Follow Up on Church Conference & Worship in October
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 NRSV)
On September 24, we had a church conference to vote on the matter of disaffiliation from The United Methodist Church. There were 268 votes cast. 114 voted to remain UMC (43%), and 154 to disaffiliate (57%). This fell short of the required 67% of votes cast. As a result, we will remain a United Methodist congregation.
This has been a difficult and stressful season for the life of our congregation, and we now enter into a time of healing and moving forward. While there is grief, we know that we serve a God of resurrection. I don’t think there’s any better place for us to be in the Scriptures this month than in the passages leading up to Jesus’ most famous command to his disciples, which he gave them after his resurrection. To go and make disciples. To do so in the name of the blessed Trinity. To know that God is with us.
We began this month at the Lord’s table for World Communion Sunday, where he gave us life in his death. Let us move forward in his life together as we seek who God wants us to be as a church. Be on the lookout for more information about how we might dream and vision as a church.
Know how much I love you. It is an honor to serve as your pastor.
all good things to each of you,
dr. d
Clarification: There are some emails circulating in the congregation from the address, firstmethodistwp@gmail.com. Please note that this is not the church’s email address. Our addresses have not changed, and any correspondence you have from our church office will end in fumcwestpoint.com