Aug
22
2019
This month I wanted to highlight a few calendar Items for the fall.
On Saturday September 21, our bishop, W. Earl Bledsoe will be holding a meeting at Riverstone Church (formerly First Methodist) in Farmington between 1-3pm. In the wake of the called General Conference in 2019 there have been many proposals about the future of our Denomination. Should the denomination split? Should we stay together? Should we revisit the issues decided in 2019? Every week in the United Methodist News Digest there are articles about one group or another meeting to discuss the future, and coming up with contradictory solutions that will solve all the problems United Methodists face.
Bishop Bledsoe is meeting with pastors and lay people around our episcopal area to find out how the people in our local churches are reacting. He will be asking us about our hopes and dreams for the denomination. He will be asking how our ministries have been affected (or not) by the decisions of the general conference. He is hoping that all the clergy and at least 3 lay persons from each church attend.
On Sunday October 6 we will have our yearly Church Conference. This conference is chaired by the District Superintendent, Craig Cockrell. We present our annual reports on the ministry of the church, and vote on our church leadership for next year. The pastor’s salary is set for the next year as well. (Note that there is a minimum salary set by the annual conference. Since we are at that salary, there is not too much choice in that matter). We will be meeting after worship, and enjoy a potluck dinner as we gather. All church members have a vote, but everyone is welcome to come to the meeting and share in our fellowship. It is also a good time to meet the D.S. Craig is a long time friend of mine, and a great person with a whimsical sense of humor. You will enjoy getting to know him.
Then on October 27 we will hold our Consecration Sunday. This is the day that we ask people to make their financial commitment to the church for 2020. We do this not just for the church’s bottom line, but for the spiritual blessing that people can receive by planning to give a percentage of their income to God’s service through the church. Traditionally the goal is 10% of your income, but our program asks us to prayerfully consider increasing our gifts each year. A legalistic reading of Leviticus and Numbers suggests that Israelites might have been expected to give 10% to each of three different areas of the priesthood or required offerings, and that was not a tithe of income, but of net worth. Of course we do not expect that and there is no indication that any but a small minority of ancient Israel might reach that level of giving. We do ask that you will prayerfully consider what you will offer for God’s service through AUMC.
At the last leadership meeting, someone wondered if the kids who go to Sunday School during worship might not take part in communion. After much discussion we decided that once a quarter (to start with) we would have the young people remain in worship to receive communion. This will be preceded by some explanation to the kids about what we do in the sacrament and why we do it. Someone asked if it was permissible for young people who aren’t members to receive the sacrament. The answer is yes. In the United Methodist Church we believe that the table is open to anyone who is seeking God of any age or background. Our first Sunday for this experience will be November 3, which will also be our observance of All Saints Sunday. It will be an exciting service.
These are some of the events that will be happening this fall. I hope all of you will be there to take part.
