July 22, 2020
Friends,
Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus, the One whose path we seek to walk. I continue to pray for you as we learn how to be the Church anew. The pandemic has changed us but has not weakened our faith in God or our commitment to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
For generations Methodists have gathered for an annual conference session.
It is our time to bring before God the fruit of our ministry since we last met and call upon the Holy Spirit to help us see and know God’s vision for us in our present time. It has also always been a time to reunite with one another and rejoice in each other’s presence, friendship, and love. This year will be no different for us of the California-Nevada Conference of The United Methodist Church. We will gather in our annual conference session and give God thanks for God’s faithfulness.
We had planned to meet in-person, but the surge of COVID-19 prohibits us from doing so. But, meet we will! We will meet virtually.
Many of you have become experts in virtual meetings and have taught us so much about how to effectively meet in this way. Other annual conference sessions across our Connection have also already met and done so virtually and are sharing their learnings with us. We are fortunate to also count on the help of Good News TV (GNTV), a faithful partner with us for many years, as well as on the leadership of our very capable Conference Center Communications Office led by Selby Ewing, Director and Toua Yang, Associate Director. Above all, we know that God is with us.
Here is some important information that you should know we prepare together for the Virtual 172nd California-Nevada Annual Conference Session:
- Dates: Our Annual Conference Session will be held on September 17-20, 2020, Thursday – Sunday (a slight change from the in-person meeting date announced earlier).
- Virtual Satellite Locations: Church sites to assist those who do not have adequate means to connect virtually are being identified and will be ready to welcome persons needing technical assistance and support under pandemic safety protocols.
- Pre-Conference Sessions: Each district session will be held in August, dates and schedules to come.
- Virtual Training Sessions: GNTV will conduct trainings in September for those participating in the Annual Conference Session.
- Deadlines: All Annual Conference Session related deadlines remain the same.
- Laity and Clergy Sessions: both sessions will be held on Friday September 18th.
- Special Services: The Conference Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 19th, at 7:00 p.m. and the Service of Commissioning and Ordination will be held on Sunday, September 20th, at 10:30 a.m.
- Annual Conference giving opportunities will be shared in next week’s Instant Connection.
I give God thanks for your faithfulness and rejoice at every sighting of your discipleship and ministry I am blessed to come across! Keep up your good work.
Let’s pray for one another and for our upcoming, soon to be here, 172nd Annual Conference Session!
Blessings,
