NYAC Prayer Vigil for General Conference

Dear Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Grace and peace to you in this Epiphany season!

In May 1000 delegates and thousands of others will gather in Portland, Oregon, for the General Conference of The United Methodist Church, which is held every four years. Many proposals will be offered, many decisions made, many inspirational moments will be streamed across the world and we will be reminded once again that our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The theme is “Therefore Go!”

The Council of Bishops has proposed that we circle the General Conference and indeed the whole church with a mantle of prayer. We are being invited as the New York Annual Conference to engage with millions of United Methodists in 131 days of prayer to seek God’s yearning for us as a denomination. Each conference is asked to spend one 24-hour period in prayer. Our assigned day is January 30, a day on which our own delegation will be meeting as a part of their preparation.

I enthusiastically invite you to commit a time to pray, asking for God’s guidance for all who will be at General Conference 2016. Please make a commitment now to sign up for an hour as an individual. You may also feel called to hold a special prayer time or prayer vigil as a congregation or Disciple Bible Study or Sunday School class or church board or committee or prayer group or a gathering of family and friends. To sign up go to: www.signupgenius.com/go/30e084cafa723a7f85-nyac. It will be very inspirational to observe the numbers of people filling in the time sections on the website.

Resources for NYAC’s prayer vigil, including information about General Conference, suggested prayers, a bulletin insert, and a list of the names of the NYAC delegates, can be found at: www.nyac.com/eventdetail/prayer-vigil-for-gc-3468891, or click on the link at the top of the home page, www.nyac.com. I am grateful to the team of Lisa Bosworth, Joanne Utley and Barbara Eastman who have worked to develop this web page which will help us to come together as one to lift our voices to God.

We especially invite you to pray for those delegates from our conference and indeed for all of us who love God and love the church and whose lives will be impacted by decisions made in May. May we all be re-committed to serving Jesus Christ and all of God’s people!

In Christ's love,

Bishop Jane Allen Middleton