| Bishop's CornerA
New Birth Into A Living Hope
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
 The theme for the 2002 Florida Annual
Conference Event in Lakeland May 28-31 will be “A New Birth into a
Living Hope.” It is derived from the First Epistle of Peter, Chapter
One, Verse Three: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (NRSV).
Not only is the theme derived from First Peter,
but the Bible study at the beginning of each day will be based upon
this epistle. Before coming to Annual Conference, every lay and clergy
member will be asked to study this epistle.
The theme, “A New Birth into a Living Hope,”
will be an appropriate emphasis for two special events at Annual
Conference. Part of our time will be spent reflecting upon the mission
of the church of Jesus Christ in a postmodern context of
secularization and pluralism. Specifically, we shall reflect upon the
need of congregations to be reborn with a new mission in order to
witness to Jesus Christ in the world today. Dr. Howard Snyder of
Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., who has specialized in
helping the church develop a theological understanding of mission in a
postmodern world, will lead our reflection.
Another significant event will be a special
service of repentance and reconciliation between African-Americans and
the rest of the members of the United Methodist Church in Florida.
While racism is a sin that affects many different communities in the
church, it has been a particular source of pain for African-American
Christians since the beginning of American Methodism. With God’s
grace, we are able to recognize our sin against God and
African-Americans, repent, and take intentional steps toward
reconciliation that will manifest the reality of the love of God
poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus
Christ. Through God’s grace there can be a new birth in the
relationship between African-American Christians and the rest of the
body of Christ. Bishop Jonathan Keaton of Cleveland, Ohio, will be the
preacher for this special service.
John Wesley and the early Methodists never tired
of preaching about the new birth. This is a mystery that never ceases
to leave me enthralled. The good news of Jesus Christ is that by the
grace of the living God enacted in the life, death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ each of us personally and also our communities can
participate in a new birth of being that is God’s ultimate plan for
the cosmos.
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