09/29/2026
A Message from Pastor Jordan
On Saturday, September 27, the combined Conferences of North and South Georgia met to ratify the way we are going to unify into the Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. It was mostly a business meeting, but there are a couple of moments I want to point out.
First, the new district lines were revealed, and churches were able to locate where they are now going to be located in this new Conference. Embry Hills is moving east, as our new district is going to include Athens and Washington. What stuck out to me was the naming of the new districts. The districts are all going to be named for the primary river that runs through the district. Ours is the Oconee district, but the other seven are the Etowah, Ocmulgee, Ogeechee, Altamaha, Flint, Chattahoochee, and Tallapoosa. I really like this name because we are a connectional church, and what better image is there of connection across time and geography than a river? The rivers give us life-giving water, reminding us of the waters of baptism, the river of life.
The other moment came from Bishop Dease’s sermon. She quoted a minister she met in England who said, your church is now David, when it used to be Goliath (referencing how our church has gotten smaller through disaffiliation and acknowledging that the UMC has waned in influence and power in our country). Then the minister asked, now the choice is before you: which David are you going to be? The David who humbled himself before God and stood up to giants? Or the David who became Goliath? I have been sitting with this question in my own discernment for quite some time, thinking about the history of Embry Hills and our surrounding community. In many churches, we will hear stories about what we used to be, and its usually coupled with lament that we used to be big, and powerful. But the question in front of us is, now that we are David, which David are we going to become?
With this in mind, and all of the changes going on around us, we are going to enter into a time of discernment as we approach our own church’s 65th anniversary. On October 11, we will have a time of listening and sharing facilitated by an expert in guiding churches through these conversations. This will happen just after worship, and I hope people will make it a point to attend. Please reach out to me if you have any thoughts or questions about it, but the question in front of us is: “What kind of church is God calling us to become?”
Peace,
Pastor Jordan
