Annual Conference Fun
It was a busy week at Boston Avenue United Methodist church at the Oklahoma Annual Conference. Mike Miller, Lynn Goodrich, Mark Fowler, Pastor Kim and myself attended representing Faith. It was wonderful to see so many friends from across the state and to hear about their ministries. The conference began on Monday with the Clergy session and the Memorial worship service. Each of the families of any clergy or spouse who went to the church eternal were honored in that service. District Superintendent Tish Malloy was the preacher for the night and she was on fire! It was an excellent sermon and we ended with Holy Communion.
Tuesday started very early for me with the Clergy women’s pre-conference breakfast where we met the new ministers to be commissioned or ordained. They were lovely women with a passion for the kingdom and I enjoyed being surrounded by my mentors and friends. Then the business sessions were filled with electing delegates to the 2024 General Conference. This can be a tedious and tension filled activity but we spontaneously sang hymns between each vote and it turned into a celebration! Tuesday ended with the service for those who are retiring from service. There were over 350 years of ministry represented in that class and they passed the stole of leadership to our very own Seungrok. It was meaningful to watch and remember when I was chosen for the same honor years ago.
Wednesday began with worship led by our very own DeRon and the other Young Adult Leaders from across the state. They did the entire thing in both Spanish and English. It was a beautiful service and made me hopeful for the future of the church and the leadership that I am seeing. The day was filled with more reporting, celebrating and honoring of those who have served so many years for the conference and the kingdom. The day ended with the Ordination service and I was so please to see so many faces from Faith and Living Water supporting Seungrok. He definitely had the most people stand up for him in the sanctuary!
We are all exhausted but it was wonderful to be together. But in the midst of our joy was also concern about the future for many of our retiring pastors. So many pastors close to retirement are struggling with the housing market and not being able to find a place to live after being in parsonages their whole career. I worry for those men and women who have so faithfully served who are ending their time in ministry. I ask for you to pray for them and their way forward.
On Sunday at the 9:00 service, the SPRC will be giving a gift from the congregation to Pastor Kim to celebrate his ordination. We will take some pictures in case you can’t be there! Be safe on this Memorial weekend.
Love,
