David's Harp
The Hope of Easter
In the cabinet meeting following our celebration of Easter, Bishop Schnase asked where we had seen signs of resurrection. Many of the ‘signs’ were ones that superintendents had seen in the landscapes in each district. Those signs continue to unfold before us in the greening, budding, flowering and leafing that we see each day.
I shared that one of the signs of Easter was the resilience of those affected by the floodwaters that had inundated not only homes and businesses but also thousands of acres of farm ground. Easter hope was being shared through the efforts of those putting together personal hygiene kits and flood buckets. Easter hope was being shared each time someone helped with clean up in homes and businesses. Farmers helping neighbors with sandbags, with an eye to drier conditions when crops would be planted, were living out Easter hope. Easter hope is more than just words – Easter hope is lived out in concrete ways – thank you for the many ways you, Southeast District United Methodists, have and will continue to share Easter hope. Special thanks to Jim Mills, District Disaster Coordinator, for his continuing work in flood recovery.
General Conference is now in session in Fort Worth, Texas. I invite you to be in prayer for those representing our conference as the deliberations continue through May 2. Two persons from our district are in attendance. Reverend Ron Watts is a delegate. Don Mowery, district lay leader, is a lay alternate. Bishop Schnase is offering daily insights on General Conference on the www.FivePractices.org blog page. You can check the news from General Conference by going to the official web site www.gc2008.umc.org
Each Monday you can check on the progress being made in the appointment of pastors by going to www.moumethodist.org. Kurt Schuermann, pastor at Poplar Bluff: First, will become district superintendent for the Gateway Central District. Michael Hargraves, Steele-Cooter, will be moving to Prairie Chapel in the Ozarks North District. Two of our pastors are retiring: Roger Jespersen at Charleston and Gene Speight at Senath-Coldwater Chapel. The cabinet will be in appointive session on May 7-8, May 13-14, and May 21-23. The May 13-14 date was added last week.
We offer our thanks for the ministry of all the churches in our district. Two of our churches will be closing at this session of the annual conference. The Bridges and Harviell congregations have voted to discontinue this year. We give thanks for their witness and offer prayer during this time of transition in the lives of those persons who will be finding new places to serve God.
I appreciate the way Susan Marner-Sides closes her daily prayer e-mail. I borrow those words as I come to the close of this article – I’m “praying with you and for you.”
David D. Norbury
District Superintendent
