A Message From Bishop Warner H. Brown, Jr.

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

May God’s Grace and Peace be upon you.
 
It is with great joy that I begin my work here as your Episcopal leader. The California-Nevada Annual Conference has been home to me and my family for more than 20 years, and we are delighted to be able to live and work among you again.
 
I eagerly anticipate the time to renew friendships and develop new ones as we move forward together in ministry, building on the work already begun.
 
I have already learned that you are taking real steps toward realizing the four goals spelled out by the General Church:
 
  • through your councils for congregational and clergy development and your Academy for New Church Pastors, you are working to develop principled Christian leaders for the church and the world;
     
  • by chartering two new congregations within the past year, you have shown your commitment to creating new places for new people;
     
  • you are actively engaged in ministry with the poor – your support of the Side by Side Ministry With the Homeless, and the 100-plus UMVIM teams that have provided relief to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, are just two examples of that;
     
  • and your generosity in giving to the Nothing But Nets anti-malaria campaign is but one indicator of your commitment to stamp out killer diseases by improving health globally.
And I affirm your willingness to examine your methods, by committing to the vitality assessments that local churches and clergy members are currently conducting, as mandated by your vote at this year’s Annual Conference Session.
 
But much work still lies before us. We must continue to explore new ways to revitalize our churches and invigorate our communities with the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
We also are called to meet some difficult challenges confronting us – taking leadership on behalf of peace and justice issues within our Conference, at our borders, and around the world.
 
You have established “Passion in Jesus Christ, Compassion for All” as your Conference vision. I look forward to partnering with you to build upon this vision, as we continue to do the work of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

By: Warner H. Brown, Jr. On 9/1/2008
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