October is recognized by The United Methodist Church, as well as many other denominations, as Pastor Appreciation Month.
The 2025-28 quadrennium will be an opportunity for us to reset our commitment to the power of the connection. Will you participate in our reset by praying, self-nominating, encouraging others to self-nominate and/or sharing additional ideas with leadership?
I look forward to seeing you at our 2023 Fall District Days as we focus on the hope that abounds in our lives and denomination as followers of Jesus Christ.
Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett shares a State the Church Address during Annual Conference each year. This year she summed up the state of the North Alabama Conference, saying, “All is Well.”
I left the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama, this past Saturday with a full heart after an energizing and inspiring 2023 North Alabama Annual Conference!
Our next Holy Land pilgrimage will be February 21-March 1, 2024, and is open to clergy and laity in the Holston and North Alabama Conferences.
We have a lot of “new” happening in the North Alabama Conference right now! God is moving in and through us as new churches are forming and fresh expressions are developing.
Though the words do not come easily, they are important. Words we pray. Words Jesus spoke in The Sermon on the Mount. Words calling for action as found in our United Methodist Social Principles.
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Not only did this truth make all the difference to the women at the tomb 2000+ years ago. It transforms the lives of Christ-followers today.
The holy season of Lent starts today with Ash Wednesday. Lent was originally a period of fasting and preparation for the baptism of new believers. This significant season of the year has evolved into a time of penance for all Christ-followers.
On Sunday, February 12, I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the United Methodist Church growing in North Alabama again. Twice on the same Sunday.
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
I look forward to reading through the Bible together in 2023. May we encounter the living God often in Scripture as we read together.
Yes, we have experienced the season of Christmastide on many occasions. Yet we have not previously been in this particular Christmas season. The Christ Child’s birth continues to change lives.
Together, as the North Alabama Conference, we will continue our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Christ-followers are called to practice thanksgiving 365 days of the year. Indeed, we are reminded by Paul in Philippians 4:4 to “rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice.”
As we focus on discipleship, our hope barometer grows exponentially. After all, we are disciples of Jesus Christ, the Hope of the World.
I asked the North Alabama District Superintendents to add their voices to mine in naming reasons they are grateful for our clergy.
The focus during the 2022 “Bishop’s Days in the District” is on providing information related to discipleship, disaffiliation and continued affiliation in our conference and denomination.
I loved being at the 2022 North Alabama Annual Conference with you. It was great to be together in person again! I left the experience with several positive impressions.
I anticipate a powerful conference as we focus on the theme: Disciples Celebrating Discipleship. We will worship, hear reports of how God is moving among us, vote upon resolutions presented from various members of the annual conference and do business together.
I encourage each of us to take these or other appropriate actions in response to the violence that has become increasingly prevalent in our society. Our actions make a difference!
Yes, our hearts ache, God. When will the killing stop? When will the acts of hate and racism cease? When will we love as you love?
Maybe, like Mary Magdalene, we are so preoccupied with other matters that we fail to realize Jesus' many ways of being present in our lives. Then we hear him calling our name.
So, we United Methodists again are in a period of waiting for the next General Conference. What do we do while in this waiting posture?
My prayer is that we will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God is with us as we serve and lead together as United Methodists in the North Alabama Conference.
In moving through the Lenten season, we have the opportunity to pray, fast and wrestle with wilderness temptations and questions. As we do so, we grow and mature in character, take next steps in our calling and deepen our walk with God.
O God, We come before you today with heavy and troubled hearts about what is unfolding in Eastern Europe.
The four cornerstones to the North Alabama Conference cabinet's appointment-making process are: careful listening, cabinet conversations, prayerful matches and strategic transitions.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy is a reminder of the difference one person’s life can make, not only to those who know them best, but also to a country and world.
