April 24, 2024

Dear Members of the Iowa Annual Conference,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

General Conference has officially begun. And we come into this time with great hope for our church. We come hoping for outcomes that will move us forward as a more equitable church, a more gracious church, a church making space for all people, no matter race or culture, economic or immigration status, gender, gender identity, or sexuality. Some of us also come with fear that the actions or inactions of our General Conference will cause further harm or drive us apart. None of us knows what will happen.

But I come knowing this: as important as the decisions to be made at this General Conference—as potentially historic as those decisions might be—we will continue to do ministry in Iowa. And we will continue to live out our mission to inspire, equip and connect communities of faith to cultivate world-changing disciples of Jesus Christ. We will continue to pray and work toward our vision to make God’s hope for the world real through faithful leaders, fruitful communities, and fire-filled people. And we will continue to be faithful to God’s greatest commandments, to love the Lord with heart, mind, and soul and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

But friends hear this—no matter what happens in Charlotte over these next days, God is still God. Our church will continue to be the Church. And, we will continue to remember who we are as United Methodists in Iowa—a people steeped in a theology of grace—the unrelenting and amazing grace of God.

Please continue to keep all of the delegates, translators, bishops, and other leaders of our church in prayer over these hope-filled days.

Blessings and Peace,

Bishop Kennetha J. Bigham-Tsai
Iowa Annual Conference