Each year many churches observe Reformation Day on October 31st<\/sup>\u00a0or the preceding Sunday, remembering the day Martin Luther first made his 95 theses public in 1517.\u00a0As we approach the fall and look toward the 500th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of this event, I encourage United Methodists everywhere to mark this occasion throughout the month of October with study, prayer, and joint worship with ecumenical partners.\u00a0You may wish to commemorate this anniversary in one of the following ways:<\/p>\n These are but a few suggestions from among many ways you might wish to honor this occasion.\u00a0As a support to the organizing of these kinds of activities please find a list of planning, study, and worship resources appended to this letter.<\/p>\n As a body of believers born out of an ongoing movement for reformation and renewal, we Methodists should not let this moment pass by without marking its significance.\u00a0I hope you will join me in remembering the events that sparked the reformation with thanksgiving, repentance and hope.<\/p>\n Sincerely, Reformation 500 Resources<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n General<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Reformation 500 Sourcebook: Anniversary Resources for Congregations<\/a>\u00a0(Resources for planning Reformation commemoration)<\/p>\n Living and Growing into Full Communion: A model for local celebrations, formation and theological reflection<\/a>\u00a0(Guide for bringing together ELCA and UMC churches for worship and learning about each other\u2019s traditions)<\/p>\n Reconciled with One Another: An Ecumenical Statement by the General Assembly of the Council of Christian Churches in Germany on the 500th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of the Reformation<\/a>(available in English and German)<\/p>\n Celebrating the 500th<\/sup>\u00a0Anniversary of the Reformation in 2017<\/a>, by The Evangelical Church in Germany<\/p>\n Websites:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Freed & Renewed in Christ: 500 Years of God\u2019s Grace in Action<\/a>, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Commemoration Planning Resources, Study and Educational Resources, News and Events)<\/p>\n Lutheran World Federation, Reformation 2017<\/a>\u00a0(News, Events, Study Booklets available in English, French, German and Spanish)<\/p>\n Reformation Basics<\/a>, Fortress Press (Interactive Educational Resources, Timelines, Maps, Videos, Quizzes, and Introductory Information)<\/p>\n Reformation Notes<\/a>, Candler School of Theology, Kessler Reformation Collection (Newsletter, Events and Exhibits)<\/p>\n Reformation 500 Resources<\/a>, Metropolitan New York Synod, ELCA<\/p>\n Books, Study Guides, Educational Resources<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n October 31, 1517: Martin Luther and the Day That Changed the World<\/a>, by Martin E. Marty (Short introductory text, good for book group or small group study)<\/p>\n 40-Day Journey with Martin Luther<\/a>, edited by Gracia Grindal (Devotions, Small Group Reflections)<\/p>\n Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses: With Introduction, Commentary, and Study Guide<\/a>\u00a0by Timothy J. Wengert (Primary text with Study Guide)<\/p>\n Revisiting the 95 Theses Today, Leader\u2019s Guide<\/a>, by Jonathan Linman (presentation guide and discussion questions, based on above Wengert text)<\/p>\n From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017<\/a>, by the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (available in English, Finnish, French, German, Polish, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Hungarian, and Arabic)<\/p>\n From Conflict to Communion Study Guide<\/a><\/p>\n Together by Grace: Introducing the Lutherans,<\/a>\u00a0ed. by Robert Farlee\u00a0and\u00a0Kathryn A. Kleinhans<\/p>\n The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction<\/a>, by Peter Marshall (Short introductory text, good for book group or small group study)<\/p>\n Martin Luther: A Very Short Introduction<\/a>, by Scott H. Hendrix (Short introductory text, good for book group or small group study)<\/p>\n Liturgical Resources:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Joint Common Prayer Lutheran\u2013Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017<\/a>(Can be adapted for use with wider denominational focus, available in English, Spanish, French, German, and Dutch)<\/p>\n Reformation Day Liturgical Resources from Discipleship Ministries of The UMC<\/a><\/p>\n Service of Prayer for Christian Unity<\/a>, Council of Christian Churches in Germany (available in English and German)<\/p>\n Reformation Day Lectionary Resources<\/a>, by textweek.com<\/p>\n Youth and Children\u2019s Resources<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Luther Learns from Paul: The 500th<\/sup>\u00a0Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation<\/a>, (Free lesson for October 29th<\/sup>, 2017 for ages 5-10)<\/p>\n The Protestant Reformation: Youth and Young Adults<\/a>, (5 session introductory history curriculum)<\/p>\n Movies\/Videos:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Luther and the Reformation<\/a>, by Rick Steves<\/p>\n Martin Luther: The Idea That Changed the World<\/a><\/p>\n Luther (Biopic)<\/a><\/p>\n Martin Luther (Documentary)<\/a>, by PBS (parts 1 and 2 available to\u00a0stream online here<\/a>)<\/p>\n About the Council of Bishops<\/strong> To All Members and Clergy of The United Methodist Church: Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ!\u00a0This year marks a significant moment in the life of whole Christian Church: the 500th\u00a0anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.\u00a0Already the year has been punctuated by moments of commemoration across the world.\u00a0Churches from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":12915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[449,32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15824","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-conference","8":"category-news"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/crest.jpg?fit=1100%2C574&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-47e","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15824"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15828,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15824\/revisions\/15828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n![\"Bishop](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdnfiles.umc.org\/Website_Properties\/who-we-are\/images\/_pm-cache\/bishop-watson-sig-200x35.png?resize=200%2C35\")
\nBishop B. Michael Watson
\nEcumenical Officer \u2013 Council of Bishops
\nThe United Methodist Church<\/p>\n
\n
\nThe Council of Bishops provides leadership and helps set the direction of the 12.3 million-member church and its mission throughout the world. The bishops are the top clergy leaders of The United Methodist Church, the second largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. The Council of Bishops is made up of all active and retired bishops of The United Methodist Church, and comprises 45 active bishops in the United States; 20 active bishops in Europe, Asia and Africa; plus 87 retired bishops worldwide.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"