Happy New Year... and some changes are coming!

First- Happy New Year folks! I hope that 2009 brings you all great joy and blessings in the name of our Lord, Jesus the Christ. May any hurts and disappointments you suffered in 2008 be quickly mended and forgotten. May the beginning of another 12 months called 2009 also find you in good health, financially stable, and in a position to help others find the blessings of Jesus.

Second- There's some changes coming down the road after last year's General Conference. One among them is that the Baptismal Covenant # 3 is no longer to be used. They found it to be no longer "disciplinary." Why? Not sure, but it's out.

Another is that the requirements for the membership vows has added some words. We all remember standing in front of a congregation at some point in our lives (for those who are members of the UMC) and repeating the words "...by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service." Well, that's been lengthened to include "our witness." I'd have to look it up to get the exact wording, but that's another change that takes effect this year.

There may be some others as well, but these two are the ones that most of us will notice immediately. Especially in the local church. It'll be interesting to see how we try to "enforce" the witness requirement. We don't seem to do a very good job with the other 4 areas to which we've pledged ourselves, and there seems to be no way to hold people accountable to their vows. Perhaps at the next General Conference in 2012 they can figure out a way to have this happen.

Unless they get bogged down in the whole homosexual thing again. But that's a posting for another time.

Maranatha.