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| The 2011 Detroit Annual Conference will run May 19-22. |
With a distinct focus on engaging in ministry with the poor, the 2011 Detroit Annual Conference will strive to answer the question, “When Did We See You, Lord?”
The May 19-22 session at Adrian College will highlight the text of Matthew 25:35-40 to educate attendees on one of the United Methodist Church’s Four Areas of Focus.
As part of this focus area, The United Methodist Church seeks to “promote awareness of poverty and advocacy for change, support adequate funding for antipoverty initiatives at all government levels, and engage local congregations as advocates of justice and economic development.”
Matthew 25:35-40 was an inspiration for annual conference committee members to plan around: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me … whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (NIV)
As part of engaging in ministry with the poor, attendees are encouraged to participate in a medical supplies collection for Haiti (see www.detroitconference.org for details), which is being coordinated by the conference Board of Global Ministries.
In addition, the Program Committee and Adrian FUMC are partnering to do a collection of food pantry items that will be distributed in Adrian.
Clergy and lay members are asked to bring any of the following items: diapers and wipes for infants through size 6, toilet paper, boxed milk (that does not require refrigeration), canned fruit and cereal.
“We want to be able to say that when the United Methodist Church comes to your community, how is the community different because of that?” said Jerry Devine, Detroit Conference Director of Connectional Ministries. “How does the light of Christ shine because we have been there? Does it matter? It aught to, and I think we can ask that of any one of our churches.”
Devine said it is possible that future annual conferences might offer some hands-on, day-long mission projects with local social service and outreach organizations.
As an act of unity, the Program Committee is also collecting stories of ways that local churches across the conference are engaged in ministry with the poor in their own communities.
All clergy and lay members are asked to submit stories of their ministry through the conference website at http://www.detroitconference.org/tellyourstory.
To invigorate clergy and lay members, Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño of the Phoenix Area and Desert Southwest Conference will be the featured preacher and speaker for annual conference.
Carcaño was the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the episcopacy in the United Methodist Church, in 2004. She is a champion for immigration and other civil rights dealing with people “in the margin” according to Program Committee Chair Rev. Marsha Wooley.
Carcaño’s ministry has always involved work with the poor, with farm workers, immigrants, and refugees.
“She understands how God is with all of us, but in a particularly way with those who have been disenfranchised or may not have full access to life’s sustaining resources,” Devine said. “I think it would beneficial if folk didn’t just say, ‘Oh, that’s the Bishop that deals with issues of immigration.’ She does, she’s right on the forefront of that issue — but where she is, is with people who have said, ‘God, come be with me here.’”
Carcaño will preach during the worship service on Friday, May 20, and will speak during a teaching session on Saturday, May 21.
The Rev. Faith Fowler, pastor at Cass Community UMC in Detroit and executive director of Cass Community Social Services — a tireless advocate for the poor in her own right — will also lead the conference in Bible study during the Saturday morning session.
The other preachers during the annual conference session include Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton, and the Rev. Dr. Bill Quick, who will speak during the memorial service.
For the schedule of the 2011 annual conference, as well as other pertinent information regarding the session, visit www.detroitconference.org/annualconference.
Online registration should be available on the Detroit Conference website by mid-February.
— Paul Thomas contributed to this article
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