The conference started on weekend before Memorial Day, but Wildwood was definitely getting into the summer mode. All It reminded me that we Christians are always being watched. We\u2019re called to bring people to Christ, but when we mark ourselves as Christians, Christ brings people to us. We need to be always be ready to demonstrate our faith and to make sure we really walk the talk.<\/span> <\/em>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t Every year, Bishop Schol gives what you might call a \u201cstate of the church address.\u201d The theme of this year\u2019s conference was \u201cRejoice!\u201d The bishop said that to rejoice means that we recognize that God is in the mix. He talked about the difference between Joy and Happiness. Happiness depends on an outside stimulus to generate a good feeling. It\u2019s sustained by temporary conditions and it doesn\u2019t last.<\/p>\n But Joy goes deeper; it transcends circumstances. It is sustained by hope. He gave an example that Happiness is when you hit a new attendance record on Easter Sunday. But Joy is when just one of those new families returns to church the next week. He challenged us to not become satisfied with Happiness moments but to constantly look for reasons to hope and to rejoice.<\/p>\n One of the quotes I wrote down, \u201c<\/span><\/em>we choose Joy because Happiness isn\u2019t enough.<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u201d And I thought about how we can apply that in our church. Happiness might be the feeling we get when we hit our budget for one month. Or when we realized that nearly 100 kids have already signed up for Our Father\u2019s House. Or as we remember the energy in this room each evening during our Vacation Bible School.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n But that\u2019s not enough. Joy would be when someone comes to the NA meeting in our Fellowship Hall one Tuesday night and reports he\u2019s been clean for a month. Joy is when a young couple brings their child to VBS, discovers a faith in their child that they had never experienced themselves, and seeks deeper. Joy is when a person\u2019s life is changed by the touch of a Stephen Minister. God calls us to rejoice! \u201cHappiness isn\u2019t enough!\u201d<\/span><\/em>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t Every year there\u2019s a Service of Remembrance for pastors who had passed away during that year. The screen shows a name and picture of each person, and you\u2019re supposed to stand if you knew the person whose name is being displayed. I found myself standing a lot this year! There were a lot of familiar names:<\/p>\n The thing that impressed me about this was how many people besides myself got up when I stood. People I don\u2019t know were also touched by the person I remembered. It demonstrated that we aren\u2019t only connected by the name of our church, but we\u2019re also connected by the same Spirit who worked through these same pastors to touch many people in different ways.<\/span><\/em>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t Sunday night was the service of Ordination. In order to become an Elder in the United Methodist Church you have to jump through a lot of hoops: First there\u2019s College and Seminary, then you have to be interviewed by the Board of Ordained Ministry, then you might become a provisional elder, then you have to do some more stuff for the Board of Ordained Ministry, and then- finally- after years of hard work, you become an Ordained Elder. This year, 9 candidates were ordained as elders.<\/p>\n One of the pastors ordained this year has a Pitman connection. Some of you may remember John Inverso, who was part of our church about 8 years ago. He went into the ministry, served as a local pastor, and then finished seminary. This year he was ordained as an Elder.<\/p>\n The ordination service hit me on two levels. First, the amount of work and dedication each of these people had in order to be ordained.Secondly, how these itinerate pastors help to connect our churches together.<\/span> <\/em>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t Clergy in the United Methodist Church serve as Itinerate pastors; appointed one year at a time, beginning each July 1. For new appointments, the lay member and pastor walk down the center aisle, and the Bishop gives each a copy of the appointment letter.<\/p>\n Bishop Schol welcomes Rev. Glenn Conaway as our District Superintendent<\/p><\/div>\n The most important item for us, is that Pastor Jim has been re-appointed to our church. And, Glenn Conaway who is currently the pastor of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Mullica Hill was appointed as our new District Superintendent.<\/p>\n But another interesting appointments was that John Inverso was appointed to the First UMC in Glassboro. Their now-former pastor, Larry Oksten, was appointed to St. Peters in Ocean City.<\/p>\n The appointments reminded me that change is difficult. But it\u2019s also necessary. In order to grow in faith, we have to constantly challenge our routines and accept new ways, fresh ideas, and different people.<\/span> <\/em>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/0528051927-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>of the sounds and smells of the summer were there: Loud music, Mack\u2019s Pizza, and of course- \u201cwatch the tram car please.\u201d But when I walked the boards, I stuck out like a sore thumb. The \u201cnormal\u201d people were wearing shorts and tee shirts… the same clothes I\u2019d rather be wearing. But there I was, dressed in Kakis and a polo shirt with my United Methodist Lanyard flapping in the wind.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/GNJAC15-Bishop-Schol-_IMG_2182-300x225.jpg\")
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