PRESS RELEASE
March 21, 2022

Alcoa, TN - Perhaps it is a gift that the news of General Conference’s postponement comes to us during Lent, the Christian season of deepening devotion, prayerful reflection, and humble discernment. Lent keeps us from rushing to Easter. Jesus’ 40 days of testing in the Judean wilderness recalls Israel’s years of wandering. And Israel’s sojourn reminds us there is no shortcut to the promised land. 
 
While it is possible The United Methodist Church will soon undergo some kind of separation, much remains uncertain about the future.
 
We await direction and decisions from the Council of Bishops, Judicial Council, and Annual Conference Affiliation Task Force, which will help us navigate the road ahead.
 
Even as we grieve the possibility of division, we pray for patience and kindness to prevail. Our prayer continues to be for the unity of The United Methodist Church. If we must go our separate ways, we desire to treat each other well and speak charitably of one another as we part. 
 
Though there are some things we do not know, here are some things we do know as United Methodists in Holston:
 
God has a beautiful calling for the United Methodist churches of Holston to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
 
United Methodist Christians in Holston will have Vacation Bible Schools, share food with their neighbors, work to dismantle racism, welcome new believers to the fold, bury the dead in sure and certain hope of resurrection, and linger in the parking lot long after a committee meeting just to enjoy one another’s company. 
 
Children will learn about Jesus at Camp Bays Mountain, Camp in the Community, Camp Dickenson, Camp Lookout, and Camp Wesley Woods. 
 
Youth will go to Junior and Senior High Assembly at Tennessee Wesleyan and experience a week of fellowship and worship, forming relationships which will sustain them throughout their student years. 
 
Students will be attending our Conference Colleges and our Wesley Foundations.
 
Truckloads of health kits, food buckets, school kits, and home kits will arrive in Liberia and Zimbabwe – symbols of Holston’s collective and continued missional heart.
 
These are liminal days as we all continue to learn and practice ministry in a post-pandemic world where people hunger and thirst for the hope of Jesus Christ. Thank God for the beautiful calling to be the church.
 
We are honored to be your General and Jurisdictional Conference delegation during this season in the life of the Church. As our Bishop has previously stated, “[We] believe with every fiber of our being that we are more together.”
 
For more information, please visit the following links:
 
https://www.umnews.org/en/news/general-conference-postponed-until-2024
 
https://www.holston.org/post/general-conference-postponement-bishop-wallace-padgett-16385739
 
https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/newsdetail/bishops-discern-ways-forward-march-15-16396297
 
https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/newsdetail/bishops-seek-ruling-on-whether-an-annual-conference-can-leave-umc-16387925
 
Sincerely, 

Holston General and Jurisdictional Conference delegation

 

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MEDIA CONTACT

Tim Jones
Director of Communications
Holston Conference
The United Methodist Church