In this episode of The Louisiana NOW podcast, we are joined by Dr. Carla Cardoza, President of Lydia Patterson Institute and Bishop Delores J. Williamston. In a powerful response to an unfolding immigration crisis affecting the Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI), the Council on Finance and Administration of The Louisiana Conference, in partnership with the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana, announced a $240,000 gift to support the El Paso-based United Methodist school.

The decision was made in an immediate series of meetings following emotional scenes at the 2025 Annual Conference, where LPI President Dr. Carla Cardoza broke down in tears during her address. Dr. Cardoza had just received news that the U.S. Consulate would no longer schedule visa interviews for students. It's a decision that could prevent 30% of LPI’s student body from attending school this fall.

Please call, write, or email your local, state, and federal officials. Urge them to restore access to student visa interviews and support educational institutions like LPI that stand at the intersection of faith, education, and opportunity. Lives are being shaped at LPI—let your voice be part of the story.

We continue to preview the 2025 Annual Conference. In this episode, we talk more about the Strategic Implementation Team. We are joined by Associate Lay Leader, Susie Cox and Rev. Dr. Van Stinson, Assistant to the Bishop.

We learn more about the SIT Team, what it is and what they've been up to this year. Formed in 2024 under the guidance of Bishop Delores J. Williamston, the Strategic Implementation Team is a key component of the conference's mission to adapt and thrive in changing times.

The team's formation followed a comprehensive Organizational Review, which identified key areas for strategic reorganization to better align the conference’s resources with its mission.

In this episode of the Louisiana NOW podcast, we’re joined by Bishop Delores J. Williamston as she reflects on the theme of JOY, a guiding focus for the 2025 Annaul Conference. Bishop Williamston shares how joy is not only a personal source of strength but also a collective call for the Church in a time of healing, rebuilding, and hope.

We also catch up with the Bishop fresh off her journey to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. She gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the pilgrimage—what it was like to walk where Jesus walked, the moments that moved her most, and how the experience will shape her leadership in the months ahead.

Join us for an inspiring conversation filled with laughter, deep insights, and a renewed sense of direction for the road ahead.

Our guest speaker for the 2025 Annuall Conference is Rev. F. Douglas Powe, Jr., PhD. In this episode, we learn more about him, and what he will share with us during his time at Annual Conference. Learn more about how it's time to re-examine John Wesley's model of evangelism as a full, natural circle, where it's a communal beginning point rather than a solitary end.

Dr. Powe is the President of Phillips Theological Seminary. Powe comes to Phillips from Wesley Theological Seminary, where he served as director of The Lewis Center for Church Leadership and the James C. Logan Chair in Evangelism (an E. Stanley Jones Professorship).

Powe is an ordained elder in the Baltimore/Washington Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He received his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1987, his MDiv from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in 1998, and his PhD from Emory University in 2004.

• Books:
  
  Transforming Evangelism: The Wesleyan Way of Sharing Faith
  
  Sustaining While Disrupting: The Challenge of Congregational Innovation

Since 1975, the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana has offered an array of financial services for churches and individuals while promoting a culture of generosity to United Methodist donors and churches. For more on the Foundation, please head to their web site.

For more on the 2025 Annual Conference, please head here.

We are gearing up for a special event - People Like Me - a two-day immersive retreat focused on building intercultural competency, strengthening inclusive leadership, and helping churches reflect the rich diversity of their communities. Led by our very own, Rev. Katrena King, our Conference’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist, the retreat offers tools like the Intercultural Development Inventory, also known as the IDI - it will also include space for authentic storytelling, which will be done in a very unique way – and workshops on everything from tough conversations to vision casting.

And that brings us to our guest.

Samuel Rodriguez is the Director of Congregational Development for the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. For over 27 years, he’s been helping churches plant, grow, and thrive—especially in multicultural and multi-ethnic contexts. He will be the special guest at People Like Me. Join us for a conversation about why events like People Like Me matter—and how the future of the Church depends on the kind of work he and Katrena will be doing in Woodworth.

This is a special edition of the Louisiana Now podcast, a reading of the Easter Story by host Todd Rossnagel. This reading comes from all four gospels and various translations.

• To find a United Methodist church in the Louisiana Conference, please visit our directory: https://www.la-umc.org/churches
• To find a listing of online church services in the Louisiana Conference, please visit here.
• To find a United Methodist church near you, please visit: https://www.umc.org/en/find-a-church

This Lent, ponder the themes of justice, poverty, freedom, and love.

The four New Testament Gospels aren’t the same story, but they offer the same Resurrection hope. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John devote most of their story detailing Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem, all highlighting Jesus’ triumphant entry into the city, the suffering and humiliation of the cross, and the empty tomb come Sunday morning, but the stories they tell aren’t quite the same.

Each Gospel offers a different lens through which we understand Jesus’ Passion. One portrait reveals Jesus to be in control, while another emphasizes his suffering. In one story Jesus offers hope to the thief on the cross, and in another Jesus only receives derision. These different perspectives aren’t a reason to dismiss the Gospels; rather they reveal an abundant, diverse, and complementary picture of God’s work in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Buy Matt's book here.

For more on the 2025 Annual Conference, head here.