Monday Morning - Laity Session; Opening Session
The Laity Session was led by Shirley Cauffman, conference lay leader. She told about the many programs in which laity are involved. Cauffman introduced Bishop Fritz Mutti who works with the raising AIDS awareness. They raised three sons and lost two of them to HIV/AIDS. He and his wife, Etta Mae, were selected to lead the Global AIDS fund. The gathering was told about an "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit that will be on display outside the civic center. It contains 116 pairs of combat boots and the names of the soldiers from Virginia who have died in the Iraq war. It also has shoes representing the thousands of Iraqi civilians who have lost their lives. Listen to Bishop Pennel's Sermon
Bishop Joe Pennel He and Janene were at a church that had steps leading from the street to the sanctuary. It was raining so he let Janene out and parked the car. When he returned, there as an elderly lady ascending the steps. He took her arm. She asked, “Who’s the preacher here today?” He said, “The bishop.” She said, “Take me back down the steps.” Now teaching at Vanderbilt Divinity School, the bishop said one of the things he tries to teach his students is what they can learn from the laity. “I tell them to pay attention to the faith that is already alive in the laity,” he said. “If pastors listen closely to lay people, they will experience the faith that God has already put in the hearts of the laity.” Pennel then shared his thoughts on means of grace for the church today. The first is worship, both corporate and private. “When we worship the God of Jesus, it makes possible the opportunity for grace to come into our lives,” he said. “We don’t want to ask, ‘What did I get out of it?’ The right question is, ‘What did I give to the service this morning?’” In worship, we are there to declare the lordship of God, he said. “We’re there to reverence Christ. We’re there through hymnody and prayer to give ourselves anew to the living prayer of Jesus Christ. In Worship, God is the audience and we are the actors.” He said the second way to a means of grace is searching the Scriptures. We read it for information and transformation. When we read for information, we try to find out what happened to whom and when. When we read for transformation, we read it in such a way that the Word would be made flesh for us. We should ask two questions, the bishop said. “What is this text asking me to do?” The second question is, “What kind of person is this text asking me to be?” A third means of grace is spiritual reading where we take care of our inner life so we might have an outward witness. We call this interiority. Find a spiritual writer who feeds your soul. The fourth means of grace is the sacramental life… making one available to the sacraments of the church. Infant baptism is our belief that God is already in love with our child so we mark the child with the cross of Christ. It is the right of initiation into the church. We are up against something in Methodism right now. We are baptizing more children than we are confirming. Confirmation means to confirm the faith that my parents took for me when I couldn’t. Holy Communion is a sign of God’s operative grace in our lives. Grace would have a difficult time getting into our lives if we don’t practice. The fifth means of grace is deeds of mercy and kindness. “Christ wills in a special way with the poor and the marginalized,” he said. He told about preaching at the Goochland women’s prison one Sunday afternoon. He wanted to meet with some who were mothers. A couple dozen stayed and he asked them what it was like to be incarcerated and be a mother. He asked what one wish would be for their child. One mother said she would like her child to go to a summer camp. He shared what the mother had said and the committee picked up on it. There are now four camps in the Virginia Conference for the children of incarcerated mothers. “We meet Christ in deeds of mercy and kindness,” the bishop reiterated.
Rachel Smith, left, and George Lightner, Dr. Steve Hundley, superintendent of the Nelson Harris, the mayor of Bishop Mutti brought greetings from the South Central Jurisdiction. The conference raised $100,000 last year and is looking at $100,000 again this year.
The Committee on Rules report was brought to the conference by Dane Mills. The report was adopted. The Rev. Jeff Mickle, during his report of the Board of Ordained Ministry, presented young persons serving this summer at interns under the Calling of 21 program through The Rev. Kathleen Overby Webster, dean of the Cabinet, presented the report from the district superintendents. Minute questions were voted on. Mr. Donald Yesukaitis presented the Report of Equitable Compensation. |
