Keeping the Covenant

First I would like to express my thanks for all of those who have been faithful to what they believe, during this difficult time of the church trial.

Keeping the covenant is very important; and when we don’t it weakens the unity of the church. But the covenant is not always kept; and it causes pain to those who feel betrayed.  The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church says that every United Methodist Church shall have a chartered fellowship of United Methodist Men (Paragraph 256.6).  Some pastors and laypersons believe that they can break the covenant and not follow this part of the Discipline.  They feel strongly that they should be free to break the covenant for the sake of their understanding of their local church’s call to ministry.  This action weakens the work of the United Methodist Men and, some believe, also the future of the United Methodist Church.

We also break our covenant when we give lip service to open itinerancy, but then a church refuses to receive their next pastor, who happens to be a woman or someone from a different racial ethnicity or someone who speaks English as a second language.  We break the covenant when we don’t make accommodations for persons with disabilities, who need accessible accommodation in order to participate in the life of the church.  We United Methodists, through our General Conference, say that we are a church that will offer Holy Communion in our worship at least weekly, and every week a person seeking this means of grace should be able to find it at our worship service.  But too often local-church tradition trumps the desires of the General Conference. 

The Bible reminds us that the law kills, but the Spirit gives life. The course we are traveling where we pick and choose those parts of the Discipline we want to keep is problematic. People often get into trouble when they break church law. It is why Martin Luther was excommunicated, John Wesley was shut out of pulpits and Martin Boehm was dismissed from his church for shaking hands with Phillip William Otterbein.  Diversity of opinion is never easy, but no matter what we personally believe, and I hope you believe passionately in what God has revealed to you, we are called to behave like the children of God.  We should not call fire down from heaven on those with whom we disagree.  We are to love the people with whom we disagree because we are on the same journey and that journey is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

We are a divided church, but Christ calls us to unity.  It was his last prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane and he knew the power of a united front as the church was born in the world.  We need to get quiet before our God and listen and learn how to love each other like Christians in the face of our diversity.  I am sorry that our United Methodist system of church trials forces us to harm each other and break one of the oldest tenets of our tradition: “Do no harm.”  May we find ways of solving our differences in peace.  May we keep the whole covenant, and the heart of that covenant is Love.

Find Your Own Sand Creek

At a recent meeting of the Northeast Jurisdictional Committee on Native American Ministries at Drew Seminary in Madison, NJ the president, Cynthia Kent charged the group to “find your own Sand Creek.”  Sand Creek was the site of a tragic massacre of Native people in Colorado on November 29,  1864 at the hands of a group of US soldiers, led by a Methodist preacher, Colonel Chivington. This atrocity was one of the events that was mentioned at the “Act of Repentance Toward Healing of Relationships with Indigenous Peoples,” that was an important highlight of the United Methodist General Conference in 2012 in Tampa, Florida.  Next year there will be more moments of remembrance and repentance as the 150^th anniversary of this tragedy draws near.

When Cynthia called the people of the NEJ CONAM to “find your own Sand Creek” she was encouraging people to study their own local histories and discover things that happened that people need to remember for the purposes of reconciliation. Only as we revisit history, repent of the wrongs done and do the work of reconciliation can peace happen on this earth.  This is not only with Native American (American Indians, First Nation) people but all those who have suffered at the hands of majority culture people and experienced dehumanization, marginalization, rejection and even violence and death.

According to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission there was a heinous crime committed against Native American people in Conestoga, PA in December of 1763.  A group of colonists known as the Paxton Boys (who came from the Harrisburg area) traveled to Conestoga and burned their homes and murdered six Indians.  Those who had not been killed sought refuge in Lancaster where the people of the city locked them in a workhouse, hoping they would be kept safe.  Two weeks later the Paxton Boys hunted them down, broke into the workhouse and murdered 14 more Indian men, women and children.  Early in 1764 this same band from Paxton traveled to Philadelphia in an attempt to kill even more Indians.  Historians tell us that Benjamin Franklin himself convinced the Paxton Boys to return home without any further violence.  This they did but none of them were ever arrested or tried for the evil deeds inflicted upon these innocent people. 

That is our “Sand Creek” and as December approaches we need to remember and ponder this and other acts of evil done to innocent people in this world.  As we prepare for the coming of Christ as Advent approaches we sing about the Prince of Peace who is coming into the world and wonder what part can we play in peacemaking in this world today.  Start by finding where there is hurt and take time to listen, to be present and to find ways to make peace and reconciliation. 

Texts:

Brands, H.W. The First American: The Life and times of Benjamin Franklin, Anchor Books, New York. 2000

Brubaker, Jack. Massacre of the Conestogas: On the Trail of the Paton Boys in Lancaster County (PA). The History Press. 2010

Kenny, Kevin. Peaceable Kingdom Lost: The Paxton Boys and the Destruction of William Penn’s Holy Experiment. Oxford University Press. 2009.

Covered with Silver

The Methodist Episcopal Church in American began in 1784 at the Christmas Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. This meeting was planned at Barratts Chapel in Frederica, Delaware. There is a star on the floor there that reminds us of the famous meeting of Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke.  A new organized denomination of the Methodist movement of John Wesley in England began from that small beginning.  In 1884 the Methodist Episcopal Church in America celebrated its 100th anniversary.  At that centennial celebration Bishop Matthew Simpson of Philadelphia was one of the leading bishops, though he was near death at the time. A coin was minted for the occasion that had the face of Francis Asbury on one side and Bishop Simpson on the other side.  These coins were souvenirs of this wonderful milestone in Methodist history.

One hundred years later I was a young United Methodist pastor serving a 4-point charge in Frederick, Maryland in 1984.  I had only been ordained for 3 years when American Methodism turned 200. My husband was serving a 3-point charge at the same time and we had two small children.  Life was busy and full.  The General Conference of the United Methodist Church would be held in Baltimore that year and we brought our church members down on school buses to see that great musical extravaganza in the Baltimore Civic Center.  There was a souvenir coin minted for the bicentennial as there was for the centennial.  We bought these heavy brass coins  and put them in our pockets and remembered the grand and glorious celebration of our church’s rich history.

What a surprise to receive a little box from my father  that year with a necklace inside.  Dad was an antique collector and had somehow run across an original souvenir coin of the 1884 centennial.  He realized how precious this was given the celebration we were having for the bicentennial.  He had the coin dipped in silver and made into a necklace with a long silver chain. I remember showing it to church historians at the time and everyone agreed it was the real thing and that it was indeed a collector’s item.  The silver did not make much sense to people but it made a lot of sense to me.

My father had a friend who he knew for many years who was a silversmith.  Ray covered things in silver and polished silver and made silver jewelry.  Dad always loved silver and when he would find some antique or unique thing he would have Ray dip it in silver.  It was shiny and beautiful and made something drab and plain become something rich and valuable.  He often would find items that were silver that had tarnished from years of not being polished and he would recognize it for what it was and get Ray to polish it up and it was transformed into a glittering prize.  That is the kind of person my Dad was.  He saw the good in everyone, even the tarnished souls of life and was always willing to give and help and give people a second chance. He saw silver in everyone even covering them with the silver of forgiveness and dignity when necessary.

Ordinations online?

It has come to my attention that some of the people in our United Methodist family have gone on the internet and purchased ordination certificates from a number of websites.  Lay people as well as local pastors with limited sacramental privileges are getting these certificates.  Some have performed weddings and consecrated communion using the authority of these ordaining bodies.  Some have seen it as a way to qualify for tax exemptions. The process is very simple and it requires no seminary training, interviews or screening.  Literally anyone can become ordained and hold ministerial credentials using this method and some sites do not even charge for this service. 

This is not in any way condoned by the United Methodist Church, the Philadelphia Area, the bishop or the cabinets.  The process of ordination in the United Methodist Church is rigorous and intentionally thorough in order to protect the church and its people from those who could potentially do harm by a lack of training, theological grounding, experience and supervision.  The integrity of our process and Wesleyan heritage is diminished when people purchase ordinations for the sake of convenience.  I urge anyone holding such ordinations to go online and remove themselves from these organizations immediately.  I ask pastors and lay leaders to teach about the process of ministry and why our system, with its many requirements and standards, needs to be regarded as sacred, respected and non-negotiable.  It is an affront to those who have worked hard, studying many years in seminary, spending much money, making many personal sacrifices when others, maybe unknowingly, seek ordinations in an easy, anonymous way. 

Furthermore, anyone who has an ordination certificate has joined another denomination and is no longer a member of the United Methodist Church.   The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (2012) reads as follows:   “If a pastor is informed that a member has without notice united with a church of another denomination, the pastor shall make diligent inquiry and , if the report is confirmed, shall enter “Withdrawn” after the person’s name on the membership roll and shall report the same to the next charge conference.” Paragraph 241.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and for the continuing journey of faith we have in which we hold one another accountable in love.  

Whose Side is God On?

With humanity comes “sides.”  They include political, theological, ethnicity, gender, etc. etc.  There are as many ways to be divided into opposing camps as there are issues and diversities on the planet earth.  We like to think that we are right and that God is on our side.   As United Methodists who discern our beliefs based on Scripture, tradition, reason and experience, we have Bible verses that support our “side.”  But does that necessarily mean that God is with us and not with the people with whom we disagree?  In our heart of hearts we know that God is bigger than this but somehow it is much easier to make God into our own image than to grapple with the God-presence in the “other.”

                

The Book of Jonah in the Old Testament is about the most outrageous four chapters in the Bible.  It proclaims, it screams, it sets off neon-colored fireworks in the sky that say “God is on everyone’s side!!!” and God goes to great lengths to embrace all in the circle of divine love.  In chapter one of Jonah we see the prophet fleeing from God because he does not want to preach repentance to the evil city of Nineveh. Jonah would prefer that they get what they deserve for their sins and be destroyed.  God would prefer that they get a second chance and be forgiven. God extends that same grace to Jonah by saving him in the ocean using a great fish as a life boat and to the good-natured sailors on the boat by calming the sea.  God is on everyone’s side working for salvation and the good of all. 

What would it look like if we, God’s children, took a page out of the Book of Jonah and worked toward the acceptance and good of all?  Do our partisan camps accomplish the work of the salvation of the world or does it create more division and strife among us?  Do you really want to look like Jonah, who at the end of the book (chapter 4), is pouting on the hill under a tree because God did not kill the Ninevites?  Can we instead rejoice that God wants everyone to be saved and join in that cause, putting aside our need to be right, our need to be God’s favorite, our need to see the other “side” lose?  God’s love is outrageously inclusive and sometimes offensive when we try to put God in a box and insist that we own God exclusively.  Who on the other “side” can you embrace this day with prayer, forgiveness and good will?   What sword and shield of self-righteousness can you lay down for the cause of God’s purpose of inclusive salvation?

Call to Prayer and Action

Grace and peace to you from The Lord Jesus Christ!  Our hearts are heavy once again at the news of another shooting in our nation.  This time at the Navy Yards in the Washington, DC area.  The flags are flying at half mast and so are our hearts as we grieve the death of the hard-working people who perished. Please pray for the families and the workers there but also pray for the family of the perpetrator.  Pray for the day when people who have troubled hearts can get the help they need before things like this happens.  Reach out to people who you perceive need help.

In addition our nation watches with horror as the people in Colorado have been devastated by flood waters.  We remember that from previous hurricanes and people helped us.  May we take special offerings in our churches for flood relief efforts. One hundred percent of our gifts to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) goes to help the cause.*  Monies collected can be sent to our conference office.

The conference cabinets, lay leaders, staff, and I call all of you to prayer and action.

Bishop Peggy A. Johnson

*Download the UMCOR mobile app for up to the minute news on your phone or go to www.umcor.org. 

Telling Someone You Believe in Something

When my husband and I arrived at our first student appointment in southern Indiana in the fall of 1978 this church had just been rebuilt after a devastating tornado that had destroyed many homes and businesses. The new church was something of a "pre-fab" but it was adequate for the small congregation of people who lived on this hill and it was totally new. But Ray, a church member, was not at all satisfied until he got the bell back. When the tornado hit on that fateful day in April the church bell that hung in the church steeple for over a hundred years went flying across the countryside and landed in a field. After the tornado was over the church bell was recovered and brought back to the church. The new church did not have a steeple that could hold that heavy brass bell and Ray wanted the bell to be rung again. He collected money for several years and the church built a stand-alone bell tower next to the new church so that once again the bell could be heard on Sunday morning. By the time we left that appointment the bell tower was built and dedicated. It was Ray's happiest day since the tornado. For Ray it was more than a bell calling people to church. He said "when you ring a bell you are telling people that you believe in something."

Truly our churches believe in something!  We believe in The Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.  We ring our bells calling people to worship and we call people to faith in Christ because we believe in this great truth and we serve God in the strength of that faith.

This week we as a nation are called to ring bells on Wednesday, August 28th at 3 pm.  Why? To remember 50 years since the March on Washington during the Civil Rights movement when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his great "I Have a Dream" sermon that he delivered to thousands of people at 3 pm.  He believed in something.  Dr. King believed that equal rights for all people in the United States could become a reality.  In the 50 years since that day many important strides have been made toward this dream of equality.  So we should ring our bells to celebrate this great movement in our society.  But we should also ring a bell tomorrow to tell people that we believe in something else: that the work is not yet done and that there are still more barriers to equal rights that are yet to be overcome in our country and in this world.  Ring a bell to say that you believe in Dr. King's dream and that you will work to see his dream come to full fruition wherever it is that you live and work and worship.