Dear Friends,
Sue, Jessie and I just returned from Lakeside and the 2007 East Ohio Annual Conference. It is truly a whirlwind experience! As Jessie attends morning VBS, and Sue renews friendships, I sit for seven to ten hours each of our four ‘business’ days, often leaving Hoover Auditorium with a stiff back, sore muscles, and a befuddled head, the result of listening to reports on everything from finance to aging local churches to conflicts around our social principles.
At the same time, I sat for the same number of hours and heard great preaching and exhilarating messages of love and hope.
I was exhilarated to hear what some of our East Ohio congregations are doing to start new congregations, add worship services to reach the unchurched, or send mission teams to some part of this hurting world that desperately needs to know the transforming love of Jesus. And, after thirty years of declining growth of churches in the ‘rust belt,’ it was exciting to hear how our Conference is turning around — in overall giving, apportionment payments, numbers of baptisms, and increased worship attendance ... for the second consecutive year!
I was exhilarated as Western Pennsylvania’s Bishop Thomas Bickerton talked about the lives being saved in Africa through our “Nothing But Nets” campaign. The United Methodist Church, in collaboration with the National Basketball Association, Sports Illustrated, and the United Nations Foundation, is at the forefront of this campaign aimed at saving the lives of millions of men, women and children dying from malaria passed to them by infected mosquitoes. Ten dollars ($10) saves the life of one person. Imagine that we can personally be responsible for saving a life when we give just a ten-dollar bill to this effort! There is an obvious reference to basketball with the name “Nothing But Nets.” It helps us remember that these repellent-treated nets over each bed allow folks to sleep in peace, knowing that they will not be infected during their most vulnerable time, the dark and cooler mosquito feeding time of night. So, I challenge each of you to buy a net and save a life. Bishop Bickerton challenged the 1800 conference delegates each to give $10 and save as many lives as possible by the end of the week. We raised $3123 that will save 312 lives!
I was exhilarated to meet old friends from former churches, and pastors I went to seminary with, or have known in previous appointments, or former pastors of the Howland UMC. It was great to meet Pastor Tom and Kitty Snyder for the first time; and it was likewise wonderful again to see Pastors Bill McFadden, David Palmer and Scott Purdum. What a blessing we share in the United Methodist Church to be in connection with one another in such dynamic and powerful ways!
Peace,
Pastor Ron |
Howland United Methodist Church