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Disaster Response and Recovery
Higher Education & Campus Ministry
Pan-Methodist Campaign for Children in Poverty
7/27/2021
Dear Friends, I am grateful for how United Methodist churches and leaders in the North Alabama Conference have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much ministry has been accomplished even as we have practiced Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to help mitigate the spread of the virus. One of the North Alabama Conference’s guiding principles throughout the pandemic has been the first of Methodism’s three General Rules “Do No Harm.” Indeed, this is the title of the ...
6/15/2021
Dear Friends, When elected as a bishop in 2012, the possibility did not occur to me of a 2020 and 2021 global pandemic that would result in virtual Annual Conference sessions. Yet, that is exactly what happened! Though the length of time, amount of debate and sidebar conversations are different in a virtual than an in-person Annual Conference, a lot was accomplished! Some highlights from the 2021 virtual North Alabama Conference are listed below. Many thanks to Bishop Michael Watson, Dr. Bill ...
5/21/2021
Dear Friends, By now many of you have heard that I am one of four bishops in the Southeastern Jurisdiction who will be covering an additional Conference until elections and assignments of new bishops take place during the next regular session of the Jurisdictional Conference (Nov. 2-4, 2022). This coverage situation is a result of Bishop Lawson Bryan, Bishop Paul Leeland, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward and Bishop Mary Virginia Taylor requesting to retire effective Sept. 1, 2021, under paragraph 408.2 ...
4/5/2021
Dear Friends, During this Easter season, I bring you words of hope. After all, more than any period on the Christian calendar, Eastertide is characterized by hope. Perhaps you have been in a meeting where participants name a word that they associate with an event, person or experience. Whether it is done on newsprint, with post-it notes or by Mentimeter, the word hope receives lots of votes in association with Easter. So Eastertide is a great season! Because all of us need an ample supply of ...
4/4/2021
Dear Friends, On this Easter Sunday, I bring you words of hope. After all, more than any other day on the calendar, Easter Sunday is characterized by hope. Perhaps you have been in a meeting where participants name a word that they associate with an event, person or experience. Whether it is done on newsprint, with post-it notes or by Mentimeter, the word hope receives lots of votes in association with Easter. So today is a great day! Because all of us need an ample supply of hope in our lives! ...
3/17/2021
Dear Friends, Hebrews 12:1b is a favorite Scripture passage for many sports-lovers. Though written for a different situation and place, the words are an encouragement when applied to our North Alabama Conference’s response to COVID-19. “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us . . .” What a year we have experienced! When a year ago this week (March 16, 2020) the North Alabama Conference Leadership Team and I made the request that congregations suspend in-person worship ...
3/1/2021
Dear Friends, Many of you have read the February 25 news release announcing the second postponement of the 2020 General Conference, now scheduled to take place on August 25- September 6, 2022. The Commission on General Conference made this difficult decision after months of careful discernment. Two primary factors influenced this decision. 1) It was discerned that due to the current stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, an in-person global gathering the size of a United Methodist General Conference ...
2/23/2021
Dear Friends, I first began attending Annual Conference as a child with my Dad, mother and siblings. While Dad participated in meetings, we had a great time together visiting with friends, shopping at the Cokesbury display and enjoying each other. We would accompany Dad to worship in the evenings. I have a different focus at Annual Conference these days than I did when attending as a child. One dynamic is the same, though. I still love Annual Conference! The Annual Conference planning team and ...
2/15/2021
Dear Friends, Lee’s and my young adult daughter, Leanndra, recently celebrated another birthday. On one hand, it feels like she arrived in this world a lifetime ago. On the other hand, it seems like only yesterday when I first held our newborn baby girl. Time has that kind of illusive, mysterious quality. So it is with the rhythm of the Christian year. We were celebrating the birth of Jesus a mere eight weeks ago. Yet, already Lent has arrived, the season focusing on Jesus’ public ministry, ...
2/8/2021
Dear Friends, The Appointive Cabinet and I have hosted annual District Days since I became your episcopal leader in 2012. This past year was no exception, thanks to Zoom technology! Thank you to each participant who took part in the District Days. Also, kudos to the District Superintendents for organizing and facilitating the Days. It was great to connect with a variety of people and groups across the Annual Conference through the District Days. In addition, the insights District Superintendents...
