REV. EUGENE D. WORTH PASTOR AT GOLDEN FIRST UMC, 1969 - 1979.

Golden First UMC Home
History Home | Pastors and Ministers Home | Senior Pastors | Rev. Eugene Worth

The Bishop and the Pastor...
"One of our bishops once told me that if I was going to climb the ladder of success I`d better accept the appoint- ment he and the cabinet had offered me. I told him that I probably defined success differently than some, because I was already successful, I was with a congregation that wanted and needed me! At conference that year he introduced me to do the daily "nod to God" as the young preacher who said 'no' to the bishop and made it stick! I was always able to make the most even of the worst decisions the cabinet or I made. It's been a good run..." Rev. Eugene Worth1		The bishop was Bishop Rev. Glenn Randall Phillips, the pastor was Rev. Eugene Worth, and the conference was the Rocky Mountain Annual assembly of 1952. Conference was held at Pueblo's First Methodist Church that year.1 Rev. Worth explained why he declined the bishop and cabinet: "...My son Rick was born the next day after I went home from Pueblo and was part of the reason I refused to move unless forced to. Luckily, the pastor-parish relations com- mittee (from Gene's church in Salida) came to Pueblo and backed me up on my feelings that my ministry there had just really started. They had had very short time pastorates there -- less than two years on average! So with two of the three sides of the triangle saying I should stay, I did!" 1

Gene went on to define his use of "triangle": The triangle, as I understood it from The Discipline and common practice in Colorado, meant that the bishop and cabinet were one point, the pastor and his family were the second, and the local church pastor-parish committe was the third. If all agreed, no problem. If two agreed they were usually the deciding factor, but, of course, if the bishop were really stubborn, his decision would stand. At least that was how I saw it." 1

Bibliography
1	Rev. Eugene D. Worth.
		Autobiographical materials provided to the Golden First United Methodist Church and its Historical Web Ministries. January, 2003.

Top
Golden First UMC Home
History Home | Pastors and Ministers Home | Senior Pastors | Rev. Eugene Worth

Golden, Colorado's First United ethodist Church
Last Revised: March 30, 2005.