Posts from 2019
Have You Heard About the MAC “Straw Poll”?
If I had to make a guess, I’d say that most of the good folks in our church are not aware of the non-binding straw poll that was take at annual conference last week. Following the 2019 General Conference, the leadership team of the Michigan Annual Conference (MAC) wanted to get a better sense about where the people in our conference stand in regard to the matter of whether or not to allow clergy to perform same-sex weddings and ordain…
Pastoral Response to General Conference
Dear Friends at Adrian First United Methodist Church, Last week, The United Methodist Church prayerfully and intentionally entered into a process of holy conferencing with the hope of discovering an amicable way forward in regard our denominational stance on human sexuality, specifically pertaining to marriage and ordination. On Tuesday, the special called session of General Conference came to an end, and with it, a decision. Bishop David Bard states it well in his letter to the members of the Michigan…
A Pastoral Letter on General Conference 2019
Humility, Hope, Heart, and Wisdom Sisters and Brothers in Christ in the Michigan United Methodist Church, in this new year I bring greetings in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the peace and power of the Holy Spirit. As 2018 came to a close, many of us watched portions of the funeral services for former president George H. W. Bush and some of the news specials about his life and career. Along the way,…