Advent Devotional 1

Digging deep for hope

By Betty Hertz

From Romans 15:12-13 (The Inclusive Bible)

12 and again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse is coming,

and will arise to rule over the nations,

and they will place their trust in the Coming One”

13 May the God of hope fill you with such peace and joy in your faith, that you may filled with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The first Advent candle is Hope. It is also known as the Prophet Candle. In the Old Testament prophets, like Isaiah, foretold the coming of the Messiah. For us the Hope candle represents our anticipation of the birth of Jesus and the hope He brings to the world.

Honestly, I have had to dig deep in my heart to feel hope recently. When I chose to write about hope, I know God chuckled because He knew my recent struggles. As I read Verse 13, I thought about the relationship between faith and hope. That led to asking if I am struggling with hope, am I also struggling with faith?

Of course, God decided I needed a refresher course on faith. I have given up counting the number of times I have needed that refresher! Do I have enough faith? Do I need more faith? Well God sent me an answer through The Kingdom Of The Poor by Charles Strobel. I read these words: “We do not need more faith. We need confidence in the faith we have.” As long as I allow the Holy Spirit to work within me my faith is restored and refreshed. I experience confident faith. With that faith, I have room to allow hope to grow.

Hymn of Promise (from UMH, p. 707) has anchored me when my faith has wavered, and everything has seemed hopeless. Verse 2 especially speaks to me:



“There's a song in every silence, seeking word and melody,

There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me

From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,

 Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.”

Ever Faithful God,

Thank you for your patience as I wander from your plans for me. You remind me that when I let your Son’s words and the Holy Spirit’s power work in me, I return to your path. My faith is restored, and I experience peace, joy and hope. In your beloved son’s name, Amen.

Betty Hertz is St. John Lay Leader and a Stephen Minister.

Where are You?

As Christians, we know that the gospel is literally the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ.  We know this cognitively and celebrate it weekly at church.  But, it’s easy to be distracted by chores, career, family, health, everything — so much so that the gospel barely skirts the edge of our minds.  God, in His mercy, knows life is hard and we are pulled in many directions, doing the best we can. But still, how can we live a more technicolor, high-def gospel life?

As much as we hate to acknowledge it, traumatic times in our lives can make God pop off the page, so to speak.  In our pain and desperation, we may dive deep spiritually, reaching-out to God for divine help.   

At the same time, it’s also easy to feel disconnected from God, questioning where He is when life goes sideways.  We can be reassured, though, that God is always with us, even when we don’t feel it.  The last sentence in the gospel of Matthew encourages us, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Chew on that a bit:  Jesus is ALWAYS with you.  Always!

For me, I need to rehearse the awesome beauty of the gospel, over and over — tumbling it around in my mind, sifting out ever more gemstones from its message, savoring the amazing truth that Jesus is the lover of my soul, of everyone’s soul.  

In my St. John UMC grief support group, Betty Hertz suggested that we journal our grief.  Thank you, Betty, for helping me along my path of healing.  I dedicate this poem to you.

Where are You?

By Karen Biggs

Jesus, where are You today

In my doomsday disarray?

Will You stay, I pray, or be away?

In the flurry, I hurry and worry,

My mouth turned down

In a heartache-heavy frown.

What do I do now

With that 1-2 punch-pow?

Jesus, where are You?

Getting ready for Your big debut

Seated in the heavenly-high

Like in another-dimensional sci-fi?

But I need You to meet me

Right here under the ash tree

Where I’m humbled in dust,

(A reminder to trust)

Sensibilities slipping into hoodoo,

Personal peace fluttering up the flue too.

I overhear that You aren’t here. 

Will my Dear ever appear?

Jesus, I want to find You,

The Way, the Life, the True,

In my splatter-shot still-life

Dripping with distress and strife.

Come save me, away me

Cast me a glance at least

A dash of Your love unleashed.

Any favor for me to savor

To bless my worn soul,

To make my half whole.

Jesus, come quickly.

The brambles are thickly

Obscuring and blurring

The Life-Love You’re stirring.

Bring courage and repairing,

Your caring forbearing.

Elevate my spirit —

Jesus be near it.

Jesus, You are here.

Enduring every sneer-jeer,

Emptied entirely for all,

Lashes, nails, and bitter gall

You pick up my pain

And bear the dark stain.

Now let me weep at your feet,

With my hair wipe complete.

Forgiveness, wholeness,

Aware of Your holiness,

Ever-present in my aloneness.

Jesus, in the quiet I find You

When I’m catawampus askew

Crying, cat-calling, craving You

Only You, only You will do.

GBGM Reflection

Last week, I was blessed to travel to Nashville for the joint board meetings of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM). Much of our time was spent orienting the new directors (two-thirds of us are new) to the work of both of these agencies of the United Methodist Church, and our responsibilities as directors. Over the coming quadrennium, it is my intention to write short blurbs periodically to share about the excellent work these two organizations are doing on our behalf throughout the world.

Roland Fernandes has served as the General Secretary for GBGM for a number of years, and this year GBHEM has elected him to serve as their General Secretary as well. This is a first in our denomination, with one person serving as the executive of two different agencies within the church.

With disaffiliations significantly impacting the budgets of all of our General Agencies, GBGM and GBHEM are leading the way in working together, finding efficiencies and alignments that will allow the global work of these agencies to continue well into the future. I am very impressed with the excellent work the staff have accomplished thus far, and excited for what is yet to come.

One funding source for each of these organizations, is through the six special Sunday offerings local churches receive each year: Human Relations Day, UMCOR Sunday, Native American (and Native Alaskan!) Ministries Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, World Communion Sunday, and United Methodist Student Sunday (coming up in just a few weeks).

If every United Methodist gave $1US to each of these special offerings ($6 per person annually), over thirty million US dollars would be generated annually for the work of our annual conferences and general agencies. Now I recognize $1US has a very different value in the states than it does in other parts of our connexion around the world, but even if only US members contributed in this manner, we would still exceed thirty million US dollars annually in generated revenue.

As many of our local churches are preparing budgets for 2025, I would encourage you to consider budgeting $1 for every church member in your local church for each of these Sundays. On the Sunday we receive the offering, if less is received, consider making up the difference from your budget. If more is received, send in all the receipts.

For example, if your church has 50 members, consider budgeting $50 for each Special Sunday for a total of $300 annually. If you receive only $45 on a given Sunday in Special Sunday envelopes, consider covering the final $5 from your general budget. If you receive $55, send all of it in, and there will be no impact to your budget. This is one small way for us to prioritize the connexional work of our beloved church.

Even if you choose to not use the above approach, it is my hope that each of our local churches will give their members the opportunity to participate in this second-mile giving through our six Special Sundays. You can read more about each of these Sundays here: https://www.resourceumc.org/en/churchwide/umcgiving/special-sundays.

I invite you to join me, in lifting in prayer all the staff members of GBGM and GBHEM in the coming weeks, asking God’s blessing upon their work and their families, for indeed as Heather McGhee said “We are greater than, and greater for, the sum of us.”

All grace and peace,

The Rev. Andy Bartel
GBGM Director 2024-2028
St. John UMC Anchorage AK, Lead Pastor

General Conference 20/24 Report 7

If you would like additional information about the General Conference, please click here.

By Lonnie Brooks

Long before the United Methodist General Conference convened in Charlotte, I went on record as suggesting that the three things it needed to get done to be considered to be successful were the following:

1) Regionalize the Church

2) Reform the episcopacy

3) Restructure the general agencies

I submitted or helped move forward the submission of petitions to do all those things. In fact, in furtherance of item 3 on the general agencies I submitted a whole package of petitions.

20675 would have moved GCORR and GCOSROW into GBCS

20674 would have moved UMCom into GCFA

20677 would have moved GCAH into GCFA

20676 would have moved GCUMM into GBOD

GCORR is the General Commission on Religion and Race

GCOSROW is the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women

GBCS is the General Board of Church and Society

GCFA is the General Council on Finance and Administration

GCUMM is the General Commission on United Methodist Men

GBOD is the General Board of Discipleship

GCAH is the General Commission on Archives and History

UMCom is the General Commission on Communication

All of the petitions, with the exception of 20674 were rejected in the assigned legislative committees by votes varying from 25-5 to 28-1. Petition 20674 was referred by the Legislative Committee on Financial Administration to GCFA and UMCom by a vote of 62-2. So, three of them are not calendared for consideration in plenary, and 20674 is calendared for referral.

Since there were no other petitions that I've found that deal with agency consolidations, that means there will be no mandated, mission based restructuring of the agencies at this General Conference. It is almost certain that, assuming some reasonable budget, such as GCFA is proposing, will be adopted, there will be some restructuring that will be resource based, which is to say when reality hits, based on how much money is available for operations, that things can't go forward as they have in the past.

My concern about eliminating duplication of effort apparently isn't the concern of this General Conference which is pursuing other matters. Let me give you one obvious example of what I'm talking about here. It's in your face at every session near the opening. Every agenda contains a "Monitoring Report." This is a report on just how inclusive the General Conference has been in its processes. And, without fail, we get the General Secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) joined by the General Secretary of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCOSROW) together at the podium to present a single report on this topic. There is no possible justification for such duplication! These two agencies are doing the same job. In fact, those who support most vigorously the inclusiveness ministry of the Church with its rightful emphasis on our call to diversity always emphasize the importance of recognition of the intersectionality of the concerns with which these two agencies deal. GCOSROW rarely publishes a report that doesn't deal with racial and ethnic dimensions of its concerns right along with concerns directly related to gender.

According to Daily Christian Advocate, Volume 4, the GCFA report, on page 1843 we find that the General Secretary of GCORR receives a compensation package of $183,733.49 per year, which is $735,000 for the quadrennium. The GS of GCOSROW receives $220,200.72 per year which is $880,800 for the quadrennium. That's $1,615,800 for the quadrennium for the two leaders of two agencies that keep doing each other's work.

That's what the issue is.

General Conference 20/24 Report 6

If you would like additional information about the General Conference, please click here.

By Lonnie Brooks

I want to set the record straight on something; it's important.

On page 1243 of the Advance Edition of the Daily Christian Advocate a new resolution to go into the United Methodist Book of Resolutions is proposed. That resolution is attributed to me as its author who submitted it. I did submit it, but when I sent it to Abby Parker Herrera, the UM Petitions Secretary, I asked that she attribute authorship to Andy Bartel, the person for whom I was acting as mechanic to get the petition submitted. Andy Bartel is the lead pastor at my local church, St. John UMC of Anchorage, Alaska.

Andy approached me with the concept and asked if I'd be willing to get it into the proper format for petitioning the General Conference. I said an enthusiastic yes, did the work, and, with Andy's full support made the submission, promising to give him attribution of authorship.

Well, for whatever reason, it's there with my name, not Andy's. Now, mind you, unlike when sometimes I do this kind of work for people and don't support the idea or the intent, in this case, I fully support both, but it wasn't my idea. The idea? Well it's short, so I'll let you read it for yourself, if you like. You can find what we submitted by clicking here.

With three edits to make the resolution more general and not coming out of the COVID pandemic, the Church and Society Legislative Committee 2 voted 52 to 1 to approve the petition and thus put it on the Consent Calendar for submission to the plenary session. Here's how the petition will read as it will appear on the Calendar:

Add a new resolution to the Book of Resolutions as follows:

WHEREAS Vaccinations have been shown to be an effective means for limiting and in some instances eliminating the spread of infectious diseases among humans, and

WHEREAS some of the worst effects of communicable diseases are often experienced by the most vulnerable among us, including the elderly, immune compromised, and those historically disadvantaged by prejudice, racism, and poverty, and

WHEREAS The United Methodist Church does not teach or promulgate any doctrine that supports a religious objection to the use of vaccines that have been authorized for distribution by the appropriate governmental authorities,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that The United Methodist Church encourages all its members, constituents, and other people around the world to take advantage of vaccination programs for communicable diseases when such programs have been authorized by the appropriate governmental authorities, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The United Methodist Church does not support any claim of religious exemption from any person on the basis of membership or affiliation with The United Methodist Church, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The United Methodist Church encourages its local churches, conferences, and agencies wherever possible and practicable to host clinics for the distribution of authorized vaccines.

I don't think a Consent Calendar has ever been rejected by a UM General Conference. Now that's something to celebrate, I think.