This is the last time I will write you as Capital District Superintendent. Each time I have sat down to write a piece for the district newsletter, I have envisioned someone just like you, part of a local church in our district, a part of the Body of Christ. Thank you for that pleasure.
As I go, I want to share three quotes that are formative for me and for our connectional life. I offer them as benedictions for us all.
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with you in every one of my prayers for all of you because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:3-6.
You are God’s gift to me, as we are to each other in the church. I do thank God for you; I am confident that God will bless our work and our church.
Watch over one another in love . . . . John Wesley, The General Rules
Part of our ministry is to watch over one another, trying to model the care God offers us in Jesus. I will pray we continue to do that and continue to receive the words of each other as that sort of gift.
Our connectionalism is not merely a linking of one charge conference to another. It is rather a vital web of interactive relationships. The Book of Discipline 2016, Paragraph 132
We are blessed to be a part of a church that embraces the world and invites us to embrace each other. Regardless of our differences I pray we remember we are members of a Body united in the Spirit, and while like all bodies we may know strain and stress, we are called to love the Lord, love each other and work for the redemption of the world. We are called to be the Body of Christ for the world.
Thank you for allowing me to share this part of our journey together. I keep Chris Brady and you in my prayers.
Your brother,
[Harvey] Gray
If you would like to view past editions of Hello from Harvey,
follow this link: https://capitaldistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/