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Disaster Response and Recovery
Higher Education & Campus Ministry
Pan-Methodist Campaign for Children in Poverty
12/8/2020
Dear Friends, A well-read Anglican priest and Oxford scholar, John Wesley owned many books and publications. But his “go-to” book for doctrine, theology, guidance and inspiration was the Bible. Indeed, he called himself a homo unius libri, “a man of one book.” No wonder a high view of Scripture is one of the hallmarks of United Methodists. In addition to important history and inspired insight, we encounter the living Christ in the pages of Scripture. This is one of the reasons that in 2019 and ...
11/29/2020
Dear Friends, Waiting is not easy for most of us. We want challenges to be resolved - now. We grow impatient when in uncertain times. We are uncomfortable with unplanned pauses. Yet, waiting is a part of the rhythm of life. Indeed, Advent, the season of the Christian year launching today, is devoted to both past and future waiting. We remember the long centuries of waiting before the Christ Child was born. We also recognize that we continue to wait for Jesus’ second coming. This year’s Advent ...
11/26/2020
Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett and the Conference Leadership Team share a message of gratitude for North Alabama Conference clergy and laity. To view video, click the image above or go to https://youtu.be/q-xWhNAzT9o.
11/23/2020
Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications Dear Friends, As we enter into the holidays, the uncertainty of this global pandemic continues to impact all of our decisions. We are grateful that a vast majority of North Alabama and Alabama-West Florida United Methodist Churches have honored our requests throughout the pandemic to follow protocols we developed in consultation with healthcare professionals for in-person worship services and other gatherings. While our guidelines have ...
11/9/2020
Dear Friends, Early this year I convened twenty North Alabama Conference clergy and laity to participate in a “Context Team.” The goal was for this diverse group of leaders to provide insights to the Conference Leadership Team as our denomination moved toward and presumably beyond the 2020 General Conference. Participants on this team were asked to meet together monthly through the end of December 2020. Of course, this was prior to our denomination’s decision to postpone General Conference ...
11/3/2020
Dear Friends Today is day eight of the Call to Prayer to United Methodists in Alabama being led by Bishop David Graves and me. We are requesting two weeks of daily prayer for: persons who are on the ballot during this election season as they await the election results; persons who are elected to lead our nation and state; the transitions for any leaders who will be entering and exiting public office; discourse about the elections to be civil and respectful in the halls of government, schools, ...
10/29/2020
Dear Friends, We strongly believe that prayer makes a difference. Indeed, sincere and fervent prayer is an action that positively impacts our lives and the world in which we live. As the 2020 U.S. Election Day quickly approaches, we call United Methodists in the state of Alabama to two weeks of daily prayer for our state and national leaders, beginning October 27 and concluding November 10. We also encourage the practice of praying daily throughout the year for the U.S. President, Vice ...
10/19/2020
Dear Friends, We did it! We accomplished a meaningful virtual Annual Conference. This virtual alternative to an in-person meeting allowed us to safely Conference together in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Your response to our first virtual Annual Conference was heartening. Our 944 unique log-ins to the Zoom webinar and 109 unique viewers on YouTube indicate that participation was higher than at the 2019 in-person Conference. While we do not have an exact headcount, we know these log-in ...
10/8/2020
Dear Friends, As the November 3 Election Day approaches I am reminded of an experience my Mom had as a teenager. A voracious reader who loved history and politics, at the age of thirteen she was told by an influential adult in her life, “Idella, women do not need to vote. Politics are for men.” Needless to say, she rejected this theory. Indeed, it has inspired her to vote in every election for the past sixty-plus years. She even did so four years ago from a hospital bed, aided by my 83-year-old ...
9/3/2020
Dear Friends, I am looking forward to seeing many of you online at our upcoming 2020 North Alabama Annual Conference. We will gather virtually from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 26 for worship, prayer, business and celebrations. Satellite venues will be available by pre-registration only for voting members of the Annual Conference who are without technology or internet access to participate from their homes. During the opening worship and the closing sending forth services Bishop ...
