ACS 2011_Bishop's Welcome

March 18, 2011

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I look forward to greeting you as we gather together in Sacramento, California June 15-18 to celebrate the 163rd Session of our California-Nevada Annual Conference. This year our theme will be "Be, See, Do: Joining the Movement of God's Mission," as we engage in a time of rich and meaningful holy conferencing. We will worship together under the leadership of Jorge Lockwood and be inspired by our guest speaker, Reverend Adam Hamilton, who will share thoughts from Leading Beyond the Walls that are vital to becoming agents of God's mission.

We will start the conference as one group on Wednesday, June 15 at 10 a.m., before moving to clergy and laity sessions in the afternoon. I invite you to look over the summary schedule posed on the Conference website so you can plan to fully participate in all aspects of our Christian Conferencing.

This year, I am asking you to do something very different in preparation for Annual Conference Session. I invite you and your faith community's leadership to join me in 50 days of prayer, reading, reflection, and response starting at Easter and ending at Pentecost. We will be using Catch Fire in 50 Days: Joining the Movement of God's Mission as our shared resource. Through this daily guide, we will immerse ourselves in the story of the Church becoming a movement of grace transforming the world, and consider together what it means for us to do the same. We are approaching the dawn of a new day among the churches and people of our Annual Conference. It is a day that will not be birthed by our plans and strategies and efforts, but by the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. Our work is a loving response to what God is doing in our midst. Catch Fire in 50 Days is an opportunity for us to pray and prepare for that new day when we as a Church become a movement again.

The world needs the churches of the California-Nevada Annual Conference to be vital today, more vital tomorrow, and even more vital the day after. It is not about us. It is about God and the world God loves. You will find a downloadable copy of the study, order forms for booklets, and other resources (such as sermon outlines and PowerPoints) at www.cnumc.org/catchfire or at www.facebook.com/catchfirein50.

Let's catch fire as we open ourselves to God through these daily Scripture readings. Let's pray that God would make us a movement again.

Your Brother in Christ,

ACS 2011_Bishop's Welcome

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