North Alabama Conference to "Pray Our Way Forward" January 15-21

Joining Annual Conferences worldwide in pursuit of God's guidance, the North Alabama Conference will participate in "Praying Our Way Forward" the week of January 15-21, 2017. This initiative of the Council of Bishops invites Annual Conferences to spend the week praying for a way forward. During this time all Conferences are asked to pray for the United Methodist Church’s effectiveness in our mission of disciple-making and for the work of the Commission on a Way Forward.

As a response to concerns raised at the 2016 General Conference, the Council of Bishops formed a Commission to "...develop a complete examination and possible revision of every paragraph in the Book of Discipline regarding human sexuality." According to a statement released by the Council of Bishops on May 18, 2016, "We continue to hear from many people on the debate over sexuality that our current Discipline contains language which is contradictory, unnecessarily hurtful, and inadequate for the variety of local, regional and global contexts." The Council named a Commission on a Way Forward to recommend clear objectives and outcomes. Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett of the North Alabama Conference is one of the 32 members of the Commission. 

United Methodists in North Alabama are invited to participate in a variety of ways.

• We invite every church in the North Alabama Conference to offer a special prayer during the worship services on Sunday, January 15. Encourage your church leaders to participate.
• Offer a special prayer at any meetings, worship services or events scheduled at your church during the week of January 15-21.
• Click here to add your name to the Prayer Vigil for the week. Publicize the link to your United Methodist friends.
• Join Bishop Wallace-Padgett and the Cabinet in a Wesleyan fast beginning Thursday evening, January 19 through 3 p.m. on Friday, January 20.
• Encourage your church leadership to make available a quiet space for people to come and pray.
• Click here for prayer topics to fill your prayer time.