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Staunton District Superintendent, Jay Carey 
Roanoke District
Superintendent, Doug Forrester 
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Pray at 12 Noon Every Day with Bishop Lewis
Dear Virginia Annual Conference, The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV) Prayer is essential to sustain our faith and Jesus Christ modeled a life of prayer. I would like to thank several of you that have suggested a corporate prayer time for the Virginia Annual Conference. I am very blessed to lead an annual conference that believes in the power of the petitioned prayer! Please join me at 12 noon every day and pray the printed prayer below. Let us invoke the power of the Great Physician to do a mighty work in eradicating this disease all over the world. Almighty God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, We thank you for your blessings, past, present and future. You are our rock and the source of our hope in all things and at all times. As Jehovah Jireh, our provider God, we ask you this day to stretch out your mighty hand and eradicate from the face of the earth forever this virus called COVID-19 (coronavirus) that is spreading rapidly from continent to continent. We also pray that you, Jehovah Rapha, our healing God, would place your hand upon all of those who have been stricken by this virus and restore them to full health. Be with those who have lost loved ones and are grieving. Protect all who are caring for those with this virus and keep them from contracting it themselves. Calm our fears and provide us with your peace that surpasses all understanding. Strengthen us with the joy of the Lord and help us to hold firmly to the hope that only you can provide. Unify us that we, the Virginia Annual Conference, may be able to experience anew the promise of your presence in and through the unity of our faith, hope and trust in you in the days ahead and forever. We offer this prayer in the mighty name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. AMEN |
Friends,
By now you have hopefully read the email and watched Bishop Lewis’ video describing the new and exciting changes coming to the structure of the Virginia Conference through the work of the DAT team that has been meeting for the past several months that will take effect on July 1 of this year. As we transition to 8 District Superintendents for our 16 Districts, I believe that we will become stronger in living into our VA Conference mission statement to be disciples of Jesus Christ that are lifelong learners who influence others to serve. I also believe it will take a while for all of us to do things differently, while still serving our Lord Jesus faithfully every day. As part of this move to eight District Superintendents, I will be leaving our Staunton District in July and serve as DS for the Farmville and James River Districts. (Prior to coming to the Staunton District, I was part of the James River – previously known as the Petersburg District.) I am looking forward to this new opportunity. Yet, I am also leaving with a deep sense of appreciation for the support of all of the pastors, churches and charges in this Staunton District these past few months. You have made me feel welcome, supported and “at home” in your midst during what I believe has been one of the most unusual and difficult times for our church as we have had to adjust our “normal” church life to safely be in ministry during an unprecedented time of pandemic, racial injustice, political division and incredible change in so many areas of our daily life. I have seen how so many have nimbly adjusted to doing outreach, evangelism and worship with excellence, creativity and passion. I have watched how well our Staunton District churches have been able to connect with the least, the last and the lost in the name of Jesus. I have seen church families work together to develop in-person worship HCT plans and then have to make the hard decision to suspend in-person worship for the safety of the church family and the community. We have missed celebrating our high holy days in the ways we have always “done it”, yet, I have heard countless churches express that doing new things in new ways has been a blessing in disguise too! Donna Desper will still be our District Administrative Assistant here in Staunton. And she will continue to be a great blessing and help to all of our Staunton District church families and pastors. Staunton District will be doubly blessed to have the Rev. J. Douglas Forrester as its new District Superintendent. Doug was appointed the Roanoke District Superintendent in July 2020 and will be appointed to both the Roanoke and Staunton Districts starting in July 2021. His incredible gifts, graces and faithfulness to our Lord and his church will be a tremendous blessing to both Districts in the coming years and I am looking forward to seeing how Doug’s faithful leadership and wisdom will impact so many for the glory of our Lord Jesus. Please join me in praying for Doug even before he begins his work here in our District! -- Rev. Jay Carey Staunton District Superintendent 26 Orr Drive Fishersville, VA 22939 540-932-1055 Dear sisters and brothers in Christ of the Staunton District, Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord of life who is making all things new. My name is Doug Forrester and I am currently serving as the Roanoke District Superintendent. As you have certainly heard by now from both Bishop Lewis and District Superintendent Jay Carey, I will be serving as your DS starting in July while also remaining the Roanoke DS. I am the descendant of generations of men and women who have harvested the Chesapeake Bay in the Northern Neck of Virginia, although I was born in Richmond. I was educated at Emory & Henry College and Duke University Divinity School, and I have served churches large and small in the Virginia Conference since 1997. I have served as the Roanoke District Superintendent since July of 2020. In 2003, my mother and father-in-law moved from Fairfax to Staunton, and from 2005-2014, I served just over Afton mountain in Crozet. For years, it was our family tradition to pick pumpkins in Churchville, watch the Fourth of July parade in Staunton, and then watch the fireworks from the campus of Mary Baldwin University. My daughters practically grew up having lunches at the Purple Foot in Waynesboro, and even today, we still love to take a family drive to Lexington. We love the people, the communities, the culture, and the geography of the Staunton District, and we know that we will also come to love the pastors and the laity of the Staunton District as well. I am excited and immensely blessed to be given this opportunity to be your partner in ministry, and I look forward to sharing with you in all that is to come through the providence of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom all things are possible. Yours is a great legacy of faith, and I am honored to become a part of it. Your District Superintendent Jay Carey has served you so well, and I know that he bears a measure of sadness with the thought of leaving you so soon. I also know that he leaves big shoes to fill. I have counted Jay as a friend and trusted colleague for many years, and I know his immense gifts. As such, I ask for your prayers for both of us during this upcoming time of transition to serving two Districts at once. Each morning, I pray for the pastors, churches, and communities of the Roanoke District, and I have already begun doing so for the Staunton District as well. I look forward to getting to meet you and serve alongside you. God is good, all of the time. Grace and peace, Doug Forrester --- Rev. Douglas Forrester District Superintendent Roanoke District of the United Methodist Church 4502 Starkey Road SW, Suite 101 Roanoke, VA 24018 (540) 989-3335 www.roanokeumc.org 
Keeping your faith community connected through the COVID-19 outbreak. Facebook Resource.
https://www.facebook.com/community/faith/?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fads%2Fgrowth%2Faymt%2Femail_click%2F Ask The UMC: How can we livestream worship legally? https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-how-can-we-livestream-worship-legally Online Worship & Music Resources for Livestreaminghttps://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/online-worship-music-resources-for-livestreaming Taking your worship online: A guide for beginners and everyone else https://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/taking-your-worship-online-a-guide-for-beginners-and-everyone-else The Ultimate Coronavirus Guide For Churches https://churchmarketinguniversity.com/the-ultimate-coronavirus-guide-for-churches/ Your Church’s Plan For Coronavirus https://churchcommunications.com/your-churchs-plan-for-coronavirus/ Alexandria and Arlington Districts have compiled a wonderful cache of resources https://novaumc.org/digital-ministry-resources/ |
Bishop Lewis has been encouraging the clergy and laity of the Virginia Conference to read the Bible in a year since 2017. Each year has featured a different way of reading.
READINGS FOR JANUARY 2021 January 1Genesis 1-3 January 2Genesis 4-7 January 3Genesis 8-11 January 4Genesis 12-15 January 5Genesis 16-18 January 6Genesis 19-21 January 7Genesis 22-24 January 8Genesis 25-26 January 9Genesis 27-29 January 10Genesis 30-31 January 11Genesis 32-34 January 12Genesis 35-37 January 13Genesis 38-40 January 14Genesis 41-42 January 15Genesis 43-45 January 16Genesis 46-47 January 17Genesis 48-50 January 18Exodus 1-3 January 19Exodus 4-6 January 20Exodus 7-9 January 21Exodus 10-12 January 22Exodus 13-15 January 23Exodus 16-18 January 24Exodus 19-21 January 25Exodus 22-24 January 26Exodus 25-27 January 27Exodus 28-29 January 28Exodus 30-32 January 29Exodus 33-35 January 30Exodus 36-38 January 31Exodus 39-40 READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 2021 February 1Leviticus 1-4 February 2Leviticus 5-7 February 3Leviticus 8-10 February 4Leviticus 11-13 February 5Leviticus 14-15 February 6Leviticus 16-18 February 7Leviticus 19-21 February 8Leviticus 22-23 February 9Leviticus 24-25 February 10Leviticus 26-27 February 11Numbers 1-2 February 12Numbers 3-4 February 13Numbers 5-6 February 14Numbers 7 February 15Numbers 8-10 February 16Numbers 11-13 February 17Numbers 14-15 February 18Numbers 16-17 February 19Numbers 18-20 February 20Numbers 21-22 February 21Numbers 23-25 February 22Numbers 26-27 February 23Numbers 28-30 February 24Numbers 31-32 February 25Numbers 33-34 February 26Numbers 35-36 February 27Deuteronomy 1-2 February 28Deuteronomy 3-4 READINGS FOR MARCH 2021 March 1Deuteronomy 5-7 March 2Deuteronomy 8-10 March 3Deuteronomy 11-13 March 4Deuteronomy 14-16 March 5Deuteronomy 17-20 March 6Deuteronomy 21-23 March 7Deuteronomy 24-27 March 8Deuteronomy 28-29 March 9Deuteronomy 30-31 March 10Deuteronomy 32-34 March 11Joshua 1-4 March 12Joshua 5-8 March 13Joshua 9-11 March 14Joshua 12-15 March 15Joshua 16-18 March 16Joshua 19-21 March 17Joshua 22-24 March 18Judges 1-2 March 19Judges 3-5 March 20Judges 6-7 March 21Judges 8-9 March 22Judges 10-12 March 23Judges 13-15 March 24Judges 16-18 March 25Judges 19-21 March 26Ruth 1-4 March 271 Samuel 1-3 March 281 Samuel 4-8 March 291 Samuel 9-12 March 301 Samuel 13-14 March 311 Samuel 15-17 READINGS FOR APRIL 2021 April 11 Samuel 18-20 April 21 Samuel 21-24 April 31 Samuel 25-27 April 41 Samuel 28-31 April 52 Samuel 1-3 April 62 Samuel 4-7 April 72 Samuel 8-12 April 82 Samuel 13-15 April 92 Samuel 16-18 April 102 Samuel 19-21 April 112 Samuel 22-24 April 121 Kings 1-2 April 131 Kings 3-5 April 141 Kings 6-7 April 151 Kings 8-9 April 161 Kings 10-11 April 171 Kings 12-14 April 181 Kings 15-17 April 191 Kings 18-20 April 201 Kings 21-22 April 212 Kings 1-3 April 222 Kings 4-5 April 232 Kings 6-8 April 242 Kings 9-11 April 252 Kings 12-14 April 262 Kings 15-17 April 272 Kings 18-19 April 282 Kings 20-22 April 292 Kings 23-25 April 301 Chronicles 1-2 READINGS FOR MAY 2021 May 11 Chronicles 3-5 May 21 Chronicles 6 May 31 Chronicles 7-8 May 41 Chronicles 9-11 May 51 Chronicles 12-14 May 61 Chronicles 15-17 May 71 Chronicles 18-21 May 81 Chronicles 22-24 May 91 Chronicles 25-27 May 101 Chronicles 28-29, 2 Chronicles 1 May 112 Chronicles 2-5 May 122 Chronicles 6-8 May 132 Chronicles 9-12 May 142 Chronicles 13-17 May 152 Chronicles 18-20 May 162 Chronicles 21-24 May 172 Chronicles 25-27 May 182 Chronicles 28-31 May 192 Chronicles 32-34 May 202 Chronicles 35-36 May 21Ezra 1-3 May 22Ezra 4-7 May 23Ezra 8-10 May 24Nehemiah 1-3 May 25Nehemiah 4-6 May 26Nehemiah 7 May 27Nehemiah 8-9 May 28Nehemiah 10-11 May 29Nehemiah 12-13 May 30Esther 1-5 May 31Esther 6-10 READINGS FOR JUNE 2021 June 1Job 1-4 June 2Job 5-7 June 3Job 8-10 June 4Job 11-13 June 5Job 14-16 June 6Job 17-20 June 7Job 21-23 June 8Job 24-28 June 9Job 29-31 June 10Job 32-34 June 11Job 35-37 June 12Job 38-39 June 13Job 40-42 June 14Psalm 1-8 June 15Psalm 9-16 June 16Psalm 17-20 June 17Psalm 21-25 June 18Psalm 26-31 June 19Psalm 32-35 June 20Psalm 36-39 June 21Psalm 40-45 June 22Psalm 46-50 June 23Psalm 51-57 June 24Psalm 58-65 June 25Psalm 66-69 June 26Psalm 70-73 June 27Psalm 74-77 June 28Psalm 78-79 June 29Psalm 80-85 June 30Psalm 86-89 READINGS FOR JULY 2021 July 1Psalm 90-95 July 2Psalm 96-102 July 3Psalm 103-105 July 4Psalm 106-107 July 5Psalm 108-114 July 6Psalm 115-118 July 7Psalm 119:1-88 July 8Psalm 119:89-176 July 9Psalm 120-132 July 10Psalm 133-139 July 11Psalm 140-145 July 12Psalm 146-150 July 13Proverbs 1-3 July 14Proverbs 4-6 July 15Proverbs 7-9 July 16Proverbs 10-12 July 17Proverbs 13-15 July 18Proverbs 16-18 July 19Proverbs 19-21 July 20Proverbs 22-23 July 21Proverbs 24-26 July 22Proverbs 27-29 July 23Proverbs 30-31 July 24Ecclesiastes 1-4 July 25Ecclesiastes 5-8 July 26Ecclesiastes 9-12 July 27Song of Solomon 1-8 July 28Isaiah 1-4 July 29Isaiah 5-8 July 30Isaiah 9-12 July 31Isaiah 13-17 READINGS FOR AUGUST 2021 August 1Isaiah 18-22 August 2Isaiah 23-27 August 3Isaiah 28-30 August 4Isaiah 31-35 August 5Isaiah 36-41 August 6Isaiah 42-44 August 7Isaiah 45-48 August 8Isaiah 49-53 August 9Isaiah 54-58 August 10Isaiah 59-63 August 11Isaiah 64-66 August 12Jeremiah 1-3 August 13Jeremiah 4-6 August 14Jeremiah 7-9 August 15Jeremiah 10-13 August 16Jeremiah 14-17 August 17Jeremiah 18-22 August 18Jeremiah 23-25 August 19Jeremiah 26-29 August 20Jeremiah 30-31 August 21Jeremiah 32-34 August 22Jeremiah 35-37 August 23Jeremiah 38-41 August 24Jeremiah 42-45 August 25Jeremiah 46-48 August 26Jeremiah 49-50 August 27Jeremiah 51-52 August 28Lamentations 1-3:36 August 29Lamentations 3:37-5:22 August 30Ezekiel 1-4 August 31Ezekiel 5-8 READINGS FOR SEPTEMBER 2021 September 1Ezekiel 9-12 September 2Ezekiel 13-15 September 3Ezekiel 16-17 September 4Ezekiel 18-20 September 5Ezekiel 21-22 September 6Ezekiel 23-24 September 7Ezekiel 25-27 September 8Ezekiel 28-30 September 9Ezekiel 31-33 September 10Ezekiel 34-36 September 11Ezekiel 37-39 September 12Ezekiel 40-42 September 13Ezekiel 43-45 September 14Ezekiel 46-48 September 15Daniel 1-3 September 16Daniel 4-6 September 17Daniel 7-9 September 18Daniel 10-12 September 19Hosea 1-7 September 20Hosea 8-14 September 21Joel 1-3 September 22Amos 1-5 September 23Amos 6-9 September 24Obadiah 1, Jonah 1-4 September 25Micah 1-7 September 26Nahum 1-3 September 27Habakkuk 1-3, Zephaniah 1-3 September 28Haggai 1-2 September 29Zechariah 1-7 September 30Zechariah 8-14 READINGS FOR OCTOBER 2021 October 1Malachi 1-4 October 2Matthew 1-4 October 3Matthew 5-6 October 4Matthew 7-8 October 5Matthew 9-10 October 6Matthew 11-12 October 7Matthew 13-14 October 8Matthew 15-17 October 9Matthew 18-19 October 10Matthew 20-21 October 11Matthew 22-23 October 12Matthew 24-25 October 13Matthew 26 October 14Matthew 27-28 October 15Mark 1-3 October 16Mark 4-5 October 17Mark 6-7 October 18Mark 8-9 October 19Mark 10-11 October 20Mark 12-13 October 21Mark 14 October 22Mark 15-16 October 23Luke 1 October 24Luke 2-3 October 25Luke 4-5 October 26Luke 6-7 October 27Luke 8-9 October 28Luke 10-11 October 29Luke 12-13 October 30Luke 14-16 October 31Luke 17-18 READINGS FOR NOVEMBER 2021 November 1Luke 19-20 November 2Luke 21-22 November 3Luke 23-24 November 4John 1-2 November 5John 3-4 November 6John 5-6 November 7John 7-8 November 8John 9-10 November 9John 11-12 November 10John 13-15 November 11John 16-18 November 12John 19-21 November 13Acts 1-3 November 14Acts 4-6 November 15Acts 7-8 November 16Acts 9-10 November 17Acts 11-13 November 18Acts 14-15 November 19Acts 16-17 November 20Acts 18-20 November 21Acts 21-23 November 22Acts 24-26 November 23Acts 27-28 November 24Romans 1-3 November 25Romans 4-7 November 26Romans 8-10 November 27Romans 11-13 November 28Romans 14-16 November 291 Corinthians 1-4 November 301 Corinthians 5-8 READINGS FOR DECEMBER 2021 December 11 Corinthians 9-11 December 21 Corinthians 12-14 December 31 Corinthians 15-16 December 42 Corinthians 1-4 December 52 Corinthians 5-9 December 62 Corinthians 10-13 December 7Galatians 1-3 December 8Galatians 4-6 December 9Ephesians 1-3 December 10Ephesians 4-6 December 11Philippians 1-4 December 12Colossians 1-4 December 131 Thessalonians 1-5 December 142 Thessalonians 1-3 December 151 Timothy 1-6 December 162 Timothy 1-4 December 17Titus 1-3, Philemon 1 December 18Hebrews 1-6 December 19Hebrews 7-10 December 20Hebrews 11-13 December 21James 1-5 December 221 Peter 1-5 December 232 Peter 1-3 December 241 John 1-5 December 252 John 1, 3 John 1, Jude 1 December 26Revelation 1-3 December 27Revelation 4-8 December 28Revelation 9-12 December 29Revelation 13-16 December 30Revelation 17-19 December 31Revelation 20-22 In this new year, challenge yourself to study the Bible and strengthen your faith in the process. Tips on reading the Bible daily: • Start reading the Bible today. • Set aside a specific time and place each day. Set your schedule and then stick to it. Mornings are great; but feel free to use any time that works consistently with your schedule. • Get a good study Bible to help to illuminate the meaning of the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek text. • Choose a translation to use during your reading. • Say a short prayer to God before you begin, asking the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and understanding. • Dive in and enjoy the richness of God’s Word! Apply God’s Word to your life. Bible study should be practical and applicable. These seven steps will help you begin a journey in becoming a “lifelong learner” of God’s Word. |