Annual Conference Update

By Jeff Webb
Day Two: It's On

Annual Conference officially got started today. For me, it began at 5AM when I woke up in my dorm room and couldn't get back to sleep.

After laying in my bed, awake, for a further forty minutes, I got up and went for a jog around the football field. The sun was already up--it came up early--and the sky was a beautiful orange.

Opening worship was at 9:30AM in the Chapel. The Africa University choir, who will be touring the state after Conference's conclusion, sang a wonderful song that got everybody inspired. Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, of the Zimbabwe Annual Conference, delivered the message, asking the congregation, "What kind of Christ do you know?"

Communion was held at the end of the service. It always amazes me how they manage to do communion with so many people in the space provided, but they get it done somehow.

The first business session started at 1:45PM. Wesleyan's Dr. Marvin Carr was presented with the Francis Asbury award "for his countless acts of kindness." In addition, WVWC President Pamela Balch gave a report about the current status of the College, how enrollment has continued to climb, graduate programs have been added, and students continually participate in service-oriented projects.

Next week, according to Balch, the College will start to focus on its Master Plan, which will bring changes to the campus not seen "since the 1960s Stanley Martin era."

The Cabinet ended the first business session with their State of the Church address, referencing scripture about the Tower of Babel and urging churches to work on building bridges, not towers. Wesleyan District superintendent Ken Ramsey stressed that building these bridges and forming connections with people in the name of Jesus Christ is an urgent task.

Overall, it was a good day. Tomorrow proves to be even more interesting as business gets further underway. Opening worship is at 8:30AM in the Chapel, and business starts at 10AM in the Chapel.

On one additional note, as I referenced it in my previous post: Theta Chi no longer needs to cut its grass. It was mowed today, and the yard looks quite lovely.