In this Perspective on Hope, Rev. Dr. Jerome (Jerry) DeVine, shares how his son’s farmyard wedding is an allegory of the Church.
Like a number of other United Methodist leaders from across Michigan, and from across the connection, I am conferenced out!
It was not just the multiple trips, 16 hour days, being on focus for days and weeks at a time that finally wore me out. It was that so much was invested in wanting as many as possible to have a defining and transforming experience. For me personally, there was the added dimension of being run for the episcopacy and planning a family wedding and reception at the same time. Out of my experience, I would definitely not recommend doing all of this in the same summer!
Allow me to focus on the wedding and reception first. When our youngest son and his fiancé, now wife, told us a year ago that they wanted to hold their wedding at the small country church near Ruth’s family farm in Southwest Minnesota it had warm sentimental history for us. It was the same church where our wedding was held 42 years ago. However, they then told us they wanted us to host the reception in the farm yard!! Oh my. The efforts of the ensuing year have had an allegorical similarity to what I have felt about the multiple conferences of the past two months.
Many of you already know that I tend to get physically involved in major construction projects at times. It becomes a lesson in humility, perseverance, ingenuity, exploration, failure and success, etc. To host the reception would mean housing multiple people who may not all have the same personalities and perspectives. It meant creating new spaces in the farm house for them to stay in. It also meant we had to remove all of the obstacles in the yard in order to create a new space for tents, tables and chairs to be set up. That meant cutting down dying trees and brush, pulling stumps, leveling the ground and laying sod.
Then came the idea that we needed a dance floor. Oh joy. In the midst of trying to shift from our joint annual conference session in Lansing and General Conference in Portland to get ready for the North Central Jurisdictional Conference and episcopal election process, we had to move an old single-stall garage in order to clear a space to build the dance floor. And, how was I to build a sturdy and stable dance floor? This is a farm yard after all.
It was about that time that I allowed that age-old question of doubt and cynicism to rise in my mind: “Is this all really worth it?”
It is the same question some of you may be asking of our denomination as we follow news and blogs (and they are not the same) of actions and reactions coming out of both the General Conference and the recent Jurisdictional Conferences. Because I was one of the 17 episcopal nominees at our North Central Jurisdictional Conference, I was asked multiple questions related to the future of our United Methodist denomination over the course of several weeks. I was often given unsolicited comments, often in barely cloaked versions of “Is this all really worth it?” Yes it is!
It took me two full days to move the garage and set it down on cement blocks, all in the heat wave of the past couple of weeks. Then another two days to find pallets, lumber and supplies to build a dance floor. It got danced on for only five hours, then it took me just an hour to break it all down again. Was it worth it? Should I have bothered? Yes! Because it impacted human lives and relationships in positive ways. Because it created a memory that will live on for years or decades to come. Because it became a tangible witness to the hard work of love in this world.
So how does this relate to our multiple efforts at conferencing here in Michigan, in the jurisdiction and in the world wide connection of United Methodism?
Some of you may be distressed by the “dance” taking place in our denominational politics right now. Disequilibrium is uncomfortable. Yet, it is necessary if we are to be equitably at a conversation table around our future. I am not surprised that several annual conferences have made it clear that they do not support the current Book of Discipline as it relates to human identity related to sexual orientation. I am also not surprised that some people have created a new Wesley Covenant Association as a counter-balance. Both of these are done, in my estimation, as a balancing of the playing field as we await the special Commission that the Council of Bishops will be soon forming. This is still all a part of the hard work of love.
As I was disassembling the dance floor yesterday, in preparation for returning to Michigan, the moment was somewhat melancholy. I wished I had reason to leave it up so that more experiences could be shared. Yet, I knew it had fulfilled its purpose and the raw materials could be repurposed. And, the marriage of our son and our new daughter-in-law was the real focus.
This is where the allegory with our recent United Methodist conferencing breaks down. I do not believe that God is ready for us to disassemble our United Methodist denomination. While I do think that some of the raw materials could be repurposed, the loss would be much greater than putting away a temporarily constructed project. So, you ask me, “Is this all worth it?” My response is,“Yes, it is!” It is because of the impact on so many human lives.
In Christ’s circle,
Rev. Dr. Jerome (Jerry) DeVine
Detroit Conference Director of Connectional Ministries [and new father-in-law!]
Last Updated on December 15, 2023