On the Road to General Conference - 2008
Let this be a time of Holy Listening, Holy Conversations, and Holy Conferencing.
"A Future With Hope" is the theme for the 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church. It comes from a verse that seems to be written for expectant Reconciling people.
"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." --Jeremiah 29:11
Reconciling United Methodists are certainly a people of hope. Scripture supports our bold confidence: in these words of Jeremiah and throughout the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament. We claim the promise of inclusion as children of God.
Our hope in Christ envisions "One Family Tree" that thrives as persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Sue Laurie, and Outreach Coordinator for the Reconciling Ministries Network, has written the following letter:
I am looking forward to General Conference. That's right. I look forward to seeing the people--this is my church family. And, after leaving Pittsburgh in 2004 with the door still closed, I am looking forward to the opportunity to offer the Church the resiliency that comes from our faith and trust in the one called Jesus.
Before full time ministry, I was a teacher. I like to joke with church folks who are nervous talking about homosexuality by saying, "Don't worry, I was an algebra teacher. I have a lot of experience offering a subject that makes people uncomfortable."
My teaching experience also serves me well because teachers do not see the results of their labors for years--actually we rarely know the future successes of our students. We plant the seeds and nurture growth, but our students move on to new teachers every year.
I was called to be a teacher and I trusted that what I did made a difference. One source of my confidence was remembering the impact my teacher had on me. My first grade teacher taught me to read. Even more, she was kind. And I loved her attention and her classroom. I began to aspire to become a teacher too. She never knew. (I never even thanked my algebra teacher.)
Reconciling United Methodists (RUMs) are heading to Fort Worth. We are invited to "holy conferencing" but also know our participation will make people uncomfortable. Reconciling UMs will arrive as elected clergy and lay delegates, agency staff members, choir members, communications personnel, Bishops, and volunteers. When others hope to silence our participation in "holy conversation" we RUMs will give voice and visibility to our church family members who are hidden away by church polity and politics.
We who are Reconciling United Methodists are called to offer healing and wholeness to our church family--to be the Body of Christ. We will offer our stories and we will participate in the legislative process. We will plant new seeds of faith and nurture those already sprouting. We may never know the fruits of our labors. I often promise local activists that they do make a difference saying, "You are helping more people than you realize."
Several years ago, while a volunteer at the RMN office, I processed the new sign-up cards. One day I saw the card with Mrs. Schlick and her husband joining the witness. This was my first grade teacher! Come to find out her husband was a pastor. And they were answering this call to love their neighbor. How sweet to know she would still valued me as a lesbian Christian in the UMC. This is my church family, we are One Family Tree.
By acting in faith, they have made a difference for me.
"So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of the faith." Galatians 6:9-10
----Sue Laurie, MDiv, Outreach Coordinator, Reconciling Ministries Network
Reconciling Ministries Blog
The 2008 General Conference Hosting Committee Prayer Ministries Team has issued an invitation for persons to pray daily for all the preparations and deliberations leading up to the United Methodist Church’s top legislative meeting this spring in Ft. Worth, Texas. The goal of the team is so that “in all that we do we are rooted and grounded in love.” The team has also crafted a suggested prayer for General Conference 2008:
O Holy One, Be Thou our Vision,
For the church,
For all the United Methodist Conferences.
We pray for Your guidance and Your strength.
Be Thou our Vision for the world.
We pray for Your justice and Your peace.
Through Your amazing grace
Help us to see what we need to see,
Help us to be who You call us to be.
O Holy One, let our breathing lead us into a place of ever-deepening faith.
Let us be awake to the Divine Indwelling where you promise,
“I shall live in them and I shall walk the corridors of their heart.”
Let this be a time of
Holy Listening…Holy Conversations…and Holy Conferencing.
"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." --Jeremiah 29:11
Reconciling United Methodists are certainly a people of hope. Scripture supports our bold confidence: in these words of Jeremiah and throughout the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament. We claim the promise of inclusion as children of God.
Our hope in Christ envisions "One Family Tree" that thrives as persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Sue Laurie, and Outreach Coordinator for the Reconciling Ministries Network, has written the following letter:
I am looking forward to General Conference. That's right. I look forward to seeing the people--this is my church family. And, after leaving Pittsburgh in 2004 with the door still closed, I am looking forward to the opportunity to offer the Church the resiliency that comes from our faith and trust in the one called Jesus.
Before full time ministry, I was a teacher. I like to joke with church folks who are nervous talking about homosexuality by saying, "Don't worry, I was an algebra teacher. I have a lot of experience offering a subject that makes people uncomfortable."
My teaching experience also serves me well because teachers do not see the results of their labors for years--actually we rarely know the future successes of our students. We plant the seeds and nurture growth, but our students move on to new teachers every year.
I was called to be a teacher and I trusted that what I did made a difference. One source of my confidence was remembering the impact my teacher had on me. My first grade teacher taught me to read. Even more, she was kind. And I loved her attention and her classroom. I began to aspire to become a teacher too. She never knew. (I never even thanked my algebra teacher.)
Reconciling United Methodists (RUMs) are heading to Fort Worth. We are invited to "holy conferencing" but also know our participation will make people uncomfortable. Reconciling UMs will arrive as elected clergy and lay delegates, agency staff members, choir members, communications personnel, Bishops, and volunteers. When others hope to silence our participation in "holy conversation" we RUMs will give voice and visibility to our church family members who are hidden away by church polity and politics.
We who are Reconciling United Methodists are called to offer healing and wholeness to our church family--to be the Body of Christ. We will offer our stories and we will participate in the legislative process. We will plant new seeds of faith and nurture those already sprouting. We may never know the fruits of our labors. I often promise local activists that they do make a difference saying, "You are helping more people than you realize."
Several years ago, while a volunteer at the RMN office, I processed the new sign-up cards. One day I saw the card with Mrs. Schlick and her husband joining the witness. This was my first grade teacher! Come to find out her husband was a pastor. And they were answering this call to love their neighbor. How sweet to know she would still valued me as a lesbian Christian in the UMC. This is my church family, we are One Family Tree.
By acting in faith, they have made a difference for me.
"So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of the faith." Galatians 6:9-10
----Sue Laurie, MDiv, Outreach Coordinator, Reconciling Ministries Network
Reconciling Ministries Blog
The 2008 General Conference Hosting Committee Prayer Ministries Team has issued an invitation for persons to pray daily for all the preparations and deliberations leading up to the United Methodist Church’s top legislative meeting this spring in Ft. Worth, Texas. The goal of the team is so that “in all that we do we are rooted and grounded in love.” The team has also crafted a suggested prayer for General Conference 2008:
O Holy One, Be Thou our Vision,
For the church,
For all the United Methodist Conferences.
We pray for Your guidance and Your strength.
Be Thou our Vision for the world.
We pray for Your justice and Your peace.
Through Your amazing grace
Help us to see what we need to see,
Help us to be who You call us to be.
O Holy One, let our breathing lead us into a place of ever-deepening faith.
Let us be awake to the Divine Indwelling where you promise,
“I shall live in them and I shall walk the corridors of their heart.”
Let this be a time of
Holy Listening…Holy Conversations…and Holy Conferencing.