Dear Friends, Monday, January 16 we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy. A hero of the U.S. civil rights movement, Dr. King is remembered for many admirable qualities including his emphasis on justice, love, forgiveness, and action. ...
Hello Friends, Thank you for your commitment to join the 2023 Read Together Initiative. I welcome those of you who are new to this opportunity. Similarly, welcome back to those of you who have participated in Read Together previously. One of the ...
Dear Friends, We have again arrived in the time of the Christian year called Christmastide, the twelve days of Christmas leading to Epiphany (January 6). Though we have been here on many other occasions, this moment is unique. It is not the first ...
We have one opportunity every 365 days to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. A year will pass before the situation presents itself again. However, Christ-followers are called to practice thanksgiving 365 days of the year. Indeed, we are reminded by Paul in ...
On Nov. 4, 2022, at Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett was reassigned to lead our Holston Conference as resident bishop. Hey Friends, Many of you have been reaching out asking if we had any video footage of Bishop ...
Statement on Amendment 3 to the Tennessee State Constitution Greetings Holston and Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conferences! As bishops of Conferences that include the state of Tennessee, we are writing today regarding an opportunity Tennesseans have...
October 19, 2022 Dear Friends, I am thankful for our Holston Conference clergy for faithfully serving God and the church during a tumultuous time in our culture and denomination. Covid-19, economic challenges, racial injustices, political divisions, ...
Dear Friends, One of my favorite functions as a bishop is to participate in “Bishop’s Days in the District.” I love being in each district to meet with individuals and groups for dialogue, information-sharing and worship. The focus during the 2022 ...
During our recent Annual Conference you heard both Appointive Cabinet Dean Rev. Kim Goddard and me reference the Invitation Team. This group of clergy and laity has been assembled to seek a vision and path for the Holston Conference as we move ...
Dear Friends, It has been about a month since we convened at Lake Junaluska for our 2022 Holston Annual Conference. I left the experience with several positive impressions of my first annual conference as your bishop. Impression #1: Lake Junaluska ...
Jesus, Savior of the World, We are grateful for the opportunity to be in relationship with you, our leader, Savior and Redeemer. We thank you for one another as we navigate a challenging time in the life of our beloved United Methodist Church. We ...
Delivered to the Holston Annual Conference Monday, June 6, 2022 Good morning, friends. Didn’t we have a great worship experience yesterday evening? I am thankful for the newly consecrated, licensed, commissioned and ordained leaders among us. And ...
Dear Friends, Our hearts ache at the news of yet another hate motivated shooting by a person with a racist agenda. When will the killing stop? We grieve . . . we cry . . . we question . . . we hurt for the families and friends of those who were ...
Called by Name John 20:1-18 Mary Magdalene was heart-broken. She had experienced her share of heartache across the years, but nothing came anywhere close to the grief she felt over what had happened during the past two days. Jesus Christ, her friend,...
Dear Friends, Many of you have heard about the 2020 General Conference, which will now occur in 2024. This decision was made by the Commission on General Conference after much prayer and conversation. Public health concerns and difficulty in ...
Dear Friends, Have you ever traveled into a wilderness area? I have done so on several occasions when backpacking in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness of the Rocky Mountains. The scenery was breathtaking - figuratively and literally. Jesus’ ...
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” -Matthew 5:9 O God, We come before You today with heavy and troubled hearts about what is unfolding in Eastern Europe. The unprovoked invasion of ...
Dear Friends, Appointment-making is one of the most significant roles of a bishop and cabinet. So, it is not surprising that a frequent question since my arrival here in Holston has been about this subject. Though the question comes in a variety of ...
Dear Friends, This Monday (January 17, 2022) many Americans will celebrate the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a prominent leader in our nation’s history. Dr. King’s witness and leadership inspired countless people during the U.S. civil ...
Dear Friends, This is a time of year synonymous with new. Indeed, we frequently associate the first weeks of the year with phrases like new beginning, new start, new opportunity and new past. I can picture the puzzled looks that followed reading “a ...
Christmas Eve: God Broke Through the Hopelessness with Hope Luke 2:25-40 Years ago my mother and I travelled to Oxford, England to be with my sister Barbara and her husband Kevin for a few days after their son Joseph’s birth. The plan was for us to...
Dear Friends, The nation awakened this past Saturday morning to the news that during the night and early morning hours, tornadoes had wreaked havoc in parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and several neighboring states. Lives were lost, buildings destroyed ...
Dear Friends, I shared with those of you who attended Holston District Days this fall that II Corinthians 5:17 is one of my life verses. “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become ...
Dear Friends, My husband Lee and I were in our early forties when first offered the opportunity to travel to the Holy Land. Our bishop at the time, Robert C. Morgan, extended the invitation to all of the persons he had ordained during his eight ...
This Service of Celebration was previously live streamed at 1st Maryville UMC on October 17, 2021
October 6, 2021 Dear Friends, October is recognized as Pastor Appreciation Month by many denominations, including the United Methodist Church. As such, this is the perfect time for churches and community leaders to express their gratitude to the ...
Triune God, We pause today to remember what happened on 9/11/01. Etched in the minds of many of us is the sight of the planes hitting the twin towers in New York City. Some of us can recall specifically where we were and who was with us. We were ...
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Dear Friends, I love the rhythm and variety of the four seasons. Fall brings the beauty of turning leaves. Winter’s crisp air and occasional snow ...