General Conference Starts Tuesday

From the Great Plains Annual Conference: 

After several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, The United Methodist Church is finally prepared to convene its General Conference from April 23 to May 3, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. This meeting of delegates — equal numbers of clergy and laity — from around the world is where legislation will be considered that may impact the polity and governance of the denomination.

Officially, this next meeting is known as the 2020 General Conference because the worldwide body — which is the only group that can speak on behalf of the denomination — has not met since a special session in 2019 in St. Louis. The last meeting as a regular session came in 2016 in Portland, Oregon.

The long-awaited regular session set for spring 2024 comes after an era of disaffiliation of congregations related to concerns over human sexuality policies and full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals in the life of the church. Some of the petitions anticipated to be considered by the delegates involve removing language from the Book of Discipline that has forbidden same-gender marriage conducted by United Methodist clergy and on United Methodist properties, as well as language that has forbidden “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals” from serving as pastors.

More can be found at http://www.greatplainsumc.org/UMCGC. Please pray for the delegates to General Conference, especially those from the Great Plains Annual Conference.

It Gets Better

Last Wednesday, those present at the book study on The Story of Christianity waded through the Christological controversies—not an easy task. This Wednesday (April 16, 2024) we’ll be covering pages 156-202 which are much easier to digest. I hope to you there.

New Campus Minister at K-State Wesley

From Mercy Chelangat Langat, the incoming Campus Minister at K-State Wesley:

Hi everyone, I’m Pastor Mercy and I am so excited to be your new campus minister. I began my call to pastoral ministry last year by serving at Nickerson and Faith (Hutchinson) UMC. Prior to that, my family and I lived in Wilmore, Kentucky where I am a PhD. Candidate in Intercultural Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. I am passionate about serving young adults and particularly using my gift of hospitality to create spaces where they feel seen, loved and cared for. 

I have been married to Munene for almost 6 years now and we have a son called Nuru who is a year and a half. We are originally from Kenya (no… none of us are marathon runners) and have lived in the US for many years now. Munene has a nutrition background and a doctorate in Public Health. He currently works as a child nutrition specialist for a company conducting audits for child nutrition programs.

As a family, we enjoy traveling, spending time outdoors (hiking, walking, camping), trying different restaurants, hosting fellowships, game nights and meaningful conversations over a hot cup of Kenyan chai. We will be living in Manhattan, so we look forward to immersing ourselves in all things Kansas State and Manhattan.

I can’t wait to get to know you, share Christ’s love with you and have fun together. See you soon!

Advocates for Inclusion

From Dave Procter:

A few years ago, CAUMC made a public commitment to inclusion by developing a “Statement of Inclusion.” In last year’s CAUMC long-range plan, a strategic initiative was identified to “actively implement CAUMC’s Statement of Inclusion and as a first step for that initiative to invite LGBTQ+ thought leaders to our church for discussion and shared Q & A Time.” This led to the formation of a small Inclusion task force and the hosting of several church-wide LGBTQ+ events in the summer and fall of 2023. In January, an Inclusion Steering Committee was formed and approved by the Church Council, marking a significant milestone in our journey towards inclusion.

This steering committee has now proposed that we organize “Advocates for Inclusion,” a Reconciling Ministries Small Group with a specific focus on LGBTQ+ inclusion but also dedicated to strengthening our commitment to inclusion in general. This Reconciling Ministries Small Group will be open to all who wish to join. Please look forward in the coming weeks to hearing more about what it means to be part of this Reconciling Ministries Small Group and the celebration that will kick off this initiative.

Office Hours (Updated)

Our Administrative Assistant, Anna Kozak, is still sick with Covid-19 and so our office hours will vary for the first part of this week. We’re open this morning (Monday, April 8, 2024) and the plan is to have Catherine White Troy watch the office tomorrow. But I would still encourage you to call the church office at 785-539-4191 before you take the time to drive over.