Jurisdictional Conference Delegation solicits your contributions
August 15, 2007
Dear Colleague:
The Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference is just under a year away, and we are anticipating it to be a time of holy conferencing and Spirit-filled discernment. The worship team has been working to support the movement of the Spirit and the spiritual focus for the delegates. To that end, we are writing with an invitation. We would like to develop a booklet for devotions, a morning and evening devotion for each day of the conference, and we would like for you to invite submissions of devotions or meditations on the conference theme and scriptural theme. The theme is Extreme Church/Extreme Expectations, and the focusing scripture is:
Dear Church,
Do you know that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in? And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! (Ephesians 3:17-20)
We would like all of the devotions to derive from this passage. What would it be like if we were an extreme church? We have thought about such things as:
We see two parts to “extreme” in this passage – very high standards for living a Christ-like life and how God’s love in Christ is extreme.
We often expect very little – of God and of ourselves, both individually and as a faith community.
If the church is to reach into the culture of 2008, we must practice extreme commitment, extreme hospitality, and extreme discipleship.
So, what does extreme commitment, hospitality and/or discipleship mean to you, the writer? How does this passage call to you?
We are asking you as head of your delegation to invite persons from your conference to write. And we would particularly like for a majority of the writings to come from youth and young adults – maybe even some who are from some unexpected – even extreme – places!
Please let us know if you are willing to get an invitation out. It will be most helpful to hear from you by September 15, 2007 so that we can gauge how this is going. Respond to Rev. Vivian McCarthy, the worship coordinator, vmccarthy(at)bwcumc.org
If we have lots of submissions, which is our hope, we will choose the ones to print for the Jurisdictional conference members and post the others on a website to share in the jurisdiction (the booklet will be posted, too). We need submissions sent to us by January 15, 2008.
Blessings on you,
Vivian
Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors
Rev. Vivian C. McCarthy
Washington West District Superintendent
Baltimore-Washington Conference
7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite D
Columbia, Maryland 21046
Vmccarthy(at)bwcumc.org
Office: 410-309-3400 ext. 493 pr 800-492-2525 ext. 493
Cell: 443-255-1337