Message from Pastor Mori Dear Ravenswood Fellowship UMC family
This week Interim Bishop John L. Hopkins invites us to the 182nd Northern Illinois Annual Conference.
Here is the letter from Interim Bishop Hopkins!
Agenda download here
Program Booklet here
Youtube Live Stream for July 16 here
Youtube Live Stream for July 17 here
Facebook Live here
This annual conference session is the bridge between the end of one church year and the beginning of another. It is a time to hear about our work as the church in the past year and plan for our work as a church in the year ahead. What a year it has been. Serving as your interim bishop since January, my tenure has been nothing like anything I have experienced before. Zooming from churches, to towns, to committees, to groups, I have seen and learned much. I have met with countless clergy and laity giving witness to our mission without driving one mile. The theme of the 182nd Northern Illinois Annual Conference this year is "Jesus Makes a Way." Building on the lyrics of "Way Maker," written by Nigerian gospel star Sinach, we know Jesus as a miracle worker, promise keeper, and light in the darkness. Jesus has made a way in this in-between time as we moved into pandemic mode and now tentatively learn what it means to be on the other side. In Matthew 14:13-21, we find Jesus preaching in the countryside to a massive following. As the day grows long, the disciples realize there is no food for the hungry crowds. They ask Jesus to send the crowd away so they can find food in neighboring villages. But Jesus replies: "They need not go away." The disciples were concerned for the well-being of the crowd, but Jesus makes a way. Somehow a meager offering of five loaves and two fish
are gathered up for Jesus' blessing. Then this woeful supply of food is passed out to the crowd. The food keeps stretching and stretching and stretching. Five loaves and two fish feed the multitudes with leftovers to spare. In this miracle of hospitality, we learn that "all ate and were filled." "Jesus Makes a Way." We have experienced Jesus making a way again and again in these past 15 months. Through the harnessing of technology for worship, fellowship and community. Through the pooling of our resources to feed and shelter those who have lost so much. Through the voices and witnesses against racism. Through the prayers of our congregations as we mourn more than 600,000 dead in the United States and more than 7 million who have died worldwide in this global pandemic. We mourn the suffering and we thank God that "Jesus Makes a Way." Our shift to a virtual world hasn't been perfect. We are learning as we go. Even this year, our annual conference session is a compromise between what we know and love when we gather in person and what we can accomplish under challenging circumstances. We gather, bound by our common love of God and connected by our commitment to the United Methodist Church. Even as we name our losses, we celebrate what we have gained. We have gained technical know-how. We have gained confidence in our witness. We have gained a deeper relationship with our Savior. We have gained a sense of priority. We are filled with thanksgiving as
"Jesus Makes a Way." I pray that you will enter into this time of holy conferencing ready to be filled. Many have labored to provide this moment for us. Through the Memorial Service, Bible Study, Retirement Celebration, reports, reflections, and legislation, again and again, our theme is confirmed, "Jesus Makes a Way." ~Interim Bishop John L. Hopkins
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