| Advent Pastoral Letter |
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In a statement that says, "We cannot help the world until we change our way of being in it," the bishops of The United Methodist Church announced a significant call to all United Methodists, ecumenical and inter-religious partners and people of goodwill around the world. "As bishops, we know that critical issues of the day have left people feeling fearful, cynical, hopeless and overwhelmed," said Bishop Gregory Palmer, president of the Council of Bishops."God's Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action" contains our pledges to work in hopeful and robust ways for transforming change as God's stewards of creation. We invite the church and our partners around the world to join us." The bishops recommend that the pastoral letter be read aloud in worship during the season of Advent in each of 42,600 congregations worldwide. A liturgical setting for the letter offers responsive elements for congregational participation. These are a "lament for God's people and God's planet," confession of "failure to embody the image of God" and call to action inviting everyone to join the bishops in their own nine pledges for urgent, effective action. from UMC.org (God's Renewed Creation: Call to Hope and Action) Below, you'll find the liturgical setting of the pastoral letter, the original letter, and the foundation document. Click to open or download the PDF documents. Pastoral Letter Original Letter Foundation Document |