And are we yet alive
And see each other’s face?
Glory and thanks to Jesus give
For his almighty grace

 

What troubles have we seen,
What mighty conflicts past,
Fightings without, and fears within,
Since we assembled last?

 

— “And Are We Yet Alive”
Charles Wesley, 1749

 

This weekend, some 1,500 United Methodists from around Eastern North Carolina will gather in our Greenville Convention Center to pray, to listen, to share, to discern together. Since 1784 in Lovely Lane Chapel, in Baltimore, MD, the people called Methodist have gathered and begun our time singing those words. We who have been deployed and serving in various places come back together to share again in the joys and struggles of church life, as we seek God’s direction for our life together.

 

Every year when the Annual Conference gathers, we begin our time in communion. I usually try to sit toward the front and on the center aisle for that celebration because I love to watch as people return from the table and greet their friends and colleagues. I love to see the smiles and the sense of community restored. For me, Annual Conference is more than just a necessary distraction from the work of God. It is a means of grace.

 

We celebrate the new congregations born, and we mourn the congregations that are no more. We mark new servants for ministry, and we name those that have completed their journey of faith. We hear the business of the assembled body, and we dream for what can be. This year will see our own Kuda Kagura commissioned as an elder, his wife Rachel ordained as an elder, and our own Joyce Day recognized in retirement. Laura Goldenbaum-Yang has been appointed to a new ministry, and Dan Baer was appointed to the life of St James.

 

United Methodist preachers use the term “connection” (Mr. Wesley spelled it connexion) an awful lot. We mean the sense that this thing we call church is big and reaches to so many places. This weekend is our celebration of connection, of our shared mission and ministry. I hope you will join me in praying for the assembled brothers and sisters. You might even consider coming to the Convention Center to hear us at prayer and work. I’ll save you a seat.

 

Pastor Tom