As we enter the fall, Bishop Ward updates us on several ways the Methodist connection binds us together.
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
I celebrate today the connection of The United Methodist Church.
First, I urge all clergy to be alert to the information you will soon receive relative to the clergy session of the Annual Conference that will convene next week on Thursday, September 17 at 10 am. The advance material will be helpful for you. As you review it, you will find yourself prepared for the matters which will be before us.
Second, I share with you that the North Carolina Annual Conference has been asked to assist the Louisiana Annual Conference in the early response to Hurricane Laura. This is the way the United Methodist Committee on Relief works. We are UMCOR and we are able to offer the experience which we have gained in hurricane recovery to now help others. Throughout the month of September, early response teams from the North Carolina Conference will be in Louisiana. We are loaning equipment as well as expertise. Even as food drops continue in the devastated 60-mile swath of destruction, there is much harm and hurt. Thank you for inviting an offering in your church for United Methodist Committee on Relief.
And third, I thank each of you for the ministry ongoing in your local church. It’s been my joy to speak with many clergy in the month of August, and as we spoke by phone, I was encouraged and inspired by your perseverance, your faithfulness, your creativity, and your flexibility. God indeed is with us even in these times.
Thanks be to God for all the ties that bind us in Christ’s ministry through The United Methodist Church.