Bishop Marcus Matthews and the Cabinet of the Baltimore-Washington Conference announce the following clergy appointments. The appointments are effective July 1, 2016.

April 4

Pastor Michael Carrington, to St Luke’s UMC in Reisterstown

Rev. Richard Jewell (who is retiring), to part-time at Calvary UMC in Ridgely, W.Va., from the South Cumberland Charge

Rev. Alhassan Macaulay, to Mt. Zion/Franklin Charge in Lothian, from Franklin UMC in Churchton

Pastor Rob Pierson, to part-time at Davis Memorial UMC and part-time at Emmanuel UMC in Cumberland, from Timonium-Fairview Cooperative Parish

Rev. Stephen Ricketts to Linganore in Union Bridge, MD from Providence-Fort Washington UMC in Fort Washington

Pastor Joshua Rider, to part-time at Sideling Hill Charge, Catalpa in Hancock and Piney Plains in Little Orlean

Rev. Marvin Wamble, to St. Matthews/Sollers Charge in Shadyside, from Lusby Charge in Lusby

March 28

Rev. Andrea Middleton King, to the Abingdon Cooperative Parish, from Baltimore-Washington Conference staff

March 21

Rev. Herbert Brisbon, to Jerusalem-Mt. Pleasant UMC in Rockville, from Howard University Campus Minister in Washington, D.C.

Rev. Alexis Brown, to Howard University Campus Minister and Associate pastor at Asbury UMC in Washington, D.C, from Van Buren UMC in Washington

Rev. Kimberly Brown-Whale, to Brooklyn Community UMC, from Essex UMC in Essex

Rev. Jalene Chase Sands, to Douglas Memorial UMC in addition to serving Community UMC in Washington

Rev. Jason Jordan-Griffin, to Union Memorial in Baltimore, from St. John’s in Pumphrey

Rev. Kenneth McDonald, to Glen Burnie UMC in Glen Burnie, from Montgomery UMC in Damascus

Rev. John Nupp, appointed as the conference staff for the Board of Ordained Ministry, from Wards Chapel UMC in Randallstown

Rev. Brett Pinder, to First UMC in Hyattsville as associate pastor, while continuing as University of Maryland Campus Minister

Pastor Steve Smith, from Brooklyn Community UMC, to Emory UMC in Street, Md.

Pastor W. Scott Summers, to Bedington UMC in Martinsburg, W.Va., from Davis Memorial UMC in Cumberland

Rev. Tim Warner, to Mill Creek Parish in Derwood, from an Extension Ministry

Rev. Linda Yarrow, to Dublin-Darlington Charge in Street, Md., from the South Damascus Charge in Damascus

March 14

Rev. Robert Barnes, to Mt. Oak UMC in Mitchellville, from Glen Burnie UMC in Glen Burnie

Pastor Lillian Boyd, to serve as the associate pastor at Bel Air UMC in Bel Air, from the Boring Charge, in Boring, Md.

Rev. Tori Butler, to Good Hope Union UMC in Silver Spring, from Williams Memorial in Texarkana in the Texas Annual Conference

Rev. Will Butler, to Queen’s Chapel UMC in Beltsville, from Union Memorial UMC in Baltimore

Rev. Lysbeth Cockrell, to Halethorpe-Relay, from Cape St. Claire UMC

Rev. Bresean Jenkins, to Ebenezer UMC in Washington, D.C., from the Queen’s Chapel/Ebenezer Charge

Rev. Carissa Surber, as the associate pastor of Severna Park UMC, from Trinity UMC in Odenton

March 7

Rev. Cindy Caldwell, to Benevola UMC in Boonsboro, from Buckeystown UMC in Buckeystown

Rev. David Coakley, to Union Chapel UMC in Joppa, from Linganore UMC in Linganore

Pastor Sarah Elliott, to Hopewell and Wesleyan Chapel UMCs in the Susquehannna Charge

Rev. Sandy Rector, to extension ministry as a chaplain at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center in Baltimore, from Oak Chapel UMC in Silver Spring

Rev. Deb Scott, to Calvary UMC in Mt. Airy, from Mill Creek Parish in Derwood

Rev. Theresa Thames, to extension ministry as associate dean of the chapel and associate professor of religion at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J., from Cheverly UMC in Cheverly

Rev. Braulio Torres, to Calvary UMC in Annapolis as the associate pastor, from Millian UMC in Rockville

Rev. Stacey Cole Wilson, to the Baltimore-Washington Conference staff as Director of Congregational Excellence, from Good Hope Union in Silver Spring

Rev. Dottie Yunger, to Solomons UMC in Solomons, from associate pastor of Metropolitan Memorial UMC in D.C.

February 29

Rev. Selena Johnson, from Community UMC in Maryland City, to Oak Chapel UMC in Silver Spring

Rev. Lillian Smith, from St. Matthews UMC of Valley Forge in Wayne, Pa., to Cheverly UMC in Cheverly

Rev. Ronald Triplett, from the Temple Hills Charge in Temple Hills, to Gethsemane UMC in Capitol Heights

Rev. Patricia Watson, from Epworth UMC in Cockeysville, to First Saints Community Church in Leonardtown (California Campus pastor)

February 22

Rev. John H. Dean, to Deer Park UMC in Westminster, from Benevola UMC in Boonsboro

Rev. Kevin Smalls, to Hope UMC in the Detroit Annual Conference, from Queens Chapel-Ebenezer Charge in Beltsville

February 15

Pastor Pat Abell, to West Friendship charge (St. James UMC/Rockland UMC), from Dickerson Charge (Forest Grove UMC/Dickerson UMC)

Pastor R. Lorraine Brown, to Prospect/Marvin Chapel Charge in Mt. Airy, from Growing Seed Charge.

Rev. Mernie Crane, to Pasadena UMC in Pasadena, from Calvary UMC in Annapolis

Rev. Mark Groover, to Asbury UMC in Frederick, from New Hope Fellowship and Clarks Chapel UMC in Edgewood

Rev. Stephen Humphrey, to Mt. Zion UMC in Mechanicsville, from  Union Chapel UMC in Joppa

Rev Elizabeth Jackson, to Otterbein UMC in Hagerstown, from Bel Air UMC in Bel Air

Rev. Stephen L. Larsen, to Calvary UMC in Frederick, from Calvary UMC in Mt. Airy

Rev. John Rudisill, to Montgomery UMC in Damascus, from Bedington UMC in Martinsburg, W.Va.

Rev. Corey Sharpe, to Huntingtown UMC in Huntingtown, from Susquehanna Charge in Havre de Grace

February 9

Rev. Meredith Wilkins-Arnold, to Calvary UMC in Annapolis, from Solomons UMC in Solomons

Rev. Kathy Lossau, to Good Shepherd UMC in Silver Spring, from Emory UMC in Street, Md.

Rev. Jim Johnson, to Bethel UMC in Chewsville from Dublin-Darlington Charge in Street, Md.

Retirees:

Helen Arminger
John M. Blanchard
Leroy W. Boldley
Henry G. Butler
John Close
Joe Conte
Claire L. Fiedler
Sylvester Gaines
Marianne Grabowski
Jerry Grace
Nancy Green
Darcy Hunt
Richard Jewell
Hattie Johnson-Holmes
Joye Jones
Richard D. Lindsay
Joanna Marceron
Sherrin Marshall
Earl Mason
Mary Marcia Mayor
Jim Pugh
Sheldon M Reese
Maria Rivera
Stephen D. Robison
Keith Schukraft
David W. Simpson
Helen Smith
Charles H. Stevenson
Ann Strickler
Deborah Tate
Linda Warehime
Harold B. Wright
John Roger Brown (retired Dec. 1, 2015)

By Erik Alsgaard

Bishop Francis Asbury was remembered as the “The Prophet of the Long Road” on the 200th anniversary of his death during worship at Lovely Lane UMC and ceremonies at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, both in Baltimore, on April 3.

Asbury, an icon of Methodism from its start in Colonial America, arrived on these shores from England in 1771 at the age of 26. He had answered a call as a lay preacher from John Wesley to go to America. At the time, there were about 600 Methodists in the colonies.

At the time of his death, on March 31, 1816, Asbury had ordained about 1,000 clergy and membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which he co-founded, stood at more than 200,000.

These facts are well known, said the Rev. Alfred Day, General Secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History, who preached at Lovely Lane to start the commemoration. However, Asbury’s message for today, he said, is just as important and often missed.

“He stayed,” Day said of Asbury. “When the war for independence was won; when British-born preachers packed up and headed home, British-born Francis Asbury stayed.”

Asbury’s endurance and persistence are not to be overlooked, Day said. “There was no mountain too high, no valley too low, no river too wide to keep him from spreading his version of the Methodist message.”

Asbury, Day said, was an effective leader but not a great preacher. A man who possessed keen organizational skills, Asbury’s genius was derived from his simple mission statement. Day noted that Asbury wrote in his journal during his trip to America that “I am going to live to God and invite others to do so.”

Day also noted similarities between Francis Asbury and another Francis, that of Assisi. Asbury never married and gave nearly all of his money and possessions away during his ministry, Day said. He travelled the country on horseback, logging about 6,000 miles per year while staying in the homes of friends, strangers and converts alike.

“Asbury was a leader with great humility, perseverance, piety and discipline,” Day said. “He also had — and I was surprised to learn this — he had a wonderful sense of humor.”

Asbury knew popular American culture long before anyone else because of his extensive travels, Day said. His mission was to make the Gospel relevant to everyone he met. One piece of American culture he abhorred was slavery; Asbury called it a “moral evil.”

And yet, Asbury made accommodations for slave-holding Methodists, mostly in the South, in order to hold the church together, Day said. “This haunted him the rest of his life.”

At the Christmas Conference of 1784, held in Baltimore, Asbury was ordained a Deacon on one day, Elder the next, and consecrated bishop the next. He became the leader of the new Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Cynthia Moore-Koikoi, superintendent of the Baltimore Metropolitan District, brought greetings at the cemetery on behalf of Bishop Marcus Matthews. The bishop was in Korea, attending the Nambu Annual Conference with which the BWC is in partnership. The relationship between the two groups goes back 130 years, when the Rev. John Goucher, then pastor of Lovely Lane, had a vision of taking Christ to Korea.

John Strawbridge, a direct descendant of Robert Strawbridge, a layman who proclaimed Methodism in what is now Carroll County years before Asbury arrived, spoke at the dedication. Robert Strawbridge, John’s seventh great-grandfather, is buried in the Bishop’s Lot.

“We are here,” Strawbridge said, “to stand bodily beside these people: beside Francis, and John (Emory), and Enoch (George) and Beverly (Waugh). Besides Robert, Elizabeth (Robert Strawbridge’s wife), and Jesse (Lee) and (E.) Stanley (Jones)… to be reminded that these are people like ourselves; no figures of legend, but simple persons of flesh and of breath who followed God.”

Strawbridge, Vice President of the United Methodist Historical Society of the BWC, said that the gathering at the cemetery was to dedicate a monument, a word that means “reminder,” he said, “which stands firmly on the ground, but drawing from an ancient symbol that points heavenward.”

Also in attendance at the cemetery was Jim Winkler, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, who brought greetings from its 38 ecumenical partners.

The Rev. Emora Brannan, BWC Historian and president of the UMHS, spoke about the journey Asbury took, even in death.

After Asbury died in Virginia, his body was buried there. The 1816 General Conference ordered his remains moved to Baltimore, where it was reported that 20,000 people lined the funeral procession. He was re-interred at the Eutaw Street Church.

The 1852 General Conference authorized the transfer of Asbury’s remains to Mt. Olivet Cemetery, just southwest of Baltimore. It was at that spot that people gathered in the afternoon of April 3 to dedicate a new memorial to Asbury and the other bishops and pastors buried in what is now called “The Bishop’s Lot.”

“Even in death,” Brannan said, “Asbury was an itinerant preacher.”

A new exhibit, “The Brand and the Bishop,” was also opened April 3 at the Lovely Lane Museum.

By Melissa Lauber*

Traveling can give you a window on worlds you never knew existed and provide glimpses and new understandings of fascinating cultures. But visiting others – living, worshipping, learning and working in their own unique contexts – can also provide a mirror into one’s self and to the complex beauty of God’s creation.

Our covenant partners in South Korea opened their meeting of the Nambu (South) Annual Conference today. Bishop Marcus Matthews preached at the opening worship service. He presented Bishop Seung Chul Ahn with an exquisite stole made by Debbie Albrecht, who works in the BWC’s episcopal office. Then they got down to church business, and I found myself looking into both windows and mirrors.

These are some of the things that I saw:

• Everyone who stands in the chancel area removes their shoes. They stand on holy ground.
• Bishops serve an annual conference for two years. During that time, they also serve a church. Bishop Ahn gaveled the conference to order sitting at a table in the front of the sanctuary at Central Methodist Church, where he serves as senior pastor.
• There were 1,500 lay and clergy members in attendance. The vast majority were men – all dressed in dark suits. (In the Nambu Conference there are 736 clergymen and 33 clergywomen.) Attendance was taken to ensure everyone was present.
• A listing of traits required to serve in leadership in the conference was read. The nominations committee noted the birth dates required for different positions. To be a district superintendent, one must serve as a pastor for 10 years. To be a bishop, one must serve at least 20 years.
• The conference budget of $800,000 was adopted. A plea was made for larger churches to pay their apportionments, which I was told is 5 percent of a church’s budget.
• A group of several churches from Canada are joining the Nambu Conference. Their pastors were introduced.
• The pastor whose church paid for lunch for everyone in attendance was introduced and thanked.
• A visiting bishop from another annual conference was introduced. He called the Nambu Conference revolutionary, powerful and spiritual. “It has the spirit of John Wesley,” he said.

In his preaching, prior to the business session, Bishop Matthews echoed this Wesleyan spirit that is at the heart of the partnership.

“You and I are each a part of God’s plan for bringing abundant life to a world searching for something more,” he said. “This is why we are here today… We do what we do as people of God, understanding that God has the whole world in God’s hands — you, and I along with those who are hurting and searching for the light of day. But we, as disciples, are here to proclaim that God still heals the sick today, and God still has the power and the capacity to bind up the broken hearted.

“The more we allow the power of Christ’s sacrificial nature to live in us, the more of Christ’s power we bring to bear to change the world and our day-to-day life circumstances,” the bishop concluded. “Let’s together change the world!”

*Melissa Lauber is Director of Communications for the Baltimore-Washington Conference

By Melissa Lauber*

On the last day of our journey with our partners in Korea, we visited Mokwon University, a Methodist-affiliated school in Daejeon. The university has 10,000 students and promotes itself as an “educational community full of dreams and passion.”

Students attending the college of theology receive a scholarship for their first year of studies, paid for by area Methodist churches.

Before preaching at the chapel service, Bishop Marcus Matthews and the Rev. Maidstone Mulenga, the BWC’s director of Connectional Ministries, were asked to cut a ribbon for a new mission center at the school.

Joining them was the Rev. Ohoon Kwon, the chaplain for mission work at the school, who attended Wesley Seminary in Washington, D.C., from 1996 to 1998.

Chapel attendance at the school is mandatory. Electronic attendance is taken and students are expelled if they miss three worship services.

Speaking to the students, Bishop Matthews shared with them stories from when he was a young man, growing up as one of seven children in South Carolina.

From his Uncle Bubba, Matthews said, he learned three values: be interdependent, sharing gifts and resources with people who need you; be positive; and look at roadblocks, not as stumbling blocks, but as opportunities for new growth.

Following a delicious traditional Korean lunch with three of the university’s chaplains, the BWC delegation attended the ordination service of the Nambu Annual Conference, where Bishop Matthews preached.

He told the ordinands, who included a pastor from Mongolia, that “the church of Jesus Christ known as Methodism will need your faith, enthusiasm, and imagination now, more than ever before.”

He urged them to practice genuine discipleship, which means “becoming more and more like Christ in every avenue of our lives.” Citing Romans 12, he told them, “Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for God.”

As we began the preparations to depart, the Rev. J.W. Park, superintendent of the Central Maryland District and leader of the Korean Partnership, had already begun making plans for six young adult Korean clergy to visit the Baltimore-Washington Conference this June for a cultural exchange.

While in Korea, I must confess, I learned very little of the language. The Revs. J.W. and HiRho Park provided non-stop translation to ensure everyone could talk freely with one another. But one word I learned was “thank you.” The bishop knows it, too, and everyone smiled when he said it.

“Kamsahamnida.”

There are many more profound things I could say about this trip and our partnership and the experiences of God created in a global church, but for right now, my heart just feels full of gratitude, and kamsahamnida feels like the best last word.

*Melissa Lauber is Director of Communications for the Baltimore-Washington Conference

By Eveline Chikwanah*
Article originally published in United Methodist News

Dozens of children tussled to catch the ball, yelling in delight as it flew from one pair of hands to another. The deafening noise attracted some adults who looked on, oblivious of the dust rising all around them.

Recently, at Mashambanhaka Secondary School, pupils, their parents and members of the community celebrated the construction of two classroom blocks by Community United Methodist Church in Crofton, Maryland.

“In the few years since The United Methodist Church took over the administration of this school, we have seen great changes, including the modern buildings built here,” said Chief Douglas Nyajina of Uzumba.

The traditional leader said he hoped the church would continue to nurture and develop the school. “It is my wish to see Mashambanhaka develop into an institution of higher learning, even a university,” Nyajina said.

Becoming an ‘A’-level school

United Methodist Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa (left) joins a tour of one of the new classrooms. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah

In 2010, the Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe Zvataida Rural District Council turned Mashambanhaka Primary School over to The United Methodist Church. Today it boasts of a secondary school with four classroom blocks comprising two classes each. The secondary school headmaster, Ketai Nyabote, said the two latest blocks of classes cost $42,000.

“Mashambanhaka can develop into an ‘A’-level school and become a satellite institution for existing universities,” said Bishop Eben Kanukayi Nhiwatiwa, Zimbabwe Episcopal Area.

The Rev. Samson Muzengeza, who is in charge of the mission center, said the school is yet to be registered with the government’s Ministry of Education.

“We are currently a satellite school because we do not have the infrastructure required for us to register as a full-fledged school,” said Muzengeza.

One of the requirements is a house for teachers, which is nearing completion.

“Another vital component is a strong room for safekeeping of public examination papers,” Muzengeza said. “We are yet to find the finance for it since we cannot rely on school fees whose payment by parents is very erratic. The strong room is estimated to cost about $2,500.”

Pupils who complete O-level studies at the school are currently registering at neighboring Chikuhwa Secondary School for their public examinations.

Muzengeza said completion of the two classroom blocks by Zimbabwe Volunteers in Mission was a major development for the school. “It is a milestone in the life of Mashambanhaka, the first new mission station of The United Methodist Church in Uzumba area,” he said.

Community United Methodist Church also donated six sewing machines, a variety of sports equipment, bibs and shorts.

An emotional journey

Claire Burrill, 90, and Charlie Moore help celebrate the dedication of new classrooms. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah

For the 14-member delegation from Crofton, this year’s trip was an emotional journey as they brought the ashes of Cleo McCoy, one of the founders of the 19-year-old partnership between the Baltimore-Washington Conference and Zimbabwe West Conference’s Murewa District for interment at Murewa Mission Cemetery.

Charlie Moore, who led the team, described the journey as a moving experience. “Half of Cleo’s ashes were buried at home last year, and we brought the remainder here because she wanted to return home to Zimbabwe,” he said.

Moore said the local community was anxious to know which part of McCoy they were burying.

“I told them it was her heart, for she really loved the people of Murewa District.”

He said McCoy and Emily Frye first came to Zimbabwe in 1997, and the following year they spent six weeks at Murewa Mission teaching women how to sew. They had compassion for children and endeared themselves to the community, who called them “gogo,” a local term for grandmother.

Upon their return to the United States, they traveled to 30 or 40 churches and raised $40,000, which helped to establish orphan trusts in Zimbabwe. The Emily/Cleo Orphan Trust at Zaranyika United Methodist Church is still active.

“Today would not have happened if it were not for them,” Moore said. “We are all Emilys and Cleos, and their spirit lives on through us and the work we are doing. McCoy was buried alongside Frye who died in 2012.

One volunteer this year was 90-year-old Claire Burrill of Laguna Niguel Presbyterian Church in Laguna Beach, California.

“This is my first trip to Zimbabwe,” said Burrill, who immediately earned the title of “gogo.” “I wanted to come and see God’s work and am humbled by the experience.”

Especially touching for her was the experience of assisting mothers and their babies living with HIV atProject Tariro at Old Mutare.

“We brought clothes for the babies and gave each mother a present,” Burrill said. “The experience of seeing the joy on their faces is far different from just writing and sending a check.”

Chikwanah is a communicator of the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference.

News media contact: Vicki Brown, news editor, newsdesk@umcom.org or 615-742-5469.

By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

From full-time Elders with decades of pastoral service to new Certified Lay Ministers, 11 categories of clergy lead the 85 churches of the Cumberland-Hagerstown District. The diversity of their gifts and qualifications is intensely broad.

But how many of them would “friend” you on Facebook?

On March 7, the pastors gathered at Hancock UMC for a continuing education event where they explored how the act of befriending had less to do with knowledge of social media and more to do with ideas about ethics and clergy boundaries.

Led by Sondra Wheeler, a professor of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., the group considered how the priesthood is the world’s oldest profession, followed by medicine and law. These original professions, Wheeler said, make commitments to forms of human wholeness and well-being — pastors to salvation, doctors to bodily health, and lawyers to justice. With these commitments comes power, “but not simply power over; power for.”

Pastors are entrusted with power through a calling to the service of others, Wheeler said, which obligates them to be committed to the moral well-being of others. Even then it can be personally costly. To ensure this power isn’t abused, professional boundaries are established that define the practice of ministry.

But these boundaries are not about transgression or barriers not to cross, like on a soccer field, Wheeler said. Rather, they mark a space that allows space for congregants to be vulnerable.

“The whole reason for professions is that people need forms of care they cannot provide for themselves,” Wheeler told the clergy. “Boundaries are not to keep you out of court. They mark off the spaces in which profound risks can be taken and they mark those spaces as inviolate.”

Co-mingled in the discussion of boundaries were thoughts about power. Wheeler used principles of physics to describe it. Power, she said, is “simply the capacity to have an effect in the physical world.”

To fulfill their calling to proclaim the Gospel and make it visible, clergy must recognize their power and their boundaries.

However, in today’s world, many pastors have multi-layered relationships with those in their congregations. They share meals, conversations at Starbucks, are present at special events, and offer God’s love and comfort in difficult situations. Friendship can be seen as a model for ministry.

Drawing on the works of the philosopher Aristotle, the pastors defined friendship as being voluntary, between equals, reciprocal, dependent on mutual disclosure and involving mutual care-taking.

Friendship, in this model, they said, “can be the pinnacle of human relationships. Friends are the other half of one’s self. A friend is the one to whom you open your soul.”

In small group discussion, the pastors considered these characteristics of friendship, along with clergy boundaries and determined being friends with congregants was not in anyone’s best interest. Their role, the pastors reported, was “to be friendly, but not friends.”

However, in today’s culture, maintaining these boundaries and avoiding friendships is not always easy. On Facebook, people are invited to share with one another as “friends.”

To be relevant the church must be present in social media. However, for pastors to keep a strict professional distance on Facebook and other social media platforms is not easy.

Consider vacation photos or the sharing of personal thoughts, Wheeler said. “Posting on Facebook is like posting on the bulletin board in the narthex.”

Even subdividing one’s presence and only allowing certain people access to parts of one’s page can raise concerns.

“Pastors,” the Cumberland-Hagerstown clergy concluded, “should offer devoted personal service, but not friendship.”

“Unfriending” people when one moves to a new appointment so that the authority of the new pastor is not challenged can also cause difficult issues, the pastors said.

“We’re not here to find all the answers this morning,” said the Rev. Susan Boehl, who chairs the district’s committee on ministry, which sponsored the Boundaries and Social Media discussion. “But we’re learning and having conversation. That’s important.”

The Rev. Conrad Link, District Superintendent, said he strongly believes in the importance of continuing education. It is one of the strengths of his district and the clergy gather regularly to learn, share ideas and resources and network with one another.

By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

Rev. Joe Daniels

Bishop Marcus Matthews has announced that the Rev. Joe Daniels will be leaving the Baltimore-Washington Conference Cabinet as superintendent of the Greater Washington District. Daniels will now focus more intently on his other, on-going ministries pastoring a local church and providing leadership for the creation of a new affordable housing development in Washington, D.C.

For the past three years, Daniels has served the Baltimore-Washington Conference in an innovative, dual ministry role of superintending the Greater Washington District and pastoring Emory UMC in Washington.  It has been a challenging, exciting and rewarding assignment, Daniels said. In a relatively short period of time, the district has grown in membership, discipleship, giving, and community engagement, and the congregations have expanded in new aspects of ministry and vitality.

Beginning in July, Daniels will turn his attention completely to yet another creative, demanding and fulfilling role – the further development of the Emory congregation and the spearheading of a $56 million, 99-unit, affordable rental housing and church development project called the Beacon Center. Work on this initiative has intensified considerably over the past year.  To this end, effective June 30, Daniels will transition from the superintendency of the Greater Washington District to focus squarely on the congregation and the Beacon Center effort.

“Joe has brought many varied and valuable gifts to the Cabinet over the past three years,” said Bishop Matthews. “He is a man of tremendous faith and a visionary leader. We will miss his voice and presence at the Cabinet table, but recognize that his bold leadership is needed both at Emory and in this housing ministry, which has the potential of transforming the lives of thousands of D.C. residents.”

Daniels remembers his initial inklings of the Beacon Center. In 1994, he was waiting in line to drop off clothes at Tony’s Cleaners at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Rittenhouse Street in northwest DC. “I just turned and looked out the window and God revealed a God-sized vision of what might happen in our community,” Daniels said. “We’re walking into that vision.”

Artist renderings of the proposed new Beacon Center.

Work on the Beacon Center began in earnest a decade ago, stemming from Emory’s passion around the issue of homelessness and affordable housing. Over the years, the project has grown substantially. It includes a renovation of the 350-seat sanctuary and church, which will sit at the center of apartments designed for people whose income level is 50 to 60 percent of the average median income in D.C.  In addition, the project will provide units for people moving from homelessness to stable residency.

“So you’re talking about teachers, policemen, firefighters, legislative aides – people who really make up the infrastructure of the city, but who, because of rising costs, really struggle to find a place to live in the city.” Daniels said. “But you are also talking about people who are consistently left out of the mainstream.”

He expects the project will go to settlement sometime this summer, that construction will begin approximately a month later, and that residents will move in by the summer of 2018.

On that day, “the first thing I will say when I’m asked to speak at the ribbon cutting will be, ‘To God be the glory for the great things he has done.’ Because it ain’t happening unless God makes it happen. The Lord has made that very clear.”

Bold visions and huge undertakings, all wrapped up in dependence on God, have been one of the hallmarks of Daniels’ time as superintendent, leading the district’s 66 churches in 15 Zip Codes. The Zip Codes are important, because “our whole vision has been around claiming your Zip Code for Jesus Christ,” he said.

Drawing from his book, Walking with Nehemiah, he has encouraged clergy and lay leaders to see the community as a congregation.

“We serve a big God and I believe that as we dream God-sized dreams and see God-sized visions, and have the courage and strength to go after them, phenomenal things can happen. That’s what I’ve seen and am seeing in the Greater Washington District; and for that I am proud of our pastors and congregations,” Daniels said.

During his time as superintendent, the district saw numerical growth in a time when other parts of the church were in decline, and they were faithful in the payment of apportionments, supporting the connectional system with their giving.

Two new churches were also planted – Nueva Vida, a Hispanic/Latino congregation in the College Park/Hyattsville area; and Inspire D.C., a movement of one church with many expressions, targeted toward young adults in Washington, D.C.  The district has also started a number of ministries that address hunger. In the 20019 Zip Code, one of the most neglected in the city, for example, there is only one grocery story for 70,000 people. Churches are bringing food and hope to the people there. The district has also been active in ministries of racial reconciliation.

Daniels said he attributes the growth and vital ministries in the district to the leadership of great pastors and lay people. “We’re growing because our leaders and congregations are starting to look externally, not just internally,” he said, “and churches are looking to be relevant, looking to see how they can be a blessing in people’s lives, instead of being self-serving. More of our churches are doing that and, I believe, more people are coming because of that.”

Daniels is quick to acknowledge the empowering leadership of Bishop Matthews, who “took a risk on what he saw might be possible” in allowing a pastor to also serve as a superintendent. He also praises his colleagues on the Cabinet. “And, I want to specifically thank Christie Latona and Olivia Gross (the Washington Region mission strategist and district administrator) because none of this happens unless both of them share their gifts. They have led and given themselves to lead this district in ways people can’t imagine.”

Daniels admits to being “settled into unsettledness” as he begins this new part of his journey in ministry. He is relying on God and working to be faithful to God’s call.

“I think my call, by-in-large, is wrapped up in six words: ‘He helps broken people become whole,’” Daniels said.  “And my role is to communicate to people wholeness and hope, in particular through preaching, teaching, vision-casting and positioning leaders to chase after, and to be, what God is calling and positioning them to be.”

For the person who follows him as superintendent, Daniels has just a few words to share. “Be yourself and love the people.  In addition, build connections with clergy and laity on the ground – using the influence of the superintendency to encourage and empower those in the local church, who serve on ‘the front lines’ of ministry.”

Bishop Matthews is expected to announce soon the appointment of the next superintendent of the Greater Washington District.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the best district in all of Methodism,” Daniels concluded. “It has been a true honor to serve with such great leaders and great people.  I look forward to journeying with everyone as we build the Kingdom of God together.  The best is yet to come!”

Patrick Manyika at the single borehole serving Dindi United Methodist Church Mission Centre and neighboring villagers. Photo by Eveline Chikwanah, UMNS.

By UMNS

A girl burrows in the riverbed for water to drink. Dindi school children are risking their health and their lives drinking this unsafe water, which was their only option in March. Photo by Luckymore Mudzengerere, UMNS

Dindi Mission is grappling with an acute water shortage as the lone borehole fails to cope with demand from the United Methodist center and the neighboring community.

In March, Facebook users were shocked to see photos of school children burrowing the dry riverbed in search of water to drink. One picture showed a girl half inside a hole as she searched for water to fill a bottle.

“I was shocked by the children digging in the river bed and decided to take the photos to show my colleagues, one of whom posted on Facebook,” said Pastor Luckymore Mudzengerere, Dindi station chairperson.

“I was concerned when I saw how they were endangering their lives in the quest for water and also risking their health by drinking dirty water from the riverbed,” Mudzengerere said.

The Dindi United Methodist Mission Centre was established in 1934. The center, which has a clinic and primary and secondary schools, has always faced water shortages, since it is located in a naturally dry region of Zimbabwe. The current clinic was built in 2005 by the Community United Methodist Church of Crofton, Maryland. The church is also spearheading efforts to drill two new boreholes at the mission, one at the clinic and another at the school.

Mudzengerere said the borehole failed to produce enough water for the mission center in March, and people resorted to digging the riverbed.

William Katsa, 78, said a dam was built across the Nyamakamba River in 1948. “The wall collapsed after three years and was rebuilt in 1952. That dam was later filled with sand and completely buried,” he said. “There are plans to build another dam about one kilometer away, but we are not sure when that will happen.”

The water crisis reaches its peak during school terms as almost 800 pupils and staff from the two schools, clinic, patients and members of the neighboring community all rely on the single borehole for safe drinking water. The government’s District Development Fund provided the borehole.

“Access to safe drinking water is a major challenge,” said Innocent Mutanga, Dindi High School headmaster. “Sometimes we have to wake up at 2 o’clock in the morning in order to beat the queue and get one bucket of borehole water,” he said.

He said after 5 o’clock, the number of people at the borehole swells as businesspeople from Dindi business center, especially those in the catering industry, join the quest for safe water.

“I always carry a 20-liter container to fetch water whenever I travel to Mutawatawa for meetings,” said Mutanga. Mutawatawa is the administrative center for Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe Zvataida Rural District Council, and is located 45 kilometers (28 miles) away. A dirt road links Dindi Mission to Mutawatawa.

Mutanga said he sometimes drank water from the riverbed. “The river water tastes better than the borehole water, which is salty. However, if you drink it after getting used to water from the borehole, it will upset your tummy.”

An uphill battle

Diarrhea and suspected dysentery cases top the list of diseases attended by clinic staff, said Henry Zanze, who has worked at the Community United Methodist Church Dindi Health Centre clinic for 16 years.

“Getting water to use at the clinic is literally an uphill battle, as the clinic is located on a hill about one kilometer away from the borehole,” Zanze said.

He said there was an outbreak of upset stomachs in March this year and the clinic treated 17 people suffering from suspected dysentery.

Councillor Wilford Katsande and Musangi Kabaira, secretary of Councillor Bigboy Matsimhu, said this year is the worst water shortage in living memory. The two government representatives believe a lot of cattle will die this year.

“From my experience, many cattle are bound to die between August and December this year, because we received very little rain and we have no grass for their pasture,” said Katsande.

“We have appealed to the government to drill more boreholes but have been informed there are no funds at the moment. We have also mobilized the community to dig deep wells but these have to be between 15-20 meters in depth because the water table is very low,” Kabaira said.

Tarisai Mutiwekuziva was born in Dindi and runs a retail shop at the business center. “We depend on the borehole for drinking water, and have resorted to digging the riverbed for water for cooking and washing. During the school term, you will be fortunate if you manage to fill a 20-liter bucket at the borehole,” she said.

‘A sense of urgency’

The situation in Dindi has been compounded by the lack of rainfall this year. “It only started raining in mid-March, so we face a severe food shortage since the majority of villagers rely on the rain for farming. As a result we have resorted to gold panning in areas from Dindi to the Mazowe River, which is 15 kilometers (9 miles) away,” said Manyika.

“Every able-bodied person is panning for alluvial gold found in the soil here. Other people risk their lives by searching for gold in abandoned mines, which may collapse and bury them alive,” he said.

Sarah Tayero, a nurse aide, said the Dindi Clinic treats 300 to 400 patients per month. “We serve an area with over 7,000 households located in 21 villages,” she said.

The clinic requires a lot of water, especially for the maternity section, which handles 15 deliveries a month. “We have resorted to asking relatives who accompany patients here to bring water for use at the clinic or fetch from the borehole. The staff is not able to fetch enough water for the clinic and for their personal consumption so we ask the community to assist,” said Tayero.

The Rev. Henry Chareka, Murewa district superintendent, said the church will soon drill a borehole at the clinic, with assistance from Community United Methodist Church and independent volunteers in mission Jim Gourley and Sue McCann.

Charlie Moore, leader of the Community United Methodist Church ZIM-VIM team, said in order to provide adequate water, the mission center needs two boreholes — one at the clinic and one downhill at the school. He said they have already begun fundraising and have a total of $16,000 in hand. The ZIM-VIM Team has already contributed $8,000 and another $8,000 has been contributed by Gourley and McCann.

“We contemplate that the total funding requirements for the two boreholes including all tanks, power, security, will exceed this amount. Therefore we are continuing our efforts to raise additional funds,” Moore said.

“We truly feel a sense of urgency to address this life-threatening situation in Dindi. Our hearts are filled the Holy Spirit calling us to respond,” he added. “I am totally confident that we will be successful in these efforts and the people of Dindi will have access to ample supplies of clean water in the very near future.”

Chikwanah is a communicator of the Zimbabwe East Annual Conference.

News media contact: Vicki Brown, news editor, newsdesk@umcom.org or 615-742-5470.

By Erik Alsgaard

The Rev. Gina Campbell, center, stands with members of the Security Team at Washington National Cathedral on April 17. Campbell, who is the first non-Episcopalian to serve as worship director at the Cathedral, is leaving her post after 8 years.

In the “Welcome” pamphlet handed out every Sunday at the Washington National Cathedral, the first line states that, at its heart, the Cathedral is “a community at worship.”

For the past eight years – the past five as its director – the Rev. Gina Campbell, a United Methodist Elder, has had a hand in putting together worship services in the massive, 2,000 seat gothic structure, where the president and the nation come to pray during times of national tragedy and triumph.

On April 17, Campbell was honored for her service during a worship service she helped design.  She is the first non-Episcopalian worship director at the Cathedral, the seat for the Episcopal bishop in Washington.

Beginning July 1, Campbell will be the visiting professor of worship at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. She will also serve as the “chapel Elder,” she said, helping to facilitate and plan the worship for the seminary community when it gathers.

“It’s a little surreal,” Campbell said after the morning worship service. “I haven’t quite taken in that I won’t be in this building in the same way again.”

Campbell said that her position requires “a lot of hours” being in the building. It was no accident that she posed for a photograph with the security guards at the Cathedral.

“I work really late at night,” Campbell said. “I’m almost always the last person to leave the building and they drive me to my car because it’s not totally safe for me to walk around outside at 2 o’clock in the morning.”

Also, she said, during the Muslim prayer service, there were a lot of threats made and the guards “took such gentle care of me,” she said.

One of the moments that stands out for Campbell in her time at the Cathedral is that Muslim prayer service, which happened in the upper transept.

“It was a difficult service to make happen, given the kind of resistance that came from various groups,” Campbell said. “The Muslims, themselves, were lovely people to partner with and the strength of the relationships that came out of that, you saw it this morning.”

Campbell was referring to the ecumenical nature of her final 11:15 a.m. worship service. Prayers were offered and sacred texts were read in Hebrew by Rabbi Bruce Kahn of Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase, and Imam Talib Shareef of the Nation’s Mosque, Masjid Muhammad.

The area where the Muslim service happened, Campbell said, is now her favorite part of the building.

The ecumenical piece of her ministry at the Cathedral surprised her, Campbell admitted, saying that she hadn’t had the opportunity before to put ecumenical ministries into practice.

“That came as a result of the Mandela funeral” in 2014, she said, “and it just became something really beautiful.”

Campbell said that there were many “little moments” that are highlights for her: the way the light hit a stained glass window; when the acolytes finally got their implements straight; moments when the music brought her to tears; and days when the prayers touched her heart.

The Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe

The preacher for the service highlighted the ecumenical nature of God. The Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society, based in Washington, D.C., preached from Genesis 12 on the story of Abram, Sarah and Lot and the search for the promised land.

“It is God’s story,” Henry-Crowe said. “It is our story.”

God calls each of us to go to a new place, she said, adding that God will always be watching over us on the journey.

“God doesn’t want any of God’s children sacrificed,” she said, noting the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22. “All of us should live in peace.”

Henry-Crowe, who became General Secretary in 2014, said that it matters with whom we travel on the journey God has called us to be on.

“With whom will we stand?” she asked. “Will we be with travel companions or fellow pilgrims?”

Echoing John Wesley’s theology of prevenient grace – the grace of God that goes before us – Henry-Crowe said that on our journey, God will already be there before we arrive.

“God’s story is given to us,” she said, “and God will come and lead us into the new world. We will need to cast our sights to our world and our own community.”

Noting that 80 percent of the world’s population lives on less than $10 per day, Henry-Crowe urged religious leaders to focus their attention and relationships on the poor.

As Campbell moves towards a time of teaching students at Wesley, she said she’s excited for the future.

“These are the Book of Common Prayer people” at the Cathedral, she said, “so they aren’t used to people writing their own prayers. I have figured out that I’m actually pretty good at it. Writing prayers takes time to learn, so I hope to teach them how to write beautiful prayers; how to let God write them through them.”

Campbell sums up her time at the Cathedral by saying it has been a “big privilege” to be there. “My dad’s a Methodist clergy, and I grew up with him doing circuit churches. When I was in the little circuit churches that he served, as a little girl, I never dreamed I’d be in a place like this.”

By Kat Care

Speaker and author Romal Tune comes to the Baltimore-Washington Conference for two special engagements this Saturday, April 23, sponsored by BWC’s Office of Vibrant Communities.

Tune, author of “God’s Graffiti: Inspiring Stories for Teens,” uses his own unique life story — overcoming the setbacks of his upbringing and the destructive choices of his youth on the streets — to show by example that your tomorrow doesn’t have to look like your today. Tune asks the question of “why” for broken systems and structures in education, poverty, technology, leadership and more, and he is also answering the “how” by empowering others to create the solutions and responses with his inspired message of redemption.

“An Eye-opening Conversation with Romal Tune” happens at John Wesley UMC in Baltimore, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. In this session, Tune addresses how gangs influence people from building power to gaining loyalty. He will also cover how to dismantle unhealthy gang mentality or cliques, and why young people are attracted to gangs, how this mirrors our own ministry culture, and will discuss some of the differences and similarities.

In the afternoon, from 1:30 to 4 p.m., Tune gives the keynote for the Total Truth Youth Conference at the Brighter Day Ministries Congress Heights Campus. In this session, “Living Beyond the Labels,” Tune asks what labels are you holding onto that hold you back from living out your God-given purpose? What labels are holding your church back from living out its God-given purpose?

Both events are free, but registration is required.

» Register for “An Eye-opening Conversation with Romal Tune” (Baltimore)
» Register for “Living Beyond the Labels” (Washington, D.C.)
» View more about Romal Tune

Ames Memorial UMC Pastor featured on MPT ‘Voices of Baltimore’ Program

Pastor Rodney Hudson of Ames Memorial UMC helped to intervene in the unrest following Freddie Gray’s funeral. In the MPT Digital Studios series, “Voices of Baltimore,” he shares what he remembers of that day.

“That whole day was just one big war zone,” Husdon said. “There was smoke everywhere, you could not even see because of the smoke was so dense. Lt. Col. Melvin Russell was out there calling for the clergy to get out and help calm things down. And the clergy did, they came in big numbers. Ministers from all over the city came out to help calm the city down.”

Hudson also has hope for the community, and the future: “The struggle sometimes is a necessary thing, and out of that struggle comes progress.”

» View all “Voices of Baltimore” episodes

On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote an open letter from the Birmingham jail, where he had been imprisoned for non-violent marches protesting segregation. He wrote his Letter from the Birmingham Jail, in part, to express his frustration with those who voiced support for the cause of civil rights, but who urged patience and order rather than action. In that letter, Dr. King wrote:

I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negroes’ great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens’ “Councilor” or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.

As elders within the United Methodist Church, who have the privilege of chairing two of our Boards of Ordained Ministry, it feels as though we have come to a similar time in The United Methodist Church regarding the equality of our LGBTQ sisters and brothers. While there continues to be significant debate about human sexuality in our church and broader culture, there is an emerging consensus of the UM voices in the United States which believe that our denomination has placed unhealthy prohibitions on the full participation of LGBTQ persons in the life of our church, but which are unwilling to act on this conviction for fear of stepping outside the order of the church.

The Boards of Ordained Ministry of both the Baltimore-Washington and New York Annual Conferences have independently decided that it is time to create the space to act out of our freedom of conscience, and our experience of God’s power at work through women and men who identify themselves as LBGTQ disciples of Jesus Christ.   Boards of Ordained Ministry have the right to make recommendations to their Annual Conferences based on standards for effectiveness worked out collaboratively with the cabinet and their discernment of the fitness, readiness, and fruitfulness of individual candidates.

Both the New York and Baltimore-Washington Boards have decided to not inquire about the sexual orientation of their candidates. We believe that we can do so within the current strictures of the Book of Discipline and that it is the right thing to do. We invite other Boards within our connection to claim their authority on this matter as well. It’s time. It’s past time.

In taking this action, the Boards of the NYAC and the BWC stand in a long Wesleyan tradition of making ordination decisions that push the envelope.  In September 1784, John Wesley made the decision to ordain several preachers for the church in America, and he also set aside Thomas Coke for the role of Superintendent to continue the process of ordaining leaders for the church in America.  He did so with the clear knowledge that he was acting outside of the law and order of the church he loved.  But it was the right thing to do, and he did it.  It was time.

Dr. King’s prophetic words from the Birmingham jail remind us that the generations who follow us – who see our timidity and unfaithfulness for what it is – will move on, with us or without us, towards a new vision of God’s love:

But the judgment of God is upon the Church as never before. If the Church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early Church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. I am meeting young people every day whose disappointment with the Church has risen to outright disgust.

We too meet such young people, who see our denomination unable or unwilling to answer a call to justice.  We also know young people who have heard a call from their Lord and Savior to enter a life of service, but who are excluded from ordained leadership in our church because of who they are and whom they love. These young people are exactly the ones who our churches need and desire — but will never see because of our polity. They are the ones with the passion and power to make our Christian faith relevant to a contemporary world.  Or, they will go on to lead other Christian communities, if we continue to turn them away.

It’s time to model a different way of being church. It’s time to allow United Methodists of differing opinions to exercise their faith with a clear conscience. It’s time for Boards of Ordained Ministry who feel so led to hear God’s call from all who come seeking ordination. It’s time to really be a church of open hearts, minds, and doors.

It’s time.

In the service of Christ,

By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

Rev. Gerard A. “Gerry” Green, Jr.

Bishop Marcus Matthews has named the Rev. Gerard A. “Gerry” Green, Jr. to serve as superintendent of the Greater Washington District. His appointment begins July 1.

Green will replace the Rev. Joseph Daniels, who has been serving as a superintendent and senior pastor of Emory UMC in Washington. Beginning in July, Daniels will focus more fully on Emory and the congregation’s creation of a $56 million affordable housing project.

“Rev. Green will serve the Greater Washington District and this annual conference well,” the bishop said. “He is someone who knows how to grow a church. He is a pastor’s pastor who understands the value of relationship and partnership.  He has a heart for mission, is wise, and brings a multitude of gifts to the Cabinet table.”

Green has served in Extension Ministry since 2011 as a staff pastor and pastoral counselor at Asbury Methodist Village, a continuing care retirement community in Gaithersburg. Prior to that, he served for 13 years at Epworth UMC in Gaithersburg and Metropolitan UMC in Severn. Before entering the ministry, we worked for 34 years as an educator and counselor in the Howard County Public School System.

Green is also a licensed clinical professional counselor. His doctoral degree is from Loyola University in Maryland. He has two Masters degrees from Boston College and a Masters of Divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary.

Green said he was initially surprised when the call from the bishop came. However, after hearing about the district’s missional priorities and its work in clusters meeting the holistic need of individuals and communities, he is deeply excited about the possibilities.

As a leader, Green defines himself as supportive, resilient, and as a resource. Our pastors, he said, have the gifts and graces and know what is going on in their communities.  “As a district, I hope we’ll be living out the Great Commandment and exemplify our love of God by how we care for one another. … As followers of Wesley, we’ll do all the good we can, for all the people we can, wherever we can.”

This receiving and deepening of faith and putting it into action has been a part of Green’s life since he can remember. As a child, he remembers observing his mother, Ida Pearl Green, who is now 97. She would go into the living room and kneel in prayer. He knew that she might be upset about something, but after she finished praying there was always, in her, a sense of relief.

“I knew that if my mom could take her concerns to God in prayer, I wanted to have that also,” he said. “She has always been my example. Hers is the type of faith I want to have. Regardless of the challenges, God is always present. There is nothing, with God’s help, that one cannot overcome.”

Green’s mother made sure he attended church. He remembers when he was still in elementary school and attending Pleasant View Methodist Church. The pastor, Thomas Barrington, said from the pulpit, “one of you might be called to ministry.”

“Something, maybe the way the light from the stained glass window hit his glasses, made me believe he was speaking directly to me,” Green said. “From that point on I was being nurtured.”

When he was a young man, Green recalls, a church meeting in which Pleasant View, a black church, was meeting to consider merging with the white congregations of Hunting Hill and McDonald Chapel.

The three did come together, creating Fairhaven UMC. But during one of the meetings about the potential merger in April 1968, a knock on the door interrupted the conversation and those present were told that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had just been assassinated.

Green kept his eyes open during the prayers and watched the white pastor pray fervently, with tears streaming down his face, for a black man and for justice. “Dr. King’s life and death wasn’t about black folks. It was about community and coming together,” he said.

Many years later, Green attended an event in Washington commemorating Dr. King’s March on Washington and he began to feel “that sense of calling coming back again.” This time he answered.

This sense of history being interwoven with the present and future is very real to Green. “I want a sense of from whence I’ve come, so I can get a clearer sense of where I’m going,” he said.

He notes, for example, that there were three ex-slaves who formed Pleasant View Church, along with a fourth man who funded the endeavor – Gary Green – his great grandfather.

The church, along with a school and cemetery, are in the village of Quince Orchard, which has been swallowed up the city of Gaithersburg.

Green’s mother grew up in Quince Orchard, and today his son and daughter are creating a documentary about the place.

This sense of love and family is at the center of Green’s identity. He has been married to his wife, Rita, for 42 years, has three children and three grandchildren.

He is also defined, in part, by pastoral counseling he does. “I genuinely care about people,” he said. “Each one of us has a story. I feel privileged when someone allows me to enter into their story and shares it with me. When that happens it’s not just the two of you. There’s a presence of the holy. That’s a sacred time.”

To those he counsels, Green works to instill a sense of continuing to experience the joy of living.

That joy is important to him.  It’s part of the journey he sees himself on.

“If you see life as a journey, you don’t know what’s around the next corner. Some things are unexpected, and you adapt. We encounter different roads and choices and we take all of it in,” Green said.

“For me it’s been a wonderful journey. The things I’ve experienced have brought me to this point. They’ve made me a better person and better able to serve as a DS.”

Green says he very thankful to Daniels, the current superintendent, for his vision and the way he has created and nurtured such a strong district.

During Daniel’s time as superintendent, the district saw numerical growth in a season when other parts of the church were in decline, and they were faithful in the payment of apportionments, supporting the connectional system with their giving.

Two new churches were also planted – Nueva Vida, a Hispanic/Latino congregation in the College Park/Hyattsville area; and Inspire D.C., a movement of one church with many expressions, targeted toward young adults in Washington.

The district has also started a number of ministries that address hunger. In the 20019 ZIP Code, one of the most neglected in the city, for example, there is only one grocery story for 70,000 people. Churches are bringing food and hope to the people there. The district has also been active in ministries of racial reconciliation.

Daniels said he attributes the growth and vital ministries in the district to the leadership of great pastors and lay people. “We’re growing because our leaders and congregations are starting to look externally, not just internally,” he said, “and churches are looking to be relevant, looking to see how they can be a blessing in people’s lives.”

Bold visions and huge undertakings, all wrapped up in dependence on God, have been one of the hallmarks of Daniels’ time as superintendent, leading the district’s 66 churches in 15 ZIP Codes. The ZIP Codes are important, because “our whole vision has been around claiming your ZIP Code for Jesus Christ. We’ve been encouraging clergy and lay leaders to see the community as a congregation.

“We serve a big God,” said Daniels. “I believe that as we dream God-sized dreams and see God-sized visions, and have the courage and strength to go after them, phenomenal things can happen.”

By Pastor Heath Wilson

When a representative of the World T.E.A.M. Sports’ Face of America bike ride asked Tom’s Creek UMC to host a rest stop on Sunday morning, April 24, for the nearly 700 riders who would be passing through the area, I was honored and elated.

While we knew this would impact worship, the church knew this is what it means to be the church. We are honoring those who sacrificed for our nation, so as a church, we could sacrifice to ensure they know the Body of Christ supports them and does not take for granted the sacrifice they made while serving.

Since 2006, the Face of America ride has brought together disabled veterans, active and retired military personnel, emergency responders, and citizens alike to honor and raise funds and awareness for the wounded warriors of our nation. This year, participants could choose one of two routes on their way to Gettysburg, Pa.: 110 miles from the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., or 120 miles from historic Valley Forge, Pa. Many of the participants, who had lost limbs during tours of duty, rode special recumbent bikes.

For several years, members of Tom’s Creek UMC in Emmitsburg had cheered on the riders as they passed the church on Sunday morning. Riders often expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of heartwarming support from the church. One rider shared with a volunteer, “We always looked forward to seeing you out there!”

So this year, Tom’s Creek UMC cancelled Sunday School and its second worship service to be able to serve as a host of a rest stop for the riders, offering food, facilities, and a place to rest and reenergize before continuing on their journey. A bluegrass/gospel band from Calvert County, called The Unclouded Day, provided uplifting patriotic music. Many volunteers from the church served beverages, nutritious snacks and home-baked goods to the riders.

But more than providing a place of rest was the opportunity for the church community to show gratitude to the participants for their determination and resilience, not only for the wounded veterans but for all participants who embraced the meaning of the American spirit. Riders were greeted at the entrance with a large American flag, hoisted high on a crane provided by D.G. Johnson. Church members, volunteers, a fire truck from Emmitsburg Vigilant Hose Company with members of the company, and community members including the mayor of Taneytown lined the drive, waving flags, clapping, and offering words of thanks and support. The whole event was inspirational to spectators, volunteers, and riders alike.

On a Facebook post, a rider and pastor, Rev. Chris Bishop of FaithPoint UMC, later shared, “Many thanks from team FaithPoint goes out to the awesome pit stop today hosted by Heath Wilson and Tom’s Creek UMC.”

As I watched the bike riders reach the pit stop with the church community cheering them on, as I was told by the wife of the President of Face of America how amazing were the people of the church I serve. As I was called over to pray for one of the teams, I was overwhelmed and humbled by the call God has placed on my life. I was speechless when riders who have lost limbs serving our country said “thank you, to you and your church,” because, in reality, I have given so little compared to their sacrifice. I had a moment when eyes welled up with tears, proud of the church I serve and thankful that I have been given the opportunity to serve at Tom’s Creek.

As the riders set off for the next leg of their journey toward Gettysburg, volunteers could be heard promising, “We’ll see you next year!”

After all, as the Face of America website explains: “We all ride the same road…”

*Pastor Heath Wilson serves the Tom’s Creek UMC in Emmitsburg.

By Erik Alsgaard
UMConnection Staff

At the June Annual Conference session, BWC members will hear about changes to clergy health insurance and vote on the 2017 budget. These items were discussed at the Pre-Conference briefing on April 30.

Health Insurance

Participants in the Baltimore-Washington Conference’s HealthFlex health insurance plan will have more options to meet their health insurance needs in 2017 under new provisions adopted by the Conference Board of Pensions and Health Benefits and outlined at the April 30 Pre-Conference Briefing. The new options are offered by the United Methodist General Board of Pension and Health Benefits in Illinois, and replace the current plan, which will no longer be available in 2017.

Under the changes, participants will have more choices, according to the Rev. Jackson Day, chair of the BWC’s Board.

“Insurers believe that offering consumers more choice and more responsibility will help reduce the rate at which health costs grow,” Day said. “Therefore, the HealthFlex plan developed by our General Board will offer six different plans rather than the one at present.”

For those who prefer minimum change, Day said, the BWC’s Board has made sure that one of the plans is as close to the current plan as possible. “We have worked closely with the General Board and our own consultants to minimize the impact that rising costs of health care may have on plan members,” Day said.

Currently, all full time clergy members of the BWC must be enrolled in the conference’s health insurance plan, called HealthFlex, which currently has only one option.

The per-pastor cost to local congregations for health insurance will remain at $840 per month, Day noted, regardless of the choices made by participants.  This is not a “premium” but a share of the overall plan cost.  The Board of Pensions and Health Benefits considers it very important to keep this amount the same for all congregations so that health care cost considerations do not intrude on appointment decisions, Day said.

Day noted that plans are now identified by colors, with Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum plans designed to cover 60, 70, 80, and 90 percent, respectively, of health care costs.  The BWC’s current plan is considered a “Gold” plan, Day said. Participants who opt for this plan will see little change in the personal premium costs that they pay. Different options will offer differing degrees of coverage and health savings or health reimbursement accounts. A clergy family with few health issues may choose a plan offering less coverage, but with a greater health savings or health reimbursement account from which future expenses can be paid.

Day also observed that a greater degree of choice will require more detailed decision making by participants as they make their choices for 2017.  The Board of Pensions and Health Benefits will be holding an orientation session On Wednesday, June 1, at 8 p.m., at Annual Conference. Additional sessions will be held in the fall.

All of the new plans offer the same network of providers and the same prescription drug formularies, according to a chart provided by the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits.

Conference Budget

At the Pre-Conference Briefing, the Rev. Ann Laprade, chair of the BWC’s Council on Finance and Administration, celebrated outstanding stewardship and giving in 2015 while looking forward to 2017.

“2015 was amazing,” Laprade said. “Apportionment income was up 1.8 percent, or $245,000. Total income was up 0.9 percent, and expenses were down 0.6 percent, or $111,000. At the end, we achieved the goal of all non-profits: We spent on ministries what was budgeted, and the net income for 2015 was zero.”

In 2015, she added, the overall collection rate for apportionments was at a 15-year high, 91.7 percent.

For 2017, CFA is recommending a 17.75 percent benevolence factor and the 92.0 collection rates, the same as for 2016. “This will result in an apportionment income decrease of $112,000 to $14.2 million,” Laprade said. “This is a 0.8 percent decrease and it ties directly to the observed decrease in the apportionment base.”

Laprade said that the 2017 budget request is “flat” from 2016, and would be the fifth year in a row.

The 2017 budget, however, will not be a “typical budget,” Laprade said. That’s because the Conference Board of Pensions and Health Benefits found it possible to implement a “significant strategic shift in how we can fund Retiree Medical expenses in 2017,” she said.

The BWC has a surplus of $28.3 million in a fund created and set aside to fund clergy who are under what is called the “Pre-82” retirement plan. Part of that surplus — $1.5 million – will be used in several ways in the 2017 budget, if approved. Part of the $1.5 million will be used to pay down debt on the loan for the BWC’s Mission Center in Fulton, and the new dining hall at West River Center.

“Four years of debt reduction at an average rate of $700,000 per year will shorten our loan from 13 years to 6 years, save $1 million in interest, and enable a 15 percent reduction in the budget at the end of the 6 years,” said Laprade.

The remainder of the $1.5 million will go towards replenishing reserves, providing needed salary and benefit increases, including the creation of a new position for a new Center for Clergy Excellence ($275,000), paying increases in General Church apportionments ($90,000), and other budget expenses.

» View details of the 2017 budget proposal
» Read a “Q & A” about the budget and other items coming to the 2016 BWC Annual Conference Session

Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr. helps lead opening worship at the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

By Joey Butler (UMNS)*

With a drum welcome from indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, United Methodists gathered for the 2016 General Conference, the top legislative body of the denomination, joined in a cacophony of “alleluias” in many languages during opening worship.Meeting May 10-20 at the Oregon Convention Center, the 864 delegates will consider 1,000 petitions that will determine how the 12.3-million-member denomination orders its ministry, structures its agencies and addresses social justice issues, including human sexuality, for the next four years.The theme of the 2016 General Conference is “Therefore Go.” The Commission on the General Conference selected the theme that ties to the roots of The United Methodist Church in Christ’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Directing music and worship is the Rev. Laura Jaquith Bartlett of Eagle Creek, Oregon.

Delegates from the United States, Europe, Africa and the Philippines opened the session with the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and an address by San Francisco Area Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr., president of the Council of Bishops.

Plan UMC Revised partly unconstitutional

One of the proposed plans to realign the structure of The United Methodist Church will need yet another revision if the denomination’s top legislative body decides to adopt it.

In a May 9 ruling, the United Methodist Judicial Council declared, “Plan UMC Revised contains components that fail the test of constitutionality and components that are, as stated, entirely constitutional.”

Whether church delegates want to take action on the “constitutionally adequate” parts of the plan “is a legislative matter left to the processes of General Conference,” the denomination’s top court said.

Some of the constitutionality concerns are over issues of authority. “Plan UMC Revised” gives new authority and power to the Connectional Table, a church coordinating body; realigns the general agencies and eliminates three commissions.

In Decision 1310, the court mostly rejected legislative language that would give the Connectional Table new authority in the hiring and firing of agency top executives.

However, the church court affirmed that General Conference has the authority to discontinue commissions, as proposed under Plan UMC Revised.

African digital divide?

At General Conference 2016, delegates are supposed to use a tablet computer to register their desire to speak, and some African delegates aren’t happy about it.

Central conference delegates have been given their own tablet computers for online access to the Daily Christian Advocate and other relevant documents, but there is concern that delegates lacking a certain degree of skill with tablets will struggle with the new electronic queuing system.

Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr., president of the Council of Bishops, said he has heard the Africans’ “digital divide” concerns and has relayed them to the Commission on General Conference. He said he’s been assured accommodations will be made, as needed.

An unofficial ordination

Susan Laurie, 21 years after answering God’s call to ministry, was unofficially ordained as a United Methodist pastor by a grass-roots group of LGBTQ people and supporters at 10:32 a.m. inside the Oregon Convention Center.

This ceremony is not officially recognized. The United Methodist Church does not allow “self-avowed practicing” homosexuals to be ordained.

The time of the ceremony was significant. It was a reference to Judicial Council Decision 1032, which ruled gay people could be refused membership in The United Methodist Church because of their sexual orientation.

After the laying on of hands and prayer, Laurie and her wife, Julie Bruno, served Holy Communion.

In other news:

• Bishop Christian Alsted, who leads the Nordic and Baltic Area, addressed delegates and urged them to embrace the concept of Christian conferencing during General Conference, especially on issues where debate grows tense.

• A standing legislative committee of The United Methodist Church on May 9 reconfirmed its plan to recommend five new bishops for Africa four years from now.

• The delegates adopted all but one rule recommended by the Commission on General Conference that plans the legislative gathering. The delegates deferred discussing a proposed Group Discernment Process, outlined in Rule 44, until May 11.

Butler is a multimedia editor/producer for United Methodist Communications. Contact him at newsdesk@umcom.org or 615-742-5470.

By Kathy L. Gilbert (UMNS)

» Read the full text of Bishop Palmer’s address

Bishop Gregory V. Palmer delivers the episcopal address during the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Bishop Gregory V. Palmer laid out a path for the 2016 United Methodist General Conference: humility, humility, humility.“Everyone here is a child of God. Any behavior to the contrary of that truth undermines the gospel and is a choice to live beneath our privilege,” Palmer, who serves the West Ohio Episcopal Area, said in the episcopal address on May 11. The Council of Bishops chose Palmer to deliver this speech, which he said was an opportunity to try to set the tone for the gathering.

Many issues before the denomination’s top legislative assembly will require delegates to vote on difficult subjects such as human sexuality, divestment and the denomination’s budget.

“Our capacity to turn on each other is destroying the soul of this church and under-serving the mission,” he said.

2012 General Conference

“It needs to be said that the 2012 General Conference took something out of this church in dramatic proportions,” he said. Many said it was a waste of time and resources; others were discouraged and disappointed.

However, The United Methodist Church has participated in life-changing and life-giving ministry, he said.

Palmer lifted up major accomplishments of the denomination:

• Imagine No Malaria has raised $65.5 million to eradicate malaria in Africa.
• The United Methodist Committee on Relief has responded to disasters around the world.
• The church is bringing safe drinking water to such places as Sierra Leone and Michigan.
• Disciple Bible Study is taught in local congregations and in jails. United Methodists welcome new neighbors and create new spaces for more people while developing “principled Christian leaders.”

“But all of us who are a part of General Conference 2016 have been called here by God who we believe continues to be at work in and through The United Methodist Church.”

Therefore Go

The theme for the worldwide gathering is “Therefore Go” based upon the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Palmer said the church’s mission statement aligns with that Scripture: “Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

“If this General Conference pays mere lip service to the Great Commission or to our denominational mission statement, we will have failed,” he said.

Palmer said too many United Methodists are fearful about the survival of the church as an institution.

“Our theme and our mission statement are a rallying cry to get out, act together and get focused on what God is focused on — which is nothing less than new creation for people, nations, cultures and the earth,” he said.

Template for mission

Paragraph 122 in the Book of Discipline outlines a process for carrying out our mission, he said.

The steps are proclaim, lead, nurture, send and continue. “We do not get to cherry pick which ones to follow,” he said.

It will take a full-time church to nurture full-time Christians.

“We have been called to this work and commissioned to do it. … The only unanswered question is will we go,” he said.

Trust God and go, he said.

“We have nothing less than the promise of the risen Christ that he will be with us.”

The promise doesn’t depend on geography, on language, ZIP codes, seminary degree or a certificate.

“Jesus said, ‘I will be with you if you go.’”

Gilbert is a multimedia news reporter for United Methodist News Service. Contact her at (615)742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

The Rev. Joan Carter-Rimbach leads the Lord’s Prayer at an AIDS Vigil held May 11 during the United Methodist 2016 General Conference in Portland, Ore. The Vigil was sponsored by the UMC Global AIDS Fund Committee. Photo by Maile Bradfield, UMNS.

By Joey Butler (UMNS)

A day after the celebratory tone of opening worship came a reminder that General Conference is one big, long meeting. As delegates got down to business, debate over one of the Rules of Order will stretch into a third day while the episcopal address urged United Methodists to “trust God and go.”

In the episcopal address on May 11, Bishop Gregory V. Palmer laid out a path for the 2016 United Methodist General Conference: humility, humility, humility.

“Everyone here is a child of God. Any behavior to the contrary of that truth undermines the Gospel and is a choice to live beneath our privilege,” he said.

Palmer, bishop of the West Ohio Area, said his speech was an opportunity to set the tone for the gathering.

Many issues before the denomination’s top legislative assembly will require delegates to vote on difficult subjects such as human sexuality, divestment, and the denomination’s budget.

“Our capacity to turn on each other is destroying the soul of this church and underserving the mission,” he said.

Palmer said too many United Methodists are fearful about the survival of the church as an institution.

“Our theme and our mission statement are a rallying cry to get out, act together and get focused on what God is focused on — which is nothing less than new creation for people, nations, cultures and the earth,” he said.

Rule 44 deferred again

While Palmer alluded to the difficult issues General Conference must vote on, the way delegates will vote has proven the most difficult subject so far.

For a second time, a vote on the much-debated Rule 44 — a proposed Group Discernment Process — has been deferred a day.

The delay this time is to allow the lawmaking assembly’s Rules Committee to make recommendations regarding multiple amendments that came from the floor.

The Rules Committee met the evening of May 11 and will bring its recommendations back to the delegates as part of its report May 12.

If delegates adopt Rule 44, they will still need to take a second vote on whether they want to use it for any legislation in 2016 or wait to use it at a future General Conference.

Late May 10, delegates adopted the other 43 rules recommended by the commission that plans The United Methodist Church’s legislative gathering. The vote was 518 to 258.

Licensed local pastors in the background

Licensed local pastors don’t get to serve as delegates to General Conference, so when they sit in the plenary hall, they’re way back.

“The bleachers,” clarified the Rev. Mike Mahaffey, past president of the National Fellowship of Associate Members and Local Pastors.

But he and the Rev. Tom Herring, legislative chair of that group, will mainly work the committee rooms, monitoring all legislation that could have bearing on local pastors.

Mahaffey and Herring are monitoring about two dozen petitions.

Only one is what they consider hostile. It would let local pastors continue to serve on boards of ordained ministry and district committees on ordained ministry, but would remove their right to vote.

“We definitely don’t want any privileges removed,” Herring said.

Will GC2016 embrace Christian conferencing?

General Conference delegates spent two hours on May 11 on Christian conferencing, the practice of engaging in respectful and honest conversations. Leaders expressed hope that the session will set the tone as legislative committees begin meeting.

The 864 delegates met with their respective committees to share details about themselves, their ministry settings and their own ideas about living out the mission of The United Methodist Church. In groups of 12 sitting around round tables, the discussions among some of the groups evolved into relaxed, respectful conversations over the two-hour period.

“This process we’re doing here shows there is hope that we can do things in a different way,” said Andreas Elfving, a delegate from Finland-Sweden. “Perhaps we can focus less on demonstration and find things we have in common.”

Delegates of color

About 200 delegates of color and friends gathered for a pre-General Conference orientation sponsored by the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race in the Portland Convention Center May 10.

Participants received the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race’s “How to Be an Interculturally Competent Delegate at the 2016 General Conference” booklet, designed to help delegates build relationships across the diversity of peoples and cultures represented at General Conference.

AIDS Vigil

In a response of love and prayer, the 35 million people who have died of AIDS were remembered in a vigil May 11 outside the Oregon Convention Center as the 2016 General Conference is meeting to decide church law for the next four years.

The United Methodist Global AIDS Fund vigil was sponsored by the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee. Since the 2004 United Methodist General Conference approved the Global Aids Fund, the fund has raised over $3.5 million, benefiting 284 projects in 44 countries.

Butler is a multimedia editor/producer for United Methodist Communications. Contact him at newsdesk@umcom.org or 615-742-5470.

The Rev. Terri Rae Chattin, a clergy delegate from the Baltimore-Washington annual conference, speaks to the United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore., on May 12. Chattin spoke in favor of Rule 44, which would have introduced small group discussions for sensitive issues. The proposed rule was not approved. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UMNS.

By Joey Butler (UMNS)

Jen Ihlo of the Baltimore-Washington Conference uses a translation device during plenary session. Photo by Maile Bradfield, UMNS.

After a roller coaster of “will-they-or-won’t-they” episodes usually reserved for love interests in a romantic comedy, delegates finally decided their relationship with Rule 44: They won’t.

Over the past three days, the United Methodist General Conference also has offered a live demonstration of just how difficult following its rules of order can be.

The final tally on the much-debated Rule 44 — a proposed Group Discernment Process — was 355 yes and 477 no. However, even getting to a simple up-or-down vote took the delegates most of their morning.

The Commission on General Conference recommended Rule 44 at the request of the 2012 General Conference, which sought an alternative process to Robert’s Rules of Order for dealing with particularly complicated and contentious legislation. The aim was to use small groups to give all delegates a chance to weigh in on selected petitions.

Opening worship

During the May 12 morning worship service, Bishop Christian Alsted challenged those attending General Conference 2016 to offer themselves humbly and in full to Jesus’ authority, as did a Roman centurion described in Matthew 8:5-13.

Alsted, of the Nordic and Baltic Episcopal Area, said he joins other United Methodists in wanting growth and renewed vitality for the denomination.

“In the midst of all my purposefulness and busyness, I may just overlook what became painfully obvious to a pagan centurion,” said Alsted. “The starting point of all transformation is to humbly and wholeheartedly submit myself to the wounded healer Jesus Christ, and to unconditionally depend on him for the healing of the church.”

In other news:

In a May 12 ceremony, before episcopal leaders from around the globe, Dakotas-Minnesota Area Bishop Bruce R. Ough was formally installed as president of the Council of Bishops. Bishop Warner H. Brown Jr., outgoing president of the Council of Bishops, “passed the gavel” to Ough.

Five hundred openly LGBTQ clergy, future pastors and faith leaders in a number of different denominations published a letter offering “much love and light” to the 111 United Methodist clergy and candidates who came out as gay on May 9.

Bishop Kenneth Carter was set to undergo surgery for a severed tendon on the afternoon of May 12 at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. The Florida Conference episcopal leader fell in the plenary hall of General Conference May 10, injuring his left knee badly enough that he required a wheelchair. He was still in acute pain after a cold pack was administered; further evaluation revealed that the injury was severe enough to require surgery.

Butler is a multimedia editor/producer for United Methodist Communications. Contact him at newsdesk@umcom.org or 615-742-5470.

The Rev. Cindy Roberts disassembles lanterns following a May 12 climate vigil outside the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. The lanterns were lit with a small solar light that following the vigil were sent to community groups in the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States. Donohew is pastor of Brownsville UMC in the U.S. state of Washington. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UMNS.

By Joey Butler (UMNS)

After several days where General Conference delegates were clearly divided over Robert’s Rules vs. Group Discernment and placards vs. iPads, on Day Four, they were urged repeatedly to work together, and shown examples of the good the church can do when it heeds that advice.

Laity address

Lay members of The United Methodist Church admonished their peers who are delegates to General Conference to remember that they share in the responsibility of making disciples of Jesus Christ in the world.

The May 13 laity address included lay leaders from the Upper New York, Virginia, Missouri, Tennessee, Zimbabwe and Great Plains conferences, with each sharing a sense of urgency for the people in local churches around the world to do more to share the love and mercy available to all through Jesus Christ.

“Our ongoing challenge comes from the need to embrace all that discipleship entails,” said Scott Johnson, lay leader from the Upper New York Conference. “Now, it would be wonderful if discipleship was only about the joy, peace and wonder. But we know that following Jesus isn’t all about mountaintop moments, praise songs and potlucks.”

The remainder of the address provided thoughts of how to change the status quo, using a model shared by United Methodist Discipleship Ministries. Components include showing hospitality, offering Christ to others, providing purpose in life and engaging with the world around us.

Bishop Sally Dyck delivers the sermon during morning worship at the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Morning worship: ‘Go, learn mercy’

During the May 13 morning worship, Bishop Sally Dyck of the Chicago Episcopal Area said she was inspired by Pope Francis’ declaration that this past Advent would be a year of mercy, adding, “I want to be part of a church that has a year of mercy, a decade of mercy, a millennium of mercy.”

Dyck used Matthew 9:9-13, the story of the Pharisees questioning how Jesus could sit down to eat with the tax collectors and sinners, as her text.

“Jesus knew that the Pharisees believed that the tax collectors were incompatible with good Jews,” said Dyck. “And Jesus said to the Pharisees to go, learn mercy.”

Connectional Table, GCFA report on state of the church

Throughout the morning, General Conference delegates heard news that might surprise some: United Methodists together are doing great things that bring God’s reign into the world. Both the Connectional Table, which coordinates the work of church agencies, and the General Council on Finance and Administration, the denomination’s finance agency, gave reports that highlighted the good United Methodists do  when they work and give as a global body.

“What are trying to do is something no other denomination is doing,” said Bishop Christian Alsted, incoming chair of the Connectional Table. “We are trying to be a worldwide church that is also democratic.”

Prayers, paper lanterns at climate vigil

A climate vigil, organized by the Pacific Northwest Conference and backed by a number of church-related sponsors, was held May 12 at the Oregon Convention Center’s outdoor plaza. The twilight event featured decorated paper lanterns lit by small LED lights, music and testimony from United Methodists representing the global church.

The Rev. Susan Henry-Crowe, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, would like to see a commitment “to act in solidarity with all who struggle daily in the face of a changing climate” shared across the denomination, adding, “I pray and trust that this General Conference will reaffirm our commitment to this important and holy work.”

In other news:

Delegates continued to debate whether to embrace the new electronic queuing system or go “old school” and stick with waving old-fashioned placards to get the presiding bishop’s attention.

United Methodists gathered for a lunchtime witness on May 13 at the Oregon Convention Center plaza, calling on the Barack Obama administration to “stop deportations and keep families together.” Delegates to General Conference 2016 will consider an addition to The United Methodist Church’s Social Principles that says: “We oppose all national immigration policies that separate family members from each other or that include detention of families with children.”

The Rev. Frank Schaefer and his son Tim joined the Rev. Mike Tupper in the tent Tupper has slept in for the past 168 days to symbolize how they say LGBTQ people are kept outside the doors of The United Methodist Church. Both Tupper and Schaefer faced charges for officiating at the same-sex weddings of their children. They are in Portland praying for the denomination to change its stance that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

Butler is a multimedia editor/producer for United Methodist Communications. Contact him at newsdesk@umcom.org or 615-742-5470.