After several days where General Conference delegates were clearly divided over Robert’s Rules vs. Group Discernment and placards vs. iPads, on Day Four, they were urged repeatedly to work together, and shown examples of the good the church can do when it heeds that advice.
The May 13 laity address included lay leaders from the Upper New York, Virginia, Missouri, Tennessee, Zimbabwe and Great Plains conferences, with each sharing a sense of urgency for the people in local churches around the world to do more to share the love and mercy available to all through Jesus Christ.
During the May 13 morning worship, Bishop Sally Dyck of the Chicago Episcopal Area said she was inspired by Pope Francis’ declaration that this past Advent would be a year of mercy, adding, “I want to be part of a church that has a year of mercy, a decade of mercy, a millennium of mercy.”
Dyck used Matthew 9:9-13, the story of the Pharisees questioning how Jesus could sit down to eat with the tax collectors and sinners, as her text.
“Jesus knew that the Pharisees believed that the tax collectors were incompatible with good Jews,” said Dyck. “And Jesus said to the Pharisees to go, learn mercy.”
Throughout the morning, General Conference delegates heard news that might surprise some: United Methodists together are doing great things that bring God’s reign into the world. Both the Connectional Table, which coordinates the work of church agencies, and the General Council on Finance and Administration, the denomination’s finance agency, gave reports that highlighted the good United Methodists do when they work and give as a global body.
“What are trying to do is something no other denomination is doing,” said Bishop Christian Alsted, incoming chair of the Connectional Table. “We are trying to be a worldwide church that is also democratic.”
A climate vigil, organized by the Pacific Northwest Conference and backed by a number of church-related sponsors, was held May 12 at the Oregon Convention Center’s outdoor plaza. The twilight event featured decorated paper lanterns lit by small LED lights, music and testimony from United Methodists representing the global church.
The Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, would like to see a commitment “to act in solidarity with all who struggle daily in the face of a changing climate” shared across the denomination, adding, “I pray and trust that this General Conference will reaffirm our commitment to this important and holy work.”
Delegates continued to debate whether to embrace the new electronic queuing system or go “old school” and stick with waving old-fashioned placards to get the presiding bishop’s attention.
United Methodists gathered for a lunchtime witness on May 13 at the Oregon Convention Center plaza, calling on the Barack Obama administration to “stop deportations and keep families together.” Delegates to General Conference 2016 will consider an addition to The United Methodist Church’s Social Principles that says: “We oppose all national immigration policies that separate family members from each other or that include detention of families with children.”
The Rev. Frank Schaefer and his son Tim joined the Rev. Mike Tupper in the tent Tupper has slept in for the past 168 days to symbolize how they say LGBTQ people are kept outside the doors of The United Methodist Church. Both Tupper and Schaefer faced charges for officiating at the same-sex weddings of their children. They are in Portland praying for the denomination to change its stance that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”
Joey Butler is a multimedia editor/producer for United Methodist Communications. Contact him at newsdesk@umcom.org or 615-742-5470.
The hotels and other accommodations of Agios Sostis in Mykonos are organised by category and type. All accommodations and hotels of Agios Sostis are presented with many pictures and descriptions and for many of them, using VR, a virtual animation using 360° panoramic pictures. You can also see other areas, type of hotels or accommodations. About Agios Sostis
Very little is known about the history of Hydra until the beginning of the Ottoman rule. The first settlers of the island were Mycenaeans and are traced back to the ancient times as witnessed by the excavations. No major historical event is known, until the 15th century period (after the fall of Constantinople), when the inhabitants of the island started to move inland and in the mountains to escape from the numerous pirate raids and the attacks of the Turks. Around 1460, Hydra welcomed refugees from Albania, Epirus, Crete, Evia, Kythnos and Asia Minor, as well as refugees from the Peloponnese who were escaping the Russo-Turkish War during the 18th century.
During the Ottoman domination, the Turks had little interest on the island because of its lack of water. The island began to acquire a powerful merchant fleet during the 17th century but the plague of 1792 wiped out a great number of the population and those who survived moved away. Things improved for Hydra in the 18th century, when it became powerful and prosperous because of its highly developed commercial fleet, trading with all of Greece and even abroad, with France, Spain and America.
The superiority of the island's fleet reached its peak during the Napoleonic wars and with the creation of the Merchant Marine Academy, was able to monopolised the sea transport throughout the Mediterranean. The inhabitants of Hydra were beginning to fear attacks from the Ottoman fleet so they used their wealth to fortify the harbour with bastions of cannons, and their fleet power during the Greek Revolution against the Turkish yoke. They participated in the Revolutionary secret alliance called "Philiki Etairia" (founded in 1814) and many wealthy sea-captains used their vessels as warships and helped the Revolution economically.
The heroism of their crews became famous all around Europe and is still honored today. Two of the most heroic figures of Hydra were the ship owners Andreas Miaoulis and Lazaros Koundouriotis, who contributed to the revolution. The superiority of the island's ships and the heroism of its inhabitants was one of the most determining factors in the success of the revolution.
After World War II, the economy of Hydra went through a difficult phase. It recovered slightly with fishing and sponge fishing but declined again due to the restrictions of financial assistance to the sponge fishing enterprises from the Greek Agricultural bank. In the 1950s, Hydra became a center of artistic creation for many artists who used its magical scenery as the main theme of inspiration. Many famous movies were also shot on the island, including the Boy on a dolphin (1957) starring Sophia Loren and Phaedra (1962) starring Anthony Perkins and Melina Merkouri. Till today, Hydra attracts many artists and various festivals take place in summer in the Melina Merkouri Auditorium.