I attended the UMC Next Conversations on Saturday, March 11th at Central United Methodist Church in Knoxville UMC. Even though I'm not currently serving a church, I still want to keep up with what is going on in the conference.
The three main topics and speakers were:
- Race and the UMC-- Rev. Sharon Bowers
- Transition to a Reconciling Community-- Greg Smith from First United Methodist Oak Ridge
- Reconciling Ministries Network-- Helen Ryde
There was also a panel of five speakers that answered questions and shared about their faith, what drew them to the UMC, and why they have stayed. It was interesting to hear their stories.
Stories.
When it comes down to it, it's about listening to one another's stories, creating spaces to share and listen.
Listen. This past week, Steve Garnaas-Holmes wrote about this very topic on his "Unfolding Light" site. He wrote:
Listen
Some people need a good talking to.
But almost everybody needs a good listening to.
Being reflected changes light. Being heard changes people.
Let their speaking be all there is.
Silence your own noise so you can really hear them.
Pocket your thoughts. Table your advice.
Listen like the earth listens to the rain.
Dry earth doesn't take in the rain very well.
Practice listening so you can hear.
Listen like the violin listens to the string.
Listen deeply: to their soul, their silences.
Listen like God listens to your prayers.
In the clear space of being heard
people may hear themselves for the first time,
hear echoes of the divine between the words.
Someone who hears you hearing them
can believe God has heard them as well.
Listen for God's listening in people.
Like midwives
we can listen each other into wholeness,
listen people to life.
Back to the Holston Conference UMC Next Conversations workshop.
I didn't take tons of notes or pictures, but I took a few of each. I was sitting in the back of the room, however, so the pictures didn't turn out so great. The one good picture I have is the banner that the church has on the outside. It is on the top of this page.
My notes from Sharon Bowers:
Sharon reminded us that racism is still real, that it is a social construct, and that we need to break down systems. She offered us 4 words beginning with the letter "A":
- agitator-- become an agitator-- stir it up, she said. That made me think of the agitator in a washing machine for some reason, though not all washing machines have those these days. The agitator's purpose is to move things around.
- agency-- be at the table, speak, do intervention
- advocacy-- show public support
- activists-- change policies and procedures
Through these, we are to create a convergence.
A wonderful resource that Sharon mentioned is GCORR-- General Commission on Religion and Race. They offer resources in the form of videos, books, downloads, etc. I invite and encourage you to check out their resources.
We must work to dismantle and deconstruct oppressive systems.
Holston Conference committed to dismantling racism. There is a link here with information and resources for dismantling racism in general. You can follow the links on the left hand side to go to the specific resources for the Holston Conference, or you can click here for those.
We watched an informative, yet difficult to watch video that proves that racism is still real. Comments were read by white colleagues that had been said and/or written by our colleagues of color. There were moments of tears, hurt, and anger as I/we listened to what my dear brothers, sisters, siblings have endured. And, these weren't from YEARS ago. These were recent. My heart breaks. These are the things that break the heart of God, too. How do I know that? Maybe it is just my opinion. But I base it on this--Jesus was brown. And because of that, I think he would be heart-broken to hear, to know, to see how lighter skinned people treat people of different skin color. I think Jesus would have much to say about that and how different people treat all kinds of different people. Jesus taught us better. Jesus reached out to the other. Jesus touched the other. Jesus loved the other. Jesus made the other feel safe.
I hope that I can be more like Jesus in loving others that way.
I digressed a bit from my notes.
The others who shared were Greg Smith and Helen Ryde.
Greg Smith shared how the congregation at Oak Ridge became a Reconciling Ministries Network Church. As I mentioned above, I am not currently serving a church, so the details (though interesting) weren't applicable to me. He did, however, mention that they used "Draw the Circle Wide" as a theme. That caught my attention. It's a song written by Mark Miller. It can be found in the Worship & Song book, #3154. Here is the history of that song from UMC Discipleship.
Here are the lyrics to "Draw the Circle Wide":
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
No one stands alone, we’ll stand side by side.
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Let this be our song: no one stands alone
Standing side by side,
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Let this be our song: no one stands alone
Standing side by side,
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Let this be our song: no one stands alone
Standing side by side,
Draw the circle, draw the circle wide.
Greg Smith mentioned some of the resources they used. One was from Reconciling Ministries Network: the Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit. Another was from the Lutheran Reconciling group: it was a Faith Community Assessment Survey.
I am including links to both of those here, in case anyone would like to check those out:
Helen Ryde spoke about the anti-LGBTQ+ laws, the thinking, and how it is supported by toxic/deadly theology. Up to the point she spoke on that day there had been about 460 anti-trans bills across about 43 states.
There are several sites to go to for the statistics. One is the ACLU--American Civil Liberties Union. They have an up-to-date map of the states, with information on the laws.
- Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ rights
- Statistics and information for the state of TN (TN is the state in which I live) [There are 26 bills in TN, at the time I am posting this link.] The chart lists the bill number, the issue, and the current status. It is worth checking out. If TN is not your state, start with the above link to find your state.
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