Bishop Sees Hope in Western PA Church
By Jackie Campbell, WPAUMC News
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6/11/2010
Opening worship and memorial serivce on June 10 of Annual Conference 2010.
Acknowledging challenges faced by congregations over the past year, Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton nevertheless noted several signs of hope in his 2010 State of the Church address at the Western PA Annual Conference. The gathering brought about 1800 clergy and laity from 863 local churches to Grove City College from June 10-13 to worship, conduct official business and celebrate the ordination of new clergy.
“We have had to navigate our way through some very treacherous waters and we continue to do so as we work to bring vitality to our churches, vision to our people, and Christ to the world,” he said.
In the past year, the Bishop said, he saw promise in the work of two new laity groups formed to focus on the future of the church: a Laity Cabinet with representatives from each district and a Laity Study Group looking at leadership development.
The Laity Cabinet met regularly with the Bishop and district superintendents and launched a “reverse mentoring” program, with each participant recruiting someone from a younger generation to help in understanding the emerging church and “the challenge of an established denomination meeting the spiritual needs of an emerging generation,” the Bishop explained.
“Like many of us joked years ago about our parents not being able to program their VCRs, we have had to come to the realization that many of us in leadership many not be able to program the church for 21st Century ministry. We need help and we have been seeking it from those who are most engaged in and aware of the changing dynamics and needs in the culture around us.”
He encouraged the clergy and congregational leaders to also “find a reverse mentor to teach and shepherd you into an expanded awareness of the need for deep change in the church that we love.”
Although Bishop Bickerton confessed to a preconceived notion that the Laity Study Team “would try to solve the church’s problems with yet another program,” he noted that “not once did the conversation turn toward a program or an event. This group of laity clearly identified that there are no canned programs that will save us or no event that will all of a sudden develop emerging leaders.”
Instead, he said, the group emerged with “a clear call for revival of the spirit among us.” They emphasized that a “deepened spiritual walk with God must be stimulated through a deepened relationship with one another that is based on a renewed relationship with Jesus Christ.”
The Bishop explained that “a prerequisite to making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is that we establish, renew, re-visit and revive our own relationship with Christ. This is a call for a deeper faith within each one of us – one that calls upon the name of the Lord regularly through the “means of grace; that never shies away from doing good, doing no harm, and staying constantly in love with God;...that believes that God is with us and will indeed see us through.”
The Bishop noted several other signs of hope.
Although economic times are tough, he reported that, in the aftermath of the devastating January earthquake in Haiti, Western PA congregations and individuals gave more than $500,000 to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) efforts and delivered emergency kits worth at least $500,000 more through our Eastbrook Mission Barn, an UMCOR collection center. “We rank third in the nation in giving to our United Methodist Committee on Relief and continue to demonstrate that when a need is felt, we will rally and respond,” he said.
In addition, he noted that for the fifth year in a row, giving to support the Conference and denominational ministries has increased. He said there were some amazing stories of faithfulness as mission share contributions reached an all-time, with both small struggling congregations and large churches that bear an increased weight of responsibility stepping up. “Even today, six months into 2010, we can say to you that our giving is higher now than it was this time last year.”
More importantly, he said, in 2009 there were:
- 2,573 professions of faith made in our 863 local churches
- 1,291 persons who joined our churches on transfer
- 2,156 persons who were baptized,
- 255 churches saw a gain in weekly attendance, and
- 226 saw a gain in membership.
The Bishop acknowledged that many churches are having a harder time meeting obligations. In response, he noted that the budget being proposed for the coming year is lower than the current spending plan. “While it may not represent as deep a cut as some would want, it does begin an incremental process of examination and possible reduction in subsequent years as well. I am committed to doing the analysis necessary to determine how we can, in effect, do more with less.
He added: “We need to be visionary and bold, but realistic as well.”
It is critical, he said, that congregations creatively address the Conference’s five areas of focus. “I truly believe that focusing on Leadership Development, New Places for New People, Poverty, Global Health, and Dismantling Racism will stimulate the kinds of conversations and creativity that will open the door to a deeper level of commitment and discipleship.
“Ultimately the issues we face today are spiritual issues. Our call in the midst of the struggle is to search for and earnestly desire a revival of our spirits that will cause us to humbly fall in love with Jesus once more and earnestly desire the inspiration from God alone that will cause us to fall in love with our neighbors – all of them.”
Click here to find all the coverage and resources from Annual Conference 2010.
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