Renew by Moderator Mark Flory Steury

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” —Psalm 51:10 

“Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we might be restored.” —Lamentations 5:21

“Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” —Romans 12:2

Renew. “Renew” is a powerful word. It speaks to us of healing, restoration, beginning anew. As Christians, we long for renewal. We long for our relationship to God to be refreshed- to feel a new sense of closeness to God. As churches, we also long for renewal. The scriptures tell us that God is always open to restoring God’s relationship with us. That is the theme throughout the Old Testament and comes to fullest completion through Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

During district conference this year we are going to focus on the word “renew”. We will be hearing stories about how individuals and congregations are experiencing renewal. Many thanks to the Mt. Morris Church of the Brethren and Pinecrest Community for hosting this year’s conference. I hope you can come and join us for worship Friday evening and the business session on Saturday. I pray that the weekend will be a time of renewal for all of us!

Mark Flory Steury - Moderator