Annual Conference Week - Part Two

Thursday of Annual Conference was Clergy Session first. This is the one that Latricia and I get to lead as we vote on all the clergy changes from the Board of Ordained Ministry. 

 

 

My friend Tracy Hunter was back in town for clergy session. So good to see her again! 

 

I got to celebrate with this outgoing and incoming pastor at Hope UMC Cape Coral in my district - also known as mother and son! 

Bishop Charlene Kammerer was back in Florida to celebrate the first wave of women clergy with special anniversaries - 50 years since her ordination. 

Our friends the Weavers were also at conference as delegates. 

And Daryl and I finished up the first night at the Methodists for Social Action (MFSA) dinner. 

 

Annual Conference Week - Part One

I started the weekend by worshipping at Pine Island United Methodist Church on Sunday. 

On Tuesday, Latricia and I had a meeting with Bishop Berlin to go over the schedule for the week and prep for clergy session. And then Daryl and I attended the cabinet dinner at Garden Bistro on Lake Morton in Lakeland. 

I've been doing this fitness and food plan (Faster Way) since February 15. The hotel gym was tiny and pretty bare, so I brought a bunch of my equipment from home to keep up with things. 

On Wednesday, I met some of the youth delegation who were interested in calling to ministry for lunch. We had a lovely time together. 

Then Bishop Berlin and I led a meeting for all of the extension ministers (those who serve beyond the local church; technically I'm an extension minister as conference staff). 

At the evening's picnic, the cabinet competed in a bucket challenge against the youth delegates and we won! 

Daryl and I ran into some familiar faces from previous churches too. That was fun!

And then at the Laity kickoff that night, our district lay leader got to speak from the microphone to invite people to give to the Annual Conference Offering. 

 

 

 

Junior Journey - European Style

Parker went on his journey journey earlier this month with Florida Southern.

His group flew from Miami to Barcelona, so they could board the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas for a 7 day Mediterranean cruise. Their stops included: Palma de Mallorca, Spain - Marseille, France - and then Pisa, Rome and Naples in Italy.

The trip chaperones were one of the school's nursing professors and her husband. The group included 13 students total: 4 guys and 9 girls. The group got along great and really bonded. Parker had a fabulous and amazing time exploring. 

 Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Marseilles, France

Pisa, Italy

Rome, Italy

 

 

Pompeii

 

Naples and Sorrento 

 

And a few random group shots from the ship