July 2017
A Message from Tim We celebrate with Erin Beasley, who was ordained an Elder at the Mississippi Annual Conference in Jackson, MS on June 9. Elders are ordained to a ministry of Word, Sacrament, Order, and Service. This means Elders preach and teach the Word of God, provide pastoral care and counsel, administer the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion, and order the life of the church for service in mission and ministry. The servant leadership of the elder takes place both in parish ministry as well as in extension ministries, like chaplaincy. Elders also itinerate, which means they serve in ministry settings (appointments) where the bishop assigns them. This ordination signifies the culmination of years of education and training, and marks the beginning of a new chapter in Erin's ministry for many years to come.
Erin (1st row, third from left) with other ordinands
Blessings, Tim
Connected Action Being United Methodist means being connected. The United Methodist Church is a worldwide church, and each UMC congregation is connected in ministry, resources, and spirit in the overall mission to Make Disciples of Jesus Christ. Each year, an Annual Conference meets in which the churches of a Conference gather to celebrate its ministries, take care of business matters, and take time for fellowship and worship. On June 4-6, the Memphis Annual Conference met at Collierville UMC. We had fourteen delegates from our church who were a part of the Conference. Many of our delegates met following the conference and discussed action points that we might place before our church in response to the spirit which was present at Conference. The Delegates concluded with five action points that it recommends for Germantown UMC to adapt: 1. Community Presence of Blessing Our delegates suggest that we look at ways to be a presence of blessing to community events such as the Charity Horseshow, FedEx St. Jude Golf Tournament, the Germantown Festival, etc.) 2. Conversation/Bible study on Dealing with Disagreement How can we learn as a church and a culture to deal with disagreement with Prayer and Patience, not anger and fear? 3. Youth to Conference Bishop McAlilly issued a challenge for the congregants to send 250 youth to Annual Conference next year. The delegation wishes to fully support that effort as much as possible. 4. Assisting a Sister UMC Congregation Funding the Conference budget will be by congregational tithing and no longer by apportionments. This means a decrease for most congregations, but an increase in some. The Conference adapted wording that asked congregations who benefited from the change to voluntarily help a congregation who are adversely affected by the new method. Our delegation asks our congregation to be a leader in this effort. 5. Conference Committees The delegates wish for our congregation to work towards placing members of Germantown UMC on conference committees in order to support and guide our connection. These action points were presented to and adapted by the Pastor’s Council, and will now be taken to the next Church Board meeting. Please be in prayer for the ministries of the UMC, the Memphis Annual Conference, and Germantown UMC. Remember our mission statement: “We are a faith community committed to loving God and loving others; Serving 1 Christ and sharing Him; transforming lives and making disciples.�