News from the larger church
Last week I mentioned some of the work being done by the Baltimore Washington Conference. I want to follow up on this with mention of some of resolutions that were passed that will impact us here at Calvary United Methodist Church
First, the conference endorsed a plan that will be under consideration by the General Conference when it meets again in August 2022. The plan would allow some congregations, members and pastors to separate from The United Methodist Church to form a new denomination that will be called The Global Methodist Church. The primary factor driving this separation are the differing views about same sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. Although there is widespread sorrow around separation and schism within the denomination, there is also a widespread belief that the differences that present are too great to be ignored or overcome in the current arrangement. The conference endorsed a plan, known as “The Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation” as a framework to guide the delegates to General Conference that will meet in August 2022 to decide how the denomination will proceed. To learn more about the Protocol, see https://www.bwcumc.org/news-and-views/summary-of-protocol/
Second, the conference passed resolutions regarding gun violence as a public health crisis and ways for churches to promote care of creation. I am particularly interested in ways that we as individuals and as a church can learn about the challenges facing the environment and how we might be better caretakers and stewards of it. Several actions were lifted for consideration and action, including
- Doing a study of the book Climate Justice: A Call to Hope and Action
- Creating a Green Team within the church to organize and learn more about specific actions we can do to care for the environment
- Encouraging members to become trained as Global Ministries EarthKeepers who can launch and grow environmental projects in our community.
You can learn more about these resolutions at and https://www.bwcumc.org/news-and-views/resolutions-span-slate-of-varied-conference-concerns/
Grace and peace,
Pastor Steve Larsen
Church Conference – Saturday, November 20
The annual meeting where the church reviews its ministries and celebrates its connection with the larger United Methodist Church will take place on Saturday, November 20 at 10:15 AM at Middletown United Methodist Church.
This is the annual meeting when the church leadership makes several reports on the building, the ministries, the membership and the financial health of the congregation. Agenda items also include: election of new persons in leadership roles, approval of the compensation package for the pastor and action on members who have become inactive.
The Church Conference meeting is open for all members of Calvary Church but particularly the voting members of the Church Council.