(Continued from page 4)

of or convicted of a felony, misdemeanor, or any incident of sexual misconduct or child abuse.
• Step 4 is the longest. You need to complete the coursework. There are 13 seminaries in the United States from which to choose. The most common degree is the masters of divinity. This coursework encourages study in the the areas of history, doctrine and polity. Additional coursework in Methodist evangelism may also be required.
• Step 5 is to receive an appointment to a church or ministry.
• Step 6 is to get approval from the conference board of ordained ministry. To complete your candidacy and be

come an ordained minister with the UMC, you must produce a health certificate from a licensed doctor and pass both the written and doctrinal oral exam and write and submit an autobiography. Next, you must interview and be recommended both by three-fourths vote of district committee and by the board or ordained ministry.
• Step 7 is to become an ordained pastor or elder at the annual UMC conference.
• For Pastor Richards the journey began when he was 16 and felt the calling to serve. He was active within his church at the time and served as the youth president for for two years.
• "We had a very solid youth group," Richards said. "we were very active."
• The journey continued in 2003 when he became a certified candidate to be ordained. The final steps were taken in October of 2011 when he had his final interviews at Storm Mountain in the Black Hills.
• The United Methodist Church held it's annual conference in Sioux Falls this past weekend and Richards was one of four ministers to be ordained during the conference. He is the first minister in the history of the Groton United Methodist Church's 125 year history to be ordained while serving within the congregation. He is the 34^th  person to serve as minister within the Groton United Methodist Church.
• "While I feel a milestone has been reached in my life," Richards said. "I don't feel the path has stopped. I believe becoming ordained is a covenant between me and

(Continued on page 6)