Six weeks ago, while I was in transit – in the midst of our move at the end of November – I was invited to be a part of the Economic Advisory Committee for the General Council of Finance and Administration of the United Methodist Church. I had worked with the recently elected General Secretary, Moses Kumar, when he served in Eastern Pennsylvania, and he invited me to be on the committee. In so many ways I find this a great honor and I am excited about being able to bring a local church perspective to the meetings and visioning of this committee.
Our first meeting was on December 5th, the Friday before my first weekend at Goodand UMC. It probably wasn’t the best timing for me, but I enjoyed the work we did and helping connect my new congregation to the larger ministry of the United Methodist Church. The committee sought to gain a sense of our current economic situation (in the U.S.A. and around the world), while also doing our best to assess what we can expect in the coming months. A report was crafted; here is a link to it in pdf. I invite you to read this report. I was quoted in the report, and would enjoy to hear your thoughts of my comments.
How do you see the current economic situation affecting your ministries? How might this recession shape or give new focus to your church community?
