UMC - United Methodists in Cowtown

This morning I am preparing to leave for Ft. Worth, where I'll get to attend nearly three days of the quadrennial UM General Conference. I've only been one other time, in 1996 in Denver. I was pregnant with Joe and working with the National Committee on Hispanic Ministries to get the National Plan passed. My grandfather was there as well (he was 85 at the time), as a marshall (I think they work the doors or hand out materials or something), and that was extremely cool. I was preparing to be ordained that June, and Grandpa bought me my first clergy robe there. We got a loose kind to fit over my growing belly. It was an exciting time.

I had trouble sleeping last night, excited thinking about friends from across the connection whom I might get to see, looking forward to worship tonight and hearing my former pastor, now-Bishop Janice Huie, preach.

I also know that there may be some momentous decisions made. It might or might not end up feeling like these affect us very much here at the local level, but for me both the process and the outcome of these discussions are important. We may well just continue to do what we do no matter what the church delegates decide about global warming, homosexuality or a push to make all United Methodists swear by a certain creed. But whether they impact us immediately or not, our church's pronouncements on this kind of issue do matter. At the very least, they challenge us to look at our own understanding of the faith and how the good news of Jesus Christ as we've heard and experienced it intersects with life in the world.

This gathering will be emphasizing the process we've come to call "Holy Conferencing." This means we get together to decide things, as our Methodist founder John Wesley designed it, but we call upon and trust the Holy Spirit to come and make us into more than just the sum of our parts. Delegates generally go to the conference with opinions already formed on many controversial subjects, and it is easy for those discussions to turn quickly into trench warfare. Holy Conferencing is an attempt to allow ourselves to be convinced or convicted of something new and unexpected. Its intent is to recognize our diversity and respect the worth and integrity of each person, but not to avoid hard conversations. Both the church and our society are increasingly fractured, and polarizing rhetoric abounds--thus the need for civil discourse, rooted in the love and reconciling power of Christ. If you'd like to see a great presentation on Holy Conferencing, go to our annual conference website (www.umcswtx.org) and click on the video. Or for info on General Conference, go to www.umc.org; they'll even have live stream/feed/whatever you call it for some sessions. In any case, pray for our church, that God might do a powerful thing or two in our midst.