Letter from Bishop re. General Conference

A message from Bishop Devadhar: General Conference 2019

Feb. 26, 2019

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with tumult.

Psalm 46:1-3

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We have just concluded the special session of the General Conference in St Louis. During this gathering of the global church, we worshiped and prayed together and spent time in Christian conferencing, but much remains unresolved and unknown.

Though the actions of the General Conference are still subject to review by the Judicial Council, we return with a Book of Discipline that moves us further from full inclusion. This is disheartening at best and despairing at worst.

While our call as United Methodists is to do good, do no harm, and stay in love with God … I suspect we have fallen far shorter on the first two than the last. I ask that we spend time in prayerful confession of the ways our church has caused deep pain to beloved children of God, particularly LGBTQIA and their allies. No matter what plan you supported for the way forward, remember that when one part of the body suffers, so do we all – and so now we are all in need of healing.

My prayers continue for our church and for each of you in this covenantal community, for all LGBTQIA children of God and their allies, as well as for those who are listening to our words and watching our actions.

I continue to pray for a day when we can live together in the unified Spirit in a fully inclusive church. I celebrate the beauty and rich variety of gifts that God has created, and I have faith that God will create, in and through us, a beautiful incarnation of the Body of Christ for the transformation of the whole world.

As you gather with your congregations this Sunday, I pray you will build up one another in love, caring for each other’s needs, and praying for God’s spirit to inspire you to witness to Christ’s love in your communities.

In the next two weeks, your superintendents, in coordination with our delegation to this special session of General Conference, have scheduled opportunities for you to gather for support, prayer, and “Courageous Conversations” with one another as we process the actions – and inactions – of the general church and seek a faithful response. I hope and pray these will be opportunities for us to do good and begin to heal while we stay in love with God and each other.

May our faithful God hold us in strength as we witness to the powerful love of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, for such a time as this.

In Christ’s Love,

Bishop Devadhar

Bishop’s Office

Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar

Erica Robinson-Johnson Assistant to the Bishop/DCM Phone: (978) 682-7555 ext. 251
erica@neumc.org

Brenda Borchers
Administrative Assistant
Phone: (978) 682-7555 ext. 250
Fax: (978) 682-9555
BishopsOffice@neumc.org

Transformed by the Holy Spirit, united in trust,
we will boldly proclaim Christ to the world.

Upcoming Events in RISEM District

lease mark your calendars. ↓

UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE RISEM DISTRICT

March 2^nd [GIVING[[JESUS]]GENEROSITY] Resource Day at Osterville UMC, Osterville, Ma
March 2^nd and March 16^th RISEM Lay Academy at Memorial UMC Taunton, Ma
March 7^th Courageous Conversation Meeting at Wesley UMC, Lincoln, RI 6:00 pm
March 30^th RISEM Clay Workshop on Committee Guidelines at Memorial UMC, Taunton, Ma
May 18^th Pre-Conference gathering-East Greenwich UMC 10:00 am – 11:30 am
May 18^th Transition Workshop for incoming pastors. East Greenwich UMC 11:30 am-1:00 pm

Remember to visit the RISEM District WEBSITE for all the latest updates!!! Go to www.neumc.org/risem

Workshops for Church committees

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND TO REGISTER!!!

Steve Garnaas-Holmes at Rolling Ridge..

Has the change of seasons got you down?

Is the turmoil and chaos of our current political environment left you hopeless?

Do you wonder where God is in these uncertain times?

Have you lost your spiritual groove and would you like to get it back?

Join retreat leader Steve Garnaas-Holmes on Wednesday, October 24, 2018 from 9:30am-3:30pm for this truly special Day Apart Retreat.

Come and be set free to discover hope and encounter the Beloved.

More information

Peace Quilts “Pop Up ” at coffee hour.

Sunday, Sept 16 saw coffee hour cheered up with beautiful quilts and hand made products from Haiti. During the “Mission Moment” in the service, Carolyn Stoeber had described her work with Peace Quilts which offers women jobs and future economic stability as part of this co-operative. The work was received enthusiastically.

Carolyn is also our contact for the Lilivois School project near Port au Prince to fund afternoon instruction for children and adults who cannot afford to go to school during regular tuition class hours.

Hurricane Florence

Our donations to Church World Service (Blanket mission) are at work in preparation for the hurricane in N.C.

Offerings of Music and Light

December 3/10/17 Sundays 5 p.m. Free music and light.

December 3.. 60 or more people came to see and hear:

Symphonietta:Flute: Holly Wayman

Merrily Fenner and “Serendipity”

Aaron Jackson and The Baptist church band.

Harriet Ottesen

Jesse Keller and Leah Crosby

Adele Dreyer

Lia KahlerFollowed by a reception fueled by Claire Ganz Dec. 10..ever more fabulous concert..

Phil Dietterich on organ..

Chris Carroll and friends. Not pictured: Jan Heyer – cello, Armen Hanjian – musical saw, Avi Lev – Irish pipes, Lia Kahler – mezzo soprano, Sean McMahon – singer/songwriter, Atzic Marquez -viola

Church World Service Harvey Response

With a lull in the rainfall, people begin to clean out their flooded homes in Houston.

“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.”
Song of Solomon 8:7

Dear friends,

Your congregation has always been attentive to the least of these – and we’ve been so grateful that you include us as a partner in your mission to care for others. Through your CWS Blankets gifts, you’ve faithfully provided warmth and stability to those in need over the past years.

Given your heart for ministry, we wanted to keep you posted about our most recent response to Hurricane Harvey. It is yet another humbling example where, because faith communities like yours mobilize, we are able to respond quickly. Even now, we are getting ready to send well over 100,000 CWS Kits and Blankets to people who have experienced sudden and sweeping loss.

As we move to action, we invite you to pray with us. There is strength when we petition for and lament with our neighbors in one voice.

If your congregation is looking for a hands-on way to help, here are two meaningful ways you can do so:

Assemble CWS Hygiene Kits or Emergency Cleanup Buckets with your congregation and drop them off at a kit depot near you. Kits will be shipped to local organizations who request them.
Don’t have a kit depot nearby? You can always support kits through a congregational donation to ensure that CWS can respond effectively and efficiently.

Thank you for serving as the backbone of these initiatives – our response to crises like Hurricane Harvey has always been guided and empowered by congregations like yours.

Gratefully,

Matthew Stevens
Director of Congregational Giving
Church World Service

cwsglobal.org | cwskits.org | info@cwsglobal.org

Church World Service is a faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster.

This email was sent to chilmarkchurch@gmail.com by Church World Service, Inc.
28606 Phillips St, Elkhart, IN, 46514-1239, US
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“Wisdom” from the new D.S.

DS Rev. Foster’s Monthly Devotional for August

2:18 PM

RISEM District Office

To pclarkgoff@comcast.net

Greetings RISEM District…
Below is a District Devotional that can be shared with your leadership or small group ministries… The Devotional is adapted from “Dare2B Wise” by Joe White and Kelli Stuart. Enjoy…
August 2017 – Wise Up
Read Together: “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young – let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance – for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.” Proverbs 1:1-6
An older bumper sticker that was popular in Texas read, “If you don’t have an oil well, get one!” The obvious joke was that everyone would like to have an oil well, but getting one is a lot easier said than done. The message of the book of Proverbs is similar: If you don’t have wisdom, get some! But unlike the bumper sticker, the message of Proverbs is no joke. And unlike the humorous slogan, Proverbs doesn’t tell you to get something – without telling you how.
The highest goal you can set for yourself, the best use you can make of your time and the smartest choice you can make in life is to follow the advice of Proverbs and get wisdom. But what is wisdom? The meaning of that word is fuzzy, isn’t it? That’s because people use the word wisdom to mean all sorts of different things. In the Bible, the word means the skill to live God’s way. It comes through gaining understanding about how God wants you to live and then applying that understanding by putting it into practice in your daily life, if you do that over the course of your life, you’ll be wise! And being wise is better than being rich, popular, and famous, a great athlete, or any of the other earthly goals we set for ourselves. So, if you want to get wisdom, where do you start? Next month, we’ll look at the first step on the exciting, lifelong journey of becoming wise.
Discussion Starters: What does wisdom mean to you? How is being wise different from being smart? Why do you think it’s important to God that we get wisdom?
Lifeline: Pray that God will give you wisdom as you study together as a family/church/district and ask him to help you apply the things you learn in your daily life.
Reflections:
Let us seek God’s wisdom for our local church, our district, and our conference.

Blessings Always, (Numbers 6:24-26)

Rev. Dr. Andrew L. Foster, III.
RISEM District Superintendent

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The New England Conference

Our District Contact Info

District Superintendent

Rev. Dr. Andrew L. Foster III

Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Susan Leatherwood

Lay Leaders

Dan Genannt and Darin Krum

Address

12 Bay Spring Avenue

Barrington, RI 02806

Office Phone

(401) 246-1100

Email

rim@neumc.org

Lia Kahler & Friends Concert

Save the date: September 10. Silent Auction at 2. Concert at 3.

Lia Kahler & Friends

Lia Kahler, mezzo-soprano; Philip Dietterich, organ; and Richard Gordon, piano. Songs, arias and spirituals with solos for piano and organ. Silent Auction starts at 2 p.m. and the concert at 3 p.m.

Benefits Island Clergy Homeless Fund and Chilmark Community Church.