A Call to Prayer and Holy Conferencing

2019 Susquehanna Annual Conference
May 30 - June 1
Hershey, Pennsylvania

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, Healer of Our Brokenness and Hope of the World! May you experience the closeness of God’s presence in your journey in a more intimate and noticeable way during this season of Lent. 

Within a short time, we will gather for the Tenth Session of the Susquehanna Annual Conference at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pa., from May 30 through June 1. The theme this year is: “Better Together: One with Each Other”.

We have just concluded a very divisive and conflicted special General Conference. We increasingly see our nation and the world more divided rather than unified. We are called to be in witness to the reign of God for such a time as this. As the conference vision statement says, people of “Susquehanna Conference will [gather together to] embody the beloved community of disciple making congregations”.

Article II under Section - VI Annual Conferences on page 35 of the 2016 Book of Discipline reads: “The annual conference is the basic body in the Church and as such shall have reserved to it the right to vote on constitutional amendments, on the election of clergy and lay delegates to the General and Jurisdictional conferences, on all matters relating to the character and conference relations of the clergy members, and on the ordination of clergy and such others as have not been delegated to the General Conference under the Constitution.” Accordingly, we will elect the delegates to the 2020 General and Jurisdictional Conferences.

Keynote Speakers

Rev. Brenda Leigey, the incoming State College District Superintendent, will preach at our Memorial Service on Thursday evening. 

Our Bible Study on Saturday morning will be taught by Rev. Dr. Jong Chun “J.C.” Park, President of the World Methodist Council. He is a professor of systematic theology of the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, Korea. 

Bishop Ivan Abrahams, General Secretary of the World Methodist Council, will be the preacher for the Ordination Service on Saturday. He has served as a minister in the Methodist Church of South Africa. 

I know that we will be richly blessed and uplifted by their sharing of the Word. 

Mr. Kirby Hickey, a lay delegate from Bethany Church, Red Lion, who serves as the treasurer for the World Council of Churches, represents a gift from The United Methodist Church to the world-wide Wesleyan family. As an annual conference, we will have a privileged moment in celebration of our connection to and partnership with the global community of the diverse Methodist traditions. We are honored to have their presence with us.

Offerings

The offering for the Memorial Service on Thursday evening will go to the “Cup of Water” fund. The fund is used to assist laity in need. 

The offering for the Celebration of Ministry on Friday evening will go to the Preacher’s Aid Society fund in celebration of its 150th anniversary. The fund offers help to clergy in need. 

The offering for the Ordination Service on Saturday afternoon will go to the Bishop’s Partners in Mission fund to provide financial resources to Mission Central and the denominational campaign of Imagine No Malaria. 

Thanks be to God for your faithful stewardship as reflected in your generous giving. It is a powerful witness to a church alive in mission.

I look forward to greeting you at Annual Conference. Your prayers for God’s Spirit to surround our gathering as the people of the Susquehanna Annual Conference with grace and power would be greatly appreciated.

With you in Christ’s Ministry,
Bishop Jeremiah Park