My Dear Friends in Christ, Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is indeed a blessing to gather together as members of a family, having traveled from many different and distant parts of the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon!  This has been a year of many wonderful and spirit-filled new happenings.  A year ago we began a journey together around the theme of renewal and transformation.  We continue this theme and will do so in the years to come as we focus on the ministry and mission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who calls us to prayer, unity, healing, reconciliation, and redemption.

Jolly, Julie, and Jennifer, and I have been blessed with the opportunity to have traveled to many parts of the diocese and experience the rich and varied traditions of worship as it is expressed in our community here.  I am so very proud of the commitment and sacrifices of our clergy and lay leadership.  You are doing a good job dear friends; my hope is for us to find ways of working even closer together by maximizing the gifts and resources that are available to us.

It is my hope that the overall theme of Renewal and Transformation will be the goal that defines our common life together in this diocese and that more specifically we will seek to realize these goals through a concerted commitment to three fundamental principles: Christian Discipleship, Mission, and Evangelism.    These themes should be before us in our prayers, petitions, and plans for ministry in our local and diocesan settings.  These themes, should offer us the lens through which we can better identify needs and channel our energy and resources.

Christian Discipleship demands that we commit our lives to being a follower of Jesus Christ.  Christian Discipleship involves developing a personal and corporate rule of life and identifying a philosophy of life that governs our behavior.  Christian discipleship requires that we model our life in ways that draw new disciples to Jesus.

The Mission of the Church is to recognize the Christ in others and to make Christ known to all people.  Indeed, in the John 17:21 we are told that we join in community and fellowship to share the Good News “so that the world may believe.”  Bringing the presence of Christ into the world has internal and external, local and global components.  All components coexist in balance and none exists mutually without the other.  As a missionary people we are called to share the joy of Christ within us with others in search of life with true meaning through deeds of sacrificial and self-less service to others. 

Evangelism involves an intentional means through which we share our Christian faith with others, especially with those who may have no faith tradition at all.  Evangelism involves equipping Christians with tools to share their own personal stories and experiences.  It teaches Christians about faith formation through acts and offerings of Christian commitment. It promotes a climate of joy and enthusiasm in living as a disciple of Christ and finding ways to share this joy with others in a proactive way.

Recently at the House of Bishops meeting of the Episcopal Church in Spokane, Washington, two distinguished thinkers were invited to address the House around themes of reconciliation and acknowledging the “Other”.  Reconciliation with one another and a greater awareness of global concerns were among the main themes that emerged.

Yale Divinity School Professor Miroslav Volf, one of the speakers, noted that embracing our differences enriches our lives.  He added:  "We are intertwined by the bonds of economy, culture, and family. Severing these bonds can be worse than trying to live together, as the example of the war in Bosnia shows," he said. "But the more important reason is that living with the other in peace is an expression of our God-given humanity. "We are created not to isolate ourselves from others but to engage them, to contribute to their flourishing, as we nurture our own identity and attend to our own well-being. For Christians, the most important reason for being willing not only to live with others but positively to embrace them is the character of God's love as displayed in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died for all human beings because he loved them all."

Richard Rodriguez, an editor for the Pacific News Service and a frequent essayist on the PBS Lehrer News Hour challenged us all to think of the many differences that comprise our own identities.  He challenged people to think “brown” especially as it relates to reconciliation and communion.  Rodriguez remarked that the story of our Christian tradition is a story of “brown,” a reality of being which involved a blending of cultures and traditions.  Rodriguez, noted:  "There is nothing browner in the history of time than the mystery of the Incarnation, of God, intruding into history, God entering history, in Jesus Christ, true God, true man, that's very brown, I think," He added that:  "Brown is everywhere in the Christian tradition, Christ was the great experimenter who dared to come to love us in ways that frighten us. Love turns out to be the stumbling block in the church right now.”

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I commend us all to think and contemplate the “brownness” of our economic, political, social, and spiritual landscape.  This is especially significant as we consider outcome of recent political elections in this country and elsewhere and as we as a Church receive the Windsor Report which responds to the actions of the recent General Convention of the Episcopal Church.  I commend this document to all our churches for prayerful discussion and study as may be appropriate in their own contexts.  There is much that we can learn from one another and from other Christians whose perspectives differ considerably on many things.  It is Christ who unites us in whom we share a common identity of being.

As a diocese, we are all living into a new era in which we continue to struggle with issues and challenges that demand a great deal of energy. I am confident that as a Christ-centered people, we will find ways in which we can continue to be reconciled to one another as we continue to be instrument’s of God’s redeeming purpose in the lives of others.  I pray that our common life together will continue to show how our differences of experiences, ideas, and gifts can be mutually enriching in our common work in our Lord’s vineyard.

Christian Discipleship, Mission, and Evangelism

In 1 Corinthians 12:12 we read: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”

The Diocese of Oregon is one church made up of many special members located geographically in many parts of Western Oregon.  We represent the body of Christ in our common fellowship as a community.  As a diocese we are called to respond a new world order in many spheres of our lives.  In addition to the many social, political, and economic changes that have redefined the landscape of our country, there is still a growing spiritual hunger among people.  Spirituality is a process of discerning God’s will and not merely reacting to our own longings or desires. We are called to respond to some of the spiritual yearnings that are made known to us.  The Christians of the first century were a community of believers that responded in a proactive way and raised new Christians through personal outreach and intentional evangelism.

It has been noted that:  “Christianity grew at a phenomenal rate in the first century because early Christians made effective and dramatic use of their social networks to attract new adherents to Christianity.  They evangelized family members, friends, acquaintances, and friends of friends.  They were open, accepting, and, ultimately, externally focused.  Their enthusiasm for the Good News and the transformations it had wrought in their lives carried them out into the world.”[1]

The Great Commission of Jesus:

As a diocese we are called to live and work together as missionaries in the vineyard of the Lord in Western Oregon.  We are called to a ministry of creating new disciples of Jesus Christ among those who do not attend church or those who are still searching for a meaningful faith tradition.

Matthew 28:16-20 reminds us of Jesus words:  “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.” 

As a diocese we need to create a new culture in mission and ministry. Creating a new culture and mindset is perhaps one of the most challenging tasks before us.  We must be willing to think and relate to one another differently, always placing the mind and spirit of Jesus Christ before us.  We must create a culture that affirms our unity as a single faith community whose members worship in a variety of mission fields throughout Western Oregon.  We need to identify ourselves as a missionary community that commits ourselves to building community, creating new disciples, and creating both personal and systemic transformations.

Reclaiming our Core Values and Core Goals:

Romans 12:5  notes: "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another."

The “Core Value” of our diocese is Gospel based discipleship.  Our “Core Goal” is to promote renewal and transformation in the personal and systemic dimensions of human life through commitment to mission, outreach, and evangelism.  By being intentional about evangelism and by being responsive to the needs of the poor and marginalized, we can be relevant instruments of God’s redeeming purpose.  In the midst of the many issues that demand our attention, we cannot be limited or held in check by the variety of issues that shape public and political opinion.  We must remain resolute in preserving the integrity of our call to discipleship and being responsive to the Great Commission.

The Journey Forward:

Evangelism in its most basic sense is a form of spiritual and emotional transformation.   It has been said that “approximately 77 percent of the persons who become Christian disciples do so because of the testimony, deeds, and encouragement of someone they trust.” [2]

My hope for the Diocese of Oregon is for us define our common identity in singular terms.  We are one community committed to creating renewal and transformation in the personal and relational aspects of our lives.  We are one community of faith living out our Christian witness at many different locations.  Each congregation is a unique and gifted mission field. Each church and institutional structure should be viewed as a mission field within the wider diocesan family.  This indeed demands that we behave as a church differently and that we live in communion in more dynamic ways than in the past.

It is critical that we strive to be a multicultural and multi-linguistic community of believers. We will seek to be ministers of encouragement and ambassadors of hope and healing in our engagement with others.  As a missionary people, our task will be to create new disciples, forge a new culture of welcome and hospitality, and commit ourselves to growth in numbers and strengthen the spiritual essence of our being.

Christian Discipleship indeed facilitates processes of transformation.  A focus on evangelism strengthens congregational discipleship.

Priorities in Ministry:

As a missionary community, it is my hope that we will endeavor to promote renewal and transformation by focusing on those areas of ministry that are our priorities in the wider Church that are consistent with ministry initiatives of the wider church.  These themes, referenced from the Episcopal Churches triennial budget, note the following:[3]

1.      Young Adults and Youth

Reaching out to young adults and youth through intentional inclusion and full incorporation in the thinking, work, worship and structure of the Church.

Examples of this work in our diocese includes:

·        Youth from throughout the diocese are participating in the Leadership Development Series

·        Last spring, diocesan senior high school youth gathered at Triangle Lake for a successful and far-reaching conference on racism.

2.      Reconciliation and Evangelism

Reconciling and engaging those who do not know Christ by participating in God’s mission of reconciling all things to Christ and proclaiming the Gospel to those who are not yet members of the Church.

·        Holy Cross Church in Boring has seen such growth they are outgrowing their space

·        A number of our churches have begun offering the Alpha, Via Media, Catechumenate, and other programs that focus on Christian discipleship and evangelism.  At least five churches in the diocese are offering the brand new Via Media program to increasing numbers as a tool for teaching new and prospective members about the Episcopal Church

·        The Leadership Conference, which is sponsored by our diocese and the interest and enthusiasm that this has generated, is but one example of our commitment to evangelism and congregational development.  Our diocesan commitment to PERCEPT as a evangelism tool is another example of our diocesan commitment to encourage evangelism in very pragmatic ways

3.      Congregational Transformation

Revitalizing and transforming congregations through commitment to leadership development, spiritual growth, dynamic and inclusive worship, greater diversity, and mission.

·        Trinity Church, Ashland, has recently built a labyrinth in downtown Ashland. This has been a wonderful experience for the parish community and the wider community, and an affirmation of the mission of the church of generosity and openness of its space. The community experiences the labyrinth as a spiritual gift with no strings attached. For the parish, having a public labyrinth like this is a way to offer the best of what Anglicanism is.

4.      Peace and Justice

Promoting justice and peace for all of God’s creation and reaching out to the dispossessed, imprisoned and otherwise voiceless needy.

·        I am so proud of the way that our diocese is now actively involved in local and international humanitarian relief and development.  In partnership with Church World Service, many of our churches have prepared school kits to send to children in Afghanistan; I am also very pleased to learn how so many of our churches regularly collect and distribute school supplies to poor children in their own communities

·        Rahab’s Sisters, a partnership among several East Portland congregations, reaches out to women on the streets and provides hospitality on Friday nights at Sts. Peter & Paul on 82^nd Avenue. 

5.      Partnerships

Reaffirming the importance of our partnerships with provinces of the Anglican Communion and beyond and our relationships and dialogues with ecumenical and interfaith partners.

·        Trinity Cathedral and Trinity Ashland have a thriving companion parish relationship within the diocese. Other parishes have been benefiting from such relationships, such as St. Aidan’s, Gresham, which has partnered with Sts. Peter & Paul, particularly for youth events.

·        Many congregations have companion parish relationships with churches throughout the world, such as Grace Memorial, Portland, which has a companion parish relationship with Trinity Cathedral in Monrovia, Liberia.

·        In addition, many parishes have developed ecumenical partnerships in their communities. For example, Ascension Church in Riddle has partnered with the local Methodist and Presbyterians to provide a much-needed after school program for kids.

Creating new Hearts, Minds and Attitudes:

1 Cor 10:17  reminds us "For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread."

The fruits of the Spirit, as noted in Galatians 5:22-23, which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control offer prescriptive models of individual and corporate behavior that may govern our life together in community.  These prescriptions for living help us to direct our lives in accordance with God’s will and plan for us.

The change of our focus and corporate diocesan culture to envisioning a missionary model of ministry invokes the Holy Spirit to help facilitate transformation.

Diocesan Partners in Ministry

            As a diocese we are blessed to have as part of our family a wonderful network of educational, health care, and social service institutions that enable us to fulfill our Christian witness to a much broader community.

Oregon Episcopal School

Oregon Episcopal School is a gem and a brilliant jewel in our crown. We are blessed to have such a fine educational institution that is truly committed to scholarship and teaching young persons to compassionate, caring, and responsible human beings.

• During the past year graduating seniors having given over 6600 hours of service to the community. 
• Graduating senior Ryna Karnik placed 3^rd in the country in the Intel Science Talent Search, a prestigious competition nicknamed the “junior Nobel prize”.  She received an award and a $50,000 scholarship and is now attending Stanford.
• Six OES middle schoolers were named semifinalists in the 6^th annual Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge.
• Boys Lacrosse team won FIRST in state in the most difficult league, and a local fencer who trains at the OES fencing facility brought home Olympic Gold from Athens in women’s saber.
• 3 Episcopal priests are serving as chaplains
• Weekly chapel services are held in all three divisions

Legacy Health System

Legacy Health System is in the midst of its 16th year of operation.  Since its inception in April 1989, there have been many exciting accomplishments.  Good Samaritan Hospital, Portland's oldest hospital and the flagship of the Legacy Health System, has continued its rich history of spiritual and medical services to the community.  Through Legacy Health System the mission of Bishop Wistar Morris, founder of Good Samaritan Hospital, has never been as robust. 

During the past 15 years, over $50 million dollars have been directed to meet the needs of the community by supporting and developing programs as diverse as literacy/reading programs for kids, mentors for troubled youth, retired senior volunteers, Afro-American healthcare agency coalition, horticultural therapy programs, pastoral education and school mental health counseling programs.  Legacy has also developed new medical services to better meet the growing needs of an aging population. 

Good Samaritan, our Episcopal Hospital, now offers the region's second largest kidney transplant program, the region's largest and clinically most prestigious morbid Obesity Institute, a new Vascular Disease Institute and the area's only one-stop, integrated Woman's Breast Health Center.  Good Samaritan Hospital, also, continues to provide the highest clinical care through its historically market leading Heart Institute, Dever's Eye Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center and RIO, the Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon.

Samaritan Health Services

Formed in the late 1990’s, Samaritan Health Services (SHS) is a non-profit regional network of hospitals, physicians and senior care facilities.  The network serves approximately 250,000 residents in Linn, Benton, Lincoln and portions of Polk and Marion counties.  Locally owned, its board of directors comprises hospital leaders, physicians and community representatives from throughout the region.

SHS facilities are noted locally and nationally for quality.  In 2002, our cardiovascular program was recognized as one of the nation’s top 100 for quality and efficiency, and our comprehensive cancer program received the nation’s highest quality rating from the Commission on Cancer.

SHS is actively engaged in critical incident planning and has been selected to serve as a Lead Regional Agency for the State of Oregon in bioterrorism planning and preparation.

William Temple House

During the last 12 months, William Temple House has served 892 people through our mental health-counseling program and 7,856 people through our emergency social services program—a total of 8,748 primary clients. All clients are aware that we are an Episcopal mission; many submit prayer requests or ask to see our chaplain, Father Steve Norcross.

William Temple House’s services are aimed at helping working poor families.  Through its efforts to provide counseling, food, clothing, health and hygiene services, well over 20,000 families are helped during the course of a year

            Highlights of the past year include: (1) training and certifying our counseling staff in addictions counseling, to complement their mental health counseling skills; (2) opening William Temple House West at All Saints Episcopal Church in Hillsboro; (3) completing our second year of social services in North Portland, in partnership with Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church; (4) expanding our children’s clothing center which provides complete wardrobes for needy school children; (5) building our Outreach Ministry Partnership Council to 14 participating parishes; and (6) initiating a successful croquet and wine benefit at the Close, called Wickets & Wine.

            The current 2004-2005 fiscal year marks William Temple House’s 40^th year of service to the community. During its first 40 years, William Temple House has served more than 275,000 people.

Peace and Justice Commission

Just how do we begin to wrap our minds, our hearts and hands around what it means to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

As stated in the Children’s Charter for the Church, “the church is called to receive, nurture and treasure each child as a gift from God.”  I join with our newly formed Peace and Justice Commission who in partnership with the Christian Education Department is asking the church in western Oregon, its congregations, families, and individuals to examine issues of peace and justice with this question in mind, “How are the children?” How are the children in our homes, our churches, our schools and neighborhoods?  How are children across Oregon and around the world?  Ministry to children includes “advocating for the integrity of childhood and the dignity of all children at every level of our religious, civic and political structures.”

We are people rooted in a tradition that proclaims:

“And he brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward the heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’  Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

I also encourage everyone at this convention who is not already a member of the Episcopal Public Policy Network, to take a few minutes to stop by the Peace and Justice table and to become a member of this outstanding ministry.  The Episcopal Public Policy Network engages God’s mission by advocating for just social policies on behalf of all God’s people, based upon actions taken by the General Convention of our Church.  During the days we are gathered here, I would like to see at least 116 new members registered in honor of our 116^th annual diocesan convention!  And I hope that each of you will return home and share with the members of your congregation this significant resource to help us live out our baptismal covenant.

New Initiatives Underway

This year has been filled with a number of new initatives that will be developed and cultivated in the years to come.

·        I am so very pleased to share that later during the course of our convention we will be unveiling our new diocesan website which will foster exchange of information and ideas in a local, national, and global context

·        I gratefully acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of two major Church World Service Initiatives in the Diocese of Oregon:  The CROP Walk and the Afghanistan School kit program.  The Rev’d Stephen Whitney-Wise has played a very helpful role in coordinating the annual CROP Walk and The Rev’d Sara Fisher along with Barbara Ross has assumed an active role in facilitating the School Kit program.  I wish to express our thanks and appreciation for their leadership in these efforts.

·        I am pleased to share that the Diocese of Oregon’s Peace and Justice Commission is actively engaged in identifying areas around which our churches can work together, most notably as they relate to the UN’s millennium development goals and upholding the Children’s Charter.  The members of this commission include:  Mrs. Leslie Sackett and The Rev’d Stephen Schneider, co-chairs; The Rev. Carlos Nunez, the Rev. Nicole Simopoulos, Deacon Pauline Morrison The Rev’d Sara Fisher,  and Mrs. Barbara Ross, Staff Liaison. We will have an opportunity later to hear more about their plans later in our convention.

·        I am also very pleased to share that members of the Companion Diocese Commission  is closely engaged in developing a companion diocese relationship with the Diocese of Madhya Kerala, Church of South India. The members of this commission include:  Mrs. Anne McCullom and the Very Rev’d William Lupfer, co-chairs, The Reverends Barbara Mudge and Sherman Hesselgrave, Mr. Buzz Braely, and Mrs. Kate Moleneux.  Commission members will be joining me in a visit as to the Diocese of Madhya Kerala at the end of January as we join in commemorating that diocese’s 125^th year anniversary celebrations.  We will have an opportunity to learn more about the activities of this Commission later in our convention.

·        It is my earnest desire that part of our call to mission is to be intentional in reaching out to the growing diversity that characterizes our state.  The time is indeed ripe for us to explore opportunities for developing multicultural ministries in the Diocese of Oregon.   Last week, The Rev’d Canon George Hemingway joined me, along with other diocesan clergy in facilitating a visit of senior staff of the Episcopal Church Center and the Presiding Bishop’s office, for the purpose of helping them to understand the ethnic and sociological diversity of the Diocese of Oregon, and to obtain their assistance in acquiring services and resources for mission expansion, and in the development of a multicultural mission plan.

·        In consultation with the Congregational Growth and Development Committee, I look forward to new church plant initiatives in certain strategic locations. Preliminary discussions are already underway with Bishop Paul Swanson and his staff of the Oregon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America about opportunities for shared ministries that would enable us to more fully realize our Call to Common Mission.

·        Conversations are already underway to strengthen opportunities for lay leadership development and a stronger regional theological study programs for candidates for holy orders.  It is my hope that we can work to develop distance-learning program related to Christian formation in closer collaboration with The Northwest House of Theological Studies, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and other local and regional resources

·        I believe that we are now at a point in time where we need to initiate preliminary discussions around a Capital Funds Campaign that is closely connected with a broader strategic ministry plan for the diocese.  Part of this involves the renewal of Episcopal Charities in the Diocese of Oregon.

·        As a diocese, we must be intentional about evangelism and Christian discipleship.  In this regard, I am asking that every church and worshipping community in the diocese of Oregon adopt one evangelism program, tool, or resource, and employ its use during the course of this calendar year.  The Alpha Program, Via Media, the Catecumenate Process, offer examples of a few among many other resources that a worshipping community might use.

Environmental Commission

In this time of threats to everyone's well being from global warming and related disasters, it is essential for us as Christians to be good stewards of the most vital commodities, especially water.  The health of our children, and our food supplies, depend on access to clean water for everyone.  Through water we are related to every human and creature in the world.  The water that baptized our Lord is the same water that baptized our ancestors and ourselves.  I encourage everyone to pay heed to the new initiative of the Environmental Commission on the subject of water and sustainable human development.  I encourage your support of the Environmental Commission’s work on this area in connection with Church World Service and the United Nations Environmental Program, on the subject of water.  We all can learn to use non-toxic products in our gardens and homes in order to ensure that our water is clean and our children healthy.

Commission on Ministry

Formation, education and discernment for all baptized persons in the Diocese of Oregon are foundational to our future life together, particularly if we are to expand and support our work of evangelism, mission and discipleship.  To help achieve this, we are re-structuring the Commission on Ministry into two groups.  The first will be the Committee for Ordained Ministry Development and the second will be the Committee for Lay Ministry Development.  The Committee for Ordained Ministry Development will function the same as the Commission on Ministry has functioned historically.  The new Committee for Lay Ministry Development will focus on formational, educational discernment opportunities for lay people throughout the diocese.  This committee will follow in the footsteps of the Total Ministry Task Force, which is ending its organizational life this year.  Canonical changes to our diocesan canons will be proposed next year to formalize this new Commission structure and also to more accurately reflect the national church canons.  I am very excited about the opportunities this provides for each of us, for our church, and for the world around us.

PERCEPT

                  In the Spring of 2004 we launched the Percept Link2Lead program. I am very thankful and appreciative of the leadership of The Rev’d Canon George Hemingway’s leadership in administering Percept as an important tool for evangelism in our diocese.  As of this date, 120 persons in 52 congregations have registered to use the demographic and leadership formation tools, found at the site (www.link2lead.com).

George has personally consulted with 7 congregations and 3 deaneries; held 5 facilitator training sessions to date, in order to develop lay and clergy leadership who are focused on mission thinking and tools for mission re-visioning.  Link2Lead orientation workshops are offered at this convention and more facilitator trainings will be offered after the first of next year. 

In sum, I would like to repeat the following:

Our common Goal is:  Renewal and Transformation in the Diocese of Oregon

The Process through which we can realize this goal is:  Christian Discipleship, Mission, and Evangelism

Some of the Priorities and Areas of Focus in our journey together should be : 

• Children, Youth, Young Adults
• Promoting Reconciliation and Evangelism among ourselves and with others,
• Congregational Transformation and Spiritual Renewal
• Encouraging Ministries of Peace and Justice,
• Partnerships in Ministry – Local, Regional, National, Local

The themes that should guide our ministry together should evolve from responses to the following questions:

Discipleship:  What does it mean to follow Jesus?
Mission:            What is the work of the Church?
Evangelism:       How do we proclaim the Good News?

These perspectives offer us a fundamentally unique and different way of working, praying, and worshipping together.  At the heart of this is a commitment to mission and living out the Great Commission in all fabrics of our being.

My vision for the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon is one that recognizes a need for renewal and transformation.  As a members of multiple mission fields in a missionary journey that focuses on evangelism and outreach, we are called to offer a ministry of presence, a ministry of compassionate witness, a ministry of innovation, transformation, and renewal, and a ministry of commitment to humanitarian concerns, and a strong vision and resolve to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who are searching for God in their lives.

It is my hope that increasingly, we as a community will more actively embrace our Christian identity of “we” rather than “I”; “ours” rather than “mine.”  We are members of the same family through the Risen Christ.  We need to be “ministers of encouragement” to support one another to live out The Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This year’s convention, “Proclaiming the Great Commission” is a continuation of a journey of new beginnings that was chartered last year as we embarked on themes of “renewal and transformation.”  It is crucial to remember that in our quest we need to move together with a spirit of joy, good human, and fun! We need to celebrate this life that God has given us, and share the enthusiasm that comes from knowing Christ and making Christ known. Now is the time to equip each other for the journey before us as we seek to be faithful witnesses and disciples of Jesus Christ in our homes, churches, communities, and in our state, in our country and in our world.  I ask God’s blessings on our journey and invite your prayers for the same.

Thank you very much and may God bless you.