News and Views

To the servant leaders of this Conference:

I see you.
I see your service.
I see your sacrifice. 

I see the faithful ways you lead
            even when you’re tired
            exhausted
            unappreciated
            spent 

I see the ways you innovate and create
            the ways you overcome obstacles
            sometimes utilizing nothing but ingenuity and grit
            thinking of those who will be blessed
            and the ways they will be unserved
                        if you don’t find a solution 

I see the ways you have led through this pandemic
            without any roadmaps or blueprints
            without any assurance of when it will end
            without any of the standard accoutrements of days past
            without any guarantee that your efforts would be recognized. 

I see the way you press through the disappointments
            of a never-ending quadrennium
            of expertly laid plans that are undone in an instant
            of re-entry dates that came and went without re-entering
            of life’s interruptions that will not be kept at bay or forestalled 

During Clergy Appreciation Month 

I love you
I thank God for you
I recognize your tremendous service
I pray for your strength and endurance
I encourage you to take good care of yourselves 

Thank you!