The quadrennial theme for the North Carolina Conference UMC is “Generosity in All Seasons.” Bishop Ward encourages both clergy and laity to look for God’s generosity as they study, teach, and preach the scriptures.
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
It’s mid-September and this week, the Connectional Table, the Leadership team and the Cabinet are in session. As we meet, we continue to affirm and develop the theme for this quadrennium – Generosity in All Seasons.
You are invited as laity and clergy leading in churches across our annual conference to watch for the theme of generosity as you study the scriptures. As you teach and as you preach, teach and proclaim the wellspring of God’s generosity. We see God’s generosity from Genesis to Revelation, in story after story, in psalm after psalm, in parable after parable. It’s the greatest theme of the scripture from beginning to end.
During this next four years together, we will focus our attention on God’s generosity. It will be a lens through which we look at the scripture. It will be a lens through which we offer prayers to God and it will be the pathway through which we step out into the world.
God’s generosity to us is manifested day by day in the life which we share together and in the life we individually embody. We want to be vessels of God’s healing, grace and love in all the world. It will be an exciting time as we discover more completely the generosity of God to us, as we comprehend a bit more fully the immense generosity of God in giving life to all the world. We will claim again God’s generosity as the foundation, the wellspring and the hope of our ministry.
Watch for generosity in the scripture, in the congregation, and in the community. Let us learn, love and live well together as we receive all God’s gifts day by day. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your generosity. Thank you for your wisdom.
The Holy Spirit leads and guides us as we step into this new quadrennium together. I give thanks for the joy and privilege of being assigned as the Bishop of the North Carolina Annual Conference for these next four years and will continue to pray, work and love with you again, rejoicing in the great generosity of God to us all.