James River District
Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church
Your monthly news & updates
This month's newsletter includes important dates, documents and events around the District.
A Message from your District Superintendent
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I still remember reading the Scripture on my table blessing card in the dining room at VUMAC on one of the Emmaus teams when I served as a spiritual director. It was Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His power.” I still remember it because I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it because it convicted me of the fact that I needed to grow stronger in my faith. I needed to grow deeper in my relationship with the Lord. I needed to be open to the strength of God to ground and sustain me.

Have you ever noticed why certain things make you angry? Is there a scripture, a sermon, a devotion, a story on the news, etc. that causes a negative response in you? I’ve learned that I really need to prayerfully discern the cause of my angry feelings when this happens. It’s almost always (well, maybe always) because of something that is not whole within me. It is a signal for me to do some spiritual work with God.

Have you ever heard that Christians are like coffee beans? You don’t know how strong they are until you put them in hot water. Yup, this doesn’t always make me feel great either. Actually, I may function at my highest level in emergency situations. Often, since I know that I can’t manage it without God, I intentionally ask for help…something that I need to do daily…even when it’s not an emergency. This would make me stronger.

This year is proving to be unprecedented in so many ways. We began with anxiety around General Conference, moved into a pandemic (which continues to rage), and then had the brokenness in our world around race relationships boldly revealed in ways that we cannot deny. 

The continued day after day of unsettled anxieties is wearing most of us down. None of these challenges seem to have closure likely for the near future. So how am I, and how are you, being strong in the Lord? I know that people are not their best when their minds are anxious. People say and do things that are not typical of them when they are upset.  Hurt people hurt people. How does this inform your patience with yourself and others during these days? Where is healing needed?

I think that I have some work to do on my relationship with God and my neighbors. Maybe you do as well. 

This year continues to offer changes, challenges, and opportunities for us to show the world that we are Christians by our love. I am looking forward to situations that allow me to be in conversation with others who don’t look like me or think like me. I’m looking forward to growing in the fullness of God with others, even as the fullness of God grows in me. This faith journey is an awesome adventure…and I find myself often struggling.

Some pastors and churches are embracing the changes, challenges, and opportunities and some are fearful, fighting, and resistant. What about you and me? Are we looking for God in each day, in each situation? Are we responding to the call to grow deeper and stronger as Christians or does our rhetoric sound just like the news? Do we talk about us and them and promote division? Do we seek the unity of the Body of Christ that Scripture calls us to?

I’m working on my attitude. I’m trying to find the joy of the Lord as my strength. I’m trying to look for God in each person and each situation. I’m praying for you and for me. The world needs us to embody Christ. Friends, let’s ask God to help us to be strong and bold witnesses of love, grace, and mercy. 

Let’s really live into the fullness of our baptismal covenant as more than words. God is depending on us!

Grace and peace for our shared journey,

sylvia

Bishop Sharma Lewis Announcements
Bishop Lewis Daily Prayer Invitation
Bishop Sharma D. Lewis has issued an invitation to the Virginia Conference to join her at noon every day in praying a prayer she has provided. "Let us invoke the power of the Great Physician to do a mighty work in eradicating this disease all over the world," she writes.
 
Click here  for the invitation and the prayer or see attached.
A Message from your Director of Congregational Excellence
A Pandemic is a Great Time to Go Small
Much of our focus and conversation during the COVID-19 pandemic has been around how to conduct corporate worship services. The creative solutions our churches have come up with for worship have been amazing examples of the creative gifts God has given us. On the other hand, the invitation and opportunity presented by this pandemic is a call to redirect some of our energy from large gatherings (with their increased potential of exposure) to smaller gatherings which are both safer and have the unique ability to help us grow in our life as disciples of Christ. They also work better than large group gatherings on online platforms like Zoom because each person can see all the others on one screen and interact without talking over each other.*

               The Methodist movement was initially built as a movement of small groups. These groups, called “class meetings” were times when groups of 7-12 people got together to discuss their lives in God. While much of our current small group ministry (such as Sunday School classes) are built on the idea that faith grows when we learn the right information , Methodist class meetings are focused on the power of seeing and highlighting where God is at work in our lives and how we can follow God. The core question of a class meeting was “How goes it with your soul?” or “How is your life with God?” The simple act of answering this question regularly has the power to move people closer to God by increasing our awareness of God in our lives and reminding us to seek and follow God daily.

               The class meeting was the engine which drove the Methodist movement to move from a few people gathering in England to a church which helps millions around the world better know and follow Jesus, but most of us in the church today have never been a part of a class meeting. The class meeting became less and less central to the Methodist movement during the 1900s until it faded from our church almost entirely. However, just because it has faded does not mean it is lost! A growing number of churches, including some of the most vibrant churches in the country, have re-discovered the power of class meetings.

               Class meetings are both incredibly simple and amazingly profound. They can be central to the life of a church of 20 people or a church of 2,000 people.  With anything “new,” however, there can be a bit of a learning curve. This is why I want to invite you (both pastors and local church leaders) to be part of an online class meeting experience.  This will be an eight-week dive into how class meetings work where you will have the chance to both learn about class meetings and experience a class meeting for yourself. We will use Dr. Kevin Watson’s book, “The Class Meeting” to help us with the specifics, but most of all this will be a time to get our minds around the power of gathering together to discuss our lives of faith. My hope is you will then feel empowered to start class meetings in your own church. Our gatherings will be weekly at times determined by those who are interested in participating. Please email me at andrewbook@vaumc.org to find out more, express interest, or ask questions.

               Regardless of whether you join me for the Class Meeting Experience, consider how your church can go small. It can change lives!


Submit your mask photos, video to Communications Office
Since March, United Methodists in the Virginia Conference have been taking precautions and looking out for their neighbors by wearing masks. Now into the summer months, these precautions will most likely continue for some time.
The conference Communications Office is putting together a project to showcase this care and love of neighbor. To be a part, please share a photo of yourself wearing a mask. You can also submit a short video, sharing why you wear a mask or why you will continue to wear a mask.

Submissions should be sent to  communications@vaumc.org .
Pictures should be taken straight on looking at the camera and not a profile view of a person. If the video is recorded with a cellphone, please turn your phone horizontal prior to recording so that you will have a larger image and no black lines on the side.
Learn more about  self-filming video tips here .

Talk to United Methodist Credit Union: PPP program extended to August 7, 2020
If your church or UMC-affiliated organization wants to participate in the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), but hasn't applied yet or hasn't found an institution willing or able to assist you, please contact The United Methodist Credit Union (TUMCU). The SBA's PPP Loan Program deadline to apply has been extended to August 7, 2020. If you're not already a member, you can quickly become one and apply for this program using a convenient online application. Please call Jomin Mujar at (804) 672-0200 for more details or visit their website.

Calendar Updates!
Please check the District Calendar for updated information on postponed events, rescheduling, Pastoral meetings and more!

View the District Calendar for more information and keep for your records!

We will make it through this!
Around the District
We will have more events coming soon!
Awards - Grants - Assistance
Conference Board of Communications offering grant funds to local churches
(Deadline August 31, 2020)
While the Virginia Annual Conference is starting to expand in-person worship, many of our churches will continue to offer worship, Sunday school, and other ministries online. The conference Board of Communications has allocated funding to provide grants to local churches to help purchase the item(s) they need to maintain or improve their online ministry. The grant can help fund equipment, software licenses, and more. In addition to grants, the board is also offering free technical consultations to assist local churches with their online ministry.
 

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Prayer Requests
David and Angela Bailey

Elaine Diehl (Rev. Jack Meservey’s daughter)

Rev. Jasmyn Graham’s grandmother and other family members

Rev. Garland Hines

JAMES RIVER DISTRICT UMC | 804.732.2538 |  jamesriverdistrict@vaumc.org  
Rev. Sylvia Shepard Meadows, James River District Superintendent
Keith Jordan & Gerry Fuss, Lay Leaders
Tish Borden, Administrative Assistant
Rev. Andrew Book, Director of Congregational Excellence
Ronnika Davis, Communications Coordinator