By FRED KRONER
Lori Harvey grew up in a life of change and adjustment.
Though she was born in Illinois, she and her family that included four siblings moved frequently during her childhood, relocating from Oklahoma to Michigan, with stops in Pennsylvania and Colorado.
The various stops served Harvey well as she reached adulthood.
Harvey’s moves now are in keeping with the United Methodist Church’s policy of shifting its pastors. Since July 1, Rev. Harvey has been at the Mahomet United Methodist Church.
Her previous stops in the state since 1991 were at United Methodist churches within the Illinois Great Rivers Conference: at Urbana, Reynolds, Macomb, Quincy, Normal, Minonk/Wenona, Morton and Salem.
She hopes she is at her last working destination.
“I plan to stay here until I retire in 10 to 12 years,” she said.
The move to Mahomet has been unlike any that preceded it.
“It has been a complicated move only because of the pandemic,” Harvey said. “When a pastor is introduced to the congregation, usually, there is a big worship service and we meet everyone at a potluck.
“This year, I am meeting a few people at a time, small group gatherings and garage visits to individuals. We record services on Wednesday nights and have invited people to come watch. Others choose to watch the service together on Sunday morning, with a few people coming to the church building.
“It is good to see people, even if it is with safety precautions, masks and physical distancing.”
The coronavirus hasn’t affected the message that Harvey delivers.
“This year has been a challenge for many people,” she said. “Some have found it emotionally, physically and spiritually draining. We can make a difference when our focus is on the mission and ministry that God is equipping us to do.”
Her approach includes more than featuring what takes place within the church building.
“I look forward to being involved in the Mahomet community,” Harvey said. “I want to be known for caring about people, spiritually, but also physically and mentally. We need to learn from one another, engage in conversations and implement ways of caring for each other.
“I would love to promote prayer walking and yoga. I would love to offer cooking classes that start with the basics and offer healthy alternatives.”
What she is seeking for herself is also what she is hoping to share with others.
“Part of my call journey includes a time of searching for stability or meaning in life,” Harvey said. “My mother gave me a Christian time management book. It had the usual directives to set a goal, and then short-term goals to reach it.
“I guess this is how I organize my life and ministry. I like setting goals for myself, and asking my church to do the same. How will we be different a year from now? The Christian part of the time management book was seeing how Jesus made a difference in one to three years, depending how you read each gospel.
“So, how am I going to make a difference in where I am in the next one to three years? I’m not Jesus, but God has gifted each one of us with abilities to transform ourselves, our community and our world towards living our prayer, ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ ”
Harvey plans her sermons weeks in advance.
“I have a sermon plan for six months at a time,” she said. “This first sermon series has been telling our story. Through the sermon, we hear a story of an encounter with Jesus from the Gospel of John.
“I also tell one of my family stories that helps the congregation to know me better and I ask someone from the congregation to tell her/his story so we get to know one another better.
“My next sermon series is on the book of James. We are already talking about Advent and Christmas. Sermons need to speak to our times. Even as we come to understand God working in the past, we have the hope that God continues to be faithful today and in the future.
“I look forward to having a fall Bible study that looks at scripture and how art has been depicted to represent our scripture. Before people were avid readers, they passed on the faith through storytelling and creating beautiful art, whether visual art or music. We can learn from one another as we meditate on art, and share our experiences.”
During her childhood, Harvey thought her life could take several directions. Part of her views were based on the changes during her youth.
“My parents are from Iowa and that was where the family farm used to be, but my grandparents are no longer living, so we gather occasionally in Des Moines,” Harvey said. “As many as 70 or so on my dad’s side of the family will gather for food, card games and storytelling.
“I grew up with lots of stories. Perhaps that would be one reason that I wanted to be a librarian or a travel agent or work in the hospitality industry.”
Life experiences altered her path. Regardless of where the family lived, Harvey always had a home base.
“I grew up in the United Methodist church, and faith was an important part of my life,” she said. “I remember going to Sunday School and being an acolyte during worship. I remember going to my parents’ class after ours was finished.
“They would still be talking with their friends which gave us, my siblings and I, a chance to grab a sugar cube from the coffee table. When I was in junior high school, I was involved in a vehicular accident that put me in the hospital for a week.
“Prayers were a vital part of the healing process. In high school, I continued to grow in faith, professing my desire to follow wherever God could use me. When I went to college, I attended the Holland (Mich.) UMC and helped lead the youth program.”
Her undergraduate degree is in Business Administration from Hope College, in Holland.
Following a call to ministry, Harvey said, “I earned a Masters of Divinity degree from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colo.”
For her, there was already a firm starting point.
“Encouraging people along their faith journey was a passion of mine,” Harvey said.
Harvey met her husband, David Johnston, at a church Sunday School class after moving to Denver.
“Our first date was cross-country skiing in the Rocky Mountains,” Harvey said.
They have a number of mutual interests.
“David and I love the outdoors,” Harvey said. “We used to crew hot air balloons. We, sometimes, bike together.
“We have biked across Michigan and Indiana and, of course, the farm roads of Illinois. We like to kayak, which is a great asset in this area of Illinois.”
As the couple have travelled, they have grown spiritually.
“When David and I went to the holy land, we experienced scripture in a new way,” Harvey said. “It was a very sensory experience as we walked on roads that had been there for centuries, entered buildings that represented holy sites, and talked with people from all over the world.
“I look forward to sharing my experiences and hearing from others about their experiences through scripture and living in grace today.”
Traveling is on the back burner temporarily, but Harvey anticipates more journeys in the future.
“I look forward to traveling again,” Harvey said. “Of course, John Wesley’s time management and organization are right up my alley.
“He promoted ministry to all aspects of a person’s life. He had medical advice, began Sunday Schools for children, visited the sick and imprisoned. He did it on horseback, one thing I don’t do.”
Harvey and her husband have two children and a son-in-law. Clarissa and her husband, Aton, live in San Jose, Cal. Son, Drew is a student at Illinois State University and is working on his second degree.
Harvey said there’s no shortage of rewards associated with her life’s work.
“The rewards of ministry are many, from teaching children about Jesus, to seeing the ‘aha’ moment when someone understands better, to challenging people to move forward, to caring for people when they feel broken,” Harvey said.
“I am not a superstar, but I do my best with what I have and understand. Yes, there are some regrets, but I seek forgiveness and grace. The hardest things in ministry are the ‘ism:’ negativism, judgmentalism and sexism. Others experience their own isms, so we need to have an open heart and open hand as we live out our faith.
“I look forward to working with people in outreach programs, even going to places where communities are dealing with crisis situations.”
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Harvey has remained active.
“I have been doing virtual walks,” she said. “Recently, I walked across Michigan and back, 400 miles in two months. In my spare time, I do 1,000-piece puzzles.”
Harvey has a request as she continues to meet parishioners and other community members.
“Please say hello to me and maybe, even tell me your name more than once,” she said. “You look different when you put on a mask.
“I look forward to knowing you all and working on goals that seek solutions for our challenges.”
