Dear Church Family,
I can’t believe that June is already here. It is going to be an exciting month for us all. For Chanda and I, June 20th will mark our 4th anniversary. We also have a trip planned this month to go to Texas to see my mom. It will be our first trip down there since she has been in the drug rehab program there. It will also be Wesley’s first trip on an airplane!
As everyone knows by now, June 11th also marks my ordination. This has been a long awaited celebration. It is marks an end of a journey, but the beginning of an even greater one. I am so thankful to all of you who contributed to my ordination banner. It is going to be great! There is still room for you on the bus if you would like to ride up and be a part of the ordination service with us. We will be having a reception at our cottage afterwards that everyone is invited to attend. The address of our cottage is 433 Jasmine. It is just two blocks from Hoover Auditorium, where the service will take place.
If you are not able to come to the Ordination service, we will be celebrating my ordination at Hoffman on Sunday, June 30th. During that worship service, we will talk about God’s calling upon our lives and what ordained ministry means. You will also have the opportunity to see my banner and stole during that service. We may have some video clips and pictures from annual conference to show you as well. We hope that you will all join us that day. We will have a carry in meal at 12:30 PM to celebrate together.
In preparation for my ordination, there has been a lot of talk about Annual conference, and I realized that many of you may not know what that is all about. So, I thought I would give you a brief explanation. Each year, all clergy members from West Ohio and an equal number of lay members selected from the local churches attend the Annual Conference session to meet together to worship, fellowship, and conduct the business of the conference. During these sessions, members of the conference hear reports of past and ongoing work; adopt future goals, programs and budgets; ordain clergy members as deacons and elders; and elect delegates to Jurisdictional and General Conferences (every 4 years). The bishop presides over these meetings.
This Annual Conference will be our first one with our new bishop—Bishop Gregory V. Palmer. I am excited to hear about his vision for our annual conference. We will be gathered around the theme becoming the beloved community, emphasizing the word Taken as we talk about how God in Christ has chosen us to be God’s servants in the church and in the world. We will also be taking our mission offering for Imagine No Malaria during our conference. Please be in prayer for our annual conference this year.
Hoffman has a great representation at Annual Conference. It is very unusual for a church our size to have more than two representatives; however, there will be five representatives from the Hoffman at Annual Conference this year—myself, Katie Reinke (our lay delegate), Rev. Tim Benkert, Pam Hitchcock (representing Potsdam), and Devin Mitchell (Miami Valley District Delegate). It is going to be a great annual conference!
Of course, you won’t want to miss all of the things that will be happening in worship each Sunday at Hoffman. We will continue our journey through the Lord’s Prayer. We will observe Father’s Day and Peace with Justice Sunday. I hope that you will join us each week as we worship God and seek God’s guidance in our lives!
Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin Williams
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