The next stop on the journey is Northville UMC on Feb. 3. ~MIConnect photo/Mark Doyal KAY DeMOSS
Senior Editor-Writer, Michigan Area
GRAND RAPIDS (MIC) – There are some who have questioned the current journey process as same song … third verse. Clergy Assistant to Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey, the Rev. Dr. William Dobbs, noted this in his Burning Questions blog: “Notice that I have been careful to use the ‘listen’ word. That is not sugar-coated nor disingenuous. Bishop Deb really wants to listen and to hear from you. She will not be coming with a fixed agenda. She will be coming to listen.”
Those words were written in October before the Journey to Listen began. With four of the five sessions now in the rear view mirror, those words continue to ring true. The sessions, though guided, have not shared fixed talking points nor specifics. The sessions have offered safe and open space for conversation around participants’ feelings, concerns, and values.
Mid-state conversation
The fourth conversation in the series was held at Cornerstone UMC near Grand Rapids on January 12. There were 75 people present in the seats and several hundred others interacting by webcast. Some questions came from those standing at the microphone; other questions were posed by a facilitator reading email queries from online viewers.
The Bishop began with worship and a message emphasizing the importance of each individual contribution. She reminisced about childhood vacation trips in the old Lincoln where every family member had a role in setting up the campsite. One precious memory involved young brother Dave’s job of holding the flashlight, a job he abandoned when the Okefenokee Swamp came alive with eyes in the midst of the after-dark bivouac.
“When the light went out, we were plunged into darkness and activity stopped. Who would have thought that one little eight-year-old boy could make that much difference?” she asked. “The only way we could camp was if all our family worked together to make it happen.”
No PowerPoint came next. Just a question to jump-start the exchange: “If we were to start from scratch, taking the best of both of the conferences, and design a new conference what would be our opportunities, concerns, losses, joys?” At no point did the Bishop offer a preferred design. Out of two years of discernment she did say, “I can get excited about creating something different. I can’t get excited about simply making something bigger than what we have. I can get excited about doing something new and creative.”
Things heard “What do you want to make sure that I hear?” she then asked. And with that invitation for others to contribute, persons came to the mic offering questions about …
- pension and health care benefits
- Christ-like governance
- consequences of other mergers such as Indiana, Dakotas, Kansas, etc.
- gains or losses if we do not elect to come together
- next steps in the process
- financial outcomes for the local church
- maximizing resources; empowering laity
- missional opportunities made possible by coming together
- the impact of growing bigger on identity and community
- strength of campus ministries and camping
- representation at General/Jurisdictional conferences
- maintaining a ‘culture of call’
Seven questions came from the online audience; 13 questions came from West Michigan representing points Pentwater (n) to White Pigeon (s), Edmore (e) to Marcellus (w); two Detroit-Conference related persons raised issues.
Looking ahead
Regarding next steps in the process. A fifth conversation will be held at Northville UMC, Tuesday, February 3, 6:30-8:00 pm.
Bishop Deb noted that an Advisory Team will come together following the Northville conversation. “I hope to have some kind of vote at each Annual Conference session with the results to be revealed after both votes have been taken,” she remarked. Dobbs added, “Folks will then have more input into the process. A recommendation will not take one form…take it or leave it.” And should there be a decision this spring to move forward, that’s only the beginning.
Dobbs continued, “A design team will start to do the work over 2-3 years and Annual Conferences will give feedback throughout that time. That feels more like an opportunity to craft-our-own conference instead of receive something someone else created.”
Perhaps the most insightful comments of the evening came from Christopher Bartlett of Pentwater Centenary UMC. “I am a baby Methodist,” he began, “involved for only two years.” He went on … I believe it is a recognition of the “other” that might well be served by the union of the two conferences. I believe a benefit would be people brought into fellowship with people they might otherwise have no dealing with. Yes, that’s uncomfortable and sometimes hard. You may need to learn a new way of listening and speaking. You may need to learn new traditions and a new language to frame the world. I believe that those are unalloyed positives. When we are too comfortable we grow smaller and we grow less open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Christopher was then helped back to his seat by his friend, Anne Soles. While physically blind, this young man possesses a spiritual vision well worth embracing.
Last Updated on February 2, 2024