Some Assembly Required...

Recently a friend told me about a huge pile of snow that she saw in a field. Next to the snow was a sign that read “Free Snowmen, some assembly required.” This is funny because we all have had enough snow and would not want any of it even if it was given away free. It is ever more humorous because of the “some assembly required” part of the sign. That conjures up for most of us images of a child’s toy or an appliance that we purchase and when we get it home we have the challenge of assembling a thousand little parts with an instruction manual that was written by a mechanical engineer. But when it comes to assembling snow men it is more about seeing the potential of a snow sculpture while it is still a blob of snow. God made Adam from dust and breathed in him the breath of life. Michelangelo, the famous artist and sculptor would look at a block of marble before he would begin making a statue and imagine the figure inside the marble and that he was charged with the task of “freeing” the statue that was trapped inside.

Having the eye for potential that is not yet realized is a gift from God for people of faith. Whether it is a mission project at your church or building expansion or even a person called into ministry we need to see beyond the present blob of snow and imagine the potential that God sees before it has yet been created. Once we have the vision for what God wants us to do then get busy doing the ”required assembly” to bring it about.

I love these words of Natalie Sleeth from the “Hymn of Promise:”

In the bulb there is a flower, in the seed, an apple tree
In cocoons, a hidden promise, butterflies will soon be free
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see. (BOH 707)

May you have eyes of faith that sees the promise in everyone and everything and a diligent spirit to make a reality that potential in partnership with God.

Olympics 2010 – Vancouver

The Winter Olympic Games begin in Vancouver on February 12th. Many athletes from all across the globe will compete for medals and to surpass previously set records. Some athletes see these games as a higher calling. On a recent interview Tyler Jewel , an American athlete, said that competing in the Olympics was the best way for countries to engage one another in a “fight without death” where athletes “lay down arms” of war and promote peace. The Olympics symbolize for many an opportunity for nations to come together in a unified effort as an inspiration to our broken world.

The symbol of the Olympics: the 5 interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green and red) represent the 5 continents of the world. The connection of rings reminds us that though we come from different countries we can have a common purpose and unity.

May we find unity in places in our life where we see diversity and may our competition with one another only serve to improve what we already do well.

Father Peter Spencer

Peter Spencer was born into slavery in 1779 in Kent County Maryland, but he became one of the great leaders in the cause of religious liberty. While he was still a slave he accepted the invitation to join the Christian community. He lived in slavery until the death of his owner, when he gained his freedom.

When Peter moved to Wilmington, Delaware he sought Christian fellowship at Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. They welcomed him with open doors but not with open hearts nor with open minds. It was alright for him to be seen in worship, but he was not given the dignity of full participation in the life of the church. The Holy Spirit would not allow Peter Spencer to remain silent. He expressed his disapproval of the racism that he experienced in the church. He believed that people of color were entitled to religious equality.

The church refused to listen to Peter’s protests and there came a time when he was no longer willing to submit to the discrimination that existed in the church. Peter Spencer asked permission to build a church where he and his followers could worship freely. He wrote: “In the year, 1805 we, the colored members of the Methodist Church in Wilmington, thought that we might have more satisfaction of mind than we then had if we were to untie together and build a house for ourselves, which we did the same year. The Lord gave us the favor and the good will of all religious denominations, and they all freely did lend us help, and by their good graces we got a house to worship the Lord in.”

Peter’s followers succeeded in getting their own church and holding separate worship, but because of the color of their skin, they were denied any say in the business affairs of their new church. Peter Spencer did not want to start an independent church. It was his intention to only to worship separately in a Methodist Episcopal denomination. However, these faithful African Americans were told they had no rights to conduct any of the business in their church and would have to remain under white control. This seemed unreasonable and unfair to them.

They continued to struggle over their civil rights. Some were expelled from the church membership and others went to court to protect their right to oversee their own affairs as free people. Finally in December of 1812, when Peter’s group realized that the forces against them were more than they could overcome, they decided to organize a free and independent church of their own.

On June 1, 1813, Peter Spencer (known as “Father Spencer”) and his flock left the church they had built and began worshiping as a free and independent church. The church became legally recorded in Dover, Delaware, September 18, 1813 under the title of the Union Church of Africans. This was the first free and independent church entirely under the control of African American people in the United States. It pre-dated the famous beginning of the African Methodist Episcopal Church under Rev. Richard Allen.

Father Spencer died July 25, 1843, after thirty years of service to his church and people. His character, veracity and honor were beyond reproach.

Father Spencer’s fight continues in the church today. We still have open doors, but not always open hearts or minds. There are still those that are kept from being full participating members of our church. They may speak a different language, have a different ethnicity or different political views. Let us not force brothers and sisters of God out of God’s church. Let us learn from the past, repent, and show greater hospitality to all.

The Ministry of Lay Speakers and Christ Servant Ministers: Leading, Caring, Communicating

This past weekend the Philadelphia Area hosted the annual meeting of the United Methodist Association of Conference Directors of Lay Speaking (and in Eastern PA: Christ Servant Ministers). A lively group of 80 people gathered at the Ramada Inn in Philadelphia for three days of inspiration, business meetings and encouragement. The Christ Servant Ministers of EPA served as the hosts and did an excellent job preparing for the event, arranging for historic tours and offering superb hospitality.

Lay leadership in the United Methodist Church is as old as Methodism itself. The church has always relied greatly on its lay leaders for conducting worship and sharing the love of Christ in the world. During the circuit-riding days of the early Methodist movement in America, the pastors would only be able to come to each church a few times a year to administer the sacraments and assist with the organization of the church. The lay people did all the work in between the visits of these pastors on horseback.

Still today the ministry of the laity is vitally important. Lay Speakers in the United Methodist Church are more than speakers. Here are some of their ministries: visitation, crisis ministry, pastoral care, leading volunteer mission teams, teaching Bible study, work with youth groups, assisting with church administration, prison ministry - and the list could go on for pages.

Lay Speaking ministries strives to help disciples become aware of their gifts for ministry by offering educational events to enhance and develop skills for fruitful service. To learn more about lay speaking, read about it in the Book of Discipline Paragraph 267, 268 and 269. Check out the website: www.layspeakingministries.org.

Mr. George Hollich, Jr. is the director of Christ Servant Ministers in EPA and Ms. Luray McClung is the Director of Lay Speaking for PDC. They can tell you about training events in their respective conferences.

I encourage pastors to use your Lay Speakers/Christ Servant Ministers as much as you can to extend the ministry of the church. In the church of Jesus Christ there is truly a “priesthood” of all believers.

The ministry of the laity motto proclaims:

All God’s people in

All places,

And in

All times,

Are called to love

And serve.

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson

First Haitian United Methodist Church

As a cold winter rain was falling in Salisbury, Maryland, the members of First Haitian United Methodist Church came to worship. It was their normal Sunday morning worship service but since the earthquake of January 12, nothing was ever going to be normal again. Many of the members have lost family and friends who live in Haiti and many more have been waiting to hear from people whom they have lost contact with in their mother country. Their part-time supply pastor happened to be in Haiti at the time of the earthquake and members were greatly comforted to learn that he had finally been in touch with his family and was safe. The service was being led by the lay leaders of the church. About 100 people gathered in a small building that the members purchased from a printing company 10 years earlier and remodeled it into a place of worship.

I arrived at the church expecting a scene of grief and devastation but was heartened to find a group of people who had hope; hope in the Lord for comfort and strength. The entire congregation speaks French and Creole. Some are also fluent in English, however the worship service was conducted entirely in French. The singing was loud and joyful. I asked one of the English-speaking members what they were singing: “We have no troubles for God is here” she whispered. These words were fulfilled as they were being sung.

When I was introduced to the congregation by the lay leader, Faubert Baptiste, he spoke one sentence in English for my benefit and then a sentence in French for the congregants. “We have never had a bishop here,” he said “we are glad you have come.” With Faubert’s help, I offered words of consolation and support. When I announced that I would be reading from the Psalm 46, everyone immediately took out their Bibles and rose to their feet.

“God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea….the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

Following my comments another lay member, Lucien Jendy, came forward to bring the sermon for the day. He read from Matthew 24: “As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the building of the temple. Then he asked them ‘you see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you not one stone will be left here upon another, all will be thrown down.’”

He explained that every word of the Bible is true and that our earthly buildings and our lives are temporary. He stressed that in life we will have suffering but those who endure to the end will be saved. “We must not lose faith but have hope in God,” said Jendy. His sermon was met with many “Amens.” The service ended with a spirited prayer and the passing of the peace.

I shook hands with the congregants after the worship service, including no small number of children and teenagers, all dressed in their Sunday best. Warmth and respect flowed from their hands to mine. They expressed the desire to go Haiti to help it rebuild and to search for people who are lost. One of the most difficult aspects of this ordeal is not knowing the fate of many who are missing. A faith-filled and determined people are making plans now to visit Haiti as soon as they are allowed to come. They will also be raising money for the UMCOR relief efforts and offering the most valuable resource of all: prayer.

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson

Martin Luther King, Jr.

We remember Martin Luther King, Jr. and the legacy of freedom and equality that he brought to the world. One of the most important things to remember is that the civil rights movement was born in the church. Rev. King’s non-violent campaign to end segregation landed him in jail many times. From a jail in Birmingham, Alabama he wrote to the clergy: “If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning.”

Still today his words ring true as the struggle for human rights and equality continues. Wherever I go, the churches who are thriving and making a difference in this world have that spirit of sacrifice and service that gives it authenticity. Only when we choose to suffer for righteousness sake we can change the wrongs in this world.

May Martin Luther King Day be a day “on” and not a day “off” in service in your community. May you speak out for justice when you see someone being treated unfairly. May you use your means, your influence, your heart, your soul, your strength to work for peace where there is discord. As you go, have hope and don’t be discouraged when the work is difficult.

Rev. King said in his “I Have a Dream” sermon: “Go back (home) knowing this situation can and will be changed. Don’t wallow in the valley of despair.”

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson

You Did It Unto Me (Re: Earthquake in Haiti)

Matthew 25 reminds us as we give to those in need it is the same as giving to Jesus. We have an important opportunity to bless Jesus this week. The earthquake in Haiti has just made the poorest nation in the world more poor and the suffering is unbelievable. Please take an offering this Sunday at your churches and places of ministry for the Haiti Relief (Advance #418325 – Checks can be sent through the conference offices). May God use this crisis to make a blessing happen on the island. When the eyes of the world are on them may the resources begin to flow in new and better ways. Most importantly PRAY for all those who are affected by this crisis and for the many emergency workers.

Bishop Peggy A Johnson