 I believe the most meaningful thing to me over the past 27 years has been the opportunity to serve God's people. I've served God's people in the least communities, the small communities, small churches. Two Point Charge was my beginning and the memories of what happened there and how God took my life and made me to be the person that God wanted me to be for God's people. I think the most meaningful thing is learning how God will meet you wherever you are and God will strengthen you for the journey that is in front of you. My calling was and is to pastoral care. So the most meaningful thing in ministry to me has been the people, especially those who are hospitalized, those who are homebound, those who are in skilled nursing, to allow me to be God's presence with them, to pray with them, to touch them and the people who are dying, the families who invited me to be there in that high and holy moment, the people who allowed me to have that last prayer with them and to assure them that as they transitioned from this life and to God's beautiful life in heaven that God was there, and to most especially remind them that the love that God created between their loved one and the family individually and collectively is alive, God is love and that love lives. I think the fact that I got to be with people in some of the most difficult times of their life, going through when they have people that cross over the other side, when they're in sickness and just other family crises, I felt was a real honor and privilege. Also to be with people during great times of joy, the birth of children and doing weddings, those great celebrations. Probably like a lot of other folks, it's been the relationships that I've formed over the years that have meant the most to me, both with the people in the churches that I've served and with other clergy that I've served along with during those years as well. And saying goodbye to the people in the churches that I've served has been really hard but I wouldn't trade it for anything because of those relationships and friendships that I've been blessed to have over the years. I would have to say the body and soul ministry which is a ministry for feeding the homeless. It's been in place for 21 years now. I would say to the Ordinans that it's very important for them to get to know that they are called to be servants, that you are called to serve the people where you are not to be served yourself. I think it's important for them to know that God's word is a true word and that we can depend on what God has said to us in God's word. And if we can hold on and anchor ourselves in faith and if they can hold on to that faith no matter how dark the night, God will always be there. Well another of my mentors, Dr. John Ogden, taught me early on. He said don't forget that Sundays come around with a relentless regularity and if you're not prepared for that then you can quickly deplete yourself intellectually, spiritually because we're always giving so much to people not just on Sunday mornings but in all the other pastoral ministry, crisis ministry that we do. So he said to be sure that you always keep feeding yourself. You find whatever feeds you, those things, reading, prayer, worship, fellowship because we are offering people living water but we have to keep replenishing our own wells in order to have something to offer to people. I would say preach the word of God, live the word of God and trust the word of God. Give water to the thirsty, food to those who are hungry, visit the sick and the imprisoned. Be there for the people and in being there for the people be there for your family. They often are put second and they don't need to be and to be there for and take care of yourself because unless you were healthy and you were whole and you were fed how can you care for others? This work can be consuming and you need to take time to be with your family and refresh yourself. Bishop McKee came by as he's prone to do when you're here at a class at the conference center and he said it's very important that we do our due diligence when we're preparing our sermons that our congregations deserve that but he gave another pearl of wisdom that I thought was priceless. He said if you take care of your people they'll cut you a lot of slack in your preaching. I know that there are wonderfully talented and gifted people in the church here lay and clergy and I know that whatever the future holds they're going to continue to share the love of Christ with people. There will always be hungry people to be fed, naked people to be clothed, lost people to be offered the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ. My hope and my prayer for the North Texas conference and all the Methodism to remain faithful, to know that God is love, God created each individual, God created everyone. It's not our place to judge. It's our place to serve as God has called us to serve all people. Well I think in light of the things that are going on with the United Methodist Church at this time that the North Texas conference will take leadership in making adjustments that need to be made. I would pray also that it would happen rather quickly rather than the snail's pace that we tend to move on these types of things. We would strive to be one church for all people that we would eradicate racism and provide justice for all. Now my hope and my prayer and song is, God bless the United Methodist Church, a church we love so much, stand beside her and all our God through the night with your light from above. Amen. I believe that the North Texas conference can be a tremendous witness to a community and a world that is so broken. I love the diversity of the North Texas conference. I love the fact that we have large churches and small churches and that we haven't shut doors just because churches are tiny and struggling because I believe that a church in every place is very important. I believe that we have the great opportunity to really witness to change as our community changes and so my hope and dream for the North Texas conference is that we will continue to lift the ban of Christ high and continue to live into the love that we proclaim of Jesus Christ.