My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I write this letter, thanking and praising our Creator God in and through the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, using the words of the Psalmist, who said, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits..." (Psalm 103:1-2).
I thank God for each and every one of you, for your hearts of generosity, minds for the mission of God around the world, and love and compassion for all the people of God. In 2012, in addition to supporting faithfully all the ministries and missions in your respective local churches, you have enabled the Committee on Finance and Administration of the New England Annual Conference, the leaders at all levels, and Conference staff to send 80% of the general apportioned funds to the ministries and missions of the United Methodist Church in the United States and around the world. This figure is 4.89% higher than 2011.
Furthermore, you have supported several second mile advance missions within and beyond the Conference throughout the year. On top of this, you have sacrificially given $77,100.38 to UMCOR for the ministry and mission to the victims of Superstorm Sandy and an additional $29,674.20 for the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference Disaster Relief Fund, also for Superstorm Sandy.
As your Episcopal leader, I am deeply touched and moved by your sacrificial and loving support for the global ministry and mission of the Church! I know that some of you are in very challenging financial situations. Your willingness to join one another in our accomplishments for ministry and mission of the global community means a lot to me. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Having been a recipient of the ministry of the global mission and having personally witnessed how even a single cent can make a difference in some parts of the world, I cannot thank you and praise you enough for your generosity and love.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." We do not know what is ahead of us, but we do know we will face challenges. Nevertheless, by God’s grace, we can make prayer the first step in reaching any goal God sets before us. It is my hope and prayer that with your help and support, we will become a 100% apportionment-paying Conference before the end of the quadrennium (2016)! Will you kindly join me in praying that this goal becomes a reality?
Kindly remember God loves you all and so do I!
With a grateful heart, deep admiration, thanks, and appreciation to each and every one of you, the leadership of the CFA, all the other leadership of the Conference at various levels and the staff who are in ministry with us.
Your brother in Christ,
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar
Saturday, January 19, 2013
UMCatalyst News Notes 1/16/2013
Follow this link to read the latest in e-news for clergy and laity in the New England Conference:
UMCatalyst News Notes
You can also check out old issues in the News and Publication Archives of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church
UMCatalyst News Notes
You can also check out old issues in the News and Publication Archives of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church
Friday, January 11, 2013
UMCatalyst News Notes 1/9/2013
Follow this link to read the latest in e-news for clergy and laity in the New England Conference:
UMCatalyst News Notes
You can also check out old issues in the News and Publication Archives of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church
UMCatalyst News Notes
You can also check out old issues in the News and Publication Archives of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
From the Pastor's desk...
Dear NUMC,
The world did not come to an end on December 12 2012.
Praise God! Not that I ever had any doubt that we would still be here in what humanity has tagged the year 2013. There have however, been some rather disturbing events happening all around us. Still fresh in our minds is the Newtown tragedy where twenty innocent children and eight adults were killed. I am including the lives of the gunman and his mother as well. Our Lord Jesus Christ would have been concerned about their souls too . We grieve with that town that is still hurting.
There were other dark happenings, besides other shootings and other precious lives lost, there were storms, tornadoes, and events of nature that caused much disruption and displacement. Add to that the Fiscal Cliff/Slope/Curb that occupied the time of our federal representatives right down to the beginning of the year. The times, they are a-changing, sang Bob Dylan in the 1960’s, and we are still in the midst of changing times.
This is a good time to be reminded that God never changes, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Never mind what changes we go through ,we can be sure that we can turn to God for all of our questions answered and all of our needs supplied. What has changed over time is our understanding of God as we take the time to open ourselves to God’s revelation of God’s self to us. My prayer for all of us this year is that we grow closer to God and look to an Omniscient God to direct our lives. That is where our security lies—with God; not with guns, not with money, not with things, not with other people, not with power, but with God. It is God who gives us the ability to create our lives in whatever ways we want to. If our focus is on weapons of destruction then that is what we will realize in our lives. If we focus on Jesus, then Christ-like things will occur. And we can make our lives new again. Remember all these other things are temporary, even our lives are temporary. Only God is eternal. It makes sense to me that we should place our bets with the eternal (woops, not Methodists, we don’t gamble) but if I were taking a gamble, I’d go with God all the time! May 2013 be a year of abundant blessings, a year of the Lord’s favor!
Shalom,
Pastor Laurel
The world did not come to an end on December 12 2012.
Praise God! Not that I ever had any doubt that we would still be here in what humanity has tagged the year 2013. There have however, been some rather disturbing events happening all around us. Still fresh in our minds is the Newtown tragedy where twenty innocent children and eight adults were killed. I am including the lives of the gunman and his mother as well. Our Lord Jesus Christ would have been concerned about their souls too . We grieve with that town that is still hurting.
There were other dark happenings, besides other shootings and other precious lives lost, there were storms, tornadoes, and events of nature that caused much disruption and displacement. Add to that the Fiscal Cliff/Slope/Curb that occupied the time of our federal representatives right down to the beginning of the year. The times, they are a-changing, sang Bob Dylan in the 1960’s, and we are still in the midst of changing times.
This is a good time to be reminded that God never changes, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Never mind what changes we go through ,we can be sure that we can turn to God for all of our questions answered and all of our needs supplied. What has changed over time is our understanding of God as we take the time to open ourselves to God’s revelation of God’s self to us. My prayer for all of us this year is that we grow closer to God and look to an Omniscient God to direct our lives. That is where our security lies—with God; not with guns, not with money, not with things, not with other people, not with power, but with God. It is God who gives us the ability to create our lives in whatever ways we want to. If our focus is on weapons of destruction then that is what we will realize in our lives. If we focus on Jesus, then Christ-like things will occur. And we can make our lives new again. Remember all these other things are temporary, even our lives are temporary. Only God is eternal. It makes sense to me that we should place our bets with the eternal (woops, not Methodists, we don’t gamble) but if I were taking a gamble, I’d go with God all the time! May 2013 be a year of abundant blessings, a year of the Lord’s favor!
Shalom,
Pastor Laurel
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. See, I am making all things new.”Revelation 22, 21-25; 21: 5
Sunday, January 6, 2013
New Tidings for January and February
Thursday, January 3, 2013
UMCatalyst News Notes 1/2/2013
Follow this link to read the latest in e-news for clergy and laity in the New England Conference:
UMCatalyst News Notes
You can also check out old issues in the News and Publication Archives of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church
+North United Methodist Church, Manchester, CT, USA
UMCatalyst News Notes
You can also check out old issues in the News and Publication Archives of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church
+North United Methodist Church, Manchester, CT, USA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)