A feeling of exuberance and loud “Amens" filled Barrington United Methodist Church's sanctuary on April 24 during a long-awaited, in-person service to ordain and commission the 2020 class. The ordinands and commissioning candidates had patiently waited nearly a year for their time after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the service two times in 2020.
Read MoreThe scriptures talk about God’s covenant with us from Noah to Jesus. God wants a relationship with us despite our many faults and failures. In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we know God’s love is unconditional. God loves us and invites us to respond to that love with an eternal commitment. The church is the guardian of this Good News and the community in which we live out our promise to God.
Read MorePraise be to God! The guilty verdicts in the Derek Chauvin trial are a crucial step towards rebuilding trust in our democratic system of justice that is celebrated around the world. Although justice has been served, my heart goes out to George Floyd’s family, as they will never have him back. We hope the knowledge that his death sparked an anti-racism movement with a demand for police reform may give them some solace.
Read MoreNIC Interim Bishop John Hopkins has signed a joint statement with the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, condemning the shootings in metropolitan Atlanta on March 16 that left eight people dead and one injured. They recognize these shootings are the product of a culture of violence, misogyny, and hatred against Asian American people—particularly Asian women—that has intensified over the last year.
Read MoreGeneral Conference organizers announced that the denomination’s top lawmaking assembly — long postponed by pandemic — must wait to meet another year. The global gathering is now scheduled Aug. 29-Sept. 6, 2022, in Minneapolis.
Read MoreAs I start a conversation about our Church, I think it is helpful to begin with basic foundational values. When I was a new bishop in the Minnesota Area, I was working on a list of core values that could direct our shared ministry and bind us to Christ and each other.
Read More