Wednesday morning before we were to consider the Bishops’ proposal of a way forward we did something different.  We prayed together.  No, praying together wasn’t that unusual, in last ten days we prayed more than an unprepared college student taking an Organic Chemistry final. We were asked to pray with folks we don’t usually talk […]

Each morning and most evenings I walk the mile and a half or so from my hotel to the Portland Convention Center.  I zig zag through downtown streets, go along the East Esplanade, an old industrial dock along the Willamette River.  Then I take the Steel Bridge across river then up the ramps and stairs […]

Kay Panovec and Rev. Gary Henderson pray during a plenary session.  Photo Credit:  Rick Wolcott, East Ohio Annual Conference.   At the request of the General Conference, the Council of Bishops came back this morning with a proposal for a path forward.  They proposed that:  Form a special commission to conduct a complete examination and […]

Photo by: Rick Wolcott, East Ohio Annual Conference General Conference has become known for many things:  incredible worship, a diverse audience, the chance to rub elbows with United Methodist thinkers and authors with names like Schnase, Hamilton and Slaughter. And in recent years, protests have been added to this list of things to be expected. […]

Folks who are concerned deeply about the possibility of nuclear war have what is known as the Doomsday Clock.  It isn’t really a clock, but a visual representation of how close we are, at any time, to an atomic and later nuclear war.  Midnight is doomsday, the closer to midnight, the more serious the threat. […]

Friday afternoon in my Local Church Committee we came across three interesting petitions.  The topic was how the annual conference should deal with the assets of a local church that had closed. The petitions came from GCF&A, GBOD and UMRA.  Oh, wait, I forget that you, my dear reader, have not been immersed in United […]

Yesterday at General Conference we finally made it to our committee meetings. I’m working with the local church group, responsible for how local congregations operate. This is the section of the Book of Discipline that talks about Charge Conferences, committees, all that good stuff. In our first introductory meeting we (and all of the other […]

Yesterday, during the first day of General Conference, I was in a huge exhibit hall of the Oregon Convention Center that will be my home for large chunks of the next 10 days. Looking around realized that it was probably the most diverse group of people I had ever been a part of. I joke […]

My trip to Portland started Monday afternoon with a flight to Chicago, then on to the west coast. I wasn’t looking forward to the 4.5 hour flight and plane traffic, lousy weather and a slight mechanical issue in Chicago meant we were on the plane together for even longer. As we boarded we were three […]

The following is a letter sent by many of the United Methodist Foundation Directors in our jurisdiction to our General Conference delegates concerning two areas of potential legislation: On behalf of the undersigned leaders of the United Methodist Foundations across the North Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church, we are writing first and foremost […]