The Authority of God
Daily Scripture: Romans 13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling...
Juneteenth Scripture and Prayer: Luke 19
Some of the religious folks in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a wave of crowd demonstrations. People were shouting and carrying on....
Boogity Boogity Boogity in the DNA
Daily Scripture: Acts 8 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the...
From the Bishop: The Joy of In-Person Worship
View as pdf Dear Virginia Annual Conference: I have written to you often about the steps and procedures by which churches can return to in-person worship and the need for careful planning in this regard. And I will continue to do so, based on developments regarding...
View pictures from 2020 Service of Ordination
Bishop Lewis leads July 10 Ordination Service Eleven clergy were ordained during a service on July 10 at Woodlake UMC in Chesterfield. These clergy were Gil Lee, John Conway, Katherine Malloy, Sean Devolites, Ashley Isernhagen, John Obeng, Monica Reynolds, Marti...
From the Bishop: Manual, health form updates
View as pdf Greetings in the name of Christ, Virginia United Methodists! In the midst of a prayer for deliverance from enemies, the psalmist says, “I will sing a new song to you, O God.” [Psalm 144:9, NRSV] Indeed, we are learning to sing a new song as we offer our...
2020 Annual Conference will be a one-day virtual gathering
From Bishop Lewis, Appointive Cabinet and Annual Conference Planning Team The Bishop, Appointive Cabinet and the Annual Conference Planning team have continued to evaluate options while conducting extensive logistical work of planning for the 2020 Virginia Annual...
From the Bishop: Thanks for Your Perseverance!
Dear Virginia Annual Conference: View as pdf These are certainly challenging times – and there is also a great deal of positive news for our church. Through faith, flexibility, and hard work we are returning to in-person worship in a safe and responsible manner....
Return to In-Person Worship Continues to Grow
View as pdf Dear Virginia Annual Conference: I am pleased to inform you that this past Sunday, June 21, we had a successful launch to Stage 2 of our in-person worship program. Thank you to the many dedicated Healthy Church Teams that made this possible and the ongoing...
An Update on Financial and Staffing Matters
Read as pdf Dear Virginia Annual Conference: Following up on my May 12 letter, here are key updates pertaining to the Virginia Conference’s finances and staffing. While we continue to face strong financial challenges, I am cautiously optimistic that the toughest...
Hand sanitizer: the great protest unifier
By the Rev. Drew Colby Late Saturday night, May 30, I got texts from a couple church members making me aware of protests that were getting serious in our town [Manassas, Va.]. By Sunday morning it was clear that the night ended with some violence, vandalism, and...
Cops add their voices to calls for change
By the Rev. Michelle Matthews I have heard some folks say that protests, rallies, vigils, and marches are really just passive, functionally neutral, non-active responses to perceived injustice. The implied question being: “If folks are really that outraged,...
Privilege as a Responsibility
By the Rev. Grace Han I moved to the United States from South Korean when I was 7 years old. Because I moved here as a child, I could speak English without an accent, rather than my parents did—with a noticeable Korean accent. I was always aware of that...
District webinar discusses race relations and the Church
By Madeline White The Elizabeth River District facilitated a conversation on race relations and the Church on Sunday, June 14, for a two-hour conversation. Approximately 200 people registered for the event and the conversation was streamed over ZOOM, Facebook and...
Northern Virginia Church acts as COVID-19 outdoor testing site
By Madeline White Grace UMC in Manassas, Va., was open all day on Thursday, May 28, performing an important task—acting as an outdoor testing site for COVID-19 for Manassas citizens who are under-served and uninsured. To make this a reality, it all started with...
From Bishop Lewis: Update on Returning to In-Person Worship
Dear Virginia Annual Conference: United Methodist churches throughout Virginia continue the return to in-person worship! And we are doing so by continuing to emphasize safety. Currently, there are 126 United Methodist churches in the Virginia Conference offering...
United Methodist Bishops: Act now to end racism and white supremacy
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the aftermath of police killings of unarmed Black people, the bishops of The United Methodist Church today called on all United Methodists to act now by using their voices, pens, feet and hearts to end racism. In a statement released by Council...
A Pastoral Letter to United Methodists of the Southeastern Jurisdiction
Work and witness to a hurting community Pdf copy Brothers and Sisters: As president of the Southeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops my heart rejoices over the bold, courageous, and compassionate offering of confession, lament, and call to action by our white...
From Bishop Lewis: Moving to Stage 2 for In-Person Worship Services
Moving to Stage 2 for In-Person Worship Services View as pdf Dear Virginia Annual Conference: I give thanks to God for all the hard work being done by Healthy Church Teams across our Conference as we continue the return to in-person worship. Drive-in services...
Volunteer in Mission teams are asked to postpone trips
The conference Connectional Ministries office and the conference Volunteers In Mission (VIM) coordinator have received several inquiries regarding the sending and receiving of VIM teams in person June 2020 through August 2020.At this time, the Virginia Conference is...
Bishop Lewis provides update to In-Person Worship
Update on In-Person Worship Services View as pdf Dear Virginia Annual Conference: Our Conference has...
Bishop Lewis calls for action against systemic racism
View as a PDF May 29, 2020 A Call to Action on Systemic Racism Dear Virginia Annual Conference: On...
SEJ College of Bishops announces the plan for episcopal supervision
May 27, 2020 The following announcement comes from Bishop Leonard Fairley, President of the SEJ College of Bishops. The SEJ College of Bishops announces the plan for episcopal supervision for the Southeastern Jurisdiction until the 2020 postponed session of...
New dates set for General Conference, Jurisdictional Conference
A view of the Minneapolis skyline and the 3rd Avenue Bridge. Photo by Krivit Photography, courtesy of Meet Minneapolis. (Minneapolis Skyline and 3rd Avenue Bridge Credit/Provider: Photo by Krivit Photography, Organizers have announced that the next General Conference...
Bishop Lewis attends ‘Pioneer Church’ as conference begins Stage One of reopening churches to in-person worship
By Madeline White The Rev. Bill John, Providence UMC, preaches on May 24, 2020. A number of churches began Stage 1 of the conference’s plan to reopen conference churches to in-person worship on May 24. As part of this plan, approximately 17 churches in the conference...
Itinerancy belongs to clergy and laity
By Forrest White William Taylor as a Circuit Rider in Virginia - Image from the General Commission on Archives and History for the United Methodist Church, Drew University. The son of a Methodist preacher, the Rev. Dr. John Peters remembers childhood days when big...
Our Drive-In and Pioneer Church Worship Services Remain in Place
A Message from Bishop Sharma D. Lewis: As you may have heard, this afternoon President Trump called for places of worship to be deemed essential and allowed to be open this weekend. The Conference already has a plan to resume in-person worship beginning this weekend...
Discipleship Ministries Path1 Video Resource Available
Before the COVID-19 crisis is over, nearly every church on earth will go through a period of closed facilities. Afterward, tens of thousands of United Methodist churches will re-open their facilities to the public. It will not be a return to normal, but a time of new...
A Message from Bishop Lewis: Addressing Our Staffing and Serious Financial Challenges
Click here to download a pdf of this message Dear Virginia Annual Conference: I am writing to you for several reasons today. First and foremost, I believe in owning the good and the bad in life and I come to you asking for forgiveness and grace. On behalf of the...
Bishop Lewis announces tentative worship schedule, future plans
Dear Virginia Conference, May the Lord be with you and keep you. It is a wonderful day to be a United Methodist. I know that Virginia United Methodists are longing for the return to in-person worship. One of our highest priorities must be loving our neighbors through...