As we enter into the upcoming appointment season, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to engage with this process through prayer and support for your Cabinet. Each year at this time, the District Superintendents gather to work through a significant amount of information related to the churches of the North Carolina Conference. Some of this information comes from ongoing consultations between pastors and superintendents, and some comes from advisory information received from the Staff/Pastor Parish Relation Committee.
In this time of discernment, it is important to understand that these decisions are not taken lightly. Each church in our annual conference is prayed over, as is each pastor. Each decision that is made for churches and pastors is covered in prayer and in holy conferencing. A large part of this process is keeping at the front of our hearts and minds the mission of the North Carolina Conference: “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
As part of a connectional system, we all have a role to play in this process. You are invited to pray for your Cabinet as they undertake this work. Beginning this Sunday as you gather for worship, and continuing throughout the entire process, you are invited to pray the prayer below:
O God, we give thanks for our Cabinet, servant-leaders that you have raised up to help guide the work of the church. We are grateful for all of the gifts that you have given them, and for their willingness to follow the call you have placed on their lives.
As we enter into a season of discernment and decision-making in our North Carolina Conference, God, we ask that you send your wisdom to these your servants. As they gather for holy conferencing, let them be aware of your presence in their midst. May the words they speak in their conversations bear the anointing of the Holy Spirit. As they work to appoint shepherds for your church, God, grant them understanding.
In all their good work, may they receive a renewed vision for how you are already at work in the churches and communities of eastern North Carolina. Let each prayerful decision be made with grace. And when all is said and done, O God, may your peace, that passes all understanding, rest on all the work that you have made possible. We ask this prayer in the name of the One who is and who is to come, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
The appointment process will run through April, culminating with announcements in local churches.
Feature image credit: Unsplash / Jametlene Reskp
Prayer: Jay Locklear