I wish my dad, Rev. Thomas J. Scahill, Sr. could have been at this opening session. He loved the world-wide reach of the Methodist Church and taught me to be very aware that we are part of an international movement. He would have blubbered, as did I, when the member churches came into the auditorium with their banners, demonstrating how John Wesley has affected the world. We sang Charles Wesley’s , A Thousand Tongues in 1000 tongues! Then we prayed the Lord’s Prayer in our “heart” language. What a great sound.
Two choirs sang, both wonderful, but I was especially looking forward to the Africa (Methodist) University choir and they were lively and inspiring. We hope they perform for our group when we are in Mutare, Zimbawe next week. Marilyn loved it when it was announced that a young women from her home town of Corning, New York designed the beautiful logo for the conference. The theme: Jesus Christ: For the Healing of the Nations. Dr. John Barrett, President of the Council and a British pastor, gave an outstanding sermon on the outreach of our denomination. There was a new wrinkle with the presence of the General Secretary of the African Muslim League who asked to come and greet us acknowledging that we descend from the same roots of the Abrahamic faith. Those who think all Muslims are terrorists need to hear this man speak.
We look forward to the rest of the Conference with anticipation!
Joe
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