Coronavirus Response

  • Home
  • A-Z List
  • About
    • About the NCC
    • Connectional Table
    • Staff
  • Calendar
    • Events
    • Google Calendar
    • Past Events
  • Churches
  • Contact
    • Find Us
  • Districts
    • District Office
    • Beacon
    • Capital
    • Corridor
    • Fairway
    • Gateway
    • Harbor
    • Heritage
    • Sound
  • Employment
  • Search

NC Conference

Healthy Congregations and Effective Leaders in Every Place Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World

  • Discipleship
    Developing Disciples
    • Christian Formation
      • Children
      • Church & Society
      • College
      • Differently Abled Persons
      • Educational Ministries
      • Older Adults
      • Status & Role of Women
      • Young Adults
      • Youth
    • Church Revitalization
      • Coaching
      • Disciple Making Way
      • Evangelism
      • Grants
      • MissionInsite
      • Real Discipleship Survey
      • Shift
      • Spiritual Life
    • From the Bishop
      • Bishop’s Bookshelf
      • Bishop’s Sermons
      • Church Transformation
      • Conflict Transformation
      • Connections
      • Discipleship & Learning Plan
    • Multicultural
      • Asian
      • Hispanic/Latino
      • Native American
      • Strengthening the Black Church
    • Stewardship
      • Apportionments
      • District Remittances
      • Financial Discipleship
      • Grants
      • Insurance
      • Mission & Service
      • Pension
      • Treasurer Training
  • Leadership
    Strengthening Leaders
    • Bishop’s Office
      • Appointment Book
      • Bishop’s Sermons
      • Church Transformation
      • Conflict Transformation
      • Connections
      • Discipleship & Learning Plan
    • Ministerial Relations
      • Board of Ordained Ministry
      • Called to Ministry?
      • Extension Ministries
    • Board of Laity
      • Certified Lay Minister
      • Lay Servant Ministries
      • Local Church Lay Leaders
      • United Methodist Men
      • United Methodist Women
      • United Methodist Youth
    • New Faith Comm.
      • Called to Plant?
      • New Room Society
      • Our Communities
    • Conference Offices
      • Center for Leadership Excellence
      • Christian Formation
      • Communications
      • Conference Secretary
      • Connectional Ministries
      • Information Technology
      • Multicultural Ministries
      • Outreach Ministry
      • Treasurer’s Office
  • Service
    Ministering To The World
    • Local Outreach
      • Church Construction
      • Church Loans
      • Restorative Justice and Mercy
      • Disciple Bible Outreach
      • NCC UMVIM
      • Seed Funds
      • Mission Projects
        • Health Ministry
    • Global Outreach
      • Imagine No Malaria
      • Love for Liberia
      • Missionaries
      • Project AGAPE
      • Sierra Leone: Mission of Hope
      • ZOE
    • Disaster Ministries
      • Donate to Storm Response
      • Hurricane Florence
      • MERCI
      • Response Plan
      • Response Team
      • UMCOR Kits
    • Giving
      • Advance/Rainbow Covenant
      • Apportionments
      • Give to Storm Response
      • Mission & Service
      • The Gary Wayne Locklear Mission Endowment
      • New Room Society
      • Special Sundays
    • Ministry Partners
      • Camps & Retreats
      • Partners In Ministry
      • Robeson Co. Church & CC
      • UMF
  • Resources
    Supporting Ministry
    • Conferences
      • Annual Conference 2019
      • Annual Conference 2020
      • Charge Conference 2020
      • General Conference
      • Pilgrimage
      • SEJ Conference 2016
    • Media Center
      • Catalog
      • Labyrinth
      • Ministry Tools
      • Online Resources
      • Weekly Newsletter
    • Online Resources
      • Archives & History
      • Church Lookup
      • Online Data Collection
      • Online Learning
      • Pastor Lookup
      • Podcasts (NCCUMC.FM)
      • Ramus: Web Hosting
      • Video (Vimeo)
    • Publications
      • Advent 2020
      • Appointment Book
      • Bible Study
      • Conference Directory
      • Conference Journal
      • Every Day Grace
      • Lenten Reflections
      • Mission & Service
    • From UMC.org
      • Agencies
      • Communications
      • Discipleship
      • Finance & Administration
      • Global Ministries
      • Graphics Library
      • Relief
      • Status & Role of Women
  • Bishop’s Office
  • About Bishop Ward
    • Biography
    • Bookshelf
    • Calendar
  • Appointment Book
  • Events
    • 2020 Asia Mission Initiative Summit /Vietnam Consultation
  • Reports & Rulings
    • Episcopal Rulings
  • Sermons
  • More
    • Conflict Transformation
    • Discipleship Plan
    • Emmaus
    • Lenten Reflections

From the Bishop: Easter Greetings

April 16, 2017 Leave a Comment

Bishop Ward greets us with the ancient words – Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!

Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!

With these ancient magnificent words, we offer one another Easter greeting. Today is the most glorious of all days. Today is the best of all days. Today, Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. The stone has been rolled away; he is not there. Mary Magdalene runs to find the disciples.When she tells Peter, Peter runs, as does the disciple Jesus loved. They look into the tomb and are mystified to find it empty.

We, in the Wesleyan tradition, offer to the world the most familiar Easter hymn. Charles Wesley wrote the words – “Christ the Lord is risen today! Alleluia! Earth and heaven in chorus say ‘Alleluia!’ Love’s redeeming work is done. Alleluia! Soar we now where Christ has led. Alleluia!”

Heaven’s doors are open to us. Eternal life in time and abundant life now is ours through the gifts of Easter light, life and resurrection.

At All Saints United Methodist Church in Durham this morning, there will be beautiful origami blossoms – flowers. These flowers have been folded by Ruth Harper Stevens who is an origami artist as well as a clergy member of our annual conference. On Ash Wednesday, which seems so long ago, children, youth and adults in this church wrote their Lenten prayers and confessions. They opened their hearts to God at the beginning of the Lenten journey, asking for God’s help, God’s healing, for God’s hope for their lives.

Ruth carefully folded each of these prayers into a flower, and this morning, those prayers have been filled with resurrection light and life.

Today, Easter is God’s greatest gift. “Christ, the Lord,is risen today. Heaven and earth in chorus say ‘Alleluia, alleluia!'” Therefore, we might soar where Christ has led. This is the gift of Easter – Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. May your hearts be full of joy this Easter day and always.
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, Easter

connections

connections: Welcoming the Stranger

connections: Joy & Sorrow

connections: Dust and Ashes

connections: Vietnam Mission Initiative

connections: Thank You for Your Faithfulness

connections: Prayer for Inauguration Day 2021

connections: There Can Be Change

connections: Generosity

Christmas Blessings

connections: Draw Near to the Light

NC Conference of The United Methodist Church · 700 Waterfield Ridge Place · Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.779.6115 · Toll-free: 800.849.4433 · Fax: 919.773.2308

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy Policy · Powered by WordPress · Site Admin

  • Español
  • 한국어