My colleague, Stan Norman, has said it better than I can.
-Pastor Carl
Dear Friends,
If you weren't raised in the United Methodist Church, and even if you were, you may find it strange that geographic areas are defined in temporal terms. For example, all of the United Methodist Churches in Washington and the northern ten counties of Idaho are officially part of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The name Annual Conference honors our heritage. In the early days of Methodism, it was the practice of John Wesley and other leaders to gather all the clergy together annually, or more often, to worship, conduct church business, and enjoy the fellowship of colleagues in ministry. At the end of the conference, pastors and preachers were told which churches, or groups of churches, they would serve in the coming year. Pastors used to be assigned to groups of churches called "circuits", hence the prominent image in Methodism of a pastor astride his horse, riding from one church in the circuit to the next; reading, writing, studying, and even sleeping, in the saddle. Today we call groups of churches served by the same pastor a "charge", and a car or truck has replaced the horse.
From June 18th through June 21st, our Bishop, Grant Hagiya, will convene and preside over the 128th annual meeting of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. The theme of this year's conference is "Everyone Fed." There will be reports from all of the annual conference agencies and organizations. There will be legislative committee meetings to consider and act on petitions from United Methodists across the annual conference. There will be votes on Constitutional amendments recommended by the General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2008. There will be a ministry fair, a basketball game to raise funds for Nothing But Nets, part of our global initiative to combat malaria. There will be meetings in the morning, meetings at night, and meetings "at suppertime". There will be offerings, and networking, and socializing, and even a Cokesbury bookstore.
But, our favorite part of annual conference is the worship! The worship services that begin and end to describe or underestimate the spiritual experience of 1000 voices raised in celebration of God's amazing grace, and Christ's unbelievable love. One of our favorite songs puts it this way: "amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree."
Amidst all the excitement and activity that is annual conference, amidst all the business and busyness, amidst all the turmoil and stress, let us remember that
this is an opportunity for "Holy Conferencing". Let us never forget that Christ is at the Center of all that we do, say, and are. Let us ensure that "Everyone is Fed".
Grace and Peace,
-Reprinted from SUM Tidings, June 2009, newsletter of
Sandpoint United Methodist Church