Bishops Offering

In just a few weeks, Julie and I will be traveling to Annual Conference, where all the clergy and laity of the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church gather in Lakeland, FL, for Holy Conferencing. We worship, pray, and conduct the administrative work of the church.

Conferencing is one of the things I love so much about being a Methodist, and it's not unique to United Methodists. It keeps us focused beyond our local congregation and connected to other Christians.

Every year, there is something called the Bishop's Offering at our Annual Conference. This offering goes to help specific ministries, either within our conference or the larger United Methodist Connection. This year, Bishop Berlin has chosen two wonderful ministries for us to collect money for: Rev. Geraldine Williams McClellan Endowment Scholarship at Gammon Theological Seminary and The Warren Willis Camp and Conference Center.

Rev. Geraldine Williams McClellan Endowment Scholarship at Gammon Theological Seminary, honoring the life and legacy of Rev. Geraldine McClellan. In 2021, the Florida Conference set a $100,000 goal and collected $54,000. Our Conference can finish the good work that we began and help students prepare for ministry. This scholarship supports students attending Gammon Theological Seminary who will provide future pastoral leadership in The Florida Conference. Gammon is a historically Black seminary whose students will benefit greatly from your support. Like many historic Black colleges, universities and seminaries, Gammon does not have the large endowment enjoyed by other United Methodist seminaries that is used to provide scholarship assistance to students. As we give to this scholarship, we honor Rev. McClellan, who, in 1982, became the first woman of color ordained in The Florida Conference. We help strengthen the Black churches in our Conference as well as all churches these clergy will serve in the future.

The Warren Willis Camp and Conference Center is celebrating its 75th year of ministry. There is no better time to invest in the transformation of young people than now. The camp provides a safe place for children and youth to be introduced to a relationship with Christ and grow deeper in their faith. Every summer hundreds of campers attend Warren Willis and their lives are transformed. The conference center is a sacred space for people of all ages and is used throughout the year. This year’s offering will help the camp upgrade their programs, expand their reach and provide scholarships to students who may not be able to attend on their own resources.

If you would like to help support these two disciple-building ministries, you can do so by:

• Writing a check and noting Bishop's Offering
• Giving online: 
  • Select Bishop's Offering 
  • or if you can't find it, make a note on your giving that it's for the Bishop's Offering

We will pass on 100% of your gift to the two ministries.

Thank you in advance for investing in God's Kingdom through the Florida Conference!