Dear First Church,

This past week we celebrated and honored the last of this season’s goodbyes. Most notable was Drew’s last Sunday with us as Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. If you missed worship this Sunday, you can join here:

In 1749, Charles Wesley wrote the hymn, And Are We Yet Alive. We sing this near the opening of Annual Conferences across the Methodist connection. In recent years, the third stanza of the hymn has captured me every time we sing it, because each year between the gathering of these conferences has seen and held so much.

Today’s Word is more like a flyby update on all that’s been going on this past week – and what we have ahead. The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference will begin its work tonight with District gatherings and Opening Worship. You can follow along with our work from tonight through Sunday: umcoi.org

I have the pleasure of participating in multiple Annual Conferences each year, with great thanks to my cross-conference appointment to serve as your pastor. Cross-conference appointments are not uncommon, especially as the United Methodist Church grows stronger in its connection and mutual support.

Like Advent and Christmastide, conferencing in the United Methodist Church really is a season:

• There are particular songs we sing, such as the classic conference opener, “And Are We Yet Alive” (if “Here We Come A-Conferencing” isn’t a song someone has already written for the Methodist conference season, it ought to be).

As a connectional people, Methodists love to get together. Whether through conferences, clergy and lay gatherings, retreats, committees, potlucks, classes, or small groups, it’s life together that brings us the radiance of the Christian faith.

Our summer theme song was written for us in 1965 by that quartet of quirky, crooning poets: The Beatles. As I sat to write this, I replayed the Help! music video; I encourage you to do the same (and to watch Ringo the entire time).

In the waning months of 2016, I stopped listening to NPR on my morning and evening commute. Instead, those long stretches of Houston traffic were traversed slowly and silently, providing much needed space to process and pray over all that the world and our lives held in those days.

The Methodist version of C-Span has been live for the past two weeks and it has been enthralling.

Amidst lengthy processes of nominations and elections, confusion over rules and petitions, and reports from the denomination’s general agencies, there have been numerous electrifying moments on the plenary floor.

I never get upgrades when I’m flying. But for some reason, I was upgraded to first class on my connecting flight to Charlotte, NC on Tuesday. I’m not one to believe that God is in the business of making these kinds of things happen for us.

No matter which Gospel writer you read, the events of Holy Week are a dramatic change for the Jesus’ disciples: especially the resurrection. In each Gospel, those who know Jesus are invited to ride a rollercoaster of change that they do not always buckle into with joy and excitement.

Happy Easter, First Church! In this first week of Eastertide I want to share some ambiguous good news. One ministry that brings us Easter joy is Lift UP, an organization whose mission is to reduce hunger and improve the lives of low-income residents in NW and Downtown Portland.