LA Now! - July 11, 2008

VOL. 9, NO. 12 JULY 11,2008BATON ROUGE, LA NON-PROFIT U. S. POSTAGE PAIDBATON ROUGE,LA PERMIT#575 527NorthBlvd. BatonRouge,LA 70802-5700 A Sanctifying Laity Ordinands / 7 First UMC - Slidell / 5 Friendship Plaza / 8 See Address, page 2 Reaching more people, more diverse people, and younger people—as we face the future, these are major focuses of The United Methodist Church. The members of the 2008 ordinand class of elders for the Louisiana Annual Conference seem to reflect those three ambitions especially well. In a class of 11 elders, five are women, one of them expecting a baby. Two of the newly ordained elders hail from Africa, and three others are African American. One class member was born in China and another in Puerto Rico. Rev. Juan Huertas is 29 years old, and most members of the class are in their 30’s and 40’s. “The makeup of this group is an indication of the new age in which we live. The Diversity reflected in 2008 ordinand class of elders See Ordinands, page 7 The public is invited! Dedication of New Pavillion at The Wesley Center July 26 at 12 noon (followed by lunch) Reservations for lunch may be made by calling (318) 449-4500 Bishop Hutchinson, Provost Cottrill, Secretary Rhoads, Members, Guests and Friends of the Louisiana Annual Conference, and my brothers and sisters in Christ: On this occasion of the last Annual Conference in the quadrennium, a General Conference year in which it was the turn of the first-elected lay delegate to head the delegation, it is my honor to bring to you both the traditional laity address and a report on General Conference. Many of the officers and at-large members of the Board of Laity are completing their terms of service this year. As was announced at the laity session yesterday, donations have been made to the 1000 Club and the DaughenbaughMatheny Scholarship Fund in their honor, and in recognition of their service on the board. However, I would like to take this opportunity to ask all of the outgoing, continuing and new officers and members of the Board of Laity to stand, so that the Annual Conference may recognize your leadership and service. The theme of this year’s Annual Conference is “Sanctifying Grace,” what John Wesley also called “Christian perfection” — the process of spiritual transformation by which we are “filled with the fullness of God,” to the end that God’s “humble, gentle, patient love…(rules) our tempers, words and actions,” and our lives are fully dedicated to Him. We as United Methodists recognize that this process of transformation is not just for our personal sanctification and salvation, but also empowers, enables and equips us to 2008 Laity Address of Buzzy Anding Tuesday, June 2, 2008 BY BETTY BACKSTROM