Worshipping Together
Rev. Dr. Derrek Belase
One of the most beloved parts of annual conference is when we worship together. There is nothing like a group of United Methodists singing together and praising God by lifting our voices in unison. This year, we will offer six different worship services and each will be very special and unique. Please make plans to attend all of them.
The Celebration of Ministry Service will take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 29 as a part of our business session that day. This service includes the introduction of those who will be commissioned or ordained, recognitions of 15 elders, deacons and local pastors who are retiring from active ministry and the consecration of deaconess Evelyn Caruso of Tulsa. OCU graduate Jennifer Shamaunt will provide special music.
Our official opening worship will be the Eucharistic Memorial Service. It will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 29 with the pre-worship concert beginning at 6:30 p.m. The youth choir from Boston Avenue UMC will serve as the musicians for the evening. Rev. Dr. Sam Powers will serve as our preacher and Bishop Merrill will preside over Holy Communion. You will not want to miss the special gift she has in store for us. The names of those clergy and spouses who have died between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025 will be memorialized. A reception follows the service.
The Friday morning devotion service will be led by the Conference Council on Youth Ministry at 8:45 a.m. CCYM youth co-chair Reese Herndon will be the preacher for the service. Members of CCYM have designed the service and wrote the liturgy.
The Commissioning and Ordination Service will take place on Saturday, May 31 at 10:30 a.m. Bishop Merrill will preach at this service. We will ordain two people and commission another four. Boston Avenue UMC’s sanctuary choir will offer a pre-worship concert beginning at 10 a.m. A reception for those commissioned and ordained will be held following the service.
Morning Holy Communion services will be offered on Friday and Saturday at 8 a.m. in Rose Chapel. The Order of Deacons will be providing leadership and coordinating those services for us.
Finally, you will want to be in the sanctuary at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening preceding the business session for a special concert by the El Sistema Orchestra in Tulsa, an outreach ministry of Boston Avenue UMC.
As we have been doing for the last few years, Judy Horne will be with us each day on the piano, leading us in the great hymns of our faith as we begin each session and at other special times.
Special Offering
Please don’t forget to take a special offering and bring it with you to conference. You will also have the opportunity to give there. This year’s focus is on scholarships for seminary students in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) churches.
The Oklahoma Conference has blessed generations of clergy by creating the Pastor’s Education Fund, which has eased the financial burden of seminary education. This year we will seek to “pay it forward,” sharing this gift with brothers and sisters in our Pan-Methodist connection.
It is a blessing to be related as family to these churches and their efforts to raise up leaders and share Christ’s gospel in transformational ways. Our offering this year will be one way to BE loving, kind, and generous.