In response to The Tennessean

Posted: October 30, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, New Conference, Tennessee Conference, Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on In response to The Tennessean

Dear Friends,

A few days ago, the religion writer for The Tennessean approached our team about writing a story about our new conference. We believed in the good faith of the writer to offer a story to the readers that reflected the good and faithful work of the Tennessee and Memphis Conferences. We were asked many things and offered several positive expressions of this work over the last nine years. Much of what we offered was not included in the article.

The Future of the UMC

There were some questions about the future of the United Methodist Church in light of the Protocol for Separation with Grace. To be clear, the Protocol is legislation that is being proposed to be considered when the General Conference is held. You will recall that the 2020 General Conference was postponed due to Covid-19. Currently, it is scheduled for September of 2022. If it is safe to travel worldwide and if we can gather for the important work of the United Methodist Church, the Protocol Legislation will be considered along with hundreds of other petitions and resolutions that shape our Church.

We are not sure where the reporter found the information he initially included in the story. It was not from those of us who were interviewed.

The implication of the writer of The Tennessean was that the potential divide of the denomination was already approved and action was waiting to occur. Unfortunately, this new writer is unfamiliar with the United Methodist Church and inaccuracies were reported.

The reporter has since made corrections to his online version of the article that more accurately reflects the truth.

In the age of social media, several opinions are expressed about the future of our beloved Church. When General Conference meets, whether it is 2022 or after, only ideas that have been offered properly will be considered. It is premature to speculate what the outcomes of General Conference will be. 

To be clear: no denominational decisions have been made by the general Church or by our future Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference (TWK). If you have heard otherwise, the information is incorrect.

Our New Conference

The article paints a picture that reflects more about the editorial perspective of the newspaper than about the reality of how our new conference has been formed.

Likewise, this article seems to want to produce a story about a church in distress. That is not what is happening in our conference – our churches are evidence of this. In 2012, when I was assigned to the Nashville Episcopal Area, the rationale for my assignment was my history in Mississippi of being a part of two Annual Conferences that had formed a new conference. I understood that one of my responsibilities was to lead the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences to form a new Conference. This we have done with a steady pace over 9 years. On December 4 we will hold the organizational meeting that is the next step as we officially become the Tennessee-Western Kentucky Conference.

One of our commitments, which we have intentionally led over the last 9 years is to allow congregations to retain more of their tithes and offerings at the local church rather than hold apportionments at the previous rate. The fact is that the apportionments across the two legacy conferences have been reduced by 40%. Our goal has always been to strengthen our local churches. The reduction of apportionments has been one of the strategies.

Another strategy is that our new leadership structure redefines the roles for conference-employed staff. In recent years, our conference staff has become smaller and more decentralized. Our strategic direction and conference ministry are now in the hands of volunteer leaders with staff there to support them.

Here is what is true:  God has provided us with abundance – strong, connected churches with spiritually gifted leadership. God has equipped us with a nimble, hopeful vision for the future.

In Christ Jesus, we have a sure and certain hope, rooted in Scripture, centered in Christ as we seek to serve in love. We have not wavered from that foundation.

Over the last 9 years, many people – more than 500 lay and clergy members from both legacy conferences – have worked diligently to create this path to our new conference. These teams collaborated and created our new leadership and funding models for the new TWK conference. Because so many faithful disciples of Christ provided input and have been a part of the journey, we are stepping into a new era with strength.

Our new funding model that we chose together at the annual conferences is simple. Local churches will begin working toward giving a simple tithe as a connectional commitment to the ministries of the conference. Choosing to gradually reduce the commitment over the next several years reflects the new focus of keeping financial resources in the local faith community. 

Finally, our strategic decision to create a new conference is rooted in our response to follow God’s call so that we can share the transforming love of Jesus Christ in a deeply connected way. At no time was the vision of a new conference rooted out of financial necessity. Certainly, we are looking for efficiencies, which we have found.

Our Call Moving Forward

Our call has been to follow God’s leading to create a new vessel for us to share the transforming love of Jesus Christ in a deeply connected way. It is in that connection that we will find strength. In the midst of the stress of Covid 19, we have found strength together.  

This has not been an easy time for any of us.

Here’s what I know:

I know that God is still at work.

I know that God has work ahead for us to do.

I know that God is going to raise up something powerful out of this moment.

I invite you to join me on a journey of paying attention to God’s call on our lives so that we are able to nimbly respond to that which God invites us to be and do.

May the peace of Christ be with all of you,

Bishop McAlilly

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We are Sent to Serve – A Message for the New Year

Posted: January 9, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Tennessee Conference | Tags: | 2 Comments

 

 

Grace and peace to you from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I greet you in this New Year with great joy and great hope for a grand and glorious new beginning for our life together, as United Methodists.

Across the last four years, we have focused on offering Christ to a hurting world as our primary mission, as we seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ in every place. Our dream, our hope, our possibility is to help congregations increase their capacity and capability of making disciples.

We have come to know that we are living in a VUCA world: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. A world not unlike the world in which Jesus was born. A world where there is chaos and there’s confusion. There’s uncertainty.

We only have to look at our recent political elections to see that there is a great divide in this country still. How will we unite around a common mission? The church can be a vital witness to this world in this season.

As we near Annual Conference 2017, we will be thinking together about our theme: Sent into the world to love God and neighbor. Last year we talked about our neighborhoods. This year, we want to focus very specifically on those in our midst who are hurting, those who are lost, those who are alone. Those who are in need of the grace and love of Jesus Christ.

How can we, as the United Methodist Church in this region, be a voice of hope, a place of peace, a place of love for people who are broken? That’s our call.

One of the ways in which I find hope is in music. I think about all the songs that I’ve heard over the years that have changed my attitude and my spirit when I have listened to the words.

One of those songs is a song called “Go Light Your World.” It encourages the listener to go into the world and light up the world with hope and promise and possibility, in those places of need.

I think we need a song right now. We need a song that will challenge us to see the possibilities. See the hope. See the promise. And be those beacons of light in the world.

Let us be the light of Christ, sent into the world to offer love, love of God and love of neighbor. It’s our call. It’s our promise. It’s our hope.

Join me, will you, as we seek to be God’s people in this place, for this time?

I hope so. But more than that, I pray so.

A Call to Prayer for General Conference

Posted: November 9, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Prayers, Tennessee Conference | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

therefore-go-umc-gc2016I have just returned from Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center in Lake Junaluska, N.C., where I joined resident bishops of The United Methodist Church in a learning retreat. We heard presentations from L. Gregory Jones, former dean and now senior strategist for leadership education at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., and Marty Linsky, who, with Ronald Heifetz, has written extensively on the topic of “adaptive leadership.”

The retreat was meaningful. One of the byproducts of our time together was deepened conversation about what it means to be spiritual leaders before, during and after General Conference, the top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church which meets once every four years.

A small group of us met daily for breakfast and prayer around this idea and were offered space on the agenda to have a larger conversation with our colleagues about what that spiritual leadership might look like. I’m hopeful that all United Methodist Church bishops will offer prayerful, spiritual leadership in the days leading up to, during and after 2016 General Conference, May 10-20 in Portland, Oregon.

I am asking of United Methodists in the Nashville Episcopal Area these three things:

  1. Pray and fast each Friday beginning in Advent and continuing through General Conference.
  2. Have a Day of Prayer on April 1, the Friday after Easter, to pray for all who will be leading and serving during General Conference. This could take the form of a prayer vigil where the church is open 24 hours and persons agree to spend an hour in prayer.
  3. Pray for the delegations of the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences by name each day:

Memphis Conference Delegation: Click here.

Tennessee Conference Delegation: Click here.

There are a number of groups offering preparation leading up to General Conference and resources are being produced for local congregations to access. Click here for more information.

The United Methodist Publishing House is producing a small guide for the Church which is a re-release of a little guide Francis Asbury published in 1792. The title is: The Causes, Evils, and Cures of Heart and Church Divisions. It will be available in the spring and promises to be a good resource.

There will be other resources forthcoming. One in particular that you will want to watch for is written by Western Pennsylvania Conference Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton: What Are We Fighting For? Coming Together Around What Matters Most.

Your appointive cabinet has covenanted together to be spiritual leaders by Leading, Learning and Loving. I will be sharing more about this in coming days.

In the meantime, I invite you to join me in stepping deeper into a life of prayer as we lean into the season of preparation for Advent, Epiphany, Lent and Easter. As my colleague, Virginia Conference Bishop Jung Jin Cho, prays, “Your Will, Lord, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.” May this be our deepest prayer in the days to come.

Your Servant for Christ’s Sake,

Bill McAlilly

The Ferguson Decision and Our Jesus-Centered Response

Posted: December 2, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Prayers | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

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People hold hands and pray during a vigil in August 2014 near the site where Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Mo. United Methodist News Service Photo by Rev. Matt Miofsky

Rev. Richard Smith, senior pastor of Germantown United Methodist Church in Germantown, Tenn., in the McKendree District of the Memphis Conference, offered some personal reflections last week (to staff and key leaders of his congregation) about the situation in Ferguson, Mo. Germantown is a city that borders Memphis, Tenn., on its east/southeast side. With Richard’s permission, I am sharing his reflections (below, slightly edited) as a way to help us all move forward from this tragedy.

The Ferguson Decision and Our Jesus-Centered Response

By Rev. Richard Smith

There is no way for any one of us to know for sure whether Darren Wilson was guilty of a crime when he shot Michael Brown to death on Aug. 9. Whether justice was truly served is beyond our comprehension, I believe; certainly beyond mine.

Do I personally believe that Officer Darren Wilson bore some level of responsibility for the death of Brown? I do. It is hard, from the outside looking in, to see that the level of force he used was absolutely necessary. Would sitting in the conversations and the evidential reviews of the Grand Jury have led me – or you – to a different perspective? We’ll never know.

Let me offer some personal reflections, which may or may not help in any way, but they are my heartfelt feelings about how we move forward from this tragedy and its aftermath – both in Ferguson, Mo., and in Memphis, Tenn.

  • There is tragedy on several fronts here. The Brown family has lost their young son in a violent way and that pain will be real with them for months and years to come. Meanwhile, Darren Wilson will not be able to live a normal life for months and years to come; if ever.
  • It is clear that the racial context in Ferguson – and here in Memphis – cannot be ignored. There were too many chilling accounts of police profiling and mistreating blacks in the Ferguson community for us to not pray for and encourage a change in that community. There are too many instances right here in Shelby County, Tenn., of African-Americans being mistreated for us not to pray for and actively seek greater justice, equality, and compassion as we live and work as brothers and sisters in our wider community.
  • Our Church and the Church at large must be a venue for a Jesus-centered response. As I see it, a Jesus-centered response says we must:
    • Listen to those who might radically and passionately disagree with us on issues like this. No one has all the answers and when we care like Jesus, another person’s opinion and experience matter to us.
    • Avoid demonizing either Officer Darren Wilson or Michael Brown. Only God knows fully what happened that night of Aug. 9 and why.
    • Passionately, fervently step up our efforts to make our communities more loving, equitable, affirming, racially- and culturally-inclusive places. We Jesus folks have a unique opportunity to show the world at large how we deal with heated, complex and controversial matters without any of us claiming absolute knowledge or wisdom. We can show the world what it means to treat each other with respect, consideration and Jesus-grounded love.
    • Spend fervent prayer time praying for the Browns, the Wilsons, the civil authorities involved, the religious community of Ferguson, ourselves, our community at large. This is a time when considerable prayer is needed by all people of faith.
    • Be clear that while protests are a natural and sometimes needed response to extreme civil disappointment, violence and hateful disruption are not acceptable. We need to work toward reconciliation which then leads to disciplined conversations about what needs to change for things to be different for those who are racially and economically mistreated in our society. Racism is alive and well in America and we cannot ignore that.

Let’s work together to Imagine No Malaria

Posted: March 20, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Tennessee Conference | 3 Comments

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Dear Friends,

By now  you have no  doubt heard about  the United Methodist challenge to eliminate Malaria  deaths in 2015.  Malaria is a  transmitted disease through  the bite of  a mosquito. lt claims  a life every  60 seconds. ln 2010, when the  campaign began,  a person  was dying every 30 seconds.  We are making a difference but  we aren’t there yet.

Malaria is preventable, treatable  and beatable. I am asking that every member and every congregation join in  to make a difference  and help in this fight.  lt is not  too late  to help by making a  decision now  to be part  of making  a huge  difference in the world!

Even though this  challenge has been before us since 2010 and across the  Tennessee and Memphis Conferences  we have seen congregations, youth  groups, United Methodist  Women, Campus Ministries and individuals  work toward this audacious goal.  We have not however, as an  Area, made a  commitment to be part of  this major campaign.

NOW is the time for the Tennessee  and Memphis Conferences, to  join in the effort  to help. l’m asking  your help in  this fight. How can  you help?

Read the rest of this entry »

Area-wide training event featuring Dr. Derrick-Lewis Noble, Jan. 18

Posted: November 6, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Tennessee Conference | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

January 18, 2014 – 8:30 am to 4:30 pm | Location: Brentwood UMC (MAP) | Please RSVP by Jan. 6, 2014

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Bishop Bill McAlilly has announced an Area-wide training event for all Memphis and Tennessee Conference local church clergy and lay leadership scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 at Brentwood UMC in Brentwood, TN.

The training event will feature Bishop Bill McAlilly and Dr. Derrick-Lewis Noble, a United Methodist pastor from Los Angeles, CA, who was also featured Bible Study leader at both the Memphis and Tennessee Annual Conferences this past June. The theme for the event is “Evangelism & Mission: Making Discipleship Possible.” The event will be an all-day gathering with registration beginning at 8:30 am. More details and an agenda will be released shortly.

Pre-registration is available online for $10, which covers lunch and materials. All registrations for the event will close on January 6, 2014.

REGISTRATION:
> Online registration: CLICK HERE
> DOWNLOAD mail-in registration form (.PDF)

We are at an end and a beginning

Posted: October 31, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Bill suggests:, Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Tennessee Conference | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on We are at an end and a beginning

Friends:

The United Methodist Church is inparadox the midst of a reordering – a reordering of the life of the church for greater effectiveness and vitality in mission. This is something we are all striving to understand.

“The paradox of our time: We are at an end and a beginning” is an article written this month by Rev. Tom Hazelwood, Director of Connectional Ministries for the Memphis Conference.

Tom does an excellent job of explaining what he calls “the paradox” — being at an end and a beginning. He writes about the United Methodist Church envisioning a new day, managing transition, coaching for the future and being called to a new creation.

I invite you to click on the link below to read Tom’s words that speak so well to our entire Nashville Episcopal Area that includes the Tennessee and Memphis Conferences.

The paradox of our time: We are at an end and a beginning

Bishop Bill McAlilly

Thanks Be To God!

Posted: October 29, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Tennessee Conference | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Do not grow weary in well doing for in due season you shall reap if you do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9

Five months ago we placed before the Nashville Area of the United Methodist Church to challenge to raise $87,500.00 to assist in building an episcopal residence for Bishop Unda Yemba Gabriel. I am happy to share with you today that we have exceeded our goal!

As of today, October 29, 2013, we have these totals:
Memphis Conference:      $55,894
Tennessee Conference:    $34,862
Total: $90,757

vid.pngA special thanks goes to the Youth of Martin First United Methodist Church who raised $6,700!  Three youth delegates from Martin FUMC were delegates to Annual Conference came home and decided to tackle this challenge and did they ever! I’m convinced the Martin youth set the pace and helped us reach our goal.

I look forward to greeting Bishop Unda in November at the Council of Bishops meeting and sharing this great news with him. Additionally, we are having conversations with Bishop Unda about preaching for us at the 2014 annual conferences.  He has tentatively agreed to be with us. His God Story will touch you deeply.

In keeping with our desire to follow Jesus into the neighborhood, you are blessing our brother in Christ and his family even as they grieve the loss of his daughter and sister Kabibi. I can not thank you enough for making a way where there was no way.

As we continue to journey together, may the peace of Christ dwell richly within you.

Expecting Greater Things!
Bishop Bill

Please pray and display Christ-like spirit in midst of our disagreement

Posted: October 24, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Tennessee Conference | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Notice: Below is an image of letter head and a letter from the desk of Bishop McAlilly. If you can not see the image/read text, please CLICK HERE.

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More resources:
CLICK HERE to read “Bishops urge Bishop Talbert not to officiate same-sex union” by United Methodist Communications

The finish line in sight!

Posted: October 18, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference, Tennessee Conference | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

1.jpgSince Annual Conference, we have been drawing closer and closer to our goal of $87,500 to build the parsonage for the Bishop of the East Congo Annual Conference.

With the most recent tally, here is what has been contributed:

The Memphis Conference has contributed $52,136.66.
The Tennessee Conference has contributed $31,892.33.
The total raised as of this blog post is $84,023.99!!!

It would be great to be able to share with East Congo Bishop Unda Yemba at the Council of Bishops meeting in November that we have accomplished our goal. You will be reminded that in May when I last spoke with Bishop Yemba about this opportunity, he said, “I need a place for my family to live.” Bishop Yemba currently has no residence to lay his head, and remains separated from his family for long periods of time. This offering will build an episcopal residence which will also include permanent office space for the conference.

All we need is 35 churches to step up with a $100.00 donation. A special thanks to all who have gone the second mile to make this happen. Youth groups and many of our small membership churches have stepped up to make sacrifical gifts to help us reach our goal.

Expecting Greater Things!
Bishop McAlilly

Memphis Conference youth lead by example, raise $5k for Congo

Posted: August 2, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Youth at Martin First United Methodist Church work to raise more than $5,000 for East Congo parsonage.

Youth at Martin First UMC show us all how it’s done! There is still time to raise $87,500 to build parsonage in East Congo.

Wow! The youth at Martin First United Methodist Church know how to respond to a challenge.

My request at the 2013 Memphis and Tennessee Annual Conferences in early June was for an additional $250 contribution per church to help us meet the Nashville Episcopal Area goal of $87,500 to build a parsonage (home and office) for the Methodist bishop of the East Congo Episcopal Area in Africa.

It seems youth delegates from Martin First UMC in the Dyersburg District were paying attention. Their youth pastor, Rev. Rebecca Alexander, reported to me this week that they raised more than $5,000 for this project!

Want to know how they did it? Alexander said the youth delegates heard me speak at Annual Conference in Collierville and then returned to Martin with “passion and conviction” to do their part … and more!

“(Martin First UMC) youth chose to raise $5,000 –  not only the $250 for our church, but also $250 for 19 other small congregations that might not have the means to give,” said Alexander.

In a span of 72 hours, the youth sold baked goods, washed cars and gave out bottled water for donations. They promoted their events via social media and on a local radio station. They even knocked on doors.

I am so proud of these youth. I want to thank them on behalf of Bishop Gabriel Unda Yemba whose East Congo Episcopal Area in Africa so desperately needs this parsonage to continue to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

As I’ve shared before, the East Congo Area includes three conferences, 17 districts and more than 349,000 members. By comparison, the Nashville Area is two conferences, 14 districts and 201,000 members. This $87,500 is obtainable. Unfortunately, as of July 31, our collective total is just $47,000. That’s an approximate figure based on money received and more gifts we know are on the way.

The youth of Martin First UMC have set a stellar example of hard work and devotion to a most worthy cause. I appreciate them and all who have made and will make contributions.

The Memphis and Tennessee Conferences have each been operating with different deadlines on this initiative, but today I want to announce we are extending the deadline for more donations through Sept. 15. Please, if you have not contributed so far OR if you are able to make an additional gift, read below how you may do so in your conference (online or by mail).

TENNESSEE CONFERENCE DONATION
Online: CLICK HERE
By Mail: Make out checks to “TN Conference UMC” with “East Congo Episcopal Area” in the memo line. Mail to Tennessee Conference Treasurer, 304 South Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 6, Nashville, TN, 37211.

MEMPHIS CONFERENCE DONATION
Online: CLICK HERE
By Mail: Make out checks to “Memphis Conference Treasurer” with “East Congo Parsonage” in the memo line. Mail to Treasurer’s Office, Memphis Conference-United Methodist Church, 24 Corporate Blvd., Jackson, TN 38305.  Churches should use line 50 of the remittance form. Personal checks should include church name to receive Advance Special credit.

~ Bishop Bill McAlilly

Witness Walk–Memphis Annual Conference

Posted: May 21, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Bishop's Blog, Memphis Conference | Comments Off on Witness Walk–Memphis Annual Conference

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In just a few days we will gather at First United Methodist Church, Collierville, TN for the Memphis Annual Conference.  I am looking forward to all that will be before as we share in excellent worship, dynamic Bible study, hear the ways in which God at work in our lives, reflect on our Mission field and hear the ways in which God is moving among us. I want to invite you to join Lynn and me as we participate in our First Annual Witness Walk!

At 6:30am on Monday, June 3, Lynn and  I will be walking with you at H. W. Cox Park located at 440 W. Powell Road in Collierville. It’s a short walk that gives witness to the importance of caring for our minds, bodies and spirits through physical activity. It is not a race!  Walk at a pace that’s comfortable for you.

The benefits of exercise for those who are able, is a blessing.  The Department of Health and Human Services, as well as our own physicians, frequently remind us that physical activity reduces the incidence of colon and other cancers, helps reduce the risk of high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, helps with weight control and helps to build and maintain strong muscles and bones. Did you know that just 150 minutes of exercise weekly has tremendous health benefits?

There is a $10 fee that covers the cost of your tee shirt and snacks. All left over monies will be used for area food pantries. Please register on line at www.memphis-umc.org/witnesswalk

See you there!