UM Connections

I saw a story called "Connectional system ‘works’ in recovery, pastors say" today on the United Methodist News Service. The connectional system is one of my favorite things about the UMC. It is such a powerful system for all involved.

For disasters like Katrina, there is already a system of support. Pastors generally know each other fairly well within their conference so they know who they can contact for help and they know who they need to get in contact with to make sure they are ok. It is easy for churches to donate to UMCOR to provide finical assistance. And VIM is already getting ready to send teams to the Gulf coast.

It is also powerful for the support it provides for pastors. They have connections through annual conference and are guaranteed to see each other at least once a year. I have been in enough ministry situations to know how lonely ministry can be sometimes if you don't have someone else who understands. This gives ministers connections to someone who understands. They have people they know and can go to for support when they are struggling.

It is also nice when working on big projects. It just gives the churches a built in sense of connection that seems to make working together easier. It also works wonderfully for groups like Project Transformation. It helps to connect the churches with more resources with the churches that have few resources. It gives them a connection to work through.

Sure, there are problems with politics and such, but in all, it really is a good system and generally does give and amazing sense of connection!