STOP whatever you are doing right now. Take a breath and moment to reflect on what you felt on Easter and never forget that wonderful day. If asked, I am sure that each of us could come up with a special word or sentence to describe the glorious feeling and experience of that day. Not only were we celebrating the Resurrection of our RISEN Lord, but also the experience and excitement of coming back together as a church. NEVER forget that feeling and cherish it especially as we continue to go forward out of the darkness of last year into the light of the future. It may not always be perfect or without flaws but with God’s help we are headed towards the light.
Now, many times you will hear me say or see that I use the term the Big Church. For clarification purposes, let me define what I mean. (Please remember that this is only Sue’s term. ) The Big Church consists of the various levels and United Methodist organizations that are above NFUMC.
- Church (NFUMC) ===> District (Southwest District)
- SOUTHWEST DISTRICT consists of Georgia counties of: Butts, Coweta, Fayette, Harris, Heard, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Monroe, Pike, Spalding, Troup and Upson.
- Our current District superintendent is Rev. Susan Landry. The District main office is in Griffin.
- District ===> Conference (North Georgia Conference)
- The North Georgia Conference, located in Atlanta, is compromised of 8 Districts. Within these districts there are almost 800 churches, with more than 1,300 clergy and approximately 340,000 lay members. Our conference is the largest in the United States.
- The Conference is overseen by Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson.
- Conference ===> Jurisdiction (Southeast Jurisdiction)
- States comprising the Southeast Jurisdiction include: Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky.
- Jurisdiction ===> United Methodist Church
- The United Methodist Church has over 12 million members around world. It was formed in 1968 but its heritage goes back to 1700 England.
In future Lay Leader Lines I will focus on these various organizations and explain their structure, role and impact on the United Methodist Church to include NFUMC.
As always, if you have any questions, please contact me.
Sue Berg – Lay Leader NFUMC
