Rev. Margaret Gramley

For several years I worshiped at a church with the slogan: A New Church in an Old Place. It was a small community of folk on the north side of Chicago who lived in an historic building but who had a heart for new people and new ways of being church. The leaders and their pastor were intentional in connecting with the many young people living in the neighborhood, and they began to offer new ways of being together as church - in worship, in learning, in service, in fellowship. That community grew and some who became part of it are now leaders in the communities being formed and "turned around" through Harvest 2020.

That is how newness works. It takes us "as we are" but doesn't leave us there. As new connections are made, as new people come into the life of a community, or begin to shape a new one, more and more possibilities open up. We've seen this happen again and again as pastors, haven't we? We recruit a newer member on a committee, and they bring energy and ideas that spark the whole group into fresh thinking. One of our youngsters grows into a talented teen, and they bring their hope and idealism into worship and all feel a new sense of purpose. When we aren't looking, someone receives a vision of how a current annual ministry event can be expanded to serve those in need year round, and before long, a team is formed and a plan begins to take shape. God is at work bringing newness all the time.

Harvest 2020 offers our conference an opportunity to be part of what God is always and already doing to bring newness -- and the hope and energy it inspires - into the lives of the people of Northern Illinois. As part of the Methodist movement, part of our DNA involves creating opportunities for folks we don't already know to hear the message of God's creative power and love through Jesus Christ. John Wesley brought that message to the coal fields and the King's Wood around London ... outside of the established places, programs and practices of his day. Harvest 2020 is providing the resources so that we might move into new fields to continue this work in ever new ways.

I am thankful for those who have listened to God's leading in setting this direction for us, and pray that you will be energized and filled with hope as we move forward with God ... who is indeed "making all things new."

~Rev. Margaret Gramley