The highlights for November are:
The Pastors’ Wives weekend retreat was organized at Camp Wakonda. Cristina Grays, a chaplain coordinator from AdventHealth in Tampa, FL, was the guest speaker. Rozina Naftanaila and Laurella Case coordinated the event.
I attended the Adventist-laymen’s Services & Industries (ASI) Lake Union Conference (LUC) Committee on ZOOM. The church leaders and lay representatives coordinate the Chapter’s activity in our Union.
I presented the devotionals for the Week of Prayer at Petersen Adventist School in Columbus. I want to give special appreciation for both teachers, Tiffany Meulemans and Rick Blumenschein.
With Pastor Adam Case, I led the pastoral interface meetings in the Rhinelander and Superior districts. As a result, Eric Anderson and Jeff Veldman were accepted as the new pastors in those districts, starting on January 1st, 2023.
Pastor Adam Case and I interviewed several undergraduate students at Andrews University for potential pastoral openings in our conference.
On November 11-12, we coordinated the Spiritual Retreat/Orientation/Business Meeting for the newly elected Executive Committee. The guest speakers, Dr. Calvin Watkins, Vice President of the North American Division, and Rodney Schwark from the General Conference Auditing Service, presented seminars on board members’ responsibilities. In a short business meeting, all the committees and ministry coordinators were voted on, as well as other administrative and financial matters.
The conference administrators, directors, select ministry coordinators, and treasury staff attended the LUC year-end meetings. Seminars, training for respective departments, and advisories provided an abundance of information and inspiration for the success of our ministry in our conference. The Board of Education and Executive Committee culminated the four-day retreat.
Hispanic Advisory was an excellent opportunity for our committee to celebrate God’s miracles in the Hispanic ministry all over Wisconsin. We are blessed to have our brothers and sisters as part of our Wisconsin Conference family.
The calendar for 2023 is updated on the conference website. You can check there to see the most important events that will happen in our conference.
Pastor Justin Spady was the main presenter for the Leadership Cohort. This is a monthly ZOOM forum for pastors and lay pastors. The main topic was: “Leading Like Jesus.” Excellent discussion followed the presentation.
I had the privilege to join the Milwaukee area pastoral families for their holiday dinner. We are grateful to have all of them as part of our pastoral team in Wisconsin.
Pastor Case and I met with the La Crosse district to discuss the future of the pastoral position in the district. Pastor Pedro Louis, the interim pastor, was proposed and accepted by the district and the personnel committee to fill this position.
November is a special month for family reunions and Thanksgiving. I am grateful to God for our church family in Wisconsin and the numerous divine blessings we experienced in 2022.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Titus Naftanaila, president