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Praying Together, Giving Together

April 14, 2026 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7 

Dear Colleagues in Ministry, 

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Risen Christ. 

District Online Pastoral Leaders Gatherings 

I write with a grateful heart. When I invited us to gather each week, just thirty minutes, online, in prayer with your Superintendent, I knew how full your calendars already were. Ministry is demanding, and the needs before you rarely pause. And still, more of you are showing up. 

Your reflections reveal the gift this is becoming: “Beginning the day in prayer equipped me for what came next.” “Hearing others pray draws me into prayer.” And this: “This is modeling how to do this with others.” 

Jesus prayed with his disciples. Prayer was not preparation for his ministry; prayer was his ministry. “Very early in the morning… Jesus got up and prayed.” (Mark 1:35) 

This is the pattern we are choosing together. 

I invite you—not as a directive, but as part of our covenant—to make this a steady commitment. Join your district’s weekly online prayer gathering unless you are truly prevented, because a community of leaders who pray together depends on our presence. 

You can contact your district office for day/time for your district’s prayer time.  

Miracle Sunday One-Time Offering 

Over the past few months, I have been inviting leaders and congregations across our episcopal area to participate in the Miracle Sunday offering. This initiative responds to a significant global leadership gap: while more than 70% of U.S. clergy hold a theological degree, fewer than 5% of clergy outside the United States do. This disparity affects pastoral formation, congregational vitality, and the future of our worldwide connection. 

By uniting in prayer and generous giving, we can strengthen theological schools in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines and to equip emerging pastors for generations to come.  

I pray that every pastoral leader in the Susquehanna and Upper New York Area will give generously to the Miracle Sunday offering. Not out of obligation, but with gratitude for all those who invested in our own calling, formation, and ministry. What matters most is that all of us participate and encourage our congregations to do the same. Each gift, offered with joy and according to capacity, becomes part of something far greater than any of us could accomplish alone. 

You can learn more about the Miracle Sunday Offering here.  

I am grateful we are together on this journey,  

Bishop Héctor A. Burgos-Núñez
The United Methodist Church   
Serving the Susquehanna and Upper New York Episcopal Area