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Last week I joined folks from our churches in Missoula and Helena at a climate advocacy day at the capitol rotunda in Helena. Speakers included Native American elders and high school and college age youth and young adults. Under the beautiful dome as their voices bounced and echoed off the hard impervious surfaces, they spoke of generations back to time immemorial and generations far into the future. They spoke of land and water. They spoke of hope and change. I drove back to Billings through the Helena National Forest, feeling blessed by the natural beauty and buoyed by the speakers’ words.
This week I have been in conversations planning advocacy days for Conference Ministers in Washington, D.C., as well as a faithful response to Yellowstone County commissioners who offered the Metra as a detention center for undocumented migrants facing deportation. I signed an ecumenical letter from denominational leaders calling for mercy toward immigrants. One of the questions underlying these conversations has been, “How do we assure people that they are beloved of God, that we see them, and that we pray for their safety?”
As late January turns to early February, I am in the midst of planning for faithful and effective moments in ministry in our Conference. With a very uncertain future, I am putting events into my calendar, hoping that life will not be interrupted as we continue to carry our covenant forward. This year I am focusing on the vitality of the three C’s of our life together: Clergy, Congregations, and the Conference. I am in conversations on clergy support and professional development, best practices for congregational vitality, and what holds us together as a Conference without a church camp to bring us together. We will publish updated Conference salary guidelines, hold a leadership retreat to vision forward, install me as settled Conference Minister, and meet for the Conference Annual Meeting in Missoula in early October. Even in the throes of governmental chaos, I am praying for God’s presence in our planning.
Here are a few “hold the dates” in the life of our Conference:
- February 28 Clergy Annual Review forms due to Conference Office
- May 9-10 Leadership Retreat in Helena
- June 7 Installation of Conference Minister (place TBA)
- August 6-7 Ecotheology professional development for clergy
I am keeping all of our churches and clergy in prayer. If you are planning a faithful response or a congregational celebration, I’d love to be invited to be with you. Let me know how I might be present and how the entire Conference can support you in your ministry.
Peace,
Pastor Tony
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