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The Challenges for Connectionalism
Posted
on 2/1/2010
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
One of the major challenges facing the 2012 General Conference will be to reform the structure of The United Methodist Church. A task force being led by Bishop Gregory Palmer, which includes the Rev. Debbie McLeod and the Rev. Jorge Acevedo from the Florida Conference, has been given the charge to m...
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Live for Today
Posted
on 1/26/2010
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today" (Matthew 6:34 NRSV).
If I were in Haiti, I would live the truth of these words. Haitians know enough troubles for today--how to ...
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Catastrophe in Haiti
Posted
on 1/19/2010
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
I have called every Haitian-American pastor of our conference I could reach to talk with them about what they have heard about relatives and friends in Haiti. Most congregations with Haitian-American members report grievous news of deaths, injuries, missing persons, and property damage. The earthqua...
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A Reply to the IRD on the Council of Bishop's Pastoral Letter
Posted
on 1/12/2010
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
On November 3, 2009 the Council of Bishops approved Pastoral Letters and a Foundation Document on God's Renewed Creation: A Call to Hope and Action, which deals with the interrelated realities of ecological degradation, global poverty, and nuclear arms proliferation from the perspective of our faith...
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Thinking of C. Vann Woodward on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Posted
on 1/11/2010
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
Monday, January 18, 2010, is a national holiday to observe the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. While this day is a time to remember the slain civil rights leader, I shall be thinking of someone else on this day--C. Vann Woodward.
Woodward was a white man from Arkansas who became a histori...
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Living on Food Stamps
Posted
on 1/8/2010
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
The lead story in The New York Times on the first Sunday of this year was "Living on Nothing but Food Stamps." According to the report, about 6 million Americans claim to have no income other than food stamps. About one in 50 Americans now live in a household where there is no cash i...
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The Incarnation and Discipleship
Posted
on 12/6/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
Once I was criticized by a communications expert for offering a Christmas greeting to our conference because it was "too theological."
I plead guilty to the charge. What is Christmas except the festival of the church which celebrates nothing less than the most theological of ideas, the in...
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The Second Advent of Jesus Christ
Posted
on 12/1/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
Advent is the season for Christians to meditate on the coming of Jesus Christ, and to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in letting him come into our lives. The meaning of the advent of Jesus Christ is not adequately expressed unless it includes his second coming in the future.
"He will come...
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American Indians at the Table
Posted
on 11/23/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
On Thanksgiving Day, Americans remember the story of one of the first feasts of thanksgiving observed by Europeans who migrated to this new land. The Pilgrims planned a feast in Massachusetts, and they invited the native people to join them. Both Europeans and natives brought food and feasted at the...
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Pastoral Letter from the Council of Bishops
Posted
on 11/14/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
On Nov. 3, 2009 the Council of Bishops approved a pastoral letter to be read in all the churches, God's Renewed Creation: A Call to Hope and Action.
The letter is the product of years of study, consultation and listening to the Church around the world. It is the bishops' response to a mandate of th...
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Be there!
Posted
on 10/14/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
If you wish to go to Africa, then you must be prepared for a long and uncomfortable journey.
Another way to visit Africa is to read the Angolan blog on the Web site of the Florida Conference. This blog is being written by Armando and Icel Rodriguez and their daughter Amanda. Their blogs are...
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Endings in Life
Posted
on 10/12/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
As many of you know, recently I received the alarming word that my mother was in critical condition in the intensive care unit of The University of Mississippi Hospital. With the cooperation of others, I was able to go to Mississippi to be with her and to give some assistance in her care. ...
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Watching our Words
Posted
on 9/22/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
One of the mysteries of life is human speech. Because we human beings talk all the time, we take for granted this amazing ability. I think that we should approach all of our speech with reverence because we are beings who are able to make sounds which become symbols of meaning. Even if we do no...
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Full Communion Between Lutherans and United Methodists
Posted
on 9/18/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has approved an agreement already approved by The United Methodist Church (UMC) at the 2008 General Conference that the two churches enter into a relationship of full communion with each other.
The meaning of "full communion" between two c...
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Angolan Adventure
Posted
on 8/31/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
We have all gone to Angola! Well, not exactly. Armando and Icel Rodriguez, along with their daughter Amanda, have arrived in Angola as missioners from the Florida Conference, but they represent all of us. Let's pray for them and read about their experiences over the next year.
It ...
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Writing Your Church's Story
Posted
on 8/26/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
Recently Melba and I visited the site where my great, great, great, great grandfather lived in Shelbyville, Kentucky beginning in 1783. It was known as Whitaker's Station, and it was a few miles south of Squire Boone's Station on Clear Creek. My grandfather, Aquilla, called it Red Orchar...
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Faithful Community in a Financial Crisis
Posted
on 8/10/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
Everywhere I have traveled this summer I have seen evidences of the Great Recession. Once thriving businesses have closed. Grass is high around houses in foreclosure. It may be my imagination, but it seems that there is a general shabbiness where once there was a sheen.
As d...
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The New Creation
Posted
on 6/23/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
Some of us have grown up in a cultural environment in which it was commonplace to hear religious talk about "the end of the world." Whether such language left us feeling chagrined or convinced, we did assume that the message of the Bible is that it is God's will to bring ...
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Cycling
Posted
on 6/18/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
I think everybody needs to do something to have fun. I like to ride a bicycle.
Part of the fun of cycling for me is the sensation of speedily and smoothly gliding over the surface of the road. Twelve miles an hour seems much faster when you are on a bicyle.
I also like the way my ...
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Come to Conference!
Posted
on 6/3/2009
by Bishop Timothy Whitaker
Since I have been a Methodist all of my life, going to conference seems like a natural thing. It is hard to imagine being a part of a church which does not have an annual meeting of representatives of all of the congregations and clergy in a region. Yet I know that this Methodist pattern...
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