This week, from Sunday through Tuesday, many United Methodists from across our Greater New Jersey Conference gathered together for our Annual Conference Session. It was a meaningful time of worship, prayer, learning, holy conferencing, and reconnecting with sisters and brothers in Christ from throughout our connection. I am also grateful that both of our churches, Groveville United Methodist Church and Crosswicks United Methodist Church, were well represented during these days together.
Throughout the gathering, we received important information about the life of the church, the work of our conference, and the hopes and challenges that are before us as we continue seeking to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Yet beyond reports, voting, presentations, and business, we were reminded that the church is still alive because ordinary people are showing up with faith, compassion, and hope.
And God continues to call the church outward into the world. Again and again, we heard words inviting us not to give up, but to keep organizing meals, stocking shelves, advocating for justice, serving, praying, and believing.
Our Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi reminded us of something deeply Wesleyan and deeply biblical: God can be found everywhere and in everyone. God can be found among those who are struggling and among those who seem to have everything together. God can be found in the housed and unhoused, in the documented and undocumented, in the learned and unlearned, in those who sing beautifully and in those who cannot carry a tune at all. Today, we are invited to remember that every person carries dignity because every person is created in the image of God.
As I listened throughout these days, I kept thinking about our own communities in Groveville and Crosswicks. I thought about the meals we share, the prayers we offer, and the ways people continue to serve faithfully even when life is difficult or the future feels uncertain.
The conference reminded me that the church does not survive because pastors occasionally say something profound. No…
The church continues because people are still loving, serving, giving, praying, showing up, and trusting that God is not done with the church yet.
Love is still calling out…
…To continue building community, welcoming neighbors, serving those in need, and to continue believing that God still has something new ahead of us.
I returned from the Annual Conference encouraged for this new ministry year ahead of us. There is much work to do, and there are certainly challenges before our connection and our local churches in this season of history. However, I also return with hope.
Hope because I continue to see faithful people among us who love deeply, I see our communities willing to care for one another, I continue to believe that when our congregants show up every activity and service, space is created for God to show up as well.
Thank you to those who represented our churches this week, and thank you to all of you who continue to be part of the life and ministry of our communities.
Warmly,
Rev. David Gaitan
