This is where you’ll find the archives of the South District Superintendent’s notes for the Conference-wide newsletter.
by Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist & Superintendent See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early...
by Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist & Superintendent “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your elders shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” ~Joel 2:28~ Since I became...
by Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist & Superintendent It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood A beautiful day for a neighbor Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won't you be my neighbor? As a preschool television viewer in the 1970’s, I...
By Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist & Superintendent Joy, Compassion. Innovation. Three qualities I have written about in my last three newsletter articles, and three qualities that I hope define the South District. I want my church to be...
Marine Sergeant Nicole Gee, age 23, died in an August 26th airport attack in Afghanistan, along with at least 12 other U.S. soldiers and at least 90 Afghans. A few days before, Sergeant Gee posted a photo of herself assisting Afghani refugees boarding a plane, desperate to escape the violence in their country. A week prior to the attack, Sergeant Gee posted a photo of herself holding an Afghani baby. “I love my job,” Sergeant Gee wrote under the photo.
by Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist and Superintendent A year ago, I was participating in the United Methodist Church’s online training camp for new District Superintendents in the United States. Our meetings went for five days from 6-9 am...
(Scroll to the bottom to find resources on Safe Sanctuaries) By Rev. Matt Ashley, South District Missional Strategist and Superintendent Does your church have a Safe Sanctuaries policy to protect children, youth and vulnerable adults who participate in your...
Last week my wife Felida and I were blessed to receive the first dose of a Covid vaccine. After more than a year of waiting, a slight prick of a needle launched our immune systems’ defenses against a horrible disease. We have one more dose to receive but by early May we’ll enjoy the full measure of the vaccine’s protection. That doesn’t mean we’ll go all the way back to life as usual. Felida and I will continue to wear masks and keep a safe distance from others in public until the science says that vaccinated persons no longer need to do so. We believe that loving our neighbors means giving up some freedoms to make sure we’re not being asymptomatic carriers who pass the virus on to someone else.
We are in a season of waiting. Maybe God is teaching us patience as we learn to be thankful for what is rather than lamenting what is not. There is goodness to be experienced, and there is good to do. Our churches are gathering in new and different ways, and servant leaders across our district and the Desert Southwest Conference continue to share the light and love of Jesus Christ with the world.
Recently GM announced a major shift in corporate strategy; the automaker plans to go all electric, phasing out production of gasoline-powered automobiles by 2035. Even in the last few years the company was advocating for environmental regulations to be relaxed, but GM’s leadership believes that electric vehicles are the future, and they want to be ahead of the curve. The world is changing, and the automaker is adapting too.
