Delegate At-Large Interest form for Annual Conference 2021

Church Celebrations Video ~ Charge Conference 

You shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given to you.  Deuteronomy 26:11

November is my favorite month, not only because here in Georgia the weather is usually quintessentially autumn with leaves in bright array and cooler temperatures sustained, but also because it includes that most uplifting, comforting, and calming holiday of Thanksgiving. Full disclosure that I was born on Thanksgiving Day, and, though I might have been disappointed as a child that the holiday disrupted my party plans, now I relish the coincidence of my birthday and expressions of gratitude the season of Thanksgiving inspires.
 
Gratitude is foundational to our life of faith as disciples of Jesus Christ. During this extraordinary year, I have been attending to the website gratefulness.org in my daily devotional life.  I find the spiritual practice of gratitude (in addition to Sabbath-keeping) helps counteract and overcome the ever-present anxiety and fear of this year of pandemic and a national election.  We can choose anger, fear, resentment, grief, or pain, stuck in the worst moments of our lives. We can choose to believe that everyone and everything is against us. We can choose to define ourselves by someone else's violence, prejudice, or injustice toward us. We can choose to define life as a zero-sum game. We can choose every negative political ideology that cuts us off from grace, and we can choose to think there is no one and nothing to thank. …Or we can choose to practice gratitude. 
 
A few years ago, I learned the GLAD acronym for daily prayer, a reminder to pray at the end of each day, lifting up to God something for which you are Grateful; something Learned; something Accomplished; and some experience of Delight.  It’s the G for gratitude and D for delight that have most inspired my daily prayer.  I love how this GLAD prayer starts with gratitude that opens the way for delight in the ordinary daily experiences of life.  That first expression of gratitude and delight may seem so small and insignificant, but it creates space for more and more gratitude to produce deepening delight. 
 
Gratitude opens the space for joy to flourish, producing a deeper experience of grace from which all the fruit of the spirit grows: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  As Jesus promises, the kingdom of God is here.  We have only to express our gratitude and allow God to multiply our joy.  That is the joy to which Deuteronomy 26:11 and communion in beloved community invite us: “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.  It is right to give our thanks and praise.  It is right and a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth.”  
 
Blessings of gratitude and joy,

District Superintendent

Greg Porterfield
706-589-5650
greg.porterfield@ngumc.net

Mission Specialist

Beth Sanders
404-285-7207
beth.sanders@ngumc.net

Administrative Assistant

Tina Lancaster
(706) 651-8621
southeast@ngumc.net

Contact Information

Office Address:
3332 West Cliffe Court
Augusta, GA 30907

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 204600
Augusta, GA 30917

(706) 651-8621 Phone

southeast@ngumc.net
http://www.ngumc.org/southeast