North East District DS, Rev. Dr. Simon Osunlana, Visits the Wesley Dinner Club

On Thursday, September 18th, Memorial hosted its monthly Wesely Dinner Club in Maxwell Hall, the monthly night of great food and insightful conversation.

The evening began with an incredible catered meal and good connection and conversation at the tables.

The guest speaker for the evening was the new District Superintendent for the North East District, Rev. Dr. Simon Osunlana. Pastor Charlie asked him to tell a bit about himself and the joyful Osunlana took the audience on a lighthearted and insightful trip from his unique childhood experiences in Nigeria to is education in America and work in the Florida Conference.

Rev. Dr. Osunlana was born and raised in NIgeria, He is one of 7 children and has a twin sister. He was raised in the church and never expected to be a pastor. While he was going to school to be a doctor, he had a significant call from God which he calls his "rebirth". He remembers hearing God's voice tell him that, "I am calling you to be a preacher of MY word." When he approached his senior pastor at his church after hearing that call from God, his senior pastor said, "I have been waiting for you." Simon felt everyone around him knew he was called to be a pastor, even when he didn't.

With persistence and the help of church members in NIgeria, Simon completed his studies and came to America to study at Wake Forrest University. It was during one of his assigned Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) settings that brought him to Florida. He worked in a Hospice program in Orlando and felt very called to be in that unique setting. His work there began his career with the Florida Conference as a senior pastor and district superintendent.

When asked what his hopes were for the churches in the North East District, Simon said simply, "I hope we can return to the way the Church began in Acts: The Bible says they were together, had fellowship, read Scripture, and they prayed."

"I do not want us (United Methodists in the Florida Conference) to be known as a 'liberal' or 'conservative' Church or as a 'black' or 'white' Church, but as a 'LOVE' Church. A Church that loves." Simon challenged the focus of the local church to be on Scripture, fellowship, prayer, and generosity. To be a church where, "everybody is somebody." He spoke about the importance of invitation and reclaiming "evangelism", which many people seem to have a fear of. "If we don't share what we have, no one will appreciate who we are, " Simon reminded the group. "If we don't work together, we won't be able to capture all that God is trying to do through us."

He also challenged the group to renew the practice of bringing their Bibles to worship and studies each week. "Those Bibles in the pews are for visitors, not you. Bring your personal Bible and take notes in it about what you hear and learn." Rev. Dr. Sunlana brought a message of encouragement, hope, and purpose to the group at the Wesley Dinner Club. If you are interested in meeting Simon, he will be presiding over Memorial's yearly Charge Conference on October 19th at Riverside park UMC in Jacksonville at 3:00PM.