Christmas Eve message from Bishops

Don't forget! Bishops Matthews and Hassinger have composed a reflection for Christmas eve, available for download.

Churches are encouraged to print this for use with Christmas Eve bulletins. If it's too late for your church office to do so, don't neglect to read the reflection and share it in other ways - church website or January newsletter, for instance.

Blessed Christmas, all!

You supply the music

A lighthearted gift of the season (you supply the tune):

On the 5th day before Christmas, the New ACT gave to us:
5 primary values
4 Areas of Focus
3 Simple Rules
2 Faithful Bishops
And a vision for Being God’s Love….

Primary Colors

Here's a slightly different twist on the five values/principles affirmed by New ACT. These are described in more depth in the Convener's Blog.

I call these the "Primary Colors" of the new conference:

• The PRIMARY PURPOSE of the AC: to help persons “live the gospel of Jesus Christ and be God’s love to [their] neighbors."

• The PRIMARY MEASURE of the success of AC and its churches: the quality and quantity of relationships established with our neighbors, particularly those who have been disenfranchised by mainstream society.

• The PRIMARY TASK of the AC: to engage, equip, and empower local churches to be in ministry with and to our Global Neighborhood.

• The PRIMARY COMPONENT in pursuing that task: encouraging and developing leadership within the laity and clergy that is diverse and engaged with the vision of Christ.

• A PRIMARY RESOURCE to guide congregations and conference: the Four Areas of Focus of The United Methodist Church.

... the primary measure of success...

In his blog - and in documents shared with the New ACT team recently, convener Bill Gottschalk-Fielding has laid out several principles guiding the work of the new conference. Here is one that particularly excites me:

“To be church” means “to be in mission;” therefore, the quality and quantity of relationships established with our neighbors, particularly those who have been disenfranchised by mainstream society is the primary measure of success for the annual conference, its congregations and its members.

So... United Methodists... how far are we willing to go, as followers of Jesus, in making "relationships... with our neighbors" the center of what we do, and the sign of how we are doing?

In a couple of districts in the UNY region, congregations have been asked to invite guests from the surrounding community to their annual church conferences, in order to listen to the needs of our neighbors and their feedback on how (or whether!) they see us.

Among these honored guests have been town administrators, emergency personnel, school nurses, social workers, and more. The feedback, and the opportunities for ministry, have been illuminating. How often do we turn our attention to those whom we serve instead of first focusing on "church business"?

An e-mail that arrived today sent me to the witness of a Jesus-followers dancing under bridges. I invite you to read and reflect on the testimony to the work of ordinary folks doing ministry-by-relationship, "helping people to feel human again."

Shalom!