So long pulpit, hello pew

By The Honorable Reverend/Justice (Ret.) Claude L. Johnson, 

President, CME Church Association of Retired Ministers

         If you are a retired minister, congratulations! You are now probably freer to arrange your time and life in new and creative ways. There are many opportunities for the talents and skills you have gathered throughout your ministry.
        Retirement is a condition that offers an opportunity to re-examine the routine that we have followed for scores of years. No more daily grind, no more demanding schedules, no more endless meetings. Will this new independence - outweigh the losses? As retired ministers we are in charge of crafting our own schedule without reference to the expectations of any work place. There are no clocks to punch and no congregational demands (exception Annual Conference) that put us in a particular place at a certain time. We now have priorities to set and choices to make, and - taking account of family needs - We are the ones to make them.
        The temptation to "stay the course" in order to remain "active" might be the wrong choice for us. Exploring new alternatives can be very stimulating, and if physical health permitting, keep us active.
As retired ministers, we need to determine how to make the rest of our lives the best of our lives. Nothing stays the same forever. Hence, retirement is a major change in our lives. Our bodies have started to complain and our energy level is not what it once was. We feel pain in joints that we have always taken for granted. Life is just not quite like it was a few years ago.
         Changes are happening in every aspect of our lives. Therefore, we must learn to make adjustments if we are going to make the most of what we have to work with. Yes, we can resist change and live a rigid "I refuse to adjust" life if we choose. However, we need to know that every day we live will be different from the day before. Changes are taking place. Retired ministers who learn to adjust can continue to enjoy life. Those who do not adjust, slowly but surely become miserable.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

Happy Thanksgiving

from

The Christian Index and The Christian Index Online

Arrangements for Bro. Isaac Benjamin Honeysucker III

The following are arrangements for Mr. Isaac Benjamin Honeysucker III, father of Dr. Leela Pearl Miller, and brother of Dr. J.W. Honeysucker, presiding elder of the Greenwood Jackson District.

Wake
Friday November 25th, 2011
3 - 7 p.m.
Northwest Funeral Home
6630 West Hampton Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53218
414-462-6020

Funeral
Saturday November 26th, 2011
11 a.m.
St. Matthew CME Church
2944 North 9th Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53206
414-562-7580

Please keep the Honeysucker family in prayer during their hour of bereavement.

Loss of Mrs. Catherine Polk-Wigley
We regret to inform you of the passing of Mrs. Mary Catherine Polk-Wigley, the sister of Mrs. Annie Williams, co-chair of the Mississippi-South Region EUTHU (Empowering Us to Help Us) and past president of the Mississippi-South Region Women's Missionary Society. Mrs. Wigley passed away on Monday, November 7, 2011, while visiting with her mother in Bassfield, MS. Mrs. Wigley was a resident of Pascagoula, MS, the widow of the late Mr. Daniel Wigley and the mother of three children.

Her body has been entrusted to:
Unity Funeral Home
4900 Main Street
Moss Point, MS 39563
228-475-2538
(Unity Funeral Home is located in downtown Moss Point, MS next door to the Dickie Scruggs Building.)

Arrangements are as follows:
Family Hour and Visitation
Friday, November 11, 2011
6 - 8 p.m.
Unity Funeral Home
Homegoing Services
Saturday, November 12, 2011
11 a.m.
St. Paul United Methodist Church
3724 Davis Avenue
Moss Point, MS
         Expressions of sympathy can be forwarded to Mrs. Annie Williams at 121 Black Polk Road, Prentiss, MS 39474. Mrs. Williams can be reached by phone at (601) 943-8044 or (601) 270-9942.
Please keep the Polk, Williams, and Wigley families in your prayers.

Submitted by Pene' Woods

Bishop Teresa E. Snorton to travel to Holy Land on Pilgrimage in delegation of 11 Women Bishops

WASHINGTON, DC — Eleven ecumenical women bishops from the United States, West Indies and Africa will leave Nov. 12 for a 10-day trip to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The trip is sponsored by the United Methodist General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) and the denomination’s Council of Bishops.   Goals of the trip are to stand in solidarity with women from Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions working for peace in the region; gather facts and stories to equip the delegation members as educators and advocates for peace after returning; and to explore partnerships for ongoing education and advocacy to affect positive change.   Four Christian denominations will be represented in the delegation: United Methodist, Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal and Christian Methodist Episcopal.   United Methodist Bishop Deborah Kiesey (Dakotas), president of GBCS’s Board of Directors, is leading the delegation. "This pilgrimage will not only inform each of us as bishops regarding the complexity of the region,” she said, “but it will also allow us to stand in solidarity with, and work alongside those women who are daily working to bring about peace."   United Methodist missionary Janet Lahr Lewis, a missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries who serves in the Middle East as liaison between ecumenical groups, Israel and Palestine, will accompany the delegation.   Other staff support is being provided by Linda Bales Todd, GBCS Women’s Advocate, and Alex Baumgarten of the Episcopal Office of Government Relations.   The women bishops in the delegation are: ·  United Methodist: Bishop Violet Fisher, Wilmington, Del.; Bishop Jane Middleton, Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Bishop Joaquina Nhanala, Maputo, Mozambique; Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, Pasadena, Calif.; and Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, Jackson, Miss. ·  African Methodist Episcopal: Bishop Sarah Davis, Jamaica, West Indies, and Houston, Texas; Bishop Carolyn Tyler Guidry, Jackson, Miss.; and Bishop Vashti McKenzie, Nashville, Tenn. ·  Christian Methodist Episcopal: Bishop Teresa E. Snorton, Birmingham, Ala., and ·  Episcopal: Bishop Laura Ahrens, Hartford, Conn.   Itinerary: The itinerary includes stops in Nazareth, Bethlehem, Capernaum, Haifa, Jerusalem/Ramallah and Gaza. Besides meeting with women working for peace in the region, there will also be tours of Holy Christian sites.   Among many briefings, the delegation expects to meet with Altufula Women’s Rights Organization, Israeli/Arab Women’s Initiative, Jericho YWCA, Lekiya-Bedouin Women’s Project and Wi’am Conflict Resolution Center’s Women’s Project — Bethlehem.   The delegation will return Nov. 21.   The General Board of Church & Society is one of four international general program boards of The United Methodist Church. The board’s primary areas of ministry are Advocacy, Education & Leadership Formation, United Nations & International Affairs, and resourcing these areas for the denomination. It has offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City. From Wayne Rhodes, Director of Communications General Board of Church & Society 100 Maryland Ave., N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002 (202) 488-5630 /wrhodes@umc-gbcs.org

CHANGES!! Passing of Rev. Edward L. Swillis
Dear CME Members and Friends:

It is with sadness that I must inform you of the passing of Rev. Edward L. Swillis. Rev. Swillis made his transition on Friday, October 28, 2011 in Fresno, CA.
Rev. Swillis worked in the vineyard for the Lord for over forty years and spent twenty-eight of those years as the pastor of St Paul CME Church in Fresno, CA (Northern California Region). Fresno is the city in which he will be remembered for his dedication, devotion and faithfulness to his Lord, Jesus Christ, his family, his Church and his Community.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Wake: Sunday, November 6, 2011
4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Saint Paul CME Church
2191 South Eunice Avenue
Fresno, CA
559-266-1669

Funeral Service: Monday, November 7, 2011
10:00 AM
Saints Rest Baptist Church
15501 East Reverend Chester Riggins Avenue
Fresno, CA 93706
Phone No. 559 237-5551


Funeral Home:
Jesse E. Cooley, Jr. Funeral Home
1830 South Fruit Avenue
Fresno, CA 93706
Phone No. 559 268-8048


Please keep the Swillis family lifted in prayer.

Peace,


Bishop James B. Walker
Presiding Prelate
9th Episcopal District

Passing of Elder B.S. Gregg
Dear Connectional Members and Friends,

It is with heartfelt sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Presiding Elder Emeritus B.S. Gregg who served many years in the Southeast Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin Region before retiring.

The following events will take place at St. Matthew CME Church, 2944 North Ninth Street, Milwaukee, WI.  Office: 414-562-7580  Fax: 414-562-758.


Memorial Service:
Friday, November 4, 2011, 6 p.m.

Visitation Hour:
Saturday, November 5, 2011, 9-10 a.m.

Funeral Service
Saturday, November 5, 2011, 10 a.m.

St. Matthew CME Church www.stmatthew-cme.org
Pastor Richard D. Shaw  pastorshawcme@aol.com
Cell: 708-856-9106


Please send condolences to the funeral home:
Reid's New Golden Gate Funeral Home
5665 North Teutonia Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53209
414-358-0538  Fax: 414-358-0452


Bishop Paul A.G. Stewart, Sr.,
Presiding Prelate, Third Episcopal District

Jeanette Bouknight
Executive Secretary
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
"An Essential Church: Poised for 21st Century Ministry"