A Labyrinth Garden

I love walking a labyrinth and I love vegetable gardening - both are ways I ground and center myself. Either one is a good antidote to a stressful day. Who knew I could have both at the same time?

Take a gander at this beauty under construction at Cornelius United Methodist Church in Cornelius, Oregon. This photo is courtesy of Mira Conklin's blog, Historias de Transformacion, where more photos await you.

And, and, and!.... they've started The Supper, where English-speakers and Spanish-speakers gather to eat together and intentionally reflect on where they see God showing up in their lives and in the world.

No Guarantees...?

Come general conference in 2012, the guaranteed appointment system (guaranteed employment for ordained United Methodist clergy till age 72)- may be a thing of the past. This is going to be a very hot topic over the next few years. This article lays out some of the pros and cons. I lean towards the elimination of guaranteed appointments, but, I'm sure not ready to cast a vote yet.

Commission takes aim at clergy job guarantees

connecting with young adults

That's the question I get asked most these days, "how do we connect with young adults?" Here's an article from the Alban Institute that lays out some of the issues one church found itself needing to deal with. Take a gander and tell me what you think.

Thy kindom come...

Finding fairly traded coffee, chocolate, tea and snacks in a small town can be pretty tough. Goldendale UMC solved the problem by creating a tiny "store" in a small, unused room off the main hall. The Lord's Prayer stands by the door. "This room is one way we can live out that prayer we all say aloud together each week," commented a member. "Yes, it's more expensive...but if we aren't willing to put our money in the direction of our prayers, then how much do we really want what we're praying for?"

Embrace Life

Yes, it's a PSA for seatbelts. But a metaphor for so much more.

Channels

Have you read the latest edition of Channels? It's the monthly publication of the Office of Connectional Ministries and it's chock full of what's being going on around the conference. Bishop Hagiya's article on this year's appointment process clearly articulates the challenges and gives you a glimpse into what we wrestle with at that table.

For those of you who part of creating newsletters, mailings, brochures, bulletin boards, and such for your church...while you're reading Channels for the content, be sure to notice the design...the use of white space, and of color, and of font style. Does the look match the content? Together, what do they say about the annual conference - what it is and what & who it cares about? Jesse Love, our print and publications manager, does a great job of thinking through all those things.