And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love
1 Corinthians 13:13 (New Revised Standard Version)
This is a busy time of year, and I have some important information for you as our local districts move into a new season of ministry.
First, many of you have seen the work of the District Initiative going on – surveys, meetings, feedback sessions – and now we have a final presentation to show you. Please join us, one and all, on May 11 – Register Here to see the work that has been going on to create a new District, the Northern Virginia District, from what was Alexandria and Arlington Districts.
I support the work that has been done by our Northern Virginia team as well as the work each district has done. I, along with the other seven District Superintendents, have written a letter of support for the local and contextual work that has been going on in each set of districts. You will find it below the Important Dates box in this email. I encourage you to read that letter.
We will have many important topics to discuss at Annual Conference this year. I want to make sure that ALL delegates to Annual Conference – district, church, and clergy delegates – attend our Annual Conference orientation on June 12 – register here. We will have more information and details about Annual Conference voting at orientation. Find out more about Annual Conference including the four different Northern Virginia Kits & Cans drop-off locations here.
Finally, many of you have had questions about the General Conference that was postponed for this year, and how it may affect the United Methodist Church moving forward. We are going to have a presentation by the head of our Virginia Delegation to General Conference, Rev. Tom Berlin, and Rev. Kyungsuk Cho on June 6, at 7:00 p.m. on zoom – register here. Some of you have questions about the disaffiliation of local churches from the UMC, and those questions will be answered at that meeting as well. All are welcome to attend this meeting.
As things change, we will continue to seek to lead in love toward the mission God has given us. This means innovating, this means participating, this means staying informed – and we hope that these items all help you do this during this challenging time. May God bless all our work together!
—Sarah
Alexandria & Arlington District Superintendent