Delegates returned home May 21. Will General Conference make a difference in Michigan?
KAY DEMOSS
Senior Editor-Writer, Michigan Area
What happens in Portland … does not stay in Portland.
For the past ten days United Methodists from around the world have been seated in the Oregon Convention Center debating and deciding the Church’s path for the next four years and beyond.
What will come from their labor? A new Book of Discipline and Book of Resolutions. And a new (at least an adjusted) framework for living and loving together across the Connection in the wake of a plan put forth by the Council of Bishops.
Early in the proceedings the chair mentioned that the cost of General Conference is $ 1,389 per minute. That being the case, persons in the pews back in Michigan expect there to be outcomes that break into routines and relationships in places like Gaylord or Battle Creek, Escanaba or Holland.
What things will make a difference to people within their congregations and neighborhoods? Here are a few possibilities of how actions in Portland might affect ministry and mission in Michigan. (These sub-heads do not reflect official categories assigned to the legislation or reporting.)
Making disciples
General Conference 2016 (GC2016) reaffirmed the Four Areas of Ministry that have provided a platform for the work of both the Detroit and West Michigan Annual Conferences. 1) Ministry with the Poor; 2) Improved Global Health; 3) Developing Principled Christian Leaders; 4) Creating New and Renewed Congregations.
A committee was authorized to develop a new cloud-based, print-on-demand United Methodist Hymnal. This high-tech effort could have congregations in Michigan singing some new songs (as well as belting out their favorite old tunes) by 2021.
Through spokespersons Chelsea Spyres and Peter Cibuabua, The United Methodist Church was challenged to take young people seriously. And they made it clear that youth around the world yearn for God’s people to live out of unity and grace. Chelsea, a native of Delaware and a missionary serving the NOAH Project in Detroit, asked, “How would the church grow if we encouraged each person to discern their calling, to discern where God is leading them to make a difference in the world? If we listened before we spoke?” Peter spoke of how his life in DR Congo taught him to live his faith, “out loud,” and he challenged everyone to do the same, “with compassion and love, no matter what happens.” Their call to “connect with the young people in your own life and ministry,” needs to be heard in the Michigan Area. It’s time to begin new conversations across generations.
United Methodist Rural Advocates (UMRA) gave the 2016 Conference a fine example of Wesleyan evangelism as they organized delegates to distribute greeting cards containing God’s love and a meal ticket to homeless encountered along the journey to and from the Convention Center. West Michigan pastor, Jodie Flessner, who was present in Portland as a legislative witness, told MIConnect: “I saw the homeless and started thinking of ways to address the issue in coming months. Two young UMRA members saw the homeless and helped all of us feed their bodies and their spirits.” Translation … Don’t ponder how to act, just act in the name of Jesus.
Transforming the world
During morning worship on May 19, 29 new missionaries were commissioned. They came from 11 countries and will serve in 16 countries. The Detroit and West Michigan Conferences have a long history of missionary salary support. As servant leaders like these are sent from everywhere to everywhere our mission leaders have a chance to form some new covenant relationships.
The Imagine No Malaria campaign segued to a new initiative on Abundant Health that seeks to engage 10,000 congregations in life-saving health interventions for 1 million of the world’s children by 2020. Michigan celebrated its $1.7 million share in the INM effort and can now consider new outreach.
GC2016 was urged not to forget the millions in the world whose lives continue to affected by HIV/AIDS. General Conference Reserve Lay Delegate, Alex Plum, explains why this is important for United Methodists in Michigan: “Our passion for malaria has been focused around the world. Now it’s time to focus on Michigan and Detroit specifically. In my work at Henry Ford I am working with a community of young people who are HIV positive, who are LGBTQ, who are African American. We need to be able to name our fears and beliefs around HIV/AIDS and be willing to engage in dialogue with our sisters and brothers who are affected by this. It’s not just people who are infected. We are ALL affected by this disease and as a church we cannot be silent about this anymore.”
The Michigan Area is a strong supporter of Special Sundays so, heads-up. The United Methodist Church will no longer observe One Great Hour of Sharing. GC2016 renamed this historic and very significant fund-raising effort as UMCOR Sunday. In addition, two Sundays (without offerings) were added to the calendar: 1) Women’s Ministry Sunday (at a date established by the Annual Conference) and 2) Volunteer in Mission Awareness Sunday (scheduled by each local congregation).
A recently-formed Asian American Ministry is now at work in The Michigan Area. Along with them, all Detroit and West Michigan churches can rejoice in the GC2016 action that creates a new Provisional Conference in Southeast Asia and Mongolia. Two clergy persons from Detroit … the Revs. Ut To and his wife, Karen Vo To, have provided outstanding leadership in church growth in this region. Just have a look at Ut’s Facebook page.
Faith family relationships
Pre-conference stories of possible delegate manipulation set up a degree of suspicion that found expression on the floor and in the hallways of the convention center. However, after arrival in Portland sharing that took place across national boundaries that built significant bridges of new understanding. During intentional moments of holy conferencing and personal moments of engagement, delegates transcended cultural differences and embraced each other as children of God. The Committee on General Conference projects that around half of the delegates to the 2020 General Conference will come from outside the United States. Multi-cultural experiences are an everyday possibility in cities and villages across Michigan. Delegates invite the Michigan Area to model faithful living in this unfamiliar setting of a less American-centric church. God calls United Methodists to practice a “world-wide church” outlook whenever and wherever able.
On May 19 GC2016 acknowledged a season of Episcopal transition. Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey was among those who came to the stage to be honored for years of service given to Christ and the Church. Bishop John G. Innis, Liberia, and Bishop Jonathan Keaton, currently Illinois Great Rivers and Michigan 2004-2012, also join the ranks of bishops retiring later this year. Each has touched the lives of Michigan’s United Methodists. The Detroit and West Michigan conferences now have praying to do…prayers for these leaders and prayers for delegates who leave Portland to prepare, first for Annual Conference and then for the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in Peoria, IL July 13-16, 2016. The task of the NCJ Conference is the election of four new bishops.
What troubles have we seen, what mighty conflicts past, fightings without, and fears within, since we assembled last. That was the heart song of many United Methodists on May 10 as they took their seats in the Oregon Convention Hall. A week later those fightings and fears had escalated as rumors of schism spread. The General Conference called upon the Council of Bishops “to lead” and their newly elected chair brought back a plan for the creation of a Commission and the suspension of action on petitions concerning human sexuality for the duration of GC2016. While the debate continued in a rough and ready fashion throughout the day on May 18, the General Conference emerged with cautious hope.
Some believe this to be a benchmark moment regarding the grass root’s relationship with the Council of Bishops, the bishops’ relationships with each other, and relationships of United Methodists across the theological spectrum.
In recent years the Michigan Area has experienced its share of pain and grief as persons of all viewpoints have sought to be in covenant with Christ, the Scripture, the Discipline, and each other on human sexuality. These comments reflect a few Michigan reactions to GC2016’s decision.
The Rev. Dwayne Bagley, pastor of Mason UMC (Lansing District) and soon to be Superintendent of the Kalamazoo District: “For some the Bishop’s proposal will be the catalyst for a sigh of relief. For others it will prompt a sighing and shaking of head as they consider what, to them, represents another adventure in kicking the can down the road. I, am coming to feel that it is an attempt to call the Church to seek community in diversity. Some talk about ‘unity’ being a goal of the proposed ‘time out.” I believe that will not be possible unless those who are part of the United Methodist tradition begin once again to see each others faces and realize that no matter what our positions on LGBT issues, we have something to lose if separation surfaces as our only option.”
Chelsea Spyres, US-2 serving in Detroit: “This morning I enter General Conference full of hope. Yesterday did not bring all of the solutions but it brought a flicker of hope. Hope that we can find a way forward. Hope that we can be kinder in conversation than in our past (still not always great but better). Hope that we can pause and trust the Spirit to help us discern. Hope that the body continues to listen to young voices. Yesterday was a first step and a step of hope.”
Rev. Michael Riegler, Provisional Elder Michigan: “While I cannot help but feel that the General Conference decision to form a Council of Bishop’s Commission represents just another delay, I am hopeful that this might actually be a step toward some sort of appropriate resolution … I am hoping and praying that this commission will not be made up of hard-liners from either end of the spectrum–intent on nothing but total victory–but rather by prayerful, thoughtful and discerning people who will seek God’s Will and a truly workable solution to our dilemma surrounding human sexuality. It is my hope that much careful, prayer-filled discernment will go into the selection of commission-members, as this will determine to a great extent whether we get the result that will lead us forward and strengthen God’s Kingdom.”
The Rev. Jack Harnish, retired pastor from the Detroit Conference: “It is a step that doesn’t satisfy everyone. The strong voices on the left who believed ‘It’s time!’ to clearly demonstrate that our motto ‘Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors’ extends to our LGBTQI brothers and sisters feel like it is one more rejection, and our staunch conservative brothers and sisters on the right (including most of the African delegates which make up 30% of the conference) think it is one more subtle attempt to undermine their strongly held convictions. But I truly believe that for most American United Methodists, it represents a chance to gather at the table once again and to try to move to the center; to find a way to remain at the table in spite of our differences and to be United in spite of our divisions.”
Rev. Dr. Jerome DeVine, Director of Connectional Ministries, Detroit Conference: “I awoke early this last day of General Conference with a deep sense of a sunset taking place, with the anticipation of a hoped for new dawn that must be awaited. One person’s perception of a sunset may be another person’s perception of hope for a new dawn. The delegates have accomplished a substantial amount of work, all of that in a climate of struggling to know what the future of our Church will look like. As a general conference gathering we are much like a local church in a community that is going through significant transition. Growing pains and change in a diverse community is difficult work.”
Much time, energy and, yes, dollars have gone into the planning and the practicing of the 2016 General Conference in Portland.
Michigan welcomes its delegates home in the spirit expressed by Charles Wesley: Yet out of all the Lord hath brought us by his love; and still he doth his help afford, and hides our life above.
Last Updated on November 7, 2022