100th Edition of eLead

In celebration of our 100th edition of our eLead newsletter, the Leadership Development Team shares 100 things they are thankful for. We invite you to celebrate this milestone with us by showing your gratitude to God for the ways God has guided us and strengthened us through the years. 

We are grateful to God for:

1. Freedom of Religion
2. Family, extended family and church family
3. The freedom to choose when and where we enter
4. Life, health and strength
5. Clean Water
6. The Opportunity to Strive after God
7. Wide open educational opportunities
8. Those in the church who believe in us and encourage us to sing and speak our faith
9. That no one has to speak for us, but we are free to speak for ourselves. 
10. The odd and wondrous calling to serve as an ordained clergy member of our annual conference
11. Getting to live in a state where we can enjoy both the coast and the mountains
12. Awesome colleagues
13. All the amazing resources that we share in our conference
14. Seeing all persons use their gifts to engage in ministry
15. Living close to Pilot Mountain State Park where I can hike for hours on end
16. Music!
17. Lifelong Friends
18. A new focus on engagement with those both in our church and in the surrounding community
19. Leading a service of death and resurrection for a dear friend. 
20. A conference that prioritizes and invests in me as a leader
21. A conference that invests in developing leadership within congregations
22. Wise mentors and coaches
23. Surprising partners in ministry
24. God’s just-right-timing in opening doors and provision
25. The Spirit that moves and empowers us to keep up
26. The Means of Grace podcast
27. Opportunities to connect with community leaders
28. Bishop Carter’s leadership
29. All the shades of green in the trees. 
30. Joy on my fosters son’s face as he plays in the ocean.
31. Watermelon shakes on hot summer days.
32. Time to just sit and breathe.
33. Shared meals with friends and family. 
34. Unexpected blessings.
35. Summer evenings sitting on the porch watching the lightening bugs.
36. Laughter.
37. The ability to walk beside family members who are sick and dying.
38. Annual Conference in person
39. Precious moments with those we love.
40. God's presence in our toughest moments. 
41. Both/And ministry to our community
42. Fresh expressions of church!
43. More opportunities to celebrate racial diversity
44. Walking around Lake Junaluska with friends I haven't seen since 2020
45. Opportunities to imagine a brighter future for our church
46. The privilege and the weight of leading my community in communion for the first time.
47. The unlimited Grace of God
48. Sabbath rest!
49. Exploring creation care opportunities in our worshipping community
50. A pilgrimage to the US-Mexico border to walk alongside legal asylum seekers.
51. Opportunities for rest and renewal
52. Lay Ministers in the church
53. Hybrid Seminary Programs
54. Festivals including Juneteenth and the Festival of Wisdom & Grace
55. A plastic free July!
56. Racial Healing and Reconciliation
57. Opportunities for Financial support and freedom
58. Services and prayers of Lament and healing
59. Ministry with and for young adults
60. Opportunities to explore Just Compensation
61. The ability and freedom to vote!
62. Leading my first marriage ceremony
63. The Blessing to #BeUMC
64. Participation with the Poor Man's Campaign
65. Mission Engagement Sundays in our community
66. Worship without Walls
67. Retiring from pastoral leadership and stepping into the next steps of my faith journey
68. The ministry of executing the stations of the Cross
69. Innovation that helps us to worship with people from all over the globe
70. The core values that connect the people of The United Methodist Church
71. Graduation
72. Experimenting with new church partnerships
73. First time appointment stories
74. Ministries of recovery
75. Where we are, where we've been and where God is leading
76. Greater emphasis on mental health
77. Resourceful Communities that focus on environmental stewardship, social justice and sustainable economic development across rural NC
78. Safe, stable homes where children can thrive and live to their full, God-given potential
79. How faith, community and technology intersect for teens
80. House Church Networks
81. Great leadership in politically divided times
82. Partnerships between our church and the local schools in our area
83. Campus ministers and their ministry
84. Dinner Church
85. Launching a new worship service
86. Creating spaces for stillness, hope and even sadness in the midst of the Christmas season
87. The seasons of Life, Love and Ministry
88. That in my weakness God is Strong
89. The guidance of the Fruitful clergy leadership model
90. Breakthroughs in therapy
91. Coaching in ministry
92. Boundaries in ministry
93. The freedom to fail in ministry and learn from those failures
94. My family’s full recovery from Covid-19 and MISC
95. The generosity of our community partners
96. The call to pastoral ministry
97. The opportunities to grow in preaching throughout the years]
98. Opportunities to learn through the resistance that comes from change. 
99. The faithful service of the UMC Disaster Ministries
100. Last, but certainly not least, the faithful readers of the eLead Newsletter!