Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Seeking A Future With Hope

The events of the day did not find much affirmation for inclusiveness.  While there were no major steps back, there was little movement towards acceptance.  The positive movement of the day had to do with rejecting homophobia, though some of the language of debate was reported to be a bit rough.

I had high hopes of this conference moving toward productivity and in some cases, such as the election of Judicial Council members, it has.  Today, though, I'm sensing a great deal of frustration because the church has not moved forward.

The high spots, as I can see them, were in Fred Brewington's impassioned plea to support the majority report from CS2 on Human Sexuality, or the simplicity of Zachary Allen's presentation in his presentation of the minority report from Faith and Order regarding exclusionary language, that was basically the three simple rules.

The protest was peaceful, and  seemingly non-disruptive, as those participating stood and sang.  We will see what tomorrow brings.

Not everyday is victorious.  David reminded me that when you're vertical and breathing, maybe that's enough.  

This is the life of the United Methodist Church, sometimes embracing, sometimes standing still.

One more perspective:  most of what I heard tonight brought scripture with interpretation.  Many are able to proof-text.  What we may miss is the overall message that Christ brings for all, that there is acceptance.  When will we be able to have that conversation about acceptance as United Methodists?

Tomorrow is another opportunity.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Reflections and Plenary

Part of being a Marshal is building a community with other Pages and Marshals.  To that end, we took our off time to go to the Fort Worth Stockyards to share a meal and some of our lives together.  It is amazing how the Holy Spirit can work to bring together people who can be good friends!  With thanks to Marlene( who drove from the convention center), Tim (who drove home), Mary K., Jane, and David.....thanks for the friends you are!

I had to arrive for an early shift today and I got to spend some time passing out handout for delegates and preparing for the session.  the Hope for Africa Children's Choir from Uganda has sung yesterday and was preparing to sing today.  These were children who were orphaned, some by AIDS, and had no future, until a UM sponsored school gave them hope and life and food and an opportunity to praise God.  Their story is truly one of hope in Africa and they were here!  I got to high-five everyone of them and it was great to hear them sing again!

Hearing the president of Liberia speak today was moving.  The first democratically elected woman as head of state in Africa in a country that has been through revolution and upheaval, 
Ellen John Sirlea told the General Conference that she was proud of the church that had educated and helped to influence her life and that the church was relevant to face the challenges not only of Africa, but of the whole world.

The rest of General Conference actually seems a bit slow, but anxiety is building with the amount of legislation still to be worked.  Today, there were some actions taken that had some effect, like potentially changing the number of bishops in 2012 in the U.S.  What lies underneath is a feeling that Bishops are inconsequential to the growth in U.S. Churches, but vitally needed for church growth in Africa.  Visionary leadership is important and helpful, but many of the delegates wanted action now while others wanted a study to best deploy bishops throughout the Central Jurisdiction.

A significant piece of legislation that General Conference chose to table indefinitely was that of the Church and Society Endowment Fund for the Building in Washington, D.C.  The outcome will leave the lawsuit out of the hands of the discipline and the minority report turned out to be non-factual.  

Beyond this, the wheels of General Conference are moving very slowly.  There are three days left in which to accomplish a lot of work.   Let us see what develops!

Plenary Sessions at General Conference

The plenary session of General Conference will now take center stage as most of the Legislative Committees have finished their work and and are presenting it to the entire body of delegates.

Yesterday, work was finished on a study committee for the organization of Regional Conferences and a committee to begin preparation of a new hymnal to be presented in 2012.  The retirement age of Bishops was extended

Much of the discussion is well-thought out.  A concern was raised by a young person from the Missouri Conference as to the new hymnal being too dated before it is published and the need for it to be shared through multimedia.  A Africana hymnal was also approved.

Most legislative committees finished their work Sunday.  Some were still meeting yesterday in hopes of concluding as soon as possible.

The feeling from the floor is that the decisions that the plenary is making are good and solid.  We will see what today brings, as the President of Liberia brings us a message this afternoon.

I do need to share and celebrate my other Marshals and Pages, with whom I am sharing community and the task of conference. We are having fun serving Christ together and sharing together when we are not serving.  

Keep praying for General Conference as we continue.  While I had last night off, my understanding is that plenary went very late and will run late tonight when I am on.

Grace and Peace, 

Bob

Monday, April 28, 2008

Flash! Bill Lawrence elected to Judicial Council!

Bill Lawrence, Dean of Perkins School of Theology, and former clergy member of the Wyoming Conference, now from North Texas was elected as a clergy member of the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church.  Along with Bill's election was F. Belton Joyner (who wrote the Unofficial Handbook for United Methodist Clergy and the Unofficial Guide for United Methodists) from the North Carolina Conference and Kathi Austin Mahle, from Minnesota Conference.

These look like good signs for  the life of the General Church!

Legislative Committees and Holy Conferencing

Much of my last three days has been spent as a Marshal serving legislative committees of the General Conference.  I have served Judicial Administration, Superintendency, and Church and Society 2 (CS2).  As I posted below, much of the work of General Conference is done in legislative committees as they take the thousands of petitions, sort through them, sometimes accept them, sometimes reject them, sometimes bundle or acceptance or rejection, and in a process where the committee breaks into sub-committees to look at the petitions, to read every petition and give each its due.

It is hard and difficult work.  The delegates must talk to each other to create not just a legislative or political consensus.  What they are trying to do is to do Holy Conferencing, where the Holy Spirit is part of the process and each person's contribution is valued and appreciated.  

The delegates must do this around all the hot-button issues, with visitors, who are concerned about outcomes watching and taking notes.  The hope is  for both the delegates and visitors to find a way to live in community together and this has happened in many cases.

The interesting thing about Holy Conferencing, not just in legislative committees, not just at General Conference, is that it is what the church ought to be about, at every level, from individual Bible Study right up to General Conference Plenary.  So why aren't we?

It relates to what I have experienced so far.   A lot of what happens here is vitally important to the life of the local church.  The relevance of all of General Conference, from worship to plenary to committees to celebrations does have a place in the life of the local church.  Whether or not it gets there has to do with those of us who are here and our attitude towards General Conference.  Either we believe it is our personal and private experience; or it is the celebration of the Church of Jesus Christ, alive in the world, the future of hope.

Maybe power of Holy Conferencing is bigger than cell phones and maybe it is the whole church reaching out to all the church!

Today, I will be serving in the visitors area, so it should be an easy day for me, after two extremely late nights of counting votes and delegates in CS2.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Link to United Methodist News Service Stories on Cell Phones

Links so you can reading UM reporting on the issue of cell phones:

http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=4017527&content_id={D3BF1A26-0519-40B5-B2E7-808964DAD363}&notoc=1

AND

http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=3082929&content_id={18E4642B-276E-43D3-A28D-CCBF895121F5}&notoc=1

Please read these for more information concerning the previous post.  Your comments welcome!

Sidebar: On Cell Phones and Influence

The story has been reported and discussed here at General Conference that the Institute for Religion and Democracy has given cell phones to members of the delegations from Africa and the
Philippines with attached information as to who should be elected to the Judicial Council and is signed by "Your Friends in the United Methodist Church".

First, what bothers me most is the fact that those on either side of issues at General Conference would instead of bringing the political to the faith community, why not dialogue?  Why not risk?  Why not attempt to find work at seeking to discuss together what the realities are?

Second, what we have learned cannot be undone. You cannot undo this.  Those who seek to advance their cause this way devalue everyone else in the process.  The ends are the only things that matter.  The means become at best secondary.  

There is a faith perspective that is clear:  this is sin.  When we are separated for each other, when we devalue each other, we live in separation.  There is grace, but grace calls each to reach out to each other in Christ's love.  

Is the hope of "holy conferencing" lost when this occurs? Or can we find grounds to come together to share?  

Third, this cannot be undone.  There can be forgiveness in telling the truth and repentance, but one has to admit one's sin to do this.  

Fourth, an insight:  why cell phones?    I think it may be that cell phones can be less interactive (one can receive calls, one can receive text messages) without doing anything else.  Also, it continues a link that can continue through other General Conference votes.  David and I were trying to remember whether or not cell phone use was allowed on the conference floor.

The bigger issue is in the message of the "special interests"  that Bishop Huie spoke about in her opening sermon.  This particular special interest group has lost respect by many due to this move, as someone put it, to buy Judicial Council nominee votes.  The most important interest is the church, is the presence of Christ.

So how do we find our way through this?  The ethics committee suggested by a delegate yesterday is a positive move.  We need to find forgiveness and atonement and our unity.

This practice of sharing cell phones with a delegate to elect particular candidates for Judicial Council is sin.  How do we find our way to repentance and unity in Christ?

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Midday on Friday at Conference

We celebrated Rural Life Ministries today! I am well fed after Rural Life Ministries fed me lunch out at the Fort Worth Water Gardens.

I was at the Main Entrance for Delegates, which meant that my main responsibility was checking credentials of people as they came onto the Main Floor of General Conference.

While some tried the patience, most everyone was cooperative and helpful as we did our job. It may seem a little petty, but lobbyists and special interests are present at General Conference and the delegate Floor means they can have even easier access, so we check each person's credentials.

The Plenary, after worship, looked at a report on the Episcopacy, the Rural Life Celebration, and a report on our connection as a denomination, the churches in the Caribbean and Latin America, and some announcements. Most important is the fact that the legislative committees need to look at moving more rapidly through their work. We only have seven (now 6 1/2 days) left and all legislatively approved petitions must come to the General Conference floor for approval. If it needs Finance and Administration approval, the last opportunity to approve is this afternoon by 4:30 PM. I expected a legislative crunch by Thursday, not Friday afternoon.

The pressure grows on the candidates. Do they bow under pressure to compromise, or do that hold out for real communication? Time will tell....

I have a few hours off before returning at 7 PM (8 PM EST) until adjournment. The Buses run until 1 AM, so they can go late and I can sleep in in the morning!


Grace and Peace,

Bob

Friday, April 25, 2008

Legislative Work Begins

Ray Hamill said it best:  if we can keep the vision laid out in worship before us during conference, we can trust that God's presence will carry us through......

Today, I was marshal at the Faith and Order Legislative Committee.  It is at these committees that the real work of conference, perfecting petitions to change the Discipline or to be included in the Book of Resolutions begins.  And it happens as those delegates who are assigned to particular legislative areas as committees divide and sub-divide to share the work of looking at EVERY SINGLE PETITION and its relevance.  Not every petition will become part of the life of the church in these two books, but every one will be considered.

On piece that Faith and Order is working on (shared with me by Jorge Lockwood) is the understanding of what Inclusiveness, as defined in para. 138 of 2004 Discipline.  Petitions are being looked at that seek to redefine how we describe inclusiveness.

It is prayerful, hard, sometimes even painful work.  To be a delegate is to be first inundated by all you must read the advance Daily Christian Advocates, (meaning really thick books), and second to be inundated by all the additional material from those interested in a particular position being advanced.  I am impressed with the faithfulness and the enthusiasm of our delegates and their care for each other.  

Our Marshal and Page Community is growing as we reach out and share our worlds with each other.  At least ten Marshals and Pages know where the Wyoming Conference is now!  Dave Masland is having the same joy within his work on Faith and Order.  Yes, we are from Wyoming Conference, on the Susquehanna River, in NY and PA, and the name went West from here!

Please pray fro me tomorrow.  I am serving as Marshal at the main Delegate door and then in the Church and Society 2 Legislative Committee, and yes, this is the committee that is handling most of the hot-button legislation in the Social Principles.

I'll let you know about that tomorrow........

Grace and Peace, 

Bob

7 Vision Pathways and 4 Areas of Focus

The theme of yesterday's sharing was to affirm seven vision pathways and four areas of focus through which our denomination seeks to be led into the future.

The Seven Vision Pathways are:

  1. Transforming Existing Congregations
  2. Developing New Congregations
  3. Strengthening Clergy and Lay Leadership
  4. Eliminating Poverty in Community with the Poor
  5. Teaching the Wesleyan Model of Reaching and Forming Disciples
  6. Reaching and Transforming the Lives of Children
  7. Ending Racism as we Authentically Expand our Racial/Ethnic Ministries


The Four Areas of Focus:

  1. Engaging in Ministry with the poor
  2. Creating new places for new people and renewing existing congregations
  3. Stamping out diseases of poverty by improving health globally
  4. Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world.

A lot of numbered lists.  The prayer is that the legislation that comes with these may underscore our unity.

Like most of the church-talk here, it is not in our words, but in our actions reflecting these visions that will show our desire to seek the power and wisdom of Christ.

Like most of General Conference, it is the explanation that helps.  A reinterpretation of the General Rules of Methodist Societies has been written by Bishop Reuben Job:  three simple rules:  Do Good     +       Do No Harm         +      Stay in Love With God.  These become a subtext to the above vision statements that might help us interact with our world in authenticity.

Another subtext:  The world needs but doesn't want Resurrection.  We as a church are probably fearful of, but still in need of Resurrection.  What does this denomination look like if we really embrace the theology of the empty grave?

Served the Judicial Administrative Legislative Committee. That committee was organizing itself and deciding what petitions subgroups will look at before the overall committee work begins later in GC.

Served that committee with Dan, Patricia, and Yvette, all of who had been on the Walk to Emmaus, and all of us are elders in the church.  We believe that Emmaus is one of those renewing and moving movements in the church.  

Speaking of movements, what does Methodism need to be?  Perhaps, as was suggested yesterday, we need to be a movement more than being the institution we have become.  Institutions can be hard to change and territorial, movements perhaps can change more freely and include and welcome others.

Please pray for all of us as we seek to be people of the Resurrection, people who are called Methodist.......

Grace and Peace, 

Bob

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Midday Update

I am working the morning and evening shifts today, so I had the afternoon off to come back to the hotel, get some grocery shopping done (I'm in an extended stay suite with a kitchen), and rest a little.

I wanted you to know that Sarah Reid is serving as a page.  She has been working at Henderson Settlement in Kentucky and she and her husband, Eric Yetter, who is a reserve delegate to General Conference are here.  So, there is two on the Marshal/Page team from the Wyoming Conference.

Most everyone who reads my name tag as to where I am from thinks I'm from "where the buffalo live".  When I explain that I'm a Pennsylvanian, they typically have a skeptical attitude.  I then share the whole story about the Wyoming Valley and some understand.  

This morning, we heard the Episcopal Address.  It was an address filled with a call for us as a People called Methodists to share who we are with our communities and share our love with the world.  We heard from the chair of the Connectional Table, which replaces the General Council of Ministries.  Bishop John Hopkins shared, in the midst of a report lifting up hope, that a little 9 year old girl raised over $40,000 for Nothing But Nets.  The denominational total for Nothing But Nets is 18 million dollars.  

Vision Pathways (7) and Areas of Focus (4) call us to be about many of the things we have begun in Paupack:  reaching out to our community, serving the poor, reaching out to children. There is much to do as a denomination and there is much to do in the local church, and the focus is in getting the local church to do its mission at the local level with the support from the denomination. I was encouraged by the fact that four heads of General Boards: Higher Education and Ministry, Global Ministries, Discipleship, and Communications are about integrating budgets and work to achieve this vision and these areas of focus.  We heard a report from General Council on Finance and Administration that called us to be about stewardship from a position of abundance, celebrating what we have, not what we lack or do not have. More about these in tomorrow's blog.

A quote from this morning:  Hope is false when it hides what is real.  Real Hope can only come when realities are named.

The delegates are in workshops to help them understand the legislative committee process.  In short, these committees examine every petition to come before General Conference and decide wether to include or to change or to not consider.  Tonight, and for the next four or five nights, they will be about this process.  

This morning, as I said earlier, I guided visitors into seats and kept traffic moving.  Tonight, instead of Independent Commissions (they told me Marshals and Pages jobs were about change) I will be working at the Judicial Administration Legislative Committee. Not sure what they will be covering, but it should be interesting.

One of our jobs is passing a lot of things out to delegates and Bishops.  I handed things out at the Bishop's table this morning and visited with Bishop Susan Morrison, Bishop William Boyd Grove, Bishop A. Frederick Mutti, (who I served with in Missouri before he was a bishop), and Bill Lawrence, formerly from the Wyoming Conference and now Dean of Perkins School of Theology.  Bill will be speaking at the session of Wyoming Annual Conference this year.

Another warm day (87 degrees) with wind.  Texas always seems to be hot!

For a flavor of conference or to see if you can find me, you can go to www.umc.org and click on the General Conference logo on the right.  You can watch live streaming video and archived video from yesterday and this morning.

Talk to you soon.

Grace and Peace, 






THE FUTURE WITH HOPE

General Conference opened last night with a powerful expression of worship with Holy Communion that embraced the global nature of the United Methodist Church and called those present to focus on how Resurrection Hope changes us as Christians and calls us to transform the world through our discipleship.

Bishop Janice Riggle Huie reminded all present that many come with special interests and concerns, yet this is not what we are called for.  She lifted up Romans 8 and pointed us as a people to understand that the apostle Paul calls us not to hope for what is seen, but that which is unseen.  She also reminded us that our use of the word of hope like, "I hope to be able to do that" is a form of "marshmallow hope", squishy and when it get too hot, it melts and falls to the ground."

She called us to be grounded in the Resurrection Hope of Jesus Christ that can transform the world.

The worship service was led by Marcia McFee, the worship coordinator for music at General Conference.  We sang, moved, cried and shared the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Bishops served the large crowd Holy Communion.

As a marshal, my work is to check credentials and to help delegates, visitors and staff at conference.  My assignment today takes me to the visitors section of the arena at the Fort Worth Convention Center and to the Independent Commissions Legislative Committee tonight.

We had huge thunderstorms and rain last night.  Our hotel had no power and our umbrellas were useless.  We were pretty tired and ready for sleep!

I had some time yesterday to tour the Fort Worth Water Gardens, a unique setting adjacent to the Convention Center.  I will try to get some pictures for you to see.

Grace and Peace, 

Bob

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

General Conference starts today!

We've arrived in Fort Worth and this evening at 5 PM CST, the 1,000 delegates of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, along with guests, friends, interested people and others will begin 10 days of worship, celebration, and legislation in what many see as a General Conference that will build the overall direction of the church into the future.

Many issues abound at General Conference and I will try to share what I see as a I serve as a marshal.  I will let you know more about what I am doing.

My roommate for General Conference is David MacDonald from Niles, Ohio.  A pastor who will be ordained an elder this June at the East Ohio Conference.  David will be serving as a page.

Texas is much warmer than Pennsylvania or the Wyoming Conference!  We have been sweating a bit so far as temperatures yesterday were in the high 80s.

The issues are many at this conference, including proposals concerning creating regional conferences, changes in understandings of ordained ministers, sacramental rights of deacons, local pastors, whether to publish a new hymnal, and many other issues.  Petitions for the General Conference were filed with the General Conference secretary and each will be given its due process.  

Worship and the leading of the Holy Spirit through Holy Conferencing will be what delegates strive to do at this conference.  I hope that you will pray with me for the work of the Holy Spirit on the delegates and attendees of this conference and that their work reflects the love and grace of Christ.  

Grace and Peace, 

Bob

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Introduction to General Conference

General Conference is a unique body to the United Methodist Church. It is the only body that can speak for the church as a whole. It is a legislative body that makes changes in and published the United Methodist Discipline, the rules of order for the church, for the next Quadrennium (4 year period, in this case 2008-2012).
The conference will meet in Fort Worth, TX, April 23-May 2 of this year. As I have not experienced a General Conference, what I know is what I have read or seen on the media. I recommend this article to help understand the role of General Conference in the life of the church:

http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.3082929/apps/nl/content3.asp?content_id={B7B150CB-BD8C-4A1C-A78B-976C06ABF738}&notoc=1


The United Methodist website, www.umc.org, has some great resources on General Conference as well.