South District - Arkansas Conference

06/28/2024

Southeast District please like and follow the South District page at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/www.swdist.arumc.org?mibextid=ZbWKwL

The South District of the Arkansas United Methodist Church Conference

06/23/2024

Annual Conference was the BEST, where the breath of the Holy Spirit rested upon us and gave us peace and love for one another! We had CHURCH!

06/16/2024

We are so grateful for our Southern Arkansas fathers! You are the best! Thank you for your love and care for your biological family, church family, friends and neighbors. You are amazing and we are grateful for your kingdom work! Enjoy your day and know that you are appreciated very much. Blessings! Rev Edna, your DS

06/11/2024

Thank you very much, Southeast and Southwest Districts for a lovely Retirement Celebration yesterday. A special thanks to Rev Judy Rudd and the Lakeside UMC Family for hosting the event and for housing our SE District Office during this conference year. Words cannot express my joy in being your DS. I am grateful for your amazing gifts, including the monetary contributions in my honor to the SED Wesley Foundations. Your kingdom work has been outstanding. Blessings and love. Rev Edna, your DS for a few more weeks.

06/10/2024

My youngest daughter, Teresa, and two of my grandchildren, Noah and Nicole, attended the 100th Celebration of the Portland UMC yesterday. Rev Toby Austin and several members welcomed us with caring handshakes and smiles. Bishop Merrill preached from Gen 11, the passage about the Tower of Babel and the scattering of the languages. Maybe God did this so that we can with intentionality explore, create, and embrace people who are different from us, for example, people who speak different languages, look different, have different traditions, come from different backgrounds. God loves diversity. Bishop Merrill painted a lovely picture of collage making, where an artist takes different pictures from magazines to create a beautiful picture, just as God takes a variety of people to make a unified community of believers who can change the world by loving each other and embracing each others differences. She explained how racism and injustices, can breakdown the Body of Christ. She encouraged us to be people of hope. There is hope in the word of God and God is calling us to welcome new generations in our churches. God’s thing is always “love.” We are called to love others as we love ourselves. We are called to create community with our neighbors. We need to work harder to understand each other. God is taking our collage pieces and working on a new arrangement. God sees new value, new purpose and resources for those we have never reached before by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is bringing our neighbors and us together to create new art, reconnecting those scattered and torn together into new wholeness by our Creator God. The God Artist is at work. Let’s look with new lenses at ourselves and see this fresh expression coming together that is bringing joy to hearts and lives. Good word, Bishop. Thank you Portland Church Family for the inspiring worship service and fellowship meal in celebration of 100 years in your beautiful church. Blessings to all. Rev Edna, your current DS.

06/09/2024

Just a reminder of District Superintendent Rev. Edna Morgan's Retirement Party this Sunday, June 9th! All are welcome!

06/07/2024

I am so grateful for the Arkansas United Methodist. I am a cradle Methodist and still in love with this loving, caring, compassionate, giving church. Yesterday, I enjoyed the Pastoral in Transition Workshop at our Methodist Foundation. Zach and UC led our tag team opening prayer and greeting, Roy Beth, new DS of the NW District gave the devotional as we remembered our calls repeating “Here, I am, send me,” followed by Bishop Laura Merrill leading the beautiful remembrance of our baptism during which time we each put our hands in the blessed water and carried a cross with us back to our seats. Worship was wonderful. Following that amazing time, we heard from young and seasoned pastors about transitioning well. Last, we heard from Amy and Jeremy about opportunities to be a part of the new thing God is doing in our midst, cooperative parishes and one more question cohorts. We can no longer do church the same way. God is calling us to partner with our neighbors as we make the world a better place right in the cities where God has planted us that the kingdom may come upon the earth as it is in heaven. Praise, God, for a lovely, spirit filled day of learning and fellowship! Blessings to all!

05/30/2024

05/16/2024

I love visiting our UM churches. Last Sunday my daughter, Teresa, and her two kiddos, Noah and Nicole, worshipped with Rev Matt Daniels and the Crossett FUMC Family. Pastor Matt did a wonderful job inspiring all of us to purpose within our hearts, minds, and souls to be the best we can be because Jesus gave all so we can lead abundant lives. The sermon title was, “An interesting question” from John 1:35-42, where Jesus asked the two disciples who followed him, “What do you want?” When we are young we may want a sports car or more money, etc. As we grow older and hopefully more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we want to help Jesus create shalom for those living in the margins, we want peace in the Middle East, and love that sacrifices time and resources for the lost; in other words, we want what Jesus wants and we know that by learning at BS and SS and in personal and corporate times as we study God’s Holy Word and put our faith into action helping those whom God has assigned to us for such a time as this. I thought Pastor Matt’s sermon was of great benefit to all of us, the young and the old. What do you want from Jesus? It would be great if what we wanted is to share our stories of what Jesus has done for us, pointing others to our Saviour. Good Word! Blessings to all! Rev Edna, your DS.