Renfro Trust Grant and Siedschlag Award
Every year, the Conference Secretary of Global Missions (the Rev. Seungsoo ‘RJ’ Jun VAUMC CSGM) of the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church gathers with others to award the Renfro Trust Grant to local churches and Siedschlag award to members of the conference. The application is now open for your church, located in a less than 10,000 population, to apply for a ‘brick and mortar’ grant of up to $5,000. Also, each conference can nominate up to two members of the conference who might be the recipient of the Siedschlag award.
Deadline: September 1, 2022
Renfro Trust Grant
Under provisions of the Renfro Trust, the income from the Fund is to be used to establish and support United Methodist churches in rural areas of the United States within the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church. The term “rural areas”shall be interpreted to mean towns of less than 10,000, villages, and open country. Grants will be considered for projects involving new or existing church buildings only, not for parsonages. Repairs required to maintain the structural integrity or soundness of the church building may be included as part of a request. Major equipment directly related to the overall project may be included in a request. Grants will not be awarded for general maintenance of a church building or equipment. Grants for debt reduction will not be considered.
• The maximum amount for each grant shall be $5,000.00. Funds are awarded as grants, not
as loans.
Siedschlag Award
The Rev. Herman W. Siedschlag was a minister who spent his later years telling the story of the church’s call to Mission. The Siedschlag Award is to be given annually by the Southeastern Jurisdiction Conference Secretaries of Global Ministries Network to recognize an individual who has exemplified Rev. Siedschlag’s passion by serving as an exh·aordinary mission interpreter and has a sh·ong commitment to Mission work in the SEJ.
- Each member of the SEJ-CSGM Network may submit two nominations to be considered each year. This should include a biographical sketch of the individual and reasons that support the nomination.
- The Herman W. Siedschlag Award will consist of a plaque to the recipient, and that individual’s name and year of award will be added to the permanent plaque at Lake Junaluska.
- The Award will be presented during the following session of the winner’s annual conference or at the setting and time the CSGM Network decides to be most appropriate.
- At each Jurisdictional Conference, the quadrennium’s winners will be lifted up and celebrated.
Information about the Rev. Herman W. Siedschlag
The Rev. Herman W. Siedschlag was the next pastor assigned to serve Emmanuel E.U.B. Church in Brillion and Emmanuel E.U.B. Church in Rantoul Township, Calumet County. Prior to his assignment to Brillion, the Rev. Siedschlag had served as pastor at Oak Creek. The Rev. Siedschlag served as pastor of the churches in Brillion and Rantoul from 1951 to 1954. Herman William Siedschlag, son of Herman F. and Minnie (Hartwig) Siedschlag, was born November 18, 1917, in Juda, Green County, Wisconsin. Herman W. Siedschlag attended college and was employed as a telephone systems maintenance technician prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army on March 17, 1941. At the time of his enlistment, he was single and without dependents. He served for the Panama Canal Department during World War II. After he was married, Herman W. Siedschlag and his wife, Nelva had four sons born to their union: Herman William “Bill” 11, born July 24, 1944 in Ozark, Alabama; Dan; Paul; and Bryan, who was born in Kentucky after the Rev. Siedschlag and his family were transferred from Brillion.
During Rev. Siedschlag’s third year serving the Brillion and Rantoul E.U.8. congregations, a tragic accident occurred on Sunday, July 26, 1953. At 7 P.M. on that date, Herman Bill, the oldest son of Rev. and Mrs. Siedscblag, was riding his bicycle on U.S. Highway IO about one mile west from the City of Brillion when he was struck by a car and was critically injured. He died from his injuries on the morning of Friday, July 31, 1953 at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay. His funeral was held a few days later, with Rev. Lambrecht and Rev. Hayes as officiates. Herman William “Bill” Siedschlag was buried in the cemetery at Juda, Wisconsin. (Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, WI, Friday, July 31, 1953)
Dr. John Knauf, a coroner for Calumet County, conducted an inquest in December 1953 at Brillion High School regarding the accident that took the life of Herman Bill Siedschlag, who was nine years old at the time of the accident. The coroner’s jury found that the 18-year-old driver from the Forest Junction area could not avoid the ensuing tragedy that happened on July 26, 1953. (Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, WI, Wednesday, December 23, 1953)
Only their trust and faith in God and his son, Jesus Christ, could have sustained the family of the Rev. Herman Siedscblag and his wife, Nelva, a faith that allowed them to continue their ministry in the Brillion and Rantoul E.U.B. churches. On Saturday, August I, 1953, the day after their son’s death, Rev. Siedschlag officiated for the wedding of Caroline Fischer and Allen Wolfmeyer. On the following Saturday, August 8, the Rev. Herman Siedschlag officiated the wedding of Louise A. Landmann and Stanley Arthur Heimke at Emmanuel E.U.B. Church in Brillion.
In addition to his ministerial duties, while caring for the members of bis two congregations, the Rev. Siedschlag was frequently invited to be the featured speaker for various events. One week in February 1954, the Rev. Siedschlag was the speaker for a Tuesday evening father-son banquet at Zion E.U.B. Church in Marshfield. In the same week, he was the speaker for the Appleton Women’s Club on Thursday afternoon, and on Friday evening, he delivered a talk for the youth banquet at Emmanuel E.U.B. Church in Milwaukee. (Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, WI, Saturday, February 27, 1954)
After serving the E.U.B. churches in Brillion and Rantoul for three years, the Rev. Herman W. Siedscblag was assigned ministerial duties at Red Bird Mission in an impoverished area of southeastern Kentucky near Red Bird Mission was established in 1921 by the Evangelical Church and has continued to provide educational, health and community outreach services to the residents of the Red Bird Valley. Rev. Siedschlag served at the Red Bird Mission from 1954 to 1958.
The Rev. Siedschlag’s years of ministerial service included: Oak Creek, 1947- I 951; Brillion and Rantoul, 1951-1954; Red Bird Mission, 1954-1958; Lomira, 1958-1962; Lomira Ebenezer, 1962. The Rev. Herman William Siedschlag died on Saturday, March 17, 2001, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Brillion News, April 5, 2001)
Renfro
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