Here is the format of our AC Address 2023

First Part – This will include your greetings and our theme verse
“ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and
thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything
we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT – you can elaborate this, then proceed with your greetings.
You can include this - During this moment in our denomination we need more prayers and trust
in the process of our Lord Jesus – this shall pass and we will thrive together.

Second Part – Review of the AC – Activities, Programs, Accomplishments, Future of the

Church (Your visions, plans)
1. What are the activities you organized and accomplished during the conference year?
2. What are the challenges you incurred?
3. You may highlight the best accomplishments for the year
4. How do you see the Church after the GenCon 2024?
5. What are your plans for the next conference year?

Third Part – Words of Encouragement for all

The online community and some of our members are aware of what is going on in our beloved
The United Methodist Church. We are on the brink of divisions and splintering. Disaffiliations
and misinformation are already happening.

Our upcoming General Conference 2024 will surely talk about the issues of the Church
especially the language of marriage in our 2016 Book Discipline and the Ordination of self-
avowed practicing Homosexuals.

Given these problems that we have and that we will have in the future, our Lord Jesus is the only
one who can help us solve all these. We need to trust Him. We need His Holy Spirit to guide us
and give us the right wisdom, the discernment. We should always access Him through prayers.
He has all the answers. And in His timetable, everything will happen accordingly, we just have
to trust Him.
Let me encourage you by the words of Apostle Paul in Romans 8:28,

And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love
God and are called according to his purpose for them.

God is causing everything to happen according to His plan for the good of those who love Him,
obey Him, and are called with His purpose. Isn’t it amazing that God sees us and He knows
what’s happening in our denomination?

The Prophet Isaiah wrote in Chapter 55:8-9

8 
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD.
     “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
     so my ways are higher than your ways
     and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

God’s wisdom is immeasurable and our minds cannot comprehend His ways because He is truly
all-knowing and all-powerful. Now that we are in these challenging times in our denomination, I
encourage you to cling to the Lord. Never stop praying for our Church, ministries, and
leadership. I still believe that the God whom John Wesley met and felt in Aldersgate Street in
London is the same God that we have now. May our hearts be strangely warmed. May our minds
be renewed. May our Spirits be revived. So that we will be able to reclaim what God has
planned and promised – Deuteronomy 30:3-5, then the Lord your God will restore your
fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has
scattered you. 4 Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth,[a] the Lord your God
will gather you from there and bring you back again. 5 The Lord your God will return you to
the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will
make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!

Before I end this Address, may I invite you to stand and pray with me the covenant prayer
written by John Wesley to reclaim, renew, and revive our hearts, minds, and Spirit.

“I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.”

Steven Mankar wrote…

“When we pray this prayer we remember that we are baptized. We renounce the spiritual
forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sin. We accept the
freedom and power God gives to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they
present themselves. We confess Jesus Christ as our Savior, trust wholeheartedly in his grace,
and promise to serve him as Lord, in union with the church. And we renew our promise to live
as faithful members of Christ's church and serve as his representatives in the world.

The Covenant Prayer describes missional life devoted to following Jesus and serving as
Christ's representative in the world he loves and is working to redeem. It tells us that being a
Christian is more a way of life than a system of beliefs. The Covenant Prayer describes the
Jesus’ way of self-giving and self-emptying love.”

To end, let me quote Bishop Rodel Acdal’s words in his pastoral letter released on March 17,
2023…

“I call upon every United Methodist lay member, clergy, and deaconess in the Baguio
Episcopal Area and the Philippines Central Conference to remain steadfast in their faith and
continue in their respective ministries in the midst of these challenges. We cannot allow
further divisions in our beloved Church which groomed, nurtured and where we offered our
lives in the service of Christ. Let us continue the journey together empowered by our Triune God
who is always with us. Let us all pray for God’s leading.”

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.