A Word From the Bishop                                                                                      

March 24, 2008

Dear sisters and brothers,

Once again our celebration of the resurrection has renewed and refreshed our spirits and has given to us as Easter People “a new birth into a living hope … and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.” (1 Peter 1:3-4). I pray that this great good news was proclaimed and experienced with joy in every church across our area on Easter Sunday. Easter invites us to do more than simply celebrate and observe an event in a Garden near Jerusalem early on the first day of the week. It also sends us on a mission: to bear witness to God’s act of grace, to share our selves and our resources, to offer hope and healing, and to love God and neighbor wholeheartedly.

As the month of March draws to a close our thoughts turn toward matters of the spring and summer, not the least of which for us United Methodists are preparations for conferencing. This is certainly the year for it, with General Conference in April, Annual Conference in June, and Jurisdictional Conference in July. This year throughout the denomination we are observing the 60th Anniversary of The Advance for Christ and His Church. It has been a privilege for me to serve as the Vice-Chairperson of the general church’s Advance Committee for the last three years. Shawn Bakker, the new Executive Director of the Advance, will be at our Annual Conference in June and will speak on Tuesday evening.

Over the last several years one exciting facet of our time together in conference is our annual Mission Offering. It has become a way of involving every church and every member of every church in an Easter mission to share out of our abundance and out of the rich blessings bestowed on us by God. Last year the people of our conference responded with overwhelming generosity to the Nothing but Nets campaign. Our gifts have been combined with gifts from other Annual Conference so that malaria nets could be distributed through Africa University in Zimbabwe, and in several other countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

Building on and adding to the success of that Nothing but Nets offering, this year we are turning our mission eyes and our sharing to a wider range of health issues on the continent of Africa. In honor of the 60th anniversary of The Advance, the goal for our conference Mission Offering is $60,000 designated for the Ganta United Methodist Hospital in Liberia. This mission hospital is a significant outpost for bringing hope and healing to thousands of victims of the killer diseases of poverty: malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. Our Mission Offering for Ganta Hospital will insure that it will continue to minister to those who are suffering. You can read more about Ganta Hospital, see pictures, and prepare to receive this offering on our Conference web page.

Let me encourage every local church to receive a special Conference Mission Offering at some point during the month of April or May. We will again ask your Lay Member or Pastor to bring your church’s offering to our celebration of mission and the 60th anniversary of The Advance on Tuesday evening, June 3. In the spirit of our conference theme, this will be another sign of Amazing Love – Great Grace poured out in abundance for the glory of God. I am confident that the people of the Alabama-West Florida Conference will contribute with gracious generosity so that others might know of God’s love and healing power.

In the Name of the Risen Christ!
Bishop Goodpaster