Bishop's Day on the Delaware Bay District

The Delaware Bay District had a strong showing of support at its Bishop’s Day on the District on Thursday, September 29, 2011.  First United Methodist Church of Millville hosted this year’s gathering.  In the morning, clergy gathered together for a time of worship and “Guided Meditation on the Call To Action Through the Scriptures,” led by multiple clergy of the Delaware Bay District.  The meditations included:  Jeremiah 29:11-14 on developing leaders, Matthew 16:18-19 & 24 on church growth and development, Mark 2:1-5 on global health, and Acts 2:32-35 on ministry with the poor.

Following the sharing of Communion, Bishop Devadhar and Rev. Dr. Rich Hendrickson presented on the Call To Action and Vital Congregations movement of the United Methodist Church.   As part of this movement, the call to action encourages existing and new churches to continue to develop ministries to make disciples of Jesus Christ, however, it then challenges those churches to consider the vitality and fruitfulness of the ministries they are offering.  It asks the question, is this program helping to reach the church’s goal and mission? 

The morning concluded with an opportunity for questions followed by an anointing service in which clergy had the opportunity to anoint and pray for one another, their families, and their ministries.  Anointing oil was passed around the circle of clergy while favorite hymns were sung. 
In the evening, laity gathered to meet with the Bishop and hear how the Call To Action was going to impact their churches.  The night started with a meditation by Delaware Bay District Lay Leader, Mike Dziuba.  He pointed out that it’s easy to get frustrated, overlook the good things in life and get caught up in “little white lies” that don’t really hurt anyone…but God knows.  Dziuba posed the questions, “Shouldn’t we be just as thankful to God for forgiving us of all of our ‘little sins’ as we are for the big ones?  Do we even think to ask for forgiveness of the those little ones?”

After the Call To Action presentation, those in attendance had an opportunity to ask questions and make comments.  The room was very lively with the overwhelming desire to want to do more, make extreme changes, and reach more people.  One person commented on how incredible it would be to see a United Methodist Church TV ad during the Superbowl in the midst of all of the other traditional ads that air.  The overall message coming through was its time to really rethink the UMC and figure out how to reach more people.

Special thanks to District Superintendent Rev. Richard Nichols, Conference Lay Leader Rosa Williams, District Lay Leader Mike Dziuba, Rev. Melissa Doyle-Waid, Rev. Dr. Steve Shuster, Rev. John Mitchell, Rev. Jeanette Block and all of the volunteers at First UMC Millville and the Delaware Bay District for the extremely generous hospitality. 
 
For more information on the "Call To Action" and "Vital Congregations" movement of The United Methodist Church, visit www.umvitalcongregations.org.