Author: Tricia Louque In March 2020, we followed-up with our grant award recipients to inquire how the pandemic was affecting their ministry efforts. We found that many are still providing ministry across the Virginia Conference despite the difficulties of COVID-19. One such example is Kid’s Soar of the Roanoke District who adapted its program to […]
Author: Bo Bowden Most of us have either owned a home or have considered buying one. When you take out a mortgage loan, you’re generally required to obtain an independent appraisal attesting to the market value of the property. Likewise, when DevCo offers a loan on church property, we may a require an independent appraisal. […]
Author: Tommy Herndon Recently, we met as a Clergy Session by Zoom. All our Elders, deacons and Licensed Pastors were approved and sent forth. Bishop Sharma Lewis announced all the appointments and for the first time in my memory this was not done at Annual Conference. Our pastors will be moving next week and they […]
Greetings from the Foundation! In the year since beginning this position in June 2019, I’ve been able to meet many of you, and hope to meet many more in the months to come. As I have traveled around the Conference (prior to everything moving to Zoom), I have been consistently reminded of the connection we […]
Author: Tommy Herndon Giving Generously or Living Generously? This seems to be a major concern today. We want people to give generously or live generously but what happened to them doing both? Jay Link tells three stories on himself. They made me think and I hope they make you think. The first was about a […]
Author: Bo Bowden Recently, I decided I needed a break from the anxiety surrounding the pandemic and began to look for a retreat. Knowing there were few appealing options (I wasn’t quite ready to fly anywhere), I chose a spot many of you may have also visited: Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. At the time […]
We are in a place we have never been before. No one knows what normal looks like. We’ve been sheltering in place for a long time, and we are really wondering what tomorrow holds. The first thing leaders must do is surrender. We cannot run away from but rather run into “disorientation” and trust the […]
Many of us are thinking, “How can we survive the pandemic?” and, “How can we help the people we call United Methodists?” At the same time, many of us are thinking, “What’s ahead after the pandemic?” We have much to “grieve.” Think with me about all the things we as Christians are missing. Baptisms, Communion, […]
For years on Friday mornings, I have attended an interdenominational Bible study with some fellows I have gotten to know well. Together we have shared stories, celebrated births and mourned deaths of family members and close friends. Of course, we now participate through Zoom and I’m glad that most of us are able to join […]
How do you give to the church, especially in these hard times? Some churches are struggling because not everyone is giving. Some churches are thriving because its members know they need to give even when the church is not gathering and passing the plate. Normal giving to the church is about 2% of one’s income. […]
