The Tribune

THE Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church Family will assemble this weekend to observe and celebrate the new church year beginning tomorrow.

Member churches from Grand Bahama and Abaco in the northern Bahamas to Inagua in the south will converge for a weekend of focus and training on Friday and Saturday, and for a special opening of the Church Year Service on Sunday.

Included in Sunday’s special service will be the consecration of the newly elected President of the Conference, Rev L Carla R Culmer, and the induction of other newly elected officers of the Conference.

Retired educator Jacqueline Pinder has been elected to the position of vice president; retired public servant Hyacinth Winder Pratt has been elected to serve as general secretary, and Mark Munnings, a certified public accountant, has been elected as the treasurer. They will be inducted in Sunday’s service.

The theme given to the Methodist Church for this weekend and the upcoming year is “Spiritual Leadership—Empowered to Serve”.

The objective of the sessions on Friday and Saturday is to provide resources and training for lay persons serving in key leadership positions of the local church. Guest presenter Rev Dietrich Carrol will lead a session entitled “Developing the Leader Within You: Building up Church Leaders”.

Saturday’s programme will include small group discussions and activities.

Apart from being an opportunity for leadership training, the weekend will also provide an opportunity for fellowship and worship.

The outgoing president, Rev Christopher Neely, noted that Methodists have always valued these types of gatherings; they remind us that the work of ministry is greater than any individual.

And Methodists have always taken strength from sharing in the work with other brothers and sisters.

Rev Neely said that he is grateful to his God and the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church for the opportunity to have served two terms in the office of president of the Conference.

He said he is excited about the prospects for the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church under the leadership of Rev Culmer.

Rev Culmer has advanced from the youth programmes to the top leadership position of the Methodist Church. She officially assumes the presidency tomorrow.