuccessful ministry of two years, serving at Christ Church, in the Georgia colony of Savannah, he returned to London and joined a religious society led by Moravian Christians. On 24 May 1738, he experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion, when he felt his “heart strangely warmed”. He subsequently left the Moravians and began his own ministry.
A key step in the development of Wesley’s ministry was, like Whitefield, to travel and preach outdoors. In contrast to Whitefield’s Calvinism, Wesley embraced Arminian doctrines. Moving across Great Britain and Ireland, he helped form and organize small Christian groups (societies) that developed intensive and personal accountability, discipleship, and religious instruction. He appointed itinerant, unordained evangelists — both women and men — to care for these groups of people. Under Wesley’s direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including the abolition of slavery and prison reform.”
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/nov/30/featuresreviews.guardianreview3
Cathy Morris stressed the fact that the Methodist Church has successfully maintained a good balance despite the delicate dynamics and challenges of this era.
“After the colonies and Independence the transitions were not easy for American Methodists to maintain strong and undiluted ties with John Wesley’s foundation in England. There were break offs and disensions. In 1968 there was a merger with the Evangelical United Brethren Methodists and we all became one church under the merged name United Methodist Church,” she told this reporter, a Methodist since birth, and the last son of a Mother ( with two brothers and three sisters in a perfect middle class home) who was a Deaconess in the Methodist Church.
Morris acknowledged the fact that the Methodist Church should be praised for positions of honor for Women, such as Mom, to preach in a nation wracked with perpetual tensions between Moslems and Christians, highligted by a recent attack on a Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State where more than 40 people were killed.
Islamic State affiliate suspected of Catholic church massacre, Nigeria says”
As she charts a new course her replacement is Henry Pablo III a Filipino and Pinole resident who will relocate to Dixon with his family to assume the lead Pastor position at the Dixon United Methodist Church.
What next for Cathy Morris As She Starts a Two Year FMLA? She will move to the Seattle area to care for her Parents with help from her husband whose job gives him the flexibility to travel. After her FMLA they plan to spend their retirement years traveling the world, her favorite pastime.
As the curtain draws on her pastoral work she urges the local community to maintain the cohesion and unity of purpose that makes Dixon unique.
“I think it is important that Dixon natives and older residents take time to create opportunities to establish relationships with new people moving into the community. The benefit of working closely with a Generation of elderly in Dixon is that strong relationships are created and the benefit is that when there is a community crisis you are able to draw on those relationships in a way that can result in health and growth for all in the community,” pointed out the Minister whose Church location was the hub of many positive pursuits that helped to strengthen the sense of community in Dixon.
Local groups and clubs that have benefited from Cathy Morris’ community outreach that included free use of the Church premises and facility include the local Boys Scouts, Girls Scouts, Dixon 4-H groups, the Dixon Grange, 12 Steps program including AA., N.A, Team Dixon, various mother’s groups, the Dixon Historical Society (DHS — the town used to be known as Dickson) and the Dixon Women’s Improvement Club.
Quite appropriate that Barbara Beckworth in the 2017 Citizen of the Year ceremony, recognized her selfless service to the community with this key statement “ She is the epitome of selfless devotion to the betterment of people and the community with absolutely no thought of personal gain.”
This article is the June 17 lead in the Dixon Tribune newspaper.
