Reassigned to the Philadelphia Area

Grace and peace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am writing to tell you how happy I am that I have been reappointed to serve as the bishop of the Eastern PA Conference and the Peninsula-Delaware Conference for another four years.  This was decided last week (July 16-20) at the Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference of the United Methodist Church that was held in Charleston, WV.  My thanks to the area delegates who faithfully attended this conference and represented us well.   Dr. Mary White, Rev. Jim Todd, Rev. Dr. Sandra Steiner Ball, Mr. Demetrio Beach were the heads of the delegations for our 2012 conference season.  Rev. Michele Wright Bartlow, Ms. Judy Ehninger, Rev. Derrick Porter and Mr. Kevin Goodwin represented us at the NEJ Episcopacy Committee, where the bishop assignments were made.  I have been blessed to serve this area with so many great servants of God!

We are thrilled and joyful over the election of Rev. Dr. Sandra Steiner Ball to the Episcopacy and pray for her and her family as she moves to the West Virginia Annual Conference on September 1, 2012. Her many gifts for ministry and her leadership skills will be a wonderful asset to the United Methodist Church there.

I am looking forward to serving this area for another 4 years and will strive to build on the relationships and the programs that have already been developed.  I have enjoyed getting to know you and visiting your wonderful ministries.  I have deep respect for the many faithful pastors and lay people who give sacrificially of their time and talent and treasure to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in their communities.  I am encouraged by the growth in our diversity and spirituality.

I am happy to receive any suggestions for improvements and any other ideas you have for me as I begin a new quadrennium with you.  I see our work together as a partnership and I value your input and support.  My email address is bshpajohnson@aol.com and the office number is 610-666-1442 or 800-828-0933.

So what is my personal goal for this area for the next 4 years?  Body work!  I shared with the delegates and friends of the area who gathered in Charleston on Friday morning that I hope we will become more and more like magpies and less like robins in the years to come.  In the book:  The Power of Positive Deviance  by Pascale, Sternin and Sternin they describe the characteristics of these two birds. Robins are territorial, live in isolation and vocalize in order to maintain their territory.  Magpies, on the other hand work together, nesting in large groups on cold nights, teaming up to drive out predators, assisting young parent birds with the nestlings and using their collective strength to lift garbage can lids.  As a result these birds are able to make considerable progress in their ability to thrive and grow as a species.  Let’s be more like magpies in our conference life as we work together in unity with one another!

We as the Body of Christ can achieve great things this way.  The connectional system of our denomination has shown us again and again the power of collaboration.  New people are reached for Christ, the needs of the poor are met, killer diseases are alleviated, new churches and faith communities are developed.  It only works when we work as a unified body.  This is what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said: “Speak the truth in love and grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part if working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)

Finally I ask for your prayers and I covenant to continue to pray for you.  May God bless you richly in the years to come and thank you for the awesome privilege that my husband Michael and I have to be here among you.

Election and assignment of bishops at NEJ Conference

Grace and peace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ!  I hope that you are finding some time of rest during this summer season but in all things may you keep the lamp of the Good News of Christ burning for all to see.  Even in difficult times we are called to continue the work of our ministry and never give up.  People who do white-water rafting say that when the water gets roughest the most important thing you can do is to keep paddling.  If you stop paddling and hold on to the sides you will lose control of the raft and it will turn upside down.  Keep paddling when money is scarce, keep paddling when your best efforts result in less than enthusiastic results, keep paddling because God will use your ministry for good in this world; good that we may never see in this life.

I want to let you know that next week (July 16-20, 2012) the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference (www.nejumc.org) will be held in Charleston, WV.   Delegates from every United Methodist Conference will be gathering there for the holy work of worshiping God, electing bishops, electing officers, establishing the budget and carrying on the important structural and organizational work of the United Methodist Church.  I ask that you pray for this important meeting.  I especially ask that you pray for the three pastors from the Philadelphia Area who have been lifted up as possible candidates for the episcopacy:  Rev. Dr. Irving Cotto, Rev. Dr. Christopher  Kurien and Rev. Dr. Sandra Steiner-Ball.  Pray for our delegations as they conduct the interviews and discern God’s will for these elections.  There will be three new bishops elected and all bishops will be assigned to their episcopal areas at this meeting. Three bishops who are retiring will be honored as well: Bishop Ernest Lyght, Bishop Jane Middleton, and Bishop Peter Weaver.

One final word about bishops:  I give thanks for the life of Bishop Leontine T. C. Kelly, who passed away on June 28, 2012 at the age of 92.  Bishop Kelly was the first African American woman bishop in a major Christian denomination.  She was elected in 1984 and served in the Western Jurisdiction as the bishop of the California-Nevada Annual Conference.  She was a social and political activist as well as a spiritual leader.  Bishop Kelly has cast a bright light for many to follow in her footsteps and she “kept paddling” when the voices of racism and sexism tried to stop her from fulfilling her calling.  May our elections next week be informed by a desire to elect more bishops with her character and strength.  May all of us work to widen the circle of inclusion and giftedness as we serve Christ, lay and clergy alike.

I am Thankful

I am thankful for the many wonderful ministries that are happening in the Philadelphia Area. 

A surgery team just arrived home from the Congo.  This group of hearty people brought an eye surgeon with them and they were able to perform many cataract surgeries giving sight to people who otherwise would have no hope.  

One of our pastors was called by the police this week to help coax a man off of a bridge who was about to commit suicide.  The suicidal man asked for that pastor to come because he and his church were the only people who had ever reached out to him.  With this intervention many lives were saved.

Another pastor went to the Hell’s Angels Biker convention recently and ministered one-on-one to bikers and shared about the love of Jesus.  He explained to them the Word of God in ways that they could understand. 

Another church is supporting a ministry in South Africa and they are purchasing a vehicle to enhance this life-giving ministry of hope.

Another church raised $6,000 for “Imagine No Malaria” in a “Beat the Bug” event. 

Every day I hear of good things that are happening in the name of Jesus Christ in the Philadelphia Area.  I thank God for every remembrance of you!

National Foster Care Month

May is National Foster Care Month.  Many of our church families are involved in the foster care system and it provides an important service to children and youth that promotes a healthy nation. In his Presidential Proclamation our nation’s leader, President Obama says “Half a million children and youth are in foster care in America, all entering the system through no fault of their own.  During National Foster Care Month we recognize the promise of children, and youth in foster care as well as former foster youth.  We also celebrate the professionals and foster parents who demonstrate the depth and kindness of the human heart.”

I would encourage anyone who has ever thought about it, to study further the possibility of becoming foster care providers.  The need is greater than ever, especially when it comes to foster care for special needs young people.  If you don’t have foster care in your life you can always be supportive of those who do.  Foster care can be especially stressful at times and moments of respite, appreciation and monetary support can mean the world to these families.

In a Biblical sense we are all in foster care, adopted by God when we were once far from home.  As I Peter 1:10 says “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”   God has received us into his family through grace that was provided by the blood of Jesus on the cross.  That grace calls us to receive others in like manner with hospitality and love.  

Thoughts about Guaranteed Appointment

Grace and peace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am sure that many of you have heard reports from General Conference that a vote was taken that would eliminate what is known as “guaranteed appointment” for elders, provisional elders and associate members.  Along with it there were two added paragraphs that monitor appointment-making.  One requires the bishops to establish a task force to develop a list of criteria to guide the cabinet and the bishop as they make missional appointments.  The other paragraph requires an annual reporting of all elders, provisional elders and associate members who have not received a full-time missional appointment with rationale, statistics and learnings that have been gleaned as appointment-making is carried out in a new way.  Also this information will become a part of the evaluation of the bishop by the Committee on Episcopacy at the conference and jurisdictional levels.  This tells me that careful monitoring and criteria are a part of this plan.

What has changed?  In some ways nothing has changed because effectiveness will always be an expectation for our clergy.  When there was a guaranteed appointment pastors were called to effectiveness and still effectiveness is our goal.  We want to make disciples for Jesus Christ and live our lives solely for the work of God’s kingdom.   God is on the journey with us and the Spirit empowers us for the ministry to which we have been called. 

General Conference is still in session and many issues are still to be decided. I plan to come to every district this fall to have further conversations about the changes that will be a part of the 2012 Book of Discipline.   The church is living into a new era and many of our changes will help us to grow and improve as a denomination.  My prayers are with you.

Act of Repentance and Healing for Indigenous Persons at General Conference 2012

The Act of Repentance and Healing for Indigenous Persons at General Conference 2012 was for me one of the highlights of the conference.  At the 2000 General Conference there was a similar service in recognition of the sins of the church against African American people.  This service, in like manner, shines a light on the inhumane, evil and destructive treatment of indigenous people, not only in the United States but around the world by primarily European white people.  People in power used their power to conquer, colonize, and in many cases exterminate people for profit and control.  The worst part about it for me was that the church, and the United Methodist Church and its predecessors even use the spreading of the gospel as a rationale for this behavior.  The language, culture and faith of the indigenous peoples were often rejected and destroyed in favor of a European-centered culture and religion that was far from the teachings of love and tolerance of Jesus Christ.

                

The Rev. George “Tink” Tinker preached at this service on April 27^th and he recounted the numerous atrocities done against the Native Peoples of the earth by people of power.  The Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 was led by a Methodist minister, Colonel John Chivington. He and his soldiers murdered and mutilated over a hundred innocent men, women and children who had already agreed to a peace treaty with the US government.  Rev. Tinker reminded us that there needs to be reconciliation but it cannot come unless there is true repentance.  This is a long and slow process that began at this service at General Conference. The Council of Bishops made a formal apology to the indigenous people and worshipers were invited to come to the center aisle of the worship setting and take a stone from the floor.  The stone is to be taken back as a reminder of our promise to begin to live in better ways with indigenous people and with all people who are different from us.  Only as we show the fruits of repentance can reconciliation happen.  True repentance means a change in lifestyle.

A Statement from the Council of Bishops as

We Embark on a Journey Toward

Healing Relationships with Indigenous Peoples

Preamble

Today, as the Council of Bishops on behalf of The United Methodist Church, we stop to listen to our own hearts and our own voices. History is not only a body of information stored in archives for reference and study waiting to be mined by scholars and researchers. It is a living, breathing phenomenon that resides in us and among us framing our understanding of ourselves and each other. The history we recall in this moment continues to weigh upon all of us. Together we grieve the history which still weighs upon indigenous people around the world and Native Americans in the United States.

This is not a romance of discovery and the struggle of pioneer life, settlement and tragedy. This is about the violent history of peoples whose families, communities and sovereign nations were destroyed by aggressive powers lusting for their lands, riches and seeking domination at the expense of their own existence. This is a story about the church’s role in cooperating with and entering into collusive relationships with political forces resulting in the killing of Native women, children and men, the removal of Native nations from their homes, forcing them to march long death-defying distances to live on lands unsuitable for habitation, destroying peaceful villages, massacring helpless innocents, stealing tribal lands and resources, breaking sacred treaty agreements, removing children from their homes to imprison them in schools that would steal their heritage to make them “civilized,” and in tragic intentional and inadvertent ways, sharing in and implementing the goals of Native extermination resulting in genocidal policies, programs and actions designed to vanquish, forever, whole Native and indigenous nations and peoples, communities and families from the earth.

Scripture

“For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)

“Therefore I will judge you Oh house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!” (Ezekiel 18:30-31)

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)

So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister^* has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister,^* and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)

Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. (Ephesians 2:13-14)

Native Quotes

When one sits in the Hoop of the People, one must be responsible because all of creation is related. And the hurt of one is the hurt of all. And the honor of one is the honor of all. And whatever we do affects everything in the universe.

(Modern version from the Lakota White Buffalo Calf Woman)

“I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream…the nation’s hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead.

And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell, and I understood more than I was, for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.”                                                               (Black Elk, Lakota)

“There are many things to be shared with the Four Colors of humanity in our common destiny as one with our Mother the Earth. It is this sharing that must be considered with great care by the Elders and the medicine people who carry the Sacred Trusts, so that no harm may come to people through ignorance and misuse of these powerful forces.”

(Resolution of the Fifth Annual Meetings of the Traditional Elders Circle, 1980)

“How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right.”

(Black Hawk, Sauk)

“I live in sorrow imprisoned, You are my Light, Your glory, my support. Behold not with malevolence the sins of man but forgive and cleanse; and so, O Lord, protect us beneath Your wings and let peace be out portion now and forever more. Amen.”

                                              (Queen Lili’uokalani, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii,

                                                  composed as a prayer, March 22, 1895, while she was under

                                                  house arrest in her palace in Honolulu.)

Statement of Repentance

As the Council of Bishops, we are here to repent and express remorse for the church’s past conduct in its relationships with Native and indigenous peoples in all the places where we have extended the mission of the church for over two hundred years. We are here to commit ourselves to addressing the wrong and asking for the forgiveness of those who have been wronged by failing them so profoundly. We confess to God, acknowledging our guilt, resolving to cease the harm, pledging ourselves to live differently, reversing the damage that has been done through our participation in violence, maltreatment and neglect of Native and indigenous peoples so that we may bring about healing and restoration to all.

It is time to free captive Native and indigenous peoples from institutional church oppression and learn from them spiritual values that will see us through our own current spiritual emergencies, save our embattled earth and enable humankind to live as one with creation and all living creatures within it—including ourselves. The question is whether the church is strong enough to bring about change in the United States and around the world where indigenous peoples have been decimated, assimilated, abused, and left victims of dominant Western economies and the imposition of oppressive materialistic cultural values. Our work in healing broken relationships must be specific, actionable and accountable. Morally, it must be part of our denomination’s discourse, programming and policies.

To our Native and indigenous brothers and sisters we say:  We have destroyed your way of life, dehumanized your people and degraded your cultures, along with your dreams, your peace and your great love for the land. We acknowledge the pain of your nation peoples and our sinful behavior in these events. We know that past history has been filled with violence against you. We have confiscated your land. We have recklessly destroyed your cultures. Today we acknowledge that all this is not in the past. Assaults continue on your cultures, continuing the historic patterns of abuse, the demeaning of your spirituality, the questioning of your leadership, the neglecting of the critical issues of hunger, health, employment, and sovereignty. We must not yield to historical amnesia. We pray to God to give us a new heart and a new spirit through Jesus Christ, who breaks down the dividing walls of hostility, so that  we may truly repent of our grave sins, petition for forgiveness, and work towards healing.

The Future

The Council of Bishops will:

            • Affirm commitment to empowering the presence of Native and indigenous people in the life

   of the denomination.

            • Support Native American Ministries Sunday in U.S. annual conferences.

            • Strengthen Committees on Native American Ministries (CONAM) in the U.S. and Native

   ministries in the central conferences.

            • Support General Advances and church-wide funding for Native ministries.

            • Commit ourselves to the development of new Native and indigenous ministries and

   strengthen our support for existing community entities.

            • Create a theological statement that demonstrates a respect for the diversity of theology and

   ecclesiology that is found in the context of Native and Indigenous ministries.

            • Commit to host Acts of Repentance in annual conferences.

            • Commit to developing relationships of mutuality with Native peoples in local contexts.

            • Initiate programs of education for non-Native people about why the Act of Repentance

   is important.

In partnership with Native ministry leaders and resource people throughout the Connection, the Council of Bishops will support:

            • Developing new Native and indigenous leaders across the Connection including an

   increased number of people nurtured for service in congregational, annual conference,

   jurisdictional and central conference, and general church ministries, including

   the episcopacy.

            • Intiating a plan of advocacy related to land and treaty rights, support for tribal sovereignty

   and cultural preservation; better health care and education for Native people and the safety

   of Native and indigenous women.

         

Holy Week Prayers

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am writing to say that I am holding our churches, pastors, and laity in prayer as we enter Holy Week.  May God use you to do the work of reconciliation and peace-making in this divided world.  Christ gave his life to reconcile us to God and he calls us to a ministry of reconciliation.  Join me in prayer for healing where people are divided.  In Jesus’ last prayer to us he said:  “I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me.  I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me.  I also want them to be one with us.” (John17:20-21)  May we strive to be one with Christ and those in the household of God.  It is truly a sign of the Resurrection power of God when we live in unity.