Building Up Hope
"Building Up Hope" is the theme of the 29th Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth will be November 18 and 19 at the City of Hurst Conference Center, 1601 Campus Drive, Hurst, 76054.
It comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:10-12.
9-11God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.
12-13And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!
Specific plans for the convention are in process now. Discussions include ways to organize the convention around, as Executive Council member Jackie Meeks put it, "faith building." At their May meeting, Executive Council members suggested that the non-business parts of the convention should be designed to support and enhance the ministry of the diocese – to be an additional expression of the work being done by our parishes and missions. It also was suggested that convention would be a good time to recognize the "heroes" among us, the largely unsung saints who day in and day out go about the work of the church.
So stay tuned – this is shaping up to be a different kind of convention than this diocese has seen before.