Charge Conference 2007

A funny thing happened on the way to the First UMC Charge Conference. We discovered a lot of faithful church members don’t have any idea what this is. Someone decided to invite everyone that has a leadership role in the church instead of only the Administrative Board members. Subsequently, I got the opportunity to explain to many of these folks what a charge conference is when they called to say they couldn’t attend. What I have discovered is that this is a teachable moment and one that we need to use next year for lessons in Methodist history, polity and even theology. As I put this on my 2008 calendar, I will share this definition of a charge conference:

Charge Conference is the local church administrative body to which clergy (elders and deacons) report; also an annual meeting in which local church officers are elected, reports are received, and the mission and ministry of the local church are reviewed. The Charge Conference recommends candidates for ordained ministry. Members of the Charge Conference include members of the local church’s Administrative Council (or Board) and all clergy appointed to the church. Clergy appointed beyond the local church and/or those appointed outside of their own Annual Conferences relate to Charge Conferences in the areas in which they are serving. The District Superintendent or his/her appointee presides.

Observations from our 2007 Charge Conference:
- Thanks to the efforts of those in our business office almost everything was in order.
- One thing always seems to be overlooked and this year it was naming an Epworth representative. We will do this at our next Administrative Board and be back in the good graces of the powers that be. In other words, no big deal.
- Although this can be a burdensome event each year, it is good to have this opportunity to review our ministries and feel this sense of connection with other United Methodists and to tradition.
- This year each church was asked to report on its Safe Sanctuary policy. We can celebrate that not only do we have a policy, but we adhere to it.
- Although we had not conferred with each other, it was interesting to note that each of the clergy spoke of the need for First UMC to look and be beyond our doors. The 2008 reports could be very interesting if we take this seriously.
- It is sad to think that Rowan Crews and Mike Black were the last clergy who have been ordained from this church. However, Danny Chamblee and George Olive are serving as local pastors. We need to pay more attention to supporting those among us who may be hearing a call to ordained ministry.

Quotes of the Week

Sometimes it’s the encounter with a brief statement of truth that lingers longer than a lengthy narrative. Such are these three thoughts that have been part of my week.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein

“The present is what the past is doing now.” Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

“What if we treated our Bible like our cell phone?” Leonard Sweet (Guess who forgot her Bible this week, but had her cell phone?)

Lake Junaluska

I am spending a few days at Lake Junaluska at the SEJurisdictional Deacon Gathering. We are exploring what our ministry means to the church since 1996 when General Conference established the order of the deacon. We are especially interested in the ministry report that will be presented to the 2008 General Conference and possible legislation that might result from it or submitted petitions. At this point, many of us feel that we are still living into the last changes and that it probably is premature for any drastic changes in the ordination process and the orders. Perhaps after what I hear in these sessioins, I will change my mind. It is exciting to hear that there are over 1600 persons in process to be ordained as deacons.

Mountains Beyond Mountains

On a recent road trip, Ron and I listened to the audio version of Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. The author reads this book about the quest of Dr. Paul Farmer to cure the world of infectious diseases. This most interesting and inspiring account is one of hope and of the understanding of the Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains”: as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one also.

An outstanding scholar, Paul Farmer earned a MD and PhD in medicine and anthropology at Harvard while making frequent medical mission trips to Haiti. As he searched for the root causes of disease and ways to change conditions within this impoverished country, he was able to create Partners in Health, a non-profit organization that would generate some significant research and aid. Farmer’s compassion seems to be grounded in matters of faith and he is quoted as saying that he has found a “place to look for God among the suffering.”

In recent years, this book has been frequently named as one for common or shared experience reading in colleges and communities. What a great choice! I will be thinking about Dr. Paul Farmer for a long time.

What Are We Teaching?

Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited as saying, “All children have at least one thing in common. They close their ears to advice but open their eyes to example.” I remembered this today as once again I observed the coffee-doughnut ritual at First UMC and wondered about the lessons being taught. We offer fat-laden doughnut holes to children who we know are being threatened with obesity. We serve coffee that is not *fair-trade and forget the injustices to humans and the earth that are contained in each Styrofoam cup. (We could also discuss the chemicals liberally added by many coffee drinkers) By the way, only coffee is served. The purpose of this time in the parlor is to meet and greet others. Yet, it does not seem to be an intergenerational exercise. The final concern is that some of our children depart with cupfuls of doughnut holes that are not shared with others in their Sunday school class. I refuse to be the doughnut police. However, much is being learned each Sunday in this fellowship time and I think we need to consider developing new curriculum. By the way, I fully realize that this is heresy and I will probably be charged with such.



*Fair Trade Certified coffee guarantees farmers a fair price for their product and requires them to make environmental protection a part of farm management

Interesting Information

A current United Methodist Communications press release offers this information. It certainly is something to consider as we look forward to the 2008 General Conference.

"One-third of the membership of The United Methodist Church now lives outside the United States. But the denomination’s structure remains decidedly centered both in and on the United States itself. How to respond to the new global reality was the topic of a panel discussion during the Oct. 8-11 annual meeting of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. Scott Brewer, director of research for the denomination’s General Council on Finance and Administration, reported that at end of 2005, the denomination had almost 13.8 million baptized and professing members, which includes children who have been baptized. While the U.S. baptized and professing membership stands at more than 8.9 million and continues to decline, "globally, the United Methodist Church is growing," with most of the growth
in Africa, he said."

New Hymnal

Although I am a pathetic musician, all sorts of music feeds my soul and I understand its importance in the life of the church. I especially know it to be important to the learning and understanding of our theology, so the following United Methodist news release interests me:

"United Methodists are invited to participate in an online survey identifying their 10 favorite hymns to help the United Methodist Publishing House and the United Methodist Board of Discipleship analyze and plan for congregational singing resources and identify changes and trends in musical styles. The selections may come from the United Methodist Hymnal and/or The Faith We Sing. The survey also asks participants to select up to 10 of their least favorite hymns and songs and the titles that should have been included. In addition, participants are asked to respond to five geographic questions. The survey is available at www.gbod.org/favoritehymns.html. For more information, contact Dean McIntyre at (615) 340-7073 or dmcintyre@gbod.org"

I plan to give this some serious thought and respond. I hope that some of you who read this take the time to participate in this survey and maybe even share with me some of your choices. My first thoughts of favorites include "It is Well with My Soul" and "I'll Praise My Make While I've Breath". "What Gift Can We Bring" has wonderful lyrics and I wish that we knew it at First Church. "Majesty" probably tops my list of those not to be included. For some reason that chorus grates on my nerves. Previously, it has seemed that the naming of the hymns to be included in the UM Hymnal has generated more heated discussion than prayerful consideration. May it not be so this time.

The Journey of Discovery

Once again as I enjoy a Disciple I class and the “ah-ha” moments that are part of it, the theme of journey emerges from the scriptures. We identify with the story of Abraham as he “journeyed by stages.” We read of the excitement and misery of the Hebrew people as they sought new life with Moses as their leader. We cherish the story of Ruth who values loyalty to her mother-in-law more than the security of her homeland. We know the familiar story of Mary and Joseph making long and strenuous journey to fulfill the demands of the state.

As we reflect on our personal journeys, we know that it is possible for journeys to affect only the outside of life, while the inner person remains untouched. However, most of us realize that these outer changes often propel us into an often tumultuous inner journey where we are forced to search for hidden strengths. We enter into a confusing and unfamiliar time in which we sometimes feel angry or frustrated. We long for the end of the road. Too often we fail to cherish the journey. I wonder why we are so afraid of the process of discovering new life that offers us the possibility of living more fully and more faithfully? I am glad that once again Disciple Bible Study is giving me the opportunity to intentionally look through the lens of scripture at where my journey is taking me.

Postscripts

Blog Action Day organizers report that over 20,000 persons registered to post blogs about environmental issues and even more persons blogged about these matters. Maybe these voices will effect change in the way we take care of God's creation?



After exploring agararian matters and sustainable living at the Duke Convocation last week, I found these comments about the globalizaiton of hunger from MADRE to be a very good overview of this topic.

"At first, the numbers don't seem to add up. The world produces more food than ever—enough to feed twice the global population. Yet, more people than ever suffer from hunger; and their numbers are rising. Today, 854 million people, most of them women and girls, are chronically hungry, up from 800 million in 1996. Another paradox: the majority of the world's hungry people live in rural areas, where nearly all food is grown. " (more)



I truly believe that these are spiritual conversations that we are to have as we are called to take care of the land. It is part of the covenant relationship we have with God

Blog Action Day

Today, over 15,000 bloggers around the web have committed to discuss matters related to our environment. Diverse voices recognizing the need for public discussion of the various topics under this broad topic are offering information, insight and inspiration in an effort to make us more aware of how we can be part of a more environmentally responsible world.

My contribution contains thoughts from “Our Daily Bread”, the Duke Divinity Convocation that I attended last week. It became a time of reclaiming an appreciation of an agrarian economy, one that I knew as a child in rural Ohio. It was with great interest I heard of the new attention being focused on local food production and trade and the renewal of a culture of community. However, it became obvious that for change to occur connections between food and the health of the land, soils and waters must be understood. Most of us have had our lives shaped by an economy based on cheap fossil fuels plundered and rugged individualism, even those of us with roots in the land. We have lots to learn and to practice. Norman Wirzba, an ecological theologian, reminded us that it is difficult to say grace authentically over our meals when we consider the practices (and injustices) that bring the food to the table. If we understand food as both a gift and a responsibility, what challenges must we accept?

A thought…

Wendell Berry says, “A society wishing to endure must speak the language of care-taking, faith-keeping, kindness, neighborliness, and peace.”

Children's Sabbath

This week people of faith throughout this country are observing Children’s Sabbath. By doing so they look deeply at their responsibility to nurture and protect children, especially those who live in poverty and are victims of our social ills. They make a commitment to action that encourages justice and inspires others to care for those who are the most vulnerable. They pray for the possibilities to sing a new song of love among the world’s children.

This week my pastoral prayer was focused on the needs of children and the concerns of their families. The following is part of this prayer:

".....Today, we know that the challenges facing children and those who care for them are many. Let your light shine into their lives. We pray for all children whose bright promise is squelched by poverty, poor child care, lack of medical attention, inadequate educational opportunities. We pray for the children who woke up this morning not knowing which motel, campground, car or shelter they are going to sleep in tonight. We pray for the abused, neglected, diseased and hunger-ravaged children everywhere. We especially remember those who are without hope as violence surrounds them and they are left without families to love and care for them. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayers.

We pray for parents who worry about what to do, for teachers who devote themselves to educating young minds, and for church, community and national leaders who make a commitment to our children’s future. Help us be the voice for children and families bound by chains of injustice and despair. Give us the courage and the energy to travel with them into your holy place. Let us sing a new song of love and care to the world’s children in the name of the one who taught us to pray…. Our Father, who art in heaven.....Amen."

A New Thought

I try to walk regularly and to use it as a time of prayer and reflection. As I walk, I hear my heart and the world around me and often within this God speaks. Yet, other walkers that I meet along the way seem to be fully attentive to their Bluetooths or iPods. It would appear that this might be an intentional effort to blot out those voices that can be so important to our being. I trust that they find time to listen for God’s voice sometime during the day.

Today, some of the conversation about sustainable living that I heard at Duke Divinity School’s Convocation filled my thoughts as I walked. The comment made by Wes Jackson that we should speak of eco-system and that no part of it is greater than the whole came to my mind. He maintained that in many ways environmentalism is a selfish term because it implies that humanity is at the center and all else surrounds us in a lesser way. As I was thinking about this, I realized that "me" is exactly in the center of the word environmentalist.

Our Daily Bread

Ron and I are at Duke Divinity School for Convocation and Pastors’ School. “Our Daily Bread: A Theology and Practice of Sustainable Living” is the focus. Author, Wendell Berry; environmentalist, Wes Jackson; and theologian, Norman Wirzba are leading us into new understanding of our relationship to the earth, each other and God. I hope that I will be able to incorporate this into my life and ministry in the days ahead. But. for now I am enjoying the thought that I have met Wendell Berry, a favorite author and thinker of mine for a number of years. His poem, Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front, reveals much about who he is.

Old Dog Learns New Tricks

I am enjoying exploring the possibilities of life coaching, especially as it might be used in helping clergy and lay leadership discover their goals and create action plans for them. As part of the SC UM Conference emphasis on Natural Church Development, twenty-two lay and clergy are being trained to be coaches. As part of that process, we are meeting in Columbia for two days. During the next six months I will be coaching two persons while personally being coached. Each of the persons who are to be my guinea pigs want to focus on where God is directing them and developing a plan to do it. Already I am excited about the possibilities of how this technique could be very effective within the life of this conference. I especially like this process of asking open-ended questions that leads the person to finding their path and setting their own goals to travel it.

I find it interesting that the person who asked me to be part of this initial group of coaches served as an effective coach when I was trying to determine if I should accept my current position at First Church. Although this was not a formal arrangement, he did ask me several important questions that led me in my decision-making process. Perhaps this is why I have accepted this new opportunity to serve the church. Isn’t it interesting what happens when we open ourselves to new possibilities?

Podcasts

Podcasts have become a part of my life. I resisted them for a long time as I thought they were like talk radio which I abhor. However, I have found them to be more like being able to access the best of NPR whenever I want to listen. Ron downloads an assortment of interesting ones from a variety of sources that we have discovered, burns a CD of them and I listen to them as I travel in my car. Leonard Sweet’s Napkin Scribbles is a favorite. Tonight on my way home from one more church meeting, I heard him offer a good retort to those who say they are not being feed. He said, “Put down your fork and put on an apron.” Love it! I doubt that I will ever say that to someone, but maybe I can deliver that message in a more subtle manner.

iTunes is a great source of podcasts, including ConnX produced by SC United Methodist Church. NPR, World of Possibilities, Speaking of Faith are other favorite podcasts. Sometimes I travel vicariously with Rick Steves.

When I see the great number of people walking around with mp3 player headphones in their ears, I have to ask, “How can podcasting become a tool for ministry?”

The Holy City

On Friday, Ron and I enjoyed a get-away day in Charleston. Our original plans were to walk across the new bridge, but the heat directed us to other things. However, we did walk miles throughout the picturesque downtown area with rest breaks in the shade or an air-conditioned space. We had no real purpose in our visit, but to enjoy the ambiance of this historical city and to find some respite in our busy lives. Mission accomplished.

The highlight of the day was visiting our friend, Ms. Nell, who has moved to an assisted living facility in Mt. Pleasant. This new residence allows her to be near her children, but separates her from her friends and church family. At 91, she finds life to be filled with God's blessings and is an inspiration to those of us who face the winter of our lives with trepidation.

A tasty meal at the River Room in Georgetown while watching the sunset ended our day. A sense of well-being filled my soul. I need to do this more often.