 Happy New Year! Now you're probably wondering why I would wish you a happy new year in the middle of the summer. But July 1 is New Year's Day for United Methodist congregations and their pastors. At a recent meeting of the annual conference, I've pointed clergy to their places of service for the coming year, and that year does begin on July 1. So most churches will be welcoming the return of their pastors. Their pastors will be serving where they've been serving, but some of our congregations will be welcoming a new pastor, and it's the day in which pastors will come to their places of service. Whatever the situation may be in your congregation or in your life as a pastor, whether you're returning to the place where you've been serving or you're going to a new place, I hope, dream and pray that United Methodist pastors and congregations in the North Texas Conference will understand that they are in a partnership, a partnership about what it means to be a ministry to the mission field in the North Texas Conference. So you see yourselves as partners with each other, and most importantly, partners with our God to reach people for Jesus Christ in the North Texas Conference. May you have a blessed New Year. Happy New Year to all of you.