From Rev. Philip Rhodes:

Literally thousands of people attended the opening worship service for General Conference Wednesday evening. There were people from more than 50 countries celebrating the risen Christ at what was perhaps one of the most powerful conference-style worship experiences I have ever witnessed. The theme of the worship service was hope. The wooden altar and pulpit were fashioned out of debris from a Methodist church on the Mississippi Gulf Coast destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The message from Bishop Janice Huie invited us all to reclaim the power of the the deep meaning of what hope really is.

"Hope has gotten a little flabby, like muscles without exercise," she said. "Hope has become a marshmallow word that sounds soft, looks sweet and appealing, but get it close to the fire, and hope melts off the stick and drips to the ground.

"[The Apostle] Paul was not describing that kind of hope.

"Resurrection hope transforms lives; transformed lives transform the world!"

The music was fabulous. Particularly moving was the singing of a hymn sandwiched between a wonderful spiritual from Africa, complete with the power of African drums. Our choir, under the direction of Rev. Greg Shapley, performed prior to the service and also during worship in concert with several other choirs from the metroplex.

I have tried to process what was so moving about this experience. Was it the thousands of people gathered from all reaches of the earth? Was it the theme and message? Was it the music? Was it the image of redemption in the pulpit and altar? I can only surmise that "yes" is the answer to all of these questions.

My prayer for the General Conference is that the business of the church will be as uplifting and unified as its opening worship.